Author: RefreshHer

Family life · home · Husband

The Treasure of a Godly Homelife

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We had guests in our home recently and before they left, the wife said something like, “I love your living room. It’s so cozy and inviting. This is what I want my home to be.” My husband looked at her and said, “This is our refuge from the world. God wants to be your refuge so you can have the same kind of home.”

You see, it’s not just the things in a house that makes it inviting – it’s the love, the atmosphere, the tone that you feel when you step in.

Yesterday morning I read – There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up. (Proverbs 21:20) The truth of that passage is that we are either digging up the treasure God wants our homes to have, or we’re spending it up.

How do we dig up the treasure?

  • We get up every day and give ourselves, our family, and our home to the Lord.
  • We get into the Word so we can get a right perspective on our ministry in our home.
  • We seek to respond biblically to the trials that will surely come into our lives.
  • We are faithful workers in our home, planning ahead for our family’s needs with good meals, fresh laundry and a clean house.
  • We seek to meet our husband’s needs and care for them more than for our own.
  • We love and submit to our husband as the head of the home, never seeking to override his authority.
  • We faithfully and lovingly instruct our children in God’s ways, always leading them to Christ.

How do we spend up the treasure?

  • We go in our own strength.
  • We think we can miss days in God’s Word and be fine.
  • We blow up when trials come because we’re not filled with Truth.
  • We spend more time out of the home than in it so that meals are on the run, laundry is piled up and the house is a chaotic mess.
  • We scream out for “our time” and resent being a housewife.
  • We only submit when we agree 100% with our husband’s decisions
  • We let the children do their own thing and overlook their need for correction and time with us.

The “treasure” that is gotten when we follow God’s directives for our homes is a sweet, loving atmosphere that makes it a joy for family and friends to come home. Is it always perfect? Hardly. Is it most often a respite from the world? Oh yes.

Are you digging for the treasure at home, or are you spending it uptoday? You can make the necessary changes even now, with the Lord’s help. A home where God’s love is felt and demonstrated is truly “a treasure to be desired.”

With love,

 

Husband · Marriage

Marital Deposits

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WHILE waiting in line at the bank, a man developed a very loud case of hiccups. By the time he reached the teller’s window, the hiccups seemed to have worsened. The teller took the man’s check and proceeded to run a computer verification of his account. After a minute she looked up from her terminal with a frown and said that she would be unable to cash his check.”Why not?” the man asked incredulously.”I’m sorry, sir,” she replied, ” but our computer indicates that you do not have sufficient funds to cover this amount. As a matter of fact,” she continued, “our records show your account overdrawn in excess of $5000.””It can’t be!” he cried. “You have to be kidding!” “Yes, I am,” she answered with a smile, counting out his cash. “But you will notice that your hiccups are gone.”

Most of us know the sinking feeling when there weren’t sufficient funds in the bank to cover our withdrawals. It makes for a rough day, doesn’t it?

 While we are ever so careful to guard our bank account from being over drawn, I wonder what the records would show on the monthly statement of our marriage? How many withdrawals have you made? Wives need love, affection, attention, compliments, encouragement, dates, pampering, help around the house, a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on… Each one of those represent a withdrawal from our marriage account. Now, think back on this past week – what kind of deposits have you made? Not the monetary kind – but the relational kind.

  • Have you shown respect for your husband with your words?
  • Have you elevated him in front of others?
  • Have you thanked him for being a provider for your family?
  • Have you done a thoughtful gesture for him? (Bought his favorite candy bar, written him a note, made his favorite meal, took him out on a special date or created one at home- you get the idea)
  • Have you spent time doing something he enjoys even though it might not be your favorite activity?
  • Have you done something to lighten his load?

These things (and many others) are ways we make deposits into our marriage. There’s a double blessing here – we’re meeting the needs of our husband and rediscovering what a joy it is to be married. It’s fun! It is God’s plan and He can only do what is good!

Take a thorough check into your “account” and make sure you’re not overdrawn! If it’s been a while since you’ve put something into your marriage, you might surprise your husband so much you’ll scare his hiccups away!

How have you made deposits into your marriage this week?

Lovingly,

Christian Life

How To Deal with Sudden Fears

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The phone rings and it’s the doctor’s office, calling to give the results of the lab work that was recently done.

Sudden Fear.

Your teenage daughter has a painful look in her eyes.  She has seemed distant and removed from you and the Lord in recent weeks.  She asks to speak with you.

Sudden fear.

Your boss sends an email telling you he’d like to speak with you at your earliest convenience.

Sudden fear.

You pick up the newspaper and read the headlines about yet another innocent group of Christians being persecuted for their faith.

Sudden fear.

There are hundreds of scenarios in which we could find ourselves filled with sudden fear – that terror that falls over us quickly due to some event in which we have no control.  You’ve been there, I’m sure.  We all have.  We weren’t really prepared for the news or the event. Maybe we didn’t handle those situations so well in the past.

But for those future moments, we can prepare ahead of time, simply by hiding a secret piece of ammunition on our person – it’s the Word of God.  Open up your heart and tuck this truth away:

 Be not afraid of sudden fear,
neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.
 For the Lord shall be thy confidence,
and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
Proverbs 3, 25, 26

At that moment when the sudden terror wants to grab your heart, your emotions and your will, pull out the Truth that can enable you to handle this difficulty wisely and calmly.

  1. The Lord will be your confidence – Pray. You don’t know what to do, but He does!  He will show you the next step to take that will lead you to victory, rather than defeat. Turn to Him immediately and ask for His intervention and guidance.
  2. He’ll keep your foot – Rest.  He’ll not let you slip!  Remind yourself that the Lord will keep you safe and secure.  “No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.”   Anything that He allows to touch your life has come through His sovereign hands first.  You are still in His grip.

The best way to deal with anything is to be prepared.  The Lord has given us everything we need to keep us from sudden fear – the Truth of His presence and the help of His hand!  Don’t be afraid!

What sudden fear has you quaking?  Pray and rest in these Truths today!

Lovingly,

Christian Life

The Imperfect Stitches

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See that pretty embroidered kitchen towel hanging on my oven door?  It was hand stitched by a friend.  When it was given, she let me know that it was full of mistakes – little “imperfect stitches.”  Really?  I look at it and I see the big picture – a sweet little girl, adorned with a bonnet and apron, delivering a cherry pie on Baking Day!   I also see the heart of the stitcher, if you will.  She spent her time and effort making that for me!  I love it and I dare anyone to wipe their dirty hands on it – I have store bought towels for that purpose!  This is my treasure, set aside for my enjoyment – imperfections and all.

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“I’m afraid I’m not good enough.”

“I’m afraid I haven’t done enough.”

“I’m afraid God doesn’t accept me as I am.”

Those are all quotes I’ve recently heard women say concerning their relationship with God.  They’re basing those statements on what is or isn’t happening in their life.  Something they’ve prayed about hasn’t been answered, some desire they’ve asked God for hasn’t been given, and so they turn their focus from looking heavenward in prayer to looking inward at themselves.  They start searching for all the imperfections, and oh, there are many in all of us – it’s called an old sin nature, and we deal with it every single day.

But wait a minute, that’s what Jesus came to take care of on the cross!  That sin has been paid for!  It’s covered by the blood!  Because I’ve received Christ as my Savior, when God looks at me, He sees me as having never sinned, based on the finished work at Calvary.  He sees “the big picture” which is my justification through Christ.  I don’t have to worry that He’ll see my mess ups and times when I sin (and there are plenty), because He sees me through His perfect Son.

My friend might have wanted to point out and fix the imperfections in the towel she made for me, but it did’t matter to me.  We might try to “fix” up so we’re good enough to please God, but you can’t get any better than Jesus!  He “fixed it” all for eternity.

Friend, if you’re worried that though you’ve received Christ, you might not be “good enough,” look at the cross and remind yourself of your standing before God.  God sees you through His Son – forgiven.  You are God’s special treasure set aside (sanctified) for His use. Now live confidently for Him, pray believing and stop pointing at the “imperfect stitches!”

In Christ,