Another Monday is here …another week, another month – with needs to be met and demands to fulfill. How can a woman do it all and not end up in the crazy house in the process? It can only happen when we realize that we cannot do it all, but the Lord can. We are so limited in what we can do and God is so boundless! We can’t do anything without His enablement. Consider:

A Woman can:
feed a hungry family
administer medicine
teach a child
love her husband
discipline a child
teach a Bible lesson
exercise her body
quiet a restless child
clean a dirty house
put a child to bed
sing a song

But only God can:
bring nourishment to their body
bring healing
impart wisdom
unite their hearts
break their will
convict of sin
give strength
give peace
clean a sinful heart
make them sleep
give a song

I find that the best place to acknowledge my need for God and His authority in my life is on my knees each morning. I give Him the demands on my day and my burdens. It is only then that I am able to see the second column – the things only God can do begin to take place.
What has He done for you today? I’d love to hear about it!

The memory is from many years ago, but it was one of those moments that has lodged itself into my mind and pops up frequently. My mom was visiting in our home and was helping with supper preparations. She opened the silverware drawer to get a needed utensil and then I heard her say in disgust, “Denise, there are crumbs in your silverware tray!” How embarrassing! I hadn’t noticed them, but it was obvious that they were there and that they were disturbing upon discovery.

How do crumbs get in the silverware tray? I mean you’re not eating when you open the drawer because you need the silverware in order to eat…so where do they come from? Clean silverware is placed here and it should be kept clean! The tray got emptied and cleaned out and is now checked on a regular basis. A lesson was learned – check the silverware tray often and especially before Mom visits!

The reason that finding crumbs in the drawer is disturbing is because they are not supposed to be there! As I think on this scene I am reminded of areas in my spiritual life where the Lord reveals to me things that are in my heart that should not be there – an attitude that displeases Him, a sharp tongue, a critical spirit or discontentment. As it is revealed to me my initial response is often, “Where did that come from? That’s not supposed to be there! What’s worse is that the things that are in my heart will eventually come out in my words. Luke 6:45 says “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil; for of the abundance of the heart this mouth speaketh.” Yes, those attitudes that the Lord reveals to me have also made their way out my mouth! James tells us in chapter 3 verse 10 “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.” Do you know what he’s really saying? You have crumbs in your silverware tray! Your heart has clean and dirty things in it, and this is not supposed to be! Praise the Lord for the cleansing of I John 1:9 when I confess and God cleanses and forgives me. The “silverware tray” gets wiped out and I’m in fellowship with God again.

Have you opened the drawer lately and let the Lord show you what’s really there? Not a pretty sight, is it? There’s really no shame in the crumbs’ discovery, only the neglect of cleaning them out once you find them. It’s not your mom who is looking; it’s our loving God that sent His Son to die so we might have our sin forgiven. The wash water of His Word does wonders!

A little side note about the scene with my mom – she doesn’t even remember finding the crumbs, but it’s become a funny thing between us. If nothing else, it’s taught me to be more careful in my home and in my heart!

Now, go check your silverware tray – you know you’re curious! Please tell me you found crumbs there!

Today we are taking Allison on her second college trip. She is full of wondering what the future will hold and where the Lord will direct her in reference to her college years. She made the statement the other day that we’ve all probably thought at one time or another – “I wish the Lord would just write His will about this in the sky.”

At that moment we had one of those mother-daughter talks that I pray she’ll always remember – I know I will. I shared with her a truth that was taught at The Wilds a few years back. Here’s a summary of our conversation:

Knowing and doing God’s will seems like this huge undertaking, but in reality it is very simple. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight thyself also in the Lord and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” This verse is telling us to obey the moral will of God, His commands. So first you need to ask yourself

• “Am I walking with God at this moment?” Then ask yourself
• “Is there any sin in my life that I have not confessed?” Thirdly ask,
• “Would this thing I desire honor God?”

As long as you’re know you can answer the questions to the affirmative then Psalm 37:4 encourages us to then do what you want to do! Does that sound radical? It isn’t. It isn’t a free-for-all – go out there and do whatever you want and God won’t care situation. Remember you must be obeying God’s Word, walking with Him and making a choice that would please the Lord.

Some decisions are so obvious. If a woman was trying to decide if she should marry an unsaved man, the answer is clear because it goes against God’s Word (the third question). But how about making a decision about something more vague like buying a house? There are no verses in the Bible about this! You’ve found several you like, they would keep you close to a good Bible teaching church, and are the right size, but you want to know which one is God’s will. Again, ask yourself the three questions, and then do what you like! If one was over your budget and would cause you to go into debt with a possibility of not being able to keep up your payments, the Lord’s answer on that one is clear.

Now about these colleges, they’re good Christian schools that would keep you close to the Lord and would train you for His service. Ask yourself the three questions before making your decision, and then do what you like…He will give you the desires of your heart! It’s really that simple.

God doesn’t want His will to be hard to find; we’re the ones that complicate it. In its simplest form it is: Delight then Do!

The empty nest is approaching oh so quickly…I don’t think this will be as easy as finding God’s will. **Sigh**

My blog has been under construction. If you’ve checked this site recently you may have seen at least a couple different looks in the last couple of days. While I’ve been working on this there have been LOTS of different looks. This is all quite new to me and I’m learning as I go along. My teacher has been my twin sister, Dianne. She first introduced me to blogging and I’m taking baby steps with her help.

First I started with the basic template that blogspot offers. It was fine. I tried to add a new entry every few days. Then I heard about a place that offers free backgrounds for your blog…ahhh, that’s better! I began adding an entry almost every weekday. Last weekend Dianne told me about Scrapblog; a place where you can scrapbook on-line, then transfer your page onto your background. There are many steps, and changing a small item like a flower means going all the way back to the first step. This whole thing is a work in progress. I now occasionally even add an entry on Saturday. Tomorrow you may see something totally different, so brace yourself!

Growing as a Christian is much like blogging. Someone told us about the Lord and our story began. Our life is what people read; it is our testimony – our blog, if you will. They watch and they see a living object lesson before them. The story is varied from person to person, of course.
Some Christians find a new discovery every day. One day they find a special verse in Scripture. Another day they have had an answer to prayer. An opportunity to tell someone else about salvation comes another day. They look for someone to help them learn and they’re discipled.

There are some people’s blog (life) that doesn’t change much after salvation. Oh, it might have gotten a new template at the beginning, but then they slow down and even fall back into a routine. They’re satisfied that they’re on-line (saved) but eventually they don’t make steps in progress forward or learn anything new; it’s too much effort. People may try to teach them but they resist. Pretty soon there’s nothing new to see. People don’t even bother to check in with them to see if there’s progress (not that that’s good). After a couple years of the same entry sitting on the Christian’s page some unsaved people begin to question if there’s really any difference between themselves and this saved person. All the while there’s a whole world exploding around them – Bible studies, revival meetings, church services, small groups, Sunday school, promises in God’s Word to claim, and unsaved people waiting to hear the truth, but it sits intact; unexplored.

What does your blog look like? Are you growing and changing all the time? Every day you’re either growing closer to the Lord or you’re retreating. Keep things fresh. Don’t let yourself get into a rut. People want something interesting to read as they watch your life. Don’t quit! Blog on!