Martha Peace begins this section with this statement on page 71. "A godly wife is organized and works hard to operate her home with the least possible chaos. She also creates an optimistic, joyful atmosphere for her family." The home is your domain. Do you make it a place where your family can relax, let their guard down and escape from the trials and temptations of the world. Do they want to come home and be around you. Do you give them a soft place to fall? Is your delight in the Lord obvious to them. These are all good questions. Take some time with the Lord and answer them...it will change the atmosphere in your home.
Keeping a home where disorganization and chaos is at a minimum is IN THIS WORLD...most of the time a thankless job. It is the countless, boring, and repetitive tasks that we do day in and day out that are NEVER noticed until we slip up that keep a home running smoothly. If we are doing this for some kind of earthly reward or some kind of recognition from our families we will most likely wind up very bitter women. If however, our goal is to please the Lord and love our families than the result will be something completely different and it will be reflected in not only our demeanor but our families as well. To do this it helps me to remember why I am here and who I am serving. Sometimes I need to do this several times a day. Bitterness creeps in slowly... we need to be aware of it and be ruthless with it. If allowed to get a foothold it will destroy us, our Christian witness and our family. Sometimes I view my husband and my children as interruptions to my day...forgetting they are my reason for being here. I whine and complain about the work and the repetitive tasks that are never done and never appreciated. Hopefully somewhere in the middle of that tirade I will remember them...put myself in their place...how it must feel to be them and to be listening to me. Like the Bob Dylan song says: "I wish for just one time you could stand inside my shoes, then you'd know what a drag it is to see you. Hopefully at that point I would remember that the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Or that a gentle and quiet spirit is very precious to the Lord...maybe I would recall 1Corinthians 13:4-8 and repent and put on some love for my family. This will happen more often than not if you are drawing near to the Lord each and every day and looking to Him to be your help and your wisdom. It will not if he is not first in your life....Yes it can be painful to draw near to God and see ourselves with all our dents, bruises and scrapes. Guess what...our family already knows they are there. We are only deceiving ourselves when we refuse to draw near and repent. Pride keeps us from getting right with God at times and being who we need to be for our families. Humility trumps!
Martha Peace has many exhortations on page 78: "Don't brood and fret and exaggerate problems in your mind. (psalm 37 is a good one to read about fretting) When there is a problem, be realistic. Face reality, but be righteously optimistic. For example, "This is hard, but God will give me the grace to get through it." Or another, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your family almost as much. Be patient and kind and do not be selfish. (an aside on selfishness...if you are selfish...those around you will follow your lead and it will be war day in and day out at your house) Do not demand your rights (remember you have none anyway) and the others around you will eventually follow your example. Another statement by Martha Peace which really gives me a picture of a peaceful home is this: "A wife who has a gentle and meek spirit from the Lord provides a calming, soothing, and reassuring atmosphere in her home. She trusts God deeply and does not panic at difficult circumstances. She has a calming effect on the family, not the effect of alarming and upsetting them. It is reassuring to be around her. What a blessing for your family to have a wife or a mom that is calming, soothing and reassuring to be around. She is like Jesus!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Chapter 7: Christ the Wife's Heart
We've reached Part II: A Wife's Responsiblity...Uh oh.
Chapter seven I think is aptly named...Christ the Wife's Heart. The heart is the seat of our will and our emotions. As such it becomes a battleground where a spiritual war is waged. It is definitely where my battle is waged. Yesterday a friend sent us a preview for a new Christian movie called Fireproof. It is about a couple that is on the brink of divorce and the husband, a firefighter, is challenged by his believing Dad to rescue his wife's broken heart. The husband in the movie accepts Christ and subsequently does the right thing. My flesh which was perfectly content before watching the preview immediately looked at my own husband..the wonderful husband that God has given me... with a spirit of discontentedness. Movie is good...my thoughts and reaction to it...not so good. I needed to take that thought train captive and derail the pattern before it could take hold.
Has Christ completely captured your heart? Are you ruthless with anyone, anything or any desire that attempts to gain influence or worse yet control your heart? Is your heart Christ controlled or over run with the influences of the world and day to day living? Having read this book through many times I have noticed that the themes are intertwined and repetitive and have come to see this as a good thing. Scripture is also repetitive. We as humans maybe need to hear things more than once so they can reach our heart. I exhort you now to examine your own heart and ask Christ to show you where your desires and His desires are not in alignment.
What is your heart set on? Is it so set on a certain thing that you are willing to sin to get it? Are you willing to tear down your house for it, disrespect your husband, or make your children listen to you rant and rave. Remember circumstances don't cause us to sin...our idolatrous hearts that meditate on wrong things do! Set your mind on the things above. Ask yourself that (what is your heart set on) in the middle of an argument with your husband. Ask yourself that when there is strife with your children. Ask yourself that when you feel discontented with your lot in life or feel that you have been slighted in some way. Ask yourself that when you are not getting what you want. (I wish I had done this last night when I attempted to bring something back to an unnamed store in accordance with their return policy...although I outwardly remained calm, I inwardly seethed...my desire was thwarted and I got angry!) Having done this repent of any wrong desires and ask God to give you the right desires (see pages 65-69) and by faith make the decision to move in the direction where Christ is leading you. Do it whether you feel like it or not, asking and counting on Him to align your will with His. Little by little you will see the fruit.
This process is the key to the whole Christian life. It is a moment by moment dying to self and living for Christ. Putting off the old man and putting on the new. Remember you are part of God's plan. You have works that He has prepared beforehand that you should walk in them. You can't fulfill his perfect plan for you unless you are living for Him and dying to your wants and desires. As a believer God promises to work all things together for you for good, but imagine what he can do with a Christian wife who is fully submitted to Him and His desires. Imitate Christ who fully submitted Himself to His Father making our redemption possible. Put all your energies and efforts into living for Christ not just outside your home where people can see you but more importantly live for Christ inside your home.
Write out the Right Desire list on page 69 and place it where you will see it every day. Do the same with the list of ways to set your mind on things above on page 70. Make a practice of them.
There is one thing I would like to add to number 6 on page 70. Earlier I asked if you were ruthless with those things that might attempt to gain influence over your heart. This can be subtle. Be aware of what you are reading, watching, listening or even who you may be keeping company with that may influence your heart in the wrong way. When your heart is under any other influence but Christ you and your family will suffer and Christ will not be glorified.
Do this and watch the Lord work and your life become like the tree that is planted by rivers of water in Psalm 1.
Chapter seven I think is aptly named...Christ the Wife's Heart. The heart is the seat of our will and our emotions. As such it becomes a battleground where a spiritual war is waged. It is definitely where my battle is waged. Yesterday a friend sent us a preview for a new Christian movie called Fireproof. It is about a couple that is on the brink of divorce and the husband, a firefighter, is challenged by his believing Dad to rescue his wife's broken heart. The husband in the movie accepts Christ and subsequently does the right thing. My flesh which was perfectly content before watching the preview immediately looked at my own husband..the wonderful husband that God has given me... with a spirit of discontentedness. Movie is good...my thoughts and reaction to it...not so good. I needed to take that thought train captive and derail the pattern before it could take hold.
Has Christ completely captured your heart? Are you ruthless with anyone, anything or any desire that attempts to gain influence or worse yet control your heart? Is your heart Christ controlled or over run with the influences of the world and day to day living? Having read this book through many times I have noticed that the themes are intertwined and repetitive and have come to see this as a good thing. Scripture is also repetitive. We as humans maybe need to hear things more than once so they can reach our heart. I exhort you now to examine your own heart and ask Christ to show you where your desires and His desires are not in alignment.
What is your heart set on? Is it so set on a certain thing that you are willing to sin to get it? Are you willing to tear down your house for it, disrespect your husband, or make your children listen to you rant and rave. Remember circumstances don't cause us to sin...our idolatrous hearts that meditate on wrong things do! Set your mind on the things above. Ask yourself that (what is your heart set on) in the middle of an argument with your husband. Ask yourself that when there is strife with your children. Ask yourself that when you feel discontented with your lot in life or feel that you have been slighted in some way. Ask yourself that when you are not getting what you want. (I wish I had done this last night when I attempted to bring something back to an unnamed store in accordance with their return policy...although I outwardly remained calm, I inwardly seethed...my desire was thwarted and I got angry!) Having done this repent of any wrong desires and ask God to give you the right desires (see pages 65-69) and by faith make the decision to move in the direction where Christ is leading you. Do it whether you feel like it or not, asking and counting on Him to align your will with His. Little by little you will see the fruit.
This process is the key to the whole Christian life. It is a moment by moment dying to self and living for Christ. Putting off the old man and putting on the new. Remember you are part of God's plan. You have works that He has prepared beforehand that you should walk in them. You can't fulfill his perfect plan for you unless you are living for Him and dying to your wants and desires. As a believer God promises to work all things together for you for good, but imagine what he can do with a Christian wife who is fully submitted to Him and His desires. Imitate Christ who fully submitted Himself to His Father making our redemption possible. Put all your energies and efforts into living for Christ not just outside your home where people can see you but more importantly live for Christ inside your home.
Write out the Right Desire list on page 69 and place it where you will see it every day. Do the same with the list of ways to set your mind on things above on page 70. Make a practice of them.
There is one thing I would like to add to number 6 on page 70. Earlier I asked if you were ruthless with those things that might attempt to gain influence over your heart. This can be subtle. Be aware of what you are reading, watching, listening or even who you may be keeping company with that may influence your heart in the wrong way. When your heart is under any other influence but Christ you and your family will suffer and Christ will not be glorified.
Do this and watch the Lord work and your life become like the tree that is planted by rivers of water in Psalm 1.
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