31 Days of Praying for Your Husband

This week Tasha shared a prayer project from Raising Godly Children (which was a re-post from an article originally published at Revive Our Hearts) titled 31 Days of Praying for Your Husband by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.  What an amazing gift this is - thank you Alia for blessing the women around you and us through them with this project!

Here is an excerpt from 31 Days of Praying for Your Husband by Nancy Leigh DeMoss:

“She does him good . . .” (Proverbs 31:12a)

Bless your husband by praying for him! The Apostle Paul instructed all Christians to pray for one another (Ephesians 6:18). This includes wives’ responsibility and privilege to pray for their husbands. Earnest prayer for your husband is good for him, for you and the spiritual health of your home (Proverbs 31:11-12).

Satan desires to destroy your husband, especially his character and his leadership in your relationship. Trust God through prayer as you daily surrender your husband and marriage to the Lord’s wise, loving care.

Day 1 Pray that your husband will grow spiritually and consider his accountability before the Lord. Pray that he will guard his heart by developing spiritual disciplines—Bible reading and study, prayer, meditation, scripture memorization, etc. (2 Peter 3:18; Prov. 4:23)

For the rest of the article and to download a pdf file you can go to either Raising Godly Children or Revive our Hearts (which has it translated into Spanish in the comments section if you would like to share with someone).

I am so excited to start this journey!  I am new to praying scripture specifically over people, but have recently found two other journeys of prayer - specifically for our kids.  The MOB (Moms of Boys) Society has done 21 Days of Prayer for Sons based on the book Warrior Prayers: Praying the Word for Boys in the Areas They Need it Most by Brooke McGlothlin and the MOD (Mothers of Daughters) Squad compiled their 31 Days of Prayer for our daughters into an e-book.

Will you commit to pray daily for those you love?

The Light of the World

Today at Mothers Together we are mixing it up a bit to include some sharing time to celebrate what God is doing in our lives, some fellowship time, worship, and open prayer as a large group.  One of the songs we will be singing is "Here I Am to Worship" so as you read through the lyrics be sure to envision and imagine what that night was like when God did come down as a ray of sunshine and hope to many people.  May Jesus empower and inspire you to be a light for him wherever you are this Christmas season. 

"Here I Am To Worship"

Light of the world, You step down into darkness.
Opened my eyes let me see.
Beauty that made this heart adore you hope of a life spent with you.

[Chorus]
And here I am to worship,

Here I am to bow down,

Here I am to say that you're my God,
You're altogether lovely,
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me.

King of all days,
Oh so highly exalted Glorious in heaven above.
Humbly you came to the earth you created.
All for love's sake became poor.

[Chorus]

I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.
I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.
And I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.
No I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.

[Chorus]
Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that you're my God,
You're altogether lovely,
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me.
So Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that you're my God,

Imitating Jesus

We have learned what a disciple is.  We have discussed what it means to be a disciple.  We have delved into the level of honesty and authenticity required to make a discipling relationship work.  How does a discipler help bring about growth and life change in their disciple?  We do it by imitating Jesus.

In this relationship we "intentionally walk alongside a growing disciple or disciples in order to encourage, correct and challenge them in love to grow toward maturity in Christ." (Greg Ogden, Discipleship Essentials: A Guide to Building Your Life in Christ)  It is important for us to strive to live our lives in a Christlike manner because, as Ogden points out, "we pass on Christlikeness through intimate modeling."  We all know how well our children follow directions when we live by the "do as I say, not as I do" model - not very well.  If we want our children to grow up to be polite, we must model polite behavior for them.  If we want our children to be kind, we must let them see us being kind to others.  If we want our children (or spouse, friend, family member, etc.) to live in the Word, we must make Bible reading a priority in our own lives.

In a letter to the Church in Corinth, Paul writes, "therefore I urge you to imitate me." (1 Corinthians 4:16)  He was writing to them as a discipler.  He sent his son, Timothy, to "remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus" (1 Cor. 4:17).  He is modeling Christlike behavior to his disciples and sends Timothy to remind them of how to act when he cannot be there to show them himself.

Paul later sent a message of thanksgiving to the church of the Thessalonians for their faith and their emulation of Christlike behavior, saying "you became imitators of us and of the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 1:6).  He goes on to write, "and so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedionia and Achaia - your faith in God has become known everywhere" (1 Thes. 1:7-8).  Their actions spoke volumes about their faith and the character of Christ.

None of this is to say that you have to be perfect.   "In our lives, nothing is more powerful than when our discipler consistently and intentionally COMBINES the gospel of Jesus with their own down-to-earth, imperfect, and authentic life" (Heartland BHAG-FAQ's).  It is through our honestly imperfect imitation of Christ that God's true grace is revealed.  The key is that we are trying to model our lives after Christ, not that we have succeeded.

Are you imitating Jesus to the people in your life?

Christmas Simplicity

The word around our house this holiday season is simplicity.  We are making a conscious effort to pare down the excess that we are normally swept up in with the holidays and focus our attention on the things that really matter to us and to God.

We are putting up fewer decorations, choosing only the ones that are meaningful to us or bring us joy.  James and I aren't really getting much for each other and we are beginning a new tradition of four gifts for the kids (plus stocking stuffers): something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read.  We are putting our gift-buying/making resources into our friends, family, and people who could use an extra helping hand.

I can honestly say that I had more fun shopping for our Angel Tree gifts and Heartland Hearts gifts than I did shopping for most of my family!  Our motto as a family related to giving or sharing of our time, talent and treasure is, "when in doubt, give extravagantly."  It is not a truly altruistic action on our part, we give of ourselves in that way because it makes us feel good.  It makes us feel closer to Jesus.  It makes us feel closer to each other.

While on the subject of gifts, something that is close to my heart and many of yours is finding ways to give responsibly.  That can mean giving environmentally conscious gifts, buying locally when possible, buying and using less packaging that ends up in landfills (many companies are trying to reduce the amount of packaging with their items), or buying from companies using eco-friendly materials and manufacturing processes.  Google eco-friendly gifts and you will find a ton of resources.  Here are a few I found or have used:

http://mightynest.com
http://www.oompa.com
http://thesoftlanding.com - this is a local Kansas City company run by several sisters
http://www.theglassbabybottle.com
http://safemama.com/toyguide2012/

Giving responsibly can also mean giving gifts that were made without the use of slave labor, or better yet, gifts that benefit after-care programs for people rescued from slavery.  Thank you Christa Copenhaver for your passion in this area in particular.  Christa has created a Pinterest board dedicated to this effort.

Tara Gazaway brought up a great blog post written by the author Jen Hatmaker.  The post is amazing and has a ton of great links for buying/giving gifts that are slavery free and/or benefit people rescued from slavery.  Check out her post here.  Jen mentions the Advent Conspiracy, a book/project I highly recommend you at least check out.  She also has the International Justice Mission on her list of organizations you can support and I can't say enough great things about this organization and their mission.  I had the privilege of hearing a couple of their members speak while in law school and at our church in Cincinnati.  They are AMAZING and their passion for people is nothing short of captivating.

An organization I would add to Jen's list: Kiva - we have been micro-lending for several years and have been amazed by the way a few dollars here and there can help a person half-way around the world (or now in our backyard) make something they are proud of that sustains their family and community.

There are also opportunities to give through organizations like Compassion International and Heifer International.  The one caution I offer related to organizations like those is the potential for hurting instead of helping by giving a family an animal they do not have the resources to feed or care for.  These organizations do amazing things and have wonderful missions, not all related to giving large livestock to families so definitely check them out, but be aware of the potential drawbacks.

As with anything, there is no one right way, there is no resource or organization that has it right 100% of the time, there is no perfect toy that is environmentally friendly, produced and shipped with the lowest possible carbon footprint, made/packaged/shipped with 100% guaranteed humane labor practices by a company that is above reproach.  That is where grace enters in - nothing is perfect, none of us are perfect, that is the beauty of Jesus and the reason we celebrate whole-heartedly this season.

I pray for a restful, joyful, life-giving season of celebration for each one of you!
- Katrina Kanary

Mary at Jesus' Feet

An Alabaster Box

“Loving Him with absolute abandon is no doubt in my own interest. ” 

Beth Moore

Melba Mueller Teaching on John 11:55 - 12:50

Jesus asks us to :

• STOP
• RECONSIDER
• AND START AGAIN AT HIS FEET

Who was this Mary of Bethany?

• Sister of Lazarus
• Sister of Martha
• Controversial
• Woman of courage and faith
• May have been wealthy

What can we learn from her?

• Mary did not come to hear a sermon.
• She didn't come to make a request.
• Mary didn't come to fellowship with other believers.
• Mary didn't come to be refreshed.
• Mary didn't set out to impress anyone.
• Mary transformed her home into a temple of worship. 
• She learned form Him by spending time with Him.  
• She practiced listening and she let herself be hungry for his teaching.
• She was a woman of faith. 
• She was a servant to Him.

How do we do this?

• This is a matter of the Will. And Mary understood this.
• We choose HIM
• Fight for your heart and his and your love for Him like you fight for your husband's affections or your kids.

Psalm 123 is a great example of waiting in Him, until His light breaks through.

We simplify our lives.
We build our faith in Him.
Let Him be the King of your heart. Let the oil anoint your heart.

 
Discussion Questions:

1. What can you do to spend more time with Jesus?
2. How can you simplify your life this Christmas season?
3. What are you afraid of in your relationship with Jesus?


“He purposely created us with free will and affections so that we could choose HIM in the midst of many options and much opposition” Beth Moore

Turning Toward Your Spouse

The most recent focus for Couple’s Home Improvement taught us about turning toward our spouse.  As we continue to work through “The 7 Principles for Making a Marriage Work” by John Gottman, I am convicted more and more how these principles are vital to any of our important relationships, including our relationship with our heavenly Father.

I hear many of us experienced a family Thanksgiving gathering with some ruffling of feathers to varying degrees. Unfortunately, these experiences have become too much the norm.  As we march on through this season I think we need to prepare ourselves and try to bring peace into these circumstances.

A great term has been passed on to me and when put to use, has allowed me to be peace in many situations in which I would be anything but!  Proactive Reactivity.  Read that again.  Proactive Reactivity.  Basically, it’s where we decide NOW how we will react WHEN a certain situation arises.  When my teenager releases a deep sigh and shuffles off to clean his room, when my 7 year old asks me for the 101^st time for something, when I pull in the drive and notice we are the only house on the block with out our Christmas lights up.  Our application for this season might be when your cousin, or your sister-in-law, or your own mother brings up THAT subject or speaks disrespectfully, etc. 

Let’s decide to turn towards our loved one by praying about our response now.  Ask God to arm you with a response that will let them experience the acceptance, grace, and love of Jesus through you.

My hope and prayer for us all is that we can turn toward those that are important to us and practice being peace in this sometimes stressful, but joyous season.

Nanette Haskin