Revelation 7:17

"For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

Mr. John, Mrs. Naomi, and family, we will be praying for you and your loved ones during the loss of your brother. "...and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes..."

All my Desire...

In my devotions yesterday, Psalms 38:9a was the scripture.

"Lord, all my desire is before Thee..."

There are times in our lives where we feel like we are at a stand still, and all our heart's desires are waiting to be fulfilled. You have prayed and prayed, but no answer seems to come, and we think that our heavenly Father does not see or care or want our desires to be fulfilled. Isn't it such a comfort to know that all our desire is before Him? That He knows what will be fulfilled in His perfect timing? In my devotion, it went on to say this:

Only a simple word. This afternoon, words would not come when I tried to pray, and this troubled me; and then it was as if He, Who is never far away, said, What does it matter about words, when all thy desire is before Me? Perhaps you, too, find that words will not come when you wish they would. So I pass on my comfort.

~Amy Carmichael

This was such an encouragement to me! To know that my Father knows even my insignificant desires! Mama has spoken in some ladies' meetings before, and she has told the story of how one day, she just had the desire for a stick of gum, but didn't have any and wasn't going anywhere to get any. Well, when she went out to check the mail, there was her stick of gum! The Lord fulfilled her smallest desire!

Isn't the Lord good? So, my encouragement to you, my sister and brother in Christ, take hope God knows your desires! Whether you want a child, a family, a husband or wife, a new job, salvation of a loved one, take hope the Lord knows...God is so good!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Happy Birthday, Sarah! You are one of my "bestest" friends! Hope you have a wonderful 18th b-day!

I love you!

Wellness Update...and prayer requests!

Just an update on things going on here at our house! We are all nearly over this "sickness"! Rebekah, Bethany, and I are over it...except for a cough here and there, but Daddy, Mama, and Katie are still battling "it"! They are hopefully on the last day of it! So, please keep us in your prayers still! And our church family!

A few prayer requests:

*Good health for our family and church

*We have a new problem with our house

*New converts...little girl, named Julie and her parents

Thanks for your prayers!

Have a great week!

Thankful Tuesday's...

As many of ya'll have probably noticed (no, not the amount of ya'll's that I use...haha) but I have not been posting a Random Picture Thursday post for a while! Well, I was thinking...for the month of November, we will be having Thankful Tuesday's!!

We should be thankful every day for the blessings that the Lord has given us, but so often we become wrapped up in our circumstances. We have so many "things" and have been blessed in so many ways that we become so used to the blessings!

Each week on Tuesday, I will something that I am thankful for or a prayer that has been answered, and if any of ya'll have something that you are thankful for or an answered prayer, please leave a comment! We would all love to hear about how the Lord has blessed you, too!

*I had an answer to prayer this week! I am starting two new piano students!!! While I have been sick this week, it has given me a little more time to pray, and I was asking the Lord to send me a few more students. Well, someone just stopped by the church and asked daddy if I was still giving piano lessons and asked if I had any open times! I am so excited!!! The Lord is truly good! I am so thankful for this...Plus, one of our kids, her father accepted Christ as his Saviour! Praise the Lord!

<< Psalm 107 >>

1 O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
3 And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
4 They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
6 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
7 And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
8 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
10 Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;
11 Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:

12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
13 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.
15 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
16 For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.
17 Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
18 Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
19 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
21 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
22 And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
23 They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
24 These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end.
28 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
31 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
32 Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33 He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;
34 A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
35 He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.
36 And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;
37 And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.
38 He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.
39 Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.
40 He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.
41 Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.
42 The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.
43 Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.

Jennifer's Daybook...

FOR TODAY...November 2, 2009

Outside my window...cloudy, 50 something-degree weather, hopefully the sun will shine! I haven't been outside in 6 days except for stepping under the carport! I am so ready to be out...I would not wish this sickness on my worst enemy...hopefully I don't have any enemies...hahaha...

I am thinking...about Thanksgiving and Christmas...can you believe we are already in November?!? I love the holidays! We kind of start sneaking Christmas music in the car...and we bought 2 new cds from the Target Dollar aisle the other day by the London Symphony! For a dollar a piece!

I am creating...this post, I have some work to do for daddy for church which I have gotten behind on since I have been sick...

I am thankful for...being well...I am so thankful for good health! The Lord has blessed us with a healthy family...

From the kitchen...I made a lemon pound cake yesterday for Sunday dinner.

I am wearing...a denim skirt and a long sleeve shirt...

I am going...to hopefully teach music tomorrow...work on some church stuff for daddy...teach music again...go to church on Wednes.

I am reading...So Much More by the Botkin Sisters

I am hearing...the heater...my family...

My favorite things...spending time with family...buying Christmas presents...listening to Christmas music...watching Christmas movies...the good ones...(like White Christmas, Holiday Inn, Season for Miracles, It's A Wonderful Life) I love this time of year...

God's Been Good Monday...The Calling of a Lady Part 4

This is the final "Calling of a Woman" posts done by Rebecca at Rebecca's Reflections. These post have been so encouraging to me, and she has said exactly what I wanted to say, but I have to say she says it so much better than I could have! My thoughts run ahead of my typing...which I noticed after I emailed a friend yesterday! :D Thanks again, Rebecca, for allowing me to post these!

This is the final part of my series on the calling of a woman. I apologize for the delay in writing this post. It seems that I have had an especially difficult time in putting what I believe into words. I feel such a burden to make everything clear to all of you. I pray that this series of posts has been a help and blessing to you! Even if you have not been in agreement with everything that has been said, I hope that at least you have been challenged to reevaluate what you believe in the light of God's Word.

In Part 1 of this series, my original question was: What is the calling of a woman? More specifically, I asked: Is a woman called to a man or to a ministry (or to another occupation)? If you have been reading my previous posts, you have probably already guessed what my position is concerning the calling of a woman. This issue is something that I have thought about for a long time. I have asked counsel from people and have studied the Word of God to help me to understand a woman's calling. I have come to the conclusion that, if it is God's will for a woman to marry, she is called to her husband.

Before I delve into the reasons for this conviction, I think that it is necessary that I address the woman who is unmarried. Realistically, I understand that not every woman will get married. God, in His sovereignty, sometimes uses an unmarried woman to do a special work which could not be accomplished by a married woman. The Apostle Paul, by the inspiration of God, speaks of this in Scripture: "There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband (I Corinthians 7:34)."

With that being said, allow me to explain why I believe what I do concerning the calling of a woman. I believe that a woman is called to her husband for the following reasons:

• The creation of the woman: she was made for the man.
  



• The purpose of the woman: she was made to be the help meet for the man.
  



• The role of the woman: she was commanded to be in submission to the man.

There are many evidences of the nature of the creation of woman and the purpose for which she was created. In a courtship, the man pursues; the woman responds. In a wedding ceremony, the man takes; the woman is given. In a marriage, the man leads; the woman follows. Ultimately, a marriage is a beautiful picture of the relationship between Christ and the Church--the man is a picture of Christ; the woman of the church.

But as I said in Part 1 of this series, there is much confusion today concerning the calling of a woman. I will address two areas of confusion: a woman's calling to a career and a woman's calling to a ministry.

The Calling to a Career

The majority of women today have employment outside the home. Most women work for one of two reasons: either they work to contribute to their family's income or they work because they feel that their job gives them a sense of worth or fulfillment. Apparently, these women feel some sort of calling to their careers--or else they would not be working, right? (I suppose that not all women express their sentiments in these exact words.)

However, I believe that the Word of God shows plainly that a woman's place is in the home. I challenge you to find an example of a woman in the Bible who works outside the home. The Lord's plan has always been for the man to provide for the family and for the woman to care for the home. In fact, such has been the case until very recent times.

If a woman is married, she is called to be a wife. If she has children, she is called to be a mother. What could be more fulfilling than being a wife and mother? How could she possibly find joy in any other pursuit?

The Calling to a Ministry

There are many young women today who say that they are called to be a pastor's wife or a missionary's wife. Some even say that they are called to a specific place of ministry. But can a woman pinpoint a specific area or place of ministry when she has not yet met her husband?
Did God intend for women to first determine their own calling and then find a man who shares the same calling? Suppose a woman does marry a man who shares her "calling". What happens if the man is later called to another location or to a different area of ministry? I surely hope that the woman does not insist on staying because she has been "called" to that particular ministry.
In some instances, the Lord does not lead a man to serve in ministry until after he has already married. I have heard of such stories in which the man's wife protests saying, "Well, the Lord didn't call me!"I contend that the Lord did call her. Whether she realizes it or not, she answered God's call the day she agreed to marry her husband.

I feel a little hesitant about what I am about to say. Biblically, I cannot find evidence of a woman being called to a ministry at all. I believe that the Lord most certainly does call men to serve Him today. I believe that He calls women also--but probably not in the way which is commonly thought. The Lord calls women to serve alongside their husbands--to be the completer and the helper which is suitable to him. If it is God's will that a woman marry, she is first and foremost called to be the wife of her husband.

Some Final Thoughts

I will admit that I have not always believed everything that I have put forth in this post. I am speaking specifically of the issue of a woman's calling to a ministry. When the Lord first began to work in my heart concerning this, I found myself trying to make excuses. But when I finally accepted what I believe is God's plan for women, I felt such a relief! Truly, God's plan for women and the purpose for which she was created is a beautiful thing!

Truthfully, I still hope with all of my heart that the Lord allows me to serve Him alongside my husband someday. But the Lord knows what is best. Whatever my future husband's vocation may be, I will know of a certainty that the Lord has called me to be his wife. Whether the Lord calls my husband to a foreign land or to stay here in America, I will go with him. I will go with him because he will be my husband--I will be his wife.

Just for fun...

Sometimes, you just need something to make you laugh! Hope ya'll enjoy! This is one of my favorites!