Marriage

I Am A Writer

March 1, 2012 By Traci Little 31 Comments

I am a writer. I still have trouble saying it. I. am. a. writer. Little-scared-me, who hid behind classes of math and science to avoid any part of words, stories, interaction, and heaven forbid, public speaking. To speak in front of anyone would make me want to puke a little bit in my mouth. My knees rattled, face turned a hearty shade of fuchsia, and I would practically faint before uttering a word. Been there? Then God called me to teach a ladies bible study. Yeah, eh hum. Really Lord? My one fear greater than death!

God has a funny way of taking us from our comfy places and calling us to walk in vulnerable uncertainty. When He calls I have the choice to plug my ears and hum loudly, la dee dee la dooooo la la la… I can’t hear you Lord, or I can say, yes, I’m scared, but I will trust you fully.

When we trust God fully with the thing we fear the most, He always takes us to places with beauty and grace and oh the excitement! Have you trusted Him with what He is calling you to do? Are you scared? Let Him be your guide. When He calls He always equips for the task at hand. Fall back into the arms of Jesus and let Him show you how powerful He can be in your life when you tell Him yes, I will obey.

Did you know that you are a writer too? No, you may not have a book deal, or even a blog, but you are a writer! Daily, you are writing a story with your very words and actions.

As you write your story today, you are leaving a legacy to your children, your husband, and your community. With the things you say on facebook, to those hidden words you utter within your own four walls, you are typing words onto hearts, minds and lives. Really, you are!

So, dear sisters, how can we write a best seller with our life? Live in light of eternity, seek to be Spirit-led, and always say yes to Jesus when He calls you to do something you fear. You are a writer! Pages full of backspaces, white out and misspelled words, all for His glory!

Filed Under: Godly Wife, Legacy, Motherhood, Writing

Learning Together at Home: JoinTitus 2 University!

February 22, 2012 By Guest 1 Comment

I’m so thrilled to be sharing here in this new online community for ladies! What a joy when sistren walk together in unity; can I hear an “amen?”

Denise and I had the chance to talk a bit recently and she thought the readers here might like to know about a project I launched last month. Back in December, as I was studying and seeking the Lord about what exactly He wanted me to focus on as a writer and blogger and sojourner along the path of life, I ran across these old familiar verses in Titus 2:3-4…

“Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.”

And I had one of those “aha!” moments. Surely, here we have an outline for a great curriculum, if you will—a course of study we can’t go wrong with. Many ladies lament the fact that there are no “older women” nearby offering to spend time with them—most are busy with their own lives, or feel unable or unqualified to step into the scary-looking shoes of the “older woman” having not been mentored themselves. Others find that, as young mamas with little ones and carpool and soccer and chess and … and … and …

They are the ones with no discretionary time, and wish so much for a way to study and learn “together” without leaving home.

Sounded like the perfect opportunity for a whole new type of ministry! And so, Titus 2 University was born.

Since there are seven specific areas mentioned here, this is a nine-month “university.” We begin with a general overview of these topics and talk about what it means to be a woman who follows the Lord. Then for the next seven months, we’ll focus on each subject above in turn.

And here’s the really fun thing, which makes me giddy every time I think about it … some very precious “sistren” have agreed to join us! We will cover loving our husbands with Cindy Rushton; loving our children with Sally Clarkson; being sensible with Crystal Paine; being pure with Chelsea Terwilliger; working at home with SarahMae; being kind with Emily Freeman, and being subject to our own husbands with Joy Forney! And there are several more fabulous interviewees on the list.

You can get all the details and you can read more about it here.

Right now we have ladies from all over the country involved– and a few international friends, too! We’d love to have you join us! If you decide to join us from Sisters in Bloom, send me an email to let me know. I’ll make your last month of a monthly subscription free, or take $5 off the full-session purchase price. Hope to meet you soon!

Misty

Misty Krasawski is the overly-blessed mom of eight children whom she homeschools in sunshine-y Florida. She has been clinging ferociously to the hand of her Lord since she was knee-high to a grasshopper, homeschooling for the past thirteen years, and has eighteen more years ahead of her with the children who are glad she will have done most of her experimenting on those who went before. Her wonderful husband Rob has much treasure laid up for him in heaven for having been called to such a daunting task.

Filed Under: Community, Godly Wife, Guest, Legacy, Ministry Feature, Special Features

The Best Love Story Ever Told

February 14, 2012 By Natalie Snapp 52 Comments

Candy hearts. Chocolates. A dozen red roses. Fancy reservations and romantic cards filled with written sweet-nothings.

‘Tis the season of Valentine’s Day – and high expectations.

There’s something about Valentine’s Day that can pressurize even the stablest of unions – we can be going along just swimmingly and then suddenly expectations knock on the door and barge their way in like the uninvited guests they are.

While my husband and I have found a rhythm to this holiday focused on romantic love, I still remember past Valentine’s Days in which I didn’t have a romantic partner to cuddle on the couch and present me with white fuzzy teddy bears bearing a crimson heart. (Maybe the latter was a good thing.)

But in the end, the best love story ever told happened a little over 2,000 years ago.

In 2001, I surreally watched as the life I had known crumbled right before my very eyes.

My then-husband was using cocaine. He had been unfaithful and sneaky and pretty much everything else that goes with drug addiction.

My father unexpectedly passed away after a life plagued with intense alcoholism.

I still lived in shame and fear over the abortion I had chosen to have just four years prior.

And I had a cancer scare that fall.

At the age of 27, I was shattered. I thought everything I had once dreamed of would never come to fruition – I would never find love again, I would never hear the word “mommy”. I would never exchange knowing glances over a dinner table of innocent chatter and I would never cuddle under warm blankets with a husband who cherished me above all.

So I thought I would just become a career-girl but knew that I would secretly mourn the life that could have been.

But then, Jesus.

I had never had the desire to run yet one winter morning, I arose and declared that I would train for a half-marathon that spring.

I met Him, truly met Him, along a winding path on a cold January while running as fast as I could, thankful for the cold temperatures that masked the real tears streaming down my face.

“Who are you, God, and WHY?” I would ask.

Sure, I knew a little bit about Him. I attended church sporadically during my childhood but I knew nothing about the Bible. Nor did I understand who this Jesus guy was and how He fit into the equation.

So I ran.

I ran away and to and over and under and far and near. I pounded the pavement and listened to worship music and allowed Him to romance me for the first time.

“This grace, this profound love – could it be real?” I asked. ” Is it true that I can become a new creation that You love more than I can fathom and there’s nothing, even that unspeakable sin, you’ll leave unforgiven? Could You really wash me with the water through a son you were willing to sacrifice for me?”

And so we danced, He and I, back and forth through months of those long runs. Through the streaming tears and the questions and the fists in the air - and the finish line.

During our dance, I was led to Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declared the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (NIV)

He comforted and loved and romanced and I allowed myself to think that maybe I would indeed marry again and hear the word “mommy”.

And I did and I hear that word more times a day than I ever could have imagined from the mouths of three beautiful children.

It’s like a song every time and I don’t forget for one second the crown of ashes He turned into a crown of beauty.

“…I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt…” – Jeremiah 31:3-4

Filed Under: Love of God, Marriage

How Can I Find “the One”

February 10, 2012 By Kamille Scellick 55 Comments

“Mama! And then the prince came & they got married!” exclaimed my little princess loving Tay.

I’m a mom of two little girls with pink & dresses holding stock in our home. My Tay is all things girl, as she dons a dress everyday twirling with delight. When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, she replies, “I want to be a princess!”

For her, this romantic idealism is seeping in at the age of three…watching Cinderella becoming a princess, marrying the prince as they live happily ever after. I know this idealism all too well, dreaming of “one day my prince will come.”

As a teenager, I wrote my criteria for a future husband with my list tilting on the side of unrealistic expectations. From Disney to Hollywood, each infiltrating the church and sending me the message that my job was to find THE ONE holding my glass slipper. I would fall in love over & over as though butterflies constantly filled my belly. I better not miss any serendipitous moment to lose sight of fate in passing him by.

Where do we get this idea that there is only one person out there that would suite us? The myth of “the one” is dangerous in singleness or marriage.

1. How the Myth Begins
Most young girls envision their ‘prince’ and wedding day. She meets a man who fulfills her dreams like a match made in proverbial heaven. They date, get married and live happily ever after…until. Roads get bumpy, communication breaks down, problems emerge left and right. Rather than looking at the vows made, the woman wonders, “Maybe I didn’t find the one? It’s not butterflies or sparks in my stomach. What happened? Maybe the one is still out there?”

2. How I chose the One
In the opening lines of our marriage vows we said, “I, Kamille, joyfully choose you, Ben…” We believe there are many people in this world that would be compatible for us. In fact, I’m sure there is someone else who would suite Ben more than I do. We don’t focus on finding “the one,” but knowing that we chose each other as “the one.” We forsake all others, even when we don’t feel like it and the sparks aren’t there, in order to keep our covenant with God & each other. It’s because we choose one another daily.

3. Jesus Is the True One
The true heart of the matter is teaching ourselves that a prince is not the true “one,” it’s Jesus. He is the one who welcomes us into his chambers to delight & sing over us. He tells us our worth. You see, even when I chose Ben as my one partner in this life till death, it’s only Jesus who can satisfy my deepest desires & longings.

To my single sisters, walk into the throne of grace as daughters of the Most High God. Find your true love & perfect approval there; as you walk in knowing, he approves of you. This will equip you to step into a relationship. You won’t be seeking how your boyfriend or husband approves of you; but, resting in the confidence that Jesus does. And oh boy, is that man going to find that attractive.

To my married sisters, run into his chambers of grace. Love is a verb, not an emotion or feeling. It’s a daily choice to keep at it over and over again. It’s praying to love like the servant King when it’s hard. It’s choosing to joyfully take your husband and live out those for better or for worses.

He is the only true fairytale that allows us to live ever after.

Filed Under: Identity In Christ, Marriage, Single Woman

What’s Your Legacy?

February 5, 2012 By Susan Pardoe 30 Comments

We were talking in Sunday school a few weeks ago about legacy. A precious senior saint had passed away and the words that people had for her and about her were about who she was in the Lord. They talked of her witness and of her faithfulness to His Word. They talked of her love for Him. And then our teacher posed the question…

“What’s your legacy?”

It made me think. What would people say about me if I died today? What would my children and my husband say about me? My parents? My friends? My family? Would they talk about how I could piece quilts or would they talk about how I loved the Lord? Would they get smiles on their faces when they talked about the time I spent working from home or would they talk with great enthusiasm about how I reached out to others for Him?

What would my girls say about me? The ones who spend 24/7 with me? Would they remember me loving them with hugs, kisses, and words of affirmation? Or would they remember my impatience or frustration over jobs not done or school not completed?

What is MY legacy?

What I want my legacy to be…

A godly mother and wife – She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Proverbs 31:27-28

Godly teacher – Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

A wife my husband can trust – The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. Proverbs 31: 11-12

Slow to speak – Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath James 1:19 (oh my, do I need help here)

Faithful – And though shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Deuteronomy 6:5

Established a loving home – Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. Proverbs 24: 3-4

A good friend – Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. I John 4:11

What I don’t want my legacy to be…

A woman with an unruly tongue – But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:8

A contentious woman – It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house. Proverbs 25:24

A nagging wife or mom – A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike. Proverbs 27:15

Only with Jesus’ help can I do anything…

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13

I am praying that He will help me to be a godly wife, godly mother, godly friend, and godly person who…Lord willing…will leave a legacy behind that will glorify and honor Him.

What is your legacy?

Do you have things in your life you need to change?

Things on which you need to pray more?

I do. I need to pray about all of these things I’ve mentioned and I’m sure there are (and will be) more to pray about as each day, week, month, and year goes by. I can do nothing without Him. I cannot get out of bed in the morning without His strength and love.

My greatest hope is to leave a legacy that my children can tell their children…because the legacy (not me as a person, but Him working through me), will bring glory and honor to Him.

Welcome to Sisters in Bloom! Thank you for stopping by and visiting! I pray you are encouraged by what you read here in this community of women. I hope your heart will be touched by the honesty, love, and grace that is here on Sisters in Bloom.

All my best to you,