Pleasing God

5 Steps For Determining God’s Will

December 4, 2011 By Courtney 26 Comments

Lately, I have wrestled with trying to figure out God’s will for some areas in my life. Two weeks ago, my pastor gave this 5 step process for determining God’s will:

1. God’s will is revealed in his written word – the Bible.

2. God often uses wise people in our lives to advise us and help us determine God’s will.

3. God reveals his will through open and closed doors.

4. God reveals his will through inner peace or turmoil.

5. God uses our obedience for his glory.

Number 5 resonates with me during this holiday season…because Mary the mother of Jesus comes to mind – her obedience to God’s plans are staggering!

Have you ever thought about Mary’s friendships and how they must have been affected by this baby that appeared to show up out of wedlock…how some of the women probably talked behind her back and said “ya right – an angel appeared to her!” Those stares and the slander must have stung.

But Mary followed God no matter what the cost.

Then Mary gave birth to this perfectly behaved child…do you know how hard it’d be - to be friends with a new mom whose child is PERFECT!!! Let me be the first to raise my hand and say that going to a play date is already intimidating for me…I never know what my sugar plums are going to do next! But then to live next door to the woman whose child NEVER does anything wrong…oh dear…again Mary was most likely the talk of the town!

But Mary followed God no matter what the cost.

Mary enters the scene in the Bible at Jesus’ conception and then she is only mentioned a few times throughout Jesus’ life. She is there at the foot of the cross on the day that he is crucified. Jesus was her son and Jesus was her Savior – can you imagine? What did people think of her – the mother of this perfect man? The mother of this hated man?

But Mary followed God no matter what the cost.

This must have been a hardship yet we never see her asserting herself – trying to control Jesus so people will think better of them. She understood she was just the vessel that God used to bring this God/Man to earth. How her heart must have ached watching her son be beaten and nailed to the cross…the cost…

Though Mary could not possibly understand all that God was doing – she was open to God’s plan for her life. She offered all of herself – her pride, her plans, her time and talents to be a servant to God. She understood that her life was not her own. She followed God no matter what the cost.

I Corinthians 6:20 says “You are not your own. You were bought at a price, therefore, honor God with your body.”

This baby Jesus, who we are about to celebrate the birth of, was born to pay the price for my sins. I am not my own…

I want to live my life completely surrendered to him no matter what the cost.

And yet,

falter

because of the cost…

and I

wrestle

because of the cost…

and I doubt God’s will

because there seems to be a cost attached…

and then I am reminded of this beautiful young woman Mary…

and I find strength.

And then I reflect on her son Jesus and I’m reminded that – yes – there is a cost…but not the selfish one I’m so focused on…there was a cost for my sins and it was paid by Jesus’ shed blood on the cross…and I serve a Worthy Risen Savior…I surrender!

Walk with the King!

Courtney

Filed Under: Christmas, Fear, Holidays, Pleasing God

Comparing Myself to a REAL1950′s Wife

September 8, 2010 By Courtney 45 Comments

On the Rachael Ray Show I was dubbed a “1950′s Wife“. But my grandmother, a mother of 4, is the REAL 1950′s wife. She is ALSO a Proverbs 31 woman. On Mother’s Day we sat in the Cheesecake Factory and I had my notebook and pen in hand and I wrote and wrote and wrote about what life was like in the 1950′s. Here’s some of what I learned.

My grandma had a weekly schedule that my mother rattled off as quickly as my grandmother did!! So this must be where I get my scheduling tendencies - it’s in my genes lol!!!

Mondays – Wash Clothes (by hand in sudsy water, ring it, rinse it, ring it, hang it outside to dry. This took all day.)

Tuesdays – Iron ( Iron everything – shirts, pants, and underwear. There was no permanent press – everything was very wrinkly. This took all day.)

Wednesdays – Mend and work on new sewing projects (She sewed patches onto pants and mended socks. My grandmother sewed all of my mother’s clothes until she reached the middle of high school.)

Thursdays – Cleaning of bedrooms and bathrooms (They only had one car which was normal in those days. Grandpa did the grocery shopping and grandma worked the garden.)

Fridays – Cleaning of living room, dining room and kitchen (Grandma baked every day. She made cinnamon rolls, pies, donuts and cakes from scratch.)

Saturdays – Prepare for Sunday by cooking double meals and giving baths etc. (Grandma always made hamburgers for dinner on Saturdays because they were fast. Then she focused on the Sunday Roast and sheet cake that they would eat after church.)

Sundays – Day of Rest

Grandma’s life was full and busy as she lovingly cared for her family. She served God by serving her family. She worked with eager hands (Prov. 31:13b), she set about her work vigorously (Prov. 31:17), she watched over the affairs of her household and did not eat the bread of idleness (Prov. 31:27). And the most beautiful part was she feared the Lord (Prov. 31:30).

Do I want to be a 1950′s wife? Not really, I certainly do love my modern day conveniences. But if there’s a 1950′s wife I’d like to emulate, it’s not June Cleaver – it’s my grandmother. Her God and her family were of prime importance and her daily priorities show this to be true.

As Proverbs 31:31 says “Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.”

My grandmother’s works are worthy of my praise. And I pray that my generation too would be remarkable in our care for our families and homes and that we too would be worthy of praise. We must work with eager hands! The world may not praise us but one day our husband and children will rise up and call us blessed and our works will bring praise. So endeavor today to make your God and your family your first priority as my REAL 1950′s grandmother did.

Walk with the King!

I am linked up here today:

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Word Filled Wednesday’s and Wordful Wednesday.

Filed Under: Pleasing God, Proverbs 31

Welcome New Readers

June 11, 2010 By Courtney 74 Comments

In the past day or two, there’s been rumblings of anger from some who oppose the Summer Marriage Challenge. First, something popped up on youtube, then on twitter, then on a blog post (that received over 200 comments from women – most were displeased) and on blogfrog. As news spread about this challenge, some women were displeased that other women would actually pursue such a challenge.

I have seen my visitor numbers sky rocket as a result of this controversy and I know some of these women are reading this post so “welcome to Women Living Well!”. I am honestly happy that you are here even if you are not pleased with me!!! I’m ok with that! If we were meeting in person, I’d invite you to sit at my kitchen table and have a glass of lemonade and chat but alas, we are in blogland.

There are so many things that have been twisted over cyberspace that I could not possibly attempt to untwist them. So, instead let’s go straight to the root of the problem.

The foundational issue is this. Do you believe there is a God? Do you believe that we can know God personally? Do you believe that the Bible is the Word of God?

How you answer those three fundamental questions, will affect how you see everything else on my blog, facebook, twitter, youtube etc.. My answer to those three questions are yes.

1. I believe that the Bible is God’s inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word and is the sole written revelation that rules the faith and practice for all Christians and alone can bind the conscience. I believe that God has preserved His Word and that by His power it has been kept from being lost, destroyed, or diluted with error (2 Timothy 3:16; Psalm 119:89; 1 Peter 1:23, 25).

2. I believe in one God, Creator of all things, perfect in love and holiness, Who exists as three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14;1 Peter 1:2).

3. I believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and entered human form by the miracle of the Virgin Birth, that He lived a sinless life, and that He died for our sins. Christ is the only mediator through whose work we are redeemed. I believe that He rose again on the third day and now sits at the right hand of God as our Advocate (Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:1, 14, 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:3-7; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 1:3; 1 John 2:1).

The title of my blog is Women Living Well. Jesus said in John 4:13 “Everyone who drinks this water will be thristy again (he was referring to physical water in a well), but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

I believe that when a woman repents of her sin, believes in Jesus and pursues a personal relationship with God by drinking from the living well (that is God’s word) she will live well! Hence, the name of the blog – - Women Living Well!

So God’s word is my authority and the principles I encourage on this site flow from the Bible and my personal relationship with Jesus. If you are uncomfortable with the principles that are taught on Women Living Well then your issue is not with me. It’s with God.

If you are unsure what the Bible says or just know tid bits, I would encourage you to open a Bible and begin to read. Here’s an overview of the Bible and where to start. I encourage you to stick around for a while and lurk and see what it’s all about. If you are still angry with me – I will not be debating with you. There are many blogs out there that support your view. This blog is a safe haven for those who believe the Bible. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you will come again!

Walk with the King!

Filed Under: Pleasing God

Teaching Our Children to Do Chores

April 29, 2010 By Courtney 18 Comments

I was at my friend Jen’s home, when I caught sight of this gem box! I had to take a photo and share it with you!!!

In our home we use chore packs which I blogged about earlier. I copied this method from the Duggar’s Show (the Duggar’s use the Maxwell’s system from Managers of Their Chores).

But in my friend Jen’s home, they are using the gem method! Here’s the box she has made of gems and this is how it works:

Each time she sees something that needs to be done – she asks one of her girls to please do the task. When they are finished she has them take a gem out of the box and drop it into their own cup. If it was a minor task she has them get a 10 cent gem. If it was a major task they pick a 50 cent gem. At the end of the week, she tallies up the gems total value and gives the children their allowance and then they start over fresh the next week.

If I remember correctly, she also awards them with gems for other good deeds that may go unnoticed. If they help without asking she would award them with a gem. This is a simple method for someone who has groan to loathe charts (I loathe charts because I am terribly inconsistent with them!)

As I walked through Jen’s kitchen I saw another interesting system on the window sill! These cups sat there:
I again inquired about her cups and she shared how she moves the marbles from cup to cup based on good and bad behavior. This visual reminder that mommy is watching and daddy can see how the day went is an incentive to do what is right and gain praise rather than do the things that make mommy and daddy sad.

Mrs. Joseph Wood (a blogging mommy of 10!) speaks about chores over at A Moment with MOM and she says:

From the moment my children are born we teach them that they have a vital role in the family. Our family can not do all that God has planned for us if we do not all work together in harmony. We continually express the Biblical directive to serve others, esteem others, and to lay down our lives for one another. My husband and I have had to be the first example of this type of love and service. We were created to serve for His Glory and we are honored to do so!

In fact in my home, there is no greater honor to strive for than to be called, A Servant of Christ. That is the highest honor that we can attain! Therefore, we must learn to crucify our selfish desires and lay down our lives daily for each other… starting right here in our home!

Don’t fool yourself in thinking that your child can be so good and serve so well in public but is quite the opposite in your home. Sometimes you will see this type of “eye service” in children but that is the not the heart work that God desires. If a child truly has a heart of service they will be serving at home first and then in their church, community and the world. If they can not serve in the home then all they do in the public eye is of little worth.

Take the time today to “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” Proverbs 22:6.