Chapters 3 and 4

Hello Ladies!

We're still planning to meet at Sarah's house @ 7pm this Wednesday night.
We'll talk about how we are doing with the book study and our accountability partners. Let's plan on discussing chapters 3 and 4 and reviewing the related questions at the back of the book.

There have been some really excellent points in these two chapters. Even though the chapters seem to be coming from opposite perspectives, the focus is still the same.....to Glorify God!

Some other things to consider:

Have there been any scriptures mentioned in the chapters that you would like to (or have) memorize?

Have there been aspects of the reading that you have been particularly challenged in ?

If/when you have failed to obey God, have you been able to apply the truth of the Gospel and press on to pursue God?

Our God is so failthful and our ever present help. I KNOW that I need to be reminded of this truth on a regular basis. Its seems to slip so quickluy from my grasp!! Aren't you grateful that He holds us so faithfully??

I'm looking forward to hearing how God is reavealing himselft you each of you. There is so much encouragement in our fellowhip together.

Love you!

Our first meeting......and our next......

We had a great first meeting last Friday night. Thank you for sharing your hearts so openly and honestly! I know I was encouraged and faith was stirred in my heart for all that God is going to do and what He is going to show us in the next few months.

We talked about our current struggles and what we are asking God to do in us as we walk this road together. Even though our struggles look different our need is the same......More of HIM. I love watching the Spirit move as He uses each of you to bring encouragement and strength to others.

One of the things we talked about was the importance of accountability and our commitment to be a "cheerleader" for each other. We wont be perfect in our attempt to mortify sin. There will be times that we fail. As partners, we're there to encourage each other in the good days and bad days.....and be a reminder of the empowering Grace that God so freely lavishes on us. What a privilege we have to be our "sisters keeper".

Sarahs testimony of how God transformed her perspective on food was especially encouraging! Only God is able to do what is impossible in our own strength. In regard to accountability, Sarah gave us some great practical questions to ask your accountability partner as a means of seeking to serve her the best way you can. Here are some of her suggested "starter" questions:

What time of the day are you most tempted to overeat (or whatever the temptation may be)?
How long does the temptation last?
What are you thinking when you are tempted?
What type of food is it?
Do you pray in those moments?

Once you have an idea of the specific issues involved, then together you can come up with a more specific plan for change and help each other put it into practice.

Some points on the more specific plan may include:

praying before your particularly difficult time
making a meal/snack plan
calling your accountability partner during particular struggles
memorizing and meditating on certain scriptures

As we said, each plan will look different for everyone. Lets pray for Gods wisdom and guidance in this. If you need help in this, you can always ask for input by posting a comment. We're all here to help each other.

Last Friday night, we also attempted to plan future meeting dates. Please check you calendar and let us know if these dates will work for you.

October 29th (evening)

November 15th (morning) or 16th(afternoon) or 22nd( morning)

December 20th (morning)

January 23rd (evening)

Feb 27th (evening)

March 27th (evening)

At our next meeting we will talk about chapters 3 and 4.

Two (or Three) are better than one.....

....especially when it comes to accountability!

So! Here are the accountability partners:

Angela and Julie
Amy and Debbie
Sarah and Jackie
Helen, Angie and Vicki

As we have talked about, we are letting each group work out the depth and practical outworking of this accountability relationship on their own. Chatting on the phone, on line, or getting together....whatever you decide is best. It may be helpful to ask each other about expectations and desires so that you can best serve one another.

As you know, our September 26th meeting will be at the Taulbee house @ 7:30pm. Hopefully everyone will have the book by that time.

Please be prepared for that meeting in the following way:

1. Write out what your struggle with food currently is. Be as specific as possible. How has God been convicting you? How are you tempted to sin when it comes to eating?

2. Write out what you are asking God to do in your life during this study. Are you asking for for freedom? In what area? What would that freedom look like??

During our meeting, we'll spend time sharing these thoughts. At the end of the study, we'll look back at our thoughts and see what God has done and how He has changed us. What an opportunity to see the Goodness of God in each of our lives!

For each of us, this struggle will look different. But we can trust that God to be faithful to reveal Himself to us at our point of need. Our hope for change rests in God alone. What a glorious promise we have!!!

Feel free to post a comment if you like!

Just a Test

I'm testing to see if you received this post. Please let me know if you did. Thanks!

A Change of Plans....

Hello Ladies!
We've had a change of plan regarding the content of our blog! As Danny Jones Says, "Change is here to stay! "

In light of our fantastic discussion on Wednesday night, we're going to use this blog to further discussion on a Book we're going to read together. Now, for Helen, Angie and Sarah, who were not able to come to last Wednesday's homegroup, please know that we extend this invitation to you as well.

God really moved in our meeting on Wednesday and though the humility of a few of the ladies, it was discovered that all of us, to some degree, are in a current struggle with glorifying God in our eating habits. We realize that there are deeper issues of the heart that God is after and we all expressed a desire to pursue God for change in this area. As David Brackin encouraged us.....we need to take the attitude of Samuel and "hack Agag to pieces" as it relates to mortifying sin in our lives.

So, in an effort to do just that, we've decided to read the book by Elyse Fitzpatrick entitled, "Love to Eat, Hate to Eat. Breaking the bondage of destructive eating habits." If you don't have the book you can order it on Amazon for about $8. Used books can be purchased for $4.

On Wednesday night we talked about what would be the most practical way to conduct this study and it was suggested that we form accountability partnerships for the purpose of more in depth questioning and accountability. We also talked about using our "Ladies Night" meetings to talk about how we are progressing.

Everyone was open to having an accountability partner picked for them. (You ladies are brave!! :) ) So we'll let you know who those folks are as soon as we know if Sarah, Angie and Helen would like to participate.

We'll talk more about details regarding the chapters we'll read and at what pace we'll move through the material.

For now, please let me know if you are on board by posting a comment and letting me know what you think. Please also let me know if you have any questions.

Our next Ladies night is planned for September 26th at the Taulbee house.
We can discuss more at that time.
But for now, if you have the book and want to read chapter 1 and 2 by that time, that would be great!!!!

As a side note......
If you would like to read the rest of the article by JR Miller, here is the link so that you can do that.

www.gracegems.org/Miller/christian_wife.htm

I would also strongly encourage you to read the Metro Moms Blog post on August 19th
(filed under: marriage)

http://test.metromomsblog.org

Sheree Phillips made some EXCELLENT points regarding sharing challenges in your marriage with others. It is certainly worth reading to gain some valuable perspective.

Faithfulness

Hello Ladies!

Here is the next installment of the article. Again, I would love to hear your thoughts! I'll post my too.

"What is the true ideal of a godly wife? It is not something lifted above the common experiences of life, not an ethereal angel feeding on ambrosia and moving in the realms of imagination. In some European cities they sell to the tourist models of their cathedrals made of alabaster, whiter than snow. But so delicate are these alabaster shrines that they must be kept under glass covers or they will be soiled by the dust; and so frail that they must be sheltered from every crude touch, lest their lovely columns may be shattered. They are very graceful and beautiful—but they serve no lofty purpose. No worshipers can enter their doors. No melody rises to heaven from their aisles. So there are ideals of womanhood which are very lovely, full of graceful charms, pleasing, attractive—but which are too delicate and frail for this wearisome, storm-swept world of ours. Such ideals the poets and the novelists sometimes give us. They appear well to the eye—as they are portrayed for us on the brilliant page. But of what use would they be in the life which the real woman of our day has to live? A breath of earthly air would stain them! One day of actual experience in the hard toils and sore struggles of life would shatter their frail loveliness to fragments! We had better seek for ideals which will not be soiled by a crude touch, nor blown away by a stiff breeze, and which will grow lovelier as they move through life's paths of sacrifice and toil. The true wife needs to be no mere poet's dream, no artist's picture, no ethereal lady too fine for use—but a woman healthful, strong, practical, industrious, with a hand for life's common duties, yet crowned with that beauty which a high and noble purpose gives to a soul.

One of the first essential elements in a wife is faithfulness, in the largest sense. The heart of her husband safely trusts in her. Perfect confidence is the basis of all true affection. A shadow of doubt destroys the peace of married life. A true wife, by her character and by her conduct, proves herself worthy of her husband's trust. He has confidence in her affection; he knows that her heart is unalterably true to him. He has confidence in her management; he confides to her the care of his household. He knows that she is true to all his interests, that she is prudent and wise, not wasteful nor extravagant. It is one of the essential things in a true wife—that her husband shall be able to leave in her hands the management of all domestic affairs, and know that they are safe. Wifely wastefulness and extravagance have destroyed the happiness of many a household, and wrecked many a home. On the other hand, many a man owes his prosperity to his wife's prudence and her wise administration of household affairs.

Every true wife makes her husband's interests her own. While he lives for her, carrying her image in his heart and toiling for her all the days—she thinks only of what will do him good. When burdens press upon him—she tries to lighten them by sympathy, by cheer, by the inspiration of love. She enters with zest and enthusiasm into all his plans. She is never a weight to drag him down; she is strength in his heart to help him ever to do nobler and better things.

All wives are not such blessings to their husbands. Woman is compared sometimes to the vine, while man is the strong oak to which it clings. But there are different kinds of vines. Some vines wreathe a robe of beauty and a crown of glory for the tree, covering it in summer days with green leaves and in the autumn hanging among its branches rich purple clusters of fruit. Other vines twine their arms about it—only to sap its very life and destroy its vigor, until it stands decaying and unsightly, stripped of its splendor, discrowned and fit only for the fire!

A true wife makes a man's life nobler, stronger, grander, by the omnipotence of her love, turning all the forces of manhood upward and heavenward. While she clings to him in holy confidence and loving dependence, she brings out in him whatever is noblest and richest in his being. She inspires him with courage and earnestness. She beautifies his life. She softens whatever is crude and harsh in his habits or his spirit. She clothes him with the gentler graces of refined and cultured manhood. While she yields to him and never disregards his lightest wish, she is really his queen, ruling his whole life and leading him onward and upward in every proper path.

But there are wives also like the vines which cling only to blight. Their dependence is weak, indolent helplessness. They lean—but impart no strength. They cling—but they sap the life. They put forth no hand to help. They loll on sofas or promenade the streets; they dream over sentimental novels; they gossip in drawing rooms. They are utterly useless—and being useless they become burdens even to manliest, tenderest love. Instead of making a man's life stronger, happier, richer—they absorb his strength, impair his usefulness, hinder his success and cause him to be a failure among men. To themselves also the result is wretchedness. Dependence is beautiful when it does not become weakness and inefficiency. The true wife clings and leans—but she also helps and inspires. Her husband feels the mighty inspiration of her love in all his life. Toil is easier, burdens are lighter, battles are less fierce—because of the face that waits in the quiet of the home, because of the heart that beats in loving sympathy whatever the experience, because of the voice that speaks its words of cheer and encouragement when the day's work is done. No wife knows how much she can do to make her husband honored among men, and his life a power and a success, by her loyal faithfulness, by the active inspiration of her own sweet life."

Lets Begin

Here are the first four paragraphs of the sermon.......

THE CHRISTIAN WIFE

by J. R. Miller

It is a high honor for a woman to be chosen from among all womankind, to be the wife of a godly and true man. She is lifted up to be a crowned queen. Her husband's manly love laid at her feet, exalts her to the throne of his life. Great power is placed in her hands. Sacred destinies are reposed in her keeping. Will she wear her crown beneficently? Will she fill her realm with beauty and with blessing? Or will she fail in her holy trust? Only her married life can be the answer.

A woman may well pause before she gives her hand in marriage, and inquire whether he is worthy, to whom she is asked to surrender so much; whether he can bring true happiness to her life; whether he can meet the cravings of her nature for love and for companionship; whether he is worthy to be lifted to the highest place in her heart and honored as a husband should be honored. She must ask these questions for her own sake, else the dream may fade with the bridal wreath—and she may learn, when too late, that he for whom she has left all, and to whom she has given all—is not worthy of the sacred trust, and has no power to fill her life with happiness, to awaken her heart's chords, to touch her soul's depths.

But the question should be turned and asked from the other side. Can she be a true wife to him who asks for her hand? Is she worthy of the love that is laid at her feet? Can she be a blessing to the life of him who would lift her to the throne of his heart? Will he find in her all the beauty, all the tender loveliness, all the rich qualities of nature, all the deep sympathy and companionship, all the strengthful, uplifting love, all the sources of joy and help, which he seems now to see in her? Is there any possible future for him, which she could not share? Are there needs in his soul, or hungers, which she cannot answer? Are there chords in his life which her fingers cannot awaken?

Surely it is proper for her to question her own soul for him—while she bids him question his soul for her. A wife has a part in the song of wedded love—if it is to be a harmony. She holds in her hands on her wedding day—precious interests, sacred destinies, and holy responsibilities, which, if disclosed to her sight at once, might well appall the bravest heart. Her opportunity is one which the loftiest angel might covet. Not the happiness only of a manly life—but its whole future of character, of influence, of growth, rests with her.

Wow! This "high honor" of being a Christian wife requires surrender and sacrifice. Can you see where God has called you to this as well (married or single)? What impresses you about this section of the sermon?

The Christian Wife

Hello Ladies! Thanks for coming to this site! I've officially entered the world of blogging!!

As I mentioned in the email, I'd like to invite you to work through and article written by a pastor and author in the early 1900's by the name of J.R. Miller. I will post a couple of paragraphs of the article and ask for your comments as to what stood out to you. Occasionally there will be a question for you to think about and answer if you choose to do so. Even though the article is written to married women, I believe we can all benefit from the material as we seek to grow in fellowship with one another.