Day 68 5-29

I am sick today (the last family member of 4-thought I beat it) and reading doesn't sound that appealing as I am nauseous, achy, tired, and have a headache, but I know I need to keep trucking and spend some time with Jesus. I won't be at my best and I can guarantee it will be quick, but I'll push through it.

I prayed for how much of a blessing my local church is. Also, I just wanted God to know that I recognized His presence and power in my life before I went to sleep. 

Did my best at finishing Chapter 7 in the book Daniel (vs.15-28).

The "Ancient of Days" is God right?

This chapter has definitely switched writing styles and content dramatically. In to prophecy which is interesting and at times hard to follow as well.

I hope I don't feel like this tomorrow:(

Day 67 5-28

All my family got together at my mom's today and it was a lot of fun. Wish my dad could see us all now. He would have had so much fun with his grandkids. 

I just want to end the day with the Word of God permeating through me, no notes, just reading His Word...Dan 7:1-14

Day 66 5-27

We are on a little family getaway (actually my mother's day surprise!) to stay the night at a hotel in Topeka and go the zoo and swim, etc. Mark and I fell asleep with the kiddos at like 8:30 so I just woke up at 11ish and here I sit ready and eager to spend time with my Lord. I almost missed a day. I'm actually surprised I didn't sleep until tomorrow, but I hadn't washed my face or brushed my teeth or anything.

Anyway, it's nice and quiet and peaceful seeing my family asleep next to me. I decided to continue our life group study of Daniel by reading Job-Shadowing Daniel.

Basically the book is continuing to emphasize the importance of seeing our value for the kingdom in the everyday work we do and that we are ALWAYS engaging in "full-time ministry". It's not something we cram into the weekends or after work. We shouldn't see our lives as doing a lot of meaningless work and a little ministry work. God wants our lives to be unified as worship to God all the time.

This quote really stuck out me on pg.84..."the sovereign God delegated to human beings made in His likeness the authority to represent Him by ruling the earth for Him." That is some pretty powerful stuff makes me feel empowered, affirmed, and super special.

Another thing I found interesting is the author talked about how King Neb. clearly was used by God in ruling the earth and His people, despite his own spiritual blindness. He produced conditions which God's saving message could flourish (I Tim 2:1-4). When else has this happened? Did Neb. ever receive God in his heart?

Better head to bed now:)

Day 65 5-26

My sorority sisters just left and I am bummed, but we had such a good time over the past two days with our kiddos. I did my quiet time today outside on the porch as suggested by my friend and the it felt great. The sun was shining. I had a frozen Pibb I had put in the fridge earlier. My dog lay at my feet. I started off with praying letting God know that I recognized His presence and authority in my life and I wanted to make Him proud. I thanked Him for my friends, Tamara and Mandy, that were just here. I specifically prayed a protection over them both spiritually and physically and I prayed for protection for their marriages as well. I also prayed that they continue to lean on You during this so important season of life of motherhood. What a blessing friends are:)

After praying, I decided to read a little more about Daniel, Babylon, and King Nebuchadnezzar in a reference book we had about People and Places of the Bible. I didn't really learn to much more probably because I was a little annoyed at how much of a secular feel the book had.  It kept calling what happened in the Bible tales and referenced other books a lot. It was interesting to learn however that the book is written in both Aramaic and Hebrew and that some think it was written by multiple authors. Also, many or some (not sure) consider it the latest book of the Hebrew Bible. I am not sure what is considered the Hebrew Bible, OT? I will ask Marky Mark when he gets home.

Anyway, then I continued where I had left off in the Daniel in the Bible. I was enjoying just reading the Bible without necessarily dissecting it, and I ended up reading all of chapters 4-6. It is quite eventful and the sovereignty of God sure shines through. I am also intrigued by how much the kings, especially Darius really liked Daniel. For a king, he really did some cool things concerning Daniel. He tried everything he could for Daniel not to be thrown in the lion's den. He fasted from food and entertainment the night Daniel was actually in the lion's den and the Bible says in the morning, he ran to the den where Daniel was and cried out to him hoping he was still alive and was overjoyed when he found out he had been spared. I think he truly believed in Daniel's god and the power he was capable of.  I love King Darius' response to all this...

Daniel 6: 26- 27

" Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth:

May you prosper greatly! I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For He is the living God and he endures forever;  His kingdom will not be destroyed,

His dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”

What an incredible story of God's impact! I am so glad I have it to read and reflect upon so many years later.

Day 64 5-25

Main take away point that I had during my brief reading of Job-Shadowing Daniel...

God uses people in ordinary circumstances to sustain life on earth! We have a purpose in the job's we are doing. We just have to see it through God's eyes. Govt keeps us in order, farmers help feed us, etc. God created everything but didn't bring rain until He had workers to take of it. Us.

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My prayers tonight...

- safe travels for my sorority sisters who are traveling home from our visit in KC

- healing for Gracie and Sam

Day 63 5-24

My focused prayers during my QT today...

- For the people of Joplin to turn to You Lord and not run away, for protection and to feel Your love and presence, to grieve, to heal

- for a general spiritual and physical protection over members of my life group

- praise for what a blessing it is to have most of our family in town

- for protection, strength, and comfort for my Aunt Lana is going through a difficult time

- for a heart to be softened to receive You

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I read the introduction to Part II of the book we are reading in Life Group. I believe it is going to help us visualize what ministry looks like in the workplace.

Then I read Dan 4:1-18 just to simply read it.

I did end up writing some questions down to look into later...

- Is this after the fire incident?

- Does it open with Neb saying this?

Day 62 5-23

Again focused my QT on our life group study book, Job-Shadowing Daniel. I am really enjoying it and learning a lot. 

My take away points from Chapter 4...

In order to be a Daniel, I have to decide on issues in my heart that I will take a stance on beforehand. What matters? What will I not falter on? What things threaten my soul's health? I have to dare to be different and to make a plan if that situation arises. I don't have to dodge the issue either or make a big scene or anything. I should look for creative ways to stay true to my relationship with Jesus while preserving my relationship with whoever I am with as Daniel did time after time. As it says in Ps 86:11, "Give me an undivided heart."

Another aha moment for me was recognizing that He expects me as Christian to sometimes enter spiritually hazardous environments. It changed my perspective a bit. I sometimes was relying on the fact that because Jesus was Jesus He could do things and go places that we didn't have to or shouldn't. Now I know there are boundaries for us all of course, but there needs to light where there is darkness. I thought it was interesting that the Old Testament relied on isolationism for God's people, similar to the Amish world, but the New Testament lifted this. I spent some time thinking about that and what this means for us now.

May the Word of Christ live richly in me and make me strong! (1 John 2:14) and may my spiritual immune system be the life of Christ in me!

Day 61 5-22

I read our life group study book, Job-Shadowing Daniel, today for my QT. The author focused on words to bring my true self concept into focus. This was the one that stuck out the most to me...

I AM A TEMPLE. I house God, literally. I had never really thought about it in this way before or I guess took the time to process it truly. Those three words are so powerful and empowering- "I House God". That's amazing. The book talked about how when others come in contact with me they should notice the presence of God and that He lives in me in a special way.

Other notes I took concerning points that stuck out to me from the chapter...

- As far as we know, Daniel never let go of his God-given identity, in spite of worldly pressures designed to erase and replace his identity with a false one.

- I have to commit everyday to training myself, specifically my mind to think of who I am in biblical terms

- All of this requires from me an exercise of faith

Day 60 5-21

Ended up being another eventful QT again... I sat down super late again to have my appointment with God. I prayed for about 5 min and as I opened my Bible, I heard a strange sound. I thought at first it was our washer and dryer, but as I listened closely the intensity of it increased and it became clear to me that it was the tornado sirens. I am not a fan of storms to say the least. They terrify me because there is nothing we can do about them coming. We were in the path of it and I wasn't taking any chances. So, against Mark's will :) we scooped up the kiddos and put them in a pack n play together in our basement. The sirens went on for a long time and our TV went out as well so I was super scared. Couldn't quite get my brain settled and cleared to continue my QT, but I for sure was praying for His protection. Needless to say though, after a little while, I did fall asleep in my K-State bag chair in the basement:) I can sleep anywhere I think.

Day 59 5-20

Going to spend my QT in the actual book of Daniel to help me gain a better understanding of the portion of the book we are studying in Life Group titled Job-Shadowing Daniel.

Daniel 3 take aways...

- Love and am empowered by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's boldness and confidence before the king when confronted about not worshiping or bowing down to the king's giant golden idol he had made

  Dan 3:16-18   "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.  But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” 

- didn't know the soldiers died who took them to the fiery furnace. It was that hot they melted carrying the three men up to the furnace. The king had the heat turned up super high.

- Wow!! It's been a while since I read this. Send's chills up my body and the hair raised on my arms. This is incredible. Glory to God. Scripture below...

Dan 3:24-25 "Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”  He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” 

- This crazy, unpredictable, extremely powerful, brutal, and wealthy king, responded surprisingly humble, which had to be tough for a man like him. God can bring anyone to their knees.

 Dan 3: 26-30  "Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

 So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

 "Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.  Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon. "

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Ended with praying over the girls in my Life Group and their prayer requests., and for Ms. June Bug to be healed from her croup cough:(

 

Day 58 5-19

Focused my QT today on our Life Group study of Daniel, specifically the book Job-Shadowing Daniel by Larry Peabody. I highly recommend reading it.

Here are my notes from it, basically what stuck out to me...

p. 52 Daniels new name did nothing to change the way he saw himself

p. 53 Daniel speaks boldly - not with a fleshly boldness, but with confidence in God and God's acceptance of him as a messenger

p. 55-58 on using the term "layperson" and "laity"  - a demeaning lie that there is a two level hierarchy among those that follow Jesus. It limits one's view of their usefulness in the cause of Christ - the devil does some of his best work when he gets Christians to think of themselves as Christian laypersons (Peterson)

-saying you are "just" anything conveys insignificance, unimportance, not serious, minimizing.  I had a revelation from a speaker at MOPS this year to never say I am "just" a mom. Scripture never distinguishes or classifies Christians in this way

I should never say, I'm just a layperson so I wouldn't know.

- I am salt. As one of God's salty people, I should permeate wherever I am to create thirst for God by the way I live my life in the people I come in contact with. Bring out the real flavor of life, the real purpose for us all.

Day 57 5-18

Turned into another late appointment with God. I actually woke up holding my Bible in my lap so that is not okay. I have to quit delaying my time with Him to take place in the evening. I am better when the kids are napping. At night, I'm exhausted. I have been falling victim to thinking I can do it later and just get a few things done right now. I don't want to fall into that temptation anymore. God doesn't want me to miss my scheduled appointment with Him. I wouldn't like it if someone was always late or wanted to reschedule meeting with me. Shame on me. I'll get back to it tomorrow.

Before reading, I prayed a huge thanks to God for helping a situation to be reconciled. A huge weight lifted off my shoulders. 

I read through most of Daniel 2 and must have fallen asleep at the end :(

Day 56 5-17

For some reason, after I opened my quiet time in prayer today, a thought crossed my heart about prayer I say and hear sometimes. We pray for God to be here in this room or situation, etc. and I'm wondering if that isn't necessarily the right thing to pray. I know I'm getting into logistics, but I always want to be careful in what I am saying to my Lord, my Creator, my King. I'm not saying anyone is wrong, I just had a little revelation about it I guess. Isn't He always here? For me to say He isn't is to discredit His power in a way. He is omnipresent. He is always with me as He promised. So really I should pray for me to open my human eyes, heart, mind, etc to recognize His presence, receive Him, and respond appropriately. Just had to get that off my chest:) Thanks Lord for helping me to understand your character better.

My main prayer today is a selfish one for me... I need prompting to be quick to listen, slow to speak and quick to apologize.

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For my "In the Word" time I decided to just read through Daniel 1 and see what thoughts arise...

Well I didn't get too far as I got caught up in 2:1 "the Lord gave" Jehoiakim king of Judah in the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. What does this phrase mean? I kind of skimmed over it the first time, but it caught my attention so I went back. Allowed?? Why did He allow this? For punishment? I am going to spend some time thinking about this and talk with Mark about it.

I wanted to make a list of what I learned about Daniel today...

- his hometown was taken over by an enemy

- young, probably a teenager

- no defects

- handsome

- intelligent (in every branch of wisdom)- What does this mean?

I'm really looking forward to this study of getting to know Daniel and the Lord's character better and how I can apply this example of walking the talk into my unique life situation.

Day 55 5-16

Today I am going to focus my quiet time in the book Job Shadowing Daniel - Walking the Talk at Work by Larry Peabody. Our Life Group is going to do a study with it over the next several weeks. Although there are passages from Daniel intertwined in the book, I am still going to have my Bible out to Daniel for reference and to read more if I want. 

Below are some notes I wrote down after reading it. Basically just what stuck out to me...

Ch. 1

- God's general call to Christians is a call to serve Him full time (always and fully)

- Through Daniel, God penetrated the darkened Babylonian government with light! We are commanded to be the Light wherever we are (Matt 5:14)

- Trust God to place you where He wants you

- Have to be careful and respectful in how are the light

Ch.2

- Daniel shattered the darkness with Light. I love this imagery.

- kingdom:  the authority to rule, the sovereignty of a king, geographic area, people of that area.

- Humanity's misplaced loyalty allowed Satan to rule God's earth rulers. Satan has set up his temporary world system inside the creation that still belongs to the God who is sovereign over it all (Matt 21)

- There is so much importance in setting a firm foundation in the Lord from childhood. Because of Daniel's firm foundation, he was able to remain steady and faithful in a foreign (secular) position, full of an extreme amount to temptation and darkness

- Daniel trusted God to carry through on these kingdom promises. This faith so illuminated his own soul that he could radiate God's light into the darkened lives of his co-workers!!!! May I be this Lord to those I come in contact with.

Day 54 5-15

I'm finishing up my last exercise for Reading Purposefully today. 

#10    I John 5:13

" I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know you have eternal life."

The author, John is clearly a messenger of the truth as so much of the Bible is. I think this verse sums up the purpose pretty well here along with 2:1 which states "so that you will not sin."  He presents doctrine openly and uses "we" often I think to both claim to represent other Christians with him and also it's as if the audience understands or is in the same boat to be held personally accountable. John addresses specific types of people and writes with a lot of instruction.

Day 53 5-14

Today was a tough one. While I was in Wichita this weekend, I decided to spend my quiet time on Saturday in the room with my sweet granny at her assisted living facility. She's battling life and doesn't know us anymore and quite frankly, not really here in this world anymore. Her dementia is severe and she'll never have her mind back and we'll never have her back to the way she was. She was asleep in her chair all hunched over when I came in. The room was peaceful, warm, and still, which was nice. She was dressed cute in khakis and a purple and pink collared shirt. She didn't have her teeth in which is always hard to see because she looks so different, but she keeps taking them out and there's no point in her wearing them I guess. I stroked her hair and rotated holding each hand and I just sat on her bed and cried for awhile. 

Then I got it together and went to go get the Bible they keep in the common area. I wanted her to hear the Word of God today. I gently woke her up and told her who I was and she gave me a smile and a giggle, like she was a little girl. I told her I was going to pray with her and read her the Bible- some Psalms, the Lord's Prayer and Philippians. I prayed aloud and ended with letting God know she was ready to go home with Him. 

I reminded her that she was a beautiful child of God and that someday soon she would get a new body with new eyes and a new heart and she would be in no pain. I told her about God's banqueting table and that I looked forward to being there with her and her brothers and her dad who I never got to meet. I thanked her for being such a great granny who always played with me and was always so graceful, poised, smart, classy, and fun. I loved going to stay with her and I wish I could remember more than I do. She dosed on and off and one time looked at me and said there was a cute doggy and giggled again. It made me laugh and cry all over again. I just kissed her forehead and hugged her and told her I loved her and would see her soon. I glanced at all the pictures in her room, got her laundry for my aunt, and walked out to meet Mark and the kiddos.

I've been struggling a little with why she is even still alive like this. It helped talking with my sister in law the other day about it. Deep down I know that this world is broken and God didn't intend for our lives to end like this and for us to be in pain. In fact, He didn't intend for them to end at all, but we messed it up. The best we can do is be changed for the better because of her and there is something humbling about taking care of her like this.

I'll always remember this time Lord and I thank you for letting my Granny Marie be a part of our quiet time today.  To You be the glory.

Day 52 5-13

We traveled to Wichita this weekend and Gracie is battling us to go to bed. We finally had to put her in her pack and play and let her cry it out. Here I sit on the couch doing by quiet time as she screams in the background. It isn't going to be my most focused one, but this is the time and it will also help keep my mind distracted from her cry. I am just going to keep it simple with saying my prayers and ending with reading the Bible doing my best to draw near to Him in the midst of chaos:)

Day 51 5-12

#9  2 Peter 3:1-2

After reading through this passage several times and meditating on it and spending some time looking through the whole book, Peter in this intimate letter to his close buddies who are also his brothers and sisters in Christ, clearly lays out some of his purposes for this book. This is my opinion of course, but I think the first is to simply "stimulate them to wholesome thinking." Clearly they had been stumbling and I think the second is to refresh their memories and be reminded of the truths once spoken to them and to carry out these truths in their lives again. The third purpose evident to me is stated in 3:18 which says very clearly and directly

..."But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen." 

I think Peter does this by effectively and clearly communicating his passion in his writing. He presents some deep theology smoothly by being direct and to the point. I love that he doesn't sugar coat it either. He also uses repetition, comparison/contrast, and warning to get his points across. I also think he uses ideological structure the most along with historical structure.

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Some of my prayers today...

-Linds mom to choose You, the Light today

-Ms Patti's husband to be healed and for her to remain a shining light for us all

-Thank you God for Your big arms

-peace and reconciliation with a friend

Day 50 5-11

I love my designated Quiet Time spot...In the chair in my bedroom overlooking our 3 big windows watching the wind blow the trees and listening to the outside noises. It's truly a place of peace and relaxation for me and it really helps me to align my mind to block everything out and focus on drawing near to You Lord and crawling into Your Arms.

My prayers today during this time are reconciliation and peace in a situation and for Ms Patti's husband to be healed and strength and comfort for the family. 

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I am back to working through the exercises in Living By the Book. I am reading through supposed purpose passages from various books in the Bible and determining the purpose and then observing how the writer accomplished that purpose in the way he presents the material.

#8 Titus 1:5; 2:15

After reading these passages over several times and skimming through the entire book, I think the purpose in Paul's letter to his dear friend and true brother in Christ is to encourage, empower, and build confidence in Titus to be unafraid to carry out what he knows he needs to do. He needs to be the messenger in straightening out his people and prod them to get back on track to leading lives that honor God.

Paul does this by using narrative, instruction, and use of practical application for the people among a lot of other ways I'm sure.

Day 49 5-10

This is an unusual quiet time for me today because it is early in the morning and I am the only one awake in the house. I just couldn't sleep so I decided to spend this time with You. The stillness and quiet is so refreshing and peaceful and I am in awe as I look out my window in my room. The sunshine is reflecting on the trees as they blow in the wind and it is beautiful. 

The prayers flooding my mind are for me to, in a sense, be You to my kids today and everyone else for that matter. I want them to see You in me with my words, thoughts, actions, reactions, etc. I pray that I can truly connect with my kids today and meet their needs, challenge them, and make them smile. I pray to be in tune with Holy Spirit within me. I pray that my husband be bold and confident, yet humble at work today. I pray that he feel loved, supported, respected from me because he is my rock and he always, well most the time:) has the right, noble advice that makes sense. I pray that he continue to be a good, righteous, wonderfully engaged and involved daddy.

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I have wanted to spend some time reading Titus 2:3-5 because I was really impacted by it in the sermon this week. I'm not sure if I classify as the "older women" discussed in this passage, but the truths sure apply anyway. I listed the action points listed for these godly women so that I can focus on these today...

- reverent in the way they live

- not slanderers

-not addicted to wine

-teach what is good

-train younger women to love their husbands and children

-self controlled

-pure

-busy at home

-kind

-subject to husbands

-behave so that no one will malign the word of God

May I carry out these things today with You Lord and make You proud.

Day 48 5-9

The last time I got on to post to my blog, the server or whatever was down so I couldn't post. And I didn't get to it again until after we got back in town so I have a weeks worth of quiet times to post...

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I chose to do my quiet time during Life Group tonight because we are doing a Prayerapalooza. We do this maybe once a quarter where we just come and pray together. This week we walked around individually and spent time praying and reflecting at various stations set up throughout the house.  The stations were guided by verses from the Lord's Prayer and others in the Bible.  We also had a communion station set up to spend some time there. Some verses I wrote down that really stuck out for me to focus and reflect on were...

"Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation."  1 Pet 2:12

"And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Col 3:14

 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”    Matt 11:28-30

"He says, Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."  Ps 46:10-11

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,"  Eph 3:20

Thanks for laying these verses on my heart Lord and giving me some areas to focus on improving so that I can reflect You better. You've promised to be with me always and I find my strength and confidence in that. To You be the glory my Father in heaven.

Day 47 5-8

For my QT today, I decided to read through Psalm 127 again as ironically our sermon today at church focused on.  I really like it and it holds so many impacting truths for my life and affirms the choices Mark and I make for our family.

My main prayer today is for reconciliation and peace.

Day 46 5-7

I am terrible at managing my time when we are staying somewhere else, particularly hotels. With the lack of sleep and busyness of a wedding morning, day, and night, here I sit once again in the wee hours of the night. At least I am home now. This is the first time I have not had my QT before midnight. It is 1:30am so I will show myself grace and count it as Saturday's, but I don't like it and I am disappointed in myself and I know the Lord is with me as well. Mark's homily for the wedding focused on Psalm 127 so I am going to read through that and have its truths be the last thoughts I have for the day. I am looking forward to a nice Mother's Day tomorrow.

Day 45 5/6

Well today's or should I tonight's QT turned out to be an interesting one and once again I did not manage my time well. Here I sit literally on the toilet seat (closed of course) in the bathroom of our hotel room while my family is attempting to fall asleep. This is the only place I can go to have light right now and it is super late as the kiddos fought with every inch in their bodies to go to sleep. 

I managed to fumble through my stuff and find my Bible in the dark. For some reason, I opened my it to 1 Samuel and just began reading. I was just thirsty for the Word and its peace and its calmness and I just wanted to end the night, after the crazy chaos with my husband trying to get the kiddos to sleep, with the Word permeating through me. I read 3 chapters and decided to call it a night and hit the sack to be ready for the big wedding day tomorrow. And I was sick of being on the cold hard toilet seat.

Day 44 5/5

So, I am back in my study of Proverbs 31:12. Today I am going to utilize my NASB study Bible and look at the notes and/or scripture references listed for this verse and just go from there and do a little study to see where it takes me.

The first reference listed is...Prov 18:22 "A man's greatest treasure is his wife--she is a gift from the LORD."   I thought it was cool that my Bible noted that this idea of a blessing is later developed further for the reader and it is clearly something very important to be hammered out in this book.

Another reference is Prov 19:14 which reads "You may inherit all you own from your parents, but a sensible wife is a gift from the LORD."  I never really looked at myself as a gift to my husband. I would like to be one he does not regret getting:)

 My journey continued on with a reference for Prov 12:4  "An excellent wife is the crown of her husband." also Prov 4:9 "She will place on your head a garland of grace; She will present you with a crown of beauty." I parked on these verses for awhile and also read Song of Solomon a little (3:11) to get a better understanding of the wedding crown thing. I had a beautiful revelation of me being my husband's crown.

Like a crown, I should be beautiful to him, dignified, strong, and trustworthy. I should compliment him and help him to shine for the Lord and, like a crown, I should make him proud to call me his wife. I kept envisioning a real king and it gave me a cool image that I should be my husband's finishing touch that completes him, like a king's crown is to him. 

So, as I dwell on this, I feel challenged by the question...

"What does it mean for me to be my husband's crown every single day? I drew a big ole crown on my paper to help remind me of this.

I'm fortunate to have my husband's seminary materials easy accessible so I decided to read a commentary of this verse to continue my study.  I went to Bullock's: An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books.

It basically gave thoughts on Prov 31 as a whole mentioning that Lemuel most likely was not an Isrealite king and that it had unique grammatical structure, in that the poem was an acrostic one- meaning each verse begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet in sequence. The commentary also makes a point that this chapter ties in well with the overall theme of Proverbs, mainly of fearing the Lord is the key to wisdom. Also, he observes that this is neat to be included in scripture because the "joyful yoke of religious observation is upon women too" and that was uncommon to write about. It empowered me in the sense that I have a spiritual obligation and responsibility as a woman, wife, and mother:)

Thanks God, what an amazing journey. I didn't want to stop, but my little guys are up.

Day 43 5/4

I opened my Quiet Time in prayer today with a few specifics...

- for my choices, words, thoughts, and actions to reflect the Lord's

- for Mark to continue to draw near to God and have His words as he prepares to preside over his sister's wedding

- for the wedding, especially vows to also serve as a refresher for my own marriage

- my friend's mom to see herself as the woman God intended her to be today-  beautiful inside and out, free from the ugliness of addiction, clear mind, be a success story for her grandkids to admire  

- for me to seek clarity in service opportunities come my way in my church and also to make clear the tug on my heart to go on a mission trip

I read Psalm 121 and 123 for some reason today. Verse 8 of 121 grabbed me...

     "the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."

This verse is so powerful and brought a sense of peace and confidence over me and an appreciation that I am on the winning side of this battle that has already been fought. Made me think of the song by Sarah McLoughlin sp? "Arms of an Angel"?

Thanks God for your Word.

Day 42 5/3

I'm continuing my study today of Proverbs 31:12  "She brings him good, not harm all the days of her life."

I have parked on this the last couple of days and today I want to look into the original Hebrew language of it to see what I can learn and what was possibly intended for the original audience and myself. I'm especially interested in the word "brings" because it's an action point for me.

 

My husband directed me to using the online resource blueletterbible.org to help me with Old Testament translations. I continue to be in awe of this resource and all that you can do on it. You can even click on the Hebrew word and it will say it correctly for you. 

The site translates "brings" to she does or (גמל gamal) in Hebrew. 

Some definitions given are...

1) to deal fully with, recompense

   a) (Qal)

     1) to deal out to, do to

     2) to deal bountifully wit

     3) to recompense, repay, requite

     2) (Qal) to wean a child (Niphal) to be weaned

     3) (Qal) to ripen, bear ripe (almonds)

 I also wanted to look up examples in the Bible where this exact Hebrew word was used. The website did this instantly and here are a few that came up...

Gen 21:8        "and the child grew and was weaned"

2 Sam 22:21  "The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness"

Psa 13:6         "I will sing unto the Lord because He hath dealt bountifully with me"

I am going to digest all of this info today and I guess however long I want to and hopefully come to some conclusions and apply them to my life.

Day 41 5/2

I spent some time last night thinking about verse 12 in Proverbs 31. Tonight I want to dig deeper and look into how it reads in other versions of the Bible and also, if time permits,  I want to look into some specific words used.

NIV: ¹² She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.

NASB:  ¹²She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.

King James: ¹²She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

Message:  Never spiteful, she treats him generously all her life long.  

Contemporary English Version:   ¹²She is good to him every day of her life, 

Words used for bring:  does, will do, treats, is??

I'm curious as to what this looks like in my life. 

Day 40 5/1

After I woke up this morning in the hotel room, I was eager to spend some time with the Lord. Not having anyone to be responsible for was weird as my kiddos are at home with Mark. I got a cup of coffee and spent some time in prayer and confession from the day before.

Later in the evening after getting back home, I read over Proverbs 31 again and parked on verse 12 that reads "she brings him (her husband) good, not harm all the days of her life." I began really thinking about this. Do I truly do this? What would he say? I don't think I necessarily harm him, but I don't think I really BRING him good a lot. The word BRING really stuck out to me. To bring something means you have to make an effort, a choice to do it. I don't know. Do I make an effort and go out of my way to bring him good. I don't think I do most of the time. Most of my energy is on the kids. I know I nag too much and am still learning how to show him that I love him, appreciate him, respect him, and am his #1 fan. I pray for God to show me how to do that because God created him and knows what works with him so who better to ask then his creator. I do desire to bring him good and I need to make the decision to do so.

Tomorrow I think I am going to dig deeper into verse 12 and see how other versions word it.

Day 39 4/30

I knew my Quiet Time routine would have to be altered today as I traveled to a wedding with some friends. Before they picked me up, I had some time to sit on the couch and lift up my prayers to the Lord. I intended to also read the Word during this time, but I didn't allow enough time. I think this is the first day since I started this journey that I didn't read the Word. I am disappointed with myself, but I am not going to beat myself up about it and dwell on it. It is what it is and bottom line is, I should have woken up earlier to spend more quality time with my Lord. Lesson learned. I truly do feel the emptiness from not reading the Word today and I don't like it. Sorry God.

Day 38 4/29

I am focusing again today on the exercises in Living By the Book Ch.15 Read Purposefully. I am reading the purpose statement passages given from Scripture and then determining the author's purpose in my own words and then investigating how he communicates that to the audience (types of structure, repetition, etc.). There are 10 of them.

#7   2 Corinthians 1:8; 13:1-10 

I read from my NASB study Bible today to change things up a bit and after reading over the purpose passages several times, several purposes came to mind that it seems like Paul was trying to communicate to his audience: the church in Corinth and of course everyone who would read the Word...

Awareness of what he went through to deepen our affirmation in our own faith

Empower us to not just take Paul's word for it, but to find out for ourselves that Jesus Christ     

         is in us

Warning of consequences, specifically for the church in Corinth, for not carrying out their  

        faith

After skimming through the book focusing on how I think Paul communicated his purpose to his audience, I noticed he used narrative/biography, ideological structure, and a lot of teaching and instruction. There are many other ways I'm sure, but these stuck out right away.

---------------

Some of my prayers today...

- thankful for my mom and how close we are and how close she lives to me

- praise for my husband who works so hard every day to provide for us

- praise for my beautiful, full of life children who wake up everyday with smiles ready to explore their world 

- prayers for me to be an intentional mom who is loving, patient, confident, fun, who lives in the moment not focusing on what needs to get done

- praise for a beautiful display of love at the royal wedding, every little girls dream played out on TV :) 

- prayers for protection while traveling to and from sorority sister's wedding

Day 37 4/28

I spent most of my quiet time today in prayer, but I am not going to write them out today. 

Then, I felt the need to read through Proverbs 31, as I do often to get myself focused and in check with what my role should look like as a Godly wife and mother. I wasn't being the nicest person today, just felt kind of off and God always let me know pretty quick in my heart to knock it off and spend some time in prayer with Him confessing my sins and asking for forgiveness. 

I shared with Mark that I was realizing that just because I have been having awesome consistent quiet times with my Lord doesn't mean I will automatically all of a sudden overnight be the woman God intends for me to be. It's a silly frustration I know if you really think about it, but I guess I unconsciously expected that or something through all of this, but of course I know that is not the case. It takes time and a gradual chipping away at my heart to resemble God's and I have to intentionally and purposefully wake up every day ready for the battle and actually work at it and be in constant prayer.

A side note I have to document...As Mark and I were putting Sam to bed we were telling Sam that Jesus probably didn't cry when he went to preschool:) (something he has reverted back to a little) and Sam insisted He did and we were going back and forth and Mark asked him how he knew this and he paused and said...because He emailed me. It was classic delivery and we all laughed for a while:)

Day 36 4/27

During my quiet time, I am focusing on the exercises in Living By the Book Ch.15 Read Purposefully. I am reading the purpose statement passages given from Scripture and determine the author's purpose in my own words and then investigate how he communicates that to the audience (types of structure, repetition, etc.). There are 10 of them.

#6 Luke 1:1-4

After reading over the passage several times, I think one of Luke's purpose's was to affirm the validity and truth of the events surrounding Jesus' life and death by recording effectively his detailed intensely and meticulously studied observations and conclusions of the evidence before him. From his writings, you can tell Luke is beautifully smart and I am so glad he chose to be obedient to the Holy Spirit and use his God-given talents wisely to bless us by allowing us to get to read his account of our Savior. I believe he truly wants us to get it, that Jesus was real and really did these things. I also see maybe a special target audience of logic minded men, like my husband that can relate to him and his writings.

Just by briefly looking through the book during this time, I can see that he writes with attention to detail using chronological, historical, and geographical structure. Luke also does a good job of character establishment and development. 

You rock Luke.