Women of Promise

       With seven children, I have clung for years to the promise in Proverbs 22:6:  Train up a child in the way he should go;  and when he is old, he will not depart from it.        A question has always nagged in the back of my mind: Can I REALLY trust this? I mean, I have known of so many Godly parents, whose children have strayed away from the truths they were taught. Does that mean I can't trust God's Word? In my mind, it came down to two things: either God cannot be trusted to keep every single promise He has made, or there was a key parenting element that God expected parents to act on that sincere, Christian parents were missing every day. Which was it?  How can I parent in confidence?  I decided to search it out.      I was floored to learn that I had been taking Proverbs 22:6 out of context all these years.  The importance of understanding all of Scripture in context as well as looking at the origi...

       Happy Valentine's Day!  February 14th has been a day dedicated to showing those closest to us our love.  Like many holidays, it has become commercialized and cheapened over the years by many. Others celebrate it to its fullest.  I love holidays and I love to have any reason to celebrate anything!     Did you know that there actually was a man named Valentine who has been granted the status of "saint" by the Roman Catholic church?  Did you know that Valentine was a martyr for the Christian faith?  While much of his story is clouded in legend, there are several snippets that have been confirmed by historians. Anyone who stood for Jesus in the face of death deserves the highest honor. Here is Valentine's story:     In the third century AD, there was an emperor of Rome, named Claudius III.  He was a very cruel emperor.  One of the cold decrees he made outlawed marriage in the Roman Empire. His reasoning was th...

       Fresh off of the wonderful marriage retreat weekend, all educated on the agape love that I am to have for my husband, I was pretty full of myself when I picked up my study of Titus 2 and came to verse 4.  I was so sure I knew all about what Paul was talking about. After all, I had just heard approximately 3 hours of preaching on agape love in addition to a couple of breakout sessions and a closing message that focused on practically applying this knowledge.  So, imagine my surprise when I look up the word for love in Titus 2:4 and find out that it is not agape  used, but phileo!  Phileo  love is the brotherly kind of love.  It means you really, really like someone!  Whoa! OK. What does that mean?  I mean, I know I am called to love my husband with that love also.  However, I had always just assumed that this verse referred to agape  love.        Agape  love means that we love unc...

       I grew up with a father who was a theologian and a philosopher.  He loved the Word of God and led his family to serve and honor the Lord.  He taught us well, but we always struggled as children to understand the practical application of all of his deep studies.  God balanced my dad's esoteric tendancies with an extremely practical and down-to-earth wife.  Mom was the epitomy of a Proverbs 31 woman. She found great fulfillment in keeping the home and was a help-meet extraordinaire for my dad.  She did her best to translate for us kiddos and help us practically apply what Dad taught.      Sometimes studying the Word of God is like that.  We can get very amazed and even overwhelmed with the amazing truths of creation and redemption -- and we should! These truths and wonders are the very foundation of who and what we are.  However, these truths should not just stop at being amazing, glorious facts and thoughts that...

       We have talked  a little about the "5 Solas" in the past, and I have shared with you about each of those foundational truths of the Christian faith.  While studying those Latin phrases, I came across another new-to-me Latin phrase that has been a fascinating study.  I pray that it will be edifying to you as well.  It is the Latin phrase, Coram Deo.   It is first used in the Latin Vulgate Bible to translate Psalm 56:13:   For You have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life. (ESV)          The phrase, Coram Deo , is translated into English in this Psalm as, "that I may walk before God."  Literally, Coram Deo  means something that takes place in the very presence of God, or in front of His face.  The Psalmist was praising God for the opportunity to live  life in front of His Creator.       We know from S...

      When life presses in pretty close and trials and troubles encroach on our hearts, where can we turn? When schedules and concerns overwhelm our minds, how are we to cope? When we can't even form words to pray, what will bring peace to our soul?     The Word of God provides the answers. The Word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than a sword. The Word of God is the Bible. The Word of God is Jesus. The Word of God is our peace and our comfort. The Word of God is our refuge when the storms of life are howling all around us.       The Psalms are one place in the Word of God that can provide the clarity of thought and the peace and calm to our souls that we need. My father gave me a Psalter many years ago. A Psalter is the Psalms of the Bible put into a form for singing (often to traditional hymns that are very familiar to me.)  I love to open this book and read this version of the Psalms, often humming them to the tu...

      It's that time of year again. The time where we look over the past year and make "resolutions" for the New Year. We are gifted a fresh start and it is a good time to focus on new disciplines or renewed focus on older disciplines.      As followers of Jesus, I hope that the importance of reading the Word of God is already a priority for each of us. If not, that is a great resolution for the new year! We cannot understand or know God and His great love for us apart from the Bible. His Word is living and powerful. It will cut to the bones and marrow. It is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. God's Word will bring light to your soul and you will never be the same. There is no substitute for spending time in the Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in your heart through it. (If reading is difficult for you, there are many wonderful audio versions available -- check them out!)     One of my areas of renewed focus th...