Monday, March 29, 2010

Be a Visionary!

"We have big dreams and big aspirations, but we have a big God... Think big. Think beyond yourself."

-Doug Phillips

What it Means to Have a Father

I am back from the Vision Forum Father and Daughter Retreat! It was a wonderful weekend, and I wanted to share with everyone a little bit of what I heard over the next few days.

I'd like to start by sharing with you some notes from one of Mr. Doug Phillips' messages, What it Means to Have a Father: The Glory and Privilege of Daughterhood.

The first thing he said that was very thought-provoking was that, "If you do not know what it means to be a daughter, or do not embrace your earthly father, you will not embrace your Heavenly Father." He went on, "Your father is a gift from God, and the way you react to Him is the true test of daughterhood." Unfortunately, I don't always react (or interact) very well with my Daddy.

Mr. Phillips listed 10 things you have when you have a father. They were:

-A Model to Point you to God.
Mr. Phillips pointed out that "the way you look at your father is the way you look at God. Daughters who do not have a father do not know how to relate to God."

-A Provider to Give to You.

-A Protector to Care for You.

-A Priest to Disciple You.

-An Intercessor for your soul.

-An Example of Manhood. He said, "Girls today are looking in all the wrong places for love. They are very confused."

-An Instructor to Teach You. This one was very convicting! He said, "If you do not listen to Your father's instruction, you despise your Heavenly Father."

-A Comforter to Show you Proper Affections.

-A Friend to Rejoice with You.

-A Shepherd to Lead You.

He spoke on the importance of Fathers, and even on what God says about fathers, for instance, in 2 Corinthians 6:18, "I will be a Father to You, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." Mr. Phillips pointed out that "the Father-Daughter Relationship is so vitally important, even multi-generationally, that God says when all else is crushed in life- He will be there as a Father for you."

He asked all of us young ladies- "Do you realize how blessed you are to have a Father?" And I don't think any of us really do. Think about this:

More than 350,000 children in Haiti no longer have Fathers.

Mr. Phillips really got me thinking when he said, "Children must have Fathers! Fathers bring order and provision, so when you have no father, you have devestation... Be a daughter. And be thankful for being a daughter."

May we all become grateful daughters, and have a blessed day!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

R.M. M'Cheyne on the Believer's Life

I thought this was a wonderful, thought-provoking passage from the pen of R.M. M'Cheyne:

"A Believer is to be known not only by his peace and joy, but by his warfare and distress. His peace is peculiar: it flows from Christ; it is heavenly, it is holy peace. His warfare is peculiar: it is deep-seated, agonising, and ceases not until death...Coming to Christ takes away your fear of the law; but it is the Holy Spirit coming into your heart that makes you love the law. The Holy Spirit is no longer frightened away from your heart; He comes and softens it; He takes out the stony heart and puts in a heart of flesh; and there He writes the holy, holy, holy law of God... the law of God is sweet to that soul... Oh that all the world but knew that holiness and happiness are one! Oh that all the world were one holy family, joyfully coming under the pure rules of the gospel! Try yourselves by this. Can you say, "I delight", etc? Do you remember when you hated the law of God? Do you love it now? Do you long for the time when you shall live fully under it- holy as God is holy, pure as Christ is pure?"

Robert Murray M'Cheyne

Monday, March 22, 2010

Good Friends...

Good friends know enough about you to be dangerous, but love you enough to not tell anyone what they know.

Unknown

Praise God

"Believers should praise God for what He is in Himself. Those that have never seen the Lord cannot praise Him. Those who have not come to Christ have never seen the King in His beauty. An unconverted man sees no loveliness in God. He sees a beauty in the blue sky- in the glorious sun- in the green earth- in the sparkling stars- in the lily of the field; but he sees no beauty in God. He has not seen Him, neither known Him; therefore there is no melody of praise in that heart. When a sinner is brought to Christ, he is brought to the Father. Jesus gave Himself for us, "that He might bring us to God." Oh! What a sight breaks in upon the soul- the infinite, eternal, unchangeable God...Oh! Praise Him then for what He is. Praise Him for His pure, lovely holiness...Praise Him for His infinite wisdom that He knows the end from the beginning. In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Praise Him for His power- that all matter, all mind, is in His Hand."

Robert Murray M'Cheyne

As I read this, it made me think, "Do I praise God 'for what He is'?" Too often, I don't. It's easy to praise God for the beauty He has created in the world around us, but it's not always so easy to praise God simply 'for what He is'. To be truthful, I don't usually give much consideration to God's holiness or wisdom. But I should. I really like what Michael Billings had to say about this-

"Did you notice that the seraphim don't just say that God is 'Holy'? Nor are they content to say that God is 'Holy, Holy.' But the heavenly song that celebrates the character of God declares that He is 'Holy, Holy, Holy'- the superlative degree. Nowhere else in Scripture is any other attribute elevated to the third degree. The Bible does not say that GOd is 'Love, Love, Love'; or 'Mercy, Mercy, Mercy'; or 'Justice, Justice, Justice'; but that He is 'Holy, Holy, Holy'. This is a dimension of God that consumes His very essence."

WOW!

Today's Quote

Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, Lead Thou me on!

The night is dark, and I am far from home, Lead Thou me on!

Keep thou my feet! I do not ask to see the distant scene- one step's enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou shouldst lead me on; I loved to choose and see my path; but now, Lead Thou me on!

I loved the garish day, and spite of fears, pride ruled my will: remember not past years!

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on,

O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till the night is gone,

And with the morn those angel faces smile will lead me on.

John Henry Newman
(1801-1890)

Friday, March 19, 2010

Quote from Kathleen Norris

"Peace- that was the other name for home."

Kathleen Norris, author of Mother-Buy it here

Notes from "All About the Proverbs 31 Woman"

I know that it's Friday already, but I wanted to share with everyone some of my notes from Mrs. Victoria Botkin's Monday Evening Webinars.

I'd like to start out with a definition Mrs. Botkin gave- "Sin: Disobeying God’s instructions to us". I don't know about the rest of you, but I sometimes think, "Oh, I don't sin too much...I'm not nearly as bad as (fill in the blank)." I was so convicted about my sinful tendency to think far better of myself than I ought to. It's like what Robert Murray M'Cheyne said, "God is a sovereign God. Do not cry to Him to convert you, as if it were a debt He owed you. There is only one thing you can claim from God as a right, and that is a place in hell. If you think you have any claim on God, you are deceiving yourself.” Ouch!

I know many of us can get caught up in the question of "What defines Biblical Femininity?" and I thought Mrs. Botkin's answer was excellent: "Biblical femininity is about women helping their husbands." (And I would add that it is also about daughters helping their fathers.)

She also encouraged wives to be frugal, as that was a way of helping their husbands. As a young lady who hopes to be married someday, this was something I hadn't thought about before! But it's true. When we as daughters are not frugal, it places a burden on our fathers that we can help lift when we are frugal. This was so interesting to me, that I looked up the definition of "frugal"- characterized by thriftiness and avoidance of waste . Even more than this, though, Mrs. Botkin pointed out that when we are not frugal, we are being discontent. Here's what she said- "When we are not content with when God has provided, we are finding fault with God- even despising Him." Ouch again!

God Bless, and have a great day!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Monday Evenings

I don't know how many of you have been doing Mrs. Victoria Botkin's Monday evening webinars, but if you aren't already, it's not to late! They have been a tremendous blessing to me already, and I am eagerly looking forward to the next six weeks, and re-listening to them after that!

To register or find out more, click here.

Quote from R.M. M'Cheyne

"Every one of you have your work to do for Christ where you are… The smallest twinkling star is as much a servant of God as the mid-day sun. Only live for Christ where you are.”

-Robert Murray M'Cheyne

Quote taken from Sermons of Robert Murray M'Cheyne, a book I read recently. A great reminder to be content right where I am, and to joyfully serve Christ the way He's called me to! :)

Saturday, March 13, 2010

The Father & Daughter Retreat

The Lord has used the Vision Forum Father & Daughter Retreat (and Vision Forum as a whole) to draw me closer to Himself and my Daddy over the past five years, and I am looking forward with great anticipation to attending our fourth retreat in two weeks! I was just curious, are any of you going to be attending? If you are, I would love to meet you there! Even if you are going to be unable to attend this year's retreat, if you have been there before, please leave me a comment and tell me a little bit about how the Lord used it in your life. It would be a great encouragement to me, and others as well. :)

If you've never heard about Vision Forum's Father & Daughter Retreat, click here.

Today's Quote

"Earn all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can."

John Wesley

What is Prudence?

Last summer a friend encouraged me to read through the Book of Proverbs and take note of characteristics that were repeatedly praised, and to study these characteristics. So after reading through Proverbs, I decided on a characteristic that I really didn't know anything about: Prudence. If you had asked me six months ago what prudence was, I would have guessed that it was synonymous with wisdom. But it's not!

In Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language, Prudence is defined as, “Wisdom applied to practice.” And "prudent" is defined as "cautious; circumspect; wise; careful; foreseeing; frugal; intelligent." One verse used by Webster to define this word is Proverbs 19:14- “A prudent wife is from the Lord.”

This intrigued me, since one of the things I desire most is to someday be a wife and mother! So I began to read through Proverbs once more to find out what the Scriptures had to say about prudence. Below are some of the verses in Proverbs that speak of prudence:

“The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.”
Proverbs 18:15


“Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.”
Proverbs 17:28

“When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is prudent.”
Proverbs 10:19

“A fool’s anger is known at once, but a prudent man conceals dishonor.”
Proverbs12:16

“Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool displays folly.”
Proverbs 13:16

“A prudent sees evil and hides himself, but the naïve proceed and pay the penalty.”
Proverbs 27:12

What aspects of our person is associated with prudence?
1. The Mind
2. The Lips
3. The Eyes

Did you realize that control of these three aspects of our persons are the ones most contested for by our Lord Jesus Christ and his arch nemesis, Satan? The Scriptures continually address the great pains we should take to control these “organs” for Christ’s Glory.

“We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:5

“If anyone thinks himself to be religious,and yet does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart,this man’s religion is worthless.”
James 1:26

“If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and cast it from you, for it is far better for you to lose one of the parts of your body,than for your whole body to go into hell.”
Matthew 5:29

While the Book of Proverbs speaks mainly in the “neutral” term of ‘men’, it does specify wife in this instance. It is essential that a wife (or future wife) be prudent! Let’s look one more time at the characteristics of the prudent, and apply it specifically to a wife’s role.

First of all, it says that “The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge, and …seeks knowledge.” This implies that the prudent are consciously seeking out knowledge. This doesn’t mean that you just lackadaisically “drift” into knowledge-- it means just exactly what it says!!! But why would this be of importance to a godly wife? God does not call us to an idle, blind faith. Rather, we as daughters of the King of Kings, are to “search out a matter.” We are to be careful though; it is not God’s desire or design for us to puff our selves up with knowledge only. God desires women who truly seek after Him and gladly share all they know with others, not women who simply fill their brains with facts that they lord over others! But which do we practice most often in our own lives?(I know I do the latter far more often than the first) Think of it this way, “What is a wife and mother’s role?” A help-meet and teacher! If we are too proud to share our knowledge with others, we will be unable to, Lord willing,someday help our future husbands raise our children in the fear and admonition of our Creator and Savior God.

Second, we must have our priorities and authorities right. If we are consumed with getting a perfect score on the ACT, or becoming the world’s ‘best’ whatever, God is not pleased with the condition of our heart. For it says in Proverbs 1:7- “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…” We can not succeed if we don’t fear Christ. For if we don’t know and fear Christ, our hearts are in no condition to learn. And guess what? No matter how how widely respected Charles Darwin may be, according to Scripture, he is a fool, simpleton, and scoffer! “How long, O naïve ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, and fools hate knowledge?” (Proverbs 1:22) What a lesson we should learn! Our authorities should be our God-given ones (our father or husband), and our priorities should be to forward their God-given Vision. That is why it is so important to take “every thought captive”.

Thirdly, in Proverbs 5:2 it says, “That you may observe discretion and your lips may reserve knowledge.” Did you realize that Scripture says that “the power of life and death are in the tongue”? What a powerful statement! It’s no wonder then that both Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 speak of how the godly woman uses her tongue! “She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.” “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 younger 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.” This little body part called the mouth must be really important! Have you ever seen the influence a woman wields over her father or husband, simply with her tongue? That old rhyme, ‘Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me’ is simply not true. Words, both written and spoken, are powerful. That perhaps, is why the psalmist asked the Lord to “place a guard over my mouth”. We can either encourage, or discourage; respect, or disparage; bless, or curse; build up, or tear down the authority figures in our life-- simply by the way we speak to or of them! Isn’t that unsettling?

Also, did you realize that one of the characteristics of the 'strange woman' or adulteress that Proverbs notes the most is her speech? That is amazing! We will be known by the way we speak, because our speech is a form of identification, either with the godly, or ungodly.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Today's Quote

"Next to faith, this is the highest art: to be content in the calling in which God has placed you."

Martin Luther

More Notes...

Earlier this week I shared with you some things I learned from Mrs. Victoria Botkin’s first webinar session, All About Eve, and I wanted to share with you some things I learned from her second session, All About Sarah: Biblical Submission and how Godly Women Do It.

One of the first things Mrs. Botkin addressed was the question, “Is there such a thing as virtuous Christian feminism?” She pointed out that “we are all feminists at heart. Clear back to Eve. It’s just the way we are.” But feminism is a clearly ungodly mindset for women. She quoted Colossians 3:19- “Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.” (This is applicable for the Father-Daughter Relationship, as well)

Mrs. Botkin gave two tips for practicing submission: 1) Taking every thought captive, and 2) Hoping in God to do His Will. My Mamma has said before that it is much easier to develop submission before marriage than after. Mrs. Botkin indicated this as well in the following quote:

“Get on board with your husband’s vision right at the beginning. This is really at the heart of submission…you submit your will and your vision to the will and vision of your husband.”

To be able to someday “get on board” with my future husband’s vision at the beginning of my marriage, I need to practice now, by submitting myself to my Daddy, and furthering his vision, rather than my own. The thing that really pricked my heart while I was listening, though, was this- “God’s will is more important than your will.” (Doesn’t that hurt!?!) Too often, I feel as though I must defend my will, rather than submitting to my God-given authority’s (aka, my daddy) will. When I do that, I sacrifice God’s Will, in an effort to get my way!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

A Great Quote

"The greatness of man's power is the measure of his surrender."

William Booth

Evenings with Victoria Botkin

My Mamma and I are doing the Evenings with Victoria Botkin webinar with a dear friend every Monday, and I wanted to share with everyone some notes I took from her first session, All About Eve.

The first thing that stood out to me was that, "Wives (and daughters) are helpers, and by created nature must help men, and will help their husbands (or fathers) for good or bad." Mrs. Botkin also pointed out that Eve's temptation in the Garden of Eden was to be autonomous... the thing we as daughters usually struggle the most with!

She also stated that "Women are subordinate to men, but no less influential." In fact, she went on, "Women have great influence over their husbands and sons." Why else would so many great men speak so highly of their mothers? Benjamin West even went so far as to say once that, "A kiss from my mother made me a painter."

I don't know about the rest of you, but I struggle alot with the attitude of "I really know better than you do" towards my God-given authorities. Mrs. Botkin had a wonderful perspective on this attitude--

"If a wife (or in our case, daughters) is truly more spiritual than her husband (or in our case, our father), she will be submissive and respectful to him, in faith that she's doing what's right and that God will take care of the rest."

Friday, March 5, 2010

Today's Quote

My prayer journal has quotes printed throughout it, and as I opened it today, I saw a quote I hadn't read in a while, but that was so good!

Do any of you ever find it difficult to differentiate between God's leading and your flesh's inclination? I often struggle with this, and I find that it is so easy to confuse God's Will with my will, especially in our society that encourages girls to cast aside their femininity, and embrace the opposite of God's Will. I believe, also, that we, as daughters, are especially susceptible to this, and need to admit that, and ask our Heavenly Father to give us wisdom, and ask our parents to hold us accountable.

But, anyway, here's the quote that I found so encouraging this morning! :)

"Waiting times are growing times and learning times. As you quiet your heart, you enter His peace... as you sense your weakness, you receive His strength... as you lay down your will, you hear His calling."

Roy Lessin

Thursday, March 4, 2010

A Great Quote!

"One life yielded to God at all costs is worth thousands only touched by God."

Oswald Chambers

How Do You Want To Be Remembered?

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.”
Psalm 116:15

Perhaps this is a little morbid, but I sometimes wonder, “If I died right now, what would people remember about me and say of me at my funeral?”

(Does anyone else ever ask themselves this question?!?)

- Would they remember that I complained a lot?

-Would they remember my disrespectful attitude?

-Would they remember my self-centered outlook on life?


That’s not what I want! But all those things are true about me...

The week before last one of my Dad’s uncles died, and his funeral was such a blessing. He was a pastor with a real heart for the sick; he and my aunt would spend hours at the hospitals, visiting and praying with the sick and their families. I know, because they often visited my grandparents when they were sick and dying.

But anyway, as I sat at his funeral listening to the minister preach and speak about the impact of Uncle Joe’s life, I thought- “That’s what I want at my funeral!” Another thing I thought of was the story of Michael Billings. Some of you may be familiar with his story, as it is set forth in the book, Life is but a Vapor: The Life and Legacy of Michael G. Billings.

As I read the aforementioned book (which I would list as one of the five most influential books I’ve ever read), I was convicted as I saw the number of people who were touched by Michael’s life, and who genuinely loved and admired him. Would people have any reason to write or speak of me the way they did of Michael Billings?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. I would not want any little girls to travel down the paths I was once on. I have many regrets from my past, as I am sure we all do.

But I want the answer to the above question to be yes. It is my desire to leave a legacy of godliness-- particularly godly womanhood, to the next generation.

Yet my heart is so prone to wander from the God I love, as the hymn says, and from His paths, as well.

Even though when I die I will never know what others will say about me, I want them to bring glory to God. And that’s what matters, I suppose. It’s not what others say about me that matters-- it’ what they say about what God did in my life!

I want to be remembered for being Christlike. But to be remembered that way, I must live that way!!!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Relying on God

"Relying on God has to begin all over again everyday as if nothing had yet been done..."

C.S. Lewis

What do you Love?

This past Sunday Mr. Bruce Rogers spoke, and it was so good, I wanted to share with everyone a little bit of what he said! His main Scripture passage was Psalm 139-

"O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it all...Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me; and lead me in the everlasting way."

I was so convicted because this went along so well with what I have been thinking on since we listened to Mr. Doug Phillips' Identity Theft cd. When we left church, one question Mr. Bruce asked was stuck in my brain, Does God loathe what we love?

This week as I meditated on Psalm 139 and thought back to those messages, I continued to ask myself, What do I delight in? What do I love? Are my priorities in life straight?

Unfortunately, too often I am like the Israelites-- I forget what the Lord has done for me, and I wander back to Egypt, in my words, attitudes, etc.

Something else that pricked my heart was when Mr. Bruce pointed out that nothing we do is hidden from the sight of God. Not even a thought is hidden from God's all-seeing eye. In fact, Scripture says that He is "intimately acquainted" with all our ways! Anytime I slip back to feminist thinking- even just in my heart- God Knows!

What were the best books you read in February?

By doing the 52 book challenge I have been reading lots of books, which has been very rewarding for me! I thought I might share with everyone the "Best Books" I read this past month, so I divided them into two Categories: Fiction and Non-Fiction.

The "Best" Non-Fiction Book I read was actually a book we read as a family- Tithing and Dominion by Rousas John Rushdoony. It was quite convicting, and I don't believe you could ever look at Tithing the same way again once you read it!

The "Best" Fiction Book I read was The Last Sin-Eater by Francine Rivers. I read this book while I was sick a few weeks ago. Nothing like a good book to make you feel better! :) I was impressed with the clear Gospel message presented, as well as the intriguing story that kept me turning pages, even though the movie is already one of my all-time favorites!

Alright, now I want to hear from all of you- What were the best books you read in February?