Friday, January 29, 2010

31 qualities of a godly woman

By Luke Otterstad

So my roommates asked me to describe what a godly woman looks like, so I pondered that for quite some time and then thought I’d share my answer with you all:

1. She handles herself gracefully (Proverbs 11:16)
2. She loves and embraces children (Psalm 113:9, Titus 2:4)
3. She speaks with wisdom (Proverbs 31:26)
4. She has discretion (Proverbs 11:22)
5. She is able to be fully trusted by her husband (Proverbs 31:11)
6. She desires to be her husband’s most faithful companion and closest confidant (Malachi 2:14)
7. She joyfully embraces being a woman and abhors feminism (Psalm 113:9, Romans 12:9)
8. She can manage her home well (Proverbs 31:27, Titus 2:5, 1 Tim 5:14)
9. She is diligent to accomplish anything entrusted to her care (Proverbs 31:13, 1 Tim 5:10)
10. She is firm in her convictions and desires to teach younger women the virtues of godly womanhood through her example and instruction. (Titus 2:4)
11. She desires for, and encourages men to be leaders in their families, churches and society. (Isaiah 3:12, Eph. 5:23, Titus 1:5-6)
12. She desires to build up and strengthen her home (Proverbs 14:1)
13. She desires to raise and train the next president, not BE the next president (Proverbs 31:1, Isaiah 3:12)
14. She believes children are a blessing from God, not a burden (Deut. 7:14, 33:24, 127:3)
15. She has a humble spirit (1 Peter 3:4)
16. She looks up to, follows, and respects her husband as the leader of the home (1 Cor. 14:35, Eph. 5:33)
17. She has a quiet spirit, and influences others through godly conduct (1 Peter 3:1-2, 4, 1 Tim. 2:12)
18. She desires to be a mother of nations, not a leader of nations (Genesis 24:60)
19. She has a heart to open her home to hospitality and service to others (1 Tim. 5:10)
20. She cares for the saints (1 Tim. 5:10)
21. She is capable and skilled to clothe her family and decorate her home (Prov. 31:21-22)
22. She desires to model the examples of holy women in Scripture (1 Peter 3:5)
23. She has skills to prepare meals for her family and bless others through hospitality (Prov. 31:15)
24. She is able to teach her children with practical, life instruction (Proverbs 31:1, 26, 6:20)
25. She desires to please her husband and do him good all his life (Prov. 31:12, 1 Cor. 7:34)
26. She is able to manage a business from her home (Prov. 31:18)
27. She can be trusted with wise discretion in spending (Prov. 31:16)
28. She cares for the poor and the needy (Prov. 31:20)
29. She clothes herself in modesty and good works and does not desire to attract or distract men’s eyes (1 Peter 3:3-4, 1 Tim. 2:9-10)
30. She has a kind and helpful attitude (Prov. 31:26-27)
31. She is prudent: intelligent, productive, skillful, wise and has understanding (Prov. 19:14)

A woman such as this is priceless: her value is far above rubies. Her husband will exalt her, praise her, love her, give up his life for her, and her children will call her blessed. The man that finds such a woman, is truly undeserving of such an honor, as God has bestowed upon him a blessing only few will find.

(I saw this on facebook. Some friends of mine linked to it. This is a wonderful list of what a godly woman is like.)

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Monday, January 25, 2010

Courtship or Dating? Which should our young people choose?

What was your experience growing up, when it came to deciding who you would marry? For the majority of people it was dating, as that is all we knew. Well, what's old is new again. There is another way for people to go about finding the right person for them to marry. First, there is prayer. Ask God to direct your steps to the right person, then allow Him to do just that. Here is an awesome clip from a video I watched today. There are three very different courting experiences. Each is very unique, but with the same goal in mind...keeping Christ first in their lives. Please watch this, it could be really life changing. Then when you are through go to this website and order the video.




Wednesday, January 20, 2010

How to Help the Haitians

Have you been wondering how you could help the people in Haiti? Well, here is a very practical, easy way to help. You will actually know what they are getting, because you choose what to send them. There are food items, medical supplies, toiletries, shelters and other equipment to choose from. Click on this link and choose what you would like to purchase for the hurting Haitians, then check out and pay for the items.


Is America Still Making Men?

(Here is a must read article for everyone to read. Dennis Prager has written a phenomenal article. I don't normally put a complete article like this on the blog, but I wanted to ensure that people read the whole thing. Please read this and pass it along to everyone you know. )

Every society has to answer a few basic questions in order to succeed and even in order to survive. One of them is, "How do we make good men?"

The reason for the importance of this question is simple: Males untutored about how to control their natures will likely do much harm. Conversely, males who are taught to how to control themselves and to channel their drives in positive directions make the world a much better place. The good man is a glory of civilization; the bad man ruins it.

Throughout American history, American society asked, "How do we make men?" (It was understood that "man" meant a good man.) Anyone who thought about the subject knew that boys who are not transformed into men remain boys. And when too many boys do not grow up into men, women suffer and society suffers.

What is a man (as opposed to a boy)? The traditional understanding was that a man is he who takes responsibility for others -- for his family, his community and his country -- and, of course, for himself. A man stood for ideals and values higher than himself. He conducted himself with dignity. And he was strong.

For much of American history, making boys into men was understood to be of supreme importance, and society was usually successful. When I was a boy in the 1950s, without anyone expressly defining it, I knew what a man was supposed to be. And I knew that society, not to mention my parents, expected me to be one. It went without explicitly saying so that I would have to make a living, support myself as soon as possible and support a family thereafter.

When I acted immaturely, I was told to be or act like a man. I wonder how many boys are told to "be a man" today; and if they were, would they have a clue as to what that meant? It would appear that for millions of American boys, this has not been the reality for decades. Many families and society as a whole seem to have forgotten boys need to be made into men.

There are numerous reasons:

1. The distinction between men and boys has been largely obliterated. The older males that many American boys encounter are essentially older boys, not men. They speak, dress, and act similarly (think of men who "high-five" young boys instead of shaking their hands). And they are almost all called by their first names. Even when a boy (or girl) addresses an adult male as "Mr.," many men will correct the young boy or girl -- "Call me" and then give the young person his first name. This is often true even with regard to teachers, physicians and members of the clergy. When a young person calls an adult by his first name, the status of the two individuals has been essentially equated. Boys need men to respect. It's not impossible to do so when they call men by their first names, but it makes it much harder.

2. Boys today have fewer adult men in their lives than ever before. Many boys are not raised by any father. More are not raised by a father who lives in the home full time. Nearly every teacher and principal American boys have in elementary and high school is a female. The boy's clergy person and physician may well be women. And few male figures in contemporary film radiate manhood as defined above.

3. The ideals of masculinity and femininity have been largely rendered extinct. Feminism, arguably the most influential American movement of the 20th century, declared war on the concepts of femininity and masculinity. And for much of the population, it was victorious. Indeed, thanks to the feminist teaching that male and female human beings are essentially the same (note, incidentally, that no one argues that male and female animals are the same, only human beings are), untold numbers of boys have been raised as if they were like girls. They were denied masculine toys such as play guns and toy soldiers, and their male forms of play -- e.g., roughhousing -- were banned.

4. America has become a rights-centered rather than a responsibility-centered society. Aside from helping to produce a pandemic of narcissism, the rights-centered mindset is the opposite of the obligation/responsibility-centered mindset that makes a boy into a man. It is not good for either sex to be rights-preoccupied; but it is particularly devastating to developing men, as men are supposed to be obligation-directed. The baby boomer generation helped destroy manhood in most of the ways described here. One additional example was its widespread slogan, "Make love, not war." One cannot come up with a more unmanly piece of advice: "Don't fight for your country, screw girls." If the greatest generation had adopted that motto, Hitler and Tojo would have won. A few years ago, the city of Chicago named a street after Hugh Hefner, a man who has played games much of the day and night, lived in pajamas and devoted his life to sex -- quite a model of manhood for American boys.

5. There are few places where men can bond with other men. One major way men become men is by associating with other good men. The only places left where this normally takes place are sports teams and the military. The same holds true for boys. And much of society is now working on breaking the most significant all-boys institution, the Boy Scouts.

6. Males no longer have distinctive roles. Men do best when they are relied upon, when needed; and they feel most needed when they do something distinct from women. This exists today in sports and the military. It is symbolic -- significantly so -- that there are no more "men at work" signs on highways. Now "people" are at work. "Men" have disappeared.

7. Many churches and synagogues have been feminized. This has occurred in at least three important ways: Clergy are increasingly female (and touchy-feely males) -- for the first time in Christian and Jewish history; God is often depicted as androgynous and no longer either demanding or judging (He just loves all the time); and religion has been changed from morally and theologically demanding to a therapeutic model. So religion, too, has become yet another place where boys encounter few men, and few masculine models (even in God, as noted, is no longer masculine).

8. Instead of the traditional American model of masculinity, which was a rare combination of masculine toughness and stoicism with doing good (e.g., Superman), boys are now taught to be preoccupied with their feelings and with (unearned) self-esteem. They are not even allowed to lose; all boys playing a sport are given trophies, not just winners.

9. Increasingly, marriage is regarded as optional. The most obvious expression of men assuming responsibility -- marrying a woman and taking care of her and their children -- is no longer a male ideal. Vast numbers of men quite openly admit to having problems with the C-word (commitment) and responsibility of being a family's sole breadwinner.

When boys do not become men, women assume their roles. But they are not happy doing so. There are any number of reasons American women suffer from depression more than ever before and more than men. It is difficult to believe that one of those reasons is not the very emasculation of men that the movement working in their name helped to bring about. And so, a vicious cycle has commenced -- men stop being men; women become man-like; men retreat even further from their manly role; and women get sadder.


About The Author
Dennis Prager is a radio show host, contributing columnist for Townhall.com, and author of 4 books including Happiness Is a Serious Problem: A Human Nature Repair Manual.



Monday, January 18, 2010

In Honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

"A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan."

- Martin Luther King, Jr.



Bills would opt-out Missouri from plan

JEFFERSON CITY— Before a rally that attracted hundreds of people from across the state, Republicans in the state Legislature Wednesday asserted their willingness to resist health care legislation if it is passed by the Democratically controlled U.S. Congress.

More than 30 GOP lawmakers, including Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, appeared at the rally at the Capitol Rotunda to tout bills that would leave it to Missouri voters in November to approve an amendment to the state Constitution that would prevent Missourians from being fined or punished for not participating in a national health care plan.

Matching bills that would put this amendment on the November ballot have been proposed by state Sen. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, and State Rep. Timothy Jones, R-Eureka. Mr. Jones’ bill has 75 co-sponsors, including state Rep. Dr. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, and is one of three House bills proposing similar legislation.

To the remainder of this article go to St Joe News.

WE need to see ALL the states stepping up and letting the federal government know that they will not give up their constitutional rights for anyone or anything~


Friday, January 15, 2010

THE EASY WAY

by Nancy Campbell
Isaiah 44:20, "A deceived heart has turned him aside."

Have you read the story of Pilgrim's Progress? If so, do you remember when Christian was tempted to turn into Bypath Meadow? Faithful and Christian were weary and the King's Way was rough and stony. They were tired and their feet ached. They came to a stile where the fence divided the King's Way from Bypath Meadow. Bypath Meadow was a smooth, grassy path instead of the rough stony one--but best of all; it ran right alongside the Way of the King. They wouldn't be going in the wrong direction. They really wouldn't be turning away and they would be able to jump back over the fence if it veered in the wrong direction.

They turned aside to the easy path. But eventually a storm came and flooded the path, darkness came and they could not find the way back to the King's Way. They fell asleep and were seized by Giant Despair and his cruel wife, Diffidence. They were cruelly beaten and imprisoned for some time until God provided a way to escape.

This is how the enemy tempts us too. We would never veer right away from the Lord. Of course we want to obey and follow Him. But we are often tempted to take the easy path. We are tired of the sacrifice, heartaches and sleepless nights. We are tired of taking up our cross. We want it easy. We want everything to go our own way.

"Have another child? Help! Too much work. I want to take it easy. I want some rest." But does it really make life easier? More children results in more blessings, more entertainment in the home, more diversity, more built-in helpers and built-in friends.

"Do I really have to stop eating all that sugar and all those carbs? I love them. They're my comfort food." They may be the desirable way, but not in the end!

"I'm overwhelmed with all this homeschooling. I can't take it any longer. I'm sending them back to public school." Sure, it's the easier way. But what about the ungodly influence on your children? What about the subtle humanist brainwashing? What about the ungodly friends they may make? How will it affect their destiny?

The easy path takes us further and further away from the truth. If we take the easy way in our family, we'll begin to take the easy way in other areas too. We'll begin to rely on government, rather than being a free people and taking responsibility for ourselves. We'll become weak and no longer people of strength of character. And the long term result is bondage to dictatorship.

I was talking to a friend about a couple who are having marriage problems. "It's no use her going back to him until her heart wants to go back," my friend commented. "Oh no," I replied. "If she waits for her heart, she may never return!"

What does the Bible say in Jeremiah 17:9? "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Our heart can so easily deceive us. We don't stay in a marriage because our heart is happy and wanting to stay. We stay in a marriage, or go back to a marriage if we have left it, because it is the right thing to do--because of obedience and commitment.

No wonder there is so much divorce today. Everyone wants to take Bypath Meadow. They want the easy way out. Their focus is on looking after themselves. Everything revolves around self. "Poor me. He's not meeting my needs. He doesn't understand me." The excuses keep coming. But Marriage is not all about "me." Marriage is forgetting about myself and concentrating on how I can serve my husband and family. It's commitment to my vows. It's not giving in to deceptive feelings but sticking to the vision of building a godly generation. It continues in the face of hardship and frustration.

Marriage is more than two people. Marriage affects our children. It affects the extended family. It affects the church and everyone around us. It affects the generations to come--and eternity.

When we turn aside to the easy path, we enter into deviation, delusion and deception. It is only when we get back on the King's Highway of truth that we will be safe, even though we may face challenges and difficulties.

Don't be deceived by the easy path.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL, ABOVE RUBIES

PRAYER:

"Oh God please save me from being deceived. Save me from taking the easy path that looks good, but is not your way. Give me discernment to recognize the bypaths. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:
I will not be deceived by the allurements of the easy way.




Monday, January 11, 2010

It Is Futile

By Nancy Campbell, Above Rubies

1 Samuel 12:20-21
NASB, "Do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. You must not turn aside, for then you would go after futile things which cannot profit or deliver, because they are futile."

How true it is that when we turn away from the Lord, we tend to follow after futile things. When we keep close to the Lord, through prayer and guidance of His Word, He keeps our hearts in the right place and leads us into His truth. When we turn aside to our own ways, we have nothing to deter us from walking after vain things and running into deception.

Romans 1:18-28 tells us that when people turn aside from God and focus all their attention on themselves, worshipping "the creature more than the Creator", they become "futile in their speculations" and God gives them over to a "reprobate mind" which is a mind that is void of all judgment and understanding.

We gain more understanding of the word "futile" (tohu in the Hebrew) by looking at other passages where it is used. We find that it also means...

Wasteful. (Deuteronomy 32:10) To go a different way than God has planned for us is to waste our lives. I have always thought that the saddest thing anyone can do is to go through life doing their own thing and going their own way. They miss out on the destiny that God has planned for them before the foundation of the world. That's a wasted life.

Nothingness. Job 16:18 says, "The paths of their way are turned aside: they go to nothing and perish." There is only nothingness at the end of a life that is spent on itself. Luke 12:8-21 reveals the nothingness at the end for the one "who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God."

A Wilderness experience. (Deuteronomy 32:10 and Job 12:24) To turn aside from God's ways is always a wilderness experience.

Confusion. (Isaiah 41:29) We live in a society that is deceived and deluded. Because we are engulfed by humanist thinking--in the media, the education system and the mindset of the majority around is, it can seem normal to us. Unless we keep close to the Lord and live in His word, we can also be deceived and confused without knowing it.

Vanity. (Isaiah 40:17; 23; 44:9; 59:4) It is a vain thing to pursue our own way. It has no eternal reward.

Empty. The Jerusalem and CJB translate tohu as empty. Many people try to fill their lives with pleasure, satisfaction and material possessions. They fill their homes with stuff--TVs, beautiful décor and every new thing that is advertised. And yet their homes are empty of people--empty of babies and children, the true riches that we can take into eternity with us.

I think of God's words about Israel when they walked in their own ways, "Israel is an empty vine, he brings forth fruit unto himself." (Hosea 10:1) When we focus on ourselves and our own aspirations, we are empty. We have nothing to give to anyone else. We have nothing to take into eternity.

The word empty in this Scripture is baqaq and means "to empty, to depopulate." Isn't that interesting? This is what has been happening in the church over the last few decades. As people have turned away from God's truths to fill their lives with the pleasures of this world, they have depopulated the church. Thousands and thousands of godly children who God intended to come forth to bring God's light and salvation into the world are not here. Not only have we depopulated the church, but we have depopulated the land. In turning from God's ways, we have become empty.

Other translations use the words useless (MLB), worthless (NLT) and false (Knox).

May God help us from wasting our lives on our own pursuits.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL, ABOVE RUBIES

PRAYER: "Oh God, please keep me on your narrow way. I don't want to waste my life. Amen."

AFFIRMATION: Not my way, but God's way.




Thursday, January 7, 2010

Biblos.com: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages

Check out this Great Bible study resource. It is very thorough.

Biblos.com: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages

Joshua Harris is Eaten By a Bean Bag

I found this excellent video at Your Sacred Calling.

Pendragon


"The Pendragon is an epic adventure set in the Dark Ages of Britain. It tells the story of young warrior, named Artos, who sets out to defend his people.

However, the young hero finds himself in unbelievably difficult circumstances. He must choose between following God's call and walking away. For Artos, following that call would cost him everything.

Two homeschooled families produced the movie in their own backyard. It's already won numerous awards, including best family film."