Steadfast love...

by Elizabeth Stewart

definition of steadfast-

a: firmly fixed in place: immovable

b :  not subject to change

1. Synonyms-constant, dedicated, devoted, devout, good, loyal, faithful, steady, true, true-blue(from Merriam-Webster's online dictionary)
   I'm currently re-reading the book of Psalms in my English Standard Version journaling Bible. Today during my devotions I was struck not only by the frequency with which David writes of God's love for him, but I noticed that in the E.S.V. when he mentions God's love it is always accompanied by the word steadfast. 
   Psalm 26:3, "Your steadfast love is before my yes, and I walk in your faithfulness."
   If something is "before my eyes" then that means I am focused on it. In other words, I should be focused on God's immovable, unchangeable love for me. If I am focused and convinced that God's love for me is constant, dedicated, loyal, faithful, true-blue, then I will be a lot less prone to fear, worry, anxiety, putting too many expectations on my other relationships, seeking love in wrong ways, and other attitudes and behaviors that a lack of feeling loved can trigger.  
   I love that this verse concludes with "and I will walk in Your faithfulness".  Notice it's not "I might".  It seems to me that the psalmist's focus on God's love gave him  confidence in the the fact that he would walk in God's faithfulness wherever his life journey took him.  Now, remember that this Psalm is written by the same David who had some sin issues and struggles in his life.  The psalms that are written by him are filled with his struggles and confessions as well as with praise to God.  He didn't try to whitewash the truth about himself.  In other words, David was confident in God's steadfast love and in the fact that he walked in God's faithfulness, even in his times of weakness!  How often do we believe the lie that God loves us better when we're strong and doing good, that He's faithful to us as long as we're faithful to Him.  The truth is, His love is set upon us, firmly fixed in place, when we're good and when we're bad, when we're strong and when we're weak, when we're up and when we're down. Now, that's some good news to "set before your eyes"!
   still following,
   
   www.justfollowingjesus.com
   
   
   
   
   
   

Press On In Christ

By:

Emily Miller

Today I just want to bring you an inspiring word from Paul's letter to the Philippians.

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

-Philippians 3:14

God has already won the battle for you! You just have to keep pressing on and have faith in Him that you will make it to the end of the finish line!

Blessings-

Emily

Rooted and Growing

By Victoria Duerstock

 As a homeschooling mom, we generally reach a point towards the end of the school year when we pull out the achievement tests for several days.  

In the beginning, it’s rather exciting to put away the regular school books and projects that have at this point become a grind.  It doesn’t take too long though before the pressure of completing the battery of tests starts to remove all fun from the process.

An important component to growth, regular assessment is vital.  The old adage rings true here -We need to inspect what we expect. I also love the slight re-wording I have seen – what we inspect, we can expect.  In other words, when we know our work will be inspected, we tend to work harder to get it done.  When we expect something to get accomplished, we have to be ready to inspect it.  Great leaders know this lesson already.  Without checking in and checking up on regular growth markers, we can easily miss goals or even slide backwards.  This is why accountability both drives us crazy and is essential for our success.  As much as we hate it, when we are accountable to someone, we are more likely to follow through so that we don’t let the other person down.

While many people can be self-disciplined, others struggle.  The area of physical fitness is a perfect example.  Many people will go work out even when they don’t feel like it if they know that someone is waiting on them.  This pressure of not letting someone down actually helps them meet their goals compared to having no partner to let down.

In just the same way regular assessments of our Christian walk are important to our growth.  Getting caught up in the daily list of “to do’s”, we can quickly lose track of where we are in our process of growing in Christ.  If we aren’t careful and too much time passes before we make an honest assessment of ourselves and our spiritual growth, we have a tendency to stagnate or even backslide.  Being accountable to others in this process is also challenging because none of us like to admit our weaknesses. 

On top of regularly assessing our own spiritual lives, we should be continuing to assess our children.  Please don't misunderstand me here, I'm not saying we can see their hearts.  We can't, only God can sees hearts.  But we can assess the fruit in their lives.  We can honestly look at their growth and maturity and take the time to encourage growth in their lives.  Of course, this becomes challenging especially when they resist our efforts. Those who are closest to us also recognize our own weaknesses, and when faced with their issues will likely want to discuss yours.  This is why it’s important to assess your own growth honestly and regularly.  That way we can be just honest with our children about our own struggles with our Christian walk, and share with them the things we are asking the Holy Spirit to help us with.  Instead of wearing a mask and pretending we have it all figured out, we need to be real with our children about our weaknesses and failures.  If we don't let them see our real selves, how are they supposed to cope when they struggle and fail.  Giving them a false picture of our lives will only hurt them in the long run.

Heb. 10:24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. 

My job in my Christian growth is obedience.  

 If I am planting my roots deep in the Word of God, it will shape and mold my thinking.  Out of my thoughts come my actions, so my roots need to be deep.  Growth occurs from a daily walking with the Lord, in my Bible, in Scripture memory, in prayer and in service. 

Col. 2:6,7 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

What a great relief it is to know that the job of the Christian is not perfection! It is a continued growth trajectory closer to God made possible by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and guide me. Spending time praying for my children and asking the Holy Spirit to move on their behalf allows me to release the pressure of producing righteousness in them.  It’s not up to me anyway, but the act of praying for God to move in their hearts reminds me that I’m not in charge.  At the same time I’m reminded that He is their loving Father and loves them even more than I possibly could and wants what’s best for them also. 

I did it!

by Debi Baker

These past couple of weeks have been C-R-A-Z-Y to say the least.  I've been out of town for 4 of the last 7 days!  That's unusual for me but it just so happened that both events were just 2 days apart this time.  It makes for a crazy Debi!  While it makes me crazy, I also love it.  On the flip side of that coin, it makes me miss my hubby and kids-grandkids like, well, you guessed it, crazy!

Sometimes I feel like the 'out-of-town' Debi is a different person from the normal Debi.  I don't like that because we are, in fact, 1 in the same.  Normally, when I am out of town, I am on such a regimented schedule that I just don't have time or rather, don't make the time to spend time with the Lord.  I hate myself when this happens...I mean, after all, God always makes time for me!  This time, these 2 trips, things were different!  I managed to keep my priorities in line and each day out of town I was able to do my reading and spend some time with God!  I feel like doing so helped me not to be quite so rattled and unsettled.

While I'm not patting myself on the back, I am proud that I was able to stay focused (my word for the year-FOCUS) and accomplish what needed to be done.  Keeping focused on my priorities helped my trips to go smoothly and pass quickly.

"³ Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established."

Proverbs 16:3 NKJV

"³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

Matthew 6:33 NKJV

These 2 verses have helped me a great deal in managing my time.  It totally makes sense to me to put God first!  Unfortunately sometimes I fail miserably.  This time...I was successful.  This tells me that I don't have to fail, I can win this war of spending time with God vs doing a bunch of other stuff that has no eternal value!

I pray that you can find that balance to put Him first in all that you do.  If you succeed, that's wonderful!  If you fail, pick yourself up and try again...and again...and again!  I did it and I know you can, too!!

Have a wonderful day!

4 Ways To Make God's Word a Part of Your Day {Link Up}

By: Jenifer Metzger

We know that God's Word should be a daily part of our lives. But how can we really make that happen?

Establish a quiet time each morning.

Friend, I know you are tired. I know you struggle to sleep well at night. I know the baby doesn't sleep through the night. I know your mornings are chaotic. I get it. I promise I do. But when we make time for God each morning, we are aligning our heart and mind to Him. This is the best start to the day we could ever have. Crazy things will still happen in your day. The mailman will still bring bills, the dog will still run away, the baby will still cry, your circumstances may not change at all. But when we start our day aligning with the Father, we are more prepared to deal with everything that comes are way. For me personally, I absolutely have to drag myself out of bed to brush my teeth and shower. I cannot even see clearly until these things are done. Some people need coffee, I need a shower. As soon as I am ready, I go straight to my chair for time with God. Maybe for you, once you are out of the bed the day begins in full force. Place your Bible right next to your alarm clock. Before your feet even hit the floor, reach for the Word and spend a few minutes reading and praying. Do what works for you!

Go to the Word through out the day.

Write out Scriptures you'd like to memorize on index cards. Place them in areas where you will see them often, like the refrigerator, the dash of your car, the baby's changing table, or the bathroom mirror. Even put a Scripture as your phone lock screen. Every time you see these verses, say them out loud. Use Scripture as art in your home. Whether you hand letter it yourself and frame it, create it on the computer or go to my favorite store, Hobby Lobby, and purchase art, place Scriptures throughout your home. As your eyes catch the verse throughout the day, say it out loud. After you read your Bible in the morning, don't place it away on a shelf or in a bag, leave it out and open. If you are worried about the kiddos spilling something on your Bible, get an older Bible you've long placed on the shelf or purchase a Bible for this purpose. You can get gift Bibles, nothing fancy at all just the Word, for as little as $5. As you walk past the open Bible, read a verse or chapter. If you do these things all day long, you are getting so much of God's Word in your heart!

Utilize the Bible app.

We all wait. Whether it's waiting in lines at the grocery store, waiting in the doctor's office or waiting in the school pick up line, we all wait. During that time of waiting, what do we all do? We turn to our phones. We use our phones and social media to entertain us while we wait. What if instead of tapping on Facebook or Instagram, we tap on the Bible app? What if instead of laughing at memes or making funny faces at Snapchat, we get in a few verses of the Lord's Words to us? Whenever you are waiting, use the Bible app. It's a great, convenient way to get into the Word.

End your day with God.

My favorite way to end the day is reading. I always have a fiction book on my nightstand. Something for fun. No books I have to review, nothing that is going to get my mind working before sleeping. Just easy, fun books. But I have found when I end the day with the Word of God, my heart and mind both relax making it easier to sleep. And for this insomniac, that is a blessing! I still read my fun books before bed, but after closing the cover, I reach to the nightstand where I keep a devotional. Something that has a couple of Scriptures then a short encouragement. It's only 5 minutes of reading, sometimes not even that, but gets that last dose of God's Word in me before bed.

What are other ways you get the Word in throughout the day? Share in the comments so that we can all be encouraged and inspired!  

It is time for the Woman to Woman Word Filled Wednesday Link Up. We desire to connect women of God with one another and encourage each other in Christ. So grab a cup of coffee or glass of sweet tea, sit back and visit a few blogs. Be encouraged and share your own stories in their comments.

Use hashtag #w2wwordfilledwednesday

Three rules to this link up:
1. Must be a {Christian} faith post.
2. Link back to W2W somewhere in your post. (Feel free to use our button if you want!)
3. Visit and comment on at least one other blog in the link up.

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Handling Overly Sensitive Emotions

By: Jenifer Metzger

I am a crier. I cry at the drop of a hat. I cry when I am sad, angry, hurt, tired, happy, nervous, feel offended, feel attacked, feel nostalgic, you name the emotion and I probably cry about it. I've been told that I am too sensitive. That I cry too much. I've even been told I act like a victim because I cry. These comments have made me pause and question myself. Why do I cry? Can I stop? Am I really acting like a victim?

The truth is when the tears come, there is no stopping them. I am sure you understand. No amount of breathing slowly or fanning your face makes the tears just dry up. Some people yell and some people bottle things up and move on. My "go to" natural emotion is to cry. So how can we handle our emotions when we are an overly sensitive person?

Realize God created you.

God created us all on purpose and for a purpose, He also created us all differently. In almost 21 years with my husband, I have only seen him cry maybe 4 times, our wedding day, the birth of our older children (he didn't even cry at the births of our younger children!) and the day we found out my grandmother had stage 4 cancer. Me? I cry probably 4 times a week...at least. It's not just a men vs women thing either. One of my husband's good friends, a man, is a crier. And I know women who rarely cry. God created us all different. These emotions we have are straight from God. He created us sensitive for a reason. We may or may not know what that reason is, but He does. Embrace the way God made you, tears and all.

Is your crying justified?

We all have reasons to cry. I already told you that I cry about a lot of things. But I also notice that when I am overly tired or overly stressed about something, I tend to cry much easier. Being offended and hurt becomes magnified. If you become more sensitive when you are tired, be careful. Make sure you get plenty of sleep. When you are tired, try to avoid situations that are going to get to you. Some people become sensitive when hungry. If this is you, carry things with you like a granola bar or crackers this way when you are hungry you will have a quick pick me up. Also try to avoid situations when you are hungry. If you are crying because you are releasing the emotions, that is okay. But if you are crying because you are tired and because you are tired everything is getting to you, remedy the situation.

God made you this way, but He can also help you.

Oh all the times I've heard someone blame their emotions on their hormones! We women tend to become more sensitive around our time of the month. It's normal really. But here's the deal ladies, God gave you these emotions as well as He gave you this biological release, if you will. Do not use your hormones or your time of the month as an excuse to be mean to others. Just because your unwanted visitor is in town does not give you the right to be so overly sensitive that you hurt others. God gave you these emotions, but He can also help you deal with them. If your hormones or your time of the month is causing you to be extra sensitive, first off, go to God. Ask Him to help you keep control over your emotions, attitude and words. Then be sure to get plenty of sleep and drink plenty of water. Our bodies desperately need these things, especially at that time. Also do things that will relax you like drink hot tea, use a heating pad, take a warm bath, or take a walk.

Never, ever use your sensitivity to manipulate.

This pretty much speaks for itself. Never use your sensitivity to manipulate others. If you are a crier, do not cry just to get your way. If you and your husband need to deal with an issue, do not use tears to get out of the situation, deal with it head on, even while you cry. God did not give us emotions to manipulate others to getting our own way.

Friends, remember that God made you. If He made you emotional, that's okay. We just need to learn to deal with these emotions in a healthy way that will not wreak havoc on our relationships.

The God Who knows what you need...

by Elizabeth Stewart

Have your ever gone to another person with a need and been disappointed in their response?  Perhaps you went to your husband just needing to talk over something you were wrestling with, simply hoping for a listening ear, but instead he began to tell you how to fix the situation.  Maybe you went to a good friend for comfort and instead they began to tell you how much worse they had it than you. People let us down. Even those who love us wholeheartedly and would never deliberately hurt us or disappoint us can't always be there for us or respond perfectly to what we need in every situation.

There's only One Who knows exactly what you need and what is best for you.  That person isn't even yourself!  Sometimes we can be like a willful toddler who insists they need a cookie, but mama knows that they really need a nap.  God sees past what we think we need in every situation and circumstance and knows what we really need. When we need a rock to lean on, He's our rock.  When we need set free, He's our deliverer. When we need protection, He's our shield.  He's a willing listener to our every cry. He's a good shepherd when we need guidance. He's our counselor when we need wisdom.  He's our peace when we are in turmoil.  He's our perfect Father Who always knows what we need and when we need it.  He will always be there for us and never leave us or forsake us.  People may fail us, but God never fails.  Perhaps our relationships would be healthier if we place less expectations on others to be what we need, and more expectation on the One Who is all that we need.

still following,

www.justfollowingjesus.com

A Gentle Answer

By:

Emily Miller

I don't know about you all, but I think as women we sometimes have the desire to be right all the time, even when we are not.

This last week alone has been trying enough for me. The president made a decision for my University that was ultimately along the lines of Christian Conservative values the school should have been following, to begin with. Yet, this decision has, in turn, upset about 75% of the liberal population on campus and has put me at odds with this 75%.

When I believe strongly about something, I tend to want to fight to get my point across, especially when I feel like I am the one not being heard or understood in a situation.

This does not just happen when it comes to political issues. It can happen in your relationships where you and the other person may not exactly see eye to eye on an issue.

Sometimes it can be exhausting to fight to get your point across. There is also a very good chance that you will only drive the other person off or set them even further in their mindset that you do not agree with.

When it comes to times like these it is important to remember a simple Proverb.

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Proverbs 15:1

So the next time you find yourself in an argument, whether it may be something you are convicted on or not, try answering in a gentle manner. You may find that disagreements are diffused more quickly and compromises will be made more easily if you don't spend your energy fighting about something that may or may not matter very much in the long run.

Blessings-

Emily

UNPLUG!

by Victoria Duerstock

 Now more than ever we seem to be living on sensory overload!  

Have you noticed it too?  Maybe it has crept in on you and the subtle changes to the way you live are not too noticeable.  Or maybe you’ve been aware, but since everyone is doing it you have joined them.  It’s hard not to join in when you see the tops of everyone’s heads as they stay engrossed in their phones and the apps on them.

Now before I go any further I’m not saying technology is bad.  It’s not.  It is so useful and convenient for some many things. I am personally on my laptop, Ipad, phone, etc. numerous hours a week.  But the more we use it, the more we use it.  I realize that was a deep one. But have you noticed just how much we rely on our stuff.  The smaller the gadgets get also the more they invade our every process.  My watch now vibrates my arm on a regular basis reminding me to drink water, to stand up, to get some exercise, what the latest breaking news is and when someone is texting or calling and I don’t have my phone.  Now it’s an incredible convenience and helps me stay on top of things that are good for me and needful, but it can also interrupt my line of thought and keep me off focus.

Our children are struggling with technology too.  They are growing up with fashion conscious “experts” in their face at every turn about what product they should be using, what they should be wearing and what makes them popular.  You can find them not just on Facebook – my teenagers already think that’s outdated, or Instagram, but also on Snapchat, and every variety of app in between.  The selfie game is upped so high the standard of perfection is impossible without a filter.  Why have we allowed this to happen? The endless lie of the perfect body, the perfect hair, the perfect face – we become so inwardly focused and critical, our babies are in crisis because they can’t reach the standard unless the gloss it or brush it, or stand at just the right angle. 

Lest you think I am letting us adults off the hook, hang on.  We are just as susceptible.  I’ve just reviewed dozens of Easter pictures and said NOPE to a majority because let me be honest, I can’t take a decent picture.  There are rare moments where one is captured – but beyond that I have thousands where I just look awkward, or strange!  What about Pinterest? Again it is another great resource, but I can’t help but think that we women would be more inviting and “open house minded” if we weren’t trying to measure up to the Pinterest level of perfection that the dishes and decorating standards splash on every page.  My Pinterest fail pins would actually be much more real life than the pins I have with beautiful dishes I have never created, but did indeed save to a board three years ago.

Don’t be afraid to delete an app – you can get it back I promise!  Or set a timer on yourself and when it’s up don’t look at it again.  Turn the phone off, shut the laptop. Bottom line it’s our self-discipline that is lacking many times, when we find ourselves constantly checking in to see what’s going on.  Rest is the farthest thing from our minds, and don’t get me started on how these “conveniences” are actually stealing our sleep many times because of the “blue light.”

Addiction centers are now having to deal with folks who can’t turn it off and walk away.  This is so sad to me.  I believe our children growing up with and around all of these conveniences are going to struggle even more in the days ahead with this type of addiction.  We need to help them learn how to manage even the good things in our lives.

So how do we do that?

1.     Pray that God would show you how!  I’m not sure why this seems to always end up on the bottom of the least of “things to do when you have a problem” but it usually does.  When else fails, I’ll pray about it.  How sad!  Our very first reaction to any dilemma or crisis or need for wisdom should be to ask the One who has all the power, and the might and the wisdom and tells us to ask him!

James 1:5 – If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously

 to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

2.     Lead by example – my husband has a favorite quote – “Our talk talks and our walk talks, BUT our walk talks louder than our talk talks.”  Think about it for a minute…if you aren’t willing to put down your phone and have a conversation over dinner, why should your children?  If you can’t demonstrate how important real life conversations are by being in the moment, how will our children do that as they age.  Let us be able to say to our children:

I Corinthians 11:1 - Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

3.     Talk about it. Have the tough conversations.  Our kids need to know that we care and we are interested.  Have them show you what they are doing on social media.  Be all up in their business mama.  You need to be there – you need to call them out when they are doing the wrong thing, and you need to encourage them when they are doing it right.  If we don’t talk about it, or share in it someone else will – and the world has easy access to their ears and eyes no matter how protected an environment we try to provide.  Our enemy seeks to destroy us by any means and that means he is after our children – Be vigilant!

I Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls

 around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

4.     Encourage other moms!  Some need to know what their kids are up to online – some need you to intervene and help them, and some just need a shoulder to cry on and someone who’ll pray for them.  Be that person!

Just this week, I’ve read some truly disturbing stories about middle school and what these children are going through when people are opening “fake” accounts in their names and posting trash, and crude and vile things.  The mean things that are being said, and spread are horrifying.  When our children act out, we have to put a stop to it and teach them they are wrong.  When our children are hurt by others, we need to be present and an anchor to keep them from drowning in the pain inflicted by others, teaching their value is in Christ and because they bear His image.

Technology itself is not evil, but it certainly can be used in evil ways.  Technology can also be a very good thing but it can be a time waster and a distracter.  Learn to unplug for an hour, a day or a week and see what you've been missing.  How would our homes, communities, schools and churches look different this week, if we all unplugged a bit more?