Tag: serving

Dear wife and mom,

Being a wife and mom can be one of the most rewarding experiences a woman could know — it can also be one of the most hardest and exasperating experiences. A woman who is caring for her home and family in a manner that honors God, is always watching over every activity and she is never idle. At times, though, life gets completely crazy and it feels like if just one more thing happens that last nerve that is already stretched to the breaking point will snap. It’s easy to speak words that build up and edify when we have enough rest and life is good, but what comes out of your mouth when life is hard?

In the moments that you feel overwhelmed, exhausted as you work on the third load of laundry (only to find your husband’s socks on the floor that missed the last load), change the baby’s diaper for the sixth time in a single hour because her tummy is upset and you were up all night with her crying…all while trying to figure out how to make the groceries last to the next pay day and fixing dinner with the fussy baby on your hip — what words come out of your mouth?

Solomon’s “Capable Wife”

In Proverbs 31:10-31, Solomon writes about the “capable wife” and describes her characteristics. In verse 26, he writes, “whenever she opens her mouth, words of wisdom and loving instruction are on her tongue.” So in the crazy moments of life, what words come out of your mouth? Jesus said in Matthew 12:34 that “the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.” In other words, the words we speak will reveal the true nature of our heart. (click to tweet)

Practicing the Pause

For Solomon, the “capable wife” speaks out of wisdom and kindness. But when life get’s crazy and we’ve not had enough sleep, speaking out of wisdom and kindness can be very difficult. In these moments, it can be helpful to practice “the pause.” This simply means that before we let any words pass through our mouth, we take a deep breath in, hold it for a few seconds, and slowly let it out. During that process, you can send up a “mayday prayer” – a short, simple, quick prayer that is a cry for help. Maybe your mayday prayer is, “Lord! Give me strength!” or “Lord, let my words honor you.” or just simply, “Lord! Help!”

David wrote in Psalm 121, “Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” So no matter how cray life gets, remember where your help comes from. Then as you exhale, think about the words you will say before they come out of your mouth and make sure they are loving, full of wisdom and kindness – then they will be words that honor God.

#words #maydayprayer #practicethepause

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God, Love, and Marshmallow Wars

What’s Inside God, Love and Marshmallow Wars?

This book includes 365 daily activities and takes you on a guided journey through Biblical principles about Godly marriage that you can then apply to your marriage, as well as helping you talk through concepts that can help you develop a solid relationship. Inside you will find simple, quick activities that include:

• Scripture to memorize and meditate on
• Conversation Starters
• Concepts from the Bible on Godly marriages
• Romance Builders
• Relationship Builders
• Personal reflections
• Date ideas
• Group date ideas for you and other Christian couples

Available in hardback, paperback and ebook from Westbow Press Bookstore, Christian Book Distributors, Amazon, and Barnes & Nobel. Click the icons below to purchase from your preferred bookstore. Now also available at WalMart online.

 Join the community of couples on Facebook who are committed to intentionally growing their marriage and learning how to have a marriage that honors God. Here you can post photos of the different activities as you do them, ask questions of other couples, share how God is using this book to strengthen your marriage, and grow with other Christian couples. We’ll see you in the community.

Bible Studies, Bibles, Books & More

Looking for a Bible Study, Bible, book or Christian gift? We are an affiliate with Christianbook Distributors and receive an 8% commission on any item purchased through one of our links. However, the commission never increases your cost of any item. View some of our favorite items by clicking on the logo and thank you for supporting our ministry.

Christianbook Distributors Search: Title Author/Artist ISBN CBD Stock # Keywords Publisher

904.239.8937
A non-profit ministry located in Jacksonville, FL 
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Jesus’ Mission

Jesus’ mission on earth was to be the sacrifice that paid the penalty for our sins. At any moment, He could have called out for the angels of heaven to come and rescue him – but he stayed the course. He didn’t bail out of the plan when things got difficult. Jesus was committed…all the way to the cross and the grave. He was committed to His mission because of His love for us – a love that was so strong that even when we are still sinners, He chose to die in our place so that we could have eternal life.

How committed are you to Jesus?

How committed are you to Jesus? Are you faithful to read His Word and pray? Are you faithful in attending church? How faithful are you in tithing? Are you faithful and committed to Him when life gets difficult and overwhelming? 2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of Yahweh roam throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His.” Are you completely His or is there some part of yourself that you are holding back and have not surrendered to Him?

Loving Like Jesus

In John 13:34, Jesus gave a new commandment in which He said, “love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” If we are to love others – including our spouse – as Jesus has loved us then we need to remember the commitment Jesus had. We need to remember that when being nailed to a cross, He didn’t bail on us.

Committed to your Marriage

One of the greatest opportunities we have to love like Jesus is within our marriage. Just as Jesus’ love for us kept Him committed to paying for our sins, we can love like Him through our commitment to our marriage. If God wants our hearts to be completely His, then our hearts also need to be completely reserved for our spouse.

Being committed to your spouse includes keeping yourself only for him/her. It means not giving up on your marriage when things get tough. Being committed in your marriage means honoring your marriage vows. What other ways can you demonstrate your commitment to your spouse? Take some time to reflect on the level of commitment you have for your marriage and your spouse. Are you as committed to your marriage and spouse as Jesus was to you?

#lovelikeChrist #committed #commitment

God, Love and Marshmallow Wars
by Julia M. Bruce

What’s Inside God, Love and Marshmallow Wars?

This book includes 365 daily activities and takes you on a guided journey through Biblical principles about Godly marriage that you can then apply to your marriage, as well as helping you talk through concepts that can help you develop a solid relationship. Inside you will find simple, quick activities that include:

• Scripture to memorize and meditate on
• Conversation Starters
• Concepts from the Bible on Godly marriages
• Romance Builders
• Relationship Builders
• Personal reflections
• Date ideas
• Group date ideas for you and other Christian couples

Available in hardback, paperback and ebook from Westbow Press Bookstore, Christian Book Distributors, Amazon, and Barnes & Nobel. Click the icons below to purchase from your preferred bookstore. Now also available at WalMart online.

 Join the community of couples on Facebook who are committed to intentionally growing their marriage and learning how to have a marriage that honors God. Here you can post photos of the different activities as you do them, ask questions of other couples, share how God is using this book to strengthen your marriage, and grow with other Christian couples. We’ll see you in the community.

Bible Studies, Bibles, Books & More

Looking for a Bible Study, Bible, book or Christian gift? We are an affiliate with Christianbook Distributors and receive an 8% commission on any item purchased through one of our links. However, the commission never increases your cost of any item. View some of our favorite items by clicking on the logo and thank you for supporting our ministry.

Christianbook Distributors Search: Title Author/Artist ISBN CBD Stock # Keywords Publisher

904.239.8937
A non-profit ministry located in Jacksonville, FL 
Follow us on:

Living by faith

Living by faith is hard. And living out your faith is hard. At times, when we need to be steadfast, immovable, the weight of ministry keeps us out of the spiritual battle. And when we are not anchored to God, being steadfast, immovable isn’t even possible. Sometimes the busyness of life clamors for our attention and we don’t have time to have a quiet time with God. The more days that slip by without it, we risk becoming apathetic about serving God…especially when we are not seeing results. As a result we become discouraged and often give up. We cannot be steadfast, immovable in our faith, when we are not grounded to the Solid Rock. Our quiet time with God gives us that grounding so that we can keep on serving God, even when if seems as if the results are little.

Steadfast, Immovable without seeing results

I first started serving in churches when I was only in middle school (only back then we called it junior high school). My dad was a pastor and he served mostly in small churches. I taught a group of younger children on Sunday evenings. I’ve pretty much served in churches or a religious ministry in some capacity since then. Most of my working career has been in religious organizations. I know how discouraging it can be when we serve God day after day and yet it seems as if there are no results to the work we are doing.

Pastors are not the only ones to experience this. Sunday school (or Small Group Leaders), Vacation Bible School volunteers, the volunteers at the homeless shelter, teachers, therapists or any other person who serves in a “helping vocation or capacity” can experience discouragement when they give all they have to give (and even more) and it appears to yield no results. But Paul told the church at Corinth to be steadfast, immovable because they were not laboring in vain.

Steadfast, Immovable

No matter how God has called you to serve, let me encourage you through the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:58. Paul writes, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” – (ESV) Paul gives us four thoughts in this verse:

Be Steadfast

To be steadfast means to be resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering. Applied here, we need to be firm and unwavering in the faith of the gospel of Christ. That gospel includes his miraculous birth, his sinless life, his death on the cross in payment for our sins, and his glorious resurrection from the dead. Don’t let discouragement turn you away from the faith and service you have been called to do. Stand firm and know that God is at work as you serve Him. Keep being obedient and trust God to do the work. You may never know in this life the impact you are making…but one day in your eternal life you will see the rewards of your service. Be steadfast!

Be Immovable

To be immovable means to not yield to argument or pressure. It means we should be fixed and unchangeable. The opposite of immovable would be to be fickle or changing as the wind blows. Ephesians 4:14 instructs that we are not to be “tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming.”

James 1:8 says “a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” The way to be immovable is through studying the Bible and allowing the Holy Spirit teach you. It isn’t enough to sit in church on Sunday and listen to the preacher…no matter how good he is. How would you ever know if he preached something that was against the teaching of the Bible if you are not a student of the Bible yourself?

We need to be in God’s Word every day…growing in spiritual maturity so that when the storms of life come or when some incorrect doctrine is taught we will know it. It’s like a tree, planted near a water source with a deep root system. When storms come that tree will still be standing. However a tree that has a shallow root system will topple over with a good wind. 

The more we know about God, the better equipped we are to serve God as we serve others. It is how we grow spiritually and how we develop a deep root system. You cannot be immovable if you are not planted deeply in the Word of God. You need a deep root system to be immovable.

Be Abounding in the Work of the Lord

The work of the Lord can be found in the Great Commission. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus tells us to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” The work of the Lord is to bring the good news of Jesus to everyone.

Acts 1:8 tells us that we are to be witnesses for Christ in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. However, we are not just to be about the work of the Lord, we are to abound in it. The Greek word is perisseuo and means to “be in excess or to cause to superabound or excel” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1980). In other words we are to spread the Gospel of Jesus beyond measure…everywhere we go, to every person we meet.

So be abounding (not mediocre or just a little bit but abounding) in the work of the Lord.

Your work is not in vain

We can know that the work we do for God will not go in vain. You can rest assured that what you do for Christ will reap results, even if you don’t know about them. When you reach Heaven there will be those who are there because of a Sunday school lesson you taught or because of a meal you served to a homeless person. Maybe you served kids cookies or snacks at Vacation Bible School but you served with the love and kindness of Christ to a child who may have only experienced harsh words or violence at home. You never know what heart you will touch and in what way. But you can know that God will take each act of service you do for him and it will reap rewards.

Parable of the Sower

One day, Jesus was teaching the crowds of people and told a story or a parable, which is a story with a meaning or teaching to it. In Matthew 13:1-8 we find the Parable of the Sower.

On that day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat down, while the whole crowd stood on the shore. Then He told them many things in parables, saying: “Consider the sower who went out to sow. As he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on rocky ground, where there wasn’t much soil, and they sprang up quickly since the soil wasn’t deep. But when the sun came up they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them. Still others fell on good ground and produced a crop: some 100, some 60, and some 30 times what was sown.

The sower in the parable is much like us as we serve God. Some of our efforts fall along the path and they are swooped up before they can take root. Some might fall along rocky ground where there is a little dirt. It springs quickly, but there isn’t a deep root system to sustain it. Some might fall among thorns and get all the life choked out. But then there will be the efforts that fall on fertile ground and produces an abundance of crops…30, 60, and even 100 times what was sown!

Some plant, some sow

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:5-6, “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. If you feel as if your efforts are not making a difference just remember that there are some who plant the seed, some who water it and help it grow, but it is God that does the actual work. Whatever the call is for your life…however you are serving God…it makes a difference and when you get to Heaven you are going to be amazed at how many people are there because of the work you do for Christ! Don’t get discouraged. Be steadfast. Immovable. Abounding in the word of the Lord. Know that nothing you do for Christ is in vain.

#steadfast #immovable #dontgiveup #ministrylife

Bible Studies, Bibles, Books & More

Looking for a Bible Study, Bible, book or Christian gift? We are an affiliate with Christianbook Distributors and receive an 8% commission on any item purchased through one of our links. However, the commission never increases your cost of any item. View some of our favorite items by clicking on the logo and thank you for supporting our ministry.

Christianbook Distributors Search: Title Author/Artist ISBN CBD Stock # Keywords Publisher

What’s Inside God, Love and Marshmallow Wars?

This book includes 365 daily activities and takes you on a guided journey through Biblical principles about Godly marriage that you can then apply to your marriage, as well as helping you talk through concepts that can help you develop a solid relationship. Inside you will find simple, quick activities that include:

• Scripture to memorize and meditate on
• Conversation Starters
• Concepts from the Bible on Godly marriages
• Romance Builders
• Relationship Builders
• Personal reflections
• Date ideas
• Group date ideas for you and other Christian couples

Available in hardback, paperback and ebook from Westbow Press Bookstore, Christian Book Distributors, Amazon, and Barnes & Nobel. Click the icons below to purchase from your preferred bookstore. Now also available at WalMart online.

 Join the community of couples on Facebook who are committed to intentionally growing their marriage and learning how to have a marriage that honors God. Here you can post photos of the different activities as you do them, ask questions of other couples, share how God is using this book to strengthen your marriage, and grow with other Christian couples. We’ll see you in the community.

904.239.8937
A non-profit ministry located in Jacksonville, FL 
Follow us on: