The Power of a False Story

I have been thinking lately of the power of story in our lives.  If good stories are powerful to inspire us, then bad stories must be powerful too.   I wrote about that here.

Happy Prayer of the Conquered

It is a very sweet thing to come into your presence, O Lord. Very sweet. Having you I have all. And what profit is it for a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?

You are the Creator, the king, the wise disposer of all things. And so, O Lord, where you have ordered and it cannot be changed, let me bow humbly and trust deeply. Let not my care, my restlessness, my discontent, be for those things. Let my care, restlessness, discontent rather be for those things that are my duties, my freedoms, my stewardship, my service, the places that are my responsibility and the places, therefore, of influence. Rather than be consumed with self-pity and discontent, let me steward my influence ( considerable, in God's providence, for a woman ) and learn to love better, deeper, more generously. If I honor, love, give, serve, conditioned on others' deserving, I shall invoke the wrath of God against myself, for if He follows my example, I am hell-bound.

Lord, you providential crossing of my will and your continuing to do so after repeated entreaties, leaves me conquered. The upper hand I wished for is not mine but yours. And when by your grace I am in my right mind, I am as happy there as a servant under the most just King, a student under the wisest teacher, a vile beggar welcomed, pardoned, clothed and seated at a banquet.

The book husbands wish their wives would check out of the library.

Someone once said that the most important thing in marriage is being able to see something from the other person's perspective. The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands is a tool to help wives see life from the husband's perspective.  In that, Dr. Laura Schlessinger has done us all a favor.  It's true, husbands have no excuse for not leading.  But neither do wives have any excuse for disheartening their husbands by withholding affection and praise and refusing to be satisfied. Though Dr. Laura sadly does not know Christ, she has oodles of insight into human nature.

Neglect of Prayer and Rotten Fruit

Puritan Anthony Burgess says that a critical spirit, a jealous spirit and a suspicious spirit all grow out of our neglect of praying for one another.  What sweet fruit we could enjoy if we were more obedient.  Here Burgess whets our appetite for such obedience.

Raising Boys to Be Men

Here is an email I wrote in response to someone asking that question:
I am sorry to be getting back to you so late.
Did your family take in the 4-12 conference?

The best I can do right now on this important topic of raising boys is to recommend some excellent resources.
FULL of practical wisdom on how to transition our children out of the home life into the world, the following article is one of the most valuable I know of by the father of Josh, Bret and Alex Harris.
 
“Outgrowing the Greenhouse: A conversation with Gregg Harris”
www.hslda.org/courtreport/V25N3/V25N301.asp

Then I would also recommend Future Men by Doug Wilson and Raising Real Men by Hal and Melanie Young, parents of SIX boys.

Along a slightly different track, I would recommend "A Wise Woman's Guide to Blessing Her Husband's Wisdom" -- a lecture by Doug Phillips.  I think this is a very important lecture (At least it has been for me) because it clued me in (duh) on the fact that to give room for my husband to lead means that he may make some decisions that I would not have made.  (Can you believe it?)  The lecture helped me to see that I have at times been a discouragement to my husband leading rather than an encouragement.

God bless you and counsel.   Cry for wisdom and a teachable spirit.
Here is a quote from Thomas Brooks to encourage you:

"Your life is short,
your duties many,
your assistance great
and your reward sure;
therefore faint not,
hold on and hold up,
in ways of well doing
and heaven shall make amends for all."

Thomas Brooksmeone asked me about raising boys to be men.  Here is what I wrote.

A Warning for Our JOY

Oh, I love this post.   Jasmine Baucham wisely warns against defining Biblical femininity more narrowly than Scripture.   The devil is happy either way: if we define femininity without any Biblical hedges or if we plant hedges within the hedges within the hedge of God's law.  The latter will make us grumpy, self-righteous, and unfruitful.   Not very attractive to the world.   Not very salty.

When your children make you want to cry....

I found this post about wedding dresses on my daughter's blog today.