Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Good News Bad News Good News

Well I have Good News, Bad News, Good News.

The good news is last night after I made us a simple chicken pasta and salad dinner (I'm talking r-e-a-l-l-y simple, the ravioli came stuffed with chicken and Italian spices from Costco and is oohhh so good)I prepared a place for my husband to relax only in that I turned some lamps on that are in our back porch so it would not be totally dark and look inviting (took a total of 15 seconds) where he likes to chill a bit with nothing to do except watch sports or Fox news.

I tidied the kitchen and washed the last pot and the counters before getting ready to help Mary with homework. I popped my head outside to tell Terry I would join him as soon as I finished with Mary, and I scooted upstairs to help Mary who had already started.

You are still in the good news segment by the way, for Terry said, "Thanks for pampering me, I really appreciate it and I really need it." WOW!!! I had forgotten to think of his perspective lately, and had begun taking him for granted. I began with making a concentrated effort of stopping what I'm doing (like writing the blog) and greeting him with a kiss when he arrives home. 

It easy for me to forget that he's busy trying to earn a living while taking care for so many people, wife + 4 kids, plus employees, plus clients, plus friends, plus extended family, plus other responsibilities, plus maintenance issues of things at home and elsewhere that just plain break, need attention, car maintenance etc.

"You're welcome!" I replied.

He later said it again! I was with Mary, and Terry walked by and encouraged me again saying, "Thanks for making supper, cleaning up, and letting me relax! I really appreciated it!"

I immediately thought of all of you!!! I couldn't wait to tell you how treating your husband with extra attention and kindness and doing things so he will know he is important to you goes so far! (New readers, please read yesterday's prayer in which we prayed we would do it "as unto Christ!" in my blog post entitled, "You Can Be the Wife of a Happier Husband.")

And now for this morning. 

I blew it in a stupid way. Some things are just plain stupid. Like Emily, our Bible study leader at my church said this morning quoting John Piper, "Some things are just stupid because sin is stupid."

I was running late to arrive early for Bible study so I can pray with a few women that pray before our study time begins. I sat down to put on my make up and head out. Terry and I had had a sweet morning together already, and he now had just returned from exercise. He started chatting with me, and all I could think was, "I don't have time to chat. I'm already late. Just don't mind me, I'm just going to put on my make up and dash out." 

I didn't say it—I just tried to hurry and finish up. Then Terry said, "Do you think we could get these cabinets cleaned? Juana, look at these two bad spots." I replied, "I don't have time to look." Yes, sin is stupid sometimes. 

If you right nowjust glance right then back at your screenit will probably take a whopping .5 seconds. And I just told my husband "I didn't have time to look"!! (he was not very happy with meneedless to say and reminded me it only take 2 seconds to look, but I timed it when I wrote this blog and he was being mighty generous)

It says in James 3:9-10, "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be."

How much better is a good, kind word to set the tone of  the day for our husbands?

"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." ~Proverbs 25:11
A good word the Bible says is like apples (you will have to picture
these in gold and in a silver basket!) I only had the apples!
I can almost laugh now at all this. I told Terry I didn't have time to "look" and why? Because I wanted to go and pray with the women. 

God is not impressed that I wanted to pray when I didn't want to give my husband the time of day—literally .5 seconds of my time. 

Amy Carmichael, the Irish missionary in India, said, "See anything that cuts across your will as a chance to die." 

Stopping what I was doing to give my husband focused attention was cutting across my will and it was an opportunity for me to die to self. I didn't past the test this morning, but I am teachable! I want to learn!

If we wallow around in our mistakes we are feeding self again, and now compounding the problem with an extra helping of refusing to die to self and continue to give ourselves attention. So instead, I'm asking God for another opportunity to show Him I'm His girl!

For what is ministry anyway? It's: doing what God wants you to do, when He wants you to do it, the way a Christian should do it. 

Right at this moment, my ministry is writing you (and I benefit from that too!). But I only do this a few minutes of the day (& I do love it! Esp. conversing with you & growing together!) I will come back sometime today to converse with any comments with you here and on Facebook and Twitter. But all added upit's not the bulk of my day.

My main ministry is being a help, wife, friend, companion to my husband, and mother to our children. That's what occupies the majority of my day. I really don't think it matters to God if I'm writing you or helping my husband—as long as I am doing what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, the way a Christian should do it. That covers a whole bunch of stuff we women do! From changing diapers to being intimate with our husbands (yes, I said that because I think we need to remember how important that is in marriage. If you've been a reader here very long, you know how I say it's no use singing praises to God in the choir and ignoring your husband's (and your marriage's) needs.  

So that brings us back to good news.

His mercies are new every morning!  We can, at any point in the day, start fresh with God! He loves us to turn to Him and as we said in earlier blog last week, even as Saint Francis de Sales says giving God a  "mere upward glance" reminding Him that we know we need Him and love Him!

❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ 

I have a whole page of notes here to blog out to you from Nancy Cobb's awesome talk last Thursday night! I'm feeling like I really needed to say the above first with you which now has taken up this whole blog.  I am going to give you her first point! OK, ready?

JUMP START YOUR MARRIAGE IN 3 DAYS

A. God's job description for your marriage
     1. Invite Jesus into your marriage 

 Jesus felt weddings were important! His first miracle happened at a wedding in Cana. (John 2)

So, why not invite Jesus into your marriage right now?

More next time! You are going to love this! I love you dear friend! Your Sister in Christ,

Walk by Faith,

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for the reminder that my husband comes before other ministry!

    ReplyDelete

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