Passionate Housewife Desperate For God

1st John 1:5-10

2011-10-03T12:17:00.000-07:00

SCRIPTURE
5 - This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
6 - If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 - But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 - If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 - If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 - If we say that we have not sinned we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

OBSERVATIONS
God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all.
There are so many Scriptures related to light and darkness throughout the Bible. When the Spirit of God was hovering over the earth which was dark and void, the first thing He created was light. "And God said, 'Let there be light.'" (Genesis 1:1-3)
God is referenced as light many times. - "The Lord is my light and my salvation." (Psalm 27:1)
We need the light. - "Oh send out Your light and Your truth. Let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your tabernacle." (Psalm 43:3)
God's Word is referenced as light. - "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psalm 119:105) "O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord." (Isaiah 2:5) Those who are God's people are called to be the light in the world. - "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before me, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16)
Jesus is called the Light. - "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it." (John 1:4-5) "This man [John the Baptist] came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light [Jesus], that all through him might believe. He [J the B] was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light [Jesus]. (John 1:7-8) "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." (John 3:19-21) "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.'" (John 8:12) "Then Jesus said to them 'A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.' These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them." (John 12:35-36) "I [Jesus] have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness." (John 12:46)
We are to walk in the light. - "For you were once darkness, but now you are the light in the Lord. Walk as children of light and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them." (Ephesians 5:8-11) "You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness." (I Thessalonians 5:5)
If we say we have fellowship with God but walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
We are to know God's Word and have it in our hearts so much that we do no walk in darkness. I think of it also as being filled with the Spirit so much that we do not walk in the flesh.
If we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and Jesus' blood cleanses us from our sin.
If we say that we do not sin, we are deceived and/or are lying to ourselves.
For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
If we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from unrighteousness.
If we say that we haven't sinned, we are making God a liar and His word is not in us.
Again, Romans 3:23.

APPLICATION
If we say that we are walking with the Lord, we should be different. We shouldn't be walking in darkness. We should only be in the light.
We should practice truth and not lies. We do this by walking in the light and not the darkness.
We are all sinners and we need to call our sin what it is, sin. We need to confess our sins and Jesus will forgive us and cleanse us.
We need to have God's word in us so much that there isn't room for darkness. Sort of like being filled with the Spirit and not the flesh.

PRAYER
Lord,
Thank You for Your word which teaches us how to live. Thank You for loving us enough to give us the Light of Jesus. Please help us to stay away from darkness and walk in the light of Your word. Scripture tells us that Your word is a light unto our path. Please help us to stay on the path directed by light and not to be in the darkness. Please reveal any sin that keeps us in darkness. Shine Your light on us and expose our sin so that we can confess it and be forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness. Thank You for loving us enough to send Your Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins. Thank You for your mercy and grace. Thank You for helping me to walk in the light.
Amen.

1st John 1:1-4

2011-09-23T17:13:00.000-07:00

SCRIPTURE -
1st John 1:1-4
1 - That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life -
2 - the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us -
3 - that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
4 - And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

OBSERVATIONS -
Jesus was there in the beginning and is the Word of life as stated in John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God.
John heard Jesus, saw Jesus, and touched Jesus. Jesus was fully man. John had an eyewitness account of our Savior.
We are to be in fellowship with the Father and the Son and fellow believers in Christ.
We are to rejoice in the fullness of the gospel of Christ.

APPLICATIONS -
How has Jesus revealed Himself to me? I may not have seen, heard, and touched Jesus in the way that John did, but when Alexis passed away, I know I heard Him say to me, "Alexis is gone. Nathan is fine. I am with you." When I was in that delivery room, it was if He was right there with me holding my hand. It was so powerful. So many people wonder how we see or hear Jesus today. I know that day without a doubt that I did. I truly believe He reveals Himself to us on a regular basis if we are in true fellowship with Him. He desires to have a relationship with us. I can't imagine my life without it. Through Yellow Butterflies and my testimony of what He has done in my life through our loss, I pray that I am an eyewitness for Christ to others and can share the fullness of the gospel with others.

PRAYER -
Lord, Thank You for being there in the beginning when God created the world. Thank You for being fully God and fully man. Thank You for coming to earth and walking a sinless life. Thank You for making Yourself seen, heard, and felt while you were on this earth. Thank You for eyewitness accounts like that of John to show us who You are, what You've done, and what You are doing. Thank You for making Yourself seen, heard, and felt in my life. Please continue revealing Yourself to me in a real and personal way. Thank You for desiring a relationship with me so bad that You would die on the cross to save me from my sins so that I can have fellowship with You and the Father. Thank You for being the Word of life. Thank You for your Word that shows me who You are, what You've done, and what the future is. Thank You that even though Satan may win some of the battles, You've already won the war. Please continue to equip me to withstand Satan and his schemes. He knows that his time is limited and he will do everything he can to keep us from sharing the saving knowledge of You Lord. Please help me to press on toward the good work that You have started in me. Lord, please let everything that I do and say, every testimony I share of Your amazing work and power in my life, fall on open hearts. Please use me to bring people to You Lord and grow Your kingdom. Let it all be to Your glory Lord. I pray for great fellowship with other believers. Thank You for the awesome Christ followers You have placed in my life. Let us each be an encouragement to one another as we grow in You each day. Thank You for the joy that comes from only You Lord. I pray that the joy that I have is revealed to others and You and only You are seen in my life, Lord. Thank You Lord for being Lord of my life.
Amen.

1st John Study

2011-09-23T16:53:00.001-07:00

As much as I love writing blogs, I really love reading blogs of women that I have a lot in common with - generally Christian wives/moms/homemakers/homeschoolers. One blog that I really enjoy reading and following is Courtney at Women Living Well - http://womenlivingwell.org/. She is an amazing woman of God who follows Christ in all that she does. She is a phenomenal wife, mom, homemaker, homeschooler, and ministry leader. She is very humble and gracious and you can just see the Lord in her life and her ministry. Check her out!

I say all of that to say that she has another ministry she co-leads called Good Morning Girls - http://www.goodmorninggirls.org/. There are over 200 groups with 2,000 people waking up and studying God's Word together. Through the Internet, we link up and let each other know that we have done our quiet time and what we are learning. It is awesome!

I decided to join this round in the study of 1st John. I love any book written by John so I thought this would be a great one to start with. We do the SOAP method of study.

What is the SOAP method?
Scripture - Write out the Scripture(s) studied that day word for word.
Observations - Write out 1-2 observations from the verse(s).
Applications - Write out 1-2 applications from the verse(s).
Prayer - Write out a prayer based on the verse(s).

We study 1-2 verses each day Monday-Thursday and use Friday to reflect. It is a very inductive method. I am thoroughly enjoying this method as I really just zero in one a small piece of Scripture, seeing what it says, observing it, and looking for ways to apply it in my life.

I am going to try to write at the end of the week sharing the Scripture and insights I have seen that week. I would love for you to join if you want. You can always catch up as we've only done 4 verses. :)

What is a Passionate Housewife Desperate for God?

2009-07-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

When I tried to figure out a name for my blog, I couldn't think of anything that really fit. I looked at Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 and just didn't see myself in those descriptions, well not yet at least. Then I remembered a book that I just finished reading called, "Passionate Housewives Desperate for God." I highly recommend this book to all housewives or future housewives.

It is all about:
- Getting rid of the myths that feminists have been teaching for years about the importance (or lack thereof) of being a housewife
- Letting go of "it's all about me" mentality
- Embracing your calling as a housewife
- Letting go of the bondage of perfection
- How to truly be a servant to your husband and children
- What a true "passionate housewife desperate for God" looks like

When I read this book, I was awakened to a new belief in my calling from God as a housewife. I saw that this role, job, ministry, whatever you want to call it, is a sacred, blessed, important thing and shouldn't be taken lightly. I saw the eternal value of things as simple as cooking meals for your family and cleaning up after them. I saw the chance I have as a housewife to daily die to self and serve others and by doing so I am truly serving God. I also saw that God never intended for women to be "perfect housewives."

So, I figured that I would name my blog after this book, as I am not perfect (thank God I don't have to be), but I am definitely a passionate woman who is in great need of God everyday to be the housewife He desires me to be.

I will be using this blog to write all about how I am working on running my household (ie cooking, cleaning, couponing, laundry, budgeting tips), books that I am reading regarding being a housewife, stuff about my homeschooling adventures, and anything else that seems blog-worthy. I really hope that you enjoy and come back frequently.