Eph. 4:1-3

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EIMomOf7	Eph. 4:1-3	Lead	[-]
Posts: 804 (07/09/02 12:00:31) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tags : None Ephesians 4:1-3 1 "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering , forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." O.K. ladies, let's look at "key words" in these verses, "meditate" on them, and share our thoughts! 1) Are you the Lord's prisoner? How is this made more real to you through your illness? 2) What is the "vocation" that each of us are called to ? 3) Let's take a look especially at the "key words" in verse 2. 4) They say chronic illness puts added stress on a marriage. So verse 3 really "speaks" to each of us, doesn't it? In what ways can we "endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace?" Sherry
EIMomOf7	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#1	[-]
Posts: 804 (07/13/02 08:17:57) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I found this piece of information very interesting! The definition in Strong"s for prisoner is from desmos, and one of the definitions is fig. an impediment or DISABILITY. Paul was a man in prison, a man with a DISABILITY - for he was bound in chains and and couldnt come and go as he pleased. We have something in common with Paul, dont we? Our chains arent literal, but we cant always come and go or do what we would like to do - either because we feel too ill to do so, or because we WILL BE ill if we do so, and/or because we wont get better if we do so, as in the case of MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities.) Websters 1828 dictionary says it well: PRISONER - 3) A captive, one taken by an enemy in war. 4) One whose liberty is restrained, as a bird in a cage. This reminds me of a poem in Streams of the Desert, by Mrs. Charles Cowman. The devotion is from Mar. 23: Taken from: /www.backtothebible.org/d...ams.htm/82 He placed me in a little cage, Away from gardens fair; But I must sing the sweetest songs Because He placed me there. Not beat my wings against the cage If it's my Maker's will, But raise my voice to heaven's gate And sing the louder still!" Dont you just LOVE that? Well, we are in a spiritual warfare, and the enemy has taken us captive just as he did Paul. BUTwhat the devil means for evil, if we are Gods children, God means for our good! Ultimately, because God is sovereign, we are Prisoners OF THE LORD! When we view it in that light, as Paul did, it is easier to bear. Would someone like to expand and share their thoughts on being a Prisoner OF THE LORD?
Cindy Elliott	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#2	[-]
Posts: 3963 (07/14/02 23:58:47) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. Act 16: 25-26 We are Prisoners of the Lord, but as with Paul and Silas, when I stand in praise and worship of God, my chains fall away. When I praise God in the midst of my illness and struggles, what the enemy would intend as binding and heavy, becomes instead liberty and blessing. I do live in a sort of cage, the walls of my home and with MCS there are very few places I ever go. But in this cage I don't live with chains, unless they are ones I choose to let the enemy bind me with. We are Prisoners of the Lord, yet set free. If I stand in praise and worship of the Lord, burdens and chains become light as wings that only lift me closer to Him!
mrstrishch	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#3	[-]
Posts: 4148 (07/15/02 06:45:32) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I know also that sometimes it seems too hard to bear... being God's prisoner, but then I think back to before I returned to the Lord and before I got sick. I was a prisoner of Satan! I was enslaved to sin. I felt helpless, hopeless, lost, and alone (even though I had plenty of company). In truth, we must be held captive by one or the other, there is no middle ground. So, when given a choice, I would much rather be the prisoner of our loving, creative, caring, almighty God than the prisoner of a hateful, selfish, fallen angel. When we rail against God and turn from him we are like Satan and have decided to become his prisoner and to join him in his eternal damnation. When we put on the eyes of eternity and see through to the spiritual realm, I think it becomes much easier to accept our captivity and to realize it really is for the best. Would I rather live in pain and fatigue, forgoing the pleasures of this world for a time, and then live in paradise for eternity... or live for the pleasures of this world, even seek darkness for physical relief, and then live eternity in pain and suffering? When I think of it in those terms, the choice doesn't seem so difficult. Now, I also have another thought... There are times when people are restricted for their own safety. Our children are a prime example, but even adults are. And if we live in a high crime area, don't we lock ourselves into our own homes at night? Being prisoners of the Lord is much the same isn't it? In fact, we are by our own choice, His prisoners. We can leave His feet at any time, but life will be a lot more dangerous out from under His protection. I know that my illness has brought much positive change in my family over the years. It has also made me a more compassionate person and made my walk with Christ much stronger and deeper. We can't have it all... we must choose. I choose to be God's prisoner, to allow Him to do all in my life He wants to do, to His glory and my eternal good. I couldn't be in better hands!! Trish - Daughter of the King, wife of Paul for 17 years, mother of Aaron(16), Jared(15), & Trevor(8), FMS: 10 yrs --- My prayer and sustaining hope: Morning by morning He wakens me and opens my understanding to His will. Isaiah 50:4
EIMomOf7	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#4	[-]
Posts: 804 (07/15/02 16:20:21) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Thanks so much, Cindy and Trish, for sharing!!!!!! What a blessing to hear your "thoughts"! I was beginning to think I was going to have to carry this whole study by myself. Trish, did your illness play a part in bringing you back to the Lord? I would LOVE to hear your testimony! Sherry
EIMomOf7	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#5	[-]
Posts: 804 (07/16/02 06:32:50) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Paul, God's prisoner, in a literal prison, is exhorting us, God's prisoners in illness, to live and walk in a worthy manner (in a godly way) in the VOCATION that God has called us to. And what is that vocation and CALLING on our lives? Even before we were born there was a UNIQUE calling on our lives! Our CALLING is "Chronically Ill Homeschooling Mom"! I wonder how many women have been chosen down through the ages to receive that title? Probably not many, really. Homeschooling along with homemaking is a difficult task in and of itself, especially if you have lots of chidren all at different levels, and many of us have special challenges of "special needs" and /or difficult children as well. But to "top it all off", we all also have the HUMANLY impossible job of doing all of this in the midst of physical and emotional PAIN, and for some of us that pain is almost constant. It was a special revelation to me one day to realize that I was CALLED to SUFFER that day...that God had from eternity past "ordained it" and that it was God's GIFT to me! "For unto you it is GIVEN in the behalf of Christ, not ONLY to BELIEVE on him, but also to SUFFER for his sake." (Phil.1:29). I had/have a CALLING to follow in Christ's STEPS of suffering just as Paul did, and it is God's GIFT to make me holy. In Oct. 1999 I wrote, "This I know...if there were no suffering here below, heaven would not be as glorious at it shall be..and to the degree I suffer here, for me heaven shall be brighter! The more I suffer...the greater my sufferings...the more I LONG for heaven, MY HOME." Through all of our suffering in the midst of homeschooling, we are called to WALK WORTHY.... Uh oh ....CONFESSION TIME!!!! I've BLOWN it! Too often my mouth has opened in whining......May God forgive me. "Help me, Lord. I just can't do this," I scream. Then he gently replies, "I'm so glad you realize that! Be thee quiet and praise and worship me (as Cindy says). Take my hand. My grace will see you through!" Sherry
stargazer2959	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#6	[-]
Posts: 379 (07/18/02 09:05:18) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Dear Sisters... It's all so lovely! Thank you all for the teaching of God's word. I realized as I read that all this applies to all the areas of my life that I am...let's say less than happy with. I can apply these precepts to financial hardship, homelessness (not yet, but soon), car troubles, too much to do and waaaaay too little time. Lord God...You are SO GOOD!!!! This has been great so far . with thanks and love-lori
EIMomOf7	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#7	[-]
Posts: 804 (07/18/02 18:45:45) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I will write out the passage again that we are meditating on so that we can see where we are. Ephesians 4:1-3: 1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Now HOW are we to "walk"? Let's take each one of these things in verses 2 and 3 and apply them to chronic illnes and homeschooling. 1) lowliness 2) meekness 3) longsuffering 4) forbearing one another in love 5) endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace We'll start with LOWLINESS! I'll share my thoughts, and I hope you all will, too! Lowliness implies HUMILITY...something that I didn't have much of when I first started this "homeschooling adventure 20 years ago. I thought I had all the answers, or at least a lot of them. After all, I was an "elementay education major", right? I pushed my first daughter to read by the time she was three and had her doing Rod and Staff readers and workbooks by the time she was four or five. I thought I had to prove to the world and to both sets of parents that "homeschoooling" was a superior way. But by the time she was eight, we were both "burned out", and my "intensive schooling" with the first two left the preschooler "climbing the walls" - literally! Once when he was about 2 1/2 I found him on the roof! (Yes, that was Tommy! ) But praise be to God! My faithful Lord brought me down a "notch or two." Illness hit after my next toddler died, and the illness escalated over the years... Today I sit feeling as if I "know nothing"...and eagerly reading books that I wish had been written years ago. With the younger children I must teach today, I sometimes feel I have "no answers" and I don't know where to go from here..., but I hope I am learning that sitting peacefully and quietly at the feet of Jesus is the place to start. To "walk worthy" of my vocation, LOWLINESS at Jesus' feet is essential! Would someone care to share about "lowliness" as it applies to chronic illness? Sherry
rehobothfarm	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#8	[-]
Posts: 125 (07/20/02 19:59:32) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts
Cindy Elliott	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#9	[-]
Posts: 3963 (07/21/02 12:43:18) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Sue Ellen that's so much for sharing! I read in a book about brokeness that we can land on the Rock and be broken, or we can resist and the Rock will fall on us and we'll be crushed. For me this illness has played a part in my brokeness, being more humbled in spirit and I have experienced both effects, Abba's gentle brokeness and Abba's mercy in being crushed, which praise the Lord always led to a more humble state, but was a much more painful process. I've struggled with illness since Roxanne was just a toddler. First it was cervical cancer and now MCS and a host of things inbetween and in addition. I had the mixed blessing of spending our first couple of years in homeschooling unaware that there were 'other' homeschoolers, method, the internet, techniques, or even companies that supplied curriculum. It helped me to be relient on the Rock and kept me from comparing us to others since there wasn't anyone to compare to (It also saved us a lot of money which we didn't have at the time anyway). I didn't wonder if we were doing enough nor even define how we did things, or covet things that were not in our budget, we just did what the Lord led us to do and enjoyed each day as it came. But after a couple of years it seemed a new world opened up...co-ops, curriculum fairs, conferences and with that came comparison, pride, and a host of ugly things. Well MCS certainly took care of the co-ops, curriculum fairs, conferences and yes even friends since God led us to a new State. We homechurch and homeschool and home everything leading a very quiet life. This has all helped to lead me back to where we were at the beginning - that is at the Lords feet and no where else. But now over time He led to this group which has provided much loved and desired fellowship. I know there is so much work to still be done in me, but I also know that is one of the wonderful things about being His child, we are ALWAYS growing. I can wake tomorrow without regret as I am a work in progress. I have grown since yesterday and will grow more by tomorrow, but when I wake up tomorrow and spend time at His feet I will see that I have more growing ahead than I thought I had the day before. Often the growing progress is when my eyes finally open to move passed my pride and self and I really see the ugliness that God in His grace and mercy exposes to me. I also know that in His grace and mercy He exposes only a portion at a time in which is to be worked on.
DebbiFarmer	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#10	[-]
Posts: 6825 (07/22/02 12:29:55) Administrator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Pride can hid in our lives in the cracks of areas that we did not even realize needed cleaning.........Life and it's hussle can cause us to sweep pride under the rug....to carry on as if everyone else relies on us to survive........ When we are broken, be it physical and emotional..... that is when the Father can do "HIS BEST MENDING!" This is when we open our eyes and see the pride we have tried to hide.......this is when we realize......we are not holding up the world......God is the anchor........ ~"Empty and broken I crawled back to HIM A vessel so unworthy...and so scared by sin.... Yet He reformed me and molded me, & Here I am today Praising the Potter, for not throwing this clay away!"~ In my life now, I am but clay, dirt and water mixed, nothing more...and I have to rely on the Father...just to make it through another day; My education, My years of experience.....nothing I have in material goods can deplict what is worthy....Nothing the world holds dear can feed this vessel.....it only feed the pride..... Only in despair and lowliness, can we hear the whispers of our Potter.....and discover the task that we were molded to perform for HIM........ Clean in the inner vessel child......for pride clings in cracks..... For clay is but mud......it takes a potter to turn it into china! HUGS! Debbi
Cindy in NC	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#11	[-]
Posts: 2248 (07/23/02 13:14:30) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Lowliness....... God has certainly brought me down a few notches in the past few years through my illnesses. Pride has taken a backseat, and hopefully will stay there. I read a very interesting article just this morning about how the thorns in our flesh (to make a long story shorter) serve to point us to our Maker. When we've done all we can do on our own, and made a total mess of things most of the time in my case, there's nowhere to go but to the Lord. I think God has truly used my illnesses, and sometimes uselessness (that's the way I feel at times, anyway), to bring me back to Him. Seems that when I think I have a handle on life, I am only pushing Him away. When things are going along well and I have little to complain about, I forget that HE Is the reason for it. By Him placing me here in this pain, my personal thorn, I can't rely on "self" or anyone else to make things better. (Not that there would be any joy in that anyway, but that's another thing I'm prone to forget.) How's that for rambling thoughts??? Debbi, did you just write another song?? If not, I think you could with those beautiful words!! Cindy in NC ~~~ "If you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" Rev. T. Wood
momto1and3(d)	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#12	[-]
Posts: 741 (07/23/02 20:16:07) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I would have to agree with what others have said about lowliness. I used to be quite the perfectionist, worried about what others thought yet judgmental at the same time. Then I had a son with special needs, triplets two years later and now deal with all that and my own health. So now, forget about being a perfectionist.... I'd be happy to be adequate, competent or functioning. LOL I have also had to "eat" alot of my words (or thoughts, at least) especially about parenting. You know, the "my child will NEVER act that way" kind of thinking before you ever have kids. ~~~~~~ Blessings, Joan ~~~~~~ The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.
EIMomOf7	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#13	[-]
Posts: 804 (07/24/02 12:50:24) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Amen to that last statement, Joan! Well, I'm SO excited that several of you posted your thoughts on "lowliness" while I was gone to my grandmother's funeral!!! Thanks for jumping in and sharing!!! We will move on to the next thing mentioned in these verses now..... MEEKNESS... I will just share a little excerpt from my writings from the summer of 1997: "Ah, Lord, You've spoken to my heart about "meekness" over and over again, and I guess it shall be Your "theme" for me till the end of my days! Lord, there is still too much SELF and DESIRE to CONTROL in me! Surely this is part of the reason why You have allowed me to be sick so much. For when I have been so sick, nothing matters....Things are beyond my control, and I begin to learn meekness." I have always loved the definition of "meekness" from "Vines' Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words": "It is that temper of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting....Meekness is the opposite to self-assertiveness and self-interest; it is equanimity of spirit that is neither elated nor cast down, simply because it is not occupied with self at all." How convicting! Need I say more? Sherry
momto1and3(d)	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#14	[-]
Posts: 741 (07/24/02 15:29:26) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Ephesians 4 (Amplified Translation) 1I THEREFORE, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to and beg you to walk (lead a life) worthy of the [divine] calling to which you have been called [with behavior that is a credit to the summons to God's service, 2Living as becomes you] with complete lowliness of mind (humility) and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing with one another and making allowances because you love one another. 3Be eager and strive earnestly to guard and keep the harmony and oneness of [and produced by] the Spirit in the binding power of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3 :: New Living Translation (NLT) 1Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. 3Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace. I was looking up other translations because that helps me as I meditate and ponder on a verse so I thought I'd go ahead and post a few here. I am thinking of the difference between lowliness and meekness. It seems like a fine line ~~~~~~ Blessings, Joan ~~~~~~ The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.
EIMomOf7	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#15	[-]
Posts: 804 (07/25/02 08:59:12) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Joan, I was thinking the same thing yesterday...how lowliness and meekness are very much alike. Thanks for sharing the other versions! "Making allowances for each other's faults because of your love" really stuck out to me! This is what I am meditating on today - "FORBEARING ONE ANOTHER IN LOVE". The word "forbearing" in Strong's says..."TO PUT UP WITH". I have a husband and 7 kids! I guess I'm qualified to speak on this one! Ha! Seriously, the more we have others constantly WITH us, the more we have ample opportunity to practice "forbearing in love"! All of us who homeschool qualify, then, since our dear children are at home with us almost ALL the time! And some of you, like me, also have husbands who are at home without a job. (My DH has been home for over a year now, and I must say it was a hard adjustment at first, but I have grown to love his presence here every day! ) And...I must say that as our children grow older and become more independent (and especially if they are adults still living at home)...well, you get the picture! One THEN has AMPLIFIED opportunity to practice "forbearing in love"! Now...I'm meditating on how my dear family has had EXTRA opportunity to practice "forbearing in love" with ME because of my MCS illness. They have often had to PUT UP WITH me being in their way while they are cooking or cleaning because I have to fix my "special" meals at "special" times. They have had to forego their fragrances and wash all their clothes in baking soda and borax, and they've been embarassed by their Mom's "strange behavior" and funny-looking mask, etc. They have had to work on being quiet so that I can rest...and I am a VERY LIGHT SLEEPER. The fan helps, but tight living quarters, wood floors, and thin walls have been a major problem for us! Can any of you relate?... Anyway...our illness in other ways, also, (maybe you all will name a few more ) MAGNIFIES the need for FORBEARANCE IN LOVE on our part as well as on the part of each of the members of our families! Outside of the family, too, we are called to "PUT UP WITH" attitudes of others. So many people just cannot tolerate or understand people with "invisible illnesses" especially. It is hard for them to BELIEVE that a person could LOOK fine and feel fine one day and then be sick for days and be able to do next to nothing. We must love them anyway even if they don't understand. Sherry
Cindy Elliott	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#16	[-]
Posts: 3963 (07/25/02 10:07:54) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Sherry I've been really thinking about the not occupied with self. I was thinking about Psalm 67: God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah I had done some researching a while back about the word Selah. The following is what I found... The word selah (see-la) comes from one of two root words in the Hebrew: salah- "to pause", or from salal - "to lift up, to connect." Selah is throughout the Psalms. Salah- "to pause", for our hearts to pause and reflect. Salah - "to life up or connect", acting as a connection (thought connection) between one Psalm and another(drawing to or connecting it to the next verse). So when I read Selah here I connect verse 1 with verse 2: That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. What I've been pondering is this... When I go to the Lord with a petition...what is behind my request. (Reading a book that started me thinking about this) Is it His glory or just my wants. Is it because I want His ways to be known or just want my way? This is a personal reflection for me. I want to have all of self gone and all of Him in me. I want that lowliness and meekness. When I have problems or challenges or even when I'm lifting the concerns and challenges of others I really want to be focused that this problem is a chance for the world to see His glory. That's really what problems and challenges are...they are a chance for us to experience the glory of God and thus for the world to see His glory. It's about Him not me! Anyway just some things I'm thinking about today. When I read the part you wrote Sherry about not being occupied with self, I thought that's where the Lord has me today
EIMomOf7	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#17	[-]
Posts: 804 (07/25/02 12:44:34) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Wow, Cindy! You always step on my toes! I have meditated on almost the same thoughts so many times and I have had victory here and there, but you seem to be able to live them so much better than I! You have been such a wonderful testimony to me of "selflessness - not occupied with self at all", and it has indeed brought glory to God! I praise the Lord for you, Cindy! Yes, we all need to remember to pray for the right reason - to bring honor and glory to God! I will meditate on this today! Love in Christ, Sherry
Cindy Elliott	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#18	[-]
Posts: 3963 (07/25/02 18:04:54) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	(((((Sherry))))) no, no, no!! There is soooooooooo much work for God to do in me! But those victories you spoke of here and there, what hope they give don't they! I just love when the Lord gives me a glimpse of more of Him and less of me! It's what I want so bad. I know it's a work though that will continue until He brings me home. But He will continue to do the work in me!! What a blessing and a challenge this study has been on Eph 4: 1-3! Thank you for doing this!! Love Cindy
EIMomOf7	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#19	[-]
Posts: 804 (07/27/02 14:37:54) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Our last thought is: Endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Im struck by the word endeavoring. It is most difficult, especially in 21st century America to get and keep family UNITY. Homeschooling is definitely a step in the right direction, but when illness enters the picture, it is a threat to blow everything apart in a million pieces!!! I know by experience. Our efforts at endeavoring, by the grace of God, must DOUBLE!!! (If I had only known this several years back!) Bond denotes union. Peace means to join, quietness, rest. By the grace of God, I am beginning to understand that the bond of peace with my family must begin with a bond of peace with my LORD, resting in His love and practicing QUIETNESS in His presence and with DH and children. I am not this way by nature at all, but prayerfully God is helping me to take baby steps and teaching me to be more calm, patient, quiet, positive, affirming, submissive, and letting go and letting DH deal with the problems instead of trying to control and handle things myself. God has told me that this is what I must do in order to have that bond of peace with those I love. Titus 2:4 says that the aged women are to teach the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children, but nobody ever taught me HOW to do this. Reading the books about the 5 love languages and finding my DHs love language has been my answer, though! Yet...still it is hard to implement (yea, sometimes almost impossible) to implement all of the languages of touch, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, and quality time when you are REALLY ill, especially the acts of service and quality time! The struggle for SURVIVAL often takes precedence and sometimes leaves dear husband and children feeling like widowers and orphans without the ill mom even realizing what is happening. This is what happened here when I basically became homebound and couldnt take my children places anymore and do the fun things we use to do. Also, the workload became too heavy for them to bear, and I didnt realize it. I dont know if I have all the answers, but by the grace of God I am trying to at least double up the touches and words of affirmation that I CAN give and seek to give and do the things I CAN do with them here at home. I am trying to make this a focus, and especially to make up for when I was really ill. This is Gods word to me today through these words, ENDEAVORING to keep the UNITY of the Spirit in the bond of PEACE. I wish you all would pray for me. Love in Christ, Sherry
Cindy Elliott	Re: Eph. 4:1-3 (current study)	#20	[-]
Posts: 3963 (07/30/02 04:08:49) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Sherry there is something that you mentioned that struck a cord...especially to make up for when I was really ill. What brings me peace is to remember it's not my making up, but God's redeeming!! I know that my Redeemer lives and that means that He will not just make up...but will redeem! Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I [am] the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way [that] thou shouldest go. Isaiah 48: 17 He not only redeems us, but He teaches us from that which He redeems and so we will profit, learn, know His way and the way to continue. Sherry I so agree that our bond of peace with our family must begin with a bond of peace with our LORD, as must our "bond of peace" with any area of our life. And God wants us to learn not just to rest now and than, or to be quiet now and than, but move in that rest and quietness, take it with us, sit in it at all times, for it to be our very being. How I praise Him that in His grace that is where He has been moving me slowly through the years. I have a mind that needs things to be uncomplicated. I too read the 5 love languages and it was a blessing. But I had to move to another place of understanding...Lord sometimes I am just so tired, in so much pain, so fatiqued...I can't remember the terminology, the things I'm suppose to be doing or remembering. And so I prayed a simple prayer that when I look at, thought of, interacted with a member in my precious family that His love for them would fill my heart to overflowing and push out any love I had that is so small in comparison to His that all my actions and thoughts would be His. What a benefit and blessing that has been. I know longer think, but move in His love and have been amazed to see He know just what makes my family tick. He knew last night that when I couldn't sleep my sweet husband would love a little rubbing around his eyes, what a blessing his smile and moan of oh that feels good meant. He knew yesterday that my dear daughter needed to hear the words, lets make today a vacation day and just build a fort in the living room. It wasn't what I had planned, but it's what the Lord had planned and it touched my daughter in the way she needed to be touched yesterday. Often I complicate things by thinking, and this is just me in no way meant for anyone else. I've had to move to a place that just says Lord let Your thoughts be my thoughts, Your ways My ways, Your actions my actions! Be the mother through me, be the wife through me, be the daughter, neighbor, friend...I mess things up when I move in me...so Lord move through me. Thank you again Sherry! I was tired when I came to the board. Last week was a harder than usual week for me. Draining and I'm still learning from it. Coming here and talking of the Lord has lifted me, given me more energy than I came with. Love to you, Cindy

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Eph. 4:1-3

Eph. 4:1-3

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