What kind of example am I being?

Sunday school this past Sunday was one of those services that I knew I needed to be in to hear the challenge presented to me.

The parable of the tares among the wheat in Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 was presented. I have to admit that I was not very familiar with this parable.

source

My Sunday school teacher was talking about how the tares grow and look just like the wheat. Not until harvest, can the sower do anything about the tares. The tares are bitter tasting and poisonous.

We are told that the wheat is the children of the kingdom or the saved. The tare is the children of the wicked one or the unsaved.

We talked some about what we are suppose to do with the tares. How we should treat them and the influence we need to have on them. They will be among us until God judges them when He comes again.

I got to thinking about our little one that we have. Right now, she is a child of the wicked one. I hate to think of her that way, but the truth of the matter is that she is depraved. I got to thinking about my husband and my huge responsibility to raise this little one to become wheat or a child of the kingdom.

I know Esther is still young, but I had to think about what am I doing to direct our little one to Christ. Honestly, at this point there is only so much that I can be doing to get her to realize her need for Christ. However, there is a lot that I can be doing in my own life to make sure that I am an example to her of what a Godly woman should be like.

Challenging? Yes. I need to be living the life that I want my daughter to mimic someday.

What do you do to instill Biblical truths in your children?

His Treasure: Gems of Love from Your King {Book Review}

Usually, when I see little devotionals like His Treasure: Gems of Love from Your King, I shy away from them. I think sometimes that they are just superficial and don't have a lot of profitable content in them. I read the first few days of devotionals when I got this and was pleasantly surprised at the content.

Sheri focuses on Gems of Love from Your King. She focuses on the fact that we are a princess and have a special relationship with the King. I think this devotional would be a great resource for those who are struggling with their image in the sight of God. And I think if we are honest, all of us struggle with this from time to time.

I would encourage people to take this devotional a step further. Sheri always gives a Bible verse each day, but I would encourage people to open their Bible and read the passage that this verse fits. Making sure we have the Bible as our encouragement and not someone else's words.

I have not finished reading through this devotional, but I look forward to being able to pass the encouragement along to others. Thanks to Tyndale for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a review.

Are you interested in reading books from Tyndale? You will have to be able to blog a review about the books.

The Miner's Lady {Book Review}

I have this bad tendency to read and to not get anything out of the book. When I first started reading The Miner's Lady by Tracie Peterson, I did just that. Not sure if the beginning was not captivating or if I was not reading well. I did only read a few pages at a time, so that probably didn't help.

 

About half way through the book, I was engrossed. Two families the Panettas and the Calarcos had it out for each other and had for generations. They lived in the same small town and this rivalry was played out in their daily lives, especially when two of the children fell in love.

One thing I like about Christian fiction is when you can pull out lessons learned and apply them to your own life. I know the story line is not true, but the author can still challenge us spiritually. I was challenged in two different spiritual areas in this book.

First, I was challenged to forgive. As you can imagine, the Panettas and Calarcos needed to grant forgiveness to the other family. Not so easily done when the tension had been around for generations. Forgiveness granted before bitterness is allowed to set in will be far easier to grant.

The second thing I was challenged by was the area of prayer. the ladies in this book were always turning to God to pray for different things. This community was a mining community and when there was an accident in the mine, the siren blew. The ladies would pray even though they did not know the circumstances. My husband is a volunteer firefighter. I know when accidents happen. Do I stop and pray for the people involved? I would only have to sacrifice a little bit of time. I think it is all a matter of what is my heart tuned towards? Am I curious about a good story or am I wanting to take that person before the throne of God?

Overall, I think that the second half of the book makes up for the first half.

Thanks to Bethany House for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my evaluation.

Are you interested in getting books from Bethany House? You just have to be able to blog your review about the book.

The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good {Book Review}

The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good by Peter Greer made me think about why I am doing good things that I do. Peter provides a very honest evaluation of himself and of his struggles.

I think the one thing that really stood out to me in this book is what am I sacrificing in order to be doing good? Is my family falling apart because I am involved in a ministry? 

Peter has what he calls 3 am friends. These are friends that are allowed to always question him on things. His goal is to be open and honest with them. He admits that is easier said than done. Good friends are hard work, but good friends are also essential. Challenging. 

Recently, I have not been reading many non fiction books and this book was a good break back into non fiction. Quick read that was thought provoking, but not super heavy. 

Thank you to Bethany House for letting me read this book. If you blog, check out Bethany House for how you can get free books. 

Linking to Cozy Book Hop

Who Knew Poison Ivy Could Teach You Something?

I tried to rid the poison ivy from the bush. The stalk was thick. I failed at getting rid of the plant. I, however, did not fail are getting poison ivy.

And the story begins.

Trip Down Memory Lane

I believe I have only had poison ivy one other time in my life. A friend and I were at her brother's baseball game, and we had to go to the bathroom. There were no bathrooms around. Bush and squating here we come!

Well, I have never done such a thing before, and I got a little wet. We decided to hang out for a little while before heading back. What a nice house we made! We even made a bed out of weeds that we decided would be a great place to take a little rest.

Little did we know this whole time that my friends parents were searching for us and did not know where we were. My friend got in big trouble, while my parents were off partying it up in Hawaii. I think I got off a little easier on that one. Phew!

I don't really remember having the poison ivy. I do know my friend had to get a shot because she had it so bad. Guess I learned not to make a bed out of weeds! 

Back to Now

I am frequently reminded of the grossness of my poison ivy when my husband doesn't want to touch me out of fear of getting poison ivy. I have thought several times of the lepers and what their lives would be like. Walking around and yelling unclean causing people to avoid them. Fortunately, I don't have to worry about my arm falling off!

While in bed the other night, I was thinking about sin in my life and how that has got to be repulsive to God. Even more repulsive than my poison ivy is to my husband.

This verse then came to mind. Thank you, AWANA.

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses

 are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; 

and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."

Isaiah 64:6

Have you ever been beside someone who truly stinks? Not just an I have worked all day stinks, but an I don't know how to take a shower stinks? Repulsive?

Even my good things are repulsive to God. Nothing that I do, no mater how good, will find favor with God. 

I don't want to be around people that repulse me. Why would God want to be around me? But for some reason, He has chosen ME to be His child. I am so thankful for God looking over my faults and taking me in as His own. 

Book Review: Lord, I Give You This Day by Arthur

During college, I became acquainted with Kay Arthur as an author. I really enjoyed the Bible study that a group of us girls did using her book. If you aren't familiar with Kay Arthur, you can check out her website. 

I received this book in the mail and have been taking the time to read through it since. Daily, Kay presents a truth from God's Word to focus your attention. My favorite thing about this book is that she incorporates the Scripture passage right into the reading. The challenge for the day is based completely on the Scripture passage. 

I need to daily be reminded that I am not sufficient on my own and that I need to look to the Lord to control my day.

What about you? What are some things that you do for your time with God each day?

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Linked to Reading List.