Titus 2 Tuesday

Ways to Show Love to a Husband

RESPECT YOUR HUSBAND......ways to "elevated" him.

Appreciate him:

Thank him for what he provides for you and the family.  Teach your children to take care of the things he provides.

Accept him:

You cannot change him.  Celebrate him as he is:  your friend and lover.  Teach your children to honor their father in both their attitudes and actions.

Adapt to him:

You were created to be his helper.  Anticipate his needs and make his priorities and preferences yours.

Adore him:

Prefer him with a loving attitude.  Spoil him with love.  Show him with acts of kindness.

What are not willing to do that he has asked you to?  Pray about it.  Do it if you are able and do it cheerfully.

Listen to him.  Make eye contact; look at him with admiration.  Nod your head and ask him questions. Don't interrupt him or correct him.

At the dinner table, wait for him to answer the children's questions and then don't interrupt or correct him.  This takes special grace from God.

When you have a problem, ask him his advice on what you should do:  listen and do not criticize his answer.  Do what he has suggested since you asked for his input.

When he asked you a question, don't immediately come back with an answer.  Maybe say, "I'm not sure, what do you think?" (This may be hard, since as women we usually have something important to say, but at this time, wait.  Let him think about it).

Do not pick a fight with him, especially before bedtime.  Do not cry to get your way or manipulate him.

Don't nag,  Get off his back and stay on his side.  You are not his Holy Spirit or his mother!

Have a great day!

Amanda



Friend to Friend Friday

altar of incense

March 20th, 2012 | Posted by Tiffany Jonker
Jasmine, Gardenia, Evening Primrose, Easter Lily, Lavender, Begonia, and Double Delight Rose—What do all of these beautiful flowers have in common? Color? Size? Purpose?
The answer is fragrance.
Each one of these flowers produces a fragrance that is pleasing to our senses, a fragrance that will bring joy to an off day or an unpleasant condition.
We all love to smell things that have a sweet fragrance.
In Psalm 141:2, David cried out to the Lord, saying, “Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”
David understood that the prayers he was offering up to the Lord were a sweet fragrance…that of incense. He wanted them to be as consistent and regular as the lighting of incense that took place in the Temple.
In Exodus 30:7, the Lord says “Aaron shall burn on it [the Altar of Incense, which was the last stop before the high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies] sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.”
The priests were to stand two times a day before the inner veil of the temple and burn incense so that the smoke would carry into the Holy of Holies and be swept into the very nostrils of God. The aroma represented the prayers of the people—all that had ever been and would be prayed from the hearts of the saints.
In Revelation 8:3–4, we read that in the heavenly temple, an angel “having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.”
If you are a follower of Jesus, you are among the saints. Your prayers are the incense. And the fragrance they bring is a blessing to the Lord.
When we pray, when we intercede, when we plead with the Lord on behalf of our friends and family, with perpetuity and with consistency, this will bless the Lord. It will be a sweet-smelling aroma to Him. God is a god who loves to hear from His children—and who loves to answer our prayers.
Let’s take time to intercede on behalf of those we love, family and friends, even now.


Have a blessed day,

Amanda

Titus 2 Tuesday

Respecting Our Husbands

Our husband's greatest Love need is to be respected for who he is and what he does!

Ephesians 5:33 says:

Nevertheless let each individual among you also love his Own wife even as himself; and let the wife see to it that she respects her husband.

Webster's Dictionary definition: RESPECT

To show honor or esteem for; to hold a high regard; to show consideration for; to consider or treat with deference (yielding in opinion, judgement or wishes, courteous) or dutiful regard avoid intruding or interfering with...That's a thought!

Ephesians 5:33b (AMPLIFIED)

Let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband, that she notices him, prefers him, venerate and esteems him, and that she defers to him, praises him, and loves him, and admires him exceedingly. 

Venerates = worship

This command involves action on our part.  After you read this, take a moment to list 5 things that will show respect to your husband and pray that the Holy Spirit will help you accomplish these things.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Have a Blessed Day :)

Amanda  



Friend to Friend Friday

Below is an amazing devotional I get everyday, go over and say Hi to them.  Enjoy!

 

March 8, 2012
Turning Aside to See
Sharon Jaynes

Today’s Truth
“Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you,”(Matthew 9:22 NIV).

Friend to Friend
All day long God is working in and around us. It is so easy to simply go about the task of living without seeing God’s handprints on our circumstances and footprints on our paths. When we see life as a “to do list” to check off, or random acts of fortune to celebrate or misfortune to endure, we miss seeing God and hearing His voice as the scarlet thread that connects the moments and the days of our lives.
Frederick Buechner noted, “All the absurd little meetings, decisions, inner skirmishes that go to make up our days. It all adds up to very little, and yet it all adds up to very much. Our days are full of nonsense, and yet not, because it is precisely into the nonsense of our days that God speaks to us words of great significance…”
When Jesus came to earth in human form, He had a definite plan and purpose. The Bible tells us, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work,”
(I John 3:8). Another translation says it this way: “The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen and dissolve) the works of the devil [has done]” (Amplified).
Even though Jesus’ plan and purpose was clearly stated, He welcomed interruptions when His Father placed someone in His path. Jesus turned aside to care for the woman caught in adultery and spoke to the Pharisees about forgiveness. He turned aside to heal a blind man and spoke about the reason the man had been blind from birth. He turned aside to bless children even though the disciples tried to shoo them away.
He turned aside to question who had touched the hem of his garment and spoke words of encouragement and healing to a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. He turned aside to speak to a curious Zacheaus perched in a tree. He turned aside to woo a frightened insecure fourteen-year-old girl and welcome her with open arms – me.
Jesus paid attention to the circumstances of those around him as he went from one place of ministry to the next. He noticed a woman mourning in a funeral procession for her only son, a woman drawing water by a well, a lame man lying by a pool and a blind man crying out by the side of the road. To those looking on, they may have seen each of these situations as an interruption in Jesus’ busy schedule, but Jesus saw them as divine appointments.
Today, as you go through the tasks of daily living, pay attention to those around you. You never know when someone in your path may be your special assignment from God.
Let’s Pray
Dear Lord, I have so much to do today, but nothing is as important as what You have for me to do. Help me to pay attention to the lives around me and recognize any special assignments that You may have for me today.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Today, pay close attention to any unusual circumstances that happen your way.
At the end of the day, write down any special assignments that you had from God. Then I’d love to hear about it. Log onto www.facebook.com/sharonjaynes and share your God-moment!
More from the Girlfriends
God is working all around us and in our lives. If you would like to learn more about how to sense God’s presence and leading in your life, see my book, Becoming a Woman Who Listens to God. He’s got a lot to tell you!

Seeking God?
Click here to find out more about
how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Girlfriends in God
P.O. Box 725
Matthews, NC 28106
info@girlfriendsingod.com

Titus 2 Tuesday

Self Image

Based on 1 Corinthians 13

Because God loves me, He is slow to lose patience with me.

Because God loves me, He takes the circumstances of my life and uses them in a constructive way for my growth.

Because God loves me, He does not treat me as an object to be possessed and manipulated.

Because God loves me, He has no need to impress me with how great and powerful He is, because He is God, nor does He belittle me as His child in order to show me how important He is.

Because God loves me, He is for me.  He wants to see me grow and develop in His love.

Because God loves me,  He does not send down His wrath on every little mistake I make, though there are many.

Because Gos loves me, He does not keep score of all my sins and then beat me over the head with them whenever He gets the chance.

Because God loves me, He is deeply grieved when I do not walk in the ways that please Him, because He sees this as evidence that I don't trust Him and love Him as I should.

Because God loves me, He rejoices when I experience His power and His strength and stand up under the pressures of life for His name's sake.

Because God loves me, He keeps on working patiently with me even when I feel like giving up and I can't see why He doesn't give up on me, too.

Because God loves me, He keeps on trusting me when at times I don't even trust myself.

Because God loves me, He never says there is not hope for me.  Rather, He patiently works with me, loves me and disciplines me in such a way that is hard for me to understand the depth of His concern for me.

Because God loves me, He never forsakes me even though many of my friends might.

Because God loves me, He stands with me when I have reached the rock bottom of despair, when I see the real me and compare that with His righteousness, holiness, beauty and love.  It is at a moment like this that I can really believe that God loves me.

YES, THE GREATEST OF ALL GIFTS IS GOD'S PERFECT LOVE!   

Friend to Friend Friday

Where to Find Joy

	The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant. Psalm 25:14

 

            As I have walked with the Lord for the past several years, I have realized we have different views of the will of God. 1.Some imagine the will of God as something that God effectively hides from us, sort of like a divine Easter Bunny who has a golden egg put away somewhere, and as you get closer, just maybe he will give you little hints.

2. For others, their concept of the will of God is that it is something horrible or undesirable, like death or sort of like a diet.  This is how some people see God. They think it is boring at best and miserable at worst.

Both of these views are incorrect as I have learned from His word, however. There is joy in being in the will of God. As I read in the book of Romans the apostle Paul wrote to Roman believers, "Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other" (Romans 15:32).

Then I found in Isaiah, Isaiah 55 to be exact, "You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!" (verse 12).

There is joy and peace in the will of God. And when you are outside the will of God, there is misery and turmoil, I have lived that misery and turmoil. I  was the most miserable woman and I knew what was right and did not do it. 

 When you know what is right and are running away from it, your life will be especially hard.

So continue to surround yourself with strong followers, meditate on His word to make sure your decisions are biblical and most of all be in constant prayer with Him.

            As a follower, you are His child, bought with Christ's blood.. And He wants to reveal His will to you.


Every Thing I am

Amanda

Titus 2 Tuesday

Being The Women God Wants Us To Be

This past weekend I was invited to a Titus 2 Women's Workshop.  Wow, I learned so much...  I have read Titus 2:3-5 several times & I tell you, when a wonderful women of God (Joanne Frank) unpacks the word of Titus 2, through God's word, it is amazing! 

So what I'm going to do is, for the next several Tuesdays, I'm going to share some of the "meat & potatoes"  with you that was shared with me.

The study of Titus 2 is a ministry reaching out to all women in order to abide by the admonition of Titus 2:3-5: "that the older women teach, train, and encourage the younger women to be sound minded, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be pure and kind, keepers of the home and submissive to their own husbands so that the Word of God is not blasphemed."

The heart of Titus 2 is the desire and passion in "strengthening and saving marriages one wife at a time."

The first step we must  choose to forgive, "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you." 

CHOOSE to forgive-as an act of your will, in obedience to God's word.  Be very specific about the offense you are willing to forgive-part of the healing process is in letting go of specific offenses.

ASK the Father's forgiveness for that person-following Jesus' example on the cross-"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

CHOOSE to forgive Father God for allowing these hurtful wounds to come into your life-not because God did anything wrong, but because YOU need to let go of any resentment you may hold towards the Father.

ASK the Lord to forgive YOU for your unforgiveness, any bitterness, anger, resentment, unrighteous thinking, words, or actions that were you wrong response to the offense.

ASK the Lord to remove any leftovers-wrong thinking or feelings-He will wash you white as snow.

ASK Him to replace the empty place with His love, mercy, and grace.  Ask Him to heal the wounds in your soul.

PRAY with compassion for the one who hurt you.  Ask the Lord to bless him/her in every way possible in every aspect of their lives.   

Till next Tuesday, through Christ. "The walk as a follower of Jesus Christ is not hard: it is impossible in our own strength!

God is sufficient and makes us sufficient for all things. 2 Cor. 4:7 

Friend to Friend Friday

This past week I have been drawn to some amazing devotions/articles by some amazing Godly women.  I found the below very inspiring & convicting.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

 

does wearing buttons bring pride?

July 22nd, 2010 | Posted by Cathe Laurie

Does wearing buttons bring pride? Are certain colors “worldly”? Is dressing dowdy a sign of spirituality? Should a woman wear pants? If we issued a uniform standard established by a certain generation, maybe then we could be assured that we are virtuous dressers. Just think—in some parts of the world it’s the men who wear tunics and women wear the trousers!

In a very old book called The Christian’s Daily Walk (written in the 1600’s) I read some great wisdom on dressing yourself as “one that becometh godliness.”

These are some brief things to ponder when you are getting dressed.

1. What is suitable to your special calling?
2. What is consistent with health and beauty?
3. Don’t be overly long in deciding what to wear.
4. Don’t dress to attract undue attention.
5. Be frugal, modest.
6. Follow the example of those of your rank and means.
7. Ask yourself how you want to appear before the eyes of the Savior.

Styles and customs change over time but some things don’t change! Principles of humility and modesty are timeless.