30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 2

I am thankful that when I am so weary from the tribulations of life, I can find rest at the foot of the cross....

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”


Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

Blessings!

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 1

I am Thankful that this is not my home...

"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you."

John 14:2

Sneak Peak at what's coming up...

Last week was the return of Thankful Thursdays. However, tomorrow is a BIG day! Starting November 1st, I will be joining in on 30 days of Thanksgiving. You’ll probably be able to find several blogs who are participating. Want to play?!? Jump right in!

Winner...

 

I have a winner for the DaySpring giveaway on my blog…..

 

Since I only had 2 entries, I’ve decided that YOU BOTH WIN!!!!!  That’s just how we roll!  Congrats Kara and Kristen.  Please send me your pick of any DaySpring recordable children’s book, and I’ll get them ordered for you!  What can I say besides, I love you both so very much; Dayspring will pay for one book, and I’ll pay for the other!  Fair enough?!?    

 

Email me your selection of book and shipping address (just incase I can’t find your addresses).  My mind is frazzled these days, but I will get this ordered and shipped ASAP J

 

Have a blessed day!

Elaine

RFW: Sunday Resolution

Resolution for Women: Role Reversal

Well, there you are...Wilderness. Seriously, what took you so long? I knew you would find me somehow, some way because my life had been going so well. And, you did... I was almost willing to retract being thankful for you on Thursday. You challenged my resolve to be content. When my grandpa died late Saturday evening, you swept into my family and turned it upside down. However, you didn't get me. I now know God is trying to draw me closer to Himself. You will not knock me off track. I've been given strength from the Lord God Almighty. You will not turn me toward Egypt. Got it?!? God has freed me from bondage, just as He freed the Israelites. I'm not looking back.

Alrighty then! Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I am turning my attention toward more important things--my Resolution for the week. All week I've been reading about submission and embracing the God given role I was created for.

Submission : A decision to yield to people, precepts, and principles that have been placed in our lives as authorities.

Since Kyle has taken such a strong spiritual leadership role in our home, he has excelled at leading our family. We don't even have to talk about if we are going to church now, we all assume. I have to brag on him because he deserves it. He poured out every drop of alcohol in our home. He told me that it (the alcohol) was just sitting there waiting for him to drink it. So, he got rid of it. He also quit smoking! We've cleaned up our DVR record list. We are listening to ALL praise music. Life is still good despite the death of my grandpa. My proudest moment has been seeing him excited about the word of God. He's completing the Resolution for Men. He has embraced his ordained role in our family, and may I say he is doing quite well? (Of course I can! This is my blog! I can say anything
I want, right? In that case, Kyle's doing better than great! He's been an amazing husband and father!)

I'm...struggling. This new role I have been exploring all week talks of God expecting me to yield to my husband. It's a new concept, and God with his good humor has given me numerous opportunities to practice this week. I'm adjusting, I'll say that. There are some instances where I prefer to be the follower, but in my home isn't one of them. One area where I desire your prayers is yielding to what Kyle thinks is best for our kids. Sometimes, our opinions differ from the other. That's when our conversations begin looking like this:

Kyle: You aren't going to let me be the leader, are you?

Me: [To be read with lots of defensiveness] Just because you are the spiritual leader, doesn't make you the parental leader. On parenting, we are equal partners.

Kyle/Me: [lots of silence]

You know what I just discovered? He is the leader in every aspect of our family. I am to yield to him whether I agree or not. It doesn't mean I am a doormat for him to walk on. He is the leader. Not me.

Ugh. That's hard to swallow. I have to go tell him I was wrong. He needs to be patient with me. I'm learning to relinquish my authority to him. It isn't easy, but it is how God intended me to be whether I agree or disagree. It is what it is. I must do it.

So, by signing my name

I will champion God's model for womanhood in the face of
a post-feminist culture. I will teach it to my daughters
and will encourage it's support by my sons.

This is a resolution I make of myself to my family and My Lord.

October 30, 2011

Elaine M. Killian

P.S. I'm expecting you all to hold me accountable to this one.

Pick of the Patch

We went to the Pumpkin Patch last Saturday to pick out a pumpkin to carve. For those of you who live in my area, you probably know that by "pumpkin patch" I mean the church on the corner who sells pumpkins every year to support its youth group. Actually, Kyle and I tried to find a real pumpkin patch earlier in the day and failed miserably. We ended up taking a tour of the surrounding counties. It was a nice drive, but when in doubt, save your gas and go with what you know.

It was so pretty outside that I almost forgot it was fall. We've had the oddest weather here in NC lately. For instance Monday it was in the upper 70s. Today, the high was lower 50s. This is why fall isn't my favorite season. You never know how to dress comfortably.

I also thought I'd try to snap a few shots of Kohen. He will be ONE in less than two weeks. I can't believe how big you are getting Sweet Boy!

This next picture cracks me up. I asked Kade, "Who's in the bushes?" Bless him. He may get his eyesight from me.

Finally we were ready to pick out our pumpkin. We told Kade he could pick any one that he wanted so we could go home and carve it. Okay, I admit...I was a little shocked at the inflation of pumpkin prices. The patch had pumpkins priced up to $40. So, I was so glad that he chose this pumpkin...

It only cost $1.50 :)

Of course, I would have paid to get a bigger one, but it was the one he picked. I must admit, it's perfectly round and just plain cute--too cute (uh, um...small) to carve. *wink, wink* Seriously, I don't think I could get a candle in it if I tried!

Changing topics, have any of you seen this cute little movie? It has a wonderful moral about how each of us are created to be unique and that its okay if we are different than the rest of the world. I couldn't help but be reminded that as Christians we are suppose to be different from the rest of the world. We may be ridiculed or persecuted (just as Spookley was), but we are God's pick of the patch. We've watched it several times. It's super cute! My only complaint is that one of the pumpkins call's Spookley a "loser" in an effort to put him down because he isn't round. Nothing major, but not a word I want my two (almost THREE year old) to go around saying.

Blessings!

RFW: It's Good to be a Girl

Resolution for Women:  It’s Good to be a Girl

 

Choose one of the many roles you currently play in your life, and record for each how you are 1)good for it, 2)necessary to it, 3)an important component of it, 4) worthy to be a part of it, and 5)trustworthy to fulfill.

I will pick my role as an employee to explore, since this is often an object of my discontentment.  I am a good employee in the respect of being on time every day and rarely missing work.  I am necessary to my department because I’ve been delegated some of the work load.  I’m an important component of my company because I’ve been loyal for 13 years, and I am familiar with most of the jobs in my department.  I am worthy to be a part of the company because of the loyalty I’ve shown even in times of disappointment, most recently with a job promotion I felt I deserved.  I am (mostly) trustworthy to fulfill my role as employee because I’m a hard worker.  However, there are times that I am easily distracted from giving 100% of my attention to my work.

 

In what situations and around which people do you find the biblical value of womanhood most challenged and questioned?

I feel women self impose some of the challenges or questions concerning womanhood by allowing certain ideas to corrupt,challenge, or take out of contexts the God-given role for women.  We “are worth neither less nor more than (our) male counterparts.  We are different, obviously, but only in function, not in value.” (page 38)  I think sometimes we feel that women need/deserve special treatment because we are gentle, delicate creatures.  I also feel as if womanhood is often questioned and/or challenged by the absence of the male counterpart in our lives.  In essence, many women feel the need to compensate for their missing partner.

 

How do you raise daughters to be ambitious, educated, and sure of them selves while at the same time help them appreciate the rewards and blessings of submission?  How do you raise boys to view women with a similarly high regard?  Discuss with friends some creative approaches.

I’ll save the first part of this question for my girlfriends with daughters.  (Feel free to comment below.)  I hope that I teach my sons to value and treasure women.  I want them to be respectful that women are ordained by God to be “treasured, prized, and cherished by the Creator.” (page 39)  I feel all too often women are too hard on themselves.  (Can I get an Amen to that?!?)  We have enough stress beating our selves up for all that we fail to accomplish.  I hope I can teach my sons to help build up the women in their lives, whether it be an aunt, cousin, grandmother, or wife (WAY DOWN THE ROAD!).  Their daddy is already teaching them the way a woman should be treated by the small things he does for me.  He still opens the doors for me.  He still shows me affection.  He believes in me, and that’s what I want my sons to do for other women in their lives: believe in them.

 

So, how about it ya’ll?!?  Since we women are so hard on ourselves, how do we raise our daughters to be ambitious, educated, and sure of themselves while at the same time help them appreciate the rewards and blessings of submission?

 

I also welcome any advice you have for raising sons with a similarly high regard.

 

Blessing!