Borrowing from my brother-n-law

My brother-in-law James Jackson recently wrote an insightful article for Lifeway's Inside Girls' Ministry blog, and I thought it should be shared.

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/girlsministry/2012/03/teaching_girls_not_to_be_the_p.html

One of the rewards of being disciplined about daily Bible reading is that, occasionally you get rewarded with a belly laugh you never saw coming. Several years ago, I got into the habit of reading a chapter of Proverbs every day. Since there are 31 days in most months, and there are 31 chapters of Proverbs, it works. So, on one random 21st day of the month, I came across this little gem:

Better to live on the corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging (“quarrelsome” in other translations) wife. [Proverbs 21:9 HCSB]

This made me laugh. I could imagine King Solomon, author of many of the Proverbs having a bad day with one of his seven hundred wives (1 Kings 11:3), and taking his royal sleeping bag to sleep under the stars. Come to think of it, with seven hundred wives, he may have spent more than a few nights on a corner of the palace. This must be true, because the exact same verse is repeated, word for word, just four chapters later:

Better to live on the corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging wife. [Proverbs 25:24 HCSB]

Now, since the Bible is God’s inspired Word, nothing gets in there by accident. And for a verse to be there twice means we ought to sit up and pay attention. It can’t just be that Solomon was having a marital spat and decided to make a dig at his 438th wife. There’s more to it.

Much is made in girls’ ministry of “The Proverbs 31 woman.” Proverbs 31:10-31 is a list of some extraordinary virtues a woman can bring into a marriage: strong work ethic, shrewd business sense, generosity and compassion to the poor and needy, wisdom and faithful teaching of her children. These are all good, good things. But is it worth at least one mocha at McDonald’s to talk with your girls about how not to be a Proverbs 21:9 woman?

How do you encourage girls not to be quarrelsome or nagging? Can you build a Bible study around Ephesians 4:29, and help the girls in your small group to hold each other accountable to “letting no unwholesome word come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for the building up of the body of Christ.”? Can you help them understand that “mean girls” who cut each other down in high school or are constantly sniping at even their closest friends are much more likely to become “mean wives” and “mean moms?”

Girls need to know that the personality they bring into a relationship with the opposite gender is, in many ways, the one that is developed in their relationships with their friends of the same gender.

Throw in a healthy dose of Proverbs 21:9 and Proverbs 25:24 in your girls' ministry. It will help your girls see the characters in the Bible as real people, and it will give them something to mull over in their current relationships as well.

What's in your hand?

What's in your hand?

A phone. A book. A pen. A computer. A bill. A fork. A coffee cup.

At any given time of the day, one of these things may be in my hand. What about yours? A child. A steering wheel. A remote control. This and so much more.

When God asked Moses this question, it was in the midst of the burning bush experience. God calling Moses. Moses questioning God's call. God laying out His plan. Moses laying out His doubts.

God offered Moses an object lesson. 'What's in your hand, Moses?' Moses looked at his staff -- the tool of his trade, a symbol of what he had done for 40 years, his comfort zone -- and complied when God said, 'Throw it down.'

God had a plan to take Moses' staff and transform it, not take it away. Consider what represents your comfort zone and, when God says 'Throw it down,' do it. It worked out well for Moses. I imagine it will be even more so for you and me!

Can it be saved?

It broke. As I finished filling the muffin tins, this perfect-sized green mixing bowl slipped out of my hands, onto the ceramic tile floor, and broke in two almost-even pieces.

In the six-and-a-half years I’ve had this bowl, I have used it a lot. It is the perfect size for cake mixes, muffin batter, mashed potatoes, tossed salad, and so much more. And now it is in two pieces on my kitchen counter as I try to decide if it can be saved.

I hate to toss it out. Not because I am a hoarder (contrary to some people’s opinions). Not because I can’t buy another (even though it was a part of a set that I got as a gift when replacing Katrina-lost kitchenware). I hate to toss it out because I wonder if it can be saved. If glued back together with the amazing E-6000, will it still be useable?

I’m so glad God doesn’t deliberate over our salvage-ability this way. From what I can tell from reading Scripture, it seems that God welcomes us in our brokenness and makes us new in His strength, power, and wisdom. He doesn’t worry that we’ve tarnished His reputation, or even that we may mess up again. He just starts the “new creation” process with a little transformation here and a little pruning there, and kingdom usefulness results.

The jury’s still out on whether I’ll try to save the perfect green mixing bowl but I am so thankful today that I’ve been redeemed and rescued by our good and perfect God!

Picasso Would Be Proud!

The Picasso Party was a blast! Thirty-six women spread out across the Creole Room with easels and canvases, doing something many had never done before.

I loved this event on so many levels. One, I love when adults try new things. I remember a bunch of years ago when a friend introduced me to the question: “When’s the last time you did something for the first time?” Adults tend to be scared of trying new things. What if I fail? What if I’m not that good at it? Well, what if you are? What if you find a new hobby or talent or even a new friend while you’re doing it?

Second, I love the idea that when we draw, paint, craft, or whatever you call it, we are imitating the Master Creator, and He loves to be imitated! With a stroke of the brush and splash of colors, we all produced vibrant ‘masterpieces.’ While they may all seem to look alike, a closer glance would reveal that there were a lot of unique canvases. God created beauty and allows us to individualize our expression of His gift.

Third, I didn’t think it was a good idea to have an event on the Thursday night before Spring Break. I figured too many ladies would be packing up and moving on. You proved me wrong. Apparently you were willing to stick around for something fun and different. I was schooled!

My takeaways from Picasso Night:
• Local artist Tonya Mohler is an organizational genius and teaching phenom. We all finished within two hours and were relatively pleased with the results!
• Ladies bond over shared experiences. The seeds of new friendships were planted as ladies painted together.
• Coffee punch is a crowd pleaser!

Weather Blues

Somebody PLEASE remind Mr. Weather Man that it is early March, and we would like some cooler weather! I don’t mean to be picky or not appreciate the blooming azaleas but it’s hard to get excited about breaking records for this time of year with our temps in the 70s and 80s!

It’s really about expectations. I mean, if it were May, I’d be appreciating a forecast of temps in the 70s and 80s. Why? Because that’s when the 90s start debuting, and I know that the 100s are not far behind. I expect it to be cooler in the winter and hot, hot, hot in the summer. What I don’t expect is for summer to show up early and winter to not get its turn to show off.

As you well know, life is full of unfulfilled expectations. I don’t think it’s bad to have expectations or goals or dreams (as a matter of fact, we better have them or we’ll have to tear out a page or two from Scripture), but what we do when God writes a different script tells the true tale of our faith. How do we adjust to the unexpected?

I’ve been praying for a friend whose 29-year-old son was killed recently in a military mission. So unexpected. So difficult. It makes my complaints about the weather seem so trivial and petty because, well, they are.

We need to consider what we’re doing with our unmet expectations. Maybe it’s time to stop whining and start trusting because only God knows when an unexpected and very difficult turn will come our way. We don’t want to be caught worrying about the weather and miss the opportunity to ‘faith’ our loving, all-knowing God!