by Kimberly | Apr 21, 2013 | Books
I really wish I had written this book. Lucado talks about some of my favorite created things: the ocean and the mountains. On a personal note: that’s why I always thought NC or VA are the perfect states because you have both within a few hours of each other. The wonder of East Coast living…but I digress.
Lucado does an excellent and theologically-accurate job of describing God’s love to kids in a way that they can tangibly see and touch and feel. One of the canvases he discusses is the ocean. Another one is mountains. And a third is the stars. All three can demonstrate to a child some ways that could help them know God’s love better. Even as an adult who has been a believer most of my life, I think the ocean is the best way to communicate God’s love and other characteristics to others. I think much of Psalm 19 and Romans 1 when I look at the oceans.
While this book doesn’t go into every aspect of God’s love or many more of His characteristics, it gives a good base to start from and it is good for little children (toddlers).
The writing goes well with the illustrations that are beautifully done in a fashion that will appeal to children. That’s the only downside to kindle books – you don’t get the beautiful illustrations in a book you can hold.
Thankful for this book. Elijah loved it and it will be read a lot by my little boy (and Little2 who is on the way).
by Kimberly | Apr 18, 2013 | Uncategorized
“Hear my voice according to your steadfast love.” – Psalm 119.149a
This verse brought me much hope and rejoicing earlier this week. But, how do we do this in our counseling of one another.
King David, the Psalmist, had written just verses before about a fervency in prayer – day and night. In this verse he gives a clue as to why he liked to pray: he knows that God will answer him and hear his voice according to the LOVE and covenantal character of God. He wouldn’t listen and judge according to our sins.
This should be how we counsel with others. I’ve never had counseling training, so you may not think I know what I’m talking about, but I’ve been counseling girls (youth, college) and now women in mentoring relationships for about 20 years now. And I’ve needed counseling before. When I was in seminary, I can remember a conversation with a girl I’ve discipled through the years (now one of my dearest friends) where both of us had taken a spiritual gifts inventory and both completely failed on the mercy part. But, years later, after living much more of life, we had grown in that area because of the mercy God had shown on us.
So, here are some tips for counseling, or listening, to others:
1. Listen. That doesn’t mean formulating thoughts while they are talking. This is hard for me, even in marriage, but one I constantly need to work on.
2. Offer grace and hope. If we are to be little Christs, and we are often committed to be like God in his nature, than shouldn’t we start there? That is one of the reasons I love reading Elyse Fitzpatrick’s books on counseling. The person may be coming to you admitting their sins, or may need their sins pointed out – in a loving way. Learn to realize the difference or pray that God would show you wisdom in each conversation.
3. Deal with the sin at hand. Make sure that confession and repentance and pleasing Christ is the focus and goal of the session. There is a difference between just saying you are sorry or admitting your wrong and actually confessing it and wanting to repent of it. Make that the aim.
4. Center the counseling on our hope. Every person’s hope is Christ and Christ alone. If we don’t counsel well, it will hinder some from wanting to know more about Christ or ever finding hope in the Gospel. They will think they will only find judgment in the Bible and at the cross. Yes, God is a God of justice but His wrath for believers was covered by Jesus.
If I have had a chance to counsel with you and have not offered you mercy, please forgive me, I am a work in progress too!
Charles Bridges, a pastor of old, “And not less fully is my conviction of his judgment, in dealing wisely and tenderly with me, according to his infallible perception of my need.”
by Kimberly | Apr 15, 2013 | Uncategorized
In a culture filled with twitter, Instagram, facebook, blogs, and other forms of social media, we are much more a visual culture then we were even 15 years ago. People can take and immediately post pictures of everything: the food they eat, their babies playing or sleeping, and a group of friends at a push of a button on a phone.
In this world of visual demand, what does our body language say about our modesty and our hearts. Modesty is more than what we wear, it is a posture of the heart.
Romans 6:13; Do not present your members (your body) to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
A few weeks ago a friend of mine asked the question about why all the girls now pose in pictures with their hands on their hips. I had grown tiresome of these similar poses, but couldn’t quite put my finger on it. There were several answers and more questions in her FB feed. Earlier this week as my husband and I were flipping through channels late at night, the answer became immediately clear. We stopped on the last 10 minutes of America’s Next Top Model, the wanna-be model reality show hosted by Tyra Banks. I used to watch this show every week, but just don’t anymore. When the final contestants were chosen, they all pose in the same way: hands on the hips, and tilted somewhat sideways (usually not straight on because it’s not a flattering pose for most women), and chests out but tilted back. This is a very provocative pose no matter what shape you are (or how much you weigh, or how many clothes you have on). It highlights the God-given curves of females. God did make our bodies the way they are: with chests and hips. But, how we use them need to be for God’s glory.
Usually when we talk about modesty, we are referring to the length of our skirts, or the shirts we wear. This post is more about our posture. I’m not questioning any of the motives of the girls I know who are taking pictures like this, but just want to highlight some of what the outward appearance appears to say.
1. Men are visual creatures. They are drawn to the sexual – many of them are at least. When we wear modest clothes, but stand in such a way that draws attention to our hips and our chest, or our butt (stiletto heels do just that, but also our stances), it doesn’t serve our brothers in Christ at all.
2. Postures can say much about our hearts. I can stand in such a way that says I’m not approachable, I don’t want to be here (the folding of arms, scowl on my face, etc). What does what I’m doing or how I’m sitting or standing say to those around me?
This past week I was in a breakout session at a Christian conference, mostly men there. There was a lady a few rows ahead of me with an almost sleeveless shirt on, arms folded behind her head, chest out, leaned back, playing with her hair. She may have just been hot or bored, but it was distracting to me (her stance) and I’m sure it was also distracting in a more dangerous way to the men sitting around and behind her. Was she aware of this? I don’t know. Just saying what her stance communicates.
If we want to stand like the Top Model models, then we communicate: look at me, here’s my body, look at these clothes. If we want to stand in a flattering but different way, then maybe we could communicate what we want to communicate: gentleness and meekness, quietness, adorning of a beautiful spirit not clothes and curves (1 Peter 3)
A great resource that compares these two (Woman of the Word vs Woman of the world) is Mary Kassian’s Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild.
A great sermon to listen to on the Soul of Modesty is by CJ Mahaney – the best sermon I’ve ever heard on the subject.
by Kimberly | Apr 12, 2013 | ethics, World Events
Yesterday, my husband, son, and I had the pleasure of seeing our next child on a television screen (an ultrasound machine). Waving arms, moving head, kicking feet, beating heart. These things told us this little baby was alive and well. But, we also know that this little baby is a gift of God and life is precious. There is no way that we would ever intentionally hurt this baby.
The reports of Gosnell, the abortion doctor in Pennsylvania, doesn’t seem to have the same regard for the human life. I’ll spare you on the details, but they are gruesome and horrendous. If you haven’t read any of the reports, trust me on that one. I’ve read half an article and my husband stopped me this morning, “why are you reading this” – tears flowed as I started talking about it, wondering how anyone could do this to helpless babies or women.
But, I’m not here to point fingers at Gosnell. He has done wrong. He will either trust the Gospel on this earth or face the judgment and wrath of God in the next life. That is for certain. The wrath of God goes out to those who aren’t under the salvation of Jesus Christ.
However, we are in the same boat. So many times we can cry over the sin of Gosnell or point fingers or call him a sinner, but how often do we look at ourselves and say the same thing. The sin that we have committed and will commit is also under the need of the blood of Christ. Just this week let me tell you the sins that I’ve committed: anger, pride, contempt, argumentativeness, the “silent treatment”, impatience, idolatry, gluttony, and probably many more. Why aren’t I weeping over my sing – more often then not I justify it? Do I really think that those sins are also in need of repentance and the gospel?
So before we go pointing fingers at the hideous, inhumane actions of Gosnell, let us also remember the truth of Romans when Paul says:
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
And let us also remember our Hope:
“And are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:24)
by Kimberly | Apr 4, 2013 | marriage, Uncategorized
How would you answer that question? Obviously, the conservative Kraft company (and hundreds of other companies that have products to sell: from coffee, to burgers, to car washes, deodorant, etc) think it does.
A new ad about the “Zesty” undressing dude making a salad gets “naked” to viewers to tell them to buy salad dressing. Really? This is supposed to make me want to run out and buy salad dressing?
Last night in a Colossians study at church, one of our elder’s wives taught on the sensuality of sin that we crave, and so many targets right now is in a thing called “mommy porn”. I’ve written on 50 Shades of Gray, which is pretty much porn for women and other things on this blog before, but here we go again. I wouldn’t have even known about the ad for Kraft lest I had been on facebook and several of my Christian friends had liked the ad. Seriously?
Mommy porn, like this Kraft commercial, is targeted toward women who are at home with the television on or are on social media during the day. ABC News even ran a segment on it this morning. They think that if marketers can hit that spot in a woman’s brain (or hormones) that “turn them on” and help them to feel sexy, then they can sell their product. They must think that it works (and for most women it probably does).
Does it seem to work for Christian women? Do we allow ourselves to be blinded by targets of Satan (yes, that is what this is) by buying their products. There are many products I’ve quit buying because of the premise that sex sells. I’m disgusted by these commercials. I went to ABC news to see the segment and turned this Zesty commercial off when he got to the “Beautiful pepper” part. Who writes these things?
Anyway…
1. Fill our minds. You can’t separate yourself or your family completely from culture. If you go anywhere these days you are bombarded with sex. But, what do we saturate our minds with? Is it the Word of God, wholesome books, images, good family value things? Or is it sex and porn by either what we read or watch?
2. Protect the marriage bed. I’ve been thinking a lot of this recently. Some women, even Christian women I know, tend to think that porn will help spice up a dull marriage. That is a lie from Satan too. If you have to use other means of either viewing or reading to spice up your marriage, that is nor protecting the marriage bed. That is going outside the boundaries that God set up for a marriage designed His way.
3. Honor Christ. In Colossians, Paul tells us to walk worthy of the calling that is on our lives. If we profess Christ, then we are to walk worthy of Him. Do we?
Or do we give in to a culture that uses sex, and uses it well evidently, to sell you salad dressings and cheese?
