30 Day True Woman Make-Over: Day 4

Day 4
Committed to Marriage

Marriage is a covenant. Learn more about this life-long commitment.

• A wife has a permanent, unconditional commitment to act in a way that is according to her husband's best interests--not to serve herself, but to serve her husband.
• A husband can trust a godly wife to speak well of him and to keep confidences. He can trust her in the way she speaks about him. He can trust her to protect his reputation.
• A godly wife inspires a man to be worthy of her devotion. He rises to that because he knows he has a woman who is an asset, not a liability--a woman who supports, encourages, and helps him in every way possible.
  

WAIT

Desperately, helplessly, longingly I cried:
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.
I plead and I wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said,
"Child, you must wait."

"Wait? You say, wait!" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shorthanded? Or have You not heard?
By faith, I have asked, and am claiming Your Word.

My future and all to which I can relate
Hangs in the balance, and YOU tell me to WAIT?
I'm needing a "Yes", a go-ahead sign,
Or even a "No" to which I can resign.

And Lord, You promised that if we believe
We need but to ask and we will receive.
And Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
"I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!"

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
As my Master replied once again, "You must wait."
So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut
And grumbled to God, "So I'm waiting...for what?"

He seemed, then, to kneel
And His eyes wept with mine
And He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign
I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun
I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run

All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want-
But, you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint;
You'd not know the power I give to the faint;

You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there;
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me;
When darkness and silence were all you could see.

You'd never experience that fullness of love
As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove;
You'd know that I give and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight,
The depth that's beyond just getting what you asked
Of an infinite God, who makes what you have last.

You'd never know, should you pain quickly flee,
What it means that, "My grace is sufficient for thee."
Yes, your dream for your loved one
Overnight would come true,

But, Oh, the Loss! If I lost what I'm doing in you!

So, be silent, My child, in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft' may My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still, "Wait."

--Unknown

Redeeming the time

I have been reading a book titled "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris. It is really good and I highly recommend it. Just now I was reading about redeeming the time you have while you are single. It listed some ways we can prepare for marriage: intimacy, seeking God with others, financial responsibility, parenthood, and practical life skills. For intimacy I am working on being more open with my parents and learning how to communicate with them. I do a pretty good job taking care of my finances, making sure my bills are paid and only buying things if I have the money for it and it is a necessity, but there is always room for improvement. I have a great opportunity to "practice" parenthood with my five younger siblings. I am also a nanny to a homeschooling family of six children. I help with the laundry, the cleaning, helping the six year old with his school work, taking care of the four youngest, and chauffeuring the two oldest. Currently I need to work on seeking God with others. I have never done that before. I do my own devotions and my family has done family devotions, but I have never done one on one devotions or simply just talked to siblings and/or friends about God's great love and mercy. I am not sure how I am going to do that yet so I will have to update you on that later. The other one I need to work on is practical life skills. I am currently trying to work on cooking/baking. Also, in June maybe, I am going to try to do all the menu planning and cooking (but I am going to have mom help me with the grocery shopping). Until then I am going to finish reading this great book.