girltalk Blog
As girltalk blog regulars know, I live on the other side of the great Potomac River from the rest of my family. Thankfully, all I have to do is drive across the American Legion Bridge to see them, which I do, with Jack in tow, at least once a week. (Can you sing, “Over the river and through the woods to MomMom’s house we go”?)
My husband Steve and I are blessed to be a part of Sovereign Grace Church of Fairfax (Virginia) where our senior pastor is a man named Mark Mullery. Mark and his wife Lesley are dear friends of ours, and Mark is an exceptional teacher of God’s Word who often speaks at Sovereign Grace Ministries conferences and teaches hermeneutics to the Pastors’ College students. Each year, at our church’s annual banquet to honor the small group leaders, Mark treats us to a brief, personal meditation on God’s Word. It’s always memorable.
This year’s meditation was entitled “Come In” from Hebrews 10:19-22 and Mark has graciously given us permission to make it available to you. I highly recommend saving this for your quiet time. Mark’s words are worth pondering in an unhurried manner. I’ve provided the first paragraph to whet your appetite. Mark writes:
Here’s where I was the other night: felt discouraged, weary, slightly overwhelmed. My joy-meter was reading in negative numbers. The cause? No great suffering or trials here, just the everyday experience of looking ahead to the next couple of weeks with a lot to do and not enough time to do it all. A couple of projects at home, no time to do them. A teaching assignment to prepare for, but the slots I’d set aside got used up by unexpected meetings. Teenagers who desire and require lots of conversation, but always after I’m in bed and wanting to be asleep. Can you relate to this? I think Pilgrim’s Progress calls this ‘The Slough of Despond.’ God calls it unacceptable.
If you can relate to Mark’s experience, then read on, and allow this wise pastor to pastor you through the “Slough of Despond” to joy and faith in Christ.
2006 at 3:13 pm | by Carolyn Mahaney
For years our home was populated primarily with girls—four to be exact (yes, I am counting myself as one of the “girls”)—with one lone male, my husband, CJ. Thus a whole lot of “girltalk” took place in our home (and still does, of course, when all the girls come for a visit!). But in 1993, the trend shifted. To our surprise and delight, twelve years after our youngest daughter’s birth, our son Chad entered our world. Over the next few years three wonderful sons-in-law and four delightful grandsons were added to our family. Now, there’s a whole lot of “guytalk” (although the guys don’t call it that) going on.
If you read our blog last week you already know that we linked to some “guytalk” related to sports. The conversation has now shifted from sports to Sundays, and we think it’s well worth listening in on, for fathers and mothers. Simply tune in to blog.T4G.org.
2006 at 1:04 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
“We are going to have to do a C-section.” In all of my thoughts anticipating labor, I never expected to hear those words. But I was grateful to live in a day and age where doctors were able to deliver my little girl safely. After surgery, my doctor told me to expect full recovery to take six to eight weeks. I smiled and nodded my okay, all the while thinking that two weeks or so should do it for me. But I soon learned that the doctor (a med school grad) knew a little more than me (a high school grad).
My first few days at home found me so excited to be out of the hospital that I imagined myself on the fast track to full health. I did stairs a few too many times (no, I won’t say how many) and visited with people by the hour. Things were going great until, well, shall we say my body informed me that five days wasn’t quite enough recovery time. I began to feel faint and shake uncontrollably. Not a good sign. My husband and sister sent me straight to bed with strict orders to stay there for the next couple of days. This was the end of week one.
I was sure week two would be better. I could do this. I decided that all I needed to do was wake up before the baby. Yes, this would really help. I could have a quiet time and shower before she was awake and I would be ahead of the game. After all, who needs more than a few hours of sleep anyways? Wrong again. The end of the second week found me exhausted and a bit weepy.
If I was ever going to recover, change was needed. My husband sat down with me and went over all of the things on my “to do” list. He helped me to determine commitments that I needed to eliminate and other things that needed to be laid aside for a while. My mom, sisters, and friends gave me strict instructions to sleep and sleep some more.
Today marks week number four and after two weeks of applying the loving counsel of those that know me best, I am really beginning to feel better. This last month has been a wonderful lesson for me. A lesson in humility. In my pride and self-sufficiency, I wanted to show others that I could handle this. I had it together. A small thing like having a C-section and a baby couldn’t stop me. I wanted those around me to be impressed by my strength and ability.
The Lord had other plans and I couldn’t be more grateful for His divine wisdom. He showed me, once again, that my strength and ability are found only in Him. Second Corinthians 12:9 tells me, “…My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness, therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” I am weak. Each day is a new opportunity for me to humble myself before the Lord, acknowledge my inability, and receive the strength that only He can give. As I learn to “boast” in my human weakness, the Lord has promised to fill me with His power.
“We are going to have to do a C-section.” The Lord had more plans behind these words than just the safe delivery of my little Caly. He had work to do in Mommy and He’s not finished…
Well, March Madness is in full swing and even though I’m doing well in my bracket, Chad tells me that it is meaningless because it is only the first round. Oh well. I’m used to losing every year anyhow.
For Friday Funnies we want to leave you with one more collection of ultra-cute “letters to God.” As my husband would say, “Have a great weekend sports fans!”
Carolyn
for my three girls: Nicole, Kristin, and Janelle
2006 at 10:20 am | by Nicole Whitacre
You’ll forgive us if we devote one more post to sports this week, won’t you? Our recent focus on this topic is unprecedented in the girltalk blog’s ever-so-brief history. However, I believe it is warranted. All of us—if we aren’t sports fans ourselves—are probably the wife, mother, or friend of a sports fan. We live in a sports-obsessed culture, so whether we like sports or not, it is important to understand it biblically.
There was one more stop this week on the Al Mohler/CJ Mahaney “sports express” and we wanted to let you know about it. Yesterday, the two discussed the culture of sports and took questions from audience members around the country regarding what place sports should have in the life of a Christian. The conversation is insightful and entertaining—even for those who aren’t avid sports fans.
However, the first fifteen minutes of the show are devoted to the subject of abortion and a recent newspaper article and radio appearance by a woman name Elizabeth Weil. Dr. Mohler’s compassionate, charitable, and yet articulate Christian approach will equip you to relate to unbelievers on this tragically important topic. You can listen to yesterday’s broadcast online at AlbertMohler.com.
2006 at 2:35 pm | by Nicole Whitacre
My husband has recently been reading a book about experiencing God’s grace in midlife called Lost in the Middle
, by Paul Tripp. Steve is only 28, but he wants to serve the people he pastors, some of whom are in that season. I haven’t read it myself yet, but little bits that Steve has passed along to me have been swirling around in my brain for a while.
As a young woman, midlife is something I don’t want to think about. I would rather just enjoy being young—or at least on the tail end of youth (I’ll be thirty this May!). But really, the time to face midlife isn’t when I’m fifty; it’s now. The middle years are a season of reaping what we have sowed in our early years. Decisions I make now will grow up to bless me or come back to haunt me twenty years from now.
So, am I walking in obedience to God’s Word in order to reap a glorious harvest in midlife? It’s a question all of us twenty and thirty-somethings can’t afford not to consider.
This article from a recent issue of World Magazine by Andree Seu asks if we’ll be ready to shoulder the God-assigned responsibilities of the older woman. Will I be a fruitful tree in late autumn?
O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch. Psalm 5:3
As I read this verse during my morning devotional time, I was struck by the last 2 words: and watch. It dawned on me that normally I only apply the first part of this verse: O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you. But rarely do I follow up my praying with “watching” – which to summarize Spurgeon means to be on the look out for the answer to our prayers; to expect that God’s grace will come.
So, I am asking for the Holy Spirit’s help not only to pray, but to be on the look out for God’s gracious response to my prayers. May I encourage you to pray and watch today?
2006 at 4:18 pm | by Nicole Whitacre
Hey all, it’s just Mom and me posting this week as Kristin and Janelle are with their husbands on the Covenant Life Church pastors and wives retreat. Mom is preparing to speak five times in the next two weeks, and I am caring for one of Kristin’s boys while trying to beat back the flu. So, instead of Q&A today, we want to offer some links for your reading pleasure:
Yesterday, CJ received the following note from our dear friend and The Journal of Biblical Counseling editor, David Powlison:
I’ve just been diagnosed with prostate cancer. After some further tests, we’ll discuss treatment next Monday, and it seems likely I’ll be soon for surgery.
Perhaps you saw John Piper’s “Don’t Waste Your Cancer” that he recently posted. I’ve added a paragraph of my own to each of his 10 paragraphs, doubling it in length. It is in light of this that I hope for prayer, for healing, for growth in faith and love, and for this latest news to be spread! I pray especially for God to work the spiritual grace of ‘endurance,’ that holy, vibrant bearing up under weaknesses. A body whose fragilities continually reveal a lack of physical endurance and resilience provides a God-designed proving ground for me to learn the true inner endurance, that I too often lack, and that I long for the Spirit to teach me.
Feel free to share whatever of this note seems to you to be constructive. I value so much the love of the brethren.
You can download David Powlison’s annotated version of John Piper’s “Don’t Waste Your Cancer” here. May we all be instructed by these two men and their Godward response to suffering. As we thank God for John Piper’s successful surgery, let us pray for David’s impending treatment, and for complete healing for both their bodies and strength for their souls.
2006 at 10:46 am | by Carolyn Mahaney
With playful grins, CJ and Chad asked me on Sunday afternoon: “Where are our special snacks for Selection Sunday?” I looked at them with that perplexed expression, which they’ve seen countless times, and responded: “Uhhhh…what’s Selection Sunday?”
After expressing their disbelief at my ignorance of Selection Sunday, and communicating their surprise at my not having their favorite snacks prepared, they proceeded to inform me that this event was more important than even the Super Bowl. Yada. Yada. Yada. It was all a big charade—because they know how much I don’t know about what’s happening in the sports world!
Now, in case there are any girltalk readers who are as uninformed about sports as I am, here’s an explanation of Selection Sunday (which I’ve simply copied and pasted from the internet): “Selection Sunday is the day when the NCAA College Basketball tournament participants are announced, placed and seeded accordingly. The NCAA committee gathers to select and place 65 men’s teams and 64 women’s teams that they deem worthy of an invitation to the NCAA Men’s and Women’s basketball tournaments that take place in March and April.”
Sadly, not only did my husband and son not have their favorite snacks on hand, but it turned out that their beloved Maryland Terps did not get selected for the tournament, or in their words, “were not invited to the big dance.” I don’t think this Selection Sunday will go down as one of their most memorable. However, their disappointment was somewhat abated by carrying on a Mahaney tradition immediately after the big NCAA announcement: filling out the tournament bracket. Chad printed out a bracket for his dad, himself and me (yes, they insisted that I participate in this all-important tradition), and then we headed off to Noodles & Co. for dinner, where each of us filled out our bracket while drinking our sodas and eating our pasta. I was the first to finish. I think that’s because my method is not quite as complicated as theirs. My selection process goes something like this: Let’s see…I’ll choose Florida to win since that’s where I grew up. Tennessee is a good choice, because we love to vacation there. West Virginia is a fun state to visit, so I’m going with them. You get the picture. Most likely, it’ll not be a winning bracket!
As you may gather, the men in my family enjoy their sports. However, I am so grateful that my husband doesn’t simply enjoy sports; rather, CJ uses this medium to cultivate his friendship with Chad and more importantly to teach our son about growing in godly character and discernment. Over at the Together for the Gospel blog, CJ attempts to share how he goes about this. I thought it might be helpful for all of you mothers with sons to read and pass along to your husbands.
I love all the fun, laughter, teaching, learning, and growing friendship that happen in our home around sports. In fact, next year, I think I’ll just find out ahead of time on what day Selection Sunday falls, and I’ll have CJ and Chad’s favorite snacks all ready to serve up when they come asking. They will be stunned!
Page 321 of 356 pages ‹ First < 319 320 321 322 323 > Last ›
