girltalk Blog
We had another post planned for today, but last night I ran across this article on the 9Marks website, “Preaching to Women Who Work in the Home,” and I thought it was too good not to share with you.
Bari Nichols appeals to pastors to think strategically about moms who work at home when they are preaching and applying God’s Word to their congregation. This is an article for pastors, —and I would encourage you to forward it to your pastor, along with a note of gratefulness for his preaching.
But I think there is something here for us as women, no matter our season of life. I highly recommend you read it.
The author of this post is a provoking example for all of us. Her appeal to pastors also forces us to consider how seriously we take the preaching of God’s Word each week. Would we write an appeal like this?
As my dad likes to say to our church on Sunday morning: “The preaching event, being addressed by God through the reading and proclamation of His Word, is the most important event in the life of this church every week.”
So we need to ask ourselves: Is the preaching of God’s Word from our local church pastor the most important event in our lives each week? (Even if we are out with fussy children, do we make it a priority to review the sermon during the week?) The answer will reveal a lot about what we love and what we are living for.
What I also loved about this article was that this woman is asking her pastor for preaching that provokes and encourages her to conform to God’s Word, whether or not it is popular or comfortable.
Much of what Bari is encouraging pastors to remember is biblical teaching about women that is despised and derided in our culture today. And yet she is asking her pastor to teach her God’s Word, not what itching ears want to hear (2 Tim. 4:3).
So let’s ask ourselves, are we the kind of women who eagerly anticipate the preaching of God’s Word? And do we ask our pastors to teach us that Word just as God wrote it, no matter how convicting or uncomfortable or challenging that Word may be?
Women of the Word will do both. Let’s be those kind of women.
Back in December, at a gathering of moms from our church, I was talking with another mom about our love for reading and swapping book recommendations (one of my favorite things to do!). She told me about this book she had recently read in one sitting—The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield.
Of course I had to read it and sure enough it was as unique and beautifully written as she had promised. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever read such a compelling account of God drawing someone to himself or such a personal, beautiful description of how the gospel changes and transforms every corner of a person’s life.
Rosaria Champagne Butterfield was a liberal, lesbian professor who was drawn by the grace of God through the friendship and hospitality of a pastor and his wife. Today she is a pastor’s wife, and an adoptive and homeschool mom.
There are two things in particular that I love about this book. First of all, her description of the work of God’s grace in her life is the most powerful I have ever read. Not primarily because her conversion was “dramatic” or “unlikely” but because she captures (as much as anyone can!) the sweet and irresistible grace of God that draws a person to himself and reveals the truth of the cross. To read this book is to be freshly amazed and grateful at the mercy and grace of God in Rosaria’s life and in your own.
Secondly, Rosaria is a godly example for women. She has rigorously studied the Scriptures in order to understand what God requires, and then she has sought to live by God’s commands. This woman has a firm grasp on the ethical implications of the gospel—how it works out in every day trust, service, and sacrifice, what it means for marriage, motherhood, church life, and evangelism. Rosaria’s thoughtful and intensive study of Scripture is not mere “head knowledge” but infuses every moment of her days as she cleans carpet stains, converses with neighbors, helps her pastor- husband, and teaches her children at the kitchen table. The gospel has turned her life upside down and it continues to do so, every single day.
So read this book, marvel at the gospel, and be mentored by Rosaria.
2013 at 9:01 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
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“If you can wait and not be tired by waiting.” ~Rudyard Kipling
“I’m so tired of waiting!” I’ve said, too many times in my life. Waiting for our children. Waiting for an answer. Waiting for something to change.
But the true Christian is always waiting. We are waiting, not for something, but for someOne: “we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20).
The problem is not that I have to wait. The problem is that I’m often waiting for something more than someOne. An even bigger problem is if I stop waiting. If I am content with the things of this world. If I am no longer waiting for my Savior’s return.
”...but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary
they shall walk and not faint.”
~Isaiah 40:31
(For further meditation on Philippians 3:20, listen to my dad’s excellent sermon “Living in Light of Heavenly Realities” from yesterday’s Sunday meeting at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville.)
2013 at 6:24 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
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Have a restful weekend!
Summer’s Mommy for Mom-Mom, Auntie Colie, and Auntie Kristin
52home
2013 at 7:34 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
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Auntie NaNa loves these two!
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One year ago today we brought Jude and Sophie out of the orphanage. We took them to lunch. We went to the Embassy to submit our final batch of paperwork. We had ice cream. We played soccer. We gave them baths and tucked them into bed.
We were their parents. And we loved it.
And every day since that day, we love it even more.
In the past 365 days we’ve had lots of ice cream, played lots of soccer, given bubble baths and tucked them in each night.
Today we are more amazed than ever that our infinitely kind, creative, and generous Heavenly Father has blessed us with these beautiful children.
And we love that we will be Jude and Sophie’s parents, every day for the rest of our lives.
2013 at 7:38 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
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One of “those” days.
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This is a big week in the Whitacre home. One year ago today Steve and I landed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Tomorrow, February 28, we will celebrate “Gotcha Day”—the day we brought Jude and Sophie out of the orphanage. And Saturday marks the first anniversary of what we have declared “Whitacre Day”—the day our little family was finally all together, complete.
Before bringing Jude and Sophie home from Ethiopia, we asked a translator to tell them their new names. We got two sets of raised eyebrows, which are not a sign of skeptical surprise as in American culture, but rather an indication of strong approval. They liked their new names. (Many raised eyebrows later, we learned that they also liked pizza, chocolate, and swimming.)
Jude and Sophie’s names—like the children themselves—were chosen long before we met them. They express so much of what God has done in bringing them into our family.
We wanted to name our son Jude after my dad preached a series of messages on this short book of the Bible during the same month we applied to our adoption agency. Under attack from false teachers, Jude urges the believers in Christ to stand firm and put their hope in God “who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy” (Jude 24). We named “Jude” in praise to God for his sustaining grace in our lives, and as a prayer that our son will come to know our faithful God who is able to keep him to the end. Also, Jude’s name is a derivative of Judah, and the fact that “The Lion of Judah” graces Ethiopian currency is a small but significant reminder of his heritage. And Jude, eight-year-old boy that he is, likes that his name has something to do with a lion.
Sophia, of course, means wisdom. As I am fond of telling her: “I asked God for wisdom and he gave me Sophie.” Following the two difficult deliveries of our biological children, Steve and I were still desirous of having more children but were unsure if it was safe for me to risk my health and maybe even my life. There were many questions and no clear answers. This was a wisdom issue. But many Scriptures did apply, and when we asked, God was faithful to provide all the wisdom we needed in His Word and the counsel of doctors and other believers. “If any of you lacks wisdom,” it says in James, 1:5, “let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” Sophie’s name is a reminder of the wisdom God gave to us that led us to her, and I pray she will grow into her name and become a wise young woman who follows the Savior.
Recently, I looked out my window and saw Jude playing his own imaginary game of football (the American kind) in the backyard, complete with his own play-by-play. “Jude Whitacre scores!” he yelled triumphantly as he carried the football in for a touchdown. I really like the sound of that, son. I thought.
Jude and Sophie’s names express our praise to God and our prayers for their future. They also describe our first year together as a family. God has truly been faithful to sustain us and we marvel at his perfect wisdom in bringing these two precious children into our family.
We love you Jude and Sophie!
2013 at 8:26 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
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