Spring!

I love spring! It is my favorite time of the year. I love the new life that abounds after a dreary winter. I love the warm sunshine and gentle breezes. I love being able to leave my window open and have the fresh air blow in. Most of all, I love that God has created it all for His pleasure and our enjoyment. We have a wonderful God!








Our Welsh Pony colt, Patriot.








Beautiful blue sky and green leaves over our pasture.














Wild Cherry Tree

Should Women Work?

It is not a question of to work or not to work; it is a question of how to work and where to work. Romans 12:11 says that we should be “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 says, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” Throughout Scripture, God has given us examples of diligent women, women who worked: Ruth, the woman in Proverbs 31, the Shunammite woman, and Dorcas.

Depending on whether or not a woman is married makes a big difference in how and where she works. As a single woman, I should be able to support myself and care for my own needs. I should not be a drain on my parents, taking and never giving. One day, I will no longer have my parents to care for me; at that point, if I cannot support myself, I will be in a dilemma. While I ought to work as a single woman, some environments are not safe for me to work in.

If I ever marry, where and how I work would change. I would now have a duty to care for my husband and children (1 Corinthians 7:34). A married woman’s first responsibility is in her home; any other job should be secondary. Men are to be the providers in the family, and women are to be keepers at home (Titus 2:5). God created them for that purpose. As long as my priorities are right, I am fulfilling my God-given responsibilities at home, and I am submissive to my husband, nothing would be wrong with a part-time job.

However I choose to labor in work or ministry, God should be glorified. God wants my service to flow from a right-heart attitude. Each individual person should follow God’s leading, in submission to authorities, for her life.

Impulsiveness or Discipleship?

I read this today, and I thought it was really good.

"We do not need the grace of God to withstand crises - human nature and pride are sufficient for us to face the stress and strain magnificently. But it does require the grace of God to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, going through the drudgery, and living an ordinary, unnoticed, and ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God - but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people - and this is not learned in five minutes."

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

Running the Race

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Hebrews 12:1-2

We have a race before us; we don't choose it, but it is set before us as Christians. We have never seen the course before. Who can tell what lies around the next bend? Only God knows what lies ahead. The path seems to fork ahead. Which way does the course follow? I cannot tell from here, but I trust that I will hear a word behind me when the time comes, saying, "This is the way, walk ye in it..."(Isaiah 30:21)
However, right now I have silence. I have not heard that voice yet, directing me on the path. But I know Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith, has written my story and sees the outcome. Even though He has not told me what lies ahead, I can trust that He is working, even in the silence.