As I was awakened this morning, at the lovely time of 3:15 to feed the baby, the Lord brought a song to me to focus on today.

(You might want to scroll down and turn the music down or off so you can soak in the words of the song.)

In my life, Lord, be glorified, be glorified,
In my life, Lord, be glorified today.

If you have a moment now, close your eyes and prayerfully sing this song unto the Lord from your heart. If you don’t, take time before the day is through - singing out loud. I personally was singing the song this morning while sitting by my children quietly playing - they need to be around this part of my life as well.

Insert the words “home, marriage, family, etc…” in place of “life” as you add other verses.

What a beautiful place the Lord will bring you to as you humbly come before His throne with this prayer.

Ask Him to show you ways in which He can be glorified, whether it be showing you what to do, or changing your heart/ ways in a certain area.

You’ll feel His presence, peace, and blessing in those things which do glorify Him - and ask for His Holy Spirit to burden you with those things in your life which are NOT glorifying to Him.

Blessings!

I hope you all had a blessed holiday weekend with your loved ones! I know here, even with my husband home Thursday to Sunday, it seemed busier than ever. Plus, we have a sick baby, and another one trying to get sick. It was still nice to spend a little extra time together!

The Lord finally revealed to me this morning what He’s been trying to teach me through a VERY frustrating time with my son. You might laugh, but trust me - it’s getting a little old! (I might have been fine had my husband not gotten frustrated first - ha!)

For at least the last two months, my son has really enjoyed changing his name. A simple Blue’s Clues video which teaches ABC’s really made an impression on him. “Steve” wears his name on the back of his shirt, and on the episode he spells it out. Well, the name has stuck - our son has dubbed himself “Steve”!

Whenever we call him by name, he argues back that his name is “S-T-E-V-E”. I admit I have to laugh since most of the time he spells it out instead of saying it! I’ve tried to let it go and have done fairly well, just occasionally it’s frustrating - and if you really think about it…. it kinda bothers you that you’re child isn’t happy with their name you gave them.

This morning, once again, we went through the whole thing again. He did agree to be himself at first, then he said he’d be “a different name, then a different name, then a different name, and then Joe”. Joe??!! (This is the Steve replacement on Blue’s Clues) I just laughed!

Then the Lord showed me crystal clear a lesson through the situation, which I’m sure will come to mind now each time we change names. The Lord has lovingly designed us and given us life - on a path He made especially for each of us. He has called each of us by name.

How must He feel when we’re not content with the “name” He has given us - this being the role He designed for us as women, wives, and mothers? I’m sure He must feel frustrated! He loves us so much, and fashioned every tiny part of us - but we want what someone else has. The grass looks greener on the other side.

Sometimes maybe He laughs at us, thinking how crazy we are always wishing for something us when He’s given us what is just right for us. Laughing because we never seem to get how good things are the way He made them.

Does it sadden Him, for us to abandon what He has lovingly and thoughtfully given us? Just as my son’s name is special to me (it means “Gift of God”, for we wanted to have a baby for so long) - I, as God’s child, am special to Him the way He designed.

Am I content and actually grateful for what He’s planned for me? He’s speaking to me to stop and truly evaluate how I’m living the life He gave me for Him.

I need to thank Him for who He’s made me to be, for the roles He’s given me - raising my children and loving my husband. HE planned me, HE gave me this name - am I loving Him in this, or am I wanting the grass on the other side?

Blessings!

I have to share how God has humorously used my oldest to point out our topic of “eyes”.

I noticed Sunday morning as we were leaving for church my son make the comment about not stopping at stop signs. I just thought he was making another comment on his new found defiant spirit, he’s really into pushing the limits right now.

Until yesterday… We were all packed up heading to my mom’s and once again came to that intersection. Again, he mentioned something about not stopping….

Okay, I’m telling on myself - I only halfway stopped! Apparently, his Daddy did the same thing Sunday morning. I couldn’t believe he noticed, since I did MOST of the way stop.

It’s funny how God uses a 3 year old to remind me that someone is always watching and paying close attention.

What kind of example are setting as mothers, wives, and Christian women in our lives? What do people at church, at the store, in our neighborhood see when they watch us? People are watching and paying attention, even when we don’t think they are!

Blessings

This is a long one, but God has used this greatly in my life and I feel I must share as He’s leading! You might want to read the first half (physical view) first, then come back to read the second half (spiritual) another time. Allow God to “soak” you in His truths, promises, and provisions as you seek Him first!

God tells us how to use our eyes….

Matthew 6:33 - “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.”

I love this one! God speaks this verse over and over to me, and what He shows me isn’t so much directly related to our human eyes (though it does somewhat) but how we view things and live our life.

Let’s take this looking at our eyes first, then spiritually.

We do “look” at things in our lives, sometimes closely, sometimes we just notice things. We see our appearance, our physical needs, we see things we want.

*Our appearance - do we look at ourselves in a vain way? I don’t think it’s wrong to want to look nice - I believe a clean, neat, modest appearance honors God. But do we spend too much time and money on our clothes, shopping, hair, nails? Do these things benefit God’s kingdom? Are we seeking God’s approval on ourselves, or the world’s?

*Our physical needs - Yes, we have to eat. We have to have clothes. We have to have a place to live. Do we trust God and seek Him and His kingdom first with these? Do we trust Him to provide for us?

What a testimony my parents provided me as a child. We would pray together for our earthly needs, on our knees each evening.

I clearly remember being in need of a car at one point. Nothing we found was right, and time was getting tighter and tighter. I’m sure my parents were pretty worried, but all I remember from that was seeing a faith in them that trusted God to provide our needs.

What a blessing when God provided a car for the right amount - I believe with 1 day left before we felt we “had” to have a car!! They sought God first, and His kingdom was glorified as still today we are able to praise Him for His goodness.

As a child, I always wondered why people got so worried about earthly needs, because my parents taught me to trust God and His provisions. We kept a prayer journal, prayed together on our knees daily, read Scripture and discussed it together daily. I learned from childhood to seek God, to trust Him.

What if He doesn’t “come through” you ask? What will that show our children then? Honestly, you didn’t NEED it and God had a better plan! They learn a valuable lesson that life isn’t about what we think or want. That’s what the verse says - seek God and His kindgom, and God will add unto you what He knows you need, not what you think you need.

What kind of view are we building of God in our homes before our children and spouses? One of complete trust? Or one of which we think of God, but still have to take action on our own to make things happen? Will our children know they can bring their prayers for friends, jobs, spouses, help through trials and temptations to the Lord and He will deliver!?

If we as mothers don’t DEEPLY ingrain this constant trusting and leaning on God, our children won’t have a firm foundation of trust on the true Provider! Are we living lives before them that show us seeking God in all things?

You’d better believe our husbands need to see this in our lives as well, they have a tremendous burden to carry - caring for our families. But if they see how God takes care of us when we seek Him - they’ll see their burden is lifted by Him!

Together in our marriage, my husband and I have been able to seek God first in our needs, and trust Him to work out His will - even if it’s different than what we’re asking. It’s been incredible to see God working!

A couple years ago, we needed a larger vehicle when God started blessing us with more children. There was a set amount that I felt the Lord wouldn’t have us go over. We kept our eyes open, and looked into the “money saving” programs that help you save money as you shop. These people basically laughed at me when I told them the year, mileage, and condition of minivan we wanted for what price.

Just reading the paper one day as we decided to go out to car lots in the area, I noticed a van at a really cheap price. “What could be wrong with it?”, we thought, and even asked when we called for directions. Nothing! It was just a cheap price in the paper to get customers attention and drive them to the dealer! The price in the paper was even $1,000 less than the price on the van in the lot.

In summary, God provided us with a newer van than other ones we’d looked at, more features - and it was less than the desired amount even with the title, tag, and whatever other fees they charge!….. “and all these things shall be added unto you…..” We sought God and He is glorified, and gave us what we needed.

To show you another side of trusting God, I have to share that we must trust Him even when things seem impossible and wrong.

Last year, God blessed us becoming pregnant with our third child. Something wasn’t right, I knew this in my heart even before tests confirmed I was pregnant. We consulted a dr., who led us away from taking aspirin during this pregnancy. (I have an auto-immune disorder which causes miscarriages.)

This doctor saw no need to treat this, since I’d had no previous problems (because I’d taken aspirin). We were hesitant about the meds, if they’d hurt the baby or not, so we didn’t take them as the dr. said. Two weeks later, the bleeding increased and I lost my baby.

I’ll tell you, that was VERY hard - and I’m still tearing up writing now. But despite my saying “no!!” to God in that initial pain, I was able to have Him comfort me and give me such peace about the loss. I didn’t understand and my heart was ripped out, I cried for weeks constantly. But thankfully, by seeking God’s will first, that pain was comforted by the knowledge that God’s plan for my child was different than mine, His was better and perfect.

I am grateful that the Lord allowed me to miscarry naturally and see my baby. I saw it was a real life, created by God, and how it was created so wonderfully by a Master Designer. My baby will never no pain or disappoint - it’s being held by his/ her Creator! My child has a secure eternity in Heaven! God used this baby to draw me closer to Him! I would’ve loved my way to happen, but God allows me to KNOW His plans are perfect!

Your situations are probably not this hard to understand God’s plan, but they are still difficult. Ask Him to help you trust Him as you continue to allow His will to be done in your life, and His kingdom be glorified. He will add His blessings to you - in His way, in His time!

To show He doesn’t leave you - months later He formed another life in my womb, and we have a beautiful baby that I love dearly today! God’s plan for our lost baby was completed, it wasn’t something that He messed up on. And my new dear son was also part of His plan. ….And…. hopefully one day He has more children (blessings) for us!

*Things we want - hmm…. God tells us that coveting is wrong. Does that mean we can’t desire things? For me, I don’t feel convicted about wanting to have something, I believe it’s wrong when it consumes our thoughts and lives.

TEST FOR YOU - Just sit back and watch God work next time there’s something you’d like to have yourself. Acknowledge to God your desire and willingness to allow Him to provide it if He wants. You’ll be amazed - God provides things so miraculously when it’s His plan for your life! Even if the desire doesn’t really matter in the big picture!

For me, God has provided clothes and toys that I’ve wanted for me and my children. So many things He has allowed others to be a blessing to our family with. We’ve had to buy very little (which is good since I stay at home with our children), and what we have bought He’s allowed us to find awesome sales on!

So, for our physical views on life - bottom line is that yes, you’ll see these things. Just don’t spend all your time and effort on them. Seek God and He will provide!

(End of first half)

*Now, in our spiritual lives, seek God first.

- I struggle with this still. I get so caught up in getting myself and children up, fed, and ready for the day that I don’t have the quiet devotion time I should each morning. But do the Scriptures not say to rise early and seek the Lord?

I find that when I do start my day with my children reading the Bible, praying, and talking about God - He’s with us all day long. Every part of what we do is talked about in relation to Him. But on days that my children wake up early and I turn on a cartoon, it seems they’re drawn away into a dream world that pulls them from me and God most importantly.

I have to take a shower when the baby sleeps, so we do have those TV first days - otherwise it’d be mid-afternoon before I’d get clean. It does take so much more effort to turn their attention back to the Lord though when I choose this course.

- Seek God first in all you do.

I have to share that a few years ago while speaking with a “Christian” counselor at a church, I was reprimanded for talking about God. I can’t remember exactly what we were discussing, but I’d mentioned how God would look at the situation. Apparently, I’d mentioned God several times about different things, and he smarted back to me “Do you think about God in everything?!”

Wow, scary! Here’s the “church” making me feel like an idiot because I’m trying to judge a situation by God’s view of it.

There’s a wonderful book, In His Steps, by Charles Sheldon that I read as a child. If you haven’t read it, I have to encourage you to find it and enjoy. It’s what the church “fad” was a few years back - WWJD.

In truth, it’s not a fad or the “in” thing, it’s real life! I’m so grateful for reading that book as a teen - it helped me view my future and life in God’s view.

Stop today and ask yourself about your day in/ day out activities - What would Jesus do in this situation? What would Jesus say? What would Jesus watch? What would Jesus do with His time? It’s pretty deep stuff if you truly allow Him to show you.

Are you seeking God and His kingdom first in your life? Are you glorifying Him?

Blessings!

There are so many great verses for this topic, that we’ll take these one or two at a time. The next month or two will be pretty busy, so I’m aiming for posting two to three times a week at most. The website will still continue to grow, so be sure to check it out (it has a link to the blog).

God tells us how to use our eyes, or how not.

Proverbs 22:9 - “He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.”

God loves a cheerful giver! He has blessed us with ALL we have, nothing is ours that He hasn’t given to us. He holds the storehouses in Heaven, full of blessings to bestow.

Can we ever out-give God? The Bible says NO! How wonderful to know, and yet so hard for us to trust at times!

A bountiful eye - does this mean the least we can get by with? Does this mean a small part of the “riches” we have? Or does this mean “our last penny”, as the parable tells?

The Lord has allowed me to see both sides of this analogy this week. For one, He allowed the opportunity to share something with someone. I didn’t realize how grateful the recipient would be, it was a blessing to see God use something in another person’s life!

Then, as we were in need of bunk beds (which we were planning on buying), someone has offered to give us their set - a complete stranger! What an awesome God we serve!!

When we give bountifully, we mustn’t do it expecting anything in return though - God sees this and I feel it’s safe to say that He’s not impressed, or as we recently talked about, looks upon that with favour.

He does allow us to experience that warm, good feeling when we truly do give to others. Plus, you reap what you sow. If you are giving to others, I believe God will allow others to give to you when you’re in need.

What does your family need that you can give bountifully? Your husband? Your children? How about your church family? Are there monetary needs, emotional needs, service needs that the Lord is calling you to give bountifully to?

Especially as the two major “giving” holidays approach, let’s ask God to show us areas where we can give bountifully to others in Him.

When we give to the poor, the naked, the hungry, the sick - we’re doing so unto Christ!

Blessings!

God opened our eyes in the beginning, to know right from wrong.

Genesis 3:5 - “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

Once upon a time….. no, this is no fairytale storybook, there was a perfect place. It was beautiful, peaceful, a place where man walked and talked with God.

Then, the very clever and deceitful enemy came to the WOMAN and enticed her to sin. One thing made clear here is the woman was the one Satan must’ve felt he could deceive more easily. (This doesn’t really fit in with our current study, but thought it was a point worth noticing!)

Quick briefing - Satan tempted Eve to eat of the fruit, and she persuaded Adam to eat. This sin separated man from God, and brought death to the world. From eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, mankind’s eyes were opened to see good and evil as clearly as God’s. Life became hard, they had to labor, sin tempted them, and I would have to think their relationship with God had a “distance” to it.

We today still pay for the sin committed thousands of years ago. We have burdens, we have to work, and we struggle with temptations to sin. Our eyes are opened to see “good and evil” as well.

How can we use this in our Christian walk?

We can make sure first of all that we keep close to our Saviour - staying in His Word clears up our eyes! We “see” the dangers (temptations) in our home lives, and avoid those things which lead us and our families astray.

For my family at this time, television is what we have to watch so closely. My son picks up VERY easily on the simplest, most innocent wrong behaviors. Many would say “it’s just kids playing, that’s the stage they’re in”, or “it’s just a cute kid’s show, there’s not really too much wrong with it”.

Specifics help me, so I’ll share. Cailou, upon my first glance, was a really cute show - with a little boy my son bonded with immediately. Great!! I had something he could do while I’d grab a quick shower. After a while, my son started back talking and having an unpleasant attitude.

Upon watching the show with him again, I discovered Cailou was his teacher. How clever the great deceiver is! He passes over the “authority” figure and goes for the weaker vessels in the simplest ways.

Same goes with the people we associate with. With our small children, they closely observe those they’re around, and pick up on the tiniest of details (talk, attitudes, dress, actions). They’ll repeat back things we would’ve never dreamed they heard in a conversation.

I’ve heard over and over that you can’t live in a hole, out of contact with the world. No, we are called to go out into the world. But we’re also commanded not to be conformed to this world. How would that conformation take place? Only by allowing the world (devil) to slowly glaze over our eyes from seeing good from evil.

I will stand and say, we HAVE to be on our toes - staying away from the most innocent of wrong. To those of you which are parents of children still at home, God has called us to train up our children in the way they SHOULD go. They are too young and immature spiritually to make certain decisions.

I like to use the analogy with banks training tellers. To teach them real money, they only have them work with the true thing. That way, if they ever come across counterfeit, it’s picked up right away! If we allow only those things which are true and right into our lives and homes, those things which are bad are crystal clear to us.

If we allow even the smallest, most innocent wrongs in our children’s lives, this clouds their judgment. They then believe these are okay, acceptable behaviours/ beliefs.

Why not stop here for today - make a list of your personal and family’s daily activities. (This includes your language, what type of TV shows you watch, and what type of music you listen to.) Pray and ask God for discernment as you seek Him about your list.

Are the items you’ve written glorifying to the Lord, do they draw you closer to Him, are they productive in your life as a Christian? Or are they “iffy”, time wasters, folly? Or are they completely, no question about it - WRONG!? God has opened our eyes, pray then that He once again restore your “spiritual” vision and uncloud what the enemy has darkened.

Is the Lord speaking to your heart about things as much as He is mine lately?? Blessings!

God sees that there is evil, but hides His eyes (His favour).

Proverbs 15:3 - The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

Isaiah 1:15-16 - “And when you spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil.”

Habakkuk 1:13 -Thou art of purer eyes than to behold (i.e. look with favour upon) evil, and canst not look on iniquity.

How can we relate these verses about God’s eyes to our own lives?

First, we see that God sees all, the good and bad. He doesn’t just see the good we do, and overlook the bad since we’re His children.

Second, in Isaiah (read Chapter 1), God sees the people as sinful nations. He says He does NOT delight in their offerings and sacrifices, they are in vain and troublesome to God. God sees their hearts, and though they are doing right and “good” things, their heart is not right - it’s just eyeservice. The life they live is who they really are.

*Question - besides church service, who are you the rest of the week?*

“…put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil.” This is pretty self-explanatory. Stop doing those things that are wrong (the Holy Spirit lets you know this in your heart), those things which are not pleasing to God.

Doing things in the wrong spirit are displeasing as well - being a “lukewarm”, half-hearted Christian. Remember, His eyes are always watching us (physically as well as our hearts), to see who truly loves and follows Him.

I’ve had it said to me, “well, I have to do it, because no one else will”, regarding service in the church. This being said in the midst of complaints about doing this “service for God”. This is not pleasing service to/ for the Lord.

He proceeds to tell them in verses 16-19 what He desires. Read and study this for yourselves.

The last verse from Habakkuk is one that is commonly used in sermons about Christ’s death, when darkness covered the earth while Jesus was on the cross. Jesus, with ALL of our sins upon Him, was no longer favorable in God’s sight. This is the explanation I’ve always been taught as to the darkness - that God turned away from beholding His Son full of sin.

God does see sin, we see that over and over again in the Bible. The difference for this verse is when you look up the meanings of the words in the concordance and see that “behold” means to look upon with favour.

Is there something in your life that the Lord has been speaking to your heart about today, this week, this month? Something that He cannot look upon favorably? As His children, do we not desire His favour?? - I know I want to be pleasing to Him!!

For today, let’s stop and seek the Lord, asking Him to reveal to our hearts those things which cause Him to be displeased with us. Be honest with Him and to yourself! I’ve noticed since I’ve started writing that the Lord is pointing out a LOT more areas in my life that need work.

My personal problem is thinking that “I” need to work on them and fix them, when God tells us to bring our burdens/ sins to Him. He will bear them, He will cleanse us and purify us. —Great to meditate on —

Blessings!

Greetings ladies,

I just realized how late it has gotten tonight, so I’ll have to post the next in our series tomorrow. To explain what’s been going on here, I’ve been working on getting the website going. It’s still got a LONG… ways to go, but to give you a better idea of where this is all heading, check out the site - http://www.heaveninourhomes.com.

I’ve been in the process of trying to meet with the correct people regarding a business license and meeting with the zoning board. This all has to be done before the products page can be free to sell products. Hopefully I’ll get approve and have everything settled in time for Christmas shopping!

Check back tomorrow evening or Saturday for my next posting!

God sees - US!

*II Chronicles 16:9 - “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.”

*Psalms 33:18 - “Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy.”

What a blessing to know that God’s eyes are constantly here and there and EVERYWHERE! He sees us when we fall, and is right there ready to catch us - or sometimes to pick us up.

There are times when I as a mother see my children, whom I love dearly, about to be hurt. As much as I’m able, I rush to help them - to be “strong in their behalf”.

Consider our earthly limitations as far as helping our children. Emotionally, we can try to comfort and calm them. Physically, we can pick them up and hold them close.

Now consider God and His limitless power! He can take away all hurt and pain, He can calm all fears. When we come running to Him, do you not think He wants to hold us close and help us - just as we do our children!

Who do these verses say God watches? Those whose heart is perfect toward Him, who fear Him, and hope in His mercy.

How can our heart be perfect? By prayer and studying, meditating, memorizing, and living out the Scriptures. By seeking Him with our whole hearts and following His leading.

How do we fear Him? First, by believing He is who He says He is. Read the Old Testament stories, and see if maybe you don’t catch a different view of God than how the world looks at Him today. We seem to have such a “casual” view of Him vs. the reverence and faithfulness of the great Bible characters.

Fear means realizing that sin has consequences. Our children need to understand that as well as we train them up. God didn’t allow sins and disobedience to go unpunished in Old Testament times, He disciplined those He loved.

Do you have a fear and consciousness that God is watching you if: you’re unsubmissive to your husband (or father if single), you’re dressing in a way that causes men to look upon you with a lustful heart?

Or how about if you’re watching something on television that is ungodly? Ask yourself if God would watch and approve of the show, or how you would react if you walked in the room and saw Jesus sitting there watching it - or better yet, if Jesus walked in and sat next to you while you watched. Feeling guilty? I know I do at times!

Do we fear God with the way we talk? Before the Lord blessed us with children and called me home to be a mother, I worked in an office environment. The language there was unreal - in a bad way. This talk was only degrading and was not uplifting at all.

As a mother, I’ve been amazed at how quickly my children pick up on words. I have to very closely monitor what and who my children are exposed to. The other day, my son out of the blue said “my ….” - boy, was I surprised! Apparently, I’d failed to monitor something he watched close enough and felt horrible. I had to stop right there and explain that saying that was not pleasing to God, that His name was special.

God’s name is holy, and the world no longer “fears” Him in this regard. Sadly, this slang use of God’s name is even being used in our pulpits today. The 2nd commandment is forgotten, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

As we end today, ask God to reveal in your heart if there are areas in which your heart is not perfect, and in which your eyes are not upon Him. He will show you, and turn you back to Him.

I know today’s post might cause some reaction. I’ve found in my own life that my “reactions” are usually a good indication that God is trying to teach me something, and the enemy is trying to get me to ignore Him or fight against Him. Pray that God would break through any pride and allow you to hear HIS voice speaking to your heart.

Blessings,
Candace

Genesis 1:26 - “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”.

We begin at the beginning, now let’s dig into this verse and search for descriptions about our roles. How does the Bible describe God’s image and what can we learn?

We know that God sees. I believe this is true of vision, that He has eyes, but also that He sees with His Spirit (heart/ feelings). There are things in our lives that we must visually see and discern right from wrong, but His Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts to help us “see” what’s from Him - as well as what’s from our enemy.

We’ll probably have a couple days worth of studying verses relating to eyes. At the conclusion, I’d love to hear from you with verses God has spoken to your heart about. Again, feel free to comment on each day’s study!

God looks at the true intent, our hearts.

1 Samuel 16:7 - “for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”

*Spiritual aspect*
In our life in the world, how do we see people? I know I’m guilty of outwardly looking - otherwise known by the ugly term “judging”.

How does God want us to see others? He has created us all, He loves us all, He desires that none should perish but have everlasting life. I believe God wants us to see (visually as well as know in our hearts) that EVERYONE is created by God, no one is here on earth that He hasn’t made and chosen to make.

If He loves us all, and even sent Jesus to die for us all, does that sound like he wants us to despise people? This is hard to live by sometimes, there are just those people in our lives that bug us to death, or have hurt us/ betrayed us - but God wants us nonetheless to see them through His eyes.

I’d like for us to stop here and examine ourselves. Ask God to reveal to you those whom you view outwardly. Pray that He show you how He sees them and to allow you to see them through His eyes and love.

Then, read Psalms 51, which David wrote after his sin with Bathsheba. David’s heart was broken before God. Ask God to reveal (to show you) and break any pride in your heart, to humble you before him (ouch, this will hurt!!), to purify your heart and draw you closer to Him. Verse 17 says “the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
————————————————————————————
1 Samuel 16:7 - “for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”

*Our daily life aspect*

The Lord brought to mind today the story of Martha and Mary. I wasn’t sure if I should include it our not, but then when “it just so happened” that tonight’s Bible story for the children was Martha and Mary - WOW! Can God make anything more clear to me - speaking to my heart, and then allowing me to “see” in a literal sense what He’s telling me.

Are we a Martha in our home life - always worried about the cooking and cleaning, and what ALL has to be done and be perfect?

Or, are we a Mary - focusing on the Saviour, and also showing our love/ being there for our spouse and children?

Sure the house has to be taken care of, we have to eat and have clean clothes. But will our children remember that, or will they remember the time we spend with them? Are our husbands grateful for a well kept house? Yes, but I guarantee that they’d rather spend some relaxing time with us than have us always worried about “perfection”.

I know my husband is that way. It’s hard for me to stop when he wants me to. I just feel better when everything is clean and picked up, and he doesn’t see what’s so wrong. Anyone else know what I’m talking about?

Well, when God sees us - not outwardly, but our hearts - are our hearts where they should be in our homes? On our families, or on the house?

On the other hand, if you are discouraged in your role as a housewife/ keeper at home, what is your hearts outlook? Do you feel it’s a burden and a chore? Cleaning up after all these horribly messy people that just can’t pick up behind themselves, making your life a constant maid?

Ha! I’ve been there and still feel that way quite often! Somedays, I’m so sick of always having to clean up, it never ends. I remember my mom saying that once, when I was a child, she’d heard it said - If you can’t do it with love, and a servant’s spirit for the Lord, don’t do it at all. I believe she said it was a week before she reached that point and resumed her “duties”.

I had to do that once, just so the Lord could show me how important of a role He’s given me is, and how my service at home is really service for Him. When I have love as I’m cleaning up behind others, I’m loving Him.

So why not pray for our husbands as we pick up their dirty clothes, and pray for our children as we clean up EVERYTHING behind them. God will honor those prayers and the blessings will come forth.

I know this is a long blog today. It was shorter, but I felt God really wanted me to add in this second half tonight.

Blessings, Candace