As mothers and wives, we spend our lives taking inventory. We could quite possibly do inventory for a multi-billion dollar business with all the knowledge we have acquired! Every year and several times during the year, we are restocking the proverbial shelves of our lives and homes. We each have our very own Esty store. Actually, it is more like a super Walmart. We stock everything; food, clothes, furniture, bathroom supplies, bedding, cleaning supplies, and you should check out our huge inventory on toys, not to mention, our Christmas Store. At our companies we aim to please our, ever so little and some not so little, clients.
You want it? We’ve got it!
She is like a merchant’s ship, bringing her food from afar. She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day’s work for her servant girls. She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard. She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night. Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber. She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy. She has no fear of winter for her household, for everyone has warm clothes. She makes her own bedspreads. She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns. – Proverbs 31:14-22
We are constantly refilling orders every day, but who is taking a spiritual inventory?
This past Sunday as I sat under the teaching of my Pastor, I listened to every detail he spoke on submission and I could not have agreed more with the teaching (you can listen to this and all of our sermons online right here). Spot on, well done, executed perfectly, precisely and right on the money, I say! So…
In case you missed this past marriage conference, or you simply weren’t able to make it, we wanted to make the audio from those four sessions available for everyone! Feel free to listen, download, and share with friends!
Note: we apologize for the audio quality of the first session, as there was an error in the recording. The rest are bearable, we promise!
CLICK TO LISTEN: Session 1
CLICK TO LISTEN: Session 2
CLICK TO LISTEN: Session 3
CLICK TO LISTEN: Session 4
Valentine’s Day was first instituted in 496 AD by Pope Gelasius I in commemoration of the Christian martyr of Saint Valentine. February 14th has since morphed into a celebration of love and romance, characterized by the exchange of roses, heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, and ostentatiously oversized stuffed bears. While this holiday is often spent indulging in excessive sweets or proffering Disney princess and Transformers themed valentines to friends, let us not neglect Scripture’s description of true love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 reminds us of the enduring, God-honoring ways we can show love to one another. Here are fourteen valentines that don’t come in a Hallmark card, flower bouquet, or jewelry box:
Modern day marriages frequently fail. The tragic truth is, a marriage doesn’t have to end in a divorce to be deemed a failure.
A husband and wife who have abandoned the art of communication find themselves living in indifferent silence. This is not biblical.
An independent-natured wife, glorying in autonomy, doesn’t think twice about making major household decisions without consulting her husband. This is not biblical.
A self-absorbed husband immediately rushes to the TV after a long day at work, preferring entertainment to the effort of giving his wife affection. This is not biblical.
When you’re disenchanted with your marriage, the intimate husband-wife relationship you once celebrated is deteriorating, and marital bliss has proven an elusive cliché, disappointment reigns. Stripped of the illusion that marriage is easy and love is painless, it’s tempting to succumb to self-absorbed inaction. You may be asking, “Why should I be the first one to reach out?” Perhaps strained communication with your husband or wife has your confidence faltering. Or maybe your spouse’s callous inattention to your feelings has driven you to shield yourself with a haughty indifference. Realize this: Satan wants you to feel powerless to salvage your marriage.