Here's to Being Real

Well ladies it has been a long time since I posted last. So much has changed in my life. We have moved our ministry to Merkel, Tx. Todd is now the pastor of First Baptist Church. Everyone is so nice here and we are excited to see God’s purpose unfold.

Someone said to me the other day that I have such a blessed life. This caused much contemplation. We all have many layers to our life; many of which we do not let others see. We only let others see what we want them to see. God’s word says that we are to “carry one another’s burdens”, Gal. 6:2. This can not be done if no one knows our burdens? We must feel safety from judgment from our fellow brothers and sisters. I would like to look at this question over the next few weeks. Please join me and let us discover together how to share our burdens with one another so that our load may be lighter.

Hope to see you next Wednesday.

Darla

Relationship Checkup

Well, here I am, the mother of 2 college students and 2 junior high students. As a mother, I will do anything for any one of them. Sit up with them in the middle of the night when they’re sick, go to the store late at night for that item they forgot they needed the next day, put off getting something I need so they can have what they need instead.

Why do I do these things? I love them and I want them to know it.

Now, I think of all my heavenly Father has done for me. Why? He loves me and wants me to know it. He desires a relationship with me.

Sometimes we get so busy or so comfortable with our salvation, that we don’t stay hungry for our relationship with Him. When I spend time with my children and know who they are and they know who I am, then it is easier for them to show me respect and honor. Likewise, when I spend time with my Lord, I know who He is and He knows me. This is when it is easy to give Him the respect and honor He desires.

Do we need a relationship checkup?

Travelling this road together,

Darla

Fix Or Repair Daily

Psalm 20:7 ~ "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God."


Some are familiar with our ongoing issues with 'the truck'. As one of my dear friends likes to say, "FORD stands for Fix Or Repair Daily." Regardless of our vehicular loyalties, we all have put our trust in the ability of man-made things.


This weekend, my chariot, with all it's 274 horses, failed me. Halfway between point A and point B, it just quit. I was frustrated, angry, hurt (that my beautiful symbol of strength had let me down) and unsure about what to do. Stranded on the side of the road, I was hit with the reality of the uncertainty of anything except the Lord our God.

What are we putting our trust in? Is it some material thing that we believe will never let us down, or possibly our ability to do and achieve? Maybe we need to be reminded that our life, our strength, our hope is in the Lord Almighty.

Maybe F.O.R.D. ought to be our spiritual standard. Now THAT's a better idea!

My girls and I watch old comedy/love stories. One of our favorites is “If a Man Answers.” with Sandra Dee and Bobby Darren.

In the film Sandra Dee’s mother tells her to use a pet training book to help her marriage. She uses the book thinking all along that she is “training” her husband until her mother points out that it has actually been training her.

Now, you may be asking “What was the purpose in that little story?” Well, ladies, if we stop and think about it; we love, cuddle, and spoil our pets. Imagine if we treated our husbands the same way. We should shower them with praise. We want our husband to be our “Knight in Shining Armor” so maybe we should treat him like he is. We need to acknowledge the things he does in a way that makes him feel worthwhile and needed.

Also, how many times have we wanted our husband to go shopping with us or to a romantic movie? But, how many times has he gone hunting, fishing, golfing, or any number of things and we had no interest in sharing it with him. Maybe, if we took the time to be interested in his interests, he would not mind so much making that trip to the mall or the flee market.

So, I am putting my theory to the test. Will you join me? Let me know what you discover.

Travelling this road together,

Darla

A Bit Behind and a Little Distressed

In this amazingly connected world, I am in a place that has 'limited or no connectivity'. That means no Man-stuff Monday yesterday. It puts me a little behind for the week, but brings to mind an interesting conundrum of our time.

With our ability to communicate so close at our fingertips, why do we seem to be so distant? Why are we, the followers of Christ, making less of an impact on the society in which we live? Why are we as parents so disconnected from our children?

It seems as though our ability to communicate more freely has only aided in making us more exclusive in our communication. We get into our huddles, be they in person or via online communities, and bask in our encouragement of one another. We have multitudes of friends online, but forget the importance of interaction with our spouse and children. I update my status, but forget to update my relationships.

Who have we impacted today? Does someone know more about Christ because of me? Has my spouse had real contact from me? (it's ok, I just emailed her) Are my children secure in their relationship with me because of time spent together?

Let's make some real contact and make a real difference.

Wednesday is for Women

I am sitting in a library looking at the shelves of books from floor to ceiling and as I see the knowledge around me, I have to stop and realize that one must be able to discern what we hear and read.

Sometimes, when we are trying to expand our knowledge, find a helpful resource, keep up with current events, or just reading for pleasure, we ignore the basic admonition that 'the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge' (Pr. 1:7)

As a woman who is diligently seeking to increase my knowledge about being a disciple of Christ, as well as a godly wife and mother, I cannot disregard the basic principles laid out in scripture that 'guide me into all truth' (Jn. 16:13)

Travelling this road together,

Darla

Man-stuff Monday

Winning: Real Man Style

OK, The Masters is over, so it was an off week in golf. Few people probably watched the Verizon Heritage tournament and saw golfer Brian Gay win with a 20 under par to break the tourney record and beat his nearest opponent by 10 strokes. With this win, he assures himself an invitation to next year's Masters. Way to go, Brian!

Honestly, until yesterday, I had never heard of Brian Gay. I probably would not have even seen this event, but I was looking for something to take my Sunday afternoon nap to, and nothing lulls you to sleep like golf on television (except the peaceful hum of NASCAR). None of the big names were there for the tournament, so many will say Brian really didn't accomplish that much, but there were 3 people of great importance who watched closely as he putted in on the 18th green to cement the win.

After that final putt dropped in the hole, Brian's family ran to join him on the course. He scooped up one daughter in his arms and held the hand of the other. As he was being interviewed, he held his family close and shared this big moment with them. His daughters obviously knew their daddy's arms were a safe place even in that public spotlight, and this man seemed as comfortable with his child in his hands as he had been with the club a few minutes earlier.

My congratulations to Brian Gay. You've done well. (And you're a pretty good golfer, too.)