Have you ever thought, “I am hanging on by a thread?” I know I have. One day I was praying and the weight of all the “things” was heavy on me. I said, “Lord, I feel like I am hanging on by a thread.” I remembered the saying, if you feel like you are hanging on by a thread, let it be the hem of His garment. This is referencing the miracle of the woman with the issue of blood. This saying has never meshed with my over analyzing mind. In the retelling of this miracle she didn’t hold on to the hem she barely touched it. Holding on to His hem would have kept Him from moving to the next miracle. While I love the imagery of the saying, it doesn't work for me. I felt God remind me of Rahab’s thread. 18 Behold, [when] we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee. ... 21 And she said, According unto your words, so [be] it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window. [Jos 2:18, 21 KJV] All she had was a thread.
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Every Tuesday morning our church has ladies prayer. Since most of our ladies work it ends up being my pastor's wife, her mother-in-law, and I. We have a couple ladies who come when they can but for the most part it's just The Three amigos. This has become one of my favorite times of the week. I feel like I have two mentors and my complete disposal. They have talked me through a few things and prayed with me. We have started working through the Psalms again before ladies prayer. When we read through this first song this first stuck out to me: Psalm 1:3 KJV — And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye. Luke 6:41-42 KJV It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman. Proverbs 21:19 KJV A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike. Proverbs 27:15 KJV I have always hated these sayings: “If Mama ain't happy, nobody is happy” and “Happy wife, happy life.” Personally I am not a toddler that needs to be pacified, but an adult who should know how to communicate and deal with her feelings. There is some truth to the statement, though. We, as women, created the atmosphere. The first month of the new year is almost over. New year's resolutions are either becoming new habits or abandoned wants. I gave up the idea of resolutions years ago and went with a word for the year. A new year feels like a new chapter or a brand new notebook. It is full of possibilities. My word for 2024 is Bloom. Some years I struggle and pray over my word, but this year as I studied for my ladies Sunday school class it felt like God just placed it in my heart. I had been working on my winter garden and noticed my marigolds. I planted one batch early in the season to help with pests. I was really frustrated with them though. The seeds sprouted and grew but didn’t bloom. I ended up pulling them up because they were taking over the garden but not blooming. One evening we were at the hardware store and I saw the small marigolds on sale. I grabbed a couple six packs that were already blooming. Even though it was late in the season I thought it might help some. They went crazy with blooms. While I was dead-heading the flowers, I realized that the seeds are the petals of the flowers. This pushed me to research the benefits of marigold. That research became a Sunday school lesson. The Sunday school lesson became my word for the year and now a blog post :). When I was a kid, I remember having this cassette player that had microphones attached to it. I loved that thing. I played and sang along with cassettes all the time. My favorite cassette had a song that went, “You got to ask if you want to receive. You got a seek if you want to find. You got to knock. For the door to be open, ASK is God's way." Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Matthew 7:7 Asking has always been a hard thing for me. For some reason I cannot disconnect asking for things from discontentment. I get stuck on the Philippians 4:11 where Paul tells us, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” The Greek word used for content means sufficient for one's self, strong enough or possessing enough to need no aid or support. My mind gets stuck on that if I am content I shouldn’t be asking for things. If I am asking for more I must not be content with what I have. Southern hospitality is legendary but it is also very real. I have been blessed to have learned from the example of my mother, grandmothers and aunts. To properly host guests requires preparation and forethought. You want those that come in to feel comfortable and welcome. The space should be tidy. The floor swept. The table cloth should be fresh. Refreshment ready to serve. And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither. 2 Kings 4:8-10 KJV 2 Kings tells us of a great lady. She could probably teach all of us a thing or two about hospitality. We don’t know her name, but her actions speak louder than any name. Elisha passed by her home on the way to Shunem. The Bible says she constrained thim to eat bread. The Hebrew word there is hazaq. It is the same word that is used for when the angels took ahold of Lot and his family bringing them out of Sodom. She had no intention of Elisha passing by without food and rest. This wasn’t a one time invitation, but the Bible tells us that any time he passed by he would stop in to eat with her. He had an open invitation. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]. - Ephesians 6:12 KJV Every morning we open our eyes and walk out onto a battlefield. The battlefield of our mind stretches before us. Battles will be fought there that will guide the course of our day and eventually our lives. Thoughts our mind entertains, moves to our hearts and then comes out through our actions. I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 1 Corinthians 3:6 KJV It is one of my favorite times of the year, spring garden season. My grandpa had a garden when I was growing up and I have always loved the idea of having one myself. When we were newlyweds I attempted container gardening but never had good results. Then the 2020 shutdown happened. I was one of those bored out of their mind people who tried gardening. My husband built me a cute raised garden bed in our front yard. He bought good soil and let me get to planting. I had no clue what I was doing. Most of my seeds came from the free seed libraries. My friends and I had so much fun texting and sending pictures, especially since we couldn't meet up. I actually ended up with a beautiful, fruitful garden. God has taught me a lot through my gardens. Sometimes it is the actual garden that illustrates something to me, other times it is in the stillness of the garden that I can slow down and hear Him. I was never what you would consider an outdoorsy child. I didn’t like to get my hands dirty, the heat or bugs. Give me a book and air conditioning instead. That being said, I do have a few memories of playing in the dirt. Spoons and measuring cups now became tools to dig holes and make mud pies. At the time, the spoon served the purpose of digging just fine. If the endeavor became more serious than just play, like digging a hole to plant a tree, the spoon would soon cause some serious frustration. A spoon’s created purpose is to stir or ladle. A shovel was created to dig. All over Instagram there are reels showing “new” ways to use everyday items. Your water hose sprayer breaks, poke holes in a water bottle and use that. Ideas like that can help in a pinch but if you use that everyday you will get frustrated. A bottle was not created to be a water sprayer. The word purpose is a noun meaning the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. Many times when we get frustrated in life we have lost the purpose of what we are doing. We live in a world of distractions. We are constantly bombarded by people and things wanting our attention and wanting our attention now. Things that seem urgent can take the focus off things that are important. As a society we have forgotten how to disconnect. Phones are constantly going off with notifications from apps and social media. We have a constant stream of news and opinions flooding our consciousness. With so much vying for our attention we can lose focus on what should be a priority. When Jesus heard [of it], he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard [thereof], they followed him on foot out of the cities. And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. Matthew 14:13-14 |
AuthorHi! My name's Audra Place. I am a homeschool mom and minister's wife. My husband Charles and I have been married 19 years, we're just two college sweethearts working together for the Lord! Archives
April 2024
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