girltalk Blog
In these past few months, I have discovered a helpful exercise for the soul: studying the lives of great saints. These men and women often had great trials, and when I read about their trials it puts my own in proper perspective. Martyn Lloyd-Jones makes this point in the book Faith on Trial:
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.” 1 Co. 10:13
“Where the devil gets us is just here. He persuades us that nobody has ever had this trial before: no one has ever had a problem like mine, no one else has been dealt with like this. But Paul says, ‘There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man,’ and the moment you remember even that much, you feel better. All God’s people know something about this: we are such strange creatures, and sin has had a strange effect upon us. We are always helped in our suffering by hearing that somebody else is suffering too!.... Some of the greatest saints that have ever adorned the life of the Church have experienced trials and troubles and tribulations which cause our little problems to pale into insignificance.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Faith on Trial, pp. 56-57
So let me encourage you, sometime soon, to read a biography of a godly man or woman. Or, if you don’t have time to read, listen to John Piper’s biographical sermons online. For me, this spiritual exercise has caused my “little problems to pale into insignificance.”
7:09 a.m. Picky like her Mamma.
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“They that love God as they ought, will have such a sense of his wonderful long-suffering toward them under the many injuries they have offered to him, that it will seem to them but a small thing to bear with the injuries that have been offered to them by their fellow-men.”
~Jonathan Edwards, Charity and Its Fruits, p.78.
6:16 p.m. Someone just turned 3!
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2011 at 9:33 pm | by Nicole Whitacre
Filed under
The FAM Club
With school starting and daily schedules getting more regular, fall is a great time to consider joining the FAM club. We got this encouraging email from a club member last week:
Hello Girltalkers!
I’ve been a part of the FAM club since the beginning of the year. I’ve been praying for the salvation of my sister and spiritual growth—in particular an interest in baptism—in my brother. Well though I haven’t been as faithful in fasting as I should be, I still prayed for them every week. I just wanted to let y’all know that I’ve seen spiritual growth in my brother and he will be getting baptized soon!!!
I’m praising the Lord! This has given me a renewed strength to pray for my sister!
God Bless!
For more information and FAM club testimonies, check out our club page.
7:44 a.m. First day of Kindergarten!
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2011 at 3:15 pm | by Kristin Chesemore
Filed under
Motherhood
“The mother is the hub of the home, holding all the spokes in place. Without her being at her post, the family spins out of control and falls apart.” Mark Chanski
When school starts, do you find that it gets more difficult to “hold all the spokes in place”? I sure do.
On a typical day I must get my son, Andrew, out the door for school (with homework, lunch and back-pack), clean up from breakfast, homeschool my two younger boys, pay the bills, drive to an afternoon activity, get home in time to meet Andrew and help him with homework, prepare dinner for my family and a guest, do dishes, catch up on laundry and finally clean up my house which looks like it has been visited by a tornado.
Just another ordinary day in the life of a mom. But so often, I go through these ordinary days far more aware of what I am giving than whom I am serving.
I need my gaze lifted beyond my daily duties to my eternal mission as a mother. In his book, Womanly Dominion, Mr. Chanski brings us encouragement right where we need it:
“There she sits exhausted on the edge of her bed, her face in her hands, wondering, “Where’s the glory in this?”
She needs something more empowering to keep her going.
She needs to gain and maintain the deep conviction of the glory, honor, and nobility of selfless service. This she finds at the foot of the cross, looking up to the One who earned for Himself “the name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:9), by “emptying Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant” (2:7), humbling “Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (2:8). There she beholds her Savior who mopped up the damning vomit of her own sin with the precious sponge of His perfect life and atoning death. The love of Christ constrains and compels her to press on (2 Corinthians 5:14). The Spirit of Christ empowers her” (pp. 120-121, emphasis mine).
Are you having a hard time being “the hub” today? Then “fix your eyes on Jesus” (Heb. 12:2-3), ask Him for help and strength, and thank Him for the honor of being a mother.
—from the archives
...last Thursday at around four o’clock. I didn’t recognize the number, so I didn’t answer.
The person hung up and called right back. I still didn’t answer, so she left a voice mail. I listened to the message and it was our family coordinator from the adoption agency. She didn’t say why she was calling and that could only mean one thing. I called her right back. “We have your referral” she said, “Would you like to get your husband on the phone so I can tell you together?” I patched Steve in, my fingers shaking as I dialed the number. Then she told us about a sweet pair of siblings—a boy age 6 and a girl age 2. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I thought it would be many months before we received this phone call. “I’m sending you pictures” she told us. We hung up and Steve drove straight home so we could see our new kids for the first time, together. I wept while I waited. Happy tears.
The email took a few minutes to come through and I sat there clicking “Send/Receive” like a kid who won’t stop pressing the elevator button. “That won’t make it come any faster” Steve reminded me. “I know.” I told him, but I didn’t stop.
The first moment we saw our new children was indescribable. Like the moment they place your newborn in your arm. Elation and wonder at this precious life. Only difference is, I’m still waiting to hold them. I can hardly wait. They are so beautiful. Such a gift from God.
We called Jack and Tori to join us, and they were thrilled to finally see their new brother and sister. We couldn’t have planned their ages more perfectly if we tried: eight, six, four, and two. All the waiting to get pregnant after Jack and Tori was God making space in our family for these precious children.
We don’t know exactly when we can bring them home. The Ethiopian courts are closed right now and won’t reopen again for another month or so. Then we will get assigned a court date and after that we must pass embassy. We are hoping and praying we can bring them home some time in January, Lord willing.
The waiting is both sweeter and harder now. Sweeter because I can now look at my children’s pictures (which I do about every five minutes). Harder because I can only look; and not see and hold and tell them how much I love them.
(I wish we could show you their beautiful faces today but that will have to wait until we pass court and they are legally our children.)
The morning after we received the best phone call ever, I opened my Bible and my eyes fell on these verses:
“May the Lord give you increase, you and your children! May you be blessed by the Lord who made heaven and earth.” Ps. 115:14-15.
“Behind the gift is the Giver” says Derek Kidner “and the psalms response is altogether positive: praise here and praise now, in the place and time He has allotted us; praise, moreover (we may take it), in the way we handle this heritage, not only in the way we sing about it.”
We are praising God today, in this place and time. And we pray our Savior will give us much grace to glorify him with our heritage—as we seek to love and raise our children in the ways of the Lord.
Thanks to each one of you for your prayers and encouragement. Please pray that by God’s grace we can bring our little boy and girl home quickly. And if you’d like to follow more detailed updates you can check out our humble little adoption blog.
When I was a little girl I would often stay late with my dad after church. I would run the halls and play hide and seek with my friends. But after they went home and a few people were still waiting to talk to my dad, I would stand quietly by his side.
I don’t remember what people said to my dad during those after-church conversations, but I do remember something my dad would say. When speaking to people in the midst of extreme suffering, who were nevertheless trusting God and clinging to His promises, Dad would look them in the eye and tell them how much he respected them. Then he would remind them that their trust in God was a pronounced and powerful evidence of grace in their lives.
When I read this post by Jordan Rice this morning, I remembered what my dad would say and I thought “This is amazing grace, indeed.”
Two years ago today (Aug. 22nd), God gave me a faith-filled, gorgeous, brilliant woman as my wife. Danielle. A virgin on our wedding night and the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I was literally the happiest guy in the world and at that time 2 years ago, I never could have imagined in a million years that I’d be where I am today. Instead of a vacation or a celebratory dinner to celebrate our anniversary, I’m on my way to the cemetery to mourn my wife’s passing.
But today I’m blessed in my mourning. No, this isn’t some denial of the pain associated with grief, because truth be told today is one of the worst and most painful moments I’ve ever lived through. Losing Danielle is a pain so deep and enduring, I would have preferred having my arms ripped off. Nevertheless, faith and pain can and do co-exist very nicely.
May God give us all His grace to bless Him in our mourning.
HT: Thabiti Anyabwile
Laundry Accident
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