Jun
15
52home
Filed under Biblical Womanhood | 52home 6:41 p.m.
We asked Dad for a few ideas for all you last-minute shoppers…
Dad’s number one choice:
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
by Laura Hillenbrand
(check out video clips of this story’s hero, Louis Zamperini)
by George Vecsey
Manunt:The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer
by James L. Swanson
Bloody Crimes: The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln’s Corpse
by James L. Swanson
by Ben Macintyre
Recently, at the end of a conference session where CJ and I fielded questions, a woman approached me with a query of her own: “So what do you do on the side?” she inquired.
“On the side?” I echoed, not fully comprehending her question.
“What do you do for personal fulfillment?” she sought to clarify. “You see I’m happy my husband has his ministry because that provides him with personal fulfillment. But I pursue my own hobbies because they provide personal fulfillment for me. So,” she repeated again, “What do you do?”
I was unprepared for her question. And I’m sure my answer was insufficient. (How often I have an eloquent answer after the conversation is over!) If I had it to do over again, I’d tell her about Dorothy.
Dorothy was a woman who knew the secret of true “personal fulfillment.” A single mom whose husband left her with a son to raise, Dorothy didn’t spend time worrying about herself. Instead, she was always serving and caring for others. I knew her because she was my Sunday School teacher. And Dorothy was one of the most joyful women I knew.
At my bridal shower everyone wrote down a piece of advice on a slip of paper. I only remember one, and it was Dorothy’s. Her secret to a fulfilled life? “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39).
Our culture is constantly telling us to find our life; that we’re the center of our world, and as such, we need to take care of “me” first.
But when I’m the center of my world, my world becomes very small—because I’m the only person in it. When I try to find fulfillment in anything besides loving Christ and serving Him, I will only end up more frustrated and completely unfulfilled.
Now, don’t misunderstand. I think we as women should express our creativity, and even more importantly get sufficient rest. But the purpose of creativity should be to glorify God with our gifts, not to find “personal fulfillment,” and the goal of rest should be to strengthen us for service.
If we want “personal fulfillment” as women, we must not follow our culture’s prescription. Rather, we must lose our life for Christ’s sake. Then, amazingly, we’ll find that our world expands. We’ll know the thrill of seeing the fruit of our sacrificial service in the lives of those around us. So for true “personal fulfillment,” let’s follow Dorothy’s example as she followed Christ.
—from the archives
The Right Clothes
by Elisabeth Elliot in A Lamp Unto My Feet
Only certain costumes suit Christians. To be otherwise dressed is inappropriate.
“Put on the garments that suit God’s chosen people, his own, his beloved: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience” (Col 3:12 NEB).
“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom 13:14 RSV)
“You have all put on Christ as a garment.” (Gal 3:27 NEB)
“You must put on the new nature of God’s creating.” (Eph 4:24 NEB)
“You have discarded the old nature with its deeds and have put on the new nature.” (Col 3:10 NEB)
“Put on love.” (Col 3:14 RSV)
The clothes we wear are what people see. Only God can look on the heart. The outward signs are important. They reveal something of what is inside. If charity is there, it will become visible outwardly, but if you have no charitable feelings, you can still obey the command. Put it on as simply and consciously as you put on a coat. You choose it; you pick it up; you put it on. This is what you want to wear.
Do you want to dress like a Christian? Put on Christ. The act of honest obedience—the fruit of love for Christ—is your part. Making you Christlike through and through is his part.
(HT: Lucy)
A new gift for college-bound students:
Thriving at College: Make Great Friends, Keep Your Faith, and Get Ready for the Real World!
by Alex Chediak
A few more suggestions from last year:
My favorite gift to give grads is a laundry basket filled with a towel set a thing of laundry soap and a big jar filled with quarters along with the book, Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung. —Jessica
A college emergency kit: Sewing supplies, first aid kit, shoe goo, phone card, etc. —Rebecca
I just graduated college and this year my parents got me a kitchen aid mixer, which I am absolutely thrilled about! It is kind of a large gift but for any bride or grad who loves to bake/cook, then this is the perfect gift. —Paige
Knowing God by J.I. Packer is my favorite grad gift to give because it was in college that I slowly studied this book, digesting it a little at a time and it was the first time I ever understood the place of my faith in my life. It’s still my favorite book. —Kerry
“[W]e should “get wisdom.” We should bend all our efforts to become wiser tomorrow than we are today. And I speak not just to students and graduates, but to us all. Graduation…gives me an occasion to say something that applies to us all, namely, that formal education is only one stage in the process of becoming a wise person. So much of life has been professionalized and institutionalized that we easily slip into the notion that it is the responsibility of some profession or some institution to impart to us wisdom. You can see this tendency in the fact that continuing education in many spheres is thought of entirely in terms of taking courses from professionals in institutions. The implication seems to be that wisdom and understanding are something you purchase with tuition and class fees, rather than being a daily, lifelong process of growth. But what I want to stress this morning is that we should never be content with the wisdom we attained through formal education. Blessed is the graduate who walks through the commencement line more hungry for wisdom than when [s]he entered school, for [s]he shall be satisfied. ~John Piper (Get Wisdom)
