“I encourage you to be like a dolphin in the sea of our egalitarian, gender-leveling culture. Don’t be like a jellyfish. The ocean of secularism that we swim in (including much of the church) drifts toward minimizing serious differences between manhood and womanhood. The culture swings back and forth as to whether women are mainly sex objects or senior vice presidents. But rarely does it ponder the biblical vision that men are called to humbly lead and protect and provide, and women are called to come in alongside with their unique gifts and strengths and help the men carry through the vision. I pray that you will be stirred…to pursue mature manhood and womanhood. More is at stake than we know. God has made marriage the showcase of his covenant love where the husband models Christ, and the wife models the church (Ephesians 5:21-33). And God calls single people to bless this vision and to cultivate an expression of leadership and support appropriate to their different relationships.”—John Piper, A Sweet & Bitter Providence, p. 132
You know you have kids when you tell people that you will be leaving for vacation in “3 sleepies.” Obviously, we are on countdown here at the Bradshaw household; we’ll be heading to Tennessee on Sunday with the whole Mahaney clan.
If you are planning to take a vacation, and like me, need to prepare to serve others and glorify God, here are a few links from the girltalk and cheap seats archives you might find helpful:
First, check out my dad’s three part series on leadership and family vacations. You can leave it up on your computer screen for when your husband “happens” to walk by.
Then, for some easy vacation cooking ideas, you might like these recipes.
If you need a reminder to keep fighting remaining sin—which doesn’t take a vacation—this post by Nicole will encourage you to prepare accordingly.
You definitely don’t want to forget to make wonderful memories. Read about that here.
And the hardest part of vacation—coming home. This post will help ease you into normal life again.
I hope this little sampling serves you as you prepare for your trip. I’m signing off, because I only have 3 more sleepies to get ready!
Mom is safely home from The Gospel Coalition Conference. She told me she was blessed to meet so many girltalk readers, so thanks to all of you who said “hi.” For all of you who weren’t at the conference or missed the live feed we will post the audio as soon as TGC makes it available.
This week Mom and Janelle are neck-deep in boxes and bubble wrap as they finish packing up the house for the big move to Louisville on Friday. I’m on vacation with my husband’s family (Jude and Sophie’s first time at the beach!) and Kristin has just settled her family into temporary residence with her mother-in-law. All that to say, light blogging is in order this week.
Today, though, here’s a brief excerpt from Mom’s message this past weekend:
Jesus said this to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God. John 21:19
“How should we think about the unexpected and undesirable experiences that we encounter in life? Here’s how Scripture should inform our thinking: Every experience that we don’t want but can’t change has been assigned to us by God, ultimately that we might glorify God. Let’s stop for a moment and think about a particular situation that may be happening in our lives at present—something that we may not want, we don’t enjoy, but we can’t change. And then consider this: God in His good and wise providence specifically assigned this to you and me so that we might glorify Him. Now when we begin to look at our unwelcome experiences from this vantage point, it can bring about a heart change! Rather than begrudging it or even despairing over it, we can instead respond with faith and joy knowing full well that it is a divinely given opportunity to glorify God.”
Hi Friends, could we ask you to pray for Mom this weekend? She will be speaking at The Gospel Coalition Women’s Conference on “The Snare of Compare.” She’s busy preparing and packing up her house for the move to Louisville, only one week after the conference! Yeah! we can’t wait until they get here.
Here’s a little bit about mom’s message from the GC website:
We’ll consider the risen Lord’s dramatic confrontation with Peter, in which Peter is called to face a future he would not choose but cannot change. Peter’s first instinct is to compare—to look to those around him rather than to his Lord. How do we respond to challenges we don’t want but can’t change? The human temptation is to measure our lot against that of others. How can we turn this temptation to compare ourselves with others into a heart of gospel ministry to others? Jesus’ challenging words to Peter can point the way.
If you will be attending the conference I’m sure Mom would love to meet you. For the rest of you (and me!) we’ll put audio up as soon as it is available. Thanks for always be so faithful to pray!
Searching for—and finding—satisfaction in God, instead of in online diversions, is simple, really. We must choose to close the laptop or shut off the smart phone, and we must choose to daily seek God through prayer and His Word.
Just like Mary. She “sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to his teaching.” In Jesus’ own words, “Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:39, 42, emphasis mine).
Mary chose to sit at Jesus’ feet by deliberately ignoring distractions, even good ones like serving! Martha on the other hand was busy and anxious. Today we face distractions of a different sort, but there are so many more, and they are right there with us at the touch of the finger or the click of the mouse, from the moment we wake up until we go to bed. So we must be all the more alert to what may distract us from keeping our daily appointment to sit at Jesus’ feet, from choosing “the one thing that is necessary” (Lk 10:41).
I’ve shared this before, but a while back, I found that the Internet was becoming a big distraction first thing in the morning. I was using the five minutes it took for my coffee to brew each morning to quickly check email, or headline news, or maybe a blog or two, before starting my devotions. I’d check a headline and then I just had to read the story; or I’d check a blog I enjoy, and I just had to check out the link they recommended, or I’d get caught up not just looking at my email, but answering it.
Before I knew it, five minutes would turn into twenty minutes and then my quiet time would be cut short.
So, I knew I needed to make a choice. I had to choose to say “no” to this distraction! I resolved to not look at email or blogs or headline news until after my time of Bible study and prayer. It may be a small thing but it has made a big difference.
Whatever it takes, let’s be ruthless about not allowing anything to distract us from seeking God through His Word and prayer. We need to choose to sit at Jesus’ feet and find our satisfaction in God alone.
“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days” (90:14).
2012 at 9:38 am | by Carolyn Mahaney
Filed under
Fun Stuff
Last year, when the U.S. Open was played in Bethesda Maryland, the Mahaney clan had the privilege of hosting Webb Simpson, his lovely wife, Dowd, and their baby boy, James, for dinner. It was a delightful evening—in spite of the intermittent rain which forced us to take our outdoor meal inside for a time.
This young couple is humble, earnest, and lots of fun. They graciously shared their time and opened their lives to us—answering all our questions about how they met, came to know Jesus Christ, and how Webb got started in golf. Webb even gave the guys a brief golf lesson before the night was over.
Two things impressed me most about Webb and Dowd. First of all, their gratitude to God for His mercy in the cross of Jesus Christ, and for giving them to each other. And secondly, their earnest desire to glorify the Savior—not just publicly on the PGA Tour, which Webb does consistently and unashamedly—but in their day-to-day life that no one sees: in their marriage, in their parenting, in their church.
So, as you can imagine, there was lots of cheering in the Mahaney household last night when Webb Simpson won the U.S. Open. We’re still cheering this morning!
Equally impressive was Dowd’s support of her husband—she walked all eighteen holes, even though she is seven months pregnant!
Congratulations you guys! We love you and pray God will continue to strengthen your marriage, your family, and your gospel witness.
~from the archives
