Faith for Real

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There's something fairytale-like and idyllic, almost heaven-like, in splashing around in a creek in the mottled sunlight. We found some fossils in the rocks in the water formed in the shape of a seashell. And one side of the bank was pretty layers of rock arranged in shelves. We crisscrossed the creek several times, Aaron hopping from rock to rock because he was wearing shoes and me wading in the water. Some of the rocks were slippery with moss and the water there was smooth and unruffled, and then the water would pour over a rock ledge in a little waterfall and the water would be bumpy, the rocks below it easier to grip with my toes. The sunlight filtering down through the trees and the singing water made me want to stay and stay and stay!

There are times in your life when you are presented with situations that leave you perplexed. Your hands are tied and there is just nothing you can do. There seems no way out. You feel trapped in this situation. Alone. And when we're right in the midst of the situation, it's easy to forget who God is. It's easy to talk to other people in their situations, telling them not to limit God and that they need to put their trust and hope in God. "Have faith!" we say, and then go our merry way, scoffing within ourselves, "How could they be so frail, so faithless and faltering?" And life dishes us a share of the shocking, the unimaginable, the horrifying and unspeakable. And we find ourselves doubting, adrift in uncertainty. We forget that even though people change, God is unshakable. We forget that even though circumstances are turned on their head, God always stays right-side-up.

One such situation was dumped over my head like a bucket of cold water last night. After cogitating and ruminating and brooding and fretting and worrying, I felt helpless. Who could help? And even though I may not have thought this exact concept, this is the way I was living and thinking: Where is God? My beloved husband was quick to discern what was running through my head and reminded me of the rock-solid truths about our God. He is always in control. He never changes. God is always reliable.

And today, splashing in the water with the sun smiling down on us, it was as if God was saying, "Don't worry, I'm always here. Everything is in My hands and I know what I'm doing. You are My child." And I could rest in His everlasting arms, peaceful because God is always in control.

"But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; 

I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.

I will praise You forever

Because You have done it;

And in the presence of Your saints

I will wait on Your Name, for it is good."

~ Psalm 52:8-9

"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;

Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,

Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass...

Do not fret - it only causes harm."

~ Psalm 37: 7-8

"Why are you cast down O my soul?

And why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God;

For I shall yet praise Him,

The help of my countenance and my God."

~ Psalm 42:11

Love,
Anna

What is the Bravehearted Gospel?

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"The truth of the Bravehearted Gospel is without equivocation a truth that must be adopted into the feminine heart. As much as a great man must learn to listen, cry, be sympathetic, and allow compassion to ebb in his being, so a great woman must have a brave heart. She must have the grit, the growl and the gusto of God drilled into the bedrock of her soul...."
"You see, the Bravehearted Gospel is not merely a title, it is an attitude and a lifestyle. IT isn't something I invented. Rather, it comes straight out of the soldier's handbook from Heaven, covered in blood, sweat, tears and glory. And if I may be so bold, the Bravehearted Gospel is the manly stuff that the modern church is missing, and if it were to be found again, this world might be turned upside down within a single year."
"The Bravehearted Gospel is gritty living, the stuff of martyrs and saints. Its bravado meets brains; its hamlike fist meets poetlike heart; its forehead of flint meets tender, love-inspired soul. The Bravehearted Gospel is muscular  zeal meets helpless orphan, sacrificing life and limb to rescue her. It is spine of steel bending to embrace the urine-stained outcast, giving up everything in order to see him brought through Heaven's gates. The Bravehearted Gospel is not mushy logic, it is concrete truth. It's not postmodern or modernistic thinking, and it's not dry-as-dust tradition for tradition's sake. Rather, it is historical living ripped straight from the pages of Scripture and made incarnate in the lives of the disciples of Jesus in this twenty-first century. The Bravehearted Gospel isn't soft with sin and it's not hard on sinners, but rather it is the giving up of everything to see sin trumped and the sinner rescued. The Bravehearted Gospel is pure adventure, a life of nuclear joy and hallowed ecstasy. It's the hard way to live, and yet the most satisfying. And, God patiently waits to once again infuse the potency of His Bravehearted Gospel back into the bloodstream of the body of Christ. Ironically, it is often you and me, and a million other Christians who are often standing in the way."

______
Taken from The Bravehearted Gospel by Eric Ludy, pages 19-21

Monday Soul Exploration

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 ¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. - Colossians 1:15-18 ESV

Today I'm asking myself: "Does He, Christ, hold the preeminence in everything in my life?" Preeminence means to have first place. Dictionary.com defines preeminent as: "eminent above or before others; superior; surpassing." Christ holds first place everywhere else! But does He hold first place in your life? And not just in your life, but in each aspect of your life. Does He hold preeminence in my marriage? My finances? My time? My relationships? And if I can say no to any of those questions, what do I have to do to restore Him to His rightful place in each of those areas?


That's what I'm asking myself today. What about you? 


Love,
Anna

Change the world

You may be asking: Why another blog? You have a blog with your husband and a blog with your sister, why do you need another blog? Here are my reasons:

• I want to encourage other girls, single and married, in their purpose as homemakers and helpmeets. I want this to feel like I am sitting down with you over a cup of coffee and sharing my heart about both Mary and Martha topics. 

• I want to share my journey in exploring how I am learning to live the bravehearted Gospel out in everyday life as a wife and homemaker in the hopes that I can encourage other daughters of the King in their walk.

• Many of posts will be more womanly/wifely in nature and I do not want to seem like I am trying to "teach" men in any way. 

• This blog will be more of a spiritual journal and record of what God is doing in my life, not separate of my marriage and other aspects of my life, but within those roles. 

We are all called to follow Micah 6:8:

"He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you, But to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God?" 

But just how we all follow that command will look different for each of us. This is how I am trying to figure out the nuts and bolts of Micah 6:8. I ask myself, "How can I radically change the world as a homemaker?" Don't kid yourself. You can't just live a normal life following the kind of God that we follow. This verse shows us that! Look at all three requirements:

• Do justly
• Love mercy
• Walk humbly with your God

These are all action words (do, love, walk). (Check out 1st Corinthians 13: 1-8 to see how love is an action word.) So I can't just sit at home and say I'm living out this verse! 

So I'm asking God today, this week, this month, this year: How can I radically change the world as a homemaker? 

Love,
Anna