To the brim

 

Walking With the Lord is a weekly pause we take here at Ruby in the Rough to focus on the things of the Lord. Sometimes it will be a devotional, a poem, or a lesson from our church that stood out as being particularly applicable.

Joh 2:7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

As I was reading this morning this verse caught my eye.The setting is Jesus' first miracle, at the wedding in Cana. Mary had bid the servants to do whatever Jesus asked them too, and this verse tells what he asked of them. 


The thing that is striking is how thoroughly they obeyed. Jesus commanded them to fill the water pots, but he didn't say it had to be to the brim. Usually when a person fills something they leave a bit on top so that it doesn't spill. I consider my cup full even if there are a couple inches left from the brim. Granted, these waterpots were considerably bigger than a glass of water, but even so--the servants weren't asked to fill them too the brim, just to fill them. The servants were simply obeying orders. 


Since it was Jesus' first miracle, I doubt that they suspected what was about to happen. Jesus didn't have a reputation yet--at least, not one as a miracle worker. He was simply an 'ordinary' guest at the celebration. What's more, this 'ordinary' guest asked the already busy servants to fill 6 water pots of 2-3 firkins. This is equal to between 108-162 gallons. That was no easy task. Despite this, the servants went over an beyond, doing everything asked of them and more besides.

I wonder, how often can we say that we do the same? We all know of things that God wants us to do. I'm sure that many times in the past we have obeyed Him and done things that were difficult, but how many times do we stop there?


 When you get right down to it, though, it is that extra bit that matters the most. We can obey God out of duty, but to go beyond what He asks takes love and trust. It is also this extra bit that is the best witness. If God asks you to do something and you do just that and no more, others watching will wonder what your motivation was. Did you do that because you love God, or was it just because you had some sense of duty, devoid of personal love, simply an obligation you had to fulfill? They can't really know. However, if you obey, and add to that obediance extra, then there can be no doubt that the obediance was born of love.


 Not that I'm downplaying pure and simple obediance--never! There are few things so lovely as a Christian that is living a life of obediance. But there is something extra special when that believer is able to go over and beyond. When they don't just 'fill' the waterpots, they 'fill them up to the brim'.

Giving

Joining Lisa-Jo and fabulous others this morning for Five Minute Friday, where we cut the words loose for just five minutes, and see where they fall. No editing, just encouraging the others who play along. The topic today is Gift.





Time. It's a gift in many different ways. The fact that we have time at all is a gift that God gives us. Each moment that He keeps the air circulating through our lungs and our hearts beating is a gift. A gift easily taken for granted, but precious and amazing.

Time is a gift we can give to other people--the time that God gives us can then be given away. It is both the cheapest and most expensive gift on the planet. It is free to give, but extremely valuable. How we spend the gift of our time shows us where our priorities are--just as surely as how we spend our money.

When I think of time I see it differently than many people. My love language is quality time, and my husband learned long ago that if he wants to really show me he loves me a lot, the best way is to set everything aside and focus on me. We don't have to be talking (though often I do), but we do have to have undistracted "us" time. Time is the way I give and receive love most naturally.

Gifts are precious, and the gifts we give to loved ones are especially important. How are you doing in your gift giving? How do you show your love?

New friends, new blessings

It's been quite the weekend in the "manor." This past weekend was my long anticipated weekend getaway with MomLife. I was gone for about two days to a camp a couple hours away, and had a fantastic time. The speakers were great, and I came away with quite a few good memories and notes.

A couple days before MomsLifet, I found out that I would be able to partially attend another weekend women's conference, COMMIT, with the ladies on my husband's side of the family. Because I'd already committed to MomsLife, I hadn't expected to be able to attend. But the conferences only overlapped by about a day, so I was able to partially attend COMMIT also. I really enjoyed the chance to spend time with my family, and the COMMIT conference itself was wonderful as well!

While all that traveling was a blast, it's been nice to be back home. I like busy weekends every  now and again, but I can say whole-heartedly with Dorothy, "There's no place like home!"

#331

327. God providing an extra pair of hands for Keepers (a pair of hands that was okay with being thrown into the fray with only the words, "Do you know how to heat emboss? Great! You can teach that table. The stuff is... out. I think. Somewhere... Have fun!")
328. Three packages in the mail--two for me, one as a present

#331

329. A borrowed car with AC
330. Roses, blooming profusely
331. The unexpected opportunity to attend a COMMIT conference with my MIL and SILs
332. Sitting with the moms, instead of the daughters

#331

333. A bowl of cheerios, used to remind me to not store up resentment
334. Meeting with my midwife, and hearing Baby's heartbeat (she says its in the range for a girl--but who knows!)
335. Lunch with my Sister-in-law, Melody, between our midwife appointments
336. Leaving on vacation with a clean house. Miracles do happen!

#337

337. A tea party at the DMC. Lovely!
338. Dreaming of tea parties with my own little girls
339. Learning two new crafts to do, one for great "girl time" one for great presents.
340. A long drive with my man

#354

341. The chance to attend MomLife Bootcamp
342. "What? Pregnant! No way are we letting you sleep on the top bunk!"
343. 6 great room mates, and 6 new friends
344. Early morning sitting on the dock and journaling

#341

345. Evening phone calls to my man
346. Learning a new game
347. A phone charger
348. A reminder to not be a sideline mom

#352

349. Absorbing myself in cardmaking
350. A needle and thread
351. Tasty, delicious snacks
352. Meeting Crystal Paine

#343

353. An encouraging message reminding me that we're all works in progress, by the Grace of God
354. Moms scrapping together
355. Stepping outside of my comfort zone
356. Two new cute headbands

#357

357. Writing a couple thank you notes, and thinking about the blessings God has put in my life
358. Being handed a prayer card for Wisdom, my "special word"
359. Peppermint tea
360. Seeing my man after a weekend apart

#344

The Collapse of Evolution

I picked up The Collapse of Evolution, by Scott M Huse, mainly because it is the text book to a class on Creationism that my husband and I are taking through our church. In addition to other homework assignments, we are required to finish this book by the end of the semester. I found this book to be much more interesting than I expected.

Each chapter of this book deals with a different scientific aspect of Evolution vs. Creation. There are chapters on geology, astronomy, biology, mathematics, and physics, among others. I found the reading to be engaging and interesting.

One of the major things I got out of this book is how incorrect it is for schools to teach evolution as a proven fact, rather than a theory. By it's nature, evolution cannot be scientifically proven because it can't be observed. That makes evolution a matter of faith, which is the very criticism that Creationists often face. If evolution is a matter of faith, it should be taught as a matter of faith--not as proven scientific facts.

This book is engaging, easy to understand, and thought provoking. I definitely would recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic. 

MomLife Bootcamp

This weekend I will be attending MomLife Bootcamp. I am sooooo excited about the opportunity! I found out about this through a giveaway done several months ago (I don't even remember whose blog). I was so excited to see that not only will Crystal Paine of MoneySavingMom be one of the speakers, but it will be held within driving distance of where we live!! How often does that happen!

 I've never been to an "adult" retreat before--I think the last time I went to a weekend camp was in youth group. I'm not entirely sure what to expect, but I do expect both lots of fun and lots of learning.

The session I'm most looking forward to is this one:

Social Media Group Ideation Session – Hosted by Tracey Eyster, Crystal Paine, and Kennisha HillAnyone with a passion for reaching others through a digital medium are invited to join in on this think tank session where we will explore, consult and advise each other on how we can most effectively use our God given passions to reach others through blogging, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media forums.

Hopefully I'm going to walk away from that with some ideas that will directly impact this blog. We'll see!!

I doubt I'll have a chance to keep up with the usual posting over this weekend, but when I get back I'll give an update of how it went.

Will any of you be going? I'd love to meet you there if you are!

Sacrificial Love

 A good marriage is never a 50/50 arrangement. While it may seem ideal to some people for everything in a marriage to be divided down the middle (money, chores, etc), in reality that just doesn’t work. Expecting everything in a home to be 50/50 essentially means that each spouse is keeping a running list of everything they have done, and comparing it to everything their mate has done to make sure the lists are “even.” If the lists aren’t even (and usually they aren’t) it leads to frustration, hurt and discontent.

As Christians, we are called to sacrificially love our brothers and sisters in Christ. In fact, Jesus said that sacrificial love was to be our defining characteristic. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:35) This includes the way we love our spouse.

As I understand that verse, a good marriage should be 100/100. In other words, each spouse should go into marriage expecting to give their level best to the other person, even if it means that the lists aren’t always even. It’s loving sacrificially; putting our spouse as the top priority. This is a requirement for a strong, healthy, flourishing marriage.

Let me take a side trail for a moment, and give you a look into our marriage, both to explain how this looks practically, and to thank my hubby.

Yesterday was a physically strenuous day for me. Three girlfriends and I went to a grocery store in the area that was new to us, and found some really fantastic deals. Seriously. It was great, and my freezer is now WELL stocked. We ended up being out longer than I thought, so I went straight from there to work. By the time I got home I had been on my feet all day and was physically drained.

When my husband arrived home from work, he found an exhausted wife. I wasn’t able to deal with the messy house, or with doing much in the way of dinner—even if it was date night. My husband understood this, and instead of expecting me to do 50/50 he loved sacrificially and cleaned house. He did the dishes, pulled up a movie I enjoyed, and even cleaned the overflowed yeasty bread dough out of the bottom of my bread machine (a failed recipe from a couple days ago).  He gave 100%.

Although I wasn’t able to do much that evening, I was able to use my tongue. As he was working on things that are usually my job, I tried to speak words of life to him. I wasn’t able to carry half the load, but I did give what I was able to give—appreciation; love; acceptance. I gave 100% also, it just didn’t take the same form.

 For a good marriage to work there has to be sacrifice on both sides. It take both spouses sacrificially giving 100% of themselves, and refusing to keep mental “check lists” about their mate. Is that hard? Yes. It is hard. It’s more natural to focus on ourselves and our needs than it is to focus on our spouse, and what our spouse needs. But sacrificial love is SO worth it.

Lets take Christ as our model and choose to love our spouse sacrificially. Lets let the way that we love be such a reflection of Christ, that people look our marriage and say—“Hey, they must be Christians.” It’s what Jesus wanted.

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13:34-35)

 

Top Book List

This is the final installment of  the Teachers of Good Things series. It's been a lot of fun, hasn't it? I really appreciate the six other women, and three men who were willing to join me for the interviews. I undertook this project as a ministry to others, but I had no idea how much I would learn in the process! I thank each of you for being willing to be open.

The final question of the interviews asked the women to share books that had impacted the way they viewed relationships, singleness, and preparing for marriage. Instead of including this question with each interview, I decided to compile it into a single post. After each book is the name of the woman who recommended it, sometimes a commentary on why, and the link to her interview.

While I have not read all of the 18 books listed, I've read the majority of them and I believe these are some of the best books available for Christian ladies. I'm looking forward to reading the new ones in the near future. Enjoy!

Single Years