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Misunderstood Women- by Aimee Douglas
“I didn’t mean it like that!” Have these words ever come out of your mouth? A few days ago I said something to my teenage son that he misunderstood. This is not hard to do since teenagers have a newly defined vocabulary, such as: when I say something is bad, I mean it is bad. Their definition of bad is “cool.” It can get rather confusing, for instance the word wicked means evil, not in their vocab, it means “awesome.” I give up- how can they do this, did Webster give them permission to do this? Oops, I chased a rabbit. Can you do this Angie? You know I’m still new to blogging. I kinda got on a soap box. I’m off now standing flat footed again.
Anyway, my son misunderstood something I said, he was mad at me, but when I explained what I was thinking as I said it, he understood. Well, let me tell you something, come closer to the screen because I want to make sure you don’t misunderstand me. I want to crack the devil’s egg and show you exactly what’s on the inside, and it is a rotten yolk! The devil loves to play on words- and put thoughts in our minds and cause us to doubt other’s good intentions. I’ve been thinking about a few in the Bible:
Job’s wife- I believe she was a misunderstood woman. Read it in Job 2:8-10. She said “Curse God and die”. What woman in her right mind would want to lose her husband, on top of all that had just happened to them, and would say, “Well hon, while you still have respect, just curse God and die.”
What I see is a man sitting down, rolling in self-pity because he practically lost all he had (she lost children and home and wealth right along with him), and now he was sick with boils all over and sits down in ashes and scrapes his sores with broken pottery. Maybe she might have said this to pull him out of his self-pity, by using a little reverse psychology– for it to be “his” idea- that God is faithful and is trustworthy and uses all things for His glory if we let Him, even if things are going bad.
Speaking of which, let me share something I read from my Sunday School lesson: “Difficulties often leave people feeling hopeless. But as believers, we know that God is always working in, through, and even in spite of our circumstances to bring about His will. Although He allows us to encounter problems, He doesn’t expect us to face them alone.”
Just like Job, we all face circumstances; maybe not to the degree of Job, but it still hurts! Well, I think Jobs wife knew he was hurting, not only physically but emotionally as well and she had to help him fast! She didn’t want to lose him too! (My opinion only.) Because in the next verse he told her she was speaking foolishly. She had heard him whine– (cause men do this when they are sick), until she made that remark. Sure, it may have been sarcastic, but what if she said- “You poor thing, you sure have it bad.” That would have made him wallow more in his self-pity. Perhaps she was only trying to pull him back up to see God was still God and He is worth trusting!
Another misunderstood woman was Eve. There she was listening to the serpent tell her she would be wiser and she wouldn’t die if she ate of the fruit on the tree. The Bible says in Genesis 3:6, that she ate of the fruit and her husband that was “with her”, ate of it as well. Now in Genesis 2:16-17, God commanded the man not to eat. The woman wasn’t even created yet until verse 22. He stood right there with Eve, partaking of the fruit, and let that juicy fruit slide right down past his heart to his belly. (I imagine he had an upset stomach after that!) Now who takes the heat? You are right the woman. She ate, but so did her husband. What if he didn’t eat it? What if he stood his ground, had the spiritual discernment, and being the priest of his home, said to Eve, “It’s a trick don’t eat it!” We might not be in the mess we are in today. We might be living in that perfect garden today! Oh well, it is done now, no need in crying “over spilt milk–or chewed fruit.” However if we keep the faith, one day we will get to go to a place that is perfect and live with Christ for eternity. It will all be worth it- every trial, every mountain, every valley.
Lastly, I want to share the woman that came to mind today to finish this post and it is found in John 12. Mary had a costly ointment, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it and wiped his feet with her hair. Now there was some at this gathering that misunderstood her intentions. Maybe she didn’t fully understand her own intentions. Maybe her intentions were just to show her love and gratitude to her precious Savior. She felt He was worthy- He is worthy. She didn’t realize that she was performing the acts of service for His burial. She was giving the very best that she had for Him. Time spent pouring your life out for Jesus is not wasted. Some may misunderstand your intentions. Some may judge you for all that you do for the Lord. Some may ridicule you or persecute you for His name sake. Some may even try and intimidate you to cause you to lose hope, have doubt about your worth, or about what you sacrifice for Him. But rest assured sister-in-Christ, one day it will all be worth it!
Sorry it has taken me so long with this….we have just been so incredibly busy in our work for the Lord! But I have thought about you all so much and have been rolling this post over in my mind for weeks. These thoughts are just my ideas—-of how I feel these women might have been misunderstood…you know, just like you and me.
Ya’ll come back, ya hear!
Still Keeping the faith,
The Sisters (Aimee)
Faith in the Fog
One morning this past week, as I drove to work the fog was so thick….you’ve heard the term “thick as pea soup?”—this was thicker. But as I cautiously drove, these thoughts came pouring in my heart.
“Faith in the Fog” came to me as I was driving…do you know how hard it is to drive and write? Especially in the fog??? This reminds me that we sometimes try and do to much in our lives when we need to just concentrate on “ONE THING”. Him. Only Him.
Bring your cup of coffee and head on over to the Cafe—-Internet Cafe that is….
Hint Help!
Okay ladies—-back up a bit….to the post where I introduced the Mother’s Day give-away. I gave you a ***hint***—***she is a mom***. Okay now I am going to out right tell you that the hint is —she is a mom—which is referring to something about the give-away. Which, by the way —is —-a very good gift!
Since YOU ALL KNOW how I love to read…I will give another hint….***book***. That is just to easy! Now, “someone“ told me to be real plain– very easy….because sometimes when we are reading blogs—we are tired. I know…sorry…I go through the same thing! (Remember this morning’s 2:34 a.m.—I get tired when He wakes me up)
So, the biggest clue I am about to hand out is this…every clue is either surrounded by *** or, it is in bold. Now, before you grab every word in my posts that are bold…I will say that you should be careful…not every bold word is part of the clue.
The beginning point for this give-away is here. The gift will go to the first person that guesses the gift! When leaving your comment, you don’t have to tell me that you know the hint (so that you don’t give it away), but please tell me you “think” you know. You can e-mail me and tell you what you think it is—with your return e-mail and I will reply with a confirmation or tell you “look again” :-).
IF no one is able to guess—(I will make it easy as possible)—the gift—for Mother’s Day, I will use the random number generator to select from each individual that comments. It’s the only fair way I know. BUT I would love it if you try and guess!!!!
Have a blessed evening—and Friday! AND Saturday!
Since I will be hosting a grandson sleep-over Friday night for a couple of them, I may not post on Saturday due to mental and physical exhaustion!!! (Lori, I sound old…well, tonight, I feel old!)
Mediocre Life
What kind of life is that? Sometimes—many times it is what we settle for instead of perservering before the throne—or pushing ahead and believing God for what He wants for us in the first place! He does NOT want mediocre for His blessed children!
Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future”. (NIV)
This morning at 2:34—well, probably just a few minutes before that, the Lord woke me from a deep sleep. I woke, rolled over and snuggled deeper, only to hear Him in my heart/head beckon me from that nestled postition. Well, old flesh immediately says, “I hate it when You do that…wake me up from sleep…YOU know how much I love sleep….” I was instantly rebuked, “No, Lord, I’m sorry, I don’t hate it…. You know I love YOU more than sleep.”
So, I rolled over on my back, as if to ready myself to “listen”. His instructions are clear. “Get up-go to your prayer room, lay before me in prayer.” I try just for 2 seconds, to reason with Him, that I can pray here….but no I can’t. I pray out loud when He instructs me like this…and I KNOW already that this will be an outloud prayer. Not a whispered or silent type.
As I roll the covers back, my thoughts begins to “wander” down the corridor of my mind filled with pictures of family. Is someone in distress? The brink of disaster? A fire? A tornado? (There was that one time of the tornado—an old post…don’t remember which one–you’d have to hunt back to last year sometime…)
I go to the bathroom, then on through the dining room, where the Bibles, books and computer is arranged, just as I’d left them hours before…walk into the kitchen and look at the clock, thinking surely it must be almost “getting up time” anyway. Not so. Only 2:34. Good sleep being missed. Girls you have no clue how much this youngin loves to sleep!
I walk into the prayer room/library. Small room. Only big enough for the “granddaddy chair”, two book cases and a desk. Just enough floor space that I can lie down and meet the Master of the house. So I take my place. Same place everytime.
As I began, I told Him, “I don’t know what You’ve called me here for ….but that’s okay. I don’t have to know.” My prayer began slow, as He blew the sleep from my heart, I began to weep before Him with the urgency of NEEDING Him to hear my plea. Not knowing who or what I was praying for, I left it up to Him. Many of you were prayed for. Many of you that I converse with on a daily basis via e-mail or a visit to your blog were on my heart. So, your name was called.
The Lord prompted my spirit….”it’s not about the numbers, Angie. It’s about the message.” I asked for the message. For the annointing. For His Spirit to rest upon me and pour into me what needs to be said. To the hurting. To the damaged. To the brokenhearted. To you and, yes, to me. He pours it in….I pour it out.
I can’t tell you how many times a day I think about what the Lord wants to use my life for. What He’s up to. But girls, it is all up to Him. Whatever He wants to do with me, use me for I am His. Totally.
I love my precious family. My sweet darling man. My girls, their husbands, their children, my parents, my siblings…but I belong to the Lord. For His work….I don’t know what it’s to be. It may only be to get up at 2:34 a.m. and pray for someone I don’t know. Someone I’ve never had the pleasure of a neck hug. But that’s okay too. If the Lord crosses our paths here….then it is for a reason. I question Him not.
Dear sweet sister-in-Christ, it is not about the number of visitors I have or you have. Nor about the comments or who they come from. It is about the message of Christ….and getting it out to the lost and dying. It’s about Him. All about Him.
Now, I am off to bed again. I have prayed. Laid back down, couldn’t get you off my heart and mind. So I got BACK up and went to the computer. I needed to tell you that we don’t have to live a mediocre life. That He has a plan and purpose for EACH ONE OF US! YOU and me! All we need to do is be obedient. (I’m not even checking this one for boo-boo’s…so please excuse—I am tired—I’ve never posted this early.)
What do YOU do on Thursday??
We get really Thankful! EVERY Thursday. The Lord is prompting my spirit to “think” thankfully. Stop complaining. Live life fully. Minute by minute. That is hard to do. All of it. I mean, think about how many times you get cut off in traffic! You are running late…the person in front of you has a week to get where he is going….and you just fume. Right there in your car….you spit-and sputter–and COMPLAIN. What do we have to complain about??? (Is it just me—or is it getting hot in here?)
Okay, let’s stop right here. I have a job. I have transportation to that job. It has air conditioning. A decent radio. Comfortable seats. No, it’s not top of the line. It gets me where I am going though. Yes, it takes $55 to fill it up. But the Lord has supplied the job so that I can buy the gas to get there….hmmm. And I complain every.single.time I pump gas. The price. The traffic. The time. The travel. And so many times—not all the time—but many times—it is spent complaining. What is the deal here?
My mind got stuck in the “daily living”—and I stopped “living daily”. There are days when I feel like I have pulled myself out of bed by the nap of the neck—kicking and screaming…not wanting to go to work….tired, discouraged at times—just wanted to crawl back in and hide. Easier that way. No pressure there. Just you and the covers. The pillow. The bed. But—that’s not living. That is hiding.
As **Jesus** called Lazarus out of the grave “come forth”—(John 11:43), He wants us to “join the living” as well. Live life. To the fullest. Live it thankfully! It is so much better—and easier to look for the “thankfulness” of life than to concentrate on the gloom and doom.
The Lord reminded me this morning of all the times I have enjoyed fellowship with Him as I drove. As I journeyed to work—I have prayed, praised, sang, cried and worshipped Him with my whole heart!—(clapped my hands even–ssshh–don’t tell that I can drive with my knee when necessary). He reminded me that time passed—and I arrived before I even knew it—when the time was spent in fellowship with Him….rather than complaining my head off! I sound like I am a BIG complainer. I’m not. I really don’t do it very much….but—I have heard much complaining from others—-from work, home, shopping, TV, radio—it is EVERYWHERE.
So, once again—-I “decide” to choose thankfulness. I choose to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in my life. Teach me Lord, lead me, I am Yours, I follow only You. Today, tomorrow—if I live to be 90—and beyond!
Iris chose this verse today. It is full of power! I had used the next set of verses below in my post on “Power of the Wind” on my Laced With Grace devotion this past weekend. I still feel the Power of His Spirit!
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”~ John 16:13-14 (ESV )
“But the time is coming and is already here when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for anyone who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24
I don’t want the Father to have to look for me….I want to be right here…worshipping Him…with a fully thankful heart!
Visit Iris for more thankful hearts today! (Don’t forget the “hint”(s)—go back and read this post!)
I love you all!!!
Just a few changes…
In a world full of changes….here is yet another one. After discovering a very ugly and graphic comment on one of my posts, I have had to enable comment moderation. I appreciate my sweet readers, you are loved! Please don’t let this deter you from posting a comment. That is so encouraging to us as we “blog” along in our ministry for the Lord.
So, I continue to “blog along”—writing devotions—sharing snippets of the life at the Knight house—joys and pain—loving the Lord with all I am —all I have—and being obedient to what ever He calls—***His name is Jesus***
There are days when I share lunch with my sister, Aimee in this fashion…I call her on the cell phone—or she calls me…and as I am going to the “drive-thru” of whatever is handy, we chat…she is doing the same as me…but is about 40 miles away…and we get our food —settle in for “lunch via cell phone”. It’s not what we wish it was…but at least we are able to share it in that way. We talk, share thoughts about what the Lord is dealing with us about, and sometimes she or I will share a scripture… or sometimes…you won’t believe this…but one of us may even “sing” to the other! Stop laughing….we do….And then sometimes, we share about the “stuff of life”. The painful stuff. We help each other…bearing one another’s burdens.
This week, I did the “crazy” thing. I was driving to run a quick errand on my lunch time…and as I made a turn onto the 4-lane—a song from YEARS ago came to my mind—from out of the BLUE! See if you recognize it…
“There’s gonna be a big homecoming
I’ll meet you up in heaven
at that
Big homecoming in the sky
There’s gonna be a great big table spread
milk and honey fed
at that
Big homecoming in the sky”
It’s an old Happy Goodman Family song….I remember it from when I was a young girl, and had not thought of it in years…but it came to me as I was driving and I just started singing it…called Aimee—and left the song on her cell phone! It was so bad it made her cry! (Well, she cried…so I figure it was really bad!) It made me think of Wanda…and wondering what she was doing…is she helping get the table set? Is she cooking one of her special dishes for dessert? Or, is she sitting at the feet of Jesus? I don’t know…but sisters…I am making my plans to FIND OUT!
Don’t forget the “Mother’s Day” give-away…and the “*clues*” within each post until then…go here to read what to do! I love each of you!!!!
Contest!!! Yipee!
Calling all writers! Click on the link button above and enter the new writing contest at Christian Women Online Magazine.
Once again, Christian Women Online, in conjunction with Art Bookbindery, is sponsoring the “Her Life Reflected,” writing contest. They are looking for essays that tell us how your mother, or a mother that you know has reflected the heart of our Heavenly Father in her life. The winning essay will be one that is both written well, and of most importance, one that reflects God as being the central focus of one’s life.
THERE IS A CASH PRIZE offered—along with some great books, a new coffee mug, Music! Wow! How can you resist?
Never thought about writing…? Well, give it a shot! Pray about it—write about her! Someone must have inspired you to be who you are! Tell us! Click on the button and find out the details!
I wish I could enter…but I can’t—contest rules and all that stuff—since I am a regular contributor to CWO Internet Cafe…..but if you can….do it! Do it now!
I cannot wait to read what you have written!
Who are YOU?
I thought this was a neat quiz….pop over and check yourself out!
Take the Quiz here!
I have seen the movie—enjoyed it very much…have the book…(somewhere!)
Also, a bit of trivia for you…I will be having a “mother’s day give-away”….and from now until then, I will post a “hint” or two settled deeply inside each devotional post….so, you will have to read carefully and when you comment, tell me what you think the “hint” was!
The first one will be easy…***she is a mom***. The next ones may not be as easy.
I think this will be fun! So, join me as we journey to “Mother’s Day”. A day I am thilled to share with my sweet Mother!
Visit me here today!
Come on over….I was a little late getting here today….but I’m here now! So grab your cup of coffe—pull up a chair….get settled in and read on! Click the link button—you may have some catching up to do!
Jeff & Angie 