Girls To Grow - Page 4 of 179 - Nurturing moms in their walk with God

Will You Need This Fruit of the Spirit Today?

January 16, 2018 by Tracey 6 Comments

Today I’m getting back on track with our study on the fruit of the Spirit.

We’ve come to the fourth one, which is longsuffering. I really don’t like the words long and suffering put together. If I got to choose, I’d prefer a word like “shortsuffering!”

Over Christmas break, my older daughter and husband had the stomach flu. As I “nursed” them, I was very interested in noting how long they were actually ill. Was it running 12 hours, 24, or more?

Thankfully for both of them, it was only about 12 hours of actually being sick to their stomach. In case I came down with it, I wanted to know exactly how long it would last. I felt like I could make it through if I just knew when it would end! (And thankfully, our younger daughter and I never caught it!)

Obviously that’s not exactly what it means when we talk about longsuffering in a Biblical sense. According to this site, the word longsuffering is made up of two Greek words that literally mean “long tempered.” I also like the dictionary definition which says, “having or showing patience in spite of troubles, especially those caused by other people.” So basically it’s having a long fuse instead of a short one.

God is longsuffering to us; let's show that same trait to others.

As with all of the fruit we’ve examined, God sets the example. He is the epitome of longsuffering. How thankful we should be that Exodus 34:6 describes Him as “…The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.”

God is not impatient with me. Psalm 86:15 says, “But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.” In my flesh, I sin and give Him so many reasons to give up on me. Yet He continues to extend grace, mercy, and compassion toward me.

So if I want to become more like Jesus, I need to be longsuffering. I once heard someone say that longsuffering relates to how you deal with people, while patience is how you deal with things or circumstances. The verses below definitely deal with how we’re to be longsuffering toward others. In fact, we’re commanded to act that way.

“With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;” ~Ephesians 4:2

“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” “ ~Colossians 3:12

Do you see a similarity between these verses? What word is close to the word “longsuffering” both times? Mmhmm…it’s meekness. It seems to be tied in with longsuffering.

Perhaps I’m more longsuffering when I see my own weaknesses clearly. When I’m not prideful or worried about defending my own rights, it’s easier to be longsuffering. Putting others ahead of myself leads me to be tolerant and forgiving. (Ouch, stepping on my own toes here!!) But meekness is another fruit of the Spirit that we’ll get to later!

As wives and mothers, the opportunities to be longsuffering within our families arise almost daily. Sure, there are moments when I feel justified over losing my temper or showing my frustration. But that’s now how God is. When I think about how God is so longsuffering with me, I have no excuse to be irritated or provoked.

As we go through our day, may we yield to the Holy Spirit in those moments of irritation, and allow Him to produce longsuffering in us!

Saturday Salutes ~ Featuring Amazing Flourless Chewy Chocolate Cookies

January 13, 2018 by Tracey 4 Comments

Our younger daughter got her beginner’s driving permit this week. How did this happen??!!

The girls and I had plans to watch Fixer Upper on Tuesday night, and I decided we needed a sweet treat for the evening. I’d just pinned this Copycat Starbucks Flourless Chewy Chocolate Cookies earlier in the day, and decided to give them a try. Oh my goodness, they were delicious!! I will definitely be making them again!

Just a few notes – the batter does get really thick. I only added the 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (not the additional 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips) and they were still plenty chocolate-y enough. And the recipe doesn’t make a bunch of cookies; I made mine pretty large and got nine cookies out of it. But that’s probably a good thing!

And as for the episode of Fixer Upper, it was one of my favorite houses they’ve done! I like smaller houses, and the outside was so charming!! I also loved the back splash in the kitchen, and so many of the other design elements.

Now on to other helpful posts from the past week…

For moms of tween and teen girls, I highly recommend Kari’s post Want to Help Your Daughter? Be Her Emotional Coach.

Kristen says Give Your Marriage the Fight It Deserves.

Samantha shares 10 Ways to Rock Being a Stay-at-Home Mom.

Lori lists 5 Ways to Disagree without Being Disagreeable.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

A Little Perspective on the Year Ahead

January 11, 2018 by Tracey 5 Comments

Age gives you a different perspective on a lot of things.

When I was younger, the start of a new year was all about the possibilities ahead of me. What goals could I accomplish? Could I lose that ten pounds, get up at 5am every weekday, read 100 books in twelve months? So much potential for exciting things to happen!

To a degree, I’m still that way. I’m a planner. I like to look ahead, and see exciting things on the horizon. I enjoy the anticipation that comes from a fresh start, a clean slate.

Yet the years have infused my thinking with perhaps a tinge more realism. I’m not trying to be a “Debbie Downer,” but I think we get to the point where we’ve lived long enough to know that trials are part of life. None of us are exempt from them. I realize that March could bring a car accident, May might mean a serious sickness for a family member, we could face a big job challenge in July. There’s a lot in the year ahead that could make me apprehensive and even fearful.

As I was having some of those thoughts earlier this week, I came across this verse.

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” ~I Corinthians 2:9

In context, it’s talking about spiritual blessings. We can’t even imagine the mercy and grace, peace and joy that are available to us as we walk with God. His Spirit reveals truth to us as we spend time in the Bible. We get wisdom and discernment as we learn to live in that truth.

How I want those spiritual blessings this year! Those moments when I sense God speaking to me through a Bible passage I meditate on or a sermon I hear at church or a song that resonates with my current situation. I want to recognize His hand at work through answered prayer, realize victory over a sin I’ve struggled with. How sweet are those precious times!

[Sidenote: I read in several commentaries that in the original text, the end of the verse actually translates as “the things which God hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him.” Are we willing to wait on God this year to reveal Himself to us? Will we take time to “be still and know that He is God?” (Psalm 46:10) Or will we hurry right past that to follow our own plans or reach our own goals?]

Could the verse above also apply to endless treasures stored up for us in heaven? I certainly believe so! I don’t think we have any idea how glorious our home in heaven will be. Jesus is preparing a place for us that will delight His children.

But could the verse also have application to what God has ahead of me in 2018? I think it could.

Are we going to face some hard things this year? I don’t doubt it. And God is going to be there to walk through each one of them with us. If it’s that car wreck, sickness, or job challenge, He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) If we trust Him, acknowledge Him in all our ways, He has promised to direct our paths. (Proverbs 3:5, 6)

But are there also going to be some sweet, unexpected blessings that come into our lives? I totally believe that, too! There will be deep conversations with friends, a heart-to-heart talk with a daughter, the realization of a goal that my husband has worked toward, a celebration of answered prayer that’s been a long time coming. In little ways and in big ones, God has blessings in store that we wouldn’t even dream about today.

So as we finish up this second week of January, let’s focus on the blessings ahead of us. Let’s have a heart’s desire to get some of those sweet times with our Lord when He refreshes our soul. Then let’s go ahead and praise Him for all that He’s preparing for us, both in our lives here during 2018 as well as for all eternity.

How I Want God to Answer My Prayers

January 9, 2018 by Tracey 4 Comments

Today finally feels like the beginning of the new year. Our girls headed back to school after a two-week Christmas break, plus an extra day off due to lingering ice from the snowstorm that came through last week.

It was a really good, much-needed couple of weeks of rest and family time. We watched movies, played games, and ate a few too many sweets! Now it’s back to early morning wake-up times and regular routines. The house seems mighty quiet today.

Several years ago, I started writing out a monthly prayer list for my family. On a page in my journal (fancy way of saying my notebook), I write each person’s name. Underneath, I list five specific prayer requests for that person for that month. For example, my husband has two out-of-town business trips in January, so two of my prayer requests for him revolve around those trips. (If you’re interested, you can read in more detail about how I make my prayer list here.)

While reading my Bible last month, I came to Psalm 143:1. Though I’ve read that particular verse many times, it spoke to me in a new way that morning.

“Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.”

As I mentioned in last week’s post, I’m now writing this verse at the top of my prayer list each month. It’s a daily reminder that I want God to hear my prayers and to answer them according to His faithfulness and righteousness.

We all want God to hear and answer our prayers. I love how the Psalmist here just asks God to “listen to my prayer.”

He uses the word “supplication,” which has the idea of asking for something earnestly and humbly. That right there should be our attitude when we come to God in prayer. We have humble hearts, and sincerely ask for our needs to be met. We don’t approach His throne lightly, acting like we deserve to have our prayers answered.

But what really got me was the way David asks for his prayer be answered. He wants God to answer in His faithfulness and in His righteousness.

So what does that look like?

Well, let’s look at the faithfulness aspect first.

God is constant and dependable. He is faithful to His character, Who He is. His goodness, mercy, and grace are continually evident in the way He chooses to answer our prayers.

God is also faithful to always do what is best for us. Isn’t that how we want God to answer each request? He is all-knowing, so we can trust that He will do what is going to be best for us.

And I love that this faithfulness involves God’s promises. I want God to answer my prayer according to the promises that I find in the Bible. And because He is faithful, I know He will. For example, if I pray, “Lord, please be with me when I go to this doctor’s appointment that I’m nervous about,” I know He will go with me. How? Because He says in Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.”

How about God answering my prayer according to His righteousness?

God always does what is right. He is pure, He is just, He is holy. No matter how I might want my prayer answered humanly speaking, the best answer comes through the filter of God’s character. All that He does is right. If my prayer is answered according to His righteousness, I know it will be the perfect answer. I don’t have to worry that God might get it wrong this time. It will be correct.

Will it always be the answer I want? Probably not. Maybe what I’m asking for is not good for me or for the person I’m praying for. Do I want God to answer it my way anyway? No! He by far knows what the best answer is for that request and what will bring Him glory. I see in the short-term; He has eternity in view.

How thankful I am that we have a God who hears us when we pray! We can trust that He will answer our prayers according to His faithfulness and righteousness.

Saturday Salutes ~ The First of 2018

January 6, 2018 by Tracey 4 Comments

We got over 6 inches of snow at our house on Wednesday – very unusual for our area!! Our girls braved the cold to make this snow-family.

I’m making a few small changes to Saturday Salutes for the new year. I plan to add a little descriptor to the title each week. Hopefully that will make it easier to find a particular post if you want to reference it later.

Also, once a month or so, I’m going to share a list of the books I’ve been reading, along with a quick review of each one. Rather than writing a separate post dedicated to that, I’ll just add the list to the end of a Saturday post. I’m hoping that this will motivate me to read more in 2018; I definitely didn’t read as many books as I would have liked to last year.

If, like me, you’re still evaluating how you’d like to see change in your life during 2018, check out these two articles.

Kendra writes about How to Set Goals Like a Normal Person.

For a different approach, look at the printable Ann Voskamp shares in this post.

You have to sign up for her emails to access it (but you can immediately unsubscribe if you want to.) I filled mine out earlier this week. I do tend to get wordy…

Heather writes about Starting the Year with Open Hands.

Donna lists 28 Ways to Improve Your Quiet Time.

Don’t bother visiting this post if you’ve set a healthy eating goal for the year, but this Coconut Cake looks so delicious!

Maybe you’re looking way ahead to Valentine’s Day! If so, Kristen has an Easy-to-Make Valentine’s Heart-Shaped Pizza the Kids Will Love.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

A New Year’s Update – and My One Goal (so far!) for 2018

January 3, 2018 by Tracey 4 Comments

Happy 3rd day of 2018!! Hope you and your family enjoyed welcoming in the New Year!

As for us, we had an interesting end to 2017 and beginning of 2018.

Our family kept our regular Christmas Eve tradition of going downtown for dessert and to walk through Charleston Place hotel to look at the decorations and take photos.

Christmas morning was just our family at our house. Everyone seemed pleased with their presents! We traveled up to Virginia that afternoon to spend a couple of days with my family.

During our trip back home, our older daughter started with a stomach virus, which spread to my husband on Friday. I had some flu-like symptoms on Thursday, but thankfully never got the stomach-bug part of it! We’re actually not sick often, so hopefully we’ll be well for quite a while now!

The last week has been a nice mix of time at home and activities out of the house – like attending the wedding of our daughters’ piano teacher and a nice New Years’ Eve party. I’m really enjoying the family time – and we have lots of it today! Some freezing rain and snow moving through our area means we’ll all be together in the house 24/7!

Since our girls don’t go back to school until Monday, I’m still in holiday mode. I haven’t thought too much about goals for the new year.

But I have set one goal so far, and it has to do with prayer. The older I get, the more I realize the importance of prayer. I have so little control over mine and my families’ lives, yet God is in control of it all.

While I’ve read Psalm 143:1 many times before, it stood out to me when I came across it recently. I’m now writing it at the top of my monthly prayer list each month.

“Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.”

(I’m putting together a post about what I’m learning from that verse, and hope to publish it soon.)

So my one goal for 2018 right now is to read one book a month about prayer. I’m hoping this will help me learn more about the spiritual discipline of prayer as well as keep me focused on it throughout the year.

Here’s a list of the books I hope to read.

1. Prayer 101: Experiencing the Heart of God by Warren Wiersbe

2. Praying God’s Word by Beth Moore

3. E.M Bounds on Prayer

4. 31 Prayers for My Husband by Jennifer Smith

5. Prayer, the Great Adventure by Dr. David Jeremiah

6. When Mothers Pray by Cheri Fuller

7. A Call to Prayer by J.C. Ryle

8. The Prayer That Changes Everything by Stormie Omartian

9. Handle with Prayer by Charles Stanley

10. Anything: The Prayer That Unlocked My God and My Soul by Jennie Allen

11. Prayer: Communing with God in Everything by A.W. Tozer

12. How to Pray by R.A. Torrey

There’s always room for growth in our prayer life, and I hope that I cover new ground in this area in 2018.

I’ll leave you with this quote from Corrie Ten Boom.

I definitely want prayer to be my steering wheel!

So do you have a favorite book on prayer? Have you set any goals for this year? I’d love to hear from you!

Merry Christmas 2017

December 25, 2017 by Tracey 4 Comments

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” ~Matthew 1:23

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” ~Isaiah 9:6

From our family to yours….Merry Christmas!!

Saturday Salutes

December 23, 2017 by Tracey 7 Comments

Lindsay lists 10 Easy Ways to Document Holiday Memories.

Wendy has a great round-up of Christmas Eve Traditions for Families.

Lori shares I Am a Hoarder: 10 Things to Purge This Christmas.

There’s a great story in Chris’ life lesson from her nephew.

Deb has 20 Quotes to Bless Your Christmas.

Merry Christmas, from our house to yours!

We’ll be keeping our own Christmas Eve traditions this weekend. I’m really looking forward to lots of family time! Hope you have a wonderful weekend preparing to celebrate Christ’s birth!!

Unwrap the Gift of Peace This Christmas

December 22, 2017 by Tracey 4 Comments

As expected, December’s pace has kept me away from blogging! I’ve not gotten to all that I wanted to write about peace, but I thought it would be perfect to use a verse from Luke 2 today to continue that conversation.

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” ~Luke 2:13, 14

While this is a wonderful season of celebration, there’s often some hard things about Christmas. I personally know many who are experiencing physical suffering right now. Others have recently lost loved ones, and are still grieving. Figuring out how to make money stretch to meet all the financial demands we feel can also make this a difficult time of year. Yet peace is a big part of the Christmas story.

Let’s look at three ways that peace and Christmas go hand-in-hand.

**Because of Christmas, we can have peace with God.**

There is no way we could have a relationship with God without Jesus. We are born sinners. God is holy. Our sin is a barrier between us and a righteous God. Yet Jesus came as a babe in a manger. He lived a perfect, sinless life. Then He died a sacrificial death on the cross, taking all of our sin upon Himself. Three days later, He rose from the dead, gaining victory over death for all who trust in Him.

When I accept Jesus as my Savior, His righteousness becomes mine. All of my sin is forgiven, and I have full access to the God of heaven. There is now peace between myself and God. No better gift could be given than the one that was given that very first Christmas when God sent His Son!

Because of Christmas, we can have the peace of God.

Since Jesus came, we know about God’s love and mercy, His compassion and His grace. He wants us to experience His peace. I don’t know how those without Christ handle life’s struggles, but I’m so thankful that, through salvation, we can sense God’s peace no matter what our circumstances are.

As we talked about earlier this month, God can give us peace in our souls as we face trials in our lives. God makes inner peace available to us as we learn to trust Him. These thoughts have helped me over the last few weeks as I’ve prayed about a situation where I need peace.

Because of Christmas, man can have peace with others.

We’ll likely find ourselves coming into contact with some people over the holidays who aren’t exactly lovable! I can’t love others – especially those who “get on my nerves” – on my own. But remember, peace is a fruit of the Spirit. While that applies to inner peace, I also believe that inner peace flows outward, and affects how we treat others.

In Romans 14:19, we’re told,

“Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.”

We choose how we respond to the cashier with a short temper, the fellow shopper who cuts in front of us, or the extended family member who dominates the conversation. By our words and our actions, let’s choose to respond in a peace-making way.

This Christmas, may we be grateful for peace with God, rest in the peace of God, and show peace to those around us!

Saturday Salutes

December 16, 2017 by Tracey 7 Comments

There’s one last round of Christmas parties for our family this weekend, then our pace begins to slow down. Our girls go to school all of next week, but there are no athletic team practices, and they have half days Wednesday through Friday because of exams. Yay!!

On to what I found “salute-worthy” this week…

Holley shares Grace for Your Unmerry Moments.

Marci talks about Choosing a Mary Heart in a Martha Season.

Since we’re talking about peace this month, I thought it was appropriate to share Ann’s post on We All Want It: This Is What Finding Some Real Peace Really Means.

Abby lists 3 Life Lessons of 2017 That I Don’t Want to Forget.

In case you need a final boost of Christmas spirit, check out this cool video from The Piano Guys.