Math is not one of my strong points, so anything that suggests of combining letters and numbers always impresses me. I did pretty well in addition and subtraction. In fact, I still have some parts of the multiplication tables memorized! (Ok, well, mostly just helpful tips such as "When multiplying nine by ...six...for example...subtract one from six and the result from nine and then put the two numbers together: fifty-four.") Anyway, the point is, I was trying to think of an interesting title for this post and it made me think of math. (I know! What a boring point!)
I gained some new insight last night about being gracious. What I think of as me being gracious to My Better Half (MBH), he receives as RESPECT - something that men were created to need. At Bible study last night we got to talking about marriage (A group of women sitting around talking about their husbands and marriage! How unusual, right!) and the book "Love and Respect" by Emerson Eggerichs came up. (I feel sorry for him as a kid. A chicken last name and matching initials to boot. He must have developed some character from that!) I had heard of it before, and asked to borrow it. And of course skimmed through the whole thing before finally turning out the lights. (MBH wasn't home to make sure I got my beauty sleep!)
It's a great book! A little slow for me. (I have a critical nature. Can you tell?) I wanted the three steps (or six steps, as it turned out) to being a good wife and moving on. The first third of the book explains why love and respect are important, how they mutually feed off each other, and gives stories of people helped by the concept. (Interesting but unnecessary. I already want to respect MBH and know it will be good for me in return, I just don't always know how to do it.) The second third is addressed to the husbands on how they can better love their wives. (That part was affirming - I'm not crazy for wanting the things I want, or feeling the things I feel. However, I still skimmed it. I don't need help in figuring out all the things MBH is not doing - I can give him a list all on my own.)
So just as I was having trouble propping my eyelids open and beginning to think maybe I should save the rest for tomorrow, I got to the final third - the how to be a respectful wife. And along the way, I understood grace a little better, too.
So how does it work? Wait and see! :) ~~
Friday, January 28, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Grace
Grace: /graas/
1) a- unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - not by works, so that no one can boast." -Eph 2:8-9 NIV
b- a virtue coming from God
"And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace." -John 1:16 ESV
2) a- approval, favor
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ...to the praise of the glory of His grace, bu which He made us accepted in the Beloved." -Eph 1:3,6 NKJV
b- an act of kindness, courtesy, or clemency
"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." -Hebrews 4:16 NIV
3) an attractive characteristic
"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." -Colossians 4:5-6
4) a- sense of propriety or right
"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." -Eph 4:29 NKJV
b- the state of being considerate or thoughtful
"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." -2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV
5) to confer dignity or honor on
"He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit...so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." -Titus 2:5,7 NIV ~~
1) a- unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - not by works, so that no one can boast." -Eph 2:8-9 NIV
b- a virtue coming from God
"And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace." -John 1:16 ESV
2) a- approval, favor
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ...to the praise of the glory of His grace, bu which He made us accepted in the Beloved." -Eph 1:3,6 NKJV
b- an act of kindness, courtesy, or clemency
"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." -Hebrews 4:16 NIV
3) an attractive characteristic
"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." -Colossians 4:5-6
4) a- sense of propriety or right
"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." -Eph 4:29 NKJV
b- the state of being considerate or thoughtful
"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." -2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV
5) to confer dignity or honor on
"He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit...so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." -Titus 2:5,7 NIV ~~
Sunday, January 23, 2011
A question of food
Food's just been on my mind lately. I was already pondering it because of certain resolutions made on the occasion of the beginning of a not-old annual occurance. (It is really hard to come up with a synonym for New Year's.) Then it came up at Bible study. Then it came up in a conversation with another friend. As is typically the case after pondering, I came up with an analysis of three dangers to my said resolve:
1) Unhealthy eating - The pop, the ice cream, the processed food, etc. This one is probably the easiest for me. (Except maybe the ice cream. Pretty sure that there is an ice cream gene that just hasn't been discovered yet and I have two of them.) Too much soda and I feel sick. I like to cook and fast food is often disappointing. (How come it never looks like the picture? Is the sandwich in the picture made of plastic? Did they have a "Next Top Cheeseburger" contest to find the most photogenic model? These are the types of things that keep me awake at night. Not really.) But it's still there and I still make the wrong choices sometimes.
1 Corinthians 10:31
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
2) Mindless eating - Why is it that eating helps us think? I'm making a to-do list for the day and dental activity seems to activate the most cranial activity. Or if I'm pondering some question (like McDonalds cheeseburger models) and all of a sudden I'm shocked to discover that not only is there a half a brownie in my hand, I've already eaten the other half! Or I'm bored and trying to figure out what to do, and going to the fridge seems most logical. It appears that a significant part of my subconcious is convinced that the answers to life will materialize in the glow of the fridge bulb.
2 Corinthians 10:5
"We demolish arguments and every pretention that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
3) Emotional eating - Why is it that eating helps us not think? Denial ain't just a river in Egypt. :) This realization has been many years and twenty pounds in the making. Those girls who ended a bad day with a pint of Ben and Jerry's? I always thought they were someone else. (I was a Haagen-Dazs girl myself.)Sometimes even a Spirit-filled believer forgets they are full.
Psalm 63:1,5
"O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water....My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods." ~~
1) Unhealthy eating - The pop, the ice cream, the processed food, etc. This one is probably the easiest for me. (Except maybe the ice cream. Pretty sure that there is an ice cream gene that just hasn't been discovered yet and I have two of them.) Too much soda and I feel sick. I like to cook and fast food is often disappointing. (How come it never looks like the picture? Is the sandwich in the picture made of plastic? Did they have a "Next Top Cheeseburger" contest to find the most photogenic model? These are the types of things that keep me awake at night. Not really.) But it's still there and I still make the wrong choices sometimes.
1 Corinthians 10:31
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
2) Mindless eating - Why is it that eating helps us think? I'm making a to-do list for the day and dental activity seems to activate the most cranial activity. Or if I'm pondering some question (like McDonalds cheeseburger models) and all of a sudden I'm shocked to discover that not only is there a half a brownie in my hand, I've already eaten the other half! Or I'm bored and trying to figure out what to do, and going to the fridge seems most logical. It appears that a significant part of my subconcious is convinced that the answers to life will materialize in the glow of the fridge bulb.
2 Corinthians 10:5
"We demolish arguments and every pretention that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
3) Emotional eating - Why is it that eating helps us not think? Denial ain't just a river in Egypt. :) This realization has been many years and twenty pounds in the making. Those girls who ended a bad day with a pint of Ben and Jerry's? I always thought they were someone else. (I was a Haagen-Dazs girl myself.)Sometimes even a Spirit-filled believer forgets they are full.
Psalm 63:1,5
"O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water....My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods." ~~
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