A little break...

This week I'm going to take a bit of a break from my blog to enjoy some extra time with my family. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures to share with you next week. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

An Adoption Interview

November is Adoption Awareness Month and I did an interview on another blog to shed some light on our adoption. Click here to check it out.

An Unlikely Friendship

On the way to preschool today, Caedmon and I were discussing the first Thanksgiving. I explained to him how the Pilgrims had moved to North America and how things weren't going well for them. They didn't have enough food, people were getting sick, many had died, and winter was coming. If the Native Americans hadn't helped them out, it's possible that all or  most of the Pilgrims could have died that winter.

But, I told Caedmon, the most interesting part is that the Native Americans and Pilgrims weren't really friends. In fact, they were kinda like enemies. They were both really scared of each other, scared that the other might kill them. It was an extremely kind gesture for the Native Americans to offer help to the Pilgrims. Courageously kind.

Caedmon and I talked about how there are some people that we just naturally get along with, like his best-buddy Kaden that he met the first day of preschool this year. As soon as they met, they became inseparable.

But there are other people who we don't naturally get along with. Those are the people it takes courage to be kind to. I prayed for him as we drove that God would help him to have the courage to be kind to someone today, just like the Native Americans were kind to the Pilgrims.

I wonder who is in your life that is difficult for you to love. Thanksgiving is typically a time we think about getting together with people who we love and enjoy. And there's absolutely NOTHING wrong with that. But maybe God wants you to forge an unlikely friendship this week. Maybe there is someone to whom you need to be courageously kind. What is one gesture of kindness (big or small) that you could do for that person this week?

The Christmas Story from Joseph's Perspective

Every time I read the Nativity Story from the book of Matthew, I am always struck by the same thing: the obedience of Joseph. Matthew records 4 different dreams that Joseph had over a 3-4 year period, each with a divine message.

1. Marry your pregnant fiancé.
2. Flee to Egypt.
3. Time to come back to Israel.
4. Don't settle in Judea.

Each dream was met with immediate obedience. There's no record of Joseph trying to bargain with God or asking for further clarification. The Bible makes it seem that it's as if he woke up from the dream and did whatever the the instructions were instantly...even in the middle of the night if needed.

There is no way that Joseph could have fully understood the significance of each of those decisions. He didn't have the 2000 year hindsight perspective that we have. Most likely he didn't grasp the fact that the Messiah's life and plan for the salvation of mankind was hanging in the balance. If he hadn't obeyed each of those for divine messages: 

1. Mary may have been stoned to death while pregnant with Jesus
2. Herod may have killed Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem
3. Jesus may have gotten accustomed to life in Egypt & not grown up w the very people for whom He was sent
4. Herod's son, Archelaus, may have killed Jesus in Judea

Now I fully believe in the Sovereignty of God and I believe that nothing would have thwarted God's plan for salvation through His son, Jesus Christ. If Joseph had chosen not to obey, deliverance would have arisen from another source. 

BUT, Joseph did obey! 

He got to be part of the story. Part of the divine plan. Part of restoration of mankind to relationship with God. All because he obeyed the instructions given to him.

You may not feel like much is hanging in the balance when it comes to your decision whether or not to obey God. What difference will it really make if you don't give that money you felt prompted to give, or if you don't maintain purity in your relationship with your boyfriend, or if you don't reconcile that broken relationship? 

What we can't see from here is the 2000 year hindsight perspective of our own lives. We have no idea the rippling effects that every decision in our lives has. Each choice we make builds on the previous choice, and it is creating the person we are layer by layer. With each decision we are taking a step, either down this path or that one. 

Your obedience to God is much more significant than what it seems from here. Even when the instructions don't make sense from your perspective, trust God's perspective enough to obey right away.

Monday Matrimony: What Does God Think About Sex?

It's been a while since I posted an edition of "Monday Matrimony", so I thought I'd just start off the week by shocking everyone with a great post about sex! Who doesn't love a little Monday morning sex?! :-)

I am currently reading "What's It Like To Be Married To Me?" with two different groups of friends. I am loving this book and loving that I need to read each chapter twice (since one group is ahead of the other, not because I'm that dense, ahem). Reading it twice really solidifies the chapter themes in my mind.

The book is intended to help wives take a hard look at themselves as wives and ask tough questions that lead to practical growth.

Last week the title of the chapter was, "What is it like to make love with me?" Well, if that's not a question every small group is just bursting to talk about, I don't know what is! I'm glad my discussion group was with two very close friends!

Linda Dillow does a beautiful job describing the type of intimacy that God desires and intends for a husband and wife to enjoy. She tells stories of various women who hated/ resented/ or simply endured sex  and how they found their paths to freedom. Women who had been abused. Women who had a background of sexual sin. Women who had abortions. Women whose view of intimacy was all but ruined by Hollywood. Women who had the courage to take God at His word, do the hard work or renewing their minds, and start believing that their intimacy with their husbands could be so much richer than what they were experiencing.

Linda says,

Lovemaking can be playful and fun, and it can be intense, with tears of deep release and emotion. Incredibly, it can create a child and bring oneness or great physical pleasure. It can bring comfort and release tension. Sex is God's gift to His people. Enjoy His gift. Use it wisely, use it freely- and use it often.

It breaks my heart to know that many (most?) women are not experiencing that type of exhilarating, intoxicating, unifying intimacy with their husbands. You were never intended to simply endure sex.

No matter where you are today in your relationship with your spouse, please know that it can absolutely get better. God can heal any wound and restore any brokenness in your life or in your marriage. Believe Him for that. Do the hard work of pursuing that. You will never regret it! Your marriage is worth the effort.

Two ideas to get you started:

1. Order (and read!) Linda's awesome book. If you apply every concept in this book, your marriage will be richly blessed. Click here to go to the link.
2. Find a friend to discuss the book with. It's always nice if you're able to find a woman who is a little more mature than you spiritually to talk with. But it works with any friend who honestly wants a thriving marriage and is willing to grow.