When You Become Jealous of the World

If you are at all like me, you have a busy life, with lots to do, lots of work, lots of family, and a lot of responsibility. My family owns and operates a web design business from home; we home-school, cook and clean, care for a 20 acre Ranch, and care for each other on a daily basis.

With all of the work that is put into our farm and business it’s easy to become discontent and unhappy with the life that God has provided. One of the things that has helped me focus on what is important in life is this motto: “Love God, Love Your Family.” It reminds me that if I accomplish anything today, my biggest accomplishment would be that I loved God and loved the family that He has given me. After all that’s all that matters in the end; love.  Not a physical love, or a romantic love, but a self sacrificing, a whole hearted, self-yielding, and devoted love.

 

Loving your family is one of the hardest things to do sometimes. You’re in the same house with the same people almost 24/7 and it can wear on a girl’s nerves! But we as women and girls, who are unmarried, are called to love and devote our time to loving and building with inspiration, the families that we have been placed in. We read over and over in the Bible verses and chapters like Titus 2, Proverbs 31, 1 Peter 3, Ephesians 5, and one of my favorites: “For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.” Galatians 5:13.

The Older Sister Career

It was a beautiful evening and I had an important, special event to go to. I rushed into my room and brushed out my hair. I put on my lipstick and curled my eyelashes. I primped and prepared and brushed and blushed in front of the mirror. I fixed my hair and donned my dress added the finishing touches and looked myself over in the mirror. As I gazed through the glass I looked at the reflection of a small quiet person behind me. It was my little sister. She had sat the whole time and watched me beautify myself in all my vanity. I turned around to look at her and she smiled up at me.

“You look…beautiful.” She said, before skipping out of my room. On the way to the event, while I was there and the whole way back I thought about what I must have looked like to my little sister. I thought about what she must have been thinking. Then I began imaging her telling her children about me. This may seem over-dramatized but I seriously started considering my career as a sister.

Loving Our Families

Last Sunday in our Bible study we studied 1st Corinthians 13. It was a really good chapter to go over and as we were reading it I started thinking about how I could apply what I was learning about in it, each day in loving those around me, namely my family.

These are the verses that stuck out to me:

⁴ Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.Love never fails… 1st Corinthians 13:4-8 NKJV

Here are my thoughts on them:

First of all it says that love suffers long and is kind. During just the daily routine, at times it is all too easy to lash out and get annoyed when someone does something that bothers or pesters me. But I know that is the wrong way to respond. I have to take a deep breath and ask God to help me be more patient.

It also says that love does not envy. When something good happens to my siblings and not to me I want to remember to rejoice with them and not to be envious over what has happened to them.

It also says that love does not parade itself and is not puffed up. In other words love is not prideful and boastful. Instead of boasting to your siblings about how you can do something better then them, (even if you can) help them to better learn it for themselves whether it’s math or cooking.

“Love does not behave rudely, does not seek it’s own.” Is it all about me or am I forgetting to put others first?

Love is not provoked. Wow, that’s a tough one because as I mentioned earlier it is at times all too easy to be provoked and annoyed. I need to ask for God’s help not to be easily ruffled or angered over stuff.

“Thinks no evil, doesn’t rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in truth’ . ” Am I wanting to do what’s right and good each day to those around me?

 ^“bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.Love never fails.” Bearing, believing, hoping, and enduring all things! Those can be hard to do as well but are so important. But as the verse says, “Love never fails” and by loving our families and others around us in the ways that God has asked us to, He can work through us to make an impact in their lives for His glory. ~Anna

God’s Greatest Beauty is You

Look around you… Look at all the beautiful things that surround us. Green fields, blossoming flowers and trees, (OK, I know it’s still winter in America but you get the point) blue oceans, climbing vines, colorful sunsets, awe-inspiring galaxies, glorious mountains, fruit and vegetables, loving pets and so much more. God has given all of these for our pleasure. See how much he loves us?! But consider this; out of all the beautiful things in our galaxy, God considers YOU His greatest Beauty. You are His masterpiece, His greatest accomplishment, His pièce de résistance, His true love. Consider all that He’s done for you. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” Romans 5:8-9 “God,  who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began…” 2 Timothy 1:9

He has loved you with an everlasting love and from that which is no escape! How glorious! What joy! What peace! What relief! For without Him, we would be condemned to die a sinners death, yet He in His merciful righteousness took our place and died the death we all deserve. But He calls us His own, He calls us beautiful. He calls us sacred. Thank you Jesus! Thank you Father. Let us somehow be worthy of our justified calling. Let us love You in return with the same love that you have shown us. Amen and hallelujah!

~Lisa

You Belong to a King

Young Woman, you are beautiful, you are worth more than a thousand rubies. You are sacred and special but above all, you belong to A King. This King does not consider you as just one girl out of the millions of other girls that He loves. He wants to be your friend. He thinks that you are worth wining. He wants to cherish you and love you more than any other person on this planet. Did you know that? Do you consider that when you are doing your devotions? It doesn’t matter what you look like or how you act, Jesus thinks you’re perfect. He doesn’t see your imperfections-that’s just a made-up word in the English dictionary. He only sees you for you.

When He showers you with His love, He wants to see you give back some of that love to others. Are you capable of making someone feel loved the way Jesus makes you feel loved? Probably not; but Jesus can do it through you. Are you willing to try? Share the love that Jesus gives you by being a blessing to your family. Make someone smile by giving up your time and spending it with them. Love is not a word, it’s an action. Because you are loved by Jesus so much you should try and spread His love to others.

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.”1 John 4:9

~Lisa