The Nail and the Toothpick

 

This devotional is about having strength to withstand temptation and peer pressure. And also strength to keep going when we want to give up. Where can we get the strength we need from?

A Second Mile Girl

 

Lessons from Rebekah #2

Do you have the character trait that Abraham's servant was looking for?

If You Wait until You can do it Perfectly...

Last week I started mowing our lawns. My 6 year old son asked if he could help. I let him, thinking he'd get tired of it pretty quick as we have large lawns. But he surprised and impressed me! He kept on going until he had done at least half of them.

He didn't do a perfect job. I had to go over places he had missed and I finished up around the edges. But he did his best and he did a good job. He didn't wait until he was able to do it perfectly. He'll get better by doing it.

Sometimes the only way we learn how to do things is by doing them! If we wait until we know how to do them, it never happens. But if we just start and do what we can do, we figure it out by experience along the way.

Before I started this blog, I didn't know how to start a blog. A friend later said to me "I wouldn't have a clue how to start a blog." I thought, 'I didn't know either. You just google 'how to start a blog' and follow the instructions step by step!'

Is there something you believe God wants you to do but you don't know how? Don't wait until you can do it perfectly. Try taking the first step!

 

The Choices You Make TODAY...

Preparing to be a Help Meet

(Lessons from Eve #1)
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. Genesis 2:18

When you think about getting married in the future, what comes to your mind?

 Having someone to love YOU, provide for YOU, give YOU a home...?

 

Or having someone for YOU to love and be a help and companion to?

Eve was created to be a help and companion to Adam.
A lot of wives today are not much of a help or a companion to their husbands. We are naturally so selfish and focused on ourselves and what we want. When we think about marriage, we don't necessarily think about being a help!

What are some ways you could prepare to be a helpmeet?

(Even if you never marry, these tips will still come in handy.)

 

1) Learn skills

Cooking, driving, gardening/yard work, looking after children etc.
Cooking is a big one! It's best to learn as much as possible before you are married, as once you are married meal planning becomes a big daily responsibility.
You don't want your husband to be like the newly wed guy who said, "My wife really worships me. She puts before me three burnt offerings every day!" :)

Help!!

2) Learn to keep a tidy room/house.
It's one thing to have a bedroom to keep in order, but it's another thing to have a whole house to look after. It's good to learn to keep your room clean and tidy and then it won't be so overwhelming when you have a whole house. Also, I can assure you, your husband will appreciate coming home to a clean orderly house!

3) Keep your heart for your man.
When you are married, you will have to stay faithful to your man. But if you are used to switching boyfriends regularly and flirting with anyone, how will you stay true to your man? God only has one man for you, so why not keep your heart pure until He shows you the right one?

4) Respect your father and/or any other authority in your life.
If you don't respect your father now, you probably won't respect your husband. Your father has much more experience than your future husband, so if you can't respect your father for his rules, authority and decisions, you won't respect your husband with his little experience/wisdom. Even though he isn't perfect and makes mistakes sometimes, respect him. Your husband won't be perfect either!

5) Learn to be content and thankful.
If you're not happy and fulfilled as a single woman, you won't be content as a wife either. You will not automatically become fulfilled once you are married.

Also, if you learn to be content and not covetous, you will be a big blessing to your husband as you will help save money!

6) Start praying for him.
As a wife, you'll need to pray for your husband that he will make the right decisions as he leads the family. Why not get in the habit now? All young guys need a lot of prayer! Even if you never marry, I don't believe your prayers will be wasted.

7) Make a list of all you want your husband to be, then learn to be that yourself.
It's easy to have expectations and yet not come close to meeting them ourselves. If you learn to be what you want your husband to be, you'll attract the type of husband you want.

8) Learn how guys think.
Males and females think very differently! If you learn how he thinks and what he needs, then you will be a better and happier wife!! Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus is a good book to learn how men think.

9) Study the Bible to see what God says to women.
What does the Bible say about how girls/women should live and act? What does God expect from wives? Why not find out?

Lessons from a Thermal Park

During our last holiday we visited a thermal park. The park is full of danger—big pits and boiling mud. I couldn't help noticing all the warnings posted around the park.    Some places were fenced well, but some places only had very little fences or no fence at all. We walked on a path right through the middle of a lake.  It was up to us to listen to the warnings and stick to the safe path. If we hadn't obeyed the warnings, we would have gotten very burnt.

As we walked through the park I couldn't help but think of how similar it is to life. Living life is like walking through a thermal park. The boiling mud represents sin.
Sin is dangerous! Sin burns! Sin hurts! Sin gives scars for life! Sin brings death! Sin brings eternal punishment in hell.

But thankfully, there are also warnings. God has given us the Bible which is full of warnings. We not only have the Bible, we have parents, church, a pastor,and people who have scars already that we can learn from.
Do you have parents who warn you about sin? About making wrong choices? About what friends you should have? About how should dress? Do you have parents who have rules? If you do, you should be so thankful! They are wise and they care about you. They don't want you to get burnt. When I was a teenager I didn't always appreciate my parent's warnings and the fences they built to keep me safe. I didn't see the dangers that they saw. But now that I am older and can see the reasons behind their rules, I am so thankful! My life could have been so ruined if they hadn't made the rules that they did. And my life could have been scarred if I had ignored the warnings and gone off the right path.
Even though your parents may give you lots of warnings and have rules to keep you safe, there will be plenty of times that you will  have to make your own choices. The older you get--the less fences. It's up to you to listen to the warnings you are given and take them seriously.
 Listen to those who have already been burnt by sin--People who have gone off the right path and are full of regrets.
There are also those who have stayed on the right path but have seen others get burnt. Listen to the warnings they give you.
 Stay on the safe path—listening and obeying God.
When you read the Bible, look out for the warnings. Here are a few that I've found but there are many more. What are the warnings in these verses? How do they apply to your life?

1Corinthians 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. A warning about friends. They rub off on us. We need to choose good friends.

2Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? A warning about who we should marry. Marrying a nonChristian won't work.

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. A warning about pride. If you are proud, you will be embarrassed.

Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. A warning about our actions. Our actions have consequences. We can either sow good seeds or bad seeds (good or bad actions). But whatever we sow is what we will reap.

Matthew 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. A warning about holding on to what we want in life. When we give our life to God and give up what we want, then God gives us His very best.

Proverbs 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Another warning about friends or the people we hang around. If we want to turn out well, we must choose good people to be around.

Proverbs 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

A warning about  trying to hide our sin. If we don't face up to the fact that what we are doing is wrong and confess it, we won't be forgiven and we won't be helped.

Proverbs 10:4 He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. A warning about laziness. If you want to do well in school or work, you must work hard at it.

 

Listen to God's Warnings!

Are you a Blessing?

(Big Lessons from a Little Maid--2 Kings 5)
This little girl was a BIG blessing to Naaman and his family! She had enough problems of her own, yet her eyes were open to other people's problems and needs. She wasn't self-focused. And because she wasn't self-focused, she was able to be a blessing to those around her.
This week I had my Mum and two sisters come and stay for 2 days. The whole time they were here, they were looking for what they could do to help me. I went into my girls' room in the morning and the beds were made. The dishes were washed and dried and so on. But what really amazed me was the amount my Mum could do with a shoulder that she can hardly use! She can't lift much with her right arm at the moment, so I expected her to not be able to help with anything. Yet, she washed dishes, cleared the table, folded washing, hung washing on the clotheshorse etc. I was scared she would hurt her shoulder more!
She did what she could with what she had and she was a big blessing.
What about you? Are you a blessing to those around you? If you live at home, do you look for what you can do to help your family? Or do you try to get out of work? Are you a willing helper? There is always something you can do to be a blessing to someone. Even if you aren't able to do much, God can use what you can do. And if you can't do anything, you can always pray.
If you are the like the little maid and have a heart that wants to help others, you will be a big blessing to everyone you meet!

  Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Philippians 2:4
 

If I was a teen girl again.... (part 1)

If I was a teen girl again, there are some things I would do differently. But there are other things that looking back now, I'm very glad I did do.
Here is a list of 12 things I would make sure I would do if I could live my teen years over again.
Whether you marry and have children like I have or whether you stay single, I'm sure all these things will come in handy!
1. Learn how to keep your room in order!

This is one regret I have from my teen years. Up until I was about 15 or 16 I kept my room neat and tidy most of the time. But then I started to get very busy---teaching Sunday School. being a leader at Girl's Brigade etc.-- so I decided that my room wasn't a priority. I got married with the mindset that keeping your house clean and tidy is not a priority because spiritual things are far more important. Now I have a whole house to keep in order, a husband and 2 children with all their things not to mention myself! I have learned that keeping your house in order is a priority (not the first priority, of course) and I am trying to relearn how to keep things organized.
But if I had gotten into the habit when I only had my own little room to look after, I think the change would have been much easier.
2. Learn to treat your father with respect.
 If you get married, you will discover Mr. Right is Mr. Right not Mr. Perfect! All men have their faults and make their mistakes. So if you learn to respect your father in spite of his faults it will be easier to respect your husband with his faults. And if you never marry, you will always be under some authority, whether it's your pastor or your boss etc. So learn to show respect.
3. Learn practical skills like cooking.

If you are able to, learn how to cook! You don't automatically know how to cook the day you have your own house to look after.
One newly married man was asked how he was enjoying his married life. "Great!" he replied. "My wife really worships me. She puts before me three burnt offerings every day!"
4. Learn to find enjoyment in monotonous work.

Being married, being a mother or having your own house isn't all fun and games. There's plenty of monotonous work to do--washing dishes, folding washing, dusting, changing nappies to mention a few. If you learn to find enjoyment in work, life is so much more fun and enjoyable! There are different ways to make boring jobs more interesting like listening to music, memorizing Scripture or praying for people while you work.

One Proverbs says "In all labour there is profit."
5.Learn to be cheerful always.
This is something I'm trying to learn from my husband! Cheerfulness is one of his strong points.
Bad days can be so much better if we have a cheerful attitude.
6.Learn to look for the good in people.
If you are always finding fault with your family, guess what? You will find fault with your husband and your children or whoever else you are around. It's important to learn to focus on people's good points.

Rebecca's Willingness to Work

“And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.” Genesis 24:19-20

Rebecca was not only kind, she was very hard working. But notice she was not only hardworking, she was willing to work hard! She offered to get water for ten thirsty camels which was a major job. Some people say she had to draw up to 25 gallons of water per camel. One gallon is around three and a half litres. There were ten camels so that equals around 946 litres (if I've worked that out right. Correct me if I'm wrong!) Whew! That's a lot for a girl to get all by herself.

The virtuous woman in Proverbs 31 is described as someone who ''worketh willingly with her hands.' She's not lazy! She doesn't try to get out of work.

You may work hard and yet be bone lazy. You may work just because you have to. If you could get out of it you most certainly would.

But God created work. It's good for us to work! God didn't create us to sit on a couch bored stiff or to watch other people's lives on a screen all day. How boring!

Another Proverbs says, 'In all labour there is profit.'

Whatever you do in life you will have to work. Whether you have a job or become a wife and mother, a lot of your life will be spent working.

Abraham's servant was obviously looking for a kind, hardworking girl. Rebekah fitted the picture.

But what about you? Could you have been chosen?

What is your attitude towards work?