Equality: Husband and Wife

Good morning everyone! I pray you are having a great week. Our precious church is hosting a parenting conference right now and I have walked away so encouraged that God has and will continue to equip us to parent the children He has given us.  One thing Bob Barnes emphasized last night was we need to have a strong marriage to be a strong family. Our marriage will be the greatest example to them of a healthy relationship.  What a huge task but a wonderful calling on our lives!!  

I found a quote by John Ensor that is a great reminder that God created order in all things and it is for our good.   Whether married or single, we can all pray that Christ would strengthen the marriages and families around us. 

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"I once had lively discussion with a brother who insisted that in his relationship everything was equal, and that this was the hallmark of their marriage. To him equal meant same and therefore interchangeable. He proudly rejected the idea of male initiation and female response. And what is more, he thought he was serving the cause of women in this. 

I responded by saying that in my marriage, my wife and I never think about equality, though if forced to think about it we would affirm our mutual worth before God. Instead, I see my wife as better and more precious than I--of greater worth. And I told him my wife took no offense in this matter. Indeed she gets upset with me precisely at the point when I start treating her as my equal. To her it feels like a step down." 

~John Ensor, Doing Things Right In Matters of the Heart, p. 95

With great JOY,
Leeanne

Holy Holy Holy

'"Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.'”  Isaiah 6:5

Many times in our Christian walk we can forget the supreme holiness of God and sadly have an inflated view of ourselves. However, if you exalt God you will have a clear view of sin and a realistic view of yourself. A reduced view of God brings an inflated view of self while being less sensitive to sin. In this verse, Isaiah was in the presence of the Lord and realized how unclean he was. When you are in the presence of the Great Almighty—whether at church worshipping or having a quiet time with Him—is your heart changed? I admit that there have been times when I spend more time critiquing a service than gleaning and growing from it. Or, I have just spent twenty minutes reading the Bible and get up and hardly remember what I read. How sad to spend time with my Lord and not even connect because I’m too consumed with myself. 

How do you know when you’ve been in God’s presence?

Dear Lord, You meet me wherever I am. Thank You for always being present. Help me to remove anything that hinders being with You. Help me to connect my heart with Yours so that each time I am with You I am humbled by Your presence.            

                                                                           

 In Christ Alone,

Jill

Positive Programming

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”  Philippians 4:8

Are you a glass half-empty or glass half-full person? Do you move with skepticism or embrace with trust? Do you think the worst possible outcome or feel encouraged by the best scenario? Often, our temperament or personality make-up predetermines our initial thoughts and reactions. Our emotions also can become our guide if we let them. In this verse, Paul tells us to program our minds with thoughts that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. 

Here are a couple guidelines to live by:

•       When given a circumstance try to separate your emotions from the truth. For example, this is how I feel, but this is what really happened.
•           Validate your feelings then hold them up to the truth—God’s Truth. For example, I feel hurt by what happened, but God said He will never leave me or forsake me.  For every feeling we have, God has a truth to cover us. 

Lord, rewire my heart and mind to look more like Yours.  Teach me to focus on Your positive attributes in all things while learning to reframe my circumstances.  Amen.

In Christ,

Jill

A Saturated Heart

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

Psalm 119:11

I subscribe monthly to a magazine that highlights believers around the world who are persecuted and martyred for their faith in Jesus. There are many Asian believers who are currently hiding and worshipping in underground caves just to gather with other believers for encouragement and fellowship. Nothing nourishes a soul like being with the Body of Christ. A lot of these believers have been caught and sent to prison. Some, by God’s grace, have been released, and have now given us details of their stay in prison. Many were beaten and tortured because of their love for Christ. However, so many said they were joyful and able to worship in prison because they had memorized Scripture, Psalms, and songs and could keep their focus on the prize.  Is Scripture hidden in your heart?  Are you spending time memorizing the very truths that have given you complete freedom? Let us follow the example of our Asian brothers and sisters and know God’s truths by studying the Word of God.

How can you incorporate Scripture memorization into your life?

Lord, thank you for the example of our imprisoned brothers and sisters who can still have joy in the midst of suffering. It is humbling to me to know that my trials are so small compared to so many others who have given their lives for You. Help me teach my child Scripture and make it a priority in training them in Your truth.  Amen.

Joyfully, 

Leeanne

Websites We Like

Bible Gateway is a tool for reading and researching scripture online -- all in the language or translation of your choice! It provides advanced searching capabilities, which allow readers to find and compare particular passages in scripture based on keywords, phrases, or scripture reference.

Focus on the Family  is a global Christian ministry dedicated to helping families thrive. We provide help and resources for couples to build healthy marriages that reflect God’s design, and for parents to raise their children according to morals and values grounded in biblical principles.  

Welcome to Our Blog!

Greetings!  We are so excited to launch our new BLOG! Why a new BLOG?   First, we love Jesus. Second, we love to write. Third, we want to use this site as a tool to encourage, bless, and bring to light what we feel the Lord has given us as a ministry.  About us --

Jill -- Wife to Steve, Mom to 3 awesome kids (Hope, Faith, Titus),  and is currently teaching 4th grade at my children's  charter school. I love serving in my church and disciplining new believers in their walk with Christ.

Leeanne - Wife to Greg, Mom to 3 wonderful kids (Rachel, Nolan, and Georgia). I love the local church and have a passion for speaking, teaching, and world missions.

So.. how did it all begin?  In 2010 we were on a "girls weekend" with a few friends and were talking  about how we loved to write and desired to write a devotional book. It just so happened we both felt a call to write one centered around pregnancy. We collaborated and decided to jump in. Boy, have we jumped in!  We are currently in the stages of editing and hope in the next few months we will have our final draft. Praise the Lord!  He has shown us many things the past two years since the vision came to fruition. First, it will always be His timing!  Many times during this journey our plans were not His plans. So, we wait and write and edit and pray and plan and dream! We can't wait to show you what our super talented designer Michele has worked up for us.  We hope you love it as much as we do.

The format for the blog will be a collection of devotions, thoughts, writings, quotes, links, and an overall sharing of fellowship and life with you. The greatest hope we have is that your walk with Jesus will be strengthened by what we feel led to share. We are very transparent and experience real things. Hopefully we can unfold it all for you in a way that glorifies the Lord.

So let's dive in!  Our pics:

                   

                                Jill Savoye

                             Leeanne Burda

In the weeks ahead we will share our stories of how a great God captured us and hasn't let go. We hope you come back and visit often. It is going to be great!

In His Great Love,
Jill and Leeanne