Distractions
by Vonette Bright
**Welcome to Chat at Kindle.com: http://kindlepodcast.com/chatroom/
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:16 -18).
Joyce Harley’s beautiful voice wasn’t the only thing capturing the audience’s attention!
At a Mother/Daughter concert, a little girl repeatedly ran up and down the aisles. So Joyce silently prayed, “May she not distract others, Lord, like she’s distracting me!” As she normally did, Joyce shared the story of when she invited Christ into her heart as a six-year-old.
Months later, Joyce met the distracting child’s mother who said, “You may not remember me. My little girl was kinda actin’ up.”
Joyce didn’t react, but she remembered that child well. The mother continued, “She was so impressed with your story. That night my little six – year – old prayed to ask Jesus into her heart.”
Oh friend, don’t let distractions prevent you from sharing Christ. You never know who’s listening!
About the Author: http://talk.thelife.com/authors/vonette/
Thank you Marilyn. (((Marilyn)))
You are indeed a blessing to me, the ladies on this site and everyone who knows you. May God continue to bless you abundantly and keep you in his loving care and protection all the days of your life. Amen.
Eve, may I pray for you?
Heavenly Father, thank You that You invite us to come boldly before You and place the concerns of our hearts at your feet. Tonight, I ask that You lovingly minister to Eve, giving her Your peace, transforming her doubt into trust. Thank you for this precious woman of faith! Her heart desires to follow You, to seek Your ways, to honor You with her choices. Thank you, Lord, that You have spoken to her in the quietness of her prayer-time, and I pray that You will bless her. I also ask that You would convict her husband of his erring ways, open his eyes that he would resist the seduction of Satan, grant him the power to overcome his discontentedness, and resurrect his passion for You! In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen!
Marilyn, you are such a dear. Thank you for your listening ear and support. Am glad that you have no trust issues with your husband. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Doubt is a torture.
I have been praying about it and maybe it is time for me to simply give my husband the benefit of the doubt and trust him. Innocent until proven guilty. I too will continue praying for God to direct our hearts and guide our steps. (((Marilyn)))
Dear Eve,
My heart aches for you as you struggle with trust issues with your husband. I have been praying this morning that God would give me words of encouragement and wisdom for you. There is a saying in the medical profession, “First do no harm.” As I have no experience in counseling, I am ill-prepared to advise you. And, I wouldn’t want to risk giving you irresponsible advice. Any comments that I have made on these devotionals are borne from my personal experience, in hopes to use my own ‘lessons’ to encourage others. While my husband has left me wanting for intimacy/affection, he has not been dishonest with me. Eve, may I encourage you to look at the home page of http://www.christianwomentoday.com, and click on the ‘contact’ link, and there you will find ways to reach someone on staff there –by phone, or email, or fax — and perhaps they have counselers available to assist you with Godly advice for this situation. I truly wish that I could help guide you, and my instincts would encourage you to trust your husband unless you have concrete evidence of his lying. But, please consider contacting the wise counsel at ChristianWomenToday for their prayerful support and guidance with this situation. And know, dear Eve, that I will continue to pray for you, that God will make His path clear, and direct your steps.
Thank you Marilyn. You are an inspiration and, like many of the ladies here, heaven sent! Thank you for blessing me with your patience, advise, encouragement and prayers.
I read a devotional this morning in the Women’s Bible and it’s great. Didn’t have time to type it out to share with all of you. Will do so later when i get the chance.
Am struggling with trusting my husband at the moment. Am wondering if i should check up on what he has told me, to reassure myself that it is indeed true, or to just trust and leave God to deal with him if he has been lying again.. By choosing to trust, is that considered ‘let go and let God’?
Eve, may The God of all hope give you the reassurance of His blessing on your loving efforts to encourage your husband!! You have done exactly what God commands of us as Christian wives and faithful Christians in general — to ‘respect’ our husbands, and to not return evil for evil, but to return blessing for evil. You are not responsible for his reaction to you — God will deal with that directly, in His time. In the meantime, you can consider your obedience to God as a sacrifice to Him, for you are sacrificing your need to be reassured by your husband at this time. God bless you, Eve — this is no easy calling! Trust me when I say that it has been my challenge for the past several years! Know that God is on your side, and that when you fall (notice I said ‘when’, not ‘if’ — we ALL fall along the journey to Christ-likeness), He will pick you back up, dust you off, and give you the grace to press on. Trust Him, for He alone is worthy!!
Marilyn!!! You (and the other ladies on this site) lift me so. Thank you for your prayers and affirmation. I’ve been having trouble sleeping again and took take half a sleeping pill the other night, but to no avail. In fact it brought terrible nightmares, so i’m not taking it anymore. Need to find peace.. need to sleep.
I have been lifting my husband up in prayers everyday. I have also been quietly reassuring him of my love and support, and encouraging him in his efforts at work and at church when he does make one. I’m mostly met with a blank look, impatience or irritation. I have learned how to just shut up at these times, hold back my tears and hope that one day, his heart will be reached. I do know that he is not my enemy and satan is, but that knowledge does not take away the hurt. I pray for the strength to keep holding on to hope and my marriage.
Eve, do not listen to Satan’s lies — you are a cherished daughter of the King!! None of us have worth, but for the precious blood of our Redeemer! But, He made you in His image, adopted you into His family, and gave you His Holy Spirit as a down-payment for eternity! That, my dear Eve, is worth more than pure gold!! Your husband, while you love him and treasure his feelings, does not define your worth! Remember, your husband is NOT your enemy — he is being used by Satan, tempted by Satan, directed by Satan’s lies. Hate the one who is deceiving your husband! This is why I encourage you to summon all of heaven’s resources through prayer to bind closer to him, to seek to encourage him, and fight for him. Reassure him of your love, and be available to him for support during this trial. Eve, please know that I understand your pain and feelings of abandonment — I, too, have experienced these very same feelings. My husband belittled me for many years, crushing my spirit, defining my worth. But Christ came into my heart, opened my eyes, and helped me see my true worth in Him! No longer did my husband’s attitude and behavior towards me determine my value. Jesus set me free from believing my husband’s abusive comments, and God stands guard over my heart now. Know that there is a spiritual war going on — it is real, and fierce. But, as you put on the armor of God and go to war for your marriage, Eve, God will ‘go to the mat’ for you! Trust Him, for He is trustworthy!!
Amen! and Thank You Marilyn.
Maybe one day i will stop struggling to build/ not build that wall, and truly believe that truth and love does indeed exist. At the moment, i am ‘licking my wounds’ and trying to piece together the shattered bits of my heart. The one person who tore down my wall all those years ago, is now the very person that has caused the hurt and made me feel so small and worthless. Even more so then anyone has ever done. Am trying to pick myself up again and and believe that I am not worthless. Am trying to still find the man that i married, to borrow the words of someone else, to ‘love the man and not the sins’. To believe that the man i love and married is still there, and that deep down inside, a part of him still does care.
Dear Eve,
I am so very sorry that your heart is heavy from the burden of a discontented husband. While my husband does not appear necessarily discontented, he is just disconnected emotionally and physically from me, so I understand the loneliness you describe. Is your husband willing to talk about how he feels with you? Would he be willing to consider Christian marriage counselling? Is he in generally good health? Are things going well at his job? Could he be struggling with some depression? You do not need to answer these questions for me . . . I’m just trying to toss out some possible scenarios to consider. Reassuring your husband of your love during his trial would be a blessing to him. I understand that blessing him might not be high on your list when his obvious discontent is threatening your sense of marital security. But, God will give you the grace to do this, and He will bless you. Build your husband up, let him feel your confidence in him, and your admiration. Ask God to show you how you might minister to him. Continue to pray for him day and night. Let God be your spiritual husband for now, while He works to restore your marriage. And remember, dear Eve, that you will be lifted in prayer daily!
Heavenly Father, wrap your loving arms around your precious daughter, Eve, and reassure her of Your presence in this time of trouble! Expand her faith, that she would see her husband’s spiritual vitality restored! Woo him back from Satan’s seduction, and ignite a passion in him for You! And, protect Eve from Satan’s efforts to discourage her, but instead strengthen her resolve to fight for her marriage! In the powerful and precious name of Jesus, Amen!
Dear Marilyn,
Thank you for your encouragement and prayers. I am holding up as best i can, and you are right, it is very difficult to have something so precious fade before your very eyes.
To see how the world’s perspective has taken a hold on him and is leading him in his thoughts and the decision he makes. I am trying to find hope and peace.. something to keep me holding on to this marriage, because as of now, it doesn’t look like it’s me or this marriage that he wants. The freedom the world is offering up to him beckons and i feel as if i am fighting a loosing battle, all by myself.
A small part of me dies everyday, and i am afraid that one day, i will cease to exist. I will just be an empty shell walking around, or i would have build up a wall around me so as not to get hurt again.
AMEN MARLYAN MY EVERY BODY EVEY WHERE HAVE THANKSGIVING IN THEIR HEARTS
SHARON
Dear Eve,
Reading your post broke my heart. To have had something so precious and then see it fade away must be so difficult! I’m sad for your husband, too, who has given Satan an audience, and allowed him to infect his heart with discontent. Men are somewhat competitive by nature when it comes to accomplishments and acquisitions, a tangible measure of their ability to provide for their families. It is important to them to feel successful in this arena. Their self-esteem is uniquely connected. That’s why God commanded wives to ‘respect’ their husbands (He commanded husbands to ‘love’ their wives), because He created them to be providers and gave them the innate character to achieve this. As for how you ‘let go and let God’ in your circumstances, the same principle would apply — you cannot change your husband’s direction, only God can. But your continued prayers, as well as the prayers of those of us who’ve been touched by your burden, will be used by God as He works to re-capture your husband’s heart. This trial is as much for you as it is for your husband, so you must trust God completely for your prodigal husband. As a Christian, he is safe for eternity, but Earth will always be a spiritual battlefield for all of us. Ask God to show you ways to lovingly support and ‘respect’ your husband during this troubled time, and know that He will. He wants you both to win this battle!
Lord Jesus, wrap your loving arms around Eve, and remind her of your unfailing love! Ease her heartache, I pray, and show her ways to encourage her husband. Bind up Satan, that Eve’s husband can find his way back to You! In Your precious, Holy Name! Amen.
Beautifully explained. Thank you Marilyn. I too am glad i am not God.
First i must clarify that my husband is saved. He does believe in God and we do go to church. He is just running away from God or maybe the more accurate term to use is avoiding God. Going to church on Sunday is just routine and maybe a sense of obligation. I miss the times when we used to pray together before going to bed. My fault as much as his that we stopped. Guess life took over, and we were just too tired after a day’s work and the praying became more and more sporadic or we prayed separately, at least i did. Trying to say a prayer together now is like asking him to cut off his right arm! If i’m lucky i just get an irritated look and impatient tolerance while i say a quick prayer. No contributions from him. If not, i just get shot at with a ‘I know when i need to pray’, and he walks off or turns away.
I can see it now that discontent and envy is probably at work here in mu husband. So and so has this and that, so and so is single and free and can do whatever and go out with whomever he wants, etc. It’s a never ending list. It’s the wanting to keep up with the Jones, it’s wanting what everyone else has, it’s thinking that the grass is greener on the other side. And in all of this, its forgetting to appreciate what we already have, instead of moaning what we do not yet have. The wanting will never stop. Humans can never be satisfied.
When will we learn to cherish and be thankful for the blessings that we already have? A broken and lost generation, wandering in the dark… when will we learn? It’s not what the world can offer that will save us, we have already been saved, with just that single drop of blood.
Thank you Fran and Joy for your kind words! There is no denying that ‘letting go and letting God’ tests our faith, and it is a daily surrender. I, too, am learning to trust God for His timing, and for His plan. I like to think that God is just ‘setting the stage’ for my husband’s spiritual awakening, and He is getting things ready. Some ‘scenes’ require more props and therefore take more time to set up, but no time is ever wasted by God! In the meantime, God is teaching me patience, perseverence, submission (ouch!) Sometimes, I wonder if maybe it’s not really my husband who is taking so long to come to Christ, but instead maybe it is I who needs more time to learn what God is trying to teach me! :/
While those of us in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving today, may all of us across the globe have Thanksgiving in our hearts all year long!
Marilyn
How wonderfully said!!! I’ve been learning how to do this for a few years now, at first it was really hard, but now I know if he asks (my husband) questions I will do my best to answer them the rest I leave to God!!
eve
it is a scary thing but God will be with you and help you every step of the way along with all of our prayers
sharon
Eve…
Marilyn, said that so beautifully! Same thing as saying Psalm 46:10!!! HE can do the things humans can’t! Much Love across the miles..Preparing Thanksgiving Lunch here!! (((Eve)))
Hi Eve,
Coming from an unequally-yoked marriage perspective, my interpretation of ‘let go and let God’ is that we wives, who have been saved by God’s grace, are to surrender our unsaved husbands to God for His perfect plan and timing, and not frustrate our husbands with spiritual expectations of them. This can be very difficult, as we desire that our husbands to be the spiritual leaders of our homes. But God never asks anything of us that He doesn’t also provide the grace for. His grace is ours for the asking. When we ‘let go’ of our desire to transform our husbands, or sanctify those who resist maturing in the faith, we submit to God’s sovereign plan, and He goes to work on them. And, that also allows God to illuminate the areas of our own lives that He desires to prune and grow. ‘Let go and let God’ can surely be applied to many different circumstances, but in all, it reminds us that God is God, and we aren’t! And, I don’t know about you, but I’m sure glad about that!! :)
Joy, Marion & Marilyn, your husbands are blessed to have you, as you are to have them.
Am trying to figure out what ‘Let go and let God’ means. Thought i knew, but think i don’t. How does one let go and let God? I don’t think i would have been able to live apart from my husband for two years and then take him back. The very thought of being apart scares me.
Thank you Marilyn for your loving comment, talked to my pastors wife, he is doing much better today!! We are in Canada, but thank you for the happy thanksgiving anyway!! My husband is originally from upstate New York and has cousins that we will be calling on Saturday!!!
Blessing to you for Thanksgiving!!
Joy
I just love how God works! :D Thank you, Joy, for sharing how He moved your husband to consider the needs of your paster’s family! I hope that your pastor is improving, and that you and your family have a very blessed Thanksgiving!
In fact, Thanksgiving blessings to all my sisters out there!
Thank You Sharon!!
Will keep praying for your family too!!
Hope you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!!!
Joy
joy sounds like your husband may be comming around a little i will keep praying for him
bless you both
sharon
Thank you Marilyn for your loving comments!! I truly appriciate them!!! Must tell you that last night after I came home from Bible Study (the pastor wasn’t there as he is down with a bad cold) my husband said “you’d better call Bonita (pastor’s wife) and see if you can do anything for them (they have 5 kids ages 10 down to 1)you could see if they need a meal or something……..he’s your pastor you know and you have to look after him” Wow was that a surpise!!………..just had to share that!!
Joy
Precious Joy — I agree with Marion that your name is fitting! :) You are a blessing! As for your ‘giving more’ to the church, that you honor your husband is far more important, for that submission will yield more fruit in your marriage! His spiritual background has left deep wounds, which may take a long time to heal. How beautiful that you do ‘creative titheing’ — using your talents to share with God’s family!
Marion thanks for the analogy of my name, I did not think of it that way…….when I was in the midst of my storm, however the worst of the storm has past…..even though some of the results still linger. Your right let go and let God……I’ve heard that for years and really wanted to do that, but never really realized that I had begun to do that.
I will pray for your restored marriage, that it may continue to be forever mended, with love brimming over!!!
Thank you for your very wise comments.
Marilyn
I am glad you have found “other” areas to serve God in your life…………but I will still pray that He will restore your marriage!!!
I find that I do have “other” areas that I work in as well, but I know that if my husband were walking with the Lord there would be a lot more that I could do. Most everything I do I leave the house without him, which he doesn’t mind to a point…….also I love cooking and baking for all the church pot luck’s etc, but my husband will let me do just so much………and I would love to “tithe” in the pure sense, but I can only give such a little bit, because he is still my husband and I do love him!!! He has been good he has let me increase things but not as far as I would like. He said of my wanting to give more…….”If we were destitute what would your church do for us?” I told him they would help………then again because of his background he just doesn’t believe it!! Mentioned this to my friend…….would anyone help? Her reply was “in a minute” however this is very hard for him to believe…..he trusts no one!! And that is so sad!!! Here I go on a rabbit trail again…….sorry.
Joy
I think Satan often uses our unmet needs in marriage to distract us from allowing God to work in and through us as Christian women, while He (God) works on our unbelieving spouses. I have learned that God doesn’t need my marriage to be restored, or even improved, before He can use me in other areas of my life. How grateful I am that He is so patient with me, that while I am a work in progress, He can still use me to accomplish His perfect will! What an awesome God He is!! Praise His Holy Name!
Joy, A beautiful name to remind you of the joy you can have in your life with Christ even in the mist of your storm. I have been married for 28 yrs. My husband is not saved and we have lived apart for the last two yrs. He was a alcholic, I say was because he has not had a drink in the last month since I let him back into the house. Marilyn has spoke some words that hit home for many women in the same life style. Surrender our husband or love one to God only God can change the hearts of men. God has also diverted my attention from my husband to other areas of life. Let go and let God. My husband ask to come back into the home and I said yes on the condition he can not drink, I can controll that and I will let the Lord handle the rest.
Marilyn
Thank you for sharing, I do understand where you are coming from. Your husband sounds much like mine……..needing very much to be in control of everything!! Before I was a Christian, I was also someone who needed to be in control, and we had many wars both trying desperately for control!! I was like Fran said a day or so ago “looking to my husband for what only the Lord can give” I desperately needed to be loved and my husband could not give me enough, or any so I thought……..It wasn’t till this past summer that my friend said ” Oh Joy he really does care for you I can see that” Wow did that ever change my life!!! I just couldn’t see through the criticism (and believe me there was lots) I once said to him when he was still working “you treat the people that work for you better than me” and he said “I expect much more from you”. I now knew his expectations for me were also beyond what I could do for him…….so there we were both expecting more of the other that they could do for us……….like you fortunately I found the Lord and found the love I was so needy for………….but I do feel sorry for him as there is so much more love he could have if he would only ask!!! Since my friend told me that he cares (my husband) I have been able to respect him much more and that has made a real difference in our relationship and I have not felt near the criticism that I was feeling before………don’t get me wrong it is not a “cake walk” but it is better!!!
I really feel for you Marilyn, it must be really hard living like you do, I will pray for both of you that you can be united in a marriage the way God planned it for us!!! With me we had our really bad times, but we also had a few really good years even before I became a Christian. Our son is not a Christian but I feel he could be persuaded if he had the right people around him……..he lives about 5 hours from us and had some Christian friends……..his wife is definitely not Christian, but she only lives here a few weeks of the year (she is from Portugal) But our son is almost a worshipper of his father (earthly that is) ….. now I am off really to distraction…….a rabbit trail. any how I am going to pray that your life with your husband will change!!!!!
Sharon
Thank you so much for your prayers…..you are such a wonderful prayer warrier!!!
Joy, you understand the challenges of living with a difficult husband, and your words of wisdom and encouragement are a blessing to me! My husband and I have been married for 30 years, and I have been a believer only for the last 14 years. I regret that the years previous to my salvation were wrought with deep conflict between us — my husband is controlling and demeans differing perspectives. He does not enjoy a loving relationship with any of his female relatives — wife, daughter, mother, sister, aunts. He resists emotional intimacy. We live as 2 separate islands connected by a bridge — our 2 children. Whenever I have tried talking to him about difficulties that the children shared with me, he would either discount their feelings or redirect the discussion, digging up past transgressions. Facts trumped perception, and relationships suffered. Before I came to the Lord, in my weakness and frustration, I sought comfort in food and shopping. I filled my emptiness with temporary, self-gratifying behaviors, which only fueled my husband’s bitterness toward me. When God intervened in my life, saving me from myself, He showed me the hole in my heart that only He could fill. But, my husband has not been able to forgive or forget my sin. (My spending habits never lead to credit card debt, or even credit finance charges — I worked both full-time before the children and part-time after, contributing to our family income) I am so thankful to God for His mercy, for loving me while I was yet a sinner, and opening my eyes to His Truth and forgiveness! I am sad, though, for my husband, as I know that he is not my enemy — although he often seems to be! — and I trust God to show him the truth in His time. Please forgive me for sharing so much, but it is so comforting to know that there are others with this same burden, and it feels somewhat lighter when you can unload it for a moment, feel understood, and lifted in prayer by your sisters in the faith!
Now, how was that for distraction??!! ;)
joy
thank you for sharing your husbands story i will be much in prayer for bouth of you
sharon
Once again Fran your wonderful words of wisdom mean so much to me!! Thank you so much!!!
Joy
Joy,
Your husband is so blessed to have you..our Lord in His wonderful wisdom placed you two together as He knows our Alpha and Omega!! He knew you’d come to Him and that He could entrust this situation of understanding and healing needed to bring that special husband in. We will keep praying and believing. You and he both are remarkable workers. One day He’ll use your husband in the church, too. Am “seeing” him being drawn by things you are sharing.
He is still wounded and has emotional scar tissue from his Dad’s alcoholism and what that put the family through ..and the loss of his Mom at too young an age. But, what a great thing YOU TWO have done with your family!! A beautiful success story out of that childhood saddness..and your hubby has a wonderful helpmeet to have accomplished that!
He also got some “scarring” from being “forced” into a building as a child? But? He will “see” the unconditional, soft love from you and your church members there connected to our Lord in a personal and real way.. and not feel as threatened…over time. He’s watching and seeing the changes in all of you that come throught this walk with the Lord! All those beautiful prayers of your church members and yourself.. will continue to help heal, too! Thinking of you and lifting you. You are like Marilyn and staying busy with what the Lord shows you to do during the “waiting” ..while HE works on those husbands! This is one of those Psalm 46:10 times!!! He’ll do it! And Acts 16:31 is for both of you and June L, too!!! Standing on those Promises and believing with and for you precious ladies!!! (((Joy)))
Thank you Fran and Marilyn for your wonderful responses to my comment!! Marilyn, although my husband has never pretended to be a believer, he has been a very difficult person to live with……….or maybe it was just that I was too young and had been too sheltered when we got married to be able to understand where he was coming from! He came from a family with 7 kids, his father was an alcoholic and they lived in horrible conditions, his mother died when he was 11 (kids were 3 – 13) they lived in upstate New York, but his father was originally from Winnipeg, the family came and got the kids, took them to Winnipeg to live with aunts and uncles there they were forced into the Ukrainian Catholic/Orthodox Church, so began his hate for the church! I can tell you 44 years ago I had no idea what this type of life could do to a person, as my husband was and still is a wonderful person and very successful in his work life, his main claim to fame through out his work life was that he was extremely GOOD with people. I just was not equiped at a young age to deal with some of his personality quirks that came from a life I couldn’t begin to understand!!
Anyway after all that what I really wanted to say was just that I can understand what it’s like dealing with a husband that is a difficult person!! Sometimes it’s like treading on egg shells…… I sometimes wish I had the leadership that comes with a Christian husband at the helm, but I just have to keep praying…….sometimes I think the time is coming and sometimes it seems to be getting father away, he said he would come to the church Christmas party, but we are having a weekend in the word this weekend and I had hoped he would come as the speaker is a scientist and the theme is the creation and my husband likes science fiction and I thought this would appeal to him, however when he found out that it would be taking place in the sanctuary he declined……….he feels every time my pastor preaches or writes a column it’s meant for him and that he (the pastor) is telling him he will burn in hell………I really think he (my husband) knows where it’s at and he’s a bit afraid that they will capture him and because of his past life he does not want to give up the control he thinks he has!!
Sorry to go on so long……once I get started I get carried away…..no wonder I’m getting behind!!
Joy
Joy,
Thank you for your sweet response — God is so faithful to use us as we are willing! Our awkwardness and shortcomings are insignificant to the God Who makes wine from water! How precious that your daughter brought you to the King! Praise God that she never gave up sharing His love and the Truth with you! :) I, too, share the burden of an unbelieving husband; although mine is not only a regular church-goer, he assists in the first grade Sunday school. To all who do not live with him, he appears to be a good, Christian man. But to those of us who have lived in his household, he has been a most difficult person. He alienated our children, our daughter has since forgiven him. Our 18-year-old son, who is a college student, chooses to limit his time in our home to protect his spirit and lessen conflict. My role over the years was damage-control. I surrendered my husband to God years ago, sad that I can’t share the joy of salvation with him, but trusting God for His plan. God replaced my feelings of urgency with feelings of peace. God gave me the grace to accept His timing and His plan, and He diverted my attention to areas of my life that He wanted to prune and cultivate. God may never capture my husband’s heart, but it’s not because He hasn’t wooed him. I think God would just as soon have me get out of the way, so that he can blast him!! ;)
Anyway, stay the course, dear Joy! May His light be so radiant in us, that our husbands fall in love with Jesus! Amen!
Hello Joy!
Just keep being your beautiful self in front of your husband. You are doing something very right that he “is” coming to church some. Your quiet, prayerful “witness” in front of him may be “speaking volumes”! The Lord will reach out and “rope him in” in His perfect timing! Keep your GREAT prayers going up for him, too! I, also, believe that Toni’s husband and June L’s…headed IN!!!! You ladies love the Lord so much and that “light in you”…will “glide them on into the Kingdom” :)
Still catching up here……
Well said Fran, I know my flaws become distractions! Marilyn, what a beautiful story!! With me it was my daughter who brought me to the Lord, she wasn’t really annoying just a little to get my attention, it took years but she eventually got it. Now it’s my turn to work on my husband………..but here I have to be really careful not to annoy as that sends him running!!! Sometimes I just have to pray Lord give me patience with him and help me to know in Your time not mine!!
Joy
it is oh so very hard not to be distracted at times. our pastor says if you hear a child crying in church be glad because it means their parents care enough to bring them.how true that is
sharon
I pray too Fran D. that God will not allow my human flaws get in the way of my witness for Christ. Someone once told me that the best witness for Christ after sharing the Good News is how well I live. People notice how Christians live and it can influence others in a good or bad way. Father, I pray that the people I come in contact with will see Christ in me. More of Him and less of me. Amen
Thank you for this devotional, Vonette! HE is soooo neat and uses every last thing..even what we “thought” were distractions in ways that work out for His Kingdom and our daily growth! Am trying very hard here not to let my human flaws, which are many, not become distractions for others..and asking Him to give me the same set of patience for others that I manage for myself! Thank YOU, Father, for Vonette and the other writers who bless our walks daily.
Talking about GOD and JESUS is a very important part of my life. I have had those whom have been abused by preists in the church who have turned againest GOD and I am always telling them that they are still one on GODS children and I will pray for them.
I would be totally lost without having GOD and JESUS CHRIST in my life. I wouldn’t know where to turn. THEY ARE MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi ladies. I am sorry to say but in the past I was afraid of what people would think of me if I talked about Jesus. I began to pray about it and asked God to help me. And he did help me by bringing verses to me like (If you are ashamed of me I will be ashamed of you. I thought about that quit a bit and I didn’t want God to be ashamed of me so I prayed that God would give me the courage and the words to say and he has. And also he sent me a few Christian friends that pray for me daily. Satan can be our distraction and keep us from speaking out for Jesus but thanks be to God we can over come satan if we pray and ask God for his help. Thank you Jesus that you are greater the satan and with your help we can rebuke him.
My daughter started a college entrance essay with, “It was driving me crazy . . . it had been for months.” Her essay was on how God used her newly-saved, annoyingly enthusiastic mother to lead her to salvation! How thankful I am that God would use me, yet in the earliest stages my personal relationship with Him, and that my precious daughter, at the tender age of nine, did not allow the distractions of her mother’s ‘fanaticism’ to obscure God’s knock on the door of her heart! Today, she is a 23-year-old newly-wed, married to a wonderful Christian man, and they share a passion for Him that blesses me richly! Praise God that He is not hindered by our weaknesses, but that His glory is magnified!