My Life

Learning to be Thankful for Fleas

/ SaxophoneWife / 3 Comments

I have become rather disgusted with Christian cultural and political leaders trying to equate Christian activism in Conservative politics with Christian heroics during the Holocaust. Christian cultural and political leaders are increasingly trying to shame Christians into throwing themselves to the lions for the sake of whatever social or political injustice is popular in the moment. These are not the causes for which Watchman Nee or Richard Wurmbrand suffered in jail for years—even decades! Corrie ten Boom did not watch her beloved Betsie die at Ravenbruck over her political activism. And, my goodness, there are many saints in prison for their faith right now. Yes, their faith—not for their political or social activism against their government. Anyone who tries to draw a comparison between the ten Booms and the truckers should be ashamed.

I truly fear that our faith is not as precious to many American Christians as their political positions. They demand we fight for our “God-given rights, or you’ll be sorry!”

HOW SHOULD WE THEN LIVE?

I wonder if Christians in America even understand it is their faith that deserves a defense, and not their politics. Have we forgotten why we were saved? Why Jesus came and died on a cross? Have we said so many times that Jesus loves us so much He would have died for even one soul to be saved, that we have started thinking it’s all about us? I wonder. I really do.

I think of Corrie ten Boom and her family hiding Jews from the Nazis. We should not forget that they were defending Jews, because of their belief in what the Bible said about Israel. They were not making a political statement in protest of Nazism. They were not risking their lives for a cause that had an eternal value.

I also think of a boy named Joseph. He was sold into slavery, but never stopped trusting God. Daniel was literally thrown to the lions, but never decried the injustice he was facing. David had to flee for his life, but he worshiped his God and did good works along the way to his coronation. Esther faced the genocide of her people by calling them to fast and pray. Jochebed would not take her son’s life, but entrusted his care to God in a river filled with crocodiles!

It was all for faith’s sake. They’re faith was under fire. Is our faith that precious to us? Are we willing to suffer for the sake of the Cross, or just to get rules changed or our people moved into power? I’m afraid many American Christians would not recognize a true threat to their faith, because they have so little relationship with Jesus they cannot see the big picture. What is worth dying for, friends?

Generations of Believers proclaimed it is “about a relationship, not a religion,” yet many have neither one. They might have a social, cultural, or political agenda, but most have an idol they’ve created in their own image. Their Jesus never offends the sinner, and never grieves over the sin. He’s just like them: weak, passive, and impotent.

BACK TO RAVENSBRUCK

As Corrie and her sister, Betsie, sat on their straw-filled bunks in the Ravensbrück Concentration Camp they were tormented by a plague of fleas. Corrie complained to her sister, but Bestie corrected her, reminding Corrie that it was God’s will for them to give thanks in all circumstances. Corrie protested. She resisted. “I will never thank God for fleas!”

During the quiet times in their barracks, Corrie and Betsie will tell their fellow prisoners about Jesus. Thad a tiny New Testament that the angels of the Lord had blinded the eyes of their captives from finding—a remarkable and miraculous thing! So, they would hold Bible studies and prayer meetings, leading people to faith in Christ.

After a few weeks of the plague of fleas, they noticed that the guards very rarely came into their barracks to conduct searches. This gave the sisters almost unlimited time to talk about Jesus. How could this be?

One day, Betsie overheard the supervisor speaking to the other guards. She said she refused to enter their barracks, because of the fleas!

Ravensbruck Concentration Camp Women’s Barracks

We need to learn to thank God for the fleas. We need to set our minds on things above, what is eternal, and not on things that are passing away. Our money should not be going to a protester’s legal defense fund, but to the preaching of the gospel.

Brothers and Sisters, we will give account for our choices. How did we spend our time? How did we spend our money? What did we do for Jesus? Can we do more? None of us know how many days we have left to serve Jesus. What treasures will we have to lay at His throne?

I don’t know about you, but I am weary of the wickedness in this world. I cannot hold it back by protesting, but I can make a difference by leading one more soul to Christ. I can speak the truth and exhort my Brother or Sister to righteousness. I can pray and fast and be ready with an answer. I can start thanking God today for the fleas in my life, so that I’m ready to make a holy sanctuary of a prison cell or lion’s den. I know I’m not there, yet.

❤

1 February 2022

/ SaxophoneWife / 3 Comments

I had planned to repeat my Facebook-Free February this year, but I haven’t done a very good job today. I suppose it could be Facebook-Free March or April. We’ll see. Maybe, I’ll start a day late.

As my husband headed off to bed tonight, he looked down at me (I was working on my laptop on the couch) and smiled with his whole face as he struggled to find the right words. “You…are…a…squirrely…rascally…challenge!”

I laughed out loud. “You know, she’s a very difficult person,” his future mother in law warned.

Well, his comment reminded me of something else. He reminded me of one a Shakespeare’s Sonnets I had included it in a poetry book I made him 34 years ago, when he left Long Beach, California for Boston, Massachusetts. He was coming here to study the saxophone with Jerry Bergonzi. This was his dream come true. We were just friends, but I was already in love with him. So, I decided to make him a poetry book. What is a poetry book? Well, it’s a scrapbook of poems or quotes, with pictures collected from magazines or greeting cards. Maybe, photo copied from a book. It wasn’t a gift you gave just anyone—only your very best friends.

So, on the night before he flew out, I drove over to see him to say good-bye. That’s what friends do, right? We hung out for awhile, and I gave him his gift as I was leaving—some time after midnight. I drove away in my ’72 Toyota Corona—missing floor board on the passenger’s side and a trunk that only stayed closed with a bungee cord—and I prayed and rejoiced and felt incredible peace. Oh, I definitely cried my eyes out, too. I knew I would never see him again. His poetry book was my last bid to leave my mark on his life.

I know it’s small potatoes, but we’re celebrating our 33rd Anniversary soon, and I’m grateful for a husband who loves a “challenge.” 🙂

So, this is the sonnet. Figured I should share. You can see I made his poetry book in a music notebook, instead of a scrapbook. Seemed appropriate for a musician.

I love the picture I included—it related to the poem on the facing page, too, which begins: “My clumsiest dear, whose hands shipwreck vases….” (Love Poem, written by John Frederick Nims.)

It was interesting to look through that poetry book tonight. I’m glad for all the ways I’ve changed in 34 years, and for all the ways I’ve stayed just the same.

❤

Kick Off Those Shoes! (Revisted)

/ SaxophoneWife / 2 Comments

This original post has recently had some views. I didn’t remember it by the title, so I clicked to reread it. As I did, I noticed something that I needed to correct. It’s something the Lord has taught me in the past five years. So, below is the post updated, with my correction. Er, rather, the Holy Spirit’s correction. I don’t know who the recent readers were, but I hope / trust they see this and read the correction. The correction, by the way, is in Step 4. I definitely will write more on trust in another post.

KickOffThoseShoes

Women don’t lie about being abused.

There is too much shame attached. Of course, this isn’t to say there aren’t women who will lie, so maybe I should qualify my statement: I have found that a woman in a marriage she values and wants to keep, to a man she loves and believes in, is more likely to lie by saying she has not been abused, than to lie by saying she has been abused.

And, just in case you aren’t sure where she stands in regards to her husband and her marriage, always assume she is telling the truth.

On the same note, I have found that when a man—any man—makes any statement of denial concerning abuse, he is always judging by his definition of abuse.

And, he is always wrong.

FUZZY SLIPPERS
Recently, a pastor and his wife became quite famous, as she advocated for his freedom from an Iranian prison. He was finally released last month, but the joy of his homecoming was dampened by her confession to supporters that he had been an abusive jerk.

(I might have added the “jerk” part.)

Instead of welcoming him home with open arms, she filed papers and sent the kids. They both remain in the public eye, seeking public affirmation, and claiming they want to keep their troubles “private.” As they both post about their private life on Facebook and grant interviews to the press, their claims to want privacy seem a little disingenuous.

All things being equal, he’s getting the lion’s share of the media attention, and she’s winning the Facebook sympathy vote. Her defenders, aka Team Wife, gather around and reinforce her victimization, while Team Husband assures him this is the Devil’s work. It is how church folks traditionally handle these kind of troubles.

Feeling sorry for the victim is natural, if not very helpful. It’s probably the main reason it took me so long to trust anyone to pray with me for my husband. I knew a pat on the hand wasn’t going to help me. Yes, his abuse hurt me very much, but I knew God did not define him by his sin. Of course, I wanted comforting—living in an abusive marriage is like walking in shoes that are not only too tight, but have cut glass for insoles. I was not about to refuse a pair of fuzzy slippers, but I did not want pity.  I wanted prayer partners to stand in the gap for us both. I wanted warring saints who would not fight against my husband, but fight the Enemy on his behalf.

Let me tell you, there were very few people I could trust. There were even fewer who actually believed he could be delivered.

I don’t know enough about these two people to know if they really want to save their marriage, but if they do, they are doing it wrong.  For more than three years they portrayed themselves as martyrs for the cause of Christ, and now that their secret sins have been brought into the light they each still want to play the martyr in their marriage.  Even worse, they are allowing the court of public opinion to try their cases against each other.

It’s not okay. In fact, it’s sickening. Well-intentioned Christians are feeding their egos with scores of Facebook comments.  Articles and interviews are skewed in favor of whichever victim the publication wants to defend. I suspect ghost writers have already been hired, with book deals under negotiation.

You can say I’m being critical, or worse, but I don’t think I’m wrong.  And, what you may not be detecting in my words is the real concern I have for them, and for the Body of Christ. If we actually care about these two people, then we should pray they stop this public show.

I have walked many miles in the shoes this woman now walks, which is the only reason I have the right to say anything. And, I know there are women reading this who are examining their own shoes right now and saying, “Yeah, those look familiar.” While this woman may never read my words of exhortation, those who are reading these words need to know that there is hope. Being in an abusive marriage doesn’t mean you must endure a life of suffering. However, you will have to reject the easy comfort of those fuzzy slippers. The proper footwear for a woman married to a High-Maintenance Man is combat boots.

COMBAT BOOTS
If you love your husband and want to save your marriage, despite his abusive behavior, I am going to share the short and simple advice I give every woman married to an abusive man. Of course, I prefer the term High Maintenance Men. I coined the term years ago, because I thought it accurately described a man who wasn’t exactly easy to love, but very much worth loving. Men cannot stay high maintenance, though. That is not God’s will. However, He has provided a way for men with abusive behaviors to be transformed by the power and grace of God at work in their lives, and when they have a Proverbs 31 woman willing to walk that walk of faith with them, they really are guaranteed to succeed.

God is always on the side of those who seek after righteousness! 

So, here are seven, simple steps to get started. (Sorry for the alliteration. It wasn’t on purpose!) Mind you: this is my simple version, with minimal detail, but maybe enough to stir your heart to faith and action.

Remember, what God did for me He will gladly do for you, too!

Step 1: Do not protect him.
There are many kinds of abuse. If you are being physically abused, or if he is engaged in illegal activity, leave or make him leave. Call the authorities. God does not honor our protecting him from the consequences of his illegal behavior, and physically hurting you—or anyone else—is illegal.

Step 2: Put your faith in God. 
If you are not a Christian, these shoes definitely won’t fit comfortably. Of course, knowing Christ isn’t a hard thing. Click HERE. Then, come right back. I’ll wait. 🙂

Step 3: Forgive him. 
Sometimes, we hold onto forgiveness like a trophy we will only bestow upon our husband once he has proven himself worthy. Bad idea! This is completely contrary to the Word of God, which makes it clear that unforgiveness is a sin that separates us from the Lord and frustrates His will in our lives. The truth is, unforgiveness is as great a transgression as his abuse. They both divide you from God, and from one another, and you cannot win this fight for your marriage without spiritual unity. You need to be playing for the same team! Holding onto unforgiveness is giving place to the Enemy, and that will only bring more division. It is a very spiritually powerless position that will almost guarantee the end of your marriage. 

Step 4: Forgiveness and trust work hand-in-hand.
Abuse violates trust, and this is one of the hardest things for anyone to get over. However, the Holy Spirit taught me that the Bible’s call to forgive 70 times 7 is a call to forgive as God forgives—that includes trusting that person once more. We are told in this world that trust must be earned, but that’s not true; it’s not even realistic. Trust is given. And, in the Christian marriage our trust is given to the One Who is the most trustworthy, our Heavenly Father, to not only accomplish the redemptive work that needs to be done in our marriage, but in the two members of that marriage. And, He will do that.  

Step 5: Trusting Him is essential.
Recovery is a process that takes time. Walking this road from brokenness to healing is going to require you have Someone to lean on every step of the way, and the only person who will be there for you even before you call to Him for help, is God. Putting your trust in Him as you begin this fight really is essential.

Step 6: Pursue Him.
No one is 100% innocent. Sometimes, women find that they are allowing a lot of “little” sins, like unforgiveness, into their life, and justifying them with his bad behavior. They don’t think of their discontentment as sin. Or, maybe, it’s gossip or greed they overlook. Or, just spiritually neglecting our walk with the Lord. There are so many ways we transgress. This is why I urge you to invite the Holy Spirit to examine your heart, to see if there are any “wicked ways” in you. Then, repent. And, keep repenting. And, then begin to pursue God like you did back in the day, when you were new to your faith. Stop skipping services, and other opportunities to be in fellowship. Take in every anointed sermon you can find (Sermon Index is a great source), and read the Word for yourself. Surround yourself with the Word. Make posters and hang them up around your house! Listen to worship music that is filled with spiritual truth. Pray like every prayer is a life-sustaining breath. You will need to be spiritually fit to fight this battle, so pursue the Lord with all your heart, as if your life depends on it.

Step 7: Leave him to God.
Let God take care him. Hopefully, you are working together to reconcile, so there should be much spiritual fellowship going on, but don’t take the position of being his spiritual mentor. You should not disciple your husband. The Holy Spirit may well use you to exhort and encourage him, but let God have His way with Him. Pray for him, tell God all the thing you think He needs to fix in him, but leave him to God.

NEW SHOES
The burden of recovery is not meant to be entirely on one person. Sometimes, one member is more able to take the steps of faith necessary to begin the process, but ultimately it takes two willing souls.  It is a shared burden, and a shared blessing, through which God can do a wonderful and remarkable work of restoration. And, restoration is my hope for this couple I’ve discussed, and for anyone reading this who is living under abuse.

Sister, kick off those shoes! If you need to pad around in fuzzy slippers for a time, give those blisters a chance to heal, that’s OK. However, you can’t stay in that easy place. You need to get to the work of fighting the spiritual battle that comes with being that Proverbs 31 woman. Abigail did not rush to confront David in her fuzzies! She knew what she was facing, and she was equipped and ready.

One day—this is the good news you need to remember every day—this fight will be over.  It really will! And, when it is done you can put those combat boots away. You won’t throw them out, because you are a Proverbs 31 woman. However, they won’t be your daily uniform. You’ll get to go out and buy yourself a brand new pair of any shoes you want! And, you can let him buy them for you.

The Promise After the Comma

/ SaxophoneWife / 2 Comments

Christmastime is often called The Season of Hope, but for the Christian every season is a season of hope. Being a Christian, we have good reason to hope and a good Father in Whom to place our hope!

Proverbs 13:12 talks about hope. It tells us that hoping can be very difficult sometimes!

“HOPE deferred makes the heart sick;
but when dreams come true at last,
there is life and joy.”
Proverbs 13:12 (TLB)

An easy illustration for that verse might be the expectant mother, waiting and hoping for the birth of her baby. Barring an unexpected incident, the mother-to-be has good reason to expect her dream will come true and her baby will eventually fill her arms.

Another illustration of that might be the parent who hopes for their prodigal to return home, and be restored to Christ. That is a harder scenario, because an infant in the womb cannot willfully refuse to be born. However, the wayward child can willfully refuse to be born again. This parent may hope for many, many years. And, I think that is the one we might describe as heart sick, the parent who waits for an unknown day when their prayers are finally answered.

Deferred Does Not Mean Denied

This past week I heard someone advising hurting wives about their husbands. They used this verse, Proverbs 13:12, to urge these women to give-up all hope of their husbands ever changing and becoming Christ-like men. “If you’ve been waiting and waiting, but it hasn’t happened, it is not God’s will, it is time to move on.” That is almost exactly what was said. This false teacher used this verse to give women permission from God to give-up, leave their husbands, and end their marriages!

Well, I’m sure you can guess that this did not sit well with me. I was actually dumbfounded. How could anyone make such a mistake, and interpret the holy Word of God so poorly—and so dangerously? This verse was twisted and warped so much that it became a contradiction of God’s Word.

I thought to myself that if I had heard this kind of counsel 25 years ago…oh, thank God I did not! I might not have been in a place emotionally or spiritually to stop, question, and consider the meaning of the whole verse. I might have trusted this counselor and self-anointed minister, though they never offered one sound proof for their interpretation. This false teacher was no less deceitful than the Serpent in the Garden, reassuring Eve that she was free to ignore God’s word and satisfy herself with the forbidden fruit.

Listening to this speaker twisting the interpretation of God’s Word was like watching a magician perform a sleight of hand trick. They not only ignored the portion of the verse that they could not warp, the promise after the comma, but they actually misinterpreted a common word we all know and use: deferred.

Let’s look at Merriam-Webster’s straightforward definition: withheld for or until a stated time. Have you ever deferred payment on your taxes? Or, received deferred enrollment to college? The bill isn’t denied, but payment is rescheduled for a later (but specific) date. Admission was not denied, but postponed for another semester.

In other words, to be perfectly clear, deferred does not mean denied. Withheld for a time is not denied.

This is good news by itself, but look at the promise after the comma: life and joy await. Oh, that is a great promise indeed! That is what God’s Word says to those who are walking according to His Word. As you wait day after day, do not believe the Devil’s lie that it is all in vain. When we are asking in agreement with God’s Word, why would He deny us? First John 5:14-15 assures us that He will not!

“And we are sure of this, that He will listen
to us whenever we ask Him for anything in line
with His will. And if we really know He is listening
when we talk to Him and make our requests,
then we can be sure that He will answer us.”
1 John 5:14-15 (TLB)

Do you see that promise after the comma? If He hears you, be sure that He will answer!

How Is Your Faith?

You might be asking: how do I know He hears me, that He is listening? Good question! Once again, we go to His Word for the answer.

“The Lord is far from the
wicked, but He hears the prayers
of the righteous.”
Proverbs 15:29 (TLB)

We have another promise after the comma. When we are in right standing with God, we can have every confidence that He hears our prayers. Therefore, according to 1 John 5:14-15, we can be sure that He will answer them.

How is your faith, Sister or Brother? That’s what it all comes down to, as we walk after the Lord. Hope is not a a wish or good intention, though we often use the word that way as we hope someone had a nice day or feels better soon. That is not the hope that comes from our faith in God and in His Word. That is a hope without substance, based on circumstance. Real hope comes by faith, and as we know Him and His Word more, that faith will grow. We will also learn to know His voice and His will for our lives.

God makes Himself very clear to us. He is not playing guessing games. Yet, the Enemy has deceived us into believing that God’s will is some mystery we must work our entire lives to discover. No, God will never hide His will from us. If we are struggling to know His will, it is only a matter of giving time to seek Him through prayer and in His Word.

Hold Fast

It is not always going to be easy to believe God for difficult things. There will be times when Doubt, Fear, and Confusion try to shake us from our foundation of faith. For me, those were the times I would read this passage that I kept taped to my bedroom wall for many years:

“Let us hold fast the confession of our HOPE without wavering,
for He who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23

This verse offers us one more promise: He who promised is faithful.

Life and joy is awaiting you—hold fast! Literally, there is life and joy means it is a tree of life. How can one lose hope, when the promise of our hope is a tree of life? That is a promise, my friends. Do not give-up!

❤

How We Ended Up Eating Sandwiches for Dinner

/ SaxophoneWife / 3 Comments
  • Went into the kitchen to put away clean dishes and get the kitchen ready to make dinner.
  • Noticed dish mat was wet.
  • Took it off and hung it out to dry.
  • Noticed an older mat out there, so I took it and put it in the laundry.
  • Saw some coffee drips on the counter (coffee maker is next to dish mat).
  • Cleaned the counter, before laying down a fresh mat.
  • Looked up from counter and noticed my windowsill was looking pretty sad.
  • Decided to clean windowsill, so I removed all my little vases, etc.
  • As I did that, I noticed the vining plant over the sink needed a vine hung-up.
  • Trying to hang the vine, I saw some cobwebs in the curtains and on the vine.
  • Dusting the cobwebs, I couldn’t ignore the dirty window glass.
  • The dirty window glass wasn’t as bad as the gunk in the window “gutter”, though—it’s a sliding window.
  • Asked Doug to help me with window glass and gunk, as he’s tall enough to reach the whole window and see into the “gutter”.
  • While he did that, our son-in-law arrived to check the refrigerator.
  • Emptied the top refrigerator shelf.
  • We only needed a new bulb.
  • Asked Doug to hand me the basket boxes I keep lightbulbs in, and noticed there were a lot of lightbulbs outside of the boxes. So, I asked him to hand me the whole mess.
  • Organized lightbulbs in boxes. Noticed boxes were a cobwebby and dusty.
  • Cleaned boxes, stacked them on top of each other, and then returned them to the shelf. Well, I tried. Doug offered to help, but I insisted, “I can do it!”
  • I miscalculated the height of the shelf. The smaller box fell on my head. (It still hurts.)
  • Replaced contents of box that fell, and asked Doug to lower shelf to make it taller, so I could stack the boxes and use less space.
  • Removing shelf to adjust brackets, we discovered the back of the shelf wall was disgusting.
  • Got the Swiffer out to clean wall.
  • Found a piece of random masking tape from Tim’s painting job a few weeks back. Removed it.
  • After cleaning the shelf wall, we moved the brackets. While Doug was doing something else, I adjusted the brackets I could reach.
  • I also noticed on the shelf below that some towels were folded wrong. Fixed that. Tidied the rest of the shelf.
  • Doug didn’t know I’d adjusted two brackets, so he made adjustments to my adjustments and we got very confused.
  • Finally, Doug believed the shelf was level. I did not. Not having a level, and living in a very crooked house, I figured it was straight enough.
  • Doug decided to still make the adjustment I had thought was needed. “It’s fine,” I said. “No,” he said, “I want it to be right.”
  • As we both looked up at what was now an obviously crooked shelf, I looked at him and laughed. “You just did that for yourself, didn’t you?” He smiled that smile: “I don’t often get to prove I’m right.”
  • Lightbulb boxes back in place. I start to replace the food from the top shelf of the refrigerator. I will wipe down the shelf first, I think.
  • I start wiping it down, but there’s smudge of something underneath.
  • I pull out the shelf. Clean it well in kitchen sink. Dry it off.
  • Starting to replace it, the rims it sits on are kinda crumby. Had to clean those.
  • Doug used the rest of the Swiffer cloth to catch cobwebs at the top of the kitchen walls.
  • Shelf returned to refrigerator.
  • Groceries returned to shelf.
  • Windowsill items returned, too.
  • Some gunk remains in the “gutter,” but it’ll have to wait until next time. ❤️

Meet Me There?

/ SaxophoneWife / 2 Comments

What a strange day. Woke-up at 4:30 AM with a headache that didn’t go away until about 1:30. Consequently, missed church (watched sermon online – twice), attended an installation service for a new pastor (Doug was providing the music), ministered to a young woman, had a short hour with my grandbabies, and then went to see “The Jesus Music” movie.

Now, it’s 4:30 in the morning, again, and I’m still awake with a sore neck. Very strange day. So emotional to watch the early part of that movie, when they were talking about the Jesus Movement in Southern California. I really miss the days when people talked about how much they loved Jesus and couldn’t wait to get to the altar to pray. It wasn’t just in that season, of course. There have been other seasons when we found ourselves gathering with friends to pray and seek the Lord, crying out to Him with soggy eyes and running noses. Were Hannah’s begging God for a son of promise.

The altars are always open at our church. Why aren’t I falling on my knees in prayer every week? I guess I’m waiting for someone else to go first, someone else to start. It’s one of those strange games we play, isn’t it? Someone has to be the first to clap, the first to shout “Hallelujah,” the first to fall on their knees at the altar. I guess I can be the first. I can’t quite fall on my knees these days, and getting up won’t be very pretty, but I love to meet the Lord the altar. It is just a carpeted platform in the natural, but in the spirit it’s a holy place—a place where burdens have been laid, requests have been shared, and Heaven has opened up.

Looking forward.
❤



Blogtober Day 10 Theme: Games People Play

My Best Financial Advice

/ SaxophoneWife / Leave a comment

Blogtober Post #7. Theme: Money

I don’t want to say it, but I really don’t think we should expect much from our economy. In fact, considering the times in which we live, we should can expect things to get worse. I hate to write those words, but there are real problems ahead of us.

So, I’d like to share my best financial advice with you. No, I am not an economist. I am not in anyway involved in finance. However, I have learned a few tried and true financial habits that have served me well over the years. It’s simple advice.

MY BEST FINANCIAL ADVICE

  1. Tithe to your church.
    “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so that there will be food enough in my Temple; if you do, I will open up the windows of heaven for you and pour out a blessing so great you won’t have room enough to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you!” Malachi 3:10

    I have never heard anyone other than myself say that this is an important reason to have a church home, but I do believe strongly it should be one of the primary reasons we go to church. Yes, we want to attend church for the good relationships and spiritual fellowship we can find there. We want to attend church for the opportunity to worship together and hear the Word of God preached. We want to attend church to find a place to serve, a place to be baptized in water, and a place to receive Holy Communion. However, the Lord’s directive above is very clear, and it comes with a vital promise that I count on. And, God has proven Himself, by the way—over and over!

  2. Give more than just your tithe to the Lord.
    “But remember this—if you give little, you will get little. A farmer who plants just a few seeds will get only a small crop, but if he plants much, he will reap much.” 2 Corinthians 9:6

    When I say we should give more, I mean we should give more within the church (special offerings for the needy or sick, missions, homeless outreach, prison ministry, etc.), but also to other worthy and godly organizations outside of the church—for instance, Mercy Chefs or Samaritan’s Purse. They are being Christ’s hand extended to the needy, lost, and forgotten. They meet people in crisis with the love of Jesus, and vital help. Folks, entrusting your money into the hands of people doing God’s work is a great way reap much, because you can never out give God.

  3. Get out of debt. Stay out of debt.
    “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8

    I realize that there is some debt that we have to endure, like a car payment or mortgage. However, there is a lot of debt we don’t need to incur, like credit card debt. I encourage anyone with any debt to work to pay it off. There are some very smart strategies to help you pay down debts quicker. Find them, and follow them. Likewise, there smart strategies to help you resist impulse purchases, and learn money mismanagement skills that won’t leave you depending on your credit cards to get through the month. It may require you to tighten your belt for a few years, but it will be worth it.

Money troubles are the cause of many health and relationship problems. The worry and stress can really do a number us! That’s all the more reason to strive to get out of debt, and get your accounts right with God. The Lord will bless your efforts, and in time you will begin to reap the benefits.

❤

Quote to Consider

/ SaxophoneWife / 1 Comment

“We need women, and men, too, who would rather be morally right than socially correct.”  Peter Marshall (1902-1949)

I saw this quote on a social media website a couple of weeks ago, and it struck as the perfect words for this season of our lives. No matter where we live in the world, we are witnessing the results of a world that has vanquished morality based on truth and justice, and embraced a politically motivated notion of right and wrong. There is no virtue in standing for righteousness or goodness anymore. The highest priority is being popular. How many likes do I have? How many people are following me? As a Christian, this is all wrong! I am not to be concerned about my reputation or social position, but Christ’s. His reputation is what should matter to me. Why do I seek acceptance from anyone? They do not determine my value. Christ judged me worthy when He gave His life for mine. Now, I should only be concerned with living my life for Him.

How did we get this so wrong?

❤

Blogtober | Day 5 Post | Theme: Quotes to Consider

Blogtober is HERE!

/ SaxophoneWife / 84 Comments

Hello, Fellow Bloggers!

I want to invite you all to join me for Blogtober 2021. What is Blogtober? It’s a blogging challenge. For me that has simply meant striving to blog every day. That is a big challenge for me, because it means…

  • …making time to write.
  • …choosing to write over doing something else.
  • …and, forcing myself not to focus on perfection, but on completion.

I think that last point is something any writer can appreciate. We know it’s never going to be perfect, but we always hope it can be better, right? Well, thanks to my imaginary world where perfect sentences flow into perfect paragraphs, I’m a better editor than a writer, and that bums me out.

Hence, Blogtober—a chance to give that editor a break and just enjoy communicating through the written word the way I did when editing meant turning an e into an a, like when I was a kid sending letters to my friends with S.W.A.K* scrawled across the back of the envelope. The only thing that mattered was getting that reply in the mail as fast as possible.

A FEW INSTRUCTIONS
Now, some folks who host Blogtobers come up with writing prompts for each day. I wouldn’t want anyone who joins this to feel obliged to write to a prompt, but sometimes a little inspiration is needed. So, I will post my version of writing prompts at the end.

Remember, if you’re just starting out, a blog post is what you decide a blog post is, whether it’s five words or 5,000. Read this post from a few weeks ago, if you need some encouragement: CLICK HERE Also, there is so much out there on how to blog, how to start a blog, writing advice, blog tips, Blogtober, etc. Do a little research. Keep it free, though. It doesn’t have to cost you anything to blog.

If you are going to join me in this effort, please comment below with your blog site. I will share your blogs throughout the month to make sure everyone has a chance to check out your work. Please, feel free to share the graphic above and invite other bloggers to join the challenge.

I guess that’s all there is to say. I really hope you’ll join me, even if you join late and even if you know you won’t be able to post daily. And, I really hope someone reading this will be inspired to launch their first blog, or revive their old blog this month. That would make me very excited!

Looking forward to reading lots of blogs this month!
❤

*S.W.A.K. is supposed to mean Sealed With A Kiss, but my friend Irma was very clever. She said it meant Sealed With A Knee. She also came up with the classic S.W.A.B.—Sealed With A Band-Aid, applying an actual Band-Aid to the envelope. I was so impressed. Irma, Misty, and I wrote each other all that summer. We looked forward to starting Jr. High together, but Misty and I ended up moving. She and I lost touch, but Irma and I wrote each other for a couple of years. They were the best!

Despair is a Round Trip

/ SaxophoneWife / 3 Comments

I was closing an email from Doug, the Saxophone Player, and my eye quickly glanced down at his signature.

This email came from his office at the jail, and I was just moved to tears seeing his title. You may not know my husband’s testimony**, but I can tell you that I did not marry a man fit to be a minister. I married a great guy, but he had some big problems. Those problems affected his family, and drove me to despair so many times I don’t need a map anymore.

Yet, in those places of hopelessness The Holy Spirit kept telling me to trust God. Sometimes, there would be this flash of a vision from an unknown future. I would see him speaking to a group of people, Bible in hand. Where did that come from?

I can’t get over what God has done in my husband’s life, and I hope I NEVER do! I hope I never forget what God has done, and that He is able to do far more than we can hope or imagine—if we will just keep trusting Him. That trust will most likely mean a few trips to despair for anyone daring enough to let God do things His way, but I promise it’s a round trip when we’re in His hands. It’s a round trip!

I did not marry a man worthy of his titles: Reverand, Pastor, Chaplain, Chief Executive Officer, President. He wasn’t worthy of the work the Lord has entrusted to his care, but God made him worthy. God persevered, and Doug surrendered.

If you know the way to Despair as well as I once did, please seek the Lord for help. Please, believe that He is able to help you in your circumstances, because what He does for one of His children*, He will do for any of them.

❤

*If you aren’t sure you are a child of God, don’t wait to find out. CLICK HERE.
** This is Doug’s Testimony. CLICK HERE