Faith & God

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A Little Advice for Couples: Submission

The theme for this summer has been “relationships.” Several dear friends are joyfully falling in love, while another close couple is at risk of falling out of it. Those who are unmarried are contemplating marriage. The two who are married are in danger of separation.

Maybe it’s the gray hairs, maybe it’s our 31 years of marriage (and we still like one another!), but Pete and I are being asked for wise counsel in all these relationships. I count this a huge responsibility, and I’ve spent a lot of time begging God to direct my words. (I’m especially asking for godly wisdom, the courage to pass on what He tells me, and a lot of love for everyone involved.)

In the middle of all this relating, I’ve come to realize that there are some commonalities. I would like to address two critical issues in particular: submission and secrets. Today I focus on submission.

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A Few Money-saving Tips

“We’re broke!”
“Our credit cards are maxed out, and I don’t know what to do!”
“I can’t sleep at night—I just lie there and worry about our finances.”

I’ve been hearing a lot of comments like these lately. Many of our close friends are at the end of their financial ropes, and the cords are fraying. While my husband and I are doing all right—we’re paying all our bills, at least—we too are feeling the effects of a challenging economy and several years of missing income.

I knew when Pete made the switch from commercial consulting to full-time ministry that our financial situation would change. We were used to being somewhat frugal—at least we thought of ourselves that way—but this would be on a whole new level. Sensing God telling me we needed to simplify our finances and learn to live with less, I sought counsel from older (and hopefully more mature) members of our church. And I was astonished that no one had any advice for me. All I heard was, “You’re doing fine!” Really?

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I Was Afraid of That

NEWS FLASH: I held a tarantula!

(The photo is actually of Pete’s hand, from several months ago, but the tarantula is the same individual that I held recently.)

If you have been following my other blog, Mountain Plover, you know that I am generally terrified of spiders. In an effort to overcome this phobia, I have been intentionally learning more about them. Last February I wrote about tarantulas, illustrating my post with photos I took through the glass walls of a terrarium. It was a beginning.

In July, I wrote about how spiders are beneficial to us gardeners. Again, photos accompanied that post. This time, there were no glass barriers between my camera lens and my subjects.

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A “Memorial Stone” from 1992 – Part 2

One and a half weeks ago I wrote about the idea of memorial stones—tangible reminders of God’s faithfulness. Last time I posted the first part of a story from 1992. Today I’d like to share the second and third of three related events that happened quite a while ago, but which still feed my faith today. Be sure to especially notice God’s sense of timing.

If you remember, it was October, 1992. Pete had been invited to a mission conference to be held in San Jose, Costa Rica, that included representatives from every Latin American nation….

Having finally made it to Costa Rica, we were proceeding smoothly through customs when the inspector decided that Pete’s large box full of used, donated floppy diskettes looked too valuable to allow in without paying duty (and going through the attendant red tape.) Our limited Spanish was simply not up to explaining that the materials were used, had no commercial value, and were vital for providing computer backups during the international conference we were about to attend.

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A “Memorial Stone” from 1992 – Part 1

Last week I wrote about the idea of memorial stones—tangible reminders of God’s faithfulness. Today I’d like to share the first of three related events that happened quite a while ago, but which still feed my faith today.

It was October, 1992. Pete had been invited to a major mission conference to be held in San Jose, Costa Rica, to provide technical training for the attending missionaries….

Our whole family [Pete, myself, and our two elementary school-aged daughters] got up at about 4 a.m. for the hour-long shuttle ride to the airport. We arrived at 5:30 for the 6:45 flight. As we collected our luggage, we suddenly realized that Pete’s black computer bag was not among the suitcases. That computer was rather critical to the success of a trip that was mainly technical! Yet, there was simply no time to go back home and get it.

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Rock Your Memory

They say that our memories are the first thing to go… and apparently God agrees.

The third chapter of Joshua relates the story of the Israelites crossing the Jordan River into the promised land. In order to get all those people across from one side to the other, God stopped the flow of water. Instead of rushing by in torrent, the river piled up into a wall far upstream while the tribes walked across on dry land.

While the Jordan miracle was perhaps not quite of the same magnitude as the parting of the Red Sea, it was still an extremely significant milestone in the history of Israel. Moses led the people out of slavery; here Joshua is leading them into the fulfillment of God’s promises.

Such an important event needed to be remembered, so God instructed Joshua to have twelve men, one from each tribe, collect twelve stones from the middle of the river bed (See chapter 4). They carried these stones to their camp and set them up as a memorial. Joshua 4:24 explains, “He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”

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We Think We’re So Smart

We think we’re so smart. Everyone is an expert on something, and we’re eager to share our expertise. (I’m no exception—witness my two blogs!)

“Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.” —Lord Kelvin, British mathematician and physicist, president of the British Royal Society, 1895.

I’ve been reading Ephesians lately, and this morning one verse popped out at me. Paul wrote, “Be completely humble….” (Eph. 4:2). Yeah, right.

“If excessive smoking actually plays a role in the production of lung cancer, it seems to be a minor one.” —W.C. Heuper, National Cancer Institute, 1954.

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Paddle Your Way to the Best Travel Prices

Summertime is vacation time. Perhaps you want to go to the beach. Or maybe you’re committed to visiting that aunt and uncle who always pinched your cheek as a kid. Maybe you have a week off and just want to get away, anywhere, preferably cheap and romantic.

Pete and I have long been using an extremely helpful website to help us get the most for our travel dollars. Yet, as I’ve talked to friends and relatives, I’ve realized that no one seems to have ever heard of it. Don’t start with the airline, rental car, or hotel website. Don’t even bother with Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, Cheaptickets, or the like. Rather, combine your searches at one site: www.Kayak.com.

The beauty of Kayak.com is that they search all those cheap sites mentioned above, and a whole lot more. They do the comparisons so you don’t have to bother. Then they summarize the results in an easy-to-read chart.

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How to Make Yourself Miserable

I have a friend who’s been pretty miserable lately. This is someone I care a lot about, and I’ve been praying for her daily. As sometimes happens when we pray for someone, I’ve gained some insight into her situation. Perhaps the Spirit told me directly, perhaps I simply recognized a situation that’s all too familiar. Either way, it’s clear to me that she’s running from God.

Mind you, my friend is a Bible-believing Christian. That’s not the issue. Rather, God has asked her for something that she’s unwilling to give Him. Never mind that it would greatly benefit her to do so. Never mind that God will take better care of it than she ever could. Giving up something that is a deep part of ourselves is never easy.

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Full-time Ministry

Does God care what you do for a living? Are some jobs more spiritual than others? Or more significant?

I think many of us subconsciously assume that “full time ministry” jobs are God’s favorites. After all, he called some fisherman and changed them into evangelists. He called one shepherd and asked him to free his people from slavery in Egypt, and another to become king of Israel.

But how many people does God ask to remain fishermen or shepherds? Is that a calling? Is working in a factory, writing software, or selling appliances something God wants us to do?

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