Praying for our Daughters...

I think about this topic often when I see my beautiful girls growing up so quickly before my eyes - who will my daughters marry. Why type of man will God send into their lives to be their husband.  I think of these things not because I want to marry them off asap, but because this is such a huge step and I want to make sure that our Lord and Savior is priority in the relationship.  I pray that God brings a man into their lives at His perfect timing - that will be men who seek after God's own heart... and who will love my daughters like the bible instructs.

But this prayer has now spread out to some beautiful women - whom I consider part of our family - and those are the "Daughters of the King" that attend our CrossLife Young Adult Ministry. A few days ago as I spoke to one of them - she shared how Ray - my husband is so protective of our group... and he is.  I guess its because you develop a beautiful relationship with them and your desire, your prayer is for them to grow in the Word and in their relationship with the Lord and I guess with time - you do become protective (not in a possessive way) but in a way where you love them, look out for them and want the best for them and their lives in all areas. I have seen how many of them have blossomed. They came into our group like little buds and now you can see how they are growing and maturing - its just so beautiful!!! And to see how the desire of their heart has changed and how they desire to serve Him.  I sit and look at them and listen to them and see so many beautiful and wonderful qualities, I pray that the man that the Lord sends to their lives is able to appreciate those qualities and gifts and be able to love them and encourage them... 

So I share this blog entry I have bookmarked - as what I am praying for my daughters but also for the beautiful ladies of our CrossLife group.  I want to encourage them to read over this list and to begin praying for their future husband - if it is God's will - for their lives... its never too early to begin to pray for every area of their life... 

The Kind of Guy We Pray for Our Daughters to Marry

I ran across this list on my computer while trying to write a post this evening. It’s a list we compiled several years ago after a discussion with our girls. We have been praying that each of them will marry a man who is:

• A dedicated believer of the same doctrine, equipped to lead and teach her and his family
• Motivated by a sincere desire to glorify God through his life and the life of his family
• Faithful in his church attendance and service in the church
• Involved in work and service that would benefit from a wife’s help and support
• Well-established in his vocational direction
• Financially free
• Teachable – seeks counsel, does not isolate himself in decisions, responds humbly to correction and suggestions
• A one-woman man – has saved himself for his wife
• Sexually discreet – not flirtatious
• Self-disciplined
• Respected by those who know him and work with him
• Responsible – keeps his word and his commitments
• Humbly under authority – in home, in church, under civil law
• A student of God’s Word, seriously looking to it for guidance in all areas of life.
• Committed to homeschooling his children and in leading/participating in the schooling
• Committed to providing for his family and allowing his wife to care for the family at home
• Honest – does not try to appear to be something he is not, does not misrepresent facts
• Does not speak evil of others
• Words are supported by his actions
• A hard worker
• A servant’s heart, supported by action
• Strong leadership qualities demonstrated in his life
• A man who will lead our daughter and their children in holiness and service
• Money saved or vocational training that has fairly certain future

We recognize that our daughters will marry humans, which means they will marry sinners. Their husbands won’t be perfect. They will most likely not meet every “qualification” on this list. That’s OK. Our daughters are sinners, too.

Ultimately, we want our daughters and their husbands to be able to say, “I see your flaws and imperfections, but underneath, I see what God wants to make you. I want to be a part of that.”

(Closing paragraph from Speaking the Truth in Love by Pastor Dennis Tuuri)

Article from DoorPosts Blog

Now just as a side note - I have taken this from DoorPost Blog - and didn't change it.  Some things you may be in agreement with and others you may not... but I hope you take away the message that is being shared and not bits and pieces

Releasing

I love devotionals... I have them all over the place and just switch it up from time to time. There is one that I have just stuck with lately and I feel that it just speaks to me... its called Jesus Calling. I got one version for my 13 year old daughter Elizabeth and another version for my two younger children.  A couple of weeks ago I got the desktop Jesus Calling devotional for work, the one you flip each day... so I can keep it on top of my desk and just be able to turn to it throughout the day and focus on what Jesus is telling me through the devotional.

Last night I wrote how I was struggling with something and really just having a hard time letting go. Its personal and it has to do with someone that I love and care about... and yes throughout the years I have found myself throwing a wrench into God's blueprint and messing things up. I'm really good at that when I try and handle things myself thinking that I know better than God... I laugh because after I realize what I've done... I can visualize Him just sitting on His HUGE throne with His head in His hands, while he turns to look at me while with that look - lovingly shaking His head as He smiles - how many times do I have to keep on letting you know I got this!!

So today when I get into work and I pick up all the papers from my inbox and straighten up the mail, I settle down at my desk, turn on my computer and while that is starting up, I turn to my devotional and excitedly I flip it to March 24... wondering how He is going to speak to me today... what do you think He is telling me...

"THIS IS A TIME IN YOUR LIFE WHEN YOU MUST LEARN TO LET GO: of loved ones, of possessions, of control. In order to let go of something that is precious to you, you need to rest in My Presence, where you are complete. Take time to bask in the Light of My Love. As you relax more and more, your grasping hand gradually opens up, releasing your prized possession into My care.

You can feel secure, even in the midst of cataclysmic changes, through awareness of My continual Presence. The One who never leaves you is the same One who never changes: I am the same yesterday, today, and forever. As you release more and more things into My care, remember that I never let go of your hand. Herein lies your security, which no one and no circumstances can take from you."
{Psalm 89:15; Hebrews 13:8; Isaiah 41:13}

Mind you that first sentence was all in caps!! Do you think He was trying to be crystal clear... I doubt he was shouting at me - or maybe He was... and it surprising that the first thing He lists is - loved ones... ay ay ay!! I HAVE to find my rest in His presence... which just brings me back to the verse I shared last night:

The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.

As I personalize this verse... it just reminds me that I can do this - I can let go of this and hand it over to my Father. He is with me, He will fight this battle... and yes He will delight in me and He will rejoice in my obedience to Him.

Do you have something also that you need to give up... let go... give over to Him... I know the feeling - and I leave you with this verse from Isaiah 41:13: "For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

He will help us through this process - but we must be obedient and loosen the grip we have on what we are so desperately holding on to... so tonight I say: Lord - I release my prized possession over to your care... but I pray that you give my heart the comfort it needs while you give me the peace and strength to completely trust in you - while I have full assurance that you are in control.

A gift from God...

Its been a long time since I've been able to sit down and write. For the past several months my heart been heavy in dealing with something and learning to accept it and to be obedient to the Lord. One of my goals with this blog, as I have said before - is to be transparent in my walk and my journey, so I have to be honest and say that I haven't accepted it yet and I've been struggling with it and my heart hurts... even writing this is difficult for me - I was getting ready to write an entry on Facebook and it turned out to be pretty long - so I figured it was time to come back and share a beautiful discovery with you...

This weekend I had the honor of watching Lou and Stephanie be joined together as husband and wife. Lou is a young man who is part of a very special family to us. We met them when we first came to our church 13 years ago. They are a beautiful family who love the Lord and have been such a blessing to us in so many ways... Lou's sisters have been there for me and my kiddies from day one - I think they are the "Godmommy's" to each one of my kids lol - its funny how when each of my kids were small each of the girls connected with one of them... they developed such a beautiful bond with each of them.'' Such a tremendous blessing and tender memories that I hold close to my heart.

Lou was one of Ray's first leaders when he first started out as Youth Director at Bible Baptist Church. I remember Lou playing basketball with the boys and sharing with them.  But there is one memory that it close to my heart and that was during one of the first True Love Waits ceremonies we had and how Lou stepped in and was there for one of our young men - Antwan - as he made a commitment to purity.

My heart was just overjoyed for Lou and how God has bought such an incredible woman into his wife. It was a beautiful ceremony and reception. I just love it how God is always at work and ever present!!  At the reception, they had a beautiful book with pictures of Lou and Stephanie where the guests could leave a message - as I flipped through the pages enjoying the pictures and comments - one of those pages Stephanie had this bible verse from Zephaniah 3:17:

I wrote the bible reference on my hand and went back to my table and pulled out my handy bible on my cell phone and read this verse over and over again. I all I could do was turn to my husband and share it with him and I was just wow'd.

Its funny how we can read the bible - time and time again... and how God will one day take a verse and plant it on our heart and BAM!!! Well that was exactly what happened - BAM - God was speaking to my heart and giving me the words I needed to hear.

You see my life verse is Psalm 37:4 - "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." I've been using this verse for the past 20 years and sharing it with anyone who would give me an ear. My heart's desire - to delight myself in Him... in all that I do, how I serve, speak, share.   But when I read this verse - the line that stood out at me was "He will take great delight in you" - in me!!!  What??  Yep - that He will take great delight - not just delight - but great delight in me!! 

Oh but how each line spoke to my heart -

The Lord your God is with you.
Isn't that a comfort to know... no matter what we are experiencing - moments of joy, sadness, pain, nuttiness, confusion - whatever it may be - the Lord is right there besides us. He is in every single detail of our lives - in every high and every low... while we're driving, cleaning the house, changing diapers, folding laundry, working, working out... He is present!

He is mighty to save
There is a song that is called Mighty to Save by Hillsong - but what came to mind is that He is our mighty warrior who will save us and protect us... which reminded me of the song by Chris Tomlin - Whom Shall I Fear...
"I know who goes before me, I know who stands behind
The God of angel armies, is always by my side
The one who reigns forever, He is a friend of mine
The God of angel armies, is always by my side"
Whom shall I fear??  God has me in the palm of my hand and no one can snatch me out of His hand or harm me.  "Immanuel", God with us, who is "Mighty", the Almighty God, the Mighty Mediator, who has all power in heaven and earth!

He will take great delight in you!!
Oh how line comforts me... and at the same time blows me away!!!
My Heavenly Father takes delight in me - Deborah - who many times stands and looks in the mirror and feels like I've let Him down time and time again. The times I've messed up as a mom and let my emotions get the best of me - or when I've been upset at Ray and chose not to speak to him or I let my pride get in the way... but He doesn't hold those things against me - many times He gently corrects me - or well you know - there are times when its not so gently... but still He rejoices over me!! He loves me!  He takes great delight in me!

He will quiet you with His love
Oh sooo many thoughts go through my mind when I read this line - the tenderness of it... especially since it follows how He takes great delight in us... its like in that delight - He holds us close to His bosom, knowing that we are not perfect - but He holds us with that love that He has had for us since the beginning of time. A love so great to express that there are no words...
God will quiet us with His love - oh how I need this many times... when my mind is racing out of control, spinning with concerns, thoughts, worries.. someone described it like this: "The love God has for us is the love that never fails, despite our failings, and it is also the passionate longing of his heart, an intense desire for us, deep and heartfelt." The God who created the Heavens and the earth, the moon, stars and sun... that is my God and He loves me that much...

He will rejoice over me with singing!!!
His quietness turns into rejoicing!!! This part I can relate to lol!!! I guess He couldn't contain His excitement and joy that He burst out in song!!!  Woooo Hooooo!!!!

This verse was such a gift to my heart - oh so many times I am just going bonkers and all nutty and my Heavenly Father is just watching over me - protecting me, my mind, my heart... all while He is delighting Himself in me - while He holds me close to His heart as He sings a song to give me rest or a song to rejoice in my joy.  Wow this is just mind blowing as I sit here and just think of these words - God will rejoice over me, again just mind blowing... I sooo love my Father... Such beautiful and tender emotions...

Just when I thought it was just too much - He brings this precious gift for me to meditate on, this precious gift in His Word and such peace it has given me.  As I continue to find my delight in the Lord... it just brings me so much joy knowing that He will delight even more in me.

I pray that God is able to speak to your heart as He has to mine... 

Thank you Mrs. Stephanie Arias for being a vessel which God used to be an incredible blessing in my life!