So sorry it took me so long to start chapter 3 My kids have had the chicken pox, so I have not been working.
A thankful spirit
Read chapter three and the book of Philippians. And share what you learn.
My kids are my personal mirror, a reflection of who I am at the moment. The best way for me to see if I am being thankful right then, is to look at them and see if they are thankful. I would call myself over all, a thankful person, but that is just my personality. But I can see by looking at my children that there are lots of times that I am just saying I am thankful, not living it. Words are just words, our actions show what is really in our heart at that moment when you are tired and the day is still not over yet. That is the time that I must call on God to give me a thankful heart and those are the times when he will judge whether I am truly a thankful person or not, not the times when being thankful is easy, because life is going good.
I thought I would tell you ladies the rest of the contentment story about the young wife who lived in the shack in chapter three. It was me! I was newly married and, {life was good} it was not hard to be happy. We had an old wood shack that we called the Love Shack sitting in a beautiful spot right on a spring feed creek, flowers and trees all around. I could wash my cloths, dishes, and us in the creek. It was just us and we could enjoy life as it came. We were only there spring to fall. I got pregnant and so that fall we rented a four bedroom farm house and live there for the next two years. We still look at that old house that sits empty on the creek and thank, “How wonderful those months were.” Shalom
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Being a good help meet starts long before marriage. It is a mindset, a learned habit, a way of life established as a young unmarried girl—or at least that’s the way it should be. Nearly every wife will confess that the first year or two of married life was—how shall I say it—a frustrating learning experience.
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Shalom
Thank you for telling us. I have often wondered about the newly married lady in that story. What fun to know who it is! I have been re reading and am bit farther along…but I will enjoy the review. Kids are a great mirror. Smiling and laughing create happy times and memories are a powerful thing when you are young. For me, as a child I can remember being somewhat happy but I am not sure loved. Not that my mother did not love me but I think to much time was spent cleaning the house and I was left alone for most of my young life. Even though this story is sad I keep that memory as a reminder to play with my kids and be thankful that now we have an adult child, middle older child and a kid still at home.
I am thankful for:
my health- for I was sick for about almost two months
my family- my kids that make me laugh- making me younger
my husband-whom is home today working from home and harassing me- I love it!
WOW i always pictured a young girl from another country as i read that part! I was thinking how sweet but she must be used to that kind of life. I know That sounds mean. You and your family amaze me, I hope to be just like you guys someday! I am just learning what it means to truly be thankful. At first my thankfulness was just words. But Debi is right, practice makes perfect and it gets easier and easier. I understand now why this is so close to the begining of the book. Im pretty sure being thankful and merry has powerfully changed my marriage. I was so uptight before but now when im thankful it makes me wanna dance and sing. It really makes Life so much sweeter. My husband surprised me one day this week by cleaning the house for me. As i walked in the door from working a long shift i was shocked! He told me he didnt get to the kitchen but he was going to do it. I remember jsut a few months ago i would have ignored his special kindess and been annoyed that he left the hardest part to do when i got home. But since i had been practicing being thankful my response was thankfulness. We turned on randy travis and did the kitchen together dancing and singing the whole time, then after we shared some choco chip muffins he bought me because he knew it was “the time” i crave chocolate LOL!! I am in the same boat as the Queen at the end of the chapter.
Oh how sweet! I was smiling from ear to ear when I read your comment. Just a few days ago my husband did the same for me, just the kitchen though. I helped him with the dishes so I could stand beside him and talk, it was so fun! I have to agree with you on thankfulness and joyfulness being a big starting point in making a good marriage or happy children. I have a very thankful seven year old and a thankful two year old, but my four year old struggles with being thankful. I can tell you it makes everything harder for her. Not being thankful puts a shadow on everything, from her fun time, to her work time. I have to always be working with her, to keep her thankful, so she will not slip into an unthankful attitude. Her heart is so sweet and tender, but feeling sorry for herself is always a struggle, which is unthankfulness. Though my other children are more thankful, I do not thank they will be the ones to get the thankfulness reward in heaven. I thank it will go to the one that struggles, but overcames with Gods help. So be thankful if you are the one that has to work at being thankful, for your reward will be great.
Oh that is too sweet, Trina! 😀 I love that! Randy Travis and chocolate…and a clean house…! What a sweet combination you are truly blessed.
I thought I would tell you ladies another story that happened to me this weekend. My husband builds chopper motorcycles and hot rods, so this last Saturday we went to a motorcycle swap meet and show. I left my girls with mom and took Parker for he loves bikes and would not be left behind. We were leaving at four thirty in the morning and Parker knew we planned on leaving him with Mama Pearl so he stayed up all night, I saw the clock every hour all night long! He finally fell asleep at four, I was hoping I could carry him to her house without waking him up, but no, at four thirty he came strolling into our room with a smile on his face, and said “Bike show, Bike show” And of course Daddy could not leave him, so he went with us. Anyway, back to the story. I took “G&E” books as well as “Created” books just in case I talked to someone that I thought needed one. Well here I was at a bike show and I started to talk to this man about God. Later I went back and gave him a G&E and seeing that he had his wife there with him, I handed her a “Created” book and told her that it was a book my mom wrote for women on how to be good wives. She got this shocked look on her face and started stammering. Her husband looked at her and said to me “why is she speechless?” When she finally was able to talk she said “Someone gave me this book not long ago, it is amazing. I cannot believe it, I am meeting you! This is crazy!” I had to laugh, for I love to see God working. Later another woman came by our table and as she was walking by said, “I know you, you are Shalom, your mom wrote Created.” and on she walk never stopping. I came to a bike show were most everyone there is a man and godless on top of it and there were two women that had read Created to be His Help meet at the show. It made my day. Shalom
Great story! Thanks for sharing!!
John Denver:
It feels good to be back home again. ;o)
Ready for the next chapter????
You are right CJ I am sooo blessed =) ! Shalom That is so awsome to think about being thankful for having to work hard at being thankful because my reward will be great! About the bike show, I wonder if there would have been any Godly wifes out there for all those ungodly men if your mom never would have wrote CTBH! Crazy to think about it!
This is one of my favorite threads! There are so many blessings to be had for those who love the Lord and do His will. I’ve been trying to write a response here, but have been waylaid…. my latest excuse is that my 4-years-old-on-Monday son can’t sleep. Daddy’s coming home late from work tonight, so I told the kids that if they slept this afternoon, they could stay up late to see him. One’s out like a light (as I sit here in their bedroom typing this), and the other just said to me, “Mama, I can’t sleep because every time I close my eyes, it gets dark!”. Funny.
So, Shalom! My heart was SO warmed to know that your mom was talking about you in that chapter! What a blessing it was for me just to know that, because that means so much! It means that your mom was so blessed by your positive example, that she used it to bless so many women who read the book. They, in turn, blessed their husbands by following your example, given by your mom, through you! That’s exciting! I know, I’m using the word “bless” too often, but it applies…. Point is, it’s a blessing. See what I mean..? Thanks for that, Shalom.
So, this week I’ve been particularly thankful for all kinds of things, and I noticed that I’ve been smiling more: the kind of smile that you don’t expect, that comes out every time you look at your husband, or your child. I’ve been starting my prayers with psalms of praise lately, which may be playing a part. I have so much to be thankful for, and I feel like I love the Lord more and more each day.
I’m also glad to have read Philippians this week, because it has been a while! I forgot how good it is! Reading it reminded me of how much of a joy it is to be practicing true fellowship. By that, I mean the kind that believers enjoy when there is no envy or strife between them. My husband and I recently found a church that we knew, as soon as we walked in, had this kind of fellowship. I can’t tell you how many churches we’ve been to. Anyway, sorry, I don’t mean for this to be long… the-four-years-old-on-Monday child is still tossing in his bed, singing “Criminal on the Cross” by Acappella to himself, and the pizza dough is ready and waiting, rising out of control as we ‘speak’…
So our new church has this ‘true’ fellowship, and it fills us with joy to see that, and to be a part of that. It makes church “spiritually productive”, which is the best kind of productive because all members are doing their part. That’s what brings about the fruits of righteousness, for the furtherance of the gospel. I’m learning to put the gospel first. There is no authority, morality, or joy without it.
Four-years-old-on-Monday is running his little soldier men (his fingers) across the bridge (his foot and toes), and falling into the water (between his toes) in an effort to catch a plane to South America. I’m as bewildered as you are. 🙂
Blessings!
Swift your little Boy sounds sooo cute. Parker my two year old always talks himself to sleep, he will go on and on about monster trucks and dirt bikes and makes sounds to go along with it. Today as we all laid down on the bed to take a nap both the girls were asleep by the time he stopped talking and went to sleep himself, boys are such a blessing. I was just thinking about true church fellowship just this week. Over the past year our church has become more and more dedicated to Prayer and through this we have become a close family, all wanting the same goal, to reach the world with the gospel. Every Sunday every one stays to eat and sing and play games in the field together, it is great fun. I am truly thankful for this and feel so blessed. shalom
Thankfulness is so important as you have all shared. It really does affect one’s outlook on a daily basis.
I must share a praise report about myself in regards to this. For years I have read the NGJ articles on attitude and the importance of being cheerful. I have also prayed all these years that God would change my sargeant major attitude towards my children. I found it a great struggle to smile at my children throughout the day, especially after they were bad, etc. Last chapter, I was very sad as I read Shalom’s post about how she dances with her children. It grieved me that I was not like this.
Well, Praise The Lord! Over the past 3 weeks, God has changed my heart! I am finding it easy to smile at them. I am even able to retie strings of fellowship with them by smiling after they have been corrected for doing wrong. I am seeing that God has changed my whole way of thinking regarding why I am to be joyful (because of all he has done for me), and how I view my children. He has changed how I relate to my children, and the result is that I can now smile at my children. I find them a joy and delight! We are a team in all we do. I have even better relationships with my children now than before! My smile is the product of a renewed mind and heart. ANd I see daily God changing me more and more daily and weekly which is my heart’s desire!
I am so thankful for God and his effectual Word and power! I am also thankful that I came upon NGJ and their resources about 7 years ago! God has used them to change my life!
So now, though we are a thankful family, and as I continue to build my cheerful attitude and smile, I am going to purposely focus on being even more thankful for everything, but I am going to express it. I am also going to show my joy through dancing, clapping, singing (I love to sing!). I am going to verbalize it regularly throughout the day.
I am very excited! And I am so thankful that I am cheerful again!
Oh Caralee you are so sweet! I am so excited to hear what God is doing in your life. Do not feel alone, we all as moms have to work at being cheerful at times, it is not always easy. I have a friend that is very open with telling me that I need to lighten up and I do the same for her. I am so thankful for true friends that speak the truth. God Bless shalom