This is another wonderful book by Joanna Weaver. I just love her writing style - she is so easy to read! Her transparency is refreshing! This book has been a wonderful source of encouragement and conviction. Joanna starts off the book with a very serious prayers asking God to change us to be more like Him. And that is exactly her goal as you read the pages you can tell that the prayer of her heart is to help others become more like Christ.

In order to be more like Christ we must be changed from the inside. Deep inside. Things must be faced that we have repressed and stuffed deep down, thinking we would never have to deal with them again. Once we start to change the hidden places of our heart our actions follow. People can't help but see Christ in our lives.

I highly recommend this book as a great resource for those who are seeking a closer walk with God. In my opinion this book is best read before her first book. Once you have taken care of your heart you are more likely to have the desire for the living room intimacy she speaks of in her first book, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World.


Back of the Book:
"Lord whatever it takes, make me like You!"
You long to serve God with grace and strength, to reflect Christ in every word and action. Yet you find yourself continually struggling to bring that vision to life in your daily walk.

At our very core, every one of us is a 'twisted sister' within whom the flesh and spirit battle constantly for control. We are afflicted with spiritual schizophrenia, the disconnect between our good-girl desire to put Jesus first and our bad-girl realities that crowd our thoughts and push him out of the way.

In this life-changing book, Joanna Weaver, author of the perennial bestseller, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, directs your gaze past your own shortcomings to the God who stands ready, willing, and able to make a new woman out of you. She equips you with biblical insights and practical tools to partner with Christ, inviting him into the hidden places of your soul and giving him full permission to redeem and renovate.

Drawing on the stories of the biblical Mary's (Mary, mother of Jesus; Mary, sister of Martha; Mary Magdalene) and others whose experience with God transformed their lives, Joanna shows you how you can find what you long for: hope, healing, wholeness, and joy. Having a Mary Spirit will launch you toward lasting personal transformation: soul-deep change that results in a complete makeover - from the inside out.

This prayer was in my Bible study book this week. The 3rd paragraph really spoke to me as I have been consumed lately with some pain that I have been feeling. God is in control of that situation no matter what the outcome is and if you would, please pray for me tomorrow at 11 while I am at the doctor. If there is someone reading this with some pain of your own, I would be happy to pray for you and lift you up to Jehovah-Rapha (also spelled Rophi and Rophe ~ God who heals). Just leave me a comment.

We all have someone we admire who has an exceptionally sweet spirit. Let's pray for the Lord to use us in that way to others.

-Written by an anonymouse seventeenth-century nun

My husband showed me yesterday morning some goals that he wrote out for 2009. The format that he has followed is one suggested by Dan Miller. In Sunday school he challenged all of us to do the same. So, yesterday I sat down and wrote out the following goals. All are attainable, realistic goals.


Spiritual
5 year: Be more like Christ; Overcome "Approval Addiction"; Have more Scripture memorized; Be more humble; Have read entire Bible 5 times; Share the gospel
1 year: Read Bible chronologically; LPM Scripture memory plan - 24 passages this year; Pray fervently; Have all Christ-centered relationships; Continue weekly Bible Study; Look for the opportunities around me to share the gospel with others and take advantage of them

Family
5 year: Be closer to John than ever before and for our relationship to be centered around Christ; Me at home with children; At least 2 more children; Clutter-free; Emma to love God and know Him; Have begun homeschooling Emma
1 year: Respect John unconditionally; Go on dates more frequently; Be pregnant; Emma potty trained; Organize house; Have regular 'devotions' with Emma before bed

Personal Development
5 year: Grow in Christ; Take better care of home; Be stay at home mom; Be more involved in community; Start a book (novella); Healthy weight range
1 year: Have personal devo's every day; Review books regularly; De-clutter bedroom; Read at least 6 'spiritual' books; Be open to God's will around me - serve others, help needy

Social
5 year: Christ-centered relationships; Not be jealous of others relationships; Keep in touch with far away friends; Don't get too close; Pray regularly with friends; More involved in community
1 year: Continue weekly Bible study; Take initiative to contact friends and pray with friends; Establish boundaries; Pray and eyes open for community; Grow satisfaction in Christ through prayer and bible study

Financial
5 year: Debt free; Me at home; John with only 1 job; Stability; Retirement/College savings plans in place and growing
1 year: Budget and stick to it; Start Emma's savings; Have a month in savings; Pay off 2 accounts

Physical
5 year: Be a healthy weight; Hormones under control (PCOS and Endo); Have a couple of children; Be fit - healthy heart/lungs/etc.;
1 year: Make exercise routine consistent; Eat more fresh fruit/veggies; Prepare for pregnancy; New glasses/prescription; Dentist catch up

Career
5 year: Stay at home mom who has begun homeschooling her children
1 year: Organize office; Set up in new building (haha); Catch up job evaluations; Figure out and do things to save the company money


I hope that this can be a good place for you to start in making and reaching some goals in the future and not just making resolutions. If you have some that you would like to share, I would love to see them!

It is awesome to me to see how God works in our lives. As most of you will agree he doesn't just show us something once and move on. He usually incorporates things into our lives over and over again. I had a note to start writing a blog about a certain topic and the devotional I read yesterday had a link to a blog with a story that totally went along with what I was going to write. It's also been something that the Lord is teaching me first hand how to live.

What am I talking about you may ask?

Praying with Christ "Thy will be done."

In the book Experiencing God the author talks about how God's will is happening all around us. We need to take our selfishness out of our daily lives and stop praying for God's will for us
and to pray for discernment to see His will that's happening around us everyday. If our hearts are in tune with His we will be able to join Him in His work here on earth.

The story in the blog mentioned above shows this by her response to the needy woman she met in the laundromat. It may not have been her immediate response, but she was aware of a need and allowed the Lord to use her to meet that need.

I currently have the opportunity of leading a ministry of "Christmas Blessings" to some families that have some needs this year. I am so excited to see God working in the lives of those around us.

If our hearts are in tune with God we will be able to see the needs around us and allow God to use us as He sees fit. When we take our selfishness out of the equation God is able to work in our life.

So, please join me in praying for God's will to be done. Open your spiritual eyes and see what God would have you do to further His kingdom.

I was catching up on some blogs today and came across this post. Starting in the 3rd paragraph the Lord really started to grip my heart. I have always struggled with allowing my husband to lead our home. I have often prayed that God would help him to be a better leader. That's the right thing to do, right? Not so much the way I was going about it. My idea of a good household leader was that he needed to be more outspoken and take charge. So, often my prayers led to my telling God that He needed to change my husband - never really crossing my mind that I was the one that needed to change. I have spent so much time criticizing him instead of being the supportive wife that God has called me to be. My husband is a very quiet man (when he's not playing with children/teenagers). He doesn't like confrontation or arguments. So, I often wrongly interpret his silence as him being a bad leader. The more I've thought about it today, the more I've thought about who he is. My husband loves to mull things over. He thinks about things for days before making decisions. I, on the other hand, often make very hasty decisions in order to not miss out on things or just plain, ugly, impatience. I am realizing that I really need to sit back and allow him to take the lead. I hear the Holy Spirit telling me to get out of the way!!

The part of her post that really gripped me was the 6th paragraph. She lists some examples of decisions that she has supported him in and even though she was scared she stepped back so he could lead. She specifically mentions job changes. We have had so much of that lately and I have always had my ideas of what he needed to do and not trusted that he could make a decision on his own. That often led to many disagreements because he of course does not like to be told what to do or be constantly checked up on. Who does? Why would I think that he wouldn't mind? That's where the problem lies - I didn't consider him in the situation. I started to worry right away and thinking about the situation from an earthly perspective forgetting the God of the Bible would take care of us.

A very ironic twist is that we have been doing the Love & Respect workbook by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. (Maybe I should have titled my blog 'The Ironies of Life) I thought I had learned it all cause I read the book last year, but I am learning that I have so much more to learn as the crazy cycles continue. We are in week 3 of the study and I look forward to continuing with my husband on this journey to learn how to better meet each others needs.

- This is in no way a contrast to my "Peace From the Saviour" post. I know that God will take care of us, but I was not trusting Him to use my husband as the leader of our home.

I was reading the book for my weekly Bible study last night and was given a brand new perspective on Romans 7. The quotation that she used was from the New Living Translation. This is a great Modern English translation to help us be able to more easily understand what Paul is trying to say. It made it a lot easier for me to personalize it. Here is the text:

I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?

We have all been here with Paul. The struggle of knowing what is right, but fighting within yourself to do that because the sin looks/feels good to us. Thankfully Paul didn't leave us hanging at the end of chapter 7, but moves on in chapter 8 in the first verse to say that there is "now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." By turning to Christ we have the Spirit of God that can help us to not turn to the sins that "so easily beset us." As our pastor pointed out yesterday in his message, we don't have to sin. Sin is a choice, just as doing right is a choice. In order to not do the sins that we are so drawn to we need to set up road blocks. Remove yourself from the temptations. Romans 8:13 says "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." Our pastors message was entitled "Mortify". We need to daily, moment by moment, be "putting to death"(NAS) the deeds/desires of our flesh. What really stuck out to me is that the dying that will take place, is not just the eternal death, but when you make fleshly choices you are killing relationships. When we are selfish and only think of ourselves and making ourselves feel good, we don't think of those we will hurt in the process.

I think the best way to end this is to quote I Corinthians 15:56-58

"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord."