Category Archives: WoMEn

How to Be Persuasive with our Words

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Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good,
and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
The wise of heart is called discerning,
and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.
Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it,
but the instruction of fools is folly.
The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious
and adds persuasiveness to his lips.
Gracious words are like a honeycomb,
sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

Proverbs 16: 20-24

Not one harsh word, not raising my voice, not many words…. Help me, Lord.

Becky

Sola Scriptura and Prayer

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Shiloh Photography



Sola Scriptura is one of the 5 pillars of the Reformed Faith, and it means that the Scriptures, God’s infallible Word, are the uttermost authority in our lives, in the Church. It means there is nothing above them, that the Scriptures are sufficient. The Scriptures were breathed by God, and therefore are the very speaking of God.

Now, we also know how important prayer is in the life of the believer. Prayer and a desire to learn the Scriptures are the natural responses from those who have been born again. Both draw us to the Throne of Grace.

Have you consider how Sola Scriptura applies in the life of prayer? Many times, we simply don’t know how to pray, we are short-sighted. We say we want God’s will to be done, but as we pray we pray hoping that ours may be done. We sometimes pray as if we were trying to persuade God to do what we think is the best for us, for our children, for our husband, or for our friend.

Bringing our theology to our mundane life is what we ought to do; we need it when trials come, we need it when life is good, we need it when we do dishes and bake a cake, and when serve our family and the needy among us. But we also need it in our prayer closet.

When we pray, let us pray the Scriptures. Let the Word of God guide us to the Throne of Grace. Let the Word of God be our most wonderful prayer companion. When we don’t know how to pray (and also when we think we know how to pray) let us turn to the Word of God, and let us make it our utmost prayer book.

M. Horton has said it well, “There can be no communication with God apart from the written and living Word. Everything in the Christian faith depends on the spoken and written Word delivered by God to us through the prophets and apostles.”

This is another reason why we (my friends from Doctrines in the Kitchen, Out of The Ordinary, and Desiring Virtue) are always trying to encourage women to love the Word, to study it, to memorize it, to make it our supreme rule of life. Sisters, if we want to be women of prayer, we need to be women of the Word; if we want to become “warriors” in the prayer closet, let us learn how to use The Sword. There are no shortcuts.

Under His sun and by His grace,

Becky

The Doctrine of Love: Our Identity as Christians

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©Annie Pliego Photography

 

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jesus

Having a strong, biblical foundation based on solid doctrine is essential in the life of all Christians. It keeps us humble to know, for example,  that we have been saved by God’s grace and that we did not choose Him, but that He chose us. It help us not despair in our daily battle against sin the wonderful doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints. He will not let us go. He who has called us will never leave us nor forsake us. He who began a good work in us is able to complete it. Our salvation, from A-Z depends only in the work of Christ Jesus, and that is strong, comforting doctrine. The doctrine of the Sovereignty of God is what gives us hope when all seems to be falling apart, when there are many questions and a few answers. That He is ruling this world and that he knows the number of the hairs on my head, makes a whole world of a difference. The way we approach God in prayer, the way we live our lives, the way we respond to sin, the way we deal with the desires of our hearts, all we do depends on the doctrines on which we stand.

There is one doctrine, however, that we sometimes leave on the side. We know it is there and we pretend to know it well until differences arise and conflict comes our way, I am talking about the doctrine of love.

Maybe because it has been abused in so many Christian traditions in which love has been preached without a biblical backbone, with no doctrinal frame, we tend to minimize its importance. We know we must love, but in reality we care more about being zealous for truth than in laying down our lives for others.

We pass by the wounded and do nothing because we are too busy defending our doctrinal righteousness.  Jesus, our model to follow, did both: He touched the unclean,  and sat and ate with the sinners while preaching Truth, while preaching repentance of sins. Paul and Silas helped the sick and the widows while defending Truth.

The first Christians were persecuted for preaching the Truth without compromise, while at the same time they were known by the love amongst themselves. Tertullian (c. A.D. 200) wrote,

“It is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. “See,” they say, “how they love one another,” for they themselves are animated by mutual hatred. “How they are ready even to die for one another!” For they themselves will sooner put to death… . No tragedy causes trouble in our brotherhood, [and] the family possessions, which generally destroy brotherhood among you, create fraternal bonds among us. One in mind and soul, we do not hesitate to share our earthly goods with one another. All things are common among us but our wives. (Apology 39)”

We should pay more attention and study with more zeal the doctrine of love; while praying earnestly that the Lord will lead us into repentance for the many times we have not shown true love for Him (and His Word) because of our lack of love for those around us. Our identity as Christians, the way we should be known even today, must be the way we  deeply love and care for one another. It is not an option; just as it is not an option to believe in the importance of salvation by faith and not by works.

In the past few months I have been digging deep into this, searching the Scriptures and my heart. And it is not easy to find the balance needed to live this out. It is not easy because we love Truth, and because we want to defend it. It is not easy because we know that false teachers do destroy families, and churches, and lead many astray,  and we do not want to compromise the Truth of God, we want to stand firm on the Word of God and reach out to those whom we see in danger. But Jesus (and his disciples) taught us that it is possible to do both. We can love our neighbors and our enemies without compromising the Truth of God. And it is possible to do so, because that is exactly what we have been commanded to do.

My husband and my children are witnesses of the struggle of my heart as I have been learning these lessons, as I seek answers to these questions. I love Jesus and I want to love my neighbors as well as my enemies. I want to be known as a Christian.

If you want to dig deeper into this doctrine I would suggest that you study in depth (get an expository commentary) 1st John, the Sermon of the Mount, and the epistle to the Galatians. Two other books that have helped me to understand all this (and have made me cry more than once) are: Loving the Way Jesus Loves by Ryken, and If You Bite and Devour One Another: Biblical Principles for Handling Conflict by Alexander Strauch.

May God draw us to Him, so that we may be drawn to love those around us.

Still learning,

Becky

It Is Wise to Anticipate Old Age

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100 Days of Books

Today I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity to be sharing over at Desiring Virtue. Please, come and read…

Just as you can’t understand how quickly your little one has passed through the diaper stage, or how fast your son has grown into a young man who now has eyes to see a beautiful lady and buy flowers for her; one day you’ll come to the mirror and find an older woman’s reflection. If you are not ready, you will find yourself asking, “When did this happen?” 

You may keep on reading here.

For the Imperfect Moms -Like Me-

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That unnameable quality has descended upon the household; when summer crashes hard and school quietly yearns in our bones. Elizabeth DeBarros

Tomorrow we start school; the books are waiting to be opened, and a new school year is awaiting for us. It has been many years since we started homeschooling our children, and to think that our oldest is now starting his second year in college is unbelievable. And yet, I find myself having the same thoughts I have had for more than ten years at this time of the year: I am so imperfect, how am I going to do this?

But God has the answer to all my imperfections, to my shortcomings, to my doubts:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

As I read this verse, I breath in grace. How wonderful it is to be reminded that it is He the One who sustains me in this journey. It is because of Him that I can start the race, run, and finish it well.

Someone once said -and I have never forgotten those words,- that the moment we stop seeing the education of our children as a Giant is because we have forgotten how important it is. I agree, and at the same time we all know that a Giant is impossible to conquer without fighting. This is where I find the crux of the matter: the battle against the Giant is not fought on my own strength; it is always fought with the power of Christ, with His grace that is made perfect in my weaknesses, in my imperfections.

And so I put on the last books on the shelves, and sharpen the pencils, and get on my knees.

May we all learn to depend on His grace as we fight the Giant.

Becky

 

 

40 + 1

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Annie Pliego Photography

Yes, today is my birthday and I am very grateful to God for giving me one more year of life under the sun and by His grace.  He is good. All goodness is found in Him and it comes from Him.

40 + 1 is a good number to celebrate and today is a good day to share 40 + 1 things I have learned so far, and a few others that are among my favorite things in this God-given life -all are listed in no particular order- :

1. Never cease to see life as a gift from God. Every day. Every hour. Every minute. Every breath. All is a gift from His hand.

2. Sitting in a stool in your friend’s kitchen waiting for a pie to come out of the oven is priceless.

3. Take time to see the beauty in the vegetables you are slicing. Make a pretty salad.

4. Red wine, coffee, and chocolate are pure goodness.

5. I absolutely love being the wife of my Man.

6.  Being a mom is one of my greatest joys. Nothing to compare with.

7. It is not easy to have a disciplined prayer life. Once you start don’t break the habit. Not one day. Not once.

8. I believe in magic. I read books.

9. Having friends over and a full table are two of my favorite things on earth.

10. Traveling is always welcome. (note to self: when are you going to learn how to pack lightly?)

11. Relationships are not always easy, but they all are necessary. Every person the Lord brings into our life is there for a purpose. Open your eyes.

12. If you don’t want to say something, cover your mouth with your hand -literally-. It does help.

13. Don’t stop singing aloud in the car, in the kitchen, in the shower.

14. Cry.

15. Laugh.

16. Death is always in God’s hands.

17. We don’t need to have all the answers, we are not God. It’s OK not to understand all things.

18. Read books you would normally not choose to read. You will be surprised.

19. Don’t just think about helping others, or blessing them, or writing notes and letters. Do it.

20. A day without prayer is a day in which I cry to God, “I don’t need you, I can do this on my own.”

21. Never, never, never, never neglect reading, meditating and memorizing God’s Word.

22. When I feel that God is far, the first question I must ask to myself is, “How much time did I spend in prayer and in God’s Word today? What about this week?”

23. Read aloud to your children. No matter how old they are.

24. Always listen to the rain and the wind through the leaves.

25. Learn new beautiful words like mistpouffer, adoxagraphy, gumusservi, phosphenes, and petrichor.

26. Write.

27. Don’t forget that hearts are very fragile.

28. God is the only one than can fully restore a broken heart.

29. Don’t miss the moment your children become adults. Be ready for the change.

30. Embrace the seasons. God has appointed a time for everything under the sun, there is nothing I can do to change His timing.

31. Keeping friendships is hard work. Invest in those you don’t want to lose.

32. Believe that people can change. God is in the business of changing our hearts.

33. Kiss tears.

34. Call a friend, no matter if its long distance.

35. Hug those you love.

36. Pray God’s Word.

37. Keep a commonplace notebook.

38. Have a drawing notebook and a nice box of colored pencils at hand.

39. Don’t stop baking muffins on Saturdays while everyone is still asleep.

40. Fight the sin you love.

41. Live.

Thank you for being part of my life. All my love to you, dear friends.

Becky