Never

What an eye-opening and encouraging post over at (in) courage about living as in God's eyes instead of the eyes of the world. Take a moment to check it out!

Parenting

Just wanted to share a link to a post about differing parenting styles. If you have a moment, please check it out!

Parenting: One Size Doesn't Fit All

Wait Silently and Think on Whatever is good

Psalm 62

To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

 ¹ Truly my soul silently waits for God;
         From Him comes my salvation.
 ² He only is my rock and my salvation;
         He is my defense;
         I shall not be greatly moved.
        
 ³ How long will you attack a man?
         You shall be slain, all of you,
         Like a leaning wall and a tottering fence.
 ⁴ They only consult to cast him down from his high position;
         They delight in lies;
         They bless with their mouth,
         But they curse inwardly.  Selah 
        
 ⁵ My soul, wait silently for God alone,
         For my expectation is from Him.
 ⁶ He only is my rock and my salvation;
         He is my defense;
         I shall not be moved.
 ⁷ In God is my salvation and my glory;
         The rock of my strength,
         And my refuge, is in God.
        
 ⁸ Trust in Him at all times, you people;
         Pour out your heart before Him;
         God is a refuge for us.  Selah 
        
 ⁹ Surely men of low degree are a vapor,
         Men of high degree are a lie;
         If they are weighed on the scales,
         They are altogether lighter than vapor.
 ¹⁰ Do not trust in oppression,
         Nor vainly hope in robbery;
         If riches increase,
         Do not set your heart on them.
        
 ¹¹ God has spoken once,
         Twice I have heard this:
         That power belongs to God.
 ¹² Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy;
         For You render to each one according to his work.

Recently, I have been hurt multiple times by someone and just yesterday was the straw that broke the camel's back. I was ready to vent to my friends about what happened, then I read Psalm 62 this morning.

I am to wait silently for God and He will defend me. I am to bite my tongue (which I did yesterday) and not keep dragging it up by venting about it. Even though I am attacked by those who "bless with their mouth But they curse inwardly", I am to "wait silently for God". He is my rock, my strength, my salvation, my refuge! I can pour my heart out to Him and trust Him all the time. My power is certainly in God!

This also brought to mind another scripture that I was actually trying to remember yesterday when that final straw fell so I looked it up in my concordance--Philippians 4:8.

⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

So, today I am trying to focus on what is good about the person who hurt me deeply. When I catch myself thinking about how I was treated and what was said, I ask God to forgive me for dwelling on the bad and replace the thought with what is something good about the person. I need to wait on Him to defend me and not try to do it on my own.

Leading Towards God's Destined Path

I read a devotion from Proverbs 31 Ministries titled, Not Just Anyone, and while it is a great devotion for everyone to read, it got me thinking about something else.

Once He’d grown, the people of Jesus’ home region had a hard time accepting Jesus as the Messiah. How could this man they’d seen learning to walk, learning to talk, learning to hammer and saw, be God’s Son? In fact, they leveled the strongest possible accusation at Him. They claimed, in Mark 3:20-25 after He healed a man on the Sabbath, He was working for the devil.
That’s not just marginalizing someone, that’s attacking them! Have you felt misunderstood or attacked? Notice that God did little to stop these people from running their mouths incorrectly about Jesus. Instead He kept right on leading Jesus down His destined path. (bold is my emphasis)

People may misunderstand you and talk bad about you, but that doesn't mean that God doesn't love you. He won't necessarily stop those bad things from happening, but He is faithful to keep on leading you to what He has destined for you. When we experienced people slandering us, spreading lies, talking about us behind our back, twisting our words and actions to support what they thought was going on in our lives, we had to come to the decision to not fight and leave it in God's hands. As long as we were living how He called us to live, it didn't matter what they said. We knew the truth would prevail in the end. We allowed God to continue leading us to His destiny for us.

This kind of goes along with my other post from this morning, in the fact that God doesn't always remove the struggles we are experiencing, but can use how we've been molded by those struggles to further His kingdom and for His glory.

Being overlooked or misunderstood is hard to take. Jesus was no doubt disappointed by those in His home region, and by the leaders in the synagogues whose job it was to recognize the Messiah when He came.  But ultimately Jesus’ identity, worth and power came from His Heavenly Father and not from the validation of any earthly being.
The same is true for you and me.
If you feel overlooked or misjudged today, take those feelings to Jesus and let Him reassure you. If you haven’t received love and support from the people important to you, take that disappointment to the Lord who understands completely. (bold is my emphasis)

 If you aren't experiencing the love and support of people who are important to you, just remember that God, who loves you far more than any earthly person could, loves and supports you. Christ truly has experienced what you are experiencing and can help you through those difficult days. Take your burdens to Him and then open your arms to receive the love and comfort from the one who truly understands!

With God, Nothing is Impossible!

"For with God, nothing is impossible." ~ Luke 1:37

The Lord led me to the book of Luke today (after my normal reading in Psalms). I must say, it is always comforting when He speaks to me like this. Luke 1:37 is definitely something I needed to hear.

Nothing--NOTHING, is impossible with God! It doesn't matter what you are struggling with, it isn't impossible to survive if you have God! It doesn't matter how long you've been struggling with it, it isn't impossible with God! It doesn't matter how hard it is, it isn't impossible with God!

I'm not saying that everything is going to go the way you want it to, but it will go the way God wants it to because He can do anything. If we are truly founded in Him, then we shouldn't desire anything against His will. There may be times when we don't understand why we have to struggle with something and want out of it because of the struggle, but God could be using that struggle to shape and mold you into what He wants/needs you to be in order to use you in some mighty way.

We have been told many, many, many times that it is impossible for us to support a large family on one income (and a small income at that!), but we are here to testify that it IS possible. Why? Because of God; we have faith that He will provide for every blessing (child) He has bestowed to us.  Has it always been easy? No, but it has been worth every step. Not only have we drawn closer together as a family, but we are now in a place where we can share what we've learned with others. Have there been times where we almost lost faith? Yes, but God is faithful and has always drawn us back to Him which in turned strengthened our faith.

I encourage you to memorize this scripture and when you are in a place of doubt, remember it and stand on the promise of God.

"These are the mothers, the world needs today!"

"Mothers with courage; mothers who pray,

These are the kind the world needs today.

Mother who think, who study and plan;

Mothers who laugh as much as they can,

Having the gift that is better than money--

The habit of seeing that some things are funny.

Mothers whose faith never wavers or falters;

Mothers whose spirits the world never alters;

Loving the right and scorning the wrong;

Facing the problems of life with a song.

Mothers whose bravery transcends their fears;

Winning the battle with patience and tears;

Never submitting to weakness or sin---

Storming heaven's gates till the children are in.

Mothers heroic, not guilty of whining;

Hands graced with service and faces with shining.

Mothers of purity, virtue and faith,

Steadfast in life and triumphant in death;

Looking beyond the dark pathway of sorrow,

Seeking a home in God's joyous tomorrow,

Leading the children; pointing the way---

These are the mothers, the world needs today!

-Kathryn Blackburn Peck

Feeding a Family on a Tight Budget

I was asked by Love, INC (In the Name of Christ) to teach a 6 week class on feeding a family on a budget. Since it would run through mid-May, I had to decline. They found someone else, but she couldn't do the first class so I accepted to teach one class. As I've been thinking about what I would share, I thought that sharing how to stretch a chicken would be a good idea.

I bought a chicken last week for $4.51/5 lbs. I cooked it in the crock pot all day with some potatoes & carrots and seasonings. We ate that for dinner tonight as well as some applesauce. Figuring in the price if I had to buy the applesauce,... it would have been $9.11 to feed my family of 10 tonight.

I have put the carcass back in the crock pot with water and figured out how much for the carrots, onion, garlic, and celery that I'll add tomorrow after taking the meat of the bones as well as the rice for chicken and rice soup and came up with only $1.60 (because I've already counted the chicken carcass).

I then figured out two options for the leftover meat--chicken tetrazinni and green beans or chicken and dumpling casserole. Option one will add up to $4.33 and option two will add to $3.75.

All the figuring is buying hormone free chicken, farm fresh eggs, spelt flour, organic carrots, onions, celery, etc. as well as if I had to buy the goat milk. All these figures would go down if people didn't care about "organic" or "natural".

After figuring that all meals will feed 10 people, option 1 works out to 50 cents per person per meal and option 2 works out to 48 cents per person per meal. I have a feeling that people are going to be surprised they can feed their family on so little. I was asked to show how to feed a family of 5 for $5 a meal. This is feeding a family of 10 on $5 a meal!

I figured it might be helpful to those who follow my blog to also see what I come up with. This was my first "test" at what to present and I plan on making lots of handouts with other cheaper meals as well. If you have any ideas/suggestions for this class, I would love to hear them. I will be teaching the class on March 14th.

My Life For Yours: A Mother's Pondering About Her Body

My Life For Yours: A Mother's Pondering About Her Body

One Flesh Marriage: BE the CHANGE you want to SEE in your MARRIAGE!

One Flesh Marriage: BE the CHANGE you want to SEE in your MARRIAGE!: "Kate says . . . Change is a huge theme that we talk about on our blog. It is also a huge theme in all of the emails and comment..."

A Good Education

I read an interesting article titled, The One Indispensable Constituent of a Good Education. Here is a couple of excerpts.
  

"The right theory on education is pretty important. If you get it wrong, you will ruin the next generation. For parents this is important, because most parents do not want to see their children ruined. But which is the right theory of education? People really trust the theories of thinkers like Jean Jacques Rousseau, Fichte, Marx, Mann, Dewey, Hirsch, or Montessori and they follow them. Mostly they follow the revolutionary thinker of the 18th century, Jean Jacques Rousseau who postulated a K-12 education funded by the state that would "withdraw the child as much as possible from parents and relatives." (Durant: Rousseau and Revolution, 179). This was his recommendation for the modern world, upon abandoning five of his own babies on the steps of an orphanage, withdrawing them from parents and relatives and remanding them to the professionals."

"What happens to a nation that doesn't teach the fear of God as the beginning of wisdom for five generations? What happens to a nation that will not build its house upon Jesus and his words? When the rains come and floods rise, that house will come down, and great will be the fall of it (Matt. 7:27)! That nation will find 37% of children born without fathers, up from 6% in 1960, and half of marriages ending in divorce. That nation will become the greatest debtor nation on earth and inherit the weakest families in the entire western world. Sound familiar?"

I encourage you to read the article in its entirety here.

Silence Doesn't Mean Condoning

"These things you have done, and I kept silent;

You thought that I was altogether like you;

But I will rebuke you,

And set them in order before your eyes."

~ Psalm 50:21

Just because people don't "hear" God speaking on a certain issue, doesn't mean that He is in any way condoning the actions. The first thing that came to mind for me when I read this is the number of people that think homosexuality is okay in God's eyes (even though He specifically calls it an abomination in the Bible). They think that because they are living a good life regardless of their obvious sin, that it must be okay. Well, this verse is here to say that is just not so. He will judge the sin some day; He will set everyone straight.

Just because you aren't experiencing hardship right now for a sin in your life, doesn't mean that it is alright with God for you to be partaking of that sin. Humble yourself and seek His voice on the issue. I'm sure if you listen close enough, you will hear Him speak. Too many times people are either too busy to hear Him (therefore they think He is being silent), or they avoid hearing what they know He would say or opening their hearts to Him.

Take some time to examine your life to see if there is anything you need to take before God because you think He is being silent. Better to be judged now when you have time to repent than to be judged on the final day and be sentenced to a life of eternity in Hell.

Valentine's Day Giveaway Winner!

And the winner of the Fireproof movie is . . . . . .















Sal B!

Congratulations, Sally!  I will most likely get this mailed out on Wednesday when I do my errands in town. I hope you enjoy it!

We're Meant for Fellowship!

God created us to need other people. We need our spouses, we need our family, we need our friends, we need our church families, etc. We are meant to be in a community where we love and support each other. Unfortunately, all too often, in today's society, we tend to live isolated lives.

I highly recommend reading a post from Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage titled, Get Off the Island. It is about how we need to go to one another for help and support instead of trying to deal with things on our own. With today being Valentine's Day, it is a good reminder to be there for everyone and not just our spouses.

Why Mothers Kiss Their Babies

I read an interesting article that I wanted to share with all of you. It is a short article and I encourage you to take a few moments and read it.

Why Mothers Kiss Their Babies

Valentine's Giveaway!

I have a copy of Fireproof to giveaway for Valentine's Day!

This is a great movie whether you are having struggles in your marriage or if you marriage is on solid ground.

"At work, inside burning buildings, Capt. Caleb Holt lives by the old firefighter's adage: never leave your partner behind. At home, in the cooling embers of his marriage, he lives by his own rules. His job is to rescue others. Now Caleb Holt is ready to face his toughest job ever . . .rescuing his wife's heart." (from the back of the movie)

For your chance to win a copy of this movie, here is what you have to do!

1. Mandatory--Be a follower of Gracious Daughter of the King. Just leave a comment telling me you are a follower and what you love best about your spouse. Please leave your email if you don't have a blog for me to contact you through. You may leave it "broken" if you wish (example: memoriesmama @ netonecom . net)

Once you are a follower, you can earn extra entries by doing the following and leaving me a comment telling me you did.

2. Share about this giveaway on your blog. Please leave a link back to your blog if you do this.

3. Share about this giveaway on Facebook.

I will randomly draw a winner on Monday, Feb. 14 (Valentine's Day!). I will post the winner here and the winner will be responsible to get back to me with a mailing address. If I don't hear back from the winner within a week, I will redraw a new winner.

Psalm 37

Psalm 37

A Psalm of David.

 ¹ Do not fret because of evildoers,
         Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
 ² For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
         And wither as the green herb.
        
 ³ Trust in the LORD, and do good;
         Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
 ⁴ Delight yourself also in the LORD,
         And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
        
 ⁵ Commit your way to the LORD,
         Trust also in Him,
         And He shall bring it to pass.
 ⁶ He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
         And your justice as the noonday.
        
 ⁷ Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;
         Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
         Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
 ⁸ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
         Do not fret—it only causes harm.
        
 ⁹ For evildoers shall be cut off;
         But those who wait on the LORD,
         They shall inherit the earth.
 ¹⁰ For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
         Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
         But it shall be no more.
 ¹¹ But the meek shall inherit the earth,
         And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
        
 ¹² The wicked plots against the just,
         And gnashes at him with his teeth.
 ¹³ The Lord laughs at him,
         For He sees that his day is coming.
 ¹⁴ The wicked have drawn the sword
         And have bent their bow,
         To cast down the poor and needy,
         To slay those who are of upright conduct.
 ¹⁵ Their sword shall enter their own heart,
         And their bows shall be broken.
        
 ¹⁶ A little that a righteous man has
         Is better than the riches of many wicked.
 ¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
         But the LORD upholds the righteous.
        
 ¹⁸ The LORD knows the days of the upright,
         And their inheritance shall be forever.
 ¹⁹ They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
         And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
 ²⁰ But the wicked shall perish;
         And the enemies of the LORD,
         Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.
         Into smoke they shall vanish away.
        
 ²¹ The wicked borrows and does not repay,
         But the righteous shows mercy and gives.
 ²² For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,
         But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.
        
 ²³ The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD,
         And He delights in his way.
 ²⁴ Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
         For the LORD upholds him with His hand.
        
 ²⁵ I have been young, and now am old;
         Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
         Nor his descendants begging bread.
 ²⁶ He is ever merciful, and lends;
         And his descendants are blessed.
        
 ²⁷ Depart from evil, and do good;
         And dwell forevermore.
 ²⁸ For the LORD loves justice,
         And does not forsake His saints;
         They are preserved forever,
         But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.
 ²⁹ The righteous shall inherit the land,
         And dwell in it forever.
        
 ³⁰ The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,
         And his tongue talks of justice.
 ³¹ The law of his God is in his heart;
         None of his steps shall slide.
        
 ³² The wicked watches the righteous,
         And seeks to slay him.
 ³³ The LORD will not leave him in his hand,
         Nor condemn him when he is judged.
        
 ³⁴ Wait on the LORD,
         And keep His way,
         And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;
         When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
 ³⁵ I have seen the wicked in great power,
         And spreading himself like a native green tree.
 ³⁶ Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more;
         Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.
        
 ³⁷ Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright;
         For the future of that man is peace.
 ³⁸ But the transgressors shall be destroyed together;
         The future of the wicked shall be cut off.
        
 ³⁹ But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
         He is their strength in the time of trouble.
 ⁴⁰ And the LORD shall help them and deliver them;
         He shall deliver them from the wicked,
         And save them,
         Because they trust in Him.

The italicized words are what really stood out to me as I was reading Psalm 37.

Unbelievable!

The following is a link to information about Planned Parenthood being involved in sex trafficking. It is past the time to see the video that is linked to in the link, but the information will still fill you in. I don't watch television so I hadn't heard about this before now.

Christians, Please read!

Psalm 34--again

Psalm 34

A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.

 ¹ I will bless the LORD at all times;
         His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
 ² My soul shall make its boast in the LORD;
         The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
 ³ Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
         And let us exalt His name together.
        
 ⁴ I sought the LORD, and He heard me,
         And delivered me from all my fears.
 ⁵ They looked to Him and were radiant,
         And their faces were not ashamed.
 ⁶ This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him,
         And saved him out of all his troubles.
 ⁷ The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him,
         And delivers them.
        
 ⁸ Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
         Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
 ⁹ Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!
         There is no want to those who fear Him.
 ¹⁰ The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
         But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
        
 ¹¹ Come, you children, listen to me;
         I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
 ¹² Who is the man who desires life,
         And loves many days, that he may see good?
 ¹³ Keep your tongue from evil,
         And your lips from speaking deceit.
 ¹⁴ Depart from evil and do good;
         Seek peace and pursue it.
        
 ¹⁵ The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
         And His ears are open to their cry.
 ¹⁶ The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
         To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
        
 ¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears,
         And delivers them out of all their troubles.
 ¹⁸ The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,
         And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
        
 ¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
         But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
 ²⁰ He guards all his bones;
         Not one of them is broken.
 ²¹ Evil shall slay the wicked,
         And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
 ²² The LORD redeems the soul of His servants,
         And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.

I've posted this Psalm before, but it is a good one and I'm thankful the Lord led me here again today.

Verse 4 stood out to me because we are to seek the Lord, then He will deliver us. When we earnestly seek Him, we will know what His will is for us and His plan for how we are to live our lives. If we live according to His statutes, then we will be delivered from many things. The Lord will save the humble (poor in verse 6) who cries out to Him. When we put our own pride to the side and humble ourselves to the Almighty God, then He is able to work mighty wonders in our lives.

The Lord surrounds us with His love and will take care of us (verse 7).

Verse 8 tells us to share our blessings and what the Lord has done for us. We are to tell others to "taste and see that the Lord is good." We want them to experience the Lord's faithfulness for themselves. In order to entice them to want to experience it themselves, we need to be sharing what He has done for us.

When we try to rely on ourselves and our own abilities, we will not be living life to the fullest possible; however, with the Lord, we will "not lack any good thing" (10). We are not capable to even 1/100th  of what God is capable of doing. When we seek Him and His will, we will never suffer for need!

Again, the psalm reminds us that when we seek the Lord, He will deliver us out of our troubles in verses 17-18. Don't you think that if it something is repeated, then it bears significance? I know it says the same thing in other places in the Bible, but just having it repeated three times (also in verse 19) in one Psalm shows major significance.


The fact that the Lord has led me to this Psalm more than one time in the last few months, tells me that maybe I need to make an effort to memorize it. God's Word "is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. "(2 Timothy 3:16).  Let me know if you want to join me in this quest and we can encourage one another!