Betrothed

How did your husband propose to you?  We all have our cherished stories of when and how he popped the big question.  I just love weddings, they are filled with great anticipation.  Weddings are so pink and fresh and full of hope and expectation, like the season of spring.  The couple has a clean slate, dreamy ideas about being married, and embarking together on a brand new chapter in life where you go from being two to becoming one.  I personally did not have a wedding with all the bells and whistles but I have been the maid of honor and have journeyed with the bride all the way to the church.  So much preparation the bride goes through.  Her head is swimming with thoughts of flowers and color choices, caterers and what season to be married, styles of dresses and guest lists, and so on and so on.  The groom, lets see, he needs a tux.  Oh, and he needs to listen to his bethothed as she unfolds her Cinderella wedding dream to him.  My nephew is getting married in the fall.  I had a chance to spend an evening with his beautiful fiance' and after she unpacked all the details of the big day I talked with her about the days after the ceremony.  It was a great conversation, but that is another blog entry.
Today I wanted to share what I learned in my quiet time.   In reading through the gospels of The Last Supper I was surprised to know that in Jesus' time, grooms where the ones to do the bulk of the preparations.  From Luke 22:20, "He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant..."  From Ray Vander Laan's That the World May Know video series, he explains that engagement and marriage feasts during Christ's time contained references to a 'new covenant'.  In engagement ceremonies of this time, after the bride price has been negotiated by both sets of parents, a cup of wine is poured for the son.  The son then offers the cup to his bride-to-be and asks her to accept his 'new covenant' represented in the marriage agreement terms.  Drinking from the cup symbolized the bride's formal acceptance of the marriage proposal and all the good and bad circumstances that come with marriage.  According to Vander Laan, when Christ mentions 'a new covenant' during this Passover occasion, the disciples most likely associated these three words with the wedding customs of the times.  Through the illustration of a man's love and devotion for his bride, they gained at least a nebulous comprehension of Christ's unswerving love and devotion for them and for all who follow Him. 
Jesus uses verbiage from the betrothal ceremony to paint a picture for us, yes all of us, (not just the disciples) that we are his bride.  This new covenant is for us.  After the groom offers the cup to his bride and she accepts the cup, he says he will go and prepare a place for her; the groom uses the words Jesus said to the disciples in the garden (John 14:3).  The groom prepares a place for his bride by adding additional rooms onto his father's house.  This betrothal time could last up to a year.  When the father feels the home is ready, he sends his son to go get his bride.  The wedding party proceeds to the home of the bride.  When the 'best man' announces their arrival, the bride dresses for her wedding and runs to meet her groom.  Using the marriage picture to depict what is happening at Chrit's leaving; he is readying heaven for his betrothed.  He leaves to prepare a place for us where we will blissfully live forever.
Did you know any of this???  I was enthralled to discover the representation of the new covenant as being his bride.  Covenants cannot be broken; they are timeless.  It makes me want to take on the character of a pure bride; lovely, glowing, a sparkle in her eye, rosy cheeks, and a love-flutter in her heart.  How dear and precious we are to our groom!  Have you accepted the cup?  I pray you will be overcome with this new covenant dear one.  If you feel unloved, unwanted, insecure about being needed, or empty inside please take to heart your betrothal to Christ.  If you are having these kind of feelings or emotions please let me know so I can pray for you.  Really and truly I want you to know that you are the apple of His eye!  Nothing could be sweeter! 
Blessings, E.W.

Spoken For

To whom do you belong?  Adopted at age 6 by my mom's new husband, my last name changed.  I had a new name to write next to my first name on my yellow, lined elementary school paper.  I was part of a completely new family with brothers and a sister.  WOW!  Now I held the title as little sister, and I liked it a lot!  Then I received another new last name when I married.  Again, a large extended family awaited along with new titles of wife, sister-in-law, and daughter-in-law.  I adjust to change fairly well.  I like new, it is very 'adventuresome' in my mind.  Remarkably a few years later, I acquired yet another identity.  I became a child of the King.  A princess, doesn't that have a lovely ring?  My identity is spoken for, and I have loved every single minute of the journey.  I really grasped this identity thing when we were planning a trip out of the country.  To leave the good 'ole USA you have to have a Visa.  To get a Visa you need proof of citizenship, aka a birth certificate.  After much searching, I could not find my birth certificate.  So I trudged downtown to the records office and filled out the necessary forms.  As I filled out the questionnaire it asked for my birth name, which I wrote.  I turned in the paperwork and began practicing the fruit of patience.  What was taking so long?  I was literally the only person in the waiting area.  Finally, the gentleman behind the counter asked if I had a different birth name.  Well, I was adopted, perhaps it is under that name.  A few short moments later, he came back and sure enough that was the problem.  Hold on a second.  I was born and lived under a given name for 6 years, what do you mean there is no record of it?  HUH?  Nope, it is gone, ka-put, na-da, it does not exist!!!  I had an epiphany right there in the middle of the records office.  This is exactly like being born into Christ's family.  The old self is gone, washed away are my sins, my previous history is blotted out entirely.  I belong to THE Redeemer.  I am His!  I was doing the Snoopy dance right there and had no one to share this revelation with.  God's promises are everlasting, unchanging, non-negotiable.  Sign; sealed, delivered I'm His!  I am the apple of His eye (Deut 32:10), my name is written on the palm of His hand, he knows every hair on my bottle-blond head.  Can I get a Hallelujah?!!  He loves me and I belong to Him.

Title:  Daughter of the King,

Citizenship: Heaven-bound,

My Heart:   is spoken for!

Blessings, E.W.

Ice Stockings

The abundance of snow brought forth an issue in our home.  The build-up of snow on our roof created ice dams which spaghettied its way into our kitchen.  The ceiling fan became a waterfall.  Day 2 of buckets scattered on my kitchen island led to some more investigating and a couple of holes drilled into the ceiling to see where the vein of water was coming from.  No leads.  Down came the fan and a steady brown drip plagued my otherwise sunny little kitchen. 

More diligent research, on the part of my man, brought us to this special melting ice that if you put it inside of pantyhose will melt the dams and break the flow.  Out came some antique nylons that I have not looked at in a very long time and they did indeed serve their purpose. 

 

Back went my kitchen fan and the buckets all put away and all was well, until the other day when I got a bit of a fright.  I had walked into the kitchen to start dinner and there waving in my kitchen window was one leg of an empty stocking flowing in the wind.  That was totally bizarre!  I am not sure I have a scripture for this one...

Stepping Heavenward

There are some books that stand head and shoulders above the rest.  If you are looking for a good read that will compel you, make this your next one! 
Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss is positively an introspective joy. "How dreadfully old I am getting!  Sixteen!",  writes Katherine in her brand-new journal on January 15, 1831.  Her heartfelt words mark the start of your own unforgettable journey following Katherine as her life unfolds from sweet sixteen to her grown-up later years.  As she learns that true happiness is found in giving oneself to others, you, too, will be immeasurably encouraged to step heavenward-to live with greater godliness, humility, tranquility, and hope.  Blessings!  E.W.

W.I.T.

After praying and fasting all week for our sweet friend, she did indeed get baptized yesterday (and I ate lots of dark chocolate!).  It was so precious (the baptizing part I mean)!  She has a new birthday now; her spiritual birthday.  My beautiful mother (all <5 feet of her) was instrumental in showing Jesus to Ash and had the privilege to lead Ash in the sinner's prayer and confession of faith and be the one to dunk her in the water.  1 Timothy 6:12 says,"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses."

The Lord had put it on my heart to give Ash a women's devotional bible: actually, my very own copy that I received when I accepted Christ's invitation.  With my scripture cards I sat down and high-lighted key verses of promises, standards of living, and virtues of womanhood in her bible.  Beings that she is moving away I wanted to help equip her for THE journey.  My heart wants to mentor hers but she will not be here for that discipling.  Hubby asked what I was doing and I explained, "This is for warriors in training, aka W.I.T."   Fight the good fight, what are we fighting against?  We fight to keep God first in everything.  That is a tall order my friend.   In the official Army study guide it states, "The Warrior Transition Course will provide our Army with trained, disciplined, motivated, and physically fit Soldiers who respond to leadership, are focused on teamwork, demonstrate the warrior ethos, and espouse the Army’s core values.  Tee Hee I love that, the same thing goes for us in God's army.  We are to instill spiritual discipline into our daily lives.  Are you motivated to know your General?  Are you jazzed to get into drill formation?  Do you know and understand the equipment you are to use?  How about the terrain, are you familiar with the map, do you know how to use your weapon?  Okay fellow warriors, are you ready for boot camp?  Man this really lights me up!  First things first, what do we wear, isn't that always lingering in the back of our minds?  Our fashion designer, Paul, suggests Ephesians 6:10-17.  Now it is not that nasty drab green camofulage, rather it is armor.  Think Susan and Lucy from Chronicles of Narnia, or Maid Marian, and of course Joan of Arc (without the bad haircut). 

"..be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." 


Are there any tears or chinks in your armor?  We have to know our opponent in order to have victory.  Sometimes that opponent is ourselves.  I can be my own worst enemy.  I can be weak, and whiny, and self-reliant, and short-sighted, and selfish, and prideful, and lazy, and gluttonous.  The list is embarrassingly long.  As a warrior in training I must fall back on what I know to be true.  God is, God can, and because He has given me the Holy Spirit I can too.  Our mantra is, "The struggle is the Lord's, not mine."  I am not without help; I have the Holy Spirit as my helpmate.  I am spiritually rich!  Do I live that way, spiritually rich or am I living depleted and poor.  We are to thrive fellow warriors, not survive!  I have been redeemed to thrive and flourish and grow and conquer!  God wants us to reach out for his glory so he can infuse us together in love.  I love the refrain from Grace Greater than our Sin:


Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.


This is how we become more than conquerors is by His infinite grace.  Assess your 6 main pieces of attire.  Is your belt surrounded with God's promises, if not you won't be able to discern a lie when you hear one.  Is your breastplate approved by God or by man?  We often will fear what others will think rather than raising the bar to what God alone thinks about us and our activities.  God will always protect our hearts.  What is on your feet?  Are you sharing the Good News by how you live your life?  Our shields are essential (like lipstick).  What we see are Satan's attacks in the form of insults, setbacks, and temptations.  Our shield protects us from the fiery darts.  Know your General; he has more than 5 stars!  Our hats keep us from doubting in God and in our salvation.  We need to protect our minds, what are you reading/watching, what are you talking about or listening to?  Last is our sword, is it sharp?  Are you spending time in the Word everyday?  Are you memorizing and meditating on scripture?  Sword drills anyone?  There is no compartmentalizing when it comes to being in God's army.  You are either striving and moving in harmony with God or you are flailing and sinking.  If so, you need an accountability partner.  We are NOT meant to journey alone, we are designed for relationship!  Let's keep our WITS about us now.  Warriors in training I am praying for YOU!

P.S.  My friend from T&T reminded me that we did an object lesson with our pre-teen girls on the armor of God.  We gave each of the girls a gift bag with 6 items representing the armor: a belt, scarf, sunglasses, hat or headband,  fuzzy socks, and a mother/daughter journal.  We talked about each item and what they represented and why it was important.  We had a lot of fun teaching our little warriors!