Five Things Your Husband Wants You To Know

5 Things Your Husband Wants You to Know

1. I want to please you sexually. It's humiliating for men to ask for directions, so help us by giving us a road map for sex.

2. I need you, but I need others, too. When guys want to know what to do, not how to feel, they turn to male friends.

3. I want to find meaning in my work. We derive satisfaction from what we do. So support us as we sort out our goals and gifts.

4. I want to be reconciled with those I love. Contrary to the "take no prisoners" attitude men express, we're still bothered by unresolved conflict. You can help by asking questions.

5. I want to remain young and virile forever. Love us, make us feel we're still sexually desirable, cook us healthy meals, and suggest an aerobic walk around the block.

By James Charis, from 30 Days to a More Incredible Marriage, edited by Ramona Cramer Tucker (Tyndale). Used by Permission.

Reeling With Shock and Amazement!

Wow! I'm sitting here at my computer feeling completely stunned by a call I got last night from my agent. She and I both assumed most of our current business with one another was complete, after we signed with Kregel for my new book. But no...there's more.

Yesterday she received a very unexpected phone call from a representative from the family division of a major motion picture studio. They saw a brief summary of my book online, and think it would has the potential to make an excellent family movie. She requested the full manuscript to be sent to her ASAP for review.

Nothing is certain and no offers are being made, but I'm blown away that they even noticed it! They'll read the MS and decide if indeed it can be made into a successful movie. Last night I wrote a 900 word screen-play treatment...an overview that presented the major scenes through-out the book, and the reasons why this would make an excellent family movie.

Please pray for the entire project. Never in a gazillion years did I think my book would have any interest to the movie industry! God knows what's best and if He wants this book made into a movie, it will be for His glory. I'm praying that lives will be touched...even if it's only the life of the one person who reads my book to review it. It's sitting on her desk right now, and she plans to start on it soon. I'm lifting her up in prayer, that her heart will be touched and the book will find favor in her eyes, God willing.

Listening to God's Voice

Another way the Lord speaks to us is through a gentle ‘nudge’ to our spirit. It might be a quiet voice speaking through our conscience, or an impression that comes into our mind while praying, worshiping or considering a problem.

Romans 8:14, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.”

It’s important to spend time with the Lord in prayer, opening our hearts and spirits to His voice and waiting on Him for direction. Spend time in worship, give yourself totally to Him, asking that Jesus be in complete control of your mind and heart as you seek Him and listen. As children of God, we can be confident that the Holy Spirit will lead us, but as stated in Col. 3:15, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,” peace must accompany the leading or direction we receive.

God’s peace is the sure sign that the Holy Spirit is directing, rather than our own thoughts or desires. The Holy Spirit is quiet and gentle, but persistent, calling us to wait quietly before Him and listen for His voice. He speaks to us when we take the time to wait on Him, not rushing, not feeling we must always be talking, but patiently waiting for Him to speak.

Sometimes He chooses to speak when we’ve opened our hearts to Him in worship and are simply desiring to serve Him. While worshiping during a Wednesday evening service at my church, I strongly sensed the Lord was asking me to kneel during the balance of the worship service. I felt uncomfortable, as the rest of the congregation were on their feet. He impressed on my heart, that if I would be obedient, He was going to show His power before the service ended.

The ‘nudge’ was so strong, I knew I had to obey. I quietly slipped down to my knees and finished the worship service in tears, more moved than I had been in a long time. When the pastor came up to speak, he shared that someone in the congregation was in physical pain and asked that they come forward for prayer. A woman immediately stepped out, but he didn’t pray for her at once. Instead, he explained that the Lord had shown him there was someone present who had been given a gift of faith for this woman’s healing and asked that they come forward to pray for her. I immediately felt faith well up in my spirit and knew this was why the Lord had asked me to be obedient. I walked forward, laying my hand on her back and praying briefly. She testified that the pain left as soon as my hand touched her back. The Lord chose to do a sovereign work, but in this case it was dependant upon my willingness to listen and obey.

The Lord also speaks to by the operation of the gifts of the Spirit, as listed in I Corinthians 12:8-11. The gifts of wisdom and knowledge are used to help a person apply the revelation of God’s Word to a specific situation. In Acts 5, when Ananias & his wife Sapphira lied to Paul and withheld some of the money they received from the sale of their property, God revealed it to Paul through the operation of a word of knowledge.

The operation of the revelation gifts can help us make Godly decisions in our daily walk. If we are being used in counseling others, a word of wisdom or knowledge can shorten what might otherwise be hours of ministry. 1 Corinthians 14:1, it says that we should ‘Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.’

We need to follow hard after God and desire to be used, keeping our hearts open to whatever gift He might want to bestow on us. Whether it be the prophetic gifts or any other, we must operate in an attitude of love. God seeks people who are anxious to hear His voice and use His gifts in ministry to others, while continually bringing glory to Him.

Are you content to hear God’s voice only through the voice of others, or do you want to hear His voice for yourself? If so, will you pay the price He requires to make hearing His voice a way of life? Romans 8:6 says, “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” It takes time and commitment to learn to listen, time quietly waiting on the Lord as well as dwelling in His Word. God is more willing to speak to us then we are to hear, and He will be faithful to answer as we tune our hearts in to His.

Another Word On Prayer

Praying for our Spouse or a friend...Praying the Word.

I was emailing a gal tonight who's been struggling in her marriage. Her husband had fallen away from the Lord due to hurts and disillusionment caused by others. He's allowed bitterness and resentment to rob him of his walk with the Lord and turn him into an angry, hurting man.

She's been hurting too...knowing that the man she married is still in there somewhere, but not sure how to help him, or help to break him free of the pain he's locked in. Here's one suggestion I gave her, that might help you in a situation you find yourself in right now.

Pray the Word.

Pray the Word, you say? How? Why? What good will that do? I already pray every day for him, and I'm not seeing a lot of change.

But you see, the Word is powerful and cuts like a two edged sword...it discerns the heart and mind of a man and it brings light and truth anywhere it's used. We don't understand how it works, or why, but Christians through the ages have proven time and again, that using the Word in prayer, is one of the most powerful way to pray.

Find 5-10 scriptures that resound in your spirit...ones that you KNOW are for the person you're praying for. Write them down, individually, on 3x5 cards, then pray each one of them, every day, for that person. Here's an example of what I prayed for my husband: Ephesians 1:17-20. This is fairly long, so bear with me...but I think you'll see what I mean.

Lord, I'm lifting up Allen before you. I pray that you will give him spiritual wisdom and understanding, in Christ Jesus, so that he might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that his heart will be flooded with light so that he can understand the wonderful future that he has, to those that you have calle. Help him to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has been given. Lord, I pray that he will beging to understand the incredible greatness of God's power for any of us who believe Him...This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realm.

The Definition of Crazy...Do You Fit It?

Our pastor shared something this morning that I thought was very appropriate for this group...the definition of crazy.

Here's the definition....IF you keep on doing what you've always done, you'll keep on getting what you've always got. Draw a circle in the air and think about the circle being unbroken and unending. If we keep on behaving in ways we have always behaved, but still believe that we'll get different results than we've gotten in the past, we're crazy! It can't happen. As long as our beviour, attitudes, thoughts, etc., don't change, we'll stay in that circle.

So tell me....what circle would YOU like to break out of? Is there something in your life that you'd like to give to the Lord and ask Him to set you free from? Are you willing to lay it before Him and ask others to help you be accountable?

Try to find one person you trust and tell them...having someone help you be accountable and support you, could make all the difference. Don't stay stuck in your circle even one day longer. First identify the problem, then give it to the Lord and ask Him to break the power it's had over you, and enlist a prayer partner to stand beside you as you break free from your past.

Update On Our House, and Still Waiting!!!

Here's the newest picture of our house taken a few days ago. We still have the exterior paint to do, but it's snowing up there right now, so has to warm up about 20 more degrees and be dry, before paint can begin.

The hardwood floors are in, the window casings are in process, then comes all the trim. Kitchen cabinets will be installed in 2 1/2 weeks, and carpet immediately after. We're hoping to move in 6-8 wks, and we've just made a counter offer on our house...the offer was way too low, so we'll see what happens with our counter.

On another note, I'm trying not to get frustrated over my book still not having a title. The publisher was out sick the first of last week, and planned on making a final decision when he got back. The marketing person was out the first half of this week, so I couldn't check with her till today...I finally sent both she and the publisher an email, only to get a response back that the publisher is out of the office from today till March 6th. Big sigh....I really am trying to be patient, and I'll let you know when I know anything more!
I also am hoping to have a release date by the end of next week, as well as getting a peek at the front cover, but we'll see what happens. God is still in charge, so I'm not sweating it, just curious and a bit anxious to see what they decide. I hope you all have a wonderful week end!

Why Pray? Does it Really Matter--Part Two

I Thes: 5:16--- Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

The Purposes of prayer---

1. To Minister unto the Lord-----Through praise and worship, recognizing who He is, just talking to the Lord, taking time to listen for His voice---

To establish relationship with God, to know the character and nature of God

This is non-existent in most people’s lives and certainly isn’t a top priority in many peoples lives

2. To Minister to Ourselves
Not necessarily to ‘get’ something material for ourselves, but rather to bring us into fellowship with God and make us like minded with Him.

Prayer develops character in us, makes us sensitive to the Lord. It changes our attitudes and perspectives to line up with His Word, especially when mixed with the Word

Prayer makes us useable…..A sign of spiritual maturity is to ask the Lord to rather make me useable, before you ask Him to use you. Prayer is meant to be an avenue of change for our own heart, as we spend time in the presence of God

As God’s love builds up in our lives through spending time with Him, faith will start to grow. We will find that the more time we spend with Him, just being with Him, not asking for anything, the more His love will fill us and the more our faith will grow. Then when we have a need, the faith is planted and growing in our hearts and will be a natural outflow to help bring to pass the answer as we pray.

3. Allows God to flow to us and through us

Prayer is a way of us receiving things from God for ourselves and for others---- for ministry and our needs

John 14:12-14, I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Jesus is saying we should bring our petitions before Him in His name

John 15:16…. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

If you asked the average person what the purpose of prayer is, they would tell you it’s to ask and receive things from God. That is one purpose, but shouldn’t be our primary purpose. Prayer is not meant to be need related exclusively, but rather to be relationship related. Our prayers should draw us closer to the Lord and our main desire should be to develop a closer relationship with Him.

Biting My Nails!

For any of you who don't know, I've written a novel and it's to be released this fall. Publishing houses like to have published authors endorse the book if possible, meaning they read it and make a short (hopefully positive!) comment about it, which will be used in some form of advertising, or in/on the book some where.

I put out a call to several authors I know and four of them were gracious enough to offer to give their valuable time to reading my manuscript. Now, here's the thing...I assumed the book wouldn't be sent out till AFTER it had gone through a full round of edits by the staff at Kregel.

Wrong. I just got a note from one of my prospective endorsers, saying she was so excited 'cause she's just received her copy of my manuscript. Being very new to this entire process, I was a bit shocked and I have to admit, a little horrified.

It's one thing to have friends and family read your book, you know they're all going to love it...they have to, right? But never did I expect other authors to be reading my book that hasn't gone through editing yet! Well, honey...let me tell you, I'm not sure I'll be sleeping tonight! Praying a lot, but sleeping? Naaahhh, don't think so!

Okay...I've blown off enough steam now and I'm feeling considerably better. Still biting my nails and chewing my hair off, but feeling better, LOL! I'll let you know if I get any positive comments after they've all had time to read it...and I'm asking them to be honest, believe it or not! Pray for me! Scary stuff!

Why Pray? Does it Really Matter

Why Pray?

Does God mind if we ask questions about prayer? Or is he like a parent who constantly says when we ask why, “because I said so?”

God doesn’t mind our asking Him ‘why’, in fact, He wants us to care enough about his instructions to want to understand and follow them out of love for Him and a desire to do so.

God tells us that we should pray; in fact, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says:

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

The Word tells us to pray, but we often hear that God will do what He wants to regardless, so where does that leave prayer? Do my prayers really matter, or will God do what He wants to do no matter what?

Will my prayers actually change anything that happens in my present or future?

If we really knew that MY prayer could actively change the course of history, would our prayer life improve?

Why don’t we pray more often? Is it because we either don’t believe God answers, or we aren’t seeing evidence that He’s listening? If not, why not?

Dutch Sheets in his book “Intercessory Prayer” says this:

“If God is going to do something regardless of whether or not we pray, then He doesn’t need us to ask and we don’t need another waste of our time. If it’s all que sera, sera, or (what will be, will be), then let’s take a siesta and let it all just happen.

If, On the other hand, John Wesley was correct when he said: God does nothing on earth save in answer to believing prayer:”, I’ll lose a little sleep for that. I’ll change my lifestyle for that. I’ll turn the TV off and even miss a meal or two.”

More Next Time!

Catch Up Time!

Wow! I've never gone a week before between posts, much less 9 days! Life has gone by at super sonic speed this past couple of weeks and I'm finding myself falling behind daily.

Just a short catch up note, then I'll do better this week, and post something more uplifting and helpful.

First, an announcement~Ta-Da----drum roll---- Our 28 yr old son Steven just got engaged about a week ago. He and his lovely fiance Hannah spent a day on the Oregon coast where he proposed. We feel so blessed at the choice he's made, as Hannah is a wonderful, Godly young woman. They are tentatively planning on an August wedding. Wow! A wedding, and my book releasing, within about 30 days of each other, that's going to be some kind of exciting summer!

Our house is making good progress....in fact, that's what's kept me away from here this past wk or so. We're at the place where our contractor is installing the tongue and groove fir ceilings. But we wanted to stain them a light mahogany color, with one clear coat over the stain, so a two step process. My hubby and I have been doing all the staining an coating, trying to keep enough boards done to stay one day ahead of the workers. The entire upstairs will be done by tomorrow afternoon, but we had to spend this afternoon coating enough more for the entire day tomorrow, then will go up to do more, so they can have enough for the next day. One more week and all of them will be complete. Then we get to start painting all the baseboards and window/door trim boards and crown moldings, LOL!

I'm waiting to hear from the title committee on my book. I do know that it won't be Yesterday's Child, as that title is being used too many times already, but other books on the market. I've submitted a list of titles for their consideration, and am hoping they'll make a decision this week. Here's my top 4....tell me what you think...? If you haven't read the excerpt yet of the opening scene, you can do so on my web site.

Yesterday's Secret
Child of Yesterday
Forgotten Secret
Forgotten Memory