Clothed With Scarlet

A Mother's Prayer

A Mother's Prayer

The sweetest sound heard through our earthly home,

The brightest ray that gleams from heaven's dome,

The loveliest flower that e'er from earth's breast rose,

That purest flame that, quivering, gleams and glows,

Are found along, where kneels a mother mild,

With heart uplifted, praying for her child.

~

The stream of tears can never cease to flow

Long as life's sun shall shine on us below;

And many angels have been sent by God

To count the tear drops wept upon life's road;

But of all the tears that glow, the least defiled

Are when a mother prays beside her child.

~

Because it is to mortal eyes unseen,

Ye call it foolishness, a childish dream,

In vain, ye cannot rob me of that thought,

That legend with such heavenly sweetness fraught,

That blessed angels have for ages smiled

To see a mother praying for her child.

Anonymous

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

November 9, 2009

"God's Word says..."

Addison is 3, Kennedy is 4.  They are 16 months apart.

They love one another dearly and are the best of friends.  They play so well together.  They truly enjoy one another's company.

However, when they do squabble....whew....DO THEY SQUABBLE!

:0)

Yesterday morning the girls are getting ready for the day and I am putting books on the shelf in the library (all on the second floor and all rooms are open to one another).  I hear Addison tell Kennedy, "Kn-dy, God's Wo-rwd says you awe not to be wude to you-rw sist-rw!"

Translation: Kennedy, God's Word says you are not to be rude to your sister!

:0)

I turn, trying not to laugh, to see the two facing one another at the top of the stairwell looking seriously at one another.

~~~

Over the last year, I have learned that God's perfect Word, the two-edged sword, will truly pierce right into the hearts of the children.  God's Word changes us.  Why would it be any different for our children?  Why do we feel some overwhelming need to water down scripture for our children?  It makes sense that we speak His Word directly to our children. 

Taking the wisdom of someone quite dear to me, I made myself some note cards so that I would always have God's Word in-hand, I set forth about this time last year to correct and teach the children in the moment(as the anger, laziness, lying, impatience {name the sin} was actually occurring) with the words of our Creator instead of my own words.  I also set forth to encourage the children with the Word of God when I saw Christ-like behavior/words in them.

God's Word is amazing...  The Sword Is Sufficient

~~~

So, yesterday, we sat down to talk about what God's Word says about being rude to your sisters. 

:0)

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

October 15, 2009

Music: Word of God Speak

Having put his hand to the plough...

The last post from September 7th,I will follow Thee...

I have written several things since but have opted not to post anything further.  The words from September 7th continue to penetrate my heart and my mind.  The words to the song continue to penetrate my heart and my mind.  It is like I find more and deeper truth each time that I go back and read.

The more I seek Christ, the more I find Christ; the more I find Christ, the more I love Christ.  I'm learning more about putting my hand to the plough.  I'm learning that I cannot and do not want to let go.

...no matter what...

~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

I will follow Thee...

"...Christianity is fundamentally an experience in losing the lives of our dreams in order to receive the lives Jesus died to give us.  Those who would bear the name Christian credibly experience a tremendous amount of abandonment in life." **

56For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.  57And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.  58And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.  59And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.  60Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.  61And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.  62And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.  ~~Luke 9:56-62

"Jesus is our only hope.  If Christians are truly willing to leave everything to follow Him, then they will, in fact, eventually leave everything." **

"The question is, 'Can we lean into the abandomnment?  Can we accept it as the Savior's invitation to find our lives at long last?'"  **

~~~

"We cannot change ourselves, and we cannot help but be changed when He reveals more of Himself to us.  To follow Jesus is to enter the lifelong process of discovering more about God than we know, discovering that "my ways are not your ways," discovering that we have been worshipping not God but an expectation of God.  Nothing makes it harder to see God than our own expectations of Him.  They blind us to the new ways He is at work saving our lives.  Conversion pulls us away from being religious, away from having all the answers.  It turns us into pilgrims who journey though life..." **

~~~

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind and with all thy soul.  This is the first and great commandment."  ~~Matthew 22:37-38

About two years ago I asked the Lord to teach me how to love Him with all my heart, all my mind and all my soul.  I told the Lord that I didn't know how.  I told the Lord that I loved my husband and my children more than I loved Him.  And...truthfully, and sadly, there were probably many other things that I loved more than my Savior.  I told the Lord that I wanted to obey this first and great commandment.

~~~

"Christianity isn't something we get good at.  Jesus' teachings are not hard; they are impossible.  Those who first heard Jesus' statement that the rich man is like a camel trying to pass through the eye of aneedle were shocked.  They asked, "They who can be saved?"  The Savior's response was that while it is impossible to be a Christian, all things are possible with God.  It always, always gets back to receiving grace.  But if we are used to earning our own way, nothing could be harder." **

"Faith means betting our lives on the grace of God."  **

~~~

We must learn how to follow which means that we must give up the expectation of knowing where we are going.

One single day at a time...

It is the only way...

Going to receive our daily manna...His perfect word, just for this day...

~~~

** Quotes from M. Craig Barnes

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

September 7, 2009

...only a fragment of a home...

 “A home without children is only a fragment of a home. Its life, however happy, is a song with the sweetest part left out. Where no children come the husband and wife miss much that is deepest and richest in life. Their wedded joy never realizes its fullest measure of tenderness. There are chords in their hearts that are never waked. There are whole fields in the natures that are never brought under culture. There are powers and capacities in their souls that are never developed. They lose many a deep lesson that can be read from no book save from the pages of unfolding child-life. They miss many an inspiration of purity, of gentleness, of unselfishness, of beauty, for God has no constituted us that only in loving and caring for children are the richest and best things in us drawn out.” ~~ J. R. Miller

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

September 3, 2009

Proverbs 1

Proverbs 1

 ¹The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

 ²To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;

 ³To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;

 ⁴To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

 ⁵A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

 ⁶To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

 ⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

 ⁸My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

 ⁹For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

 ¹⁰My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

 ¹¹If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

 ¹²Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

 ¹³We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:

 ¹⁴Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

 ¹⁵My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:

 ¹⁶For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

 ¹⁷Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

 ¹⁸And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.

 ¹⁹So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

 ²⁰Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:

 ²¹She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,

 ²²How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

 ²³Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

 ²⁴Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;

 ²⁵But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

 ²⁶I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

 ²⁷When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

 ²⁸Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

 ²⁹For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:

 ³⁰They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

 ³¹Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

 ³²For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

 ³³But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

September 1, 2009

His Reward

 

Once a woman came upon three mothers at work.  "What are you doing?" she asked of them.

"I'm doing the weekly washing," answered the first.

"I'm doing a bit of household drudgery," replied the second.

The third woman replied, "I'm mothering three young children who someday will fill important and useful spheres in life, and wash-day is a part of my grand task in caring for these souls who shall live forever." 

Only the third woman had caught the vision of the great work she was doing.

-Author Unknown

~~~

     "A home without children is only a fragment of a home.  Its life, however happy, is a song with the sweetest part left out.  Where no children come the husband and wife miss much that is deepest and richest in life.  Their wedded joy never realizes its fullest measure of tenderness.  There are chords in their hearts that are never waked.  There are whole fields in their natures that are never brought under culture.  There are powers and capacities in their souls that are never developed.  They lose many a deep lesson that can be read from no book save from the pages of unfolding child-life.  They miss many an inspiration of purity, of gentleness, of unselfishness, of beauty, for God has so constituted us that only in loving and caring for children are the richest and best things in us drawn out.  Then when old age comes on, how lonely is the childless home, with neither son nor daughter to come back with grateful ministries, to bring solace and comfort to the declining years!"

     "Our homes would be very cold and dreary without the children.  Sometimes we weary of their noise.  They certainly bring us a great deal of care and solicitude.  They cost us no end of toil.  When they are very young they break our rest many a weary night with their colics and teethings, and when they grow older they wellnigh break our hearts many a time with their waywardness.  After they come to us we may as well bid farewell to living for self and to personal ease and independence, if we mean to do faithful duty as parents.  There are some who therefore look upon the coming of children as a misfortune.  They talk about them lightly as "responsibilities."  They regard them as in the way of their pleasure.  They see no blessing in them.  But it is cold selfishness that looks upon children in this way.  Instead of being hindrances to true and noble living, they are helps.  They bring benedictions from heaven when they come, and while they stay they are perpetual benedictions."

     "It is a great thing to take these young and tender lives, rich with so many possibilities of beauty, of joy, of power, all of which may be wrecked, and to become responsible for their shaping and training and for the upbuilding fo their character.  This is what must be thought of in the making of a home."

                                      ~ Excerpt from Home-making by J. R. Miller, originally published in 1882

~~~

Psalm 127

 1Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

 2It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

 3Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

 4As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

 5Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

July 17, 2009

Music: Fur Elise

Once a woman came upon three mothers at work.  "What are you doing?" she asked of them.

"I'm doing the weekly washing," answered the first.

"I'm doing a bit of household drudgery," replied the second.

The third woman replied, "I'm mothering three young children who someday will fill important and useful spheres in life, and wash-day is a part of my grand task in caring for these souls who shall live forever." 

Only the third woman had caught the vision of the great work she was doing.

-Author Unknown

~~~

     "A home without children is only a fragment of a home.  Its life, however happy, is a song with the sweetest part left out.  Where no children come the husband and wife miss much that is deepest and richest in life.  Their wedded joy never realizes its fullest measure of tenderness.  There are chords in their hearts that are never waked.  There are whole fields in their natures that are never brought under culture.  There are powers and capacities in their souls that are never developed.  They lose many a deep lesson that can be read from no book save from the pages of unfolding child-life.  They miss many an inspiration of purity, of gentleness, of unselfishness, of beauty, for God has so constituted us that only in loving and caring for children are the richest and best things in us drawn out.  Then when old age comes on, how lonely is the childless home, with neither son nor daughter to come back with grateful ministries, to bring solace and comfort to the declining years!"

     "Our homes would be very cold and dreary without the children.  Sometimes we weary of their noise.  They certainly bring us a great deal of care and solicitude.  They cost us no end of toil.  When they are very young they break our rest many a weary night with their colics and teethings, and when they grow older they wellnigh break our hearts many a time with their waywardness.  After they come to us we may as well bid farewell to living for self and to personal ease and independence, if we mean to do faithful duty as parents.  There are some who therefore look upon the coming of children as a misfortune.  They talk about them lightly as "responsibilities."  They regard them as in the way of their pleasure.  They see no blessing in them.  But it is cold selfishness that looks upon children in this way.  Instead of being hindrances to true and noble living, they are helps.  They bring benedictions from heaven when they come, and while they stay they are perpetual benedictions."

     "It is a great thing to take these young and tender lives, rich with so many possibilities of beauty, of joy, of power, all of which may be wrecked, and to become responsible for their shaping and training and for the upbuilding fo their character.  This is what must be thought of in the making of a home."

                                      ~ Excerpt from Home-making by J. R. Miller, originally published in 1882

~~~

Psalm 127

 1Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

 2It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

 3Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

 4As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

 5Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

July 17, 2009

Music: Fur Elise

Twigs & Feathers -- Part I

Nesting...

:)  An interesting part of God's creation...

I think it is an amazing and curious part of how God created a woman.  Every pregnant woman that I have ever known has gone through a period of time during her pregnancy in which she has an overwhelming need to get all things in her home in order. 

I am so thankful for this "nesting". 

~~~

My To-Do List - Cleaning & Organizing

1.  Clean out my closet - Done!  Whoo-hooo and it wasn't so bad.

2.  Clean out the school closet - Done!  And it took quite some time to sort through stray game & puzzle pieces and get all the crayons back to their containers and such.

3.  Clean out coat closet - Done!  My dear friend, Mrs. Spangler, came with her children on Tuesday and announced upon their arrival that at least one household project could be done while we visited. -- All done!

4.  Clean out Bailey's closet

5.  Re-organize sewing cabinet

6.  Clean out the garage

7.  Sort through, organize and store all children's clothing.

8.  Clean out the junk drawer in the kitchen (and the junk cabinet - who put all that stuff in there?)

~~~~

My To-Do List - Acquiring Items for the Wee Littlest One

When we moved out-of-state, we got rid of all items that were not absolutely necessary which meant almost all baby items. 

1.  Cradle and/or Crib

2.  Car seat

3.  Wee tiny clothes for a wee tiny girl.

4.  Sew burp rags, changing pads and bibs.

5.  Locate (in the garage) the box of baby items we kept and clean them for use.

~~~~

Nesting...a time to give thanks to God for this new life...

Nesting...a time to pray for the life of this new little girl...

Nesting...a time to praise the Lord for the blessing of this child...

Nesting...a time to seek guidance from the Lord on how to raise up this child for His glory...

~~~

Time to go!

There are twigs to be gathered and soft feathers that need to be woven into the nest! 

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

July 4, 2009

 

 

This is His day.

Addison wakes first typically; around 6:30 a.m.

My beloved husband was just about to leave the house so he was blessed with her smile and kisses to start his day and she with the loving embrace of her father.

Addison (age 2) and I sat at the table together.  I had a cup of coffee and she enjoyed a cup of blueberry tea.  She was noticing the sunrise and commenting on how far it reached (all the way from one neighbor's yard to the other neighbor's yard which was as far as she could see).  I told her that God brought the sun to us in the east every morning.  As we discussed directions and talked more of the sunrise, I began to recall a thought that has passed tthrough my mind more times than I can count over the last many years.

The miracle of the sunrise...

The sunrise is an amazing miracle when you stop to think about all that happens...

...yet it's daily occurrence seems to numb our senses to the beauty and the simply amazing creation...

When I stop and remind myself of this, I always think of Psalm 118:24:

"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."

This day, today, God created this day.

I shall rejoice and be glad in this day.  I must set my mind to rejoicing in all things today.

What is His purpose and His plan in my life .. on this day that He has created?

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

June 23, 2009

Music: Make My Life A Prayer To You

..all things..

"By perseverance the snail reached the ark."  

                                   ~~Charles Spurgeon

"But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."  ~~Matthew 19:26

~~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

June 15, 2009

How shall I hide?

"A prudent man forseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished."  ~~Proverbs 27:12

This verse stayed with me this morning. 

I began to think about it and dissect it and hold it up to my moment-by-moment decisions. 

I went to look up the original Hebrew words that Proverbs was written in to ensure that I was reading what was actually written.  (The Interlinear Bible is where you locate the bible in the original Hebrew and Greek just in case you are not familiar.)

~~~

A prudent or sensible person will discern, will inspect, will give attention to, will distinguish...

...the evil, distress, misery, adversity, calamity...

--- This next phrase is what caught my heart this morning. ---

"..AND HIDETH HIMSELF.."

To hide means to conceal.  

..but the simple or the foolish...

..pass on or traverse or advance..

..and are punished or condemned.. 

Once we accept Christ as our Savior, we are forgiven; however, we live with the consequences of our sin.

So...according to God...in Proverbs 27:12, I can be wise and discerning and see the sin coming and hide myself from it or I can just go on and walk right in and suffer the condemnation and consequences. 

Hmmm...makes me want to truly ponder each moment even further so that I can foresee the evil.  Causes me to realize how far I am from truly "praying without ceasing".

~~~

When I think about it, this is how I hide from evil.  Or I don't bother to hide at all.

If you look up the word conceal**, it means to withdraw from observation or to cover and keep from sight.  If you look up the word hide**, it means to put oneself in a condition to be safe.

Think on that...

Think of a common sin in your daily life or something that you struggle with.  God's word says that we are to be keen enough to see the evil coming and then we are to put ourselves into a condition in which we will be safe from the evil.

My mind wandered further...

I began to think of how God created animals and their ability to hide themselves from danger.  So, I went looking for some visual examples.

This is a seahorse that is hidden in some coral.

An owl sitting plainly in sight, yet seemingly sitting in a position to keep herself safe.

This is a red goby hidden amongst coral.

A spider sitting on a sunflower.

A jackrabbit in the weeds.

~~~

"This we had before, ch. 22:3. Note, 1. Evil may be foreseen. Where there is temptation, it is easy to foresee that if we thrust ourselves into it there will be sin, and as easy to foresee that if we venture upon the evil of sin there will follow the evil of punishment; and, commonly, God warns before he wounds, having set watchmen over us,Jer. 6:17. 2. It will be well or ill with us according as we do or do not improve the foresight we have of evil before us: The prudent man, foreseeing the evil, forecasts accordingly, and hides himself, but the simple is either so dull that he does not foresee it or so wilful and slothful that he will take no care to avoid it, and so he passes on securely and is punished. We do well for ourselves when we provide for hereafter."  ~~Matthew Henry's Commentary

~~~

So, how then shall I hide myself from evil? 

^"7Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.  ⁸I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye."  ~~Psalm 32:7-8

~~~

 "Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word."  ~~Psalm 119:114

~~~

"For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock."  ~~Psalm 27:5

How shall I hide myself?

In His word...

...and on my knees...

~~~

** 1828 Noah Webster's Dictionary

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

May 27, 2009

Music: Light by David Nevue

What will enthrall the beloved?

“Love is doing what will enthrall the beloved with the greatest and longest joy. What will enthrall the beloved this way is the glory of God. Love means doing all we can, at whatever cost to ourselves, to help people be enthralled with the glory of God. When they are, they are satisfied and God is glorified. Therefore loving people and glorifying God are one.”  ~~John Piper

~~~~

I read this quote earlier today and have spent a fair amount of time pondering the thought. 

It's meaning encompasses far more than I realized the first time I read it through.  I began to think of this statement with a more broad "stroke".

John 15:12 - "This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you."

1 Pet 1:22 -

"Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:"

1 John 4:12 - "No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us."

~~~~

 

I love my husband. 

     “Love is doing what will enthrall the my husband with the greatest and longest joy. What will enthrall the my husband this way is the glory of God. Love means doing all I can, at whatever cost to myself, to help my husband be enthralled with the glory of God. When he is, my husband will be satisfied and God is glorified. Therefore loving my husband and glorifying God are one.”

~~~~

I love my children.

“Love is doing what will enthrall my children with the greatest and longest joy. What will enthrall my children this way is the glory of God. Love means doing all I can , at whatever cost to me, to help my children be enthralled with the glory of God. When my children are, my children are satisfied and God is glorified. Therefore loving my children and glorifying God are one.

~~~~

I love my family...my father, my mother, my brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, grandparents, in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins...

Love is doing what will enthrall my family with the greatest and longest joy. What will enthrall my father this way is the glory of God. Love means doing all I can, at whatever cost to myself, to help my mother be enthralled with the glory of God. When my brothers are, they are satisfied and God is glorified. Therefore loving my family and glorifying God are one.

~~~~

I love my church family.

Love is doing what will enthrall my church family with the greatest and longest joy. What will enthrall the men, women & children in my church this way is the glory of God. Love means doing all I can, at whatever cost to myself, to help my brothers & sisters in Christ to be enthralled with the glory of God. When my church family is, they are satisfied and God is glorified. Therefore loving the men, women & children in my church and glorifying God are one.

~~~~

 

I love my friends.

Love is doing what will enthrall my friends with the greatest and longest joy.  What will enthrall my friends this way is the glory of God.  Love means doing all I can, at whatever the cost to myself, to help my friends be enthralled by the glory of God.  When my friends are, they are satisfied and God is glorified.  Therefore, loving my friends and glorifying God are one. 

~~~~

Words to think about...

Words to hold up to scripture to find truth...

My own thoughts to ponder.

My own actions to consider.

What exactly am I doing to enthrall my husband, my children, my family, my church and my friends with The Longest and The Greatest Joy? 

How are my words and my actions bringing glory to God every moment of every single day?

~~~~

All for His glory...

~~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

May 19, 2009

Music: Stars & Butterflies

Good stewards of the manifold of God...

"Do you often feel like parched ground, unable to produce anything worthwhile? I do. When I am in need of refreshment, it isn't easy to think of the needs of others. But I have found that if, instead of praying for my own comfort and satisfaction, I ask the Lord to enable me to give to others, an amazing thing often happens - I find my own needs wonderfully met. Refreshment comes in ways I would never have thought of, both for others, and then, incidentally, for myself."

                                                                                        ~~Elisabeth Elliot

~~~~

I Peter 4:10 -- As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold of God.

II John 1:5 -- And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

April 30. 2009

Music: Make My Life A Prayer To You

..only on Thee..

"Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day."  ~~Psalm 25:5

~

posted by Mrs. Klause

April 1, 2009

Music: Be Thou My Vision

Learning To Dance

"Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass.

It’s about learning to dance in the rain."

~~

I swiped this quote right off the blog of a wonderful and beautiful woman that I know. 

I love this...

...learning to dance in the rain...

Dance...wherever I may be...

He is my Lord. 

Ready to lead me.

No matter where I might be.

~~

Thank you for this reminder, Mrs. Spangler.

~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

March 20, 2009

Music:  Lord of the Dance

Not vainglory but lowliness...

"Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves."  ~~Philippians 2:3

~~~

We do not like to admit it.  Most of us think quite highly of ourselves.

The bible says that pride is a shameful thing.  This world teaches that being proud of who we are and what we can accomplish is a good thing.

This morning as I was stirring the cream into my coffee, I watched as the cream swirled into the coffee and simply disappeared into the coffee.  I thought of how easily we swirl into the world. 

We are to be set apart. 

To love the Lord with all of our hearts and all of our minds and all of our souls sets us apart...it makes us different...  It is not the warm and comfortable swirl.

We should be more like oil to water.  No matter how much you stir or shake...they don't mix.

When we find goodness within ourselves, when we raise our heads high with quiet pride...

We are comfortably swirling.

~~

Where in my life, on this day, is there stife?

Where in my life, on this day that the Lord has made, is there vainglory?

God, make it clear to me...

...again...

Cause me to know lowliness as Christ knew it.

Change my heart; draw me nearer.

~~~

Everything,

everyday,

every conversation,

every thought,

every moment..

It must all be for His glory.

posted by Mrs. Klause

March 13, 2009

By God's Design

Proverbs 31:10-31

 ¹⁰Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

 ¹¹The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

 ¹²She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

 ¹³She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.

 ¹⁴She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

 ¹⁵She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.

 ¹⁶She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

 ¹⁷She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.

 ¹⁸She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

 ¹⁹She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.

 ²⁰She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

 ²¹She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

 ²²She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.

 ²³Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.

 ²⁴She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.

 ²⁵Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

 ²⁶She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

 ²⁷She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

 ²⁸Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

 ²⁹Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.

 ³⁰Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

 ³¹Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

March 6, 2009

..as He is..

"Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly.  We insist upon trying to modify Him and bring Him nearer to our own image."

                                            ~~~A. W. Tozer

~~~~

~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~

I stand amazed in the presence
  Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner, condemned, unclean.


Chorus:
O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
Is my Savior's love for me!


Verse 2:
For me it was in the garden
He prayed: “Not My will, but Thine.”
He had no tears for His own griefs,
But sweat drops of blood for mine.


Verse 3:
In pity angels beheld Him,
And came from the world of light
To comfort Him in the sorrows
He bore for my soul that night.


Verse 4:
He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own;
He bore the burden to Calvary,
And suffered and died alone.


Verse 5:
When with the ransomed in glory
His face I at last shall see,
’Twill be my joy through the ages
To sing of His love for me.

posted by Mrs. Klause

February 17, 2009

Music: I Stand Amazed

I am just a sinner.

When I say...

“I am a Christian,” I am not shouting, “I am clean living,”;

I am whispering, “I was lost, now I am found and forgiven.”

When I say…

“I am a Christian,” I do not speak of this with pride.

I am confessing that I stumble and I need Christ to be my guide.

When I say…

“I am a Christian,” I am not trying to be strong.

I am professing that I am weak and I need His strength to carry on.

When I say…

“I am a Christian,” I am not bragging of success.

I am admitting I have failed and I need God to clean up my mess.

When I say...

"I am a Christian," I am not claiming to be perfect.

My flaws are far too visible, my failures every single day.

When I say…

“I am a Christian,” I still feel the sting of pain;

I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon the name of Christ.

When I say…

“I am a Christian,” I am not holier than thou, I am just a simple sinner

who received God’s amazing grace.

                                                                  ~~Author & Title Unknown

~~~

 

posted by Mrs. Klause

February 9, 2009

most gladly...

"My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.  Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

                                                                 II Corinthians 12:9

~~~

"Most gladly".  It comes only from His grace.  It comes from His sufficiency.  It is not within me to be glad to glory in my infirmities.  It is in my weakness that His strength is made perfect. 

It is when we realize our insufficiency...

It is when we realize the futility of our own strength...

...

...that His power rests upon us...

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

February 4, 2009

There is no shortcut...

Our children are six, three and two.  I so deeply desire to obey God's word and to train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  I fail constantly.  Early on, I was guilty of looking to man and his ways.  I didn't quite realize what I was doing at the time.  After all, I was reading books about child training written by Christian men.  I did, however, fail to CONSTANTLY hold up their every sentence and theory to the perfect word of God. 

I have realized over the last several months that I have not deeply studied God's word to learn about training up our children.  I have read it and I have thought about it and I have prayed about it but I mean digging, hungering, searching...  Not scratching the surface but crying out to God to have an understanding of the words that He has given us.

It is God that careful knit together each of our children within our wombs.  It is God that knows their hearts and minds far more than I will ever be able to even conceive.  As with all of God's ways, there is no prescription or step-by-step method that we can apply to each child. 

I think that Father and Mother must take each child to the throne of God and each child must be prayed over and prayed about and God's will for that child must be sought after.  I don't mean lightly searched for, I mean hunted and chased after as we would search for food if we were starving...

~~~

 "4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:  5And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  6And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:  7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.  8And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.  9And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates."  ~~Deuteronomy 6:4-9

"Have you ever heard this riddle?

Question: What is the first rule for teaching a parakeet how to talk?

Answer:  You must have a larger vocabulary than the parakeet!

The same principle is true of parenting.  If you (like Timothy's mother and grandmother {read II Timothy in the Bible}) are going to teach your children God's Word, you must know the Scriptures yourself.  There is no escaping it.  There is no effective shortcut to studying the Bible yourself.  Of course, you can read them stories from the Bible, anecdotes from a daily devotional quarterly, and catechize them from a catechism manual.  But as good as these methods are, they are not as effective as communicating biblical truth from  your heart directly to theirs with personal insight and application.  For you to rely solely on someone else's preparation of God's Word for your children is to neglect the first part of the passage before us (Deuteronomy 6:6).  Someone has said that a message prepared in a mind reaches a mind, but a message prepared in a life reaches a life.  In other words, the more of God's Word you have internalized for yourself (verse 6) the more effectively you will be able to properly indoctrinate your children in the Scriptures (verses 7-9).  Your goal should be to increasingly become like one of the scribes Jesus speaks of in Matthew 13:52, who knows the Scriptures so well that he "brings forth out of his treasure things new and old," -- that is, things he has learned from others and things he has figured out for himself."

                                                   ~~Teach Them Diligentlyby Lou Priolo, page 12

~~~

Dearest Lord,  May I seek your perfect word for each amazing eternal soul that You have blessed me with.  May I love You with all my heart, all my mind and all my soul so that my children can see and learn to love you with all of their being.  May I refuse all that this world has and chase after only that which is from Your hand.  Help me to dwell in Your word.  Help me to pray without ceasing.  Help me to bind Your law upon my heart.  Help me to meditate upon Your word day and night.  Help me to take every thought captive so that it might be all for Your glory.  Cause me to seek You and Your ways for each of my children, individually.  Lord, cause me to see each day moment-by-moment as a clear step, in the lives of my children, as a step either towards Christ or a step with their backs to their Savior.  God, no matter the circumstances, no matter how painful, please continue to cut away "the branches" in my own heart that need pruning.  Change me; teach me to deny myself; teach me to love You.  Amen.

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

January 23, 2009

May we enjoy them!

Do you enjoy your children?

Some days it is difficult as there is constant intervention and training of their words, their actions, their attitudes, their decisions, their behaviors, their characters...

Children are a blessing, straight from the hand of our Creator.

I cannot possibly care for my children without the constant seeking of Christ.  I am such a selfish and wretched woman that when I attempt (foolishly) to mother them on my own,  I fail so miserably.  I am so rotten.

It is Christ that daily changes my heart.

It is Christ that daily prunes me.  The 'branches' that He cuts away from me are constantly falling.  Self-control assists in protecting the heads of my children from the falling branches...but not always.

God help me not only to take joy in my children but to truly enjoy each of my children every single day.

May you clearly, with no doubt, know the presence of Christ on this day that He hath made.

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

January 12, 2009

Music: In Christ Alone

Love will starve if not fed...

Someone asked me recently what type of books I read.  Here is an excerpt from a book that I have been "chewing on" for several weeks.  Home-Making by J. R. Miller was originally published in 1882.  The title refers to the making of a home, as designed by God.  It does not refer to today's definition of the word home-making.

The following is from the first chapter, entitled The Wedded Life.

"On the contrary, there is no place in the world where the amenities of courtesy should be so carefully maintained as in the home. There are no hearts that hunger so for expressions of affection as the hearts of which we are most sure. There is no love that so need its daily bread as the love that is strongest and holiest. There is no place where rudeness or incivility is as unpardonable as inside our own doors and toward our best beloved. The tenderer the love and the truer, the more it craves the thousand little attentions and kindnesses which so satisfy the heart. It is not costly presents at Christmas and on birthdays and anniversaries that are wanted; these are only mockeries if the days between are empty of affectionate expressions. Jewelry and silks and richly bound volumes will never atone for the want of warmth and tenderness. Between husband and wife there should be maintained, without break or pause, the most perfect courtesy, the gentlest attention, the most unselfish amiability, the most affectionateness. Coleridge says: “The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions, the little soon forgotten charities of a kiss or a smile, a kind look, a heartfelt compliment, and the countless infinitesimals of pleasurable thought and genial feeing.” These may seem trifles, and the omission of them may be deemed unworthy of thought; but they are the daily bread of love, and hearts go hungry when they are omitted. It may be only carelessness at first in a busy husband or a weary wife that fails in these small, sweet courtesies, and it may seem a little matter, but in the end the result may be a growing far apart of two lives which might have been forever very happy in each other had their early love but been cherished and nourished.

“For love will starve if it is not fed,
And true hearts pray for their daily bread.”"

~~~

Time is short.  I have to ask myself what I am filling my mind and heart with. 

~~~

You can read Home-Making free online at www.jr-miller.com or you can purchase the book here.

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

December 29, 2008

Music:  Be THou My Vision

 

All for God's glory...

"Obedience is the irrepressible overflow in life of those who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good."

                                           ~~John Piper
~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

December 12, 2008

Finding sweetness...

Home can only be sweet when the home is firmly set upon Christ.

Home is only sweet when we seek the wisdom of the Lord every day, every moment, every conversation, every breath...

"Every wise woman buildeth her house; but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands."  ~Proverbs 14:1

Home can only be sweet when we quit trying to make it what we want it to be and surrender fully to God's will for our home.

Home can only be sweet when we die to ourselves.  When we finally realize that it is not about us or for us but all for the glory of the Lord.

Home can only be sweet when we run after the hem of His robe with all that we have.

"And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God."  ~Romans 12:2

Home can only be sweet when we fully lay aside and deny our agendas and turn to our husbands and submit to them as unto the Lord.

"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church; and he is the saviour of the body.  Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing."  ~Ephesians 5:22-24

Home can only be sweet when we see that God's hand is in every thing! 

Home can only be sweet when we do not ever complain or argue, grumble or murmur.

"Do all things without murmurings and disputings; that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain."  ~Philippians 2:14-16

Home can only be sweet when we can truly rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS, no matter what the situation. 

Home can only be sweet when we focus solely on Christ and do not give in or become consumed by worry or fear.

"Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, Rejoice.  Let your moderation be known unto all men.  The Lord is at hand.  Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."  ~Philippians 4:4-8

Home can only be sweet when we grab ahold of the first and great commandment.

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, all thy soul and all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment."  ~Matthew 22:37-38

Home can only be sweet when we realize that our goal in raising children is simply to lead them to the foot of the cross.

Home can only be sweet when we spend our days seeking the Lord with our whole heart and teaching our children to seek the Lord with their whole hearts.

Home can only be sweet when we hide God's word in our hearts.

Home can only be sweet when the we speak the word of God to the hearts of our children instead of using our words and man's methods to change the hearts of our children.

Home can only be sweet when we realize that we must live in a state of bankruptcy.  When we finally realize that we truly have nothing, of ourselves, to offer to anyone.

Home can only be sweet when we realize that the words of our mouth, the work of our hands and the meditations of our heart are all for His glory, otherwise our words, our work and our thoughts do nothing but feed our selfishness or our pride.

Home can only be sweet when we seek God's word in it's entirety instead of making His word into an application with which we schmear upon our lives like a topical analgesic.

Home can only be sweet when we take every thought captive and pray without ceasing.

Home can only be sweet when Christ is fully, truly, always Lord of our home.

Home can only be sweet when we fall down before Him and realize His holiness.

~~~

May we constantly refuse all that this world has to offer.  May we rejoice in being set apart.  May we flee from every single thing that does not bring glory to God.  May we live our lives not just on our knees in prayer but on our faces before the I Am.

~~~

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

December 3, 2008

Music: Video-We Fall Down

I will give thanks unto thee forever.

Psalm 30

 1I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.

 2O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.

 3O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

 4Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

 5For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

 6And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.

 7LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.

 8I cried to thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made supplication.

 9What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?

 10Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.

 11Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;

 12To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

 

His hands and His feet...

Every good and every perfect gift comes from the very hand of God...

~~~

Aaron paid for two business trips out of his pocket.  He received the reimbursement on the same day that we were notified that we would have to move.

All for God's glory!

The girls and I searched 6.5 hours, 100 miles and looked at 15 houses in a day.  We found two good houses.  We put money on the first one.  I felt just the slightest bit uneasy about that house and continued to pray for God's perfect plan.  The owner of the home decided not to rent her home.  The second house was still available.  We put money on the second house.  We signed on the second house and took the first load of things over less than 12 hours later.

All for God's glory!

Friends offered to help and bring their large box-type truck to move the big furniture this coming Saturday. 

Two of the mommas from my sewing class offered to help move us instead of sew for the next class.

All for God's glory!

The body of Christ, "my" church, has offered to serve us.  Yesterday, two families arrived ready to work.  The sewing room, the kitchen, most of all the closets, both bathrooms, most of the back yard items and many other miscellaneous items were not only packed and transported but completely unloaded and put into their proper places in our new home.  They brought food for us to eat.  They brought trash bags, boxes, paper plates, water and other "moving necessities" just for us.

Dear friends have offered to drive over and take the girls for a day of fun while the big furniture is moved on Saturday.

All for God's glory!

Last night, another family from church offered to come on Friday to help.

Last night, I received email from another momma in the sewing class, she wants to serve us instead of sew.

All for God's glory!

Today, another family from "my" church will be here to serve us.  They will provide lunch and dinner for our family tonight.

All for God's glory!

Wednesday, friends will arrive in the afternoon to serve us.

All for God's glory!

All is defined as: the whole amount; the entire quantity; the extent of; as much as possible; every; whatever; nothing but; completely taken up with; given to; entirely consumed...

EVERY SITUATION, EVERY DAY, EVERY CONVERSATION, EVERY ACTION, EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY BREATH ... ALL FOR GOD's GLORY!

ALL FOR HIS PURPOSE!

~~~

Every move before, I've had the blessing of time to put away projects and 'ready' our home for the move.  This time, there is little time. 

This time, in my weakness, He has been strong.  In my weakness, the hands and feet of Christ are serving me. 

He is strong when I am weak.

...He provides...

...when I realize my insufficiency...

Every good and perfect gift comes from above.

~~~

James 1

 1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

 2My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

 3Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

 4But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

 5If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

 6But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

 7For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

 8A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

 9Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:

 10But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.

 11For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.

 12Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

 13Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

 14But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

 15Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

 16Do not err, my beloved brethren.

 17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

 18Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

 19Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

 20For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

 21Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

 22But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

 23For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

 24For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

 25But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

 26If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

 27Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

November 18, 2008

I have no excuses.

    I don't pray for my children enough.    I don't have any excuses.   How can I know EXACTLY what to do for each one of the children unless I seek God's perfect word and God's infalliable direction every single day and all day long?   God loves my children more than I can possibly fathom.    God created each child and knows every single thing about their hearts and their minds.   God knows what Addison struggles with today.   God knows what Kennedy will struggle with tomorrow.   God knows why Bailey disobeys...every single time.   Who else can teach me how to lead my children to the cross?   Who else truly knows her way, her path to the cross?   ~~~~~~~~~   These thoughts have weighed heavily upon my heart for the last 24 hours.   Our children need the word of God in their hearts.  The word of the Lord needs to correct them and settle within their hearts when they sin.  The words of momma do not effect change.  However, the words of God Almighty are like a two edged sword.   ~~~~~~~~~   Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.   ~~~~~~~~~~~   Many, many weeks back an amazing woman shared with me that she and her husband had to use notecards to write God's word upon so that they would have it immediately at their fingertips throughout their days with their children.    ~~~~~~~~~~~   After much thought and much prayer, I see that I fail miserably at 'administering' the twoedged sword.   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~   Notecards....prayer....finding my way to the words that God wants spoken to the hearts of my children....much study of God's word....much, much prayer....   ~~~~~~~~~~~~
This evening I popped over to Mrs. Smith's blog, Bring The Rain, and found that praying for her children seemed to be upon her heart as well.  She has shared the scripture that she is currently praying over her children.  She is also decided that she will use seven points throughout the day to pray over her children.  Hop over there and read a spot and then ask the Lord what His perfect plan is for your children.   :0)        

"...no matter how hard..."

"It is a great deal easier to do that which God gives us to do, no matter how hard it is, than to face the responsibilities of not doing it."

                                                                ~~ J. R. Miller

~~~

"Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men."  Acts 5:29

 

 

posted by Mrs. Klause

November 7, 2008

Music: The Valley Song

Little Rubies -- Machine Sewing Lessons for Young Ladies

Thursday afternoons are busy in our household!

 

There are seven young ladies taking a sewing class.

 

Only two of the seven were able to thread their machines on the first class day.  Tomorrow will be our sixth class and all seven girls are sewing wonderfully!  They are creating many things with their hands.

 

Sewing, sewing, sewing...

 

One of the other mommas in the kitchen with a few of the little ones...

 

Learning, learning, learning...

 

Bailey and Mommy.

~~~~

The curriculum is based upon the Word of God. 

The girls first learned about patience as they had to wait, without sewing, in our first class so that they were able to learn how to thread their machine and learn about all the pieces and parts. 

>>  "But thou, o man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses."  I Timothy 6:11-12  <

 They have learned about looking well to the ways of their household, making things that have a purpose and not being idle or frivolous in their projects  Last week they all made a lovely new dishrag to be used in their mother's kitchens.

>>  "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eatheth not the bread of idleness."  Proverbs 31:27  <

During our class this week they will make something for themselves for the first time...

Pocket Purses!

Perhaps I will post a few photos of the "purses-in-progress" later this week.

:0)

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

November 5, 2008

I truly stand amazed...

*** Please scroll down and look to the right so that you can turn off the music before you press play on this post. ***

Romans 8

 1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

 3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

 4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

 5For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

 6For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

 7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

 8So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

 9But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

 10And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

 11But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

 12Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

 13For 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.

 14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

 15For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

 16The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

 17And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

 18For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

 19For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

 20For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

 21Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

 22For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

 23And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

 24For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

 25But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

 26Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

 27And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

 28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

 29For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

 30Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

 31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

 33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

 34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

 36As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

 37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

 38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

 39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

~~~~~

We are more than conquerors...

...nothing...

...nothing...

...nothing...

...shall separate us, that are in Christ Jesus, from the love of God...

~~~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

November 2, 2008

Oh let me not wander...

 "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes"  ~~Psalm 119:9-12

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;"  ~~II Corinthians 3:5

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

October 16, 2008

Music: Nothing Without You

Anxiety & Faith

"The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety."   ~~George E.Muller

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

September 9, 2008

A prayer for today...

"Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read..."  ~~Isaiah 34:16

 

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."  ~~Psalm 19:14

 

"Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart."  ~~Psalm 119:2

~~~

** Stay for a couple of minutes and enjoy the music.

posted by Mrs. Klause

August 25, 2008

Music:  You Raise Me Up by Selah

The Sword is Sufficient

The last three mornings have been cool and comfortable. 

A Texas August is never cool and comfortable.

I am learning so much lately.  I have been chasing after God for a few months now.  I want more of Him.  I was, long ago, tired of my will and my ways.  I fail myself, I fail my husband, I fail my children, I fail my Lord. 

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;"  ~~II Corinthians 3:5

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."  ~~Hebrews 4:12

 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  ~~John 1:1

God has been showing me the power of His word.  He has been teaching me how sufficient His word is.  He has been showing me how insufficient that I am.  Do you understand?  The little bible with the maroon cover that lays upon the table in my home...God's words.  He is sufficient.  Sufficient for every problem, every question of the day...

We have a tendency to want to "gulp" down a bit of God's word in the morning or in the evening and then we try to sustain ourselves on that small taste all day long.  We find ourselves in a "hamster wheel" just running and running and getting so tired. 

We are starving ourselves of Him.  How can we rest in His sufficiency when we run all day long and leave Him, our bibles, sitting on the table, touched...opened only briefly each day? 

What would happen if we opened God's word morning, noon and night and often in between?  What would happen if we put down everything but His word?  What would happen if we quit trying to "binge on God's word" and started consuming it?  What would happen if we began to nourish ourselves by simply reading His word.  No "bible studies", no devotionals, no watered-down forms or versions or outlines...

Just the sufficiency of The Sword...

I think it would be cool and comfortable...

...I think it would be like breathing in the coolness of the last three mornings. 

I think it would be like feeling comfortable on an August morning in Texas...

~~~ 

posted by Mrs. Klause

August 15, 2008

Music:  Big Snow in Salzburg

 

posted by Mrs. Klause

August 15, 2008

Music:  Big Snow in Salzburg

 

My Crown of Glory!

Birthdays are so different now that I have my own children.  It is a wonderful day to celebrate a life...a life breathed into existence by our Heavenly Father!

This is Mr. & Mrs. Hall.  Mrs. Hall is an amazing and wonderful woman and a dear friend:

 Mrs. Hall and I decided some years back that we were going to grow old God's way.  We decided that we were going to refuse the world's way of everlasting youthfulness and embrace the blessing of growing older, whatever that may bring.

We decided that we would celebrate with a tea party once one of us found our first grey hair.  I suppose that might just seem a bit silly to some folks but we intend it in all seriousness.  My dear friend moved 2000 miles from me about two weeks prior to the evening that I spied my first grey hair.  We celebrated via telephone and decided that our tea might have to be postponed until we both had a grey strand to celebrate, thereby giving us time to save some pennies for travel.

A few days ago, I located the second grey strand atop my head.  Bailey happened to be standing beside me and questioned my excitement.  I laughed and said to Bailey, "My words are not adequate, let me just read it to you."  She was fast on my heels as I spun around and headed toward my bible.

Here is what I read to my daughter:

The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.  ~~Proverbs 16:31

I explained to Bailey that hoary means grey.  Then I read it again like this:  "The grey head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness."  'Bailey, that means that God has started making my crown of glory!  My grey hair can be a crown of glory if I walk in righteousness with the Lord!  Isn't that exciting?  :0)'

Bailey smiled and said, "Mommy I am happy about your grey hairs, too.  But what does that mean, 'a crown of glory'?"

I said, "Bailey, I don't know precisely and exactly what that means.  I know that as I grow older and as I grey, if my grey hair is found in the way of righteousness, that it is a crown that God is making just for me.  I know that it is amazing and humbling to watch God work."

:0)

With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.  ~~Job 12:12

It never fails.  If we look around us, we find that this old world twists every aspect of God's way for our lives.  I don't want any part of that.  He created us!  He knows how many hairs we have upon our heads...it is his hand that begins to "paint" each of those strands grey.  How can we possibly choose not to embrace God's perfect design?

There are many years to come before I resemble this lovely woman.

On each August 11th, I choose to be thankful for whatever the Lord brings in my next year of life. 

~~~

August 11th is also a day that think of my own mother...as she cared for a newborn infant and began her journey into motherhood.  If you are a mother, you know exactly how wonderful your child's birthday is. 

Happy Birthing Day Mother!  ;0)

  

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

August 11, 2008

Music:  Moonlight Sonata in honor of my Mother & my Grandmother Bettye

 

 

Wait & Don't Be Weary

26Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.

 27Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?

 28Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

 29He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

 30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

 31But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

August 10, 2008

Music: Make My Life A Prayer To You

Lemons or Lemonade?

Can you guess how many times I have mopped the dining room floor in the last 24 hours?

It has become rather comical.  I swear that there must be a little mouse pouring tea or water onto my floor everytime I leave the kitchen/dining area.  It seems like everytime that I walk through, there is another little puddle.

I had a friend over for Evening Tea yesterday and I assured her that her feet would surely stick to the floor!

:0)

I often tell the children that a situation is simply a matter of their hearts.  We can partake of lemons in their sour state or we can make lemonade out of them.  ;0)

They are but wee children...

It is up to Father and Mother to teach them how to take each step, each breath with care and with thought.  It is up to Father and Mother to teach the children to be attentive and considerate.

What is gained when Momma makes her frustration obvious? 

Eight times in the last 24 hours I have opted to smile with my mop in-hand or while I am assisting a little girl in mopping up a puddle.  

It is not always easy and it is not always the first response that comes to mind but I must choose lemonade...

...lemonade...

...with extra sugar...

;0)

posted by Mrs. Klause

August 7, 2008

Music:  Whistle While You Work

...we hold it in our hands...

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."  ~~Hebrews 4:12

~~~

Do we actually have any idea of what we hold in our feeble hands?  Can we actually wrap our sinful and selfish minds around the power of God's Holy Word?  His Word is quick.  His word is powerful.  His word is sharper than any twoedged sword.  Do we get that?  Do we understand that it is the words written on the pages of our bibles that pierce our souls?  Do we gather that it is the Word that is Him? 

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  ~~John 1:1

 

posted by Mrs. Klause

August 5, 2008

Music: Lord of the Dance

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch...

So here is an excerpt from our discussion at breakfast this morning. 

The girls are eating their breakfast.  I am reading to them from the book of Matthew, chapter three.  This morning I read verses 1-7.  I read the passage straight through and then I go back and read it verse by verse and explain the words and the general meaning of the sentence.  Each verse is usually followed by discussion oftentimes quite lengthy.  After we have read through each verse and discussed each verse, then I go back and read the passage straight through again.  Finally, the girls give a narration of what they have just heard. 

Here is the passage from God's word:                                                                                                1In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,  2And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  3For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.  4And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.  5Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,  6And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.  7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

We talk about verse one, verse two, verse three and then we get to verse four.  "And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins..."  So we talk about the clothing that John was wearing and why he may have been wearing such clothing.  I give a definition for raiment, girdle and loins.  We discuss the pregnancies of Mary and Elizabeth and I have reminded them that Jesus and John were cousins and relate that their own cousins.  Then the second part of verse four, "...and his meat was locusts and wild honey."  Bailey's face gets all scrunched up as she is crunching her cereal in her mouth.  :0)   Kennedy looks at Bailey and plays off of her expression with her own scrunched facial expression.  It is what "eeewwwww" looks like on a persons face.  ;0)

Kennedy says, "Momma what's a locust."  Bailey hops in and reminds her of the plagues on Egypt and Kennedy scrunches her face up some more. 

Kennedy:  John ate bugs?

Momma Klause:  Yes ma'am, and honey.  It is what God's word says so we know it is the truth.

Bailey:  Kennedy, did you know that there are still people that eat bugs?

Kennedy:  (With an expression of utter amazement.)  No Bay-way, they don't.

Momma Klause:  Yes Kennedy there are people that eat bugs.  The Klause family does not eat bugs but if that is all that we had to fill our tummies, we would be grateful for them.  Maybe locusts are particularly tasty with wild honey.

** Their faces are still all scrunched up in the "eeeewwwww" position. **

Momma Klause:  (Assuming that all questions have been answered and with nothing more to add, I read the next verse.)  5Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,

Bailey:  Momma?  (With a very serious look on her face.)

Momma Klause:  Yes Bailey. 

Bailey:  I'm still thinkin' that pizza would have tasted better.

:-)

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

August 1, 2008

Music:  Canon in D

...face Him...

I've never had a need to sweep the front porch and sidewalk daily...until now.  We have a tall crepe myrtle that stretches her flowered branches out over the sidewalk. 

Each morning I am honored to open the front door for my husband so that he may leave for work.  I respect him greatly for working so hard every single day.  His hands are full with a cup of coffee and his lunch as he steps out onto the porch.  I kiss him goodbye and sweep the small pink flowers off of the porch as he leaves for the day. 

Our neighborhood is quiet.  This morning the clouds were thick and white overhead and the sun was tucked behind the low clouds in the eastern sky.  A steady and comfortable breeze blew against my face.  The birds are busy this morning.  They are chittering to one another, hopping along rooftops and flying in swoops and circles. 

The clouds overhead as so beautiful.  I want to reach out and touch the softness and pull it to me.  Then...the wind...the breeze...

I am reminded of how big God is, how powerful.  It is His desire that the light wind cool my skin as I stand on the sidewalk.  The breeze pushes firmly against me as I turn to face it.  The gusts blow and it whips my hair in front of my eyes.  Then it slows and I can feel the coolness floating in between my fingers.

The wind seems like the will of God.  I cannot control it but I can submit to the mightiness of it, the power of it, the softness of it...

 "1The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.

 2Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.

 3The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.

 4The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.

 5Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O LORD, for ever."

~~Psalm 93

Turn to His face...

Be still...

Feel His presence brush over...

Let Him consume you...

Every day...

Every moment...

...turn to face Him...

~~~

Please, stay and listen for a few moments...

posted by Mrs. Klause

July 30, 2008

Music: Kindness of Strangers

Pancakes, Time & The Sword

Do you ever just have fun?

I try to enjoy the little things and I try to help my children enjoy the little things more.

The picture above is two "normal" pancakes at the top and then a bird pancake and a flower pancake.  I didn't have any particular bird in mind when I started but she turned out a bit "duck-ish".  The above flower is about the fourth attempt.  Addison enjoyed nibbling my mistakes.

My niece and nephew were visiting.  The top pancake is a spider for Nathan.  And then Bailey's heart, which did not turn out very pretty but it tasted good.  The flower in the picture above was made just for Kyla Ann

Kennedy got the butterfly and Addison liked her caterpillar.

Poppa Calvin's turned out best since we were also having boiled eggs for breakfast!  :0)

I didn't premeditate or plan, I just poured some batter into a little ziplock snack bag and snipped the corner off and started "drawing"  I have altered the Mickey Mouse pancake "pattern" and made bear pancakes before but those got boring.  ;0)

Take time today to have a little fun with you children.  Live with the cheerfulness and joy that comes only from Christ.  Today's batch of pancakes could be your last. 

There is no promise of tomorrow.  We have only today and only this very moment to bring glory to God in all that we do, all that we say and all that we think. 

Our children must see Christ in us and we must place the Word of God into their hearts throughout the day!  Read your bible to them Momma!  Plunge the two-edged sword into their hearts as often as you can.  The Holy Spirit is waiting to do the rest...in their hearts...and in ours...

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."  ~~Hebrews 4:12

:0)

P. S. Maple syrup wipes off your bible cover nicely.

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

July 28, 2008

Music:  Nothing Without You

Do You Ever Enjoy The Silence?

I wrote this last year but feel it important to share again.  The Lord has brought me full circle in the matter of being quiet, particularly in reference to our husbands. 

"Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit."  ~ Ecclesiastes 4:6

"The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD."  ~ Lamentations 3:25-26

"And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing."  ~ I Thessalonians 10-12

Over the last year the Lord has been teaching me to be quiet.  The Lord will always take our fumblings and self-will and use it to His glory but have you ever stopped to think about what He might do if were to just be quiet for awhile?  If we were to serve and love others...particularly our husbands...but cease to constantly excerpt our thoughts and opinions...    Are you guilty of speaking defensively to some of your husbands comments?  I am.  Are you guilty of snipping at your husband when he fails to live up to your expectations?  I am.  Are you guilty of grumping and nagging your husband?  I am.  Are you guilty of just being crabby and sour in tone of voice?  I am.  How about the other side of the coin?  Are you guilty of giving suggestions that weigh heavily towards your desires?  I am.  Are you guilty of jumping on the bandwagon of complaint or gossip?  I am. 

Silence and quietness is a powerful and tremendous blessing.  Without our constant ramblings and regular voice into ALL matters, I wonder what the Creator would do.  What exactly would He work together?  What precisely would He orchestrate in the heart of your beloved husband without your words.  Don't misunderstand me now...  Our words can be a great encouragement to our husbands.  I am his helper, his lover, his confidant, his best friend.  I should be the arms of Christ when my beloved is weary.  I should be his greatest warrior, in prayer on your knees daily for my husband.  We should always be ready with words of kindness and encouragement for our husbands.

Do you often think you know what is best?  I do.  I am guessing that there are times when we do know best but it may not always be appropriate for us to make sure that we tell our husbands just how it should be.  Have you been in prayer over a particular issue concerning your husband or your children or your family?  The Lord has been teaching me that there are great rewards and blessings in silence.  Serving, loving and ministering to my beloved husband in silence is an amazing thing!  We visit and talk of course but God's word tells us to pray without ceasing and to do all things without complaining or arguing.  When we are in constant prayer and when we never complain or argue, the words from our mouth should be laced with sweetness and never spoken without prayer first.  "Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones."  ~ Proverbs 16:24

Think of all that God has created.  Think of the daily miracle of the sunrise and sunset.  Think of the intricacy of how God weaves together the lives of our wee babies within us.  Think of how awesome and amazing God is.  Think of the power and omnipresence of the Lord.  Now think of what your marriage might be like if you were always praying and often silent. 

"1I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. 7Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. 8I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. 9In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; 10But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. 11Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 13For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. 15Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety."  ~I Timothy 2

It is in my heart to encourage you as a wife.  To encourage you to be the woman that God designed you to be.  God's design for your life will set you apart from this world.  It is right and best for all of us to start our day on our knees.  All of the words written above come as a result of my selfish and my sinful nature and as the result of the correction of a loving Heavenly Father. "But exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.  ~ Hebrews 3:13"  "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: ~ Hebrews 10:24"

Won't you join me?

Being quiet is not always appropriate.  Being prayerful is.  We must take every thought captive and that is not possible once we have flung that thought out of our mouths.  Conversely, taking a thought captive can translate into "taking something back" from the Lord that He intends you to speak to your husband.  Ladies, we must be constantly in prayer.  The thoughts that are on our heart ... we must take them to the Lord to determine when we should be quiet and when we should speak with tenderness and love.  Being quiet can also create a place in which you run from the word of God...a crutch to not speak when the Lord is nudging you to talk to your husband.

Pray, pray, pray...  We must pray without ceasing ladies.  We must cry out to God and deny ourselves...we must seek His face and not be satisfied with the mere "crumbs" of His obvious existance in our lives.  Trust in Him with all of your heart and never, ever lean upon your own understanding.

~~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

Originally posted:  June 23, 2007

"Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit."  ~ Ecclesiastes 4:6

"The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD."  ~ Lamentations 3:25-26

"And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing."  ~ I Thessalonians 10-12

Over the last year the Lord has been teaching me to be quiet.  The Lord will always take our fumblings and self-will and use it to His glory but have you ever stopped to think about what He might do if were to just be quiet for awhile?  If we were to serve and love others...particularly our husbands...but cease to constantly excerpt our thoughts and opinions...    Are you guilty of speaking defensively to some of your husbands comments?  I am.  Are you guilty of snipping at your husband when he fails to live up to your expectations?  I am.  Are you guilty of grumping and nagging your husband?  I am.  Are you guilty of just being crabby and sour in tone of voice?  I am.  How about the other side of the coin?  Are you guilty of giving suggestions that weigh heavily towards your desires?  I am.  Are you guilty of jumping on the bandwagon of complaint or gossip?  I am. 

Silence and quietness is a powerful and tremendous blessing.  Without our constant ramblings and regular voice into ALL matters, I wonder what the Creator would do.  What exactly would He work together?  What precisely would He orchestrate in the heart of your beloved husband without your words.  Don't misunderstand me now...  Our words can be a great encouragement to our husbands.  I am his helper, his lover, his confidant, his best friend.  I should be the arms of Christ when my beloved is weary.  I should be his greatest warrior, in prayer on your knees daily for my husband.  We should always be ready with words of kindness and encouragement for our husbands.

Do you often think you know what is best?  I do.  I am guessing that there are times when we do know best but it may not always be appropriate for us to make sure that we tell our husbands just how it should be.  Have you been in prayer over a particular issue concerning your husband or your children or your family?  The Lord has been teaching me that there are great rewards and blessings in silence.  Serving, loving and ministering to my beloved husband in silence is an amazing thing!  We visit and talk of course but God's word tells us to pray without ceasing and to do all things without complaining or arguing.  When we are in constant prayer and when we never complain or argue, the words from our mouth should be laced with sweetness and never spoken without prayer first.  "Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones."  ~ Proverbs 16:24

Think of all that God has created.  Think of the daily miracle of the sunrise and sunset.  Think of the intricacy of how God weaves together the lives of our wee babies within us.  Think of how awesome and amazing God is.  Think of the power and omnipresence of the Lord.  Now think of what your marriage might be like if you were always praying and often silent. 

"1I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. 7Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. 8I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. 9In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; 10But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. 11Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 13For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. 15Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety."  ~I Timothy 2

It is in my heart to encourage you as a wife.  To encourage you to be the woman that God designed you to be.  God's design for your life will set you apart from this world.  It is right and best for all of us to start our day on our knees.  All of the words written above come as a result of my selfish and my sinful nature and as the result of the correction of a loving Heavenly Father. "But exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.  ~ Hebrews 3:13"  "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: ~ Hebrews 10:24"

Won't you join me?

Being quiet is not always appropriate.  Being prayerful is.  We must take every thought captive and that is not possible once we have flung that thought out of our mouths.  Conversely, taking a thought captive can translate into "taking something back" from the Lord that He intends you to speak to your husband.  Ladies, we must be constantly in prayer.  The thoughts that are on our heart ... we must take them to the Lord to determine when we should be quiet and when we should speak with tenderness and love.  Being quiet can also create a place in which you run from the word of God...a crutch to not speak when the Lord is nudging you to talk to your husband.

Pray, pray, pray...  We must pray without ceasing ladies.  We must cry out to God and deny ourselves...we must seek His face and not be satisfied with the mere "crumbs" of His obvious existance in our lives.  Trust in Him with all of your heart and never, ever lean upon your own understanding.

~~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

Originally posted:  June 23, 2007

I wrote this last year but feel it important to share again. The Lord has brought me full circle in the matter of being quiet, particularly in reference to our husbands.

"Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit."  ~ Ecclesiastes 4:6

"The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD."  ~ Lamentations 3:25-26

"And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing."  ~ I Thessalonians 10-12

Over the last year the Lord has been teaching me to be quiet.  The Lord will always take our fumblings and self-will and use it to His glory but have you ever stopped to think about what He might do if were to just be quiet for awhile?  If we were to serve and love others...particularly our husbands...but cease to constantly excerpt our thoughts and opinions...    Are you guilty of speaking defensively to some of your husbands comments?  I am.  Are you guilty of snipping at your husband when he fails to live up to your expectations?  I am.  Are you guilty of grumping and nagging your husband?  I am.  Are you guilty of just being crabby and sour in tone of voice?  I am.  How about the other side of the coin?  Are you guilty of giving suggestions that weigh heavily towards your desires?  I am.  Are you guilty of jumping on the bandwagon of complaint or gossip?  I am. 

Silence and quietness is a powerful and tremendous blessing.  Without our constant ramblings and regular voice into ALL matters, I wonder what the Creator would do.  What exactly would He work together?  What precisely would He orchestrate in the heart of your beloved husband without your words.  Don't misunderstand me now...  Our words can be a great encouragement to our husbands.  I am his helper, his lover, his confidant, his best friend.  I should be the arms of Christ when my beloved is weary.  I should be his greatest warrior, in prayer on your knees daily for my husband.  We should always be ready with words of kindness and encouragement for our husbands.

Do you often think you know what is best?  I do.  I am guessing that there are times when we do know best but it may not always be appropriate for us to make sure that we tell our husbands just how it should be.  Have you been in prayer over a particular issue concerning your husband or your children or your family?  The Lord has been teaching me that there are great rewards and blessings in silence.  Serving, loving and ministering to my beloved husband in silence is an amazing thing!  We visit and talk of course but God's word tells us to pray without ceasing and to do all things without complaining or arguing.  When we are in constant prayer and when we never complain or argue, the words from our mouth should be laced with sweetness and never spoken without prayer first.  "Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones."  ~ Proverbs 16:24

Think of all that God has created.  Think of the daily miracle of the sunrise and sunset.  Think of the intricacy of how God weaves together the lives of our wee babies within us.  Think of how awesome and amazing God is.  Think of the power and omnipresence of the Lord.  Now think of what your marriage might be like if you were always praying and often silent. 

"1I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. 7Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. 8I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. 9In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; 10But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. 11Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 13For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. 15Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety."  ~I Timothy 2

It is in my heart to encourage you as a wife.  To encourage you to be the woman that God designed you to be.  God's design for your life will set you apart from this world.  It is right and best for all of us to start our day on our knees.  All of the words written above come as a result of my selfish and my sinful nature and as the result of the correction of a loving Heavenly Father. "But exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.  ~ Hebrews 3:13"  "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: ~ Hebrews 10:24"

Won't you join me?

Being quiet is not always appropriate.  Being prayerful is.  We must take every thought captive and that is not possible once we have flung that thought out of our mouths.  Conversely, taking a thought captive can translate into "taking something back" from the Lord that He intends you to speak to your husband.  Ladies, we must be constantly in prayer.  The thoughts that are on our heart ... we must take them to the Lord to determine when we should be quiet and when we should speak with tenderness and love.  Being quiet can also create a place in which you run from the word of God...a crutch to not speak when the Lord is nudging you to talk to your husband.

Pray, pray, pray...  We must pray without ceasing ladies.  We must cry out to God and deny ourselves...we must seek His face and not be satisfied with the mere "crumbs" of His obvious existance in our lives.  Trust in Him with all of your heart and never, ever lean upon your own understanding.

~~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

Originally posted:  June 23, 2007

Denying Ourselves by Mrs. Crawford

Mrs. Crawford over at Generation Cedar writes with tremendous passion and intensity.  She wrote an article a few days ago that I wanted to share.

Here is an excerpt from Denying Ourselves:

"It's just like Jesus to ask us to do something He knows we can't do! And why? Because that leaves us completely dependent upon HIS strength and grace to walk in obedience. And that's tricky; He requires obedience (my will) to the things He asks of me (His will), but it's an obedience that can only be carried out through the strength He can give me.  And what if I don't deny myself? What happens to me, my family, my church, community, neighborhood, world?"

Please take a few minutes and read Mrs. Crawford's article:  Denying Ourselves.

~~~
posted by Mrs. Klause

July 21, 2008

Music:  Be Thou My Vision

Wife, you just can't do it. Stop trying...

Isn't this a beautiful picture of a man and his wife? 

Clinging to one another...  Looking through his eyes right down into his heart...  Allowing the soft music to carry their steps...  The sweet smell of the flowers surrounding them...  When they stop dancing, they will peer out into the magnificent blue sky and wonder together...  Then they will wander over and see their images, side-by-side, in the reflection of the water...

I just can't be that wife to my husband.  I do not have all that he needs. 

You do not have all that your husband needs either.

You cannot be the wife that your husband needs.

What is it that you, Wife, have prayed about and determined that you need to do for or with your husband?  Words that you need to speak...  An attitude that needs adjusted...  An action carried out daily...

A conversation that needs to be had.

Socks that simply need to be picked up daily, with a smile on your face.

A friendship that needs to be ended.

An alarm clock that needs to be adhered to.

A tongue that needs to be controlled.

Daily exercise that needs to be done.

Meals that need to be prepared.

~~~~

I don't know what the Lord has laid on your heart or if you have even begun to seek the Lord's will in your daily words and actions toward your husband.  Are there things that you feel like you need to do that you just can't?  Are there words to be spoken that you just cannot seem to pull from out of the depths of your heart?  Are there tasks that you need to do or that your husband has asked you to do that you struggle to complete each day? 

~~~~

Our marriages are not about our happiness.  Most of us know that already.  We have made a commitment to love, honor, cherish and obey for better or worse until the sting of death parts us from our husbands.  Marriage is, however, about our holiness.  It is about refining us.  Our marriages are for the glory of God. 

As I sat before the Lord this morning, I realized something.

The Creator told me something this morning.  Not in words that were audible but in that "voice" that you can "hear" deep down inside your heart. 

"You cannot be all that he needs."

{sigh}

That statement doesn't mean exactly what you think it might mean though...

Sometimes we see things only from our perspective.

Marriage is not about our husband's happiness either.

God uses our marriages to make our husbands more holy.

God uses our marriages and what happens each and every day to refine our husbands.

~~~~

Our lives are so intricate.  The Lord weaves us together for His glory.  I do believe that it is beyond our ability to understand how God weaves our free will and poor decisions into His plan.  I recently shared a very simplified word-picture with a young woman:  The way that God weaves our lives all together would be like us trying to knit a tiny little baby's hat when someone keeps changing the color of the yarn and the pattern.  It is like trying to knit this hat when someone randomly removes one of your needles from your hand and then gives it back a while later. 

God gave us free will.  The ability to choose whether we would obey His will or whether we would disobey His will.  He "weaves" all things for the good of those who love Him.  He "weaves" our lives so that He is glorified no matter what our decisions.

My beloved husband's heart is beyond my ability to understand.  The work that God is doing in his heart is beyond my ability to understand.  No matter where our husband's are in their lives...  No matter who they are....

...loving or unloving...

...gentle or harsh...

...hard-working or lazy...

...sober or drunk...

...self-controlled or selfish...

...saved by Grace or not...

Wife, if you are seeking the will of God in your marriage, then you must obey when He makes clear a particular plan.  When the Lord tells us something or shows us something then we must simply obey.  We must take not allow our own emotions to control us but we must simply obey the whisper of our Heavenly Father. 

Ladies...if you have "heard" the Lord over a particular matter but are failing to carry it out or move forward...you, me...we are grieving the Lord greatly.  We are disobeying the Lord.  We are exerting our wills over the perfect will of the Lord.  We are allowing our emotions to control us.  We are thinking that we know better.  How arrogant we can be sometimes. 

Have you ever or do you ever instruct your children to simply obey and then ask questions later? 

:-)

I have.

I think it is that simple for us too.

~~~

Do what you have been told to do Wife. 

Almighty God, Creator of the Heaven and Earth, The I Am...  He is at work in the hearts of our men.  We cannot be all that our men need.  We try to fill all the gaps.

There are threads that we do not have.  There are stitches that we cannot weave.  There are gaps that we cannot fill...

...only Christ can fill the gaps...

...only the work of The Master's hand can create some things...

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."  ~~Matthew 6:33

 "2That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;  3In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."  ~~Colossians 2:2-3

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

July 14, 2008

Music:  Canon in D

Happy Birthday Addison!

Addison is turning two today. 

~~~

She was born in the afternoon...

...with lots of family and friends at the hospital awaiting her arrival...

 

...Daddy and Addison...

...Kennedy (17 months old) and Bailey (4 years) seeing and holding Addison for the first time...

...when Kennedy saw Addison, she started giggling and she giggled for days every time she saw Addison or held her; she was so excited...

~~~~

 

Her first birthday party celebrated 2000 miles from family and friends.  We had just moved to Washington a month prior.

Addison really liked balls so we made it a Round Birthday Party.  ;-)  We had a polka dotted cake and balls and bubbles.

...she liked the bubbles...

~~~

We have family coming in this weekend.  I will post more photos over the next couple of days for our family and friends that are far away from Addison on her birthday.

~~~

May I just take today to shout from the rooftop...

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward! 

~~~~~~

Psalm 127

 Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

~~~

Birthdays are completely different to me now that I have children of my own.  What an amazing day of celebration.  A celebration of life of our child...the life that has already been lived and the life that is ahead of our child.  A day where my feeling of thankfulness to the Lord overwhelms me.  The reward of our children is amazing and humbling.  A day of tremendous joy for the Klause quiver is blessed.

posted by Mrs. Klause

July 11, 2008

Music:  Over The Rainbow

What happened to Tuesday?

~~~~

Okay, somebody keeps moving Tuesday!

Which one of you is it?

:0)

Either Tuesday sneaks up on me or it passes me right by.

I have some readers that stop in just on Tuesdays to read Teacup Tuesdays and then they spend a few minutes looking over the last weeks posts.  I have had quite the time being consistent with my Teacup Tuesday postings and I should apologize, at least to some folks.

I will try to do better. 

~~~

I have something good to share with you all.  I just reviewed a book that many of you really should consider reading.  I am waiting on some 'linking' information from the author before I post on the matter.  So, this week we shall have TEACUP THURSDAY.  See....it just doesn't have the same ring.  :0)

Have a wonderful day!

~~~

"A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken."  ~~Proverbs 15:13

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

July 9, 2008

Music:  Over the Rainbow

Purpose Is Required

Every single day we are "steeping" character traits into our children.

That teaching can be passive as we fly through the days simply reacting to what happens throughout the day. 

...or...

We can be precise and particular in carefully teaching their hearts the character of Christ. 

Our children's character must "be purposed".

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."  ~~Proverbs 22:6

Purpose is defined as an end to be obtained; a subject under discussion; an action in course of execution.  Therefore, every moment of every day, mommas must remain focused on the end that we want to obtain for our children.  They must remain a matter of discussion with the Lord and with our husbands.  We must remember that the very hearts of our children are in a constant state of development.

What is the end to be obtained for each of our children anyway?  What is "the way he should go"??  I think it is this:

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment."  ~~Matthew 22:37-38

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

June 30. 2008

Music:  Ancient Words

Goodbye Logan...

He's been pretty sick since February.  He was diagnosed with cancer.

I had to come up with some clothes for him to wear...

I found that a boy's 4T fit him nicely...with some alterations, of course.  I tapered the sides of his shirt, added snaps to the shirt and shorts so that I could snap them together and added a tail hole. 

Some of his tumors were internal and some were external so his the clothes protected the external tumors from being damaged...

He tolerated it just wonderfully. 

    :0)

Oh wait...these are from last fall.  It was only a matter of time before those girls put him in a dress!  ;0)  He was a good dog.

He's had some good days and some bad days since February. 

He sure enjoyed a good walk.  When he was feeling particularly bad, he still wanted to join us so we pulled him in the wagon.

Logan's favorite place to lay throughout the day.

Logan taking a walk with his girls.

Lots of love and kisses from his girls in his last days...

~~~~~~~

God's word is not completely clear on whether our animals will join us in Glory.  In Isaiah 65:25, He says this, " The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD." and in Isaiah 11:6, the Lord says, "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them."  It seems that only in Heaven could the wolf dwell with a lamb and the lion eat straw. 

We are thankful for the time that we had with Logan here.  May God be glorified...even in the death of our ol' dog.

Goodbye Logan.

We will miss you.

~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

June 24, 2008

Music:  The Gift by David Nevue

A Living Sanctuary

"To what aspect of my person am I drawing attention to and is that honoring to Christ?"

                                                   ~~Dr. Voddie Baucham

 

I recently heard Dr. Bauchman speak the above words.  He suggested asking ourselves this question each morning as we are selecting our clothing.

And we should teach our daughters to ask themselves this question as well.

~~~~

All that we are...

All that we do...

Do we honor and glorify the Lord?

Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I'll be a living
Sanctuary for You

It is you, Lord
Who came to save
The heart and soul
Of every man
It is you Lord
who knows my weakness
Who gives me strength,
With thine own hand.

Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary
Pure and Holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving I'll be a living
Sanctuary for you

Lead Me on Lord
From temptation
Purify me
From within
Fill my heart with
You holy spirit
Take away all my sin

Lord prepare me to ba sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I'll be a living
Sanctuary for You

~~~~

posted by Mrs. Klause

June 11, 2008

Music: Sanctuary