One Quiet Life

The long winter has finally loosened its grasp. Spirits climb with the temperatures. New life bursts forth in a bright rainbow of colors, yellowed by a heavy dusting of pollen. In these early days of Spring, I am

Reading some fantastic books, none of which were on my original list for 2014. Our Theology Reading Group didn't start until last week. While I'm waiting for the group to catch up with the topics I've already focused on in my extra-curricular reading, I'm enjoying some other titles: Authority by Martyn Lloyd-Jones (because I've never been disappointed by his writing) and Exodus: Saved for God's Glory by Philip Graham Ryken (because my pastor is preaching through Exodus).  In this season, I'm closing the day with Nancy Guthrie's Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter. I'll soon go back to Women of the New Testament: 30 Devotional Messages for Women's Groups by Abraham Kuyper.

Realizing that there is an …

I avoided getting a smart phone for years, but I finally gave in last month. It didn't take long for me to get sucked into the world of apps and games, not to mention constant access to Facebook, Twitter, and email. With just a couple of taps, I could be "up to the minute" on everything.

And that became a problem.

My self-centered, worldly heart soon became enraptured with this bit of technology in my palm. I quickly lost my resolve to reduce the noise. I found that I had little time or attention to give to books. Shamefully, I didn't find the Word as appealing as the latest happening in the cyberworld.

The Lord, in His infinite grace, has convicted me - again - about the amount of time I give to social media, its monologues and diatribes. The truth is, nearly everyone has an opinion on nearly every event and conceivable topic out there. That's not necessarily a bad thing. But placing a priority on others' opinions isn't always to my ultimate benefit. In…

Today I'm at Out of the Ordinary:

I've been pondering this idea quite a bit lately, that believers (myself included) are often more prone to speak based on their assumptions about God rather than relying on God's Word itself.

Read the rest here.

Most of my childhood vacations were spent at a campground. Each year I'd make a new friend and we'd vow to be pen pals. In college I wrote letters to my parents, my sister, and even our dog. I found a stack of those letters after Mama passed away, along with years of cards and other notes I'd given her. When my husband and I were dating and in the early years of our marriage, I'd write him long letters and poems declaring my undying love. In years past, I would sit with the church directory in my lap and write notes to the people whose names jumped out at me.

The art of handwritten cards and letters has gone by the wayside. It's easier to send an email, easier still to whip out a quick text or message on a Facebook wall. Any form of communication from a friend can be an encouragement; however, it's a special delight to open the mailbox and find a  treasure amongst junk mail, bank statements, and bills.

I've recently been reminded of the pleasure that handw…

When I was a child, March was one of my favorite months. After all, there was my birthday and, more often than not, spring break. Cake and days out of school were always cause for celebration! As I've gotten older, March has lost its sparkle. After saying goodbye to Mama on my birthday two years ago, I know the month will never be the same.

As difficult as the past two Marches have been, I expected this year to be different. I thought my melancholy would subside, but it's been firmly clutching my soul. It's not just that I miss Mama so much. It's not the other major events that have marked our lives these past 4 years: my husband's job loss and return to school, and leaving our church of 18 years to find another. I used to think that I was in some sort of extended grieving period, so accustomed to mourning that I knew no other way to live. But I'm beginning to understand that, while all of these events have caused major upheaval in my life, they are not the sou…

As a child, I often heard the story "The Emperor's New Clothes". Today I'm at Out of the Ordinary, discussing how this tale has infiltrated the church.  I hope you'll join the conversation.

My pastor is currently preaching through the Book of Exodus. I really enjoy digging deeply into a book of the Bible, so I'm studing Exodus on my own during the week - with the help of Philip Graham Ryken's Exodus: Saved for God's Glory. Ryken's commentary is a wonderful supplement to my pastor's rich teaching. I have been caught up in this Gospel of the Old Testament, struck by the parallels between the lives of Moses and Jesus.

While I've been studying Exodus 2:11 - 3:5, the Holy Spirit has shown me that what God did during this period of Moses' life can be extrapolated to my own.

The Bible is God's direct revelation of Himself; it is not about me. Looking at a the Word through the lens of my life is a gross error. One I'm guilty of committing too many times. I should look at my life through the lens of God's Word. When I do that - come to God's Word with no objective in mind other than to know Him more - I'm often amazed at what…

When words are many, transgression is not lacking,but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. (Proverbs 10:19)

...let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak... (James 1:19)

Before my quest for a quiet life, I spent a great deal of time worrying about blogging, particularly what and how often I would write. I followed the social media pundits who claimed that if I wanted to have a successful blog, I needed to post frequently, leave comments on a huge number of blogs, and always respond to comments on my own.  The dream of having a must-read blog and a book deal has vanished. These days I grapple with writing one post per week; it's a battle I lose more often than not. And I'm okay with that.

There will always be a part of me that longs to write, to see the words of my soul in print. Yet it seems to me that posting when I have nothing of import to write is at cross purposes with living a quiet life. I need to guard my tongue and my keyboard against self-indulgence and self-w…

...if you - you married women - embrace the truth that your womanhood, true womanhood is uniquely and indispensably created by God to display the glory of His Son in the way you relate to your husband, you will have a calling of infinite significance.  - John Piper (source)

As I hoped it would, reading intentionally gives me a fresh perspective; in January I read with eyes bent toward my role in our home and helping my husband. Once I began looking, I couldn't stop seeing.  My Living Intentionally notebook can't confine the lessons, they're pouring out into my thoughts and - oh, how I pray! - my actions.

One lesson that has struck me with force came through reading A Severe Mercy. It's an exquisitely written account of the love and marriage of the author, Sheldon Vanauken, and his wife, Davy, and her untimely death. In the pages of their story, the Holy Spirit pricked my heart. "A year before her death, Davy offered-up her life for me, for the fulfilment of my soul…

Lately I've been considering the way our culture has made us think that our value comes from our popularity - having trendy blogs, mega churches, or big ministries. Often, it can feel like high school on steroids; the competition to be popular distracts us from contentment within the boundary lines God has placed around us. I have suffered that mind-set far too long. By the grace of God,  I'm slowly learning to appreciate the concept of small, but valuable.

I started this blog 10 months ago, a few weeks after my family started attending our current church. I had already come to a point in my life where I wanted a quiet, simple, small life. I didn't realize that the Lord would emphasize that by directing us to a quiet, simple and small church, but He did. And He has used it to teach me plenty.

About my blog...

I will never have more than a handful of readers. I don't follow the latest social media trends and I certainly haven't spent any time crafting a brand for m…

One step on the path of intentional living, and I was confronted with soul-searching questions. I have not yet made it past the first set. How do I support, protect, and help my husband?

The conundrum burrows deeper into my spirit as I read Ephesians 5:22-24, and  these words from Claire Smith:
The husband is to promote his wife's godliness and sanctification, sparing no effort in advancing the work of Christ in her life. He is to help her prepare for the future marriage of Christ and the church. (God's Good Design, p.119) The command to submit rings in my ears. Not because I don't want to submit to my husband, although there have been times when this has been the case. Not because it's unfair or antiquated, as the women's liberation movement decries. No, I keep mulling this command over and over in light of Genesis 2:18, and my role as my husband's helper.

Aimee gives me something to consider:
As a helper, we always need to remember that we represent our other …

I make my daughter's bed.

Yes, the daughter who's 15. 

Yes, she's perfectly capable of making her own bed. 

Yes, perhaps she should. 

But while some may accuse me of babying her too much and enabling her to be lazy, I disagree. She has weekly chores and responsibilities. Many nights, she helps me prepare dinner. I make her bed because I want to be intentional at home.

When she was small, I made her bed. Somewhere along the way, I taught her how to do it. I expected her to do it each morning before school. After all, how hard is it to pull up a comforter and fluff a pillow? Some mornings she complied, but many mornings she ran out of time. I knew arguments would make our already tense, hurried mornings worse. Besides, her dad worked swing shift and my own bed remained unmade much of the time because of his unusual sleep schedule. How could I expect something from her that I wasn't doing myself? At some point I decided that she was old enough to assume the responsibility o…

If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

The grammar of this old Southern bit of wisdom makes me cringe, but the older I get the more I understand - and am convicted by - the truth it contains: my attitude, countenance, words, mood, and actions set the tone in our home.

As I begin this journey toward intentional living, I have found exhortation in Aimee's wise words in Chapter One,
We must certainly show forth our Lord God's beauty in this awesome task [being a helper to our husbands]. And for us to do this properly, it is imperative that we are functioning appropriately in our role. (p. 22) I see these very words lived out in the life of Sarah Edwards.  As Noel Piper says, Sarah Edwards was a supporter, protector and homebuilder for her husband, a godly mother and example for her children, and a hostess, comforter and encourager to guests.
While she uniformly paid a becoming deference to her husband and treated him with entire respect, she spared no pains in confo…

During the months preceding my December social media hiatus I spent considerable time contemplating the quiet life and how best to cultivate it. As I thought about changes I've made and still more that need to be made, I concluded that it's not just a quiet life that I want, but a more intentional one.

There are several areas of my life in which I want to be more intentional, however in this quiet place I will share but two. 

Intentional Reading. My past reading plans have set me up for failure. I've tried to read too many books, gotten sidetracked by the latest "must read", and generally been overwhelmed so that, at times, reading has been a chore. No more! I have developed a reading plan that allows me to immerse myself in certain topics. This year I will be leading a monthly study of Aimee Byrd's Housewife Theologian: How the Gospel Interrupts the Ordinary. In order to give this study the attention it deserves, all of my reading - including fiction - will…

With the Holy Spirit's prompting - and the grace of God abounding - I gave up Facebook and Twitter during December so that I could focus on the Incarnation and prepare my heart for Christmas. I didn't think I devoted an inordinate amount of time to social media; however, when I announced my intention to my girl and her response was something akin to "Good. You need to given them up.", I knew I needed the break more than I cared to admit. I had already stopped posting anything in this little spot for the final months of 2013. Limited blogging at Out of the Ordinary, permanently paring down my feed reader to precious few, and saying no to Facebook and Twitter has taught me some valuable lessons.

~Absence does not necessarily make the heart grow fonder. While there may have been a few who felt my absence, I imagine that I was, for the most part, forgotten. Not that I blame anyone; it's the nature of the social media beast.

~Social media friends aren't always fr…