Martha and Mary Book Study, Day 3

Chapter 3- The Diagnosis

Luke 10:41
"Martha, Martha, " The Lord answered,
"you are worried and upset about many things"

This chapter is mainly about worry. Maybe it is the life I grew up with, but so much was out of my control that the only way I could stay sane was to live by my life verse Matt 6:34.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Jesus immediately sees past Martha's complaint and to the core of the problem. It wasn't really about her sister, but about her own worries above and beyond the dinner she was planning.

A couple of key points of the chapter on page 37 and 38

"When Jesus told us not to worry, he wasn't asking us to live in denial, a sugarcoated fairy tale. He wasn't telling us there's nothing to be concerned about. The truth is, we live surrounded by opportunities for fear, anxiety and worry.

Jesus knew this better than anybody.

So why did he tell us not to worry? Jesus knew that a life filled with fear has little room left for faith. And without faith, we can neither please God nor draw close to him for the comfort and guidance we need to face the cares and affairs of everyday life."

Weaver ends the chapter on page 46 with this challenge and statement.

"Come find love, Jesus invites us. Come find a love so perfect that it covers all your faults and pronounces you "not guilty." Come find a love that chases fear out the door! Come find everything you've ever longed for. Come find peace for your soul."

I say amen to this! Amen Jesus. Amen.

Blessings

Martha and Mary Book Study, Day 2

Chapter 2: “Lord, Don’t You Care?”

Luke 10:40

Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.
She came to him and asked,
“Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?
Tell her to help me!”

Weaver describes what she calls the “Three Deadly Ds of Destruction”

*Distraction
*Discouragement
*Doubt

These are the tools that Satan uses in this world to keep us from our relationship with God. Martha was distracted which led to discouragement and then doubt.

Here are a couple of paragraphs that hit home for me from pg 25-26

“Doubting God’s love doesn’t require tragedy. It can creep into the everyday just as insidiously, just as dangerously. It happens when our will is crossed, when our needs are ignored, or when we, like Martha, are stuck doing the dirty work while everyone else is having fun.

Now, such doubt in itself is not a sin. It’s simply a thought or feeling that springs up almost involuntarily. But when we let it lodge in our heart long enough, wedged tightly like a poppy seed between our teeth, that little doubt can become a big problem. For doubt, left unchecked, can fester into unbelief. And unbelief, my friend, is not only sin – it’s deep trouble. When we no longer believe in God’s goodness, when we no longer trust in his care, we end up running away from the very Love we need to live. “

This whole chapter for me was remembering once again who is in control of my life. It ultimately isn’t me. God made me. I belong to Him. All I need to do is trust that what He is doing in and around me is because He cares about me. That can be a challenge when prayers seemingly go unanswered or not in the way I think they should be answered.

Weaver ends the chapter by saying this on page 28-29

“The fact is, until we stop doubting God’s goodness, we can’t experience God’s love.

Martha spoke her secret fear aloud, and we can too. But, like Martha, we must stick around long enough to hear the sweet reassurance of his answer.

Don’t expect any explanations or apologies. After all, God is God. If righteous Job couldn’t force God to give an account for his actions, then we shouldn’t expect to always understand his mysterious ways.

But rest assured, God will answer. He longs to reveal his love to you. But you won’t find it by shaking your fist in his face. You won’t find it by barging into his presence and demanding to be treated fairly. You’ll find it by sitting at his feet and remembering who he is. “

So, when I am distracted, discouraged and doubtful, the best thing for me to do is not what the world would have me do. What I need to do is sit and talk with my God. My God who has my ultimate good in mind. I need to hear his reply and learn from him.

Dear Jesus: Help me today to sit at your feet and learn what is “better” for me. Help me to stop doubting your plan so that I can experience your love. Amen.

Blessings

Martha and Mary Book Study, Day 1

One of my goals over spring break is to finally read all of Having a Mary Heart in a Martha a World by Joanne Weaver. I am going to try and read a chapter a day. If I leave non-fiction for too long, I forget what I was reading about and have to start over. I have so many great books that would help me spiritually, but they are all half finished. So, I am going to give it a shot.

This is the introductory chapter that I have read at least twice if not more than that. I think the best thing for me to do is post the relevant verses and my favorite quote from the chapter and then just see what happens from there.

Chapter 1, The Tale of Two Sisters

Luke 10:38-42

38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

My favorite quote says this on page 9:

“Two completely different women undergo a transformation right before our eyes; a holy makeover. The bold one becomes meek, the mild one courageous. For it is impossible to be in the presence of Jesus and not be changed……The choice he offered to these two very different sisters – and the transformation they experienced – is exactly what he offers to each of us as well.”

It is exciting to think that Jesus is transforming us everyday. We are not the same as we were yesterday. Some days it is big chunks of clay that are being molded, but most days Jesus just whittles away at me. Removing my pride, teaching me to have more faith, learning to forgive for my sake, etc. The list is long and just when I think I have it figured out, my life gets busy like Martha and I start to whine.

Dear Jesus-Thank you for never giving up on me, meeting me where I am and transforming me daily.

Blessings

Happy 39th birthday for the first time!

Just tooting my own horn! It is my blog afterall and I can pretty much do what I want. Spring break starts today after work is over and then we are going out to dinner as a family - my most favorite people of all! I am so grateful to be turning 39. Blessings to all today as you celebrate my birthday!

What will you choose today?

My Husband forwarded this email to me. I read it just to say I did most of the time. I truly loved this story - true or not! It contains my life verse at the end Matt 6:34. Enjoy

READ THIS!
LET IT REALLY SINK IN - THEN CHOOSE.

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any better, I would be twins!'

He was a natural motivator.

If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, 'I don't get it!

You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?'

He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood

I choose to be in a good mood.'

Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.

Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested.

'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood.

You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life.'

I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.

I saw him about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?'

I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter,' he replied. 'Then , as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or..I could choose to die. I chose to live.'

'Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?' I asked

He continued, '..the paramedics were great.

They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action.'

'What did you do?' I asked.

'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,' said John. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity' .'

Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'

He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude.. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.

Attitude, after all, is everything

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.' Matt 6:34

After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

Blessings

Spring Reading Thing 2008

I am so incredibly late at joining this reading challenge held over at Callapidder Days. Here is my short list. All novels this time. I just can't seem to get the non-fiction completed! Argh!

*The Note by Angela Hunt

*The Elevator by Angela Hunt

*Private Justice and Shadow of Doubt. NewPointe 911 series by Terri Blackstock

With the daughter's synchro, end of year grading and activities, I will be lucky to get these 4 books read. I am going to go peruse some lists and add to my ever growing pile.

Happy Reading!

Clearance Racks

I always wonder what causes older people to dress the way that they do. I think that I have found the answer - clearance racks.

Now, don't get me wrong, I live for clearance item clothes. But honestly, everything on the rack is not appealing. Sometimes there is a reason why the item hasn't sold in the first place. Maybe the item is just out of style or it is in a not so attractive color.

My mother in-laws love language is gift giving. She loves to buy me clothing for my birthday and Christmas from the afore mentioned clearance racks. I have grown accustomed to trying to make them stylish. She at least buys the correct size. When is it okay to say, "this is ugly and I can't make it work".

I love my mother-in-law. She loves me and remembers those days that my own mother doesn't seem to have time for. Yet, what am I going to do with a mustard yellow shirt and a flaired jean skirt....

Blessings
Cyndee