Posts Tagged ‘devotions’

Prayer Basket Giveaway

Monday, April 17th, 2017

prayer-basket-giveaway

Enter to win this Prayer Basket Giveaway, and become refreshed as you spend time with the Lord with your new prayer goodies! Here are some of the items in this basket:

  1. Journal–this gold and red lined journal looks like leather with a magnetic flap in the front. It was the most expensive, most luxurious journal at the bookstore. Perfect for prayer journaling! (Retail $18.95)
  2. De-stressing Coloring Book from A Journey Through Learning–this beautiful coloring book called Keep Calm & Color On is for women to relax through coloring inspirational pictures. The back cover has 10 tips for a less stressed lifestyle. We’ve included a new set of colored pencils.
  3. Inspirational Mug–this charcoal gray mug has the Scripture verse from Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Perfect for having coffee with the Lord!
  4. Prayer Photo Album–this is a great way to pray for the people you love, by sliding their pictures into the clear pocket pages on the inside. You can also slide a small family photo into the front of this photo album, which is decorated with 3-D art that says “The family that prays together stays together.”
  5. Hope: The Promise of Each New Dawn–this small spiral book has a refreshing quote to give you hope each day of the year. You can stand it up in your kitchen window sill to remind yourself that there is always hope when we put our faith in God, who is sovereign over all things.
  6. Heart Necklace–this is to remind you that you are loved by God, and that you have value to Him, even when going through difficulties.
  7. You are Altogether Beautiful artwork–this chalk artwork is framed in a gorgeous red frame, and I created it just for you! I will be doing a series on “Regaining Your Identity” this fall, and I will be featuring artwork from an online class called {aff} You are a Masterpiece. This chalk art is one of the projects from the class.
  8. You are a Masterpiece–this 4-week e-course by Alisha Gratehouse has 20 beautiful art projects to help you see your value in Christ. It has been so refreshing to my soul! (Retail $60)

This prayer basket also includes a beautiful red scarf, devotional CD’s about overcoming hard times, a pretty pad of paper, a bookmark, and a candle.

Enter below to win this beautiful prayer basket!

(Your email will not be used for anything except to notify the person who won the Prayer Basket Giveaway!)

 

More Mothers Day Basket Giveaways:

  1. Handmade Gift Basket for Mom by Susan at The Sparrow’s Home
  2. Homeschool Sanity – My Mother’s Day Gift to You by Melanie at Psychowith6
  3. How to Be the Perfect Mother by Pat at PatAndCandy.com
  4. Mother’s Keepsake Journal Giveaway by Amy at Amy’s Wandering
  5. Basket of Blessings for a Catholic Mom by Ginny at Not So Formulaic
  6. Prayer Basket Giveaway by Susan at SusanEvans.org
  7. “Just for Mom” $150 Value Gift Bundle by Sara Elizabeth Dunn at A Mama’s Story
  8. Write Your Family Story by Ginny at Not So Formulaic
  9. iPad Mother’s Day Giveaway by Kimberly @ Brookdale House and Betty @ Peace Creek on the Prairie
  10. Homeschool Resource & Curriculum Fun Pack by Heather Woodie at Blog, She Wrote
  11. Count Your Blessings Gift Basket for Mom by Tatiana at The Musings of Mum
  12. Mother’s Day Surprise Gift Basket Giveaway from Erin at The Usual Mayhem
  13. Children’s Books & Plush Toy  by Storytime Pup Channel
  14. Homeschool Giveaway by The Unstandardized Standard
  15. Adventure Books for Summer Reading by Dee Garretson

mothers-day-gift-baskets-2017

Is Family Devotions Mandatory?

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

family-devotionsFamily devotions is one topic I take issue with, because I don’t believe it has to look a certain way. Women make themselves unlovely nags when they force their men to do family devotions. My husband, for example, leads the children with his Bible one-on-one as character issues come up, and he occasionally gathers them to read the Bible, when God is leading him to. My husband walks by the Spirit and leads our family spiritually, and he does not do family devotions.

Forcing men to do something that God has not convicted them to do can actually have the opposite effect on families, causing the children to have a negative view of reading Scripture. Truly, the man needs to go to God and have a heart for it and not just be bullied by his wife. If the man wants to lead his family one-one-one instead of as a group, that’s his prerogative, and it’s way more effective anyway. He doesn’t have to do it the way the homeschool movement has dictated for him to do it. He is free. He can rise up and do his will, and if he submits his will to God, he will be doing it right no matter what it looks like. It should look different in every family. Hearts for God is what matters, not outward form.

Men have such a wide variety of personalities, and obedience to God yields joy, not an unnecessary heavy burden that is dreaded. (Although I have to say… spiritual disciplines are often difficult to establish as habits, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do them. For a man to lead his family spiritually is a command from God that when disobeyed, causes a family to have stunted spiritual growth.)

I would like to point out that no Scripture is ever mentioned to support men doing family devotions. It is always Puritans that are quoted, as if Puritans and Scripture were identical. They are not. The general population of men in Scripture weren’t even literate. When God said for men to teach their children constantly about the things of God, it was supposed to come from their souls. God wanted them to be men of character who loved their wives and children and shepherded them in the freedom of the Lord. Yes, it’s hard work and a man has to fight against slothfulness, but a man can lead his family spiritually without doing family devotions. He can use his God-given personality, and his wife will like it. His kids will like it. There will be joy. Let’s break out of this artificial constriction and yield ourselves to God and God alone.

That said, I would like to state that when our husbands are leading our families spiritually, it is highly attractive to us as wives. Yes, I said attractive. Every Christian woman that I’ve ever mentioned this to agrees with me. When I see my husband talking to my son with his Bible open, my heart skips a beat. Even during Bible study when my husband uses his spiritual gift, my soul is uplifted and is knit to his soul in a way that makes me hunger him. I can’t explain it, but for us women, intimacy is more than the physical; it always was. During courtship there was emotional romance, which helped us to be attracted, but there is a soul attraction that is deeper than emotion and yet encompasses emotion, too. If you can align spiritual, emotional, and physical intimacy for a woman… wow is all I can say. ALL Christian marriages should be this way, incredible and beautiful.

When men take a more active role in leading their families spiritually, they are often awkward and blundering, but that vulnerability is highly appealing to a woman, just like vulnerability in a woman is appealing to a man. Better to start somewhere and blunder and do it “for the wrong reasons,” and then once they get going, they get better at it and God uses them more and more effectively. If obeying out of duty is something men are reluctant to do, perhaps this highly appealing reason might do the trick. Let me tell you, obeying God yields rewards that you never dreamed were possible. At its best, it involves the crucifixion of your will and putting God’s will above your own. But until men get there, they should be allowed to blunder. It’s better than nothing, and your family needs it.