Matriarchs on Monday - Michal's epic fail

It's a sad truth, but a truth none-the-less.

Marriage generally starts with a lot of love.  Whether it's superficial, or deep - there's generally love there.

We are filled with the joys of that new union - of the joy of being together as husband and wife.  So much to learn - so much to do - so much pleasure. It's a joyful and wonderful time, with a closeness being gained day by day.

Many marriages then deepen and grow - day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year.  It's a blessing to get to know each other better.  For our love to grow and mature.

But, did you know - love isn't always like those early days.  We hit rough patches.  We don't always agree.  We have conflicts.  It happens, because we are all sinners who don't always behave in the God-given manner we ought to.

Having these moments is inevitable.

It certainly happened with Michal and David.  The love that we hear of in the beginning, sadly seems to vanish in the scripture we read now.

How do I know the love has vanished?  That Michal has slipped into an attitude that is bitter and unloving?  That she showed no respect to her husband?

"And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart." 

II Samuel 6:16

Oh, how sad!! She DESPISED him, when she saw him rejoicing that the Ark had returned.  She DESPISED to see him happy, and praising.  She chose not to rejoice with him, but to despise what he did.

If we cannot, as a couple, choose to be at one in our efforts, energies and activities, you are going to end up the same way as Michal.  With a twisted, bitterness of heart.  With the inability to respect your husband. With a lack of love and devotion.  

Not only did she think it in her heart - she went a step further and made sure that other people knew how she felt about her husband.

"Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said "How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself! "

II Samuel 6:20

David was on his way back to his home, to rejoice with his family and household - to rejoice at the goodness of God.  Michal leaves the house, to come out and MEET him where he is, and then lays into him about the foolish way she thought he had behaved.  Talking him down - and doing so in public.

Oh, how awful!  To start to belittle and scorn her husband is bad enough, but to do it outside of the home is a hundred times worse.  To show no respect or kindness, is to show no love at all. Her proud heart thought his behaviour to be foolish, but it was her own foolish heart that made itself known.

I read this all and cringe.  I know I have, in the past, spoken down to, or criticised and corrected my husband about things he has said.  I have let him down publicly, by not showing respect and holding my tongue.  Oh, how prideful our hearts can be, thinking we know best.  We need to learn to let our husbands have the position they have been given, by God, and respect the decisions they make - whether they are our choice or not!

How the chapter ends, strikes deep in my heart.

"Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death."

II Samuel 6:23

Our sinfulness does not go unnoticed, or without consequences.

As a result of her lack of submission and respect towards David, she is barren until she dies.  God withholds the blessing of children, as a direct result of her sin that day.

I am NOT saying that all those with no children are somehow being punished - but, there are times when God undoubtedly used this, in scripture, as a punishment. 

May the Lord give us the humility to put our own feelings to one side, and encourage and respect our husbands today.  To work at being the wife we should be, thinking less of ourselves and more of others. To not lose that love that we had at the beginning, but to keep the flame alight through devotion and dedication. 

Monday Give-away - Draw to Learn

I am simply thrilled to be offering this as the first give-away!

I have a child who does not love to write.  Drawing?  Now THAT'S a different story!  When asked to write something for school, I am asked "could I not DRAW it instead?"

So, when I was visiting my friend, Tami, and I saw this product in her house, I was completely and utterly excited!!  A Bible study programme that you get to DRAW your answers.

Ok, so there's a LITTLE writing, but it's mostly drawing!

I got the name of the curriculum, and looked it up.  Think, then, how pleased I was to find they did it as a DOWNLOADABLE product.

(If you don't home-school, you may wonder at my excitement.  Curriculum is often from America, which requires shipping.  Shipping is NOT cheap, especially for bulky products. Downloading is THE way to go!! Especially when you have several children who will use the product AND the product is multi-level!)

So, what is it?

Draw to learn is a Bible study programme, which encourages the child to think about what they have read and then draw it.  It's not simply a case of "read Psalm 1 and draw a picture of anything you like".  It's far more specific and directed than that.  It really has them carefully considering and studying the scripture portion.  They encourage many different drawing techniques as well, so developing Bible study and drawing techniques, too.

This is NOT just for home-school families. This would be a welcomed addition to the home of any Christian parent, who want to encourage their child to read the scriptures, think about what they are reading, AND draw pictures at the same time!

They include ideas of how to turn it all into more of a Unit Study - where you study lots of different subjects that are connected - such as science, writing, history and geography.

When you have the product, you can print off as often as you like, for use in your own family!

What's NOT to like?!

If you go to this page, you can then click on "view sample" and see some of the pages from the books. 

There are 5 titles available - Acts, Proverbs,  Psalms, Letters of Paul and Life of Jesus.

The winner will be able to choose which title they would like to download!

So, let's get the party started!  Who'd like to win "Draw to Learn"??




There are several ways to get an entry - PLEASE read these carefully, and remember to do exactly what it says in order to get them!

1) you can comment on the post - simple as that!
2) you can share about it on FB, and COME BACK TO COMMENT IN THE POST TO SAY YOU HAVE DONE SO.
3) you can share about it on your blog, and COME BACK TO TELL ME IN THE COMMENTS OF THIS POST.


Let the commenting begin! You have until I get up tomorrow to comment, and then I will choose a winner using Random.org.

Give Away Week!

Well, today is the day!! I am having a give-away every day this week, Monday through to Friday, with something new every day.

There are lots of different things up for grabs....

We have a give-away donated by Sarah Mae.  It's her e-book "31 days to clean - Having a Martha house the Mary way".  There will be 3 of these available to win.

Next up, there is a download of a CD from Scripture Lullabies. 2 winners will each get to choose which of the 2 available CD's they would like to download - your choice!

                               

Then, we have a lovely download from Notgrass. This family provide home-schooling and family resources, and they will giving a digital copy of one their "Draw to Learn" books, to one winner.

For those of you wanting to encourage your children to write, Kim Kautzer, from Write Shop, is kindly donating a copy of the winner's choice of a download of one of her Story Builders writing prompt books.  Three of you will be able to win one of these!

And, finally, I am giving away one of Heidi St John's books "The Busy Homeschool Mom's Guide to Daylight"!!!!  I FINALLY have some here in the UK, with more coming soon for people to purchase. More about that the day I do that give-away!

There will be several ways to get an entry - PLEASE read these carefully, and remember to do exactly what it says in order to get them!

Firstly, you can comment on the post - simple as that!
Secondly, you can share about it on FB, and COME BACK TO COMMENT IN THE POST TO SAY SO.
Thirdly, you can share about it on your blog, and COME BACK TO TELL ME IN THE COMMENTS OF THE POST.

You need to comment for EACH day's give-away  - commenting a previous day will not give you an entry for another day! lol

If you don't some back to comment, I can't tell whether you have you have shared in those ways - even if I spot it myself, I can't count it unless you comment on the blog post.

Each give-away will be open from the time I post it in the morning, until I close the comments when I get up the next day!

Each winner will be announced at the beginning of the next day.   I am out on Thursday, but will try and do it before going to the Sport's Day.  If I don't get the chance, that winner will be announced later on Thursday.

So, are you all ready for the give-aways??

Oh, and to make it more fun, you have to come and look each day, to see WHICH prize is being given away!

Let the fun begin!

Delightful growing

I used to say that I didn't enjoy gardening.

That was when I didn't have much of a garden to DO anything in! Our old house had an open-plan front and side garden, with no fencing to keep the children in.  I couldn't take them out to do much gardening there, in case they ran onto the road.  Plus, it was only really shrubs.  Not very interesting!

The back garden was a lawn, a path and one solitary (but very pretty in the spring) tree.

I tried my best - I always had a few hanging baskets in the summer...(summer?....I think I remember having them before, but seem to have forgotten what that is this year...sorry, I digress...)

I was forever taking snapshots of flowers when were visiting gardens on days out...dreaming of a day when I could have such delights in my own garden.

(alium, in the gardens of Wimpole Hall)

(Irises at Wimple Hall - GORG-EOUS!)

(camelia in Somerset, in the grounds of Dunster Castle)

But now?  NOW, I have a truly delightful garden.

It has lawn, patio, cute little borders, climbing plants and pretty walls of all brick types.

(Lovely climbing plants clamber along the fencing at one side of the house, and cover the area where our bins live.)

My boring looking border at the front has transformed into a delightful array of pretty flowering plants, of which new types seem to appear every day!  Poppies, irises and various other things that, as yet, I have NO idea what they are! Pretty - that's what they are!

I have now planted (sorry, my CHILDREN planted...aherm...) some gorgeous new plants in the back garden.  My journey to the bin and back now has me stopping to see how my flowers are doing! How much more substantial are they looking?  Any more flowers?  And, oh so sad today - some poor little stems broken in the wind! *sad face*

(lupins, lobelia and hydrangea)

I'm looking forward to adding more flowers and plants as the days go by.

But, all this delight in my garden got me thinking.  Thinking about what we should REALLY delight in.

Did you know that we are told 8 times, in the scriptures, that we should delight in God's Word?

Most of those occur in Psalm 119, unsurprisingly!

The first is in Psalm 1

"but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night"

Psalm 1:1

Then, the references in Psalm 119 point us to several great reminders of how we should live daily surrendered to God's word...and how it will enrich our lives.

"I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word." 

Psalm 119:16

Do we hide God's Word in our heart - do we delight in it enough to memorise it, and commit it to our memory...deep in our heart?

"Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors"

Psalm 119:24

Do we look to God's Word as our counsellor?  As the place we turn to for advise and wisdom, rather than friends or family.  Do we seek HIM first?  Do we delight in those wise words above all else?

"Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight." 

Psalm 119:35

When we are making decisions in life - seeking a path for our future - do we delight to search God's Word for His instruction in life, and the way we should walk, before making big decisions?  Rather than basing them on worldly wisdom?

"And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved." 

Psalm 119:47

Do we LOVE to follow God's commandments? Do we delight to follow His ways, rather than going our own selfish way?  Do we love following after Him, rather than longing after the world, and it's fancies?

"I delight in thy law"

Psalm 119:70

Do God's commandments bring us delight or despair?  Do we remember that Christ has died to fulfil the law, and that we are free from it's legalisms?  That we have the law to delight in, as a pointer to Christ, and not something to fear and keep as some sort of duty for salvation or betterment?

"Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight."

Psalm 119:77

Do we come to His tender, merciful words - day by day - moment by moment?  Bringing us life, and refreshment - in the barrenness off the empty world around us?  Renewing our inward man, and reviving our souls?

"I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law is my delight."

Psalm 119:174

Have we come to Him today, delighting in our salvation.  Seeking Him, and His word, when we face trials and difficulties.  Looking up, instead of around?

  

Reading the Word of God should not just be a routine.

Something that we do as a daily duty, or as a habit,  good as that habit may be.

We are to DELIGHT in the reading of it.  Delight in the knowledge that we are listening to His Words to our heart.  His wisdom and guidance.  His blessing and encouragement.  His rebuke and reproof.  His love and His mercy.  So much is contained in these words, and we should delight to soak them up - to absorb them into our heart and mind - to be satisfied by them. 

How easily our daily devotions can become a habit, in which we take no delight.  We take our eyes off the richness and beauty of what we are reading.  Words from God Himself, directed to US! What a privilege and joy that should be.  Not simply a daily duty!

Let each of our days be filled with delighting in God, above all else that we have been given richly to enjoy.

Anniversary give-away is looming!

I just thought I would give a little heads up about my give-away next week!

I currently have several LOVELY give-aways, which I feel reflect the things that I love and try and share on my blog.

We have music, curriculum, home building encouragement and books to help mothers.

I have very generous donations from several different kind ladies, and I can't wait to share about them next week!!

Starting on Monday, through to Friday, I will be having one give-away per day.  Each one will only be available for that day, and will end when I close the comments the following morning.  (I like to give you Pacific dwellers a chance!!  Midnight your end, is morning here! ;-) )

It's lovely to celebrate the opportunity I have, of sharing precious truths from God's word, and my experiences as a wife and mother.  Giving away products that will help others on the same path as myself, is such a blessing.

So, get ready.  The fun starts on Monday!

Matriarchs on a Monday - Michal

It's another one of these ones.  Yes, late!

Well, other than that!

A woman who we can learn from, who isn't the pinnacle of exemplary behaviour.  However, we have a lesson to learn, none-the-less.  Thankfully, the first lesson we learn, is a positive one, before coming next week to the negative.

I need to say again, before I carry on, just how much I have been challenged by studying these women myself.  How many nuggets of truth there are to mine from God's Word.  We won't find them, if we don't READ it!  Cogitate upon it.  SEARCH for what God wants us to see.

Michal.

The first wife of David - a marriage engineered purely by Saul himself.

Saul conspired to give his daughter, as the wife of David, in order to topple him off the position of importance that Saul perceived him to be in.  He hoped that she could be used to knock him from the "stardom" that he had gained since killing Goliath.  She was simply a playing piece in his game plan.

But he did not account for one thing.

Love.

And David's relationship with the Lord.

"And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal Saul's daughter loved him."

I Samuel 18:28

This did not please Saul AT.ALL.

He could see these two relationships, and they caused him to fear.

"And Saul was yet the more afraid of David"

I Samuel 18:29

Isn't it remarkable, the effect that these two things can have on those that are not trusting the Lord?   That they can look upon a loving relationship, and on someone who is close to the Lord, and they have FEAR?  He rightly feared, because he could see that they had a special bond as husband and wife, and that David had a special bond with the Lord.  That is something that ought to show in our lives, and cause a reaction from those that observe it.  If we have not got a relationship with the Lord that creates a reaction of SOME sort from the onlookers in our life, then we have not got a relationship at all! 

Likewise in our marriages.  Our love should be evidenced by those around us.  I don't mean we have to be all gooshy and smooshy.  Albeit that may work for some.  But, we have to have a relationship that makes it very clear, to those around us, that we love each other.  

Whether it be the respect we show our husband.

Or, that little glance of love and trust that we exchange with each other.

Perhaps it IS in the way we willingly hold hands, when others are watching.

That we sincerely exchange loving words, or words WITH love.

Our ability to react in a sweet and gentle way, no matter how we are spoken to.

Those little acts of kindness, that show that we love.

Whatever it is...that little thing that makes you as a couple....it needs to be seen by others.  They need to see that you love your husband.

Michal's devotion and love toward David was put to the test.  Saul was on the hunt for David, and Michal caught wind of it.  If Saul's plan had been going the way he wanted it to, she would have "given him up" to her father.  Instead, she hatches a covert plan - akin to a spy story, or a child's adventure book.

She discovers that there are men, lying in wait to kill David.

So, she lets him out of the window, and lowers him down in a basket, so he can flee away as fast as he can.  And, in his bed, she uses the age old trick...in fact, THIS is the beginnings of the trick that others came to use, one would assume!? She put a bolster in his bed, with camels hair at the top, to LOOK like David.  So, when the men some looking for him, she claims he is ill in bed, and to all intents and purposes, that's what it looks like!  It's only when Saul sends them back AGAIN, and they take a proper look, that the deception in discovered! 

Michal did all she could, knowing he was in danger, to protect David.   She went to inventive lengths, to make sure he was not hurt.

How protective are we of our husband?

Do we see perceived "dangers" and make sure they do not get hurt?  I am not talkign of physical danger, as in someone out "to get him".  Although it COULD happen, I pray that is not relevant to any one of us!

But, what about other "dangers"?  Situations that could harm him?

Being alone with a woman...that could harm him in many ways.  Even if nothing happens, it can harm your reputation (others looking on and wondering what may be going on).  Or, it could put him in a dangerous position of temptation.

How about images that are immodest?  Going somewhere that would tempt him to lust?  Or making sure he is looking at you when you go past a window display with scantily clad images?

What about safety, in a physical sense?  Do you need to respectfully speak to him about wearing his seat belt?   Or drive differently?  This is one that you need to do in a the right way, at the right time, and not nag about once you have said it!!

What about emotionally?  Are there relationships that would harm him, that you can endeavour to avoid?  Friendships, or family members that are harming in some way?

More than else, are you praying for your husband?  That he would not be harmed by his work situation, his friendships and his family life?

We may not physically need to lower him anywhere in a basket (one wonders how BIG some baskets may need to be for that job?.....), but can we do it metaphorically?  Give our husband a way of escape from a situation that could be harmful.

As much as we think of the husband being the protector, WE have many ways that we can also be the loving, gentle protector of our husbands, too.

Let's prayerfully consider how we can protect our husband, and make sure that our love for him is clearly seen by those around us.

And, more than all else - that our walk with God sends fear into those who do not love Him as we do!

And the winner is.......

Chosen by random.org

Drum roll, please......

Is Linds!!

Congratulations!  Your ebook will be coming your way, as soon as I have your email address.

I hope to have Monday's matriarch up later today, but I am now off to watch the Olympic Torch pass through a wet Wellingborough!

PLUS, look out next week for a whole 5 days of give-aways, for the One Year Anniversary of The Joyful Keeper.