While reading today I came across an article by Nancy Leigh DeMoss called 31 Days of praying for your Pastor's wife. She encourages us to pray for the woman that often in the shadow of the man who fills the pulpit. A woman who serves, loves, respects, and prays for her husband, who faces the same challenges as other women in the congregation, and needs encouragement, friendships, support and prayer as any other women would.
I plan to use the outline and ideas she provided as a guide as I pray for my Pastor's wife and would encourage ya'll to use this outline or at least get ideas from the outline to pray for your pastor's wife more specifically. The following are an example of a few of the days and how she encourages us to pray. For the full list check out Revive our Hearts.
Day 1
Pray that your pastor’s wife will love God with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength. Pray that God’s Spirit will work in her heart in power, and that she will value and follow biblical priorities. (Deut. 6:5; Matt. 6:33)
Day 20
Ask God to remind her of the hope and refuge God offers her each day. Pray that she will be encouraged in God, knowing that He is a firm, secure anchor for her soul. (Ps. 9:9-10; Ps. 42:5; 71:14; Heb. 6:19a)
Day 28
Pray that she will strive for personal excellence as a “Proverbs 31” woman, and will believe God to accomplish His will in her as a virtuous woman. (Prov. 31:10-31)
Day 29
Pray that your pastor’s wife will be a woman of faith and passionate love for God, not giving in to worries, fears, or an uptight and anxious spirit.
(1 John 4:18; Prov. 3:5-6)
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thankful for the inexpressible gift
Of all the things that I am grateful for this Thanksgiving, the thing I am most grateful for is the inexpressible gift that God has given us in Jesus Christ.
Christ left his place in heaven to walk the earth perfectly and sinless, he faced every temptation known to man, he came knowing the death he was going to have to die to save sinful man. He willingly came to this earth, he died on a cross so that our sin would be transferred to him and his righteousness imputed to us. He faced separation from the Father during his death to be the atoning sacrifice that man needed to be saved and spend eternity with the Father. I am grateful that the Father orchestrated this that we, I, may be spared from eternity separated from him.
2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
Christ left his place in heaven to walk the earth perfectly and sinless, he faced every temptation known to man, he came knowing the death he was going to have to die to save sinful man. He willingly came to this earth, he died on a cross so that our sin would be transferred to him and his righteousness imputed to us. He faced separation from the Father during his death to be the atoning sacrifice that man needed to be saved and spend eternity with the Father. I am grateful that the Father orchestrated this that we, I, may be spared from eternity separated from him.
2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Why I appreciate my pastor
I often neglect to tell people in my life how grateful I am for them and how much I appreciate them. And many times it is the people that I am closest to or spend a lot of my time serving alongside that I forget. That said, this blog post is not entirely my idea. Abraham Piper posted to his blog, 22 words, asking us why we appreciate our Pastor.
I am blessed to serve at Lakeshore Baptist Church alongside my brother in Christ and Pastor Don Elbourne. It has been a great 2 1/2 years that I have been here and look forward to continue to serve alongside him and the rest of the folks here in Lakeshore.
As we look forward to Thanksgiving tomorrow I cannot help but thank God for the roll Don and his family, as well as the church family, have played in my life. I want to take this opportunity to thank Don publicly letting him know, as well as all who read, a few reasons why I appreciate my Pastor.
1. He faithfully preaches the Word of God
2. He puts up with me on a daily basis
3. He's willing to stop things to counsel or answer questions.
4. He loves his wife and children
5. He and his family have brought me into their family and life.
6. He's not afraid to correct and rebuke me when I need it.
7. He put PhD on hold to minister full time to a storm ravaged community.
8. He cares deeply for the members of Lakeshore Baptist Church.
9. He's a extraordinary cook.
10. He has a desire to spread the gospel to the entire community.
11. He been here 14 years and looks forward to staying as long as God has him here.
12. He's sacrificed so much the past three years since hurricane Katrina to minister to a hurting and devastated community.
13. He's not afraid to admit when he's made a mistake.
14. He loves God's Word and encourages us to read, study, and memorize the Word.
I am blessed to serve at Lakeshore Baptist Church alongside my brother in Christ and Pastor Don Elbourne. It has been a great 2 1/2 years that I have been here and look forward to continue to serve alongside him and the rest of the folks here in Lakeshore.
As we look forward to Thanksgiving tomorrow I cannot help but thank God for the roll Don and his family, as well as the church family, have played in my life. I want to take this opportunity to thank Don publicly letting him know, as well as all who read, a few reasons why I appreciate my Pastor.
1. He faithfully preaches the Word of God
2. He puts up with me on a daily basis
3. He's willing to stop things to counsel or answer questions.
4. He loves his wife and children
5. He and his family have brought me into their family and life.
6. He's not afraid to correct and rebuke me when I need it.
7. He put PhD on hold to minister full time to a storm ravaged community.
8. He cares deeply for the members of Lakeshore Baptist Church.
9. He's a extraordinary cook.
10. He has a desire to spread the gospel to the entire community.
11. He been here 14 years and looks forward to staying as long as God has him here.
12. He's sacrificed so much the past three years since hurricane Katrina to minister to a hurting and devastated community.
13. He's not afraid to admit when he's made a mistake.
14. He loves God's Word and encourages us to read, study, and memorize the Word.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Reformation Polka
Being from Wisconsin polka is something we grew up hearing...and being reformed I like Martin Luther. I came across this and thought it was cute.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Can Singles have a Standard of Beauty?
In his sermon series on the book of Song of Songs, Mark Driscoll addressed the question "Can Singles have a Standard of Beauty?" His answer is something good to keep in mind as a single who looks forward to the possibility of marriage one day. His answer to the question is...
"No....."
"You need to marry someone you are attracted to. And I am talking attraction in the holistic sense. You are spiritually attracted to them. They love and serve Jesus. You are attracted to their ministry and what they're doing to serve and love others. You are attracted to them mentally. You like conversing with them and learning with them. You are attracted to the emotionally. You feel safe with them you feel connected with them. You are attracted to them physically...attraction is a holistic issues. To me again this is one of the disgusting things about friends with benefits and hooking up and cohabitation and porn. It's not a whole attraction it is just a physical attraction, that's it....The problem is if you are single and set a standard of beauty you are looking just at the physical, you need to look at it and consider it but not just that and then what about when you do get married and they grow or change...you'll be dissatisfied because you'll have a standard of beauty rather than a spouse."
"No....."
"You need to marry someone you are attracted to. And I am talking attraction in the holistic sense. You are spiritually attracted to them. They love and serve Jesus. You are attracted to their ministry and what they're doing to serve and love others. You are attracted to them mentally. You like conversing with them and learning with them. You are attracted to the emotionally. You feel safe with them you feel connected with them. You are attracted to them physically...attraction is a holistic issues. To me again this is one of the disgusting things about friends with benefits and hooking up and cohabitation and porn. It's not a whole attraction it is just a physical attraction, that's it....The problem is if you are single and set a standard of beauty you are looking just at the physical, you need to look at it and consider it but not just that and then what about when you do get married and they grow or change...you'll be dissatisfied because you'll have a standard of beauty rather than a spouse."
Thursday, October 30, 2008
October's Lakeshore Update
The previous three months have gone by in somewhat of a whirlwind. During the month of August we hosted volunteers, but due to vacation time and transitioning back into school our numbers were a bit lower than they had been in previous months. The end of August brought in Hurricane Gustav, which forced us to evacuate to higher ground. I spent that week in several different locations with the Elbourne family and a few other folks.
September brought in a host of new volunteers from 13 different churches. We started home #31 from the ground up. A few of our homes we picked up the pace on due to Gustav. He flooded a couple of the FEMA and MEMA temporary housing units, leaving the home owners in hotels until we can finish their homes. We are working on the very last things to get the Cox family and Mr. Poolson homes inspected and the home owners in. Lord willing it will not be long now.
I began a ladies Bible study in September at the church. We are working through the Fundamentals of the Faith workbook put out by John MacArthur's church in California. We are currently on week five; the ladies and
I are really enjoying the study and are growing in our relationship with the Lord
We are almost through October. This month has been a productive one as we host at least 16 different groups, which will total well over 200 volunteers! We are also moving things around on the church property to, Lord willing, start on the new church building in the future. We are still talking with an architect and planning with the
church on what exactly we need and want as part of the church building.
At the beginning of this month I was officially commissioned as a US/C2 North American Mission Board Missionary. We had our commissioning ceremony in New Orleans. It was a great experience and a joy to spend
time with and hear what God is doing in the lives and churches of the other NAMB missionaries.
On a side note:
The Lord has been gracious and merciful to me and continues to teach me new things all of the time. I am so grateful and privileged to serve in Lakeshore and at this point in my life I cannot think of any other thing I would rather be doing.
Ways to pray for the ministry:
Praises:
1. There had been some confusion with getting my monthly stipend since I have started my US/C2 position. But that has been worked out and I should now receive my checks monthly.
2. I've gotten to see God working right before my eyes. One example is we have a week when we have about 150 people scheduled and everything was lined up as far as one team cooking for the rest of the groups. I learned a few days before that all the cooks had backed out and at that time had no other team to cook. About 30 minutes late I got a call from one of the other groups saying they had a few ladies just sign up that just wanted to cook. Praise God for providing!
3. God continues to send volunteers. Some are returning groups and some have never been to Lakeshore before!
Prayer Requests:
1. Pray I would be obedient and bold in sharing the gospel to this lost community.
2. Pray the Lord would give me wisdom whether to begin or not a couple new ministries as I start to think and pray about them.
3. Pray the Lord would continue to send more funds to the church to assist with the rebuilding and with the rebuilding of the new church building. We have raised part of the money to rebuild the church, but still have a ways to go.
Thanks for your prayers and support!
September brought in a host of new volunteers from 13 different churches. We started home #31 from the ground up. A few of our homes we picked up the pace on due to Gustav. He flooded a couple of the FEMA and MEMA temporary housing units, leaving the home owners in hotels until we can finish their homes. We are working on the very last things to get the Cox family and Mr. Poolson homes inspected and the home owners in. Lord willing it will not be long now.I began a ladies Bible study in September at the church. We are working through the Fundamentals of the Faith workbook put out by John MacArthur's church in California. We are currently on week five; the ladies and
I are really enjoying the study and are growing in our relationship with the Lord
We are almost through October. This month has been a productive one as we host at least 16 different groups, which will total well over 200 volunteers! We are also moving things around on the church property to, Lord willing, start on the new church building in the future. We are still talking with an architect and planning with the
church on what exactly we need and want as part of the church building.
At the beginning of this month I was officially commissioned as a US/C2 North American Mission Board Missionary. We had our commissioning ceremony in New Orleans. It was a great experience and a joy to spend
time with and hear what God is doing in the lives and churches of the other NAMB missionaries.
On a side note:
The Lord has been gracious and merciful to me and continues to teach me new things all of the time. I am so grateful and privileged to serve in Lakeshore and at this point in my life I cannot think of any other thing I would rather be doing.
Ways to pray for the ministry:
Praises:
1. There had been some confusion with getting my monthly stipend since I have started my US/C2 position. But that has been worked out and I should now receive my checks monthly.
2. I've gotten to see God working right before my eyes. One example is we have a week when we have about 150 people scheduled and everything was lined up as far as one team cooking for the rest of the groups. I learned a few days before that all the cooks had backed out and at that time had no other team to cook. About 30 minutes late I got a call from one of the other groups saying they had a few ladies just sign up that just wanted to cook. Praise God for providing!
3. God continues to send volunteers. Some are returning groups and some have never been to Lakeshore before!
Prayer Requests:
1. Pray I would be obedient and bold in sharing the gospel to this lost community.
2. Pray the Lord would give me wisdom whether to begin or not a couple new ministries as I start to think and pray about them.
3. Pray the Lord would continue to send more funds to the church to assist with the rebuilding and with the rebuilding of the new church building. We have raised part of the money to rebuild the church, but still have a ways to go.
Thanks for your prayers and support!
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