Just My Life

Mar. 4, 2008 - Faith, hope, charity

Faith

belief and trust in and loyalty to God; complete trust

Hope

to expect with confidence; trust; assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something

Charity

generosity and helpfulness especially toward the needy or suffering

Why is the greatest of these three charity? Greatest can mean both effective and markedly superior in character or quality.

I would love for you to comment on 1 Corinthians 13:13 and share your thoughts on why charity is the greatest of those three characteristics of a Christian.

Julia

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Feb. 11, 2008 - This Day in History: The Execution of the Nine Days Queen

Most little girls dream of one day being a princess and, possibly, a queen. There is so much romanticism associated with the position. I mean, who wouldn't want to live in a beautiful castle, have a prince for a husband, wear beautiful gowns and jewels, and be waited on hand and foot? It seems the life of luxury. Of course, today's royalty little resembles that of four or five hundred years ago. During the 16th century life as a royal could be quite dangerous. In fact, most royals would likely lose their life in a murderous act of treason than to illness or old age. It's pretty safe to say that it was pretty dangerous to be in the monarchy then.

In that time in history, there was no such thing as separation of church and state. From what I have read and understand about the government and religious bodies of the time in Europe, the pope had great influence over the monarchy, if not totally controlling it. As time wore on, there was a great struggle from the throne to establish either a Protestant or Roman Catholic state church. It was pretty much like a ping pong match, back and forth, back and forth. It was very much an unsettled time in history as far as religion was concerned.

Several years ago I read about Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Days Queen, in a missions magazine. That true story was one of the few things besides the Bible that I have read that really, really stuck with me and made an impression on me. Would that all Christians could defend their faith as this young woman of God did.

Jane Grey was born either 1536 or 1537 in Leicestershire and was of royal stock. Ultimately, this would be the cause of her early death as she was caught in the middle of a stuggle for the throne of England.

Jane was a very intelligent and educated young woman who learned Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. When barely 10 years of age, she was sent to live with her aunt, Catherine Parr, wife to Hentry VIII. At around age 16, she was forced into a marriage to Lord Guilford Dudley, a man she called ugly and stupid. His father, a protestant, was contriving a way to keep Mary, a Roman Catholic, from ascending to the throne at the death of Edward VI. Jane was to be his pawn in a struggle to keep the England a Protestant country. This move would cost the man his life.

Through a complicated turn of events initiated by Guilford's father, and against her wishes, Lady Jane Grey took up residence with her husband in the Tower of London in order to become the Queen of England. However, Mary, Edward VI's sister, was rightful heir to the throne and she wouldn't rest until she was in her rightful place, which she soon did. The plan to place and keep Jane on the throne had fallen apart and even her own father quickly proclaimed Mary as Queen. Protestant Jane was now prisoner to her Catholic cousin Mary. However, to be fair it must be stated that Mary knew that Jane had been used. It is believed that she genuinely liked Jane, especially seeing as how she was a relative and she had known her all of her life. Though she wanted to padon Jane, the political struggle raged on and it never came to pass.

Mary was in a quandry. Though she had no real reason to keep Jane prisoner, if she released her, she would be releasing a figurehead for the opposition, the Protestants. Mary thought that she might be able to fix the situation was pursuading Jane to renounce her Protestant faith and become a Catholic. If this occured, Jane would have no sway with the Protestant believers.

At only sixteen years of age, Jane staunchly defended her faith, refusing to recant. When this did not work, Mary thought she might convince Jane through a public debate with Papal advisors. This is where the influence of her Protestant tutors paid off. Imagine a young girl so defending her faith as to leave her opposers speechless. As wonderful as this was, it unfortuately made clear to Mary that Jane was indeed a threat to her throne. So long as she was alive, the threat of a Protestant uprising would always be looming before her.

On February 12th, 1554, Jane was led to her death, but not silently or despairingly. In a letter to her sister, she encouraged her to read a copy of the Greek New Testament she sent to her, saying, among other things, "It shall teach you to live, and learn you to die."

Jane was a great witness to the mercy and grace of God Almighty when, right before her execution, she proclaimed that ". . . I die a true Christian woman, and that I look to be saved by none other means, but only by the mercy of God in the merits of the blood of his only son Jesus Christ." Her words had such a profound affect on her executioner that he begged her forgiveness.

Why I have been so drawn to Lady Jane Grey is really a question that doesn't have a firm answer. When I first read of Jane, I had been a Christian about 6 years, but was going through a huge growth in my faith. I loved to read stories of Christians from long ago, especially those who died for their faith. Two of my favorite books were, and remain, Foxe's Book of Martyrs and The Trail of Blood, a chroncile of the persecution of Baptists through the ages.

I remember as a young girl hearing of stories from the Bible of men and women who were killed because of their faith. I reasoned in my naive little mind that if that were to ever happen to me, I would outwardly deny my faith, but inwardly retain it. I laugh now as I look back on that. But I now know that faith is a way of life. It is not something that you pick up and put down as it suits your life. True faith hangs on no matter what.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Days Queen:

I think that at the supper I neither receive flesh nor blood, but bread and wine; which bread when it is broken, and the wine when it is drunken, put me in remembrance how that for my sins the body of Christ was broken, and his blood shed on the cross.
The faith of the church must be tried by God's word, and not God's word by the church; neither yet my faith.
I have sent you, good sister Katherine , a book, which although it be not outwardly trimmed with gold, yet inwardly it is more worth than precious stones. (Written within the Greek Testament Jane gave her sister Katherine)

May we all study and strive to be able to give an answer for our faith!

Love to you all,

Julia Lynne

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Feb. 7, 2008 - Heroines of the Faith

Stay tuned for an entry about one of my favorite heroines! I think you'll like her as well!

Julia Lynne

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Feb. 7, 2008 - Martha's world, Mary's heart

I have been reading Joanna Weaver's book Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. I'm beginning to think that she is a spy and wrote this book about me! How does she know me so well, having never met me? it is astounding to see my very feelings reflected back to me from the pages of her book. I'm such a Martha, so cumbered about with the daily tasks of life . . . not to mention trying to measure up to the world's standards for raising educated children. Actually, I think that this might've been one of Martha's issues: What would people think of her if she didn't provide the perfect meal for her guests? What will colleges and the universities think of me if I don't perform to their standards in the education of my children?

One of the things I like in this book is Weaver's list of the "Three Deadly Ds of Destruction":

Distraction (editor's note: Eyes Off of God)
Discouragement (editor's note: Eyes on Circumstances)
Doubt (editor's note: Lack of Trust)

She speaks such truth when she says "when we are distracted and discouraged, tired and overwhelmed, there is not better place to go than to our Father. He alone has what we need." Oh, let the tears flow! Not my husband, not my friends, not anything or anyone else in this world, save the Lord, has what we need! But how do we get it? By prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29); asking, seeking, and knocking (Luke 11:9); praying with perseverance (Eph. 6:18); trusting Him and committing your way to Him (Psalm 37:4-6); waiting, hoping, and seeking Him (Lamentations 3:25-27); and recalling the promise that He will never leave nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

Every day we have new compasion and mercy from God! Never do we have to live on yesterday's leftovers!

Lamentations 3:22 It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

Each day brings new benefits from the Lord!

Psalm 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
Psalm 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Psalm 116:12 What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?

Just think of how the Lord piles goodness, mercy, grace, and compassion on us day by day by day by day. It's never ceasing!

I hate it, but I have to confess that I am such a hearer of God's word! I wish that I were more obedient . . . or maybe it's that I wish I were more consistent in my obedience and in being a doer of His word! I think that's one area that I struggle with the most! The Bible says to trust in HIm, and I know that I can. And I try. I really, really do. But so often I get stuck in that vicious cycle of the three deadly Ds just by simply becoming distracted and discouraged! This is, I think, really just an extension of that Marthat way of thinking and living, because I am allowing circumstances and other distractions to cloud my vision and hinder me from moving forward.

There is a stretch of highway in Tennessee between Chattanooga and Knoxville that often becomes very hazardous to drive on because of fog. I've never had to drive through there during one of those times, but the warning lights are there and I see them every time we go on vacation to Pigeon Forge. I can only imagine what it might be like to have to navigate the highway in conditions which do not allow you to see very far in front of you. I would be inclined to pull over to the side of the road until it passes, but I don't think that's very wise. I'm sure you would likely get run over.

A distracted and discouraged life is very much the same. Those circumstances and situations that distract us and bring us down only serve to detour us and keep us from moving forward in life. When we focus on the troubles of life (like the fog on the highway), it's easy to want to just pull over and wait until it passes. But that is so dangerous and no good is likely to come from it.

As I mentioned about that stretch of road, there are lights guiding the travelers along the road. I'm sure that they must be constantly eyeing the roadside for the flashing lights to help them safely navigate the roads. And, as is a safe driving practice, hopefully they do slow their speed down to a something reasonably safe. In other words, there is a change in the way they are driving and their focus becomes something other than the fog. If they kept at the same pace and focused only on the fog, there would likely be an accident somewhere along the way. Eventually, as the day wears on and the sun burns off the clouds, the road clears and becomes safe once more.

Just like those drivers, those of us who tend to be Marthas must adjust our focus, slow it down, but never pull over and quit! Instead of flashing lights though, we must look to our loving Father and His word to guide us along a path filled with distractions. We have to adjust our focus, allowing the Holy Spirit to be our guide when we tend to allow life to take our eyes and hearts off of worshipping our Saviour. And when we do, just like the sun that drives off the fog and gives a clear road to drive on, He will burn off the distractions and discouragement, allowing us to once more be able to live a life of worship.

The frustrating part about being a Martha is that we are attached to and love life on this earth, LOVING to work and to serve! Is it wrong to work and serve? Certainly not. But we have to first seek Him, and He has promised that all else will fall into place (Matthew 6).

I wonder what things cumber you today. Lord knows I could name quite a few of my own for you right now. What I found out about being cumbered is that it can mean:

hindered
to clutter up

Just like a foggy road can hinder a driver from getting to the place she needs to be, what is it that is cluttering up your life, slowing you down and holding you back from seeking that needful thing? What things are reducing your effectiveness as a Christian? When something is cluttered, it means that it is filled or covered with things that impede movement. When I look at my own life, I see that, indeed, it is quite cluttered with things that keep me from moving to the feet of my Saviour to worship Him. I am kept from that needful, that necessary thing to keeps me from crashing!

Did you know that when something is needful that it is essential? Essential is a very interesting word that has many meanings and implications. For example, something that is essential is so important as to be indispensable, being incapable of removal without destroying the thing itself, or vital (something that is necessary to a thing's continued existence or operation). When Jesus told Martha that what Mary was seeking was needful, He wasn't joking around!

I love what the dictionary says about vital, which, by the way, is the word for life. Anyway, it is to be concerned with or necessary to the maintenance of life and full of life and vigor. But isn't it wonderful to read that it means tending to renew or refresh the living? Isn't that what we are doing each morning when we begin the day seeking Him out for a time of personal worship? Isn't that what is happening when we gather with other believers to sing, to pray, and to have the Word of Life broken by the preacher? We are being filled up, we are being nourished, we are being filled with life, we are being refreshed so that we might come away being able to serve as we are want to do!

When life drags us down . . . when we allow life to drag us down . . . what is it that we seek out to sooth it over? No matter what it is, unless it is that good thing that Mary chose, we will struggle with being truly fuctional! There will be no life, no vigor! We are failing to maintain! When will we learn that we cannot work for and serve the Lord until we have sought out the Lord himself? How ironic that we have to be filled up with Him in order to go out and serve Him.

May you be a Mary today.

Yours in Christ,

Julia Lynne

Priceless Woman Ministries

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Jan. 25, 2008 - Little feet and soft hands

Blessed the day whose morning is wakened by the patter of little feet! Blessed the heart from which all the soreness is drawn out by the soft hand of a babe!

T. De Witt Talmage

Crumbs Swept Up 1897

I am afraid that not many people think of their children in this way today. Instead of removing soreness from the heart, children are thought to bring burdens and inconvenience. How some parents long for the day when all of the children are grown and "peace" reigns in the home. But one day, in the not too distant future, there will be no patter of little feet, stomping of big feet (if you have teenage boys), or the click of dainty high heels (for those with teenage daughters). In place of that will be deafening silence and a heart sore for want of children in the home again.

Children bring something inexplicable to our lives, a joy and fulfillment that cannot be filled with anything else. I believe that this is because the Bible says children are an heritage of the Lord (Psalm 127:3). This just means that they are a possession given to us by the Lord. There is nothing else in life that can replace a God-given desire such as children, even the love of a husband. Elkanah, Hannah's husband, wondered at her weeping and asked am not I better to thee than ten sons? (1 Samuel 1:8) Obviously not!

When people ask how I can spend the entire day, every day with my children, it's really difficult to explain. There is just such a love for my children in my heart that I cannot imagine being away from them so much every day.

Don't get me wrong! There are days when they don't get along, they've made huge messes in the house just doing school, and I'm feeling the strain of being cooped up in the house because it's too cold to be outside. But I know, I know, I know that these days will soon be gone. In fact, it's already creeping in, closer and closer. My oldest daughter is assistant manager at a Barnes and Noble cafe and is away from home five or six days a week, eight to ten hours a day. My sons work odd jobs a couple days a week, sometimes being gone all day Saturday. How did I get to be the mother of THREE grown (nearly grown?), hard-working, responsible, well-respected young people! When did it happen? Just yesterday they were chubby-cheeked little people bringing me fists full of weeds and handwritten love notes.

God forbid that I should come across pictures of them as toddlers and preschoolers! How many times have I come across pictures of them when I was cleaning a drawer or closet, only to set the tears to flowing?

My husband sometimes laughs at me, though not in a mocking way, when I hear one of those "stupid" songs on the radio about children growing up. I just can't help it. It seems only a few days ago I was begging God for children! Now we are beseeching Him for godly spouses, jobs, and other "adult" things.

Want to know something really scary? My daughter is the same age now as I was when I married my husband nearly twenty-two years ago. What were my mother and father thinking?

As I close today, I just want to encourage of you stressed out moms out there to hang in there. I know that days get long and frustrating, especially when you are homeschooling and trying to fulfill so many roles. It's so easy to forget that children are meant to bring joy to our lives, that they are gifts from the Lord. But I promise you that these days will last but a little while and then you'll wish them back once more.

Just remember: you are shaping the future, raising godly young people for the glory of God! Your children are really not meant to be with us forever. Our jobs are to train them up, release them to do God's will for their lives, and to trust God with them. But they'll always take a piece of our hearts with them, and we'll never get that little piece of heart back again.

Once a mom, always a mom.

Love to you all,

Julia Lynne

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Jan. 24, 2008 - It's just me . . . it's just life

So, you might be wondering to yourself, "Why the new blog?" And this is where I give a rather lengthy explanation . . . but not before I tell you that I'm a perfectionist. I think they call it the type A personality. It's usually all or nothing with me. If I can't have a whole 6 or 8 hour stretch to clean the attic, write a blog post/Bible study, or work at my craft desk, then I just won't do it.

So, what does that bit of information have to do with creating and keeping a new blog? Well, two years ago when I set up Jesus is Enough, I had the notion that it would be an extention of my Priceless Woman website that I was having trouble keeping current. I wanted to post new Bible studies on the blog, share links, blah, blah, blah. What I found was that just living life didn't really allow me much time to realize that dream. It was then, and is now, just something that I cannot realistically do. Y'all just don't know what I put into writing a Bible study sometimes. Hours and hours of writing and studying; and then there are more hours of revision. I just can't think that much and homeschool as well! I realized that I could just post little thoughts here and there but stubborn me, as I said above, lives for all or nothing! If I couldn't post a huge, thought-provoking Bible study, then I just wouldn't post anything at all.

However, after reading blogs rather regularly, I have come to realize that keeping a web log is simply sharing your heart with friends and strangers on a regular basis. I love, love, love to write and share my heart and soul with others. I do still need some quiet time each day to think in order to do that. If I don't get that time, then you won't get anything from me about life!

I guess I am a thinker. I am forever thinking about everything, anything, all the time! I could probably spend hours every day just writing down what's on my mind, but then we'd all starve and have to wear dirty underwear. Of course, if it came to that, maybe my sons would decide it was time to learn how a washer and dryer work!

So, why the NEW blog? Well, first of all, the old one is still up and running. I will have to post something soon so that it doesn't get erased. It's likely that I will post things dealing with my website there (links, inspirational things, and Bible studies, too). I just wanted a fresh start so that I can focus on the real purpose of a blog . . . a journal of my life to share with the world.

Is my life so very exciting and my thoughts so very inspiring that I think the whole world needs to know about them? Not likely. But God did not give me the gift of gab, teaching, and writing to be squandered on the notion of all or nothing.

My promise to you is this: each day I will share something with you about life and about the Lord that will encourage you. We are to provoke one another . . . to love and good works, that is! LOL . . . and that is what I will do each day. My gift to you.

Love in Christ,

Julia

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