A Fruitful Vine...

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;
your sons will be like the olive shoots around your table.
Psalm 128:3 (NIV)

Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house:
thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
Psalm 128:3 (KJV)

As I continue to dig deeply into the wealthful treasure of God's Word in an attempt to discover the truthfulness of my role as a wife to my amazing husband, I continue to draw an immeasurable amount of wisdom. Verses that I thought I understood, I simply hadn't even tapped into the richness thereof with the scripture I share today being no different. As I studied, prayed, pondered, researched and then received, my heart was filled with refreshing insight and abundant joy.

Truths of this verse:
*I am the weaker vessel
*I am a tender tree
*I am as a fragile wood
*I am to produce a sweet and abundant fruit
*I am to be fertile and fruit bearing
*I am to be on the sides of the house...not on the roof, nor on the floor
*The house is my proper place
*I am to be "the beauty of the house"
*I am to care for the domestic affairs
*I am to be a keeper of the home
*My roots are to be within the house
*My branches are to extend outside the house
*I am to be modest
*My "fruit" is to honor God
*My "fruit" is to honor Kyle
*I am a rib out of Kyle
*I am to be a loving wife
*I am to be an obedient wife
*I am to be pliable
*I am to grow as I am directed
*I am to be fruitful in bearing children
*I am to be fruitful in wisdom
*I am to be fruitful in righteousness
*I am to be fruitful in good management
*I am to be fruitful in kindness
*I am to be fruitful in thriftiness
*I am to be fruitful in helpfulness
*I am to be fruitful in affection
*I am to yield Kyle the wine of consolation
*I am to yield Kyle the clusters of comfort
*I am to be a faithful housekeeper

The meaning and translation of this verse offers so much depth, insight, teaching and wisdom which would be the reason why I have been pondering it for the past few weeks. I continue to reflect on the truthfulness and clarity of the words and I press onward to receive God's richness from them. Some would look at the list above and see the attributes, characteristics and virtues defined as restricting, confining and imprisonment yet when I look at each of those things I see freedom, glorious freedom. For far too long I have cripped-along in my role as a godly wife and I long for accountability, truth and direction in this area. I long for God's boundaries in correlation to the wife He desires me to be. Where better to look than straight into His Word.

As I am learning, I am asking God to plant each of these instructions deep within the soil of my heart. I am asking Him to equip me with the necessary components in order for me to fully receive them and then the determination to live them out through His grace. I am asking Him to cleanse me, purify me, and transform me. I am asking Him to retrain my brain and to gently remind me when I am inclined to revert back to my old way of thinking. I am asking Him to restore the years I have wasted in my ignorance and complacency. I am seeking His forgiveness where I have fallen so short.

Kyle and I have always had a fantastic marriage so when the contents of my heart started stirring in regard to "my roles as a wife", I knew it was a stirring from the Lord. I love the way He convicts, corrects and disciplines...gently and lovingly. Yet He never corrects, convicts or disciplines without giving us the proper instruction to make our wrongs right. He never asks it of us without being faithful to walk alongside us in our training and changing. Through His presence and His grace He equips us.

I'm seeing alot of changes in my heart, my mind and my soul these days. The pruning has been uncomfortable but the fruit that abounds is/will be far worth the pain.

I'm loving my man in a whole new way! :o)

I desire to be a fruitful vine!


*On a side note I thought I would briefly share a few words from one of the commentaries that I studied on this verse:

+By the sides of thine house. She keeps to the house: she is a home bird. Some imagine that she is like a vine which is nailed up to the house wall; but they have no such custom in Palestine, neither is it pleasant to think of a wife as growing up by a wall, and as bound to the very bricks and mortar of her husband's dwelling. No, she is a fruitful vine, and a faithful housekeeper; if you wish to find her, she is within the house: she is to be found both inside and outside the home, but her chief usefulness is in the inner side of the dwelling, which she adorns. Eastern houses usually have an open square in the centre, and the various rooms are ranged around the sides, --there shall the wife be found, busy in one room or another, as the hour of the day demands. She keeps at home, and so keeps the home. It is her husband's house, and she is her husband's; us the text puts it -- "thy wife", and "thy house"; but by her loving care her husband is made so happy that is he glad to own her as an equal proprietor with himself, for he is hers, and the house is hers too.

+As a wife and children are very much a man's care, so, if by the grace of God they are such as they should be, they are very much a man's delight, as much as any creature-comfort. The wife shall be as a vine by the sides of the house, not only as a spreading vine which serves for an ornament, but as a fruitful vine which is for profit, and with the fruit whereof both God and man are honoured, Jdg. 9:13. The vine is a weak and tender plant, and needs to be supported and cherished, but it is a very valuable plant, and some think (because all the products of it were prohibited to the Nazarites) it was the tree of knowledge itself. The wife's place is the husband's house; there her business lies, and that is her castle. Where is Sarah thy wife? Behold, in the tent; where should she be else? Her place is by the sides of the house, not under-foot to be trampled on, nor yet upon the house-top to domineer (if she be so, she is but as the grass upon the housetop, in the next Psalm), but on the side of the house, being a rib out of the side of the man. She shall be a loving wife, as the vine, which cleaves to the house-side, an obedient wife, as the vine, which is pliable, and grows as it is directed. She shall be fruitful as the vine, not only in children, but in the fruits of wisdom, and righteousness, and good management, the branches of which run over the wall (Gen. 49:22; Ps. 80:11, like a fruitful vine, not cumbering the ground, nor bringing forth sour grapes, or grapes of Sodom, but good fruit. (emphasis not mine)

Wordless Wednesday...

Bud...Flourish...Burst...Grow...New...

As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are My ways higher than your ways
and My thoughts than your thoughts.

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return to it without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is My word that goes out from My mouth:
It will not return unto Me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree,
and instead of briers the myrtle tree will grow.
This will be for the Lord's renown,
for an everlasting sign,
which will not be destroyed.
Isaiah 55:9~13

I am the Lord:
that is my name:
and my glory will I not give to another,
neither my praise to graven images.

Behold,

the former things are come to pass,
and new things do I declare:
before they spring forth I tell you of them.
Isaiah 42:8~9

Respect/Honor...

Then when the king's edict is proclaimed throughout all his vast realm,
all the women will respect their husbands,
from the least to the greatest.
(NIV)

And when the King's decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,)
all the wives shall give to their husbands honour,
both to great and small.
(KJV)

~respect~
esteem;
admiration;
proper acceptance;
courtesy;
condition of being esteemed or honored;
to refrain from intruding upon or interfering with

~honor~
honesty;
fairness;
integrity;
a source of credit or distinction;
high respect;
as for worth, merit;
such respect manifested;
high public esteem;
to show a courteous regard for

Again, the initial knowledge of the words respect and honor isn't something that is foreign to me, yet as I begin to ponder them in a whole new perspective, they've taken on a completely different reality. It's one thing to mentally respect and honor someone but then to live that out based on what you know is true rather than on what your heart might be feeling at the time is something vastly different. As with submission, respecting and honoring Kyle can't be just a "lofty idea", it's a deliberate truth that the Lord is desiring for me to put into action. Not just thinking it, but doing it. Not just feeling it, but displaying it. Not just when I "feel" like doing it but most importantly when I don't!

To get a better understanding of the verses above I went to a couple of on-line commentaries for some further insight. This is what they had to say:

*...speaking respectfully to them, yielding a ready and cheerful obedience to all their commands; which would be to princes and peasants, to high and low, to every rank of men...

*The consequences of this, it was hoped, would be that the wives would give to their husbands honour, even the wives of the great, not withstanding their own greatness, and the wives of the small notwithstanding the husband's meanness; and thus every man would bear rule in his own house, as he ought to do, and, the wives being subject, the children and servants would be so too. It is the interest of states and kingdoms to provide that good order be kept in private families.

Wow!
Speaking respectfully...
Yielding a ready and cheerful obedience to Kyle's direction,
leadership,
decision-making...
Being subject...

I love the boundaries that this verse and the reality of it's meaning establishes around me as the wife to a Godly man. For those of you that know Kyle very well know know that he is NOT a commander!?! In light of that and the fact that one of his greatest desires in life is to please me and make me happy, I humbly admit that all-too-often I've manipulated his decisions and questioned his direction. For so long I have overstepped boundaries because "I could"! On top of all that, during Kyle's five-year-stint of continual chronic illness, I assumed many of his responsibilities because physically he simply couldn't do them. I just stepped in and "took over" and somewhere along the way after his year-long quest of surgeries and recovery, I forgot to "let-go" of what was his. I continued on being the "everything individual who controlled it all". About six months ago God really started doing a "work" on my heart where I no longer desired to be that kind of a wife and in turn I am being so enlightened through the simplicity yet truthfulness of His Word. I am finding the more I release control and in-turn extend respect and honor, I am being showered with a great deal of mental, emotional and spiritual freedom and I am seeing Kyle through God's eyes rather than my own. I'm finding the more I submit, respect and honor, the more opportunity Kyle has in stepping-in and stepping-up to be the leader, authority and headship of our home. I'm finding the more honor and respect I lavish upon him, the more affirmed and empowered he feels in fulfilling his God-given responsibilities. I'm finding the more I respect and honor Kyle, the more MaKayla and Mallary respect him as well.

What does this mean for me?
It means:
*using only words that esteem Kyle...
*using only words that honor Kyle...
*using only words that affirm Kyle...
(this means whether I am happy with him or not :o)
*accepting his leadership and authority...
*not questioning his decisions...
*building him up in my words and my actions...
(speech)
(body language)
(attitude)
*cheerfully yielding an obedient heart...
*seeing "my man" as God sees him...

It's been a time of painful refining yet in the end it's worth it all! I'm a work in progress and I'm beginning to get a glimpse of the woman God truly designed me to be!

Submission...

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.

(NIV)

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands,
as unto the Lord.
(KJV)

Ephesians 5:22

submit -
1.) to give over or yield to the power or authority of another
2.) to subject to some type of treatment or influence
3.) to present for approval or consideration
4.) to state or urge with deference;
suggest or propose
5.) to yield oneself to the power or authority of another
6.) to allow oneself to be subjected to some kind of treatment
7.) to defer to another's judgment, opinion, decision, ect.

As we continue on in this journey of "reversing-the-roles", I am finding the need to dig deep into God's Word and the desire to diligently seek Him so that I will know what my "role" is as Kyle's wife. This morning I pulled out my enormous King James Version Thompson Chain Reference Bible and went to the line that said, "Wives Duty". I took time to look up each Scripture that was listed and then in my journal as I looked the verses up, I documented what "role" was included. I plan to learn, study and work-out what God reveals.

Many times I wonder:

? Who am I supposed to be?
? What am I supposed to do?
? What roles are mine to own?
? What boundaries am I overstepping?
? What is God's design and desire for me as a wife?

I realize I can't be the mom God designed me to be to MaKayla and Mallary if I'm not being the wife to Kyle I was created to be. If I don't know what my role is to the most important individual in my life and therefore I'm not fulfilling that role. I always thought I knew yet as God is gently speaking and convicting, I humbly admit to Him that I have so much to learn and I have so far to go. Our society has gotten things so mixed up, turned around, flip-flopped, backwards...as Christians we all-too-often fall into "the ways of the world" not even realizing what we are doing until we till the soil of our hearts and begin to hear God speaking. It's then that we hear, we see, we know and we become enlightened. We then have the choice of what we are going to do with what we have been entrusted with...

As I sat in the quietness this morning and read various scriptures, I grabbed our commentary and looked up the explanation of the verse at the beginning of this post. I was enthralled and captured by what it said...

Having established the foundational principle of submission, Paul applied it first to the wife. The command is unqualified, applying to every Christian wife, no matter what her own abilities, education, knowledge of Scripture, spiritual maturity, or any other qualifications might be in relation to those of her husband. The submission is not the husband's to command but for the wife to willingly and lovingly offer. "Your own husbands" limits her submission to the one man God has placed over her, and also gives a balancing emphasis that he is hers as a personal intimate possession (Song of Solomon 2:16; 6:3; 7:10). She submits to the man she possesses as her own. Because the obedient, spiritual wife's supreme submission is to the Lord, her attitude is that she lovingly submits as an act of obedience to the Lord who has given this command as His will for her, regardless of her husband's personal worthiness or spiritual condition. ~ John MacArthur

I have always thought that I submitted to Kyle yet as I study, listen and open my heart to the direction of the Lord, I see where my view has been very altered. It's been my view...the view of the world...the view of the church...but is it really God's view?

As I read the above explanation this morning my heart was encouraged... I find great pleasure in submitting to Kyle for I know that when I am submitting to him, I as well am submitting to the Lord. The correlation goes hand-in-hand. When I am fully submitting to the Lord, I will desire to submit to Kyle. In turn, the submission I show towards Kyle returns unto the Lord as a sweet smelling fragrance.

What does all this mean?
*It means yielding myself COMPLETELY to Kyle...
*It means giving every part of me over to every part of him...
*It means subjecting myself to his leadership...
*It means presenting myself to him for approval...mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally...
*It means taking my suggestions, ideas, dreams and desires to him for consideration before I step-out and walk in them...
*It means to yield myself to Kyle's-God-ordained power and authority as the leader and head of our home...
*It means allowing myself to be taught and directed by his headship...
*It means taking all of my questions, fears, concerns and decisions to my Jesus-in-the-flesh whether they be about life, spiritual growth, school, relationships, parenting, health, ect., for his guidance and direction...
*It means placing myself before the lover-of-my-soul...not just in part but in TOTALITY...

It means not questioning...yet humbly submitting!

Submission isn't a lofty idea or a skin-deep aspiration. It's a humbly, determined commitment commanded by the Lord. It's all about letting go of myself and fully surrendering every part of my life to the man God graciously placed over me. It's about releasing alot of common-sense to rest in God-sense. It's about reconditioning my heart and retraining my brain. It's about giving myself over to my Creator and allowing Him to transform me from the inside out. It's about becoming a new creation.

What Does One Do....

What does one do on a warm and sunny day?

Read a good book...

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Write some great worship music...

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Cook some yummy food over the firepit...

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Take a nice leisurely nap...

Enjoy a ride on a swing...

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Spend time with people we love...
People we call "family"...


The weather has been great in our little corner of the world and we have thoroughly been enjoying the sunshine and warmer temperatures!

Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in
the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
For the Lord is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does He withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.

O Lord Almighty,
blessed is the man who trusts in You.

Psalm 84:10~12

Life...

Life... I often catch myself wondering what life is supposed to look like...what its supposed to consist of...what our days are to be filled with...where our time is to be spent...what we are to give our attention to... Lately Kyle and I both have been doing some evaluating on our "roles" as husband/wife, parents, teachers to our children... It's been a painful time of reflection yet we are learning much. As we sat with some of our closest friends last Friday night visiting over these things, we came to the conclusion that our society and our world in general has lost the true meaning and purpose of who God created us to be...as husbands, as wives, as parents... We've steered so far away from the roles He designed us to fulfill in life. Needless-to-say, we're looking deep into the Blueprint and diligently seeking the counsel of our Creator. There's alot of reversal of roles taking place in our lives and in our home. Life is beginning to look a whole lot different for a husband, a wife, a daddy, a momma and two amazingly wonderful girls. As revelation comes, the weight lightens and the burden is lifted. We're seeing life in a whole new light.

Seven Words...Words 5, 6 & 7...

Is it Wednesday already??? Kyle ended up taking Monday off as well which was FANTASTIC yet the weekend still went all-too-fast! We are one of those families that could do very well with a husband/daddy who was self-employed. I can remember when Kyle was home for an extended period of time a few years ago and someone asked me how I was dealing with "constant communion"...it was WONDERFUL! Anyway, MaKayla, Mal and I were thrilled to have "our man" home for four days straight and literally hated it when he had to return to work yesterday.

I did want to finish up the "words" and scriptures that concluded our Passion Week study last week.

Word 5
NEED
Later, knowing that all was now completed,
and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled,
Jesus said,
"I am thirsty."
John 19:28

Word 6
VICTORY
When He had received the drink,
Jesus said,
"It is finished."
With that,
He bowed His head and
gave up His spirit.
John 19:30

Word 7
TRUST
Jesus called out with a loud voice,
"Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit."
When He had said this,
He breathed His last.
Luke 23:46

This was a great study and it really kept our hearts and minds directed on Easter. So many times we get so caught up in the "hype" of traditions and celebrations that we lose sight of "what" and "Who" we are celebrating. We have good intentions but the warmer weather, the thought of full churches, traditional Easter hymns, family dinners, blooming flowers, new clothing, ect...diverts where our hearts are centered and before we know it, Easter is here and gone and we've missed an opportunity to set our hearts on Jesus. Not just think on Him but truly set our hearts ON Him! Reflecting on where He walked, what He did, all He gave...for you...for me.

This year Kyle, the girls and I enjoyed a sunrise service behind our house, near our pond. It was a time to proclaim words of Life, surround ourselves with the creation of our Creator, rest in the stillness of His presence, rejoice in the fellowship we share as a family...physically and spiritually.

We are blessed!
We have a Saviour!
Our Saviour lives!

Seven Words...Words 2, 3 & 4...

I apologize that I have fallen behind on our study of "Jesus' last seven words"... Life has been quite busy and to be honest, I have been investing every ounce of energy in Kyle, MaKayla and Mallary...my three most valuable blessings from the Lord. Like never before, God has given me such a desire to really put my priorities in order when it comes to how and where I spend my time. Like never before, I LOVE spending time with the three people I love most. Like never before, I am filled to overflowing just by being in their presence...loving them, serving them, nurturing them, investing in them, fully giving myself to them. By doing that, certain other "things" have taken a back-seat.

Word 2
GRACE
"Assuredly, I say to you,
today you will be with me in Paradise."
Luke 23:43

Word 3
COMPASSION
"He said to His mother,
'Woman, behold your son!'
Then He said to the disciple,
'Behold your mother!"
John 19:26, 27

Word 4
ANGUISH
"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?'
which is translated,
'My God, My God,
why have You forsaken Me?'"
Mark 15:34

Tonight's discussion between the four-of-us was great! We talked about:

*What it must have felt like for Jesus to feel "alone" after being in continual communion with God...

*What it must have felt like for Jesus to feel "alone" after never knowing separation from His Father...

*What must it have felt like for Jesus to have felt not only the deepest physical pain possible but such deep emotional pain as well...

*What must it have felt like for Jesus to take on the sin of the world...our sin, when He had never before known sin...


Then Mallary asked the question, "Is Satan a real person, in human form?" (She asked the question in response to the scene on 'The Passion of The Christ' where Satan was a person...) We answered the question the best that we knew how yet we are still pondering that one... Do I ever take on the "form" of Satan...in attitude? In action? In motive? In character?

The laundry's done, the school books are tucked away, the cabinets and refrigerator are full, the love-of-my-life has a three-day-weekend ahead...this is one content wife and momma! :o) Oh, and the Canasta cards are dealt...need to run!

P.S.) I had NO idea that Kyle was doing the previous post...I have such an awesome husband and I am SO thankful for his life!

My Angel...

Yes...It's been a long time since I've done a post so...here I go! This lovely sleeping Angel is my beautiful bride that I adore so much. These past few weeks have been really draining on Mendi, and I thank her for her unfailing love that she has given this family. She has pushed so hard and given so much of herself that she is spent. Today when I got home from work, she and the girls were cleaning the garage and she had moved a bunch of blocks that she shouldn't have done herself. She works so hard teaching, caring, giving, and loving each of us without receiving any rest for herself. Today I honor her and am thankful for the precious gift of her life. She is my angel and I love her with every breath that I take. This weekend as we celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of our Saviour Jesus Christ, her sacrifice reminds me of Jesus' sacrifice. He gave Himself so freely and so unselfishly. I am so blessed to have a help meet and a best friend to journey through this life with. Mendi...I love you so much!!!