I’m a big fan of history, and I love to read diaries. Once I read a diary about a girl who lived just before the Civil War. She was an older adolescent at the time. One day she was visiting a friend, and as she walked down the hall, she saw a reflection in the mirror she assumed was her friend. Warm thoughts filled her mind about how lovely and poised she was. However, as she got closer to the sitting room, she realized the mirror was catching a reflection of her own face. She was amazed at how her opinion changed and she found fault with that same reflection she had formerly admired. At that moment she knew she would have liked what she saw if she saw herself from someone else’s perspective.
That story fascinates me because I think that represents what a lot of women feel. We look in the mirror and do not like what we see, yet we long to be attractive. For instance, I have curly hair. For years I wished for straight hair and went to lots of effort to make it appear less curly. As far as our abilities or talents, we don’t take those into account either.
Scripture says Greater love has no man than this, than a man lay down his life for a friend. (John 15:13) Jesus left behind his glory and even some of his privileges as God to lay down his life for us. If God loves us that much we are worth a lot.
If we are going to minister to others, we need to have healthy relationships valuing ourselves with our gifts and strengths as God does.
Tina Yeager is my guest today. She is a counselor and a life coach and this topic is one she will address today.
I don’t know if you have an itch to be perfect, but I do. I was a straight a student in school, and I worked so hard not to make any mistakes. That tendency to long for good grades has snuck into my everyday life. I cannot bear to err. And I know I fail all the time. The older I get, the more I am aware of the wickedness that resides in me. I wish it was not there.
Romans 3:23 says “For All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Everyone agrees none of us are perfect, but some have a leaning toward different sins. Sin separates us from God, but the consequences of some sins are more extreme than others.
Either way, we can become snared in sin and be unable to free ourselves.
In 2 Peter, the apostle speaks of false teachers when he writes: “They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.” This verse makes it clear that a person can become a slave of sin. Fortunately, the Apostle John shares “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Bob Fife was enslaved by homosexuality for twenty years. His book, Out, tells his story of breaking free.
Lasting Love: A Story from History with Angela Breidenbach
Doesn’t everyone want lasting love?
We have just celebrated Valentine’s Day. Now everyone is either eating candy or watching their flowers wilt or wishing someone gave them candy and roses. Our society suffers from an obsession with love, and yet we can’t even define it. We love our homes, our cars, our pets, and our spouses. Whenever this emotion takes hold of us we must obey its bidding. We can fall in love and out of love quickly. Using Scripture, we can define love. (Of course, we have to go back to 30 a.d. to the time when the church began. the disciples wrote what they learned from Jesus.) The love God has for us is called agape. It’s a love that impacts the will, seeking the best for the one loved. Agape not based primarily
Using Scripture, however, we can define love. (Of course, we have to go back to 30 a.d. to the time when the church began. The disciples wrote what they learned from Jesus.) The love God has for us is called agape. It’s a love that impacts the will, seeking the best for the one loved. Agape is not based primarily in the emotions, although emotion comes along with it. Jesus demonstrated agape when he came to earth. He left his glory behind and came to die for our sins.
Agape love does unselfish acts of service regardless of what the emotions appear to dictate. This is the kind of love that lasts. Ladies, you and I know our emotions ride a roller coaster depending on the state of our hormones and the amount of sleep we get. If we truly care about someone, we will agape love them whether we feel the emotion or not. Many times, we choose to act, and those emotions come later.
Today Angela Breidenbach shares a story of love from the history of her family:
3:50 Your grandfather married your grandmother to keep her reputation?
Doesn’t everyone long for that perfect spouse that loves her forever? How can you achieve that?
There’s a huge interest in genealogical research today. People want to know their family tree, and they’ll go to great lengths to do that. Because of the internet, more information of that kind is available. There are several online sites where you can find such information if you are willing to pay. Even in a sluggish economy, people opt in. Family is important, but broken relationships there can also be the more painful than any other. While friendships may not last, we often we don’t expect as much from our friends as we do family.
It’s interesting that while we long to know our family tree. Marrigaes are falling apart. The divorce rate is ridiciulous and many couples aren’t even getting married now. But let’s face it. From Genesis, Marriage forms the core of family. God preformed the first wedding ceremony. A man and a woman had a child and that was the family.
We are nearing valentines day, and there’s talk of love. Because of this emotion, love, people insist they must act as they feel. Red roses and chocolate candy can be found everywhere. Do those things constitute the kind of love that lasts? if not, then why?
Today I have Dianne Barker, and she has been married to the same man for fifty years. Presently she is writing a book about how to have a good marriage. She’s going to give us some tips. 2:00 Tell us the story of your marriage.
8:25 What were some of the differences you saw and how did you learn to accommodate?
11:47 Resolving Conflict
17:10 What if something he said hurt your feelings? What would you do?
21:45 How does your husband express love?
23:00 How did you come to understand how he expressed love?
Cynthia Ruchti: Christmas and God’s Restoring Love
Psalm 51:12 Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, And sustain me with a willing spirit.
We celebrate Christmas because God came to earth as a baby to die for our sins. That’s a pretty huge event, very worth celebrating.For many people, it’s a painful time. You may have sustained a loss during the year or miss someone who died years ago. We don’t often think about Christmas and restoration in the same sentence, but my guest, Cynthia Ruchti wrote a book, Restoring Christmas. What an interesting concept! I looked up the word restore and found it occurred about seventy times. (depending on your translation, that may vary.)
After giving the matter some thought, I agree with Cynthia. Jesus came to earth to be our redeemer. He came to pay the price for our sins so we can have restored fellowship with God. But what about all those other hurts we experience? Cynthia shares her heart on heartache during Christmas.
1:45 Share the basic story of the book
5:35 Did any event in your life prompt this story?
12:10 Talk about restoration for those hurting places.
19:50 Jesus is close to the broken-hearted. Share with people who may be there this year.
21:25 What about folks who are stumbling through Christmas with sadness or depression?
[tweetthis]I can’t unravel, I’m hemmed in hope[/tweetthis]
[tweetthis]Christmas is all about God’s love[/tweetthis]
Raising a Young Modern-Day Princess: Author Karen Whiting
How should a mother raise a ‘modern-day’ princess? That’s a good question. Being a woman today is more complicated than it should be. I don’t mind the women’s movement. After all, those early activists gave us the right to vote in 1920. However, a radical feminist movement has become part of our culture. Those women who lead the movement believe women live oppressed in a male-dominated world. Here are three of their stated goals. First, they want to take the masculine he/him out of our language, which has largely happened. Second, they want to refashion the role of women in society and the home. Third, they want to free women from childbearing through abortion and birth control.
As a result of this movement, many young women are confused about who and what they are. However, moms can have a significant impact on our children as we rear them according to Scripture. My guest today is Karen Whiting. She’s a best-selling author and mother of five. She has written the book, Raising a Young Modern-Day Princess.
2:10 What prompted you to write this book?
2:55 What are some ways a mother can teach her daughter to be a gracious lady?
4:10 How can you foster a teachable spirit?
5:00 It’s natural for mothers to find fault. How can we encourage toward excellence instead?
5:45 What are Mom tools?
7:40 Give us tips on how to get to know our child.
9:20 What if you have a melancholy child?
10:35 What should you do if one child has a birthday and another sibling, who is watching, becomes jealous?
11:35 Give us ways to infuse Scriptural principles into our girls?
15:00 What if your daughter refuses to talk?
15:59 Mothers do a lot. How can a busy mother find ways to climb into her daughter’s mind and personality?
