Power of A Praying Wife Challenge!

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Yesterday I met up with two of the most amazing women in my life to just, ya know, hang.

We are going to take the opportunity to commit together to one month of solid, intentional prayer for our husbands and for each others' marriages.

Wanna join in a bit?

We are using Power of A Praying Wife, by Stormie Omartin, which I have kindly reviewed for you here.  Gets it. It is gooood.

If you are praying with us, leave a note in the comments. We'll encourage you as we go along. We start today with Chapter One: His Wife!

Join Up Below if you have a blog of your own! (I've never used this before so let me know if it doesn't work!).

Be Still...

and know that I am God. 

                                   ~Psalm 46:10

Taking Peacetime in the Christmas Season

My Sister-In-Law and Cousin

Take some peace time today. 

Sit and watch God's creation and wonder at the love of three-is-one that sent the Son to die for us fallen ones. 

 ⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” ~ Luke 2: 8-11

May God bring you a sense of peace in the busyness today. 

Reflecting on the Completing Him Challenge

If you are here often you will know I participated in Courtney's Completing Him Challenge over Winter (ok, it was summer in the northern hemisphere!). 


Each week Courtney set a range of challenges aimed at encouraging us to think about our husbands and plan for meeting their needs in a variety of ways. 


I really enjoyed the entire series. Being intentional about our marriage, creating time together and doing things just for him, were wonderful ways to strengthen my love for him and to show him how I feel!!


Some of the highlights for me were reflecting on our dating and wedding stories. It was wonderful to remember all the little details! 


Praying for him for a whole week, on things that he himself chose, was wonderful, and a real insight in to the things he considers important in our lives together. Likewise, asking him for his priorities for my time was a big eye opener for me!  I was equally blessed when he asked me for my priorities in return.  I definitely think that using this priority list has helped us to get along better and to avoid conflict. I would highly recommend it! 


Overall, our marriage has never been in a better place. Part of this I think was due to the challenge, but the majority has really come down to us trying to treat each other the way God intended.  In reality, we are selfish people. But taking the time to plan how we want our marriage to be has been a wonderful way to improve the overall quality of our time together. 


So what's next? 


I don't want things to get stale. So I am continuing to plan how to improve our marriage. The first step is prayer. Lots of prayer. I am taking all of September to work through Stormie's The Power of a Praying Wife again, as this book has really helped to enrich my prayer times and allowed me to focus on praying for my husband.
We are trying to plan ahead for regular date nights (something we have struggled to do for a long time).  As money for outings is not so available, we are working our way through this list. 




How do you plan to enrich your relationships and family life?

Thanksgiving Tuesday: The Lists

Counting One Thousand Blessings...

For inspiration and information on the Gratitude Community, please click here.

• One to Twenty
• Twenty one to Fifty 
• Fifty one to Ninety
• Ninety one to One Hundred and Twenty
• One Hundred and Twenty One to One Hundred and Fifty Three
• One Hundred and Fifty Four to One Hundred and Eighty Four

30 Excellent Books Update

Back in January I decided to read 30 excellent books in 2010. The point was to stretch my mind and spend time focussed on things that would pull me forward, majorly in the areas of Christian living and spiritual discipline. Its time to review the list and see how I'm doing!

I originally only chose 21 books so that I was open to reading other books that crossed my path throughout the year. It seems that so far I have read more "other" books than those on the original list! 

My 2010 30 Excellent Books List (in no particular order)

1. Disciplines of a Godly Woman by Barbara Hughes
2. A Call to Spiritual Reformation by D.A Carson
3. According to Plan by Graeme Goldsworthy
4. From Clutter To Clarity by Nancy Twigg
5. The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace
6. The Lion Handbook to the Bible by David and Pat Alexander
7. The Love Dare by Stephen and Alex Kendrick
8. Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney
9. Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartin
10. Power of Praying Through the Bible by Stormie Omartin
11. The Plight of Man and The Power of God by Martin Lloyd-Jones
12. How Should We Then Live by Frances A. Schaeffer
13. Guidance and the Voice of God by Phillip D. Jensen and Tony Payne
14. Knowing God by J.I. Packer
15. Knowledge of the Holy by A.W Tozer
16. The Pursuit of God by A.W.Tozer
17. Commentary on Romans by Martin Luther
18. My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
19. The Cross by Martyn Lloyd-Jones
20. Spiritual Blessing by Martyn Lloyd-Jones
21. Hind's Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard
22. Sheet Music by Dr. Kevin Leman
23. The Birth Order Book by Dr. Kevin Leman
24. How Women Help Men Find God by David Morrow
25. Finding God by Larry Crabb
26. Home Court Advantage by Dr. Kevin Leman
27. Hungry for God by John Piper

Some of the reason for my slowness has been the difficulty of finding the books I originally set out to read - most of these were recommendations so I didn't actually own them (note to self: next year I will pick all the books on my shelf I haven't read yet!). I also have had a number of work related books to read this year which have devoured some of my time and energy. I currently have about 4 of these books on the go (I have a very distractable personality so I like to have different options at anyone time!!) and I intend to blog about several of these that I have recently finished reading also. 

I thought it was probably also time to have a quick reflect on the goals I set for 2010. 

• Find time to have quiet time with God everyday - I am still working on this but at the moment I am managing around 3-4 days a week
• Use less internet each day - create stillness in the home - hmmm..this one needs work...!
• Have less junk in my life - physically and spiritually -physically I have been through 3 of the 6 rooms in our home so far and have been ruthless in riding us of the excess junk we just don't need - typically I have saved the harder rooms for last!!
• Read 30 excellent books
• Complete the first level of the Preliminary Theological Certificate - I am hoping that now that work has settled down I will be able to enroll for the next intake of subjects in the series.
• Plan meals to manage the budget more effectively - we are finally starting to save more effectively through managing our budget and particularly our food. I am learning to use my freezer and slow cooker to help keep the costs down and not throw out so much food. 
• Memorise Ephesians this year- oh dear - this is one I haven't even STARTED yet!
• Remember more and forget less! hmmm.... only those around me can tell me if this is working! I am trying very hard to return phone calls emails and messages in reasonable time frames and to remember the things that I promise people I will do for them! 
• Complete sewing projects for gifts and for the house - is a sewing list ever complete? I think that's a whole blog post in itself!

Overall, I have perhaps been a little ambitious in my goal setting for this year - but on the positive side we are only half way through! Praying that God will give me the strength to prioritise. 

How are your goals going this year? 

Link Love...

I read a lot of blogs, and I am always loosing track of inspiring links to posts that motivate me.  So I am putting them all down in one place as a ready reckoner for me to come back to time and time again. Things I have been encouraged and challenged by lately...

Spiritual Discipline


Occasionally it all gets a bit much and I need to take some time to focus. From The Worn Out Woman I learnt about Retreat Days, and now every 5-6 months or so I use my RDO to take a little time to retreat and reflect.
Recently I also tripped over here and here and have been very encouraged - thank you ladies!

Marriage
Sometimes its really hard to trust that things are in someone else's control... especially in marriage. This post helps me think on this...
All of Ann's posts on marriage have spoken deeply to me and help me to focus on what's important. Each post is listed at the bottom of this one.
There are many things we are concentrating on to build our marriage and we have been trying to organise semi-regular date nights.

Nourishing Foods and Dealing with PCOS Naturally

Because Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is often linked to Insulin Resistance, food plays an important part in managing the issues involved. I am starting to make some very small inroads with looking at Nourishing Foods. These websites have helped me get my head around the basics:
http://www.keeperofthehome.org/
http://www.naturallyknockedup.com/
http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/

In preparation to see a Naturopath about the symptoms of PCOS, I realised I needed a way to chart my cycles and be specific about what I was seeing and experiencing each day. I have read Taking Charge of Your Fertility and am now using their software to chart my cycles so see if there are any patterns. I think its worth the fee. I am also considering taking this e-course towards a more natural approach to life. I think this also helps when it comes to the real matter at the heart of it all...

Organisation?

Do I really need to be more organised? Maybe I'm making this too hard on myself...
I recently "made under" my closet in a similar sense to this, and I am loving the easiness of putting things where they belong each night! Only days before this post I did the same thing and asked Mr. Awesome to be my "eyes" - and it was soooo much easier to part with things when I had someone else saying "Ahhh.... no."

Living in an apartment - space is at a premium - so I am so thankful I'm not the only one who struggles a little to give stuff away I might need later - its good to know that there is no shortage of so many items....

What is it that is taking up your headspace today? Do you need to write out some link love to help you clear it?

Thanksgiving Tuesday - November/December 2009 List

91. Back pain
92. Chiropractors
93. Family-in-law
94. Natural healing and health
95. Time to pray
96. A husband who leads
97. Packed lunch
98. Bathroom scales
99. Intimacy
100. Two souls becoming one flesh
101. Drops of water on glass
102. Wedding ceremony
103. Sister bridesmaid's tears of joy
104. Hair curls
105. Exhausted husband snoring
106. Chipped nail polish
107. Wedding dances
108. Wedding speeches
109. Declarations of love
110. Early mornings
111. Season of advent
112. Surprise Bible study!
113. Quick freezer food
114. Fellowship with friends
115. Tired laughter
116. God's provision of food
117. Singing God's praises as a family
118. Challenging words from 1 John
119. An interesting drive time conversation
120. An inspired husband

By today's count I am at 334. Just 1/3 of my way to thanking God for 1000 gifts.

Completing Him Challenge Week 4

Well, this week's challenge is to ask your husband how you can pray for him each day for the whole week!

This will be challenging for me because I rarely bring up what I am thinking or praying about with my husband...

Providing that what he requests is not of a personal nature and at the end of the week with his permission, I will post a list of topics prayed for and look back at how the week went.



On the topic of praying for your husband, I thought I would take this opportunity to review the book that has had the most impact on my prayer life to date - fittingly titled "The Power of a Praying Wife" By Stormie Omartin.

I have read this book twice through now, after tripping across it in the Christian bookstore last year. At the time, I was full of criticism for my new husband, and was constantly trying to nag him and change him into what I thought he should 'be' as a husband (to no avail and my utter frustration).

On the very first page I was challenged by Stormie to look at the way I pray...

I won't spoil it for you, but just one tiny change in the way I think about prayer has forever changed the way I pray about and for my husband and for everyone around me too...

The book consists of short chapters (3-4 pages) which each focus on a different area of your husband's life. At the end of each chapter there is a sample prayer showing the way that Stormie encourages us to pray for others... by praying for ourselves (intriguing? You gotta read it!). There are just over 30 chapters - thats just one month of praying for your husband each day.  So simple, and yet the effect was absolutely profound...

A year on from my first read through of this book and I am still seeing God's answers to each prayer as I grow even more in love with my husband each day. Our conversation, our "fight style", our cooperation and service has changed completely, and while we still have many things that we need to work on, both individually and in our marriage, we are in a much better place, and growing every day thanks to God's grace. Through this book I have been able to watch that grace unfold in specific ways for both of us.  The first time round I was too scared (!) to tell Mr. Lord that I was praying for him, but on my second read through he would always give me a smile when he saw me with the book!

Stormie uses honest, personal examples and an easy-to-read writing style that make this book very accessible and a wonderful way to honour your God and your husband.

Challenge yourself. Read a chapter a day for a month and pray the sample prayer each day, and tell me that your marriage hasn't changed in some way by the end of the month.

There are many other books in this series by Stormie.  I have yet to read them, but if they are half as good as this, then they are worth it!

Note: This is not a paid or solicited review


Linked up For the Completing Him Challenge at Women Living Well

Thinking Back...

This is a repost of an earlier post I have written. I mostly reposted it to help me reflect on the stillness that I so enjoyed and that has helped me to improve my marriage, service, work and sense of balance this year... because the next few weeks are threatening to tip that balance back out the window with many, many work commitments. 

Praying that you also find some stillness in your balance this week. 

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

New-Found Stillness

I am learning during a very busy first year of marriage, that there is really no rush. No sense in being busy. It helps no one to be short tempered, stressed and worried. And I forget too many things when I am doing everything at once. Especially at work.

So, I am trying to go a little slower, wake a little earlier, pray, read, think, breathe.

If I'm eating, I'm eating. Walking, I'm walking. Talking on the telephone, without doing anything else. Trying to be less distracted.

And I've noticed its working. I am finishing things, returning phone calls, remembering details, passing them on. Not all the time, but more often.

I have made a quiet time box. I want to be intentional in the time I spend with God and not spend 20 minutes looking for what I need. An old shoe box now contains;
-My Bible
-A notebook for recording things I'm grateful for
-The Power of Praying Through The Bible by Stormie Omartin

-A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George

-A small photo album containing photographs of each of the family and friends I pray for each day of the week

-A prayer journal

-The Power of A Praying Wife by Stormie Omartin

-Pens, paper and bookmarks

-A Woman's Book of Prayers

The box is the perfect size and completely portable, depending on when and where I have my quiet time each day. I am aiming to move towards more consistent times each morning, but shift work makes it tricky.

I am amazed how much I can see God changing my heart already, and I think my countenance at work has improved too!

Looking forward to more times with God in the coming weeks and months.

What helps you with your quiet times?

New-Found Stillness

I am learning during a very busy first year of marriage, that there is really no rush. No sense in being busy. It helps no one to be short tempered, stressed and worried. And I forget too many things when I am doing everything at once. Especially at work.

So, I am trying to go a little slower, wake a little earlier, pray, read, think, breathe.

If I'm eating, I'm eating. Walking, I'm walking. Talking on the telephone, without doing anything else. Trying to be less distracted.

And I've noticed its working. I am finishing things, returning phone calls, remembering details, passing them on. Not all the time, but more often.

I have made a quiet time box. I want to be intentional in the time I spend with God and not spend 20 minutes looking for what I need. An old shoe box now contains;
-My Bible
-A notebook for recording things I'm grateful for
-The Power of Praying Through The Bible by Stormie Omartin

-A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George

-A small photo album containing photographs of each of the family and friends I pray for each day of the week

-A prayer journal

-The Power of A Praying Wife by Stormie Omartin

-Pens, paper and bookmarks

-A Woman's Book of Prayers

The box is the perfect size and completely portable, depending on when and where I have my quiet time each day. I am aiming to move towards more consistent times each morning, but shift work makes it tricky.

I am amazed how much I can see God changing my heart already, and I think my countenance at work has improved too!

Looking forward to more times with God in the coming weeks and months.

What helps you with your quiet times?

Freezer Blues

I am feeling a tiny bit defeated today. Its silly, but simple accident of the freezer door being left open overnight has zapped all my energy. I have thrown out... well, a freezer of food, which makes me a little sad. I am trying to work a little harder at being an organised and prepared wife... and this set me back a little.

But I do have things to look forward to... like meeting my husband in an hour to shop at the discount grocer Aldi, and at the local discount fruit and meat warehouse. And the fact that just three days ago I recieved a $10 off your next purchase voucher in the mail for the fruit and meat place! Thanks God :) And that that I read some other blog posts today which built me up and reminded me God's grace can even extend to shopping - you just wait til I get praying over that trolley!

But for now I'm going to curl up for a very quick nap and then get ready to have fun shopping for our 'new' freezer (which has been defrosted, wiped down and frozen up again ready to go).