Posts Tagged With: scripture

To the Rescue

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Mrs Knochel


Genesis 29:31-31:55

“O LORD, please rescue me” Genesis 32:11

Boy, I don’t know about you right now, but I can really relate to that statement! It makes me think of the song “Need You Now” by Plumb.

Sometimes we just need Him don’t we? We need to just have a moment alone with the King of kings and the LORD of lords, the Creator of the Universe. Sometimes we need to know that He is the God of angel armies. We need to know that He is faithful.

He IS faithful.

We need to know that He fights for us and not against us.

We need to know that He is for us.

God IS for us.

God is for YOU.

The night before Jacob was due to meet his brother (and the army of 400 men with him), he fought with “a man” who turned out to be God. At the end of the night the man blessed Jacob and renamed him Israel which means, “God fights”. Now in the scripture it explains that the reason Jacob was renamed Israel was because he had fought with God and with men and had won. However, every time I saw those words today I read, “God fights for you“.

God fights for YOU. And if God is for you then WHO could be against you??? I mean honestly? Who? He’s GOD. He is the Creator of EVERYTHING seen and unseen. Would He have been so foolish as to have created something that COULD conquer Him? It may be a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Almighty God. (Hebrews 10:31) But it is a WONDERFUL thing to fall into the arms of the Almighty God! And through the blood of Jesus YOU have been given that right to flee to the breast of the One who conquered death and fought for you against the forces of evil.

Categories: 365 Life, Genesis, Season 3, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Prayer for Guidance: Psalm 23

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Mrs Knochel

“Know ye that Jehovah, He is God: It is He that hath made us, and we are His; We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise: Give thanks unto Him, and bless His name. For Jehovah is good; His loving kindness endureth for ever, And His faithfulness unto all generations.” Psalm 100:3-5 American Standard Version

Today I have spent the whole day at Living Proof Live! It was wonderful being surrounded by the women that I love hearing the word of God spoken with Beth Moore’s beautiful Texas accent. Now I’m a worshiper, and my favorite part of the day were the praise and worship times when I had the opportunity to join with 180,000 women across the glove singing praises to the name of Jesus our Messiah! It was AWESOME! At one point my friend Cindy turned to me and with a big grin said “I bet it makes God so happy to hear this right now.” And I shared with her how this spring I was at a women’s retreat, The Walk to Emmaus, where we sang everything with only an acoustic guitar and barely any amplification. The sound of the women’s voices lifting up the LORD’S praises was simply too much for me to handle and I could rarely sing the first verse or two for the beauty of the sound! I could only listen and dwell in the smile of pleasure that warmed God’s heart as He was receiving our praises.

We were created to praise Him! His word says as much. He DELIGHTS in the praises that we lift up, either songs, poems, stories, tears, moanings, groanings, you name it I believe that He LOVES it! However, I also believe that it is the Enemy’s goal in life to steal those praises from our lips. To snatch them from our hearts. To ensnare them from getting to Jesus on the throne and in turn steal Jesus’ joy of hearing them. I want you to think about this for a minute. When you do something big for someone, and they say thank you, how much does it mean to you. I’m not talking about one of those passive, smile-and-nod “thanks”, I mean one of those heartfelt, from the bottom of their toes, THANK YOU’s. How great does that feel? And if it feels that good to us, then how GREAT must it make God feel when we say that to Him? Now just try to tell me that the Enemy wouldn’t want to take that away from God. I would not believe you if you tried! No, it’s Satan’s chief goal to steal God’s glory and His honor and His praise through every way that he abuses us, trying to get us to drop our arms, to stop our songs of praise, to keep us from writing our stories of triumph and victory over defeat, to stop our tears of joy from flowing to the altar. The Enemy wants them replaced with guilt and shame, fear and condemnation. As God shared this epiphany with me today, in that church as I stood singing at the top of my voice with my arms reaching out to the heavens in an attempt to touch the hem of His holy robe, do you know what I told Him? I told God that I would NOT let the Enemy win. That I refused to let the Enemy steal my joy, to steal my confidence in the grace under which I live. I will NOT allow him to convince me that my God, who DIED FOR ME, doesn’t love me. I will NOT allow him to shut my praises up inside of me for fear of the condemnation of people who simply don’t understand what living under the grace-filled-shadow of the hand of the Almighty looks like. It looks like a shattered heart that has been mended by loving hands that KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING! It looks like tears flowing, not from hurt, but from HEALING. No, living a grace-filled-life isn’t without pain, or battles; it’s loving and praising through them because we have the peace that passes all understanding. It’s KNOWING that God loves us, not because He showers us with gifts of THINGS or MONEY, but that He prunes us so that we may bear much fruit. Life is HARD, and it HURTS! But we choose the one of two places from which those hurts can come from; the hands of someone who HATES US with everything in him (the Enemy) or they can come from the hands of the one who LOVES US MORE THAN LIFE ITSELF! HE DIED TO SET YOU FREE! He died to show you He loves you. He died so that you could LIVE. But He doesn’t force us to accept that love. He doesn’t force us to accept that life. He merely lays it at our feet like a rose on the ground, and we choose to pick it up and cherish it like the gift that it was meant to be, or walk all over it like it’s worth nothing at all to us.

While Jesus was here, many people treated Him just that way; like a rose trampled on the ground. Like He was nothing, and we still do it today, nothing has changed but the way in which we shun Him. Often times, it’s with a church service that brings people together in His name and then never mentions it once in the service. It’s people coming and singing the pretty church songs, but their praises are a mere “thanks” and not a heart-felt THANK YOU JESUS! Going through the motions so that WE feel like we’ve been to church and done our weekly Christian duty. But those aren’t the praises that God seeks, that’s not what He desires. He desires our hearts, not our sacrifices. He desires our LOVE and ADORATION, not our empty praises. He desires a FRIENDSHIP, not just an acquaintance. God wants US, all of us, not just a part. He wants us to DIVE into the deep end of His love and splash around in His grace. To do a cannonball off the diving board, just because we can. But, HOW do we do that? How do we get there?

We ask.

We all have a different way to get to that point with God where we are confidently leaning on Him, so I can’t tell you that’s there’s one way and here’s how you do it. We are all made uniquely individual and we all come to Jesus in exactly that way. But I can tell you this, you CAN ask Him to take you there. You can ask Him HOW to get to that point. And when you call to Him for help, guidance, directions, He WILL answer you. It’s a promise.

Prayer for Guidance:Psalm 23: “Lord Jesus, I want to know You more. But I don’t know how. I want to lean on You in confidence that You won’t let me fall, but I don’t know what that looks like. God PLEASE, help me get there. Right now I am Your lost little sheep in need of a Shepherd to guide me, lead me to that place where You are. Please help me to lie down in green pastures, lead me beside those still waters, because I believe that You will restore my soul. Lord, guide me in paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake. I am walking through the valley of the shadow of death right now Lord, but I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Lord, I believe that You do prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. That when You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Lord, I do believe that SURELY Your Goodness and Mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and that I WILL dwell in the house of Yaweh FOREVER. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!”

You know what I’m really enjoying about these scripture based prayers, they start out asking for something, and end up DECLARING THE VICTORY! AMEN! I am including a video (below) of a praise song with the lyrics included on the screen. If you are able, and I pray that God will allow you to read this particular post at a time when you are able to play the video, stand or kneel if you feel called. Sing along, raise your arms in praise to His sacrifice and His grace, and praise Him with a deeply felt thankful heart that He is GOOD and WORTHY of praise! HALLELUJAH!

Categories: The Crazy Mom Blog | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Prayer for God’s Protection: Psalm 91

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Mrs Knochel

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:1-2

As children of the Living God our creator when we read through the Bible, His love letter to us, we find promises that He has made to us. Psalm 91 is one of those promises, a cherished one, and a very powerful one. This is a Psalm that the Jews often memorize and recite in times of trouble for themselves or loved ones. Right now, with everything that is going on in the world today, Fear is running rampant through the streets. But as true believers of Jesus we can STAND ON THESE PROMISES. When we are already in the arms of the LORD, we find ourselves dwelling in the shelter of the Most High and resting in the shadow of the Almighty. We can say “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”  We do not need to be afraid. Period. Did you know that the message “don’t be afraid” or a variation of it is repeated 365 times in the Bible? That’s one for every day of our year! Fear is a powerful weapon in the Enemy’s arsenal, and he loves to wield it against us… because it works. Fear is a tremendous motivator, sometimes for good. But being afraid, is pointless. Fear causes us to make quick decisions and do foolish things. If we are afraid, then we are not trusting God for that thing. Thinking back on this I realize that I did that very thing not even hours ago! I was shopping in a hurry because I had taken my time on my earlier errands. I got to the store and like I usually do, I prayed that God would lead me in my shopping, that I wouldn’t spend more than His will for our family, that I would get all the things that I needed, and most importantly, that He would LEAD ME TO THE DEALS! 🙂 Boy did He ever too! But anyway, I digress. The cart was packed to the gills and I kept looking at it thinking this is going to cost more than what I budgeted, this isn’t good, I am afraid of just HOW MUCH this is going to cost! I was doubting Him and His leading me… JUST like I had asked Him to! I was afraid that it would cost more than we could afford, right after I had asked Him to help me make sure that I wouldn’t do that! Sometimes I really disappoint myself. I wasn’t walking in the faith that God had heard and would answer my prayer for guidance. HELLO! Jeremiah 33:3 TAMAR! “Call to me and I will answer you...” Promise!

God doesn’t want us to be afraid of ANYTHING, because He’s taking care of EVERYTHING for us… when we dwell in the shelter of the Most High and rest in the shadow of the Almighty. When God is our refuge and fortress, when we trust in HIM, He takes care of everything! Now, I’d like to say that I came out of the store under MY budget, but I didn’t. I was however only $15 over AND I walked out of the store saving $30 and had a backseat FULL of groceries! There was barely room for my daughter to sit! Woohoo! Thanks for all the deals Daddy! Yes, I slipped a little in my faith that God would answer my call for help in the store… but HE is faithful, and irregardless of MY lack of faith, HE still held up His end of the deal. So, where did my fear and worry get me? Nowhere other than the foot of the cross asking for forgiveness once again. Little by little I’m getting better at trusting Him.

As for the Prayer for Protection from Psalm 91, I’ve been praying/declaring it over my friends the last couple of days. Praying it for their family by their family name, and praying it for our own family by name. I’m going to type it with specific words underlined, when praying this prayer for someone else, a family or an individual simply exchange their name with the underlined word(s). This particular prayer is interesting because it’s really more of a declaration of faith than it is a request. Which, honestly, I think is what makes it so effective. Because God doesn’t want us to just ask, no, He wants us to BELIEVE in what we are asking. The way that this Psalm is written, when you speak it over someone, it reads filled with belief and turns into a declaration of faith. I love how it works out that way. 🙂 But my favorite part is the end, where God responds immediately to the prayer, make sure to read His answer out loud as well! Actually, make sure to read the whole prayer out loud, the angels surrounding you right now waiting to carry out your prayer can’t read your mind, only God can do that! So make sure to declare this one loud and proud for your loved one! Make sure ALL the heavenlies can hear your declaration of faith!

Prayer for Protection: Psalm 91: “Father God Almighty, I lift up the Knochel family to You right now. Lord, may they dwell in the shelter of the Most High and rest in the shadow of You the Almighty. May they say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom we trust.” Father,I believe that You will save them from the fowler’s (the Enemy) snare and from the deadly pestilence (sickness/ill-health). I believe that You will cover them with Your feathers, and that under Your wings they will find refuge; I believe that Your faithfulness will be their shield and rampart. They will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at their side, ten thousand at their right hand, but I believe that it will not come near them. They will only observe with their eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If they make You the Most High their dwelling – even the LORD, who is my refuge – then I believe that no harm will befall them, no disaster will come near their tent. Lord, I believe that You will command Your angels concerning them to guard them in all their ways; that the angels will lift the Knochel’s up in their hands, so that they will not strike their foot against a stone. Lord, I believe that the Knochel’s will tread upon the lion and the cobra; that they will trample the great lion and the serpent (all symbols of the Enemy). “Because they love Me” says the LORD, “I will rescue them; I will protect them, for they acknowledge My name. They will call upon Me, and I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will deliver them and honor them. With long life will I satisfy them and show them My salvation.”

Cool story I heard a while back, a man (I think an evangelist) was a FIRM believer in the promises of Psalm 91. So much so that he had some scientist test him on it. So armed with a microscope, they placed the BUBONIC PLAGUE on his skin…. and watched it die the instant it touched him. Now THAT’S what I call active faith! My aunt’s husband Tom had cancer, the doctors gave him the option of taking a medicine with a 50% chance of working, he chose not to take the medicine and take his chances believing that God would cure him. Today, Tom is 100% cancer free! Among many many many other people prayers, one of the things that they did was a group of people stood by Tom and spoke Psalm 91 over him every day. The Bible is FILLED with miracles, and those miracles ARE possible for TODAY! God is the same yesterday, today and forever, He doesn’t change. He’s the same miracle-working God today that He was back then. The ONLY difference is whether we’re willing to BELIEVE HIM for those miracles or not. It’s all up to us. For anything is possible for him who believes!!! Speak this prayer out in BELIEF that it is the TRUTH and it is the LIFE and it is the WAY! (I really wish you could hear my fingers pounding on they keys as I’m typing this, I may hurt my computer!) The prayers of a righteous man/woman avails much. You know what makes someone righteous in God’s sight? The fact that they believe that He has forgiven them and that they TRUST HIM to do what He says He will do! Believe that HIS WORD IS TRUE and it will hold more power for you, than you ever thought possible! God is trustworthy, TRUST HIM and He will NOT let you down! Hallelujah!

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Day 31: Purity Bath

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Mrs Knochel

So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments.”  Genesis 35:2

Christian and I were drawing near to the end of our 30 days, and I just had this feeling in my gut that we weren’t going to just “jump right back in the sack” on day 30.  The morning of day 30 actually came and I still felt like it wasn’t time yet; like I needed to DO something first.  All morning long I had the word “purify” running through my head.  I had just spent an entire month learning who I was, how God saw me, and how to be the best wife I could possibly be; and I felt like I needed to do something…ritualistic.  So I looked up scriptures for purification rituals.  In almost every one of them they mentioned blood, water, oil and perfume.  Well, Christ took care of all the blood we would ever need, so I wasn’t concerned at all with that.  But the water, oil and perfume made sense to me; I could take a bath.  I remembered how in 2 Samuel chapter 11 when David saw Bathsheba from his rooftop she was taking a bath and had purified herself from her uncleaness.  So.  Blood: provided by Christ, check.  Water: take a bath, check.  Oil and perfume: I had a bottle of olive oil and some vanilla in the kitchen, check!

So, here’s my general procedure for the purity bath that I take, the Holy Spirit usually leads me to change things here and there from time to time, add a few things, subtract a few, etc.  Pray about it and if God is leading you to change something, feel free to do so.  Our experiences with God are uniquely ours, so your purity bath may look completely different from mine.  This is just what I have done.

When my period is completely finished, 7 days from when it started, I take a purity bath to dedicate myself to God.  It is to help me feel pure, inside and outside.  Because through the blood of Christ we have been made pure and don’t HAVE to do any purification rituals anymore, but I feel like sometimes as humans we need to DO something to help us remember that fact.  Plus, I have learned that God really loves symbolism, so I know that this process pleases Him greatly.   (Note: This entire process generally takes an hour or more depending on how long I sit, soak and pray.  So I usually try to carve out plenty of time in my schedule for it.  I really don’t like skimping on this very intimate time with my LORD.)

Step 1) I have an old soy sauce bottle that I use to mix my anointing oil; it’s just the right size and pours nicely. I never actually measure anything, but I use a cup of oil and a bit of pure vanilla extract (not a whole lot maybe a teaspoon, a little bit of this stuff goes a LOOOONG way) into the bottle.  These are the ingredients that God has inspired me to use, however, this bath is intimately yours and God’s so I highly recommend asking Him what He would like for you to use for your oil and perfume.

Step 2) I clean my bathroom concentrating on the tub itself, even if I just did it the other day, I do it again.  (Do NOT skip scrubbing the tub!  I did this ONCE and I will NEVER do it again.  The rest of the bathroom is less important, but you can not take a sacred bath in a dirty tub!  Learn from my mistake, do NOT skip this part of cleaning.)  Cleaning is a symbolic act, one where I am cleaning the dirt and grime from my bathroom and asking God to continue cleaning the dirt and grime of sin from my heart.  It is time spent on my knees in fervent prayer.  I thank God for forgiving me and for cleaning up my life and my marriage.  God has changed ME so much already and He isn’t done with me yet.  Praise God!

Step 3) Once everything is clean and all the dirt and trash are outside the room, I start filling the tub with the HOTTEST water I can possibly stand; as full as it can go without running over when I get in.  To me, this is like God’s cleansing fire and the Holy Spirit.  Sometimes, if the room is cool enough you can actually see the steam rising off the hot water just like the Holy Spirit moving throughout the room, filling your lungs.  It’s incredible!

Step 4) I kneel before my full tub and come before God on this sacred day, naked, unashamed, grateful for the work He is doing in my life, and sincerely apologetic for the things that I have done against Him.  I shake the bottle and mix the oil and vanilla together asking God to make Christian and I one flesh (the two shall become one flesh).  Then I pour it into the water and ask God to be the third cord that binds our hearts together forever.  I ask God to use this water to make me a virgin again, and to give us back all the missing pieces of our hearts.  I beg for His forgiveness.

Step 5) Read Romans 6:11-14.

Step 6) I completely submerge each part of my body in the water as I dedicate it to God for His glory and ask Him to purify and cleanse me.  I start with my feet and finish with my ears, eyes, nose, mouth and mind including swallowing a bit of the water and praying that He fill me with His words and that my words be pleasing to Him.  No more shall sin rule over me!  I lay there and think about the changes that God has made in me over the last days and how He loves me.  I continue to pray (and listen) as I rest in the presence of the LORD, letting him surround me and fill me with His Holy Spirit.

Step 7) Once I’ve soaked long enough, I lay down as far into the tub as I can and pull the plug on the drain with my foot.  As the water drains away from me I pray that my sins will be in the water and that as they drain away from me God will throw them as far as the East is from the West!  It’s the coolest feeling as the water drains; it feels like the sins are being sucked out of your body!  It only feels like this when you’re laying in the water though.

Step 8 ) (CAUTION: the tub will be soaked in oil and will be SLIPPERY at first so be VERY CAREFUL!)  I carefully stand up and take a shower, totally pampering myself.  I shave, wash my hair, and take my time; doing all those things that I normally never take the time to do.  I groom things, buff things, scrub things, anything to make me feel gorgeous.

Step 9) I clothe myself in clean white garments of righteousness.  (This is where the white panties/bra or jammies come in; I hope you were able to get some new ones.)  Now, while this doesn’t mean that I’m perfect; it does mean that I’m trying to be.

From this point forward, I am like the lions from Daniel in the lion’s den.  I keep my mouth shut and my paws to myself.  I have my husband show me how much I mean to him by not rushing things.  We’re talking days here, not hour’s people.  We’ll talk a little more about this later.

Christian’s comments:

 

Husbands, you don’t have to do your purity bath like Tamar listed hers, but rather let God lead you. I don’t take baths, but shower instead. And I don’t shave my legs.  You don’t have to shave your legs either… unless that’s something you do. I know a couple of guys that do, but it’s your prerogative.

Tamar blessed me by anointing my head with oil the first time after our first fast. After that I started taking my own purity baths. I prepare myself like it is my wedding day. I clean the shower. I run really hot water for my shower, use some nice smelling body wash and scrub myself. I use oil to shave my head and face, so I ask God to bless the oil so that I may purify myself for my wife.

I wore the typical black tux at our wedding, so I bought some black, silky boxers to wear. You don’t have to do this, but if your wife got dressed up in a new night-gown, or new white underwear, you should do something nice too.

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Day 24: Weapon

Posted on June 10, 2011 by Mrs Knochel

Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.  So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things, see how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!  And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. James 3:4-6

You know the old adage; “if you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all”?  I think that applies here in marriage most of all.  Our words hold such power and we don’t even realize it.  Our words have the power to cut our husbands to the quick, or pull them up from a pit of despair.  Our words are power-filled, and must therefore be carefully guarded.  When I looked up “words”, “mouth” & “tongue” in a bible search engine I was amazed at how many scriptures deal with what comes out of our mouths.  God is a man of few words, so when He says something once in the bible, you listen.  If he says it twice, then it must be very important.  If he says it 856 times, well, you listen, obey, and then listen some more!

Our tongues are the greatest weapon of mass destruction; they are like a nuclear bomb in a marriage.  And just like a bomb, if not guarded carefully they can be dropped and decimate our precious husband.  Our words can go two ways, they can build up, or they can tear down.  And just because your husband (or friend, or brother or neighbor or stranger) acts in a way deserving of harsh words, it does not give you permission to cut them down with the sword of your tongue!

There’s a public service announcement where a mom is buckling her baby into its car seat, all nice and secure.  Then the mom gets into the car, and locks the doors, and lights a cigarette.  That baby is locked into that position of being forced to breathe that cigarette smoke and damage its lungs.  Our negative words do the same thing to the people around us.  They are like a thick black smoke.  As the negative words pour out of our mouths the black smoke billows and fills the room.  And the people around us are forced to breathe it in simply because they are near enough to hear.  This smoke poisons your entire being with negative attitudes and thoughts.  So the next time you’re driving with your kids in the car and you’re tempted to swear, or even speak harshly at the driver that just cut you off, remember, HE can’t hear you, but your kids can.  He will not be affected by the black negative attitude smoke coming out of your mouth, but you and your children will be.  The things that we think about are “stored up” in our hearts.  (Remember Luke 6:45? The good man [or woman] out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.)  Therefore the things that we think about are also coming out of our mouths as well.  Before the fast I was constantly complaining to my friends about how horrible my husband was, I was constantly thinking about how horrible he was.  Then when he came home, I’d start talking to him and treating him like a horrible husband.  On the other hand, once I decided that I needed to change my attitude I started telling my friends how wonderful my husband is, and then I was thinking about all the great things that he does for me and how much he loves me.  Now, when he gets home, I of course start talking to him and treating him like he is a wonderful husband.  In the beginning, I was fighting momentum and it WAS NOT EASY.  But I didn’t give up!  Turning your weapon of mass destruction into a tool for building is possible.

The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; the one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. (Proverbs 13:3) Speaking rashly to your husband could just manage to push him down farther and you with him.  With [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing.  My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. (James 3:9-11)14 Praise can flow from our lips like fresh water from a mountain spring.  Your husband was made in God’s image, just as you were, praise him too.  A man’s character is what matters most; both to his wife and to the man himself.  Women marry men for their character.  Men see themselves by their character.  If you really want to praise your man, praise his character.  NEVER insult his character.

Christian’s comments:

It’s dangerous to walk around with a loaded weapon, especially if it’s in your mouth! Make sure that your tongue doesn’t have a hair-trigger. Be quick to think, but slow to speak.

Throughout our relationship, I’ve often told Tamar to think before she speaks. Don’t get me wrong, she doesn’t mean to say hurtful things to other people; it just comes across that way sometimes. We are ALL guilty of doing this. We start speaking before the entire thought is formed in our mind.

Accidentally saying harsh words occasionally can be hurtful to others for a short time. Purposefully saying harsh words often can be hurtful to others for a lifetime. The words don’t even have to be directed at someone to be harmful to them. If my son hears me constantly berating Tamar, how is he going to speak to his own wife? If the child’s father (or mother) is constantly complaining and swearing, that is all the child is going to know.

So, in essence, I guess what I’m suggesting is, speak only good, helpful things to build each other up, or keep your big mouth shut.

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Day 21: Threesome

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Mrs Knochel

O Magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together. Psalm 34:3

Contrary to what Hollywood is telling us, the Best most intimate sex is not only about the physical connection between two people; it’s a spiritual and emotional connection as well.  Sex connects your souls creating a bond that grows deeper and stronger and better the older that it gets.  Once you have protected yourselves, by taking away the option of divorce, you are free to bare your souls more fully with one another.  By sharing yourselves completely you are only then able to truly make the soul connection that we as human beings were created to have with our spouses.

Two heads are better than one.  As a couple you can do more, be more, love more, and help more; you literally complete each other.  You can lean on each other when you get tired, cheer each other up when you get sad, tend to each other when you get sick, warm each other when you get cold, defend each other when you get attacked, and love each other in spite of your differences.  Alone you are left, tired with no one to lean on, sad with no one to cheer you up, sick with no one to nurse you, cold with no one to warm you, attacked with no one to defend you. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says:

“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.  For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.  Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?  And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him.  A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.”

I think the principles from this scripture are perfectly illustrated by the following story.  There once was a father with two bickering sons.  One day, tired of their constant fighting the father gave each of his sons 2 sticks and first instructed them to attempt to break one of them in half; which they each accomplished with ease.  The father replied, “When you bicker and fight you stand alone and are easily broken.”  He then told them to hand him their 2nd sticks and he bundled them together along with his own stick and tied them with a cord.  He handed his oldest son the bundle and told him to try to break it.  He couldn’t do it.  Looking to his sons he said, “When you set aside your differences and work together you are like this bundle of sticks.  When we are tied together as one united group it’s next to impossible to break.”

In these verses from Ecclesiastes it talks about all the ways that two are better than one, and then at the end the number changes from two, to a cord of three strands.  This is a poetic device to draw attention to something.  It makes the reader ask, what’s the third thing?  A man and woman are better together than being alone.  However, we are not yet made complete until the third element is added.  God completes the cord of three strands.

Marriage was originally created to be threefold; God, a husband and a wife, 3 crucial parts to one cord.  If you take any one of those elements out of the marriage you weaken the entire unit.  Just like the sticks in the story, by themselves they are brittle and easily broken, but tied together with the bonds of love they become strong; an unstoppable force.  When we as a society try to re-define God’s original definition of the threefold picture of marriage we not only weaken those marriages themselves but also the society in which they exist.  Every society is built on the strength of the family unit.  When those units begin to break apart the society breaks apart right along with them.

Now, I’m going to say something that may be slightly shocking to some people, so prepare yourselves.  I am going to propose that you invite God, not just into your marriage, but into your bedroom as well.  I know, the thought of it is a little strange, but when you stop to think about it, He invented sex, He’s seen you naked, so what’s so different about acknowledging the fact that He’s there with you and that He *gasp!* approves of what you’re doing. I could go more into detail on this, but I don’t want to get anyone too excited, we’ve still got 12 more days of fasting after all.  So we’ll talk about this more later, at the end of the book.

Christian’s comments:

A triangle is the strongest shape. Husbands, if you are a gear-head like me, you probably watch auto racing. More specifically, stock car racing. If you have watched as much as I have, there’s no doubt that you have noticed the roll cages inside the racecars. They are made up of a whole bunch of triangles. They are built with the strength of triangles to withstand damage from huge crashes.

I’ve also watched a lot of off-road truck racing. The chassis of the trucks are basically a big triangle; strengthened with smaller triangles built into them. They are built this way to withstand the constant beatings the trucks take during races.

When I build a demolition derby car, I build as many triangles into the safety cage as possible. That way, my car can withstand the constant “attacks” from my “enemies” on the track. (For anyone that doesn’t know what a demolition derby is, imagine bumper cars with real vehicles.)

 

You build a triangle when you have God in your marriage. With the three (God, husband, and wife) working together, your marriage can stand up to any big crashes, beatings, and attacks that come along.

Categories: The Crazy Mom Blog | Tags: , , , , , ,

Day 5: Memorize

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Mrs Knochel

I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9:27

For today, there is no reading other than your Bible.  Take the time you would normally spend reading and spend it instead, memorizing the word of God.  For today we recommend you look up (in your favorite translation) 1 Corinthians 9:27, write it on a note card or sticky note and then say it out loud 7 times or until you can say it from memory.  For me, I learn better by saying them as I write them several times.  We also recommend that you memorize the “address” (1 Corinthians 9:27) as well, so that in the future you can look it up easily or refer other people to it quickly.

Now when (notice I did not say “if”) you are tempted, if at all possible, say this verse out loud.  This is important.  In those moments of temptations, if you are able to roll these words right off your tongue it will make Temptation flee!  Really.  You’ll see.

Categories: The Crazy Mom Blog | Tags: , , ,

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