Hey Ladies,

Since it is Memorial Day, and I have my husband home with me for the day, I am not going to post this weeks blog entry until tomorrow! I know that everyone understands!

Lots of love...have a great holiday,

Macki

Chapter 2: Working As A Team

Before we get started discussing Chapter 2...I just want to let you know how blessed I was reading your comments on Chapter 1. Let's face it...it is just tough as wives and mamas to find a free minute to breathe alone (or go potty...lol...y'all know what I mean!), much less sit quiet for a few minutes to focus on Bible study and prayer! I feel it as much as you do! Our only option is to create a new holy habit of finding still moments with God (notice I didn't necessary say alone...with kids that is pretty near impossible!) As for those of us who are mamas of itty bitties, we must just resolve to spending time with Him...even if our itty bitties are there running around in the background or sleeping in our arms! Let's be creative on how to do this together...remember we are not alone in our challenges on how to achieve this goal (If you would like, please feel free to share through the "comments" how you have found time to be with God this past week. We can help each other by putting our heads together and sharing effective ways to create quiet time with God despite our hectic circumstances!)

Alright...now Chapter 2: Working as a Team. I don't know about you, but WOE...this chapter was very convicting! I felt as if God were saying..."LISTEN UP!" I have to confess that this past year has been full of its constant challenges...not only as my new role as a mama but also as learning to be both mama..and wife. I can remember praying, terrified, right after we brought Mackinzie home from the hospital..."God, I don't know how to do both!" (meaning both being Mackinzie's mama while at the same time being Jeff's wife)!

The concept that hit me the hardest was on page 31 of our book. It discusses how some wives become "husband-watchers." Husband watchers...

"know how their husbands are supposed to treat them. And instead of taking care of their own faithfulness to their God-given assignment as wives, they take on the appointed role of playing 'Holy Spirit' in their husbands' lives pointing out their faults and shortcomings. These wives may even assume a 'when...then' attitude. In their hearts (and maybe even verbally), they say, 'When he does this or that, then I'll do this or that. They postpone obedience to their roles as wives and make it conditional to that of their husbands'." (George, 31)

When Elizabeth referred to wives "playing" the Holy Spirit for their husband...it resonated deep! How quickly I have been to point out my husband's inadequacies during hectic moments throughout the day without thinking wisely of the damaging effects that it has caused the peace and order in our family...not to mention his self-confidence in being the leader. It's not my job to be the Holy Spirit, and in thinking in some way that I could live up to this incomprehensible task, I have devastatingly limited God's power and influence that He alone can completely have over our home...if I just let Him!

This week's discussion question is more of a challenge! I want to encourage you to implement one of challenges listed in the "Little Things that Make a Difference" section on pages 40-42. Then, once you have carried out one of these challenges, comment on what happened, and how God used it! Good Luck...and have fun with this challenge!

Chapter 1: Growing in the Lord

Good morning! Today we begin Chapter 1 in A Wife After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George. Before I get started with our Chapter 1 discussion, I did want to let you know that there are two more books that go along with this study. The first is a growth and study guide for A Wife After God's Own Heart, and the second is A Husband After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth's husband, Jim. I wanted to inform you that these books are available if you wanted to further the intensity of this study by engaging in question/answers on each chapter or possibly doing this study with your husband.

Ok...so Chapter 1: Growing in the Lord! Reading this chapter was a fresh reminder on the priority that we need to place on growing in our knowledge of God...IT NEEDS TO BE #1!!! We think that we can just do it later...and that later never happens. We remain babies in our knowledge wanting only milk when we should be teachers eating meat and potatoes.

I will be the first to admit the struggle that it is to find time alone with God...reading my Bible, journaling, and praying. Before I got married, I really didn't have that daily time with God. I loved Him, was saved, but I had remained a baby spiritually because I didn't prioritize gaining knowledge from God's Word that would equip me with the sword and shield that I would need to face daily battles (especially those that go along with marriage!) It was when I read this book for the first time right after I married that I realized that I needed to get my act together spiritually. I realized that if my marriage was going to work at all, I was going to have lean each second on God's Word (and I had no idea what it really said!!!) So...I bought a Bible that I could understand (still LOVE the Message version), made a spot for my Bible study materials, forced myself to get out of bed early, and then God took over. For four years, He took me on the wildest thrill of my life through studying His Word with Him. An obsession took over, and I could not get enough! If something didn't make sense, I dug and dug until it did. I could get lost for hours in God's Word and not even realize how long I had been there! THEN...I had a baby!!! And the sleepless nights turned into sleepless days, and for the first 10 months of my sweet baby's life, I lived in the Twilight Zone...not knowing the day, time, and at some moments, my name!!! As far as my time with God, it was a daily struggle. Most days it did not happen because of mental exhaustion, and I MISSED Him madly!!! You see, I had experienced Him and the thrill of the adventrue that He took me on...then all of a sudden I did not have a moment to think of anything besides nursing, diaper changes, and sleep schedules! Satan used these "should be" daily blessings of serving my family to distract me from my main focus...my relationship with God!!! My focus was distracted, and I was unable to experience the joy of my family because I was burdened by so many other things. Please hear my heart...God is not telling us to stop doing good things for our families!!! In fact, He takes much pleasure in seeing us take care of our sweet husbands and children, but as women, we cannot do these things completely, wholly, joyfully, and healthily unless we are seeking Him first.

I wanted to share these things with you because I hear your hearts and your struggles...because I have them myself. This journey that we are on as women is full of up and downs, twists and turns, and we feel overwhelmed if we have to add one more thing into our schedule. But as Elizabeth says, "God's Word works!!" If we find the time to invest in studying God's Word, the blessings will pour heavily down on us...and our families!!! The healthier we are as wives and mamas spiritually, the healthier your family will be as well. That is the wonderful overflow of God's Word, it will effect so many other people besides ourselves in positive ways that our minds cannot begin to comprehend. All that God asks from us is to be obedient, equipping ourselves with knowledge of Him through the study of His Word and prayer...then He takes over and begins the transformation process of our hearts!

For our weekly blog assignment...

1. I encourage you to read and do the Little Things that Make a Difference section at the end of Chapter 1. Several of the steps you can already check off just because you have committed to this Bible study! Step 6...please do not ignore! You may want to begin a personal prayer journal and write this commitment in it...there will be much growth that can come from keeping your thoughts and prayers to God in one location.

2. Choose only 1 of the following questions to comment on the blog about...

* What meant the most to you as a married woman from Chapter 1?

* What offered you the greatest challenge as a wife?

* What information was new or served as a fresh reminder for you as you seek to follow after God's own heart in your marriage?

Kick-Off To Our Virtual Bible Study and Roll Call!!!

SO...it's finally here...our first ever completely virtual Bible Study! As excited as I am about this new form of Bible Study added to our Crosspoint women's ministry...I am even more excited about the content that we are studying...our role as a wife! And it is not just a wife! It is about how we can strive each day to bless our marriage by being a wife after God's heart! In order for some of the topics that we will study about to actually work and transform our marriages, we are going to have to be real, open, and transparent with ourselves in order to address the things inside of us that need to be changed as well as allow God to refine our hearts and minds during the transformation process! Sisters, I am so excited to go through this process with you...heavens knows that I can use some refining and transforming in the wife/mother department...and I am sure that I will learn a wealth of knowledge from all of you also!!! I KNOW that God has some blessings coming our way!

This is how our Bible study will work...

Everyone should have a copy of the book A Wife After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George. Each week, we will read one chapter. During any point in the course of the week, you need to go to this blog, read our weekly post and principle questions, and then post a comment to our discussion question(s). On each Monday of the week, the weekly blog post and discussion questions will be posted in correspondence to the chapter that we will be reading for the week. You will have from Monday to Sunday to get on the blog and leave your comments...I feel that this will give everyone plenty of time to read the chapter each week. There are 12 chapters, so we will have 12 weeks of Bible Study and blogging.

Chapter 1 (Growing in the Lord)- Week of May 16th

Chapter 2 (Working as a Team)- Week of May 23rd

Chapter 3 (Learning to Communicate)- Week of May 29th

Chapter 4 (Enjoying Intimacy)- Week of June 5th

Chapter 5 (Managing Your Money)- Week of June 12th

Chapter 6 (Keeping Up the Home)- Week of June 19th

Chapter 7 (Raising Your Children)- Week of June 26th

Chapter 8 (Extending Love to Family)- Week of July 3rd

Chapter 9 (Tending Your Career)- Week of July 10th

Chapter 10 (Making Time for Fun)- Week of July 17th

Chapter 11 (Serving the Lord)- Week of July 24th

Chapter 12 (Reaching Out to Others)- Week of July 31st

We will be finished on Sunday, August 7th!

To publish a comment, this is how it works....

At the bottom of of the post, you will see "posted by Macki Smith" and beside it is shows the number of comments. Click on the word "comments", and you will be directed to a screen where you will be able to read others' comments, as well as write your own. At the top right of the comment screen, there is a blank box that says "Leave Your Comment" above it. This box is where you will type your comment. In order for the comment to be published to the blog, you will need to include the word verification that will be provided for you to copy into a text box. You will also have to include an identity so that your comment can be labeled that it is from you. There are several options to choose and identity...I recommend going ahead and setting up a google account. There is a icon where you can click to do this, and it will walk you through the process to set up your google account. If you already have a google account or gmail, your name and address for either of these will work for blogger. I know that this sounds like a lot...but I promise that it is super easy! Do it once, and you have it figured out! Just click on the comments, and try to walk through it! (If this is as clear as mud...just e-mail me or give me a call!!! I promise that I don't mind!)

So...to practice leaving a comment...let's do a ROLL CALL!!! Leave your name as a comment so that we can see everyone who is participating in this Bible Study journey with us!!! Also, leave a brief sentence about what you are most looking forward to with beginning this new Bible study...A Wife After God's Own Heart.

Week 8 Discussion Question

Good Morning Ladies!! Let me try this for the second time! I was so proud of myself on Thursday morning that I had woken up early and written this entire post. Then I went to publish it, and I deleted the entire stinkin' thing! So...I am just now getting the chance to try writing it again!

So sorry we missed last weeks' blog question. I was on the road traveling with my mom and grandma, and I figured that all of you were busy doing spring break things as well! Monday morning ladies, it was great to catch up with all of you after being apart for a couple of weeks! Tuesday night ladies, I hated that I didn't get to see you!! As Sara probably explained, I had been in court all day with a precious family that I used to work with. And this next week, I am going to be on the road yet again going to see Jeff's family in South Florida. His mom and dad just come home permanently from Uganda, and we are going to see them!!! Please remember us in your prayers while we are traveling. I can't wait to see everyone again next week!

Ok...so here is our blog question for this week!

"Have you ever had an ugly cry in public? If so, please share!"

I can't wait to read everyone's responses!

Love ya,
Macki

The Journey

I wrote this a while back and just found it while looking through old blog drafts. God has pressed it on my heart to share it with you! Love ya...Macki

The Journey

Wow!!! What a ride I have been on over the course of the past weeks. It is times as these when I have to lean not on my own understanding, but stand firm on those scriptures that God has pressed upon my heart. I have to believe that though the things around me are confusing and uncertain, if I keep my two feet standing on Christ Jesus, God's plan will prevail. My eyes have to keep looking upward, seeking for the answers that He has called for my life.

After a year-long strenuous sifting on my spirit, God has blessed me abundantly over the past few weeks by allowing an explosion of my faith to just overflow from every fiber of my body. There is a fire burning inside and a joy that has been re-lit in my heart after a year of a serious spiritual drought. Over the course of this past year, I have been doing all of the "right" things to seek God; however, He has remained hidden from me. I have mentally known that He is there, but I have not been able to emotionally "FEEL" that He was near me. There have been times over this past year where I was flat on my face sobbing and crying out for the Lord...wanting so desperately for Him to "comfort" my grief with that spiritual sensation that only He brings. But for some reason, that sensation did not come. I kept crying out..."Where are you God...where are You?" Looking back, I know that He was near me...very near; however, I do believe that God was allowing me to be tested...asking me..."Macki, what are you going to stand on...feelings or the things that I have promised you? Are your going to fight for Me...or allow your feelings to consume you?" You see, I had to come to the realization that despite being able to "feel" Him in the midst of my uncertain circumstances, I was going to stand on His many promises that He was still with me. I was going to stand on the promise that "He would never leave me or forsake me" (Deuteronomy 31:8). I was going to stand on the promise that "though I sowed seeds with tears, I would come back with shouts of joy" (Psalm 136:1-6). I was going to stand on the promise that "the testing on my faith would produce endurance "(James 1:3). I was going to stand on the promise that "if I do not lose heart in doing good, I would reap if I did not grow weary" (Galatians 6:9). I was going to stand on the promise that "if I raise my eyes towards Him, my help would come"(Psalm 121:1-2)!

And, WOW, how ABUNDANTLY my has Help come!!! He has moved like a mighty wave over every area of my life... nourishing it with His healing waters. There are just those times where I want to shout from the mountains...and this is one of them!! God is near!!! He has a plan!!! And this is what I have to remind myself of today. God has a plan...His perfect plan! If this year has taught me anything, it is to seek. Seek Him!! If we SEEK Him, and we shall FIND Him. If confusion and lack of understanding have boggled your mind and your clarity this week as they have done mine, go back to the basics. Pray scripture over your lack of understanding. Pray them over and over. Carry them in the car with you...take them and place them on your desk at work...place them on the kitchen counter while you are cooking supper...put them in your pocket for those unexpected times when doubt consumes you. Keep reading them until they take root in your heart and that joy that comes from Christ Jesus alone trumps our own ability to understand. And that JOY will come. That peace that surpasses all understanding will consume you.

One last thing, what we do have to remember is that we are ultimately seeking GOD'S PLAN. The vision that He placed in our hearts is for His purpose and for His reason. Though we do not always understand God's timing, He allows circumstances that grow our courage, sift our faith, and produce endurance, so that through these trials, His perfect love in us will be refined as pure gold...and He can be glorified through our love for others. Our ultimate existence should not be focused on a time nor a place for that vision to be fulfilled, but it should be on the planting of seeds and the producing of fruit...and God will handle the details! Let's ENJOY the journey that God has put us on! Oh, the abundant blessings that He already has in store for us if we do not lose sight of Him!!! Let's not miss one moment in seeking the harvest!!! And if fear or discouragement do find their way into our weary hearts, please don't lose courage and always remember that "He who has begun a good work in [us] will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ!(Philippians 1:6)!
POSTED BY MACKI SMITH AT 9:25 AM

Week 6 Discussion Question

Hey Ladies...

Here is our blog question for the week!

"Describe a moment when you knew God had strategically timed something you read or heard."

This one may take some thought...it will for me as well. I hope that some of you can relate to this question and will feel comfortable sharing how God moved strategically in your life!!

Love ya,
Macki