There has been alot of discussion around here lately about judging others that do not have the same convictions as you do and I felt a need to say something.

Here is a scripture about judging others:

Matthew 7: 1-5 “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

We are called to exhort our brethren but not to judge them.

Hebrews 3:13 “Beware brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”

Here are a few about giving instruction to those that choose not to recieve it, and we all know there are some of those here at HSB.

Titus 3:9-11, “But avoid all foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions and strivings about the law: for they are unprofitable and useless.  Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.”

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Proverbs 9:7, 8 “He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.  Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.”

Proverbs 12:1 “Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, But he who hates correction is stupid.”

Here are a few about our speech and what the word says about disputing, which unfortunately is what some have been doing.

Ephesians 5:29 “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

Philippians 2:14 “Do all things without complaining or disputing,”

James 5:9 “Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door.”

Now, I do wear mainly skirts because it is a PERSONAL conviction of mine.  I do not think it is a sin to wear jeans or pants.  However, I do think it is a sin to be immodest.  I am not saying jeans are immodest and I know there are plenty of skirts in this world that are immodest. I strive for modesty in whatever I am wearing and right now, that is mainly skirts.  Who knows, next month the Lord may lead me back to jeans. All I know is that I am to follow what He has placed on MY heart.  There are several reasons I prefer skirts only and here are some of the scriptures that have led me to MY decision.

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This is something that is really dear to my heart because I think so many women are missing the mark and it is having horrible effects on the family.  I was going to share some of my own thoughts about it but instead I want you to visit Gloria at ..no place like home.. and read what she posted and ALL of the wonderful comments she received.  There are many wonderful thoughts and scripture verses shared for you.

Blessings to you,

Rashel

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I have decided that today we are setting aside all of your regular school and most of daily routine.  I will continue with laundry and keeping up with dishes but that is it.  Our day is going to be devoted to God. We are going to the library first this morning and the kids will have instruction they are only allowed to get movies or books that are related to God.  We have "David and Goliath" and "Facing the Giants" from last week at the library and I think I will check those out again too.  My plan is that our day will consist of listening to Christian music (mine and their kid's tapes), the movies I mentioned, reading the Bible, reading Bible stories, reading some of the book "Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends" and of course prayer.  I am sure we will do some coloring of Bible stories and maybe something else craft related, I don't know yet.  I just know that I want this entire day focused on God.  I will try to post this evening or in the morning to let you know what all we did and how are day went.

Have a wonderful and blessed day!

Rashel

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I just wanted to take a minute and remind you to check out my other website.  I had taken a break from it while on vacation as well, but I am back and posting again.  I pray that you would be encouraged in your walk with Christ as I share my own walk. Just click here: A Woman's Walk With God.

Blessings,

Rashel

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I have been wanting to start a Bible study group for women that are like minded in things such as modesty, submission and keepers of the home but there aren't many in my church that would fall into that category with me right now, sad isn't it.  So, I decided to start an online group of sorts.  I started a new blog and it's sole purpose is for searching God's word to us as women and finding out how to live it practically in our lives.  I hope to have women join me in my walk drawing closer to the Lord.  I want us to be able to encourage each other, to teach each other and have to place to share with those that share the same convictions.  I don't know just yet how often I will post or if I will post on certain topics at a time or certain scripture or just what exactly.  I just opened the blog today so it is all new but I hope you will stop by if you are interested in joining me in walking closer to God.  The blog is called A Woman's Walk With God and please let me know if you stop by.

Blessings,

Rashel

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God is so good and He never ceases to surprise me.  Today was a normal day around here and we were pretty lax with the schedule today, although, we got some basics done.  I didn't get my afternoon zone cleaning done but I had a wonderful visit from a friend instead.  She came over to bring me a mixer she had already offered to me awhile back.  She had told me she had two and would decide which one she wanted and give me the other one.  Well, she brought it over today and do you know what it is?  A kitchen aid mixer!! Yep, it has two paddles, a dough hook and whisk thingy with it plus the attachment for easing pouring into the mixing bowl!! It is older but it looks brand new.  What an incredible blessing!! I have been talking with dh about my desire for a grain mill but we weren't ready to spend the money on one.  Well, now I can look for the mill attachment for my mixer!!  God is so awesome!  Well, while that part of my day was wonderful, it wasn't the best part.  My friend stayed for awhile and we had such a lovely visit.  She homeschools as well and used to attend our church and we have much in common.  She stayed for about 2 hours or so and we had such a great time of fellowship.  We discussed issues that had been on my mind for awhile yet I didn't really know how to express them and she understood me completely.  We discussed issues that we both had with our church and with churches in general today.  We discussed the roles of Christian men and women and much more. It was just so uplifting and encouraging.  Over dinner tonight I was reliving the whole conversation with my dh and that itself was another blessing.  Thank you Lord for your love and blessings you pour upon me.

One issue that we discussed today was living by the law or by grace and liberty in Christ.  I have a difficult time explaining to people why I choose to live by certain laws in the Bible. When I say certain laws, I don't mean that to say that I pick and choose which ones I want to live by or not.  I simply mean that I try to follow the laws as God shows them to me.  I really don't like even using the word law because to me it is more of a description of the way God would prefer us to live, His will for us.  I don't believe my salvation is based on following these laws, my salvation is in Jesus Christ and His resurrection.  I do believe that because I have been saved, born again and because I love the Lord my God, that I should follow His will in my life.  If I truly love Him and want to draw near to Him, then I believe I should follow His ways.  "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16,17  So, who am I to say that a certain part of the Bible does not apply to me?  I either believe the Bible or I don't, there is no middle ground and I choose to believe it without a doubt.   I know we are all in different places in our walk with God.  I was in a different place last year or even last month than I am now.  However, I believe that in that walk we should be drawing nearer to Him, not just walking alongside and definitely not walking further away.  It has bothered me lately that there are women around me that have been followers of Christ longer than me, women that should be ministering to me and showing me the way, yet these same women seem to be ignoring some of the plain, simple commands of the word of God.  I guess that is why I am to follow Christ, not other believers.  I am trying hard not to judge these women because I don't know their hearts, only God does.  I don't know their circumstances and intimate details of their lives, only God does.  I know that if I judge them, I will one day be judged with the same standard.  I don't think I am really judging them, I am just questioning why they do not follow these ways He laid before us.  I also believe the Bible does not have us judge but I do believe that we are to hold each other accountable in our walks.  I have been praying over this issue and will continue to do so.  I pray the Lord would show me what He would have me to do, whether just to be an example or to go to these sisters in love and explain my concerns.

I hope you had a blessed day as well!

Rashel

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We had a wonderful time last night!  Our church holds an annual harvest party as an alternative to Halloween.  I know some believe as Christians we should ignore the day altogether and I have struggled with the issue myself at times.  I still can't honestly say that I know for certain what God would have us to do with the day but I also can't deny the blessings that happened last night.  Our church is in a nearby town and I don't know how many people attend our church, I do know we are growing, praise the Lord!  Anyway, our harvest party seems to grow every year and my fleshly side wants it to go back to the small party we used to have just within our church.  I miss the comfort of the smallness and all that goes with that, but that is selfishness on my part.  The Lord is using this as a ministry to our community, to show God's love to those that are lost.  I don't know how you could have been there last night and not seen God's love.  All of those that volunteered so much time and energy to make it happen, just so others could have a night of safe fun.  No one in our church dresses up but those that come in from the community do and they aren't treated any differently than anyone else.  Everyone there has chances to win prizes from candy to coupons for free kid's meals to one of two mountain bikes.  I know some of you think this is just the church becoming like the world, but we are not.  Our church is very grounded in God's word, this is us showing His love to them unconditionally.  We don't give prizes away at our services to get people to come, this was a special night of fun.  There is nothing frilly or warm and fuzzy about our church services, it is learning the word of God, verse by verse.  Last night we were estimating the number of people that came and it is somewhere around 1,000. My dh said there were at least that many there when we got there, which was an hour after it started.  I will let you know if I here actual numbers later.  It was so full of people and many were not from the church but they were being blessed.  Our children's minister (leader) was on the microphone all night talking and giving away stuff and he has a wonderful way of giving praise to God without pushing it down your throat or sounding fake (for lack of a better word).   There was no doubt last night that God was shared with those that don't know him.  They were invited to come to a service anytime and they were told they are welcome on our playground anytime.  I have heard said many times when someone is talking about all the time and effort required for something like that, that even if just one person comes to know the Lord because of it, then it was all worth it.

Thank you Lord for those that are willing to sacrifice their time to show your love to those around them.  Thank for their vision and their love for you.  Thank you for the blessings you poured out last night and I pray when those that are lost remember the fun they had and the love they felt, they will remember it was all done in your name and for your glory.

Blessings and happy November!!

Rashel

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