"To be frank..."

Every time I hear that statement or "To be honest..." the question that pops in my head is: "Who/What were you before?"

The "Who" part is my play with words since "Frank" is a male name. J Let's think about it, if someone is always trying to convince you that they are being honest it can make you doubt them if they don't preface anything they want to say with that framing phrase. I'm personally concerned when I hear this in church or Christian gatherings and try to tell those I'm close to.

Matthew 5:37 says
"Say only yes if you mean yes, and no if you mean no [Let your word “yes” be “yes”; your “no” be “no”]. If you say more than yes or no, it [Anything more than this] is from the Evil One.

So even God expects us to be honest at all times without framing phrases.

As I wrote this piece, the Holy Spirit dropped a thought in my heart: imagine if people went around saying "To be a Christian, I do this or that." Or say to their bosses, colleagues or employees, "I'm doing this because I'm a Christian." What would they think whenever the "Christian" doesn't frame their words or actions with that phrase? I can imagine some of them thinking or saying to each other, "maybe this is not a day/time to be a Christian." You see how it's the same concept to me? So please before you say the next "To be frank" or "To be honest" remember this piece and let you last framing phrase be your last one. God bless

Love the Lord with all your heart...

I'm sure that as I do, you know that "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength"* - is the 1st & greatest commandment.

Have you ever wondered why when giving this commandment, God** and then Jesus*** started with the heart? I believe it's because the issues of life, and life itself, flow out of our hearts.****

Therefore it goes without saying that we need to first fully and truy love our hearts...in order to love with our hearts or even put it to any other use.

So I decided to share 5 tips on how we can and should do that:

H - Have regular spiritual & physical check-ups.*****
E - Exercise physically & spiritually******
A - Attend to your weight spiritually & physically - don't take things heart so they don't fill you up with bitterness and weigh you down. We also need to watch our food intake...it has a way of showing.
R - Rest & relax so you can be refreshed*******
T - Take God's word seriously and live by it daily.  
Proverbs 3: 5-8  - ⁵Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don’t depend [rely] on your own understanding. ⁶Remember the Lord [Know him] in all you do [on all your paths], and he will give you success [keep your roads straight]. ⁷Don’t depend on your own wisdom [be wise in your own eyes].  Respect [Fear; Hold in awe] the Lord and refuse to do wrong [turn away from evil]. ⁸Then your body will be healthy, and your bones will be strong [refreshed]. ********

Proverbs 4:20-22 - ²⁰ Dear friend, listen well to my words; tune your ears to my voice. ²¹ Keep my message in plain view at all times. Concentrate! Learn it by heart! ²² Those who discover these words live, really live; body and soul, they’re bursting with health.*********

Love your heart so you're here to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, spirit and strength.
This is key because we need that heart health in order to love everyone else.**********

References:
* Mark 12:30 - And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. (NLT)

**Deuteronomy 6:5 - Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (NIV)

*** Matt 22:37 - Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (NIV)

**** Proverbs 4:23
- Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts. (Message)
- Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (NIV)
- Guard your heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it. (GWT)

***** Psalm 26:2 Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart. (NLT)

****** 1 Timothy 4: 8 -
Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. (Message)

[For] Training your body [Physical exercise] helps you in some [or small] ways, but serving God [godliness] helps you in every way by bringing you blessings [since it holds promise] in this life and in the future life, too. (Expanded Bible)
******* Psalm 23: 1-4 - The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need [will lack nothing]. ² He lets me rest [makes me lie down] in green pastures. He leads me to calm [quiet] water. ³ He gives me new strength [renews my soul]. He leads me on paths that are right [righteous; or straight] for the good [sake] of his name [reputation].

******** Expanded Bible - emphasis mine
********* Message - emphasis mine

********** Mark 12:31 - The second command is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself’ [Lev. 19:18]. (Expanded Bible)


For further reading on Heart Truth & Heart Health:
"Cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke) is a leading cause of death for Canadian women, and yet many are not aware of this threat."
(http://www.heartandstroke.on.ca/site/c.pvI3IeNWJwE/b.3581757/k.DA04/Heart_Disease__Women_and_heart_disease_and_stroke.htm)
"Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States."
(http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fs_women_heart.htm)

It has NOTHING to do with it!

You'll need to excuse me as this may come across as venting...I'm simply trying to air an opinion. I guess, vents are used for letting air through - so whatever you consider this to be is ok by me. I'm sure it will also be ok with other Mrs. Pastors who (may) agree with my "opinion."

"Live with"

When I was looking for leadership quotes for a piece I was writing on my Professional* blog, I came across this one. I read it more than once and then decided, this is one to be shared "Pastorally."

By his side...

When I read this poem by Diane Tappe, the words that came to mind were: "By his side."

I Am the Preacher’s Wife 

I am the woman who proudly sits in the shadows as her husband stands in the light.

I am the one who knows her husband is a gift from God,

and so I give him back to my Lord through his full-time service.

Often times, I am so lonely for him because I share him with others.

But I am also pleased that he gives of himself so unselfishly.

I am the one who encourages the preacher when others sometimes fail to.

I am the one who listens to his dreams for the church and helps him look into the future

and see his dreams become a reality.

And when others wonder if he really cares,

I am the one who sees him on his knees, shedding tears for the future of the Lord’s church.

If you're someone who has been used to the "limelight" or desirous of it, it's easy to feel slighted or even offended when you're ignored as you husband is honored/applauded. As you mature as a Christian and wife, this is something that should be like water off a duck's back*. God's approval is definitely more important than man's applause.

I don't agree that "behind every successful man is a woman" - for me it's "beside every successful man is a woman." Every woman, not just Mrs Pastor, must be by their husband's side to support and stabilize him not to "stab" him. In John 19:34***, it's obvious that it was a solider close to Jesus who pierced his side. We should also be protective and not pierce them.

Today I celebrate my husband - it is an honour and privilege to be by his side*** - not just today but for life.

References:
* http://mrs-pastor-and-pastor-mrs.blogspot.ca/2013/11/water-off-ducks-back.html
** John 19:34 - One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. (NLT)
***http://mrs-pastor-and-pastor-mrs.blogspot.ca/2014/06/by-his-side.html

Tested...

...then trusted.

Those 3 words struck me as I listened to 1 Timothy 3 sometime ago. Let's read it together:

"Let me get back to you on that one..."

When I saw this picture, I fell in love with it...

For love's sake...

As I write this piece, I'm reminded of a phrase - "for God's sake" - I heard a lot while growing up - not so much these days. I know it is an idiomatic expression and some people may feel it was an "idiotic" expression...especially when it sounded like taking God's name in vain just to emphasize something. Well, I'm not going to spend time there as that's not where I'm headed.

"Cut yourself some slack..."

A few weeks ago, my husband was getting "stressed" over a flier that had unequal borders/ margins. I think the difference would have been ½ a centimetre - if it was that much. When he showed it to me and told me how he was planning to trim off the "extra" I looked at it and said to him, "It's ok as it is" actually what I meant but didn't vocalize was "Cut yourself some slack" - then decided to write about it.

I fully understand where my husband is coming from - because we were "baked in the same oven" under our dear Pastor Tony Rapu (@drtonyrapu). We were taught that our God is an Excellent God so Excellence should and must be our standard. I totally agree which is why in thinking that we needed to cut ourselves some slack, we must not become slack because:

He becomes poor who works with a slack and idle hand,

but the hand of the diligent makes rich.* 

Slack habits and sloppy work are as bad as vandalism.**

 

Being stressed and being slack are two ends of a continuum. We need to know when to "relax" a bit because if you're overstressed, you'll snap. Even elastic bands have a "breaking point" - and when it's past that point, it loses it's usefulness. I don't know how busy your year has been but I'm sure that the word "busy" may not fully capture it. As we inch our way towards Christmas (10 days to go), give your husband, family and yourself a present of some slack... 

Please take some time to rest and be refreshed. You know why? Next year will be busier than this year so you need the strength - not the stress - to keep going...to bigger and better things.

 

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas - one where you'll enjoy the presence of your family and friends more than the presents. Presents are nice-to-have

but the must-have is God's Presence. May He be with you and yours...

"See" you next year.

 

References:
* Prov 10:4 - Amplified
** Prov 18:9 - The Message

It must be in the name...

I spent some part of Friday night and Saturday watching final goodbyes to an amazing couple.
It was both very sad and extremely sobering.
Person after person talked about how this Mrs. Pastor, who's husband was known all over the world, was content to be his helpmeet - in the shadows. In all the years, I'd heard and read Myles Munroe, I'd never heard his wife, Pastor Ruth Ann, speak but he never left anyone in doubt on how much she meant to him.

As I thought about it, I wondered if her name had anything to do with it all. The Bible tells us about her namesake: 

^16-17 But Ruth said, “Don’t force me to leave you; don’t make me go home. Where you go, I go; and where you live, I’ll live. Your people are my people, your God is my god; where you die, I’ll die, and that’s where I’ll be buried, so help me God - not even death itself is going to come between us!”*

In this sad situation, she stood/sat by her husband right to the end. I guess for me the lesson from this was I must seek to complement my husband at all times. I agree that the names may be coincidental however, it was evident that she was clear on her purpose in life, marriage and ministry and was committed to it right to the end.

Another thing that stood out for me, from the tributes was that she took time to live fully with her friends. For some, being Mrs. Pastor can be lonely so we need to have a few friends. And beyond that, "make" and take time to spend quality time relaxing with them.

After such an emotionally-charged weekend, my prayer is that God will help us number our days, enjoy each day and also know and do all we have been called to do to His glory. AMEN!

Reference:
*Ruth 1:16-17 (MSG)