Dear Moms,
We missed each of you at our last MOPS meeting. It was a very full and engaging time of reminders of God’s love and his great and glorious inheritance for us who believe in gratitude.
As we start the new calendar year, many of us may have put to paper a summary/list of objectives or accomplishments for ourselves, children or family to meet. With all good intentions for improvement or betterment, we may have some areas in our lives that we feel the need to improve. As easy it is for us to see our own deficiencies or shortcomings, each of us really is PERFECT.
As you read the following, Psalms 139, please put yourself in the verses:
O Lord, you have searched me
And you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying
Down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
You know it completely, O Lord.
You hem me in- behind and before;
You have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for
Me,
Too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your
Presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
If I make my bed in the depths, you
Are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
If I settle on the far side of the sea,
Even there your hand will guide me,
Your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide
Me
And the light become night around
Me,”
Even the darkness will not be dark to
You;
The night will shine like the day,
For darkness is as light to you.
For you created my inmost being;
You knit me together in my mother’s
Womb.
If I praise you because I am fearfully and Wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
When I was made in the secret
Place.
When I was woven together in the
Depths of the earth,
Your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
Were written in your bood
Before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your
Thoughts, O God!How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
They would outnumber the grains of
Sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.
Away from me, you bloodthirsty
Men!
They speak of you with evil intent,Your adversaries misuse your name.
Do I not hate those who hate you,
O Lord,
And abhor those who rise up against
You?
I have nothing but hatred for htem;
I count them my enemies.
Thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
THE SECRET TO THROWING AWAY A PERFECTLY GOOD LIFE…
“The Devastating Impact of ENVY”Envy is a resentful emotion that occurs when a person lacks another's perceived superior power, possession or position OR wishing the other person lacked it. If we are being honest with ourselves, Envy is something we have all struggled with at some point in our lives. Ken Brumley explained to us today how destructive envy can be to you, your husband and children.
James 3:16....For where you have
Envy and selfish ambition - there you will find disorder and EVERY evil
practice.
Ken Broke down ENVY into four areas of destruction:
A. It destroys personal growth. Envy is born in the heart of comparison. When we focus on our differences we are constantly comparing. It could be about anything...neighborhoods, cars, husbands, schools! He said that the destruction of personal growth is not the fact that we Envy others, but the extent we will go to be envied!
B. It destroys personal relationships. Ken explained that women are "carries of life." We feel more responsible in and for relationships, therefore we often find our identity and self worth through relationships. Envy can often times make women feel isolated or disconnected from their friends and husbands.
1. THOUGHTS FOR WOMEN: TWO Generational Wounds
GENESIS 3:16
To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire (longing) will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
a.
You are the “Carrier
of Life” Whether you ever bear a child or not, you will instinctively
feel the weight of being MORE RESPONSIBLE IN and FOR a relationship (The
success or failure)…NOT SO with men.
b.
A woman will most
often find her identity and sense of worth through relationships…NOT SO with
men.
c.
You will be highly
sensitive to the feelings of disconnection, isolation or aloneness
THE ROLE OF ENVY in Women’s Lives:
1. Without an understanding concerning being a “carrier” of
life/relationship, women can begin to live with a low grade anger that keeps
them continually dissatisfied with all relationships.
2. They will often find themselves caught in the perpetual
cycle of comparing intimacy, respect and value in other relationships and the
deficit in theirs.
3. They will unfairly question their inner and outer beauty
with unrealistic comparisons.
In a marriage or relationship, the
man and woman will not place the same value on the same ideals. Women
will always work harder on the relationship and communication, while men are
primarily concerned with succeeding, trying not to fail. This extends to
beyond what he does for “work” outside of the home… this applies to inside the
home (chores, maintenance, and sex) as well. If we criticize or deny our
husbands recognition for their work, we are destroying what is at their core
and enabling for their greatest fears to become reality; to be a
failure. Envy will invite men to seek ways to escape or distract
themselves from the pressure of being responsible or the fear of failure;
i.e. other relationships.
C.It destroys spiritual growth -
When we envy what others possess, we need to understand the statement it makes
about God's sufficiency, calling and desires. Envy is so powerful, it eliminates
all evidence of the fruit of the spirit.
Our focus in life should be to
THANK GOD for what we do have, instead of focusing on what others have or
don’t have. Trusting God means we must relinquish our need for
knowing and controlling all things.
We could all live fuller and
happier lives if we truly believe that what we currently have “ IS ALL I NEED.”
Our next MOPS meeting is Thursday, February 7th.
I hope to see you all there!
Have a blessed week,
Debra Bochow
Discussion Group Coordinator
