Noteworthy & Quoteworthy

Lately, many of my posts have been just passing on things that others have written or said that I've found meaningful... but I hope that you find these things helpful or encouraging too. So much of these are things that I would say or have felt or thought, but then I find it in print or blog form from someone else, and so it's pointless for me to try to re-write the same thing when I happen upon someone else who has put my heart into words.

(By the way, yes, I changed my photo to the one you see here. My hair has gotten longer- pregnancy always seems to do that- and it feels dishonest to me to have a photo that isn't what I really look like. So this one is more reflective of what I look like these days.)

Here are some noteworthy quotes I've found recently:

ON LIFE MISTAKES & RE-DOs:
BETH MOORE, in a Q&A post on her blog:

Q: If you could live your life all over again, what is the one thing you would do differently?

A: The tears are stinging in my eyes and I’ll have to try hard to keep from sobbing on this one. The list of things I’d do differently is so long, I couldn’t pick one out and the worst of it so appalling that I wouldn’t share it anyway. I have been so stupid. I was so messed up and clueless that my healing took a long danged time. I am as true a testimony of the forgiveness and grace of God of anyone you could know. He has been utterly unreasonable in His love and patience for me and I will love Him forever for it. To love much after I’ve been forgiven much is my hope. ...He is such a Redeemer. His sovereignty is my only peace.
TITUS 2 MENTORING:
Susan Hunt, in Biblical Womanhood in the Home, in her chapter called, "Older Women Mentoring Younger Women":
"Everywhere I go I meet young women who long for spiritual mothers. Some express a sense of loneliness, and yet they do not even realize that the disconnection they feel is because they do not have nurturing relationships with older women... It is time for Christian women to step into this vacuum and show and tell the truth about womanhood.

But where are the older women?

In recent years, I have observed a troubling phenomenon. Many women of my generation have relinquished this high calling of nurturing younger women. My generation has abandoned this calling for many reasons. Some simply do not know this biblical mandate. ...Some think they have nothing to offer. Some are intimidated by the intelligence and giftedness of younger women. Some have decided this is the season to indulge themselves. Some want to share their life experiences, but they feel isolated from the younger women and don't know how to bridge that gap.

I plead with the church to call and equip women for this ministry. God is gifting His church with incredible young women. ... We must be good stewards of this gift. We must exemplify the faith to them, and we must teach them how to show and tell the truths of biblical womanhood to the next generation."

Megan, at My Heart, My Home, wrote about her "Titus 2 Woman":

"God knew what He was doing when He created the gift of relationship. The idea of older and younger women coming together to share life, wisdom, laughs, and so much more is brilliant. Every woman needs a friend who's a safety net that will gently catch her and help her back up on her feet when she falls. If you don't have a Titus 2 woman in your life, I encourage you to take the risk and initiative in asking someone who's caught your eye. And consider this, if you're already older, there may be a younger woman who's looking at you! I hope that I won't forget the cycle of the Titus 2 woman; that it's not always being the younger woman who's taught, but also the older woman who passes down wisdom."

ON SINGLENESS & SEXUALITY:
Joe Carter, at Evangelical Outpost, on Pre-Marital Adultery:
Consider this thought experiment. Imagine a man is to be married on February 14th and has sexual relations with a woman who is not his fiancé on:
(a) The night before his wedding.
(b) The day of his wedding.
(c) The day after his wedding.
The action in each instance is the same but the term we’d use to describe the man would depend on when the event occurred: (a) would make the man a cheating cad, (c) and adulterer, and (b) either a cheating cad or an adulterer, depending on the time of day. Regardless of what we choose to call it, the consequence of the action is the same – the man has been unfaithful to the woman. Notice that though the “temporal perspective” changes the semantics, it doesn’t change the fact that the action is immoral.*
Under this view, pre-marital sexual relations become a form of “pre-marital adultery.” We are, in essence, being unfaithful to the one we will eventually pledge emotional and sexual allegiance. Why then do we not honor this obligation? As with most things in life, what we claim to believe is betrayed by our actions. Although unmarried people often claim to believe that they are waiting for their "true love" their actions show that they don’t really believe that to be true. If they seriously believed that their true love existed then how could they be sexually unfaithful to the one person who God has chosen for them?

ON PARENTING/HOME LIFE:
H. Clay Trumbull, in "Hints on Child Training":
"Every home has its atmosphere, good or bad, health-promoting or disease-breeding. And parents are, in every case, directly responsible for the nature of the atmosphere in their home; whether they have acted in recognition of this fact, or have gone on without a thought of it. In order to secure a right home atmosphere for their children, parents themselves must be right. They must guard against poisoning the air of the home with unloving words or thoughts...

Parents must, as it were, keep their eyes on the barometer and the thermometer of the social life of the home, and see to it that its temperature is safely moderated, and that it is guarded against the effect of sudden storms. Only as such care is taken by wise parents, can the atmosphere in their home be what the needs of their children require it to be."

ON DIFFICULT TIMES/STRUGGLES IN LIFE:
Jeremiah Burroughs, in "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment":

"We are usually apt to think that any condition is better than that condition in which God has placed us. ...God, it may be, strikes you in your child--'Oh, if it had been in my possessions' you say, 'I would be content.' Perhaps he strikes you in your marriage. 'Oh,' you say, 'I would rather have been stricken in my health.' And if he had struck you in your health- 'Oh, then, if it had been in my [business], I would not have cared.' But we must not be our own carvers. Whatever particular afflictions God may place us in, we must be content in them."

I hope these challenge and encourage you, as they have me. Blessings as you begin this week!

7 comments:

Elspeth said...

The first quote in particular, is one I understand more than I can say. They are all prfound. And the Titus 2 relationship, I agree, is sorely lacking in modern Christendom.

Megan at My Heart, My Home said...

Jess, thanks for including part of my blog and linking to it :) I appreciate it and I'm glad that you enjoyed that post. Love the new pic and hope that you have a great weekend! And is it just me, or have several blogs been mentioning Titus 2??? :)

Kim said...

I need to get pregnant so my hair will grow! (KIDDING! I mean, I want to be married first...but I do want my hair to grow!!) :)

Adorable picture. And wonderful quote from Beth Moore. She is always such a blessing.

Rebekah said...

Lovely picture of you!
Thanks for the quotes. I'm especially challenged by the quote from "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment", and by the statement in "Hints on Child Training".... "In order to secure a right home atmosphere for their children, parents themselves must be right."
I 'know' to be content in all things, and I 'know' that the atmosphere I create in my home greatly influences my children, but I forget and don't always live as if I 'know' it. You 'know'? :>
Thanks for the reminders and have a blessed day.

Anonymous said...

OH Jess! I clicked over from your Excellent award at cappuccinosmom, and now I know why you got it! FANTASTIC blog! (((((HUGS))))) sandi

Anonymous said...

Yes! Such encouraging bits in this post, and at your blog always!

Hope your pregnancy is going well?

Btw, I had "the talk" with my 10 year old (after being very convicted by many reasons, one of which your series here at Making Home) and it went awesome. I was fearful and nervous for nothing. It felt like the most natural conversation in the world, and nothing has felt strange about her "knowing" since.

((hugs))

Jess Connell said...

Wow, thanks for telling me that, Mary- so glad to know it went well. ;)

The pregnancy is going really well, with less than 7 weeks left now. :) It's been SO fun to feel this little guy kicking and squirming (he's moving right now), and I can't wait to meet him and see his precious little face. What fun it is to have a whole new personality to get to know, and to think about how he will add to the hilarious hoopla and fun that is our family.

I love being pregnant- it's such a neat time of anticipation and blessings. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to carry four little ones to term (and two little ones waiting for us in Heaven)... what a precious gift from God it is that he allowed us as women to bear children this way. He could have just made them sprout up from the earth, or come out in an egg that we sit on for a few months in a nest. Instead, we get to feel life inside of us and dream and hope about what this new life will add to our family. What a blessing!

I find myself more and more thankful to God, the more He lets me experience life! :)

Thanks for asking.
Jess