Starting 2010 on the Right Foot

Image courtesy of buffet gals on Flickr.

When I look back on the New Year's Resolutions that I made over a year ago here, I realize how miserably short I fell. However, it's not a good enough reason to keep me from dreaming, planning and setting new goals for 2010.

Here are my resolutions for 2010:

1. Spend less time on social networking media (Twitter, Facebook) and more time reading good books.
2. Cook more for my hubby.
3. Begin and follow through with the Discipleship Journal Plan.
4. Dedicate more time to my church. A lot of the things I do for my church are really behind the scenes but I would like to find what I was created to do within my church.
5. Be more punctual especially with regards to my job. My goal is to get to work by 8 am every day.
6. Memorize scripture and pray more. (Talk less, listen more)
7. Be others centered and less self-centered.

Dear Lord,

2009 has been an incredible year so far. It has been such a blessing for me to be a pastor's wife. You know how my heart yearned to see my husband serving you in that capacity. I still can't believe how incredibly gifted he is, Lord and how much he has grown. I thank you for His love for you and for the privilege that you have given me of doing Him good all the days of my life.

Father God, here are my resolutions for 2010. I ask that you give me the strength and will to carry on some of these challenges. I know some of these goals will require discipline on my part and as easy as it is for me to start something, it is following through with my word that I sometimes struggle with. Will you please work in me to give me the desire and the power to do your good purpose.

Even when I am tempted to get one step ahead of you, I am trusting you completely with 2010. I am waiting expectantly on You (Psalm 5:3). I am waiting for You alone to fulfill Your promises to us and grant us the desires of our hearts.

I love you, Lord and wouldn't trade the life I have today for anything in this world. Thank you for your continued faithfulness.

In Jesus' Name,
AMEN

Our 4th Wedding Anniversary

Our Wedding Day

On December 17, 2005, I made the second best decision of my life. I say it is the second best decision because the first best decision I ever made was to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. It was on this day four years ago that I said "I do" to an amazing man that God prepared just for me.

For my handsome,

You have no idea how blessed I am to be your wife. I have admired you ever since I met you and today I can say that my admiration for you has grown by like a gazillion times. You complement me in every way possible. You are amazing and although you don't believe in soulmates =P I am convinced that God made you just for me.

Te amo tanto, tanto, tanto. Here is to another 70+ years.

Your linda,
Indi

Gold Nugget - A Gentle and Quiet Spirit

I've been thinking a lot about this particular verse in the bible that calls us, women, to clothe ourselves with a gentle and quiet spirit. I'm not sure if it's difficult for me because I'm Cuban, it could even be attributed to the fact that I was raised by a strong woman herself but most likely I struggle with this because I am stubborn.

However, little by little, I have become more aware of my need to change. So many times I find myself wanting to be in the driver's seat, especially in our marriage. Since my husband is a very patient man (praise God for that) and so very laid back, I think that if I don't step up to the plate then somethings will never happen. However, God has been showing me over and over how wrong my thought patterns have been with respect to this.

When I read the following verses that are found in 1 Peter 3:3-4 "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hear and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." I find that a gentle and quiet spirit has unfading beauty. It's not something that we wash off before we go to bed but something that is constant, unchanging and never ending. More importantly it is pleasing to God.

I have been trying this out for the first time this week and have seen how great it feels to allow my husband to make decisions and even though every ounce in my being wants to get into and win a power struggle, I prefer to be right with God and do what is best for my husband and marriage. I want to help him become the leader God wants Him to be and not necessarily the leader I think he should be.

Here are a few gold nuggets I would like to share with you:

1. Make requests, never demands.

2. If you disagree in public, approach him privately. In other words, if your husband has said or done something that you do not agree with while you are in a group setting, do not confront him while others are around or immediately when the incident occurred. Allow some time to pass (this will help you think rationally and not be guided by your emotions) and then speak to him when you are alone, just the two of you.

3. Allow God to use you to form the leader in your husband that God wants Him to be and not the leader you think he should be. So many times our past experiences, father figures (or lack thereof) and media have wrongly shaped the way we view a man's role in the family. We think men need to possess certain characteristics which are completely unbiblical.

4. Although you may not agree 100% with your husband, follow him. He wants the best for you and will not intentionally lead you somewhere he does not feel safe going. Allow him to make mistakes, after all, God can use even those to teach us.

5. Pray for your husband. Pray that God will guide him and that he will be under a God given mission that will make it easy for you to submit and therefore put on the "gentle and quiet spirit".

Are there any gold nuggets that I missed? Would you share them with us?

1 Peter 3:1-6
¹Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, ²when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. ³Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. ⁴Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. ⁵For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, ⁶like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

Busyness

Do you know how sometimes when you open the word of God there is that one verse that seems to jump out at you? Last week as I shared with Lucas something that I was struggling with. Immediately after telling him I opened up my bible and there it was in James 5:16, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

You see, I lead a very busy lifestyle. Working a full-time job, attending graduate school and serving in my church's youth group are only a few of my responsibilities. As if that weren't enough many times I take on more than I can handle. Scheduling coffee dates with friends, booking back-to-back appointments that leave little room for reflection.

These things which I do in and of them self are not necessarily bad things however they can become a trap, taking precedence over my time spent with the Lord. I feel that if I am reaching out, ministering and helping to meet the needs of others then surely I am doing something for Christ. However, all of these things demand that I myself spend more time with the Lord. From the overflow of my time spent with him is where I will be able to give to my friends, family and co-workers. Otherwise, I am simply starving myself to feed them.

In a society that is constantly telling us to maximize our time, the only way I see fit of accomplishing this is by choosing what is better. Today I choose Jesus.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
-Luke 10: 38-42

If you are struggling with this, may I recommend this excellent book.