I love my subscription to An Encouraging Word ! I am not big on magazine subscriptions, but this has been a wise investment for me, and only costs $20/yr.

A neat thing I enjoy about subscribing is that I can send a free subscription to a friend!

http://www.anencouragingword.net/

I am always so eager to delve into my new magazine when it arrives...it is so full of encouragement, ideas, and wisdom. Last week I received my latest issue! However, I have decided that it should no longer be called "encouraging"! God used almost every article to convict my heart!

Ouch! Why is it when God opens our eyes to things in our lives, it has to be so painful??

I wanted to share some of these "convicting truths" in hope that it will take root in my heart via this written reminder.

Clean Hands And A Pure Heart:

• Our job as mothers is to raise a generation of children that will grow up to seek the Lord in everything and to serve Him with all their heart.
• A wise, Godly mother will look deep beyond the surface to see those things which lie hidden in the heart and mind of her child knowing that a little dirt on the fingers never hurt anyone, but an unclean heart or polluted mind will bring a person to absolute ruin.
• A Godly mother must become a diligent student of the Word so that she is thoroughly equipped to participate with the Holy Spirit in rooting out all manner of evil that would seek to attach itself to her child in the hidden recesses of his heart.
• A Godly mother will listen closely to what her child says.

Pitchin' Fits or Pursuing Faith:

• There is one thing more devastating than a child who always gets his way, a wife who allows her emotions to lead her.
• "You just don't understand" probably ranks top of the phrases used by ladies pitchin' fits. It can come in tears, or an angry glare, or a quiet defiance.
• We show an unyielding heart when we do not welcome our trials and conflicts as friends, and instead seek control by pointing our fingers with an ultimatum to stop them.
• We must learn quickly to see the hand of God in all things, to reveal our hearts and teach us to trust. Our Father is always faithful to give us a choice, and to the one not yielding, it looks like options of our own making to avoid difficulty.
• Oswald Chambers: "Resting in the Lord does not depend on external circumstances at all, but on your relationship to God Himself. Fussing always ends in sin. We imagine that a little anxiety and worry are an indication of how really wise we are. Fretting springs from a determination to gt our own way. Our Lord never worried and he was never anxious, because He was not 'out' to realize His own ideas. Fretting is wicked if you are a child of God."
• We are in need of courageous women with sound minds, who walk by faith and not by emotions or circumstances.
• If we equate pursuing faith with activities we deem spiritual and miss the moment by moment choices of yielding, we miss the whole picture of this life of grace. Pursuing faith is much more than a quiet time in the morning or prayer time at noon. It has feet that obey, hands that serve, eyes that have hope and a heart that surrenders. It's following the One who does understand, and finding all we need for life and Godliness in Christ.
• We must not forget that our pursuit of God will mean that He will be much more concerned with our character than our comfort. He will especially touch those areas of our lives where we have worn a cloak of weakness over willfulness and pride. Most of the time He will use imperfect vessels to reveal this dross in our lives.
• The difference between "rest" and "resist" is the "SI" Selfish Independence.

How Is Your Heart?

• God knows our heart.
• Our salvation depends on the condition of our heart. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. If we do not have Him living in us.
• God can show others things about the state of our hearts as He chooses - at times God may show a person in leadership something a person is struggling with or a sin a person is engaging in so that the leader may better help.
• What is in our heart will come out sooner or alter.
• Are we asking, and then allowing, God to control every area of our lives? Are we giving our husbands and children, our time, our thoughts to Him? Or do we look at God's Word briefly in the morning and figure the rest of the day is ours?
• Who we really are affects those around us.

Hospitality = Behaving Hospitably!

• 
  We should really make every effort to treat every guest in our home in the same way we would treat Jesus
• Giving our guests the "best part" of ourselves: conversation, manners, time
• Do not be a "Martha" and let all the busy work keep you from your guests, but be a "Mary" and give yourself to your guest with your time and presence
• Don't get discouraged when things don't go quite as you had planned
  

A Mother's Disposition

• We as mamas set the atmosphere and attitudes of our home.
• We can be responsible for the wayward hearts of our children or a flourishing heart that is thriving on God's Word.
• Are we choosing a continual feast in our hearts and attitudes toward our children, or are we just doing what we have to do to get by through this season of life?
• We must make these children feel as though they are the most precious gifts God has ever given besides our husbands.
• Why would we ask the Lord for more when we are not cherishing what He has already given?
• We are not loving people, our husbands or our children deeply if we wear a negative or monotone attitude.

Other great articles in this issue:

• Freedom From Fear
• No Condemnation
• The Della Life Principle: Always be available when God's Spirit compels you into action; Expect God to show up in the mundane details of daily life; Determine to view inconveniences as opportunities; Never lose sight of top priorities
• I Have No Need of Thee..or Do I?
• Imparting a Love For Learning: Let them struggle; Encourage creativity; Give opportunities for investigation; Create the need for research; Let them explore; Throw out pacifiers; Be enthusiastic; Don't squash; Encourage questions; Be teachable; Keep it slow; Don't sabotage
• When Self-Suppression is Needed
• Being Mary and Martha
• The Organization Process
• The Girls the Guys Lust Over
• A Fresh Look at Filthy Rags: Filthy rags are the "good", even "religious" things that we do that are not inspired, and fueled, by the Holy Spirit
• Afternoon Tea with Grandma: Wandering Thoughts
• Who is Alice Trammell?
• Saving Tomato Seeds ( this type of article doesn't interest me....but Burlin read it, and is even trying it!)

The last article is entitled Steve's Dirty Socks! She had several "lists" which were just too good to not share!

The ways I am called to serve as a wife and mother:

1. to feed and clothe my family
2. to be my husband's helper
3. to love and respect my husband
4. to make this home a refuge, oasis, peaceful, restful place
5. to meet my husband's physical needs
6. to reduce the chaos in our lives
7. to not nag, but pray for his leadership and wisdom
8. to be working with eager hands
9. to be generous with my earnings
10. to serve the poor and needy
11. to serve my husband by being well dressed, groomed
12. to serve my family by cultivating laughter in our home
13. to instruct our children and others in the ways of the Lord
14. to be busy and not idle at home

A True Servant:

1. accepts the challenge
2. promises to follow instructions
3. makes a plan
4. submits to the plan of God
5. prays for guidance
6. devises a strategy with room for God to operate
7. waits
8. watches closely
9. accepts the answer thankfully
10. explains the situation to the concerned parties
11. refuses unnecessary delays
12. follows through with entire plan

Serving our families:

1. we can choose to accept that challenge to serve, or not...God will not force us
2. we need to follow God's instructions by reading His Word
3. we need to make a plan of how we can change
4. we need to submit to the Lord as He seeks to make us more like Him
5. we need to continually pray for guidance
6. we need to go forth and follow His leading, but be aware that God's ways are not our ways
7. we need to be patiently waiting for the changes that we are seeking to find in our marriages
8. we need to be watching closely for the answer
9. we need to be thankful when we receive the answer
10. we need to sometimes explain and give a heads up to our husbands of what our plan is
11. refuse to be delayed in serving
12. we need to follow through

*You can choose your attitude. You can approach your life expecting to be served, or you can look for opportunities to serve others!

Well, now that my heart is blessed and my toes sore, again, I have a renewed vision of my duty here at home as wife and mother! In the process of "daily living", it is so easy to lose sight of our responsibilities before God to our families! May God give me the strength, wisdom, and direction to do a better job of teaching and training my children, and not just "raising" them. May I also better serve my husband and family with my whole heart!