Thursday, 29 August 2013

A Godly Wife……….. Is That Me?



Most wives feel that it is important to be a good wife.  But do we all consider ourselves good wives?  Did we start off being a good wife, and get off track somewhere along the way?  And most importantly, as we strive to be “good” wives, are we being Godly wives?  Maybe some of us are not sure how to apply God’s principles to our marriages and be the kind of Godly wife He knows we can be.  We want to be that wife, but we are uncertain of our job description.
Peter was very clear when he spoke of marriage in 1 Peter 3:2….”when they observe the pure and modest way in which you conduct yourselves, together with your reverence.”
Purity and Reverence….two important traits to being a Godly wife.  Purity is defined as refraining from acts, thoughts, or desires that are not sanctioned by our marriage vows.  Purity applies to our thoughts.  We don’t always have control over the impure thoughts that can creep into our minds, but we can decide how we deal with those thoughts.  Do we continue to dwell on them or do we turn our thoughts elsewhere?  That is a conscious choice we must make.  Ephesians 5:33 tell us…”And the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.”  Do we show respect, or do we find ourselves withholding that respect when we feel they haven’t done anything to deserve it?  Do our husbands have to do some specific thing before we will show them respect?  Are there conditions on our respect?  How can we show respect to our husbands?  Being a good listener is a great way!  Do you look at your husband directly when he speaks to you?  Does he know he has your attention?  Do you give feedback and show your appreciation for his thoughts and ideas?  Do you speak of and to your husband with honor?  Do you give him “the look” (you know the one….we all have one!), or do you gaze at him softly when he is speaking?
Another great way a wife can honor her husband is to make sure her actions and attitude are pure.   Our behavior is a direct reflection on our husbands.  Always keep in mind that by being married to a Christian man, we are married to someone whom Christ holds in very high regard.  If our husbands are worthy of the love and esteem of Christ, then they are most certainly worthy of the love and esteem of their wives!

Friday, 9 August 2013

Dear Women of Virtue,

Launch Out Women of Virtue will be the 1st  meetup hangout  on Virtuous women entitled “Gift of Authentic Women”, which is scheduled to take place on social network either on whatup, BBM, Google+, facebook or skype on the 30th of August, 2013. Your vote determines the network appropriate for the 1st hangout on or before 20th of August, 2013.

The purpose of this meetup is to bring the originality of the gift of authentic femininity capabilities and affirming women in their dignity and vocation as daughter of God, and at the same time to provide an opportunity for interested colleagues to collaborate, and sharing innovative life changing story.

For detailed information about the Launch Out Women Of Virtue  call +234 8030747529, BBM 2AE9E769
Looking forward to seeing you at the Meetup!
Best Regards,

LOF Team
Dear Women of Virtue,

Launch Out Women of Virtue will be the 1st  meetup hangout  on Virtuous women entitled “Gift of Authentic Women”, which is scheduled to take place on social network either on whatup, BBM, Google+, facebook or skype on the 30th of August, 2013. Your vote determines the network appropriate for the 1st hangout on or before 20th of August, 2013.

The purpose of this meetup is to bring the originality of the gift of authentic femininity capabilities and affirming women in their dignity and vocation as daughter of God, and at the same time to provide an opportunity for interested colleagues to collaborate, and sharing innovative life changing story.

For detailed information about the Launch Out Women Of Virtue  call +234 8030747529, BBM 2AE9E769
Looking forward to seeing you at the Meetup!
Best Regards,

LOF Team

Launch Out Foundation : It’s Time to Launch Out into the DeepApril 25, 201...

Launch Out Foundation : It’s Time to Launch Out into the DeepApril 25, 201...: It’s Time to Launch Out into the Deep April 25, 2013   —  7 Comments “Launch out into the deep.” Those were the words that the L...

It’s Time to Launch Out into the Deep

April 25, 2013 — 7 Comments
jesus_peter“Launch out into the deep.”
Those were the words that the Lord Jesus spoke to Peter after a long night of work (see Luke 5), during which Peter labored and toiled to catch fish but had come up empty.  After that night of frustration, Jesus commands Peter to go back out into the deep waters and let down his nets and try one more time to find what he was looking for.
You probably know how the story ends [Peter catches more fish than he knows what to do with], that isn’t the point of the story.
When I look at this story, I don’t just see a miracle of catching a bunch of fish.  I see a microcosm of what our lives as Christ-followers should look like – especially as we in the Orthodox church approach the most sacred time of year…Holy Week.
The story starts out with a multitude of people who “pressed about Him to hear the word of God.”  Picture the scene: hundreds of people standing along the shore listening to Jesus preach, coming from far and wide and fighting the crowds to be there. Those are churches all over this country – packed with people coming from everywhere (especially during Holy Week) – but is that what Jesus wants?  Is that all He wants?  A multitude crowding around Him to just hear His nice preaching?
While they are all standing on the shore, Jesus gets into a boat and says to Peter “Launch out into the deep” (Luke 5:4).  And Peter agrees – reluctantly – and the rest is history.
If you were in this story, where would you be?  Standing on the shore with everybody else?  Or in the deep with Jesus? 
It’s easy to stand on the shore, hear the Word being preached, clap for the preacher, sing a nice song and then go home and back to normal life.  That’s easy.  People do that every day and many more will be doing that during Holy Week.  Gathering about Him… hearing His Word… and then going home and back to normal life.
But that isn’t what He came for.  In fact, if you want to know the truth, He is totally willing to leave all those multitudes on the shore for the sake of one soul that wants to “go deep” with Him.  That is His heart’s greatest desire.
And that was Peter.  That was the highlight of Jesus’ day – going deep with Peter.  And that is what He desires for us as well – a deep, personal, intimate experience that cannot be had on the shore.  That is the end goal of every church service, every sermon preached, every prayer uttered.  The goal is finding yourself “in the deep” with Jesus.
I don’t know exactly what happened out there in the deep, but I do know that Peter was never the same again.  Luke the evangelist says that after that intimate experience with Jesus in the deep, Peter “forsook all and followed Him” [Luke 5:11].
Please don’t let your Holy Week experience be spent on the shore with the crowds.  You must find a time to go deep – alone time… just you and Him… with no one else around.  Even when you are in the midst of a large gathering at church, close your eyes and launch out into the deep of your heart and you’ll find Jesus there.  He’s always there.
He’s there when you wake up.  He’s there when you go to sleep.  He’s there every time you go to church or open your Bible or lift up your hands in prayer.  He’s there and He’s calling out to you, “LAUNCH OUT INTO THE DEEP.”
When was the last time you had an experience in the deep with Jesus?  Just you and Him alone?  No multitudes around, no distractions, no hurrying…just you and Jesus in the deep.  Maybe it’s time for that to change.  It’s easy to stand on the shore.  But what Jesus wants from His relationship with you is so much more…so much deeper than that.
Maybe it’s time to launch out.
For discussion: what advice can you share about ways/things that have helped you launch out into the deep with Jesus?