TIME FOR A HEART CHECKUP

The Way of Wisdom!

This Wednesday morning my doctor plans to check my heart and observe other markers that indicate good, or poor health. Most people consider it wise to have somewhat regular evaluations of their hearts, particularly as they get older. However, there is a “heart” of much more value that relatively few people concern themselves with evaluating. More than 700 times God talks about this “heart” in the Bible. Many of those references are found in the wisdom literature of Proverbs. Consider this wisdom—”Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23) Think about that for a while.

In helping us understand the true meaning of this heart, I found this great quote from John MacArthur. “The ‘heart commonly refers to the mind as the center of thinking and reason, but also includes the emotions, the will, and thus, the whole inner being. The heart is the depository of all wisdom and the source of whatever affects speech and conduct.” In other words, this affects everything about our lives!

This Thursday morning our Ladies Bible Study will consider God’s instructions concerning our “heart” in general and also more specifically in relation to pride and humility (day’s one and two of chapter 7). I want you to part of this time of encouragement to live whole”heart”edly for the Lord.

FRIENDSHIPS FROM A GODLY PERSPECTIVE

One last photo from Mark and my 50th wedding anniversary celebration of all our children and their families. I’m very thankful for the happy relationships we have with all of these dear people. To God be the glory!!

Recently I watched two young ladies openly and blatantly explain on a national news program how they have cut out of their friendships everyone who did not contribute something to their lives. I felt confident the person interviewing them would challenge their thinking, but no, their philosophy was praised as a wonderful decision that has and will continue to bring much success to their lives. I can’t imagine what our society would be like if everyone followed this same thinking.

This Thursday our Ladies Bible Study begins for the fall season and we will be continuing a study gleaning what God has to say in Proverbs about various practical aspects of our lives. This week we zero in on friendships. Although the Bible gives many warnings about who we associate with, these always deal with honoring God, not ourselves. We naturally want everything to be about us (as is apparent in young children)—our happiness, our success, our fame, etc. But, God turns all of that around and makes it very clear that everything is to be about Him first of all, and other people secondly. In fact honoring Him most highly results in a great concern for the welfare of other people above myself. “And he answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’" Luke 10:27

With all of this in mind let’s plan to look at Proverbs to see friendship from a Godly perspective. Our dear babysitters will be with us again this year to care for your little ones. Plan to be encouraged tomorrow morning 9:30 to 11 am in the Fireside Room.

THE BLESSED MONTH OF AUGUST 2019

The blessedness of having 28 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild all together on the same happy day!!!

August of 2019 absolutely stands out as one of the most amazing months of my life! If you click on the button above (A Happy 50th Anniversary Day) you will be able to view about 2 minutes that made this past August such an overwhelming blessing. Mark and I still get teary every time we muse on the rare occasion of having all of our children and their families together for the celebration of the 50 years of marriage the Lord has given to us.

All of these 50 plus years of the close friendship Mark and I have enjoyed have been deeply intertwined with Christ. He is the One who has given us direction, encouragement, inspiration and stability through times of abounding and seasons of difficulty. As we have faithfully read through the years what He has to say in the Bible, we have learned more and more about the way He has intended for us to think, respond, and live. We are so thankful that He rescued our souls when we were teenagers and He has continually been molding us into His likeness since then. To God be all the glory—great things He has done!!