Getting into the Word Every Day: A Devotional for Readers of Good Shepherd's website...
As a church and ministry and family, Good Shepherd encourages all believers to dig into the Word of God daily. We're using currently, as a church, "The One Year Bible," a ESV version of Scripture arranged into 365 daily readings. By mid February, the Old Testament readings were in Exodus and the New Testament readings in Matthew. The One Year Bible also takes you into the Psalms and Proverbs every day.
You and Your Home
Creating a Home Where People Want to Be
By Hope Unverzagt, Guest Writer and Friend of Good Shepherd
February 15, 2012
Today’s Scripture: “Better a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.” Proverbs 17:1
I want to be like Duke Grandma.
That lady definitely knew how to create a pleasant home atmosphere.
She was my beloved Grandma, and our children’s great-grandmother, she lived in Minnesota and she doted on us.
Way back, when we had only young children, Duke Grandpa and Grandma’s house was one of our favorite places to visit. The children called their great-grandparents “Duke” after their big German Shepherd dog. All of their dogs had been named Duke—easier to remember that way, Grandpa said. Their huge garden produced wonderful Black Diamond watermelons, and the lake they lived on provided not only swimming fun but bountiful sunfish, which we ate until we were stuffed. They loved to have us visit and weren’t in the least overwhelmed or stressed by having lots of little kids running around disturbing their peace and quiet. In fact, they seemed to thrive on the hustle and bustle.
For a busy mom it was an unusually relaxing place to visit.
They weren’t concerned about children touching things in their home. There was always good-natured joking, encouraging conversations, prompts to “go ahead and take a little nap,” and down-to-earth food. Duke Grandma’s homemade white bread with jam, cinnamon rolls, fry bread tacos, and even macaroni salad with tuna, peas, and chunks of cheese -- which wouldn’t have been anything special anyplace else -- tasted incredible out on the sun porch. I think that was because it was served up with a huge side dish of “pleasant atmosphere.”
Proverbs 15:17 says, “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.” I don’t know about you, but I can almost feel the tension surrounding that filet mignon. Proverbs 17:1 states the same thought a slightly different way, “Better a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.” In other words, a pleasant, peaceful atmosphere is far more important than whatever ritzy foods grace the dining room table.
Food analogies from the Father…
How interesting that Proverbs uses a food analogy to make this point since we women are the ones who generally plan and prepare the food in our homes, and we are, in large part, the atmosphere-setters as well. I think we ought to take special note of these verses, remembering that it’s not only guests we want to feel comfortable and relaxed, it’s our own families, too.
Bigger impressions…
Recently I heard opposing reports from two of my children after they visited in two different homes: “It was such a fun visit. We sat in the living room having coffee and talking, and I even dozed on the couch. It was so relaxing and cozy.” And the other: “The food was good, but the parents bickered the whole time. And the mom was impatient and kept nagging the kids.” Which left the bigger impression—the menu or the atmosphere?!
Even kids sense it.
Consider your home. Could it use a little atmosphere adjustment? I’m not talking an aromatherapy candle here, an Enya CD there. I’m talking major atmospheric surgery. Is there dissension between people? Is there a frantic pace due to over-scheduling that leaves everyone irritable? Is there an imbalanced emphasis on material possessions propagating self-centeredness? It all comes down to this: God desires that your home be a place where He is allowed to shine through, that it would be a place of love and joy where people smile, talk kindly to each other, and build each other up. “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (Prov. 17:22); “By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches“ (24:3-4). We are all about wisdom these ten weeks. And that’s exactly where the house-building and atmosphere- building start.
The house on the sand went smash!
Remember the old Sunday School song, The Wise Man and the Foolish Man? In case you don’t, let me fill you in. The foolish man built his house upon the sand, and when the rains came, the house on the sand went SMASH (loud yell and hand clap here). But the wise man built his house upon the rock, and when the rains came, the house stood firm (taken from Matt. 7:24-27).
The rock is Jesus.
He is the only sure foundation. People who are living lives pleasing to the Lord will have homes that show it. But every so often a home inspection is in order. Bad habits and bad attitudes have a way of creeping in unnoticed and making themselves at home, just like mice in the fall, and just as disgusting. Proverbs 14:1 says: “The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.” None of us want to be that woman—destroying her own home. The Lord gives wisdom generously when we ask. He can open our eyes to areas of our home that need attention and then lead us in how to reinstate, or perhaps implement, an atmosphere that reflects Him and is pleasant for all.
The house in empty now…
Duke Grandma is gone now and so is her house. We miss our visits there. But her example wasn’t lost on us. We have been intentional in trying to make our home one that others would want to visit and would find relaxing while they are here. We’ve even learned how to make her cinnamon rolls and fry bread tacos.
Still working on the macaroni tuna salad, though.
Thanks for listening, Hope Unverzagt
You and Your Man
A Valentines nudge for women of faith
By Hope Unverzagt, Columnist and Friend of Good Shepherd
February 12, 2012
Today’s Scripture: “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,” Prov. 12:4a
By Hope Unverzagt; Cataract, WI, For RI Transcription Solutions
It’s amazing how I can watch sports and yet have no clue what’s going on.
You’d think through all these years of sitting by my husband’s side while he’s watching football and college hockey and basketball and golf and almost anything else involving a ball, I’d learn a thing or two. Turns out I’m incredibly good at tuning out what isn’t interesting to me.
If I’m sitting there it’s only because I want to be with my man.
There is one sport, though, I cannot tolerate – World Cup soccer. I don’t mind watching the guys run around on the field, and the basic concept is simple enough: kick the ball into the goal. It’s the Vuvazela horns I can’t stand. The plastic horns, blown by the fans, are part of a South African tradition and are meant to express joy, but the one-note droning that carries on throughout the entire game like a monotone soundtrack is likely to drive even the most tolerant crazy. After about five minutes of the continual discordant blaring, I have to leave the room. Give me yelling kids any day over those annoying horns. I imagine that the “continual dripping” referred to in Proverbs 27:15 is equally irritating. But in this case it comes from a quarrelsome wife.
There are many verses in Proverbs regarding marriage, mostly directed to a young man seeking a wife. They appear to come from an older, wiser man who has learned a thing or two from experience. So, by studying Proverbs, we women get a little peek into the mind of men and what they desire in a wife. The results are a bit surprising considering the fact appearance and cooking ability aren’t even so much as hinted at.
The No. 1 Rule of Romance…
A few years ago I read an article that made an interesting observation:
“I’ve traveled to more than a dozen foreign countries, and in every one I’ve made an effort to ask a local male or two this question: ‘What is the most valuable and attractive attribute a woman can have in your culture?’ The answer has been consistent in every country, from orthodox Jews to dope-smoking backpackers, from tribal men in the bush to suited businessmen on their way to work.
Without a pause they always answer: happy, cheerful, fun, joyful, smiling, good attitude, etc. The number-one rule of romance is obvious to me: BE HAPPY!” (Anast, Rebekah. “Romance 101.” December 15, 2003. www.nogreaterjoy.org)
Ms. Anast’s discovery is right in line with the following verses from Proverbs:
“It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful (some versions say nagging) woman.” Proverbs 21:19. It says something similar in two other Proverbs -- “It is better to live in a corner of the housetop,” says 21:9, “than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.” Proverbs 25:24 uses the exact same words, in case we didn’t catch on the first time, “better to live in the desert,” it says, echoing the one in 21, “than with a quarrelsome woman.”
Quarrelsome doesn’t become you…
Contention doesn’t make you more beautiful. You don’t want to spend quality time with a fighter. They aren’t happy, fun, uplifting people – they bring you down. I need to hear that. To make sure I wasn’t missing some nuance of the word quarrelsome, I looked it up in the dictionary. I wasn’t. It is just as appealing as it sounds. A quarrelsome person is not only ready to quarrel, but belligerent as well. The word suggests pettiness and an inclination to argue, usually with annoying persistence. I try not to hang around people like that. And when my children start in? I, for one, would much rather be in a desert or on a housetop or at Caribou Coffee than be in such an unpleasant atmosphere. I can only imagine what the men in our lives think when we start in – quarreling, nagging, fretting and harassing them, trying to win points, and taking aim at the things that annoy us.
A change in your demeanor…
Marriage conferences can be good, learning better communication skills might be helpful, books on marriage may give deep insights, but sometimes the best marriage pick-me-up is as quick and easy as a change in attitude on the part of the wife. A smiling, happy wife can do wonders.
Mini-golf and pecks on the cheek…
Gene and Reta set a great example of a happy marriage. After forty-some years I’m sure they could list plenty of irritations, but you would never know it by the way they enjoy each other’s company. I don’t think it’s Reta’s wonderful cooking and sewing abilities that make the difference either. I think her gentle joking with Gene, her pecks on his cheek (even in public), and the way she builds him up to others play a large part.
I recently heard how Gene and Reta had gone mini-golfing to kill time between a wedding and the reception several hours later. They had been laughing and having so much fun they were almost late. That’s just the way they are. That’s why all of us at church have fun with them. That’s why we all admire their marriage.
Proverbs says that a good wife is a gift from the Lord (19:14), and an excellent wife is the crown of her husband. A crown is a symbol of blessing and honor; quarreling, complaining, and nagging are about as far from a blessing as you can get. And they are just as annoying as those Vuvazela horns. Let’s give our husbands something better than that.
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, let us determine that our biggest gift this year will be something our husband really wants.
Because a loving smile and a joyful attitude are worth far more than any chocolate heart.
Pressing on,
Hope Unverzagt, for Good Shepherd Church in Camarillo, California
