Crying happy tears!

 

So the last few weeks have been difficult to say the least. We have helped my sister close up her house, moved her in here and found accommodation for my son. 

On top of that, RSV has gone through our home and was pretty horrid. My sister says it was worse than Covid. 

Add a severe fibromyalgia flare to the mix, and you have a very disheartening turn of events.

I have prayed a lot during the last few weeks but haven't been diligent about reading my bible. To be honest, sometimes it was hard just to keep awake.

Today I finally got back into the Word and was immediately drawn to Proverbs 20:20- Whoever curses his father or his mother, His lamp will be put out in deep darkness.

I was immediately convicted of doing this- not actual cursing but speaking badly of particularly my mother, due to a very traumatic childhood.

I repented quickly but even so, I meditated on this during the night, talking to the LORD about it.

During this talk, I asked Him why He has in fact blessed me all these years, and immediately I felt Him tell me that He knew and saw all the past hurt and allowed me to talk it out and slowly release all the pain.

I further felt that now is the day to let it go- really go, and move on. I am amazed at the patience and tenderness that God has shown me and I am so very grateful for His love and forgiveness and mercy.

You may recall my love for kingfishers and how God used to make sure I saw them whenever they came for a feed.  I call them  "love glances"

Fast track to an hour ago as I was preparing lunch. I happened to look out of the glass door from where we feed the birds in the garden.  There was a black and white kingfisher! A love glance! 

My heart burst with love for God and happiness that He still loved me in spite of my many failings! It was just what I needed to lift my spirits... and today like many times before, I cried. 

Tears of gratitude and joy and a deeper joy in my spirit replaced the tears of pain and frustration of the last few weeks.

Finding Jesus is not finding religion- it is having a relationship with God and I am very pleased to report that God met His daughter's emotional needs mightily, for  He glanced at me in a personal way that  made me cry the happiest of tears! 

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

He said, “I am the Lord, the Lord. I am the God who is tender and kind. I am gracious. I am slow to get angry. I am faithful and full of love. Exodus 34:6

Our home: our haven

 

The last few days have seen me taking a renewed interest in cooking and house management.. it's been a time of feeling incredibly blessed.

Our home nurtures us so much. It is so comforting to be here, away from the hustle and bustle of life and just snuggling in  here. 

I have just turned 71 and I can honestly say that contentment and joy have caught me by surprise! 

The longings for adventure and new experiences has waned and I am truly content just following my basic routines and pacing myself between tasks.

In an effort to keep feeling peace in our home, I have stopped viewing news videos regarding the end days and I can say it has worked.

As I work on my computer, I have scriptures or some form of worship music playing. 

I am waiting on the LORD to come for us and while I wait, I keep guard on what exactly comes into our home.

I pray a lot that God will keep me in perfect peace because as the wife in our home, my moods and attitudes shape not only my day, but Chris's

Peace is the first thing to go and it's not necessarily from the words we speak. Attitudes speak volumes.

Our home can be a haven from the world for us and we should try to make it a clean and comfortable place that shields us from the world...  Our home is indeed our haven

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.. Psalm 101:2

It lights our path to Him

Over the last 42 years, since I have been a Christian, I have underlined, highlighted or commented on nearly every page of my Bible.

The pages were coming apart and it has been repaired, but I don't want to get another one because there are a lot of sermons, prayers and answers to prayers in it. It's like an old friend. 

These days, when I read it, those marked verses still speak to me, or remind me of key truths in a sermon heard years before. It is in fact, like a journal of my faith journey until today.

Some of my comments seem basic and show how my faith has now matured and how bit by bit, verse on verse and precept on precept, the Word has grown me and sustained me.

My favourite version of Bible is the King James Version as I find that has been translated most accurately. When I quote scripture in my writings, you will find it is New King James  because a lot of people say they cannot understand the thees and thous,  hitherto and forthwith in it. 

Whatever version you prefer, the basic message is still the Word. We would all do well to study it and learn from it regardless of version. Because precept upon precept, verse on verse, we will grow and find it lights our path to Him.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.” Isaiah 28:10

His plans are for our future and hope.

It is said that all work and no play make Jack a dull boy. I believe that is true. As wives and mothers we can get so involved with taking care of others that we forget to take care of ourselves. We need to take time to smell the roses and we need to watch our children at play and learn to play again. 

Adulthood shouldn't be the end of play and laughter. The scriptures teach us that a merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken Proverbs 15:13 It is hard to be cheerful some days and certainly work overload can break one's spirit- if we let it. I have found that a smile actually promotes a cheerful spirit and gets a positive response. 

So how does one create a cheerful enough spirit to raise a smile? I believe it is by a few things: 

 1) The Psalms and Ephesians tell us to develop an attitude of gratitude. Just thank God continually with songs of praise and thanks. Start to see beyond the nappies and try to catch a glimpse of the beauty of motherhood. There are many many women who long to be mothers- that's a reason to be thankful.

2) Develop a plan to organise your home and life into manageable portions so as not to become overwhelmed. Don't procrastinate around the home but roll up your sleeves and get going and do it! Nothing robs us of joy like procrastination! And get your work done as quickly as you can and as well as you can in order to do the things you like to do- I love to surf the Net and write. Whatever it is that you enjoy, get your work out of the way and then enjoy yourself. 

3) When you work- work hard! When you play- play hard! But don't play when you work and don't work when you play! Just get your work done and then have a ball! Just enjoy doing what you love to do and don't feel guilty- God doesn't make us feel guilty- we make ourselves feel guilty! We must remember we must live our lives in balance: relaxation and enjoyment are a part of that balance! 

Enjoyment of life is critical to giving the best of yourself to your husband, your children, and your friends. Of all the species on earth, we are just about the only ones to forget to play daily. Unless you take time to recharge your batteries, even your relationship with God will become stale through depression! 

4) Try to think of those things that are positive, praiseworthy, pure and think only of those things. Phil ippians 4:8 Remember that all we have is today- don't worry about yesterday, do your best today, and leave tomorrow in God's Hands. God has given His Word: His plans are for our future and hope.

 © Glenys Robyn Hicks

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Letter to a feminist

Dear Sister, 

This letter is a difficult one to write, for it is not intended that you should be left with the impression that I write out of spite or hatred to you. Although there is sadness and some anger that so many women have been deceived by feminism, there is also compassion and a degree of understanding.

You see, ever since time began and our sister Eve was deceived by the serpent and ate of the forbidden fruit- a fruit which God Himself had told her and her husband, Adam not to eat, she has handed down to us the desire to rule and control. 

Not content that God Himself has decreed that women shall bear children in pain yet crave the affection of our husbands, she and all her fellow feminist sisters have sought to not only control their own God-given role as women but have sought to deceive and usurp men. For Eve knew full well that she was sinning when she beguiled Adam to partake of the fruit too- and he, so infatuated by her womanly ways, willingly partook also and bore his punishment as well. In sweat, he would toil in the earth all his days to eat from the ground which bore thistles, until he died and returned unto the dust from which he was formed.

Sin and death entered into the human equation for the first time. Yet God in His compassion, clothed this couple with animal skins and did not separate them- for it was He Himself Who said that it was not good for the man to be alone. Together, they fled the Garden of Eden wherein was the Tree of Life, lest they should eat of that and live forever. Yet God blessed them. What greater blessing could there be for a couple than to have a child born of their own loins? And so with the birth of Cain, the first baby on earth, began the natural cycle of companionship and intimate marriage producing children who produced children of their own to carry on the genes of their parents and grandparents- yet all destined to return to dust from which we came.

As women, there has been suffering. We know the pains of womanhood, the broken heart of romance, the joy-and pain of marriage and bearing and raising children. Yet in the main, womankind has not only accepted this as her purpose in life but as her God-given right. Indeed, most of us would not wish to tamper with it.

It is a wise woman who accepts the role in creation that God has ordained for her. It is natural for us to fall in love, become engaged, marry and bear and raise children. We thrive on making a happy home and marriage and count it all joy by and large. Our fulfilment comes in being helpmeets to our husbands, mothers to our children, and homemakers. Because we have accepted our role as a partner in God’s creation, we do not see the need to compete with men nor do we try to usurp their authority. We see the value of godly submission and enjoy the boundaries that God has appointed for us in our given tasks as wife and mother.

Our fulfilment does not come from a personal bank account, freedom from male ‘domination’, childlessness by choice and an aversion to all things matrimonial and domestic. We do not see children as an occupational hazard of being a wife but a blessing from the LORD. Nor do we sacrifice our children to abortion on the altar of job promotions, freedom of choice/fertility, ambition, prestige and competitiveness with men. Rather, we welcome our God ordained role as women, for in that we can find true freedom.

Freedom that allows us to be gentle, kind, nurturing and domestic. Freedom that rejoices in cooking, cleaning, birth and the marital bed. We do not see our husbands as beasts who exploit us for their personal pleasure, but we delight in their affection and embrace.

Our freedom comes in the keeping of our homes and in the provision of our husbands. In freedom and lack of fear we bring forth our children and we raise them with the love and authority of their fathers. In freedom, we express our concerns and fears to our husbands and in that same freedom we give opinions and insight. The freedom of godly femininity allows us to be equal and not inferior to our husbands. That freedom liberates us from the need to be aggressive, masculine, dictatorial and harsh women. For our freedom in God allows us to be uniquely suited to our husband. There is no need to strive to compete or usurp the authority of men. For a godly woman is of great value.

I can understand a feminist’s view to a point- she has not seen the blessing of femininity or the beauty and challenge of marriage, motherhood and servant hood. She is to be pitied for she has brought upon herself the misery of usurping the God-given natural order by refusing to be a partner in God’s plan of creation. God can open your eyes, dear Sister and He can release you into His wonderful plan of godly womanhood.

There is freedom in His ways. There is peace and fulfilment. God will not force His Will in your life, but He will give you joy unimaginable if you repent and become the woman He created you to be. He has a wonderful purpose for your life- if you will accept it. The struggle can end with your choice to be a true woman and complete not compete with men. God’s Word is very clear on this- His Word is true and good. Will you not reconsider and come home? You will be so glad you made that choice for there you will find the freedom you so desire.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

From Genesis 2-5