Tag Archives: God

Are You Fighter or Deserver of Equality?


If all you follow is secular media, you’ve missed what should be one of the biggest stories of this decade: Gosnell’s House of Horrors Abortion Clinic. Dare you to follow some of the links – and be brave enough to expose yourself to some of the truth of this situation. Mature women are not afraid of truth, even the hard cold kind, heinous and cruel. They don’t fixate or glorify it, but they are strong enough to face it head on. Sometimes sheltering our eyes from evil prevents us from understanding the depravity’s depth. This affects us all – and who will speak for those who cannot speak for themselves?

I’m not going to repeat the gory details here, but I will simply point out that many breathing, struggling newborns had their spinal cords severed – outside the mother’s womb. And there are women who were forced to carry out their abortions – after they changed their mind.

One woman died.

And the judge is dropping charges, one by one.

Many will claim that abortion and choice is a “woman’s right” and that it is a simple medical procedure.

I respectfully disagree.

Strongly.

This is infanticide – and it is the result of the normal progression of a lack of respect for life and God Himself.

Visible is disrespect for the privilege of motherhood as the honor it used to be considered. Equally visible is the lack of honor at the miracle of life – even as it is snuffed out while struggling in fight against death.

We women have our “rights” – in many ways we have gone from being cherished and considered worthy of protection to considered “equal” via a path walked by shoving opinions down others’ throats, landing some in abortion clinics to execute those rights and emerge permanently haunted, diseased, and confused. I think one could argue whether equality showed up in the abortion clinic, however, as there seems to be classicism occurring in the level of care received.

In the small, this “equality” results in “little things” like my son receiving a harsh retort from a 15 year old Christian girl when he tried to open a door for her heavily-laden self. “I don’t need your help!” she snipped at him. “Fine. Get the door yourself,” he replied. What this girl in her defensive, in-your-face harsh response failed to realize is that he would have opened the door for anyone carrying as much as she had in her arms. The fact that she is female was irrelevant to him. She could have been a male friend, his mother, an elderly man or woman, a little boy, or a little girl. Regardless of her demographic, she was just a person in need of help.

And yet, I grew up watching men open doors for women not because they couldn’t get them themselves, but because they cherished them. We have lost that. Some say the price has been worth it. I don’t agree. I see too many women each day who long to be cherished by their husbands.  Our culture used to hold this as a primary ideal. Equality in the work place is a good thing, but I know there are other ways, in fact, better ways, to garner respect, as did many women (like many of our past president’s wives, Abigail Adams, in particular) in history. These women carried themselves so well they received respect because they deserved it – and they gave it freely to others. They had prestige, power, and position. But the “equality fighters” don’t like to think about the “equality deservers” because the only tools in the EF’s tool box are hammers and maybe a megaphone. The Equality Deservers garnered what they wanted from their lives by being women of strength and dignity, not by shoving their opinions down others’ throats, but rather being wise in their communication. Yes, it is unfortunate that the work was necessary in the first place, but these women moved our society forward in a way that would have landed women with the best of both worlds – now we have in some senses been lowered in status by our harsh but quick acting methods.

Good job society, church, parents, for teaching our young women of today to disdain kindness and view it as demeaning because of gender.


As men in our homes need our help to learn some of the softer sides of relationship interactions, it is true that in our society, men of the past (and still today – and btw, know there will ALWAYS be immature sinful people to deal with, regardless of gender, race, or other demographic distinction – we live in a fallen, imperfect world) have needed help in learning how to treat women. While I am thankful women are considered “equal” in pay, I disagree with the methods we are still employing to be heard. I know from both personal experience and history of women like Abigail Adams, that they simply aren’t necessary, but I digress from the issues at hand today.

I am at a loss as to what to do, however, about this atrocity as it unfolds in Philadelphia. I would love to hear ideas.

For now, I will simply add my voice to the many out there speaking for “the least of these” who cannot speak for themselves.

Dare you to share, dare you to comment, dare you to believe our God forgives literally everything, even this, and in the midst of the horror, there is grace for those of us who have swallowed morning after pills, visited clinics as patients, and extinguished life at any stage. I know many women who are burdened by this, please know you can experience healing and an end to the haunting nightmares.

Double dog dare you to weep with me today, in prayer, beseeching the Father for His mercy and His justice in Philadelphia. My heart is overcome with grief at how far we’ve slid and how history repeats its atrocities. I tremble at the thought of His wrath over these horrors.

Dear God help us.

~Nina

Forgive Me… but I Have Sinned…

Wednesday, after blogging, I headed to the barn to ride. Here’s another confession for you: I’ve been riding horses for over 35 years, and I’ve never fallen off. I’ve come close a number of times, but have never been launched. All those years of watching the rodeo growing up must have taught me to hold on… This summer, however, I had the privilege of being schooled by a tremendously talented young woman who really should train full time. I realized that the things she was having me do to “find my seat” (like ride bareback), could send my arthritic bones from horseback to ground hard and fast.

And I was seriously scared to fall off.

I was afraid of getting hurt. And I was taking more risks in riding, like trotting without my feet in the stirrups to work on balance. So the fear of falling and getting hurt was fresh and fierce.

Wednesday, I tried to ride Libby bareback.

I’m sure I could have sold tickets to the spectacle that ensued.

Moving the huge mare over to the mounting block (three short railroad ties stacked loosely on top of each other), I lurched my leg over her, and found myself stuck half on, sliding off.

She’s REALLY wide and round, like a barrel. I was nearly doing the splits.

So I slid off and tried again.

And found myself stuck and sliding once more.

At this point, I was starting to feel like a big goofball, and was thankful that where we were was hidden nicely behind the barn.

With grand determination, I slung myself up again…

And stuck I was.

And then, the next thing I knew, I was BOUNCING my back off the mounting block (WHAM!!), and whacking my helmet-covered head against the fence. Libby’s foreleg was inches away from landing on my shin bone. I moved quickly, wondering if I was seriously hurt.

And I wasn’t.

Not at all.

Not a scrape, not a bruise. Not a single bump.

I was literally stunned.

Not only did the thing I was afraid of most happen, but I didn’t get hurt, and it built my confidence.

(okay, yes, I know the horse wasn’t even moving, but seriously, it was enough – God knows I need baby steps here)

Realizing I just didn’t know how to get on her, I put her saddle on and we road that way.

When I told my oldest son about the experience, he suggested a Parkour move that might help me next time. I’m not sure I’ll be able to do it, but I am going to try.

Or maybe I’ll just bring my step-stool with me.

:)

Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”

I’ve always been about being real with the people in your life – my kids, my husband… and I’ve realized recently that the depth of our understanding of God’s love for us will be something satan is not only familiar with, but uses really well to derail us in our obedience to the Father.

And I know God allows this to happen, but allows it for our good and for His glory.

If you’ve been reading the last few days, you are familiar with the recent journey.

Posting on Wednesday was really hard. Mainly because I knew transparency was the order of business that day, and to be 100% honest with you, I was afraid to be real. I wrote about that on Thursday.

But I did what I was supposed to do, and standing in my kitchen, as soon as I hit, “Publish,” I encountered this nagging feeling about a devotional I used to read daily. My thoughts were drawn to the shelf in the bookcase where it was, even though two days before, I had taken it out of the bookshelf and left it who-knows-where in a menopausal moment. I kept trying to get on with my day, but my mind kept being drawn to the bookcase, bottom shelf.

So I walked over to the bookcase, knowing full well that the devotional wasn’t there. Squatting down, my eyes surveyed the titles on that last shelf. And there was another devotional, one I’d put there because it literally was falling apart…and I pulled it out of the shelf. I opened it to what I thought was Wednesday’s date, July 24 (yes, I know that was wrong, but God knew I can’t keep the dates straight in the summer!), and I was met with 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19, which reads:

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit.

And Revelation hit. The opposite of giving thanks and rejoicing is to complain.

And in focusing on the complaints in the reviews, I neither gave thanks, nor prayed for those whose comments were nasty and mean, and as a result, I quenched the Spirit.

And then I complained myself… and to a handful of people, under the guise of “Will you pray for this? It’s not going well.” And in doing so, focused on sin instead of glory.

So this morning, I asked God to forgive me for those things.

And then I read through the reviews again.

And I had another Revelation. They weren’t as horrid as I originally had thought. I can clearly see that there were just a couple of reviewers that wouldn’t have liked what we did regardless of what it was. I read what they wrote again, and saw them for what they were: as broken and messed up and sinful as I am. And I forgave them for their mean words. And then I thanked Him for helping me SEE.

I also saw some more Truth: there were more that gained TONS from the class than those who didn’t like it or us.

And I learned something else, equally important…I saw that what I had created needed have some things fixed to be stellar – which I knew, but for the first time, I felt like it was doable, and was motivated to do the work. We don’t have the money to fix it right now, but I need to just do the next thing, and trust God to figure it out for us. And I need to do the next thing He’s asked me to do.

The biggest thing that I have learned is that I spent too much time trying to please God (which is Biblical, but should be second) and not enough time trusting God.  TRUST needs to gird my relationship with Him.  I need to obey out of TRUST.  Not obey out of trying to please Him. He’s already pleased.  I’m already a butterfly.  If you read the DNA of a caterpillar, it is 100% butterfly.  You wouldn’t know you were looking at a caterpillar’s DNA unless you were told.  Jesus makes me a butterfly, even if I’m still slowly scrunching myself forward, gorging on leaves, as a caterpillar.

I let my self-image get wrapped up in the doing, and when the doing didn’t end the way I thought it would, I didn’t know what to do. I lost my value. I handed over my joy – through complaining, a lack of trust, and an absence of prayer for those who hurt me.  How immature is that? Duh. TRUST HIM. He’s got it covered, even though I don’t know how we get to where He’s taking us.

And in the middle of all of this, I’ve also learned more about His Great Love for us all, being transparent, and where my strength comes from.

When I set my coffee cup down Wednesday morning, I saw “Nehemiah 8:10″ written in the bottom of it. I’ve been drinking out of this cup for well over a year now, and I never saw that in the bottom! I knew it was on the outside…but…

“The joy of the Lord is my strength.” Nehemiah 8:10

Now I knew why I had no strength.

And when we complain, instead of “counting it ALL joy,” and praising God in the middle of trials, when we stop praying about literally everything, we hand our joy over to that other guy. And as a result, lose our strength.

Dare you to ask Him to help you be thankful and rejoice for something tough you are going through right now. Seriously.

:)

Double-dog-dare you to obey Him, as that changes everything, even when it is hard!

Please feel free to “subscribe” or better yet, comment and share to encourage others who think they are failing and alone.

I’m so glad you are here.

Thanks for being on the journey with me. Thank you for encouraging me this week. Thank you for your prayers. :)

You’ve helped me become stronger. And with all my might, I will do what God has asked me to do, focusing on whatever is pure, noble, right, lovely, admirable, praiseworthy, and excellent, finding contentment in my current circumstances, doing ALL things through Christ Who strengthens me.

I’ve remembered (there’s been SO MUCH!! :)   too much to go into on and on here) that ALL of His people in the Bible struggled like I have. I’m in fabulous company! One of them even denied and abandoned Him – and was fully restored.

His name was Peter.

Love to you,

~Nina

Ever Been Exhausted?

And sick?

And have too much to do, with no one else to do it but you?

All at the same time?

Boy, do I know how you feel.

So in the midst of my self-induced pity party this morning, while reading Proverbs 6, God taught me two things: 1) I needed to stop whining and get to work; and 2) I needed a perspective adjustment.

If you read Proverbs 6, you will completely understand point #1.

It might even speak something different to you. :)

And #2, well, that was just a gift. And a surprise.

I spent the day dealing with a septic tank.

Yeah, I know.

Yuck.

But because God loves me enough to not leave me the same – He’s in the transformation business, you know – He took this opportunity to bless me.

And I probably would have missed it entirely if I wouldn’t have dropped everything to deal with this stinky septic issue so my husband didn’t have to – he’s got a big weekend planned with a bunch of his friends and their sons, gobs of his work to do before he can go, and I could rise to the occasion, or I could use the “I’m exhausted” reality excuse, and let him figure it out. I deal with chronic pain daily anyway, but now also have a sinus infection, been getting less than 4 hours of sleep a night for the last two weeks because of two injuries, and yet I literally felt led to be part of “team Roesner” in a way that would bless my husband.

And those of you who know me well know that I usually let life teach other people lessons, and I’m not much for rescuing or enabling or interfering with consequences. But this situation didn’t fit anything like those, and my husband just needed my help.

So I gave it.

And I was happy to – which, by the way, is major evidence of God doing a HUGE work in my heart.

As in transforming my heart 180 degrees from where it was years ago.

And God rewarded me in a small but big way. And I didn’t even have to wait for it.

And after meeting with contractors and inhaling probably too much methane gas for one day, I caught the full meaning of 2 Corinthians 3:18, which reads: 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

Oh, I pray you can SEE at least two things: 1) it says, “are being transformed” – there’s no, “you might become like Jesus if you choose to follow Him,” here – it says, “ARE BEING,” as in, “it’s happening…” whether we want to or not. J And 2) “beholding” is a beautiful word which has two meanings here – first, that we are reflecting back to Him His Own glory through our Christ-likeness, no matter how infrequent or small it may be – and second, I read Max Lucado explain that if we do not take the time to “behold” His glory, we miss much on the road to transformation.

If you want more on that, search it in http://www.Bible.org .

And what did I SEE today?

Daisies.

Because He cares that our precious dog, named “Daisy,” recently went Home…

And suddenly, where no flowers had grown before, there was a patch of daisies, just yards away from the septic tank nastiness, just like the ones in the back yard.

Except we didn’t plant these daisies in memory of our sweet golden retriever.

God did.

For us.

So we could see Him.

And know He cares.

You might think I’m nuts, but I choose actively to SEE God, multiple times a day, in the midst of my circumstances.

I believe He’s there.

And I believe He’s always speaking.

It’s more a matter of, “Are we listening?”

So I’m over 12 hours late with this entry today, but I desire to be, sinner as I am, a person who says what she means, means what she says, and keeps her commitments. And I can’t even begin to tell you how this impacts my marriage…more on that to come… :)

And I dare you to SEE Him. And double-dog-dare you to share what you see with us. Join us on the Facebook Page and be part of the community…

Happy to be on the journey with you,

~Nina

I See You…

Saturday, I stood in the breezeway, sipping percolated coffee, watching our people play in the lake. At one point, the most mischievous of our three kiddos silently snuck towards his sister, intent upon capsizing her banana float and submerging her.

He stopped momentarily, and glanced up at the cabin. “Are you watching me?” he called, guiltily.

I smiled.

“Should I be?” I asked.

“Ugh…no,” came the reply.

“Someone’s always watching you,” I told him.

“Oh, yeah,” he said.

It’s funny how easily we forget.

God never sleeps.

And He tells us, quite clearly in Proverbs 5:21, “For a man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all his paths.”

So He’s always watching.

That’s comforting and concerning all at the same time.

Dare you today to put your bracelet or watch (if you still wear one :) ) on your other wrist. Or, put a hair band around your right wrist.

Use it to remind you that we are never quite fully alone. Knowing that we’re never completely out of our Father’s view should help us in two ways – first, provide us with comfort when we are anxious or afraid, and two, help us walk in the His Ways, assuming we know enough of the Bible to know what They are…

I know from experience that it helps to remember He’s always there. :)

And I just love it that Someone fully “gets” me, when others who should, don’t.

It’s sooo good to know and be known.

Respecting, loving, and obeying God often results in respecting and loving others, particularly those who don’t deserve it. We are never more like Christ than when we are BEING love/respect to those who haven’t earned it. It’s not easy, but it’s the journey worth taking.

Double-Dog-Dare you to join hundreds of folks choosing to challenge themselves every day and subscribe to the blog (above) and take this journey on wisdom’s path with us!

Triple-Dog-Dare you to read the rest of Proverbs 5 here, seeing what else He might have for you today – then act upon it!

Privileged to walk with you!

~Nina