Owner: Treasures of Encouragement with Sharon Betters URL:http://www.markinc.org/blog/ Join Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:22:08 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Everyone needs at least one. All of you who have one know just what I mean. A friendship where you can pick up where you left off no matter how long it's been since your last conversation. Site statistics:Click here
Organizing for Life - Leaky Sinks and Reflecting Christ 2008-06-23 22:24:00 So right after I hit the "send" button for my last entry, my husband asked me to help him with a plumbing problem. My "help" is acting as "go-fer" and requires waiting for instructions. Such as, "Turn on the water..." "Ok, turn it off." "Turn on the water..." "Ok, turn if off..." "I need my pliers...they're in the garage..." "Ok, turn on the water..." "Ok, turn it off..."
You get the pi Read more:Christ
, Leaky
, Reflecting
, Sinks
Organizing For Life 2008-06-13 00:30:00 Time is like money in the bank. Just like we can break down a dollar into quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies, we can break out day into hours, minutes and seconds. We can choose to spend our money however we desire. Although we don't have as much control over how we spend our time, we still make choices on how we will invest many of our hours, minutes and seconds.
I have known this all my li
Life Purpose 2008-06-11 22:19:00 There just aren't enough hours in my day to do everything that needs to be tackled. Wait a minute. God created 24 hours in a day. He knows what I need to do. Perhaps the problem isn't that I don't have enough hours. The problem is that I'm not using the hours wisely.
I recently met with a successful businessman for advice on how to develop MARKINC Ministries. I expected him to help me twe Read more:Purpose
Honest Grief 2008-05-30 21:06:00 Each detail made the truth more horrifying than the first. A five year old beautiful little girl, adopted into a loving family dedicated to serving Christ - killed by a terrible accident in her own driveway. A family celebrating a graduation, now struggling to understand how such terror forced its way into their home. I have never met the Steven Curtis Chapman family but I know their hearts. Read more:Grief
Mother's Day - A Day to Remember 2008-05-11 10:59:00 Since 1994 I have wished I could jump over Mother's Day. It's supposed to be a day of honor, remembering our mothers, being remembered by our children. But in May, 1994 remembering only brought deeper sadness and longing for what was. That was the first Mother's Day I experienced without our youngest child, Mark. Mark was born on May 11, 1977. He died in a car accident on July 6, 1993. The Read more:Remember
Four Weeks with God and Your Neighbor, #6 2008-05-03 10:59:00 What pleasures drive my disobedience? This question cannot be quickly answered. Though I'm eager to move past this "If Then" pathway of my journey, I recognize the need to sit on a spiritual bench and take stock of the scenery.
The scriptures confirm my conclusion that self-pleasure drives my sinful behavior.
The patriarch Moses "chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather tha Read more:Neighbor
, Weeks
Four Weeks with God and Your Neighbor, #5 2008-04-30 21:54:00 Ok, so the first week of Four Weeks
with God and Your Neighbor
challenges me to identify specific sins and to create a plan of action. If a certain circumstance occurs that tempts me to sin, then I will respond in a specific way. My response to this assignment looks like this, "If I am confronted with someone else's conflict, I will refuse to draw conclusions based on the presenting person's wor
Four Weeks with God and Your Neighbor, #4 2008-04-29 22:43:00 Ok, so when I started this journey, I expected to identify specific sins so that I could conquer each one within the next 4 weeks. Instead, God is using David's anguished repentance to teach me how to grow deeper in love with Jesus and see that love flow through my every day life.
Now I'm ready to tackle specific sins - right, God?
Once more, God surprises me by taking me in a different directi Read more:Neighbor
, Weeks
Four Weeks with God and Your Neighbor, #3 2008-04-27 20:28:00 David says that his sin is always before him (Psalm 51:3). I feel his pain. I can barely function when I know that my actions have hurt someone I love. How do I "un-sin" my relationship to them? I can try to undo the pain of my sin, try to fix broken relationships. But just like I can't put toothpaste back in the tube, I can't take back the hurtful words or even lack of words.
Think of it, D Read more:Neighbor
, Weeks
Four Weeks with God and Your Neighbor, #2 2008-04-25 00:15:00 Soaking in Psalm 50 and 51 reminds me that God desires and yes, requires from me - thank offerings that express how I can call on Him in times of trouble and know He will hear and help me (Psalm 50:14). He requires thank offerings that honor Him and prepare the way for me to see Him and His salvation (Psalm 50: 23). At first glance the word "requires" evokes a rebellious response. It felt like Read more:Neighbor
, Weeks
Grief is War 2008-07-05 22:23:00 Grief
is war. I started to respond to some of the comments to my previous post and decided to make my remarks a blog entry. Thank you to Bev, Donna and Jeannie. When I wrote about choosing life in the darkness, I started to add a "disclaimer" because I don't want women who are struggling to walk by faith to feel less faithful because of any words I write. This choice to celebrate life comes
Breast Cancer and Choosing Life 2008-07-01 23:29:00 The sudden wave of tears refused to stop as I came out of my oncologist's office after a yearly check up. I had just finished getting an annual mammogram as well. Though I walked quickly, I noticed numerous patients with obvious signs of cancer treatment: the gentleman with a large patch on his face, clearly covering the place where his nose should have been; a daughter helping her unsteady el Read more:Breast
, Breast Cancer
, Cancer
Choosing Life When It's Dark Inside 2008-06-30 23:24:00 "Grammy, do you love your hummingbird?" Emma's question reminded me of the warm fuzzy love extended to me on Mother's Day from our grandchildren and their parents. Mother's Day fell on May 11 this year, what would have been our son, Mark's thirty-first birthday. Chuck placed flowers in the church to honor me and to remember Mark. We gave the Mark Betters Christian Character and Church Service
Four Weeks with God and Your Neighbor, #1 2008-04-21 23:04:00 Birthdays have never bothered me. Getting older is normal and according to scripture, a reason to celebrate wisdom rooted in walking with Christ. But my sixtieth birthday caught my attention like no other. Since that moment I have been evaluating my own life calling and how to finish life well.
Over the next four weeks I am embarking on a spiritual journey that is part of my evaluation and I Read more:Neighbor
, Weeks
A Hole in Our Prayer Umbrella 2008-04-02 18:57:00 My friend and I talked quietly as we walked toward her bedroom. I knew I was on holy ground because supernatural grace flowed from her as she lived out the sovereignty of God in this very difficult pathway of life. Her young husband would soon be gone, his body taken by cancer, his soul carried by Christ's sacrifice into the presence of his savior. His fourteen-month battle against this terribl Read more:Prayer
But I Did Everything Right! 2008-04-01 11:39:00 Can you relate to this woman's description of her grave disappointment with a turn in her life that took her in a totally different direction than she wanted to go?
Funny how when people ask me, 'Why would God do that?' my first gut reaction is to impatiently retort, 'just trust Him, He knows better than you do, and He has a plan...' but now that I'm in this situation where my friend and I did Read more:Everything
, Right
Being a Mother-in-Law of Grace 2008-03-22 00:26:00 I try hard to be a mother-in-law our children enjoy having around. I thought I had a pretty good handle on my role but a very godly, wise woman farther along in life's journey recently showed me the meaning of sacrificing self in respect of a deeper bond than mother and child. Her fifty-five year old son was dying and his wife was speaking to us about some of his final wishes. We could tell tha Read more:Grace
Infidelity - Why? 2008-03-19 14:59:00 The media headlines in America sound like a warning signal from God to His people from Galatians 6:1: "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted."
Last year New Jersey's Governor McGreevy admitted to his homosexuality and stepped down from his office. Last week, New York's Governor Spitzer stepped d
Ending Online Inappropriate Emotional Attachments 2008-03-17 23:49:00 Imagine that as you turn to leave your friend's bedroom after putting your coat on her bed, you notice a beautiful pin on her dresser. "Aha!" you think. "That's exactly what I've been looking for to go with my new outfit for Saturday's party. I'll just borrow it and then return it later. She has so much jewelry, she won't miss it." You slip the pin into your pocket but never ask for your frie Read more:Emotional
, Ending
Inbox, Outbox, IM Emotional Adultery 2008-03-08 16:35:00 "Something told me to check his email and there it was - evidence that my husband had an online relationship with one of my friends. I was stunned by the flirting and flattery. They both insisted they were innocent and I was the one with the problem. But I know unfaithfulness when I experience it."
Over the past few years, Chuck and I have listened to women share too many of these stories. The Read more:Adultery
, Emotional
Welcome to Treasures of Encouragement, the blog of Sharon Betters 2008-03-08 11:40:00 Everyone needs at least one. All of you who have one know just what I mean. A friendship where you can pick up where you left off no matter how long it's been since your last conversation. My sisters are such friends. Seasons of life limit our quality time together, but when we connect, we hit the road running. No uneasy silences, hoping the other person will keep the conversation going. We Read more:Sharon
, Welcome
Overwhelmed Young Moms 2008-07-18 17:03:00 "I'm so overwhelmed!" In the past week I've heard this statement from three different young moms. Their frustrated cries reminded me of a particular catch up day that ended with a similar cry and real tears, "I give up!"
That morning so many years ago I realized I was slowly sliding into depression over the undone tasks and the dirty laundry that had piled up while I cared for a sick child and Read more:Overwhelmed
Encouragement in the Wilderness of Suffering - Part 3 2008-08-09 20:51:00
Faithful friends with servant's hands not only encouraged me to keep moving but came alongside to help me do so. One special friend called every week to decide what project we would work on to get our house ready for our daughter's December wedding. She came alongside to help make decisions, paint, paper, redecorate. One day she organized a group of about ten people who did a summer's wor Read more:Suffering
, Wilderness
Encouragement in the Wilderness of Suffering - Part 2 2008-08-09 20:24:00
When you're trying to encourage a hurting friend:
A sensitive heart will say...
~I love you.
~I'm so sorry this has happened.
~Nothing. (But give lots of hugs and shed lots of tears.)
~I'll be in touch (and follows through).
~I'm praying (and does).
A sensitive heart will...
~Listen.
~Allow her friend to express all emotions and not interject judgmental comments, especially in the beginn Read more:Suffering
, Wilderness
Encouragement in the Wilderness of Suffering - Part 1 2008-08-06 21:54:00
I just learned of a horrific accident that took the life of a ten year old boy. His mother and sister are injured but will survive. This family desperately needs their friends and family to surround them with the hope and courage that only faith in Christ can give. I don't know this family but I can guarantee that their friends and family are feeling completely helpless to offer that hope a Read more:Suffering
, Wilderness
Suicide and Encouragement 2008-07-27 21:50:00 I was recently asked for resources designed to offer help and hope to a family where one of the children had committed suicide. Extreme helplessness often drives a question like this because there is no way to undo the horror of the child's action. This is how I responded. This grief is a deep anguish that only Christ can touch with hope and help. Our son did not commit suicide, but the prin Read more:Suicide
Security Blankets and Jesus 2008-10-03 07:00:00
I fingered the silky softness of the beautiful blanket and wondered what magical fabric could hold up to the marketing claim that babies wrapped in this blankie felt as though they were back in the security of the womb. We had just learned about the coming birth of a new grandchild so I plunked down more money than I ever expected to pay for a baby blanket, pretty sure the manufacturer's claim Read more:Jesus
Adultery, Forgiveness, Redemption 2008-10-01 07:00:00
The woman sitting across the table from me glowed. Her eyes sparkled and her smile lit up her face. Though her story was one of terrible pain inflicted on her children and her by her ex spouse, the only time she wept was when she spoke of grace and God's mercy toward her. I was moved to my own tears when instead of condemning her unfaithful husband, she pointed out her own sinful nature and Read more:Adultery
, Forgiveness
Coupons, Money and the Virtuous Woman 2008-09-29 22:39:00
The United States is in an economic crisis, the likes of which most people alive have never seen, according to many economic experts. Most of us are not surprised because we hear the silent cries of our stretched dollars every time we go to the grocery store. Chuck is probably tired of hearing me say it but I know every woman struggling to feed her family knows the truth of these words, "I do Read more:Coupons
, Money
Recommend Site To A Friend
