Our Very Own Rainbow

Something that has blessed my heart beyond measure over the past few years has been doing Bible Studies with my dear friend, Leti. She is an incredible mother, wife and friend and I learn so much from her. Three years ago we did “Breaking Free,” by Beth Moore, two years ago we read “Raising Responsive Children” by Judy Rossi, and we recently finished “True Christian Motherhood”, by June Fuentes. Each time the experience has been immensely edifying and uplifting. Our meeting places have included my church, various coffee shops, and quiet rooms in our homes. We spend a few hours discussing what we read that week, sharing prayer requests and praying for each other. I always leave from our time together refreshed and inspired to be the woman God has created me to be.

In “True Christian Motherhood,” we were reminded of our high, noble calling as mothers and were encouraged to refocus.  Here is a random collection of some of the teachings that impacted me most.:

*She reminded us of Proverbs 31:10, which says that a virtuous wife is worth more than rubies. I love it that God chose to compare us to something as beautiful and extravagant as a ruby. He could have said we were worth more than a bundle of grain, or a fattened calf. But He chose to compare us to RUBIES! This excites me!

*One chapter was dedicated to Exquisite Home Culture – What kind of atmosphere are we creating in our homes? Are family games played? Are books read together? Is laughter and good conversation present at our meals? She reminded us that we, as mothers have a huge influence on the culture of the home.

*I loved it that she said that “Raising our kids is an act of worship to the Lord! Pouring into them is like Mary pouring expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet- raising them is a pleasing aroma to God.” That inspires and encourages my heart so much! When I’m disciplining, encouraging, training, caring for my kids, I’m worshipping God?? I’m pouring expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet? What a blessing!

*Just as Solomon asked for wisdom, I realized that I need to ask for wisdom more. In James it says that if anyone asks for wisdom, it will be given to them.

*In one chapter she addressed perfectionism, calling it “lethal to the Christian family.” It is not fueled by the Lord and puts impossible standards on our husbands and children. She believes that a huge cause for perfectionism is the desire to please man instead of God. “If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of God.”- Galatians 1:10. She encouraged us to relinquish magazine-perfect homes for joyful homes, and reminded us that no home inhabited by kids is going to be perfect.

*She also spent time talking about training our kids. I appreciated the verse “Correct your son and he shall give you rest. Yes, he shall give delight to your soul.” -Proverbs 29:13.

From reading this study, I have been inspired more than ever to pour everything I have into my family and my home and to be more intentional about praying for my children every morning and leading my children in prayer and  Bible memory. I am so thankful for the renewed vision that this e-book has given me. June Fuentes also has a blog- http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/  which gives daily encouragement and inspiration for raising up our children for the Lord.

Each time Leti and I have finished a study we have gone out for dinner to celebrate. Okay, so maybe we grab every excuse we can to go out for dinner together. I’m thinking that we need to go out this week to celebrate Grace losing her first tooth. 🙂 Last month we went to Mimi’s to celebrate Leti’s birthday, and we sat at our table for over 4 hours! We watched the table next to us switch guests 3 times, and finally the kind waiter approached us and politely informed us that it was time for him to go home. I’m pretty sure he was making sure he got his well-earned tip before leaving. We laughed imagining him going out with friends later that night, saying, “Dude! These girls sat at my table for my entire shift and they NEVER STOPPED TALKING!! Seriously, dude! For hours! What is there to talk about for 4 hours?” The truth is, we had barely scratched the surface! That night we devised a plan to someday spent an ENTIRE day at Mimi’s, ordering breakfast, lunch and dinner, never leaving our table. Then maybe we’d be able to cover everything we want to talk about. When I arrived home late that night, Nick asked me in amazement, “Were you seriously at Mimi’s that entire time??!!”

Anyways, back to the present. So when we finished “True Christian Motherhood,” we booked it over to our favorite Greek restaurant, Athenian Grill in Suisun City as quickly as we could. The amazing food coupled with the pretty view of the hills and the marina (we always eat outside as close to the water as possible) makes it such a delightful experience.

As we were enjoying our delectable gyros with cucumber yogurt sauce and feta cheese (mmmmm) suddenly Leti gasped and pointed to the water. I turned and saw the most incredible rainbow I have ever seen with very vivid colors stretching from one side of the marina to the other.  (unfortunately, I wasn’t able to fit the entire thing in a picture.) And I freaked. out. I mean, Shrieking-Jumping up from the table- Leaving Leti eating by herself- Running outside and taking pictures- kind of freaked out. I have always loved rainbows and I couldn’t contain my excitement. As I returned to our table out of breath, hearing the waitress exclaim that this is the strangest thing she’s ever seen- such a bright rainbow with no rain- I whispered to Leti, “I think this rainbow is for us.” And she laughed out of joy, and said, “It is! IT IS!” We honestly believe that the Lord gave us this masterpiece to remind us of His covenant with us. That He loves us so dearly. That He is always with us. That even when motherhood feels way too hard, when we feel inept as mothers, that He will never leave us on our own. This rainbow made me feel His presence so strongly and I was filled with so much joy, hope and thankfulness.

As I mentioned in a recent post, Leticia loves citrus. She has been my official taste tester for all of my cake-creations, and we’ve been discussing how good my vanilla cake would be with lemon frosting. I was thinking about baking one as a special dessert to share after our gyros, but I kind of decided against it because I still had a lot to do to prepare for my trip to Chicago. But then, that morning I got an e-mail telling me that my friend Sarah was coming to my house the day after our dinner celebration. When I realized that I had not one, but TWO opportunities to eat cake with beautiful, wonderful friends, I literally got right to work. I’m so glad I did it, because it made both occasions even more special. A homemade cake tends to do that. The lemon frosting was just as fabulous as Leti and I had been day dreaming about, so if you have a thing for the refreshing taste of citrus, you have to give it a try!:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lemon-icing/

 

And it was perfect with the vanilla cake recipe I shard with you in my post, “Sorry, Guys, the Cake is Just for Decoration!”

I pray that you also receive refreshment from God’s Word, intentional time with uplifting, godly friends, God’s colorful, breathtaking beauty, and a splash of lemon frosting.