Ellen Chauvin | Soaked & Sprouting

Soaked in God's Word, Sprouting Seeds of Faith

Are You Battle Ready?

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The other day, I was wandering through Exodus. No, no, it was not in the wilderness, as you might imagine. It was in the deliverance. 

Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day when you came out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, for the LORD brought you out of here by the strength of his hand.” Exodus 13:3a CSB

Goodness! For the first time, I saw something I’ve never seen in this particular verse. I saw Jesus. Remembering all that God has done brought Messiah to mind first and foremost. God gave Jesus to deliver me from my slavery to sin. And it’s only by the strength of His hand that I walk free today. 

and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. Romans 6:18 NASB

Meandering further in the passage, pondering the freedom we have with Christ, I found this:

And the Israelites left the land of Egypt in battle formation. Exodus 13:18 CSB

Though the Israelites had left the land of their captors, and been delivered from slavery, they had to remain battle ready. There would be skirmishes to fight. 

The same is true of us today. We will have battles. Yes, we are set free from the sin that entangles us, but sometimes our flesh wages war against our spirit. Sometimes we want to go back to Egypt, to what we knew. We don’t want to walk forward in battle formation into the unknown. And sometimes that crafty old devil knows we want to grow in Christ. He will try to trip us up. It’s a fight, for sure.

We must be battle ready. 

We must not break formation. How?

The LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to lead them on their way during the day and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night, so that they could travel day or night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people. Exodus 13:21-22 CSB

Follow the Lord. He will go ahead of us. In the brightness of the day He is there to lead us. And in the darkness of night, He will surely give us light to see. And He will never leave us to fight alone. 

What’s my take away? Stay battle ready, and keep moving forward. You will not fight your battles alone. Put on the full armor of God each and every day. Why? To resist the enemy and to stand firm. And when you armor up, know that God will lead you and light your way. 

Grace be with you,

Ellen

14 Ways to Love Your Husband – Part 2

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Valentine’s Day is almost here!  I’m sharing some hints on loving your husband.  The list is endless, so I’ve narrowed it down to fourteen. Feel free to pop over to Part 1 for the first seven helpful hints. Today, let’s look at Part Two, or Part Deux as they say in south Louisiana.

8. Forgive

Let’s face it. Guys sometimes don’t think like we do. My sweet husband was concerned about weight I had gained several years back – and rightly so! It was more than I had ever weighed in my life. However, when he was talking with me about it, he used the “O” word – obesity. Now, before you get your feathers in a ruffle, he DID NOT say I was obese. He was just concerned that I was headed in that direction. But, bless his heart, you just don’t use that word when you are talking to a woman about her weight.  I don’t think I spoke to him for two days. TWO DAYS. Two days out of our lives that are wasted, because I didn’t have the sense and maturity to forgive him. Ladies, please don’t ever waste precious time away from your husband like I did. Forgive him.  “…love keeps no record of wrongs.” 1 Corinthians 13:5

9. Your home, his castle 

Make your home a safe haven for you hubby.  Make it a peaceful place for him.  John travels quite a bit.  When he’s gone, I don’t cook, do laundry or dishes.  But when he walks through the door, I try to make sure all the mess is picked up (not tonight, I’m writing tonight). Ok, I’m not as good at this as I use to be. I’ve relaxed a lot in my old age. But I do try to be his helpmate. I know he’ll be tired when he comes home, so if necessary I take care of chores that he usually does. Yes, like take the trash out and put a fresh 5 gallon water bottle on the cooler (Heavy!). Make your home a peaceful, loving place. He’ll look forward to arriving at his castle each evening!

10. Be Kind 

Titus 2:4-5 says that older women are to encourage the younger women to love their husbands and children, and to be kind (among other things). I thought it odd that the younger women had to be taught how to be kind. After all, kindness begins at home, doesn’t it? Sometimes you would never know this by the way I act. I can be kinder to a stranger in Wal-mart than I can to my husband, when I’m in “a mood.” Let’s be kind to our husbands, “so that the word of God may not be dishonored.” (Titus 2:5). 

11. PRACTICE PATIENCE.  I had to put this one in all caps, mainly for me, hee hee! Count to ten. Then, count to ten again.   And again, and again.

12. Don’t Husband Bash 

Ever been in a conversation with some girlfriends that went something like this:

“You wouldn’t believe what a slob my husband is. I wish he would learn to pick up his stuff!” 

“You think yours is a slob, mine is such an idiot! He can’t even make the simplest repairs around the house!”

And on it goes, getting worse and worse.  This is dangerous and destructive behavior.  It is contagious and spreads like a virus! RUN FROM IT! Husband bashing is extremely damaging to your marriage. The more you dwell on your perceived wrongs in your husband, the more unhappy you will become.

Don’t participate in these conversations.  Try to steer them back to positive aspects of your spouses. If you can’t, I say again: RUN FROM IT!

Be especially careful in front of the children or grandchildren. They need to see your respect for your man, not your scorn for him.

13. Say thank you. Always. For every little thing. Let him know you appreciate him.  

14. Laugh. Laughing together is good medicine for any marriage. And it relieves stress.The other night John and I were laughing so hard, I had tears streaming. Turns out I slept like a baby that night! Laughter is good medicine.

Remember, there are many, many ways you can love on and encourage your sweet hubby each day. Be alert to hints he may unknowingly give. You won’t be sorry!

Grace be with you,

Ellen

(This post first appeared February 2015)

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