by Lisa B on March 9, 2010
for a women’s dinner at my church. As you may know, I don’t cook. I don’t do that whole hospitality thing well either. And those cutesy little gifts? I got nothing. But I have a heart for women’s ministry. I have a heart for women who are hurting — and we all are at some point in our lives. Either going into hurt, smack-dab in the middle of it, or coming out the other side of it.
One of the men at my church asked Duck if his group would play music at this dinner. He wants the men to cook and serve the ladies dinner. He wants this to be an outreach — evangelical — for ladies to invite unsaved friends. Duck told him that I have a heart for women’s ministry and that I might have some ideas for a speaker or two.
Side note: Can I just say it was kinda weird hearing from this man that Duck said I have a heart for women’s ministry? Why? You may ask? Well, it’s not something that I’ve ever really talked about with Duck. I mean it’s stuff I’ve spouted here. Maybe he’s heard me talking with someone else. But it’s not something that he and I have ever discussed. It was kind of validating in a sense that yes, I do have a heart for women’s ministry and should use my talents and gifts in that.
Back to needing ideas: Basically I need ideas from you. I know ya’ll are a crafty, creative bunch. And even if you yourself don’t have any ideas, maybe you can share a website or two where you get ideas from? I’m looking for anything from a theme to decorations ideas to gift ideas. You know — any of those little things that women typically enjoy. Have you been to anything like this? What did you enjoy? What was not so great?
If you don’t mind, I’d appreciate a lot of prayer for this also. I feel led to speak … as in get up in front of a group of ladies and share a story … and that makes my stomach do flops. Seriously? There’s no delete button in speaking. There’s no rereading and editing in speaking. One shot. Can I be interesting? Will I say the right words? I’ve been praying for awhile that God would take this desire away from me, but He really doesn’t like it when I argue with Him. He keeps giving me visions of standing on stage and parts of the message to give. So, prayer. Lots of prayer please. Thanks! I appreciate it! Let me know if there’s something I can pray about for you as well!
by Lisa B on March 8, 2010
This weekend was a whirlwind of traveling out of town and watching Duck play softball in the freezing temperatures of March. Unfortunately I forgot my long-john pants. I had enough layers for my upper body, but had to take off my leather Harley jacket and wrap it around my legs. As the weekend came to a close, I was wishing there was a chapter in Praying Wife about praying for softball. Duck did well the first 2 games, but the last 2 he struggled hitting. I didn’t have any idea how to pray for him and ended up having to just let him sulk. Then I read the next chapter, His Mind, and was just amazed at how God fits everything in place sometimes 
Because I believe Duck was believing some lies from the enemy about his abilities, his actions, and his worth. I’m hoping you’ll start to see some great benefits to these chapters this week.
Monday — Read ch 7: His Mind
Tuesday — Read ch 8: His Fears
Wednesday — Read ch 9: His Purpose
Thursday — Read ch 10: His Choices
Friday — Read ch 11: His Health
Don’t forget if you want to follow the #prayingwife Twitter conversation, click on the tab at the top that says Praying Wife. I’ve got it setup to display the comments, but it’s ordered with the newest at the top. So if you’re trying to follow a conversation, it’s best to start at the bottom and work your way up.
by Lisa B on March 5, 2010
This will probably be quick. I have scheduled both dogs to go to the vet for their annual check-ups. I just love how Duck went out in the yard this morning trying to catch them poopin’ so they don’t have to go the q-tip route. I say it only comes once a year so why not let them enjoy it?
On with the check-in…
This week the chapters were a lot shorter than His Wife. Aren’t you glad? Duck has told me that he feels my prayers and appreciates me taking it upon myself to go through this book again. I hope and pray that your hubby feels the same way.
His Work: Workaholism vs Laziness. I am very blessed that Duck sees work as God’s gift to him to provide for us. He has never in his life been lazy. On the other hand, I think it would be very easy for him to become a workaholic. I think God’s blessed him with balance. He is a good, hard worker but he also puts us first.
His Finances: I read this one as our finances. I’ve been praying for our finances for quite awhile. Praying that God would change how we both view money. I think it’s really easy to get caught up in the “take it home with you now on credit and pay for it later” mentality. We go through bouts of being good stewards and receiving God’s blessings (both financially and not financially) and then we’ll slack off again. The beginning of the year we made a renewed committment to get out of some of the financial mess we’re in and we’ve been doing better. Not quite there yet, but better.
His Sexuality: This was a weird chapter for me — not because of Duck, but because I gave this book to Mom to read (hi Mom!). It got me a little tickled thinking of Mom praying for Dad like this. But I want their marriage to be a happy one, so I let the thought drift away. “When we are married, our bodies are not our own.” — pg 63. That one may be hard to swallow.
His Affection: Have you ever read The Five Languages of Love by Gary Chapman? It’s good. Really good. Both Duck and I scored highest on quality time. We both had a close second that were way different. His? Word of affirmation. Mine? Physical affection. Yep, I love hugs. He’s not so much of a hugger, but I’ve been praying for him and it works Usually he remembers to give me a hug every day before he leaves for work. Makes my day start out a lot nicer!
His Temptations: This chapter talked about sexual temptations but I believe it can be regarding any temptations. Like for an alcoholic, seeing a bar might be a temptation. For Duck it might be a temptation to get caught up in work too much for too long or temptation to spend more money than he makes. “Only prayer, a submitted heart, and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit can work those kinds of miracles.” — pg 75. I wish we could stop temptations, but God always provides an out. The only thing we can do is pray to see “the out” God’s provided and to have the strength and the wisdom to use it.
So did any chapters really speak to you this week? Has hubby noticed any difference yet? Are you still with me? 
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