Laines Letters...Revisited!

Dear Sisters, This poem was quoted today by Elizabeth Elliott on her radio broadcast. How often I think of this poem, "Do The Next Thing" when asking Him what I should do next and then going about it for Him. Do the next thing! So simply simple... Have a lovely weekend! Love, Laine Do The Next Thing "At an old English parsonage down by the sea, there came in the twilight a message to me. Its quaint Saxon legend deeply engraven that, as it seems to me, teaching from heaven. And all through the hours the quiet words ring, like a low inspiration, 'Do the next thing. Many a questioning, many a fear, many a doubt hath its quieting here. Moment by moment, let down from heaven, time, opportunity, guidance are given. Fear not tomorrow, child of the King, trust that with Jesus, do the next thing. Do it immediately, do it with prayer, do it reliantly, casting all care. Do it with reverence, tracing His hand, who placed it before thee with earnest command. Stayed on o...

Dear Sisters, I wanted to send to you this special story from Jennifer Murphy. She sent it to me last week, and it ties in so well with what I have been sharing with you. How many times have I cried out to the LORD over the years to help me stay focused in His Word when everything around me seemingly screamed for my attention. Perseverance. Remember that tool? Perseverance in the Word. It isn't a scream anymore that I hear, more like a wimper. Now I hear the Word of God calling to me loud and clear; and I come a running. Without further introduction, here is Jennifer's story: Today, the devil came a calling. He sat down at my kitchen table, rested his chin in his hands, looked at me and said, "I am troubled ... you have been reading your Bible, and this concerns me." He leant back and waved his hands at my home. "While you are reading your Bible, look at what happens. Your house becomes messy and dirty. Dishes not done, beds not made. You are not doing it righ...

Dear Sisters, Hi! I hope you are all doing well. I've been up early in The Word. What a way to start a day. I love, love, love The Word of God! I don't think I could express to you how much I love the Word of God. It is my constant prayer that I will never be without it. Nor praise music to my King. No wonder King David, the man after God's own heart, had such a heart for worship to our LORD. The Word and Worship are my soul's cry. "Cease listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the Words of Knowledge."  Proverbs 19:27 Every night when I go to bed, I long to get there. To really listen to the Words of Knowledge. My heart's desire is to get alone with my King.  For me, this is the very early morning. It's just about the only time of the day that I am alone. But I'm not alone! He is with me. Each day is built on that sweet time alone with Him. It's been that way for over nine years now. And His Word just keeps getting sweete...

Dear Sisters, It has been such a lovely day. So far, I have enjoyed every minute of it. I asked the LORD to walk me through every moment of this day. The LORD has helped me more than I can ever write. "He rescued me, because He delighted in me." Psalm 18:19 I use to think God was mad at me if anything went wrong in my day. Sometimes those thoughts still hit my mind when I am going through a difficult time. But I push them away with His Beautiful Word. "Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from Thy Law." Psalm 119:18 You see, oftentimes God is disciplining me. He's opening my eyes to realize that there is a better way. His way. His perfect, righteous way. He made me and He knows what is right for me. There is nothing too small in my life, nor too large, that His Touch does not manifest Itself. Why? Because "I have treasured the Words of His Mouth more than my necessary food." Job 23:12 Seeking first the Kingdom of God. Running the race...

Dear Sisters, Phew. I had a difficult day yesterday. I won't bore you with all the details as there are so many. But it was one of those days that I think most women experience and would soon forget. People problems were the core of the matter. I can take almost anything else. I had a multitude of attitudes coming at me yesterday from my folks to my kids to my friend to my husband. It was like a giant wave by the time it was all finished. I felt washed up on the beach gasping for breath... I got up this morning and still was struggling. I asked the LORD what to do as I was having trouble staying focused on my Bible study. He led me to go get the head phones on and worship Him with some of the beautiful praise music that I have collected. (I usually do this on Sunday, so this was a rare treat on Crazy Tuesday.) I put my favorites on, opened the living room door, and sung my heart out to Him, silently, but with a chorus of beautiful voices in my ears. As I gazed up at His stars ...

Dear Sisters, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5 There was a time in my life when I was homeless. My parents had been in the middle of a bitter divorce when the LORD miraculously healed their marriage. However the ravages of the divorce proceedings took much of what we had in N.H. And what we had was a lot in the world's eyes. My parents had a beautiful two story home with a built in bar and rotisserie along with a built in aquarium and fountain between two spacious living rooms. They had a big, black cadillac. They had a beautiful cabin cruiser boat with a driving deck on top. My younger brother and I attended a private school. My father had two high paying jobs. By the world's standards we had it all. Then my parents started to have trouble in their marriage. The trouble lasted for three years with my father leaving and coming b...

Dear Sisters, I don't think I've done a very good job of explaining submission. I had another full page written on it yesterday when my little guy accidentally jiggled the plug on my computer, so I lost everything. ~Smile~ Maybe it was for the best. A couple of sweet friends so kindly recommended that I share concrete examples of how I submit to my husband. And, you know, that is just the kind of writing I love to read by women. Concrete examples. So today I would like to share just that. Before I begin sharing concrete examples, however, I must explain that my heart changed toward my husband when I began to fall in love with Jesus all over again. When I began to thirst for His Word and time alone with Him every day, I learned more about submission than I ever realized before. I learned that my eyes had to be on Christ. Not on my husband's faults, or lack of leadership, as I perceived he should be or should lead. And as I grew closer to Christ, I understood that intimacy...

Dear Sisters, Oh, just about every day I have a really messy kitchen. This is the room we use the most often, so this is the room that gets messy really fast. Here is the way I clean it pretty quick. Everyone must leave! This is vital for my sanity as I cannot bear to clean something at the same time someone else is messing it up. Ha! The first thing is to get the kitchen table totally cleared off and wiped down. Once this is done I feel so much better. A clean surface to look at while I work does wonders for me. The important thing is not to put anything back on it! Once I have the table cleared off I set my dishes to soaking. I love to get lots of hot suds and put all my cups in first. These are easily washed and set to dry on the right side of the sink. Then I will put my plates in next. I like to leave these in a bit longer to soak, so this is the perfect time to start at the left side of my counter and work my way around. I use two sponges or two cloths to clean as I go. ...

Dear Sisters, My letter this week will be a little different. I want to give you a Christmas present. This letter, filled with God's Word, is my Christmas present to you. It is some of the many gleanings that I have taken from the Word of God over the years. My Bibles are so marked up with notes and falling apart that I had to pull notes from here and there putting this all together. But I wanted to help you with the help my beautiful Savior has given me from the beauty of His Word. Without further explanation, would you unwrap the "tissue paper" and look into my present for you? ~Smile~ Each present is individually wrapped, so I will number them for you so that you might open each one in order. I love you, Laine Present #1: Wise women rise early. "And all the people would get up early in the morning to come to Jesus in the temple to listen to Him." Luke 21:38 (Psalm 119:147) (Mark 1: 35) (Matthew 28:1) (Acts 5:21) (1 Samuel 17:20) (Joshua 3:1) (Exodus 24...

Dear Sisters, "And on her tongue is the law of kindness." Proverbs 31:26b Often I will have up a young homemaker to my home. We'll sit and have tea together while she asks me questions concerning homemaking. Today Joy has come for a visit. Won't you join us? Here is a cool glass of ice tea and a molasses cookie. I hope you're comfortable. ~Smile~ Now how can I help you, Joy? Joy: Laine, thanks so much for having us over. Laine: I'm glad you could come! Joy: We've talked some over the phone, and I enjoy reading your e-mail homemaking devotions. But it is great to sit together face to face. Laine: Yes, you are so right, Joy. I often think how great it will be to sit across from Jesus face to face. For I have talked to Him a lot and read His Words with heartfelt devotion, but one day I will see Him with my actual eyes! Joy: Amen! Do you enjoy writing the devotions for homemakers? Laine: Yes. Most of the time it is a true joy. I love sharing with hom...

Dear Sisters, "Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the Word of God." Titus 2:3-5 For the second time today I have talked to a young woman who is frustrated and hurting. As we talked I could see the problem. The problem is the "older women" in their lives were not living out the above verse. Each woman was not complaining about the older woman in her life, but she was frustrated at her inability to figure out what she was doing wrong since her home did not match their well-managed home. Well, the problem was they are not teaching and training these young women in what they know. Rather than coming alongside these young women with important aid to them in their...

Dear Sisters, "She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness." Proverbs 31:27 I am busy as a bee today. There is always so much to do, isn't there?! Many times during my day I have to stop and ask the LORD what direction to go as my mind is boggled by the many things requiring my attention. Presently it is 1:30 p.m. and I have a sink full of dishes (from baking and lunch). I have bread to fashion into loaves and dinner rolls, the kitchen to sweep and mop, and some clothes to hang out as soon as they stop spinning. There are also clothes to put away, another room to clean for my sweet cousin's arrival in two days, and I am in the middle of sorting school books. So much to do! Oh, I surely left out balancing the check book, writing that thank you note, finishing the pot roast meal in the crock pot, making some treat for my husband's lunch, and finishing the small plot of weeding that I started earlier this morning. Will I g...

Dear Sisters~ Women love Cinderella stories, don't they? The romance of a poor, beautiful woman hidden away in a mean step mother's home to a life of hard, dirty work. Then a handsome prince calling her his own with the perfect fitting of a glass slipper. Well, I sure could relate with Cinderella on the hard, dirty work. And my husband is very handsome. ~Smile~ But so often I use to think, "My family is sucking me dry and soon I will be dead." And I was nursing at the time! So there was indeed some sucking going on there. My problem was I had not realized fully that a Handsome King had called me His Own by the shedding of His Blood. I did not know who I was in Christ Jesus. That all started to change five and half years ago. The first morning that I opened His Word and began to believe it for myself. For myself...not someone else. And it has continued to this morning when, again, I opened His Word and sat in awe of Who my King is and just what He has promised me. A...

"The heart of her husband trusts safely in her; so he will have no lack of gain." Proverbs 31:11 Budget. The word makes some women shudder. But to me it is a peaceful word. It is like the railing on stairs. I can hold on to them and be safer about each step. The budget is my financial railing guarding my monthly saving and spending. I have found something to be very true in budgeting. Never, never think you have learned enough about it. If you read the Proverbs 31 chapter over and over again, you will see that this woman is consistently learning and growing in her job. I find that if I am continually learning new things, my job is never boring. So I strive to learn more and more about wisely handling my husband's income. It is a privilege he has given me since the beginning of our marriage. "She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard." Proverbs 31:16 Notice the verse carefully. She is talking about the family money first and ...