tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post5756799405278487874..comments2023-12-21T04:12:43.597-08:00Comments on A Word To The Wives: WANTED: MANICURE MINISTRY VOLUNTEERSMrs. Olderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07584063642606232360noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-43362469267196680822013-05-29T18:53:25.842-07:002013-05-29T18:53:25.842-07:00Thank you for your kind reply. You may use any of ...Thank you for your kind reply. You may use any of it that you see fit. Thank you again for being you. Your ministry is so important.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10998611210604191073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-32223033002618351562013-05-27T04:49:24.560-07:002013-05-27T04:49:24.560-07:00Shauna,
Thank you for posting this. It was the fi...Shauna,<br />Thank you for posting this. It was the first thing I read this morning and am speechless that this blog has been a blessing to you. Thank you for telling me. And you can contact me directly any time by emailing me at:<br />awordtothewives@gmail.com<br />Someday, with your permission, I"d like to re-post your email as one of my blogs.. <br />XO,<br />Mrs. Older<br />Mrs. Olderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07584063642606232360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-25127508726515969492013-05-26T20:52:43.211-07:002013-05-26T20:52:43.211-07:00Psalm 68:5 " A father to the fatherless, a de...Psalm 68:5 " A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling." I do not think I was angry at God, but I was very hurt and begged God for YEARS to help my understanding. My Mother abandoned me as an infant. That was actually a blessing that I recognized at a very young age considering what she did to others who remained in contact with her. My Dad is a very good man. He is like a true modern day mix of the old testament prophet Hosea and the new testament apostle Paul. The very fact that God gave me him as a father makes me more fortunate than anyone I know. I was not fatherless. I was and am motherless in a real world sense. This affects me every day of my life. I had my Dad and 8 brothers. I had only wicked women in my life and I grew to mistrust women altogether for a very long time. I got along with everyone in high school, but my close friends were always boys. Now I am married to a very good man and we have 6 beautiful healthy children. I have been blessed with 3 sons and 3 daughters. Although I love my children equally, there is something in me that struggles to be close to my girls. They are lovely and they would never detect a difference( I hope) but it is there. I love them so much, but there seems to be the tiniest distinction or wall of some sort. I have no close girlfriends. I do not know how to fit in with women or to be close to them because I was deprived of it all of my childhood. I pray for God to take this hurdle from me and make me whole in this area. The only direction I feel I have as a mother is what NOT to do. Everything is learn as I go and it effects everyone in my household.My Father did not cook much or often. When he did it was burnt and served with ketchup. He sure tried though! I grew up in a home that was never clean. I have had to learn to cook and clean which is rather intimidating as a young adult female. I would read things like Ruth, Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 and I was so hurt that I had no older woman to guide me. I desire deeply to be a woman as God intends women to be but it is an uphill battle everyday. It shows up in unexpected ways. I have set my mind and heart to being a good wife and mother. I read a lot of books and fall back heavily on Proverbs 31 and Titus 2. I read about women in the Bible to glean what I can. I have a very soft spot for Hannah ( Samuels mother) and Abigail ( David's wife). Last week when I was reading through Titus 2 I had my age old discussion with God. What about the motherless! Lord how am I to do what you ask me to do when I have had no one to model it?? Then, for some reason, just last week... it hit me like lightning. I do not have that older woman figure in my life but I do have what she is supposed to teach me in God's Word. All of the sudden this very basic truth came to me and I realized that in God's authoring of instruction to women he was in fact acting as a mother to the motherless. About 3 days later I found this wonderful blog.What a blessing Mrs. Older is to me, even an answered prayer you might say. I still have wounds but God is comforting me and answering prayers and he has helped me grow more than anyone deserves. My God, my husband and my children know they are loved and finally... so do I. Please be patient Mrs. Broken. I promise you good will come from your pain. (((hugs))) ~ Mrs. Peculiar Treasure<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10998611210604191073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-29131082785321739082013-03-20T04:22:10.426-07:002013-03-20T04:22:10.426-07:00Dear Mrs. Broken,
Sometimes it isn't until we ...Dear Mrs. Broken,<br />Sometimes it isn't until we can look back at these moments that we understand that God never left us. You will make it. You will. <br />XO,<br />Mrs. OlderMrs. Olderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07584063642606232360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-72169517819711307162013-03-20T03:34:44.063-07:002013-03-20T03:34:44.063-07:00Thank you Mrs. Older,
Every single day brings me a...Thank you Mrs. Older,<br />Every single day brings me a nee & usally humiliating challenge. It's nearly unbearable. Not just my MS, so much more. Thank you fot your blog & the kind words of your sweet readers. It means so much!<br />Mrs. Broken.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-65601818936392343472013-03-19T00:37:47.150-07:002013-03-19T00:37:47.150-07:00Aw, thank you! Regina tells me wonderful things ab...Aw, thank you! Regina tells me wonderful things about you. :) She said you are a wonderful woman of God and I can see that with how your heart is touched by a complete stranger. It reminds of what God says about strangers . . . be careful - you could be entertaining angels! And I think you did Him proud. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-48859010780159422302013-03-17T16:44:24.437-07:002013-03-17T16:44:24.437-07:00Thank you dear dear sweet Martha for your words of...Thank you dear dear sweet Martha for your words of wisdom and love. Mrs. Olderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07584063642606232360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-81922039417634986872013-03-17T16:16:22.796-07:002013-03-17T16:16:22.796-07:00Dear Hurting Friend,
I pray that you will read th...Dear Hurting Friend,<br /><br />I pray that you will read this when it would be most helpful to you. And, I have prayed for you today. My heart is burdened for you as you begin to deal with the overwhelming news of your diagnosis and the death of your dreams for what you thought your future would be. <br /><br />I have lived with chronic disease since I was a 22 year-old, newly engaged girl. It has been 23 wonderful, painful, joyful, confusing, anxious, peaceful, incredible, amazing years. For me, it began with a brain tumor followed by the diagnosis of a genetic disease that has caused many other very serious health issues. Since then, I have been given an additional diagnosis of yet another related but different disease, about 17 surgeries, four of which occurred within a two month period last year ending in a kidney transplant. Life is a continual process of trusting our All-Sovereign, Gracious Lord.<br /><br />Everyone is different, but I wish that I had established a relationship with a licensed counselor earlier in the process of my journey. I have an amazing, servant-hearted husband, precious 12 year old daughter (in our family through adoption since I cannot carry a baby in my womb due to my diseases), supportive extended family, and sweet Christian friends, but I needed an "outsider" to voice my deepest, most anguished thoughts. I can not recommend this enough. It really helps to say the very real concerns (and sometimes irrational thoughts) to someone with nothing to gain or lose by whatever I say. I see her when there are serious issues, then only as I feel I need a "check-up."<br /><br />I spent several years giving my Gracious Lord the "silent treatment." This was crazy...He knows my thoughts before I think them. It only further wounded me to pull away from the One who has given me everything in Christ. He is the Creator of the Universe and has made me exactly how He wants me to be in order to give Him glory. Psalm 139 verses 13-16 have been some of the most encouraging words to me:<br />"For you formed my inward parts;you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."<br /><br />He is not out of control, and illness is no surprise to Him. He created me with two life-threatening diseases and has ordained every one of my days before one of them came to be. I'm just living out the beautiful story of my life, one page at a time. I am being sanctified through my diseases, but I am not defined by my diseases.<br /><br />Proverbs 13:12 says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." Please put your hope and trust in God, not in your circumstances. I guarantee that you will have more good days than bad days if you trust in The Lord. It has not been easy, but it has always been worth the cost. I can honestly say that I would not forgo one moment of my suffering for what I have experienced with God. Nothing compares to that. <br /><br />Prayers for you,<br />Martha<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-41045606332775983262013-03-15T11:00:34.323-07:002013-03-15T11:00:34.323-07:00You are a hero of our faith and thank you for your...You are a hero of our faith and thank you for your care and encouragement. Yes he is bigger than any problem we run in to.. thank you for reminding us. Mrs. Olderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07584063642606232360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-74437902105504105842013-03-15T10:59:37.970-07:002013-03-15T10:59:37.970-07:00Dear friend, Thank you for telling me that your Bi...Dear friend, Thank you for telling me that your Bible study uses my blog as your curriculum... I mean... REALLY? SERIOUSLY? How is that possible? And.. also..thank you for taking the time to give words of comfort and care. And say hello to the women in your study group for me.Mrs. Olderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07584063642606232360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-83045227190328820222013-03-15T07:47:05.187-07:002013-03-15T07:47:05.187-07:00Jesus said, "I will NEVER leave you or forsak...Jesus said, "I will NEVER leave you or forsake you." When my marriage fell apart, that was my hope. I know from personal experience the my God is BIGGER than my tantrums, he is BIGGER than my "I'm not speaking to You", he is BIGGER than major surgeries, He is BIGGER than infidelity. He is BIGGER than MS. Love you and praying, dear sister.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-55444528721783371932013-03-14T11:00:03.032-07:002013-03-14T11:00:03.032-07:00Mrs. Older, you should know that our Bible Study s...Mrs. Older, you should know that our Bible Study small group for wives meets every Thursday morning and our curriculum is your blog. There are 80 of us in our group at church and we LOVE you Mrs. Older. For the woman with MS, please know that God will prove himself to be a good God and not mean and even when things don't make sense he will carry you through if you will lean on him. Thank you again Mrs. Older and LOVE your manicure.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-48385154606957086712013-03-14T05:29:24.555-07:002013-03-14T05:29:24.555-07:00What a wonderful woman you are and how inspiring t...What a wonderful woman you are and how inspiring these words are. THANK YOU for caring enough about someone you don't know. I love you. Mrs. Olderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07584063642606232360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-82519224073651633372013-03-14T01:08:03.141-07:002013-03-14T01:08:03.141-07:00I too have MS. I remember when I found out I saw r...I too have MS. I remember when I found out I saw red with God. The truth shall set you free - and telling God how I felt was the first step to the most honest and truly wonderful relationship I have ever had with the Big Guy. It's freeing to know when my body fails me - God never does. <br /><br />He is faithful. Thank God He is faithful! He will either heal us or help us - both are miraculous. <br /><br />In the Bible all the characters are so flawed. They walk through SO MUCH. And yet we find them inspiring! We look at them and say God touched their life. And that's the kind of life you and me have been given. We have a platform. Because we are different. We have the choice to be our disease or have one. I choose to have one. :) <br /><br />Some days I can't see straight, some days I can't walk right. But tomorrow could be better. Often it is. MS people like you and me normally live just as long as anybody else. We just live with MS. That's the only difference.<br /><br />We find new ways to do old things. We take MS for the adventure it is. And don't worry about the things you can't do as well - there are things you do better than anyone else! Like love your babies, find new ways to have fun with them, find new ways to work together as a family. It is bonding and a journey that you don't want to miss! <br /><br />It is hard somedays. Having MS is trying sometimes. But there are so many medicines out there to help your symptoms and prevent new ones. There are lots of therapies that aid in that. The what ifs are the scary part . . . but not with God. I have learned that in all things God is faithful. And I know He will be to you too. "Don't worry about tomorrow He says . . . baby, I got you." <br /><br />Look at the BIG ways He JUST moved. Look at all the strangers SENT to you. My editor, probably a world away from where you are, sent me an email to check out this post. I write for CBN and write books for moms and kids. I do this with my MS. Nothing can stop God's plan for your life. It's a good plan! <br /><br />Visit me sometime at my blog. I would love to chat with you. We are very close in age, both moms, both with MS. I come from a LONG line of BIG mistakes . . . so you can't tell me a thing I haven't already done. lol :) He loves you just where you are, for just who are you RIGHT NOW. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-51824206802218230262013-03-14T00:58:18.040-07:002013-03-14T00:58:18.040-07:00Dear God's Beloved, Beautiful, Wonderful, AMAZ...Dear God's Beloved, Beautiful, Wonderful, AMAZING YOU, <br /><br />Hey you . . . you there hurting and asking WHY - I have been exactly where you are. I am 28 and I too have MS. There isn't any shame in the honesty of a hurting heart - NONE. In fact, God says the truth shall set you free. I remember seeing red with God when I found out. But God and I have been really close for a really long time. I have learned that I can hide nothing from Him that He doesn't already know. He knows when I'm angry and I might as well just tell Him when I am.<br /><br />He is after all I AM. Isn't that amazing? That I AM is ALL YOURS? It really doesn't matter how you've been living your life up until now. All that matters is today. God is always, always with you. No matter what you go through or face, what you do or say or think . . . God is faithful. Even when we are not! Thank God that He is faithful because I for one need some help! :)<br /><br />When you have MS and you have kids it'is so tempting to think of what you can't do, the places you can't go . . .but no one can tell you what you can't do except you. There are so many things you can do! So many wonderful places, people and opportunities you are going to have because you have Ms. I've found my own to be an adventure. I am learning more every day to depend on God. It is really freeing to know that when my body fails me - God never does.<br /><br />Are you control freak like I am? :) I really am. I have trouble with things I can't control. That's my problem. I never really controlled anything to begin with. On days me and my Ms are in a battle of who is in charge here . . . I realize God has long been in control. Neither of us are in control. God is in charge.<br /><br />In the Bible all of the characters are SUPER flawed! They go through REALLY hard things. We think of them as inspirational. And yet in our lives when things go crazy bananas . . . we ask why did you let this happen? I did it too. And somedays, I still do it! But would the people of the Bible be so inspiring if they did not overcome? Their lives were adventurous! That's the kind of life that changes things . . . that changes people . . .that leaves a legacy!<br /><br />Girl, it's hard. Ms is not for the faint of heart. But I bet that if you looked back on your life you can tell me SO many things you have been through and seen the other side. When I was a girl - I was abused. I was left home for weeks alone. My dad screwed our doors in so we couldn't get out. When we did run - we slept in our car behind churches - places my dad would never look. He shot himself, he shot my brother in law, he threw my mother in a trunk - and on that day? I was planning on faking sick to stay home. I was so depressed! I was only 11. But the bus was LATE . . . And JESUS He was RIGHT ON TIME.<br /><br />I got on the bus. There were three bullets. I never saw mine. My life was kind of metaphoric . . .I took shelter behind God. And I still do. He is the rock of my salvation. And I wasn't a perfect girl. In fact, I was pretty unperfect in my teen years especially! You name it - I did it. <br /><br />Now? I write for CBN. I write books for children and moms. God has given me a voice. Just think . . .if He can use somebody like me . . . just think at what He can do with you!!<br /><br />Your MS is going to make you stronger. It's going to try you . . .but it won't beat you. You are going to come out of this like a champion. He will either heal us or help us. And both are miraculous. Jesus said "It is not the well who need the doctor but the sick." He was talking about Himself. He didn't need the religious . . . He came to call sinners like you and me. I think that's cool. <br /><br />MS'ers like you and me usually live just as long as anybody else. We just live with MS. That's the only difference. We learn to do things different. We learn to rise above ordinary. And hey . . .I for one think ordinary is overrated anyway, right?<br /><br />Praying for you. Believing for you. If God brought you through it - He will bring you through it!<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-83054212832300873702013-03-13T11:09:21.169-07:002013-03-13T11:09:21.169-07:00Jim,
Thank you for this resource.
XO...Jim,<br />Thank you for this resource.<br />XO...Mrs. Olderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07584063642606232360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-20610501223355677562013-03-13T11:09:00.434-07:002013-03-13T11:09:00.434-07:00Carol,
Thank you for you comfort and your wisdom....Carol, <br />Thank you for you comfort and your wisdom. Women of all ages need to hear what you said.<br />XOMrs. Olderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07584063642606232360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-11658354620122187172013-03-13T11:07:57.203-07:002013-03-13T11:07:57.203-07:00Thank you for posting this. Thank you for loving ...Thank you for posting this. Thank you for loving others enough to do so. Your words ring with maturity in the Lord. XOMrs. Olderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07584063642606232360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-26658003247117844792013-03-13T11:07:02.841-07:002013-03-13T11:07:02.841-07:00Alicia,
How honest and transparent your words are...Alicia, <br />How honest and transparent your words are. Thank you for posting. Your advice "God is the only place you will find real comfort" is the BEST advice EVER. Thank you.Mrs. Olderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07584063642606232360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-71354178950532508792013-03-13T11:05:41.895-07:002013-03-13T11:05:41.895-07:00Thank you Paula for your wise words. I am honored...Thank you Paula for your wise words. I am honored that you would post them. Your love for God is obvious and the fact that you would love others enough to take the time to encourage someone you don't even know is... is... like Jesus. Thank you.Mrs. Olderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07584063642606232360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-83554185539581177192013-03-13T11:04:03.155-07:002013-03-13T11:04:03.155-07:00Thank you dear, sweet Laurie for taking the time t...Thank you dear, sweet Laurie for taking the time to post your words. I know your heart and your words will be SUCH an encouragement to many. XO.Mrs. Olderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07584063642606232360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-56754186086764723012013-03-13T09:48:50.802-07:002013-03-13T09:48:50.802-07:00My wife's cousin has MS, and has put some insp...My wife's cousin has MS, and has put some inspiration in a web page/blog that may help:<br /><br />http://yourjourneywithms.com/Jim B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12949902488607363580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-26380326139276012692013-03-13T06:02:24.393-07:002013-03-13T06:02:24.393-07:00When my parents both passed away within 14 months ...When my parents both passed away within 14 months of each other from cancer, it shook me to my very core. My sister had died after complications of an auto accident 9 years before. The foundation that my very existence was based on was totally gone, my parents, my only sibling. Thankfully, I am married and my husband and friends were and continue to be a huge support. It was those moments when they weren't around, those moments of laying awake at night crying when I knew that I was not truly "not alone." If not for God, I don't know what I would have done. On my lonliest days, He is my strength, my everything. May He be the same for you. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-63531260209764785712013-03-12T16:54:34.776-07:002013-03-12T16:54:34.776-07:00God understands your confusion and He loves you ev...God understands your confusion and He loves you even if you blame him for what is happening to you. He isn't the one who causes sickness. He isn't the one who makes life difficult. He is the one who helps us through the difficult times. I think that anyone with any love at all can certainly understand that you might feel like God has let you down. He has not. He loves you. He really loves you. I am praying for you. Our women's prayer meeting will pray for you every week that God and his deep love for you will comfort you. I am sorry that you are going through suffering now. Jesus understands suffering. He will be your strength if you will lean on him.Carol - Atlanta, GAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633723360983223704.post-74535791081959572642013-03-12T15:36:10.682-07:002013-03-12T15:36:10.682-07:00I would say to her that I understand her confusion...I would say to her that I understand her confusion and so does the Lord. I would also say to her, if I could, to read the Bible. Read a Psalm or read Proverbs. Or just read the first four books in the New Testament. For me, when my husband died at only 33 years of age, I felt like God had abandoned me. He had not. He was there. Also I would tell her that I am going to pray for God to comfort her. I don't know who she is or where she lives but my women's prayer group is going to pray for her. Jesus is there sweet girl. He loves you. You may never understand why these hard times come, but if you will let Jesus love on you, you will find a true friend who will always get you through.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com