By Ashley Wells, on March 20th, 2012  I am so excited to be linking up with Write It, Girl each Tuesday in March. What is Write, It Girl you ask…it’s a time to write whatever you’ve got on your heart! You just write it, girl. Here’s more from their about page:
“Write with confidence in your space; that little corner of the web He’s given you. Ask Him to give you a vision for what He wants with your words and write it, girl.”
I’d love for you to join this community where we can encourage each other and make the declaration, we are writers! Link up with Write It, Girl’s new site!
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I know that I am a new creation in Christ, I have read the words from 2 Corinthians 5:17 many times, the old has passed away and the new has come. However, how many times do I struggle with what this looks like in real life? What does this new life look like in the day to day? How can I practically live this new life when I am still living in this old body in this same old world? While I’m still living in this sin-tainted world, is it possible to live as a new creation?
This morning my husband and I had an argument. It wasn’t a big, knock your socks off, type of argument. However, it was still an argument none the less. In the midst of this arguing, I found myself leaning towards my sinful tendencies to get defensive, raise my voice, and place blame anywhere except on my own two shoulders.
This afternoon, as I’m reflecting on our morning encounter, I am struggling with those questions I shared above. Even more so, I am thinking about how I am supposed to be a new creation, but yet I find myself struggling with sin so often.
I open my Bible and seek to find an answer for my burdened spirit in the pages of God’s Word. I find comfort in Paul’s words to the Romans. Paul struggles. He fights against his sin nature. I realize again that I am not alone in my struggles against these sinful tendencies.
Through Paul’s words, I remind myself that this is part of life in the already but not yet world we live in. We were already redeemed by the blood of Christ through His work on the cross and have been justified or made righteous before God. But, we have not yet been glorified, or made perfect; this is something we have to look forward to once our journey as sojourners on this globe ends.
This leaves us in the middle, in our sanctification. This is the phase of our christian life that I struggle with, as you can tell from my questions. It’s the here and now, the practical part of working out what we believe, but still having to live with sin. It’s a process, wherein lies the struggle for me.
In this culture, we want what we want when we want it. I’m sorry to admit that I have let this mentality soak into my view of what life as a Christian looks like. I want to be made perfect right now. I don’t want to have to struggle with sin. I want to live glorified, now.
The reality is, I have to learn how to live in this world as a new creation. I have to learn what it means and what this kind of life should look like.
I find my thoughts drifting away from my sin and onto God’s grace. How undeserving I am of such a costly gift, but yet God showers His grace on me, overflowing. When my sin increases, grace increases all the more. His grace is what will bring me through this process of sanctification. His grace is what I need, every day, every hour.
My husband arrives home from work and I quickly seek his forgiveness for my faults from the morning. He willingly grants me forgiveness. I continue to offer him the same forgiveness that he gives. We move on throughout our day. We move forward.
I’m a new creation. I have been set apart for the glory of God. It isn’t always pretty because I’m living in the same old world with sin. However, God grants me the strength and the grace to continue to move forward each day.
I’m curious…what part of this “already but not yet” world do you struggle with most?
By Ashley Wells, on February 28th, 2012
 All this month I have been reading and meditating on the verse at the center of our gallery wall in our living room. I chose it and wrote it on the first of February {the month of love}. I’ve been pondering it all month. I walk by it and read the words many times a day.
Love.
We love because He first loved us. -1 John 4:19
I think about marriage. I think about my husband whom I love dearly. If I’m honest though, this love doesn’t always come naturally. Isn’t that the way it is when two sinners say “I Do?”
It’s hard. I mess up. He messes up. Sometimes we mess up together. But yet, everyday I choose to get up and love him. Love him because of who he is. Love him in spite of who he is. Love him.
We love because He first loved us. -1 John 4:19
This love does not come from me. I mean, c’mon? This marriage stuff is hard. If it were dependent on my capacity to love, from my own strength, we would probably just end up being in the statistic of divorced couples. However, we have a greater purpose and goal in our marriage other than our temporal happiness.
I read this from John Piper reflecting on his forty years of marriage (This Momentary Marriage):
“Most foundationally, marriage is the doing of God. And ultimately, marriage is the display of God. It displays the covenant-keeping love between Christ and his people to the world in a way that no other event or institution does. Marriage, therefore, is not mainly about being in love. It’s mainly about telling the truth with our lives. And staying married is not about staying in love. It is about keeping covenant and putting the glory of Christ’s covenant-keeping love on display.”
Love doesn’t always come naturally. Marriage isn’t mainly about being in love. Marriage isn’t about our happiness.
Marriage is hard. But, it is more than worth it. I have a partner in this life. We are committed to each. For better or worse. We are trying to help each other on our quest to be more holy. To be more Christ-like.
Our marriages paint pictures of the gospel to the world. What an honor!
However, this isn’t really something we can do from our own strength. We love not because we can. Not because we are good at it. Not because it comes easy.
We love because He first loved us. -1 John 4:19
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I received the Mr. and Mrs. Love Collection for the purpose of this review from DaySpring as part of their monthly (in)spired deal! p.s. My hubby and I love to drink our (almost) nightly tea from our mugs!
By Ashley Wells, on February 3rd, 2012  Theology.
The study of God.
Is theology just a topic reserved for men? For men who are attending Seminary? Men who hope to go into full-time ministry? Men who are faithfully preaching from the pulpit each week?
Or is knowing God and studying His nature and character something that all Christians, man or woman, seminarian or not, should be devoting themselves to? Passionate about?
As a seminary wife, I ask myself, is theology a subject that is reserved for my husband?
The answer: No!
Theology is not just for certain people.
Read this beautiful truth from the book Practical Theology for Women (written by Wendy Alsup, pg. 26, my emphasis),
“If you know Christ as your Savior, you have the same Holy Spirit residing in your heart, the same Word of God at your fingertips, and the same access to the presence of God as the wisest and most godly spiritual leader you know of today. It’s a copout to leave the deep things of God to the pastors and seminary graduates when, in Christ, we have the same access to God that they do.”
Women, we need to realize that we are limiting our potential to further God’s kingdom when we limit our knowledge of the Creator and Lord of the universe!
What we believe about God and His character affects our daily life. Knowing God makes a difference in our lives. Our beliefs affect how we respond to the situations we are placed in throughout our day. How can we approach our circumstances and situations with a biblical worldview if we are not continually growing in our knowledge and passion for knowing who God is?
To live wisely in today’s world, we need to know God! We need to know who He is and what He has done. We also need to know what He is doing and what He is going to do!
Today’s world is unstable and quickly fading. We must know the truths of God and put them into practice day to day! Read what John Piper says about the Christian woman in reference to 1 Peter 3:1-7,
She knows her Bible, and she knows her theology of the sovereignty of God, and she knows his promise that he will be with her and help her strengthen her no matter what. This is the deep, unshakable root of Christian womanhood. And Peter makes it explicit in verse 5. He is not talking about just any women. He is talking about women with unshakable biblical roots in the sovereign goodness of God—holy women who hope in God.
To be holy women we must place our hope in God! To place our hope in God, we must know who He is! To place our hope in God, even in the face of trials and sufferings, we must know and live out our beliefs daily in every aspect of our life.
To live in this life as a Christian woman, I need to know theology.
As a homemaker, I take the responsibility of creating a place of refuge and security very seriously. I take on frequent opportunities to open our home to extended family and strangers alike. I want them to find love in our home. I want to give them comfort and rest. I want to serve them.
It is easy to be overwhelmed and weary by the, sometimes, mundane tasks of managing a home. However, we are building centers of evangelism, each one of us! We are creating, within our four walls, a place where our family and outsiders can come to find refreshment and nourishment and love!
How can I truly love others, through my home, if I don’t know the depths of the love that God has for me?
As a future parent, I have a great responsibility to train up my children and teach them the things of God. As parents, we have the unique opportunity to show our children what it looks like to live out your faith day by day, in public and private. Are you showing them daily that God is faithful? That God provides? That God is worthy of our trust?
When I am blessed with children, I want to raise them to know God. How can I teach them about who God is, if I, myself, do not know Him? How do I teach someone about what is means to be justified by faith alone, if I do not understand what that means? How do I show my children these truths if I do not live them out daily?
How can we teach our children the things of God if we do not know them ourselves?
As a wife, I am a partner in life with my husband and together we help each other to grow in godliness. I love the question that Gary Thomas poses about marriage, “What if God designed marriage to make us holy instead of happy?” What does this look like in real life?
When you and your husband are in the midst of an argument, are you quick to become bitter and harbor feelings of anger and resentment? Do you struggling with showing your husband respect, in public or private? Do you trust in your husband and more importantly, trust that God will guide him and direct him to lead you and your family?
How can we truly trust our husbands unless we truly trust God and know that His plans are for our ultimate good?
As a woman, when I am struggling with the aches and pains of this world, I can take comfort in knowing that God is my portion and my strength. It’s a difficult balance. It is facing the reality of suffering and struggles with your eyes focused on eternity. It means realizing that this world leaves us thirsting for more, thirsting for Him, thirsting for eternity.
This world is not our home. We are sojourners here. We have a day to look forward to when we will see Jesus face to face. One day, we will take our last breath here in this tainted world and our next breath will be our first breath in the presence of our Lord.
How can we keep our eyes on eternity if we don’t know the wonderful promises that God has given to us about our future glory?
Knowing God is important for all Christians.
Not only are we wives, mothers, homemakers…we are also theologians!
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By Ashley Wells, on November 7th, 2011 …even when struggling with infertility.
I have been on a journey of infertility for over five years. When my husband and I got married shortly after I graduated from high school, we knew it would be difficult conceiving. I had previous medical issues that resulted in learning that it would be nearly impossible to conceive or sustain life inside my body.
However, we were still hopeful, at least in the beginning. After three years of trying to conceive, at the age of 22, I found out that it would be impossible, without the direct miraculous intervention of God, for me to conceive and sustain life. I immediately felt broken. The six months I struggled greatly. Some days, I couldn’t get out of bed.
During this time, I allowed my struggles to separate me from God, my husband, and others close to me. I felt alone and isolated on my journey.
{I’ll post an adoption update tomorrow}
By Ashley Wells, on September 9th, 2011  I have loved and learned so much from reading marriage books. I thrive on learning by example and from hearing personal experiences. So, reading books and hearing how God is working in the author’s marriage is a great tool that God uses for me to grow in my own role as a wife. This happens often in real life too, as I meet older and wiser women who I continually glean wisdom from!
This book, Creative Counterpart, is read like a conversation with the author, Linda Dillow. Mrs. Dillow’s writing style is very conversational! It makes for a very easy read! Additionally, Mrs. Dillow is a very funny lady (at least I assume from her books that I’ve read!), she adds humor throughout her words, making it even more enjoyable!
Mrs. Dillow defines a creative counterpart as “a woman, who, having chosen the vocation of wife and mother, decides to learn and grow in all the areas of this role and work as though she were aiming for the presidency of a corporation.”
Being a wife and mother is a serious responsibility. We are partners in life with our husbands, whom we are hopefully growing in godliness alongside. Additionally, we are placed with the joint responsibility of training our children and teaching them the things of God. Throughout most of our days, we are shaping souls, either our husband’s or our children’s.
Are we taking our responsibilities seriously? Are we painting an image of Christ and the Church through our marriage? Responding in love and respect to our husband? Are we showing our children grace? Teaching them what it looks like to live a life seeking to bring glory and honor to Christ?
What we are doing day in and day out is serious Kingdom changing business! We should aim to give it our all and grow daily in our roles through the grace of God.
I can definitely recommend this book to other women who seek to learn more about their God-given roles in this life.
As much as I highly recommend this book, if you haven’t read one of Mrs. Dillow’s other books, Intimate Issues, I highly recommend that book too! This book completely transformed my thoughts and perspective on sex early in our marriage, which has proved to be a great blessing!
*The links to amazon in this post are affiliate links. This means that if you purchase something from these links, I will get a small percentage of the sale price at no extra charge to you. Thank you for supporting this ministry!
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