![]() Not only that, but there have been times in our marriage where the most helpful thing I could do for my family was to stay up and talk to Dave at the end of his day. Dave and I decided when we got married that we would always go to bed at the same time. 72)! Maybe I'm just being defensive but this has not been my experience. For example, I was disappointed at how emphatically the Martha Peace quote said getting to bed early was the ONLY godly option here (p. It's definitely helpful to have specific areas highlighted so we can be specific in the application of God's word in our own lives.Īt times though, I felt that not enough room was left for women to make decisions based on their own family's particular needs. I thought there was a good framework provided in this chapter for thinking through the areas in which many of us need to exercise some self control (although I thought more could have been said about shopping, which I think is a huge self control issue for many women in our culture - and I doubt it's different in America!). That said, I did think that her main point (based on the classic quote from Martin Lloyd-Jones about "talking to yourself" rather than simply "listening to yourself") was a good one - not an automatic cure for deep, clinical depression, but a healthy habit for glorifying God in the midst of the daily ups and downs of emotion. A few more words about the tears and anger and frustration of Jesus would have been helpful here (or perhaps some examples of the Psalmists 'pouring out their hearts' like Hannah, or the words of Jesus about the blessedness of those who mourn, or Paul's words about how we are 'sorrowful yet always rejoicing'.). Certainly we are always to 'rejoice in the Lord', and I'm happy to agree that this joy involves our emotions, but I don't think joy is the only emotion we ought to experience as Christians. ![]() I wasn't at all convinced by her interpretation of Hannah's emotions (I think there are good reasons why the translators of 1 Sam 1:8 use 'sad' or 'downhearted', not 'bad') and I worry that her reading of this passage could lead some readers to the conclusion that all negative emotions are automatically sinful. Not sure about you, but my reaction to this section was mixed. ![]() There's lots to talk about from this chapter, but one part I wanted to highlight was Carolyn Mahaney's thoughts on 'commanding our feelings' (pp. But change should be part of the Christian life as God changes us - and he's given us the Holy Spirit (our helper!), to help us do it. There are times when I've struggled with self control and I've wondered if it really was possible for me to JUST window shop, or if I could say no to that second piece of chocolate cake, or if I could get into a new habit of getting up early to read my Bible. If you're anything like me, you're probably tempted to think you can't change much about your sinful attitudes and bad habits. It's important to realise that, while self control involves hard work, with the help of the Holy Spirit we can change. we cannot acquire this virtue by our own strength." (p. I was glad that this chapter started with a discussion of the role of the Holy Spirit in our struggle with self control: "Self-control requires effort. And it's there for us, as one of the things that older women are to teach younger women, in verse 4. It's there for the older men in verse 2, and for the younger men in verse 6 (as the only thing that's mentioned in their case!). ![]() It's striking how prominent 'self-control' is in the instructions that Paul gives for the various groups in Titus 2.
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