Song of Songs

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
    for your love is more delightful than wine.
3 Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;
    your name is like perfume poured out.
    No wonder the young women love you!
4 Take me away with you—let us hurry!
    Let the king bring me into his chambers.

I love the sweet notes you left me.  How they spoke to my soul and brought me closer to you even though you are miles away.  What an encouragement you are to me! 

Thinking of these verses- how sweetly Solomon spoke of his first wife (let's not talk about the hundreds of wives and concubines) but this first wonderful relationship.  How they filled each other's senses in the purest of ways- how God intended! 

It's so frustrating to me how everything in our culture is so sex-driven and "dirty" with hidden meanings.  In this passage- it is clear how they feel about each other.  There is no "hidden meanings" that we should be interpreting..and if there WERE hidden meanings, they were meant to be known only between the two of them.  

I am grateful to God that he sets examples in the Bible of how a married couple should act, and even more grateful that he sets THE example and that we as a church are so incredibly loved by him in the most pure and holy way.  

Our Words

Due to the recent arguments in our house, I thought it wise for me to study what God says about our words.  Here are a few verses: 

Proverbs 16:24
Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Proverbs 25:11 
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

Proverbs 15:1 
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Wow- how these few words burned my ego.  Words are such an important part of any relationship... how we flippantly throw them out at each other! I think this is such an important reminder for me- every word holds a heavy punch or a soothing touch.  

God speaks so kindly to us in the Bible- how many times do we send verses in times of crisis or stress at work.  My words should replicate His.  He only uses harsh words when absolutely necessary, and his anger is always Holy...mine is sinful.

A short devotion, but one that resonates for me.  I found this devotional and I think it holds true for BOTH parents.  Our example is important now, not later. https://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/80-71/crucial-lessons-for-a-wise-father?term=proverbs%2016:24

Devotion 1

The man said,

 

This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;

She shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.

 

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Genesis 2:23-25

 

 Since we thought it was a good idea, this is the first Brinkman Blog entry of our weekly schedule. I thought it was appropriate for our first entry to start at the beginning….Creation.

During church service this past Sunday, I read through the first few chapters of Genesis. And in particular, this verse stopped me dead in my tracks. I read it over and over and over and realized how much this still applies to us today. There are a couple of key points that I want to point out and we can discuss in greater depths over the weekend.

1.   Suitable Helper

In a couple verses before verse 23, God looks at man and says….it is not good for the man to be alone, I will make a helper suitable for him.” There are a couple things I find particularly interesting about that. One is that right out of the gates, God is saying it is natural for man to be with a woman. How can those who practice Christianity ever refute that fact? Just puzzles me…the second thing is the word “helper.” While there are some jobs for the husband, just like there are certain jobs a wife can only provide, they are helping each other. Hold that thought close to your heart, if you ever feel that you are pulling more than your share, communicate that with me. Call a family meeting, send me an email-do whatever you have to do to make sure I am helping you. That is one of the fundamental aspects of a marriage – we are here for each other.
I like this verse because it shows how evolution doesn't work- again! Man could find not one suitable helpmate or companion anywhere- and he named every single creature! He needed someone one his level, but she was "soft"- something he needed.  Here is where I got that commentary from: http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/90-228/the-creation-of-woman

2. Nakedness

At first, it’s kind of funny to think about…God thought it was that important to note that they were naked? Why would he feel its necessary to note they were nude? My thought that it could be another application to marriage. We’ve literally seen each other naked in the physical sense (I think I’d prefer to see you naked more J ). But I also feel like it’s nakedness in the sense of vulnerability of one’s heart. Meaning, you’ve seen me naked when I am at my worst. When I’ve sinned in the way I speak to you, lead you as the spiritual leader of our family-I have failed you before and I will fail you again. I was naked when I was studying for the CPA exam. After failing FAR (AGAIN!), I came home and cried on your should. At that point in time, I did not care how weak you thought I was…how disappointed you may have been…I was naked. But God continues in this verse and says, and they felt no shame (of their nakedness)? To continue in this marriage application, I think the husband and wife should feel no shame in front of their spouse. No matter how ugly our nakedness is, we will forever love each other-until death do us part.
That is so true- and it is holy in the eyes of the Lord because we are married.  It is sad how today's culture has taken something so beautiful and turned it into a money making sickening scheme.  It has ruined lives and so many countless marriages.  That's why I am so grateful that you hold our relationship dear to your heart and don't allow your eyes to wander.  

3. The Man Leaves

Did you catch that part? The verse says “for this reason, a man will leave his father and mother….” It says nothing about the woman leaving her father and mother. Maybe that’s why the husbands naturally gravitate to be closer to his wife’s family-because it’s natural for us? Just a random thought that I had when I was reading that verse.

With that being said, Mason will leave us one day. He will leave us and start his own life and family with the woman God has planned for him. Let’s pray about that. Pray that god gives us peace about that because I don’t know about you but that boy is too cute to ever say ‘good bye’

I am never saying goodbye to Mason.  His wife will have to deal. :P just kidding- pray for me. let's start praying now...because it is going to take a while for me to come around.  I do believe it's more natural for the man to break ties because he now has to lead his own house..

Prayers: 

1.    Let’s pray we will continue to rely on each other and we continue to grow beside each other. Grow as followers of Christ and grow as our spouse’s suitable helper.

2.    Pray that we continue to feel no shame in our ‘nakedness’ because we know that we love each other, no matter what.

3.    Ask God to be with Mason’s future wife. We pray that she is a woman after God’s own heart and is patient, loving, encouraging, and beautiful just like his momma.
- Pray that we use our words to edify and lift each other up rather than take our frustration out.