How sure are we today that when someone promises us something, giving their word, that they will stay true to their promise? Truth be told, not many of us. Gone are the days when men came to a gentleman’s agreement by shaking hands after the giving of one’s word- it being a matter of honor to a man to make sure he delivered his promise. So much faith was put in the giving of one’s word and keeping of a promise that a man whose fiancée broke an engagement could sue her for breach of promise! How most of us these days would laugh at such a notion! But really, in God’s sight, breaking our word is a serious matter! Today everything has to be in writing- a verbal promise is taken as not being worth the air it was breathed and until all matters are confirmed on paper, nothing is sure. We see the same lack of personal integrity with marriage vows- it seems that the parties will live together until the going gets tough. Then it is just a matter of filing for a divorce and moving on. Recently a family member went for a job interview. He was told he had the job, and was shown where to park his car and where to present in the morning. Hands were shaken and this man left elated that at last he had found a job! Two hours later, the employment agency rang him to tell him he had been unsuccessful! After confronting the prospective employers he was told that as nothing had been signed on paper, they were at liberty to change their mind and give the job to someone else! Anger was nearly as strong an emotion as disappointment. It shows the level that we have sunken to as a dishonest and arrogant society today. The world in general have no one to answer to except themselves so it really should come as no surprise that they do not keep their word. But for us Christians, our word should be reliable and true! How it must grieve God if His people cannot be trusted with their word. For whether we like it or not, when we name the Name of Christ, His reputation is put on the line when we break our word. We are ambassadors for Christ. We should therefore be careful about what we promise to do and when we promise something, we should follow it through even if it is inconvenient or we suffer to our own hurt. For as we are bearers of the Word of God- we must be all the more careful to be sure that our own word is trustworthy and true! Let us think carefully before we give our word on any matter. Better to not give it than to break it. For in doing so, we just may turn some away from coming to Christ!

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

‘Lord, who may abide in your tabernacle? Who may dwell in your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart; He who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbour, not does he take up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honours those who fear the LORD. He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; he who does not put out his money at usury, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent, he who does these things shall never be moved’. Psalm 15.

A lot of women feel a little ill at ease when there is talk of being led by God’s Spirit. They seem to think that God’s Spirit will change them in a way that will cause them to feel driven or cause them to act strangely. I have heard it said by a woman at a prayer meeting that she was “afraid of what the Spirit has in store for me today!” My friends, there is no need to fear being a Spirit-led woman! For the Spirit of God is gentle. He is our Comforter, Healer, Convictor of sin and our Teacher ‘ But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me’: John 15:26 ‘
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you’ John 16:7 If ever there is any discomfort with Him, it is because He is calling us to a greater knowledge of God or convicting us of some sin that needs to be repented of. That is not to say that we are necessarily sinning greatly, but even small things that we know we should be doing and don’t do them, then that is sin- and the Holy Spirit will convict us of this- bring it to our minds and put it in our hearts to do it. ‘Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin’. James 4:17
Being led by the Spirit is ongoing. At our conversion, we have the regeneration of our soul and the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit. He seals us until the day of Christ Jesus and yearns jealously over us, leading us into the love and light of God’s holiness. ‘But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal’. 1 Cor 12:7 ‘
Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts’. 2 Cor 1:22 Being led by the Spirit is a beautiful thing. It is not necessarily a constant ethereal experience whereby we literally glow all day, but rather it is a constant running of internal “rivers” of joy that nothing can completely squash.

A Spirit- led woman is confident in whatever role God has put her in. She understands that with God, all things are spiritual. God doesn’t take His eye of concern off us when we are sweeping our floors or tending our children. There is no spiritual and secular for the Christian woman- all things are spiritual. The Holy Spirit doesn’t check out of our lives when we are doing the laundry or the shopping.- and have you ever taken God shopping with you? Prayed for a parking space or asked for wisdom in some purchase, whether it be food or clothes or a car? God’s Spirit is listening to our concerns and cares, longing to help us in our daily walk- longing to strengthen us in our times of trial and love us with the love only God can give us. ‘But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you’. John 14:26

And have you ever shared a laugh with God? Have you caught yourself in praise and been filled with adoration that makes your eyes shine? Has your spirit soared with joy and thankfulness as something special caught your eye? Have you ever felt the joy of the Spirit inside you, laughing with you? My friends, I believe God’s Spirit touches our soul with little glances that only you and He see…things that others may overlook but that He knows you love. For God is the Lover of our souls..He loves us with a love that is unconditional and true. His Holy Spirit is His Gift to us to help us overcome temptation, grief and sorrow. To remind us that we have a God Who lives within our hearts and Who will never leave us- not even in our worst times! ‘And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;’ John 14:16

And it is He Who makes us strong in the difficult valleys of life- Who enables us to say with certainty, I will succeed- for He is my rock! ‘For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father’. Rom 8:15 We will have difficult times in our life- that we can be sure of! But we are so very blessed to have a God Who promised not to leave us orphans when He returned to His Father. He has kept His Promise in giving us His Holy Spirit to dwell within us. ‘I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you’. John 14:18 To be afraid of God as in awe of Him as God is healthy, but to be afraid of Him and His wonderful Spirit is not. If God seems far away, ask yourself who moved? The Holy Spirit is like a gentle dove, and God is a gentleman. He will stand back if you do not want Him in your life- and if you constantly quench Him, the Spirit will not force Himself into your life. If ever there seems to be silence where once there was music, or if the path now seems to be a lonely one and you cannot sense the Spirit’s presence- check in your heart and see if you have moved away. If you have, make it right with God and ask for the joy of your salvation and God’s Presence to be a part of your life once again. He will be there, waiting- in fact yearning for you to ask Him back into your life so that you are not comfortless.
Of all people in the world, we Spirit-led women (and men), are the most blessed of all. ‘The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God’: Rom 8:16 Not only do we have a loving Father Who sent His only begotten Son to pay the price for our sins and redeem us, but we have the Spirit of God to help us in our day to day living. In a world that is getting darker, how comforting it is to be Spirit-led Children of God. ‘But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth’:
2 Thes 2:13 Never has God left us as orphans-comfortless- but He has made us joint heirs with Christ and we have His Spirit leading us into glory! Praise the Lord! I am so glad I am a Spirit-led woman! God makes me sing and my heart glad! Can I hear an ‘amen’, Sisters?
© Glenys Robyn Hicks 2006

I have been a homemaker since I was 16 years old- 36 years in total. I love a clean house, and I plan and clean, but after the cleaning is over, my heart asks ‘now what?’ I don’t find that housework in itself brings me full satisfaction in my Christian life. It is my responsibility before God to run my household well and to look after my family, but what about after that’s done for the day? I mean, after 36 years, you do get housekeeping down to a fine art! Over the years I have found ways that I can work from my home and serve Christ and others. Now I realize that there are many home-based businesses you can do, but I am specifically talking about ministry- acts of charity and kindness one can do from home. With small children at your feet, and suppers baking in ovens and simmering in crockpots. Laundry tumbling happily in the laundry room and no freedom to leave the home. And really there is no need. As Keepers of The Home, it is to our advantage to be at home-for then people will know where to find you. But therein lies the problem:; how do we satisfy that craving to serve Christ and others more fully whilst still being Keepers of the Home? How can we show charity and acts of kindness to others whilst at home?

There are many ways one can be charitable and kind to others without leaving home. Here are some of the things I have done with children around me, and now grandchildren.

* I have baked for the woman down the street who was on bed rest for a problematic pregnancy. And learnt to praise God that mine weren’t.
* I have designed and typed resumes for neighbors who didn’t have the ability or computer. Put to use my training as a data entry operator.
* Designed my own cards with a personal message for the sick and sent a child over with a home-cooked casserole. Gave me a buzz designing something special.
* I have minded a fractious baby for a friend who was a new mother and just needed some time-out! (Wishing I had had that myself in hindsight. Smile)
* Over a cup of tea, I would help a friend work out a budget as she wasn’t sure how to stretch the funds and her husband had handed the responsibility over to
her (probably feeling overwhelmed)I have been there too- but because of that, I had become extremely good at frugality. For which I praise the LORD!
* As it became known that I could sew, it was not uncommon to have a hem of some school trousers or a friend’s dress to take up or even to be asked to
finish knitting a baby jacket someone had started and was running out of time to finish.
* I would provide free after school care for my neighbor’s children if she had a dental or medical appointment that would prevent her from getting home earlier.
* I have sat at home packing endless pieces of jewelry or Christmas cards with a friend who was subsidizing her disability pension with piece work and was behind.
* I have laundered clothes for a friend with a house full of sick children and so overwhelmed with that and laundry that I told her to bring a few loads to me.
* And ironed those clothes too- now that’s love! (Smile)
* My home has been like a crèche some days as the neighbor’s children played with mine because their Mother was morning-sick (I relate so well to that one!)
* And I have just sat at my kitchen table with a cup of tea and listened to some friend’s problems and offered advice if asked, but mostly listened. A problem shared is a problem halved! Never underestimate the gift of learning when to listen and when to keep silent. Many mistakes made and lessons learnt for me there!
* I have sewn countless little cotton shifts and pants for the orphanage our church sponsored in Madagascar. I never saw them wearing them, but I got letters!
* I have sat countless hours after my housework was done sewing sequins on big banners for the Worship Hall in our church. Thousands of sequins..thousands!
* And I have lost count of the number of women who have come with unfinished projects that we have worked on at my home. Sewing, knitting, crochet…
* And speaking of crochet and knitting…teaching a couple of friends crochet and knitting and how to read knitting patterns!
* Teaching my friend to touch type was another thing I did at home. That taught me a lot about patience, believe me!
* A young man who was my son’s friend couldn’t read and confided in me and he came and I taught him to read. He has a lot of confidence now! Praise God!
* I helped a friend with a disabled child do physical therapy at my home on the days when she was too exhausted to do it. I sure learnt a lot about a mother’s love!
* A rather humorous time was my neighbor who lived behind me asked me to show her how to peg her laundry out like I did- boy, I didn’t know she was looking!
* A young wife wasn’t sure how to use ammonia on her oven and asked me for a demo. I had the cleanest oven in town by the end of the day.
* And then there were the fun times- I was showing the same woman how to bake a certain recipe, and it flopped! But the fellowship was sweet at least! Smile.

The LORD will give you wisdom to know who is needy and who is greedy or lazy! It is never good to be used up when there is no need of it. But I found the majority of people asked for help only when it was truly needed- but I feel I must caution you to be aware that some people can abuse your friendship if you don’t set boundaries and use wisdom.

Putting this all to paper makes me realize just how many things we can do from home to show charity and kindness to others. I am sure you can think of more. But it is these things that I believe make up that part of home keeping that are fulfilling for me. After my house is clean- then I can joyfully branch out into that part of life some call ‘ministry’, others call helping, or friendship or mentoring. Whatever it is called, it is possible to be kind and charitable from your home. Not only does it help your neighbor, but it helps you feel totally fulfilled in your calling as a wife and mother. What better way of serving Christ than to serve others in His Name? I give God the glory for bringing these people into my life, and for allowing me to pass on a little of what I have gleaned of life along the way. May the LORD richly bless you in your homes and bring opportunities for acts of charity and kindness to you. Joyfully serving Him, Glenys

“She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness.” Proverbs 31:26

In Praise Of Dorcas

Dorcas rose whilst it was still very dark
Her lamps brightly shining like the sun.
With grace she labored tirelessly
Until her house was done.

Then satisfied that all therein was well
She stretched her hand to the poor,
In acts of kindness and charity
Whilst keeping watch of all.

With compassion for the poor widows
She sewed tunics and robes and such,
Showing the virtues of a godly woman
With acts of charity and love.

No gossiping or idleness she indulged in
To waste away her precious time,
She sewed those garments skillfully
Keeping the widows’ needs in mind.

So wonderful was this woman’s kindnesses,
At her untimely death she was so sadly mourned,
That God used His servant Peter to raise her up
And to those she loved, she was returned.

Based on Acts 9:36-43

© Glenys Robyn Hicks 2005

The first time I came across post-natal depression was when my daughter had just given birth to her first child. She was elated with her baby but about a week later she had crying fits that came for no apparent reason. At first we put them down to baby blues. But then came irrational thoughts and feelings. She believed her husband didn’t love her anymore. Feeling ugly, she was sure her husband was having an affair. She believed her mother-in-law didn’t like her and was trying to overtake her baby. None of which was true.

One night when the baby was about 5 weeks old, we were called to her home by her frantic husband- she had packed all hers and the baby’s clothes in the car and was demanding the car keys. We raced to her home and were met by a daughter we had never seen before. Red-faced, unkempt and crying loudly. Fortunately her husband had the foresight to hide the car keys as she was in no fit state to drive anywhere. She tried to take the baby out of her crib to take her away, but we stood in front of her so she could not get her. I tried to reason with her but she just kept screaming that she had had enough- her husband didn’t love her or the baby- she was fat and he was certainly seeing someone else. It was heart-breaking to see him in tears too pleading with her to calm down and declaring his love for her.

Eventually she ran out of voice and strength and collapsed in my arms quite spent. I stroked her hair and her husband came and took her in his arms and comforted her. He was able at last to reason with her and she agreed to see a doctor the next day. We took the car keys with us at his request. Satisfied that the immediate danger was over, we returned home. The next day, my daughter and her husband went to see a doctor who diagnosed post-natal depression. For about 2 months my daughter took anti-depressants and became the loving calm girl we had always known. It was frightening to see what hormones can sometimes do to a woman.

We were a little apprehensive when she gave birth to her second child. In fact the post-natal depression manifested itself in panic-attacks the first few hours after she gave birth. I notified the midwives about my daughter’s agitation and previous depressions and they sent a doctor to see her. She was put onto medication immediately and was much more relaxed and happy with motherhood. The medications were only needed for about 2 months. I was so glad that I had noticed the signs sooner this time.

I would say to all new mothers or grandmothers that if a depression goes beyond the blue that most of us experience in the first few days after childbirth, a doctor should be consulted. Hormones play a major part in promoting and maintaining pregnancy and lactation, but can sometimes also cause major depression. This can lead to disastrous results if left unattended. If my daughter ever has another child, I will be alert to any mood swings signaling post-natal depression. It should never be underestimated and should be treated promptly when discovered.

I thank God for medication and a sensible son-in-law. Sometimes we mothers need a little help in getting well when our hormones make our depression soar way beyond blue.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

My sister has just returned from an extended trip to Bangladesh. She tells of appalling poverty and all its attendant problems- lack of adequate safe drinking water, beggars on the streets, lepers and ill people simply lying down where they fall in the street, waiting to die, as they can not afford to be treated by a doctor. Yet she tells me, the people she got to know have a joy and exuberance for life that is infectious. She was often a guest at their homes- homes they were immensely proud of, yet by our standards, were not even fit to be a chicken coup. Just bits of corrugated iron standing against a building wall or a rickety hut on stilts and built on the edge of a sewerage infected river.Now I certainly wouldn’t want to have to live like that. But then I wasn’t born in a third-world country. I have choices that can make my life more enjoyable. But what if I didn’t? What would I be like if I lost all my possessions? Do I cling tightly to my possessions to the point that they have become my source of happiness and well-being? I am sure I would miss my possessions- but losing them wouldn’t put me in such a tail-spin that I couldn’t recover my sense of well-being and joy of life. Many people cling so closely to the myriad of possessions they have and get so involved in accumulating more and maintaining it that it does become their sense of identity and joy. Life is more than possessions.

I believe that God calls us to be good stewards of our finances, home and possessions. But if ever we find that our happiness and fulfillment comes from them, then we are in danger of becoming idolatrous. I am sure we can think of many people whose whole life is wrapped up in their home, clothing, cars and so on. Their whole life’s purpose is to accumulate more and maintain it to the exclusion of all else. Including God. They have not realized that our identity is in who we are in Christ, not who we are in designer clothes, fast cars and huge houses. If we exclude all else then we are in danger of losing ourselves and the joy of living with just what we need. Because materialism and accumulating possessions grows into greed and discontentment. We never have enough.

The people of Bangladesh have nothing, but have learnt through necessity that true happiness is not found in possessions. They have channeled their energies into building a strong network of support in family and friends. For the little they do have, they are grateful and happy. Would we be as grateful if we had little worldly possessions? I am sure most of us wouldn’t be.

As lovely as all our labor saving devices, leisure toys, our beautiful clothing and palatial homes are (I say palatial because even the smallest apartment would be a palace to impoverished Bangladeshi people), we must guard against making them our primary source of happiness and identity. World events recently have shown how quickly we can have these things snatched from us. If we have clutched these things too tightly to ourselves, and have placed our happiness in materialism’s hands and not God’s, then we are in for a very rough ride if something deprives us of them.

Saint Paul has said that he has learnt to be happy in plenty and in lack. It is a very profound statement. The question we should ask ourselves is: have we? And if we honestly find that we can’t be happy in lack, then we should do some honest soul searching! Happiness should not be wrapped up in our abundance of things, but firstly in our salvation and then in our network of family and friends. It is not wrong to have possessions in abundance. But it is wrong to place one’s self-esteem, identity and happiness in its pursuit. Can we still sing a song of praise to God amidst lack or loss of our worldly possessions? It is a question worth asking ourselves: and it’s one only we can answer. May you find that you can answer truthfully and say that material things are not your only source of happiness and be able to declare as Saint Paul:

“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need” Philippians 4:11-12
© Glenys Robyn Hicks