Leah Stirewalt

Out of Deep Waters

Chivalrous Conviction

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I SO enjoyed spending 40 consecutive days here with you recently, and I hope to do something like that again in the future. As we closed out the 40-day run last Friday, I mentioned I’d be back on Tuesday to announce last week’s giveaway winner. Drum roll please…the winner is Cindy Cain! Congrats lady! I’ll be in touch about how to get the prizes to you!

knightFrom before our very first date – when we were still chatting by phone – my (now) husband informed me that he was rather “old-school” in the chivalry department. He still believed in opening doors for ladies and would continue to do so as long as I’d let him. He wasn’t kidding.

Beginning with our very first date and continuing even now, my husband never fails to open my car door (or any other door for that matter). The only time he doesn’t get to do so is when I forget to let him. I’ll get so busy in getting to the “next thing” that I’ll hop into or out of a car so fast that it leaves his head spinning. Instantly, I know the disappointment he feels when I’ve done so, because it’s written all over his face.

I certainly don’t mean to step on his toes and not let him be the man of chivalry I know him to be…I just get busy, self-focused, and forget. Sometimes, I’ll even close the door back to let him still have the opportunity to open it for me, but that only produces a little smirk on his face, because by this point…I’ve been “caught”.

The most recent time this happened, I felt a little conviction over this whole thing…not just in the fact that I need to do better about letting my husband treat me like a lady, but I also need to do better about letting my God be my number ONE.

Figuratively speaking, how often is my Savior standing there ready to “open my door” and I jump ahead of Him? I do it each time I…

  • skip my quiet time in His word and jump ahead to something “else” on my list
  • pray so quickly that I don’t even remember what I just prayed for, because my mind is wandering to the “next thing”
  • treat one of His precious children with a lack of respect, simply because I’ve been in a hurry to accomplish my plans
  • speak before I think, often leading to words that wound rather than words that heal
  • doubt His love for me
  • question His ability to take care of ALL my needs
  • allow someone or something to replace Him as first in my life

How often do I forget Him in the busy-ness of the day? Far too many times!

As my husband continues to bestow his gentlemanly gifts of chivalry to me, I will accept them graciously and allow  those moments to refine me in the area of graciously accepting all of God’s waiting gifts for me as well!

Day 40 and Reunion Day is HERE!

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Anna Uganda
Anna and her new Ugandan friend

First off – THANK YOU so much for stopping by during this 40-day consecutive blog posting run! I made it to day 40! Woot! Now, I’m not going anywhere, but I do plan to take a couple days off, because the day I’ve been waiting nearly a month for is also here! This is the day I travel to Atlanta, GA to pick up my daughter from a month-long mission trip to Uganda!

Oh how I’ve missed her tremendously! I can’t wait to hear all her glory stories! I know that God grabbed hold of her in a BIG way, and I soooo look forward to seeing and hearing about all that she’s experienced with Him this last month. If she’s willing (and I’m almost positive she will be), I plan to have her guest post for me sometime here to share about some of her African experiences!

A couple of reminders:

  • The giveaway for this week is still active, and you have until the end of Sunday to enter. I encourage you do so and please send friends! Click HERE to access the entry form (bottom of that post). You have up to 6 possible entries! I’ll announce the winner right here next Tuesday, August 6.
  • If you’re on Facebook, I would love to have you “like” the new Out of Deep Waters Facebook page HERE if you haven’t done so already! I’m already amazed at all the new people God has directed to that page. It takes faithful blog friends like you to help get them there.
  • Months ag0, I began formulating a survey for widows to take in preparation for a book proposal that I’m working on. The survey should be ready within the next couple of weeks, and I’ll need YOUR help to get the word out. So, please be thinking of widows in your sphere of influence that might be willing to take a quick survey!

I pray you have a FABULOUS Jesus-filled weekend. Please know how much I am blessed by you!