Gwendolyn Harmon's Blog: Learning Ladyhood, page 24

Holiness to the Lord

In the book of Exodus, God gave instructions, not just for the building of the tabernacle, but for every aspect of worship that was to be performed there.

In those days, the work of the Lord was done by the Priests and Levites, whose lives were to be lived in service to God, and God had instructions and commands for even the smallest details of their lives. The very clothes they wore during their time of service in the tabernacle were designed by God, even down to the pattern and color of the em...

A Unique Calling

Ever have one of those Sundays where it seems like everything that is preached or taught seems to hit you with the same truth over and over?

A few weeks ago, I had one of those days. Throughout the preaching in the morning and evening services, the songs we sang, and the music I listened to as I traveled to church and back, it all seemed to have the same theme.

It wasn’t as if the sermons were on the same topic, or the hymns chosen to dovetail with it, but it seemed like everything I heard or re...

A Purpose for the Pain

Whenever one of my friends tells me she has gone into labor, I’m never sure whether to express congratulations or sympathy. I mean, I’m happy that her long wait is over and the baby is finally coming, but I know that labor means an intense season of pain.

One friend had a particularly good perspective on this. She said that it was ok to be happy for her, because the pain meant that her baby was coming.

Her pain was for a purpose, and while she focused on the purpose, the pain became easier to be...

Right Beside Me

Elisha had served Elijah faithfully. He went everywhere, did anything asked of him, and was really a model of a dutiful and devoted servant. When the time came for Elijah to leave the earth, Elisha appears to have remained calm and composed right up until the end.

2 Kings 2 tells how, throughout the day, Elisha had people come to him, asking if he knew that God would take his master away that day. Each time, he answers simply, “yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.”

Elijah told his faithful servant...

First Things First

Recently, I’ve been thinking through how I can make the most of my time during summer break. Matthew 6 is a passage that comes to mind often as I make decisions about my schedule.

The whole chapter flows together in such a way that it’s difficult to address one verse without the greater context of the rest of the chapter.

A Quick Overview

In verses 1-18, Jesus instructs us not to seek God for the sake of appearances’ sake. In other words, we are to focus our worship on God, not on the people arou...

Stepping Forward, Scaling Back

Summer has begun, and as I begin to settle into a new routine, a few things are changing here at Learning Ladyhood:

Blog

As I sought the Lord’s will about how He wanted me to spend this summer, there were two things that became obvious. The first is that in order to focus more on the long-term writing projects (i.e. books) I really ought to scale back down to just one post per week.

At first, I couldn’t quite fathom writing just one post each week, because I’ve been posting two each week for over ...

Facing the Impossible

The last day of school is always bittersweet. There is the sadness of goodbyes, the swelling rush of emotion as I realize that next year, I won’t get to look out into the sweet, smiling, familiar faces of these students who have become so dear. But there is also a sense of pride as I think about how far each student has come, mingled with the joy of seeing another year of teaching come to a successful close.

With the rush of last-minute details, awards chapel, and early dismissal, the finality o...

Walk With Me

“O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.”

Isaiah 2:5

Summer break is just about to begin, and amidst the whirl of the schoolyear’s “last things” and the anticipation of summer plans, this verse has been beckoning my heart.

I came across it a few weeks ago as I began reading through Isaiah in my time with God. It stood out to me, but at first I wasn’t sure why. It has been on my heart ever since, and I finally figured out the reason the Holy Spirit has been pointing ...

When Love Makes Enemies

We tend to expect that showing love to others will automatically make them love, or at least appreciate us in return.

But just like the nation of Israel returned God’s loving care with rebellion and spite, we may find from time to time that our love –even when expressed in a Christlike manner– has made an enemy where we expected to find a friend.

The apostle Paul experienced this. In his second letter to the church in Corinth, he wrote,

“And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you, though t...

Herein is Love

“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (1 John 3:16)

The love of God is glorious. It is indescribable and incomprehensible to our finite, sin-infested hearts, but how thankful I am that God’s love is not imperceptible.

The story of the Bible is the story of God’s love made manifest: perceptible, or tangible.

When Adam and Eve made that first choice to disobey God’s command, plunging the human race into sin,...