Category: Wives

Vocabulary Mondays: surreptitiously

Lilly's Wedding Quilt2Recently, I purchased a new Amish love story by Kelly Long.  She’s a new author for me.  But I needed something to read and enjoy during moments of downtime.  And the title Lilly’s Wedding Quilt intrigued me.  So it was plucked off the shelf and placed into my basket with great anticipation for a romantic adventure.  But my limited vocabulary has made it hard for me to enjoy the book.  As I reflect upon my frustrations in having to stop reading to look for the meanings of words I probably will never use I find my behavior childish.  Honesty, I feel my juvenile outlook during reading this book keeps me stagnant in building my vocabulary.  So to keep me interested in reading what seems to be a great novel I have decided to use the words I do not know on Vocabulary Mondays.

Word:  surreptitiously

Part of Speech:  adjective

Meaning from Dictionary.com:

  1. obtained, done, made, etc., by stealth; secret or unauthorized; clandestine: a surreptitious glance.  
  2. acting in a stealthy way.
  3. obtained by subreption; subreptitious.

Word usage in “Lilly’s Wedding Quilt”:  “She blinked her eyes, licking surreptitiously at a splat of rain that dripped past her mouth, then spoke the first thing that came to her mind.”

The Prayers of Black Women: Lord Help Me Make It Safely to Shore

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.  –Corrie Ten Boom
Artist: Henry Lee Battle
Artist: Henry Lee Battle

Lord, I am worried.  And I am [sigh] not alone.  I need for you to minister to my lowly spirit and those that feel the same as I do.  Lord, we need to hear from you.  Make your Holy presence known in giving us signs that everything is going to be alright.  Lord, I’m not sure of the challenges my brothers and sisters in Christ are facing this morning but my challenges for today are:  I have no money to meet the demands of my responsibilities and financial obligations.  And adding to my list of worries last night the stove decided to join the refrigerator and go on the blink.  And my efforts to secure financial stability and generational legacy seem fruitless.  The feeling of defeat is hovering over my head as a continual reminder I am failing as a daughter, sister, mother, wife, and entrepreneur.

Please, Lord, keep the defeatist attitude away.  Please help me and those that feel like me stay positive in the midst of life’s storms.   Become our lighthouse and guide us safely to harbor oh Lord.  Amen

Your Loving Daughter,
Annette

The Prayer’s of Black Women: Overcoming Infidelity

So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate. ~Matthew 19:6

Artist: Henry Lee Battle
Artist: Henry Lee Battle

Whisper your heavenly love to the wounded soul oh Lord.  Heal broken hearts with your divine touch.

For again someone feels they have fallen short of your glory by not guarding their heart.  Lord replace their sorrow with joy.  Because in all sincerity they thought they were doing what you expected of them as spouses; and as a result of truly trusting their loved ones their hearts were broken by infidelity.

Their spouses silence, without complaint, lead them to believe all was well with the their lives as a couple and as a family.  But as infidelity deeds are and were being uncovered the illusion of perfect relationships and family units are being destroyed.

Lord, please help the victims of infidelity in this delicate moment; as you spiritually work on their companions moral values by cutting away relationship deceptions and replacing spiritual corruption with Fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Strengthen these victims Lord with your words, presence and unconditional love.  Give them the ability to forgive quickly.  As you sustain their marriage with the bonds of holy commitment.  So that both will continue nurturing a lasting matrimony.  Lord quiet inner turmoil of shame, anger, deception, hopelessness, selfishness, disappointment, lack of trust, and the feelings of loss by replacing each emotion with love and understanding.  Amen

Your Loving Daughter ~Annette

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