Marilyn Wilson - Holy Habits: A Womans Guide to Intentional Living

I write this in the wee hours of the morning. My family is still tucked in their beds, sleeping soundly. Ive poured a cup of coffee, lit the candles, and spent some time in prayer. I knelt at the same couch, in the same place where Mimi and I have prayed countless times over the years. We have seen God move the hearts of kings and paupers for His kingdom as weve knelt before Him. God has answered powerfully. Weve seen babies born, entire ministries come forth, land provided, and sickness healed. The list of answers is unending. We have watched the mystery of the change that took place in our own lives as a result of spending so much time with our God.

Our friendship began over thirteen years ago. Mimi had come to Ecuador with her husband, Cal, and their three children to serve as missionaries. My husband, Glen, and I had the key to the house where they were to live for the first six months. It didnt take long for Mimi and me to realize that we were, in the words of Anne of Green Gables, kindred spirits. Sometimes when we talked about the way we felt, the other would nod her head in astonishment. (We are both quite unique and, apart from members of our families, we had never met anybody with such similar reactions!)

We soon learned that we had other things in common. Mimi is a third-generation missionary. She grew up in Africa where her parents and grandparents served for many years. I am also a third generation missionary; I was born in Taiwan where my parents were missionaries and my grandparents before them served God in China. We both love being wives and mothers. We use our homes as a platform for ministry. We each have a tremendous capacity for enjoyment and a good laugh, and we love to have our lives spiced up by wonderful adventures, and even mishaps.

But what drew us to each other, above all else, was our passion for ministry and our deep desire to know God. Mimi taught a large group of English-speaking women and started four different projects to help meet the needs of the many handicapped children in Ecuador. I was involved in a large program of teaching the Scriptures to upper-class Spanish-speaking women. We began to pray together on a weekly basis, and as we met, we spoon fed one another. Mimi and I shared with each other the riches that God was teaching us as we prepared to minister to the women in our worlds. The truths we learned during those hours took firm hold within our hearts.

Mimi had already coauthored Once-A-Month Cooking when she came to Ecuador. Ill never forget the day we began to talk about the project that resulted in this book, Holy Habits. Mimi had struggled with dyslexia all her life, but she never let it stop her. In fact, what was thought of as a weakness became a strength. She learned to rely on others to help her in that area. One day, I offered to be her teammate in writing the truths found in the following pages.

Mimi and I are two of the most nontechnical people alive, but we are grateful for the technology that has allowed us to communicate and to write this book together even though Mimi and her husband have returned to Colorado. Weve learned to send e-mails and talk via the Internet. Most of what weve accomplished has been done long-distance, but despite the miles, together we have met at the throne of our Lord, seeking His direction for what you hold in your hands.

Much of what you will read came out of our times of feeding one another. In order to avoid confusion, I have written everything in Mimis voice, weaving both of our experiences and lessons from God into the fabric of the text. It gives me great pleasure to give my friend voice in this way.

Flowing throughout these pages is the living, moving, loving character of God, who calls each one of us to Himself. Section one explores who God is and how we can develop holy habits that will help us look on the character of God, fall in love with Him, and keep Him as our focus. Section two explores how, as we learn to look to God, He transforms us deep in the secret part of our souls by His grace, and gives us the power to do those things that are unnatural to us. As we make God our focus, He transforms our minds, our hearts, and our souls; He changes us from the inside out.