The Weaver: A Journey of God's Calling

By Penelope Phillips

The threads of our existence are unique patterns we weave as a legacy on our journeys through life. It’s our story. In The Weaver, author Penelope Phillips tells the story of her journey from the perspective of the experiences God provided for her, a weaving of his creativity.

Her experiences speak to women who have chosen—or feel called to—the career of homemaking and being a wife and a mother. It’s a lifestyle that can be filled with adventure if one appreciates and accepts the challenges offered. Phillips communicates that God has an amazing plan for those who want to know him and take the challenge to be an influence in this world.

From a Christian wife’s view, The Weaver shares the spiritual keys to unlocking the challenges, the fulfillment, the contentment, and the joys of this life of adventure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664277786

Penelope Phillips

Penelope Phillips gave her life to Christ in 1972 and has spent hundreds of hours in study, research, and classes in Christian education. She’s worked for several Christian ministries and traveled to other countries as a prayer warrior, praying at boarders and in cities. Phillips owned a company that provided donor appreciation for nonprofits, is a certified reflexologist, has taught home school students, and worked with teenagers. She is a wife, grandmother, and great grandmother.

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Copyright © 2022 Penelope Phillips.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture marked (NIV) taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked (NASB) taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7777-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7779-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7778-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022916783

WestBow Press rev. date: 09/29/2022

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1 There Is No Such Person as an Oops

Chapter 2 We Are Loved

Chapter 3 The Calling

Chapter 4 The Mystery of Marriage

Chapter 5 The Users’ Guide

Chapter 6 Response to the Word

Chapter 7 How to Raise Parents

Chapter 8 When People Disappoint You

Chapter 9 Qualified

Chapter 10 Gifts from God

Chapter 11 The Beginning

Chapter 12 The Rest of the Story

Chapter 13 A New Journey

Chapter 14 New Threads

Chapter 15 A Life of Adventure

Discussion Guide

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to Richard, my husband, for encouraging and helping me to write my journey and to my family and friends, who taught me about relationships.

I am eternally grateful to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for giving me wonderful parents who taught me so much about LOVE.

INTRODUCTION

The threads of our existence are unique patterns we are weaving as a legacy on our journeys through life. As I continue through the years, I remember many of my family and friends who have passed on and how they felt about their own lives. I now understand their feelings and emotions because I am now walking in their shoes. I am a happy individual with an abundance of good friends, family, and experiences, some of which were very hard and some of which were very good. But all those experiences made me the person I am today. As with all of us, it is a journey.

In this life, God has a plan for us. It is a tapestry of the journey. Long ago, in my readings, I came across a statement someone made about tapestries and quilts. The fronts of the works are beautifully creative, but the backs, which no one can see, can be confusing with crisscrossing threads, knots, and mistakes. When we belong to Christ, He will transform the work and make it beautiful. Ultimately, we are a work in progress until the day we arrive at our destination, by pure grace, into the place He has prepared for us.

One of my friends always said, Everybody’s journey is their own. We can learn from our experiences, celebrate our common experiences, or stay on a merry-go-round in the midst of hurtful experiences. There are many hurtful things I have chosen not to share in this book because as another friend asked me, Would the sharing of those experiences hurt others or benefit you?

I am writing the story of my particular journey from the experiences God provided for me. Each one of us is unique. Many of our experiences may be common, but they have been processed differently, according to our perceptions. God has a plan for each one of us who are willing to let Him have our lives. For me, it was a hard journey because I had so many wonderful dreams that I thought would never happen.

My experiences are for women who have chosen—or feel called to—the career of homemaking. It is a lifestyle that can be filled with adventure if one appreciates and accepts the challenges offered. The job description is a prodigious one. Contrary to the worldview that a homemaker is a nobody who sits home all day and eats bon-bons, she can be one of the most important people involved in world affairs. She can be a positive and encouraging influence in the lives of many.

There are spiritual keys to unlocking the challenges, the fulfillment, the contentment, and the joys of this life of adventure. I wanted to find the keys from a Christian wife’s perspective.

This quest led me to my journey. My name is Penelope, and this is my story.

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CHAPTER 1

There Is No Such Person as an Oops

We will always love each other. We won’t be like all those other couples. Our love will always be there. We will be committed to each other forever. Those were the words we spoke to each other before we were married. We said those words in all sincerity, believing them wholeheartedly as we started our marriage, but after several years, things started to change. We noticed we were not as excited about each other. We developed different interests. It became harder to talk to each other. So what happened? Did we each change? Did we still love each other? Where did the magic go?

It was a dark and stormy night. The wind was in a rage of fury, the windows rattled, and the walls and floors creaked. Jack watched television, and I was buried in another book. I was on an adventure. I was totally gone to everyone and everything around me. I had escaped reality and was in my own exciting world. Then I heard my husband and children calling for me.

What? I said. I reluctantly put down my book with a great amount of grumbling and impatience. Again, I had to take care of everyone’s needs.

I was becoming tired of everyone around me, and I wished they would all grow up. I was not being a very nice wife or mom at the moment. And the worst part was I didn’t care. At least at that particular moment, I didn’t care. It was as if I always had to take care of everyone else’s needs. Can’t I get some help here? As awful as that sounds, they were real feelings—and I didn’t care up until the time I went to bed.

While lying in bed and trying to go to sleep, my day would flash before me, and then I did care. I cared so much that I couldn’t sleep. I would pray to God, asking for help to be a better person. All of my guilt would surface. I wanted so much to be more patient and loving. Self-pity would set in, and I would imagine all sorts of sad scenarios involving how much I would be missed if I were not here. Fear and denial would follow. I have given everything up for this man and these children, I would think. Each morning, I would try to change my reactions. This lasted until the first upsetting thing occurred. I felt like I was living in a soap opera, and I hated it.

Then I found some books that would help me become a better person. I even read a verse in the Bible about how a woman should be. I said, Are You kidding, God? I could never be that woman. It’s easy for You to say because You’re God, but me? Who do You think I am? I’m just a little person down here on earth, and even when I try, I can’t be that woman. I want to be so much, but is she for real?

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good not harm, all the days of her life. (Proverbs 31:10-12 NIV)

This book is about finding that woman in each of us. Is it possible? Yes, it is possible—but only because there is someone who wants to make it possible, the Lord God, our Creator. With God, all things are possible, and only through Him. I know this because I asked that question and have watched how God has done things with me and changed me so much. It overwhelms me to see all that He has done and is still doing!

It has been quite an adventure! It has been like living in a mystery or an adventure story. I needed to find out who I was and where I had come from. What was my life to become? Who was this person I had married? I could have titled this book Get Real or even better Get Smart, Girl. I became Penelope, PI, and my quest was to find that woman.

I am writing this to my daughters, my daughter-in-law, and my granddaughters in the hope that they can avoid the many mistakes I have made. Perhaps the only way we can learn is by experience. In that case, they will know they are not alone.

I would like to share some nuggets of wisdom I learned through my many years of marriage. Some of them I learned from personal experiences, and some I learned from dear friends whom God put in my path. I was so thankful that I was able to remember their wisdom when Jack and I were going through hard times.

To those who are married or about to get married, I must be honest and say it does take time and real commitment to each other to make a marriage work. None of us is perfect—even though a lot of young lovers think that of each other. Time and life experiences will try to change that commitment vow, but you can work at it and keep the commitment while you and your spouse mature. Yup, it is true that you are never really grown up until you commit to another person and are actually living out that commitment as best as you are able to. Grow up, Peter Pan, I would think.

Once I learned who I was, who God was, and what my purpose in life was (my calling), I asked God for the grace to change—and then life became an adventure!

So, Who Am I?

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful. I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth; your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. (Psalms 139:13-16 NIV)

It is so important to know who we are. The way we act and respond to situations and people is directly related to who we are. If we believe we are created by God, we must know that He has created something wonderful and good. He knew us before the foundations of the earth, and He formed us in our mother’s wombs.

The problem for most of us is we don’t believe that we are of much value. Even though I was brought up in a home where children were greatly loved and valued, I still felt like a nobody. I was extremely skinny, and the kids at school called me Olive Oil. Every girl around me was gorgeous and actually had a bosom (I was a 30 AAA); naturally, I felt rather like blending into the wall.

When Jack asked me for a date, I couldn’t believe it. I had been a tomboy, and I was happy in that role. I never wanted to dress like a girl. That way, I wouldn’t disappoint anyone. I didn’t look the part even though my parents tried to make me look like one.

When I asked my mother if I could go on a date with Jack, she almost fell off of her chair and dropped her newspaper, saying, Yes! Tell him yes! You see, she must have had visions of having me around when I was thirty, perhaps still crawling through culverts and hanging out of trees. At all the Greek social events, Mom had to explain that the skinny kid with the short hair was really a girl. Yes, yes, we will get her a padded bra—that would really help was their collective comment. Even though I was the oldest of three, as a teenager, I still had low self-esteem about my looks.

During this time in my life, I was the most sought-after babysitter and was becoming independently wealthy. When I babysat, I actually played with the children, I never talked on the phone, and I did not date. I gave the children all my attention. So, I was really raking in the dough.

OK, so let’s get back to my one and only offer for a date. I told Jack I could go on a date with him. We were set for Friday night. We were going to a dance with another couple. Now, for a moment, imagine the excitement of my parents. My dad took me for a long walk the next evening. He wanted to explain the facts of life and what to say if I had to use the little girls’ room. He said that I should excuse myself by saying that I needed to powder my nose. I could see this talk was not going to do any good. I never used powder, and I certainly was not going to put the stuff on my nose. As we walked, this little father-daughter talk was giving him a wonderful feeling of accomplishment in parenting. I listened and asked some questions, and we had a good time together.

Mother took me to the department store (there were no malls in those days)