Posted by: Bethany
In Philippians 4:11 Paul says:
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
This week’s Carnival of Beauty is on the Beauty of Contentment. This subject must have hit a nerve with many women as I recieved fifteen submissions. Check out the following posts to see what women around the blogosphere have to say on the subject of contentment.
Update: Added a post from Spunky Homeschool.
Times of financial struggle tend to try not only the patience of those in the family, but also their souls. How do we find contentment while longing for better times? And during all the hard times, can God be proud to call us His child? Kathy of Through it All writes to answer these questions with her post Trying My Soul.
How do we reconcile our longings and disappointments with Christian contentment? Kim at Mother-Lode maintains that it is neither a candide-like insistance that we live “in the best of all possible worlds” nor a Buddhist denial that anything matters. She suggests that There Is More.
Being in a spiritual wasteland and not having time for your own family is a thing of the past. Read Iris’ entry at Eph2810 and what it means to her to be content in her entry titled Following His Lead.
While sorting through files, Blair, from Scribblings by Blair, takes a journey to her past and is faced with the reality of her discontentment. She discovers how richly God has blessed her and learns that she should “Just be thankful for the good things that you’ve got”.
Through difficult circumstances, Michele, from Chasing Contentment found that she’s searching not for happiness but rather for contentment. She knows that in Christ, there is ultimate contentment. Check out Living in Contentment…
Amanda who is following an unknown path longs to be content. In her journey to find it, she has found the irony of contentment something to blog about.
In The Bogey-Man, Allison, at The Autumn Rain, reflects on some of the recent changes that
have invaded her life - and the contentment she’s found in the midst of them.
Carol says She is Not Content - not on this side of Heaven. And so it was with many people in the Bible. Yet, she learns the secret of contentment as She Lives in Christ.
A missionary hurried across a paved street in a Korean city and caught a scene out of the corner of his eye that broke his heart. Find out what he witnessed in Carmen’s entry, The Cost of a Fishing Boat at Full Contact Christ-Centric Living.
Heather at Mom 2 Mom Connection writes about Pressing through the Wall this week. Check this post out if you are needing encouragement to press on…
In the middle of stressful, heart-wrenching life changes, Christie from Crickl’s
Nest is Seeking Contentment. She finds that contentment is already there as she steps into line with God’s plan - accepting His will, even though the stress remains.
God used Patricia, of Pollywog Creek Porch, and her life-long unhappiness with her thick and frizzy hair to teach her the beauty of being content with the way God made her as well as the circumstances He has allowed her to experience. Check out her post Trying to Straighten Out the Kinks?
Donna of Devotionals by Donna explains that “contentment comes from establishing biblical priorities – and materialism is not even on the list!” Check out her post The Beauty of Contentment.
In the midst of Sunday’s 10 hour power outage and a blinding blizzard, Ann V., of Holy Experience, finds herself Content in the flurry of flakes.
Spunky from Spunky Homeschool finds contentment in her call to homeschool. “Contentment isn’t just being cheerful. It is a heart at peace knowing that what your are doing right now is exactly what you should be doing over any other activity. Meaning, given a host of choices this is what you would choose.” Read her post titled The A.R.T. of Homeschooling.
Our culture encourages discontentment as we race for the “American Dream”. At A Picturesque Life, Bethany counters this idea and takes a look at the Christian’s call to contentment.
So…the Carnival of Beauty. Hope you enjoyed! 
I did!
The schedule for future carnival topics and hostesses is as follows:
February 15 - Comfort Food (include a favorite recipe and story) - Heather at Mom 2 Mom Connection
February 22 - Friendship - Michele at Chasing Contentment
March 1 - The Bible - Marla at her blog that she is currently renaming (again!)
March 8 - Order - Blair at Scribblings by Blair
March 15 - My Life - Sallie at Two Talent Living
March 22 - God’s Sovereignty - Iris at eph2810
March 29 - Flowers - OPEN
April 5 - Technology - OPEN
April 12 - Aging Gracefully - Carol at She Lives
February 7th, 2006 at 8:08 pm
Bethany, thanks for hosting the Carnival! God bless you. - Donna
February 7th, 2006 at 9:39 pm
Thank you Bethany for hosting!
Christie
February 8th, 2006 at 5:30 am
[...] Are you a Scrabble fan? My blog is a 30-pointer, but I had to spell out my “2″ to make it work. I got this Scrabble Score generator from Bethany, who is hosting today’s Carnival of Beauty. The subject of “Contentment” brought out a fascinating array of ideas — from dealing with frizzy hair to overcoming a fettish with the Home Shopping Network. So click on over to Bethany’s “Picturesque Life” blog for the Carnival. [...]
February 8th, 2006 at 6:00 am
Great job, Bethany! And what a blessing to read! Thank you for hosting.
February 8th, 2006 at 7:06 am
I missed the deadline but did get my Contentment post up this morning. Glad to see I’m not the only one with “contentment issues”.
February 8th, 2006 at 7:09 am
Secret of Contentment…
I missed the deadline for the Carnival of Beauty this week as Ive been keeping busy with other things. However, when I noticed that the topic was Contentment I decided to look up some verses quickly to see what the Bible had to say. Heres what I fou…
February 8th, 2006 at 10:24 am
Hey thanks for getting it in. My email must be acting up. A few people didn’t get things I sent yesterday.
Thanks also for putting this all together.
Blessings
Spunky
February 8th, 2006 at 12:02 pm
Wow - what a list! Thanks for hosting Bethany - can’t wait to move through all of these!
February 15th, 2006 at 8:02 pm
[...] I can’t believe that I forgot to put up the carnival from last week! Mommy-brain in full swing! Bethany so graciously hosted the Beauty of Contentment. Please take some time to check out some (or all!) of these wonderful posts! « Carnival of Beauty - February 15,2006 No Comments » [...]