Practical encouragement based on the biblical principles of Titus 2 and Proverbs 31 for today's woman
Mentoring Moments for Christian Women
Soul Food
Soul Food
A Reason to be Thankful
Molly Evert
Thanksgiving in our house always held some special traditions. Grandma's scalloped corn and mom's cranberry relish absolutely had to be on the table! Every year mom would pass around a basket of Indian corn, cryptically telling everyone to "take as many pieces as you think you need." Once the basket had made its way around, everyone was instructed to share what they were thankful for...one blessing for each piece of corn in their hands. I was caught by surprise the first time we did this, with several pieces of corn in my hand. That didn’t happen again! The next year I took a single kernel of corn, and gave a generic answer. “I’m thankful for my family.”
What if the assignment had been to share what you wanted for Christmas, one item for each piece of corn? I probably would have dumped the whole basket in my hand, leaving nothing for the next person! We find it easy to tell the Lord—and each other—about all the things we want, but sometimes it’s hard to remember to come back and say, “Thank you”.
Jesus experienced this when he healed the ten lepers. We read in Luke 17 that ten men cried out to Him in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” But when Jesus healed them, only one came back, praising God and thanking Jesus.
We are all spiritual lepers. We deserve to be cast out of God’s presence. This season, let us be like the one who came back. Let us remember to give thanks to the One who “rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins,” Colossians 1: 12-14
Hope In Our Lives
Lori Lauth
I recently came across a quote by Florence Littauer, "of all things beyond
salvation, people are most desperate for hope." As I meditated on this quote, God
began showing me some things that are crucial for all of us to understand as
we walk in these hard times.
Faith, hope, and trust are like three separate strands that are braided
together to form a cord. The Bible says that a cord of three strands is not
quickly broken (Ecc. 4:12 NIV). If hope is lost, then faith and trust crash. Too
often our hope is easily lost and we give up.
Because of the economy, tensions in the Middle East, natural disasters, and
family dynamics in our homes, some have a low supply of hope right now. What
does the Word say about hope, fear, and courage? The Bible is filled
with scripture on these various topics.
Psalm 31:24 says, "Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart,
all ye that hope in the Lord." (KJV)
Strong's Concordance defines the Hebrew word for strength as to be alert,
physically (on foot) or mentally (in courage). The Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Commentary states, "the Hebrew,'hope', expresses intent waiting for Him, waiting
trust, and expectation. Man's part, "be of good courage," and God's part, "He
shall strengthen your heart," here meet in unison."
What does this mean? You do your part and God will do His. You be of good
courage both physically and mentally. You can do this by guarding your mind and
filling it with God's promises. We need to wait with trust, not the kind you
see, feel, or touch. We wait in expectation. This is hard to do in a culture
that has instant everything.
There are things we can do to help us wait and trust in expectation such as
focus more on prayer, memorize His promises and praise, worship, and sing to
Him. As you do your part, God will do His part. He will strengthen you. He will
make you alert both physically and mentally. He will give you courage.
Recall Deuteronomy 7:22: "The Lord your God will drive out those nations
before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at
once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. (NIV) As you embark on this
journey of hope, it will increase little by little. Don't give up if you pray
more, or study the Word, and don't feel hopeful right away. Be blessed, know
that you are not alone. You are loved by an awesome God. Hold on to that
hope.
You are Never Alone by Barlow Girls
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The Multiple
Personality Mom
As
women, we often experience a wide range of emotions on any given day. To
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can seem like multiple personalities. You may meet some of your "other
selves" in this encouraging, allegorical podcast.The Multiple Personality Mom.
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Watch Beth Moore on Life Today teach 'The God of All Comfort' Part 1
~~~~~~~~~~~~
God of All Comfort Part 2
Fear Not
Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are
mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass
through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the
fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the
LORD you God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Isaiah 41:1-3 NIV
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give
you the kingdom. Luke 12:32-33 NIV
For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to
you, Do not fear; I will help you. Isaiah 41:13 NIV
But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear
of harm. Proverbs 1:33-2:1 NIV
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of
a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.
Proverbs 3:25-26 NIV
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but
you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, "Abba, Father." Romans
8:15-16 NIV
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the
world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27
NIV
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find
refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the
terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in
the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. Psalm 91:4-6
So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What
can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:6 NIV
Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will
not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more
the reproach of your widowhood. Isaiah 54:4 NIV
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Tithe? My Husband is an Unbeliever!
Lori Lauth
Growing up, I was not taught to tithe. It was years later as an adult watching John Hagee speak on TV regarding tithing that it began to sink in. The information was powerful and new to me. I tried to ignore it, but everywhere I turned (TV, radio, internet broadcasts) someone was teaching about tithing. I had no idea why tithing was important. My unwillingness to understand tithing early in my walk with Christ was partly because my husband is an unbeliever. The thought of having a conversation with him to say we need to give 10% of our money to the church was scary.
I prayed and fasted for a few days. I could not take it any longer, so I told the Lord He needed to speak through me. I sat down and explained to my husband that we were not handling money properly. I shared how we could not out give God (Mal. 3:10). We discussed how we had so much to be thankful for that the least we could do is honor Him by tithing. He agreed. That was it. God did it. Not me, not my words.
God blessed us mightily. We saw a difference in his paychecks immediately. In fact, within 8 to 9 months our income doubled. At this point, my husband had the idea of having a financial advisor help us to invest money. You see, my husband did not see God's hand, he saw the work of his own hand. What happened next is the outcome of having ungodly advisors give counsel. The first the thing the advisor did was comment on our tithing. He put fear into my husband's head.
As a result, my husband told me to there would be no more tithing. Instead, he told me to give a certain dollar amount. I was crushed. I cried and prayed, telling the Lord I did not know what to do. During that time we were receiving phone calls from a number I did not recognize. I ignored the calls. One day I answered the phone out of frustration only to realize it was from God. Actually, it was from a woman at a Christian TV network calling to thank us for a recent donation. She asked if there was anything she could pray with me about.
The flood-gate broke. Between sobs, I explained the situation. I did not want to live outside of God's will and blessing for our lives. The lady listened patiently then explained her situation was almost exactly the same. She shared with me how the Lord told her to tithe on her grocery money. I felt that was a doable thing for me too.
I took this to the Lord and asked Him what He wanted me to do. He showed me that from any money that came into my hand I was to take 20% out. He instructed me to give 10% as my tithe and set the other 10% aside until He told me to give it away. What did He mean by money that comes into my hand? Any checks that are made out to me, grocery money, or money my husband gives me to run errands. Sometimes the Lord will prompt me to give $20 from the saved money. Other times the money accumlates for weeks or months and then the Lord will bless someone with a few hundred dollars.
A word of encouragement to anyone who is in a similar situation, remember that it is very hard for someone to understand God's principles without the Holy Spirit. Be patient, follow God's lead--His Spirit will show you the way.
