Be Real About Your Life Often, But First...

So many days I want to post something on this blog, but I stop because it is SUPER tempting to vent and God helps me see this blog is NOT the place for it. I mean, seriously, I began this blog with the specific intent of talking about how women need to be real with each other and themselves. It is such a serious topic, yet it doesn't mean that I think women should get real about everything in their lives to anyone and everyone.  There is discernment and discretion involved in the getting real stuff that I'm speaking to. And there should be grace.

As a missionary and a minister's wife, I have a bunch of things that I think about each day, including a bunch of complaints, disagreements, negative opinions and re-actions which should not be shared with anyone....except on occasion my husband and at all times--my Savior Jesus.  It's a lonely life, sometimes, being a missionary (not trying to get a pity party started, just stating fact). Because we desire to honor our LORD as missionaries, we can't go "dishing" out information we hear. We have to keep many of our thoughts to ourselves and our God. Well, I guess we always can go around sharing things that should be kept private, but we may not have the position of ministry leader for much longer.....at least one that people will willingly follow......and we probably won't have very many friends either. ha! Gossip isn't something a God-fearing person needs to have in the daily routine; not because a human said so, but because God says so.

I find, as a woman who is extraverted--a verbal thinker, I feel it is almost a necessity to get my feelings/thoughts/opinions/stories out verbally just so that they do not get bottled up inside to a point of causing mental stress of great proportion. haha!  And I find, in my job/ministry, keeping things confidential isn't really the issue that's stressful.  For me the issue tends to be more about the reality of not "fitting in" with the crowd--the world I live in--and they are just saying whatever...whenever. It is such a temptation to be one in the crowd....to go with the flow of things....to blend in to the chaos of this world. Somedays I get so weary of living the life of the fish swimming the opposite direction of the current and all the other "fishes". Swimming the other direction, against a strong current is never easy and it takes persistence and strength to keep up the pace to fight the current. Sometimes, I'm not so sure I have the strength or gumption to fight the current of the rest of the world's rhythm of life.

Again, I say, this past paragraph is not written to get some sort of pity from you. I am just being real.  Being real is allowing others to see that you are like them, that you bleed, you have heart-ache, you hunger and thirst, you crave, you hope, you sometimes despair, that you criticize, that you repent, that you surrender, that you bind yourself up, that you fear, that you rejoice, that you love and dream like everyone else.  Being real with people who don't believe in the God is just as powerful if not more.
Being real with someone who doesn't believe in Christ as Savior yet is powerful in a God-powerful kind of way...most effectively when we let others see (as we share our stories and share just how we are feeling) that we are regular people, but we are forgiven and "made new" people. I may act selfishly sometimes, but I know the great God whose love brings me back into a humble attitude before His Majesty.

Life is hard. God knows that. He knows it is hard for us because we humans who believe in Jesus battle a sin nature until His Son Jesus returns to restore the world to it's perfect state. We humans who don't believe in Jesus' salvation yet, have a hard life even more because God's Spirit doesn't live within the mind and heart to fill the emptiness that is there.

Let's get real, being women of truth at all times, but being women of truth with discernment, discretion, compassion, grace, hope and love.

Building the Team--A Prayer Request

Dear friends,

As you might already know, my husband and I are both full-time ministers to the college students at West Chester University of Pennsylvania.  We are devoted to sharing the love of God and the message of Jesus Christ to the students of West Chester, PA and beyond.  It has been a privilege to encourage, support, motivate, challenge and share the Good News of Christ to college students these past eight years---first at Penn State University and for the past 5 years at West Chester University. 

What you might not know is that our income is completely from financial support team members; whether that be one-time, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly or annual financial gifts.  The team members consists of individuals, organizations and churches...and even bible study groups.  There is no set rate of expected monetary gift.  Each team member has decided what the LORD wants them to give.  All financial gifts go through the Mission Service Corps office at North American Mission Board and every penny is then sent to us.  We live trusting in our Lord to provide for our every need through the givings of our friends, family and even strangers.  Our Lord has always met our needs and we believe He will continue to do so as we choose to serve Him wherever we are.

This summer, we are looking to share the opportunity to many more people---to share how they can become financial and prayer support team members of our ministry to the students and staff of West Chester University of PA.  These past two years, we have not been fully funded and are living on about 60% of the budget needed to live in this part of the country.  Our goal is to get our support level to the 100% mark by the end of this summer. If you are curious how much more we would need to be able to live in this area of West Chester, PA, it will be about $1300 more a month. 

My husband Brodie and I would like to ask you to pray and ask God if He is calling you to partner with us and join our support team.  God knows who He wants on our team and we don't so we just open this opportunity up to anyone the Lord leads us to.  I have been feeling a tug on my heart for several months now to write this post, but have been nervous to bring this up on my blog. However, here I am writing this to you and I will leave the results in God's care....in His leading.  Please pray about this and let me know via e-mail if you are even interested.

Some folks will ask us what is a common amount given by one individual to our ministry on a monthly basis.  The common amount per family is $50/ month.  However, there are some who give more and some who give less----and that amount is and will always be completely up to them and God.  ALL of the giving we receive is a great blessing and helps us to continue ministering in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

We have a new way for people to join our team, it is a direct website address to our account at North American Mission Board.  

You may enter that website directly from this link: http://bit.ly/M1Evd3

A simple e-mail to me is also just fine.  I will be able to give you the information you need.

My e-mail address is:  bjhooray@yahoo.com

Thank you so much for reading this and praying about joining our ministry's financial support team!!  And as always, we are greatly appreciative of folks to commit to being on our prayer support team. Please let us know that desire as well via e-mail.

Grateful,

Becky Smith

Associate director of CrossSeekers Campus Ministry   www.crossseekerswcu.com

Let Them See You LIVE

What are we waiting for?  Time to pass? A better job to come along?  "I Do"s to be shared at our wedding? Our kids to grow up and move out? More understanding of God to spontaneously pop into our minds?

Are we waiting for a better time to really live?  Are we thinking that when we get our lives in "order", then we'll get serious about knowing the God who created us?  Are we thinking that being a spouse or girlfriend is enough stress right now that we can't add on another level of getting serious with our spiritual lives simultaneously? Sometimes I get caught in these thoughts. However, I know that the time to really live the life God has given me is now....same with you.

Dear friends, women of truth, let us let the people in our lives see us LIVE. Let them see us live for a higher purpose than ourselves and our own agenda.  Let them see us live for truth in the public places and in the comforts of home.  Let them see us live fully for the One who gives us a life to live out loud in the first place.  Let the people in our world SEE us live......not just exist.  Let each breath we take be for the purpose of honoring the Great God who loves us unconditionally and sacrificially. Let us live.....have a heart beat for being women of peace in our communities.  Let us live....pursuing knowledge as a way to bless others around us and live for God's great purpose more effectively.  Let us live....show kindness and understanding and deep God-powered love to our spouses and our children.

This is a huge exhortation to me and you in honor of my dear friend/sister in Christ---Karen M. who is battling cancer and who is (from what I've been told) is close to meeting our LORD face to face. All of her family and friends are waiting to see what God's will is going to be for her in this--her battle with cancer. We know God has even brought people back from the grave. We know nothing is impossible for God. We just wait and continue in gratitude to our God for allowing us to know Karen and be blessed by her sweet spirit, wise words and loving service to so many lives.

Karen has always inspired me (like so many other dear women I have the privilege to know--including my fantastic mother) to LIVE life and not just exist. Karen lives life to the full.  Encouraging everyone around her; strengthening them with her God-driven counsel and hope-filled words and giving of her talents and gifts selflessly.  I pray everyday that God wouldn't take her to heaven so soon. I am selfish and I want her to stay here on this earth and continue to glorify God with her life here; to share His amazing love with many more people till a very old age.  But God's will is so much higher than our human will.

So, I pray for you and me, dear friends, that we let our light shine!  If you feel your light is burnt out.....go get the Word of God--read it and start the fire again.  Let's go!  Let's really LIVE!

COLOSSIANS 1:3-18 (The Message----a paraphrase version)
 ^3-5Our prayers for you are always spilling over into thanksgivings. We can't quit thanking God our Father and Jesus our Messiah for you! We keep getting reports on your steady faith in Christ, our Jesus, and the love you continuously extend to all Christians. The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope.

 ^5-8The Message is as true among you today as when you first heard it. It doesn't diminish or weaken over time. It's the same all over the world. The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you. From the very first day you heard and recognized the truth of what God is doing, you've been hungry for more. It's as vigorous in you now as when you learned it from our friend and close associate Epaphras. He is one reliable worker for Christ! I could always depend on him. He's the one who told us how thoroughly love had been worked into your lives by the Spirit.

 ^9-12Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven't stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you'll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.

 ^13-14God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He's set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating.

 ^15-18We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.

Blood Relatives: Sisters By The Blood

Ephesians 1:7

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,according to the riches of his grace,

Colossians 1:20

English Standard Version (ESV)

²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven,making peace by the blood of his cross.

1 John 1:7

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Revelation 1:5

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁵ and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.   To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood

Hebrews 9:22

English Standard Version (ESV)

²² Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
_____________________________________________

AWKWARD THOUGHTS by Me

As I begin my post, if you are a man reading my blog today, you need to know, as if it wasn't already made clear in my blog's web address, that this post is for women.  I am speaking to women since I am one.  This post is about a deep thought I have been having for many years now and it needs to be expressed, not because it is going to be fun or entertaining. It is just a reality women face that I believe gets overlooked or avoided in the Christian community. That being said, I will begin.

As an artist of some sort, I have wondered about why certain emotions are depicted in specific colors or color combinations. The colors of the rainbow are used in art to calm, to inspire, to awaken, evoke, and to clarify/cleanse. And I have been thinking of something since we had our holiday of St. Valentine's Day this year here in the United States. I have been thinking about why love, affection, intimacy, brotherly/sisterly love, kindness, God's love for mankind and things of the love category are depicted, remembered, characterized in the color red. The color red historically represents the heart. The heart can refer to, as you already know, the actual organ that pumps blood or the emotional/spiritual heart that expresses passion, love or sacrifice.  This is all what I call a "no duh!" thought.  But then my thoughts go further with the color red.

Love is represented as red because of a heart's job of pumping blood.....which is red. This is a thing we know. HA! Hang in there with me, I'm getting to my point. Then my mind wanders further. God's love is depicted in the sending of His only Son Jesus Christ to die on a cross, shedding His blood to save the people of the world from their sins.....to reconcile the people to Himself when they come to belief in His Son as the only way to God.  And here's the part I'm getting to...

As women, we experience a monthly encounter with blood.  Somehow we make it through that time of the month without thinking too deeply on what's happening.  However, regardless of how inappropriate this topic might seem to be heading, I hope you will track with me for a few minutes.

Can it be that God in His deep and abiding love for us allows us to experience this uncomfortable, unclean, awkward, humbling time of the month just to remind us of His deep love for us-----the sending His only Son Jesus to die on a cross (a gruesome death), shedding his blood.....to die in our place in order to give us new life?

Many of us, if not all of us women on this planet, do not enjoy/look forward to the time of the month when we have "our cycle".  It's no fun, ever.  Can it be that God allows us to experience it so that we can draw closer to Jesus Christ, embracing the truth of the story that has forever changed history and has forever changed us (those who have believed Jesus Christ is the Son of God, as Savior of the world)?  Can it be that we experience this whole "having a cycle" business because God knows we will be VERY equipped to better grasp the idea of Christ's blood washing us clean of our sins?

Must I go further?  Do you realize God deeply loves you??  Do you and I understand that even in that time of the month that is SO painful, uncomfortable, humbling,......let's just say it----gross, that God is trying to show his daughters that His Son Jesus paid for all of our debts by the shedding of His own blood on a cross?  Do you and I understand that while we often ask during that time of the month, "Why God??  Why do you have us experience this awfulness each month??", God is looking down on us with SO MUCH LOVE longing for us to get the good message---that even His perfect and holy Son Jesus asked His Father why as He hung on a cross?  Do you and I see God's love for us during that yucky time of the month because we are reminded of the power of God raising Christ from the dead, seating the Lord Jesus at His right hand in heaven? During that time, do you and I have a fresh understanding that the truth of Christ wins, that Christ is the victor---in all battles and wars because of his death on the cross and because of His resurrection from the dead?  Maybe God is giving us women a deep privilege through this monthly aggravation called a period so that we will better understand the shedding of Christ's blood and it's cleansing power SO AS TO GO AND SHARE THIS AMAZING MESSAGE OF GRACE AND REDEMPTION WITH THOSE IN OUR WORLD.

Ultimately, what keeps coming back to my mind when I think about why we women have to experience that monthly process is: God's love for us.  He loves us so much that He wants to monthly (and also daily through the reading of His Word) remind us the power of Christ's sacrifice on the cross.

So, I must stop typing. I feel as if I have said this TOO many different ways.  But I hope you are alerted to a new perspective on something that has been "plaguing" the women of this earth since the very first woman.  It's seems that the Good News of Christ was found even in the first Eve's monthly cycle and she didn't even know it. haha!

AM I CRAZY?!  TALK TO ME ABOUT THIS IF YOU THINK I AM!

Blessings to you all. Thanks for reading this.

Even To Your Imagination's Deepest Depths?

Dear women of truth, I know from inquisition and conversation that I am not the only woman who gets distracted from the here-and-now by my imagination or fantasy. I would like to take a moment or two to address my perspective of this part of our lives as women.

Very obviously, men have the ability to imagine, dream and fantasize, however, I believe women are given a heaping helping of this ability that is sometimes so powerful it clouds our reality.  Maybe I think this because God gave me a great ability to imagine and day-dream. I'm not bragging, I'm just saying. I find my mind wonders into imaginary places and situations many times throughout each day  It has been a strength AND a weakness throughout my life.  We as women of truth need to assess this particular level of our thoughts and break it down so as to know what should stay and what should go.

Women of truth have control on their minds' wanderings and explorations and expeditions.  Women of truth know when they have taken a wrong and dangerous turn in their imaginations and or thinking.  Women of truth know Who can give guidance out of the wrong way we might find ourselves sometimes. Women of truth still need a Savior.....still need holy counsel from Christ on a daily and momentary basis. Women of truth still need to acknowledge a great need of a captian for their vessel in their journey through life even as they are responsible for the turns and choices of routes in life's journeys. Women of truth are to hold the gift of their imagination and the gift of fantasy in a high regard. 

Imagination is a great way for our LORD to speak clearly to us. It is a great way to bring refreshment and rest to our weary minds.  However, without our LORD JESUS being captian of our vessel, and without the acknowledgement of His HOLY presence in our little lives as believers in Him as the Savior, our imaginations are powerful enough to drag us into dark places and lead us into places of torment, despair, confusion, evil and un-godly decisions.  An un-godly decision is any decision that is not fully honoring the Christ who altogether gave us minds to be able to make any notion. Women of truth should be women who can see potential in situations and hope in circumstances because of the LORD's power that resides in each one who is a believer.  Women of truth, see truth everywhere they go and they see the potential for truth to come alive in others. 

Questions for me and you. Are you living like this?  Are you asking Christ to help you learn more about His gradueur and majesty through your imagination?  Are you asking Christ to help you see your friends through His lense of holiness and steadfast sacrificial love?  Are you asking Christ each day to help you conquer your selfish desires of getting things done your way and to help you be victorious in looking for ways to praise Christ in your life's decision and actions?   

Our great God has given us imagination and creativity to help us see Him while we stay in this world of dark thinking and dark living.  Our imagination should be offered up to Christ as an offering.  It is not something we should keep for ourselves.  When we believe in Christ, we go "all in".  To honor the KING of kings, we should lay this great gift of the imagination at the majestic and holy feet of Christ Jesus our King. 

Ephesians 1:15-23
^"15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, ¹⁶ I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. ¹⁷ I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit^[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, ¹⁹ and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength ²⁰ he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹ far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²² And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way."

Ephesians 2:1-

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh^[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions —it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Dear friends, can you see these words come alive in your minds?  It's a history of what has happened in our hearts.  It's a news report of what is happening in our hearts and lives today. It is GOOD news! 

WOMEN OF TRUTH, I encourage you to... Think in love-- for Christ's praise, Respond in love-- for Christ's glory to be seen in you, Encourage and not discourage because of the love Christ has shown you, Bless because Christ blesses you with the rights to be a member of his holy family, Admonish in love--- for Christ's fame and renown.  And I will resolve to do this too.  BLESSINGS!

This Getting Real Stuff Is For You

When you read my blog about getting real with yourself, with God and with those around you, do you actually think about it beyond the time that you read my post?  Do you find yourself being more open to others about the life you have?  I'm not talking about "venting your spleen" like Tommy Nelson would say, but I'm talking about really listening to your friends hurts, stories, celebrations and finding ways to relate to them because you are consistantly viewing the world around you through the lense of what is true....Truth.  Are you getting better at reaching out to others and relating to them and their circumstances because you are learning how to be REAL with yourself and the Almighty God (and you're not learning how because of me and my blog, but because of your fellowship with the Living God through reading the Bible and prayer)?  I might not be making sense, but I'm going to hope you are following me.

Women who call ourselves Christian--We are to be women who live to a higher standard than the rest of the women on this planet.  We are to be women of love, women of peace, women of hope, women of encouragement/exhortation, women of strength, women of wisdom, women of gentleness, women of creativity, women of excellence.....to be like Christ lived and treated others.  If we go through life ignoring who we are made to be, we can't help others around us very well.  If we pretend to be strong when we are still very weak because we aren't trusting in God, the fake strength we've "mustered" up will wither much quicker than if we come to God as a weak vessel and ask Him to make us strong in His might and not our own.  Then, that strong woman we wanted or needed to be will be there for those we intended it for, but instead of a human and broken version of strength, we will have an on-going supply of God's strength.

One thing I struggle with recently is being negative. It's funny, though, because so many times I don't see it as a negative attitude. I see it as.....well, this IS the way things ARE.  So I am going to view THIS situation just the way IT really is.  haha!  My husband and friends continue to lovingly remind me if I view the situation as a disaster, then that is what it is. But if I view it differently, that it has potential to be restored and made better, then there is a great chance that something good will come of the situation.  For some reason, recently, even that way of thinking just seems dishonest to me. HAHAHA!  For instance, If the glass is empty, THAT GLASS IS EMPTY.  HAHA!  It's strange because I used to be the poster child for the Pollyanna attitude.  I call it the Pollyanna attitude because of the classic movie Pollyanna starring Hayley Mills.  In the story, this little girl Pollyanna was always looking on the bright side of everything.  People in her community were fascinated by her positivity AND at the same time very annoyed by it.  They couldn't see good in things like she did.  Well, when I was a young girl, I saw the world very much the same way.  I loved the movie Pollyanna because I, too, felt like I was sent to this earth to help others see the good in things....the good in people, situations, circumstances and troubles.  Lately, that has faded and I am sad that it isn't present as much as it was in the past. However, it has been very interesting seeing the world through a different lense. 

For some reason, I think my cautiousness to being the Miss Positivity everyday, all the time comes from well....life. life happens.  Life gets crazy....crazy busy. Being a mom is stressful and time consuming. It is very easy to be distracted and put somewhere down on the list of my priorities my faith in God, my devotion to knowing His Word more deeply, my trust in His guidance/wisdom and His provision.  And funny enough, being a mom should tell me right there that I should have my faith in God, my devotion to knowing His Word more deeply and my trust in His guidance/wisdom and His provision on the VERY TOP OF MY LIST OF THINGS TO DO EACH DAY.  It is already abundantly clear to me and my husband....and probably even my two year old son that without a supernatural Help, I cannot do this whole parenting thing very well AT ALL.  haha!   So why does the most amazing, powerful, life-bringing thing---Person get bumped off the "Most Important Person I Should Be Getting to Know Right Now" list? 

There are many answers to that question.  The one that I know right off the bat is: our loving God and King Jesus has an arch enemy--Satan and that Enemy will stop at nothing to make sure God's people find something better to do with their day and their time than spend it in prayer or in study of God's Truth.  The enemy knows God is all-powerful and that He changes lives.....that He makes all things new.  So, the enemy doesn't want us to tap into that.  God's Word warns us many times about being aware of the enemy's schemes and avoiding them by being acquainted with the Holy God and His Word. We are warned throughout God's Word that the enemy's only goal is to steal, kill and destroy all those made by the Almighty God. The enemy wants to mess up all that God has made.  And for those of us who have trusted in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, making us children of the Most High God, the enemy hates us even more. So, simple distractions that keep me from God's Holy Word.....that keep me from really digging into the Truth, from spending quality time praying and listening to God and reading His Word; those simple distractions can be the work of the enemy to stop me from being all that God made me to be in Christ Jesus.

SO, in conclusion, we are loved by the Most High God.  If we know Him as our Heavenly Father and believe Jesus Christ is the way to be in fellowship with the Father, we are able to see the good in anything. We are able to do so simply because God has taken our selfish, sinful selfs and redeemed us....cleansed us from guilt and shame... and given us citizenship in the family of God. He gives us the power to see the good in anything.  We must ask for His view of every situation and not look at the world through our human eyes. When we are real with ourselves about WHO it is who loves us, WHO it is who died for us on a cross and rose from the grave victorious over death, WHO it is who saved us from eternal damnation and gave us eternal life, WHO it is who brings life to all things that are dead, sets captives free, makes the blind see, heals the brokenhearted, restores hope to the crushed in spirit. THEN we can be women who can daily look for the good in the things around us KNOWING God makes all things new in His time.  We can live in the reality of our circumstances whether they be great or grim or just ho-hum but know throughout that length of time that God is our hope, our Rock, our Mighty Fortress, our Deliverer, our King, our Guide, our Healer, and our Savior and so much more.

Please pray for me to dig deeper into knowing God and His Holy Word in the midst of me learning what it is to be a good and godly parent.  Please pray that I don't let my son's schedule become so important that I block out my time with God and His Word.  I need the Lord. I desire to be a woman of Truth even in the days of playing peek-a-boo and hide and go seek with my toddler son.  We need the Lord.  I am praying for all of you as well, that you would all change your world simply because you chose to let God change you from the inside out.

Get real, woman!  Shine like the stars.  Be bold to know God more. And I choose to do the same.
Blessings!

p.s.- This blog has been viewed more than 1800 times since August of 2011.  That's pretty neat!  There have been pageviews from Russia, Latvia, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, England, Germany, Turkey, Uganda and the United States of America. If you would like to share your story with me why you read my blog each month, i'd be happy to post it as a blog post so as to inspire others.  E-mail it to me at: bjhooray@yahoo.com     Be blessed.  Jesus loves you!

SPRING IS HERE!

WOMEN GET REAL!


You may start calling me Mrs. Blunt or Mrs. In-Your-Face after this blog post, but that's okay.  I'm cool with that.  :-)


It's spring, dear friends. 


Everything we choose to do, no matter the change in seasons WILL impact all those in our circle of influence; family, friends, bosses, co-workers and even perfect strangers.  What we do, where we hang out, what we say, what we think, what we wear will be a powerful way of influencing those around us; either for good or for our downfall.


We are women who have great influence over our world (the little corner of the world that is our home, our family, our church, our workplace, our beauty salon, our kid's school, our favorite fast food place, our favorite coffee shop, our favorite recreational facility).  We have been given a great gift of influence by God to be used for his glory, his renown and his fame; NOT for ours. 


If you don't think as a woman you have the gift of influence, just take a minute and think about it.  You will see many times in your life where you were able to (whether for good or for selfish gain) encourage/manipulate a person or a group of people to do what you would like them to do.  I mean, look at the first woman to be created. Eve. She was the queen of influence.....and when that trait got twisted....it showed itself as seduction as some famous female authors have described her skills.  Eve was able to influence her husband to eat the forbidden fruit from the forbidden tree.  Obviously it wasn't ALL Eve's fault because Adam was later cursed as well. But it is interesting that Adam still went for the eating of the fruit even when he KNEW way before she knew that the fruit WAS forbidden by the very God he so deeply loved and served with his every breath. Her twisted influence or seduction was the catalyst in the fall of mankind. It was a mutual mistake (of Adam and Eve), but Eve's great ability to influence Adam all the days before that dark day was, I believe, a huge contributor to their later banishment from the garden of Eden...from utopia.  Be aware of God's precious gifts to you.  God's Word, THE Truth, cautions us many times to be aware and guard them properly from the Enemy and the Enemy's schemes.


Speaking of influence...


Lately, some guy friends we (my husband and I) know from church have been casually stating that they aren't really ready for this time of year.  They would say in one way or another that because they desire to please God, the spring-time makes it VERY difficult to keep their eyes (and thus their minds) pure when there are so many women (mostly young women but sometimes middle aged women, too) walking around our town wearing very provocative....seductive....revealing clothing. 


These friends of ours talk about having to look at the sidewalk ALOT whenever they are walking around town. I know it's true because my husband has to do it, too (by his own choice, by the way).  We live in downtown West Chester, PA and it is easier to walk to accomplish errands than to drive and attempt to find good parking.  Too many times, the women in our town are wearing clothes that don't cover their bodies well thus giving great temptation to the men of God in our town.  Daisy duke shorts (for all you folks from other countries reading this blog, it's the kind of shorts that barely cover a lady's rear-end), really short skirts that easily float up from a wind gust and really low tops that show all kinds of cleavage----all of these clothing types, I wish would get gone!!  Seriously.  If you're offended by this statement, then you need to check that attitude at the foot of the cross of Jesus. 


We, as women of God should know that this way of dressing.....well, thinking and living.....isn't pleasing to our Lord and King.  And if you are trapped into thinking that guys should grow up, get over it and learn to have the strength to not be tempted, then maybe you need another angle on this picture...this concept. Women can't expect men to be the men of integrity they want them to be when the women aren't willing to live lives before others that are of good integrity as well.  


Please don't be surprised and upset when your man or the men in your family or at your job get more than a little distracted and more grumpy than usual during the spring and summer months; especially the men who want to honor God with their eyes, their minds and their bodies.  It's like constantly putting something before a person all the while knowing that someone is denied the use of it or denied enjoyment of it's gifts.  That makes ANYONE grumpy and more than a little distracted.  These men are going to have a rough time in the next few months because so many women aren't willing to do the same; to be pure in their minds to the extent that they let their purity show to be true in their way of dressing/behaving.  


We must help our brothers in Christ this season of spring.  We must live lives of good integrity. We must be women of good repute.  We must be women of modesty (not of ugliness, but just of restraint in our dress code) and be women of holiness before the living God.  GOD IS WORTHY of all honor and praise. GOD IS HOLY.  God is worthy of worship.....even worship in our manner of dressing/speaking/behaving before others.  If we want to help our husbands, our pastors, our male co-workers, our male family members and our brothers in Christ in a powerful and blessed way, it would be to promote holiness in our own manner of dress, our manner of thinking, our manner of responding to our world around us.  However, we also should promote holiness and good integrity in the lives of our sisters in Christ.   WE SHOULD SET AN EXAMPLE IN OUR LIVING that honors Christ. Lead out in this honorable, God-fearing way of living and be blessed.  


Women of truth dress to impress the GOD of truth.  
Women of truth behave in a manner that honors the Most High God.  
Women of truth desire to build up the men in their circle of influence and not ensnare them by their own poor choices and behaviors.  
Women of the Truth know that God will help them to know how to dress, how to behave and how to bless those around them in an upright and set apart way; and they know this by reading God's Word, trusting in God's Holy Spirit to guide them each day in word and deed.


On a side note:  Ladies who are married, I strongly encourage you to please use this time of the year to not keep yourself from blessing your husband with the gifts that you keep concealed from world's eyes.  If this season is so difficult for men to stay focused and if it is such a challenge for them to keep their eyes from lusting, we wives need to be available to our husbands.  I say WIVES because if you're not a wife, your precious "treasures" should not be seen or known/touched by your boyfriend or fiance until the "I Do" has been spoken by both of you before God and man. I didn't say it, God said it. Have a problem with it? Go read the Scriptures.  BE PURE.  But us wives, we need to not be fussy, grumpy and keeping ourselves from blessing our husbands with the "gifts" God has given us to share with our spouse.  We need to bless our husbands for their choice to be men of good integrity and of God-honoring thinking and living.  We should bless our husbands even when they struggle; showing forgiveness and mercy and understanding that their battle is a difficult one to win.  We should honor their pursuit to stay pure.


GET REAL, WOMEN OF TRUTH!  SERIOUSLY!  GET REAL! I'm speaking to myself here, too. Live a life worthy of the calling you have been given by the Most High God. Honor Christ by honoring the men in your circle of influence.  Wives: Honor Christ by being available to bless your husband with those treasures in which you conceal from the rest of the world's eyes.  Honor Christ by living life being aware that your choices (even little ones of dressing with a purpose of honoring God) can greatly affect those around you.

Colossians 1:9-12

 ⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. ¹⁰ And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

Colossians 3:1-17

3  If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ²  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

⁵  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ⁶ On account of these the wrath of God is coming. ⁷ In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. ⁸ But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. ⁹  Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. ¹¹ Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

¹²  Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, ¹³ bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Get Real, Women of truth.  Shine like the stars.