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.  

Psalm 107-- This Is So Encouraging and Insightful.

Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So

107 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
² Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
    whom he has redeemed from trouble
³ and gathered in from the lands,
    from the east and from the west,
    from the north and from the south.

⁴ Some wandered in desert wastes,
    finding no way to a city to dwell in;
⁵ hungry and thirsty,
    their soul fainted within them.
⁶ Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
⁷ He led them by a straight way
    till they reached a city to dwell in.
⁸ Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
⁹ For he satisfies the longing soul,
     and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

¹⁰ Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    prisoners in affliction and in irons,
¹¹ for they had rebelled against the words of God,
    and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
¹² So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
    they fell down, with none to help.
¹³ Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
    and burst their bonds apart.
¹⁵ Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
¹⁶ For he shatters the doors of bronze
    and cuts in two the bars of iron.

¹⁷ Some were fools through their sinful ways,
    and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
¹⁸ they loathed any kind of food,
    and they drew near to the gates of death.
¹⁹ Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
²⁰ He sent out his word and healed them,
    and delivered them from their destruction.
²¹ Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
²² And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
    and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!

²³ Some went down to the sea in ships,
    doing business on the great waters;
²⁴ they saw the deeds of the Lord,
    his wondrous works in the deep.
²⁵ For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
    which lifted up the waves of the sea.
²⁶ They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
    their courage melted away in their evil plight;
²⁷ they reeled and staggered like drunken men
    and were at their wits' end.
²⁸ Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
²⁹ He made the storm be still,
    and the waves of the sea were hushed.
³⁰ Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
    and he brought them to their desired haven.
³¹ Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
³² Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
    and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

³³ He turns rivers into a desert,
    springs of water into thirsty ground,
³⁴ a fruitful land into a salty waste,
    because of the evil of its inhabitants.
³⁵ He turns a desert into pools of water,
     a parched land into springs of water.
³⁶ And there he lets the hungry dwell,
    and they establish a city to live in;
³⁷ they sow fields and plant vineyards
    and get a fruitful yield.
³⁸ By his blessing they multiply greatly,
    and he does not let their livestock diminish.

³⁹ When they are diminished and brought low
    through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
⁴⁰ he pours contempt on princes
    and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
⁴¹ but he raises up the needy out of affliction
    and makes their families like flocks.
⁴² The upright see it and are glad,
    and all wickedness shuts its mouth.

⁴³ Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
    let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Women Get Real: Staying Pure In A Tainted World

Queen Esther. What do you think of when you read that name? What do you think of when you read the word Purim. Do you know it's significance?  It's a special time of year.  A time to remember a majestic story, a story of the deliverance.  Purim has to do with the story of Queen Esther of the Persian Empire, the deliverance of the Jewish people from annihilation. In the Bible, there is the book of Esther that tells the whole story.  Real briefly I will say, Esther was a Jewish girl who became the queen of Persia. She is described as one who was set apart, different from the other women who were in contest to win the affections/the heart of the king.

Esther's great integrity, her purity, her honesty, her grace, her strength, her passion for honoring her God (the one true God) far above herself and her own desires is a GREAT example we need to look into more deeply on our own personal time.  And since it's getting to be that time of year when millions of people around the world take time out to remember Purim, it reminds to me to bring up a topic that relates. Staying pure in a tainted world. If you are able, take about ten minutes or less to read the story of Esther in the Old Testament of the Bible. It is a very powerful story.

Some of you might say, 'yeah, well, I'm gonna check out of reading this post. It's not something I can relate too. I'm already not pure and already tainted. What's the point, Becky?'  There is SO much of a point, dear friend.  Each day, God brings us NEW MERCIES........a second chance to be....to exist for His glory and not our own.

Lamentations 3:22-25
"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your [God's] faithfulness.
"The LORD is my portion", says my soul, 
"therefore I will hope in him."

We need to confess whatever sin keeps blocking us from living for Jesus--for God's glory and His renown, repent (turn away from sin and turn to Christ) and keep living lives that are pure, just, and set apart---it so happens that Jesus Christ is all three of those things. So, think of it as walking toward Him in surrender and worship of His supremacy, His forgiveness, His sacrifice, His unchanging character, His redeeming power.  Oh, and by the way, I am saying all this to myself, too.

Here are some thoughts I have about attitudes we women get on occasion that are counter to the lifestyle of a woman living for the fame and glory of Christ...and NONE of these thoughts are in response to anyone I know, they are in response to my own mistakes in the past and in the present and my personal tendencies for the future...I am just speaking in general terms about how our attitudes as women can get off from being honoring to Christ.

So, just because we married women are married does not mean we can "check out of" the pursuit of being sexually pure in mind and body.  Just because you single women are single doesn't mean that you can watch whatever raunchy television show/movie you want because you have no husband to see you doing it.  Just because you teenage women are teenagers doesn't mean you should "check out of" being pure in our minds because you're "allowed to dream big about what's to come" or because you're "not harming anyone with your thought life".  Just because you grand-mom women are grand-mom's doesn't mean that you should give up purity in your speech and your story telling and in your story-listening because you say you "deserve" to be whoever you want, whenever you want "after all you've been through and after all you've done for others".

Sounds harsh, but somebody's gotta "bring it". I'm not even close to being the first to "bring it". Check this out.   Romans 6  (The Message) a paraphrase version of this chapter in the Bible.  It speaks in our language.  To read it online, just 'copy and paste' this link:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%206&version=MSG

If you'd like to read it in the English Standard Version (ESV), which is an actual translation of the Greek, use this link below.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%206&version=ESV

God's Word speaks to us constantly. In so many different places in God's Word it tell us we women who love Christ Jesus as Lord need to always make Him our Lord; day in, day out.  We need to make Christ Lord inside our minds, in our speech, in our stories, in our television watching, in our magazine buying/reading, in our time with friends, in our time with our spouse, in our time alone in our rooms, in our time out for a walk/run, in our time at work, in our time in the car, in our time at the store.

 In the chapter we just read of Romans 6, God's Word tells us we are not to think that we "have arrived" at some point in our journey on this earth that we can now do whatever we want because Jesus saved us and we now have heaven to look forward to. We are not to think that believing in Jesus as Lord is our "fire insurance"....our safety from hell. We ARE to live each day joyfully celebrating being brought from darkness--slavery to sin, to life a life that is abundant--forgiven, hope-filled, a promised citizenship in heaven---being the daughters of God, the heavenly Father.

 Have you tasted the sweetness of God's grace?  When you sing Amazing Grace at church or funerals or along with your favorite country singer while their music video plays on cable, do you realize what you are singing?  Do you know the amazing-ness of God's grace?  Because we have tasted the most amazing grace and freedom by receiving Christ's forgiveness and salvation, we should know our life isn't ours to live on our own anymore. Purity should be a priority. Our mind isn't our own anymore. It is for the glory of our Risen Lord that we put things into our minds, that we read what we read, that we share/tell what we share, that we dream what we dream.  As a gift, a daily gift, to our Lord Christ....our KING, purity in mind, heart, body and soul should be priority and something to be pursued with great passion.  

Christ is worthy of all praise, even when the praise comes in the form of pure mind, a pure heart and pure actions toward others.   JESUS SAVES US and no one else can do that for us.  He saves us from the inside out.  As a way of showing gratitude, living for him and like him is a great place to start.....from the inside out.

Not Settlin'

It is interesting how I'm still learning about "not settling" for less than the best....less than God's best for me and my family.  I guess I thought I could have had that figured out by now. I'm 32 and proud of it, but I'm still having to remember daily that the Almighty One, the Only Great God loves me (and you, for that matter) to death. Read the Gospel books of the Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) if you are wondering what I mean by that. www.biblegateway.com

Throughout my life as a youth and now as an adult, I have had to focus on this topic of not settling in different ways.  At one season of my life, I was not going to settle for any grade in school less than an A.  In my friendships throughout high school and college, I didn't just go around confiding in anybody. I was careful with who I confided in and who I shared my heart with.  I didn't settle for just any "friend", but I looked (and found) friends of good character, who were trustworthy and faithful people. And in college, I was really wanting to be the best I could be in all areas of my life. I didn't want to settle for a mediocre approach to my studies, but I studied with passion. I didn't want to settle for mediocrity in my hopes of a relationship with a guy. I wanted to be the best gal I could be for THE guy that was supposed to marry me. I am SURE I did not always live out this idea of not settlin' for less than the best. However, mostly, my trust in God's guidance turned out to bless me because I ended up dating God-fearing guys whose character was in line with the kind of person I'd marry. And of the two guys I actually dated in college, the second one I married! But the topic of not settling for less than ________ isn't finished.

After marriage (or whatever it is you have just successfully finished not settling for less than), we all face more chapters of challenges; to settle or not to settle, practically on a daily basis.  haha!  Now, as a wife, I am still faced with a decision: to settle or not settle for the best that God has in store for me and my family.  Lots of options in the form of questions come to my mind.

Will I settle for a mediocre life or allow it to be extraordinary because I live for others (for God's glory) and not just for myself?  Will I settle for an existence as a typical mom, or will I rise and not settle for normalcy, but be a mother of great integrity, consistency, trustworthy-ness, creativity, and....well...frankly LIFE?  Will I settle for a knowledge of the Almighty God that anyone can get their minds filled with (just knowledge to be attained), OR will I press into knowing God, revering His majesty, listening to God's guidance through His Word and His Holy Spirit? Will I settle for a lifestyle of mediocre acts of kindness to those around me such as giving the leftovers of what good things/blessings/kindnesses I can do for others?  Will I NOT settle for less than giving the very best of my time, my resources, my attention, etc. to others; my husband, my son, my family and my friends? Will I chose to go above and beyond the norm to bless them? WELL, I have every reason to be my best, look for the best in others, give my best, wait for the best because my God has gone above and beyond everything to rescue me (all of us) from darkness, to change my eternal destiny (and God can for you too) from forever away from God's presence (hell) to forever in God's presence (heaven) by sending His Son Jesus Christ to this earth to be the only way to God the Father, to live a sinless life, to die on a cross in my place---for our sins and then to raise from the dead---conquering sin and death.

These questions continue:  Will I settle for a mediocre attitude toward marital romance and just let the television bring all the romantic ideas into our relationship? Or will I seek to be a woman of noble character and bring a kind, warm, creative and loving attitude into my marriage each day regardless of how my husband feels, acts or responds to me that day----and doing this all because I am aware of Christ's sacrificial love for me and his people?

Now, I need to look for stories in the Bible that bring to light this topic of not settling.  I want God's Word to back me up on this thought.  So, I guess that is gonna be my next post on this blog. If you want to help me find examples of people in the Bible who didn't settle for second best in some area of their life, but waited for God's ultimate best for them, please feel free to share on here in the comment section.