Purposeful Womanhood

 By Carrie Moyer Nine months ago I sighed realizing that my third trimester would span the hottest months of summer. But I was grateful and excited for the new life given to our family. My appreciation for good air conditioning would increase. Yet the past three months have borne with them a heavy sorrow, more oppressive than summer heat. I would have been pulling out baby clothes, washing them, packing my hospital bag, buying newborn diapers, counting down the days to July 11, but the Lord had other plans. After carrying our precious baby for fourteen weeks, I had to rest in the sovereignty of my Lord. I had to trust anew that His love alone will delight and sustain me. I had to know that His plan is perfect and His purposes good and His judgments right. His Spirit had to nurture in me the resolve to declare, "Though my desires be not fulfilled, Though my dreams be not completed, Though nothing I hoped for came to be, 'yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy...

 By Daphi sha I Syiem A heritage always dates back to the things of the past handed down to us; living in it is carrying the legacy. A heritage can take the form of land, possessions, status, reputation, family line, race, culture and traditions, monuments, and geographical spaces. Such heritage is a gift from God to celebrate uniqueness. All of these are designed by God, and it’s our gift from God. There is a story which supports an eternal meaning of a heritage.  There was a woman who was a first convert, who followed and chose Christ over her earthly inheritance, who was persecuted.  They seized her birthright. Through her testimony I can vividly draw out the picture of what eternal heritage looks like.  Her bold steps impacted many and had a ripple effect that continued to pass till the fifth generation.  The family witnessed the hand of God leading them throughout until this time. Her story gave me a perspective to be rich towards God -- the eternal heri...

 By Glenda Little Isaiah 6:8 (NIV) Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here I am, send me!" Every week when I cut our 2 acre property I enjoy singing while cutting. That way the neighbors can't hear me when I sing out of tune. I also take time to talk to God. Now don't worry, I pray with my eyes open, just in case a tree decides to jump out in front of me! I have had some "not paying attention" moments on the mower. Today, as I sat there riding along, I decided to reflect on how God has moved in my life since the last time I mowed. This past week I learned to be available, ready, and willing. When God puts things in front of you that He wants you to respond to, you must be prepared! Being "available" is asking God to use you wherever needed, "ready" is reading your Bible daily and praying, and "willing" is saying Lord, here am I, send me. My husband,...

 By Cherie Greshko Labeled By Others My life has been one of many adventures. I have realized that there are many labels one could have tagged on me as a youngster and beyond. Labels like ADHD, bipolar, dyslexic, autistic, socially backwards, and a few others too painful to mention. Labeled By God But how does God “label” me?  He calls me beloved, chosen, accepted, adopted, redeemed, forgiven! (see Ephesians 1). I am a Child of the King and I have royal blood flowing through my veins! In Isaiah 43:1 He says, “...Fear not, for I have redeemed thee; I have called thee by thy name: thou art mine.” In Isaiah 49:16 He reminds us "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; ..." In John 10:27-30 Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish; neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them ...

 By Jessica Edwards "PACKED WITH PEANUTS, SNICKERS REALLY SATISFIES"... that's what it tells me on the package anyway. If it's true, then why do I want another one, and another, and another? Could it be that my Snickers bar really doesn't satisfy all that much?  Have you ever been dissatisfied in a spiritual sense, filling up on "spiritual Snickers" but never fully satisfied? I have.  Some of those spiritual Snickers have been a longing to see success in ministry, looking for a more "fulfilling" ministry, or just a different ministry or church. I've longed for the Snickers of affirmation/validation, friendships/relationships, and successful homeschooling and parenting. None of these things are sinful in and of themselves (just like eating a Snickers bar isn't sinful), but if these are the things I am seeking for satisfaction, I will find myself dissatisfied and waiting to take another bite from another Snickers. In Psalm 17:15, David sa...

 By Daphi sha I Syiem Creativity is a word where an individual can creatively imagine things in numerous ways. We are created in the image of God, and we can see and learn about God's creation. He is a great artist, painting and using all kinds of hues. He is the Creator of all creation. Ephesians 2:10 (NASB)- "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."      God's Abundant Joy Today, I want to share how my life was as I struggled for years to find the true abundance of God’s joy. Having had Christian counseling training and a bit of a psychology background, I am keen to understand and examine myself about my purpose in life. In psychology, there is a particular field called ‘Developmental Psychology’ in which we learn about a life-span beginning from conception till death. Throughout half of my life-span, I should say much of it was not pleasant. There were times ...

 By Allison Flowers I have an autoimmune disease and that can greatly affect my energy and strength. One particular day this weakness just seemed to get the best of me. After a painful, restless night, I knew the moment my eyes opened the following morning that I was going to physically struggle for the rest of the day. But I was determined to accomplish one thing and that was my one load of laundry. I slowly made my way up the stairs carrying my dirty clothes. I was already exhausted! As I’m starting my load of laundry, the sweet lady I’m living with walks up to check on me. She explains to me that there is a youth event scheduled for later that day, and they were going to work on repainting the church. And upon hearing that announcement I burst into tears. Now that may seem a rather silly thing to cry about, but that's what I did. I cried because my body hurt and it seemed so unfair. I cried because I wanted to serve at the church and help paint but was unable to physically do so...