August 23, 2010 at 4:00 am · Filed under Faith, Prayer
Guide me
Teach me
Let me listen to you
Drive me deeper into
your Word, your Love
Keep me safe
Surround me
Bring me grace
I lay my worries at
your feet
Take my stress away
Speak to me
Draw me near
Prepare my heart
Encourage me as I face
difficult decisions
May my heart be ready to
face the enemy
I will trust in you
I resolve to serve you better
I will speak with boldness
I will not compromise on
my beliefs
I found this prayer in my journal. I wrote it on August 23, 2005 – Five years to the day. Much of it is still my prayer today.
August 21, 2010 at 11:19 pm · Filed under Video, Womanhood
Many members of Godly Gals have long been fans of Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Revive Our Hearts Ministries. Bless Ms. DeMoss for all that she does to advance the kingdom! (And thank you, Nikkia, for sharing this video with me!)
I’d like to encourage you all to take a look at the True Woman Manifesto and consider signing. It is a collection of statements that this ministry backs completely, and I hope it can be a blessing to you.
Watch for posts this week about what it means to be a woman of God and for more information on The True Woman Movement.
We discuss Elisabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love, give some opinions on it, a few warnings, and challenge our listeners to think critically about both the novel and the movie.
I was talking to an acquaintance recently and the topic of attending church came up. I didn’t really know where she was going when she started, but it soon became clear.
“It’s not that I don’t believe in God,” she said. “Or the Bible or in loving your neighbor or any of that stuff. But why would I want to go to a place where children get molested? Why would I want to spend my time somewhere that was allowed to happen.”
I nodded my head. You can’t deny what she says. It happens in churches. Even though pastors and the leadership try their very best with background checks, getting to know the character of the people who are working in their buildings, there are some people who slip through the cracks.
She continued, “I mean, my daughter goes to church and that’s fine. I just don’t want to be associated with a place that allows those kinds of things to go on.”
Wait wait wait. Hold up. Her concern is pedophiles being a threat to children…but she allows her 5-year-old child to go? Something doesn’t sound right.
I wanted to continue the conversation, but other things came up and we were away from the topic pretty quickly. It’s been on my mind ever since. Pedophilia isn’t something to be blamed on the church entirely. It’s not the only place it happens. Changes in society often color what goes on inside churches. If pedophilia is a symptom of the deterioration of society in general, you’d better believe it’s going to find its way into the church as well.
But that really wasn’t the issue here. She had talked herself into a corner. If her true concern was the threat and reality of child molesters in the church, a concern so huge that she wouldn’t step inside the doors of a church building herself, then why would she allow her child inside without the protection of her mother.
She wouldn’t.
While there is some truth in what she’s saying, her claims don’t match up with her actions. It’s easy to use something that is a well-known cancer in the church today as a reason to stay out of it. But it’s clear by her actions that it’s what she’s using as an excuse for no change.
What’s your excuse?
I started thinking about the number of things each of us could and sometimes do use to keep out of the body of Christ.
I don’t need to go to church to praise God.
All the church wants is my money.
No one wants me there.
I don’t have the right clothes.
I don’t want to make that kind of commitment.
What’s yours? Is there something keeping you out of fellowship? What is it based in? If it’s that you feel one church is out of line with scripture or some other valid reason for leaving, are you actively seeking out and praying for a new church family to join?
We talk a little about a sermon preached by Rick Warren at Saddleback telling his congregation, “If you passively just want to sit around in the next 10 years and just waste your life on things that won’t last, you probably want to find another church because you’re not going to really feel comfortable here.”
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I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. – Romans 1:16
This is my absolute favorite verse because of its truth and the way it pushes me to be bold and share my faith. My prayer for you lovely ladies is that this would be SO true for you too!
GodlyGals™ is a ministry established in 2002 by young Christian women. We seek to maintain a community for gals seeking to live a more godly lifestyle. This is a place for women, created by women, featuring articles on the Christian faith, devotionals, reviews, reflections, and testimonies
