Thursday SHINE....
Today's Reading: Job 21
Good morning, SHINE sisters!
I feel like I have been in the blender this week. Literally.
Anyone relate?
God has been mixing, chopping, and stirring this heart of mine. Sometimes, it is a very painful process to get to the right consistency that He wants for my heart to be.
But, oh girls, it is worth every bit of the pain. It truly is.
I say this with all honesty and sincerity. I don't want to be just a big, fat, messy pile of ingredients. I want to be a beautiful mixture of God's plan for me. To get to that place though, I must be willing to be put in His blender at times.
To be mixed, pulsed, and pureed for the Glory of the Lord! All these big, ugly chunks in my heart and flesh need softened. A lot. A whole lot.
As I sat across the table from a dear friend of mine yesterday, the Lord clarified the purpose of this blending process.
With tears streaming down her face she said this: "I just wish that I had more friends that I could talk to about the Lord and that would give me wisdom and Truth. I need someone to speak Truth in my life and show me the right way. Someone who has been where I've been."
Girls!! I almost spit out my coffee. She is so right! That is exactly what we are missing!
She then proceeded to tell me that she was going to visit her Grandmother next week just so that she could sit in her presence and soak up some of her godly wisdom.
Next week?? Hello?! That is the soonest that she could find somewhere to turn for some good, honest, godly Truth?
Unfortunately, yes.
I looked her square in the eyes and told her that WE will be the generation that changes that. Our daughters and sons will not have to look high and low for an example to follow....WE will be their examples. We will speak God's Word and Truth to them. Daily.
I had chills up and down my spine as I spoke those words to her. I could feel the hand of God moving right then and there at that little booth in that little restaurant.
Let me encourage you for a minute, friends. If you have nowhere to turn, and not a soul in your life that speaks godly Truth and Wisdom to you, I want you to speak out loud today that YOU will change that. YOU will be the one that speaks Truth into someones life. There will always be another girl that desperately needs to hear Truth. YOU will be the one that will tell it to her.
God is growing us into strong women! Girls, there is enough weakness in the world. The world (our children!) needs STRONG!
"The Joy of the Lord is my strength". Nehemiah 8:10
He wants a generation of women that encourage each other, pray with each other, cry with each other, laugh with each other, and seek the Lord with each other.
Listen to me closely. If you do not have girlfriends in your life that you are walking this faith journey with, start praying today for some. Start by praying for just ONE godly friend. ONE person that you can go to when you need guidance.
I bet you my last tube of my favorite MAC lip gloss, that someone is WAITING to have a friend that encourages them too! Girls, somebody has to have the courage to take the first step!
Talk to someone today, get to know someone today, LISTEN to someones story today....they need YOU just as much as YOU need THEM.
“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2
We have a little running group/bible study group here in Madison. Guess what? It had to start at some point, right? It just didn't come into existence. Someone had to show up in the parking lot and start running!
Someone had to say: "Hey! Let's get together and exercise and fellowship in the morning!"
Someone had to say: "Hey! While we're at it, let's meet tonight and study God's Word!"
Girls, if nobody else around you has the boldness to take the first step...guess what...YOU can!
You will be amazed at how many others will be right behind you! They too have been waiting on someone to take that step!
Girls, I want my daughter to always be able to come to me for encouragement and direction. I never want her to have to call her great aunt, her best friends mother, or pastor's wife, for some godly wisdom.
I am not saying that it is a bad thing to call on those people..I am saying that WE need to be those people! WE need to be the great aunt with the godly wisdom! Let's don't leave it to someone else to speak Truth to our children, WE have that great opportunity. Praise Jesus!
I am blessed to be surrounded by godly women of all ages. The Lord knew that I would need them due to my severe weaknesses.
The great thing about these women is that they lead me straight to Christ.
They don't say: "You should do this because I say so."
They say: "God's Word says this ________."
Mostly, they lead by example. They really do not even have to open their mouths. Their life is the testimony.
My friends and I had a girls trip a couple of weekends ago. On our last night there, we stood in a circle, held hands and PRAYED with each other! (on a girls trip!!) This was a FIRST for all of us! I left in complete amazement of how we were ALL growing in Christ together!! That image will be forever seared in my heart.
Listen closely. When we reach down to pull someone else up, someone has our other arm pulling us up further! Can you visualize the beauty of that?
Now visualize this: As we are pulling and raising each other up, the chain leads straight up to the Throne of Jesus. His arms are outstretched. Welcoming us straight into His arms. The arms of Truth.
"If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble." Ecclesiastes 4:10
Oh, girls. We can do this.
Not only can we do this, but we WILL do this!
reaching out,
jill
Good morning, SHINE sisters!
I feel like I have been in the blender this week. Literally.
Anyone relate?
God has been mixing, chopping, and stirring this heart of mine. Sometimes, it is a very painful process to get to the right consistency that He wants for my heart to be.
But, oh girls, it is worth every bit of the pain. It truly is.
I say this with all honesty and sincerity. I don't want to be just a big, fat, messy pile of ingredients. I want to be a beautiful mixture of God's plan for me. To get to that place though, I must be willing to be put in His blender at times.
To be mixed, pulsed, and pureed for the Glory of the Lord! All these big, ugly chunks in my heart and flesh need softened. A lot. A whole lot.
As I sat across the table from a dear friend of mine yesterday, the Lord clarified the purpose of this blending process.
With tears streaming down her face she said this: "I just wish that I had more friends that I could talk to about the Lord and that would give me wisdom and Truth. I need someone to speak Truth in my life and show me the right way. Someone who has been where I've been."
Girls!! I almost spit out my coffee. She is so right! That is exactly what we are missing!
She then proceeded to tell me that she was going to visit her Grandmother next week just so that she could sit in her presence and soak up some of her godly wisdom.
Next week?? Hello?! That is the soonest that she could find somewhere to turn for some good, honest, godly Truth?
Unfortunately, yes.
I looked her square in the eyes and told her that WE will be the generation that changes that. Our daughters and sons will not have to look high and low for an example to follow....WE will be their examples. We will speak God's Word and Truth to them. Daily.
I had chills up and down my spine as I spoke those words to her. I could feel the hand of God moving right then and there at that little booth in that little restaurant.
Let me encourage you for a minute, friends. If you have nowhere to turn, and not a soul in your life that speaks godly Truth and Wisdom to you, I want you to speak out loud today that YOU will change that. YOU will be the one that speaks Truth into someones life. There will always be another girl that desperately needs to hear Truth. YOU will be the one that will tell it to her.
God is growing us into strong women! Girls, there is enough weakness in the world. The world (our children!) needs STRONG!
"The Joy of the Lord is my strength". Nehemiah 8:10
He wants a generation of women that encourage each other, pray with each other, cry with each other, laugh with each other, and seek the Lord with each other.
Listen to me closely. If you do not have girlfriends in your life that you are walking this faith journey with, start praying today for some. Start by praying for just ONE godly friend. ONE person that you can go to when you need guidance.
I bet you my last tube of my favorite MAC lip gloss, that someone is WAITING to have a friend that encourages them too! Girls, somebody has to have the courage to take the first step!
Talk to someone today, get to know someone today, LISTEN to someones story today....they need YOU just as much as YOU need THEM.
“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2
We have a little running group/bible study group here in Madison. Guess what? It had to start at some point, right? It just didn't come into existence. Someone had to show up in the parking lot and start running!
Someone had to say: "Hey! Let's get together and exercise and fellowship in the morning!"
Someone had to say: "Hey! While we're at it, let's meet tonight and study God's Word!"
Girls, if nobody else around you has the boldness to take the first step...guess what...YOU can!
You will be amazed at how many others will be right behind you! They too have been waiting on someone to take that step!
Girls, I want my daughter to always be able to come to me for encouragement and direction. I never want her to have to call her great aunt, her best friends mother, or pastor's wife, for some godly wisdom.
I am not saying that it is a bad thing to call on those people..I am saying that WE need to be those people! WE need to be the great aunt with the godly wisdom! Let's don't leave it to someone else to speak Truth to our children, WE have that great opportunity. Praise Jesus!
I am blessed to be surrounded by godly women of all ages. The Lord knew that I would need them due to my severe weaknesses.
The great thing about these women is that they lead me straight to Christ.
They don't say: "You should do this because I say so."
They say: "God's Word says this ________."
Mostly, they lead by example. They really do not even have to open their mouths. Their life is the testimony.
My friends and I had a girls trip a couple of weekends ago. On our last night there, we stood in a circle, held hands and PRAYED with each other! (on a girls trip!!) This was a FIRST for all of us! I left in complete amazement of how we were ALL growing in Christ together!! That image will be forever seared in my heart.
Listen closely. When we reach down to pull someone else up, someone has our other arm pulling us up further! Can you visualize the beauty of that?
Now visualize this: As we are pulling and raising each other up, the chain leads straight up to the Throne of Jesus. His arms are outstretched. Welcoming us straight into His arms. The arms of Truth.
"If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble." Ecclesiastes 4:10
Oh, girls. We can do this.
Not only can we do this, but we WILL do this!
reaching out,
jill
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| "He gives strength to the weary, and increases the power of the weak." Isaiah 40:29 |
