"The only thing necessary thing for the triumph of evil is for good women (men) to do nothing."
Edmund Burke
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.…"Matthew 5:13-15
We are made for so much more, as the song says. We are to be the gatehouse of all that is good true and beautiful. We are to show God's creativity, His beauty, His intelligence, His hope, His love. Yet, we must have a willing heart to embrace the life He has created us for.
So many distractions, seemingly good activities, people wanting our attention, including children, church, friends, neighbors. But it is easy to get lost in the ocean of activities and drown in the despair of emptiness.
With the onslaught of the tragedy and threat of Christians abroad being slaughtered by Isis, police brutality, racial tensions, the videos about the destruction of aborted fetus's, and a host other devastating issues facing us as a nation today, many have been filled with fear for our future and with disparagement about the issues that will face our children.
As I was praying about many issues, God seemed to whisper to me,
"What if I have allowed you to be born for such a time as this, because I trusted you to bring light into darkness, to do works of grace in your world in your time for my kingdom? I will be with you."
I believe that each of you has a role to play in the story of God throughout your personal story.
You are an essential part of bringing goodness and redemption through your life by the way you live--but if godly women do nothing, because culture is so accepting of compromise, then evil will thrive.
For all of us to be poignant and purposeful requires that we get to the heart of what really matters--what will last for eternity, what will truly grow a legacy of our heart messages, what will build foundations of love that will bring life to the hearts of people under our influence.
God created us in His image to have the capacity to live powerfully in this dark world as His light. He has called us to be salt--savory, tasty, preserving amidst people who are starving for meaning.
Now, more than ever, I see that God created women with such a capacity to be His hands in civilizing nations. Yet, to become like Wisdom, the woman in Proverbs, who was a picture of what God created us to do in His world, we must realize the areas of foundation and work that really matter--that get to the heart of what we are called to do.
As I have received many letters about Own Your Life this year, I wanted to do refresh and remind precious women about how very influential and powerful their lives can be.
These are some of the areas of life I think really matter and I will be addressing in my webcast this week about the important and strategic areas that shape the very soul of those living in our nation and those under our roof.
Self-Actualization is the beginning point of living life on purpose. God defines our heritage, our future, our legacy, our potential--He has given us all that we need to live life well. As His children we moved from darkness into light and can keep growing in His likeness when we embrace our spiritual heritage.When a person understands the great value in their unique personality, the capacity and power of their own lives to live excellently and with meaning and influence, to move beyond the failures of their human life into the possibility of the life God desires to give them, they will begin to grow in the grace of God's calling, purposes, stories they were created to tell in this mega story of human history.
A Deep Spiritual Life God is the author of life, the source of all wisdom and knowledge, the divine teacher of values, relationships, purpose, behavior, psychology, and life skills. The woman who desires to be excellent in her life can only find this kind of insight by cultivating her walk with God through reading and studying the word of God, learning to pray, living out of obedience, embracing the forgiveness God has provided, and learning to ponder and follow the ways of Jesus.
We are to be His ambassadors, His soldiers of righteousness in this world. We each have one life in which to live faithfully and invest our lives in the Kingdom of God while we walk this earth.
Where there is shallow or no spiritual life, there will be little faith and diminished holiness in the lives of people who call themselves Christians. We have had little impact because we have lacked the power, wisdom and truth in the ways we have brought God's light and salt into all arenas of our world.
Loving Well is the means through which God intended us to influence others and to inspire and encourage their hearts. Jesus was the ultimate picture of loving well. He gave everything--his life, his time, His words, His created world, His spirit and then died to provide us with the love we needed to be reconciled to God. If we are to live like Christ, we need to become the lovers that model His life.
He was a servant leader and gave up His rights. He was a peacemaker and said those who made peace would be called sons of God. He was humble and meek and gently served all who were in His sphere. He held children, washed toes, made food for the hungry, healed the sick, encouraged the faint hearted and inspired others to give their lives for His kingdom by His sacrificial love.
If we are to reach the hearts and lives of our friends, husbands, children, then we must learn to love by sacrificing our lives, by serving those who are in our sphere, by being humble to those He brings our way. Loving generously is what leads us to understand the heart of God.
Marriage and Family is the vehicle through which God created righteousness to be passed down from one generation to another. The Home that is the laboratory of life for the family is a place that must be led and cultivated as a place of life by someone who understands the importance of a holding place for all that is sacred. Morality, values, faith, love, character, truth are all to be held dear within family that children's souls can find comfort, security, health, grace, purpose and strength in order to have their lives shaped well and strong. Marriage is the vehicle through which partnership in life brings the purpose of Genesis 1 into place. Through the family, the world was to be subdued. By loyalty in marriage, we model the unbreakable image of God's eternal and everlasting love for us.
Raising Godly Children is more crucial than ever. I will be talking about what is at the center of reaching children's hearts and giving them a faith that will last in this challenging time. God wants you to see His favor in this and I will be sharing many of the ways we passed on faith to our own children.
Character and Integrity is the part of our hearts inside that reflect God's holiness on the outside. Practicing and growing strong in integrity is essential to reflecting the excellences of our God. God does not just call us to the grace of redemption, but to be the best person people know, the most loving, the hardest worker, the dependable neighbor, the servant leader. It is the core of our trustworthiness that will show others what God is like.
Is it difficult to be a person of ideals and to strive towards ideals in this demanding culture? Of course. My life has cost me greatly in effort, work, giving, engaging in giving my life for others. This road is not easy, but it is the way we reflect His amazing character to the world that is used to walking in darkness and without hope. Developing the character of Christ is the mission of the Holy Spirit so that we will look like Jesus to the world that needs guidance and hope.
Education is of profound importance to the future of our nation. We can only teach others from what we have invested in our own lives. For a woman to become stronger in godly influence, she must take responsibility to educate herself, to read, to think clearly and from Biblical conviction, to expose herself to wise and articulate people. Then, when others come to her, she will have something of great insight to draw from in her own life.
When a child is taught to think well, given a vocabulary that is vast and strong, had the opportunity to be exposed to the greatest authors, the most profound issues found in scripture, the opportunity to read great hero stories, learn the lessons of history, then this child will become a leader in his life time. Those who can think well, write well, speak well will be the ones who most influence history.
If a people is found to be disappointing and mediocre in behavior, then we only have to look as far as to the leaders who had authority over them. Great leaders will produce excellent students. Parents have the exceptional opportunity to determine what level of education their children will have. When parents, and particularly mothers seek to take responsibility for the education of their children, they have the opportunity to influence intelligence, persuasion, leadership and leadership skills into the lives of their children. Those who think most profoundly and clearly are the ones who will influence culture. When children are well educated, they become more responsible capable adults. It is not the government that is responsible for our children's minds--we are responsible. Each child has amazing capacity to think profoundly, but the mental muscles he has been given by God must be exercised by the parents in authority over those children.
There are a few more foundations I will be covering in the webcast this Thursday night.
I will also take questions from the comments on this blog to answer some of your more practical issue of how to live between ideals and reality.
I hope you will join me for a great evening of inspiration and discussion. And don't forget, those who sign up for the webcast will receive the 150+page pdf for free of the new study-guide and Bible study for Own Your Life.
Register HERE
For helping me spread the word, I would like to give away 10, $10 gift cards to those of you who help me spread the news of this webinar. If you share this post or the news of the Own Your Life webcast on facebook, twitter, instagram or to at least 10 friends, leave me a comment below AND TELL ME WHERE YOU SHARED IT and I will use random.com to pick out 10 winners to enjoy a coffee from our family.
COFFEE FOR 10 OF MY FRIENDS!
Coming soon! Fresh inspiration is right around the corner.
