Category: Uncategorized

By: Alicia Crowe

I often find myself asking the question, “Am I doing this right? Am I being the wife, mother, friend, neighbor that God is wanting me to be?” Those questions come from a deep desire to honor God with who I am, what I value, and where I put my time. However, I think the question shows that I have a misguided expectation of what is “right.” We are not able to trust our right, right? That can lead to a dangerous place of defining right with pride and perfectionism, trying to measure up, and a legalistic comparison. This is the world system of striving to keep well thought out plans instead of surrendering to His way. Surrendering is a state of being whereas the obedience driven me is usually about doing to prove that I am right.

God led our family to Japan and then back to the states again after 10 years with FWB Missions. It was a journey in faith and surrender especially the last 6 years stateside. He brought us right up to “Little Japan” in Columbus, Ohio through the vehicle of Chick-Fil-A and with it a revival in my familiar role as missionary and teacher. After jumping into our new life in our 11^th home and our 8^th school, God got my attention. Before Covid and online/hybrid public school, God was stirring in Josh and me to re-evaluate how we were loving and leading our children. I was entering a scary place of pouring all my time into doing what I thought was right and realizing God wanted me to rest in Him and serve my family. This had been my constant struggle of humbling myself under the mighty hand of God during our time in Japan when serving others took priority over my own family. God wanted me to rest in His plan and homeschool all four kids! Rest and homeschool together; is that even possible? We had done public and private schools in both countries, and I thought that teaching my own children would not allow me the freedom to continue to teach ESL and Bible classes which had been meeting in my home during the last few years. I gave those “ministries” over to Him and focused on our first year of homeschool instead. God tenderly showed me (again) that He would lead me in the paths of what is right for His name.

We are on our second year of homeschooling and God is teaching ME so much as I serve my family first during this season of life. Amazingly, God has reopened opportunities for our whole family to serve with the Japanese community here and this year we are ALL involved in leading and teaching in the ESL group. Josh is the new director, and I am teaching while my children jump in and serve for special events. We are serving together!  God doesn’t ask us to get our plans right and do it on our own. We loosely hold our plans and can cling to Him. Then, we get to do it with Him. He leads each of us and our families along His steps! This verse brings such peace, “A man’s heart deviseth his way but the Lord directeth his steps.” Proverbs 16:9

Remember:

• You can trust God! He is perfect therefore His ways are perfect. Psalm 18:30

• When you seek God and humble yourself under His loving hand, He will show you where to step. 1 Peter 5:6

• He is so loving and gently leads us with young. Isaiah 40:11

• He is with you each moment and in that frightening next move. Isaiah 41:10

Whatever you are facing right now with big or little daily decisions concerning what is right for you/your family, during a transition, a lost dream, a ministry shift, a family crisis, education/job decisions, remember not to ask God, “Am I doing this right?”  Consider asking, “Am I trusting You in this? Am I surrendering my good-intentioned but greatly lacking plans to Your perfect will?”

Oh, what freedom there comes when we realize we can be confident God is leading us to His abundant and joy filled paths of righteousness through Christ by His Spirit in our many roles. Christ died for our sins so that in Him we might be made right with God!  We have nothing to prove. Surrender to His love and let Him lead you!

Spend some time praying and listening to what God is telling you. Listen to the gentle Shepherd’s voice and expect a big adventure with Him as you take the first step of faith today!

• Call out His characteristics (good, holy, perfect, loving, faithful, powerful, all knowing) and adore Him!

• Recognize, apologize for, and release control of your plans made in your own strength.

• Look back and remember how He led you before and thank Him!

• Ask Him to help you listen to His voice in this next step.

By: Ana Batts

I opened the drawer that sits under my coffee maker.

Nothing. An empty drawer. The coffee pods were gone. My cup was empty.

Panic set in. How could I face my day with an empty cup?!? That quiet moment standing there contemplating the possibility of a $5 coffee run gave me a change to pause and reflect.

When it comes to spiritual things, how many days do I start with an empty cup? As a woman, mom, wife, mentor and friend I want pour into those around me. But when my cup is empty it is impossible to pour into those around me.

So how do we fill our spiritual cup?

1 Start where you are. Has it been a week since you lasted opened your Bible on a day that isn’t a Sunday? Or maybe a month? Or a year? Be honest with yourself about where you are and go from there. Don’t let the guilt of not being in the Word keep you from being in the Word.

2. Take time to reflect. Reading the Word is a powerful thing. However, taking the time to reflect on what it says and how it applies to your life is an important part that is often skipped. Copying down the scripture that we are studying is a great way to memorize it. Journaling what we are learning and how it applies in our lives is a great tool.

(My girls share about how they use writing in their personal Bible Study over here.)

3. Find someone to share with. Talking about spiritual things is a great way to pour into those around us. Making spiritual things part of our daily conversations also helps us hold one another accountable. Knowing that a friend will ask, “what have you been reading about in God’s Word lately?” can motivate us to build the consistent habit of being in the Word. Sharing spiritual struggles as well as personal discoveries of God’s Word can help us continue to fill our spiritual cup and to pour into those around us.

On the days when we feel spiritual empty, let us go do the One that always keeps His word.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4:8

By: Becky Gwartney

In the most recent blog, Becky Gwartney asks a simple question, “How is your love relationship with God?”

When my husband and I were dating, we couldn’t find enough time to be together. We lived in different states for a couple of months before our wedding, and I waited by the phone to answer his call each night. I longed to hear his voice, to hear the events of his day, and to hear of his love for me. No matter the time it took from my schedule or the cost (back when long-distance was a big deal financially), it was worth it to take the time to share my life and dreams with him.  Love does that to you! 

When you love someone, you want to spend time with them, get to know them, and value those moments together. The same is true in our relationship with God. Getting to know Him is vital, spending time with Him is crucial, and moments together should be treasured. We all know this in our hearts because something is missing when HE isn’t included in our lives.

So, during this month of love, let’s examine ourselves. How is your love relationship with God? Do you arrange your schedule each day to make sure you spend quality time with Him? Do you prioritize the things of God over the things of the world? Are you passionate about knowing Him and making Him known?

Maybe some of you are experiencing a crisis of the heart. Perhaps you’re too busy, overworked, or unable to unplug from an electronic society. How do you get out of a spiritual funk? Here are a couple of “no brainers”:

BE IN THE WORD!

God’s Word is not junk mail that is delivered to our mailbox or inbox.  It’s a message that is vital for our existence and God’s purpose for our lives. Second Timothy 3:17 tells us that, through the Word, we are put together and shaped for the tasks God has for us.  We may have been handed down the greatest of legacies, be shaped for God’s purpose, and be willing to serve, but if we lack His Word in our hearts, we aren’t “all in” with Him.

Whatever it takes for you to get into His Word and be intimate with Him, do it. The word intimacy means “into me see”.  I love that! God looks at us and knows us, but we can look at Him and know Him too! What a beautiful gift we’ve been offered, but to create that intimacy with God and become passionate about Him, we must see into Him and His heart through His Word.  Another way we can do that is through…

PRAYER

Psalm 55:17 says, “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice.”  You can’t be intimate with someone you don’t talk to. But, how do we pray so that we connect intimately with our Heavenly Father? It’s a two-way street—we talk, and we listen. We may be really good about the talking aspect, taking our “list of things to do” to God, but do we listen to His voice speaking to us? He wants a deeper relationship with you. He wants you to hear His heart and His thoughts. He wants you to reveal your deepest desires. And, if we set aside the time to be quiet enough (even quieting our thoughts), He will speak—through His Spirit, through the Bible, through friends, through circumstances, or through a gentle “knowing” that settles in our hearts.

These simple truths are nothing new and probably nothing new to you. Simple truths, simple steps, simple measures to take, but, oh, what benefits we reap when we do them! A love affair of the greatest kind is yours for the taking. Are you ready and willing to do your part?

by Diana Bryant

We make dozens of choices each day. Usually the first one is whether to get up when the alarm goes off or hit the snooze button. It continues from there. What will I wear today? Will I curl my hair or just pull it back in a ponytail? What do I want for breakfast? These are, in the whole scheme of things, minor choices we habitually make by the time we’re adults.

Our girls face not only these minor decisions, but many others with far more substantial consequences every day. In truth, they face a lot of choices we never had to make. Temptation and pitfalls come packaged very differently these days and can look far more attractive than we remember. Our culture has become adept at making good look evil and evil look good, as Scripture warned would happen. How can we help our girls learn to make good choices?

*Above all else, be intentional in encouraging your teen to cultivate their relationship with God and realize their worth as His child. Be creative in teaching them to read Scripture—read with them, provide relevant devotional helps, expose them to good teaching, take them to events that can strengthen their walk with God. Make sure they have opportunities to learn God’s Word and its principles from sources and events that will capture their attention. Provide opportunities to see and hear good role models with true messages, whether it be teachers, musicians, or speakers. The more familiar they are with truth, the quicker they can learn to apply it to choices they make. The more confident they are in their relationship with God, the more likely they will be to make their own decisions.

* While the phrase “because I said so”, has certainly been used for years, I’m not sure it’s helpful. Talk through why you have made certain choices as they occur, explaining the “why” or “why not” of an issue. Talk through the thought process, the principles involved, and even the potential outcome of either side of the choice. If it’s a choice you’ve had to make, explain how you arrived at that result. Maybe even ask her opinion and be willing to listen to her thoughts.

*Make certain you are not just laying down rules, but teaching biblical principles governing the guidelines you establish. Children can obey without ever understanding the principles involved. Simply demanding obedience without teaching principles won’t work forever.

*As hard as it is to watch sometimes, natural consequences of poor choices can be a great teacher. Be available to talk about where things went wrong and how things could go differently next time. Applaud good choices. Giving girls freedom to make choices while still under your care gives you the opportunity to be a safety net but allows them to learn from mistakes.

*Staying informed and familiar with social media, apps, and platforms will go a long way to helping you communicate with your teen. It’s hard to give reliable advice and direction when you have no clue what choices girls are facing when it comes to new and flashy devices and entertainment. It seems impossible to stay up-to-date or even understand some trends, but it’s very important to try.

*Help your teen see what her choices are in each situation. She may see only one or two ways to solve her dilemma, but you have the experience to point out other options. Help her play out the consequences of each possible choice, weighing pros and cons.  

*Pray, pray, pray! Ask for wisdom and discernment for them, ask the Lord to create in them hearts that seek Him and His favor. So many decisions our girls face must come down to wanting to please God more than pleasing their friends. The desire to obey God must be stronger than the pressure from other persistent elements in our culture. Pray for wisdom for yourself to know how to model these things for your girls and for creative ways to communicate these truths to them. Pray for the ability to model good choices, and for wisdom to know when to share consequences you’ve experienced due to poor choices. Just pray! It’s your best offense and strongest defense!