Beauty for Ashes - Women’s Ministry

06/28/2020

“Tonight we pray for the momma who feels like she is under a microscope. Lord, she feels like her children are always watching her. Her family is always watching. Other moms and friends and the whole world seems to have an opinion about who she is and what she does and how she mothers her children. Tonight, Lord, we ask You to remind this mom that she serves an audience of One. You see her and You are proud of her. Help her set aside all the pressure that comes with feeling judged by others. Give her confidence as she continues to follow You. We ask in Jesus’s name, Amen.”

- Midnight Mom Devotional

06/24/2020

Let us be them. Let us raise them!!!

06/23/2020

Speak life over yourself ladies!

05/29/2020

03/22/2020

In three short months, just like He did with the plagues of Egypt, God has taken away everything we worship. God said, "You want to worship athletes, I will shut down the stadiums. You want to worship musicians, I will shut down Civic Centers. You want to worship actors, I will shut down theaters. You want to worship money, I will shut down the economy and collapse the stock market. You don't want to go to church and worship Me, I will make it where you can't go to church"

2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

Maybe we don't need a vaccine... maybe we need to take this time of isolation from the distractions of the world and have a personal revival where we focus on the ONLY thing in the world that really matters, Jesus.

02/15/2020

I love Lysa TerKeurst!

“As I trace my fingers back across the timeline of my life, I can remember times when spiritual and emotional emptiness left me vulnerable. The shape of my lack was the absence of a biological father.

He took with him so much more than he ever could have imagined. Those few suitcases and brown boxes didn’t just contain ties, old trophies, and dusty books. Somewhere in between his Old Spice and office files were shattered pieces of a little girl’s heart.

Now I’m not a big fan of pointing to hurts from my childhood and saying, “All my issues can be linked back to what other people did to me. Let me cut open my hurts and wallow in all that leaks out.” Everyone has hurts from their past.

So how do we stop letting those hurts haunt us and start allowing God to use them to change us? I’m sharing hope today in my devotion “A Better Place to Park.” You can read it here:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

01/31/2020

Do you all feel that Christians are known more for what they stand against or what they stand for?

As someone who has lived well over half of her life scared of Christians and especially the ultimate Church Lady "Mamaw" - I remember vividly what it was like to be unchurched and unsaved and un-everything.

I wanted nothing to do with Christianity and the church and their Jesus. And I had a long list of reasons but they made it abundantly clear that there was a series of events I had to go through before He would ever be mine.

It seemed as though I was living in the land of "you have sinned and you are going to burn in hell" - where I belonged mind you, and all of the church ladies were living life high on the hog by way of the front row and never having s*x before their wedding night.

I can remember pulling into church parking lots again and again and sitting there bawling my eyes out as I watched married couple after married couple walk inside the holy doors of "we have it all together".

I never had the courage to actually go inside.

Then finally, I can remember it taking everything I had to walk in those dreaded doors one Sunday morning with my baby girl in my arms. I was an u***d single mama who's future Husband refused to go with me, a self-professed Atheist at the time. I left the house that morning and looked at the gift that I didn't deserve and told her we were going to give this Jesus a try. I wondered if I looked nice enough, good enough, clean enough, churchy-enough.

I wondered if all of the perfect people would be able to see me past the missing wedding ring and the beautiful baby girl on my hip.

I wondered if they would embrace me. Accept me. Allow me in, in spite of my circumstances and in spite of my mistakes.

I'm sorry to share that I walked into a sea of judgement and condemnation during that season of my life.

And unfortunately it caused me to not return because when you are struggling with the lie that is "there is no way that a Holy God could love a girl like me", and you are hanging on by a thread because life has just been too much, every moment counts.

The way you are received and welcomed or not, counts.

The way the caregivers receive your child with kindness or not, counts.

The way a seat is made available for you or not, counts.

The way you are questioned or interrogated by church members, counts.

The way someone took the time to speak with you or not, counts.

It loud and clear to me what they were against, but they failed to demonstrate what they were for.

I didn't want to be judgmental and critical and look down my nose at people. I didn't want to spend my time pointing out other peoples sin and making them feel worse than and less than the thousand ways they already felt like a failure.

I've spent the majority of my life with the unsaved. I've spent lots of time over the years listening to the hearts of the brokenhearted, the outcasts, the shame. I've listened and learned so much. More importantly, I've learned what I want to stand for.

I pray for, and that God is raising up a new "church lady" in this generation. She will truly have His heart and His eyes to see sons and daughters when she looks at His people.

She will be a doer of the word and not just a hearer.

She will refuse to judge and condemn and do her best to love people back to wholeness.

She will be a fountain of mercy and grace and one who will breathe life back into dry bones.

She will know that it is the love of God that breaks every yoke.

She will be a living epistle of love and humility and will demonstrate the scriptures with kindness and gentleness and compassion.

She will give credit where credit is due.

She will point others to Him. She will give Him all the glory, all of the honor, all of the credit.

She will understand fully the truth that is this, "If it were not for the grace of God"....

She will reach to the back row and encourage and minister to the hearts of the women who can't get past the grief and sorrow of their own life.

She will look past circumstances and situations and appearances that look different than her own to see daughters of the living God who have yet to discover their worth.

I pray the new church lady is looking for opportunities to be a blessing, instead of being blessed.

Lord, I pray that the new church lady knows that the only way up, is on her knees. She knows that "humility isn't thinking less of yourself but it is thinking of yourself less."

Graciousness is her hallmark.

Gratitude is her beauty treatment.

She is a woman of her word.

She is a worshipper. In spirit, and in truth.

She is a prayer warrior and holds trust from others as sacred.

She is supportive of others and is not an opportunist.

She understands that to become the Proverbs 31 woman you can't skip chapters 1-30.

She is fully aware of her own shortcomings and seeks Him daily for His love and guidance.

She recognizes hopelessness and worthlessness in others and speaks life.

She is an excellent listener. She listens with her head and her heart. She hears what is not being said.

She is a lifter. An encourager. A hope giver.

She forgives.

She knows that the same grace that was made available to her, is also available to everyone else.

She does not gossip. She does not constantly brag or boast. She speaks blessings.

She sees the best. Believes the best. Hopes the best.

She places a high value on God's people.

She invests in the greatest investment in the world, His people.

She is known for what she stands for.

And most of all...I pray that new "church lady" be me.....

01/17/2020

“Satan will do anything to keep us quiet. Why?

Because he knows our testimony means his defeat. Truth we find in Revelation 12:11: “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”

Jesus has brought the blood. We must bring the word of our testimony.

And Satan will accuse us continually, “Who do you think you are? You’re horrible. You should never open your mouth. You don’t have a testimony. You just have a bunch of tests, and you failed every single one.”

Make no mistake - the reason he’s accusing us is so that we will keep our mouth shut.

But we are most triumphant when we place our pain and disappointments in God’s hands and say, “Lord, I trust You to redeem this and return it to me as part of my testimony.” Our disappointments in ourselves—in our lives—aren’t just isolated pieces of evidence that we fall short and life is hard. No, they are the exact places where we can break secrecy with fellow humans and show up to say, “I get it. I understand. You aren’t alone. Together, we can find our way home.”

So keep sharing your story, sweet friend. Keep sharing your tears and your pain.

Because God’s message of hell-defeating hope is often most powerfully preached from the lips of those whose pain has been turned into the purpose of helping others.”

~ Lysa Terkheurst

01/07/2020

Ezer Kenegdo

“Do you ever wonder what your purpose as a woman is? What your identity as a woman is? I’m going to take you back to Genesis where God created woman. In Genesis 2:18 our purpose and true identity as a woman is revealed. I believe this Scripture is misinterpreted by a lot of people, especially women. It is important that we understand it correctly and live up to our full potential.

And the Lord God said, 'It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.' - Genesis 2:18 (NKJV)

I used to cringe whenever I heard this Bible verse, I went straight into defensive mode. I don’t want to be a “helper” or “help meet”, that sounds so lame. Like I was made to be an assistent or servant of man. This my dear sisters is a lie, you are made for so much more. In Hebrew the word used is Ezer Kenegdo and this is a difficult word to translate into English or any other language.

The meaning of Ezer Kenegdo:

Ezer has originally two meanings in Hebrew, depending on the pronunciation: to rescue/to save and to be strong. In the Old Testament the word Ezer is used 21 times. We can roughly divide the different Scriptures in three ways the word “Ezer” is used:

1. Ezer used for the woman.

2. Ezer used for nations to whom Israel appealed for military aid.

3. Ezer used for God as Israel’s helper.

What these Bible verses have in common is that Ezer is used consistently in military context. The Ezer is a warrior. You are a warrior!

The Hebrew word Kenegdo means opposite as to him or corresponding as to him. A woman is no better or less than the man. Man and woman are equally and uniquely created, a perfect fit.

The word Ezer Kenegdo might be old but the purpose of our existence as women is the same.

You are an Ezer Kenegdo!

A strong warrior, complementary to man. I love the word complementary. Complementary is what you are, not what you are doing. Complementary is not what you become, you were born complementary to man. Does this mean you can only be whole with a man? No, I don’t think so. I think you will be complete with the right man, and without one you are still God’s beloved daughter. You are a warrior princess and there is nothing you can’t do with the power of the King of kings.

The way I see it is that man and woman are like two hands. Your left hand and right hand are in ways the same but also different. You have bones, muscles, veins, skin, nails. And you have fingers and a thumb on each hand. Your left and right hand are the exact opposite of each other, but the one hand is not more important than the other one. One hand might be a little stronger and is your preferred hand, but you can perfectly use each hand on its own. Together your hands can do more. They are even stronger than your preferred hand. You can get more done with less effort when using both hands together. Of course this is only going to work when your one hand is the kenegdo to your other hand.”

01/06/2020

“When we get depleted... it’s much easier to get defeated by chaotic emotions.

Small frustrations shift from feelings of aggravation to anger. Relational issues suddenly feel like impossible hurdles. And slight negative feedback feels like overwhelming judgement.

Sometimes we need to slow down, say no, take a nap, and regroup. Life is much more enjoyable and we are a lot less irritable when our pace is not set to the rhythm of rush.”

01/04/2020

“Church is hard.

Church is hard for the person walking through the doors, afraid of judgement.

Church is hard for the preacher’s family, under the microscope of an entire body.

Church is hard for the prodigal soul returning home, broken and battered by the world.

Church is hard for the girl who looks like she has it all together, but doesn’t.

Church is hard for the couple who fought the entire ride to service.

Church is hard for the single mom, surrounded by couples holding hands, and seemingly perfect families.

Church is hard for the widow and widower with no invitation to lunch after service.

Church is hard for the deacon with an estranged child.

Church is hard for the person singing worship songs, overwhelmed by the weight of the lyrics.

Church is hard for the man insecure in his role as a leader.

Church is hard for the wife who longs to be led by a righteous man.

Church is hard for the nursery volunteer who desperately longs for a baby to love.

Church is hard for the single woman and single man, praying God brings them a mate.

Church is hard for the teenage girl, wearing a scarlet letter, ashamed of her mistakes.

Church is hard for the sinners.

Church is hard for me.

It’s hard because on the outside it all looks shiny and perfect. Sunday best in behavior and dress.

However, underneath those layers, you find a body of imperfect people, carnal souls, selfish motives.

But, here is the beauty of church—

Church isn’t a building, mentality, or expectation.

Church is a body.

Church is a group of sinners, saved by grace, living in fellowship as saints.

Church is a body of believers bound as brothers and sisters by an eternal love.

Church is a holy ground where sinners stand as equals before the Throne of Grace.

Church is a refuge for broken hearts and a training ground for mighty warriors.

Church is a converging of confrontation and invitation. Where sin is confronted and hearts are invited to seek restoration.

Church is a lesson in faith and trust.

Church is a bearer of burdens and a giver of hope.

Church is a family. A family coming together, setting aside differences, forgetting past mistakes, rejoicing in the smallest of victories.

Church, the body, and the circle of sinners-turned-saints, is where He resides, and if we ask, He is faithful to come.

So even on the hard days at church—

The days when I am at odds with a friend, When I’ve walked in bearing burdens heavier than my heart can handle, yet masking the pain with a smile on my face. When I’ve worn the pressures of the world, under the microscope. When I’ve longed for a baby to hold, or fought tears as the lyrics were sung. When I’ve walked back in, afraid and broken, after walking away.

I’ll remember, He has never failed to meet me there.”

-Arianna Freelen

Welcome to my blog! I am so glad you are here. This space is where I share some reflections, along with a few of my favorite pictures, and seek to glorify the One who gives my life purpose. I pray you leave this site encouraged and inspired.

01/03/2020

Trapped like a firefly in a mason jar. Stifled, I peered out, watching others’ dreams, hopes and joys twinkle and fly by my stagnant ones. My own desires sat dusty in my valley of pain.

Extinguished. Exhausted. Expectant no longer.

“I’m so sorry your dreams are dashed,” my friend offered. “I wish I had known sooner how painful this disappointment has been. It would been an honor to walk it out with you.”

“Thanks. But a broken heart is silly. Especially in light of others’ pain.”

Silenced by self-doubt. Belittled by unworthiness. I diminished my pain, fearing it insignificant. In the process I belittled God’s care about my pain. Healing had been offered, yet I walked away, thinking it not worth his trouble.

My friend took my hand, and we journeyed back to when she had lost two children. Someone then had told her to check her pain at the door. Keep it in perspective to others’ pain.

We journeyed back to another time when pain was acknowledged, not tucked in a dark corner. Then she turned to the Lord, who administered healing from the grief of empty arms and empty cribs.

My friend took my hand again and we journeyed forward. “Don’t belittle your grief. Your pain is genuine. This valley is real. You must acknowledge the Lord is near and accept his help to get out.”

My friend granted me permission to feel my ache and loss. Drastically different than her own, yet no less honest. In that moment I realized I’d held my pain at a distance. Yet truth resonated in her words. No one loves us or offers healing like God does.

Perhaps it is time to acknowledge the pain, like Job did in Job 7:11. To become aware of the Lord’s care—an “always there” presence. No matter what other voices have said, your pain is valid. God cares deeply and longs to heal you. No pain is too great … or too small. Often we just need someone to remind us that God longs to remove the lid on our mason jar and fly next to us, out of the valley.

By Samantha Reed