Virtue31

Virtue31 Women’s ministry offered at Return Church

07/30/2024

With only our Human Resources, following God would be impossible. But when we cross that line into the deeper life, we enter into the grace of God that enables us to do His will.

- A. W. Tozer.

Virtue31 is moving to homes in July and August! 🏡Email Rachael Hayes to sign up. 📧
07/14/2022

Virtue31 is moving to homes in July and August! 🏡
Email Rachael Hayes to sign up. 📧

05/12/2022

What would be the opposite of a gentle approach to someone? The picture that comes to my mind is someone being pushy. We at times want to push our agendas or viewpoint, thinking it will move things along quicker and better. We may see someone as our enemy to the truth or the right way of doing something. This may come from our great zeal, or perhaps it comes from fear. Whichever it is, many times people can’t handle the pushy approach, and God figured that would happen. So, He recommends we address people with gentleness in communications and situations. It may take a bit longer in the short run, but in the long run, it is much more effective. Jesus said to “love your enemies, bless those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:44-45). We become gentle as we focus on loving and valuing people like our Father, the very criteria that makes it evident that we are His children. Gentleness is also called a fruit of God's Spirit, again, an outward demonstration of who we are as God’s family. This doesn’t take away from what we focused on last week, that we need to deal with issues, but it’s the way we do it that matters. We are all a work in progress on this, but let’s keep our focus. Gentleness is loving people through patience.



As Virtue 31 Women, we confess that we are God’s children, so we love others as our Father does by not being pushy, but by being gentle.

05/06/2022

Oh, the wonderful feeling of being at peace! Even our body recognizes when we are at peace, and keeps us healthy. Last week we learned God’s thinking is pure. This week we are scanning ourselves for the next characteristic of God’s wisdom, from James 3:17, which is “peaceable”. Peaceable in this verse means to join, to rest and to be beneficial. Think about each of those words for a moment.

I like to look at the opposite of something to further clarify its meaning. So, to test if we are thinking from a peaceable place, we could ask ourselves, “Am I sensing myself tensing up and striving in this situation or am I at rest, believing I can look for something beneficial? Is my conversation coming across antagonistic, or is it finding places to join together with the other person?” The thing is, a lot of times, both parties really want the same thing, but they differ as to how to get there. That’s healthy. It may be that they both want to have a good relationship or to accomplish the same goal. But, because they are passionate about their view, they stake a flag on the territory, so to speak, by declaring, things are my way and others views are not allowed.

A loving approach to live in peace is to stop and ask the following:

Do I really want to understand the whole situation?

Am I really committed to work through this with this person?

Do I want the best for the other person?

Do I know all the options or can I seek more options from the other person and God?

We can practically apply this in conversations where we have differences with another. Let’s start with reflecting on how God created them and loves them, so I value them too. I will let them know that their relationship is important to me. I commit to working things out and join with them to gather input for a beneficial outcome. I feel peace just thinking about this!

As Virtue 31 Women of God, we choose to live peaceable, so we can bring the mind of God into every situation, and begin to experience beneficial

04/29/2022

Have you ever needed God’s wisdom in a difficult conversation with someone who is not thinking like you do? “The wisdom that is from above is first pure…” (James 3:17).

“People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives.” (Proverbs 16:2). Our motives are easily tainted with fear, pride, and self-importance. Then, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks and we can negatively affect that person. (Matthew 12:34)

What gives clarity to pure thinking? Hebrews 4:12 lets us know, “the word of God is alive and powerful…cutting between soul and spirit… It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” Our soul focuses on the sensual, what we feel and not always the truth. We are to seek God’s word for how to think. We are not looking for just one or two scriptures to validate our opinion, but the whole picture in scripture, ultimately resulting in the fruit of the spirit being the proof of His purity being lived.

In 10 seconds or less, we can test for purity by asking, “Do I have God’s motive or mine in this conversation?” Listen to the still small voice inside. If it says, “I have a self-centered view”, you have a choice to immediately surrender to the Lord and align with His pure motive for the situation. Then, sit back and observe how He works things out, in His time and His way. He ever works to restore relationships.

If your spirit says “Yes, I stand pure before God”, you move freely to scan for another potential barrier next week. We want to clear out all of the limiting baggage, so we can take flight in God’s wisdom and see His will being done in our relationships!

As Virtue 31 Women, we invite the word of God to cut between our soul and spirit to expose our innermost thoughts and desires to know God’s purity.

04/20/2022

Just imagine if we thought like God, who created the whole universe, the world and each one of us! Think of how He made everything from our solar system to the intricacies of our bodies, all to work with such precision, beauty and perfection. Besides that, he made millions of us, each with different personalities, backgrounds, abilities, intellect, etc. No wonder, we can get frustrated. People are different from us and what do we try to do? We try to make others be like us! No wonder James 3 says, the wisdom that comes from the fallen nature, the five senses, and our limiting self-orientation, ends in envy, strife and every evil work.

God made us to look to Him. A picture of this would be, a pyramid. We were all made to be at the bottom looking up to the pinnacle, God, who has the mind and wisdom for us all to create a perfect order.

As Psalm 18:30a says, “As for God, His ways are perfect.” I want God’s wisdom to order my life. If we have His thoughts, our challenging situations and conversations are bound to turn out well! Who wouldn’t want that! I need His perfect thoughts in disagreements with others. I need His ways in how I react toward others. I need His words to clear things up when there is confusion. I need to know which way to go in life.

Jeremiah 55:8-9 says, For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” God knew we would think small because of our limited view of ourselves, others, Him and life. However, we can expand our thinking by entering God’s thinking! Jesus’ brother, James writes about God’s wisdom and how we can ask for wisdom and God will give it to us generously.

Over the next few weeks, I invite you to take a trip with me to discover wisdom from God’s mind. We will go through, what I call, God’s airport x-ray scanner, to make sure there is nothing harmful in our baggage that might cause us to not take flight in every life situation! It can be life altering. Are you ready?

As Virtue 31 Women, we begin this journey to know God’s wisdom by humbling ourselves and asking for God’s wisdom, so all things will work together for good and His glory!

04/05/2022

Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice! Philippians 4:4

We see the battle in Ukraine and all the horrible suffering from the enemy. Paul writes the book of Philippians like a soldier dying on the battlefield, letting those he is close to know his admiration for all they have contributed to his life, and to encourage them to keep going, to keep rejoicing no matter what. He reflects upon his worldly accomplishments as being trash, in light of the unequaled joy of knowing Christ Jesus and His resurrection power demonstrated in believers. He affectionately relates to Christ’s suffering, even to death, as he was waiting in prison for the Romans to kill him.

Why rejoice? Because we are citizens of heaven, where we will be with the Lord Jesus Christ, clothed in glorious bodies and all enemies brought into subjection (3:17-21).

Paul records “rejoice” more than any other book in the New Testament. He rejoices that the gospel is being preached even though it was by those with selfish and hurtful motives (1:18). He rejoices that people kept faith in the word of life he gave them, so he did not labor in vain (2:16). He rejoices in their faithfulness to serve God (2:17, 18). He rejoices in the help of a fellow soldier, who had almost died, but was sent to carry on with encouraging Christians on his behalf (2:28). He warns of people who require self-effort to reach God, but rejoices that we only have confidence in Christ Jesus (3:3). Are there selfish people in our lives? Is the world’s system of self-effort to access the power of God wearing us out? Are we faithful to serve God and share Him no matter what comes against us?

We are on a battlefield in this world. But as Virtue 31 Women, we give a resounding shout of joy, because we are citizens of heaven, and are confident in Christ Jesus, the victor! Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say

03/30/2022

Do you believe God is with you and for you? We may answer “yes” very quickly, because we know this to be true. As a human being, we may have times when we feel overwhelmed, alone, anxious, or weary? But, if those feelings are there longer than we would like, we need to ask the question again, Do I really know that God is with me and for me?

In 1 Samuel 17, David heard the giant, Goliath, defying the God of Israel, by proclaiming their insecurities and defeat. It caused David to run toward Goliath and speak directly to him, because David knew who God was to him. When we face a giant, whether it’s a situation, feeling, or words in our head that berate us, do we run toward the giant and speak to the giant? One way to be a giant slayer is to recount the experiences of how God has been with us and for us. This reconnects our minds with experiences with God, and we go into our spirit, where faith and courage live. Now, we can run into the battle, knowing we have someone bigger than us who always triumphs! What a great feeling of relief and security we have when we belong to someone so big, so all knowing, so present and so strong.

As Virtue 31 Women, we declare this week, I know God is with me and for me, so I can face any anxiety, overwhelm, or insecurity!

03/22/2022

Spring is here! We see the forsythia reaching up their tall arms of bright yellow blossoms, the daffodils bursting with big heads of yellow and orange and the purple crocus popping, all against the backdrop of gray barren trees and grungy lawn, not yet a vibrant green, full of old leaves and fallen sticks. Our eyes somehow like to focus on the blossoms of new life, giving hope and joy in the celebration of making it through another winter.

Jesus said “I come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 KJV). Solomon notes that everything has a season and that God makes all things beautiful, in his time (Ecclesiastes 3).

Do you love looking at the abundant life God displays in you? Or do you look with disappointment at what is not yet vibrant green and lush because it’s not yet in season. Do you love to look at the abundant beauty in someone else? Or do you quickly look for what is lacking?

God makes all things beautiful in it’s time. Go with His timing, not yours, and enjoy the view!

As a Virtue 31 woman, let's declare, I receive the life of God in me and in His time He makes all things beautiful!

It’s almost time!!! 🌸Bring a friend!
03/15/2022

It’s almost time!!! 🌸
Bring a friend!

Mark your calendars, ladies! Bring a friend. 🌼🌷🌸
03/10/2022

Mark your calendars, ladies! Bring a friend.
🌼🌷🌸

We can’t wait to see you ladies there this evening!
02/18/2022

We can’t wait to see you ladies there this evening!

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Clarksville, IN

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