Memory Verse:
You did not choose Me, but I chose you.
I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit.
John 15:16
We have three takeaways from today’s lesson that we cannot take lightly or breeze right past. Please read and then re-read today’s lesson intentionally, my dear sisters because THIS is exactly where our true value lies…….. THIS is our value in Christ.
1. God chose YOU.
2. God set YOU apart.
3. God has appointed YOU.
Did you read that in the verse typed above? You probably read it…. but did you really sink your teeth into it? Dear friends…. it is so important that we let each of these truths intentionally penetrate every part of our hearts and souls. Let them weave their way into all of the places you have been stuffing down the lies that have been said over you during the life and let God’s truth bring light to those dark corners and crevices.
Have you ever really thought about why you are in a certain situation or circumstance you are in? Have you? I want you to think about one aspect of your life and dissect it with me here about your unique value to that situation or circumstance. We started this process last week, remember? Priscilla shared with us why it is good to be a girl and we were challenged to look at a specific role we play in our life and note how we are good for it, necessary to it, an important component to it, worthy to be part of it, and trustworthy to fulfill your role in it.
I hope you did this exercise along with me last week. If you did, pull it out because we are going to look at it from a little bit of a different perspective today. If you didn’t, that’s okay too….. just think of one of the roles you currently play in your life and get ready to explore it with us here.
The role God CHOSE me for that I discussed last week was my role as “Mom” to Craig’s five kids from his previous marriage that I have since adopted. I joke with my daughter Vicky sometimes that when I was a little girl, I never dreamed of growing up to raise someone else’s FIVE children, but at the same time, I cannot imagine my life any other way. I know in my heart that God specifically had ME picked out for this not only because I am just THAT CRAZY (hahaha) but because I 100% fill the need in who I am that they were missing in their life. Does that make sense? Those 5 aspects that I bring to this role that I mentioned earlier explain exactly why God CHOSE me specifically for this role … it was just up to me to be obedient and bring my gifts and my unique self to this role for God’s purposes to be fulfilled in it.
God SET ME APART for this role. I am not like all the other moms out there. That used to be hard for me because I felt like such an outcast and like no one would ever take me seriously as a parent because I was so young and really did have NO IDEA what I was doing. But that was me giving into my insecurities as a parent from believing lies said over me my whole life. I never babysat, never changed a diaper, never cooked…. how could I possibly have what it takes to be a parent to my new insta-family? Well….. I could because God set me apart uniquely for THIS… at THIS moment in time, with THIS set of children, at THIS point in their lives and my life. When I tried to be the version of “mom” that I thought everyone expected me to be, it was a MESS!!! When I fully embraced each season we were in and lived fully in it, we ALL thrived! God has put me in every situation and circumstance in my to SET ME APART for this and every other role he places before me. It is up to me to CHOSE to thrive or merely survive in it. As I thrive, so do the lives He has entrusted to me.
God has APPOINTED ME. It really does not matter if I, personally, am happy with who I am or even happy with the circumstances I am currently living in. What DOES matter is that *I* am specifically here for a reason intentionally and purposefully by God in His divine design. It is supernaturally ordained…. and He fully expects to reap much fruit from the seeds He is sowing through me being an obediant vessel in this circumstance and situation. I trust Him because he knows me intimately and I have grown and continue to grow to know Him.
He loved ME enough to make me like no other. He has given me this task that is mine alone to complete with His abundant help and empowerment. It would be denying HIM if I do not love myself as who I am… who He created. It would be denying His perfect plan.
I pray you are able to see this in YOUR role you chose to explore last week. Has God shown you yet WHY He uniquely created YOU specifically for that role? I would love to read all about it here in a comment on this blog. Please share how your unique role has come full-circle for you to know fully why he planted you where he did for His purpose. I would love to praise His work right along with you!
I understand now that my role in my kids’ lives is bigger than I could have ever expected ten years ago when I was “just” a weekend stepmom trying to keep my sanity as I navigated the turbulent waters of step-life. God had me in ever hard circumstance and every messed-up situation so that I can now speak into and encourage other stepmoms and kids through those hard relationships and confusing times. I have been there and I let God do His good work. I let Him use me and I continue to let Him use me no matter how ill-equipped or unworthy I feel. Feelings are deceptive but God’s truth is infallible!
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Let’s Pray:
Lord, we come to You today so grateful for Your supernatural selection! Thank you for making each of us so uniquely for our individual situations and circumstances to fulfill Your purposes on this earth. We are not worthy in our eyes Lord, but thank you that we are in Your’s! Help us to see ourselves more as You see us, Father…. perfectly created in every way for purposes bigger than anything we could come up with on our own! Help us today to see each of the roles we have as You see them…. perfect and planned for Your purposes….. and help us be willing to be obedient to Your call on our lives within these roles. Rid us of our selves, Lord!!! Help us be real with ourselves and each other to finally be SET FREE from the lies that keep us from Your very best! We love you, Lord, and we thank you! Amen.
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Today’s blog assignment:
Did you see it in there? Share whatever you feel comfortable about your role you explored and what God has shown you through this exploration. When you have completed this assignment here on the blog, return to your Facebook Online Bible Study Group for today’s FUN Activity!! You just never know what we have in store for you!! 🙂
If you are not a member of our OBS Facebook Group, and would like to be, please send us an email and we’ll be happy to place you!! Our email address is: GirlfriendsCoffeeHour@gmail.com
my blog: www.glorytoglorylifecoaching.wordpress.com
My Craig’s blog about the Men’s Resolution journey: www.adversusmundi.wordpress.com
Many blessings,
Megan 🙂
About Megan Smidt
The role I chose to look at was being a wife to my husband. He and I ate very much the same in many ways but there are a few where we balance each other. He is, shall we say, passionate. He reacts very emotionally to situations and circumstances. I do not. In the level, look at it and see what we can do kind of person. If something goes a little haywire I tend to just go with it and work WITH the situation. He tends to flip out, for lack of a better term. He's learning that it often doesn't do anybody any good the get caught up in the emotion of what's going wrong. It just adds stress to the situation. This is one thing that I bring to our relationship that he needs. This is how I was created for "such a time as this."
God set me apart for a special role as a Christian mother. Here in Belgium is difficult to believe. You are an exception if you believe. Yesterday is my 13 year old daughter be baptized. Than I realized how important my role is as a mother.
Proverbs 22 : 6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
I saw the pictures Anja!!! I am so happy for you, and your daughter!!
Oh my, what a question. As a young person right out of high school I thought I was to work. So I worked in my grandmothers restaurant until my mother told me I had to go to college or join the Navy. Hated school, so joined the Navy. Did not excel at that, I liked really bombed actually. Then I got married, pretty much because I could not tell my boyfriends mother "no". I was very co-dependent, in a really sick way. Then the children started coming. I tried to still help out with the finances so I did daycare while I was raising my children, and really hated it. Still I am not seeing a purpose here. I was a slave to my household. Then I opened a ceramic shop with my Mother. Did okay there, but dealing with customers made me extremely uncomfortable, so left that up to my Mom. Then she started traveling with my Dad, I got pregnant with number 5 and closed the shop. Still, not seeing what my purpose was and feeling very inferior because I had NO skills. Then major marital issues in which God sent me to the books and the Bible and some MAJOR soul searching. I would get the kids off to school and spend the entire day reading, reading, and evaluating my life. This is the time I started to accept myself as I was, but hadn't quite arrived when the government decided that we needed to move to Colorado, and shut down the base my husband worked out. I had to leave everything I knew, everyone I knew, my security! Oh my goodness, I was petrified. My husband got a second job and they were hiring, so he got me hired too. I wanted to branch out and explore, to find another life for me. Another huge mistake. I loved the job he got for me and I learned a lot, but I felt I needed more education. I was pretty dumb but learned fast so I was adored by management. So I went to college and got two AS degrees, one in business and one in Medical Transcription. While doing this, I was laid off, businesses shut down, or was sold, I quit a couple, and was pretty much miserable in the work force for eight years. When I got laid off my last job, that was it, I was done with the work force. Through all this God has shown me my true purpose in life. To love Him, glorify Him and to do what I need to do to help my family and right now that is taking care of my four grandchildren. It took about 40 years to show me this. If you hadn't guessed, I am a really slow learner. haha! Sorry this is so long, but Megan asked, and I have my story written to this point. I plan on writing about 20 to 30 more years of it, if Jesus tarries that long.
Love this but I really need to think about that one . Because being single I never have stopped to defined what God has called me to do at this point and time.
Sharing the Word with your co-workers….being a role model to the new gal at work…being an encourager to the gals in GCH….want me to add more Carol????? LOL
No I guess not Christi I guess you said it all I just had not thought about the stuff you mention.
Thanks
The role I would like to share is a homeschool mom. I remember feeling inadequate and I prayed and prayed to see if this was what I'm suppose to do. The Lord confirmed it and I asked how. You see I was teaching for awhile, I would teach my dolls what I learned. When I was a teenager at high school I would lead Christian group in bible study. So He showed me you know how to teach but I was not comfortable with the record keeping and classes they needed to take. The Lord would put people in my path who were homeschooling and kept their records/others who had someone who did it for them. I have someone do it for me. But I know my kids are learning more than what the state requires and I'm blessed that He chose me to be apart of the blessing.
You are doing what I always felt I could never do Merol!! Kudo's to you!!!
My role, I believe is being on staff as secretary of the church we attend. While reading this chapter, that really jumped out at me. You see, my husband is an ordained minister, and we started a church in Virginia in 1999. We moved to Oklahoma 5.5 years ago to be part of a counseling ministry. Well, long story short, once we sold our house and moved lock, stock and barrel halfway across the country, we found out that there was no money for my husband's salary. I felt for a long time, and still do occasionally that God put us up on a shelf! That was a horrible feeling, let me tell you! Anyway, about 3.5 years ago, I was asked to be secretary of the church we attend (still in the same denomination as our church in Virginia). I see now that all of those unique experiences I had as a pastor's wife in Virginia have definitely helped me in this role – confidentiality, discretion, etc. I see and hear a lot of things as secretary that cannot be shared – so I thank God for those challenges that many times broke my heart in Virginia that help me now. With the way that the move to Oklahoma came about – bathed in prayer, and sign after sign after sign, there is no doubt that He wanted us out here. It just didn't work out like we thought, but I see how God is working. My husband and I have learned so much sitting underneath our pastor. One other thing that really spoke to me about this chapter – the paragraph about the fine china looking out at the everyday plates having all the fun…I feel like that sometimes, even in my role as secretary. But I realize now more that the way God has ordered my steps in the past has brought me to this point now where I can be effective in my role! All because of Him! Funny thing is, I do feel this way right now, but if you asked me tomorrow, it may be a totally different story! Sorry to have written a book!
I loved the fine china part of this chapter, as well Kathy!!!
My role is being a wife. For a couple of weeks God has been impressing on me that He has plans for Scott & I am a part of this. I wasn't sure how I fit in until I read Robin's blog last week. 1 Peter 3:1 spoke to me:
3 In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, This is my God given purpose for this season in my life. Do I feel equipped for this role? Not really but God is growing me, equipping me, changing me daily so that I can fulfill His purpose. Do I find this scary? Yes, a little bit. Who am I with all my mistakes & flaws to lead anyone toward Christ with my behavior? God says I am worthy & capable because I can do all things through Christ. Does how I feel about this matter? Loved what you said Megan:
"What DOES matter is that *I* am specifically here for a reason intentionally and purposefully by God in His divine design. It is supernaturally ordained…. and He fully expects to reap much fruit from the seeds He is sowing through me being an obediant vessel in this circumstance and situation."
That gives me such reassurance. I am to sow the seeds so He can reap the fruit of my obedience. It is Him working through me, not anything I am doing on my own.
Thanks Megan once again for your awesome insight. Just what I needed this morning
The one I wrote about last week was about being a mother to 2 little boys. To be honest, growing up and dreaming of having a family, I never thought I would have boys at all. I wanted girls. My husband wanted girls (7 to be exact lol) I just assumed that that meant that God was going to give us daughters. Boy was I wrong! When I had the ultrasound with my first and found out he was a boy, I remember saying to God "I don't even know what to do with a boy! How am I supposed to raise one?" Then I remembered a book my Uncle had read a few years back when I had lived with him and my Aunt called "Bringing Up Boys" by Dr. Dobson. That book turned out to be such a blessing to me. Not only did it help me understand the various phases my boys have already gone through and the ones yet to come but it also helped me to understand what our culture is doing to men and why there is such a lack of leadership by men in the homes. That book lit a fire in me and showed me the part I would play in their lives and in them becoming Godly men who would lead their homes the way God intended for them to.
My role was a wife, then a wife/mom, now with kids grown back to the wife role…and I must say the role that I am in this time is much different than when I took on that role 33 years ago because God has grown me tremendously over the years, however He still has much to teach me….this study is showing me things that is making me a better wife to my husband….and I am thankful because it is also changing my husband too and he doesn't even realize it….even though my husband does not have a daily relationship with Christ and attend church with me God is moving in his life…I have been seeing evidence (like I have found him up late at night reading books from Max Lucado)….God is changing us both separately now at the same time but I've gotta feeling He is gonna bring us together soon….and then our roles will become whole….exactly how God chose..appointed us to be!
Love this Beverly. I am hoping that as God changes me My husband will be drawn back to Him so that some day our marriage will be all He intends it to be. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I stop and think about my first months as a Christian. I had one of those amazing Born Again experiences, from darkness into light. Gotta tell you this. I had a broken engagement, and went crying to the pastor we found to marry us. He did quite a bit of counselling, got me started in the Navigators books, and I was working on it, but just wasn't 'feelin' it if you know. Then Jesus Took the Wheel, literally!! I was driving getting ready to pass the street that the church was on. I felt this overwhelming urge to turn and go tell this pastor that I was ready to accept Jesus! So I did, invited my mother, brother and little sister to watch my baptism that next Sunday. I was devouring the word, and it all made sense to me!! My family saw the joy and the changes in me, and along they came, accepting Jesus in a very short period of time. I feel that the Lord chose ME to be the first one to take that step of faith and lead the others in my home to Jesus. My brother is still a believer, but does not attend church, and honestly, I don't know what his wife is. My sister is married to a pastor and serves the Lord beside him. My mother is very involved in her church and bible studies. One thing for sure, is that they all love the Lord 🙂 And God formed me, chose me, set me apart and appointed me to lead my family to the Lord. And then there is that ripple affect of them bringing others to Him :)))) 6 weeks after my baptism, I met my husband at a singles bible study, 3 weeks later we were engaged, and 3.5 months later we were married. That's another story <3 <3 <3
The role I mentioned last week was I am a mom to a wonderful 3yr old little boy that is very intelligent for his age. I couldnt imagine life without him. I am so struggling to be a good mom to him and I am feeling like I'm falling flat on my face. What really hurts is when people try to tell me how to raise my kid the way they have raised theirs. They don't stop and think each kid is different and you have to realize what works for one kid may not work another child. I had a lady tell me today I needed to beat my kid into shape and that's not going to happen first of all and second it wont accomplish anything.
I have enjoyed reading each response today so much. I know it took time to really think through this and respond from your heart and I pray that God gives each of you the time back that you have spent on this stufy today. Bless you all! I love reading about your lives, hopes and dreams and the divine way God has designed each of your situations and circumstances. I have prayed over each one of you today as I read your responses and I am so thankful for the words you all wrote. Each one of you spoke to MY heart today and I am so humbled to be walking along side such incredible women of the Lord through this season. Thank you and I hope to hear you all on the conference call tonight!!! 😀
Wow,this is a hard one for me because I'm still not sure well pretty sure I'm not where God has intended me to be. I have been told by pastor Frank that I have done a good kob teaching the girls Gods word,and showing them the way to God but wonder why I haven't done this for my husband,and son. They both are very resistant when it comes to going to church my husband was not raised in the church as I was,he was always told that his wife would one day lead him to her church and that would be where he'd go. My whole life I've been told by fellow parishoners,and family that I was a spirtual one. I have seen this to be true on many occasions until my nephews passing last fall. I keep asking myself If I had taken him,his brother in when they were young would things be different,and would he still be here. I keep asking myself this because I feel I left them to come here with. Doug to build a life for our family. My husband tells me to not be so hard on myself that everything happens for a reason,and I do believe God has a plan for us all. I hope by Josh's passing that God will lead his brother John away from drugs/alcohol and the party scene to a life where church/family,and stability are important. I'm thankful for what God has given us,and the peace I feel from showing our children his word,and leading them to him.
I've been playing catch up on here due to my stomach issues but am off from work tomorrow so will be planning to read,read,read and be caught up. The group ,and blog bring me closer to ya'll and God's word and remind me that even though there will be stressors in our everyday lives that we're not going it alone God is right there by our side. Have a blessed day ladies..
Bless you, dear one and know that i am praying for the men in your life to courageously answer God's call to be the spiritual heads of their homes <3
Mine was a mom. My husband traveled a lot when our 3 boys were younger so it was me alone a lot of the time and YES it was trying. They knew I was there for them no matter what. I am sure there are many times that I felled but God pulled me through. Through him I tried to instill values and moral in our 3 sons, teaching and reading God's word to them. There have been many highs and many lows but I definitely know that God was working through them all and changed all of us through them. As they have all gotten grown it is so good to see the fine young men, husbands and fathers that they have become. Thank you Lord for choosing me to be a Mom and setting me apart for our 3 boys and allowing me to share in their lives.
God chose me and set me apart in the 90's to meet my first husband online. He moved from PA to SC to live with my family. He claimed to be atheist when he got here. God used us to bring about his salvation. He passed away in 2002 at age 24, I get chills everytime I think about how different things would have been if we hadnt obeyed Gods calling then. Now God has placed me way far out of my comfort zone moved me away from my family and the only place I had ever lived, has me unemployed in dire financial straits and trying to be the best stepmom i can be to my hubbys 3 kids. Its been one crazy ride but i'm holding on tight to Him.
Bless you janet <3 you know you're right where He wants you….. Under His wing <3 praying for God's will to be done and for peace to live in your heart 🙂