February 23, 2025

Lady in Waiting: Lady of Purity / Deadly Deception

November 5, 2012 by

 

Girls, I want to be honest with you from the start, this chapter was a struggle for me.  As I read through it, a lot of feelings of shame and embarrassment came up for me.  Feelings I honestly didn’t even know I had.  Then followed the thoughts of, “How am I ever going to talk to these women about purity, when as a single, never married mom, it is obvious I am not “pure”.”  I can say this much to you all.  I have been saved for 3 ½ years, and I have made the commitment to remain pure until the Lord sees fit to show me the man He has planned for me.  I have not had a perfect past, but I ask for your grace as we travel through this topic of purity together.

We live in such a sexually charged society don’t we?  Sexual promiscuity seems more the norm than the exception to the rule.  Yet as Jesus girls, we are held to a higher standard, we have a higher calling.  God wants better for us.  The temptations to compromise physically are all around us, but we are called to be ladies of purity.

This is not a situation unique to 2012.  If you look back to the time of Ruth, her story took place in the time of the judges – a time of disobedience, idolatry and violence.  These were dark days for Israel, when “everyone did as he saw fit.”  Sound familiar?  So to think that Ruth had it any easier than we do in modern society would be fooling ourselves.  So how do we, like Ruth, safeguard our special treasure and stay women of purity?  We will spend the next week trying to figure it all out together.

The deadliest deception we face in today’s society is that we should seek its ultimate pleasures because that will give us the least pain.  More often than not, the exact opposite is true.  As far as guidance on the topic of sex before marriage, look no farther than our Heavenly Father.  God intends for us to enjoy the pleasure of sex within marriage only.  The joy of such an intimate act between two people is maximized when both of you remain pure.  We, especially as women, can get caught up in the fantasy of it, the romance of it, but there is always the truth, His truth: Sex is special!  Not sensuous sex, but satisfying sex in your Creator’s will and time.

We are worth more my dear women of faith.  We are worth more than a temporary pleasure that is likely to lead to the sting of regret.  We are worth more than having a man try to lure you into something you don’t want, by using manipulation.  We are worth the joy and pleasure and love that our Heavenly Father has waiting for us.  Believe it, believe Him.

LET’S PRAY

Father, it is so easy for us to be lured by the traps of today’s society and the pleasure seeking, selfish ways of this world.  But we know you have so much more for us.  We are a precious gift, not to be given away freely.  Help to give us strength when we feel weak.  Show each and every woman reading this her worth.  We are special, and in Your strength we prepare to give ourselves only to the man you have chosen specifically for us in your will and in your time.  We ask this in Your Holy Name.  Amen.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Is staying pure a difficult aspect to your single life?  Is it something that is easy for you to cope with?  In either situation, why do you think that is?  What strategies do you have, or can you come up with, to help stay pure in today’s world?

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For the “Lady in Waiting” Bible Study, you will need the book, your Bible, pen or pencil, a highlighter and a quiet place. You can order the book right through our website by clicking the “sign-up here” button at the top of our webpage; which is also where you can sign up to participate in this awesome bible study!

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Lady in Waiting: Lady of Purity

November 4, 2012 by

 

My beloved girlfriends, I thank God each day for giving me this opportunity to take this amazing journey with you.  What a blessing it is to study with you.  This book is so full of life changing truths.  Each chapter is rich with honesty and makes one to really look at life in a different perspective.

Our chapter for this week, Lady of Purity is no different.  My prayer is that we will allow God to open our eyes and eyes of faith so that we can receive what He has for us.

Purity is a “sensitive” subject among us Christians because of the world we live in but as children of God we are to remain pure as the bride of Christ.  But what happens when we have given away our most treasured gift?  I don’t want to preempt things.  Why don’t you join us this week as we dig deep into this chapter?

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Here is our reading assignment for Week 7

November 5:

Lady of Purity, Deadly Deception – Michelle

November 6:

Why Wait / Physical – Jackie

November 7:

Emotional, Relational / Spiritual – Tonya

November 8:

Guarding the Treasure – Katie

November 9:

What if it’s Too Late – Diane

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LET’S PRAY

Our God and our Father, thank you so much for being with us in this journey.  Lord, may you be with us this week as we deal with this subject of purity.  We want to be Ladies of Purity in each and every area of our lives and we cannot do it without your help.  Holy Spirit soften our hearts to receive what you have for us.  In Jesus Name Amen.

Be Blessed

Jackie

For the “Lady in Waiting” Bible Study, you will need the book, your Bible, pen or pencil, a highlighter and a quiet place. You can order the book right through our website by clicking the “sign-up here” button at the top of our webpage; which is also where you can sign up to participate in this awesome bible study!

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Lady in Waiting: An Advantageous Position

November 2, 2012 by

This chapter makes me think of my sister so incredibly much!  Reading through the story of the married lady you may think-no way does married life really get that crazy.  Now, I am not married, but my sister is, and I can assure you that the story in the book is not even close to as crazy as it really gets being married and having children running around.  Trust me, I have experienced the crazy right alongside of my sister and honestly if it wasn’t for the grace of God-there would be no way she could get through her day without putting her children and husband up for adoption.

My sister and I are very close and very similar.  We both strive to live our lives for God alone.  We both cry at the same things, and laugh at the same things-mainly each other.  We share similar passions.  We encourage one another and are both thankful we are sisters and have each other to go through life with.  There is one thing about us that makes us very different as we live out the lives God has planned perfectly for each one of us- she is married with three ADORABLE children (I know I am biased but they truly are the most adorable kids in the universe) and I am single living in a perfect little apartment all for me.

There are so many times that my sister and I will be talking on the phone (me usually whining on the phone) in the midst of living out the difference in our lives and she will mutter the words, enjoy being single while it lasts because when you are married you won’t have time to yourself.  This is usually said after I go on and on about the fact that I am single and alone and wondering how I am ever going to find the man God has for me if I am sitting home, alone talking to her.  Meanwhile, my sister on the other end is wishing and praying for some sort of miraculous thing where time freezes just for her kids and husband and she can move around doing what she wants and needs without them just for even a minute will do.

I am always reminded of a few things when I talk to my sister in these moments:  living out married life with kids is a lot different than the married life with kids we dream of when we are single.  By enjoying single life she doesn’t want me to enjoy the fact that I feel like a loser sometimes, she wants me to enjoy the time I have with God alone and make the most of that time.  Married women want what single women have-not so much singleness, but aloneness: time to spend alone with God or with a good movie without any interruptions of motherhood and being a wife.  In the same way single women want what married women have: a husband to come home, give us a kiss, ask us how our day was, and to spend our evenings with him and not alone.

The fact of that matter though is that GOD IS CALLING ME AND YOU TO SINGLENESS FOR THIS SEASON OF OUR LIVES.  WE MUST NOT WANT SOMETHING WE DO NOT HAVE.  WE MUST EMBRACE THIS TIME IN OUR LIFE, WE MUST USE OUR TIME THAT WE HAVE ALL TO OURSELVES AND SHARE IT WITH GOD, YEARNING TO HEAR FROM HIM AND GROW CLOSER TO HIM.

My sister will be the first person to tell you that marriage and motherhood is such a blessing and gift from above.  You NEVER want to trade those blessings and gifts for anything.  She will also be the first to tell you that being a wife and mommy makes spending time with God a little more of a challenge.

As a single woman, I am telling you that the only thing that keeps us from taking advantage of the TIME we have to spend with God daily (distractionless) is the whining we do in our minds, the unrealistic dreams we will not let go of.  There will come a day when most of us will not have the luxury of one-on-one time with God without a husband needing socks, a poopy diaper needing changed, and the Bible you are so desperately trying to read being chewed on by a teething little child.  So let us make the most of the time we do have to put all of our attention and focus on the one and only satisfaction to our hearts desires.  You are where you are for a reason, married or single-God still desires to spend time with you.  And as a single woman of God it is our hearts desire to be concerned with living our lives for HIM ALONE.

LET’S PRAY:  Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you and praise you so much for the time you give us every day to spend with YOU!  I pray that in the midst of our singleness we do not become distant from you, but instead we use this time to grow closer to you.  Prepare our hearts for whatever lies ahead for us.  Help us to take full advantage of our single days-with you.  I love you so much Jesus!  We pray all of these things in your HOLY name, AMEN.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:  List everything you want in your life.  Give that list to God, literally take that list and pray to God about everything on it.  Then put the paper in a safe place.  Ask God to turn that list of your wants into HIS LIST OF HIS WANTS.  As time goes by, compare the lists.  See what has changed and what you have been living out for Him all along!

Love you ladies!!

Diane

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For the “Lady In Waiting” Bible Study, you will need the book, your Bible, pen or pencil, a highlighter and a quiet place. You can order the book right through our website by clicking the “sign-up here” button at the top of our webpage; which is also where you can sign up to participate in this awesome bible study!

 

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Lady in Waiting: Meditations

November 1, 2012 by

“You are my daughter.” “You are a priestess.” “You are a child of the Most High God.”

“Quiet your heart and rest.” “My child, I love you.”

The times that I wait to listen for the Lord’s voice are few and far between, but these are some of the words he has spoken when I have asked. And these words from the Lord have meant the world to me. When I take the time to meditate on his word, when I seek him in prayer, when I journal, and when I wait for his responses, I begin to build a deeply intimate relationship with the God that I love. I get to know the God of Scripture, rather than simply the God I have been told about or have decided he was. I hear his heart for me and I learn when he aches for me.

Meditation on the Lord is not an easy feat. It is hard to rest, relax, and shake the things of this world out of your mind, in order to hear the Lord’s voice better. The competing and often opposing words of the world sometimes shout into your ear as you wait on him. And the enemy longs to convince us that the things we are hearing are simply not true. So, how do we know they are from him, and not just made up in our minds? We turn to Scripture to learn about who God is, and the promises he has made to us. Here are some of the verses affirming the gentle whispers that the Lord has spoken to me:

“Some of the tree’s branches were pruned and you wild olive shoots were grafted in…” (Romans 11:17a The Message)

 

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9 NIV)

 

“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”” (Psalm 4:10 NIV)

 

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39 NIV)

The times that I actually wait to listen for my Lover’s voice are few and far between. Yet I rarely shut out the voices of all the lovers of this world; rather, I hold their opinions and thoughts to quite a high standard. But the only way to differentiate our Lover’s voice from the voices of those around us is to know Scripture. Find a devotion plan that will help you to work through the books of the Bible at a pace that is good for you. Find a quiet place where you will not be bothered (this could even be a coffee shop or a book store with a reading space if you fear you will be bothered at home!) Take a journal, and take notes of the verses that stand out to you. In your prayer time, ask the Lord to engrave these things on your heart.

If you are having trouble focusing or hearing the Lord, write down everything that is distracting you from him and decide that those are not things you are going to focus on for the next half hour. The enemy wants those distractions to come up, but our God desires our heart even more. Ask the Holy Spirit to come into this time with you and protect you from the attacks of the enemy.

What would the Lord have to say to you if you took the time to hear? What gentle reminders would he whisper into your ear? What convictions would he strengthen, what sorrows would he quiet, and what desires would he quench? I ask myself these questions today, just as I am asking you. Our Heavenly Father has plenty to say, if we open our ears, put our talking on pause, and listen!

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Let’s Pray:

Heavenly Father, I ask right now that you would cleanse our minds from the things of this world. We long to meditate on your word so that we can know you deeper. As single women, we know that we have even more time now than we ever will to get to know you intimately. Give each of us the mind of Christ, to hear your voice. Holy Spirit, protect us from the attacks of the enemy that keep us from hearing you. Engrave you Word on our hearts, Lord. We love you. Amen.

Your Assignment:

When was the last time you spent more than 15 minutes talking with God? To be completely honest, I have made many excuses to not spend time with him because of how early I get up for work. Put those excuses away! This is the most important relationship you will ever, ever, ever have! Let’s sit down and look at our schedule for next week. Find a time on each day that you can get quiet with God. Read Scripture for 30 minutes, and then spend time praying and listening to him for 30 minutes. I’d encourage you to take a journal and write down anything he says!

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For the “Lady in Waiting” Bible Study, you will need the book, your Bible, pen or pencil, a highlighter and a quiet place. You can order the book right through our website by clicking the “sign-up here” button at the top of our webpage; which is also where you can sign up to participate in this awesome bible study!

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Lady in Waiting: Seeking True Love

October 31, 2012 by

True love.

I think these are two words that every woman wants to not only hear, but two words that she wants to feel. As a single woman I felt that I was unable to find true love. As a woman in a failed relationship I felt that what I thought was true love, truly wasn’t  and that true love was something I could never truly feel. The true love that I was seeking always seemed to be out of my grasp.

In retrospect I learned a lesson. Whether I was single, dating, married, divorced. Whatever stage of life I am in there is one person I need to seek true love from. God.  It’s not about where I am in life; it’s about my personal relationship with God. It’s about me seeking him with an open heart, a clean heart. It’s about me seeking him with all of me. It’s about the relationship between my God and me.

Seeking God isn’t some elaborate, grand quest. Like the authors of the book said, it is similar to developing a friendship. We can talk to Him, we can listen for His answers, we can write our thoughts and prayers to Him, and He has written the most beautiful book to us. We can think and meditate on His promises and on His word.  We can set our minds on pleasing Him, and on walking in His will.

Jeremiah 29:12-13

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

His is a true love that we are promised to find. A true love that is unconditional.  Like many promises God makes to us we have a responsibility to do our part. We can seek and find this true love but we must do so with “our whole heart, a clean heart.”  We need to seek God for who He is, not what He can do. We previously talked about motives. Why do I desire to seek God? Because I feel that it will make me look better in God’s eyes and I’ll receive what I’m asking for?  We need to seek God’s face, not just His hand.”

We will find the true love that we seek when we seek God with an open heart, a pure heart and a willing heart.  Despite where we are in our lives, married or single, this true love needs to be the desire of us all. It was promised to us all, and it is our responsibility to be seekers of true love.

God Bless,

Tonya

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Lets Pray:

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for the promise of true love. Thank you for an unconditional love. Create in us pure hearts Lord, so that we may seek you with a pure clean heart, with all of our heart, soul and mind. Please teach us how to seek you intimately, teach us how to build a relationship with you. We want to be the woman in Jeremiah 29, the woman who finds you. Thank you for giving us your true love.

In Jesus Name I pray, Amen

Your Assignment:

The first part of this section lists how we can develop a friendship with someone, then compares this to developing a relationship with God. How can you apply these steps to your daily life? How can you apply them to building a relationship with your Heavenly Father?

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For the “Lady in Waiting” Bible Study, you will need the book, your Bible, pen or pencil, a highlighter and a quiet place. You can order the book right through our website by clicking the “sign-up here” button at the top of our webpage; which is also where you can sign up to participate in this awesome bible study!

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Lady in Waiting: Two-Way Conversation

October 30, 2012 by

Today we will be starting meditations. We will do these once or twice a week through the rest of our study. This is to get you to pray about, think about and write about some of the topics that we have been discussing. It is not enough to simply read the individual quotes, write a few words, and then move on. The authors, as well as Jackie and I, encourage you to prayerfully meditate on these powerful truths. As you do so, these meditations can become a powerful resource that will draw you into a deeper level of intimacy with Jesus and prepare you for deeper relationships with those around you.

 

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Some tips for doing your meditations:
• Find a quiet place where you can be alone
• Read each passage several times
• Allow the Spirit to enter into your presence and thoughts

 

Quote from pages 161 – 162 in Lady in Waiting:

Meditative reading is choosing some important practical or speculative truth, always preferring the practical, and proceeding thus: whatever truth you have chosen, read only a small portion of it, endeavoring to taste and digest it, to extract the essence and substance of it, and proceed no farther while any savor or relish remains in the passage: then take up the book again, and proceed as before, seldom reading more than half a page at a time.

It is not the quantity that is read, but the manner of reading, that yields us profit. Those who read fast, reap no advantage, than a bee would by only skimming over the surface of a flower, instead of waiting to penetrate into it, and extract its sweets. Much reading is rather for scholastic subjects, than divine truths; to receive profit from spiritual books, we must read as I have described; and I am certain that if that method were pursued, we should become gradually habituated to prayer by our reading, and more fully disposed for its exercise.

With all that being said, here is your meditation for today:

 

Two-Way Conversation

Have you ever tried to develop an intimate relationship with Jana Jabberbox? She’s the gal that has lots to say and loves to hear herself say it. You try to say something when she takes a breath – which isn’t often – but she keeps right on talking. She never listens. It’s a one-way conversation, and you are left out. Even when someone is very special to you, you do not get too excited with a steady monologue. Listening is an important part of developing a closeness with someone else. If you want to get to know the Lord, you must seek Him not only with a whole, clean, and pure heart, but also with a listening heart.

As you spend time with God during your daily devotional time, learn to listen to Him as you read of His love and thoughts about you in the Bible. Think about what He is saying to you personally. Sit silently and write what impressions come to your listening heart. As you read and study His love letters, the Bible, you begin to see what He really thinks of you and what wonderful plans He has for you. As a result, your devotion grows and grows.

LET’S PRAY
Father God, we treasure our time with you. So many times we talk incessantly about our needs, our wants, our hopes and dreams. We know that you love hearing our cares, but we also know you love to speak to us also. Help us to slow down in our prayer and devotional time so that we can hear from You. It is You who guide us, and without taking the time to listen to the guidance we will become lost. Thank you Jesus for your patience and love as we continue the process of drawing close to you.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT
Please share your thoughts on today’s meditation, either in full or in part, below as well as in our Facebook group. Our hope is that you take the time to journal these meditations so that you have them to look back on and use them to help you grow.

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For the “Lady in Waiting” Bible Study, you will need the book, your Bible, pen or pencil, a highlighter and a quiet place. You can order the book right through our website by clicking the “sign-up here” button at the top of our webpage; which is also where you can sign up to participate in this awesome bible study!

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Lady in Waiting: Lady of Devotion

October 28, 2012 by

 

Wow girls!  I can’t believe that we have made it through our first month of our study!  I know it has stretched a lot of us, and it has been difficult for many of us, but ladies – we are doing it!  This is what God wants.  God wants us healed.  He wants us close.  He wants our undivided attention right now.  I am proud of each and every one of you for taking this journey and wanting to be the best you can be, no matter what your marital situation.  Remember, that doesn’t define you, our Lord and Savior does!

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Here is our reading assignment for Chapter 5, you will notice we will be adding some meditations this week, we hope they bless you and help you carve out some time to spend with Him:

October 29:      Lady of Devotion – Jackie
October 30:      Meditation – Michelle
October 31:      Seeking True Love  – Tonya
November 1:    Meditation – Katie
November 2:    An Advantageous Position  – Diane

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LET’S PRAY

Lord Jesus thank you.  Thank you for loving us so completely.  Thank you for continuing to draw us close even when we wander.  I pray for each and every lady in this study.  I know that life circumstances sometimes seem to get in the way of the study, or other things seem more important, but Lord we know that it is time with you that is truly most important.  Help each of us make time to dedicate not only to you, but to this study.  You know each woman’s struggle, you know the challenges they face.  Come along side of them and give them the strength they need to continue.  Thank you Lord, we love you and are so grateful for you.  In Your Name we pray.  Amen

In Him,

Michelle

For the “Lady in Waiting” Bible Study, you will need the book, your Bible, pen or pencil, a highlighter and a quiet place. You can order the book right through our website by clicking the “sign-up here” button at the top of our webpage; which is also where you can sign up to participate in this awesome bible study!

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Lady In Waiting: Finding the Priceless Pearls

October 26, 2012 by

 

When I looked at the schedule and saw I had this section of the chapter to talk about with you ladies, I was ecstatic!  I am pretty sure this is my favorite chapter.  When I read, A Lady in Waiting years ago, I wrote down this sentence from page 61: From the time you wake in the morning until you go to bed at night, set your heart’s desire on exalting Him.  This paper is sitting in my nightstand drawer.  Every time I read that sentence I pray that I am able to do just what is says that day.  Through the years I have learned what exactly it means to exalt God.

I have not always exalted God.  In fact for three years of my life, my heart’s desire was not for God; it was for a man who I tried to make my God.  I lived to honor this man, I lived for this man, from the time I woke up in the morning until I went to sleep at night I made this man a huge idol in my life.  This was the absolute worst time in my life.  He was very abusive, controlling, manipulative, and to put it simply, his heart’s desire was to destroy me and to sit back and watch in slow motion as he painfully ripped every single one of the pearls away I had received from God the day I accepted Him into my heart.  The worst part was I could not defend these pearls he was taking so viciously from me, because I had no idea they existed.

When all I was left with was an empty strand where beautiful pearls once laid, it was my turn to add new pearls.  Instead of adding God honoring pearls to that strand, it slowly started getting corrupted with ugly pearls of drunkenness, provocativeness, impurity, idolatry, outbursts of anger, carousing, anxieties, depression, and honestly I could probably go on and on.  I did not know what God honoring qualities and character looked like for me.  I saw it in other people, my sister and grandmother especially.  They wore their pearl necklaces proud as they should, and I was happy for them and others who did just that, but I had lost all hope for myself.  I truly believed it was too late for me.  I never thought the day would come where I would wear the pearls God has been preparing for me.

I can very thankfully and happily say that today, and every day, I stand confident in the pearls that God has picked out just for me.  I found them all, some I had to work so hard for, others he so graciously gave to me.  One pearl on the strand I think I am most thankful for is, LOVE.  There are no words this side of Heaven to describe to you the benefits and satisfaction in God’s love.  This is one pearl I never have to work for.  God’s love is there for me, even when my strand was covered with sin, His love was still there, on the other side of the clasp, but still, IT WAS THERE!  One pearl I still struggle with is self-control.  When I read this book, years ago, I wrote in the margin, WORK ON SELF CONTROL.  For whatever reason I ignored that note since it was written years ago.

This is what I learned when I saw that note staring in my face the beginning of the week.  We all have access to the God honoring qualities and likeness he teaches us about in the Bible.  Yes, they are beautiful pearls.  But, for whatever reason, we sell ourselves short.  We believe the lie that we are not good enough for God’s best.  We know of the qualities and pearls we can have in Christ, but we choose or settle for the qualities or pearls we have grown accustomed to in this world.  We go for the dime store pearl necklace when waiting for us is the priceless one in Heaven.

Exalting God is when we put aside the dime store necklace we have felt comfortable with and set our eyes and hearts above to the ONE and only who will give us the pearls HE desires for us.  Exalting God is when we let the Holy Spirit fill us with the pearls we are so deserving of from up above.  Exalting God is when we praise Him and honor Him with the pearls he has provided us with to treasure on our “necklace of virtue”.

Let’s Pray:

Father God, I thank you and praise you so much for the priceless pearls that you have for each and every one of us.  I pray that as we continue this study we strive to exalt you every moment of every day.  I pray that each and every one of us on this journey is able trade in the dime store necklace for a necklace of virtue so graciously given to us by Your Spirit.  Thank you for going along this journey with us.  I pray our heart’s desire YOU alone.  I pray all of these things in your precious name, Amen.

Your Assignment:

What is your heart’s desire?  Spend some time today being honest with God about what pearls you have on your necklace.  Tell Him what ones you want to remove, tell Him what ones you need help getting to their full potential.  Think about what exalting God means, and desire to spend your days doing JUST THAT.

Love you ladies all a super bunch!!

Diane

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For the “Lady In Waiting” Bible Study, you will need the book, your Bible, pen or pencil, a highlighter and a quiet place. You can order the book right through our website by clicking the “sign-up here” button at the top of our webpage; which is also where you can sign up to participate in this awesome bible study!

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Have you accepted Christ into your heart?  Is His Spirit living inside of you?  If you have not, but would like to pray, please contact our prayer team at prayer@girlfriendscoffeehour.com .  Someone from our prayer team is waiting to pray with you! 

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Lady In Waiting: To Tell the Truth

October 25, 2012 by

Today’s blog is brought to you by Katie Blumberg

It was young adults ministry night and I was nearly certain that he was going to be there. You know, the man I was going to marry. Yep. I already knew who he was, I just had to figure out a way to get his attention and keep it. So as I straightened my hair I plotted out what I would say when I saw him. I did not want to seem too interested and at the same time did not want to ignore him entirely. But if I could figure out just the perfect, adorable, flirty but not sexy things to say, I was certain he would be hooked. On goes the makeup that I don’t usually wear. And where did I leave that adorable button-up top and my favorite flats? Finish with lipstick and slap on a smile, grab my bible and notebook and I am off to meet my destiny.
Have you been there? Found yourself so wrapped up in the idea of seeing your dream-man (or meeting him for the first time) that you become everything but yourself in the midst of it. Your entire focus is on this man, that you may or may not even know well enough to give him such devotion. You may be doing things that, on the outside, seem like they are for the Lord. Going to ministry events. Working or volunteering at the church. Helping out in the youth ministry. Joining a small group. Etc., etc., etc. Don’t get me wrong – these are all really great things to get involved in – but check your motive. If you are not doing this solely for the Lord, you may be involved in the wrong group or ministry.
So here are some questions to ask yourself if you really are not sure about your motives for getting involved in ministry: If that special guy was not going to be there, would you still want to put time and effort into it every week? If you never ended up with this guy, would his friendship still be of value to you? Is this something that the Lord is calling you to do, or are you in it because there is a possibility of meeting your future husband? Are you involved in ministries that include other single women, married women, couples, and brothers and sisters of all ages?
If you can answer these questions by honestly saying that he Lord’s will is your greatest interest, then kudos to you! You are on the right track, Sista!! But if you examine your motives and find that, in your most honest moment, some of the ministries you are involved in would not be a part of your life if that special man were not around, maybe you ought to re-examine your commitment to these things.
So, back to that special night that I was preparing myself for. I arrived (classically late, as always), found a couple of friends to sit with, and began scanning the room. No sign of him yet, but he’ll be here. The message began and I pulled out my bible and notebook to follow along. Still not there. I even left an extra seat open just in case he arrived. No such luck. I spent the entire night eagerly looking to the door at every stir I saw in the corner of my eye. I missed the message that was spoken, couldn’t concentrate through any of the prayers, and did not even involve myself in the question and answer time or small group conversation. The entire evening I spent either excitedly waiting to bat my eyes at dream-boy, or wallowing in my disappointment that I had gotten dressed up for nothing, yet again.
When checking my heart on my motives for this night, I realized that they were all wrong. I was not involving myself in this ministry because I wanted to draw closer to the Lord. I was not in it in order to grow, I was in it because I wanted an opportunity to meet a man. I wanted to take, not learn how to give.

What are your motives?

Let’s Pray:
Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for your grace and mercy. Thank you that you know our hearts better than we know them, and we praise you for loving us even still! Please help us to honestly assess our hearts and our motives for the things we do. Change our hearts to desire your will for us, and to stop inserting our own will. Give us peace as we wait for the man you have set apart for us, and help us to become more and more like you each day. Amen.
Your Assignment:
Honestly assess yourself based on the “test” on pages 58 and 59 of the book Lady in Waiting. You don’t have to share your exact results, but in all honesty, do you fall more on the side of pursuing the Lord, or on the side of pursuing a husband? If so, ask that the Lord would reveal to you how you ought to change that.
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For the “Lady In Waiting” Bible Study, you will need the book, your Bible, pen or pencil, a highlighter and a quiet place. You can order the book right through our website by clicking the “sign-up here” button at the top of our webpage; which is also where you can sign up to participate in this awesome bible study!

Filed Under: Singles Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lady In Waiting: Fit for a King

October 24, 2012 by

 

And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming. Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel … Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her.

Genesis 24: 63-64, 67

 

Ahhh, so this is where Disney gets it from?

As little girls we learn to be princesses from Cinderella, or Sleeping Beauty, my daughter is learning from Mulan, and Tiana (Princess and the Frog). I honestly never thought to look at the Bible and the stories of Ruth and Rebekah as how-to guides on my journey to being a princess. But, the creative minds at Disney were not far off from the example of what makes a good Princess. They are always kind, willing to help and always seem to want to do what’s best. I am willing to go as far as to say that some of them pulled the characteristics of some of the best selling princesses from the bible.

Ruth and Rebekah were hard working, king, selfless, sought to do what was right, and were both examples of a virtuous woman. I’m not saying that God is necessarily asking you to haul water for strange men, or glean off of the field, but He is asking us to display his characteristics now while we are ladies in waiting, so that these characteristics will be second nature to us in what God has planned for us.

He doesn’t just want and expect this. He gave us guides on how to be the princesses he destined us to be.

A great how-to guide on being a princess is Proverbs 31. God tells us step by step how we can live to become that princess.  The commonality between the Proverbs 31 woman, Ruth, and Rebekah is that all three fully allowed God to move in their lives without trying to stop Him.  They allowed Him to create a Christ likeness within them that shown brighter than their outward appearance could ever have.

God gave Boaz to Ruth.
God gave Isaac to Rebekah.
And God showed how much the Proverbs 31 woman’s husband and children loved and respected her.

There are things and people God wants to place in our lives, but first He wants to prepare us for the futures He has planned out for us.  Every little girl dreams of being a princess on some level, as that little girl grows up that dream doesn’t often fade, it may go to the back of the dreams pile but it remains. God is telling us that we are his princesses, and He is preparing us for our Prince; but we are responsible as well. We are responsible for opening our hearts and minds and allowing God to work in us, we are responsible to being Christ-like.

To be honest I was far from these three women in these examples. I believe that God was preparing me for marriage before I married my husband, but I don’t think that I fully accepted what god was doing until after I was married, and until after I felt the pains of a lack of preparation. I didn’t truly surrender myself to God to allow Him to mold me into the princess He created me to be until after I said “I do”, until after I saw how lack of preparation on my part can affect a marriage, and myself. I thank God every day that He continued to prepare me and that He continues to prepare me.

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Let’s Pray:
Father, thank you! Thank you for making us royalty, thank you for not simply expecting something of us, but showing us how to be the virtuous women you destined us to be, thank you for your examples.  Thank you for continuing to sustain and strengthen us on our journeys as ladies in waiting.  Please continue to prepare us, and mold us. You have our “happily ever after”, we don’t know what it is, but we do know that it is from you and that it is good. Thank you for this time in our lives.  In Jesus’ name, Amen

Your Assignment:
Read through the stories of Ruth, Rebecca, and the Proverbs 31 woman, what Christ-like characteristics do you see that we as princess possess.  What characteristics have you been blessed with? What characteristics are you praying for to be strengthened?

** Remember God isn’t asking that we be a perfect princess; it takes work, preparation and his grace and mercy. It’s a life long journey.

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 For the “Lady In Waiting” Bible Study, you will need the book, your Bible, pen or pencil, a highlighter and a quiet place. You can order the book right through our website by clicking the “sign-up here” button at the top of our webpage; which is also where you can sign up to participate in this awesome bible study!

Filed Under: Singles Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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