November 23, 2024

Lady in Waiting: Emotional, Relational, Spiritual

November 7, 2012 by

I honestly don’t know how to get started here. I didn’t even need to see the sections I was writing on this week before thoughts began to pour into my head, all I needed to see was the word “purity”. And it made me freeze. How can I write to women about purity when I see my past as tainted, when my purity is a thing of the past. Then I got quiet and prayed. This isn’t the first time I have had to use my past to speak to others, and yes I am no longer pure in regards to my physical state, but God has forgiven me and washed me whiter than snow. This is how I can talk about this topic. It doesn’t make it easier by any means!  The consequences of my actions are still something I deal with, but I can stop myself and pray, knowing I am forgiven, and that the lessons learned will help someone else.

I became pregnant with my daughter at 17 and had her when I was 18. I wasn’t married. I have dealt with the emotional, relational and spiritual consequence these sections speak about, I think a lot of us have.

God gave us a gift when he tied our emotions to our physical state.  It enables us to love hard.  It drives us to give our all to the one we’re with. But that gift only works the way it is designed to work when we are with the one God has chosen for us, and under the bond of marriage. It is stated more than once in this section that God wants to protect us; protect us from a broken heart, protect us from condemnation, protect us from fear, from resentment. It also lists doubt, depression, bitterness and mistrust. I remember feeling all of these after purity was no longer one of the characteristics I possessed. He wants to protect our hearts and minds from these negative emotions that sexual promiscuity will bring.

This section further defends the thought that women are complex creations. Yes ladies we are complex, we have many layers, we are hard to understand, and at times we can be complicated. This is not a bad thing. It is part of Gods security system for us. But have you ever set off an alarm by using the incorrect code and haven’t been able to turn it off? That’s what premarital sex does to us. It sets off an alarm that only God can turn off.  But instead of a screaming noise, our emotions, relationships, and spirituality are screaming.  Our internal alarm systems need the right code.

 The code of Psalm 51:10

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

 The code of Colossians 3:1-2

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above,

where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

Whether it is one night, or a long term relationship, premarital sex negatively effects three of the most important aspects of a woman’s life. Emotional. Relational. Spiritual. We are God’s ladies in waiting. When situations present themselves that deal with the topic of purity, take a conscious step back and think of the impact it will have on these three areas.

With Love,

Tonya Ellison

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Lets Pray:

Thank you Lord for the security system you have placed within each and every one of us. Thank you for your forgiveness and redemption. Lord please touch our hearts when we are facing different situations and bring to mind how much you value our emotions, relationships and spirituality. Thank you for protecting us.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen

Your assignment:

I listed some codes I use when I’m faced with certain situations or when Satan tries to remind me of my past.  What are some scriptures you turn to when purity is concerned?

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For the “Lady in Waiting” Online 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 / 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: 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: The Pearl

October 22, 2012 by

“Consider it all joy my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4)

This is one of those verses, you know them…the ones that are true, even when you don’t want them to be, the ones that hit you where it hurts.  Who wants trials? Trials are not fun; they are painful.  I can’t think of anyone who would ask for one, but ask or not, they come.  We can all tell some stories of pain, suffering, waiting or some other kind of challenge we have faced.  What must we admit once we are on the other side of the trial?  It has usually resulted in growth.  We become stronger, more sensitive, and closer to God.

I love the visual the authors use to explain the process we are going through as a lady in waiting.  A pearl.  For many of us, it isn’t the first time we have heard how pearls are formed.  What I loved were the parallels they used.  How many of us have felt like the ugly oyster shell just sitting on the beach being passed over, watching all the prettier seashells get picked up and taken home?  I know I have.  And I think as more time goes on, and I see more seashells go home, it starts to feel hopeless.  But God does not want us in that place!

He is doing a beautiful work in us!  There is our hope.  The grain of sand, whether it is divorce, loneliness, abuse or any number of other trials we face are not meant to be irritating and painful forever.  God takes that pain and turns it into something beautiful.  This is not an instant process though.  The reworking takes time.  What is most amazing to me is the greater the irritation, the more valuable the pearl!  Think about how beautiful our final products will be.

It is through these works, these trials that God puts us through, and how we come out the other side, that we will become the women that God wants us to be. This is the woman who will be ready for the man who God has for us.  There will be someone who wants to know what is inside that oyster shell, and see our true beauty.  This is not to say that we are unattractive, that men can only be drawn to our inner beauty despite our outer beauty.  But what it does say is that true love comes from true beauty.  If someone is only attracted to the outside shell and puts little worth on what is on the inside, the relationship is doomed before it begins.

Beauty fades, character doesn’t.  What attracted Boaz to Ruth?  It wasn’t her outer beauty.  In fact, she looked very different from the other women in the area, beautiful or not.  When Ruth asks Boaz why she should receive his favor Boaz replies, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been reported to me, and how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and you came to a people who you did not previously know”.  It wasn’t what Ruth looked like that caused Boaz to fall in love with her, it was the woman of virtue that she was.

So ladies, let God work in you.  Take those sands of pain and turn it into a beautiful string of pearls that all ladies of virtue deserve to wear proudly.  The Lord wants you to be a lady of virtue – a costly, beautiful pearl for all to admire.

God bless,

Michelle

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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!

Please email Christi@girlfriendscoffeehour.com if you have any questions, or if you have a private comment that you would like to forward to one of our bloggers in regards to their post that day.

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Lady in Waiting: Lady of Virtue

October 21, 2012 by

Girlfriends, I am so blessed to be on this journey with you.  So far it has been a rollercoaster ride with each chapter.  We are now going to Chapter Four, becoming a Lady of Virtue.

One verse stands out when I think of the word Virtue –

“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised”.  

Proverbs 31:30 (NIV)

I am so excited to read what is in store for us in this chapter which promises to be rich with truth about how we see ourselves.

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Here is our reading assignment for Week 4

October 22:      Lady of Virtue – Michelle
October 23:      Body Beautiful Trap – Jackie
October 24:      Fit for a King – Tonya
October 25:      To Tell the Truth – Katie
October 26:      Pearl Necklace  – Diane

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LET’S PRAY

Father, thank you for being with us on this journey.  We are learning with each chapter who we are and how much you love us and want us to become the best.  We are still a work in progress and we know that if we do not grow weary we will receive our rewards.  Bless each one of us and our families 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!

Please email Christi@girlfriendscoffeehour.com if you have any questions, or if you have a private comment that you would like to forward to one of our bloggers in regards to their post that day.

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Lady In Waiting: Eyes of Faith

October 17, 2012 by

 

The first thing that struck me when I read this section of the book was the first line. “Orpha’s example of going after the available men could have influenced Ruth to return to Moab, the home of her parents and the gods of her youth. “

How many times have I let the examples of others lead me to places where God doesn’t want me to go? How many times have I let the examples of others lead me to people God didn’t mean for me? Sheesh, the first line and I am already beginning a series of introspective questions. But this is a good thing, I see it as God showing me the times in my life when I did not have eyes of faith, He’s using my past to teach me how to trust Him in my present and in my future.

Before I was married I had my daughter. I found myself a single mother with no prospect of a husband on the horizon.  I saw friends embarking on successful relationships, I saw my friends being happy, and well what I thought was happy at the time. And here I was, hopeless and alone.  I began to put my hope in my friends relationships; “if I only do this or that I will be happy and complete like them”, “If I go here or there I will find that successful relationship.” I was putting my hope in the wrong things and in the wrong people. I most definitely did not have eyes of faith.

Not having eyes of faith led me down roads I didn’t need to go down, it led me to have relationships I didn’t need to have. Not having eyes of faith separated me from God, it distanced me from him because I was telling him that I didn’t trust Him enough to bring me the husband I wanted,  the life I desired, it said I didn’t trust him to fulfill the promises he made to me, it went beyond me wanting a husband.

As the book said I needed spiritual eye wash. I needed God to reign me back in and I need to began working on eyes of faith. I once had the wrong mindset that walking in faith would mean that everything would fall into place, that my knight in shining armor would be standing on my doorstep once I  committed to trusting Gods plan for my life.  Nope. It did not happen like that. I had to wait and have him better my vision; I had to strengthen my sight before he brought my husband.  It was hard at times but I knew He was working on me, preparing my husband for me and me for my husband.

The good thing is that He is still working on me. I am still cleaning my eyes out daily in His word to become the Tonya He designed me to be. I can’t see into the future but my eyes of faith don’t have to, all I need to see is the words written on the paper, and in my heart. Some days are hard and I can’t see straight, I can’t feel the words on the paper. Despite my lack of feelings on those hard days, I know He’s still there. I know I can still trust Him.

Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Let’s pray:
Lord, faith is hard sometimes, it shouldn’t be but it is. I find myself questioning my life sometimes, I find myself asking question after question about my future. For that I’m sorry. Please forgive me for not having eyes of faith, for not seeing that you have my future planned out and that the future you planned is the one that is good for me. I may not see what you have in store but I will stop allowing the examples of my friends influence me in my actions, I will stop allowing their examples  to influence me to look where I do not need to be looking, what you planned for them is not what you planned for me. Thank you for this time of waiting that you have given me to strengthen my faith and to become the woman of faith you created me to be. I bind satan’s lies in your name. His whispers in my ears will not affect me. You know what you’re doing and I am going to trust in you. Thank you for your grace and mercy on the hard days, when I can’t see clearly.  You alone know what I need and when I need it.  In Jesus’ name amen

Your Assignment:
Is faith as a single woman ever hard for you? Does your vision blur from time to time? Let’s encourage one another, when you need “spiritual eye wash” what scriptures help you see better?

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