“If you do your best but you expend much of it on the wrong things, you’ve not only wasted a lot of your energy and resources, you’ve also lost time and opportunities you may never recover….. being your best at what God wants you to be doing – that’s the thing to shoot for.” (page 94)
Being aware of what the season is that you are currently walking in is so important. My days and priorities will and should look a lot different as a mom of older teens and young adults than when I am retired and all my kids are grown. If I lived the retired lifestyle NOW sure I would be having a blast…. but my kids would not get the nurturing and guidance they so desperately need at this crucial time in their development. If I was retires and constantly in the “business” of my kids and grandkids, that would be just as inappropriate.
It is important that we carefully consider what we are currently “owning” and start giving back any situations or stuff that belong to other people in our lives that we have taken on for them. Do you know what I’m talking about?
There is a fine line between having compassion for others and wanting to serve and help them and carrying their burdens more than God ever intends us to. The more intimate your relationship with the Lord is, the more easily you will be able to discern if you are properly owning the right “stuff.”
As a mom of teens…. for my own sanity I HAD to become a master at this!!!! Here is my favorite example….
It is 8pm and your 9th grader (Tim) comes up to you right after you got on your comfy jammas and got settled in nicely to your favorite spot on the red sofa:
Tim: Um, mom…… I need you to go take me to get poster board.
Queen Mom: Ok, when do you need it by?
Tim: Well, my project is due tomorrow morning, so I need it tonight.
QM: When did you find out about this project?
T: Two weeks ago….
QM: Oh, ok. Did you forget about it?
T: Yeah.
QM: Well, I have two options for you.
1. I can pick up poster board for you tomorrow when i go to the store and you can turn in your project late for less credit. OR
2. It will take me a half hour to get dressed and go to Wal-Mart to get it for you. It would take you that long to make lunches for all the kids for tomorrow and vacuum the living room to help me. If you do that for me, I will go get your poster board when you are done.
…the decision is theirs and DO NOT go get the poster board until they have completed what you asked them to do for you. This shows them that your time is valuable and teaches them to create boundaries and think ahead. You did not own their issue.
How else does this happen to you in your life? OR…. are you the one who tries to have others own your stuff? Have you mastered this already and have your own wisdom to share?
It is okay to say NO!!!!! What you will find is that the more you say NO to the things that God is not intending for you in this season, the more time you will have to say YES to fill spaces and gaps where HE uniquely designed you to be!
NOW THAT IS FREEDOM!!!!!
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Let’s pray:
Lord, please show us today the areas in our life that we so desperately need YOUR discernment!!! Help free us of our selves and see each situation how You want us to see it and not take on more than You want us to take on… one season at a time! Help us to continue to be more comfortable and confident in our own shoes so that we will not be tempted to take on things that are not ours to carry or own. I thank you in advance for all you will do in our hearts, minds and spirits this week, Father, and may You get all the glory! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen!!! <3
Your Assignment:
As you think about those things you want to do but can never seem to make time for, remember the biblical appeal that says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) How could this deliberate act of trust and perspective free you to invest yourself more joyfully in TODAY? Please share your answer with me below….
After you have completed this assignment here, go back to your Facebook Online Bible Study Group, and see what fun activity we have for you there! You never now what we will come up with!! If you do not belong to an Online Bible Study Group, and would like to, please email us at GirlfriendsCoffeeHour@gmail.com, and we will be happy to add you!
Be a blessing,
Megan 🙂
…Don’t forget about the Men’s Journey over here:
The Resolution for Women- Week 5: Timing is Everything
The Resolution for Women: Week 5 – Boxes
Today, in The Resolution for Women, we talk about boxes. Not the kind of boxes you bring your groceries home in, or the kind you pack your belongings in, or even the kind that you ship something in. We are going to talk about the many boxes that women have in their lives, while still trying to achieve perfect balance in their life.
Are you guilty of having too many boxes? Before you can answer that, you have to know what that question means first. What I am asking here is how many things you have going on in your life that is pulling you in this direction, and that direction, and making you feel like your life is so out of balance!!!
Let’s take a look at our lives for a minute….. How many boxes do we women have in our lives?
1. Box for the Lord
2. Box for husband
3. Box for children / children’s activities
4. Box for taking care of home
5. Box for work
6. Box for family / friends
7. Box for church / ministry
8. Box for Self
9. Box for bible study
10. Box for community outreach
That’s ten different boxes, and that’s even with doubling some of them up into one box!
We women have a lot of responsibilities in our lives! Many different boxes to take care of. As you can see just from the boxes above that include just normal life, there is real good reason to see how a woman can get stressed sometimes, especially if she is focusing in so many different boxes that she isn’t able to give completely to the boxes that are important.
When we take on more than what God has called us to take on, our boxes begin to fall and crumble. They don’t stay in their neat stack, the way God designed them to be. When we don’t consider God’s priorities in our lives, we find ourselves having to move this box ahead of this one, and pushing that one behind another, and stressing because we really did need to do something with the original box, but now it needs to wait because you’ve fallen short in another box. Can you see how this can happen??
God has called us to have order in our lives. He has called us to set priorities and boundaries so that we can live a life that is balanced and not in chaos; feeling as if we are being pulled in so many different directions, that we don’t even know which direction we are supposed to go anymore.
So, how do we get our boxes neatly stacked and in order again? You start by seeking God and what He wants as a priority in your life. Then you start removing the boxes He says needs to go. If that means you don’t do as many bible studies or serve in as many ministries as you once did, then so be it. God knows what will bring balance into your life; and He knows which bible studies you need to be working on!
Sometimes it is so easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing, that we find ourselves involved in so many bible studies, or Facebook groups, outside activities, community events, and so on, that we find other areas of our life is suffering because we are spending so much unnecessary time on these other activities that God didn’t want us in, in the first place!
Home life begins to suffer because we have so many different boxes that we are involved in. Which is our main priority…home or ministry (also insert community events here)? Your home is your first priority. Your home is your ministry. If your home is suffering because you are never home due to the number of ministries you are serving in, or other events you have volunteered for, you need to learn to start saying no. God will find someone else to fill that position for that ministry or event, no doubt. You do not have to do it all. You are not Superwoman! We like to think we are….but we are not!
Another thing to consider about being out of balance is that once we stretch ourselves into so many different boxes, we begin to get weaker. Think of a rubber band. Before the rubber band is stretched, it has a lot of strength and resistance. But the more and more we stretch the rubber band, the less strength and resistance it has, and sooner or later it snaps!!
Spreading yourself too thin and into more and more of what God has not called you to do is like stretching your own rubber band. The more boxes you put into your life, the further and further you are being stretched. The further and further your rubber band is stretched, the less strength and resistance you have; the more health problems you begin to have; the more chaos you will see at home; and so on….and sooner or later, YOU WILL SNAP!! Then what good are you to anyone, especially God??
Ladies, it’s time to take a serious look at our lives and the boxes we have lined up in front of us with our name on it. It’s time to start seeking God and asking Him which box you can close and put it away neatly until He calls you to take that box out again. It’s time to set some priorities. It’s time to say no to some things, even if they look fun or popular!! It’s time to step away from the things in our lives that is sucking the life out of us. It’s time to start taking back your life, your family, your time with God, and time for yourself!!
Priscilla says on page 91, “Balance is not when the boxes are equally filled but when we are free to fill only those that are important for now, without feeling guilt over the ones that we’ve left for another time and place. This is balance, little sister. Remember it.”
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Let’s pray:
Father, we seek You today and ask Lord that You show us the boxes in our lives that need to be removed and stored away for another time in our life. Father we ask that You give us wisdom as we review the areas in our lives that may be causing us to become out of balance, and give us direction on how to close these boxes. Lord, help us to say no, when we need to say no. Help us to not feel guilty, or that we are letting someone down if we don’t say yes. Help us to achieve the kind of balance that YOU want in our lives; the kind that will bring us the peace that we so desire Lord. Father, help us to put our priorities back into perspective, once again. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN.
Your Assignment:
Share below which boxes you currently have in your life. How many different boxes are you handling? Then ask the Lord which box(es) He wants you to remove from your life, to help you find more balance. In the comments section below, share which box(es) that is, and how you plan to put that box away for now. How will you find balance in your life so that you are more able to serve Him.
After you have completed this assignment here, go back to your Facebook Online Bible Study Group, and see what fun activity we have for you there! You never now what we will come up with!! If you do not belong to a Online Bible Study Group, and would like to, please email us at GirlfriendsCoffeeHour@gmail.com, and we will be happy to add you!
Be Blessed,
The Resolution for Women: Week 5 – My Best
I can’t believe that we are already into Week 5!! Wow, how the time has flown by during this study! I truly hope you are enjoying this study as much as I am! This book offers a wealth of information to help us grow physically and spiritually!
I have tweeted with the author of this book on a couple of occasions. Priscilla has told me that she is praying for our group, and is very excited that we are using her book for our bible study! I think it’s great that she has taken the time to reply to my tweets! 🙂
In this next section of The Resolution for Women, we will study “My Best”; which means we will cover areas such as achieving balance in our lives, time management, avoiding perfectionism, and taking care of ourselves physically. Another week of awesome topics!!
So, with that said, do you have your seat belts fastened for another amazing ride to our next Resolution?? If not, you had better buckle up, because this is going to be another awesome journey! Let’s give everything we have to this study this week, to bring glory of God!
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Here is this week’s reading assignment:
(Week of July 30th – Aug 3rd)
30th: Week’s Assignment / My Best / Boxes – Christi
31st: Timing Is Everything – Megan
Aug 1st: Anything, Everything, and Whatever – Kelley
2nd: It Only Works When I Breathe – TBD
3rd: Week Overview – Christi
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Let’s Pray:
Lord, we lift yet another amazing week of the Resolution study to You, and we ask that You help us to remove all distractions that would prohibit us from hearing from You this week. Help us to focus at least 10 minutes a day with You, Lord. Help us to give this study what time it deserves, Lord, so we can learn what You are trying to teach us. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN!!
If you do not yet belong to our Online Bible Study Facebook Group, and would like to, please send us an email to GirlfriendsCoffeeHour@gmail.com and we will be happy to add you!!
Be Blessed & Be a Blessing to Someone Else Today!!
The Resolution for Women – Intelligent Design
Click HERE for a Quick Message From Christi
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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
I have to be honest and tell you that today’s chapter really spoke to me in so many ways! I can’t even tell you what an impact it has had on me! I struggle with my value, like many of you do. I always have. It’s like I know in my head that I am valuable, but it just hasn’t reached my heart yet. I can tell you how worthy you are, to God, and I do mean it. I just need to take my own medicine.
Last week, I was on the phone with my Life Coach. We discussed this very issue: the feeling of no value. Just after that call, I opened this book and read today’s chapter, and just about fell over! I said, “Wow, God! You know just how to get Your message across, don’t You!!?” It was amazing! But that really shouldn’t surprise me because God is always listening, and He is always ready to talk to us, when we are willing to actually sit down and listen!!
Today, I want to show you who you are in Him. I am taking my own medicine in this lesson, also. I pray that this scripture speaks to you, as it did to me when I read it.
1 Peter 2: 9-10 (MSG)
But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.
Let’s look at those two scriptures just a little bit closer.
- You are chosen by God
- You are chosen for the high calling to do God’s will
- You are chosen to be holy, set apart, sanctified
- You are His instruments to speak for Him
- You are to tell others what God has done in your life
- You have been changed from being a nothing, into being a “something!
- You have gone from being rejected, to being accepted!
Did you see that? We have such a high calling on our lives because HE CHOSE US! He chose US because He knew we would do what He called us to do!
He did not reject us! He accepted us!
He turned us from being a nothing, into being a something!!
Wow, Ladies! What more do we need to see here!?!
We should never allow others, or things, to control our thoughts about who we are, and what our value is! God says it right here….WE ARE CHOSEN TO DO HIS WORK! That is VALUE! He would never choose us if He didn’t think we couldn’t do what He is calling us to do!
Whether your job is as a homemaker, a nurse, a doctor, a teacher, or a ….. the list could go on and on….. HE CHOSE YOU to be that person! He chose you. Therefore, He will equip you. If He will equip you, He will be with you all the way…. All the way, my dear Girlfriend! He sees your worth to do His work; to spread His word; to spread His love! And if He has chosen you, this means He thinks you are worthy and valuable enough to do what He needs you to do!
I don’t know about YOU, but I am about to jump up and down and shout, “Hallelujah!!!” Can I get an AMEN out there???!!!
As Priscilla said on page 53, “this resolution is important – this commitment to assign genuine value to who we are based on our God-given worth, talents, gifts, and abilities. Because once we’ve settled this issue (in our own hearts … my emphasis here), everything else can begin falling appropriately into place. We’ll have the freedom to build our lives on what really matters, discarding all the things that don’t.”
Wow! I don’t know about you, but I am ready to discard my stinkin’ thinkin’ and start focusing on what God’s word says about me! I’m ready to stop owning those negative thoughts, and start taking back my life, and my value, for God!!
Remember, “The life you are renovating has far too much God-given potential for you to plant its roots in something so menial. Dig deep and lean in to the truth – the truth of who you are and what He’s created you to offer to the world – and then orbit your life around that steadfast knowledge.” That steadfast knowledge! That knowledge that will never let you down, no matter what! AMEN?
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Let’s Pray:
Oh Father, we come to You today with open arms, and tears of repentance for the times we have doubted our worth; for the times we have not chosen to believe Your word, and allowed our stinkin’ thinkin’ to take first place over You. Lord, please forgive us! Cleanse us of all that junk that keeps us so bottled up inside. Cleanse us from the pity-parties that we throw for ourselves! Cleanse us from all the lies that we have told ourselves, and have allowed ourselves to believe.
Lord, I give You praise for all that You have shown us in this chapter today! Thank You for opening our eyes to see who we truly are, in You Lord! May we stand in that knowledge today, and allow it to sink down deep into our hearts, so that we know that we know, that we know! Thank You Lord for revelation knowledge! May we never go back to that stinkin’ thinkin’ again! In Jesus’ Name, AMEN!
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Today’s blog assignment:
Name some things in your life that you have allowed to shape your self-worth or self-image? 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
BE BLESSED!!
The Resolution for Women — Week 2 Overview
Weekly Review
Hasn’t this been an awesome week learning how to be God’s Girl! Wow!!! I have so enjoyed reading all of your comments this week! It blesses me to no end to see how God is working in your lives, and how excited you are about it! Praise God!!
I’m actually going to have our beautiful Megan Smidt, do the Weekly Overview this week. I am actually at the hospital today having surgery on my finger! So I pre-wrote this to make sure I could “talk” to you myself this week! I hope you have enjoyed this last week as much as I have!
I must admit that I’m not really a girly-girl, but after this week’s lessons, I am sure encouraged to start looking for ways to become one! It is such a blessing to be a GIRL! God created us to be women for a reason! He could have chosen to make you or I a male, but because of the special plan that He had for our lives and how He was going to use us to serve Him, He chose to make us a Girl! I am honored to be a Girl! I am honored to serve Him in whatever capacity He asks of me.
So, with that Ladies, I am going to turn today’s blog over to Megan so she can review this last week with you! I pray that you will have an awesome weekend, and I’ll see you back here again on Sunday for next week’s reading assignments! BE BLESSED!
Living Intentionally to Be My Best for Him,
Christi Wilson, Founder of Girlfriends Coffee Hour
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HAPPY Friday, my dear friends!
WHAT A WEEK! I don’t know about all of you, but this book sure is rocking my world! It’s all good of course, but as I sort through all of the junk I am resolving and being released from FOR GOOD, I can’t help but be a super-girly emotional mess! God is healing some places in me that I didn’t even know were sick….. and I pray He is healing your heart and soul as well.
MONDAY: We had a giveaway and our BIG WINNER of that super cute t-shirt was Donna Slaten!!! Congratulations, Donna! We want to see a photo of you strutting your stuff in it once it arrives! 🙂
TUESDAY: We started off Week 2 learning what it means to have biblical femininity and to and live it out loud. Priscilla Shirer helped us to begin to understand the full scope of this aspect of our resolution by asking us to explore how we have seen feminist ideals affect women in the way they dress, act and make decisions. We thought about some ways we see young women today turning away from biblical womanhood and we mulled over what biblical principles of womanhood strike us as stifling or repressive.
That was a lot for my little head to digest…… but with all of your help, I made it through to day 2 and I’m glad you all did, too! 🙂
WEDNESDAY: We had a good time on day 2 as we talked all about how good it is to be a girl! What an affirming day this was! I loved how much I saw everyone encourage each other as being GOOD, NECESSARY, IMPORTANT, WORTHY, and TRUSTWORTHY in every single role we live in our precious lives on this earth! I struggled quite a bit with the “worthy’ part of this exercise and I heard from many of you that you did too, but what it all came down to was that even if WE don’t feel worthy, GOD deems us as super worthy and the more we let that seep into our hearts, we will believe it too and live our every role with the COURAGEOUS confidence that God calls us to have!
We also talked about the importance of raising our children and all the young people we come in contact with to understand submission to authority and the value of women. You all came up with some great ways YOU can influence the young people in your life to appreciate biblical femininity and be their very vest for God to get all the glory!
THURSDAY: It was all about submission in the last segment of reading for this week “Role Reversal.” With Priscilla’s help, we learned that surrendering to submission is not devaluing or demeaning your talents and gifts….. rather it provides boundaries within your potential can truly flourish! “Your strength can best be displayed, its benefits most fully experienced, when you choose the trusted, effective boundaries of God’s established order.” Wether leaders in your life live their responsibilities well or not, they will be held accountable for how they handle their role, just as we will be. It is our job to function well within our submitted roles all while we put our trust in God’s faithful love and goodness by obeying.
There is so much freedom and peace in that, dear sisters!
….and in that lies our second Resolution!
PURPOSEFULLY FEMININE
I will champion God’s model for womanhood in the face of a post feminist culture. I will teach it to my daughters and encourage its support by my sons.
Please sign here: x _________________________________
Please leave a comment below about one “ah-ha” moment for you this week! We want to know how this lesson spoke to your heart!
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Next week, our topic is “Authentically Me— a resolution to value myself and celebrate others”. Oh…. I CAN’T WAIT for this!!! Have a Great weekend Ladies! See you again on Sunday with our assignments for next week!! Please keep in mind that if you have fallen behind in your reading, we weekend is a great time to get all caught up! Make today AMAZING, Megan <3 www.glorytoglorylifecoaching.wordpress.com Craig’s taking the Men’s Resolution Journey: www.adversusmundi.wordpress.com ________________________________ Let’s pray: Father, thank You so much for all You showed us through Your Word about biblical femininity and thank You for every revelation in our spirit. We know it will be impossible to live this resolution OUT LOUD BOLDLY in our fallen world, but we know that through YOU all things are possible! We thank You Lord for what You are doing in all of our lives through this study. We ask special blessings upon Priscilla Shirer, the author of Resolution, for the work she put into writing this amazing book! I thank You for protecting all of our homes from any and all negativity and confusion that satan might try to throw our way to distract us from YOU purpose through this study. We love You Lord, in Jesus’ Name, AMEN! After reading today’s blog, please return to our Online Bible Study Group on Facebook for your daily activity! ♥ You just never know what we have in store for you! If you are not currently a part of our Online Bible Study group, and would like to be, please send an email to GirlfriendsCoffeeHour@gmail.com, and we’ll be glad to add you!
