{"id":2189,"date":"2012-10-10T06:00:55","date_gmt":"2012-10-10T11:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=2189"},"modified":"2013-01-24T20:10:23","modified_gmt":"2013-01-25T01:10:23","slug":"2189","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2012\/10\/10\/2189\/","title":{"rendered":"Lady In Waiting: Diligence and the Ministry of Teaching, Encouragement, and Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n<\/blockquote>\n

I was (and sometimes still am) an excuse maker.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m too busy\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what to say\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat difference will I make?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are better qualified people\u201d<\/p>\n

Diligence in ministry is something that I was not, and honestly it is an area that God is still working on.<\/p>\n

I did little things here and there at church. But a big lesson I learned was that it doesn’t stop at church. There were and continue to be so many opportunities in where I can be diligent in these areas; I actually saw more opportunities outside of my church than inside of it.<\/p>\n

He calls us to do many things in his name; three of those are to teach, to encourage and to pray. My famous line was \u201cI\u2019m busy\u201d or \u201cI don\u2019t have the time\u201d; and yes, truth be told I am busy, but so is everyone else.<\/p>\n

I had to stop making excuses.<\/p>\n

Teach. Encourage. Pray.<\/p>\n

The book asks a great question that can be applied to all three areas \u201cAre we giving out as much as we take in?\u201d I know that I take in a lot, whether it\u2019s quiet study time with God, encouraging words (my love language is words of affirmation) or people praying for me.<\/p>\n

I have to ask myself some questions. Am I teaching others, sharing the truths god has shown me? Am I encouraging others, whether it is my co-workers, or the frustrated mom in the store? Am I forming \u201cduets\u201d and lifting others up in prayer? Am I praying for others on my own?<\/p>\n

Just yesterday I was in Wal-mart, a young mother was shopping with her little girl and the little girl was way beyond done with the shopping trip. The mom was frustrated which caused the little girl to express her dislike for Wal-mart even louder. I’ve been there. A smile to the mom and to the little girl, plus a reassuring word to the mother about not being alone in the world of toddler tempers tantrums and a prayer for the two; I feel that God had me go down that isle for a reason. It was an opportunity for be to give back.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not always diligent in these areas. I talk myself out of opportunities (a lot); I make excuses (a lot). But He always gives me more chances (a lot). He gives us opportunities to teach, encourage
\nand to pray.<\/p>\n

God doesn’t require us to be the most outgoing, the most eloquent, the most educated or resourceful women. He requires our time and our willingness and diligence.
\nGod will provide us with the words, knowledge and tools to do the things he asks us to do. \u00a0 I say that because I am not the most extroverted person out there and I was using my excuses to stay that way.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s funny, the more I explain to God why I can\u2019t do these things the more opportunities He creates for them to be done. Yes, He is a God of humor. He does something else as well, He brings back the feelings I had when I had someone teach me, when I had someone lift me up and encourage me, when I knew that I was being prayed for.<\/p>\n

I had to give back what I took in.<\/p>\n

I have to give back what I take in.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s Pray: <\/strong>
\nLord, thank you for the teaching, encouraging and prayer that you have allowed us to receive, thank you for those who took in, and gave back out to us. Please open our eyes for such opportunities; for the chances for us to give out to others in need. Thank you for the time you have blessed us with, please let us see the time as a tool, and please let us to be sensitive to the words you give us and the urging you put on our hearts to do as you ask. Thank you for the opportunities to be diligent in teaching, in prayer and in encouragement.<\/p>\n

Your Assignment:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Remember a time in which you were taught, encouraged or prayed for. How did it feel? Share some examples of situations in which you gave back what you took in. Reading examples of others may teach and encourage the rest of the group to step out and give back.<\/p>\n

__________________<\/p>\n

If you would like to take part in this Online Bible Study, and join our Facebook Discussion Group, please click on the \u201cSign-Up Here\u201d button located at the top of our website, in the Menu Bar.\u00a0 Once we receive your request, we will add you to our group!<\/p>\n

God bless, <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Tonya<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 I was (and sometimes still am) an excuse maker. \u201cI\u2019m too busy\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t know what to say\u201d \u201cWhat difference will I make?\u2019 \u201cThere are better qualified people\u201d Diligence in ministry is something that I was not, and honestly it is an area that God is still working on. I did little things here […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[20],"tags":[144,146,147,293,425,537,545,554,593,1075,1135],"class_list":["post-2189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-singles","tag-bible","tag-bible-studies","tag-bible-study","tag-debby-jones","tag-girlfriends-coffee-hour","tag-isaiah-504","tag-jackie-kendall","tag-jesus","tag-lady-in-waiting","tag-tonya-ellison","tag-womens-bible-studies","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s39pHp-2189","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2189"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8165,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2189\/revisions\/8165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}