Archive for year: 2018

“For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding”. (Proverbs 2:6)

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt,…”(James 1:5-6)

 

When I think of wisdom, I think of the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31 that we should aspire to become. This chapter provides a model of a woman’s value as well as displays the proper attitude for her to have when fulfilling responsibilities.  Every woman has to have wisdom if they want to follow this example, effectively manage diverse roles and still find the time and energy for self-reflection and self-investment.  This is not an easy task for most and for many, it can be overwhelming.  As I reflect on this and  juggle my own commitments, God is constantly teaching me that it is not about trying to be “the perfect woman,” but instead living a life that is totally yielded to Him to fulfill my calling.

While we are pursuing Proverbs 31 as women of faith, God is constantly revealing His purpose to us. During this process, we have to be careful; the journey is often plagued with the devil trying to distract us by focusing our attention on other people’s God given purpose instead of focusing on our own path. This comparison leads to feelings of inadequacy and jealousy. If wisdom is not used to recognize this, it can eventually lead to a diminished self-worth.  This is not God’s plan for His daughters.  Wisdom is imperative to know when we are off course, so that God can direct us in our business plans, our marriage, our relationships, our parenting, our health, our service to others, our finances, our time commitments, our appearance…..our faith journey.

Ultimately, don’t strive to be a superwoman. Strive to be a wisewoman. In this pursuit, the brighter your light will become, so that other women will want to know more about the God that you serve. Pursuing this goal will keep you on track to fulfilling God’s purpose in your life.

 

Prayer Starter: We ask you for wisdom to organize our life.  You know all things. You know our past, present and future.  Give us the tools that we need to navigate through daily obstacles. Give us fresh business ideas, bless our relationships with others,  bless our marriages, bless our children and bless our health. Be honored in how we manage our finances and keep us humble, so that we desire to serve others in your name.  Teach us how to let our inner beauty shine bright, so that we are not insecure regarding our outer appearance. Let faith arise and let us always declare your goodness. Amen

 

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs,  that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29

As a high school teacher, I have the unique experience of being able to see the similarities of behaviors in both children and adults. One area that is always troublesome to me is when I hear teen girls say that they don’t get along with females, so they only hang with “guys.” They justify this detachment from girls because they have experienced backbiting and criticism that led to hurt feelings. Unfortunately, these same hurt feelings continue into womanhood and walls are built up because someone has spewed words of negativity.

I have also witnessed teenage girls being the perpetrators of talking about others in a negative way. After chastising them for their behavior, I always hope that they will not continue on that path of negativity. Unfortunately, many of them do not mature in that area, but eventually those same attributes follow them into adulthood.  

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Does your schedule revolve around Jesus or do you try to fit Jesus into your schedule?  This was a question that was presented in a recent devotional that I read.  This thought provoking idea lingered in my mind for several days.  I would guess that most people that consider themselves Christians, would answer that Jesus is the center of their world. Therefore, everything that they do has to revolve around Jesus right?  

But let’s pause for a moment and get real with ourselves. We need to take a serious look at our calendars.  What activities consume the majority of our time? If it is difficult for you to determine this, separate it into several categories. My categories would be: work, business, social outings, church events, prayer time, bible study, kid’s sports……If I placed these sections on a pie chart, I would easily be able to see what part of my life has the biggest slice of pie. This visual may surprise us if we find out that “Jesus Time” is missing in our calendars and we now have to figure out where to fit this quality time.

Christ wants us to enjoy life.  Scripture says in John 10:10 that Christ came, so that we can live an abundant life. That is a life full of love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.  These are the fruits of the spirit and evidence of an abundant life.  How are you measuring up?

So now that you have an idea of where you spend most of your time, the second step is to ask yourself if these activities are causing you to draw closer to God or are they taking time away from you spending time with God?  Is God an afterthought when you are engaged in these activities or is His presence evident?  

One of my favorite scriptures is Proverbs 3:6. It says, “In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.” This verse always challenges me to make sure that Christ has co-signed on my endeavors.  I know that I can easily get caught up in doing things my way in order to get things accomplished.  My ambition can easily get self-centered instead of remaining  Christ-centered. If my calendar is mostly filled with events and activities that don’t have Christ in the mix, than I know that my life is unbalanced. 

As Christians, our sole desire must be to live a life that is pleasing to God; therefore checking to see if we have “scheduling conflicts” is something that we need to do often.  Seeking God first and acknowledging Him in our daily routines is the only way that we can avoid these conflicts.  With His help, our lives will be full and we can all enjoy the good life in Christ!

 

Your sister in Christ!

Stephanie Singleton

 

Prayer Starter:  Please forgive me Lord, when my priorities have not been in order. Help me to seek you first in everything that I do and show me the way to live an abundant life.  Reveal to me the areas that are not in balance and that need to be shifted in order to be in alignment with your plans.  You are my Father and I want to live a life that pleases you.  Amen

Today, many people around the world are celebrating their love for one another.  Some have been busy making plans for several weeks and others are still trying to think of creative methods to show their appreciation for those that they care about.  But, in the busyness of focusing our attention on those around us, we cannot forget to show our love and appreciation for our Heavenly Father.  He is the one who first loved us and the one who loves us most of all.

In celebration of today, I would like to share something that I came across entitled,  “Father’s Love Letter.”  It shares God’s love through scriptures and guides us to experiencing His unconditional love.  I pray that this is a blessing for you and that you never forget that you are loved, that you are special and that you are worth feeling appreciated.

Your sister in Christ,

Stephanie R. Singleton