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Retired Together…3 Issues and 7 Tips
Some of you may know I retired in 2017 after 22+ years at LifeWay, serving as the women’s ministry specialist. It was such a surprise and an honor to get to do this ministry. I loved my work and am so grateful for all God taught me. But, my husband and I knew that this was the year to retire. I turned 65 the September prior and God made it clear this was the time. God affirmed this in so many ways the last year I was there and my retirement was such a sweet time of celebration. I wasn’t retiring from ministry, just from serving in the capacity I…
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I Surrender!
The white flag is up! Time to let go. Time to give up whatever we’ve been holding back and allow Jesus to use it for His glory. What is that for you? I can think of many things over the years I’ve held onto thinking I can control them better if I do. How about you? Are you holding on to any of these?: job children spouse other relationship finances fear failure unfogiveness life purpose loss selfish will time gifts, talents and abilities personal plan what would you add? I wonder if we hold because we think we can do a better job than the “King of the World” can!…
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Finally, Retreat Time! 8 Tips for Retreating Often
Yes, don’t you wish you were saying “retreat time” right now and heading out for a weekend at your favorite place…alone or with a few people? Me too! I’m so grateful for those week long stays at my favorite place, the Gulf Coast beach. Last year my husband and I began a new tradition: a month at the beach! Sometimes I have to schedule it around speaking engagements, or as I will do this year, fly from Perdido Key (via Pensacola) to the East coast, Miami! But that extended time of rest and reflection is something I truly look forward to. When I was in full time vocational ministry, that…
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Step On In
Today’s question to ponder: Do you trust God today in whatever you are facing? If you are in a pleasant place that might be easy to answer “yes”. If you are in a difficult place, it might take some time to get to that answer. Or you may choose not to trust God right now. If that is where you are, perhaps God is asking you to take a step into the water, not knowing what is below or in front of you. In Joshua 3 and 4 we see a powerful example of obedience and faith. After wandering 40 years in the desert, Moses had died and Joshua was…
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ALL Women…Something to Teach, Something to Learn
The first time I was asked to lead a conference, I was clueless how to write a conference outline. But the person asking me to lead assured me she would help me, and she did. Little did I know God was preparing me to eventually lead and teach in a national ministry vocation. She nor I had any idea at the time, but she taught me something she knew that prepared me for that position to which God would lead me. Now in retirement I am asked at times to help another woman walk out her ministry calling and because of my own experiences, I have the joy of raising…
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Younger Women…Be Humble and Keep Asking!
Last week I wrote a post to older women as a result of an email I received from a younger leader. You can read that post here. Today I want to address how younger women can be catalysts to bridge the gap to connect with older women. First of all, you need to understand a couple of things about older women (I’m talking mostly about Boomers and older, although as I said last week we are ALL older and younger than someone). Here are a few myths these women may be believing: “I do not know all the answers, how can I mentor a younger women?” “My stories are sacred and…
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Older Women….Share Your Story!
All of us have a life story…one story with many chapters. Have you ever thought about how God showed up in every chapter and that He can use that chapter to touch the life of someone else? Why, then, do older women sometimes fail to see the impact their life can have on younger women? Why do they sometimes fail to share the tough stories of their life story? Stories of failure, pain, weakness, hardship and sin? What could be holding us back? (BY THE WAY…ALL of us are older than someone so we are ALL older women! Smile!) I had an email last week from a young leader who…
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Who Are You Training? Yes, YOU!
So, if you read this title and thought, “this doesn’t apply to me”, you are wrong. “But”, you say, “I’m not a leader.” Again, you are wrong! Answer this: are you serving anywhere? maybe at church? in your community? in your family? do you hold down a job? are you teaching a class? are you seeking to live out your Christian faith on a daly basis? If you can say yes to any of those questions, then…you ARE a leader! SO, now that we have that settled, my next question is this: Who are you training to take your place? “Hold on….take my place? I like my place! Besides I…
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Faith Under Pressure
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. One of my daughters recently wrote a long FaceBook post making this point very clear. Here is what Alycia Neighbours posted (and I share with her permission): So I’m going to preach y’all a sermon… Faith Under Pressure James 1:2-4 The Message (MSG) “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not…
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Prayer…a Different Perspective
If you are like me, you have read many books on prayer. Authors like T.W. Hunt, Jennifer Kennedy Dean, Henry Blackaby, Jim Cymbala and so many others have had powerful books published for our spiritual growth. You have probably done Bible studies on the topic of prayer. And if you have been a Christian for a while, you’ve prayed quite a bit. Although Jesus gives His disciples a pattern for prayer in the Gospels (Matthew 6:9-13 & Luke 11:2-4), there is no one way to pray. At different seasons in life and with different needs, we pray as our heart leads us. But one thing is true, we pray differently…
