Faithfully His: I fear no more

I recently finished reading the next chapter in the Resolution for Women book, by Pricilla Shirer. This resolution is about being Faithfully His. Pricilla challenges women to think about the difference between having faith and being faithful. She opened up the chapter talking about how Moses was faithful. This is detailed in Hebrews 3. It is refreshing to see that Moses is described as faithful. When we read Moses' story we see that he did not always appear faithful to God's calling in his life. Moses initially fought with God regarding his call to save the Israelites from Pharaoh's rule. Pricilla detailed how Moses had his up's and downs with following God and as an outsider looking in he does not necessarily appear as one who would be included in an example of  faithfulness. But she said that God knew his heart. Moses had set his heart on the promised land and desipite his pitfalls he remained faithful to God by leading his people until God told him to stop. Despite the fact that he was unable to enter the promised land he is honored by being recalled not only in Hebrews 3 but in Hebrew 11 for his faithfulness to God (Shirer 69-72).

As I think about what faithfulness means to me personally many things come to mind. I have always had faith, but at times have lacked faithfulness. You see there is a distinct difference between the two. In Hebrews 11:1 we read that faith is "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see". But that is where faithfulness begins. In fact it is a lot easier to have faith in something than to live a lifestyle of faithfulness. When I was in college I worried so much. I knew in my heart that God had called me to be a doctor and that He promises not to leave me or forsake me but I worried and I feared that it would not happen. I lacked confidence in Christ. My pastor in college challenged me to  Even as I graduated from college and was accepted to medical school the following year I still struggled with completely turning over things to God. I was comforted by reading Moses' story in this new perspective. I realized that I like Moses have struggled to be faithful. I have always had my mind set on becoming a doctor but I have struggled with trusting God to fulfill these promises to me. At church this past Sunday that pastor spoke about fear. I realized that I have lived a life in fear. I go between being completely faithful and relying on God to being fearful of the future. I also struggle with control. I want to be in control because it makes me less fearful. Last Sunday it finally hit home. When I am in control I am actually more fearful, but when I turn my life completely and totally over to God, I have no reason to fear. I have always admired those who say "I know God is in control I know God has my back I know that with God all things are possible". You see I have only grasped a hold of these promises at the surface level I have taken a hold of them in the fullest since that God has to offer. On Sunday I realized that my living this on and off relationship with Christ, of having faith but not being faithful, leads me to live a life of fear. I was challenged to no longer live in free but to live in faithfulness to the One who has called me, the One who has saved me, the One who loves me, and the One who stands with Me. I fully take hold of the promises offered in scripture. God goes  before us and behind us. With Him nothing can over take us or come against us. This doesn't mean that life is always easy and free from trails, in fact the bible also promises us that we will have trouble in this world, but it also says take heart because God has overcome the world. That being said as Christians we are promised that in all things we are conquers, we are overcomes, we have new life, we are new creations, and we do not have to fear.

For me to be Faithfully His, I fear to no more. I trust in the Lord's promises to me no matter what. I surrender complete control to my master. I don't take back pieces and try and figure out things on my own. I trust that the Lord knows where He intends for me to be for residency. I claim victory in Christ over graduating in May, passing boards, and getting the residency I want. I have long desired to live a life like this but always seem to fail. I know that I am human and still sinful by nature so there will still be moments where I fail in these things, but will not fear. I will discuss my anxieties with those I love and turn them over to God. I will faithfully spend time in His word. I will challenge and mentor those younger than me to become women that faithfully and fearlessly serve God. I challenge you to live a life that is faithfully His. What is keeping you from living faithfully? Are you living a life of fear? Control? Worry and Anxiety? Mistrust? or Have you never accepted Christ's love for you before and committed your life to Him? I challenge you to look at what is keeping you from living a faithful life to God and His plan for your life. If you've never accepted Christ as your savior I challenge you to do that. For more info please leave me a comment and I would be happy to share.

"I will live as a woman answerable to God and faithfully committed to His word"

"The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid, what can mortals do to me? 

Ps 118:6

 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,“Never will I leave you  never will I forsake you.”

So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.    What can mere mortals do to me?”

Hebrews 13:5-6

"no weapon forged against you will prevail,
    and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
    and this is their vindication from me,”
declares the Lord"

Isaiah 54:17

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

    He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

 

    he refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths

    for his name’s sake.

 

Even though I walk

    through the darkest valley,

I will fear no evil,

    for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

    they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

  in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me

    all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

    forever.

'

Psalms 23

"Being confident of this that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus"

Philippians 1:6

Check out this New video From Chris Tomlin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzSYOoPkeFg

Recipes

Hello Everyone

I thought I would add a new section to my blog. A recipe section. I absolutely love cooking. My grandmother loved to cook and passed on this passion to her "girls" as she called us sometimes. My grandmother was a hostess. She loved to cook for others and wanted to be in the kitchen. In many ways this was her form of ministry. In my grandmother's last days she wanted to be in the kitchen. I remember my mom would have her come in and do basic things to make her happy. For probably for at least 65 years of her life my grandmother would serve family and friends around her kitchen table. I would like to believe that when my grandmother died she stepped through heaven's doorstep and into glory. The Father greeted her and said "well done my good and faithful servant". Family and friends that had gone before welcomed her home and at last she was seated at the feast of the King.

I would like to create a place to share recipes. I will share some of my own and some of my grandmothers. Please feel free to post yours as well. Please feel free to also share your cooking stories.

Sarah

Garlic Glazed Chicken

2 Cloves of garlic minced
1/8 of onion chopped
4 tbsp of brown sugar
1 stick of butter
2-3 Chicken Breast sliced into strips. Or 7-8 chicken strips

Place 1/2 stick of butter in pan, saute' garlic and onion. Then add brown sugar and let it melt. Then add the other 1/2 of butter if desired for more sauce. Then add chicken strips and cook until done.

Book Review: Tears to Joy by Natalie Flake

Good Morning

I wanted to write a quick post and recommend a book that I recently read. Tears to Joy: Finding Hope in the Presence of Bipolar Disorder and Suicide by Natalie Flake. This book details Natalie and her husband's struggle through bipolar disorder and how Natalie was able to discover new joy and hope through Michael's death. Natalie also encourages Christian's to gain a new understanding of mental illness. Since I am planning on beginning a psychiatry residency soon I find it a very valuable resource and encourage all of you to read it. 

This book is also special to me because Michael was my cousin. His death shocked all of us but over the years we have healed and this book brought even more healing into my life. I pray that you will pick up a copy of this book and be blessed by what Natalie has to share. 

Sarah

http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-62147-389-3

http://www.natalieflake.com

Authentically Made; Authentically Me

When I was a little girl, I had all these dreams of what my life would be like when I grew up. At the time I wanted to be a Meteorologist, despite my fear of thunderstorms. I would go to the University of Oklahoma where I would meet the man of my dreams and we would live happily ever after. Like many young girls and women I enjoyed watching "chick flicks". I thought that this is how life would be for everyone. As a teenager and even at times into to college I pictured this fairly tale lifestyle often depicted in movies. Well I ended up falling in love with medicine during high school and attending Oklahoma Baptist University and graduating with a degree in Biochemistry. Now I'm in my final year of medical school, dating an incredible man of God, and closer to my family than I have ever been. I can honestly say I would have it no other way. I am blessed beyond measure and I realize that God's plan and who he has made me is more important than what my plans for my life were. 

You see we all have had these visions and dreams of what our lives will be like when we "grow up." I recently finished reading the next section in the Resolution book. It is called Authentically Me: A resolution to value myself and celebrate others. In the first chapter of this section she described re-decorating a room. She said that her decorator brought in this one little item as inspiration to the room. She was afraid to choose it because she didn't want to base her entire room design on such a tiny item. You know many times we do the same thing in our lives. We base who were are on tiny things that may not have significance. Or as I described above we strive to be something we are not based on a movie or a book or some fairy tale we read as a child. I discovered that in addition to what I described in the beginning I choose to base who I am off of minor details of my life. For instance, I struggle with self confidence. I tend to be rather difficult on myself. If I get a bad grade or don't do as well as I would like or better than my fellow classmates I tend to think of the worst possible situation. Through these situations I find my self deciding that I must be a failure. This has lead me to be in relationships where I allow others to continue these feelings of being a failure. At times this has lead me to be a less confident individual who allows others to take advantage of her. But in over the last two years I have realized that God has created me. He is working on making me into a masterpiece. I am reminded by friends and family that  I am in fact a hard worker, that I am not a failure. I have learned to be confident in myself and present myself confidently to those I come in contact with. I realize that although there are several things that I struggle with, these things don't define me but make me who I am. By embracing my weakness I am able to recognize my strengths and use them to succeed in life. 1 Peter 2:9-10, reminds us of how God sees us. 

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy"

We are royalty in God's eyes. If God sees us this way then why do we allow our little imperfections to define us? 

We are not only seen as royalty to God but He knows everything about us. And He desires for us to see ourselves as the beautiful creation He has created us to be. We are daughter's of the King of Kings. God desires for us to embrace all the uniqueness that He has given us. He wants us to not base our lives on the little things, but on the big thing that He has adopted us as his daughter and with that comes all the rights and responsibilities of being His Child.

In addition to embracing who we are, we must also encourage and affirm the unique qualities of our sisters in Christ. I recently listened to a sermon online by Joe McGee. He was speaking on family. He spoke on how God has created men and women differently. He said that he created them each to serve different roles, so in a marriage the man and the woman compliment each other. The same is true with the body of Christ but on a much larger role. God has created us to be unique. Each of us have different qualities to bring to the body of Christ. We are all needed to minister to others and fulfill the mission of the Church. Women tend to pick on each other. We tend to point out those little details in our fellow sisters, you know those little blemishes. And as women when people do that we tend to make those blemishes into who we are. At the end of the section she challenged women to take the time to encourage their friends by telling them the qualities you admire. So I challenge you. Think of those women in your life who mean the most to you and give a call or a text to tell them what it is you admire in them. Can you imagine the difference that would be made? How would our relationships with other women in our churches and circles grow? How many could we bring to Christ if we were united in our uniqueness 

Resolution: 

"I will accept and celebrate my uniqueness and will esteem and encourage the distinctions I admire in others"

In closing I would like to end with Psalm 139 from the Message

 God, investigate my life;

    get all the facts firsthand.

I’m an open book to you;

    even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.

You know when I leave and when I get back;

    I’m never out of your sight.

You know everything I’m going to say

    before I start the first sentence.

I look behind me and you’re there,

    then up ahead and you’re there, too—

    your reassuring presence, coming and going.

This is too much, too wonderful—

    I can’t take it all in!

Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit

    to be out of your sight?

If I climb to the sky, you’re there!

    If I go underground, you’re there!

If I flew on morning’s wings

    to the far western horizon,

You’d find me in a minute—

    you’re already there waiting!

Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!

    At night I’m immersed in the light!”

It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;

    night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;

    you formed me in my mother’s womb.

I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!

    Body and soul, I am marvelously made!

    I worship in adoration—what a creation!

You know me inside and out,

    you know every bone in my body;

You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,

    how I was sculpted from nothing into something.

Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;

    all the stages of my life were spread out before you,

The days of my life all prepared

    before I’d even lived one day.

Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!

    God, I’ll never comprehend them!

I couldn’t even begin to count them—

    any more than I could count the sand of the sea.

Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!

    And please, God, do away with wickedness for good!

And you murderers—out of here!—

    all the men and women who belittle you, God,

    infatuated with cheap god-imitations.

See how I hate those who hate you, God,

    see how I loathe all this godless arrogance;

I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred.

    Your enemies are my enemies!

Investigate my life, O God,

    find out everything about me;

Cross-examine and test me,

    get a clear picture of what I’m about;

See for yourself whether I’ve done anything 

Refining Fire

When I was in middle school, I did a science fair project on forrest fires. I became interested in forrest fires when my family and I went on vacation to Yellowstone National Park. While there we could see damage from a recent forrest fires. At first we were sadden by the destruction of the fires, but then a forrest ranger educated us about the need for forrest fires. The ranger told us how the fires were needed for the regeneration of the forrest. When there is a fire nutrients from the wood and grass of the forrest that burns is allowed to reenter the soil and provide a rich fertilizer. Fires also get rid of brush that has accumulated in the forrest and serves as a natural forrest clearer. If you have been anywhere near Oklahoma recently you know that we are in a severe drought. At the beginning of August several wild fires broke out across the state. These fires caused destruction of not only the land but, properties as well. Some of these areas are along I-44 which I have traveled frequently recently while going back and forth between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. About 4 weeks ago, the first weekend after the fires, I drove home. I saw several patches of black, grey, and ashy pieces of land. Trees trunks were brunt and their leaves had turn brown as if it was fall. Then next weekend as I drove home, I saw tiny little pieces of green coming up through the blackened earth. The following weekend I saw more green coming up through the blackened earth. This weekend as I drove home through more areas that had been burned I saw the same thing happening in stages as some areas had burned more recently. There were areas that had this lush green grass that was beautiful. It was bright green and looked like the beginning of spring. The tree trunks were still burned and the leaves were brown, but there were leaves that were starting to turn green again. These brown leaves had fallen off as in the fall, but new leaves were budding out. It was beautiful.

Okay sorry for the description about wild fires, but it does have a point. As I was driving home this Friday I realized that our lives are much like this. You see we all have the wild fires of our own lives. I believe that God uses these fires to bring about change and growth in our lives. The wild fires of our lives are not pleasant and they hurt. They may cause pain and sadness as they do in those that lose property during fires. But the fires in our lives are necessary just as they are in nature. God uses these trials to  allow us to grow. He uses these trials to get rid of the "junk" that has accumulated in our lives and taken our focus off Him. When we first accept Christ we are a new creation in God, but because we are still human we continue to need times of refining. As Christians our lives should be focused on growing closer to God, to perfecting our relationship with Him, and seeking His will for our lives. Isaiah 48:10 says that  we are refined "not as silver, but in the furnace of affliction". You see the fire is necessary to bring about the perfection and beauty of what God wants to create in you and me. After the refining process in our lives we begin to have regeneration of life just as in the forrest fire. We become a more beautiful creation in Christ, with beautiful new grass just like after a forrest fire. We are better able to focus the plan that God has prepared for us because the rubbish and distractions have been cleared. 

We must remember that while necessary the fires of our lives can be painful. Times of refining are not pleasant but the result is worthwhile. Recently a friend of mine lost a baby in a miscarriage. She has encouraged me as she has shared with me what she has learned through this experience. So in closing two final words from this dear friend to remember during the fires of your life. 

"God keeps His promises and He never wastes a Hurt"

Purposefully Feminine

So it has been way to long since I last posted. And today's blog post will be somewhat random but here we go. Let me give you a brief update on my life and get on with the blog post for today, another chapter for The Resolution for Women. And I apologize this could be a longer post but bear with me.  Over the past three months I have continued to study frantically for my step 2 boards which were Monday. Thank you to all those that prayed and encouraged me and mostly to the Lord who has gotten me this far. On Sunday at church we had an amazing message from Kriss Haymes that reminded us to live our lives for Christ and not forget that moment of salvation. During his message I realized through all this board studying I had not been giving Christ my all with my relationship with Him and I rededicated my life to Christ. I want Christ to be on the throne the first and most important thing in my life. It is very difficult with studying to not put Him there but I want to continue to make the Jesus the Lord of my life and honor Him. It is truly through Him that I have gotten this far and He has blessed every step.

This month I am working in Norman, Oklahoma at the Children's Recovery Center. I have had the privilege of working with teenage girls that struggle with mental health issues and addiction. This has truly been an eye opening experience. The Lord has really worked on my heart over the past several weeks. First of all I didn't like being away from my family. I also was told when I got here that I would be doing more shadowing because I was a student. I was expecting to have more one on one interaction with the girls and this was disappointing. I felt that as  fourth year medical student I should do more. But the Lord quickly humbled me and showed me that I can impact these girls lives in other ways. Over the past couple of weeks I have had some great interactions with these girls and my heart is burdened for them. Many of them come from broken homes where their parents are also addicts so they struggle to overcome their addiction. I have long had a passion to work with girls like this to show them that they are special and they can do anything they put their mind to it. I have never thought of working in this capacity and I am still trying to be mindful of what the Lord wants me do when I finish residency. Its hard in a state facility like this to share your faith because of the rules.   Many of these girls struggle with self-esteem and I've always desired to share with girls that God has created them as a masterpiece and has something very special planned for them. Many of these girls just need a positive role model and slowly the Lord is showing me this month that I have been that. What started out as a not so good month and turned into a blessing in surprise that the Lord has used to teach me a lot about myself and His plan for my life. This rotation turned out to be just what I needed in terms of a learning experience. I learned many things about substance abuse. I was moved today as the girls told me they were sad to see me go. I realize that someone like me is just what the need. They need a positive female role model in their life. Well I guess this leads me to the Resolution for Women part of my blog.

To re-cap the last chapter dealt with being Surprisingly Satisfied. A chapter I probably should have re-read at the start of this month.  Looking back on it I was not living this first resolution out very well at the beginning of this four weeks. Then I remembered that I need to have a positive attitude that I need to be content in my season of life. So many times it is hard for us to put into practice being content. As a read the second section I realized that these resolutions are put together in a particular order for a reason. This next session entitled "Purposely Feminine". I realized that in order to embrace this concept I have to be content with the role of a woman that God has given me.

Throughout the ages a woman's role has been much of a discussion. It seems that there is always some sort of a debate about the role that women are to play. For most of history women have played an inferior role they have been viewed as the lesser sex. But I think we should start looking at a woman's role from the beginning as Priscilaa Shirer does in the second chapter of this section. In Genesis 1:27, "So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female." She reminds us here that from the beginning God created not just men, but yes women in His image. So in God's view of men and women we have equal worth. God's plan for mankind is that men and women have equal worth but different responsibilities. You see in God's plan which is perfect, He designed men and women to work together to achieve his purposes. He has blessed each of us with different tasks to achieve that purpose. Both men and women are equally needed to achieve His purpose. But we all know from reading a bit further in Genesis that sin entered the world. We know that through sin God's idea and plan get's twisted because man tries to put his/her own spin on things. Throughout the centuries God's plan for women has gotten twisted. We see in bible times and for centuries after that women being treated less equally than me as if they were some lesser part of God's creation. But it is very clear from Genesis 1:27 that this is not how God intended His creation. Mankind was the hallmark the crowning point of His creation and He created men and women equally. In the Gospels we see Jesus trying to re-define this role. We know that Jesus had many women that were friends. Pricilla discusses one of my favorite stories and brings to light something that I had never thought of. She talks about the woman at the well. You know the Samaritan woman who had several husband's and the man she was living with wasn't her husband. Imagine being this woman having a man, not just any man but a Jew come up to you at the well. You see in Jesus time. Jews and Samaritans didn't talk and men and women didn't talk in public. So what we have here is this woman who is probably shunned in her town for her life style. More than likely she's at the well by herself because the other women in the town didn't want to associate with her. I'm sure we all know someone...you know "that woman". So she's at this well and all of a sudden a man comes to to talk to her. Jesus basically revealed himself to her as the Messiah and she got it.  Some many of the Jews just didn't get it. So for a Samaritan woman to understand the deep message that Jesus said to her that day was just not normal. But God choose to use this unlikely woman in her village to fulfill His purpose and plan and draw people from her town to Himself. Jesus choose to redefine a woman's role that day. He showed that they are not a lesser human being but that she was in equal and just as important in His eyes.

From this initial perverting of God's view of women we entered into a new perversion of God's view of women. In the late nineteen century and early twentieth century there were many feminist movements that began. While some of these movements brought about much needed change such as giving women the right to vote and more equal responsibility in the work force then pendulum once again to far in the other direction. We now live in a post-feministic society where there is a distortion of the role we are to play as women. The view of who a woman should be is different for my generation that it was for my mother's generation. The post-feminisitic movement at times leads women to believe that our role is just the same as men, that we don't need men and we can do their job better than them. Not let me make something clear here before I go on. When I am speaking of "job"I'm not speaking of occupation, I am speaking of fulfilling the role that the Lord has set for men and women. So on to the subject that makes society cringe...Submission. In Ephesians 5 we read that Women are submit to their husbands. There has been much debate about what exactly this means and what it looks like. Priscilla discussed how everyone men included have authority that they are suppose to submit to. We are to submit to our employers, our government leaders, and our spiritual leaders. As women we are suppose to submit to our husbands. Some believe that this makes you less of a woman. I don't have the knowledge to speak on the matter because I'm not married but this is how I see it. When we look at God's plan for man and woman. We first realize that we are both created equally in the image of God. We each have our own unique roles. Women we are to submit to our husbands and men are to love their wives as Christ loved the Church. So as God designed its a team that works together. Women seek the men in lives, their father before they are married and the husband after they are married to be the leader in their life. As single Christian women this is why its important that week seek strong Christian men to be in relationship with. This plan only works in the bounds of a Christian relationship. Priscilla went on to encourage women who are in abusive and life threatening situations to seek help to get out this situation and I echo her encouragement.

When we embrace God's plan for our role as a woman we yield ourselves to Him and His plan and protection. We must first learn to practice submission with the Lord. Being "Purposefully Feminine" means that we fully accept that God has created us equally but uniquely from man. We recognize that he has a plan and purpose for our life that is distinct from our male counterparts. Utilimately we come to the realization that it is through this perfect design of the Master that his plan and purposes are fulfilled and we truly are "stout women".

"I will champion God's model for Womanhood in the face of a postfeminist culture. I will teach it to my daughters and encourage its support by my sons"

A Resolution to Be Content

So I finished reading the first chapter of the Resolution for Women. If you haven't read in awhile read the post before this one. This chapter is called Surprisingly Satisfied: A resolution to be content. The author talks about what it means to be truly content with our lives. In the first part of the chapter she talks about eating a piece of chocolate cake on her birthday with one of her mentors. Her mentor told her this was going to be the best year of her life. She wondered how this could be and began reflecting on her life. She realized that she couldn't remember certain aspects of her life because she had always been hurrying through life. She talked about when she was in college she wanted to be married, and once she was married she wanted children and so forth. She said that she realized she had been rushing through life and not taking time to enjoy her current season in life. I realized that I took have been guilty of this, I'm sure like many of you. The day I read this first part was mother's day. I letting my feelings get the best of me. For instance I had told someone that I"ve known for quite awhile Happy Mother's Day and she looked at me and said Happy M.....Women's Day. While I know she meant no harm in this statement. I allowed the destroyer to tell me that I was less of a woman because I was not a mother. Now this is a desire that I have for one day, but the fact is thats not my season in life right now. Many times the destroyer tries to lie to us and tell us that there is something better and that the grass is greener on the other side. I find myself looking forward to May 17, 2013...Med School Graduation...yes I looked at the new academic calendar when it was posted. But you see while looking forward to and anticipating something is okay, we begin to struggle when we put so much focus on what lies ahead we forget to enjoy the moment that we are in. The author talked about how she found herself absorb in this conversation with her mentor she realized that the chocolate cake she was eating was gone except for a few crumbs. She said that she was determined to get all the crumbs and enjoy that piece of chocolate cake to the last crumb. She said in that moment she decided to look at her life in much the same way. She would cherish every moment and not race ahead to the future.

But godliness with contentment is great gain

 1 Timothy 6:6

1.  What have you been hurrying through?

2. What have you been hurrying to get to?

3. What are some of the good parts of your experience that you've missed in an attempt to rush through the more difficult ones?

4. What can you do differently today to scrape the plate, to gather up all the good things around you and begin enjoying the journey of your life?

Contentment lies in understanding that God has richly supplied us with everything that we need. Many times He supplies us with more than we need, more than we could ever imagine. In the next part of the chapter she talked about playing the game telephone. I'm sure many of you have played this before. Someone whispers something in one person's ear and then down the line it goes. We all know that what the last person says they heard is not what the first person said most of the time far from it. This is how it is in our lives. You see as women we are very impressionable. We listen to those around us that try to tell us what it is to be content. You see the Redbook woman, or the Good Housekeeping Wife. Many times its all about moving onto the next stage. Our society tells us if you are dating someone the next step is to move in with them or to get married. If you're newly married people hound you about when you're going to start having kids. I've seen with several of my friends after they have one kid, people start asking when they will have the next one and so forth. As you age and your kids are gone its when are they going to give you grandkids. Society that is goal driven has become future focused to the point that we don't take the time to enjoy our current season of life and be content in it. We are always anticipating the next step and it clouds our present view of our lives. If we continue in this pattern we will come to the end of our lives and look back and wonder where all the time and the memories went. The deceiver seeks to push these lies into society. He seeks to distort the truth and show us that there is something better, that the grass is truly greener on the other side. But what I learned through this chapter is that contentment is not just acquired its learned. We are not born contented. In fact we are born into a world of sin and constantly battling the sinful desires of our hearts. We must seek and learn to be contented in all aspects of life. Paul stated that he learned to be contented. In Philippians 4:10-13 we read:

 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.  I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry,whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength

Philippians 4:10-13

Contentment was something that Paul practiced. And it is something that we must practice everyday. We determine that we will not listen to the lies the deceiver tells us. We must determine to help each other to encourage each other and we must teach this process of contentment to those younger than us. The fact is that God has richly blessed us. Society tells us that we are not richly blessed unless we have lots of money and possessions. But God has promised to supply us with our every need. He takes care of our daily needs and many times he provides even more than that. When we are contented with what we have and our season in life we are richer than those with all the money possessions and those that are constantly looking for the next step in their season in life. We can have the joy in knowing that God has secured our future through Jesus Christ and He knows the plans He has for us and we can enjoy the moment.

When we learn to be content with our lives we are better able to serve others. Many times we get burned out tired of selflessly giving to those around us. We first have to realize when we are truly content we have an energy a supply grace from God that allows us to serve those around us. Part  of this though is learning to say no. I understand "NO" is a hard word to say. But when we live uncontneted lives its even harder to say because we find ourselves always trying to please always trying to be better. But when we are contented with where we are we understand that at times we have to say no and give energy to other tasks around us that demand our attention. When we say no we are able to get the rest that God so graciously wants to grant us. With this rest we can better serve those around us. 

The chapter ends by talking about how this all is a balancing act. We be contented and still look forward to  and even plan for the future. In fact I feel that is what God calls us to. He calls us to be  his workmanship approved and ready for all the work He has set before us. But we must balance. We must not become so focused on the next step or what we don't have that we forget to enjoy the moment and the blessing that God is giving us right now. When we learn to be content with our lives we are better able to enjoy the current season and learn from it so we are prepared for what lies ahead because we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has secured the future. He holds it in his hands. He has not lead us where we can flourish we just must surrender our will and our desires to Him and allow Him to work in us and through us. 

"And being confident in this that He who began a GOOD work in YOU will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus"

Philippians 1:6

That's it ladies I am confident that God has began a good a very good work in you. He's not just going to leave you here or require that you jump ahead to the future. Because He has began a good work in you He wants you to find your contentment in Him. Because He has promised He will finish what He has started.

If you are ready to begin living a contented life I encourage you to take this first resolution with me...

I Sarah Kauble do solemnly resolve to EMBRACE my current season of life and will MAXIMIZE my time in it. I will resist the urge to hurry through or circumvent any portion of my journey but will live a spirit of contentment.

Resolution

 I have decided to start reading The Resolution for Women by Priscilla Shirer. This book was written in response to the movie Courageous. This movie details the lives of  five men who decided each other to live the lives that God called them to...to be Courageous men with honor, who lead their families. This book is specifically written towards women. They have written a resolution for women similar to the one that the men took in the movie. The book consists of 13 chapters that detail each resolution. AS I read this book I have decided to blog what I am reading about. I encourage you to grab a copy of this book at your local book store or download it on your ipad, kindle, nook...etc and read with me. 

In the opening chapter Pricilla discusses that it won’t be easy looking at these resolutions. It will take some soul searching and learning to be honest with yourself. So I recognize that this challenge is not easy. First it will require those of us that do it to be honest with ourselves and with God. It will require us to remove the masks that I’ve talked about before. Like I’ve said before the refining process that I believe will happen through this book may not be easy but the end product I’m sure will be a beautiful masterpiece even more beautiful than you already are. So if you’re in...join me. If not continue to read maybe it will inspire you to join me. I’m in the middle of the first chapter right now so I will write a big post on the chapter as a whole. But first let me share with you the Resolution for Women...

1. I do solemnly resolve to embrace my current season of life and will maximize my time in it. I will resist the urge to hurry through or circumvent any portion of my journey but will live a spirit of contentment
2. I will champion God’s model for womanhood in the face of a postfeminist culture. I will teach it to my daughters and encourage its support by my son.
3. I will accept and celebrate my uniqueness and will esteem and encourage the distinctions I admire in others.
4. I will live as a woman answerable to GOd and faithfully committed to His word.
5. I will seek to devote the best of myself, my time, and my talents to the primary roles the Lord has entrusted to me in this phase of my life. 
6. I will be a woman who is quick to listen and slow to speak. I will care about the concerns of others and esteem them more highly than myself.
7. I will forgive those who have wronged me and reconcile with those I have wronged.
8. I will not tolerate evil influences even in the most justifiable form, in myself or in my home, but will embrace and encourage a life of purity.
9. I will pursue justice, love, and mercy and extend compassion toward others.
10. I will be faithful to my husband and honor him in my conduct and conversation in order to bring glory to the name of the Lord. I will aspire to be a suitable partner for him and to help him reach his God-given potential.
11. I will demonstrate to my children how to love God with all their hearts, minds, and strength and will train them to respect authority and live responsibility. 
12. I will cultivate a peaceful home where everyone can sense God’s presence not only through acts of love and service but also through the pleasant and grateful attitude with which I preform them. 
13. I fully resolve to make today’s decisions with tomorrow’s impact in mind. I will consider my current choices in light of those who will come after me. 

So are you with me? Will you join me on this journey of discovering how God can change our lives through this simple resolution? Look for my first post sometime next week. 

Resolution: The state or quality of being resolute; firm determination;  A course of action determined or decided upon