Encouragement For Women

May I delight in you L ORD and may I be a witness of your life giving hope to others. Let my actions and "external me" show life.

Have Mercy Lord Have mercy LORD, Have mercy LORD Have mercy LORD, for I am faint Heal me LORD, please heal me LORD, Heal me Lord, for my bones are weak (chorus) How long, oh LORD how long How long, till you take us home How long, oh LORD how long How long Turn and deliver me (bridge) I need your help Lord to live this life my spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak I want to do right, but I need your strength Lord please save me from myself turn and deliver me Song by Todd Young

Do what they say, say what they mean One thing leads to another You told me something wrong I know I listen too long But then one thing leads to another Yeah, yeah--The Fixx Have you ever had a lengthy discussion with someone, giving reason for the hope you have within and the response is - ...Christians are hypocrites, I'm not interested, nice for you and all... Though The Fixx was onto a different groove with the song above, the underlying meaning is what I'm writing about. I am a Mother and I feel this responsibility deeply, the responsibility of modeling a Christlike life. Oh how I fail everyday! More than once a day. Often I am so ashamed that I apologize to my sons and try to correct my behavior. But there are the times when I don't, the times I haven't, all the times in my life. Who was watching, who was listening? I may never know. I may never know what fires I have dampened that the Lord had burning in someone's heart. 22 Do not merely listen to...

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:31,32 (NIV) I cannot recall how many times I've been told how "nice" I am. Or when I was younger, "you're too sweet." I know that I've heard it enough that I believed it and it grew into pride. Thinking of it now seems a bit ridiculous, but seriously - I really have an issue with it. I work with much ambition to be seen as nice and kind. I work at being nice and kind. Imagine my shock to heart that some of my kindness is fake! Many years ago a woman from Calvary Fellowship Seattle gave me this small booklet with a yellow jacket. The title was, "How To Be Free From Bitterness." Truly it was a work God was doing even then, though I scoffed at the title and tucked it away on my bookshelf. It is also safe to say that I don't know ...

If you are interested in some amazing gift ideas that improves the lives of others, please check out the Christmas Catalog on Gospel for Asia's website: http://gfa.org/gift?motiv=WA7A-GFGC Here you can purchase livestock for families to take care of for their own food or food like milk or eggs to sell to make a living from. You can purchase a sewing machine or the like to help support a livelihood and family. If you are thinking it is too expensive... you could buy a water filter for a family for $25 or blankets to help keep people warm $5/each. Last year we purchased some animals in the name of some friends and family members. Though our culture makes these types of gifts awkward, they are beautiful in that they keep on giving and blessing others. In light of the coming season where we Americans are bombarded by -buy, buy, buy! Please consider making a difference with what you buy. In Christ Elizabeth

Real Truth - Honesty We hide many things, lots of things from others. Sometimes it is to "protect" them, sometimes ourselves or others. I recently came across an online posting of secrets. People sent a man postcards with only their secret and his mailing address. He collected them, turned them into books and a website. Being curious in nature, I checked it out and at first was rather entertained. Then heartbroken. Secrets from crushes, lust, uncontrolled fetishes/desires, abused/abusers, mourning over deeds done and many people whose lives are obviously shadowed by these and many more secrets. Funny to me is how myself and others who are believers in Christ try to hide things from God. I say funny because there is nothing that is hidden from God. He is and was and will be. All time has past before him and he knows even man's own heart and knew us even in our mother's womb. So, though we may have others fooled, God really knows everything we've ever thought, said,...

This is what the LORD says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the LORD Almighty is his name: Amen! In Christ, Elizabeth