LIWD :: day 3 :: His Blueprints

Another costly aspect of Ruth's choice was the time frame in Israels's history.  It was the age of the judges, a period of time described as "do your own thing"; "Everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21.25b).  Ruth chose not only to break her family cycle, but also to challenge the lifestyle that many in Israel embraced.  She wanted God's will, not hers; His blueprints, not her elementary scribbling; God's assignment, not her foolish plans. 

Whenever a single woman decides to abandon herself completely to Jesus, as Ruth,did, she will find herself out of step with society and, sometimes, even her frineds.  A single woman today needs the boldness to challenge and break the cycle of the "American way" that exalts a relationship with a man as an answer to life.  This "American way" blurs the reality of the ultimate answer to life found in a deep relationship with Jesus Christ.  A modern-day Ruth wrote: "My deep satisfaction from my commitment to Jesus is constantly challenged by other believers.  They treat me like some kind of Neanderthal, definitely out of step with the today's woman."

His blueprints, not her elementary scribbling; God's assignment not her foolish plans

This is something I've struggled with for years. I used to believe there was a time and place for everything...including religion. I thought my religion, my faith, God, belonged at church. He belonged at my wednesday night hi-ba (high school born-againers) group in high school. He belonged in the presence of other believers. He did not belong at school. He did not belong at work. He did not belong when I was out with my non-christian friends. He did not belong in my relationships.

I have since been awakened to how seriously flawed my thinking was. He's not a 'sometimes' god. He's an 'always' God. He's there even if you don't think you want Him to be, and believe me, you want Him there. He is the only one who can deliver you. He's the only one who knows you inside out. He's the only one who can complete you. Letting Him into every aspect of your life will only augment those areas. He created it all, He knows how to get the best out it. He wants whats best for us, if only we'll allow Him in.

Doing Jesus' will may not always be the easiest or most popular road, but where it leads you will be well-worth it.

LIWD :: day 2 :: Journey Away From Rituals

Ruth moved from a false religion into the only true and eternal relationship. Too many women have been involved in a form of religious worship, but have never had a vital, growing relationship with Jesus...Has your faith been a lifeless ritual rather than a vital love relationship with Jesus? Why not spend some of your free hours as a single woman beginning a journey away from rituals into a deep relationship with Jesus Christ?

One single woman expressed this vital relationship with Jesus in the following way: "I desired that my relationship with the Lord be an adventure. One where I would find out what pleased Him and then do it, devoting as much energy to Jesus as I would in a relationship with a boyfriend. I am falling more in love with Jesus every day." Do you know more about pleasing a boyfriend than you do about pleasing the Lord Jesus?

Has your faith been a lifeless ritual rather than a vital love relationship with Jesus?

Todays devotional sure hit hard! How much more time do I spend on making my earthly relationships work than on perfecting my relationship with the one and only true King? Before this study, it never even occured to me that I might be placing more importance on a boyfriend than I did on my Lord and Savior.

Way too often we just go through life...going through the motions, without much regard to how or why we're doing it. It's just what we do. We get up. We shower. We eat breakfast. We go to work. We come home. Maybe we workout. Maybe we meet up with a friend. Maybe we watch some tv. Maybe we clean the house. Maybe we blog. Maybe we spend some time with God. We eat dinner. We go to sleep. And it starts all over again.

Are you just going through the motions? Are you taking the little things for granted? I know I've been guilty of that...probably more often than not. When was the last time you thanked God for the roof over your head? For the shoes on your feet? For the job you hate so much but pays the bills? For the food in your fridge? For your healthy body? For the air you breathe? For your free will? Hard to remember, isn't it?

I've been a believer for as long as I can remember. I accepted Jesus as my savior at a young age. I really can't remember ever not being a christian. What I wasn't, was a follower of Christ. I believed He is the son of God. I believed He died to wash away my sins. I believed everything I believe now. But I didn't allow Him in my life. He was reserved for sundays and for when I was with my church friends. He didn't belong at school, or work, or when I was out, or even when I was at home. That has since changed. I want Him in EVERY aspect of my life. He cared enough to make me, to die for me, I can care enough to let Him in. That's not to say, I don't struggle. I often find myself going astray. It's work. But it's work I'm willing to do. Are you?

LIWD :: day 1 :: Fulfillment

Have you assumed that your ultimate fulfillment would be found in marriage? Have you privately entertained the notion that the only satisfied women are married women? Have you been expecting your career to satisfy you until you are married? If you have answered "yes" to any of these questions, then you have a prospect of disillusionment looming in the future. "...A woman becomes a woman when she becomes what God wants her to be." (Kenneth G Smith, Learning to Be a Woman) This priceless truth can help keep your perspective clear in relation to true fulfillment in life. Too many Christian women think that the inner longings of their heart relate only to love, marriage, and motherhood. Chapman one remarked, "I feel very strongly that marriage is not a higher calling than the single state. Happy indeed are those people, married or single, who have discovered that happiness is not found in marriage but in a right relationship with God." Fulfillment for a Christian woman begins with the Lordship of Christ in every area of her life.

Fulfillment for a Christian woman begins with the Lordship of Christ in every area of her life.

Like any young girl, I often dreamt of the day my prince charming would come sweep me off my feet. We'd have a flawless white wedding, have a brood of beautiful children and live happily ever after. As I grew older, I never really let go of those 'goals'. I wanted, make that still want, that perfect guy, perfect wedding and perfect family...but my ideals of what that means has greatly changed. The perfect guy isn't flawless, he is the one God chose for me. The perfect wedding doesn't need to go off without a hitch, simply pledging my love, in front of God and all my friends and families, to my God-send is all I want. The perfect family isn't of the stepford variety, but a family that loves eachother unconditionally and lives for our Savior.

I've grown to know that I don't need those things to be happy. Jesus is my heavenly prince and He can fulfill my heart and my soul in ways that no earthly man ever can. That's not to say I don't yearn for these things. I pray that it is in Gods plan for me to be a wife and mother someday...hopefully sooner rather than later, but I resolve to be patient and wait for His timing.

I struggle daily with becoming who God wants me to be. It's so easy to just lay back and let life pass you by. Bettering yourself, building a strong relationship with God, takes time, commitment, faith and work. I long to be the woman God intends for me to be. I long to radiate Gods light in all of my daily interactions. But, man, it's hard! I struggle with so many things over and over again. All I can do is ask for His forgiveness, pray, read my bible and try again.

While it's difficult to consider the possibility that it just may not be in Gods plan for me to ever be married, it's a pill I have to swallow. I am content in my singleness. I know that God is there for me no matter what. I know that in return for my faithfulness He will have great rewards for me in the next life. I will continue my journey with Him, no matter how difficult, and choose to follow wherever He leads me.

LIW :: 40-day Devotional

In additon to fasting for lent and abstaining from social networking, I will also be doing a 40-day devotional. The devotional comes from the expanded edition of Lady in Waiting. I recently finished the book with an awesome group of women and we wanted to the devotional in the back of the book together. It's a 40-day devotional though and it's a bit of a stretch to extend our bible study for another 40 weeks. So instead, I thought, maybe we could do it individually and email back and forth about it. Then Desiree came up with the idea that I blog about it and everyone else can chime in on the comment portion or on our Lady in Waiting group facebook page (I'd post a link, but that would require me to go on facebook thus breaking my social networking fast in less than 24 hours...so maybe Des or Amy would be so kind to do that in the comments...hint,hint). The timing worked out that lent, which is also forty days (so long as you don't count sundays) fell right around the time I was planning on starting the devotional.

I will be blogging everyday alongside the devotional...they're short so I will include them in 1st half of each blog post so if you don't have the book, you can follow along easily...with the exclusion of Sundays. Please chime in on the comments!

Jesus over facebook

Over the last few weeks, I've been racking my brain, trying to figure out what to give up for lent this year. I usually fast one day a week - this year it'll be sundays because I don't work on sundays and my job is very physical. I want to give up something that will be really difficult.

Last year I gave up chocolate. I missed it, but I found I just ended up replacing it with other sweets. The year before I gave up meat. Now that was hard! I could never be a vegetarian. I considered doing that again this year, but I don't think I can afford forty days worth of balanced, meatless nutrition. I considered alcohol, but I honestly don't drink that much or that often anymore so it really wouldn't be much of a sacrifice. Caffeine was a thought, but I often go weeks at a time without simply because there isn't any in the house.

So I thought, what is something I use frequently that would really be trying for me to give up? Thats when it hit me! Facebook! I am a facebook-aholic. I check my page and my feed at least a dozen times throughout the day. Now this would be something requiring some real effort and will power. I don't want it to be a repeat of last year...replacing it with something similar rather than turning those cravings to God. So I will be void of twitter, myspace, youtube and googlebuzz as well.

How much better will my prayer life be, how much stronger will my relationship with God become, if I take all the time I usually spend on these social networking sites and instead use it to grow in Him?