Mentoring Woman: "A Boasting Matter!"

Mentoring Woman: "A Boasting Matter!":    It has been a few weeks since I last blogged and when my husband asked me about it last week,  I told him I was just not feeling inspired...

"A Boasting Matter!"

   It has been a few weeks since I last blogged and when my husband asked me about it last week,  I told him I was just not feeling inspired to write!  But today's topic of  "The Cross" got a hold of me and has inspired me beyond measure!

Why would I be thinking about the cross when it is almost Thanksgiving?  "That seems almost like an Easter topic," you might say!  As I have shared, I have been doodling through scripture and just finished up Galatians. Studying scripture like this has challenged me and as I finish Galatians I feel like I do when I finish a good book, like I am leaving a good friend!  It is something I have been personally been missing for some time! (Just keepin it real people!)  Paul says a very interesting thing as he closes out this letter in Chapter 6:14:  "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

The cross was considered a place of shame in biblical days.  It was meant to punish criminals and those who disobeyed the governing law.  Deuteronomy 21:23b says:  "because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse."    This is what makes the cross so fantastic!  Earlier on in Galatians Paul says in Chapter 3:13:  "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."

The cross either becomes the unifying point of mankind because it shows us our sinfulness, our need of a saviour and the great lengths that God went to extend His love to us.  Or the cross becomes the great divider!  But each one of us must choose!

For those of us who name the name of Christ we realize that the cross is a place of forgiveness. The singing group, "Mercy Me", has an excellent song called "Flawless" about this very topic.  I invite you to go to their link and pay close attention to the words:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ7EyPTOltw  It is a great reminder when Satan hurls those arrows and claims we are not good enough that "the cross has made us flawless!"

Yes, I will boast in the cross, for it's redeeming power has set me free!
And it reminds me in this crazy mixed up world that I, too, am crucified to its hold on me...for this world is not my home!

Mentoring Woman: Parts is Parts!

Mentoring Woman: Parts is Parts!: First of all I want to thank everyone for your response to last week's blog. It is so encouraging to hear that many of you are alre...

Parts is Parts!

First of all I want to thank everyone for your response to last week's blog. It is so encouraging to hear that many of you are already beginning to "doodle through scripture!

Our small group is coming over Sunday evening and normally getting the house whipped into shape isn't that big of a deal.  But last week I cracked a rib doing something as simple as getting frozen corn out of our chest freezer!  Never mind that I thought myself a contortionist, as I was practically 

standing on my head but OUCH!

So needless to say, I asked two of my granddaughters if I could enlist their help this Saturday in getting my work accomplished.  Fortunately they both agreed to it!  What would I do without them? 

I am making my cleaning list (and checking it twice) so hopefully, I will be ready for company.  

This got me to thinking about all of us working together in the body of Christ. Paul addresses this in I Corinthians 12:14-20:   "Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.  And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the boy" It would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?  If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?  But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.  If they were all one part, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many parts, but one body."   

Another reason this has also been on my mind is because of a new task I am taking on. I used to organize, plan, and execute dinners and banquets more times than I can count! However, due to health issues, I cannot do those things anymore.  I had been praying about where best to serve God, when I was approached to see if I would be willing to call people and organize food whenever there is a funeral dinner at our church.  These dinners are such a comfort during a very stressful time in families.  Yep, that is how God works "Ask and Ye Shall Receive!"  I had to remind myself, that even though I wasn't setting up tables, cooking, and serving, what I would be doing was just as important as those who could.  

My question and challenge is this:   Has God been calling you to ministry?  Have you even asked Him where He might want you to serve? Your local church body needs you!  Ears are needed, eyes are needed and even noses are needed, to make a functioning body of Christ!  Yep, "I took it to the throne last week and now I am literally taking it to the phone for Him in the future!"

Mentoring Woman: I AM A YANKEE DOODLE GIRL!

Mentoring Woman: I AM A YANKEE DOODLE GIRL!: I have been on new adventure lately! I have joined a bible study where we doodle through scripture. Right now we are going through the book...

I AM A YANKEE DOODLE GIRL!

I have been on new adventure lately! I have joined a bible study where we doodle through scripture. Right now we are going through the book of Ephesians.

Now I must admit, I entered this adventure with much fear and trepidation, but I find that I am really enjoying it! Here is another sample of one of the pages I did where Ephesians 2:1-2 talks about how we were dead in our sins and followed the ways of this world.  The look on my husband's face when he saw my name on the tombstone was priceless!

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Those who know me at all, probably think "Wow, this is right up her alley!" because I do tend to be pretty crafty, but doodling is not my spiritual gift. (for lack of a better word) If I would ask our middle son to draw a picture of a penguin fishing, he could draw it in a flash, just off the top of his head.  He has always been a great doodler!  But I could only give it the "old college try" if I saw a picture of it first!

However, I have found through this study that each of us has our "doodling" methods. Some use highlighters, some use stickers, it doesn't matter what you do or how you do it, just SO you do it! I even use the computer, scrapbook embellishments, and my stamps:

When I got to the passage in Ephesians 4:14, Paul tells the church, that if we attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ, we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching. I envisioned babies blowing around on the ocean so I got out some trusty stamps and stamped them on the page and went to Pinterest and found a picture of a cloud blowing.  Pinterest is a great resource for lettering, simple drawings, etc.  There are even blogs and websites devoted to scripture doodling and bibles with blank sides devoted to journaling!  Who knew I would be on the cutting edge of technology for once!  I think I will be using this method of scripture studying for myself for some time.  I find it causes me to spend time reflecting and engaging in the text I am reading.  And isn't that what we should be doing with scripture?

II Timothy 2:15 says:  "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."  Anything that causes me to study God's word and gets me excited about it, is okay with me!

My encouragement today, is perhaps you would like to try doodling for yourself.  You can do this with other women in a study or in your own quiet time.  Who knows?  Perhaps you will see you are a Yankee Doodler also!

Mentoring Woman: I'VE GOT A SECRET!

Mentoring Woman: I'VE GOT A SECRET!: When I was a kid in (back in the Stone Age) there was a television game show called "I've Got A Secret."  You can tell it is o...