We exist to glorify God, to display His heart and character. And I just love how we are all uniquely built to do that. So every Friday I want to give you, uniquely designed by God, an opportunity to link up your thoughts on God, art, baking, photography, parenting, marriage, homeschooling, writing or blogging and more if they tie into or display the Lord somehow.
Here's how it works. 1. Link up as many blog posts as you want below by clicking the link below and following the prompts. (Perhaps think of old posts you want more exposure to as well as new ones.) 2. Let your readers know by including a link at the bottom of your post (or somewhere on your side bar) or paste my button code (found below and on the side bar). 3. Take a minute to visit and comment on another sweet lady or two's post. You're encouragement might be just what she needs to keep pressing on in being a voice in the darkness. About LauraLaura, the founder of Missional Women is married and has six kids, two of whom are adopted. Laura and her husband have been missionaries to college students for 14 years serving with Master Plan Ministries where she is the Women's Development Coordinator. Laura has authored 5 books, including an award winning 12 week Bible Study on First Samuel, Beholding Him, Becoming Missional, Reach; How to Use Your Social Media Influence for the Glory of God, A Devotional Journey through Judges, and Discover God's Calling for Your Life. Most recently her resource for Bible studies, The Connect Cards was released by Cru Press. You can find her on facebook, twitter, pinterest, youtube, instagram, periscope, blab and her author site. If you'd like to read more from this contributor, type her name in the search box on the top right. Sharing this over at these awesome blogs.
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We exist to glorify God, to display His heart and character. And I just love how we are all uniquely built to do that. So every Friday I want to give you, uniquely designed by God, an opportunity to link up your thoughts on God, art, baking, photography, parenting, marriage, homeschooling, writing or blogging and more if they tie into or display the Lord somehow.
Here's how it works. 1. Link up as many blog posts as you want below by clicking the link below and following the prompts. (Perhaps think of old posts you want more exposure to as well as new ones.) 2. Let your readers know by including a link at the bottom of your post (or somewhere on your side bar) or paste my button code (found below and on the side bar). 3. Take a minute to visit and comment on another sweet lady or two's post. You're encouragement might be just what she needs to keep pressing on in being a voice in the darkness.
Keeping a blog up and running costs money. And it's neat to see how the Lord provides when we are serving Him. One of the ways we generate a little bit of income to support Missional Women is through the Ultimate Bundle team. They put together bundles of tons of great resources and sell it for an incredible deal. They pay affiliates and authors and offer the best marketing training I've seen.
Very soon is the Homemaking Bundle launches (and one of my books will be included! Yay) and I didn't want you to miss out on the opportunity to become an affiliate. Check out whats available in the bundle. I'm pretty sure it's the biggest bundle they offer and the wide spread of topics makes it fitting for most bloggers audiences. Here's the link, pop on over and see if it can fit your audience. If so, then they will teach you everything you'll need to know.
We exist to glorify God, to display His heart and character. And I just love how we are all uniquely built to do that. So every Friday I want to give you, uniquely designed by God, an opportunity to link up your thoughts on God, art, baking, photography, parenting, marriage, homeschooling, writing or blogging and more if they tie into or display the Lord somehow.
Here's how it works. 1. Link up as many blog posts as you want below by clicking the link below and following the prompts. (Perhaps think of old posts you want more exposure to as well as new ones.) 2. Let your readers know by including a link at the bottom of your post (or somewhere on your side bar) or paste my button code (found below and on the side bar). 3. Take a minute to visit and comment on another sweet lady or two's post. You're encouragement might be just what she needs to keep pressing on in being a voice in the darkness. About Laura
Laura, the founder of Missional Women is married and has six kids, two of whom are adopted. Laura and her husband have been missionaries to college students for 14 years serving with Master Plan Ministries where she is the Women's Development Coordinator. Laura has authored 5 books, including an award winning 12 week Bible Study on First Samuel, Beholding Him, Becoming Missional, Reach; How to Use Your Social Media Influence for the Glory of God, A Devotional Journey through Judges, and Discover God's Calling for Your Life. Most recently her resource for Bible studies, The Connect Cards was released by Cru Press. You can find her on facebook, twitter, pinterest, youtube, instagram, periscope, blab and her author site
"You can't love the groom, but hate the bride."
I heard a very wise friend of mine say that the other day and it absolutely wrecked me. In one simple phrase I was hit with not sweet and gentle conviction, but deep-rooted stomach-turning type conviction.
I have never been the cynical type. I naturally tend to see the positive things in life. And, I certainly don't spend much time in the negative things. What good does that do? Yet, unknown to me, I have spent the last few months stuck in a rut of cynicism. As I heard my friend say that, I realized that I have been focusing on the negative aspects of my local church. "Why don't they do this?" "How could they dare to spend money like that?" Cynicism. Negativity. Judgemental. Hate. Somehow, I let all of those words take over a part of my heart. It was like I had glasses on that could only see the bad parts of my church. So deeply I heard that phrase, "you can't love the groom, but hate the bride." Jesus is the groom. The church, US, we are the bride. By feeling so skeptical of what was around me I had nothing but hatred in my heart. Hate does not honor God. Ever. Christine Caine spoke at our Young Adults ministry not that long ago. She told a story about how she had been with the same church for 25 years. When people ask her how or why she could be at one church for so long she always answers with the same, "better disfunction that I know then disfunction that I don't." Our churches aren't perfect... they're led by imperfect people. There IS a time and place to be skeptical. But please learn from my mistakes and don't let it take over your heart. Tell God how much you love Him. Reflect back to Him, His glory and His honor. Then, spend some time praying if there is something in His bride that you should love better (or if you're like me hate less). Ask Him to change your heart. To make you more like Him.
We exist to glorify God, to display His heart and character. And I just love how we are all uniquely built to do that. So every Friday I want to give you, uniquely designed by God, an opportunity to link up your thoughts on God, art, baking, photography, parenting, marriage, homeschooling, writing or blogging and more if they tie into or display the Lord somehow.
Here's how it works. 1. Link up as many blog posts as you want below by clicking the link below and following the prompts. (Perhaps think of old posts you want more exposure to as well as new ones.) 2. Let your readers know by including a link at the bottom of your post (or somewhere on your side bar) or paste my button code (found below and on the side bar). 3. Take a minute to visit and comment on another sweet lady or two's post. You're encouragement might be just what she needs to keep pressing on in being a voice in the darkness. About Jacque
Jacque is the Missional Women Intern and a college student in Denver, CO who balances her time between trying to go to class and learning about His saving grace and perfect love as much as she can. She is a twenty something, DIY attempting, Jesus loving, Denver living, small town rooted, Colorado sports fan. She loves black coffee, long conversations and watching people do what God created them for. You can find her Christian Twenty Somethings blog at Desperately Dependent.
Yikes!
Sorry about the mix up around here and not getting the link up last night. We'll get a post up soon. But you know the drill. Add your blog posts that show God's character somehow. Appreciate you guys!
Nothing snaps me back to surrendering to Jesus more than when I attempt to share His Gospel. There is this true vulnerability that overwhelms me. This feeling of, "all of this is pointless unless You come through," sustains my heart. For me, it's the ultimate check of "I humbly and wholly need you."
Over the last few years, I have seen seasons of begging God to use me to grow His Kingdom and there have been seasons where I haven't been bold enough to even start a conversation with a stranger. This leads me to a question I want to ask you: Have you tried the Great Commission recently? Well, have you? In all honesty, I shared the Gospel for the first time in MONTHS the other day. What was once a regular occurrence got put on the back burner for a million different little reasons. This isn't meant to be condemning or guilt ridden, but just a question to check our hearts. Have we tried the Great Commission recently? Have we stepped out in faith and allowed God to grow His Kingdom through us? For those of you that are declaring YES so proudly. Great job! I'm beyond proud of you! Living missionary can become messy and awkward and look at you go, sister! Doing work for Jesus! I LOVE it! For those of you that are realizing that it has been awhile, it's okay. You can't change God's view of you. You can't earn His love--you've already got it. But I urge you to pray for confidence. Pray for God to overwhelm you with opportunities to share The Gospel. "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." -Matthew 28:19 We are called to GO we are called to TRY. So whether you have tried every day this week, you haven't tried in years or never tried at all, I urge you to try. God will be faithful with your vulnerability, every time. I promise.
We exist to glorify God, to display His heart and character. And I just love how we are all uniquely built to do that. So every Friday I want to give you, uniquely designed by God, an opportunity to link up your thoughts on God, art, baking, photography, parenting, marriage, homeschooling, writing or blogging and more if they tie into or display the Lord somehow.
Here's how it works. 1. Link up as many blog posts as you want below by clicking the link below and following the prompts. (Perhaps think of old posts you want more exposure to as well as new ones.) 2. Let your readers know by including a link at the bottom of your post (or somewhere on your side bar) or paste my button code (found below and on the side bar). 3. Take a minute to visit and comment on another sweet lady or two's post. You're encouragement might be just what she needs to keep pressing on in being a voice in the darkness. About Jacque:
Jacque is the Missional Women Intern and a college student in Denver, CO who balances her time between trying to go to class and learning about His saving grace and perfect love as much as she can. She is a twenty something, DIY attempting, Jesus loving, Denver living, small town rooted, Colorado sports fan. She loves black coffee, long conversations and watching people do what God created them for. You can find her Christian Twenty Somethings blog at Desperately Dependent.
I have a question for you. But there's a catch. Share with me in the comments using the pictures below to answer.
Which picture would you use to describe God (or your relationship with God) and why? Which picture would you use to describe what God's been doing in your life?
This is a brand new ministry tool I just created and these are about half of the cards you can choose from to answer other questions like this that help you get into peoples lives. Here's the other questions you can ask in small groups.
This is a brand new resource can be used for both evangelism and discipleship. Read about how it works and see examples at TheRevealCards.com I just love using pictures to get a picture of where and how God is at work in peoples lives and this deck of 48 cards totally helps me do that. This week they just launched, so you can now get yourself a deck. Yipee!!
We exist to glorify God, to display His heart and character. And I just love how we are all uniquely built to do that. So every Friday I want to give you, uniquely designed by God, an opportunity to link up your thoughts on God, art, baking, photography, parenting, marriage, homeschooling, writing or blogging and more if they tie into or display the Lord somehow.
Here's how it works. 1. Link up as many blog posts as you want below by clicking the link below and following the prompts. (Perhaps think of old posts you want more exposure to as well as new ones.) 2. Let your readers know by including a link at the bottom of your post (or somewhere on your side bar) or paste my button code (found below and on the side bar). 3. Take a minute to visit and comment on another sweet lady or two's post. You're encouragement might be just what she needs to keep pressing on in being a voice in the darkness. About Laura
Laura, the founder of Missional Women is married and has six kids, two of whom are adopted. Laura and her husband have been missionaries to college students for 14 years serving with Master Plan Ministries where she is the Women's Development Coordinator. Laura has authored 5 books, including an award winning 12 week Bible Study on First Samuel, Beholding Him, Becoming Missional, Reach; How to Use Your Social Media Influence for the Glory of God, A Devotional Journey through Judges, and Discover God's Calling for Your Life. Most recently her resource for Bible studies, The Connect Cards was released by Cru Press. You can find her on facebook, twitter, pinterest, youtube, instagram, periscope, blab and her author site.
If you'd like to read more from this contributor, type her name in the search box on the top right.
Sharing this over at these awesome blogs.
What have you made God into? How have you shaped Him into something that He is not?
I wrote those words in the front of my Bible a long time ago. Admittedly, I have no idea where they came from. Maybe from a sermon or maybe from a quiet time spent with Him. But those questions refreshed my soul the other day. You see, I had made God into a God who had conditions. I had made Him into a God who would only love me if I performed to a certain standard. And that is NOT who our God is. He is unconditional. So, I ask you again: What have you made God into? How have you shaped Him into something that He is not? No one sits in their bed at night and thinks to themselves, "I know how I can make God better." No one reads their Bible and thinks, "that's fine... but here's how God should actually be." It just kind of happens... little by little... and then all at once your picture of God is not who He meant you to worship. God is perfect. In every little way. In the way He can balance justice, power, grace, and mercy. He is perfect in the way that He loves you. He is perfect in the way He made you. ....yet we change Him. Slowly but surely. Maybe it's because we aren't perfect like He is. Maybe it's because we can't comprehend His perfect love. But we make Him into things that go directly against who He says He is. We trick ourselves by saying things like: -God can forgive any sin...except this one that I'm struggling with -God cares more about my comfort than His will -God can't accomplish growing His Kingdom without me -God doesn't want me to ruin this relationship by sharing the Gospel This is a little nerve wracking for me to write. Am I the only one who does this? Or have you too caught yourself making God into something that goes against His Word? Even just for a little? If you have found yourself in that situation or you currently find yourself in the middle of it, I would encourage you to listen to the song in this YouTube video below. Make it your prayer. The chorus says "Help me let You go. Help me give up control of the God I've made You where my fear has contained you." If you have NOT found yourself in the situation of making God into something He is not. I would ask that you pray this prayer with me.... "Jesus, thank you for who you are. Thank you for being faithful even when we aren't. I pray that today you show me who You are. Show me a different side a You. Something that I haven't seen before, or that I've forgotten about. Lord, I humbly ask for you to reveal to me the ways that I am thinking about You in the wrong way--even if it's just from misunderstanding.
We exist to glorify God, to display His heart and character. And I just love how we are all uniquely built to do that. So every Friday I want to give you, uniquely designed by God, an opportunity to link up your thoughts on God, art, baking, photography, parenting, marriage, homeschooling, writing or blogging and more if they tie into or display the Lord somehow.
Here's how it works. 1. Link up as many blog posts as you want below by clicking the link below and following the prompts. (Perhaps think of old posts you want more exposure to as well as new ones.) 2. Let your readers know by including a link at the bottom of your post (or somewhere on your side bar) or paste my button code (found below and on the side bar). 3. Take a minute to visit and comment on another sweet lady or two's post. You're encouragement might be just what she needs to keep pressing on in being a voice in the darkness. About Jacque
Jacque is the Missional Women Intern and a college student in Denver, CO who balances her time between trying to go to class and learning about His saving grace and perfect love as much as she can. She is a twenty something, DIY attempting, Jesus loving, Denver living, small town rooted, Colorado sports fan. She loves black coffee, long conversations and watching people do what God created them for. You can find her Christian Twenty Somethings blog at Desperately Dependent.
Shifting our prayers from promotion to growth. What do you say?
You know when you can sense one season of life coming to an end and the exciting new season right around the corner? How it can be equally overwhelming as it is exciting? Some of us are prone to drag our feet and some of us are prone to jump before looking into that next season of life. Which are you? I can tell that a new season is right around the corner. I'm applying to intern at my local church. New big things. Because I've sensed this change coming around the corner, it accidentally morphed my prayer life.
I began to pray for promotion instead of praying for growth.
I realized my mistake when I asked my boyfriend to pray for me. We were praying on the phone and he said the sweet phrase, "Lord, please help us to be more like you." So simple. So sweet. So the exact opposite of everything that I had been praying.
My heart was genuine. My prayers were real and from the heart. It just turns out, my heart was a little wrong. I was praying for The Lord to give pave a way for me to serve His Kingdom. But do you know what I was not praying for? Sanctification. Those two things must go hand in hand. Your desire to be used by God to build His Kingdom and your desire to become like Jesus should go hand in hand. There's no place in Kingdom Work for people who have no desire to look like the King. Don't get me wrong. I have a deep desire to look, act, and feel like The Lord. I just wasn't praying like it. So, blogging friends, how have you been praying lately? Have you been praying for promotion or growth? Or a good combination of the both? God wants to promote you. He wants to call you to do things bigger than you ever imagined. He wants to use YOU (or maybe your blog) to grow the Kingdom. But He also wants to grow you into a person who reflects Him well. Pray for both. Pray for promotion and growth. He won't disappoint you.
We exist to glorify God, to display His heart and character. And I just love how we are all uniquely built to do that. So every Friday I want to give you, uniquely designed by God, an opportunity to link up your thoughts on God, art, baking, photography, parenting, marriage, homeschooling, writing or blogging and more if they tie into or display the Lord somehow.
Here's how it works. 1. Link up as many blog posts as you want below by clicking the link below and following the prompts. (Perhaps think of old posts you want more exposure to as well as new ones.) 2. Let your readers know by including a link at the bottom of your post (or somewhere on your side bar) or paste my button code (found below and on the side bar). 3. Take a minute to visit and comment on another sweet lady or two's post. You're encouragement might be just what she needs to keep pressing on in being a voice in the darkness.
About Jacque
Jacque is the Missional Women Intern and a college student in Denver, CO who balances her time between trying to go to class and learning about His saving grace and perfect love as much as she can. She is a twenty something, DIY attempting, Jesus loving, Denver living, small town rooted, Colorado sports fan. She loves black coffee, long conversations and watching people do what God created them for. You can find her Christian Twenty Somethings blog at Desperately Dependent.
Dear lovely blogging friends! Hello & Welcome.
I do my best to visit as many of your linked up posts that I can. And last week, I visited more blogs than I normally have time to. You know what I was amazed by? How God was teaching a lot of us the same lessons. (He IS made perfect in our weakness). How He was doing huge things through so many of you. And, I was genuinely most amazed but the amount of women stepping out in pure faith. Wether you blog about God and the Bible or something else (like DIY or Homeschooling) the very real truth is that the God of the universe called you to write about that. He equipped you with special knowledge and talents in order to accomplish that little piece of His Kingdom. Since I visited some of your blogs, I've gotten a cold and don't have very many words. But I wanted to communicate a little of what God showed me. You (Yes, YOU) have a call on your life and your blog. He doesn't need us to be anything other than how He made us to be. We don't have to try to make ourselves into anything that we aren't in order to be more loved or more used by God. We hear it all the time, but that doesn't mean that it has to loose the weight behind it. God made YOU. Very specifically He put your personality together trait by trait. So, all this to say, be yourself this week. Write in a way that says, "I'm confident in who I am because it's how Jesus made me." There's no reason to bend yourself to what you think people want to read. There's no reason to put up a front or try to be something we aren't... we simply need to be who God made us to be. We need to be faithful and availble and let God do the rest. And He always does. We will always look back on our lives and see that God was faithful to us and His Word.
We exist to glorify God, to display His heart and character. And I just love how we are all uniquely built to do that. So every Friday I want to give you, uniquely designed by God, an opportunity to link up your thoughts on God, art, baking, photography, parenting, marriage, homeschooling, writing or blogging and more if they tie into or display the Lord somehow.
Here's how it works. 1. Link up as many blog posts as you want below by clicking the link below and following the prompts. (Perhaps think of old posts you want more exposure to as well as new ones.) 2. Let your readers know by including a link at the bottom of your post (or somewhere on your side bar) or paste my button code (found below and on the side bar). 3. Take a minute to visit and comment on another sweet lady or two's post. You're encouragement might be just what she needs to keep pressing on in being a voice in the darkness.
About Jacque
Jacque is the Missional Women Intern and a college student in Denver, CO who balances her time between trying to go to class and learning about His saving grace and perfect love as much as she can. She is a twenty something, DIY attempting, Jesus loving, Denver living, small town rooted, Colorado sports fan. She loves black coffee, long conversations and watching people do what God created them for. You can find her Christian Twenty Somethings blog at Desperately Dependent.
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Welcome!I'm Laura the founder of Missional Women and this is my sweet friend, Lyli. We host a link up for bloggers every Friday and look forward to having you join us. But before you go, look around, we are here to glorify God and be a blessing to you.
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