Thankfulness

Autumn
Since moving to Texas in 2003 Autumn has become my most treasured and anticipated season! As a family nester I chose Autumn, the first year of our marriage, to be the season most celebrated, most anticipated, and most enjoyed by our family. I love the simplicity of this season, the shortening of days, the drinking of hot tea, the reaping and gathering of food put in the freezer for winter, the coming together of family, the falling of leaves, the changing of the colors, the smell of winter fast approaching, and this year the new life inside that will soon grace us with his presence!


Family Traditions

I also adore traditions! Our autumn traditions include: the reading of the Pilgrims story throughout the month of November, decorating the house with autumn colors, fall cleaning and organizing, easy crock pot meals, the getting rid of the unnecessary and bringing out all our well loved fall paraphernalia. I adore family times; sitting and drinking hot tea by the fireplace, or relaxing on the front walk at night when the cool evening requires blankets to snuggle against, chilly walks surrounded by a halo of gold leaves. Other Williams traditions include adding to our yearly Thanksgiving scrapbook, watching the miraculous Pilgrim's movie on Thanksgiving mornings, marveling at all the Lord has done that year and reading about past years blessings, inviting new and old to join our Thanksgiving table, Fernando Ortega music permeating the evening hours, lighthearted musings around a full table and a special time of thanksgiving to our Lord Jesus!

How to Seek Thankfulness

According to A.W Tozer, the most important question you will ever answer is "what is your view of God." A. W. Tozer goes on to say that "Until you know God as he is, you'll never become all that he's created you to be."

The preeminent way to answer that question is to

1. Get into God's word
   
2. Start looking at God through a lens of thankfulness.

A few years ago I began the journey to discover who this God I serve really was - - not who I internally believed he was.

Discovering God



My journey started with a book called God as He Longs For You To See Him by Chip Ingram. This book challenged my thinking and perceptions of God. It also revealed to me God's daily reminders of His love for me. To my amazement, slowly over the years my pessimistic, glass half empty attitude has been changing into a lifestyle filled with joy! About 3 months ago, I started listing all of the things I noticed were gifts from God – I call it my 1000 Gifts List. So far I have reached 175 and my list is climbing daily – my plan is to make this list a daily habit that far exceeds 1000! This list helps keep my daily focus on the blessings sent from my Father, instead of the negative, fleshly spirit that would love to rob me of my joy. I am constantly remind myself that the only thing I can control when life gets hard is… my attitude, and that makes every difference in how I view God.

Activity For The Week:
Dialog with your Mentor this week about who you think God is and what He is like. Talk about how you developed those views and if they are rooted and grounded in the scriptures.



"Thankfulness is a secret passageway into a room you can't find any other way. It is the wardrobe into Narnia. It allows us to discover the rest of God—those dimensions of God's world, God's presence, God's character that are hidden, always, from the thankless. Ingratitude is an eye disease every bit as much as a heart disease. It sees only flaws, scars, scarcity."
~Mark Buchanan




From the Desk of: Melissa Williams

Foundations

“Wow, look at that!” “Ooh, isn’t that beautiful?” “Oh my gosh that’s amazing!”

There are so many absolutely stunning structures throughout the world; some of them instantly recognizable. Rarely, if ever, have I heard such admiration for the foundations of those structures. Indeed, most foundations are not visible to the viewer, but remain hidden in the earth or are disguised as an architectural detail. We know the foundations are there, but we give most of our attention to the actual structures which have been built upon them. The visible part gets all the glory and admiration, but without the foundation it would not exist at all or at best be only temporary.




What Happens Without a Foundation?
As I thought about this subject, I found that the single most critical aspect of any building project is the laying of the foundation. A good example of a foundation that was not done correctly is the Leaning Tower of Pisa which began to sink as the construction of the third floor was begun. The builders had laid a foundation only a few feet thick in unstable soil to hold a structure which is 186 ft. tall and weighs approximately 14,500 tons! This means the design was flawed from the beginning, and everything built on the foundation has been in danger of being destroyed ever since.

How are You Building Your Foundation?
As exciting as it is to see the finished building, it is imperative that the proper foundation be laid. We are now about a month into the six month mentoring commitment, and these first few months are the “foundation” time. What are some of the “pillars” you and your mentee have been placing? Perhaps getting to know each other, hearing testimonies, learning to trust, listening, praying together, bearing one another’s burdens, laughing, having coffee, giving cards or small gifts, chocolate (always an indispensible pillar), obedience, accountability, loving God and learning to know Him more. All of the things which go into our foundation should make our relationship stronger and more able to hold a larger “structure”.

Build Slow
Once the foundation for the relationship is properly in place (however long that takes) then it can be built upon. If we rush the process, the outcome will be our own sad version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We do not yet know what God will build during our six months together. We all hope for great “ooh” and “ahh” moments in April as we gather to celebrate what God has done among us, but remember that even if we are still working on the foundation, it is cause for great rejoicing, thanksgiving and praise!


“When the builders completed the foundation of the LORD’S Temple, the priests put on their robes and took their places to blow their trumpets…With praise and thanks they sang…to the LORD…Then all the people gave a great shout, praising the LORD because the foundation of the LORD’S Temple had been laid.” Ezra 3: 10a, 11


“We are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.” Eph. 2: 20-21

(written by Kim Collins)

Pray, Pray, Pray

Throughout this next 6 months, I have made a commitment to you that I will be praying continually for you. As I was praying specifically for each of you, I felt compelled to write you and encourage you to begin doing the same for your mentee/mentor. I believe that prayer can often be one of the hardest spiritual disciplines because it requires complete submission of ourselves. We are to approach the Lord through His grace to present our requests to Him. It is such a privilege, but so often overlooked by our busy, on the go culture.

Here is a little excerpt from the book The Power of Prayer in a Believer's Life by Charles Spurgeon. Hopefully it encourages you in your prayer life as much as it has encouraged me!

“I want you to understand your blessed responsibility, your practical obligation to bring forth fruit, that the Lord Jesus may be glorified in you. Abide in Him. Never remove your consecration to His honor and glory. Never dream of being your own master. Refuse to be a servant of men, but abide in Christ. Let Him be your object as well as the source of your existence. If you get there and stop there in perpetual communion with your Lord, you will soon realize a joy, a delight, a power in prayer such as you never knew before. There are times when we are conscious that we are in Christ, and we know the joy and the peace of fellowship with Him. Let us abide there. Let that blessed sinking of yourself into His life, the spending of all your powers for Jesus, and the firm faith of your union with Him remain in you evermore. Oh, that we might attain to this by the Holy Ghost!”
I pray that as we all go to work this week, whether its paid work or not, that we learn a little more how to continually abide in Christ. It seems so simple, but we all know how quickly life can begin to overwhelm us and pass us by. Take time today to sit before your Father and seek His face so that you may know Him even more intimately than you did yesterday.

Have a wonderful day,

Kari

Why do We Mentor

We never grow too old to be mentored or to be a mentor. We can look upon ourselves as middlemen. We should place ourselves under someone wiser and more knowledgeable than ourselves in order to learn from them, then be looking for those to whom we can transmit what we have learned. The torch must be passed continuously from one generation to the next.

-Curtis C. Thomas

Why Women Mentors are Important

The following post was taken from the site Simplemom. Click here to read the post on the original site.

The Importance of Women as Mentors in Our Lives

by Angelica Perez on May 31, 2010

The following is a guest post from Angelica Perez-Litwin of Modern Familia.

There are mothers and sisters and good friends and teachers. And then, there are mentors…

Along the curves and bumps in my life journey, I have been fortunate to have mentors to steer me in the right direction, to get me back on track and to cheer me on at the finish line. Most of them have been women — inspirational, wise and strong women.

They have appeared in my life like a blessing, just at the right time and with purpose. I have met them in college, in graduate school, at work, online, in my community and within my family. They have served as powerful role models, anchors, life coaches, motivators and firm reminders of who I am and what I can become.

Mentor as Wise Advisers

Traditionally, a mentor is known as a wise and trusted adviser, teacher or friend, who is usually a more experienced person than the mentee in a particular community or role. Mentoring relationships normally exist in corporate environments and in higher education settings, where mentors help individuals advance in their careers, enhance their education, and build networks.

Mentors in the Business of Life

I propose we broaden the concept of mentorship to include the invaluable role that women serve to each other, as powerful sources of inspiration, guidance, support and encouragement.

Undeniably, men can be great mentors too, but it is the commonality of womanhood that makes women true life mentors. Consider the friend(s) you called upon as a new mother full of questions and doubts. Or the women you reached out to when life was unkind. Think about your go-to person when you need inspiration to balance it all and continue to move forward. And what about the wise women you look up to because they’ve been there and done that – successfully and confidently? These women, I say, are life mentors.

Photo by J.Cliss

Are You a Life Mentor to Someone Else?

You may not be aware of it, but you also have the opportunity to be a life mentor to someone else! Consider the following common characteristics of life mentors and how they might describe you as well:

• They have experienced and conquered challenging moments in their lives, which have made them a wiser person
• They readily use their own personal experiences to instill hope and share life strategies
• They are resilient, positive and open-minded
• They enjoy empowering others and bringing out their best
• They are supportive and are able to put aside their interest, for the sake of others in need of help and guidance

Why Do We Need Women as Mentors?

Women today are busier than ever. As working parents, we work long hours or hold multiple jobs. As stay-at-home moms, we take care of active and busy children while managing our homes and sometimes even working from home. We are creating new possibilities, starting or running businesses and pursuing our dreams.

Today, we need each other more than ever. Traditional support systems, such as extended family members, are less available to provide support due to their own busy schedules or distant living. So in these modern times, we need our small community of women mentors, to embrace us and empower us.

Photo by Ben Dodson

Where to Seek Life Mentors

By now, you might be wondering how you can sign up for one of these! The truth is, life mentors are all around us. We may not see them in this way, as potential life mentors, but they are among our social circle. Here are a few places to begin your search:

• among close, supportive friends
• among co-worker or colleagues
• extended family members
• people in your community (women’s groups, places of worship, other parents at school)
• former or current teachers and professors
• professional life coaches and counselors
• mentoring network websites (Mommy Mentors, HerFuture, Mentor)

You can also form your own group of life mentors interested in mutually mentoring each other. You can hold monthly meetings or do so completely virtually (online).

If there is someone in your life that could serve as a life mentor, try to connect to her, and don’t hesitate to ask for guidance. You will know you have connected when you find yourself feeling good about yourself and feeling deep admiration and trust for this person after a meaningful conversation.

It might take a village to raise a child, but it certainly takes a small community of life mentors to help women transform and reach their full God-given potential in life.

Bread

Bread is symbolic throughout Scriptures.

Throughout our day, every time we see bread we should be reminded of at least 4 different things.

1. Obedience

• Exodus 12:39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.

• The unleavened bread symbolized the need to obey quickly. They didn’t have time to wait for obedience. The Israelites needed to pick up and go quickly. We are the same way. We need to be ready and willing to obey quickly. Delayed obedience is disobedience.

2. Relationship with a holy God

• Exodus 25:30 And you shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before me regularly.

• The bread was set in the Holies of Holies in the Temple to show the covenant between God and his people. God continues to be in relationship with his children today.

3. We need more than just our physical needs met

• Deuteronomy 8:3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

• Isaiah 55:2-3 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live;

• John 6:32-33 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

• We are not helping our mentee by simply giving her worldly wisdom and our advice. We need to be pointing her continually back to Christ so that she could truly be satisfied. She will not be filled on your words alone.

4. Christ is our Bread of Life

• John 6:35;48-51 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

• Matthew 26:26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”Christ is always the answer. Whatever we are going through, whatever we are needing, we also need more of Christ. Today, eat some bread and remember that Jesus truly is the bread of LIFE

Mentoring Roles

While reading on various websites recently, I found an article which profiled the book Spiritual Mentoring: A Guide for Seeking and Giving Direction. I personally found the information in the profile very helpful, so thought I would excerpt some of it for you as well. As the profile was quite long, I have split the excerpts into two parts—one for this week and one for next week.

“Augustine believed that ‘no one can walk without a guide.’ Scripture and history prove that this is more than a sentiment; it is truth.

Christian faith is imitative—it is taught by one person to another. Jesus set the pattern when He said to a small band of men, ‘Follow Me.’ Christ spoke often to the multitudes, but the intense forming of lives occurred in daily conversation with His disciples. In that community, these men themselves became disciple-makers and thereby carried on the work of building the kingdom…


Much of mentoring involves the process of listening to and observing the life of others and teaching them to see where God is already at work in and around them. Good listening is a must, as well as the ability to draw out of their hearts whatever is lodged there. As with all ministry, it is important to understand that mentoring does not come in a one-size-fits-all format. Mentoring will be as unique as the persons involved. However, observable patterns can help in understanding the types of mentors and what each brings to the relationship:

Discipler—empowerment to follow Christ

Spiritual guide—accountability for the practice of spiritual disciplines and spiritual growth

Coach—skill development for ministry and motivation to use those skills

Counselor—advice and perspective for viewing life and ministry

Teacher—knowledge and motivation to act on it

Sponsor—career guidance for emerging leaders

Contemporary model—a personal model for life and ministry

Historical model—principles and values from leaders of the past

Divine contact—guidance and/or discernment coinciding with apparent divine intervention

Regardless of what personality the mentoring relationship takes on, three basic questions must be deliberated: Who is God? Who am I? What am I to do with my life? These embody the universal soul-quest of mankind, and the pursuit of the answers will shape a life.”

The women who have asked to be a part of the mentoring ministry are obviously seeking help and encouragement in their lives and relationship with God. They are probably hoping for someone who can “show them the way to do it.” In reality, there is no short cut or easy way through the process of Christ’s “Follow Me.” The apostle Paul was not boasting or proud when he said, “And you should follow my example, just as I follow Christ’s.” –1 Cor. 11:1 (NLT) The best thing we can do as mentors is to be imitators of Christ in order that our lives are transformed into a life that might also be imitated.

Seeing God With Clarity

Misunderstanding
Drew, 22 months old, a ball of energy and curiosity was rummaging through the bathroom drawer, scanning the contents for new and hidden treasures.

First he pulled out a bottle of hand lotion, then a bottle of hair gel, next contact solution and lastly my hair dryer. I was running around upstairs putting clothes away when I noticed that I was late; I quickly called Drew's name requesting his presence, and waited ….. At 22 months Drew has finally learned the "come when called game" so my request shouldn't have been too difficult for him?

I heard him rustling in the bathroom, but began to get irritated that he wasn't obeying. I walked into the bathroom to find him still playing in the drawer, or so it appeared. I quickly disciplined him and then went back to the stairs to once again call him over. I called him again and waited….

My mommy vision was finally starting to work and I knew something more must be going on, so I calmly walked into the bathroom; I found my sweet boy with the biggest alligator tears of frustration ready to fall from his eyes. He was trying desperately to get the hair dryer back into the drawer, only he was rushing so quickly that his attempts were making little progress.

My approach quickly turned to sorrow, I had disciplined my son wrongly because, through my skewed vision, I believed he hadn't been listening to my voice, only to discover that he was doing exactly what I had taught him - he was putting his mess away. I felt horrible and quickly put Drew in my lap, gave him a big kiss & hug and told him how proud I was of him for cleaning up his mess. I then asked him to forgive me for disciplining him when he didn't deserve it. He gave me a big hug, and a proud smile, so excited that Mommy understood!

Reflection

I was reflecting on this situation today wondering how often God weeps tears of disappointment over me because I choose not to seek out an accurate picture of Him. I wonder how often he looks at the world and all of it's accusations and weeps tears of sadness because we just don't understand who He really is? God's word is here for my (our) knowledge, and yet I often choose to look at my life and God with less than 20/20 vision.

Seeing God with Clarity
A.W. Tozer wrote in Knowledge Of The Holy

• "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man's spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God."

Nothing else will have as much impact on your relationship with God, people, self, decisions, purpose, and eternity, than your perception of who God is. Everything in your life will eventually come back to the same question, "who do you visualize God is in your heart?" Do you know that the way you act everyday is a picture to the world on what your view of God is? For example, If, as a Christian, you lend a hand to the poor and orphaned, then you show the world that God cares for the orphaned and widowed. If you assist the single mother across the street, then you are showing the world that God loves her and cares about her specific needs.

Questions to Talk to Your M & M About

• What are your actions showing the world about God?
• Is it really possible to see God as He really is?
• What must I do to see God as He really is?

I just want to encourage you ladies to seek passionately after the Lord; His word reveals all about who He really is.



Lies We Need to Combat
According to Tozer & Chip Ingram, below are some common lies about God that people choose to believe. Read through the list and the verses that dispute them. Spend some time allowing God to replace any lie you may believe with truth from His word.

1. We tend to assume that God is just like us, but the truth is God is not like us – His ways are not our ways, nor His thoughts our thoughts.

• Isaiah 40:25-28, 2 Sam 7:22, Psalms 46:10, Rom 11:33-36

2. We tend to reduce him to measurable and controllable terms – our "self-help genie," or salad bar god" – but the truth is that God is not like us, he is all knowing, all powerful, and was the only one who could save the world from their sins.

• Romans 1:21-23, Job 38-41, Exodus 32:1-6

3. We tend to overlook the obvious and significant ways that God has revealed himself to us.

• God reveals Himself through nature (Roman's 1:20)
• God reveals Himself through his Word (John 1:1-4)
• God reveals Himself through his Son (John 1:14-18)

Challenge for this Week
I would just like to challenge you to seek after God; it is the most important relationship you will ever pursue, and it reaps the most significant and eternal rewards. One picture I often think about is my arrival into heaven; I ask myself if I am willing and eager to spend the rest of eternity in the presence of Jesus, don't I want to passionately know this God before I get there?

Proverbs 2:1-5
1 My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, 2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, 3 and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, 4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, 5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

From the Desk of: Melissa Williams

Trusting in God

By now most of us have met with our M & M relationship at least a couple of times. We’ve started the process of getting to know one another and listened as they’ve shared some of their life, hopes, and needs. For some of you the relationship may be going smoothly and as you expected. For others, you may be thinking, “what have I gotten myself into?”

The inclination to feel ill-equipped, inadequate, and unworthy is something we all know only too well. Whether the relationship is going well, poorly or somewhere in between, we may wonder about what our role as a mentor entails and whether or not we have the ability to be a Godly mentor.

For me the first question was, “what exactly is a mentor supposed to be?”
Although I’ve had many informal mentor-type relationships, I’ve never had a formal mentor role. I found myself wondering what I was supposed to do and say; what’s appropriate and what’s not? Will I royally mess this up? So I looked up mentoring in the dictionary. It says that a mentor is “a wise and trusted counselor or teacher.” Great, that helped a lot. There was no example, no mention of a how-to anywhere. (where’s a good mentor when you need one, right?) So I decided to search the internet. It came up with roughly 43,000,000,000,000 entries (okay, that’s a slight exaggeration-it was really only 130,000,000). I looked at a few of those hoping for an epiphany; no such luck!

All joking aside, the dictionary, the internet, and even the world’s model for a mentor will not help us to fulfill a role that was given to us by God Himself. (Titus 2) In order to be that which He has called us to be, we must always look to Him for our understanding. Each mentor/mentee relationship is so unique that we could never come up with a manual to cover all the possibilities. There is no 1, 2, 3 checklist somewhere. So where does that leave us?

It leaves us right where we need to be—totally and completely dependent upon God for every aspect of the mentoring relationship. God defines our role and God grants the ability to be that for which He has called us. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.” Prov. 3: 5&6 (NLT)

(written by Kim Collins)

Looking at the Heart

My husband and I had decided that we needed a little landscaping for our new house, so we headed off to the nearest Plant Shed to choose the trees. My husband was set on a pecan tree, but I was okay with whatever looked best for the yard.

We walked through the nursery and separately selected a couple of trees. He had gone to look at the few pecan trees that were there; I had gone to look at the "pretty ones". I chose a beautiful lacebark elm, and he chose the ugliest, scrawniest pecan tree I had ever seen. Being the submissive wife that I am, I only argued with him for half an hour or so. I finally relented and we bought the pecan tree. I was not a happy camper.


The tree was delivered, planted in the ground, mulched and watered. I hated it. He loved it. I really didn't think it would make it for very long. But it did make it. My husband lovingly tended that tree, but I still thought it was crooked, small and misshapen-ugly.


The first spring, it struggled to "leaf out", but it finally did. I began to think that it just might make it with a little TLC. I was sort of rooting for the tree now, although it still wasn't great looking. Then an amazing thing happened-that ugly little tree produced pecans its very first year! It produced the fruit that it was meant to produce. And I felt God say to me, "What more can you expect from a pecan tree than that it produce pecans? What difference does it make what it looks like if it is fruitful?" I had not seen the tree for what it really was or could be; I had only seen the cost and ugliness of it. God knew it would be fruitful, I did not. That pecan tree has borne pecans every season since it was planted. It still struggles. It grows ever so slowly, but it does grow.


As we meet or attempt to meet with our M & M relationships, we may be inclined to size up circumstances, comments, and even the woman herself by that which we can measurably see and hear. What a mistake it is to see through our own eyes and not the eyes of the One who loves her. We need to remember the relationship begins with prayer. As we pray for our M & M relationships, I believe we should be asking God to help us see them as He sees them. We need God's insight and wisdom in order to understand how we might correctly and lovingly "tend" them in the mentoring relationship.


"The LORD does not look a the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Sam. 16:7b

(written by Kim Collins)

Focusing on the Heart

Meltdowns
It hadn't happened in a while. In fact, I can't remember the last time I saw the four year old melt down. But melt down she did when I looked at her and said "he's younger than you. Just give him the toy and be a big girl."

It wasn't a tantrum or a fit. It wasn't screaming or fighting or pushing or pulling. It was big crocodile tears running down her face while her whole body went limp, and she just fell to the ground crying. Then her emotions took over and she began to yell "no, no, no, no". A real melt down.

My first reaction.
Focus on the unacceptable behavior and the consequences to that behavior. That seemed to work, until the next day when it happened again and then again and then again. Pretty soon, it was becoming a daily occurrence, and I just longed for the day when my four year old started acting like a big girl again.

Life consists of lots of meltdowns.
A situation happens, and we react badly to it. Maybe we yell. Maybe we curse. Maybe we throw adult tantrums. Maybe we give silent treatments. Maybe we gossip. There are a lot of ways adults react sinfully to circumstances. Usually we eventually realize our actions were a mistake and seek forgiveness. But before we know it, our behavior creeps back up again, and we are yelling, gossiping, cursing, and who knows what else all over again. The cycle of sin we just can't break.

But what if we took a different approach.
What if we looked at sin as a heart issue instead of a behavior issue? What if we looked at yelling as a lack of love in our hearts? What if we looked at gossip as a self-centered heart? What if we looked at frustrations as a lack of patience in our soul? Would that change anything? I think it might.

The solution
See my four year old didn't stop having melt downs because I continually disciplined her behavior. No, the meltdowns didn't stop until we started focusing on the selfishness in her heart. We made a chart with I Corinthians 13 written in it, and she started focusing on how to show love to others. We wrote down how she showed love all day long and rewarded her continually. We started focusing on putting godliness IN instead of just taking sinfulness OUT.

How do you apply this to your mentoring relationships?
Avoid the temptation to spend the next 6 months in your M&M relationship focusing on the sin you need to rid from your life. Identifying the sin in our life is easy; replacing that sin with godliness is the hard part. It is definitely important to identify the sin patterns in your life and confess that sin, but then focus on the heart issue behind that sin. Changing your heart is the only lasting way to change your behavior.

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Matthew 12:34

Pray First

March 1st. A new month. A fresh start. The beginning of a new season. The ending of the old one.

Today marks the start of the Spring M & M's relationships and a winding down of the Fall's M & M relationships. 6 Months goes so fast!

Your time with your M&M will be over before you know it. Don't waste it! God has placed you together for a reason. Only He knows what He wants to accomplish in your relationships so we must be seeking Him daily. Don't waste the time God has given you with your M&M.


Exercise for the Week:
Before you sit down with your M & M this week, try to find 15-30 minutes to sit down, by yourself, and pray. When you pray, focus on:

1. Asking God to show you where you need to repent and then spend time confessing and repenting
2. Praising God for who is is. A great place to go to would be the Psalms. Pray the Psalms back to God. Praying scripture is a good way to focus our mind on how big God is and how little we are.
3. Seeking God's direction for you and for your M&M.
4. Be still and allow God to speak to you!
5. Thank Him for what He is doing and what He will do. Because He is alive and active, we can have confidence that He is working and will continue to work in our lives and through our lives.
   

"We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" Ephesians 2:10

I am praying for you!

God is Faithful

Thursday night is the kickoff night for the next group of mentor/mentee relationships. 2.5 weeks ago, there were 14 women desiring to be mentored and 1 mentor.

In 2.5 weeks, God raised up 15 godly women who were willing to pour their lives out and disciple younger woman of faith. God is in control.
If God can part the seas, move mountains, heal the sick, and yes, even raise up 15 women to mentor, than God can take care of any circumstance you are currently in. God is in control.



We are so lucky to have the privilege of worshiping a God who is always in control. Today focus on that and allow no stress, no worry, no anxiety to enter into your life because we believe and know that God is in control.

Come Check It Out

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Titus 2:3-5

Kind of a tall order isn't it? But how many of us are actively trying to live out scripture by not only allowing older women to speak into our lives, but also by encouraging and praying for younger women who are going through stages of life that God has already walked us through?

Living out Titus 2 is what Northwood Church's Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry is all about!

If you are interested in either disciplining other women or being discipled yourself, please join us this weekend at Northwood Church for an informational coffee to learn more about the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry. Come ask questions, meet other women, and learn how you can become a part of this incredible ministry!

Saturday 10am OR Sunday at 3pm in room 314 at Northwood. See you then!!!

Working Towards Balance

I came across this exercise on this blog that I read. I thought in light of all the goal setting and evaluating we have been doing the past 2 weeks, this might be something fun to add to the mix. Hope you enjoy!

The Circle of Life Exercise

Photo by Lisa

1. Draw a large circle with 12 spokes.

2. For each spoke, write in an element that is important to you in your life. Some elements to consider adding to your circle are career, laughter, fresh air and exercise, creativity, relationships, stable finances, social life, spirituality, home environment, beauty, education, healthy foods, or home cooking.

3. Consider how satisfied you are with each area in your life. Probe and ask yourself some questions about each area. Think of the past year and the ways you did (or didn’t) attend to those parts of your life.

• Do you have a desire to continue learning and intellectually growing?
• Has it been a while since you’ve laughed?
• Are you living on candy and caffeine to get you through the day?
• When did you last spend time in silence or in prayer?
• Have you struggled with money and budgeting without addressing it?

4. Place a dot on each line that represents your relative level of satisfaction. Putting a dot at the very center, where all spokes come together, means completely UNSATISFIED and the edge of the circle means completely SATISFIED.

5. Connect your dots and draw your current circle of life. For most of us, this is a bumpy circle, that visually shows the areas that are “depressed” or undernourished. See where the greatest imbalances and needs are. Reflect on it for a while. These may be the areas that you choose to work into goals and aspirations for the new year.

I use this exercise throughout the year as a benchmark to see how things are going. It is simple, quick and surprisingly effective at revealing what parts of our whole-person are in most need of attention.

(exercise taken from here)

Intentional Living

Wasting Time
I don't know about you, but I am the master at wasting an entire day. I can get up and be busy all day long, but when I sit down at the end of the day, I realize not a thing that needed to get done got done. Oh I definitely played with the kids a lot, ran some of the fun errands, ate, and maybe even took a trip to the gym, but the not so fun things like vacuuming, dusting, laundry, grocery store, mopping, (oh the list could go on and on and on!) never got done.


I think life is a lot like that. We tend to focus on things that are fun or enjoyable for us. It is fun for me to get up and spend alone time with God in the morning when the house is quiet. However, it is not so fun for me to discipline myself to control my frustration level when the kids begin to try my patience. It is fun for me to practice the spiritual disciplines of study, prayer, and simplicity. However it is not so fun for me to practice the spiritual disciplines of solitude, evangelism, and fasting.

Only accomplishing what is fun or easy is not what pushes you to become a better person.

Last week I challenged you to evaluate 2009. While you were evaluating, I hope you allowed the Lord to speak to you about areas that needed to change or things you needed to pursue during this next year. The whole idea of goal setting is to plan ways to live in obedience to our Father! Without a plan, we will never grow, change, or move out of the "fun zone" and into the "becoming a more fulfilled, more obedient, more Christlike person zone".

I've listed some goal setting questions below for you to discuss with your M & M. This is just a starting point for you though. I encourage you to take the goal setting for this year seriously and see what God can do with you as you intentionally live for Him.
I. Personal Growth

1. What healthy character traits would you like to see developed in your life this year? What are some specific steps you can take to develop these?

2. What is your plan for maintaining accountability for progressing in personal growth?

3. What are some of your learning goals for this year?

4. What books would you like to read this year?

5. Do you enjoy your job or jobs (include being a stay-at-home mother, if this pertains to you)? If so, what are your favorite things about your work? If not, what are some ways you can change this?
II. Physical Health

1. What is one area of progress you’d like to see this year for maintaining or improving your physical health?

2. What are some tangible, daily choices you can add to your life that will improve your health?

3. In what way would you like to be physically healthier by December of this year?

4. What is your plan this month for starting this progress towards a healthier you?
III. Marriage & Family Life

If you’re married, proceed to question 1. If you’re single with children, you can skip to question 5.

1. What are some goals you have as a couple to strengthen your marriage?

2. In what ways can you grow in intimacy with your spouse this year?

3. What are your plans for having regular date nights? How will you handle childcare?

4. What plans will you make to pray and/or have “family meetings” together? What books would you like to read together this year?

5. What will deliberate, regular family time look like this year?

6. Do you have specific planned vacation time in mind for this year? What needs to happen to make this vacation a reality?

7. How is your current physical living space working for your family? Do you need to make changes to this? If so, what are they?

IV. Goals for Your Children

1. What are ways you’d like each of your children to grow in the following areas?

a. Physically:

b. Emotionally:

c. Relationally:

d. Spiritually:

e. Educationally:

f. Other:

2. How will your children be educated this year? What are some resources you’d like to explore to help your children develop intellectually and academically?

3. What are your children’s strengths? How will you help them use these well?

4. What are your children’s weaknesses? How will you help them overcome these?

V. Money Matters

1. What is one specific area of progress you’d like to see this year in your financial health?

2. How is your current income? In what ways can you make this increase?

3. How much debt do you have? In what ways can you eliminate a sizeable portion of it (or all of it) this year?

4. How is your savings account? In what ways can you save more money this year?

5. What are some of your long-term financial goals? In what ways can you make progress on them this year?

6. Are you giving regularly? If not, in what way can you give financially this year?

7. What is your plan this month for starting progress towards better financial health?
VI. Relationships Outside the Home

1. In what specific way would you like to grow in relating to your friends this year?

2. What are some ways you can be of service to your immediate community?

3. Who are some specific people in your life that can use some encouragement? What will you do to encourage them this year?

4. Who are some people in your life that you admire? What are some practical ways you can positively use their influence in your life?

5. Are there any damaging relationships in your life? What will you do this year to make these relationships better?
New Year’s Goals

Take a moment to reflect on your answers to all these questions. If you’re inclined,apply these answers by setting a few goals for this year. Call them resolutions if you feel like it.

(list taken from the blog Simplemom.net )

Obedience

What does obedience look like for you?

I sat down this morning to read Matthew 1 and was immediately aware of the obedience seen in the Gospels.

Matthew 1:19 "being a just man...resolved to divorce her quietly...an angel appeared to him...he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him."

Can we say the same?
When God shows us what we need to do, do we get up and do it?

Step One:
As the year kicks off, I challenge you to sit down with your M & M and discuss what obedience looked like for you in 2009. I've attached a list of questions for you both to go through to help with the discussion.

Reflection Questions for 2009

1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year?

2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened?

3. What was an unexpected joy this past year?

4. What was an unexpected obstacle?

5. Pick three words to describe 2009.

7. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe their 2009 (again, without asking).

8. What were the best books you read this year?

9. With whom were your most valuable relationships?

10. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year?

11. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally?

12. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually?

13. In what way(s) did you grow physically?

14. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others?

15. What was the most enjoyable area of managing your home?

16. What was your most challenging area of home management?

17. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year?

18. What was the best way you used your time this past year?

19. What was the biggest thing you learned this past year?

20. Create a phrase or statement that describes 2009 for you.
(this list of questions can be found at (In) Courage. A great blog full of inspirational stories)

Step Two:
Next week, I'll be back with a list of goal setting questions. By evaluating ourselves and then setting goals, we are more apt to live a life of obedience to God rather than just ebb and flow with life's circumstances.

What do you say? Let's live the intentional life with the purpose of glorifying God!