Welcome to Sharing Life. In case you are new here, may I share with you a bit about this Friday series?
The longer I travel life’s road, the more convinced I become that women need other women to share life with like never before. The Bible gives clear instructions about this thing called mentoring. The older women are to mentor the younger women. It matters not whether you are chronologically older than another women. You may be, but you also may not be. You may be a younger in age woman who is older in the faith than another woman. Sister, you can be a mentor to that older woman, and share life with her.
Because I feel an urgency in this matter of mentoring, I have designated Fridays here at the blog for a series called Sharing Life. In this series I, and my friends, will offer mentoring thoughts on three different topics: Faith, Mentoring/Friendship, Food/Cooking.
Here is a link to the introductory post in this series.
Today I am tickled pink to welcome an online friend to my little space on the web. Kris Williams and I write for Internet Café Devotions and she has blown me away with her heart for mentoring and praying for other women. She consistently prays for the women who write at ICD. Plus, her writing…..just WOW! What a blessing!
Let me tell you a bit about her.
Kris believes that life is a battle, our enemy is Satan, his goal is to destroy us, and our victory is in Christ alone. Her life is marked with battles. She battled anorexia, depression, and anxiety as a young woman. In her 30s she battled laryngeal cancer…twice. Each battle brought her closer to the heart of Christ, solidified her trust in Him, and deepened her desire to share the hope found only in Him. Now she looks for opportunities to share the love of Christ with women where ever she goes, and considers it pure joy to be able to pray with someone in need of Christ’s gentle touch. She believes in the power of mentoring and consistently asks God to send her women to invest in.
Kris is wife to Calvin and Mom to Brian and Izzy. She enjoys painting, crochet and woodworking and shares her day to day struggles and victories on her blog, aptly named “In The Battle”.
Kris blogs at www.in-the-battle.com
Find Kris on Twitter @kwpastorwife
Welcome, Kris!
“There’s no light left in this light bulb.”
Brian was quite frustrated. He’d been trying for several minutes to turn on a lamp in the living room. In his 4 year old mind, if the light would not turn on, then there must be no light left in the bulb. In reality, there was nothing wrong with the bulb…I had unplugged the lamp.
Brian is 17 now, but I remember this little life lesson often. When I see someone whose light seems to be dimmed, it reminds me to reach out to them and draw them back toward God. When my own light starts to fade, it reminds me to move toward the light shining in my Christian friends and Church family. Most importantly, it reminds me to make a conscious effort to get plugged back in to God’s Word and Prayer.
Do you know anyone whose light has started to flicker?
Maybe even know someone who doesn’t seem to have a light?
Perhaps your own light is a bit dim?
We all go through periods of time when our light flickers a bit. If we aren’t careful, our light fades so much that people think it has gone out completely.
Is that because there is no light left in us?
No, just like the lamp in my living room, our light won’t shine if we are unplugged! Every time my light has dimmed, I’ve been unplugged from the source of power that makes me shine. Every time, without exception, I have distanced myself from God, and, just like the lamp, I can’t shine without being connected to the power source.
Think about the woman that came to mind earlier when I asked if you knew someone whose light has stopped shining.
Is she plugged in?
So often, we pass judgment on our sister whose light is flickering. We let her struggle in the dark and then blame her for tripping and falling. Remeber the unplugged lamp. Like the lamp…the light is in there….she just needs to get plugged in to God so she can shine! And like the lamp, our sister likely will not be able to plug herself in….she may need a concerned sister to help her out.
What can you do today to draw her back toward God? Sometimes just a little effort makes all the difference in the world. A simple text saying “You are on my mind today, how can I pray for you?” can open the door to wonderful ministry opportunities. You have nothing to lose. The worst thing she can do is say “Thanks. I’m good.” (you can still pray)
Maybe the one whose light is flickering is you. Maybe you think your light has burned out.
Oh Friend! You are just unplugged! There’s still light in there! No matter how dark things seem, God loves you. Jesus died so that you can spend eternity in heaven. When you submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, God separates your sin as far from you as the east is from the west! Get plugged in! Open God’s Word, go to Him in prayer, and let Him fill you to overflowing! He will mend the broken places in your heart, fill the gaps and cracks in your soul, and restore you to the woman He dreamed of when He knit you together in your mother’s womb.
We are all in this together! We are sisters in Christ…daughters of the Most High God! Remind the women in your life that the creator of the universe loves them like CRAZY! As Christian women, one of the greatest things we can do is let the love of Christ shine in us so that others are drawn out of the darkness to Him. And always remember…God Almighty is the Lover of Your Soul! When we are filled with the love of Christ, it shines in us, offers light in this dark world, draws others to Him, and brings HIM glory. There’s still light in there, Get plugged in and…
let that light SHINE!
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 NIV
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you love books and reading as much as I do? Want to get FREE books and Bibles?
Tyndale House Publishers has a reward program that allows you and me to do just that. I’ve signed up! You can, too. Here is a link for you or you can click on the TyndaleRewards button above.
www.tyndalerewards.com/signup/?pc=pmjl-n4ay-m060-3u5g
(Psst!) The link is my affiliate link, so I will earn a few reward points if you sign up using it. Thank you for helping me get a free book or two by using my link!
