Aug
31
Re-Introduction
By Carrie | 4 Comments
Since we have started a team format at this blog and since my original introduction left much to be desired, I thought I would make my own introduction post.
I launched the The Christian Woman website in 2005 after leaving my job to be a stay at home mom. I had been working full-time after having my first child but after awhile felt the draw to stay home. Before leaving my job I began to research work at home opportunities and became very interested in the network of Christian women who made extra money online. The website was my way of compiling the information I had gathered to share with others as well as a ministry to Christian women.
Well, my stay at home mom status only lasted for a year for reasons I won’t expand on, and after another child I returned to working full-time. A working Christian mother is a bit of a minority in most circles but I have been lucky to have the support of my husband and have not felt that my working was outside of God’s will for me. At least not thus far.
Lately I have been becoming a bit restless and feeling the need to live a bit simpler. While there are many things I enjoy about working, juggling life can be a bit overwhelming at times. I am not sure if my restlessness is a push from God to go in a new direction or not, so I am praying and waiting.
In the meantime, I have revived some of my online activities to see if there are opportunities for extra income. When I returned to work a few years ago I let this website stagnate a bit so I am trying to update slowly. Over the last few years I have enjoyed blogging in other venues, so I am happy to have other Christian women blogging here with me to provide a better forum for the women visiting this site.
I share all this in anticipation of future post topics. My husband and I have agreed to try and save up some money to get to a place where I could have the option to quit working. I am not convinced that I want to quit working but I am convinced I would like the option. Much of what I will be posting on will be around my efforts to save money, make money form home, and simplify my life in the long run.
But most importantly, I am trying to discern God’s will for my life at this juncture. Not only have I been restless about working but I have had a desire to do more ministry-type work. My dream would be to take a few classes at a local seminary and spend more time with my nose in a theology book. But most importantly, I would just like to have more time to spend with my family without feeling rushed.
I look forward to sharing more of my journey in future posts.
Aug
30
Piano Lessons for Life
By Jan Ross | Comments Off
In all my spare time [joke], I teach piano to some local students. Not only are they kids great kids, but they’re talented, fun, and creative.
This week’s lesson was a little challenging for one of the students. I noticed he was a little distracted. While trying to teach a new skill, it was necessary to redirect his attention to what we were learning—his eyes were wandering. It could have been that this particular approach to some new music his mom bought was too much of a stretch for him, but more than likely he was thinking about his part in the upcoming production at the local children’s theatre—he’s an extremely talented young man.
“If you listen carefully to what he says
and do all that I say, I will be an enemy
to your enemies and will oppose
those who oppose you.”
(Exodus 23:22 NIV)
We aren’t much different than my young student. We are so easily distracted by things that we have assigned a higher priority. To him it was likely his role in an upcoming play. But, what is it to us? When the Lord is speaking or teaching us something—giving us some solid direction to live by—do we find ourselves distracted? Do we hold phone calls, television programming, or even housework as a higher priority than listening “carefully to … all [the Lord] says”?
Look at the promise that’s attached to careful attention to the Lord’s voice: “I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you.” What a promise! What a reward for carefully listening to Him! So, why are we so easily distracted?
It’s a matter of the heart. Our hearts are divided. We deem insignificant things as more important than the MOST Significant One. We fail to sit still and listen; our minds wander to other things even when the Lord is speaking to our hearts.
has commanded you; do not turn aside to the
right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the
LORD your God has commanded you,
so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days
in the land that you will possess.”
(Deuteronomy 5:32-33)
It’s to our advantage to focus carefully and to heed the Word of the Lord. And, just like my student today, if we would focus on the new things God is teaching us, we will undoubtedly be blessed. Whether you’re learning a new technique on the piano or learning a valuable life lesson from the Lord, pay attention. There’s something valuable to learn that will bless you and bring glory to our Heavenly Father.
_____________
© 2008 Jan Ross
All Rights Reserved
Aug
29
Grace like rain
By Gwenn McKone | 2 Comments
We serve such an awesome God; a God who hears our prayers and answers them. It is such a thrill to watch Him doing it–sometimes, I just can’t wait to tell someone. So here you are, and here I go.
My husband worked for the same company for nine years and was laid off last Christmas. He works in technology, and was out of work for more than six months. His layoff was, in my mind, an act of God–a direct answer to prayer. The culture at his former employer was very negative and non-Christian, and took a toll on his outlook and his attitude. He wasn’t completely aware of it until he had been gone for a few months, then one morning, he looked at me and said he was beginning to realize how toxic his work environment had been. God has now blessed him with an excellent job at a well-known software company.
During our marital struggles and his layoff, I talked to my Bible study group, and they suggested that I begin praying that the Lord would surround him with Christian men. I’d never thought to pray such a thing, but the more I thought about it, it became clear that I should have done that a long time ago. My husband is not one to have close friends, and though he attends church with me and the girls, he does not go to a Bible study and has had no close Christian contact with anyone except me for nearly all of our 22 years of marriage. Just as women need other Christian women for fellowship and accountability, so, too, do men–especially when they spend five days a week in a toxic company culture.
I began praying that the Lord would bring Christian men into my husband’s life, and I have been absolutely and completely blown away. Within a month or so of my husband being laid off, our neighbors–both the husband and wife–were laid off from their jobs within two weeks of each other. Both are wonderful Christians, and as the Lord would have it, my husband and Rick, our neighbor, began to really get to know each other.
Then, we went camping with my husband’s sister and her family this summer. Our brother-in-law Mark has become a heartfelt Christian in the last ten years, and as he began to pilot a pontoon boat that we had all rented for the day, he stood up and prayed over us and the boat.
A month later, my friend Terry and her husband Ralph came to visit from Utah. Ralph came from a very dysfunctional family, but he has found Christ all by himself, and his favorite pasttime is to study the discrepancies in Mormonism, and to take on any and all Mormon missionaries that come to the door. He and my husband had a wonderful day together at Safeco Field watching the Mariners play from the 13th row.
And then today…wow. But first, let me set this story up for you. My daughter who is 13 has been going through tryouts to get onto a select softball team. She had offers from two teams, but was waiting to hear from a third team–the one she really wanted to play on. It came as a shock, then, when we got a call a few days later telling us that the team she wanted–the “Reign”–was disbanding, because they couldn’t find enough kids for their team.
My daughter was terribly upset, because she really didn’t feel comfortable with the other two teams. But she knew she had to make a choice, and she asked me to pray about it. So I did. And she did. And she decided to go with a team called the Rijo Athletics, albeit with many misgivings.
When our family showed up at their training facility today to meet with the head of the program, and to give our daughter an opportunity to do a little training, my first impression was good. Then, as my daughter and the head of the program went outside to do some throwing, my husband told me that he noted that the trainer had an ichthus (a fish symbol) on the back of his shirt, and that apparently all of the uniforms worn by the employees (all were men except for the receptionist) had fish on them.
Later, I pointed it out to my daughter, and Jose, the head of the program (a former New York Mets pro baseball player), turned and showed her the back of his shirt. He told us then that the whole athletic organization was a Christ-based program. Later, his phone rang, and the ring tone was the popular Christian song: “Hallelujah! Grace like rain falls down on me…”
Wow, I thought. The Lord had answered our prayer for Christian’s select softball team. He had most certainly brought us to the right place.
But then, it hit me. We were standing in the middle of an entire athletic organization composed of at least 7-9 men–trainers, coaches, mentors. All Christians. All unabashedly in love with Jesus. All shining with the light of His love.
Lord God, you did it again. More Christian men, falling down around us like rain.
“You do not have because you do not ask.” James 4:2
I’m so glad my “group” told me to ask, and so glad I did. I can’t wait to see what else comes with the next shower of God’s divine grace.
Hallelujah. Praise God.
Gwenn
Aug
27
The Divine Weaver
By Becki | 1 Comment
My life is but a weaving
Aug
26
When Does Life Begin?
By Cindy | 4 Comments
As I’ve been in prayer about what to post here and searching my heart for something relevant to share, I was reminded of the recent political forum that was hosted by Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church. I had almost talked myself out of posting this because it is controversial and it may bring about some angry feedback, but the fact is that this is a Christian blog and therefore, I hope that both those of us that contribute here and those who may read this will carefully consider what I believe that God has led me to say.
I was pleasantly surprised by the forum in general. My hope was to watch it with an open mind and listen to what each candidate had to say and try to sit through it in it’s entirety without changing the channel or turning the television off completely. The questions that Pastor Warren posed were, I believe, relevant and timely, especially for those of us who want more than just the normal political jargon from the candidates that the media notoriously supplies us with.
The Associate Pastor at my church sent out an e-mail today about the forum and he posed one additional question that he (and now I) would have liked to hear an answer on from Barak Obama. Following is one of the questions that Warren posed to Mr. Obama in the forum.
Now, let’s deal with abortion; 40 million abortions since Roe v. Wade. As a pastor, I have to deal with this all of the time, all of the pain and all of the conflicts. I know this is a very complex issue. Forty million abortions, at what point does a baby get human rights, in your view?
That should be a simple question for someone who claims to be a Christian to answer, right? Apparently not.
Well, you know, I think that whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade.
Considering the following that Obama has, I have to wonder if even Christians are undecided about the time that life begins and when a person is given human rights. How is that possible? Has God not made quite clear that all life is valuable and precious? Two passages of Scripture testify to God’s perspective of human life.
First, Genesis 1:26-27 describes the Creator’s intention in creating human life. God did something distinctive in human being, his most valued creation. He created men and women “in his own image.” This fact makes human life distinctive and highly valued. In Genesis 9:6, God first forbids murder because people bear God’s image. Though His hand is visible in every aspect of creation, no other part of that creation is a replication of His image. In Colossians 3:10, Paul affirms the sanctifying work of God in renewing his image in us through Christ.
The second truth that sets human life apart as distinctive is that God sent his Son to die on our behalf. In this way, he demonstrated his love for us (Romans 5:8) and, at the same time, demonstrated the value he places on human life. Jesus became human and lived among us (John 1:14) and he died to reconcile us to God. God regards human life as precious.
How then can anyone, especially a Christian, simply say that knowledge of the time when a human being is entitled to right is “above my pay grade?”
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