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Category: Missions
Misunderstood Women- by Aimee Douglas
“I didn’t mean it like that!” Have these words ever come out of your mouth? A few days ago I said something to my teenage son that he misunderstood. This is not hard to do since teenagers have a newly defined vocabulary, such as: when I say something is bad, I mean it is bad. Their definition of bad is “cool.” It can get rather confusing, for instance the word wicked means evil, not in their vocab, it means “awesome.” I give up- how can they do this, did Webster give them permission to do this? Oops, I chased a rabbit. Can you do this Angie? You know I’m still new to blogging. I kinda got on a soap box. I’m off now standing flat footed again.
Anyway, my son misunderstood something I said, he was mad at me, but when I explained what I was thinking as I said it, he understood. Well, let me tell you something, come closer to the screen because I want to make sure you don’t misunderstand me. I want to crack the devil’s egg and show you exactly what’s on the inside, and it is a rotten yolk! The devil loves to play on words- and put thoughts in our minds and cause us to doubt other’s good intentions. I’ve been thinking about a few in the Bible:
Job’s wife- I believe she was a misunderstood woman. Read it in Job 2:8-10. She said “Curse God and die”. What woman in her right mind would want to lose her husband, on top of all that had just happened to them, and would say, “Well hon, while you still have respect, just curse God and die.”
What I see is a man sitting down, rolling in self-pity because he practically lost all he had (she lost children and home and wealth right along with him), and now he was sick with boils all over and sits down in ashes and scrapes his sores with broken pottery. Maybe she might have said this to pull him out of his self-pity, by using a little reverse psychology– for it to be “his” idea- that God is faithful and is trustworthy and uses all things for His glory if we let Him, even if things are going bad.
Speaking of which, let me share something I read from my Sunday School lesson: “Difficulties often leave people feeling hopeless. But as believers, we know that God is always working in, through, and even in spite of our circumstances to bring about His will. Although He allows us to encounter problems, He doesn’t expect us to face them alone.”
Just like Job, we all face circumstances; maybe not to the degree of Job, but it still hurts! Well, I think Jobs wife knew he was hurting, not only physically but emotionally as well and she had to help him fast! She didn’t want to lose him too! (My opinion only.) Because in the next verse he told her she was speaking foolishly. She had heard him whine– (cause men do this when they are sick), until she made that remark. Sure, it may have been sarcastic, but what if she said- “You poor thing, you sure have it bad.” That would have made him wallow more in his self-pity. Perhaps she was only trying to pull him back up to see God was still God and He is worth trusting!
Another misunderstood woman was Eve. There she was listening to the serpent tell her she would be wiser and she wouldn’t die if she ate of the fruit on the tree. The Bible says in Genesis 3:6, that she ate of the fruit and her husband that was “with her”, ate of it as well. Now in Genesis 2:16-17, God commanded the man not to eat. The woman wasn’t even created yet until verse 22. He stood right there with Eve, partaking of the fruit, and let that juicy fruit slide right down past his heart to his belly. (I imagine he had an upset stomach after that!) Now who takes the heat? You are right the woman. She ate, but so did her husband. What if he didn’t eat it? What if he stood his ground, had the spiritual discernment, and being the priest of his home, said to Eve, “It’s a trick don’t eat it!” We might not be in the mess we are in today. We might be living in that perfect garden today! Oh well, it is done now, no need in crying “over spilt milk–or chewed fruit.” However if we keep the faith, one day we will get to go to a place that is perfect and live with Christ for eternity. It will all be worth it- every trial, every mountain, every valley.
Lastly, I want to share the woman that came to mind today to finish this post and it is found in John 12. Mary had a costly ointment, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it and wiped his feet with her hair. Now there was some at this gathering that misunderstood her intentions. Maybe she didn’t fully understand her own intentions. Maybe her intentions were just to show her love and gratitude to her precious Savior. She felt He was worthy- He is worthy. She didn’t realize that she was performing the acts of service for His burial. She was giving the very best that she had for Him. Time spent pouring your life out for Jesus is not wasted. Some may misunderstand your intentions. Some may judge you for all that you do for the Lord. Some may ridicule you or persecute you for His name sake. Some may even try and intimidate you to cause you to lose hope, have doubt about your worth, or about what you sacrifice for Him. But rest assured sister-in-Christ, one day it will all be worth it!
Sorry it has taken me so long with this….we have just been so incredibly busy in our work for the Lord! But I have thought about you all so much and have been rolling this post over in my mind for weeks. These thoughts are just my ideas—-of how I feel these women might have been misunderstood…you know, just like you and me.
Ya’ll come back, ya hear!
Still Keeping the faith,
The Sisters (Aimee)
Hint Help!
Okay ladies—-back up a bit….to the post where I introduced the Mother’s Day give-away. I gave you a ***hint***—***she is a mom***. Okay now I am going to out right tell you that the hint is —she is a mom—which is referring to something about the give-away. Which, by the way —is —-a very good gift!
Since YOU ALL KNOW how I love to read…I will give another hint….***book***. That is just to easy! Now, “someone“ told me to be real plain– very easy….because sometimes when we are reading blogs—we are tired. I know…sorry…I go through the same thing! (Remember this morning’s 2:34 a.m.—I get tired when He wakes me up)
So, the biggest clue I am about to hand out is this…every clue is either surrounded by *** or, it is in bold. Now, before you grab every word in my posts that are bold…I will say that you should be careful…not every bold word is part of the clue.
The beginning point for this give-away is here. The gift will go to the first person that guesses the gift! When leaving your comment, you don’t have to tell me that you know the hint (so that you don’t give it away), but please tell me you “think” you know. You can e-mail me and tell you what you think it is—with your return e-mail and I will reply with a confirmation or tell you “look again” :-).
IF no one is able to guess—(I will make it easy as possible)—the gift—for Mother’s Day, I will use the random number generator to select from each individual that comments. It’s the only fair way I know. BUT I would love it if you try and guess!!!!
Have a blessed evening—and Friday! AND Saturday!
Since I will be hosting a grandson sleep-over Friday night for a couple of them, I may not post on Saturday due to mental and physical exhaustion!!! (Lori, I sound old…well, tonight, I feel old!)
What do YOU do on Thursday??
We get really Thankful! EVERY Thursday. The Lord is prompting my spirit to “think” thankfully. Stop complaining. Live life fully. Minute by minute. That is hard to do. All of it. I mean, think about how many times you get cut off in traffic! You are running late…the person in front of you has a week to get where he is going….and you just fume. Right there in your car….you spit-and sputter–and COMPLAIN. What do we have to complain about??? (Is it just me—or is it getting hot in here?)
Okay, let’s stop right here. I have a job. I have transportation to that job. It has air conditioning. A decent radio. Comfortable seats. No, it’s not top of the line. It gets me where I am going though. Yes, it takes $55 to fill it up. But the Lord has supplied the job so that I can buy the gas to get there….hmmm. And I complain every.single.time I pump gas. The price. The traffic. The time. The travel. And so many times—not all the time—but many times—it is spent complaining. What is the deal here?
My mind got stuck in the “daily living”—and I stopped “living daily”. There are days when I feel like I have pulled myself out of bed by the nap of the neck—kicking and screaming…not wanting to go to work….tired, discouraged at times—just wanted to crawl back in and hide. Easier that way. No pressure there. Just you and the covers. The pillow. The bed. But—that’s not living. That is hiding.
As **Jesus** called Lazarus out of the grave “come forth”—(John 11:43), He wants us to “join the living” as well. Live life. To the fullest. Live it thankfully! It is so much better—and easier to look for the “thankfulness” of life than to concentrate on the gloom and doom.
The Lord reminded me this morning of all the times I have enjoyed fellowship with Him as I drove. As I journeyed to work—I have prayed, praised, sang, cried and worshipped Him with my whole heart!—(clapped my hands even–ssshh–don’t tell that I can drive with my knee when necessary). He reminded me that time passed—and I arrived before I even knew it—when the time was spent in fellowship with Him….rather than complaining my head off! I sound like I am a BIG complainer. I’m not. I really don’t do it very much….but—I have heard much complaining from others—-from work, home, shopping, TV, radio—it is EVERYWHERE.
So, once again—-I “decide” to choose thankfulness. I choose to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in my life. Teach me Lord, lead me, I am Yours, I follow only You. Today, tomorrow—if I live to be 90—and beyond!
Iris chose this verse today. It is full of power! I had used the next set of verses below in my post on “Power of the Wind” on my Laced With Grace devotion this past weekend. I still feel the Power of His Spirit!
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”~ John 16:13-14 (ESV )
“But the time is coming and is already here when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for anyone who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24
I don’t want the Father to have to look for me….I want to be right here…worshipping Him…with a fully thankful heart!
Visit Iris for more thankful hearts today! (Don’t forget the “hint”(s)—go back and read this post!)
I love you all!!!
Contest!!! Yipee!
Calling all writers! Click on the link button above and enter the new writing contest at Christian Women Online Magazine.
Once again, Christian Women Online, in conjunction with Art Bookbindery, is sponsoring the “Her Life Reflected,” writing contest. They are looking for essays that tell us how your mother, or a mother that you know has reflected the heart of our Heavenly Father in her life. The winning essay will be one that is both written well, and of most importance, one that reflects God as being the central focus of one’s life.
THERE IS A CASH PRIZE offered—along with some great books, a new coffee mug, Music! Wow! How can you resist?
Never thought about writing…? Well, give it a shot! Pray about it—write about her! Someone must have inspired you to be who you are! Tell us! Click on the button and find out the details!
I wish I could enter…but I can’t—contest rules and all that stuff—since I am a regular contributor to CWO Internet Cafe…..but if you can….do it! Do it now!
I cannot wait to read what you have written!
Visit me here today!
Come on over….I was a little late getting here today….but I’m here now! So grab your cup of coffe—pull up a chair….get settled in and read on! Click the link button—you may have some catching up to do!
And the Winner Is….
Do you remember this line? “Wouldn’t it be a hoot if you won both give-aways?” This line is from the “give-away” post. Now girls, I tried about a dozen different ways to paste the actual page from the number generator that I always use on this page…nothing worked. Maybe you have a way to copy and paste and it turn out just right….but I just could not make it work!
So I copy pasted what I could…the pictures would not paste… 😦 But the rest did…so—without further ado…..
This program will generate a random number between two numbers of your choice.
Enter a lower limit: 1
Enter an upper limit: 45
Random Number: 5
I am excited to announce….that Darnelle….you must be wearing your lucky shirt today!—“Wouldn’t it be a hoot if you won both give-aways?” Congratulations girl! It amazed me…and I laughed out loud when I counted down the list of names to number 5!
Well, that’s it for today! I have a special “Mother’s Day” give-away already lined up. But I have to learn about Mr. Linky first (how to install and use)—it will be a great give-away…and I already have it—purchased from “LifeWay” two weeks ago with “Mother’s Day” in mind. So, stay tuned…you never know when a clue to the give-away might appear (hint…you will see **** surrounding a word clue)!
GIVE-AWAY
This is a sticky post and will remain at the top until the drawing…
Several years ago I met an author. Max Lucado. No, I didn’t shake his hand…and I really didn’t meet him face to face…but I met him through the pages of his books.
(Much like we—bloggity buddies—meet and fellowship with one another.)
I do not have him on a pedestal . . . that is wrong to do. But I have found great comfort and reality in the words he writes. He writes with such clarity…that even I can understand. I have found great joy in giving. So, I want to share some Easter joy with someone. I will be having a give-away on Monday, March 24.
All three hardback books will go to someone….special! Maybe it is you!
Simply leave me a comment that you would like to be entered, and post about the give-away…and enter you I will! Also, on the Sisters of Faith blog, my sister, Aimee, and I are having a T-Shirt give-away! Time is running out on that one! So hope over there…and enter that one too! Wouldn’t it be a hoot if you won both give-aways?
Have a blessed day!
Update…Entries have closed! Thank you all for participating….check back this afternoon for the winner! (Name will be up by 3:00 p.m. CST) The T-Shirt winner on Sisters of Faith was “Darnelle”! Congratulations Darnelle!
And the WINNER IS…….
Drum roll please……
The Custom Random Number Generator picked Darnelle!!! How very exciting!
I will e-mail you shortly to get your info! Congratulations dear sister! Wear the purple shirt with the blessings of the “sisters”!
If anyone would like to purchase a shirt, they are only $10 and all monies go directly to BGMC.
BGMC has a two-fold purpose:
1. To reach the children of the world.
2. To create a heart of compassion in children.
BGMC Vision Slogan: Equipping kids to know, care, pray, give, and reach the lost.
BGMC especially tries to target the children of the world by providing for street kids, orphanages, feeding programs, school supplies, sending kids to camps, the making of children’s TV programs and videos, and lots more!
To read more about what BGMC does and to become involved in your area, go here.
So head on over and congratulate my sweet friend Darnelle! She has been a blessing in my life by her incredibly inspired writings and you will be blessed there as well! The girl has a heart after God!
Purple Mania Give-Away!
February 29 was Wanda’s Birthday. She celebrated her 44th year with the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven. What a celebration that must have been!
We are the blessed ones. To have had her as our sister! Our joy is mingled with tears. In celebrating the life of our sister, Wanda, we are having give-away on our blog.
We are giving away a T-Shirt —a purple T-Shirt no less! With our logo and Wanda’s favorite verse.
Psalm 27:14 “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”
The Lord has been incredibly good to all of us. In our time of sorrow and weeping…He has been Jehovah Shammah “The Lord is there“….and He has been with each of us.
We have ordered these T-Shirts and will be selling them for $10 each, with all the money going to BGMC (Boys and Girls Missionary Challenge), which was Wanda’s favorite missions ministry. It directly impacts children. She had a passion for missions. Wanda had some very dear friends who worked diligently for the last harvest in the missions field. Some of whom are in precarious situations in the countries they are serving the Lord, so we pray.
If you would like to purchase one of these shirts, simply e-mail me or leave a comment to that effect with your e-mail address. You may also contact Carmel Assembly of God Church, Marianna First Assembly of God Church or Sneads First Assembly of God. Each of the Church websites can be found on The Knightly News (click here) on the sidebar.
So how do you enter to win? Simple. Leave a comment on this post stating “enter me” in the give-away. You will be entered. The drawing will be held on Saturday, March 15. The winner’s name will be posted and you will be notified (your e-mail or contact information will be needed). We are excited to share this with you as a “sister of faith”.
We wore our shirts on our shopping trip with the sweet ladies from Carmel Assembly of God this past Saturday….what a time we had! More to come on that!
So join us. If you would just like to go ahead and purchase a shirt…just let us know!
Keeping the faith,
The Sisters
Jeff & Angie 
