We are excited to inform you that CWO is back up and running! My name is Andy Isaacson, and my wife Nichelle and I are the new owners at Christian Women Online. We are really looking forward to helping get this site back to full steam ahead with articles that will encourage and help us grow in our walk with Christ. Stay Tuned!

If you have interest in helping out at CWO, I would request that you send us an email to: editor@christianwomenonline.net.

God Bless,

Andy & Nichelle

After three and a half years, and prayerful consideration I’ve come to the place where it’s time for me to step down from online ministry to better serve my family. Since it was also a good time for many of our writers to put down their pens, we decided to make this, July issue, our final.

I have been incredibly blessed with a team of faith-focussed writers who I pray will continue to minister to you as they walk on new paths.

I’ll leave our archived devotions online so that readers can continue to visit and dig through our articles for continual blessing and growth.

Along with our final farewell, I leave you this verse from Ecclesiastes:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

Blessings,

Founder and Editor,
Christian Women Online Magazine
“Uniting Women of Faith”

Read my column—Live Well!
My blog: Darlene Schacht.com

]]> http://christianwomenonline.net/issue/2009/07/letter-from-the-editor-8/feed/ 31 http://christianwomenonline.net/issue/2009/07/sunny-shell-interviews-anna-jackson/ http://christianwomenonline.net/issue/2009/07/sunny-shell-interviews-anna-jackson/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:29:27 +0000 Darlene Schacht http://www.christianwomenonline.net/issue/?p=1776

We are blessed to be joined this month by Anna Jackson, owner of the online store, “Evangelism Stuff.” Anna and her husband Dale have a unique way of encouraging the world to consider their faith, and to see that life here on earth is temporal, while life in Christ is eternal.

Ann is also a Lady Mentor for the Ambassador’s Academy, with a passion for preaching the gospel. This month, Sunny Shell sits down for a blessed chat with this mother of two, to talk about the many ways God is using her in building His kingdom.

Sunny: Precious sister, you have a very unique online store, “Evangelism Stuff.” What inspired you to open this “store?”

Anna: At that time, my husband, Dale, and I had been working for Living Waters for a little while.  We were having a wonderful time going to all these large scale events to pass out gospel tracts, and I thought it would be great to have t-shirts we could wear when we went out.  So I found a place online where we could easily have some t-shirts made up for the two of us.  But when Ray and Kirk saw the shirts, they suggested we open an online store so we could supplement our income with the ministry.  It turned out to be a great idea, and we’ve had a lot of fun with it!

Sunny: Would you please share with us some of your favorite items at Evangelism Stuff and why they’re your favorites?

Anna: If I had to narrow it down, I’d probably say the ones in the “designs related to death” section.  It may sound weird, but the goal of those designs is to help the average Joe think about the fact that they are going to die. Most people in our modern world are so far separated from death (by hospitals and mortuaries) that death seems far away, surreal, and rare… when it’s none of those things.  It does people good to think about the fact that they are going to die.  It is sobering, and it makes them consider eternity.

Some of the designs we have in that section include one with the side view of a man’s face with the classic “X” over his eye, and says “Death, it’s hereditary.”  Another has the word death written out in 24 different languages… none of them English.  One of the more controversial ones has the silhouette of a dead cat on it. (No hate mail, please… I’m actually a big cat lover, I just think the shirt is funny enough to get read by an unbeliever.)  Probably the simplest design just says “You are going to die.  NeedGod.com.”

Sunny: How do you get the ideas for your merchandise?

Anna: Oh, they come from everywhere. Many from Ray’s books or sermons; that’s definitely been my main source.  For example there is this great quote Ray uses in “Hell’s Best Kept Secret” by Ozwald J. Smith, it says:

“Oh my friends, we are loaded down with countless church activities, while the real work of the Church, that of evangelizing the world and winning the lost, is almost entirely neglected.”

What a great quote! And how wonderfully appropriate and convicting for all of us today! We put that one in our “stuff to wear to church” section.

Others come from being out sharing with people. One time, at a Starbucks, I saw this guy with a really plain shirt that just had a chemical symbol on it, and no explanation of what it meant.  It made starting a conversation with him really easy, because that was the obvious intention of the shirt.  He told me it was the chemical symbol for caffeine.  I thought that was just brilliant!  So that’s how I came up with the “smell of death” design which contains the chemical shorthand for two substances created after a person dies and their body begins to decompose. I know it sounds macabre, but when someone asks you about it, you have a perfect platform for asking if they’ve thought very much about what will happen to them after death.  I’ve gotten really good feedback about that one!
Still other ideas have come from people who send me them to me through the website.  One of our newest designs came in that way.  A lady sent in the idea and it’s now in our “anti-evolution” section.  It has a picture of Mount Rushmore and says, “just another product of time and chance.” Then there is a little cartoon bubble coming from Abe’s mouth that says, “oh that’s idiotic.”  And it really is, isn’t it?  How can a person with a reasonable level of intelligence believe an arrowhead requires a designer, but DNA requires no designer? It’s completely nutty!

Sunny: You’re also a “lady mentor” for the Ambassador’s Academy. What is the Ambassador’s Academy and how do you fulfill your role as a lady mentor?

Anna: The Ambassador’s Academy is a fantastic program for men and women who want to experience street evangelism in a very supportive group environment.  Living Waters puts on several of them each year, and they are each limited to 50 students.  It consists of a day of classroom teaching, from Ray and Kirk, and other members of the Living Waters staff. Then there are two days of street witnessing.

The Lady Mentors work closely with the women students.  We want to give individual support for whatever each woman’s goals are.  For example there have been women who’ve come out to the Academy who have never passed out a gospel tract.  So that’s their goal.  Many have never started a conversation with a stranger to share the gospel… still others want to work toward sharing a gospel message with an entire crowd of unbelievers (in what we call an “open air” session).

No matter what the goal, we do what we can to help the student meet it.  It’s really exciting to be around the students!  These are women, from all over the world, who love the Lord enough to try to put their own comfort aside and share the gospel.

Of course, being a mom of two little ones, I don’t get to be a Lady Mentor as frequently as I’d like.  But I do get out there as often as I’m able!

Sunny: When did you get saved and when do begin to have a passion for the lost and preaching the Gospel?

Anna: Many Christians have what they refer to as a “life verse,” but mine might be the oddest one you’ve ever heard.  It is Ecclesiastes 7:2, “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.”
That became my verse when, as a teenager and a fairly new Christian, I had to watch my little brother die of Leukemia.  Praise God, he knew Jesus before his death, and I can look forward to seeing him again.

I remember one, apparently Christian, teenager who approached me, just after we buried my brother, to say, “Hey, God works all things together for good!” Now, anyone who wants a tip about how to help a grieving person should listen to this little piece of advice… this is the kind of thing you should think and not say.  Believe me when I say that only God can reveal this to a person.  But now that it’s been more than 20 years since my brother’s death, I can see the truth of it. God used it to shape my life, because the reality of every person’s impending death was stamped on my soul with a branding iron! Heaven and Hell became realities, instead of just ethereal ideas.

Think about the fate of your neighbor that you’ve never shared with.  Do you actually believe that they are heading to Hell without Jesus’ sacrifice and forgiveness for their sin?  I mean, do you actually believe that?  If you don’t feel a weight of that on your heart, then I suggest you follow the counsel from my life verse.  Go into the “house of mourning” and spend a little time there.  You can find it at your local hospital. Just go into a waiting room and sit there quietly till you’ve heard several families receive bad news.  Then visit funeral homes and respectfully sneak in the back during a service.  If it doesn’t break your heart, I suggest you call on the Lord to give you a heart of flesh rather than a heart of stone… which he can do, mightily!  To feel nothing, no concern for the lost, is a numbness and an apathy that God can cure in your heart.
And when you do share the gospel, please share it biblically. Don’t allow yourself to be swept up in the newest “Christian craze”… whatever that might be. Be like the preachers of old, and start by sharing with the person what it means to have violated the Holy Laws of a Holy God. Share with them from God’s Word, which never returns void: “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed,” (Romans 2:5).  I could go on and on about this particular subject, but I hope your readers will go online and listen freely to the message called “Hell’s Best Kept Secret,” which goes into great detail.

Sunny: You have two precious sons. How did becoming a mom change or challenge your passion to preach the Gospel?

Anna: Wow.  In more ways than I could possibly share in this short article.  My husband and I were childless for the first 14 years of our marriage.  We never thought we would be able to have children, although we both wanted them, so we accepted God’s will and really poured ourselves into the work at the ministry (Living Waters).  We worked crazy long hours, with extreme joy because of what we were doing!  We went out evangelizing at the drop of every hat.  And we loved being able to drive Ray around to speaking engagements in the Southern California area.

When God, without any medical intervention, miraculously allowed me to become pregnant, we were flabbergasted!  Then, against all odds, the Lord allowed us to have a second one!!! (Sorry for  all the exclamation points, but aside from my salvation, it’s probably been the greatest mercy God has ever given me!)

Now, when we only had our first child, and he was a little infant that we could carry in his car seat everywhere, the only thing that really changed was the amount of gear we had to haul around with us as we tried to keep doing most all of the things we had been doing before.  But, as you can well imagine, that didn’t last long.  Soon there were feeding schedules, nap schedules, and exhaustion to deal with.  We dropped back to doing much less.

When our second little joy was born, we went down to doing nothing.  Yes, I mean nothing.  And on top of that, I wanted to be a stay-at-home, home-schooling mom, so that meant giving up my full-time duties at the ministry.

For quite a while, I had a lot of mixed feelings about all this.  I tell you the truth,  I am amazed and will never cease praising God for the mercy of our two boys (now ages 2 and 4).  But I also need to be honest in that giving up all the things I had been doing, was a big fat blow to my big fat ego.  Ugg.  I even hate writing that out.  No one likes to think of themselves as wrapped up in the praise of others, but this was really revealed to me in a big way.

My husband is probably one of the most loving and supportive people in the world, but it’s hard to go from having a lot of people telling you that you did a great job on this or that web site, or that it’s amazing how fast you finished a project.  From that, to crying babies (my second son was colicky), that never stopped crying, diapers on two at the same time, and no more strokes on my ego… it was hard.  And honestly, sometimes it still is hard.  I don’t want to give the impression that I’ve somehow conquered this, because I certainly haven’t.  It can still be very hard.

But I comfort myself with the knowledge that God sovereignly opened my childless womb… and the most important task He has ever given me is to do the mom’s part of raising these boys in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

Once I’m done with homeschooling, if I’m still any use as a web designer, I hope I can go back and make a contribution again.  But for now, I am content to do the coding for the ministry’s weekly newsletter… a job I can do, once a week in the evenings, after kiddos are asleep.

Sunny: In closing, would you please share with our readers, a Scripture or passage God has been using to inspire you lately?

Anna: The one God has really been using in my life lately is the passage in Galatians about the fruit of the Spirit:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law,” (Galatians 5:22-23).

God has specifically been hammering me with the “self-control” part of that, both in my tongue and in my weight.  I know that self-control is a fruit that should be growing in me, more and more all the time… but I still have a quick temper, and I often say things I wish I could take back the moment they are out of my mouth.  I also believe that I should be having more self-control over what I’m eating, and being self-disciplined to exercise.  So this is a constant prayer, and a constant battle!

©2009, Sunny Shell

Ten thousand hours is a good benchmark—that’s one hour a day, five days a week, for forty years (with two weeks of vacation each year!). If every Christian decided to spend 10,000 hours developing their capacity in a single cultural domain (painting, stress fracture analysis, genomic sequencing, you name it) and also 10,000 hours on the spiritual disciplines that embody dependence on God (solitude, silence, fasting, study, prayer), in forty years we’d have a completely different world. How are you spending your 10,000 hours?”

How Faithfulness Makes a Genius

Dormant geniuses lie sleeping down the hall.

They eat across from us at the breakfast table, sit next to us in mini-vans taxiing to soccer fields, even look back at us from our bathroom mirrors. What if we realized that genius is simply an act of long faithfulness?  What if  genius is the normative intent of what God’ bestows and our own lack of faithful stewardship results in stunted, malnourished gifts?

László and Klara Polgár, parents of three daughters, understood exactly that. Homeschoolers in Hungary who were harrassed by armed police to enroll their daughters in public school, Klara and László believed that any child could be nurtured to flourish, and exceedingly. It was simply a matter of faithfulness. The Polgar’s were. Faithful hours of considered study and practice were invested.  By 2000, these home educated daughters were at least tri-lingual (one daughter could  speak seven languages), each had achieved top-10 ranking in the world of female chess players, and their youngest daughter, Judit, shattered the previous record for the youngest person, male or female, to earn the title of chess Grandmaster. She was 15 years old. While Susan would later be the number one female chess player in the world, Judit would be the first woman to be rank in the top ten chess players worldwide.  How did the Polgar’s raise three geniuses?

It wasn’t a function of I.Q. or genetics. (László concedes he was a mediocre chess player at best, being regularly beaten by his four-year-old daughter; Klara didn’t even know the rules when their daughters began playing).  It was simply the same way Mozart, Benjamin Franklin, Tiger Woods found their way.

By  faithful stewardship. By diligent, attentively focused use of the gifts God hands out liberally to more than a select few.  It’s dangerously tempting to think that geniuses are exceptional products of blazing, divine intervention. Because then we don’t have to closely examine how we are stewarding the gifts He’s given us. Are geniuses really only better stewards? Recent research suggests that very possibility.

Geniuses are stewards who:

Faithfully Practice

Geniuses make it look effortless only because they’ve faithfully practiced. Anders Ericsson, a professor of psychology at Florida State University, posits that  ”extended deliberate practice” is the ultimate key to successful use of a gift. “Nothing shows that innate factors are a necessary prerequisite for expert-level mastery in most fields,” he says. Ericsson’s interviews with 78 German pianists and violinists discovered that by age 20, the best musicians had spent an estimated 10,000 hours practicing, twice the average 5,000 hours  the less accomplished group practiced.

Genius is a long faithfulness.

So fingers stretch across ivories here, shoulders hunch over Latin, brows knit in mathematical quandary. Just two hours a day of concentrated practice over a decade stacks up to 7,000 hours of faithful stewarding. Why not tenderly unfurl a gift?

Geniuses are stewards who

Faithfully Pioneer

The flesh tugs towards the path of least resistance: to keep practicing what we already know. But geniuses steward the gift by faithfully pioneering into unknown territory. Committed stewards continually forge ahead by asking: what weaknesses need strengthening? what skills need extending? Faithful stewards fight the flesh and mind’s dastardly inclination to sloppily automate our gifts by deliberate, ongoing practice and a careful analyzing of the parts of the whole, which forces the brain’s internalization of an improved pattern of execution. Like Benjamin Franklin who would rewrite his favorite articles from memory, then closely compare it with the actual,  we too stretch minds and skills with challenge of new ground.  How can this gift be gently stretched?

Geniuses are stewards who

Faithfully Pursue

Geniuses steward the gift by pursuing a mentor, a faithful nurturer. A coach, a tutor, a teacher are necessary to flourish a gift, to grow it into pioneer territory. Pursuing a supportive environment is paramount for the fostering of a gift and family can offer critical encouragement. When Carol Dweck, professor of psychology at Stanford University, praised children for “how” they did a task—for undergoing the process successfully — most children wanted to take on a increasingly challenging tasks. Generally, such encouraged children’s performances improved, and when it didn’t, they still enjoyed the experience.

The stewarding

It appears that God’s far more generous in placing great gifts into our hands than we’ve ever realized. And it’s our hands that need be faithful stewards of the talents.

I reach out and squeeze the young hand next to me.

That in every human being lies the latent potential of child lies latent genius. ecause if God’s in the business of generously handing out the gift of genius, then that leaves us how do we account for   gives gifts to all,  sparingly hands out gifts, then any lack in aptitude is is  of  and genius is an act of stewarding the gifts. It’s  easier to think that geniuses are the products of divineGenius is an act of long faithfulness.

Talent is overrated highlights a growing body of research which shows that the top achievers in many fields are neither high-IQ geniuses nor former child prodigies turned professionals. In fact, many of these top performers are just reasonably bright people who showed a slight knack for something and then spent decades engaged in “deliberate practice,” which involves spending hours figuring out your weak spots, honing specific skills through constant feedback, and learning as much as possible about your field. The bad news is that such practice is “highly demanding mentally” and “isn’t much fun.”

It is a provocative thesis, which Colvin first put forth in a 2006 Fortune article that ignited a furious debate in the blogosphere. Like Malcolm Gladwell, who has also written a new book on top talent (Outliers), Colvin is deft at finding studies and anecdotes to back up his assertions. For example, he highlights one study which found that top violinists put in more than twice as many hours of solo practice as their lesser peers. And he describes how comedian Chris Rock hones his act at small clubs, so that by the time he plays larger venues he knows exactly how the audience will react to each joke.

You need a particular kind of practice—deliberate practice—to develop expertise. When most people practice, they focus on the things they already know how to do. Deliberate practice is different. It entails considerable, specific, and sustained efforts to do something you can’t do well—or even at all. Research across domains shows that it is only by working at what you can’t do that you turn into the expert you want to become.

Bear in mind that even Winston Churchill, one of the most charismatic figures of the twentieth century, practiced his oratory style in front of a mirror.

Then our young writer would find a mentor who would provide a constant stream of feedback, viewing her performance from the outside, correcting the smallest errors, pushing her to take on tougher challenges. By now she is redoing problems — how do I get characters into a room — dozens and dozens of times. She is ingraining habits of thought she can call upon in order to understand or solve future problems.

©2009, Ann Voskamp

Dear Sandy:  Our family life can be so helter-skelter.  Is there anything you do to help keep your family “together” not just physically, but also mentally and spiritually?

On Sunday our family gathered in the living room to talk about business.

Not work-related business but family business.

We came to do business with our leader. Yes, my husband led the discussion but the One who led the spirit of the half-hour discussion was God.

I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer …

I looked around our cozy living room, as I often do, and found myself dreaming and gazing at things I’d like to change, like a color on the wall. How foolish of me to get my mind off-track like that.  But it’s true – we invite many people into our home for dinner parties, and I do have an eye for decorating. Then my attention was diverted back to our business. Our business was discussion of John 15 (verses taken from The Message).

Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you.

As we’ve been working on outdoor projects, gardening, mowing, blowing, wheel barrowing loads and loads of decomposed granite, putting up a new inexpensive greenhouse, cleaning the pool, picking strawberries, making jam, and cleaning our garage – and planning our kitchen remodel as well – I realized that the face-lift jobs and constant chores that need to be done around our house are just peripheral. There’s always a project and there’s always a job to do.

Yes, they need to be done and I will say that we always find ourselves prioritizing and rallying up the troops, and pitching in as a family to get these projects done.

I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant.

What really will make our family stronger–and we only have a few years left–is what happened in our living room. It’s not how our house looks on the outside, or even the inside. It’s not about my updated wall-color or new flower arrangement, or what the neighbors will think of my front porch.  It’s not about what I’ll be cooking for the next dinner party or frugal meal planning for my family. It’s not even how our family looks when you peek into our front window.

If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love.

We were not able to attend church on Sunday. But the discussion about God and the deciphering of Scriptures brought peace to my mind. The fact that my children can think for themselves and can contribute to the discussion, I appreciate. They can call things bluff as they see through legalism – because they’ve encountered the real and true. They do know God’s Word, even though they sometimes live imperfect lives.

The lessons they are learning, even as I write this, are about experiencing God’s grace and that is a beautiful thing.

The house duties can wait, the dream kitchen will happen in due time. Our garden is growing and eventually we’ll be harvesting it.  Eventually our kitchen will get done. But if I don’t focus today – on living for Him, and making my home in Him, then my efforts are in vain.

We talk about change – and change I do believe in. We live in this world and we want to make it a better place. But where do we start?

For me, it starts in my home. In the living room or around the dinner table, together as a family – discussing and living life.

I call this Harmonious Living!

It’s good for the family; it’s good for the soul.

And it’s good for reviving and giving freedom to families once torn apart.

©2009, Sandy Coughlin

Have you ever felt like God was speaking to you? Maybe it wasn’t in an audible voice, but in a still small whisper to your heart, an insistent urgency that won’t go away and is confirmed in things people say, verses you read and other “coincidences” that happen.  When my husband Curt and I determined to get out of debt, we knew it was because God was telling us to. This was confirmed in our circumstances and in the unified attitude we both had about this huge task. In the past, we had always fought over money, never agreeing on how we should handle it. But when God moved in both of our hearts at the same time, we were able to approach things as a team.

I would like to tell you that because God said to do it, it was all hearts and flowers and peace after that. But that would not be true. On the contrary, getting out of debt was one of the hardest things we had ever done. There were a lot of two steps up and one step back moments in our journey towards financial freedom. We got discouraged. We got tired. We got frustrated. We wanted to quit (thankfully never both of us at once). It was in those moments that we had to refocus on what God had said, on what He had promised to do in our lives if we would walk in obedience. We had to stand on His promises, returning again and again to His word for reinforcement.

If you are struggling to straighten out your finances, don’t get swayed by your circumstances. Even when Murphy strikes and everything seems to be going wrong. Even when you want to slip back into old habits and buy that outfit on sale. Even when you are tempted by the stuff you see and want. Even when you feel like you will never make headway. Don’t quit trying. Write Isaiah 46:11 down on an index card and carry it wherever you go. Or post it on your refrigerator or bathroom mirror as that extra reminder that what God said, He will bring to pass. And what He purposes, He will do. It might take longer than you expected. It might be harder than you ever anticipated. But it will happen. Four and a half years after we started our journey out of debt, our family is living proof.  I hope that this verse serves to encourage and strengthen you today as you walk one step closer to financial freedom.

I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed and I will do it. Isaiah 46:11b

©2009, Marybeth Whalen

]]> http://christianwomenonline.net/issue/2009/07/what-god-says/feed/ 1 http://christianwomenonline.net/issue/2009/07/do-you-think-im-insecure/ http://christianwomenonline.net/issue/2009/07/do-you-think-im-insecure/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:26:39 +0000 Darlene Schacht http://www.christianwomenonline.net/issue/?p=1760

I told my psychiatrist that everyone hates me. He said I was being ridiculous – everyone hasn’t met me yet.
- Rodney Dangerfield

I usually feel pretty good about myself when I wake up—for the five minutes I refrain from looking in the mirror. That’s when the voices start: “your thighs have more dimples than a Shirley Temple look-a-like convention!” they say, or “what kind of ’80’s- wannabe haircut is that?”

Then I take my older son to school, and notice that the work-outside-the-home moms look all coiffed and stylish. The voices deride my writer’s wardrobe of jeans and t-shirts.

At the grocery store with my youngest, I stand in front of the baby items and hear the little demons again: “you should be making your own baby food—it’s healthier.” In the household cleaners’ aisle, the stinkers hiss, “When was the last time you dusted?”

By the time I reach my house, I’m already defeated, and it’s only 9:30 a.m.

I don’t know who said it, but I believe it’s true: insecurity is the Devil’s playground. Or maybe the Devil’s battleground is a better word. His weapons attack from every side, and usually leave a wound.

It’s a constant war to not let the “what kind of mother am I?” questions run away with my emotions–and my peace.
Maybe you relate. If my hunch is right, a lack of security is epidemic among moms. Writer Kim Thomas puts it this way: “Insecurity and self-doubt always loom over my shoulder, and in less than five minutes I have moved from gratefulness to whining.”

And, let’s face it: we have plenty to be concerned about. There are our figures, our finances, our future, and our families—just to name a few.

Recently, after making an impulse purchase at the checkout line, I noticed the headline on the women’s magazine I had brought home: “Eat right, get fit, get organized, and relax.”
Who are they kidding?! I barely have time to take a shower each day, let alone have a perfect body or a spotless house. And relax while trying to keep it all together? Ha!

So I’ve decided to go on the offensive in this war on my thoughts and emotions. First, I’m going to stop letting the world’s standards rule my mind. With God’s help, I’ll tune into His word–and turn off the T.V. (And I’ll trash the women’s mags that spell out “25 Ways to Lose 25 Pounds in 25 Minutes”!)

Second, I’m going to quit comparing myself to other women. The truth is, they’re probably as unsure about themselves as I am.

Third, when the Prince of this world sends his darts towards me, I’ll put up my shield of faith and ask myself, just what is the real truth here?

The God-honest truth is: if my husband and I are raising our children by biblical standards, prayerfully doing the best we can, then God is pleased. As for my body, I know he wants me to be healthy and to take care of myself, but he could care less what size my thighs are.

And you know what else? I’m betting that since Jesus was a carpenter, He doesn’t mind a little dust.

Notes from the Coach:

“You will be secure, because there is hope . . . ” Job 11:18a, NIV

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.” Romans 12:2, NLT

“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Ephesians 6:16, NIV

“Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” Colossians 3:2, NASB

“We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5, MSG

©2009, Dena Dyer

Do you have too much stuff? I can relate! For some reason we seem to end up with a lot of excess things that we just might be able to use “someday.” We get nice “hand me downs” from relatives who are downsizing, we plan a move to a new house and hang on to extra things because aren’t sure what we will need, or our children head off to college and suddenly we have more in our house than we really use regularly.

Life brings a series of changes that can leave us with more to manage than we need or want.

It is hard to know where to begin to declutter when you are faced with overflowing closets, garages and storage rooms. In fact, it can be downright scary! When opening a closet door puts you at risk for an avalanche, or you can seriously injure yourself on the way to opening the garage door, you know it is time to declutter.

There is something so freeing about the idea having LESS, but where do you begin?

1. If you feel overwhelmed, set aside a block of time to get life back into order and balance.
2. Focus on your most dreaded task first. Once you dive in, it won’t seem so bad.
3. Look at things in your home objectively. Are they adding something of important value, or are they just one more thing to dust, store, or organize?
4. Start by removing half of the items from a cupboard, shelf, or closet and step back to look. Be prepared to be amazed at how energized you’ll feel!
5. Plan a donation to a local mission or thrift store. While you are de-cluttering, set up an area of your house to put items to donate. There are so many people less fortunate who are blessed by what we are willing to give away. Allow yourself to give generously—you’ll feel great and someone else will be even happier!

So what are you waiting for?  Set aside some time this week to declutter!

©2009, Melissa Michaels

For more inspiration on creating a beautiful home, visit The Inspired Room

It is with sadness that I write these words.  It is time for me to end writing this column.  As most of you are aware, I have had a very difficult year or so, and right now my heart is not into writing anymore.  So, after much prayer and thinking things through, I have decided to “retire” this column.

I want to thank Darlene for giving me this wonderful opportunity to minister to others.  Darlene and I “met” several years ago via our blogs, and it was through our mutual love of the Lord, and of our vocations to be mothers and writers, that we formed a friendship which has been steady and true, even though we have never actually met in person.   It is my hope that someday we will meet “in real life,” but until that day comes,  I will treasure the times – professional and personal – that we have shared.  Dar – you’ve been a true inspiration to me.

I have taken a temporary hiatus from my personal blog as well.  I will probably return to writing in the fall, but I have to face some personal hurdles before I can get back to my first true love – writing.  My life is transitioning and changing, and I need the energy to cope with all of different scenarios being placed in front of me right now.  I will continue to always be “my kids’ mom,” no matter what – but for now, I need to be still and listen to God to see where he is leading me in my life.

I hope my words have touched other adoptive parents out there and somehow have encouraged or inspired or helped them in some way.  My biggest thrill came last month when my oldest daughter’s birth mom read my Mother’s Day column, and we talked for the very first time online and then later on the phone. She is a wonderful woman, and I am blessed to now have her in my life.  Her gift of life gave me the greatest gift of all – of being a mother.  The mutual love we have for our daughter is such a joy to experience!  And thus, it has come full circle.

Someday, my youngest will be searching, and I can only hope and pray that her search  is as successful as my oldest daughter’s search has been.

So, to my friends and readers, I say a fond farewell.  I shall keep all of you in my thoughts and prayers.  I know that one day I shall return to writing (I would like to get published some day) -  so I shall say farewell, and God bless until we meet again.

©2009, Valerie Wolff

Summer’s here and so are the high temperatures! It’s time to lighten up… on our skin care and makeup. Most likely you will be spending more time outside at the pool, beach and in the sun–all the more reason to take care of your skin suit and keep it healthy and glowing (not greasy).

Summer skin tends to get oilier and you need to adjust your skin care to suit your skin type. First and foremost drink plenty of water to hydrate your entire body, replenish sweat and to beat the hot weather ahead.

The Heat is ON… a few things to ponder when it comes to summer skin.

1. Use lighter facial skin care products to avoid clogging your pores
2. Drink plenty of H20 to rehydrate your skin after exposure to the sun, sand and salt at the beach.
3. Use a chemical free SPF.
4. Exchange heavy makeup for a more natural look.

Cleansers, Moisturizers, Toners for Summer

All skin types benefit from a soap free cleanser followed by an alcohol free toner, if your skin is extremely sensitive you still can use a creamy cleanser.  Rosewater is a good choice as a toner for dry, normal and mature skin while witch hazel or apple cider vinegar is great for oily  and acne skin. Use products that are designed for after sun care like Dr. Hauschka or Aubrey-Organics, they will help to replenish what was drained from the sun’s damaging rays.

DIY Moisturizer
(You will need ½ tsp to 1 tsp Jojoba oil, favorite essential oil, active royal jelly but not neccary) First cleanse skin and while the skin is already wet, apply a small amount of Jojoba oil with a drop of essential oil and a dab of active royal jelly (found in health food store) and gently pat into skin—note the water helps absorb the jojoba oil.

H20 Relief
Be sure to drink plenty of purified water; dehydration sets in when a person has lost 2 percent of his or her body weight—(depending on the conditions) especially now that it is much hotter.  If you get tired of drinking too much water, add in a slice of lemon, cucumber or mint—it’s totally refreshing!

Sun Block
Use protective gear such as wide brim hats, sunglasses, umbrellas (when at the beach or pool) and of course sun protection. Check this site out to find your best and safest sunscreen:

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com

Natural Makeup

• Switch out your heavy foundation for mineral makeup.  Not only will your makeup not smear, it also has an SPF that will protect your skin from the sun’s damaging rays. Another alternative is a tinted moisturizer—keep it in your fridge and when you apply it, the heat from your face will melt in in.
• As for the rest of your makeup why not choose simple quick coverage like sweeping blush/bronzer over the apples of your cheeks—dab where the sun shines for a natural glow.
• Give your eyelashes a rest… instead of mascara use a non-petroleum jelly on your lids then curl your eyelashes for a finished natural look.
• Your lips are important so do try and use a lip balm with a SPF in it—instead of lipstick use a lip liner in a neutral color and swipe your  lip balm over lips.

Stay cool this summer with splashes in the pool or race through a sprinkler with your kids. Enjoy your time with the family at the park, beach or playing games. Always remember…Time is priceless, make every moment count.
P.S.  Don’t forget the sunscreen and for your kids.

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
— 1 John 3:18

©2009, Shelly Ballestero