What makes a woman of God?

Even though I have lived in Texas my entire life, there are times when I would love to live somewhere else during the Summer. For the past nine days in a row, the temperature has reached triple digits. Last night at 10:15pm, it was 97 degrees in Dallas. Have you ever been reading a wonderful fiction book that referred to cool Summer nights? I have and I have no idea what on earth a cool summer night is! Most definitely when I am asked what my favorite season is, I will always answer Fall. Never, never, never, never would I say Summer! However I did get married in August but it was in a very cold, air conditioned church. That's the way I like it, cold. Now I know it's only July but I find myself longing for the new season. My mind is already starting to think about local craft fairs at the big High Schools (even my own High School), Hobby Lobby Christmas Sales and Pumpkin Spice or Eggnog Latte from Starbucks. That is the only time of year I enjoy sweet coffee drinks! Oh and the sound of my KitchenAid mixer mixing up the homemade batter for Pumpkin Bread! And I love the way my front yard looks, better yet my entire cul-de-sac, when the leaves have fallen. I can walk outside on Friday nights and hear the sound of the marching band at the Football stadium and every other Friday night it's my Alma Mater. Of course I can't forget trips to the Pumpkin Patch in Flower Mound, Texas when the kids get to pick out their own pumpkin and we take a ton if pictures in outfits bought especially for that day. After we carve the pumpkin, there's always the pumpkin seeds I roast to look forward to. Let's not forget the fun trip to Target and Old Navy to find the perfect Halloween Costumes! Then The Texas State Fair with the Candied Apples, Funnel Cakes, CornyDogs, and many other yummy delights! I can't wait to see Big Tex! Last but certainly not least, the Sundays after church when the Cowboys are playing, the Chili is cooking and the windows are open as we let the cool breeze rush through the windows. Ahhhh. I am so ready for Fall. This is when tradition takes place, wonderful food is made and consumed, and memories are created that last a lifetime. But it's still July and we've got several more months to anticipate and dream of Fall.

There are so many times in my life that I have longed to be somewhere else and maybe someone else. When I was a kid I couldn't wait for School to end, School to start, Christmas to come, Spring break to come, my Birthday to come. It would come in a flash and then I would be on to hoping and waiting for the next big event. Or when I was in sixth grade and experiencing a very bad life living with my Dad, I longed to be one of the cheerleaders or one of the girls that had a Mom that picked them up from school every day while I rode the bus. I wanted to go home to a house instead of an empty apartment. I wanted my parents to be married, instead of divorced. I would have changed lives with anyone at that point. While some of those feelings were totally healthy and normal, I learned then to always look further ahead and wish for something more. In Junior High I couldn't wait to be in High School and in High School I couldn't wait to be in College. During my single years, I constantly wanted to be married and when I got married, I couldn't wait to have babies. When Josiah was born, my first child, I couldn't wait for him to be three months. Maybe then we would be done with Acid Reflux and the colic would be gone! The colic was gone but the Acid reflux stuck around for six more months! When He sat up on his own, I couldn't wait to see Him crawl and the list goes on and on and on. A year ago I couldn't wait to have a bigger and better house, now I do. But I find myself wanting new furniture, a fourth bedroom and an upgraded kitchen. There is always something more, something new, something better or something different that I will find myself wanting. And when I get it, I am satisfied. Then soon after I find myself longing for the next season or a bigger house, better furniture, a new outfit, a new SUV, a vacation or some kind of event to bring me happiness!

It's not a bad thing to want a new outfit, a new car or a new house. I don't think it's bad to long for cooler weather instead of 104 degree weather! But there is a dangerous trap many fall into. When we live for the events, when shopping becomes a way to make us feel better, when we have to have vacations to make us happy or new things to nurse us back to life, it's wrong. Plain and simple, it is wrong and a dangerous way to live our lives. One of my favorite books in the Bible is Ecclesiastes. This book talks about the things we go after, the time we spend working and the way we put meaning into things of this world. Verse two starts off by saying, "Everything is Meaningless, " says the teacher, "utterly meaningless!"

Some people in this world have a heart for homeless people, a passion to love them and bring them to the ways of the Lord. I have seen them in the streets ministering to them with their Bible and feeding them because they are hungry. Others love to teach children about Jesus and how they can know and live for them. They teach them how to obey their parents and get along with their friends and siblings. They have a real calling to minister to young souls. Some teach youth or college kids. Well the past couple of years God has given me a heart for Women. Women like me. Women that just need to know that they are loved. Women that need to know how to tap into the fullness of Christ and how to truly have a daily relationship with Him. I have a hunger, a passion, to bring women to the Lord and I pray daily that God will use me to show other women how to be set free from their past. I am a Women's minister and that's what my passion is in this life. As I pray and as I read His word, I pray that He speaks to me and shows me areas in my life that need to change, be refined or removed completely. Since I know that He has called me to be a minister to Women, I know that the things He reveals to me will speak to the heart of women. I know it because it comes from HIM! This morning as I read, I knew the Lord was laying this blog post on my heart. It's neat how God works because I never "preach" it, I just try to "share" it. That's all I can do because it's God speaking to me about my OWN life! I am a woman that struggles with being content and if women will lay all pride aside, I think all would be able to say, they do too.

We need to enjoy who we are, love the woman God created us to be and seek contentment daily. Just another reason to be in the Bible and meditate on His Word daily. We can't do it alone, it is impossible. I get excited, I get a huge smile on my face when I think about women finding true joy and contentment in Jesus. That's what we should long for. That's what we should go after! That's what makes a beautiful, secure, woman of God.

Ecclesiastes 1:3What do people get for all their hard work? 4Generations come and go, but nothing really changes. 5The sun rises and sets and hurries around to rise again. 6The wind blows south and north, here and there, twisting back and forth, getting nowhere. 7The rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows again to the sea. 8Everything is so weary and tiresome! No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

6:9Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don't have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless; it is like chasing the wind.