Ministry Misplaced

Are you misplaced?
This is a special message going out to ALL women of the world!
As a Christian woman, I have a yearning to be closer to God, to listen more to His word and to walk closer in his steps. This hasn’t been an easy task, and it is something many of us shy away from in conversations. Why?
Why are we so ashamed of who we are? Why do some of us lack the courage, the conviction to tell others how we truly feel?
Today I received a phone call from one of my dear Diva sisters, [not sure what a diva sister is, look us up here http://www.boomernation.com] and as always, she spoke words to me that hit home!
She shared an interesting, but oh so powerful article,
Let me say it another way. Do you feel as if you have been forgotten, or you don’t know where you belong? A feeling of despair, anguish, pain and continual suffering….these are just some of the emotions that afflict our soul, and as women, we often feel we get what we deserve. We have a little tape-recorder playing inside our head, one that can become stuck, repeating the same words over and over…until we believe them, and act upon them!
Back to my earlier phone call-
Ora Stearns Smith, CEO & founder of Ora International, a ministry committed to spreading the Good News, around the world. Ora is a visionary, and is MY vision! We met through the Diva network, a wonderful group of ladies, all over 40, all striving to make a difference in this world. Her words are like jewels to me, each one is as precious as she, and words that we as women, all need to hear!
Today’s call was like all others, a blessing! But today, apart from her own visions and hopes for us, Ora shared the words taken from a recent BYU Women’s Conference; Awake, Arise, and Come Unto Christ, as told by Sheri Dew.
Sheri spoke of sisters, coping with every situation imaginable. Those who have
never been happier and others, still grappling with unseen ordeals, weeping into their pillows at night, but putting on that ‘brave face’ to face another day.
Does that sound familiar?? This is what Sheri followed on with:
It is because of the range of our experiences that we as women can be a tough crowd. We
sometimes pounce if a speaker doesn’t say just what we want to hear. But here is the
reality: We each have our own customized opportunities to deal with disappointment, yet
our disappointments don’t change the doctrine. My heartache about not yet marrying or
bearing children in this life does not change the doctrine about marriage or motherhood.
None of our lives are perfect, and neither are we. Nonetheless, in the spirit of not
offending or overwhelming one another, it can be tempting to water down the message.
But I don’t want to run that risk today. I believe in who you are too much to soft-peddle
the truth. So today, I wish to speak the unvarnished truth. My message is a plea and an
expression of complete confidence in us. Recently I learned a principle I should have understood but didn’t—that it is actually easier to motivate someone to do something difficult than something easy. That’s because the status quo is uninspiring. Our spirits crave to progress, and if we aren’t moving forward, we’re not happy. We believe in progression, and progression is by design difficult. How inspiring would it have been if our Father had said, “Be ye therefore mediocre”? Though our knees buckle at times under life’s pressures, none of us wants to stay just like we are. Embedded within our spirits is the need to become more and more like our Father. We are far more motivated to do something difficult than something easy.- http://ce.byu.edu/cw/womensconference/archive/2008/pdf/sheriDew2008.pdf
These are powerful words, a message that is for ALL women, everywhere!
Whatever your journey, wherever you may be in life, if you can take these words and put to good use, you have made that first step. Here I go….I am a mother, a wife, but first and foremost, a WOMAN! God decided long ago that I was needed, so much so His only son would lay down his life for me!
As women, we wear many names, labels, some that we have grown accepting as part of who we are, but is it who YOU are? Is that tape in your head merely an earlier recording of rules and ideals, passed down after one generation to the next? Think about it! Then think about this:
[From Sheri Dew]
We are here to influence the world rather than to be influenced by the world. If we could
unleash the full influence of covenant-keeping women, the kingdom of God would
change overnight. No one has more influence on husbands than wives, on children than
their mothers, or on young men than young women. Show me the women of any family
or community, and I will show you the character and soul of that family and community.
I repeat, if we would unleash the full influence of covenant-keeping women, the kingdom.
This was just some of what Ora and I shared today, and it awakened my soul!
For too long I allowed negative words, labels others felt the need to attach, cruel actions and unjustly decisions to rule my life. I felt guilt, unworthy and lost.
I now know better! God saw something in me, that for too long I had ignored. He has been speaking to me, but his words were blocked by liars, by evil, by Satan!
As a woman, I know how other women think, how we feel. Why is it we feel ashamed to admit our faults, or to admit the silly competitive natures we have allowed? It’s one thing to compete in a race, but there’s no need to fight for riches. To look better, dress better, live better and on it goes….Women look at their bodies and find faults, never finding the beauty! It’s high time we worked together, at being more concerned about our souls.
Whatever your faith, stand united, share the joy of ministering, encourage other women to follow suit. This doesn’t require door-to-door ‘preaching’, women have a natural flair for sharing and supporting others, we are good talkers and listeners, we cry together, we laugh together. Let’s now minister together!
Please stop by Ora’s website for some real inspiration: http://www.oraintl.org