Comments on: How the girl who didn’t like women ended up in women’s ministry…

By: Katie

Katie — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:54:50 +0000

Lysa,

I’m a few days late reading this, but thank you for this post. I just got back from a week at camp with the Senior Highers at our church and have really been struggling with what my role in the youth ministry should be. I haven’t been very obedient to God as of late and it is definitely affecting the way I feel about everything – especially the other leaders in the group. Thank you for the reminder to be obedient (even and especially in the dark times) and let God take care of the rest!

Katie

By: Second Chances «

Second Chances « — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 17:52:07 +0000

[...] two little words have popped up all over the place lately in books and articles and blogs. However, they were first penned many years ago in the pages of the Bible. Whenever things were [...]

By: melanie

melanie — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 20:22:46 +0000

Woww! I thought I would pop over today between cleaning out some closets and cooking. Got lonesome….
The clothes just don’t talk back:) when I read this post today during lunch, I have grown to love you even more. I can’t wait to meet you one day and hug your neck.

You answered many questions I had for you. I had the proverbs 31 thing crammed down my throat ( unintentionally) from my dad and the more I read it the more I wanted to TRY’ to be that thing.I had a wonderful mom, but guess what? We have totally different personalities. My previous posts explain than even in the striving to be all those things not everyone has been pleased at times, So feelings of exasperation have flooded my soul. I have found much healing at the cross and much more grace than I ever gave myself. God has been showing me He just really isn’t hard to please. He really isn’t interested in our performance, striv only our heart. Most of know that, but we are still seem to keep trying to measure up to some thing or some prototype. That Proverbs woman is a hard thing to follow. I get exhausted just reading all she does. I was exhausted, I tried it all at different times but God has lightened the load as I sought Him and quite trying to get validation in all the works I was doing and all the people I was serving. I have been in training as well and working out my salvation with fear and trembling.

I am on standby to come to She speaks. Haven’t heard from anyone yet and Luann says I am to be there, but I know God’s timing is perfect. I am here on the GUlf Coast with all the oil spill.
We really need your prayers for our health and our safety. I will be at one of those conferences real soon. I know
God is moving me into my new season and as last year I struggled with my identity, thru you and Luann’s blogs God spoke to me volumes of what is to come. So I am waiting for God to unfold these things with excitement. Patience is not one of my favorite things to work on in my life. So I will see you when I see you and know it will be amazing.
God bless you! He loves you:) He loves all his children more than we can fathom.He wants to bless us abundantly in spite of ourselves.

Jesus must be, He is my identity, not my husband, my children, my job, my club I am in…
because raw emotions, you call them, want to tell me otherwise…

“they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of their testimony”

thanks for allowing me to testify, but to testify I guess there has be be tests:)

By: Connie Gomez

Connie Gomez — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:55:28 +0000

ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS WOW! Obedience and a “YES” heart! THAT’S WHERE I AM NOW…. THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: Cindy

Cindy — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:25:03 +0000

Lysa,
Only God could have let you blog this today – I have read all the comments and it is very clear I am not the only one struggling with ‘are you sure you want me, God?. I have learned about obedience the hard way and I know disobedience is not really an option for me. What scares me is the direction He is leading me – I am coming to She Speaks at the end of the month & it just about the scariest thing I have ever done. Our ladies summer Bible study is yours “Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl” and I would swear you sat at my kitchen table and wrote it. God has spoken volumes to me through your transparency & testimony of God’s grace. I have always been more interested in sitting in the back row, in the shadows, behind the pillar, but He won’t let me sit there. As I read the other comments it occurred to me that one thread is being woven through all of them. None of us would have chosen the path He has us on & yet that is precisely why He does – it has to be all Him and all about Him and obedience to Him because if He doesn’t show up we are a-goner! I know I would be. Even just walking into the office every day at work I tell Him that if He isn’t coming with me I am not going in! If He chose women who were well equipped for ministry, we wouldn’t need Him and we would be glorified – that thought alone is terrifying to me. I truly want ‘but God’ to be the theme of my life. So, as scared as I am, I am getting on a plane at the end of the month and taking the next step forward into this new season of my life with Him. I don’t have to understand it or figure it out – just obey. You are so right on with that one, Lysa, and I pray you will draw encouragement today from all the comments on this post. I have printed out your post and it is going in the inside cover of my Bible! Thank you Lysa for your obedience to Him – He wasn’t the only One blessed by it today.

By: Sue

Sue — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 09:50:12 +0000

When I first saw you in one of the shows, I was amazed at how honest you were.
That is what I want to do. I have so much to share with other women. Perhaps I am like you that I don’t like women besides I hate men.

Many times I don’t like my husband. I hated my older brother while growing up. This is the problem. I was sexually molested when I was about nine. That was the heart of the problem along with physical abuse from my brother through out growing up.
My first marriage was abnormal and eventually failed.

Then I became a Christian. Now I cannot divorce for GOD hates divorce. It is very difficult for me to deal with everyday issues. I have to pray to GOD and read my Bible every morning to lean on HIM rather than my husband.

GOD, help me today.

By: Dana

Dana — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 21:17:23 +0000

Wow I was just discussing this with myself the other day. A few months ago I came across this scripture;

Isaiah 61
The Year of the LORD’s Favor

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners…

this is not the complete scripture but when I read this it hit me that this is what God wants me to do. That this was my path in life….I think that God has specific ways for each of us to do his will and when we say YES He then clears the way for us to began our journey. My path is not yours and your path is not mine but with obedience the blessings that are in store will come. Thanks for this post today it has reconfirmed what God has told me.

By: Buffi

Buffi — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:48:47 +0000

Thanks for this post. For years I have felt the same as you regarding women and women’s ministry. I have questioned why God keeps pulling me in that direction cause I feel like the most unequipped person in the world to minister to women. But what I have felt the Lord share with me is that it is in my weakness, that HE is strong. I’m grateful for that…cause I see myself very weak in that area. But I do approach life with a “yes heart”, even though I can’t believe the things I’m doing sometimes.

Thanks for sharing your heart on this. It makes me feel better to know that there is someone else out there who feels the way I do!!

Your ministry blesses me! Thanks for your obedience!
Buffi

By: Melodie

Melodie — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:48:58 +0000

Lysa:

Thank you sooooo much for sharing your story! God used your words to speak to my heart. Especially the part that said, “My job all along was to simply be obedient to God. My job was obedience, God’s job was results.”

You see for the past two years I have taken the job of being music/choir director director at my church. I’ve always been a follower so this leadership thing is very new to me. In the past 6 months it seems like the choir has been hit by alot of issues. A few had surgery and are out, a couple just quit the church, several had to step down because of family issues… it all seems like it’s falling apart at times and gets very overwhelming. I’ve been praying and praying and I really feel like God is telling me to “BE STILL” and just keep doing what I know to do. So when I read that line about obedience, it just confirmed to me what I already knew!! I just be obedient and God takes care of the rest!!! So thank you again for being OBEDIENT and posting your story! I have been getting the devotions for a few years now and I LOVE THEM!!

Keep up the GREAT work and GOD BLESS YOU!!!!

By: Nicole

Nicole — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:10:19 +0000

Thanks Lysa, what a beautiful picture of how God can turn our obedience into something amazing. Wise words for women heading into ministry.