Stand Up, Step Forward, Pour Out

Stand up in faith.

Step forward with courage.

Pour out into the lives others.

Isaiah the prophet said, “Here I am Lord, send me.”

In Joshua’s life, the Lord reminded him to “Fear not” as he was about to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.

A woman with an alabaster jar of perfume poured it out upon Jesus’ head and feet.

All three of these people stood up, stepped forward, and poured into the lives of others. They had hearts seeking to please the Lord no matter what it cost them.

So my friend, are you willing to do the same?

I ask myself that same question every day and every day I have a choice.  I can choose to minister to you, or not.

My husband asked me what was my biggest struggle here in the ministry.

My response:  “Well, I have 3 of them.  It’s me, myself, and I.”

Daily, I have to overcome my fears, doubts, and insecurities.

Daily, I have to plan and prioritize.

Daily, I have to be still enough to hear my Father’s voice.

And daily, I have to choose to worship my King rather than worship myself.

Many times I fail at this list, but I do my best to press on to lift Christ’s name on high for all to see.  John 4:12

So today I’m asking you to join me as we worship the Lord together by worshiping Him through serving others.

Will you reach out to a woman in need?  Maybe she needs a friend?  Or some biblical guidance for her marriage or her singleness?  Maybe God is calling you to sharpen and encourage a group of gals to move towards a Christ-centered marriage?

Every woman I know longs for fellowship and a sense of community because we are relational beings.  God designed us to connect with other women and I want you to connect.  I want you to impact the lives of others and I want others to impact your life.

So enough with the inspiring talk and let’s get to the nitty gritty….

Now I’m asking you to take a risk.  To stand up.  To step forward.  To pour out.

Raise your hand to be a part of my summer Bible study coming June 17th as we learn about the Wives of the Bible.  You’ll see by the graphic below that 25 different topics will be covered by the various wives of the book.  It’s some fun stuff!

Goodness, if I can step out and take the risk to write a book, write a Bible study, and record videos for you, then I believe you can take the risk to connect with other women through this study! Just so you know, I sweat like a pig and I turn scarlet red every time I record a video or podcast for you! Yes, really, I’m that nervous. 🙂

Now why do I share this with you?  Because there’s one word that completely paralyzes women from growing and connecting with other women.  That word is: FEAR. And the Enemy loves it.  He loves it when women no longer gather and grow deeper in their faith and friendship with one another.  And one of the best things that Satan can do is get a woman completely isolated from other Christian women.  When this happens, we start to listen to his lies even more. And then the next thing you know, you feel even further away from the Lord and then maybe you start to make some poor choices.  I’d like to prevent some of this from happening in your life or in the life of another woman.  That’s why I’m imploring you to offer leading this Bible study to some of the women that are in your life.

I’m sure you probably don’t know this, but God has me waaaayy outside of my comfort zone with this ministry, however, my heart is to please Him, which is why I keep standing up, stepping forward, and pouring into you.

I also realize you’ll most likely feel uncomfortable trying to gather up other women to do this study with you, after all, they may say no and you’ll be faced with rejection. Or you may feel like you can’t lead a study because you don’t know enough of the Scriptures.  Or maybe you feel uncomfortable around women.  I feel you, I really do.  After all, who do we think we are to lead a Bible study, right?  Hmmm, kinda sounds like the words from the Enemy, doesn’t it.  Well, it is, because I’ve heard those words many times in my life and I recognize a Liar when I hear one!  🙂  And what woman hasn’t been hurt or betrayed by another woman?  I have.  Many times in fact.  I’ll share about this in a later post.  It takes a leap of faith to put yourself out there again, but the fruit of your fellowship will be worth it!

With hearts pounding, let’s serve the Lord and be uncomfortable together!!

Make this study simple and bring the 4 C’s to a church or home near you:

• Coffee
• Chocolate
• Conversation
• Christ

At this time in your life you have a God-ordained purpose and that is to pour into the life of another woman. (Titus 2:4)  Because our world is becoming increasingly darker by the minute, marriages are crumbling, homes are broken, and the world needs a woman like you who can make an impact for the kingdom of God.

At the Holy Spirit’s prompting and through the Lord’s transforming power, you can create a beautiful community of Christ-centered women who can change the world for the better.  All because you stood up, stepped forward, and poured out!

Here’s how you can be a woman of influence and change the world for Christ:

• Whether you have a group of friends or not, make plans to join my summer Bible study of Wives of the Bible.  (This study is for any woman is desires to marry or one who is already married.)
• Gather up your girlfriends and either do the study together or via on-line, although you’ll have a bigger impact on each other’s lives if you gather in real life.
• If you’re a blogger, go through the study together with your readers.  (Feel free to use any of my study images to promote it on your site.)

Accountability will lead to sharpening one another when you do the study with a friend.

As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.  Proverbs 27:17

Here are all the study details along with the link to the facebook group that I’ve recently set up.  You can join me over there if you’d like!

We’re about a month away from the launch of the study so you’ll have time to get your book if you don’t already have it and you’ll have time to gather up your girlfriends.  In the meantime, I’ll be finishing up the writing of the study as well as recording the video teachings.  I’ll pop my head back in here about once a week to give you more updates.

Just an FYI: I’ve placed a hold on the weekly podcasts since I’m too busy preparing for the study.

So, are you ready to change the world?

Live a poured out life for Christ,