The Resolution for Women: From Strength to Strength

I have this beautiful friend named Beverly who has written the most wonderful blog post for Girlfriends Coffee Hour for today’s lesson. I pray it blesses your heart as much as it has mine in preparing our hearts for signing tomorrow’s resolution.

You can find it here: http://wp.me/p2pIQE-jW

This has been a tough week and I am praying that we all have the strength and endurance with God on our side to make the resolution tomorrow about our integrity ❤

Many blessings,

Megan ❤

Read all about Craig’s Resolution for Men journey here: http://www.adversusmundi.wordpress.com

 

 

The Resolution for Women: The Three Percent Difference

Dear friends…..

Please enjoy my dear friend Christi Wilson’s awesome blog post today over at Girlfriends Coffee Hour! I couldn’t say it it better myself!!!

http://wp.me/p2pIQE-jM

So…. what is the 3% difference????

Blessings,

Megan 🙂

The Resolution for Women: Structural Soundness

I am guest blogging today over at Girlfriends Coffee Hour. I need to warn you…. this post is not for the faint at heart…

http://wp.me/p2pIQE-jI

 

Blessings to you all,

Megan 🙂

Craig is on one wild ride with the men over here: http://www.adversusmundi.wordpress.com

The Resolution for Women: My Integrity

My Integrity

A resolution to live with the highest standards of virtue and purity

On our GCH: Resolution Facebook page yesterday, I posed the question: “What does integrity mean to you?” From all the posts, I think we came up with a pretty accurate definition….

If you were to check a dictionary, you will find that integrity is usually defined as a “strict adherence to a moral values, artistic principles, or other standards; complete sincerity or honesty,” or as the “state of being unimpaired; soundness,” and finally as “completeness; unity.”(1)  In its usage, “integrity” often has to do with to being truthful and honest, and having moral soundness. In Scripture, integrity is often understood as the state of being complete and undivided in terms of righteousness (Psalm 7:8), uprightness (Psalm 25:21), without wavering (Psalm 26:1); blameless (Psalm 102:2). In the New Testament, is it applied to teaching in Titus 2:7, but the concept of singleness of heart can be frequently found in other passages as well.

I see that having integrity as a Christ-follower means to live boldly without compromise.

In our fallen nature, we are all so very concerned about ourselves and what we “get” out of our life. We all seem to seek things such as happiness, wealth, health and fulfillment in this life. Then, when things go wrong, we tend to feel cheated, abandoned and unloved by God and by our friends and loved ones. When this is the case, our loyalties and affections have clearly shifted from God toward ourselves. Our integrity is undermined, and we can almost hear Satan mocking us and pointing out to God how our faithfulness to Him was not real after all, but was rather a facade of hypocrisy motivated by self-interest.

OUCH.

It is all too easy for us to be great and maintain our joy and contentment when all is well and things go our way, but a person’s true character and integrity is demonstrated when things go wrong. Why?

 Truthfully….. it is because it is in adversity that the true motivation of our heart is manifested. It is when we no longer have anything to gain from our integrity in the here and now that our true loyalties and affections are shown for what they really are. Do we really love God? Or do we love what He can do for us? Do we really long for His Kingdom and righteousness, or do we instead long for the personal benefits we perceive in it? These are hard questions to ask, but they point to the very core of our integrity as believers.

Being a person of integrity, then, means remaining unimpaired and sound in God’s righteousness and placing our loyalties and affections on Him… regardless of our circumstances. It means rejoicing in His blessings and accepting adversity not for ourselves, but for Him. It means realizing that our own righteousness is not what it is all about, and that we need Jesus’ righteousness to transform us and shape us in the image of our Lord. It means to learn to really trust God, His love, His wisdom and His sovereign power unconditionally to work out the best for us and for everyone else, through joys and pain, in His own time and way.

 It means to remain loyal to Him even when it hurts, not because we seek something else for us, but rather because we are won to Him by His infinite love and grace, and we can only respond by giving all of ourselves back to Him.

Um…… I think this is going to be one challenging week….

Dear Lord,

I’m not sure yet what all Priscilla has in store for us this week as we look at our integrity, but I pray that You faithfully give each of us the tools we all so desperately need in order to stand uncompromised for Your Kingdom. Help us to see ourselves as we truly are in order to really let You work through our imperfections. We love you, Lord, and we want to remain as pure as we possibly can in order to further Your Kingdom in our fallen world. In Jesus’ mighty name we pray, amen ❤

See what the men have going on over at Craig’s blog:

http://www.adversusmundi.wordpress.com

The Resolution for Women: Week 7

My Forgiveness

A resolution to release others from the prison of my hurt and anger.

We started off this week looking inward at all the places we have been wounded and hurt and have tried to hide it by either acting like everything is fine or keeping ourselves so busy that we don;t even have time to let God do His supernatural mending. Priscilla shared some wonderful scripture on forgiveness and bitterness to help prepare and sterilize our tools for surgery. Praise Him for being our Great Physician!!!!! Did you let God go to work on you? Did you let Him in?

We worked through the ultimate price that Jesus paid for our sins as he dies on the cross. By that one act, Jesus was able to press the delete button on every single one of yours and my transgressions. Do you accept it? Have you repented? I pray you were able to leave it all at the foot of the cross because THAT is what God wants for you and me. Total freedom!

Yesterday we learned about the circus pony who, even when given freedom to roam and travel, he still walks circle after circle over and over again because it is all he knows.We have the authority through God’s Word to break the cycle of unforgiveness and begin anew! We need to let go of grudges and refuse to hold them, we need to leave space for God to be able to act on our behalf, and we need to pray, asking God to give us the desire to forgive.

It sounds so simple. right….. but we all know that it isn’t. We must not let ourselves be so distracted by our feelings. Now, don’t get me wrong, feelings can be wonderful… but they can also be a weapon of major deception satan uses to keep us from the very best that God has for us. It takes practice, but with the grace of God, we can begin to let go and release ourselves from being a slave to our deceptive emotions in order to live free within the glorious relm of the abundant life that God has so purposefully planned for each of us!

My Forgiveness

I will forgive those who have wronged me and reconcile with those I have wronged.

Signed x__ Megan “BAM” Smidt__________

Dear Lord, I ask that you go with us today and through the weekend as we continue to walk out this forgiveness journey. Heal every heart, Lord! Help each of us to finally be set free from the prison of unforgiveness that we have been keeping ourselves in. Help us to stand in the gap for one another and speak truth into our lives! Help us to be strong and recognize when satan is throwing distractions our way. We love you, Father, and we thank you for the truth in Your Word. In Your Son’s glorious name we pray, amen ❤

Craig is on one incredible journey with the men over at his blog: www.adversusmundi.wordpress.com

The Resolution for Women: No More Circles

Forgiveness is reached through a combination of several actions:

1. YOU MUST refuse to store up and harbor a grudge.

2. YOU MUST leave room for God to act on your behalf.

3. YOU MUST pray.

Out of those three actions, which one is the hardest for you to do? For me…. it is most certainly number 1. Where I struggle with this is letting go vs. guarding my heart.

Does that make sense? I especially do this with my kids. Having so many teens all at once is rough. Teens are naturally self-centered at this time in their development. When you could that with major abandonment and rejection….. you have some hurt people. Paid that up with a primary caregiver who has insecurity issues and you have one super CRAZY dynamic going on! Add a pinch of stress and a dash of exhaustion and voila!!!! You have one big old hot mess!!!!

All the more reason why it is crucial that I am able to make this resolution happen once and for all this week.

No more circles. No more band aids on the issue and no more excuses or pity parties.

I. am. done.

Lord, I ask you to empower me to forgive every single name on my list from earlier this week. I know I also need to ask forgiveness from them and I pray you give me the strength and wisdom to complete this necessary task. Father, I ask that you heal my heart in the areas where I am hurting and help me to feel so complete in YOU. I am ready to give this all to you, Lord, and not hold on to it any longer. It’s not mine to hold and I trust that You will give me the discernment to know when and how to guard my heart and freely give love all the time. Thank you, Lord, for all you will do. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen ❤

Men….. please read Craig journey here…. www.adversusmundi.wordpress.com

The Resolution for Women: All Clear

Please do yourself a favor today and ready my dear friend Kelley’s post today about this lesson over at Girlfriends Coffee Hour….

http://wp.me/p2pIQE-hZ

I am still processing it all and I can’t wait to read your thoughts all about it ❤

Blessings,

Megan

…please tell all the men y0u love about Craig’s blog. I pray it is a blessing to them.

www.adversusmundi.wordpress.com

 

The Resolution for Women: Internal Injuries

Dear sisters….

I am guest blogging today over at Girlfriends Coffee Hour.

Please go read it ❤

http://wp.me/p2pIQE-iL

I would love to read your thoughts 🙂

Be a blessing,

Megan 🙂

 

The Resolution for Women: My Forgiveness

My Forgiveness

A resolution to release others from the prison of my hurt and anger.

I started writing my own post for today but i keep going back and deleting because I know in my heart that what you really need to hear today about Lesson 7 of the Revolution for Women is what my dear friend Christi Wilson has to say over here at Girlfriends Coffee Hour:

http://wp.me/p2pIQE-ip

Please click on this link and do the assignment that she posted. I know this will be a blessing to you and I will be writing about my lists this week as well.

Blessings,

Megan 🙂

…please see what the men are up to over here: http://www.adversusmundi.wordpress.com

The Resolution for Women: Week 6

My Blessing

A Resolution to esteem others with my time, concern, and full attention.

How did you do with your listening, dear sisters? Was it harder than you thought? Are you a better listener than you expected to be? Did you hear anything that shocked you? Did your silence shock your loved ones?

This little experiment was a little fun and very humbling for me…… yesterday, my kids kept asking me if something was wrong because I had a lot less to say than normal! HAHA!! I also realized that just as actively listening is important, so is making sure to ask the right questions.

On Tuesday I was technology free in all areas except for my phone…. but I wasn’t even on that a whole lot. I didn’t do this for the purposes of this lesson, I did it coming off of a very hectic work week and weekend and I knew my body and mind needed to be  understimulated. I spent almost the entire day interacting with my kids and listening. I chose every word very carefully and I heard from them loud and clear that they do need me to say less and listen more.

I would love to hear about your week! What is God showing YOU through the blessing of this resolution?

Page 126…

As you prepare to make this resolution, picture the people in your life who most need to receive this gift from you, as well as the obstacles that often keep you from being able to give it. Before rushing ahead and signing your name, consider what changes you’ll need to make to become a person who is “quick to listen and slow to speak.” Do you need to turn off some technological devices, for example, so people feel prioritized and important? Be willing to make some of these practical and necessary adjustments so this resolution doesn;t just “sit on the shelf” pf your life and not become a reality. Then, when you’re ready, prayerfully read the statement below and sign your name.

My Blessing

I will be a woman who is quick to listen and slow to speak.

I will care about the concerns of others and esteem them more highly than myself.

Signed X___Megan “shhhh!” Smidt_______

Heavenly Father, I thank you so much for Your Word and Your promises found within. Continue to heal our hearts and keep our paths straight as we continue this journey to be courageous daughters for Your Kingdom. I know I am a work in progress, but with You by my side, I know I will be victorious in changing my words to be more encouraging and positive for those who I am closest to. I let You in, Lord…. have Your way with my heart and make me secure in You forevermore! In Your Son’s matchless name I pray, amen ❤

Be sure so see what the men are up to over on Craig’s blog….

www.adversusmundi.wordpress.com