I've been thinking a lot lately about the woman that I want to be, the woman I hope I am becoming. I have been staring at the blinking cursor for about 5 minutes now and I have nothing more profound to write here except a list of the attributes which I think the Lord values in all women who put their trust in Him.
I desire to be a woman whose life is not dictated by Cosmopolitan magazine, or Vogue, in my case. I want the decisions in my life to be made based on my pursuit of the Lord and my relationship with Him, and not by anything else that this culture might throw my way. I want my relationships with others to be paved with goodness, kindness and patience. I want other people's perception of me to be based on the graciousness I pass on to them from the overwhelming Grace I receive from God every day. sheesh, I'm trying to make this sound so much more eloquent than I am capable of writing, but know that I am sincere. haha. I want to be an encouragement to my friends and family. I want to be the mouthpiece of God, wherever he might want to use me in my relationships. one thing I need so much work on, but want so badly to possess: A SERVANT'S HEART. my first-born personality does not help much when it comes to this trait. I typically want things my way or not at all. hard to believe, I know...haha, but you must believe me when I say, I'm a little bossy. ;) ugghhhhh....I want so badly to be rid of this ugly trait.
my wonderful pastor, Matt Carter was speaking tonight of how much the Lord abhors the sin areas of our lives. not just because he is a holy and just God who desires the same for His people, but because we are living, breathing projections of HIM! when we continue to indulge the areas of our lives where we are running away from Him, we are reflecting badly on His character. He does not tolerate this and He will do anything get us to walk in purity again. at the end of the sermon, Matt was talking about something one of his seminary teachers had told the class when he was in school. he was talking about how all through out the Bible, when cities or churches or communities were going down the tubes, running away from God, indulging their sinful desires, usually it was a group of women who would hold out....raising the banner of the Lord and resisting temptation. his professor said that the day we see women in our culture selling out and giving in, becoming mothers and daughters who crave attention in all the wrong places, who seek approval and acceptance from our appearance, the clothes we have, or the boys we sleep with...that day is when we know things are bad. Matt said he thinks this has already begun in our culture...it's heart-breaking to me to see the places where women are seeking joy and contentment. Matt begged the women of our church to stand in the gap and not let this sick and dying culture dictate who we are or how we influence others. this is who I want to be. I want to be the woman who stands in the gap.
so here's my question, for the two people who read this blog: what attributes do you see in a woman of God? what have a I left out? I'm curious to see what other people value in a woman.
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5 comments:
I think women should have a servants heart like you said. To ALWAYS be loving and to always put purity and holiness in God above anything else. pretty much matt and yourself have already said lol. but i want to be that kind of woman who stands in the gap as as well. my worst attribute that is making me stumble is my stubborness....even though I am not the first child like you...i pretty much always have to be right or I get angry. which is stupid. I am trying to put others before myself.
I know what I value in a Woman, but that list is mostly tailored to what I need in a wife! Don't tell anyone I talk like that - I like being comfortably aloof when it comes to things like that...
Andy Stanley preached a message I heard my Junior year, or just before it, maybe... and I still remember it and use the concept regularly...
** "The clearer the vision, the fewer the options. the fewer the options, the easier the choices."
THink about it like this:
any Man: "What do you want to eat?"
any woman: "I don't know, you decide"
M "what kind of food do you want?"
W "mexican"
Man in belton "well that narrows it down to two places."
W "I want good orchata"
M" Jalisco del Sol it is, then!"
my point: if you know what you want, you know better how to get there. YOU know what you want: the next, and hardest, step is moment by moment making the decisions necessary to get there. For me, that's NOT looking twice at the girl in the bathing suit, its NOT day-dreaming about going home to be with my friends or work for a church in TX, and it's saying yes to doing things i don't want to do in order that i can build relationships which will ultimately glorify Christ.
What, for you then, are the major AND minor decisions you have to make momement by moment and month by month to get you there? and this is NOT a rhetorical question!
I WANT to be a woman who stands in the gap. the moment by moment decisions I am making to get there? some seem trivial but here they are:
1. I am going to drastically cut down my reading of fashion magazines
2. no more Gray's Anatomy
3. I am going to purposefully seek out my friends and see what is happening in their lives
4. if a friend and I are trying to decide between something they want and something I want, I am going to give them the choice
5. I'm going to actuallu pray for my friends when I tell them I will
I want to be a woman who no longer lives in survival mode. I desire the favour of God to be upon me. I don't want to be lonely. I want to feel loved. I no longer want to hate this body I live in. I wish I could be like the chosen woman in the bible. I hope for a good future. I desire to have the character of a woman after Gods own heart. I wish I was esther.
I want to be a woman who helps to uplift other women. To give them hope when they think there is none
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