By Julie Clinton & Dina Jones
At one time or another, we've probably all questioned the value of a relationship. Some of us have reached the point where the return on our investment in a relationship seems like it's the opposite of what we anticipated and hoped for. In all honesty, the pain, hurt, broken dreams, abuse, and even cruelty can weigh very heavily on our hearts.
When my children, Megan and Zach, were little and we were either crossing the street or just working our way back to our car in the parking lot, I would grab their hands. It was natural. I wanted to keep them safe. I wanted to guide them. I wanted to hold them close so I could direct them quickly if need be.
Thousands of years had gone by from the creation of the world until Jesus walked the earth. He waited until he was 30 to begin his ministry, and then it only lasted three short years.
Women are often dreamers. God often plants a deep desire in our heart to bring meaning and beauty to situations and environments around us, but sometimes the sheer weight of our "regular" daily demands can be crushing.
By Julie Clinton
Did you know that God the Father longs for you? Not only does He long for you, He longs to be gracious to you! He is constantly finding ways to shower you with compassionate love—a love like that does not exist anywhere but in the character of God.
Our grasp of sin and our grasp of forgiveness go hand in hand. Let's be honest: We are all prodigals. We all want our own way…or the highway…and left to ourselves, we'd probably end up not too far from the pigpen, filling our hearts with garbage, and wondering why we're not satisfied. Jesus' parable of the prodigal son is more than just a story in the Bible…it's our story.
God created sex for physical pleasure between a husband and wife. In the context of marriage, sexual intimacy is a good. Beautiful. God-honoring. Holy. In fact, it's worship. While many Christians view sex as bad or dirty, a woman of true, godly beauty delights and rejoices in her sexuality as a God-given gift to be shared with her man. It's time to redeem our sexuality.
At some point in her life, every woman struggles with believing that God loves her. No, not that God loves the world. But that God loves her. I'll be honest… sometimes, I wonder. When I look at the real me that nobody else sees…how could God love that? In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul describes God's crazy, radical love that drove him to adopt us as his children. That makes you…and me…God's woman.
Understanding forgiveness starts with seeing how God relates to us. Every day, God gives us grace and forgiveness that we don't deserve. Forgiving doesn't minimize wrong-doing. And it doesn't magically clear up consequences. Miriam's disobedience resulted in leprosy, and there are definite consequences to our pride and selfishness, too. But forgiveness does set us free.
A firm decision to do or not to do something. That is the definition of a resolution. Did you know between 40 and 45 percent of adults in America make New Year’s Resolutions to start January 1st? However, almost 100 percent of those resolutions are forgotten by January 20th. I myself, am guilty of this conundrum of a cycle.
There is something about the cold winter days that makes God seem far away. Although Christmas lights illuminate the darkness and carols play on the radio, my soul still aches with loneliness. I can’t help but wonder if Christ is ever going to return.
If God created beauty, he made it to be enjoyed. We can be women of extremes, can’t we? Some of us are so caught up in looking great that we seldom give a thought to God’s purposes for beauty. Others of us are so repulsed by all the glitz and glamour that we pursue plainness with a passion! Lydia was a woman who found the right balance.
A scary diagnosis. Losing a job. Not enough money. Sick kids. An accident…and the list goes on. We may not be stuck in desert wastelands or deep darkness, but it can sure feel like it at times. For the children of Israel, that hardship included captivity. Exile. Separation from their families. Living in a strange, godless land. This psalm tells the story of how God’s people wrestled with adversity and cried out to God in faith.
Sometimes, true friendship means saying hard things. Confrontation is never fun. But all of us need people in our lives who care about us enough to say what needs to be said, even if we don’t want to hear it. In today’s passage, Paul discusses how to confront and restore a friend who has stumbled or is on trouble, which always demands “truth in love.”
Righteous women with unanswered prayers…I’ve met a lot of them. Women who continue to pray and believe even though the circumstances seem impossible. Elizabeth believed God was able to do the impossible…and God blessed her with a child in her old age, after years of public disgrace.
Hardship often exposes what we truly believe about God. A woman’s faith is revealed when a situation looks hopeless and it would be much easier to give up. To give in. To stop trusting God and try to fix it all on our own. The hardships in Abigail’s life revealed her unshakable faith in God.
Cell phones. The Internet. Social Media. We are constantly connected. Technologically, we are closer together than ever. Yet relationally, we couldn’t be further apart. Isn’t it ironic that as “social” as our world is today, we are getting less relational? Loneliness is one of the great social ills of our day. Our world is full of lonely people. People are longing for connection and true community and love.
In the midst of life changes, including unemployment, illness, loss, relocation, and retirement, you can be comforted by knowing that God’s love doesn’t change. He’s with you in the unemployment office, in the hospital, and in the moving van. He’s with you in the infertility clinic and as you begin to collect Social Security. Actually, He’s not just with you in these places, He’s in you in these places. And that’s a powerful piece of knowledge.
I pushed him away and slammed the door, making it very clear to Tim that the flowers he just brought me were not what I wanted. With a despondent yet agitated look on his face, he turned around and threw the flowers on the floor. They were Tim’s gesture at a peace offering for a fight we’d just had. Instead of accepting it, I overreacted, causing him to do the same. We had a wonderful “in the Spirit” together, if you know what I mean.
Have you ever been to one of those prayer meetings where everyone is gathered in a circle, heads are bowed, people may even be holding hands, and the person praying audibly voices a prayer of—you guessed it—patience? James 1 stuff. “Count it all joy when you fall into trials, knowing the testing of your faith produces patience.” You know what I’m referring to. Particularly if they prayed for you.
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Julie Clinton M.Ad., M.B.A. Is president of Extraordinary Women and host of EWomen conferences all across America. A woman of deep faith, she cares passionately about seeing women live out their dreams by finding their freedom in Christ. Julie and her husband, Dr. Tim Clinton, live in Virginia and are the parents of Zach and Megan, who is married to Ben Allison.
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