Today's team journal was written by our Conference Coordinator, Melanie Newhouse.

As a little girl, I remember my mama centering the wooden holder on our table, fixing the plastic holly wreath, and securing the candles in their places.  During dinner, I watched, transfixed, when she lit the candles. The flames flickered; melting, and dribbling wax danced before my eyes.  

Advent traditions have existed for centuries as a way to prepare the believer’s heart to celebrate the coming Savior, God Incarnate.  Advent is a word, with Latin roots, meaning ‘arrival’ or ‘coming.’ However, it was translated from its Greek counterpart, parousia, which the Outline of Biblical Usage defines this way:

1. presence, 2. the coming, arrival, advent; and 2a. the future visible return from heaven of Jesus, to raise the dead, hold the last judgment, and set up formally and gloriously the kingdom of God.  

This is a season to stop and reflect upon our Holy God sending His only, perfect Son to seek and save the lost, to set captives free, and to be our righteous Redeemer.

This Greek word is seen many places in the scriptures in reference to Christ’s Second Coming (Matthew. 24:3, 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 5:23; James 5:7; 2 Peter 3:4; 1 John 2:28).  Early believers used the four weeks before Christmas not only to celebrate Christ’s first coming to mark redemption for mankind, but His Second Coming to restore His Kingdom for eternity.  This is a season to stop and reflect upon our Holy God sending His only, perfect Son to seek and save the lost, to set captives free, and to be our righteous Redeemer. Through the years, our family has followed scripture reading plans, read devotionals and storybooks, decorated Jesse Trees, sang Christmas carols, all in efforts to focus on the reason for the season -- the coming Messiah, Jesus, Immanuel, God with us.

Recently, I was reflecting on how He announced His coming.  After His glorious baptism and His testing in the wilderness, we hear about the early start of Jesus’ ministry in the synagogues.  In Luke 4, we see Jesus, coming to His hometown, using a tradition to announce His good news:

16 And [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth…

With the reading of this prophecy, found now in Isaiah 61, Jesus was announcing His arrival.  Simply speaking, this word left His audience in awe. Can you imagine sitting in that synagogue, hearing the original Author proclaim the fulfillment of the scriptures -- that the One they were waiting for was standing in the flesh before them?  Imagine how your eyes would be transfixed upon Him, marveling at the grace on His lips as He spoke this word with authority and certainty. What an awe-inducing moment it would have been! Unlike the majority of us today, the first century Israelites sitting in the synagogue would have known the rest of this passage from the prophet Isaiah.  Jesus was telling them, this is indeed the year of the Lord’s favor. I have come! I have come to give you a “beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit” (Is 61:3-4).  I have come so you “may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified” (Isaiah 61:5). How beautiful is this announcement of His Coming!

When we study the prophets, we often not only see prophecy related to the coming Messiah who will dwell with man on Earth, but we see prophecy related to the future day of the Lord, His Second Coming when He will judge and reign over His Kingdom perfectly.  Isaiah 61 is no different. It concludes with the voice of the Messiah proclaiming: 

10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.

This talk of the Bride and  Bridegroom is a beautiful metaphor, which points to His glorious Second Coming.  The apostle John, whose book of Revelation overflows with exquisite imagery, also compares Jesus to a bridegroom  and the people of God as His bride. He describes his vision of the second coming of our Savior this way:

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."... 9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, "Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb." (Rev 21:1-4, 9)

What a glorious day this will be!  Oh, sisters, during this Advent season, let us not only celebrate that Christ came, let us wait with great eagerness for His Second Coming.

Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.
Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit, raise us to thy glorious throne.

-- Charles Wesley, 1744

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Melanie Newhouse has called Christ her Redeemer since attending summer camp when she was 17. Shortly after, she began dating the man she calls her husband and best friend. They have had the joy of raising four boys together and, as a family, moved to Ohio from their beloved Michigan six and a half years ago. One of her favorite Scriptures is Psalm 119:169-176:
“Let my cry come before you, O Lord; give me understanding according to your word! Let my plea come before you; deliver me according to your word. My lips will pour forth praise, for you teach me your statutes.
My tongue will sing of your word, for all your commandments are right. Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight. Let my soul live and praise you, and let your rules help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.”

Meditations on Mark 7:24-30 and Matthew 15:21-28.

I remember studying about this Syrophoenician/Caananite woman during the Mark summer study. This is one of those stories I always glimpsed through but never really understood. Is Jesus really calling her a dog? This is a little more than unsettling. And she is agreeing with Him? I kind of want to defend her. 

Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian Sythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Colossians 3:11

If ever there was a case for the metanarrative, this is it. I don’t believe we can understand this story without first understanding the Old Testament’s stories of a chosen people (the Israelites) and the good news of the Gospel and what that means for Gentiles like the Syrophoenician woman (and myself and probably you too.) It is also a case for context, because upon further study, we find that Jesus was in Tyre and Sidon, a primarily Gentile region. As Jesus was a Jew, He was pursuing Gentiles by taking His ministry and influence into their territory. Although the word dog is unsettling to us, Jesus’ actions show a clear pursuit to those previously considered “unchosen.” His character is consistent. He is the Good Shepherd going after the stray sheep.

In my ESV Study Bible, it gives interpretation for each part of this conversation between Jesus and the woman. It says the bread represents Jesus’ message, the children are the Jews, and the dogs are the Gentiles. God chose a people for Himself. This started with Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 15) who later made up the nation and people of Israel. When Christ came, He grafted the Gentiles into the same promises He gave to the Israelites (Colossians 3:11, Ephesians 2:11-22, Galatians 3:28.) We were adopted into the family of God. So now, we are not the dogs waiting for the crumbs. We can feast on the Bread of Life Himself, seated at the table as part of the family of God! 

In this account in both Matthew and Mark, we have a woman in desperation. She is pleading for deliverance from a demon for her daughter. After this curious conversation between the woman and Jesus, He graciously grants her what she is asking. This story, although only six and seven odd verses respectively in each gospel, is a huge foreshadowing of a much greater deliverance, one open to all people. 

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28

Jesus came not just for the Jew but for the Gentile. Additionally, in a male dominant culture, this is yet another account of Jesus caring about women and showing that His grace, healing, and relationship is not only for men, but for women as well. 

There was hope for the Syrophoenician woman and her daughter when there seemed like there was no hope.

There is hope for all of us.

I invite you to meditate on the above mentioned passages in Ephesians, Colossians, and Galatians with me today. I pray we have the faith and humility to see our rightful place and also see how Jesus traded us our rightful place for His. May we never get over the beauty of that truth. We have a new identity, a new birthright, a new family. We who were once far off have now been brought near. Ah, the nearness of Christ! When we accept this new reality, I believe evil will flee from us just as it did from the household of this humble woman.

See yourself in the place of the Syrophoenician woman. We have much in common with her. I am also a Gentile and in great need. Jesus pursued me, meeting me where I was at, to bring me His deliverance. He saw me begging for scraps and called me into a great feast. 

If you feel like you are undeserving of God’s grace, well that is true. I don’t say that to put you down. I’m here with you. One of my favorite lyrics from Relient K is “the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair.” It is humbling, but without Jesus, we don’t have a seat at the table. However with Jesus, we are coheirs with Christ! What a miracle!

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,1 but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into la holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:11-22

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Jillian Vincent loves Jesus. She's a wife, a mother of boys, and a Dayton enthusiast. Jillian currently is a stay at home mama and spends nap times writing and discipling other women. She would (almost) die for an avocado, a cup of coffee made by her husband, a novel that makes her cry, and a bouquet of sunflowers.

Today's team journal was written by our Team Lead, Natalie Herr.

There is a lot of conflict in my house. 

Let me backup. 

There are a lot of people in my house. Seven, to be exact. Four of them are under the age of nine. If you do the math, it works out to twenty one different relationships under one roof! You can imagine how a conflict or two might arise in these conditions. (And that’s not even counting all the relationships we maintain outside our home. Yowza.)

Sometimes, the conflicts have nothing to do with me. Sometimes, I cause them. Sometimes, they are easy to resolve and sometimes, they take months or years to sort out. The bottom line for me (and I’d guess for you, too) is this: I find myself involved in conflict more often than I’d like.

If I had my way, I’d be living in a conflict-free world. Conflict has a way of bringing me down, you know? It’s not fun. It’s not easy. It takes too long. It keeps me from doing what I want to do. I would rather be doing almost anything else than sorting out a conflict (especially one that I think is foolish.) And that, my friends, is precisely why the Spirit wants me to engage in it. Regularly.

With His Spirit in us, we are like Him, and can make peace like Him.

At the beginning of His famous sermon in Matthew 5-7, Jesus tells us what it looks like to live a flourishing Kingdom life. He says that one of the things flourishing folks do is make peace. Kingdom people (or “sons of God” in Jesus’ words) are peacemakers (Matt. 5:9.)

Now, I know because of Jesus (and John 1:12 and Romans 8:15) that I’m a daughter of God. I’m a Kingdom person. That’s been settled on the cross, and my Savior’s beatitudes apply to me. So it should follow that I’m a peacemaker, correct? Reconciliation is something I should strive for as a child of God. I shouldn’t try to avoid conflict or rush through it, no - I should see it as an opportunity to make peace.

Peace, in biblical terms, isn’t just about the absence of conflict. It’s about completeness, wholeness - shalom. David encourages us to “turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it” (Ps. 34:14.) We should be running after peace - chasing it down. When we expend the energy to run after something, it’s usually important to us, right? David is saying that peace (wholeness, completeness) is worth the effort. We should want peace. Not because it makes our lives easier, but because it gets us closer to shalom. Closer to a flourishing life. Closer to Jesus. 

Jesus, the-capital-S Son of God, is the great peacemaker. The SHALOM-maker. The reconciler. With His Spirit in us, we are like Him, and can make peace like Him. Sons of God - and daughters of God - are peacemakers. We have our Father’s character. What He pursues, we pursue.

So, how do we live into this identity? I’ve got three suggestions.

We welcome the Spirit.

Peace is a fruit of the Spirit’s work in our lives (Gal. 5:22). The more we welcome the Spirit into our hearts, thoughts, and decision-making, the more peace will grow. We can trust the Spirit to give us ample opportunities to practice peacemaking (ask me how I know.)

We pray for peace.

We can get on our knees for peace. We can pray regularly for reconciliation - in our homes, our families, our neighborhoods, our schools, our government, our workplaces and most especially in our churches. On this earth, we won’t always achieve peace, but we can long for it and regularly petition the Prince of Peace. 

We move toward people.

We don’t have to run away from conflict. We can choose to move toward each other like God moves toward us. When a conflict arises in a relationship or among people in our communities, we can be the first ones to suggest reconciliation. We can resist the urge to avoid it and make genuine and humble apologies, when necessary. We can volunteer to accompany someone who is afraid to face it alone. Reconciliation can start with something as simple as a greeting and a little space for conversation. 

Paul says, “if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Romans 12:18.) There will be times when we fight hard for peace, but it doesn’t come. Paul encourages us here to focus on the things that we can do to promote peace, and to trust the Spirit of Peace with the rest. 

One day, we will enjoy true shalom in the presence of our Lord. Until then, daughters of God, we can make peace here on earth and help others to do the same. We can face conflict with hope. We can be known as peacemakers, in Jesus’ name.

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Natalie Herr is the founder and team leader of Dayton Women in the Word. She is a servant of God, a wife, a mom of four and a God-sized dreamer. She loves teaching and equipping women with God's Word.

Today's team journal is written by our Event Coordinator and beloved sister, Sami Hudgins.

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This weekend, we moved… and I’m exhausted. In the span of 3 days, we painted our kitchen, dining room, family room, office, and mudroom, and moved all of our stuff from one house to the other.  It was laborious, yet rewarding work. Now, I’m sitting in a home cluttered with boxes and miscellaneous items I almost forgot we had. I'm trying to focus in the midst of chaos.

This is the first home that my husband and I have owned. We have taken on the project of building it together, and are eager to make it a place that has our special touch and where we gather with people that we love. Moving into this home is the first of many changes happening to us this summer. Jack is transitioning jobs, I will be starting graduate school, and we will be settling into a new house church family.

It seems that the Lord has us in a season of rebuilding.

As we approached this season, I felt the Lord preparing me to choose Him above all else. He was constantly reminding me that He is the only one and driving me to step away from idols and distractions. In the short time that we have lived here, I’ve been tempted to make even this home an idol: to take ownership and control over it and to make it into what I envision it to be. I am tempted to build this house without first considering what the Lord’s plans are for these walls. I am starting to realize that it is not just this home I am building right now. I'm beginning to question what life I am building.

We are constantly faced with the choice of building up our own lives to the world’s standards or allowing God to use our lives to build up His kingdom.  God has been using the process of preparing this home to reveal where in my heart I am building up my own kingdom over His. So today I sit in the midst of chaos, setting my eyes on Him. I’m asking that He would teach me to build up His kingdom and correct me where I am trying to build up my own.   

This is God's Kingdom.

“The God of the heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.” Nehemiah 2:20 (ESV)

Here, Nehemiah is speaking about the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. Servants of the Lord will come from near and far to rebuild the city, and yet their work earns them no right or claim in the city. It is the Lord that will make me prosper. My heart longs to glorify God and build up His kingdom by serving Him well, without expectation of earning a right or claim.

My husband and I found ourselves on the empty living room floor the first night we had the keys to our new home, surrendering it to the Lord. We asked Him to take it from our hands. Since that moment, I’ve been tempted to leave that posture of surrender; I’ve wanted to rise up claim and success as a new homemaker. I’ve wanted to take it back for my own pleasure and glory. I do this so often with the things that I surrender to the Lord; I give them over to Him and then catch myself trying to take them back. But He reminds me that He has this world in His hands, He is on the throne, and He is working all things for His good. I can fight against that, or I can surrender all of the things to join Him in this goodness.   

The Kingdom of God cannot be shaken.

Through his death and resurrection, Jesus shared his inheritance with us, “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven” for us! (1 Peter 1:4 ESV). 

Jesus earned us the right to an inheritance in the kingdom of God, which is everlasting. This is contrasted with everything that we might claim in this world, which is ever-fading. Sisters, Peter encourages us this way in 1 Peter 3: let us not put our time into external adorning, but let our adorning be the of the inner heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit! We can choose to spend time on our own images, on making our homes flawless, on trying out a new diet or exercise plan, on building up our careers.  These are all deemed good and acceptable by the world, but they are all fading away. In years to come, my skin will be wrinkly, my eyes might have circles, my hair will be gray, my career will come to an end.  Our homes will be invaded by mice, infested by mold, and broken down by time (these are a few real-life examples that the DWITW Leadership team experienced in their homes this week!)  We could spend all of our time, day in and day out, trying to build up our own lives; but we could also choose to spend our time learning to live as image bearers of Christ.  

Lord, make us women that pursue heart change over outward adorning; humble us before you, and make us women that will build up your kingdom and not our own!

Stand in awe of the Kingdom of God.

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.” Hebrews 12:28 (ESV).

I have a tendency to dismiss the true magnificence of God’s kingdom; I don’t often stop to stand in awe and wonder at what the Lord has created. My heart is not often overwhelmed with thanksgiving for the gift that He has given to us. No, instead I am captured by the things of this world, the things that cannot compare to what is waiting for us.  My pursuit of worldly passions belittles the gift given to us by grace.

Lord, forgive me! Today, I choose to stop and worship you for all that you have done.

The Kingdom of God dwells among us.

“Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” Luke 17:20 (ESV)

We strive to put all things perfectly in place, driven by what we can see before us. The building of God's kingdom is often less appealing that the building of our own lives. Our finite minds crave the satisfaction of visual completion.  The kingdom of God cannot be observed, but it is dwelling deep within us.  So how can we participate in the building up of this kingdom? Paul claims in 2 Timothy 4 that he fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith. He is a prime example of what it means to build up the kingdom of God. In this letter, he reveals that he did so by keeping his eyes set on the truth of the Word, by keeping his eyes set on Jesus. In whatever season we are in, may we relentlessly build and behold the kingdom of God, which is indeed among us. 

Lord, make me a woman that pursues you over all the things of this world; make me a woman that wakes up looking to you alone. Help me not to spend my energy and time pursuing the things that will suit my own passions, but to use it in building your kingdom. Help me in my moments of unbelief, help me to know that though this kingdom cannot be seen, it is true that it is among us. Stop me in my business so that I might stand in awe of its magnificence.  All glory be to God. 

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Samantha "Sami" Hudgins serves as the Event Coordinator for Dayton Women in the Word. She is an Air Force wife and fur-baby-mama to Charlie. Her heart longs for women to join together to seek and find truth in God's Word.