This week's team journal is written by our Team Lead, and beloved sister, Natalie Herr.

“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”

— 1 Peter 2:16-17 ESV

I'm writing this blog post on the heels of the DiscipleHER Conference: a weekend where women from all over Dayton, OH and beyond got together in the name of the Lord Jesus. Women came to hear God's Word, to connect with Him and one another and to be sent back out to apply his Word to their lives. The Lord worked in ways that I could never have imagined and hardly have space to list here.

The DWITW Team poured hours and hours of effort into the planning and preparation of DiscipleHER. And now, just a few days later, I'm attempting to get quiet so I can hear what God wants me to learn from the whole thing.

You know what I keep hearing? "Love the sisterhood."

Well, what does that mean, God? Didn't I just spend months loving the sisterhood by planning this conference for them? Haven't I loved the sisterhood by preparing for them? Praying for them? Isn't the whole ministry of Dayton Women in the Word about loving the sisterhood?

And then, I heard, "STOP. Stop right there, Natalie. That whole line of thinking is all about you."

And so it is. The sneaky sin of pride can corrupt even the most beautiful, God-honoring pursuits. Pride convinces me that I am obedient. That I've achieved something. That I've done what was asked of me and deserve some kind of applause for it. Pride doesn't like it when someone else gets the applause instead. Pride doesn't like to hear that I still have growing and learning and obeying to do.

I'm confessing before you today that I felt the weight of comparison this weekend. I caught myself measuring my own work and gifts against those of my sisters. I wanted to hear "Well, done!" from man just as much as I wanted to hear it from God. I felt deserving of a compliment every time I heard one given to someone else. But you know what, gals? I received plenty of encouragement and compliments and kind words this weekend, and it never satisfied in a lasting way. It never can, and it isn't meant to. 

I've been reading a lot about pride recently in the book of Isaiah. (I asked the Lord a few weeks ago to reveal my sin as I read Isaiah and he has been faithful to do it). In Isaiah's day, Judah and the surrounding nations were full of pride and self-sufficiency. They trusted in the work of their hands and not in the faithful God of their fathers (Isaiah 2:8). Isaiah describes them as a great forest that will be cut down, with so few trees left that a child could count them (Isaiah 10:19). And apart from Jesus, that would be my fate! A proud tree cut down, with no hope of regrowth.

“The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.”

— Isaiah 2:11 ESV

But, Jesus. Jesus is the tiny, vibrant, life-giving shoot coming up in that forest of death; coming up from that burned-up old stump of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1). Jesus makes it possible for life and love to come from pride and death. He's the reason I can obey the call of 1 Peter to honor everyone and love the brotherhood (or the sisterhood). He's the one I can learn humility and servant leadership from. He's the one I must point to as the source of all the good I've ever done and ever will do. He's the one who went to the cross for my pride and defeated death forever. 

So, Lord, I will love the sisterhood fiercely. I will cheer on my sisters in their gifts, even when (especially when!) it feels like they are competing with mine. I will encourage them until I'm blue in the face. I will call them up and send them out. I will honor them publicly and privately. I will lay down my own agenda in favor of yours. I will pursue humility instead of affirmation. I will fight the vicious lies of pride. And sometimes, I will fail. And I will ask you again to kill that pride and grow me in humility and help me to fight for unity with my sisters. And you will answer, as you always do. You are faithful to finish the work you've started in me AND in my sisters (Phil. 1:6). And one day, as promised, despite our faults and failures, we will hear the only "Well, done!" that really matters.

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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, and a mom of four. She loves teaching and equipping women with God's Word. 

Today's team journal is written by the DWITW "let's be real" champion and treasurer, Kaitlyn Carl.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away,
our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary
affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.
For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 

- II Corinthians 4:16-18

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Just as Mindy shared in her post last week, I, too, experienced a season of pruning in 2016. We suffered a horrific miscarriage only a couple of weeks before we moved into our new home. Not only did we have to say goodbye to that sweet baby long before we were ready, but I also had to be stripped of my “I can do everything by myself, no help needed here, thank you very much” mentality. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t pray. I’ve never been a “couldn’t” person. But the whole house still needed to be packed into boxes, clothes still needed to be washed, and I already had two beautiful daughters who needed me to care for them. And in my “couldn’t,” God provided an abundance of “could”s. Meal makers, packers, babysitters, house cleaners, prayer warriors, a Great Intercessor (Romans 8:26-27), and so much more. I experienced abundant love and sacrificial service from those around me and was utterly blessed, even in my grief and pain.

One month after we moved into our new home, my husband’s grandmother came to live with us. We had a joyous time with Nanny. The girls adored her, and she adored them. I loved having an adult to converse with throughout the day, and she even helped clear the table and clean the dishes after dinner! Joyous as it was, it didn’t come without pruning. When you’re 86, life moves at a much slower pace, and the Lord graciously used Nanny to s-l-o-w me down from my ever-hurried pace, though it was difficult at first. Through her, the Lord helped me see that the world wasn’t going to end if I wasn’t constantly moving 100 miles a minute; in fact, my marriage, parenting, prayer life, Bible study – almost all aspects of my life – have benefited greatly from this lesson! But then, not quite two months after she moved in, while the whole family was over on Christmas Eve, she collapsed. And she died in the hospital six days later. Again, we were sent reeling. Again, only three months after our miscarriage, the sympathy cards came rolling in, and with them, new waves of grief over the loss of our baby and over the loss of Nanny and why, God, why? as if the crying had never stopped.

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These all died in faith…having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth…But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. – Hebrews 11:13, 16

This world is not our home, dear sisters (Hebrews 13:14), and the evidence is all around us: pain, suffering, injustice, betrayal, sickness, death. We are sojourners and exiles here (I Peter 2:11): in the world, but not of it (John 17:14-18). Praise God! He has chosen a people for Himself and is bringing them home, to the place that He has prepared for them (I Peter 2:9, John 14:1-3). But until then, we are here. We’re in the final chapters of the Story, yes – Christ has come and He has died and He has risen and ascended into heaven, and through Him we have forgiveness of sins and life eternal, hallelujah! But we’re still here. We’re not home yet.

We had so many plans for that little baby. We had so many hopes for the years that we envisioned Nanny would live with us. "Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes" (James 4:14). God is pruning and burning away in His refining fire the white-knuckled grip with which I hold on to so many things in this life. He is slowly helping me to see what it looks like to loosen my grip on the things in this world because I’m just passing through. And I’m not saying we should stop caring about the people around us or to walk glibly through life with no attachments to anyone or anything. In fact, God tells the Israelites living in exile in Babylon to "build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters…multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare" (Jeremiah 29:5-7). But we do all these things with this end in mind: I will bring your back to the place from which I sent you into exile (Jeremiah 29:14).

It’s about maintaining an eternal perspective, "for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal" (II Corinthians 4:18). We live hard, love hard, cry hard, play hard, pray hard while we’re here because we don’t know how long our life is, nor the lives of those around us. We thank God for the days we have, even the hard ones. We treasure our loved ones while remembering that they are ultimately His. And all the while, we look forward to the promised land: the New Heaven, Earth, and Jerusalem (Revelation 21). Because we know the end of the story, dear friends. We know that we will not always be sojourners here in this foreign land. We know where our true home is: a place where God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, death shall be no more, and there will be no mourning or crying or pain (Revelation 21:4). Praise the Lord!

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Kaitlyn Carl is a wife of 5 1/2 years and a mama to two precious girls. She is a worship leader at her church and a group leader with Bible Study Fellowship. Kaitlyn is passionate about sharing life with others.  She loves brunch/lunch/coffee/play dates, over-sized sweatshirts, coloring books, and having to double recipes because her table is surrounded by people.

Our team journal today is written by Mindy Braun, DWITW's Administrator and Tech and Design Coordinator. 

Pruning: trimming by cutting away dead or overgrown branches or stems, especially to increase fruitfulness and growth. It’s cutting away the branches that aren’t falling off on their own. In order to get the dead, unwanted branches, a sharp tool is used. The branches are forced off the plant because they won’t go away on their own; without pruning, they will remain there and keep the plant from flourishing. 

This past year has been a year of pruning in my life. The Lord removed a church that I held so dearly, He cleared away the overgrown sins in my marriage, and He revealed to me many fruitless branches in my life.  And even though 2017 just started, there have been numerous times this year when I have asked the Lord, “Why? Why are you taking this from me?” It’s been really hard. There have been a lot of hurts, and there sure have been tears. Like puddles everywhere. 

Last Sunday at my current church, we were led through a time of lamenting through prayer. We shared our hearts with God. We grieved the injustices of our city, we cried out for God to heal the hearts of the oppressed and we pleaded for racial reconciliation. In those few moments, I was reminded that we can bring our hurts to God and He cares to hear them. He is a safe place where I can be vulnerable. He knows the inwards parts of my heart and he delights when I choose to come to him.

“Hear my cry, O God,
listen to my prayer;
from the end of the earth I call to you
when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I,
for you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.
Let me dwell in your tent forever!
Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! ”

— Psalm 61:1-4

The Lord has to prune us. He has to force us to release the dead things in our lives, so that we can flourish. He wants us to live lives full of eternal fruit and growth. It’s not usually an easy process and it can be very painful. There are a lot of questions and tears shed along the way. I know that in the end there is fruit; good, sweet fruit, but I have also learned that throughout the process it is okay to for us to cry out to God, to share our pains with him, to share the sorrows we are feeling. He is with us through that process every step of the way. Find comfort in that. Just the other day, I was sitting in my kitchen, praying through my tears. “Lord, I am just so sad!” It felt like I was sitting in the lap of my heavenly Father. I was able to simply rest in His arms, be comforted by His love and pour out my sadness. Though we are hurt and hearts are crushed, though we may even use sharp words towards our Lord, He still draws us near.  (Psalm 34:17-18)

Even though limbs are being cut away and even though it’s not an easy process, we can look to our Jesus to carry us through that heartache and suffering, and He will give us rest (Matthew 11:28). We still remain in the Vine. He is our source of life. (John 15:5) And remember, God's hand is never closer to you than when you are being pruned. I don't know about you, but that truth right there gives me such peace. 

Ladies, I share this with you so we can be reminded of the promises in His Word and His steadfast love. He is ever so faithful and we can take him at His Word. The work he is doing in us, the pruning that is happening in our lives, the heartache we feel, no matter how hard or how messy it may seem, it is all done in perfect love to make us strong, beautiful, bearers of fruit, to bring true joy into our lives, and to bring our Father glory. (James 1:2-4, 2 Cor. 12:9-10, John 15: 11, Romans 5:3-5) 

“This [pruning] of you will be the making of you. A new you. A stronger you. Strengthened not with the pride of perfection, but with the sweet grace of one who knows an intimate closeness with her Lord.”

— Lysa TerKeurst

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Mindy Braun is an Ohio-born-and-raised, small town girl who has grown to love the city of Dayton. While she's not being mama to her two kids, she and her husband run a photography business out of their home in East Dayton. Mindy has a love for deep friendships, fried chicken, sleeping in, the outdoors, serving the Church, and Oreos after bedtime.

This week's team journal is written by Jillian Vincent, DWITW's blog and podcast coordinator.

Jillian's study buddy and Valentine, baby Matthias. 

On this Valentine's week, my studies have taken me to a jam-packed 1 John 3, the love chapter of the love book. John 3:1 says, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” God is our Father, lavishing love upon us, his kiddos. Word. Enough said. Mic drop. I could end right there with all the power of that statement.

But this got me thinking… if temporary, earthly love (a love that is so unbelievably lacking) can make us do all sorts of crazy things, what about God’s love? What should be our response to the perfect love of the Father? 1 John 3 describes three outcomes that result from this epic love upon our lives.

1.       God’s love gives us confidence. When I think of the word confidence, I imagine HER. You know, the “it girl,” the one that doesn’t have to try to get her hair just right, who can eat whatever she wants without gaining a pound, who always knows just what to say. But then, I know; she doesn’t actually exist. And when I have these thoughts, am I not worshipping her instead of worshipping Jesus? A fake ideal instead of the FOR REAL deal? In context, John says experiencing God’s love gives us confidence before the Father. It gives us confidence, not because we become perfect, but because we are focused on the one that is perfect! We can rest in our identity as children of God, a role that has nothing to do with our performance. In 2:28, John writes, “And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.” In 3:19-21, he continues, “By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God.”

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“And now, little children, abide in him so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming”

— 1 John 2:28

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Are you hiding in shame, sister? What or who is causing that shame? It is not of God. He calls us into his presence and discards our shame. He is greater than that shame in our hearts! We gain this confidence by spending time with Christ, abiding in Him, resting in our identity as beloved daughters. And I would add that as we have confidence before him, we also have confidence before the world, because earthly approval is no longer the focus of our affection. Our Father is! So we begin to care less about our hair and hips, Instagram hits, cleanliness of our houses, success of our careers, creativity of our children’s birthday parties, etc. Philippians 4:8 reads, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ." Ladies, it all just becomes RUBBISH compared to knowing Christ!

2.       God’s love purifies us. God’s fatherly love gives us a drive to be pure as he is pure. When we experience the love of the Father, it compels us to want to please him. We have to be done with sin, because there is no sinning in the presence of our holy Father. We have been “born of God.” So as a Christian, my sin eats me alive now. When I have unconfessed sin in my life, it is a magnified weight on my heart and distances me from my Father. Even “white lies” grieve me deeply, because they cannot stand in my Father’s presence. I want to be close to him, and there is such intimacy in confession, and opening up my heart for God to make pure. It doesn’t always feel good, and sometimes it is downright embarrassing because it causes us to admit to others our imperfections instead of being the “IT GIRL” (see note about confidence above). And sometimes it means looking stupid to other people who won’t get why it is such a big deal or who are just plain offended by your conviction. Yet, those convictions and confessions always give me opportunity to point myself and others away from me and towards my Father. Does this mean I will never sin again? No! But it does mean I will be about practicing righteousness instead of practicing lawlessness, which is habitual sin. This side of heaven, I’m going to be confessing and confessing again, on my knees crying out to Abba to help me. But one glorious day, sister, the battle will be over. We will be like him because we will see him as he is, in all his pure glory (1 John 3:3).

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“We love because he first loved us”

— 1 John 4:19

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3.       God’s love compels us to love others. The love of the Father drives us to love others fiercely. We will drop everything we have to lay down our lives for each other. We won’t drag our feet out of guilt because it is “the right thing to do.” We will be compelled with love because THAT IS HOW GOD LOVES US! “We love because he first loved us,” reads 1 John 4:19. God’s love is the kind of love that sings LOUDLY over you (Zephaniah 3:17), serves you and lays down your life for you (Mark 20:28), the kind that quenches your thirst (John 4). So we are not passive vehicles of his love, my sisters, we are first in line, eager and earnest in our love from pure hearts (1 Peter 1:22).

What does that even mean? Today? A million beautiful things. There is no act of love too small because it all originates in the perfect love of the Father. In my life, God has been loving me so fiercely that I just can’t help but wash my friends dishes before mine, take the scary first step of adoption, and ask my husband how I can serve him instead of launching babies at him as soon as he comes through the door.  It is competing with my black neighbors over who can give each other the best Christmas presents. It is hitting my knees to beg God to give my friend struggling with infertility a baby. It is crawling out of bed at three in the morning to feed my own baby and doing it again an hour later. It is, in fact, delightful, surprising, challenging, and simple. It is imperfect, but practicing. Love, in deed and in truth. Once you know the truth, once you see Christ as he is, you want to love like he loves. You just can’t help yourself, flawed as you are. You will be smitten, asking your Father God to help you be just like him when you grow up.

Sisters, let’s not wait another second to ask God to give us confidence before Him, to purify our hearts, and to compel us to love others the way he loves us. I’m praying 1 John 3 over your lives today as I’m praying it for mine. Thank you, Father, for the crazy way you love us.

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Jillian has been a lover of Jesus for twenty years. She's a wife, mother of two 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. 

This week's team journal is written by our Team Lead, Natalie Herr.

“And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.”

— Isaiah 30:21

The Lord has been teaching me much lately about discernment and about listening; about carrying heavy things and about what walking with Him really looks like. I haven't been in a traditional season of waiting; in fact, I've been the one that people are waiting on. The decisions have been spiritual and theological, involving many people with many convictions. And if I'm honest, the responsibility has often felt too heavy, too weighty.

But as we've walked together, me and the Lord, I have come to understand why He puts that heaviness on me. He wants me to remember that I can't carry all of these heavy things alone. I really can't carry anything on my own. I need help; help from Him and help from my sisters in Christ who are called to bear the heaviness with me (Eph. 4:2). Not only that, but I can't know which road to walk down if I am preoccupied by the heaviness of my pack. He wants me to feel its weight, allow it to remind me that I'm not enough and that I don't have to be, and then continue the practice of giving Him the pack, because it's light and easy to Him (Matt. 11:30).

So this time, I gave him the pack, and he gave me a gift in return. That gift was Isaiah 30:18-22:

"Therefore, the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, 'Be gone!'" (emphasis mine)

This is my God, my teacher. He is waiting with me, blessing me in my waiting and waiting himself to show me grace and mercy. He is close enough to me that he hears my cry and answers immediately; and I am close enough to him that he can whisper in my ear. He is behind me, faithful to lead me in the right way. And what happens when I hear his voice? I'm compelled to throw out all the idolatrous junk in my pack and leave it on the side of the road. I get to walk together with my God, weightless and free.

In times where we feel like we don't know the way, we must remember that God has already shown it to us. Just a few chapters later in Isaiah, we get a description and a promise:

"And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness, the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray." (Isaiah 35:8, emphasis mine)

Ya'll. Did you catch that? The Highway of Holiness belongs to those who walk on The Way. The Way is a person: Jesus Christ (John 14:6). And so those who walk on the way are the ones who walk with Jesus (Acts 9:2). And EVEN IF WE ARE FOOLS, my friends, WE WILL NOT GO ASTRAY. There is no way for us to miss the "right" way when we are walking with God! What-in-the-actual-world?! That is a mind-blowing, life-changing, worldview-shifting truth for all of us Jesus-loving fools. 

Thank you for taking my pack, Lord. And thank you for the gift of your Word. In giving it to me, you kept another promise in Proverbs 16:20: 

"Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord."

Blessed indeed, Lord. Blessed indeed. Help us trust you more.

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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, and a mom of four. She loves teaching and equipping women with God's Word. 

Happy FriYAY! Today's delish team journal is written by our DWITW team treasurer, Kaitlyn Carl, as a follow up to her DWITW podcast interview!

Have you ever put a lot of time, effort, and sometimes even money into purchasing ingredients for and laboriously making an extra special, only-going-to-make-this-once-in-your-lifetime, labor of love meal, complete with a fancy dessert? The meal turned out beautifully, just the way you had planned it; you're a beaming hostess feeling truly full of joy for being able to share your love in this way with people you cherish. And then you bring out the dessert, and it's a total flop. You don't even have any ice cream in the freezer for backup. And now there's no perfectly crafted, sweet, chocolatey dish to finish out the dinner. The meal is just...over. And though your kind guests assure you that it's not a big deal and they were too full for dessert anyway, you can't help but feel a tinge of disappointment over the loss of the final portion of your special meal.

That's how I felt when Jill informed me that the last sixteen minutes of our podcast episode were gone; lost forever, no hope of recovery. The conversation at our recording was so organic and unscripted that I can't remember exactly what I said that night. But if I've learned anything in the last six months (and really, over the course of my life), it's that life doesn't always happen exactly the way we plan it, and there's no amount of organizing, strategizing, agonizing, or any other type of -izing that can change that truth. We must take the unexpected in stride, even if it pushes us back a few (hundred) steps. So today, I'll share my answers to the last three questions that Jill asked me the night we originally recorded. I'm sure that the words won't be exactly the same, but I am praying the same prayer concerning them: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14).

If you haven't listened to the podcast yet, you can listen here or on iTunes. It's not necessary to listen in order to understand this journal entry, but having the podcast and the journal together will definitely give you the "whole meal" experience of what God is and has been doing in my life. So go check it out!

kaitlyn's actual wedding cake!

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“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. ”

— Psalm 19:14

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Q: What encouragement would you have for someone looking for discipleship relationships in their life?

A: Three things stand out to me as critically important in answering this question: 

1) Get involved in your local church. I'm not talking about simply attending, I mean get involved: join a small group, attend the women's Bible study, go on the ladies' retreat. If all you ever do is attend the worship service on Sunday morning and leave as soon as the closing song ends, it will be nearly impossible for you to find someone with whom to enter into a discipleship relationship. And you don't necessarily have to do this alone. Some of my closest relationships with other women are those in which my husband is also close with their husbands. If you're married, being discipled by an older couple can be a pretty awesome thing. Serving alongside your sisters in Christ is another great way to form bonds as you labor together for the Lord. 

2) Be real. Be vulnerable. You've got to be vulnerable. You've got to open yourself up. If you do the work of getting involved (small group, Bible study, retreat, etc.) but you never open up to anyone, you're not going to get very far. This doesn't happen overnight, and it's going to happen in different ways and at different speeds for different people, and that's okay. Vulnerability takes time because it requires relationship. Vulnerability takes courage because it exposes you. But vulnerability is rewarding, because when you've shared your true heart with a sister in Christ, you're no longer carrying your burden alone, but together.  

3) Pray. As you put into practice involvement and vulnerability, pray that the Lord would show you a women who can partner with you in discipleship. Trust His perfect timing, and walk in obedience with Him as you wait. 

Q: What are the barriers you've encountered in discipleship?

A: The biggest barriers I've encountered both in discipling others and in being discipled are priorities and pride. I could probably place any reason I've had or I've been given about discipleship relationships not working out under one of those two categories.

If discipleship isn't a priority to us, then we won't make time for it. We'll be too busy, too stressed, too tired. The relationship has to be a priority to both the discipler and the disciple. If either one of them isn't truly committed to the relationship, it's bound to flounder and, sadly, will often fail.

Pride closes us off from true fellowship with others. If we always want others to have a certain perception of us, never letting them see any of our flaws, we won't make very good disciples or disciplers. It's hard to disciple someone when you will only invite them into your home when it's perfectly clean and the children are behaving angelically. It's impossible to get the care we really need as a disciple if we're always putting up a facade, unwilling to discuss any of our true struggles.

Q: What is God teaching you right now in the Word?

A: When it rains, it pours. And when it pours, it's often difficult to not wonder...why? Even if you're firmly grounded in Christ and rooted in His Word and you know that the storms of life aren't necessarily a result of something that you did, when the ship is sinking and you're getting into the lifeboat, you sometimes can't help but wonder what you did wrong. For me, it's hard at times not to let my mind wander there. And in my most recents storms (hurricanes, really), the Lord led me here:

Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side...He saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them (Mark 6:45a, 48a). John puts it this way: The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing (John 6:18).

Did you catch that? Jesus told His disciples to head across the sea in the boat, and in the midst of obeying Him, they were caught in a storm. 

As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him" (John 9:1-3).

Sometimes when unfortunate things happen in our lives, we can look back to a specific decision that we made and see, in hindsight, that we made a poor choice which had negative consequences. Other times, we have no clue. Did you ever consider that it might be for the glory of God to be displayed in you? How amazing to think that, in the midst of suffering, as we faithfully look to Christ and walk with Him through our pain, we are shining His light to a watching world who has no hope beyond the grave, glorifying Him and displaying His work of sanctification and restoration in our hearts and lives. 

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you...But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings (I Peter 4:12a, 13a). Dear sisters, you better believe that when that's your response to suffering, you need to be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you (I Peter 3:15), because when you live your life like an alien whose home is not this world, you'll be so consumed with the reason for your hope that you'll forget to wonder about the reason for your pain. And maybe that's the point.   

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Kaitlyn is a wife of 5 1/2 years and a mama to two precious girls. She is a worship leader at her church and a group leader with Bible Study Fellowship. Kaitlyn is passionate about sharing life with others.  She loves brunch/lunch/coffee/play dates, over-sized sweatshirts, coloring books, and having to double recipes because her table is surrounded by people.

Our team journal is written for you today by our Social Media Manager, Kelly Gwin.

Why do some days seems so much worse than others? Why do we have days where we're just so full of joy, praise is in our mouths, and kindness and wisdom seems to come effortlessly in the Lord, and then the next day it seems it's taking everything in you to not scream or cry on an hourly basis. Am I the only one asking these questions? I sure hope not.

One of my focuses in studying God's Word right now is Psalm 119, and I see this consistent theme. A pure heart. The Psalms are bursting with pleas and praises concerning the heart: this deep desire to not only KNOW God's Word, but to LOVE IT in a real, deep, transformational way. As you read through chapter 119, you'll see this pattern in an especially bold and obvious way. "Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes" (v5), "my soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times (v20), and it just goes on and on. The writers are asking and pleading with the Lord to change their hearts, open their eyes, and teach them His ways, while simultaneously praising Him and expressing, with as many words as they can muster, how deeply they love His ways, His commandments, His works. They seem abnormally in love with God's law, yet seem to feel this overwhelming need of revelation.

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“Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes...my soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.”

— Psalm 119, v5 and v20

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This is the tension we live in as Christians, and I'm convinced this tension only increases with growth. At one point I had surrendered my life to the Lord, had given my heart to Him, and saw life in His Word, yet the strength of that tension was nothing compared to what I feel now. I have a deeper and more real desire for Him to change my heart and am more aware of the fact that only He can do that, not me. My love and affection for His Word has gripped me in a way I only pleaded for before. Yet, I become more aware of my sin, grow in knowledge of my desperate need for Him, and find myself in that same position again. Crying out for help. I continue to fail, fall, and fumble. The truth still remains that our hearts are "deceitful above all things and desperately sick" (Jer. 17:9). From the garden we have believed lies and fallen prey to our own sinful hearts in spite of our love for God.

So what can we do? The answer is nothing. And praise God! He has done, is doing, and will continue to do all that is required and more for us to walk that line of tension and find the balance. All we have to do is BELIEVE that truth. It's funny how He set it up that way. We look at HIM, surrender to HIM, believe what HE has done, and HE does everything else. We give up. Stop the striving, stop the performing, and believe that He is who He says He is, and all the other things happen automatically. His commands become your attitudes. His rules become your freedom. His standards become your inspirations. The reality sets in that this is exactly where you want to be: so aware of your vileness and weakness, yet finding yourself walking that narrow path. 

So I throw my hands up. Throw them up in defeat knowing I can't do anything for myself. Throw them up in desperation as I continue to plead for change. And I throw them up in praise for the Victory that is already mine in Christ. We will keep having bad days, but oh how much more thankful we will be to know Him at the end of them. 

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Kelly is a worship leader, treasurer, and all-around multi-tasker at her church, while running a business as a fashion consultant and raising three little girls with her husband. Laughing, time with other women, and a completed to-do list are some of her favorite things outside of her passion for the work and Word of God. If you ask her when Christmas starts, she'll tell you it's before Thanksgiving. 

Our Team Journal today comes from our Tech and Design Coordinator, Mindy Braun.

“There comes a time in the life of every believer and of every church where the voice inside us simply asks, Now what?” This is the same question I struggled with for a long time. And it wasn't until recently that I've felt like I understood the answer. 

For a few years now, I’ve had an itch; a yearning for something more. I felt like there had to be more to this life as Christian. I wanted to experience God in more ways, that the life of a Christian had to go beyond what I’d experienced in my own life. But I just kept telling myself to ignore it; the feeling was just the enemy telling me that my life wasn’t good enough. I told myself I was just discontent and I needed to work through it. It wasn’t until last year with IF:Dayton when I started reading the book Just Courage by Gary Haugen that I started to understand it. We read it as a book study; but instead of digging in and learning,  I treated this book like homework and skimmed it. But, God (oh, He's so good!) works even when we are skimming. There was a part within it that stuck out to me and forever changed my view on my life, on the cries of my heart and the work God has for me. 

Gary had a name for what I was feeling: divine restlessness, a holy yearning for more. “It’s the moment in which we can see all the work that God has been doing in our lives and in the life of the church is not an end in itself; rather, the work he has been doing in us is a powerful means to a grander purpose beyond ourselves. This is the supernatural moment when the rescued enter their divine destiny as rescuers.” Our rescue was never the end result; there is more to it. We are rescued and redeemed for an even bigger, better purpose.

Throughout the New Testament, Jesus is constantly teaching and asking his disciples to look beyond themselves, to see the world lost and desperate for a Savior. He wants his disciples look beyond their own desires, beyond what their eyes could see and their hearts could imagine and take in the greatness of their calling. He was showing them that they were each important characters in God’s grand plan, that their true calling was far greater than they ever imagined. 

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“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

— Matthew 5:14-16

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The rescued become the rescuers. The restored become the restorers. The equipped become the equippers. We were brought out of darkness so that through Jesus, we can be the light of the world. We are the ones through whom God works out his plan to rescue the world.

This world we live in is a dark and scary place. It’s lost and hurting. God, the Creator of all things, has one plan to bring light to it through Christ. We are that plan. How amazing it is that we get to be a part of that redemption story! Through grace, we get to be a part of the story that forever changed the world. It's so much bigger than us, goes beyond what we can imagine. As small and insignificant as we may feel, He chose us to be a part of it. He chose us to keep the momentum going.

Could it be done with out us? Yep. But that's that beauty of it. He chose to bring us along for the ride to see His beautiful story play out. So are we taking him up on this offer? Are we hopping in and joining the ride? 

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Mindy Braun is an Ohio-born-and-raised, small town girl who has grown to love the city of Dayton. Her family resides in East Dayton.  While she's not being mama to her two kids, she and her husband run a photography business out of their home. Mindy has a love for deep friendships, fried chicken, sleeping in, the outdoors, serving the Church, and Oreos after bedtime.

This world is a dark place, sisters, BUT we have the light! Jesus called himself the light of the world (John 8:12). We have Him, and we have His Word. If you pay attention to it, you can share that light in whatever dark places you find yourself.

The ladies on the DWITW leadership team are intentionally seeking that light in their daily lives through His Word. We are real women finding ourselves in dark places, needing that light everywhere we go. We started this thing because we needed encouragement from each other to keep seeking that light from God’s Word. All that we do in this ministry keeps us accountable to do the very thing we are about: cracking open God’s Word, every day.

We would like to continue to share that light with you through our 2017 Team Journal Series here on the blog. Every Friday, a DWITW team member will share specific ways that God is teaching her through His Word. Enjoy our first Friday journal from Jillian, our Blog and Podcast Coordinator.

“And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention to as a lamp shining in a dark place.”

— 2 Peter 1:19 ESV

Are false prophets and teachers something we have to worry about? I’ve been studying 2 Peter lately, and chapter two is all about them. It was tempting for me to skim through this passage and move on, because I honestly didn’t think it was relevant to me. When I think of false prophets or teachers, I picture showy televangelists with greased-up hair and prosperity gospel pastors standing at the pulpits of mega-churches. But by God’s grace, these people don’t really have much sway in my current life.  I’ve been wisely directed to press the “mute button” on those voices in my life. However, I got the feeling from the language of Scripture that I am actually surrounded by them. Jesus calls them “ravenous wolves” in Matthew 7. Peter uses similar wording here, calling them “insatiable for sin, enticing unsteady souls.” This is no joke. Anybody else feeling a little freaked out? Maybe this does apply to me after all…

After reading 2 Peter 2, I realized the false teachings in my life are sneakier, quieter; striking in moments when my soul is unsteady. I have a suspicion that they come in the form of voices I listen to for advice or splashed on the social media accounts I follow, telling me what my life should look like. They come in the times and places my heart is insecure, when I’m looking for answers or reassurance that I’m heading in the right direction.

So I asked the Holy Spirit some scary questions: “Where are the false teachings in my life? How can I tell someone is a false prophet or teacher in my life today?”

When I cross referenced this chapter, I found two helpful passages: Deuteronomy 13:2-3 and Matthew 7:15-20.

Deuteronomy 13:2-3 says, speaking of false prophets, “And the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whatever you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”

In Matthew 7, Jesus says we can tell if a teacher is false or not by the person’s fruit. A false teacher or prophet is like a diseased tree that cannot bear good fruit. In Galatians 5, the Word describes the fruit of the Spirit to be love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. As my pastor likes to pray, “God let us produce the fruit of changed and transformed lives.”

From these passages, I learned that we can tell someone is a true teacher or prophet if a) they are directing us to love God and only God with everything in us and b) if they are producing good fruit.

Immediately, upon reading those passages, I realized I had SEVERAL voices in my life that I needed to turn DOWN the volume for in my heart. So today, I’m asking God to turn UP the volume to the voices that come from men and women who love the Lord with everything in them, are deeply rooted in God’s Word, and are bearing the good fruit of changed and transformed lives.

My deepest hope for the DWITW blog and podcast is that we can provide some of those voices for you, dear sister. But above all, I hope our ministry directs you to the ultimate TRUE and REAL and PERFECT teacher and prophet, Jesus Christ. When your heart is unsteady or insecure, cling to His Word. Let the loudest voice with access to your heart be the voice of God himself, the lamp shining in a dark place.

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Jillian Vincent is DWITW's Blog and Podcast Coordinator. She has been a lover of Jesus for over twenty years. She's a wife, mother of two 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.  Her favorite verse is Zephaniah 3:17: "The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing."