THROW YOUR HANDS UP! {Team Journal}

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.

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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.

“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

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. 

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. 

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Yearning for More {Team Journal}

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. 

 
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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. 

“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

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? 

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.

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Resource Review: Jen Wilkin's 1 Peter Study

It's our pleasure to welcome back our friend Elise Herzing to the blog this week to review 1 Peter: A Living Hope in Christ by Jen Wilkin. To see Elise's review of Kelly Minter's 1,2,3 John study, click here.

Peter wrote his first letter in a time of great turmoil for the young Christian church. Many Christians were undergoing persecution at the hands of the Roman Emperor, Nero. Peter, Jesus’ tempestuous apostle, addresses the church at large in this epistle on how Christians are to live in a place that is not our home, specifically to those undergoing suffering. He instructs Christians on how to submit to the authorities in our lives, how we are to set examples of love for one another and how our eyes must not be fixed on the temporary, but on the eternal. Jen Wilkin tackles this challenging letter by walking us through her deep-dwelling and enriching method for Bible study.

 

The Skinny: First things first, Jen explains how you are to use the study and why. If any of you have read her book, Women of the Word, she condenses much of that information in the introduction of this study. I would recommend that you read this intro as it is useful in your day-to-day approach! Jen breaks the study into 9 sessions. I met with my group each week to go through one session. For each week of the study, there is a corresponding video, which is optional and we chose not to utilize.

The study had a rhythm for each week with these components:

  • a brief intro to the passage we would be studying
  • a read through of 1 Peter in its entirety
  • big picture questions and others focused in on that week’s passage
  • instruction to paraphrase that portion of Scripture in your own words
  • group discussion questions gleaned from that week’s study
  • a space for any additional notes

 

What I Loved:  Jen throws us in the deep end of the 1 Peter pool, but not without the floaties of additional resources and Scripture. Don’t let that scare you, though: anyone can use this study! Jen is a big proponent of driven learning. You will get out of this study what you put in. There is no hand-holding you to the Spiritual truths; that would defy the very purpose of Jen’s method of study. She provides you with the guidance you need to find God’s truth on your own or in the group discussion. And I love that. I could use this study as what it was: A RESOURCE with Scripture being the sole focus! I must warn y’all that there is no flowery language or personal stories that somehow apply to the Scripture. It is just a book of paper with questions for you to fill with your own ink. For example, each day gives you questions based on the passage, word definitions to look up, cross-references to find, and parallels to draw. I also LOVED that Jen include the whole book of 1 Peter at the back of the book to mark up as you studied.

 

What I Didn't Love: Since our group didn’t use the video sessions, there were a couple of instances when the questions correlating to the video felt incomplete. Additionally, my note-loving heart and hand missed the more spacious areas to answer the questions, especially when it came to sections where we wrote down definitions and related verses. Also, throughout the course of the study Jen would have us highlight words in 1 Peter in different colors and then go through and record how many times those specific words occurred. This may be more impactful for a visual learner, but for me it became more of a busy-work exercise. Finally, You will get out of this study what you put in. You’ll notice that I included this as one of the things that I loved about this study, which I do! But it also was a struggle for me to be self-disciplined enough to put in the daily work I needed to richly dwell in this book. The weeks where I put in the time to learn were much more impactful to me than the weeks where I hastily scribbled out answers the night before our group meeting. It was a challenge. It wasn’t always fun. I didn’t always love it. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

 

My Profound Truth: Y’all. There are so many profound truths in 1 Peter that it was hard for me to pick one. All of them link together with Peter’s themes of living as exiles with the hope of eternity. 1 Peter 2:21-25 sums up the purpose of the book by discussing how we are called to submit to others, even if suffering is involved. Why? Christ submitted and suffered for us so that we may receive our eternal inheritance: salvation! This inheritance makes any temporary suffering we face bearable because we ourselves are not temporary. Our bodies may be earthly, but our souls are eternal. We have better things to look forward to. When we keep in mind that this earthly life is just a shadow, we are free to live as God intended: without fear, giving all praise and glory to Him, filled with love for one another. But part of that life of freedom means becoming examples of the one who submitted himself to the will of God and died for us all. If Jesus is called to submit, suffer, and die, then so are we. It’s a hard truth, but a chain-breaking one. What do we have to be afraid of? Our inheritance is set! Our salvation is secure! Nothing on this earth can touch the promise that God has given us. That is good news!  We can rejoice in the midst of suffering because we are being made more like Christ! Amen, amen, amen!

 

If you want to feel the chains of fear break off and learn what living as a Christ-follower and an exile looks like, I highly recommend this study. It will push you to seek out truth. The good news is you don’t have to study alone. Find a group of women, hold each other accountable and have grace with each other. God desires us to seek him out, and if that is your desire then this is a study for you.

Elise wants to live in a world where you can eat as much pizza as you want without concerns about your waistline. When she's not guzzling tea, you can find her reveling in God's nature or watching exorbitant amounts of Gilmore Girls. One of her favorite Scriptures is Ephesians 5:8-10: "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord." Explore her other favorite Scriptures and get to know her on Instagram at @eliseherzing.

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Meet the DWITW Team: Kaitlyn Carl

We are excited to introduce DWITW's newest team member, Kaitlyn Carl. She will be serving as our DWITW Treasurer. Get to know all about this sister below!

Kaitlyn is a wife of 5 ½ years and a mama to two precious little girls. She is a University of Michigan grad (GO BLUE), but she has come to love Dayton as her home. She wears many hats at her church, the most common being that of worship leader. She is also a group leader with Bible Study Fellowship.   

Kaitlyn loves to see God work in big ways when people walk in faith with Him. She is passionate about sharing life with others. What does this look like in Kaitlyn's world? She loves spending time with people, getting to know them on a deep, personal level, or as Kaitlyn likes to say, "just being real." Some of Kaitlyn's greatest joys in life include brunch/lunch/coffee/play dates, over-sized sweatshirts, coloring books, and having to double recipes because her table is so packed with people that she had to put the leaf in! She would love to have you over for dinner!

Favorite Scripture: Luke 22:31-32, John 17, II Corinthians 4:16-18

To learn more about our other team members, visit our 'Who We Are' page.

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The Lamp Shining In a Dark Place {Team Journal}

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.

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."

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2016: Our Year In Review

2016 has been a year of tremendous growth for our ministry. At this time last year, we were just beginning to plan our very first city-wide gathering! God has done such beautiful, tender work in the lives of so many women in our city. He has used this ministry as a way to pull us toward Him by His Word. What an undeserved grace!

As the calendar year comes to a close, the song "All Glory Be To Christ" by Kings Kaleidoscope is often running through my head. The song is set to the tune of the old NYE favorite, "Auld Lange Syne," but the lyrics are full of truth about our Lord Jesus. When we look back on 2016, we aren't patting ourselves on the back. We are sharing the work that HE has done! He deserves all the glory for the things that we carry out with human hands. He is the one who made us, who called us to this, and who completes the work by his Spirit.

“All glory be to Christ our king! All glory be to Christ!
His rule and reign we’ll ever sing, all glory be to Christ!”
— "All Glory Be To Christ", Kings Kaleidoscope

Here are some of the things God did among us in 2016:

  • He brought women from all over Dayton to four city-wide gatherings
  • He connected us with a variety of churches and ministries across greater Dayton area
  • He equipped us to host and teach our summer Bible study through the book of Daniel 
  • He provided for us to host several workshops aimed at equipping women practically in their study of God's Word
  • He led us to launch the DWITW Blog with weekly posts from local women
  • He brought about Season 1 of the DWITW Podcast, where we interviewed a wide range of women from our own city
  • He connected us with many of you on the DWITW Facebook Group and Instagram
  • He stirred in many of us a greater hunger, understanding and appreciation of the Bible than we ever had before
“Should nothing of our efforts stand, no legacy survive unless the Lord does raise the house, in vain its builders strive. To you who boast tomorrow’s gain, tell me, what is your life? A mist that vanishes at dawn, All glory be to Christ!”
— "All Glory Be To Christ", King's Kaleidoscope

God has been at  work, amen? We hope that you have been as encouraged as we have by what God has been doing among the women of Dayton.

Will you join us in prayer for our next year of ministry? As the song says, we recognize our lives are a mist and that the Lord is the one who raises this house called Dayton Women in the Word. Would you pray with us that we would not boast in the gains of tomorrow, that we would not strive for recognition or our own glory, but that we would give all glory to Christ our King? We lay all of our plans at the feet of King Jesus.

Thank you for being a part of God's work in Dayton! May the Lord continue to raise up women of God in our city who know, believe and share His Word!

DWITWYear in Review
Winter Gathering: Celebrating God The Son

On December 6, we held our final city-wide gathering of 2016. We spent the night closing out our Trinity series by focusing on God the Son: Jesus. It was an evening set aside to celebrate and glorify our Savior; perfectly timed at the beginning of the Christmas season.

“Noel, Noel!
Come and see what God has done!
Noel, Noel!
The light of the world, given for us.
Noel!”
— Noel, Chris Tomlin ft Lauren Daigle

We also had the chance to collect donations for Oasis House, give away some Advent resources, share our 2016 Year End Survey (fill out before Dec. 20!) and announce our upcoming conference (more details to come). Another beautiful evening of connection between God and his daughters in Dayton!

We were graciously hosted by FCF Dayton and led into a time of singing by their worship team. The carefully chosen songs were full of rich truth about Christ's life, death and resurrection. To enjoy the songs at home, visit our Winter Gathering Playlist on YouTube.

Our dear friend, Carol Benoy, opened up the Scriptures before us and reminded us of the vast, eternal nature of Christ. She expanded our view far beyond the Christmas story; taking us back before there was time and fast-forwarding us through to Jesus' promised return and coming kingdom. 

Consider these questions that Carol left us to ponder with:

  • Have I been treating God with the awe and reverence He deserves?
  • Do I have any attitudes about God that need to change?
  • Am I growing in the life Jesus bought for me?
  • Does my love go outward toward others or does it turn in on myself?
  • Is my life as a Christ-follower costing me anything?
“The names of Jesus help us know him more fully and accurately. The more we know him, the more we love him.”
— Carol Benoy

We closed out the evening praising our Emmanuel once more. Our prayer is that through worship and teaching, the women who attended (and those who are simply catching up by reading this!) will know Jesus more fully and accurately, and are led to greater love and obedience. We leave you with this passage that wholly displays the sovereignty of Jesus. We pray that he is immensely glorified in your homes and hearts this holiday season! 

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
— 1 Cor 1:15-20
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Stuck at the Bottom of a Mountain

This guest post comes from DWITW Team Member, Sami Hudgins. Sami shares encouragement for those of us stuck in the cycle of striving and achieving. She asks us to ponder what are longing for apart from Christ, whether those longings have eternal value, and how Jesus fulfills all our longings like nothing else can.

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Step after step, the sweat drips down my arms and falls onto the revolving machine.  The stair climber is torturous, but I find some reward in pushing through the pain.  After my time is up, I push “stop” and look up at the mirror wall.  In that moment, I ask, “Where have you gone?” My mind immediately kicks into gear: “...Well, I burned some extra calories and perhaps earned myself an extra ounce of endurance…” But the Lord stops me there before I can go on. Again: “Where have you gone?” This time, my heart screams, “Nowhere. I have gone nowhere. I have accumulated hours on this machine, taken thousands of steps, and still, I have gone nowhere."

We do this so often in life: we strive to reach our next big goal; we work to achieve the next standard.  We exert all of our energy to climb these mountains. We work for days, weeks, or even years, only to find ourselves stuck in the very place we began.  This is the image that God gave me so clearly: I was stuck at the bottom of a mountain, exhausted.  I had given all that I had left in me with no reward or victory.  The energy I gave was wasted. The time I spent was unused.  And, really, I had nothing to show for it.

“Hear my cry, O God; Give heed 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.”
— Psalm 61:1-2

With this sitting heavy on my heart, he whispered ever-so-gently into my ear, “Take my hand, I will lead you higher. Follow me to places you could never imagine. Don’t come back here to climb anymore.”

Do you find yourself climbing? Trying to move up the ladder at work? Trying to accomplish your next fitness goal?  Trying to earn enough money to move up in status? Trying to be affirmed in your group of friends?  Trying to win the ‘mom of the year’ award in your neighborhood? Serving to exhaustion so others will see you as a top-notch member of your church? The list is endless. The world gives us an infinite catalogue of titles, achievements, and goals to strive for. 

It is the work of the Lord that gives us everlasting joy. 

We can work all of our lives for the fleeting feeling of success. We may even have some papers that assert our “job well done” hanging on our walls or accomplishments worth writing home about. But do awards, a bigger bank account, a better body, or a fuller schedule fulfill your soul? I can assure you that the delight of these things will last only a short while.  It is the work of the Lord that gives us everlasting joy. The heart of the true believer desires nothing more than to see Him glorified. So, as it says in 1 Corinthians, may we do all for the glory of God!

It is His work alone that will lead us to victory, for His victory is already won!

Ponder this: where is your time spent? Where does your faith lie? Is it in the to-do list or the calorie-count? In the job title or the social status? No! Our faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ, who will lift us up to the top of the mountain by His divine power. It is His work alone that will lead us to victory, for His victory is already won!

He doesn’t promise that the climb with Him will be easy.  We will endure suffering along the way. But take comfort in knowing that our suffering is shared with Christ.  He has already climbed these mountains, and promises to be by our side the whole way.

“For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving an example, so that you might follow in his steps.”
— 1 Peter 2:21 (ESV)

We must not return to the stair-stepper machines that hold us in place by means of exhaustion.  Of course, this is not a call to quit exercising specifically. This is a call to listen to the Lord earnestly about His will for your time.  What is he asking you to courageously walk away from? Allow him to lead you on His path, up to the summit with Him, where you can declare His glory.

Lord lead us higher so that we may shout your name from the top of the mountain to all of the Earth!

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. 

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Cultivating a Grateful Heart

Our blog post today comes from DWITW Team Member Daisy Dronen. Daisy shares with us how the Lord used this Thanksgiving season to train her in gratefulness and heal some painful wounds. Daisy challenges us to extend our practice of gratefulness from November into December and to welcome Jesus with thankful hearts, no matter what the season.

 
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Reflecting on our past experiences can be painful, hard, and sometimes unpredictable. This thanksgiving season, I found that this practice is more essential than we think. Normally, when I find myself reflecting on my past, I feel all the feelings again. I feel the rejection, the hurt, and the feelings of inadequacy that come rushing back. Sometimes, I just pause and neglect to examine the feelings instead of inviting the Lord into them with me. This Thanksgiving, my time of reflection brought along all of those feelings, but I found that there was something else waiting to be examined with them- my gratefulness. 

In the book of James, we find a challenge to count our trials pure joy. This verse has been on repeat in my head recently, and I am so glad. It has led me to reflect on my past experiences through different-colored lenses. We all have life experiences, encounters and interactions that give color and flavor to our present. We have come out stronger on the other side of our trials, yet sometimes, we hold these past experiences tightly and carry shame heavily because of them. This is where I found myself, tight-fisted with my past and heavy laden with shame.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything”
— James 1:2-4

I was so overwhelmed by the emotions that I could not see the good that had come with them. I was constantly rehashing what was done to me, how hurt I was by it, and how much I missed out on. Thankfully, this time, as I invited the Lord in, He gently reminded me that I had been ignoring gratefulness. I realized I had some personal work to do.

I had been looking at my experiences as troubles that had happened to me and because of them I had been robbed of experiences that should rightfully be mine. But then, He reminded me: "...You know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing." James 1:3-4. So, I prayed out loud, "Lord forgive me and I forgive them." Then, I put action to my prayers and to my discoveries. I wrote a letter of gratitude and mailed it. I thanked my parents for all that they have invested in me, I thanked them for walking humbly with their God (because now I could do the same), and I thanked them for inspiring in me a love for the Word of God that now sustains me. I tell you now with tears in my eyes how liberating this was. I could leave the past behind and truly appreciate the people that loved me then and love me now. I see the fruit of those experiences now; how they produced perseverance, preparing me for life now so that I could in fact be complete in Him.

As we continue into this season of celebrating with family, let's cultivate a grateful heart so that our encounters with our family will leave a heavenly impression; a gentle one, seasoned with salt. I would like to challenge myself and you to not put down the practice of thanksgiving now that November is over, but instead continue to cultivate a grateful heart in December, too. Do this with expectation and anticipation because our King is good and gives us only good gifts. "Let us enter His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise-...because He is good and His Love endures forever." So let's open our hands and invite Him in to the deep and hard parts of our hearts, no matter what the season.

"In gratefulness come to Him with open hands, so that our past
experiences can become beacons of light and hope."

Daisy Dronen leads IF:Dayton and is a member of the leadership team for Dayton Women In the Word. Gathering women around her table to seek God and creating real community makes her heart beat wildly, because she believes that we know Jesus more intimately when we know each other well.

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Advent Resources for a Christ-Centered Christmas (2016 Edition)

The Christmas season is fast approaching! If you're like me, you might be thinking, "I have to make December count! I want to be in the Word every day! I want to do special Jesus things with my family every day! I want to do all the fun Christmas events and bless people, too! I want it to be a Christmas to remember and magically achieve perfection without being tired or stressed at all!" Let's all just agree right now: that's NOT going to happen.

Now knowing that I can't craft the perfect December for me or my people, I still desire to make Jesus the rightful King of our Christmas. And I want that for all of you, too! So I've gathered a big list of Advent resources for us all to consider. Please do not, I REPEAT: DO NOT DO ALL OF THESE THINGS. Choose wisely, knowing your limitations. Pick something that you and your family can handle. Start small, with what's most important to you. Ask the Lord what He wants your Advent season to look like. He will be faithful to answer. May our Lord Jesus be glorified in our Decembers and beyond.

Devotional Plans
These are daily readings that will take you throughout the month of December. Some have room for journaling, some come with questions to consider, but all of them will give you a daily portion of Scripture to keep you full of Christ this Christmas.

Books
These are non-devotional books on the topics of Advent and Christmas.

Music
We all have different tastes when it comes to Christmas music, and there's nothing wrong with playing the old holiday favorites. If you're looking for rich hymns with gospel truth, the albums below are sure to satisfy.

Family Resources
There are many, many, MANY family activities out there that point to Jesus. As you decide what's right for your family, think about the age and attention span of your kids, the amount of time you can devote to family activities, and what traditions are most important to you.

Children's Picture Books
I have made a point over the years to collect gospel-focused Christmas books for my kids. Books that portray the story truthfully can be hard to find! These are a few of my favorites from our collection.

Children's Movies
We enjoy watching Christmas movies as a family, but many of them are filled with worldly values and miss Christ completely. These films tell the story in an engaging way for all ages.

Scripture Cards
I had to include these last items because I'm a big fan of putting God's Word all over my house and all over my heart!

I hope you'll find something in this post that will help you and your family to focus fully on Christ this Christmas season. May we be intentional with our time; abiding in Christ and allowing our Advent rhythms to show others that Jesus is the reason we celebrate. If we've missed any of your favorite Advent resources, please link to them in the comment section. Happy Advent and Merry Christmas!

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 three. She loves teaching and equipping women with God's Word. And she really likes Christmas.

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