A Thrill of Hope {DWITW 365}
A Thrill of Hope {DWITW 365}

Today we welcome Robin Zastrow to the team! She is serving as the new Dayton Women in the Word Blog Coordinator in 2018. For her first post, she is introducing herself and how the blog fits into a very special plan we have to connect with God's Word throughout all next year.

More than half of December has already passed us by. Twinkling lights are nestled in evergreen boughs; strands of garland are draped across mantels and wound around banisters. Mundane spaces are filled with the soft glow of anticipation and reminders of the celebration to come.

In these quickly darkening days, we sit around tables and gather in coffee shops to share something warm and fend off the winter chill. If we had a chance to linger over a cup of coffee one evening and get to know each other, I would tell you about my husband and how we are still learning to navigate the adventures of parenthood with laughter. I would tell you about my little ones and how they surprise me every day. But where I’d be prone to linger is when I’d tell you about the flame of hope that none but Jesus can carry for me in this season.

Eager to hear about you and the things that make your heart swell, I’d lean in as you share what you hold dear, what makes you weary, and what gives you life. Drinks would be sipped and stories exchanged of good days, bad days, and the gamut of days in-between. At the end of the night we’d part ways, go to our homes, and perhaps feel a little more understood and a little less alone in the midst of life’s busyness.

But neither you nor I are really alone. We are not alone. There is community to be had. We have each other, but most importantly we have Christ. Because of His life, His death, and His resurrection we can know love and the God that is love.

In one short week, we will celebrate the birth of our glorious Savior, the Word made flesh, God with us. But that night isn’t where God’s story began; or ended. What God has been up to stretches beyond a single day, beyond a whole lifetime, and even beyond an entire generation. Through the Bible, God has given us a way to see His big picture plan, to better know Him and His heart, to be confronted by our shortcomings and sin, and to revel in the holiness and goodness of His character.

That is why it is my great joy to invite you to join Dayton Women In The Word as we undertake a chronological venture throughout the Bible in 2018. Through its ups and downs, betrayals and promises, despair and hope. As we get ready to embark on DWITW 365: Reading God's Story Together please keep in mind there is no shame if days are missed. Being in the Word every day does such good for our hearts and minds, but don’t let an off-kilter day, week, or even month keep you from getting back in there. We want to do this and we want to do it together because in God’s Word there is truth; and grace; and freedom. God’s words are powerful and they will change your life.

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Whether you read on your phone while you rock your babes to sleep or you like to spread out across the kitchen table with your Bible, notebook, and assorted highlighters; there is no wrong place or time to get into God’s Word. Don’t be afraid to dive deep and ask hard questions. Meditate on what you read throughout the day. God can meet you while you are looking for ripe bananas at the grocery just as readily as He can in the silence of early morning. Nowhere is off-limits for God and nothing is too small for Him to use.

Each Monday one of our blog contributors will share here on the DWITW blog to encourage us with what they have learned through the Scriptures we will be reading that week. If you’d like to use the YouVersion Bible app or website to follow along with us, the DWITW 365: Reading God's Story Together is taken from the reading schedule of the As It Happened plan. If you use the Bible Study Tools app or website, the chronological plan also follows the same schedule. For anyone who prefers a PDF version to save or print, we’ve got that for you too!

“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”
— 1 John 4:16

Make sure to connect with us all and share your thoughts by using #dwitw365 wherever hashtags are welcome! This is going to be an epic journey. We can’t wait to do it with you!

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Advent Resources for a Christ-Centered Christmas (2017 Edition)

Welcome to the 2017 Holiday Season, friends. What a joy it is to celebrate Jesus! We loved putting together our Advent Resources list last year, so we're making it a DWITW tradition and sharing some new finds for 2017.

We know that not everyone celebrates Advent and that there are a huge range of Christmas traditions among Christians, so please remember: this post is not meant to be an "Advent To Do" list. It would be impossible to meaningfully engage in all of these resources at once. Our goal is to connect you with the resources that are already out there and put them all in one place for easy access. (We've done all the Googling for you!)

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Note: All of the resources we shared last year are excellent and many are still available, so go check those out in last year's post. This post will focus on what's new (or new-to-us) for 2017. 

Devotional Plans and Books

Music

Family Resources
This is just the tip of the iceberg for family resources! Check last year's post for more.

Children's Books and Music
Find more of our favorite children's books in last year's post.

Advent Calendar Cards

Now, tell us what we've missed! What traditions do you have during the Advent season? Share with us in the comments below!

Natalie Herr is the Team Lead for 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.

DWITWAdvent Comment
Dying to Self {Guest Journal}

We are so pleased to welcome our sister Victoria Baker as a guest writer on the blog today. 

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?”
— Matthew 16:24-26, NLT

Right now, the Lord is teaching me something sacred and painful, yet completely life-giving. What may you ask is this? Wait for it...wait for it... dying to self. Yes, He is teaching me what it looks like to take up my cross and follow after Him. To be okay with the world not seeing Victoria: but through her death, seeing Jesus. He has paid the price and died in my place and gifted me with Himself.

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At a young age, I came to know and believe in Jesus. He was a friend. He was where my mom and I would sit down and pray, where I felt peace. As the years progressed and life was life, I found my understanding of Him changing. I was discovering how much I was leaning on my own "strength" (which is really nothing) and through years of eating disorders, anxiety, OCD, and perfectionism, He drew near. He drew near to the little girl who lived in a world of people pleasing, approval needs, and fear. He began to show me how much shame and guilt was a part of my life. He began to show me that I was His and He never wanted me to try and atone for my sins in human ways. He began to flip my world upside down and inside out.

In college, I was baptized. Late high school into early college was when He and I went deeper and deeper; my faith became what felt like my own. He began to show me how tangled I was (even more than I realized) and he held me dearly. He began to shift my understandings of what love looked like, what my identity was rooted in and how I was secure.

As a perfectionist, security was something I cherished. He showed me how nothing was secure in my life apart from Him. Because of what He had done, I could rest securely. This is something that even to this day I am growing in. Even in my failures and flaws. He peeled off so many layers. He was patient as I denied Him so many times, choosing myself and other things. He continued to carry me to the foot of the cross and to His throne room.

Soon, the nations began to captivate my heart and international outreach became a passion. Empowering women and seeking to find the beauty in the mundane was the adventure my heart longed for. He met me in sunflowers, in tears, in praying for widows and in the ridding of myself. I returned from a year abroad and struggled to resettle at home in Miamisburg. I revisited old struggles, OCD panic attacks, eating disorder lies and falls, as well as seeing again the vastness of my brokenness. He began to speak to my heart in new ways: pictures, metaphors, whispers. The truth of His Word, which had been proven through all of this to be alive, gained even more momentum despite my continued failings.

Over the past few months, the Holy Spirit has been laying many prayers on my heart. Even the prayer for me to ask the Lord to mold my prayers while praying! He has brought up heart motives, marriage, perseverance, humility, dying to self and truly growing in living out what loving people and loving Him looks like.

As a dreamer by nature, He is growing me in practicality and I am stoked for His continued workings. He continues to teach me that apart from Him I can do nothing. He reminds me that self-flogging does not make us right with Him: only the power of His blood can do that. He continues to teach me to take the posture of a humble servant. He continues to grow me in walking in grace. He has helped to grow the desire to be nothing, and for Him to take full stage.

Dying to self is hard. It's a lifelong thing. It doesn't end. I have been around for almost 26 short years and have barely skimmed the surface of growing in this. But He remains faithful despite my faithlessness. He reminds me that I never have to be perfect because He has already paved the path and simply desires for me to keep my eyes on Him. However He asks me to die, so ultimately I may live, is for the best: for He is better. This truth has been echoing in my heart as I reach for him and I cry out to be rid of me; the me who blocks so much life.

He reveals that He is Perfect Love. And perfect love is a humble servant.

“Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.”
— 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, NLT

This morning, I was sitting in a coffee shop and I was reminded of a picture: a rope that is tangled. I was reminded of how Jesus and the power of His Perfect Love enters into our lives and helps to untangle us. We are freed of ourselves, the ones who are all tangled within and afraid of being nothing. He unties the knots, and in the process, helps us to see that there is no fear in love; but hope. Hope in losing ourselves for the sake of the Gospel and for His name. We have hope that like Paul says, it is only Jesus and the power of the Spirit that allows us to keep our bearings and become to a Jew like a Jew, a slave like a slave, and to sit in wisdom.

Oh, how Love is on the move. Oh, how newness and deeper understandings are on the horizon. He is making all things new, and that includes our understanding of His love and how in it, there is no fear.

To be a servant. A humble servant. To simply be okay with being a clear vessel, a rope. For people to grab hold of the good news, resting in Christ and holding onto the rope; by the power of the Spirit and all by His doing, following the invitation and taking a seat at the table...where a spot has been prepared for them!

He is life. As I grow in getting out of the way, He shows how much true life is found in Him. He is fully satisfying and abundant. He continues to show with patience and love that He is better. The dying of me will allow for more of the invading of Him!

Victoria wants to live in a world where servanthood is the desired career of choice, love is tangible, and self is tossed at the door so people may see how life is found no where in self but in Christ.  When she's not teaching young kiddos how to grow in a love for reading, you can find her sitting around the table soaking in conversations, out and about in the forest, and exploring the beauty that breathes around her. Whimsy, adventure, truth and grace inspire her as she is uncovering the beauty of humble servanthood. Her favorite Scriptures are...Philippians 3 and Psalm 103!  Feel free to connect and share in conversation anytime: victoriabaker193@gmail.com.

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An Evening of Prayer {Recap}

The following post is a recap of An Evening of Prayer, an event held on May 25, 2017 with our ministry partners, IF:Dayton.

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Prayer is not secondary. It is not optional.  It is not dessert!

Prayer is primary. It is essential. It is the main course!

God has been teaching our ministry and me personally that prayer is not "extra credit" in the Christian life, but rather a defining characteristic of people who love and follow Jesus. When we pray to the one true God, we enter into a relationship with Him. We are listening and talking, getting to know Him, learning how to be like Him. We are no longer looking at the distractions of this world or to ourselves. No, we are looking to God, focusing our eyes, hearts, lives totally around Him. Ah! What relief! There you are, Lord! What a joy when we seek Him and find Him! When He shows us Himself through prayer! When He cups our chin and takes our hand and leads us in the way everlasting!

When we pray to our Father, we are right where we were always supposed to be.

I once heard John Piper share that as he was studying the Word one day, he shut his Bible abruptly. He realized he had not yet prayed over his study. This great modern theologian chuckled at himself, thinking it was truly comical to believe he could understand anything about God's Word without inviting God's Holy Spirit into the process.

It is also true with us, sisters. DWITW's entire ministry is dedicated to understanding God's Word; yes. However, only through God can we accomplish this. We desperately need God to help us understand His Word, to make our hearts ripe for the conviction it brings, and to change us. Without prayer, we have no true relationship with the Lord. Without prayer, we are merely making ourselves acquainted with facts and history and numbers. Without prayer, God's Word is just another book.

With prayer, however, the Holy Spirit uses the Word to change everything. Our ministry will do nothing in the hearts of the women of our city unless faithful prayer is our foundation.

Last week, we led one another to follow this conviction to our knees. DWITW had the privilege of partnering with IF: Gathering Dayton in an evening of prayer held at Good Samaritan Hospital's chapel. As the sunset streamed through the stained glass, we held one another's hands in deep intercessory prayer.

“Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen”
— Matthew 6:9-13, KJV

The night began as Breanna McGowen opened our time of prayer with her gift for Spoken Word. Following that, we heard the Lord's Prayer in three different languages. As I listened, I thought once again that heaven must sound a little like this, all tribes and tongues communing with God. Emily and Nehemiah Park, worship leaders at Christian Life Center, then led us in a time of singing.

Throughout the evening, ministry leaders serving all over the Dayton region led us in four separate calls to prayer. These prayer calls were modeled after Jesus' High Priestly Prayer in John 17. Together, we answered the call to offer our gratitude; to pray for God's people, the church; to pray for the world;  and to pray for unity and love. We responded by praying corporately, individually and in small groups. As time allowed, we prayed over the suggested additional Scriptures that went with each call to prayer. 

“O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
— John 17:25-26, ESV

IF:Dayton provided a prayer journal modeled after Jesus' prayer that served as the framework of the evening. If you did not get to attend the evening of prayer, you can download the PDF of the prayer journal here. 

Jesus modeled for us how to pray in John 17. As we practiced this discipline together, we were reminded that the call to prayer did not end when we said 'Amen.' The call to prayer is ever present for the Christian and essential in our daily lives. Will you join our ministries in this call to pray? Will you allow your knees to hit the floor, even now, and join us in prayers of gratitude, for God's church, the world, and for unity and love? Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. 

Jillian Vincent loves Jesus. 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. 

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Building His Kingdom {Team Journal}

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

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!

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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. 

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. 

Team JournalDWITWKingdom of God
He Is At Work. {Team Journal}

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

“She who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives.”
— 1 Timothy 5:6

It's 4:45 on a Thursday afternoon. The toddler is in the playroom fussing, the baby could wake up any minute, the 5-year-old is alone in the kitchen doing who-knows-what and the 7-year-old is tapping his pencil and humming at the same time. In the time it's taken to type this sentence, the toddler has moved on from her fit and found a harmonica (SEND HELP). It's 4:49 on a Thursday afternoon and I can barely hear myself think. 

This season of life is all over the place for me. Some days, it's chaotic and confusing. Some days, it's joyful and life-giving. Most days, it's all of those things and everything in between (including total exhaustion). I know God is with me and I hear him speaking, but his voice is often muffled by all the other noises swirling around me. He's pouring into me, He's teaching me, He's showing me things in bits and pieces. But my failing human mind struggles to put the pieces together into something coherent. I can't seem to get past all the noise. I have a sense of where He is leading me, but I can't put my finger on it with full confidence.

Things are cloudy. Disconnected. Out of focus. But I know He is at work. Here are some of the bits and pieces of truth I've been finding in the fog. 

He is at work, showing me my need for self-discipline.

That scripture right up there, 1 Timothy 5:6, just jumped out from the page last week and bit me. My flesh wanted only to ask, "Am I self-indulgent?" But immediately, the Spirit answered that with a resounding "You're a human, so YES." The question became: "Where am I self-indulgent? Where am I a dead woman walking?" Other words for indulgent include overly generous, permissive, lenient, tolerant, liberal; none of which I want to be with my natural, sinful self. I don't want to indulge my flesh! Paul warns us against that business in Galatians 5. The flesh is a mess. I want to be be walking ALIVE with the Spirit! So I've got to take off any self-indulgent passions I see in my life, and that requires self-discipline. 

This is where I say, "How, God? How can I start any new disciplines now when everything seems so crazy?" Well, God knows what I need. Maybe some order and discipline in my spiritual life will yield similar fruit in my home.

He is at work, teaching me about mortification.

Have you guys heard of this thing called "mortifying" our sin? Killing it? Hating it? Taking it off and putting it away? Fighting against it with vigor? My guess is you have. Like I said before, if I want to be rid of the sins and indulgences in my life, then I need self-discipline. But what will fuel that self-discipline? What will my motivation be? I think I've got to see the ugliness of my sin and hate it enough to want it gone. As John Owen says in The Mortification of Sin, "be killing sin or it will be killing you." YIKES.

Earlier this week, I texted a friend on this topic. I was weary with the weight of self-discipline; hating how hard the work of mortification felt. I told her that taking off the old self felt like peeling off a wet suit; and that putting on the new self felt like buttoning up a wedding dress with one million buttons. The wedding seems very far away.

Killing sin is work. Hard work. But it is work I don't take on alone and I don't do it in my own power. It is the Spirit in me doing the work. It is the Spirit in me that decides not to say that rude comment to my husband or indulge in that extra snack I don't need. It is the Spirit in me doing it all. 

He is at work, showing me more of himself.

So I'm over here wrestling with the self-discipline thing, feeling like there are a million areas of my life to bring into order. I've got no idea where to start or how to start or what I'm supposed to be doing. What few coherent thoughts I have are quickly interrupted by baby cries or children's needs or my own need for sleep. 

But, God! He sees me. He knows I can only handle the bits and pieces right now. He gives me little tiny gifts in Scripture to keep me afloat. He focuses my eyes back on himself. And He gives me this little gem in 2 Timothy:

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God...for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
— 2 Timothy 1: 6-7

I've got the spirit of self-control in me already? SAY WHAT?! Because God's Spirit lives in me, I have divine access to discipline and self-control. I can make wise choices. I can do what God is calling me to do. I won't reach perfection anytime soon, but I can make progress. I can walk in righteousness. I can choose to be a vessel of honor, set apart as holy and useful to God, ready for every good work (2 Tim. 2:20-21). Because of the Spirit in me, the character traits that I am called to in Scripture are possible for me, even if they seem out of reach at times (I'm looking at you, patience.)

He is at work; giving me grace.

In the course of writing this post, I've failed multiple times in my battle against sin. I've given in. I've wondered if I can really change. I've wondered if I should even be writing these bits and pieces down for others to read. But the Lord is near. He is here in my failure. He deals exclusively with sinners; my mistakes are not surprising to him. (Neither are yours.)

I feel weak and ill-equipped, but I know he is at work. 

I can walk through these foggy days with the Spirit, trusting him to lead me and help me and equip me. I can believe that some day soon, my mind will clear up and he'll put all the bits and pieces together. I can fail and not despair because I get new mercies every day. And I can enjoy the small moments and tiny truths. He is at work.

Lord, this prayer is for all the scattered minds. All the weary hearts. All the foggy souls. Help us, Father, to take off the old self and put on the new. Show us our sin, help us to hate it, encourage us to fight against it and flee far from it. Help us to live out our calling; help us when the dying-to-ourselves part of following you feels extra painful. Help us when we feel confused and we don't see the way. Help us to pick up self-control and love and kindness and compassion and patience and all-the-good-things even when they feel really heavy. Strengthen our hands so that the lifting and putting on of the good things gets easier the more we practice. You are everything and you are at work. We need you every hour. Come back soon.

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. And she could really use a nap.

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Little Habakkuk {Team Journal}

Todays team journal was written by our DWITW social media manager and beloved sister, Kelly Gwin.

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herds in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”
— Habakkuk 3:17-18

There I was, on my knees in a desperate ball of tears in the middle of my living room crying out to God while my kids watched in a dramatic mix of confusion and concern as they watched their mom totally lose it….again. I wish I could say that only happened once, but this was a scene that was becoming more and more frequent as I desperately tried to hold my life together with my own incapable hands. These past months have been a wild ride in the Gwin household. New business, new baby, needy children, ministry, and staying alive had me all kinds of crazy, and my family was feeling it. I was feeling it.

I’ve always been a bit of a control freak. My father is southern born and military bred. Expectations were high, failure was not an option, and “quit” was not in our vocabulary. I will say, there are many aspects to my tendencies that have served myself and others well, but control and independence have been HUGE idols of mine, and a central issue in my relationship with the Lord.

I had been praying about what to do with my situation. I knew I couldn’t keep doing life this way. My kids were OUT OF CONTROL, I was a busy and absent mom even though I was working from home, stress levels were through the roof for everyone, and something had to give. I knew whatever that meant, it was going to be difficult for me.

“O Lord how long will I cry for help, and you will not hear?”
— Habakkuk 1:2

I have been studying Habakkuk, and saw myself right up there on that watch post with him, “O Lord how long will I cry for help, and you will not hear?” (Habakkuk 1:2) I would cry out, complain, lament, and ask for help, strength, and clarity. The Lord was answering me, and I knew it, but it was not the answer I wanted to hear. Surely, he was not asking me to let go. He would never tell me I needed to cut something out of my life. He should just give me strength to succeed in all the things! And so the back-and-forth dialogue would continue. “Are you not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One?” (Habakkuk 1:12) I was in stubborn disobedience as I continued to try to “logic” my way out of having to jump off of this proverbial cliff. That lasted a short while, but the Holy Spirit was practically screaming, “LET. GO.” It was time to give up my business.

Why do we ever question our Creator? We know He’s sovereign. We know he’s good. We know his plan is always better than ours, yet we cling to the edge like we’re in danger.“What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For his maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols!” (Habakkuk 2:18) God used this verse to bring me to full surrender. Control, finances, approval, pride. I was holding on tight, but each day in my alone time with him I would take one more tiny step toward obedience until, by his grace, I was able to jump.

“What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For his maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols!”
— Habakkuk 2:18

Yes, I felt like I was free falling, but he has proved himself faithful already. He doesn’t have to, but he continues to confirm to me in countless ways that he is in this. That his ways are higher than mine. That his plans for me are better than mine. That he loves me enough to take things away from me. Even when it hurts. I have testimony after testimony in motherhood, family, finance, and more of what he has done in the past few weeks. I’ve found so much freedom in his grace through this. I really don't have to worry. This is a lesson I have learned before, and will undoubtedly have to learn over, and over again, but each time I end up with abundant blessing and greater faith in my Father.

So here I am, a little Habakkuk. Thankful that I can come to my God with my real and raw heart. Presumptuous as I may be, I will cry out for help and deliverance, knowing that by the end of the conversation he will always bring me to a place where I cast down my idols, and stand on a higher mount singing a new song: “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herds in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

Kelly is a worship leader, treasurer, and all-around multi-tasker at her church, all while 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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I Cannot Give That Up. {Team Journal}

Our team journal today was written by the DWITW Administrator, Tech/Design Guru, and our beloved sister, Mindy Braun.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
— John 13:34-35

I've always called myself a dreamer. Someone who never stops thinking about what's next and the big ideas I have for my life. I like to be a part of change and want to be involved with anything and everything that is making a difference. I want to say yes to it all and have a fear of missing out or not making as much impact as I could. Let me tell you, it's exhausting. 

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A little while ago we released a podcast episode with Kathe Bricker. I had the honor of being a co-host with Jillian in that interview. I will never forget Kathe talking about her "no give": The one thing she can't give up and will always say yes to. 

This week my husband and I are on a work retreat. We run a photography business out of our home, and for the first time we are setting time aside for 2 days to completely, 100% focus on it. No kids. No laundry that needs folded and dinners that need cooked and t-ball practices to get to. We are discussing everything from our personal aspirations to our pricing to who sends the emails. We just spent the last 3 hours talking about the biggest part of it all: our whys. Why do we do what we do? Why do we want to make changes? It didn't just stick with our business - it came home and got personal. Why do we live where we do? Why would we want to move? Why did we join a church plant? Why do we want to serve in this way? Our answer always came back to the same thing. 

To love people. 

That is and should be the beat of our hearts. The Word of God is full of commands and instructions on loving one another. We even just covered this on day six of our Beyond Titus 2 study. 

“We are all called to the work of making disciples: the only qualification is loving people and following Jesus.”
— DWITW, Beyond Titus 2

The Christian faith is that simple. Love God above all and love others like He does. Sounds so simple, but because of our human, sinful nature, it's not. This retreat is not simple. Sharing our homes is not simple. Speaking with soft, kind words to our disobedient kids is not simple. Loving people who are not you is never easy. But God has given us the Holy Spirit to walk us through it: He is our guide. He will equip us well and perfectly. We can also look to Jesus as a living example, ask for forgiveness when we stumble, and keep on walking this life in His light.

So this week, God is asking me to ask this question: Why am I doing the things I do? What dreams do I have and what are their purposes? I'm tired of being exhausted, feeling like I'm not doing anything well. I've said yes to too many things. So now I'm learning to let go of things, things that are honestly good. God is calling me to focus on Him and carrying out the simplest commandment: love Him, and then love people. I'm refocusing on loving my husband, my kids, my clients, the church and my city. 

Loving people. I cannot give that up. 

Mindy 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, truffle fries, sleeping in, the outdoors, serving the Church, and ice cream after bedtime.

Team JournalDWITWLove
When Jesus Wants to Hold Your Hand {Guest Journal}

Today we would like to share a guest journal from our sister, Stephani Duff. 

“This is the kind of fast day I’m after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts. ”
— Isaiah 58:6, MSG

The notion of fasting has always baffled me. In junior high and high school, before I knew Jesus or understood what it meant to be so distracted by the world that setting my gaze on Him would feel crippling, “fasting” felt like some sort of social experiment. I gave up things like soda, or fried food, and inevitably broke it just days later, never to look back as I popped the tab of an ice cold can of Coke and laughed next to friends with whom I’d promised fasting in comradery.

Once I really began to know Jesus and understand more fully what it meant to walk with Him, I would hear people within my community, or at church, talk about fasting and a proverbial hunger pang would ripple through my body. I am not a woman who withholds much – least of all her tongue, her coffee, or her caloric intake. And why would Jesus want me to walk around hangry all the time, anyway?

But He is always ready and willing to educate us more about Himself, isn’t He?

Years later, post that insecure junior high student who did the no soda thing because her friends were doing it, too, and now more comfortable in the skin that often feels like it’s too much, I am a woman who travels as part of her work. I am a woman who has a spiritual mentor, because the Lord and I both know this hot mess needs accountability and good, tough love from someone I will not roll my eyes at and walk away from. I am, against all odds and misconceptions I’ve had about myself, a woman who genuinely wants to be better.

Recently, in a conversation with my mentor, I confessed I didn’t want to be distracted by men and dating while I was traveling. My time with Jesus always feels the sweetest and most intimate when I am international; undistracted by technology and easy access to my favorite people, my wandering heart is forced to hit those speed bumps slow and come to a stop – and I have come to savor those tender moments.

My sweet mentor smiled softly at me as she laid the hammer down. “Steph, if you don’t want to be distracted by men, then don’t allow the space for them to distract you in the first place. I want you to pray through fasting from dating.”

I scoffed, thinking how deliciously cute it was that she thought I’d even mildly consider giving up dating, attention, and conversation with men who were interested in me for any amount of time.

But then it became all I could think about. What would this look like for me? What might I learn about myself in the absence of being hungry to garner attention? Even more, what might I learn about Jesus?

I began to consider all the ways this would lead me to stretch myself – in the quiet moments when I didn’t want to be alone, but wouldn’t have someone to reach out to fill it, I would need to position myself before the Lord, asking Him to fill the space, the heart within me, the loneliness that all too often beat like a drum. It occurred to me this would strengthen a muscle I may have not even realized I possessed before, let alone knew how to use. The questions mixed with my fear of willingly stepping into a season of intentional singleness, and instead of fear roaring like a deafening death toll, all I could hear was the softest whisper, imploring me.

Meet me here. Won’t you just meet me right here?

 I won’t pretend to be an expert on fasting – listing all the ways this has, or will, transform me into a better, stronger woman. I won’t deign to believe that every step of this will feel easy and soft, a welcoming down comforter after a long day. And I don’t know how this will end. But I do know He is in it. He asked me to join Him and He hasn’t left my side for one moment.

In all the hours I spent trying to make conversation happen with men who were painfully and obviously wrong for me, I was unknowingly closing doors of entry to better understand my Maker.

I am in a season of fasting right now, and here’s what I’m learning.

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Jesus is a gentleman. I don’t know many of them. But I am for certain He is one. He is careful with me. He waits patiently for me. He longs for my time so He can remind me of His love for me. He takes Scripture I’ve read and underlined before and makes it new – just for me. Y’all, Jesus is sweet. Maybe this isn’t news to you. But maybe, just maybe, you are like me and don’t fully know His character. He enjoys showing sweetness to His girls. I am certain.

Fasting will cultivate cravings for something better. In His grace, I have not missed dating. That’s not to say it will never creep up on me. But I find myself excited to open my Bible, to discover what He plans to teach me from one day to the next – and this is new. When we become so consumed with a facet of our lives that it’s what we wake up thinking about, we are missing the bigger story He is crafting on our behalf. We are missing the opportunity to be found hopeful.

When we welcome Him into the fallow ground of our hearts, His harvest will be bountiful. In the midst of this season of fast, I am also seeking medical assistance for food sensitivities and allergies. I said it before, and I will say it again – I am not a health conscious person. I like what feels and tastes and smells good. Whether it is a wise choice for me, or not. But what are we missing when we hold tight to only what we’re certain is good, in place of what He promises will be better? I’ve been walking around so consumed with the desire to be known and seen by another human that I’ve missed all the times Jesus has snuggled in close to me and said, just let me hold your hand, girl. I’ve been kicking up stones and dirtying my hands with mud, trying to dig up something I’m so convinced is right, and all the while, He’s waiting to plant wildflowers and say the word, ya’ll.

 Bloom, girl. Just, bloom.

 Let Him do the planting. Let Him break the chains. Let Him write the story. And trust that when He’s asking us to wait, we are most certainly in good company.

Steph Duff wants to live in a world where every voiceless child is given articulation and Jesus is the name on every lip. When she's not sharing Kingdom-shaking stories with Back2Back Ministries, you can find her drinking copious amounts of caffeine, curling up with her nose in a book, laughing loudly, continuing an on-going attachment to semi-colons, planning her next trip to India, and making snail mail cool, again. Her favorite scripture is "Look among the nations and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told." Habakkuk 1:5 ESV. Learn a little bit about what makes her blood stir and the yearnings of her heart at www.stephaniduff.wordpress.com.

Guest PostGuest UserFasting, Guest Journal
Flaming Darts {Team Journal}

Today's team journal was written by our sister and DWITW treasurer, Kaitlyn Carl.

“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.”
— Ephesians 6:16

Two Pharisees, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, had the distinct privilege of burying the Lord Jesus after His death on the cross. They buried Him like a king, using seventy-five pounds of spices to cover His body before they wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in a never-before-used tomb (John 19:38-42). What an amazing opportunity these men had to honor our Lord in His death! And they risked much in doing so. Both men were members of the Jewish high council: rich men of high status and great repute among the Jews. By stepping forward to bury Jesus, they risked losing all of that. They also defiled themselves by touching a dead body, foregoing their ability to participate in the Passover feast that the Jews were celebrating that night. They would have to celebrate one month later (Numbers 9:5-12). What dedication to our Lord is shown in this truly sacrificial act of love. 

But these men didn't start here.

Joseph of Arimathea is described in John 19 as a secret disciple of Jesus, for he feared the Jews. 

Nicodemus had previously approached Jesus under the cover of night, alone, so as not to be seen speaking with Him (John 3:1-2). 

While these two men ministered tenderly to the Lord in His death, they missed the opportunity to have regular, face-to-face interaction with the living, breathing, flesh-and-blood God incarnate! And for what? To retain their status among the Jewish elite? To hold on to their abundant earthly riches? 

“Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in [Jesus], but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God”
— John 12:42-43

Ouch. Can anyone else relate to that? I certainly can.

I can think of many times in my life, including recently, when I've had a chance to speak truth or be a witness for Christ, but I kept my mouth shut. It just didn't seem like the right time. Or I was worried about how the other person would react. Or about the affect it would have on our relationship. What would they think of me? How would it make me look? 

As I've thought on this passage for the last week, I've been struck by one thing in particular: these worries and fears that kept Joseph and Nicodemus and me from being a bold disciple of Christ rather than a secret one are so temporal.

Sure, I maintain status in the eyes of the watching world, but I lose the chance to potentially bring another sister into fellowship with her Heavenly Father. 

True, I may keep in tact a relationship that I value, but do I really value it that much if I'd rather risk her soul than create a potentially awkward moment between us?

I'm convinced that fear of man over fear of God is one of the greatest tools of the enemy against the spreading of Christ's church. Satan uses our own feelings of inadequacy so that we don't feel well enough equipped to speak the Gospel in truth to our fellow man, fearing not having the right answers or not knowing how to speak, and thus never open our mouths to proclaim Christ. Satan uses our deep desire to be accepted to quiet our tongues for fear of losing status with a friend. Satan uses our want of praise and status to shut us up because we fear ridicule. But dear sisters, we must recognize these thoughts for what they are: lies of the enemy. Because the root of them all is fear. 

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord...but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.”
— II Timothy 1:7-8

Immobilizing fear of this kind that prevents us from acknowledging Jesus Christ is not from God. Let's recognize it as such and put those lies to death. 

For we are not inadequate to share Jesus with others. Luke 12:11-12 tells us to not be anxious about how we will defend ourselves or what we should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach us what to say in that very moment. What greater Helper when we are in need of words than the One who inspired each and every writer of the Holy Bible as they penned our Biblical cannon??

We don't need to fear a loss of status among men: "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first" (Matthew 19:29-30). And in addition to the last being first in the Kingdom of God, as followers of Jesus, we have the greatest status of all: "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided that we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him" (Romans 8:16-17). Fellow. heirs. with. Christ. I have the same status as Christ Jesus in the eyes of God - who cares what man thinks of me?

And ridicule? Well, it actually seems to indicate that we're on the right track:

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on [Jesus’] account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
— Matthew 5:11-12

 

These fears and lies of the enemy restrained Joseph of Arimathea's and Nicodemus' open worship of Jesus when He walked on this earth. It took the death of the One they refused to stand up for to embolden them to step forward and publicly acknowledge and care of Jesus. So I find myself wondering, what will it take for me to step forward? For you to step forward? Who do I fear: man or God? Where is my hope: here on this temporal earth, or in eternity with my Savior? 

O Lord, grant us great faith in all circumstances, that with it we may extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16). Move in us, Holy Spirit, to speak and to act and to boldly proclaim the Gospel as often as we may. Embolden us to be out-in-the-open followers of Jesus, going and making disciples for Him (Matthew 28:19). I pray that each one of us would know the height and depth and length and breadth of Your love for us and that our hope would rest there and not in the things of this world (Ephesians 3:18-19). Help us combat the lies of Satan with the sword of the Spirit, which is Your Word, O God (Ephesians 6:17b). May we be women of the Word that we may tell the Word to the world without fear and with integrity, clarity, and boldness (Philippians 1:14). In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.  

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.

 

 

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