Women doing Kingdom work

Since I began the journey of Kingdom work I have tried to inhale as much information about women in leadership and those doing Kingdom work as I could. I read about men in leadership as well but I am a women and thus... would like to know how women have tackled the big issues that come up in the ministry work. 

This last book that I was reading had a beautiful, in my opinion, description of a Kingdom women.

 I would like to share it with you.... So many times I hear people talk about what women should do and not do in the work of the Kingdom. 

That's a post for another day.... but for today I want to share this....

It goes a little like this....

     We are kingdom women, and we are diverse. We have short hair and we have long hair;  dirt is under our fingernails from toiling under the sun and our fingernails are nicely manicured with pink nail polish; we stay at home with the children, care for our husbands, and support their careers, but we also choose to wear blue pantsuits and pastor churches. We wear yoga pants, leggings, mom jeans, cargo shorts, long skirts, and daisy dukes. You see, our femininity is not rooted in ideology or cultural norms but in our humanity, which is firmly rooted in the humanity of Christ. The life, death, resurrection and ascension of King Jesus informs our identities. We sometimes bear children and sometimes don't, but childbearing isn't our identity; instead, our identities are ordered in the saving and transforming activity of the triune GOD.  

     Our lives are firmly rooted in Jesus Christ, and we are emboldened by the empowering presence of the Spirit. The Spirit informs our decisions in the office, at home, behind a cashier's counter and in our relationships; by the Spirit we are shaped into the women we were created to be - biblical women, holy women and daughters of the resurrection. We are beautiful, strong, courageous, quiet, submissive, outspoken, tender, fierce, and emboldened.

.....

     Kingdom women are diverse, you see. We have gifts to teach, preach, prophesy, serve, lead, and build. We are church planters, we are kitchen ladies, we are numbers cruncher, we are directors, and we worship leaders. We are nurturing, we are assertive, we are maternal, and we are fierce. We are full of wisdom and we are also new Christians. Many have tried to box us in or tell us who we should be, but when we look to Christ we see cruciformity, love, grace, courage, and presence. Sure, try to box us in, but we are kingdom women and we are diverse. * Tara Beth Leach : Emboldened

I love this image of a woman bathed in the love and grace of God and the blood of Christ. We are His. Our identity is not in what the world tells us we are or should be, but in who's we are. All through the Bible we see women who God brings up and molds and empowers and embolden's to do Kingdom work. 

We see the Woman at the well change the course of the town, Dorcas who was love by widows who she took care of, Phoebe, Lydia who was a business owner and mom, Anna, Ruth, Debora who was the Judge over Israel that was married and went to battle for God and country(home girl had a career and a husband what????), Priscilla who educated men on Gods word and a tent maker like her husband (she was bringing home the bacon too), and many more. Kingdom women who God called to do great things. 

What about Timothy's Grandmother and mother, or the Elect Lady in 2 John. I love how much we see women doing big things for the Kingdom. God himself told Abraham to listen to Sarah.... What? *Genesis 21:12

I love that this book speaks life into women, not bad mouth men but shows women that we have a voice, a God given voice. I believe true feminism is not about putting man in his place so to speak, or saying we can do anything a man can do(I hate to break it to you ladies we can't, we aren't made that way and that's ok), but about just realizing our worth as women, as Kingdom women doing Kingdom work. We are made in His own image, just like man, and He alone defines who we are to Him. 

God made Eve, Adam did not so Adam can't define who we are. God alone gives us our value. 

I love one of the very first images, in Genesis 2:21-24 of a woman that God made himself. 

"21.And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22.Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23.Adam said: this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of man. 24. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become on flesh." 

I honestly love verse 22 when it says "he made into a woman and BROUGHT her to man. 

What a beautiful representation of a woman. He didn't just throw some dirt together then roll Adam over and be like... Dude wake up, this chick is ready. 

You notice God had to bring a SINGLE woman to where Adam was. It's as if God took the rib and went off somewhere away from Adam and took His time to create her. 
 Then when He gets back, immediately Adam starts to speak. He didn't have to wake up and recover from a sleep, it would seem he is already awake and waiting. God took great care to form her and make her in His own image. Before she was married to Adam she was God's work. 

We are made by God, for God. What a powerful message for all the Single ladies out there wondering why relationship after relationship fail.... Be God's 1st then when God is ready for you be with a man He will bring the right one to your life, but first.... Be God's! 

Women are not less than, or a second thought or just meh whatever, God was intentional with the creation of us. 

We may have different rolls to play, but that is the beauty of it, all of us, man and woman each have different rolls to play, made for us individually by God. What a beautiful scene that must have been when God strolls up with Eve. I wonder what was going through Adams mind. 

I pray that Kingdom women realize their worth. Our worth is defined by the one who made us, and the One who saves us, not by this world. King Jesus give us our value. I pray that we as Kingdom women rise up to be the Proverbs 31 women that God calls us to be. We are His! We are called to do great things for the Kingdom! 

Sitting here tonight on Christmas eve, the story of Jonah comes to mind. 

Not really the story I would pick to think of at Christmas. However, I find myself wondering if we as Christians truly grasp the heart of God. 
Jonah didn't. 
In the 1st 3 verses of the book of Jonah we see that Jonah straight up didn't get it or just didn't want to. 

Nineveh was lost. 

God wanted Jonah to go to them, but Jonah looked at Nineveh through his heart, not God's. 

God doesn't want anyone to be lost, no one. His heart is for all men not just the "good ones" but all. 

This time of year when we reflect on why Jesus came to earth I feel like we sometimes forget the lost and broken. We are just so glad to worship and celebrate the birth of Christ and we forget that He came for everyone. 

The forgotten people. The ones we look over because they messed up real bad and are sitting in jail. The ones who sleep on the street as we walk past with arms full of gifts. The people who are to drunk to talk to. Or maybe the family member that hurt us to much to forgive. 
Yet we make our way to church to worship the one who came to save them too. And we walked right past them. 

Jesus came for them too. 

Just like God sent Jonah to Nineveh and he tried to run from the presence of God, every time we as Christians are disobedient to God we try to flee from His presence as well. 

Our action to Gods call for us, either moving towards His will or away from His will like Jonah tried, exposes our heart towards God's word, toward His mission of reaching the lost and broken, and it exposes our heart toward how we truly worship the King. 

The reason Jesus came, was for the broken and the lost of this world. We could never be good enough left to our own doing. So the only, ONLY way we can be enough is because Jesus covers us with His blood. He gave everything for the lost, for the broken of this world. 

So when I reflect on why we have this season, I think of the story of Jonah and ask myself.... 

..... Do I try to flee from God? 
..... Do I look at the lost and broken like Jonah did? Or do I see them through the eyes of Christ? 
..... Do I look at them the way Christ looked upon His people, with compassion and love for the lost? Do I hurt for them? Is my heart broken for the broken? 

All of this wouldn't even be happening if it wasn't for the love that God has for the broken and the lost. For people like me. 

I pray that we start seeing the world through God's eye and with the heart of Jesus. We look at the lost and broken and our hearts break for them. For those who don't know love, I pray tears roll down your face for them, and we ache for them to know love like we do. 

We are the salt and the light, and we know love like no other, yet we keep it to ourselves. My prayer is that your heart aches so much that you can't help but move closer to the heart of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and your heart opens for those who are lost and broken. 

This Christmas I pray you feel God's love but more then that, I pray your heart begins to love like Jesus. That you have compassion for those who don't know Christ. For those who think they are just to broken to love. I pray you open your heart to the hurting, the broken, the ones who messed up, the addicted, the sick, the orphans, the widows, and you pour Jesus's love all over them, because you have so much in you. I pray your heart even like that of a child's Christmas story say, "his heart grew 3 sizes that day" I pray your heart grows 3 sizes this day, and you can't contain it. 


Why would Jesus step out of heaven for us????
It's very simple..... LOVE! 

I pray you feel it, I pray you know it, and I pray you show it to everyone you meet. 

Wrapping presents and Jesus

As I sit and wrap gifts tonight for the boys I can't help but appreciate the quiet in the house. The boys are at their dads and I am enjoying the quietness of the house. No fart jokes, no odd mine craft YouTube videos shoved in my face because it is the coolest thing ever... nope just me and the dog and the quiet. 

I mean if I am being totally honest the dog is snoring like crazy, so sort of quiet. 

 All this has got me thinking about the first Christmas.... It would have been about 10 days out when they left Nazareth and Headed to Bethlehem, if my math was close.  

I wonder what Mary was thinking about on their 90 or so mile trip to Bethlehem. Can we just take a moment to appreciate the fact that the "Bread of life, ie... Jesus" was born in the city called the "house of Bread... ie.... Bethlehem".

I love those little "ironic" things that happen all through the Bible.  

They would have probably traveled about 10 miles or less a day depending on the weather and her condition. It was probably getting into the rainy season, and pretty chilly. Mary, sweet Mary was so very big and pregnant. She was weeks away. 

I remember what it was like the last couple weeks for me when I was about to have my Luke. I was not a fun person to be around. I had to pee every 10 mins, I was hungry and tired all the time, but I couldn't get comfortable because the tiny life sucking person inside me was moving non stop. On the rare occasion that I did manage to find a way to sit that was sort of comfortable I had like 10 min's before I would have to get up to pee again. 

Here we see Mary sitting on a donkey for 90 miles in very treacherous ground. They would have to tend with, wild animals like Bear, Lion, and Boar or even people who would try and rob them of their food and water. They did have to pack ample food and water so they would be easy targets to go after.  Easy picken's if you think about it. 

We don't actually hear much about the trip but if you look back to see what they might have had to go through, it wasn't all smooth paved roads with an ice-cream stand on the corner. I am sure they both had to work hard on their trip, as they did every day. Mary knew what a hard days work was like so getting dirty and working hard was something she probably knew very well. 

Isn't it beautiful, that even as they traveled God had His hand going before them clearing the way all they kept doing was moving forward toward the destination.

 I would imagine if they had been fiercely attacked by a hungry pack of lions and God saved them it would have made it in the bible. But since we didn't hear much about it, I would say nothing like that did happen. Maybe it did, and either way it didn't make it in the Bible. 

They made it safe and sound to the the place they needed to be. 

I can't help but wonder what was going through their minds. Where did they sleep?  Would they run into trouble? Joseph might be thinking.... "Good night woman we just stopped so you could pee 2 miles back"...

I absolutely love the beauty of it. The simplicity of it. The humble way the creator of everything stepped out of heaven and chose to become dependent on that in which He created. All the while before He arrived, The Father was setting things up for him, He was preparing a way for Jesus, the Bread of Life entering into the world through His creation, in a town called the House of Bread. 

And to know that everything He did was to restore the relationship between God and man. He wanted a relationship with us. Poor sad, selfish, cranky humans. 

On days like today, when I feel like the world is coming at me from all sides, that the enemy keeps telling me I am nothing, I am worthless, I am reminded that He did all of this for me. He came here for me. Because I am valuable to Him. I am important to Him, and He is the only one who can define my worth, my value.  

It was a peaceful night. A night that I needed so very much. A reminder of sorts as I wrapped the gifts for the boys, that the greatest gift that I, and humanity, ever received was the night the King of Kings stepped out of heaven for me. 

I am so thankful for that gift. So amazed at how much love He had for us. I look around at the mess we live in, and He still loves us and wants to be with us. No matter the mess we are in. 

Jesus made it a point through His life to catch people off guard, like I posted in the last post about the woman at the well. They never seen Him coming, He showed up and changed their life. I guess He was acting like his Father. God had a way of just showing up and changing peoples lives, and people never seen Him coming either..... 

" Hey Mary congrats's you're gonna have a baby" (Life officially changed)

"Hey Joseph you're gonna be a step dad" (Life officially changed)

 Weather it was a burning bush, or a host of 😇😇😇 angles to announce to a couple shepherds the arrival of the Savior, His son, God had a way of showing up and changing lives. 

I don't know about you but I sure am glad he did show up. He changed my life, gave me a new heart. Now the enemy can walk about like a Lion roaring and seeking whom he can devour, but ... (oh that but) the King of Kings has already won that battle. He came to earth for me and you. 

What I wouldn't give to have seen that first Christmas. More so, I can not wait to see the eastern sky roll back and the King of Kings step through to come get us. Oh man.... what a day that will be, when my savior I see... 

I hope everyone one has a wonderful Christmas. I hope you enjoy the smiles, the laughs, and the love. Mostly I hope you know personally the one who loves you more then you can ever know. I hope you get a chance to just spend some time getting to know Him, to love Him and just be in His presence. 

He came for you and me. Joy to the world the Lord has Come!

Merry Christmas!