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Depending on your personal design, your life’s circumstances, and the people in and around you in your life, you may need to either let yourself off the hook, do a little bit more, or ask for help. I don’t know which of these is the perfect fit for you, but we all can do better as we seek to live out our value in Christ, continue to live with hope, and strive for excellence. The mission options for today are designed for you to figure out where you can do better and make one small step in the right direction.
While I will give you a few Monday missions to choose from, don’t feel pressure! Pick one or two if you are ambitious. But only select a mission if it blesses you… not if it stresses you!
What exactly is Monday’s Mission?
Every Monday during our #KingdomWoman “One Month Journey”, I will give you an assignment. It’s great to read a book but what’s even better? Seeing change in your life because a book’s message taking root in your life. Your Monday’s Mission will be an opportunity for any woman who is reading Kingdom Woman to get ideas for applying Kingdom Woman. I don’t know about you but I want to activate change in my life!
~ Your “Mission” for Today ~
Choose from any of the following missions as a way to put “feet” to your faith!
Then be sure to post in the comments to tell me about YOUR mission!
For my fellow do-it-all-a-holics…
Let yourself off the hook – On page 26, I write, “The picture of the Proverbs 31 woman should never make us feel guilty… Let yourself off the hook.” What is something that you do regularly out of guilt or compulsion that you don’t have to do. Practice giving yourself a break. Just because.
Maybe you do the dishes no matter how exhausted you are. Choose to go to bed. Maybe you are the person on your job who picks up coffee for everyone on your way in. Miss a morning. Maybe you are faithful to fix wonderful dinners for your family daily. Make it a hot dog night and (let your kids “nuke” the dogs!). Maybe you never miss a Bible study, planning meeting, or committee gathering. Skip a meeting (gasp!) Pick something that you actually can take a break from and do just that.
I’m not suggesting irresponsibility here. I’m asking you to examine your life and figure out where you are operating out of guilt when it’s OK to give yourself a little grace. Caveat: Now if you are indulgent in giving yourself “grace” on a regular basis… this Monday mission might not be for you! LOL!
For those of us who need to do a little bit more…
Choose excellence! – On page 54, I write, “…our job is to strive for the excellence the Father has revealed to us in the season of life that we are in, in the context of our lives right now…” On the same page, Dad writes, “To be excellent is to be more than just one of the crowd, It is to live in a way that sets you apart as special and unique.” Be honest.
Where are you slacking? Not to be harsh but if you know you are not giving your all at work (maybe chatting a little too much), do better today! If you are the woman (I am sometimes) who doesn’t take the time to put the grocery cart away after you load your car, take a few extra seconds to push it into the “cart holder”. Are you the woman who throws the covers above your pillows as you run out the door or doesn’t make her bed at all (guilty!)? Take the time to make it well as if your mother (or better yet your mother-in-law) is coming to visit.
If you sense there is an area of your life where you can go a little further than you normally do to honor God with a spirit of excellence… DO IT!
For all of us…
Ask for help – Are you struggling to carry your load because you simply don’t ask for help? Do you actually tell your husband where you need his support? Are you choosing not to delegate some responsibilities to others on your team at work who are capable of pitching in? Do you pick up the phone to call your mother-in-law to take her up on the help that she has offered? Or WORSE! Are you not training your children to help around the house?
ASK.FOR.HELP.
Let others help you.
Tell the loved ones in your life how they can help and then let them help (even if they don’t do it your way). In Chapter 3, I confess my own struggle with asking for and accepting help from others. I’m working on it. We can work on it together.
Cheer yourself on! – In Chapter 2, I tell you the story of of my race day disaster. I hope you laughed at with me. The best part of that memory (the only decent memory actually) is that my Dad was cheering for me. Sometimes we are blessed to have others cheering us on. But I’m a firm believer in the idea that we need to cheer for ourselves.
We are so quick to focus on who we are NOT. Take some time to focus on who you ARE and who you are BECOMING. Here are some positive affirmations based on Scripture. Since this week we are focusing on renewing our minds, take some time to write one or a few of these down or type them up. Then post them where you can see them. My prayer is that you will be reminded of who you are based on the value God has given you and have hope for who you CAN be in Him.
- I am a child of God. John 1:12
- I am God’s masterpiece. Ephesians 2:10
- I do not fear because God strengthens me. Isaiah 41:10
- I am full with the joy of the Lord. Isaiah 42:10
- Through prayer, the peace of God guards my heart & mind. Philippians 4:7
- I am forgiven and I will not be tormented by my past errors. – 1 John 5:4
- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. – Philippians 4:13
- If God is for me, who can be against me? – Romans 8:31
- The Holy Spirit is my helper; I’m never alone and I have the peace of God. – Philippians 4:7
- I am strong because God’s strength is at work in me. – 2 Corinthians 12:9
- I don’t worry about everyday life. God knows my needs and meets them because I make His Kingdom my primary concern. – Matthew 6:25
- I forgive those whom I have anything against so that my prayers are not hindered. – Mark 11:25
- I expect the Glory of God to be poured out on my life like the rain. – Zechariah 10:1
What’s Coming Up This Week!
Tomorrow is our Blog Hop! You won’t be able to link up until tomorrow but here are the topics so you can begin thinking about what you want to say!
- Fearing God – At the bottom of page 28 and continuing on 29, Dad states, “Fear God in all you do. Honor Him with your heart, thoughts, words, and actions… Reverence for God serves as the foundation upon which your significance as a kingdom woman will flourish.” In what areas of your life do you sense God calling you to fear Him? Where do you either struggle or succeed in honoring Him through your thoughts, words, and actions?
- Accepting Help – Does “exhaustion is close to godliness” (page 21) describe your tired life? Would you like to have more time for kingdom priorities? Do you see kingdom value in hiring a house cleaning service or “servant girl” as the Proverbs 31 woman did? Why or why not? (If you aren’t exhausted, what encouragement or advice do you have for others? Please… tell us!)
- Hope – On page 32, Dad says, “A lot of us have given up on God. We have counted the years when it seems our prayers have not been answered, and we have determined it’s too late. Too many times we miss out on the destiny God has for us because we have stopped looking. We have stopped hoping.” Describe a time in your life when you’ve been low on hope. What happened?
- Excellence – On page 46, Tony Evans says God will ask us on judgment day: “Did you merely give God your leftovers, or was quality attached to your life even in the mundane tasks that pile up in a woman’s life?” How would you honestly answer that question today. How would you like to answer it?
- Sacrifice – On page 52, I talk about how I sometimes rise early or go to bed late in order to achieve a semblance of excellence in my day-to-day mother routine. What sacrifices do you make in order to achieve excellence? Are the sacrifices worth it? Why or why not?
By the way, if you don’t have a blog, no worries! You can always simply post a response in the comments on Tuesday. Ladies over at Proverbs31.org put it this way, “Blogging is a great way to process, dream, express, and share. If you don’t want to blog, no pressure at all. But if you’ve been considering it, why not take the plunge? ” I concur 🙂
Kingdom Woman Wednesday – Dad and I will be at the blog waiting for you with a video to both answer your questions and introduce the topics for the next “R & R”. Be sure and submit your question ASAP! You will also receive this week’s “R & R”.
Facebook Party – Wednesday @ Noon (CST) – You can go to THIS LINK to RSVP!
Twitter Chat – Thursday @ 8 pm – We’ll have fun chatting it up for one hour using the hashtag #KWChat!
A few housekeeping items for those just joining the journey…
Q & A – Submit questions on biblical womanhood for myself or my dad, Tony Evans, to answer! Just click on the “Ask Chrystal” button on the menu bar (under “Chrystal”). Each week on Wednesday via video blog, one (or both) of us will answer some of the questions we receive!
The Blog – The main source of information for the journey is on the blog. Be sure and subscribe so that posts from the blog will go straight to your email box and you won’t miss anything. While, Wednesdays are our BIG #KingdomWoman days and will be the main place for your assignments for “R&R” (reading and reflection) I’ll post here and there on the blog to keep us on track for the journey! While you can find me blabbing away on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest, those are optional places to find me or other info, graphics, or FUN on the Kingdom Woman One Month Journey.
The Comments – Your responses in the comments are your way to make sure that I see your thoughts. Please pour your heart out there. I read every single one. Remember, feel free to reply to any comment that you see in the thread. Let’s encourage each other! If you haven’t already, make sure I can “see” you! Go to Gravatar.com so I can see your face in the comments!
Social Media – Make it easy for me to find you! As you share quotes from the book on Facebook or Twitter or maybe even take, make, and share graphic images on Pinterest or Instagram, be sure and use the hashtag #KingdomWoman. This way, we can find each other as we share!
The Book – We are reading and reflecting on Kingdom Woman. It’s not too late to download an Ebook or pick one up at your local bookstore and join the journey!
Feel free to use the graphic below to share the One Month Journey with others!
I am blessed to have others cheering me on, be it during a race, singing, or for sticking to my fitness efforts. However, I always brush anything I do off as not much at all. So I definitely can stand to start cheering myself on! I am never one who wants to come across as arrogant or boastful, but I am God’s masterpiece! So from this day forward, I’m putting my feet to my faith to start cheering for me!
Awesome Michelle! Let me know which verse you pick to post and encourage yourself!
Chrystal, my verse is Ephesians 2:10 ~ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
I’m with you Michelle!!! You are already a Kingdom Woman, we all are! Cheers to you for deciding to put your faith in God to work and see the real you, Kingdom Woman, grow. Your journey is and will be well worth the trip; not because I said so but, because your Daddy, Father, God, said so!
I consider myself to be a “do-it-all-a-holic” and maybe a bit OCD because I see so much to be done and try to do it all; unsuccessfully, I might add. I am working on letting go and letting God in a lot of area. It’s a minute by minute, day by day journey but I know, it’s possible if I put my faith to work and just be still.
Good Morning All, Thank you Chrystal for doing this for us. It is absolutely wonderful! I have to say I live with constant guilt about not writing enough. The fact is, I probably do write enough given my goals, but there is a constant gnawing in my spirit that makes me feel unaccomplished — always. I’m in school in large part to prepare for the genre that I’d like to write in. In the meantime, I write in other genres for fun. So I need to let myself off the hook in this area. I need to trust that as I’m carrying out God’s will for my life, He will open up time in my schedule and give me more skill in the area of writing that He’s called me to. As He increases those things for me, I will write more. That is what I need to continue to tell myself daily. The verse that I chose is Philippians 4:13 because I often feel inadequate and that is not from our Father God. I need to allow the Holy Spirit to remind me that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. So glad to be on this journey with everyone! Let’s make it a Magnificent Monday y’all (I’m practicing-I’m a Northerner)!!! (Thanks again Chrystal :))
Let myself off the hook today! Coming from a busy weekend (loved the Beth Moore simulcast “NO LONGER” I was refreshed even while serving during that simlucast as a host church. Then walking along side of my husband ministering to a family in need yesterday – I started the day out in prayer but thought I have to do all of what I planned for today plus making it a catchup today. BUT I am giving myself a little “grace” so that I can rest in the LORD. I was blessed by Psalm 84:5-12 not only for me, but also for my husband and ministering to another. God is good. “As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs, the early rain also covers its with pools. They go from strength to strenth; each one appears before God in Zion”. Oh, we are so blessed. Yes, I am enjoying a morning resting in my Lord’s arms. Thank you Chrystal for the confirmation that it was okay to rest a little today.
I looked back at the Scriptures that I was suppose to pick from (even though God had given me Psalm 84 earlier 🙂 but I picked ◦I don’t worry about everyday life. God knows my needs and meets them because I make His Kingdom my primary concern. – Matthew 6:25
I think that this one fits best for me today.
Good for you Jan! Glad you got some rest 🙂
I am doing another bible study as well as his one and it is amazing, but I find myself procrastinating about my homework, I guess because it in a book and not online, I don’t know. I need to do more to dig deeper in to the meat of hat bible study as well.
I need to stop beating myself up over where I am not, and accept where I am and trust in where the Lord is taking me. I picked two verses, “I am Gods masterpiece.”- Eph. 2:10, and “I am forgiven and I will not be tormented by my past errors.” 1Jn. 5:4.
Those are two of my favorites!
Matthew 6:25-34 was for me! I’m learning to trust God for everything knowing (really knowing) that He loves me. Even typing that just now was a little scary. I don’t think I ever really believed that God loved wretched me enough to take care of me. I said it, sang it, read it, but I didn’t believe it because if I did, I would have trusted Him completely. God is teaching me to do what He has asked me to do (seek His kingdom and His righteousness) and stop trying to do His job because more than capable and He knows what’s He’s doing. 2013 is my year of freedom from the guilt, shame, insecurity, I’m going to enjoy the rest of this life resting in God’s love, forgiveness and mercy!!! Hallelujah
Hello everyone!!! I am letting myself off the hook today!!! Instead of diving into our normal routine after school today, we all took a long, much needed nap. Happy Monday.
That’s great! I like the saying that the Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint and I believe that times like that keep you from burning out. Hope you find that refreshment!
Now that’s what I’m talking about!
Hi Kimberly, I’m so happy for you! Happy Monday.
Thanks. So Sorry i haven’t said it earlier this week. I has been a busy week for me.
Definitely going to cheer myself on. I ‘m always quick to focus on what I am not. All of the scriptures you listed will be in my index card spiral that I carry with me. Thanks for the encouragement. 🙂
I wrote them down for future use, too. Aren’t they great
I’ve got a stack of index cards myself!
I guilt myself in cooking everyday and not keeping the house as tidy as I would like. I’m currently 4 days behind on laundry Because we got a new washer and dryer and my husband hooked it up yesterday evening (night) and we had no dryer cord… Fun fun so I bought one today and it was wrong one so I exchanged on my way to work and it won’t get fixed until tomorrow evening. Feeling antsy about that because I don’t like being more than 2 days behind! I’m a part time do-it-all and a part time ask for help type of wife/mother. I don’t like help until I’m waaaaay in over my head. My husband assigns the children chores and I usually let them know a day in advance they need to clean this and that, a #1 rule is keep rooms cleaned… I let myself off the hook from time to time but not for the right reasons. (Truth hurts) I can do better by pacing myself. I slack in WORKING! I need big time prayer in this area. I do not like my job. (I sweep all night. 10 hours. Sweeping. Picking up trash.) it can get very depressing and discouraging at times. I find myself in wonderful spirits up until the hour I have to go to work and then I Tell my children ok mama needs quiet time,
I have to get focused. I know I can do this with a better spirit but I would much rather be using my time to be more productive.. I stay positive but the reality of dreading work hasn’t changed.. I don’t feel that I am useful but haven’t been Instructed or led anywhere else by God. I am blessed to have a job and I realize there are so many people without but I don’t feel this is my calling or purpose so although I’m aware I do all things unto God, work is the biggest downfall for me.
Praying for you. It does sound like a difficult situation and since I heard that and care, I know that the Lord does way, way more, so take hope in that.
Stephanie, I’m sure that Joseph didn’t see the point of his time in jail but even the dungeon had a purpose. Hang in there. Do your best to walk through your season well. You never know what you will learn or how you will grow and how God will use that to bless you and those around you in the next season.
Chrystal, I acknowledge that but accepting it is something completely different. I don’t know the actual purpose and maybe that’s where the frustration is.. I also want to enjoy the season of my babies growing up and I miss quite a bit with either working or sleeping.. But I refuse to throw myself a pity party and I know you are right… Stinks when someone else says something you are trying to convince yourself of the opposite. It will get better and I will do better. If not I don’t think God will entrust me with anything else… If I’m not faithful with what He has given me, why entrust me with anything else!? Need prayers for OBEDIENCE in this area. Thank you again for your words of encouragement..
This is a wonderful post. I love love LOVE the affirmations based on scripture!! Printing them and framing them for daily inspiration!! Don’t be surprised if you see a graphic on Instagram each day! 🙂
Shellye — I would love to follow you on IG — how can I find you???!
Each day, I am discovering good changes in my life. I really like the daily inspiration verses! They are there to remind us who we are and brings me back to the focus on Him and on my work in advancing His kingdom.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 — this brings reassurance and comfort to my spirit. It allows me to be me. This shows me I don’t have to be “strong” all the time. I am going to have weak moments but the amazing thing is, during those moments, Jesus’ power is revealed. And I can rest and have peace knowing that I don’t have to have it altogether. I can share with other women that the only thing that makes me appear strong is WHO is living on the inside of me. If it weren’t for Jesus I would remain defeated and weak.
Yesterday was one of THOSE days. You know, the kind that even waking up puts you in a bad mood, and then nothing goes right? Well, it was just one thing after another, and I was at my wits end. During the chaos, our caseworker called and asked us if we wanted to take in a foster baby. (This is the first call my husband and I have gotten since becoming licensed foster parents.) I would usually say a hearty yes, but only out of obligation. Yesterday, I had to say no. Bringing a baby who needed most of my attention wouldn’t have been a good decision for my family. Of course, I thought about that baby all day, and I prayed for him, but I’m so glad I didn’t say yes.
Oh boy oh boy! When I tell you my job asks people to do things that makes NO SENSE – (walking around with a 20lb vaccuum strapped to my back and vacuuming on the 3rd level of a warehouse. I have to take this thing wherever I go.. Talk about torture of my back… But on the humor side of things I’m doing all I can do keep a smile and remain positive. My friend says I look like part of the Ghost Busters Squad.. Talk about bearing my cross daily.. Reminds me of the message Priscilla gave when God tells us to do some off the wall things… And we have to do just that, do it without complaint. God is working on me & I want to be pleasing for His name’s sake..
Stephanie,
I am praying for you and I wanted you to know that God is using you as an awesome testimony, your work and your posts and your attitude.
Just started reading the book, Kingdom Woman! Love it for the encouragement and I will definitely join in on the discussions. I have a renew energy for advancing God’s kingdom and a focus on what’s important. I have decided to unplug from FB in order to create time I thought I had lost for reading. Since letting go of FB, I’ve read Seasons of a Woman’s Life by Lois Evans and now on Kingdom Woman. Thank God for people who decide to follow God’s plan for their lives. As in Kingdom Woman, “when she pursues her destiny in light of how God created her to function-what she does will produce remarkable results” (p19). I am receiving the fruit and loving it!