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The videos from yesterday’s Kingdom Woman Wednesday are now up and working! Sorry about the “techno” malfunction.
Here are THREE THINGS for you to think about today!
It’s that time again for me to share a few things from the blogosphere with you. We are still hanging out with our focus on the mind, body, and spirit ~ three areas of development based on Luke 2:52. These are the same three areas in which Jesus, Son of God and Savior of the world, had to experience a process of maturation… so it’s OK if we do too!
We are also commanded in Mark 12:30 to love God in each of those three areas so I think it’s worth our time to explore! If you need to read or review read my initial thoughts about focus on these verses click HERE).
If you have mastered a particular area or do not need my suggestions, come up with your own! Then keep your Kingdom Kindreds posted by sharing your journey in the comments!
O.K. Kingdom Kindreds. Here we go!
1) The Mind… Focus Outward Over the last couple of weeks we have talked about how we can grow in wisdom and renew the way we think. In Philippians 2:4-6, the Bible reads, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…”
I LOVE this thought. Jesus had me on His mind. He was thinking about ME when he was “obedient to the point of death” (Phil 2:8) His focus on the big picture, my need for salvation, is the lynch pin for His willingness to stay the course.
Kindred sister, we need to stay the course don’t we? And the ability to stay and fight is won and loss in the mind. Your mind will quit a thousand times before your body does. So how do we set our minds to win? We focus outward. We focus on the big picture. We focus on the finish line.
What is your finish line? Are you mothering young children? Is your finish line to have adult children that love God and love others? That focus can help you stay the course when you are sick and tired of changing diapers and wiping up spills
Do you desire to keep yourself pure for that man and the wonderful marriage that you are believing God for? That focus will help you stay the course and refuse to lower your standards for the wrong man at the wrong time!
Are you in the middle of a crucial project in your community, your church, or on your job? In the end, who will your efforts bless, serve, support, or encourage? Keep those people or purposes in the front of your mind when you want to quit.
Maybe you can write your focus point on your mirror with a dry erase marker or put stickies up around your home or office. Or better yet…maybe you can do silly things like I do and leave yourself encouraging messages to stay the course.
However you can make it a reality, train your mind to focus. Focus outward and draw strength to stay the course because you have faith that the end result is worth the effort. What or who will you be focusing on this week to help keep your mind from wandering? What is your big picture? What do you believe to be your finish line?
I pray this song from my friend Tamela will encourage you to live each day to the fullest!
The fight to focus your mind is worth it!
Last week the goal was to move more. I hope that you did a little something more than you normally would have! Now hold on to that (and the drinking more water from the week before that) and let’s keep going forward.
This week let’s talk about FOOD. This topic is so huge and there are so many different things that you could do. I don’t want to overwhelm you… nor do I want to overwhelm myself! So I will keep it simple and basic. For this week.. Strive to eat less junk. If junk food is not an issue for you, strive to eat less. I can almost guarantee you that the majority eat more food than our bodies require.
What do I mean by junk. Well maybe this photo will make it more clear…
OK…OK…maybe that stuff is not your thing. What about this collection of items?
OK…maybe I didn’t have your particular food in my pictures. But YOU know what your vice is. The bottom line is until our next Kingdom Woman Wednesday…
If junk food is not a problem for you, pick another food goal for the week. Keep a food journal for the week to see how much of what you are actually taking in. Or maybe you could eat more green food. Eat less red meat. Cut your portions in half. The majority of us can stand to make a small change in our diet even if that change is a small one. Need recipe ideas? Check out Clean Eating Magazine or Kalyn’s Kitchen. If you need a little guidance on what a balanced diet looks like, here is a basic place to start.
Whatever food change you choose to make, it’s only for a one week!
Keep your eye out for healthy eating ideas or recipes! We’ll put those to work next Tuesday!
3) The Spirit… Make Prayer a Priority
This week for our “R&R” includes a whole chapter on prayer. While many of us do not struggle in this area, I know that many of us do. We struggle to make time to pray. We struggle to for what to pray for. We are challenged sometimes to stay focused during that time of prayer.
So this week, let’s develop our spirits by praying. Try to pray every day for this next week. Maybe you need to get up a little earlier to have a few minutes alone with the Lord. Maybe you can turn off the radio and talk to God while you drive to work. Maybe you need to turn off the TV in the evening so that you have energy at the end of the day to talk to the God of the universe (isn’t that amazing by the way?… that the God of the universe wants to talk to us!)
However you get it in… just PRAY!
Because I know that we are all at different stages of our spiritual journey, I don’t want to assume that everyone knows how to pray. If you would like to get some general direction on how to pray, please take a look at KSBJ’s brief tutorial for how to pray. If you need direction on what to pray about, check out Focus on the Family’s How to Pray Everyday, and this guide on How to Pray God’s Word for Your Life.
Many of you might regularly spend time in prayer but would like a better system for organizing your prayers so that you remember who and what you’ve said you would pray for and have a record of your prayers to know when God has answered. I’ve found a few resources you may want to check out for ideas! Check out A Passionate Followers Journal, From My Own Hands, and Where My Soul Belongs for ideas. Also, Jennifer Dukes Lee has a whole blog post with lots of other resources for you to review! You can find tool for organizing your prayer list You can even pray with your iPhone!
However you do it, just pray! It will make such a huge difference in your week and in your soul!
Lastly, if you need some music to help set the tone for your quiet time… try this song, again by Tamela…
I pray that these encouragements in the areas of your mind, body, and soul motivate, educate, and spur you on to doing new things, reviving old things, or being more consistent with things you are already doing.
Recap of the Three Things…
Focus Outward
What’s your “finish line”? Focus your mind and efforts by looking at the big picture.
Eat Less Junk
For one week give up some junk or watch your portion size
Just pray!
Make it your goal to pray each day this week.
If you miss a day, just keep going the next day!
Prayer changes things 🙂
Remember…
Twitter Chat Tonight @ 8pm (CST) – We’ll chat it up for one hour. Search for the hashtag #KWChat!
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 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. Each week you will be invited to share your journey in the comment section. I hope you do!
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!
Today’s post had me in tears idk why…I definitely needed to hear abt focusing on the finish line. I am SERIOUSLY going thru some issues in my marriage, but i LOVE my husband, so I pray and fight for him in the spirit…He is going thru something internally and he out right refuses to talk abt it, & when i’ve asked what’s bothering him he just gets so upset, so i’ve resolved to just pray to keep the peace. Whatever it is, is starting to cause some serious issues in our marriage and i’ve noticed a disconnection forming. So when u said to focus on the finish line, that gave me hope that God can/will heal my marriage..#myfinishlineisgrowingoldwithmyhusband and
Me too me too La Shonda! Not only was I in tears but the same issues are going on with my marriage as well. I have resorted to praying also but there is a huge disconnect as well as tension and SILENT TREATMENT! My husband actually told me that he wasn’t going to take care of the kids anymore.. that I needed to do it or find someone that would. They aren’t his biological children so it was one of those things where I was forced to call in and can only get 2 more absences before being terminated. I will also have to call in tonight.. so I will be praying for you… and please be praying for me. God knows what He is doing. God knows that all of this we think is WRONG with our marriages will be turned into GOOD! I keep asking God what He wants me to learn from this? I’m tired of crying over the TEST! I’m just waiting patiently for it to be over with. He knows how much each of us can endure.. it will be over sooner than we think! I just have to keep my focus on not getting discouraged during the process. Thats always most difficult for me. But I refuse to let the devil steal my joy! I have more than enough to be thankful for and thats what I hold onto! The promise of PURPOSE and staying filled with the fulfillment of PEACE! We will get through this… it will pass. The enemy can’t stand that we are trying to get stronger in the Lord.. a few times last night as my husband and I weren’t speaking and I was tending to my kids, I thought of divorce.. I thought could I live without my husband. The honest answer it YES but I know that God doesn’t want that. He will restore ALL things. Wether it be an argument about who didn’t take out the trash or who left dirty clothes beside the clothes basket instead of putting them in the designated basket they go in…. NOTHING is too big or too small for God. We just have to CHOOSE our battles. This can be something we learn from or we can keep going through it until we do. My thing is, since this has been an ongoing issue that i have been dealing with, obviously there is something I am not getting.. something that I could possibly be blinded by the enemy on. So a lot of times, I look at it like, ok this person is upsetting me these things are not going “RIGHT” — but a lot of times, if I look in the mirror and actually take time to DIG DEEP into my own spirt, it’s something God is showing me. It is something God is teaching me. So maybe it’s not something with your husband.. maybe that is just a result of something within yourself that God is trying to PURGE… Regardless, I know it gets TOUGH and ROUGH when it comes to the men we love. It’s a low blow and it hurts!
Stephanie thankyou, & i will definitely be praying for your marital situation as well. We hav also had the silent treatment thing happen, & as a matter of fact, its still on going. I’ve been asking God about what lesson he’s trying to show me in all of this & so i’m just patiently waiting for an answer. I’ve asked my husband if i had done or said anything wrong for him to behave so negatively towards me & he said no, but does not wish to discuss whatever the issue is..meanwhile i’m the box of which he kicks around in the moment, i guess bcuz i’m easily accessible i suppose. I too hav considered divorce, since this continues to be a faucet like issue “on and off kinda thing”, but as this is my second marriage, i’m trying to learn & grow & be that KW tht God designed me to be for my husband..and i just don’t believe tht a KW would just throw in the towel…So i’ll pray 4 u for & u pray 4 me my sister in Christ; we’re gonna win these battles with God’s help.. stay encouraged!
I completely agree.. KW do not give up… and I refuse to as well. With me having small children and him having a child and us have none together it can make things difficult. The enemy tries to play this my kids your kid situation often. He tells me I only want him to be “DADDY” when it’s convenient but truth of the matter is because my biological children are around more, he treats them harder than his daughter that only comes around every other weekend. My daughter has been invited to several sleepovers and has not went. There was a lady that happens to live right down the street that invited my baby to a party/sleepover and I was going to let her go seeing as how she never goes anywhere without us. She’s about to be 8 and I don’t see a problem with her going one night.. not that it would be an ongoing thing because I like my kids home with me for the majority of the time.. well he said it was up to me that he didn’t want her to go and then he changed his mind and said no he didn’t want her going so I said ok.. and didn’t argue his decision.. well low and behold he wanted to give me detail for detail of why he made a choice., I said you don’t explain your decisions to the kids and you don’t have to explain to me., no means no, you said no, I don’t need an explanation and it’s not that big of a deal… well he got mad because I didn’t want to hear what he had to say.. turn around and hasn’t spoke since… because we were dealing with issues with my son (age 5) for getting in trouble at school which is rare and never happens and he said it’s because I baby him too much at home.. so one thing after another., most of our disagreements derive from the kids… and how he stays punishing them and faulting me for their misbehavior. Kids will be kids regardless.. I think he could live his entire life without showing any emotion.. and me, I’m right the opposite, I’m as sensitive as they can come.. I’m trying harder not to show it, but I think it’s difficult when things hurt my feelings, the tears start coming! It’s going to get better! It has no other option but to get better from here!
This is a welcome break in my day. Thank you Chrystal. May the Lord bless you in abundance like you are blessing all of us with this.
LaShanda and Stephanie
Hang in there ladies. The finish line is in reach. I can testify.
I was so hopeless in my marriage for several years and when I first started praying for my husband it seemed like things only got worse. But I look back and see that was God at work and the enemy working over time. My husband was feeling convicted and didn’t like it. So he withdrew from me more and more and then he would lash out in rage. It was one extreme or the other.
But I had to persevere becuase I knew how bad it could get and I couldn’t change Him. Only God could so I stayed the course. And I won’t lie, it wasn’t easy. I cried myself to sleep night after night and early on I pleaded with God for a quick fix. Instead he put godly women and teachers around me to encourage me and join me in prayer through that time. He did so much work in me during that time, then when I least expected it God transformed my husband overnight. Literally overnight. I went out of town for work and the first night I was away he called me in the middle of the night, left a voicemail and not just what he said but how he said it…in his voice, I knew he was a new man.
Our God loves to heal. And He loves to heal marriages. Marriage is his beautiful gift to his children. You ladies are on the right track. Focus on the finish line, your God’s already there!
Hi LaShanda and Stephanie, I would like to echo Raquel because she expresses those sentiments so well, but I feel like I do not qualify to encourage married women in their marriage. My husband is Jesus of Nazareth and He’s perfect. I mean that. He has not yet delegated His responsibilities to another, so I’m happy in my marriage to Him. Very much so. My heart goes out to you though. I am praying for all of the marriages that are facing challenges, at least those I know of. Raquel, your blog post this week was so beautiful!! If I may, I encourage any married woman who is weary in any way in her marriage to read your post this week. It was a blessing to me, and I’m single (by human standards at least).
Thanks again, Katheryne, I’m glad to hear you were blessed by post. Our Jesus is pretty awesome!
🙂
Awesome post. I am humbled by the transparency of everyone. God’s a healer and will restore marriages and relationships. I emplore everyone to stay the course and see the salvation of the Lord.
Thank you ladies! I can see God’s hand in all of this but at the same time, with my husband being a man of God and a preacher you would think the approach would be different. I’m looking into counseling. I have my spiritual mother and then I have my pastor’s wife that is truly amazing! This has been ongoing and the enemy keeps bringing things up and attacking the same wounds God has been working effortlessly trying to heal!
Yep and just remember the enemy can bring it but he has no power compared to our Jesus!
You’re welcome Stephanie. Did you know that Chrystal’s mother, Dr. Lois Evans, has a great website for Pastor’s Wives. There’s a Counselor Directory on there too. Also, if you pin, a group called Leading and Loving It is on Pinterest. They are also a ministry for Pastor’s Wives. You are on my prayer list sis. Have a great night!
My husband isn’t a pastor… Yet. I won’t say what God does or doesn’t have planned for the future. He is an associate minister at our church!!!! But a PRAISE REPORT — he was leaving for a revival dressed and all and be went and changed his clothes and gathered the kids and made us all sit down and apologized to each one of us individually and as a family… Shocked the devil out of me.. Literally! I couldn’t even be upset.. I thank God for it.. It had my 7 year old in tears when she was in the shower talking about how touched and how much those words meant to her… The devil can’t have my family or marriage. The devil knows where God is trujg to take us and the bondage He is removing out of our lives and the enemy can’t take it…
Hallelujah! That is awesome Stephanie!
Well praise the Lord!!! I am ecstatically happy 4u & ur family….Tht was definitely a step in the right direction…God is awesome
Raquel & Katheryne thank u so much for ur encouraging words & Raquel, ur testimony just lifted my spirits and gave me so much hope. This is nothing more than a storm in my life & this is too shall pass, & i’m standing on God’s promise of peace in my hm & marriage. Stephanie, we’re just gonna hav to duke this thing out in the spirit! God’s got this!
You’re welcome LaShonda. You’re right, God’s got this!
Thank you so much for sharing my post. I’m so glad it helped you!
Nice to “meet” you Brittany!