Encourage, Equip, Empower

Each month our very own amazing writers from South Texas publish a series of blog posts written with you in mind. Our desire is to encourage, equip, and empower you through stories, experiences, and insights from our writers and from God’s Word.

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  • Joy Beyond Understanding

    “ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 Summertime in the South is not for the faint of heart. Temperatures that soar to unbearable heights, iced tea that can’t seem to stay iced, and leather car interior that is torture whenever you get in…

  • Peace in a Wild Workplace

     I do not work in a church.  I am involved in ministry full-time, but I also work a secular job to provide for my family.  I don’t care where you work, whether it be in a church or out; if you work with people, it can be difficult.   Feeling called to ministry, I have asked…

  • Peace In the Wild

    When I think about the phrase “peace in the wild,” I picture a leopardess in the middle of a jungle. I imagine the sound of monkeys hooting in the background while she cleans her paws. She’s laying down, feeling peaceful, she’s not worried about where her next meal will come from. She’s not anxious about…

  • Fashioned for Motherhood: Letting Go and Dealing with Disappointment

    “But when she could hide him no more, she got out a papyrus basket for him and coated it in tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.” (Exodus 2:3 NIV)

    The tremendous pain at the end of childrearing is much like the searing contractions at the beginning. When a baby is born, our body is buckling under the birthing process. When they leave home, it’s our heart that revolts against their absence.

    Jochebed amazes me again. Three months of intense mothering and she willingly built a basket. She covered her ark with tar and pitch and certainly tears. Then, when the time came and conditions were right, she put everything precious in the reeds. She sent her son into the Nile.

    Jochebed wasn’t naive to the dangers of that notorious river. She had spent her whole life in Goshen. She was well aware of the risks: crocodiles, spitting venomous snakes, and most notably, Egyptians. Despite very legitimate concerns, Jochebed knew keeping her son at home was even riskier than letting him go. 

    As a mother of two young adult children, I find solace in Jochebed’s bravery. There are risks in keeping our children from the world, especially when they’ve outgrown the nest. Moses was sent out early, but the circumstances demanded it.

    We tend to hang on to our kids much longer in this time period. Child labor laws have unintentionally expanded into prolonged adolescence. An increase in privilege apart from responsibility creates oversized toddlers and it isn’t good for our kids. We need to let them go.

    Emancipation always comes with risk. Like Moses’ mom, we’ve lived in the world long enough to know what’s out there. It’s tough to send our young adults into potential disappointment, difficulty and even defeat. Yet, these are the ways we grow up. Challenges produce perseverance. Hardship helps us learn to lean into God.

    Think about what you know today compared to what you thought you knew at twenty. Chances are good that you’ve grown up a bit. Why? Because you had to in order to survive.

    Keeping our developing babies in the nest will eventually stunt their growth. Jochebed understood that a strong and healthy boy could not continue to stretch his limbs in hiding. For Moses to grow up into the man of God he was intended to be, she had to entrust him to her higher power completely. For her, that meant a makeshift basket in a raging river. For us, it might mean a first apartment in San Antonio or a dorm room in College Station. Either way, we’ve got to give our baby over to the capable hands of their Creator. We must trust that He loves them most.

    Moms, newfound freedom means they will most likely mess up. Moses certainly did. He grew up in an unbelieving household. He received a secular education. Maybe most heartbreakingly, he called another woman ‘Mom’. When Moses finally reconnected with his roots, he overreacted to the injustice of his fellow man. He killed an Egyptian in cold blood and fled the country when he was found out.

    It isn’t specifically mentioned in scripture, but I can’t imagine a scenario where Moses’ parents were anything but heartbroken. Their son had broken God’s commandments, committed treason, and seemed to be lost to them forever. Let’s not make light of this: forty years passed, likely without so much as a letter. Moses was a wanted man. Jochebed and Amram wouldn’t have known if their son was dead or alive, thriving or thrashing, repentant or apostate.

    It’s still true. Our adult kids will inevitably disappoint us. They will make choices we struggle to come to terms with: education pursuits, bedfellows, purchases, friendships, tattoos and piercings, just to name a few. We watch them make decisions without discretion: they haven’t the experience to deter them or the humility to ask for help. And they can get themselves into some pretty crummy circumstances in a hurry. They may very well wind up spending forty years in Midian without communication. What’s a mother to do?

    We walk out motherhood much like we started: with devotion and prayer. As mothers, we have two commitments to our kids that will not cease this side of eternity: unconditional affection and intercession.

    Our kids need to know that we care. Not just when things are going well and we’re busting buttons with pride, but when they’ve made a mess and they’re sitting in it. We cannot afford to be fair-weather folks, especially when our kids are mostly grown. They need to be reinforced by love even when everything has gone to pieces. Our affection has got to be unflinching. They must be assured that we love them no matter what, just as their heavenly Father does.

    Additionally, young adults need to know that we pray. Convince them that we are regularly tugging their names into the throne room, interceding tirelessly on their behalf. One of my greatest joys is when my kids bring prayer requests –– they do regularly this because they know I’ll follow through!

    The responsibility of mothering never lifts; it only shifts. Our children leave the nest and we move down to our knees. When we are done wiping bottoms and refilling sippy cups and signing permission slips, we can finally settle into the real work of petitioning the Father on their behalf. The primary way we care for our adult children is in prayer. We tarry until the tide turns and our son or daughter is a mature and contributing family member of the Kingdom.

    Before we part ways today, I want to take a moment and encourage the momma who’s child is in Midian as we speak. God isn’t done yet. He adores our kiddos more than we can fathom. He has hopes and plans and dreams for them. There’s a bush burning in their periphery right now. God is just waiting to get their attention. One day they’ll turn aside and notice His powerful presence anew. In the meantime, we do our parental duty in devotion and prayer. We keep loving and we keep beating on the door of heaven on their behalf.

    “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in truth.” (3 John 1:4 NIV)

    Lord, it is so hard to let go. We’ve given much of our lives to motherhood. We’d like to hold on to our children forever, but we do not want to stunt their growth. Please give us courage when the time is right.  Teach us to build a basket that will carry them safely into the waters of life. Go with our baby as they brave the big, old world. Get their attention with a burning bush and set their lives on fire for You. In the meantime, we vow to keep up our end in devotion and prayer. We are trusting in You. Amen.

  • Fashioned for Motherhood: Brief But Pivotal

    “And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him for three months.” (Exodus 11:23 NIV)

    Every expectant mother has legitimate concerns about the condition of the world they are bringing their baby into. This was most certainly the case with Jochebed, the mother of Moses. A mother’s appropriate response to the weightiness of the world juxtaposed to the smallness of our infant remains unchanged: we press ahead in prayer and devotion.

    We concluded last week: Jochebed bravely carried her baby to term. When Moses finally made his way into her arms, she secretly nurtured him for three months. Hebrews 11:13 tells us her faith in God was far greater than her fear of Pharaoh. Can you imagine trying to hide a newborn? Let alone putting him in a basket on the river when he had outgrown his concealment?

    I have only had two babies myself. Not for a lack of attempts: my body simply did not cooperate with gestation. We conceived our son after a full year of effort, riding the waves of hormones and hopes dashed month after month. His was a difficult birth and I remember being grateful to have survived the trauma via modern medicine.

    After our harrowing introduction, I treasured every moment with my son. I suspect Jochebed felt similarly about her Moses. Scripture assures us, she found him to be special from the very start.

    My second child was equally treasured. We had crawled through two miscarriages in between. My high-risk obstetrician had already warned me: I may have already had my miracle baby, but she’d do her best to see me through a second live birth. 

    That last pregnancy was my longest. mostly because I wouldn’t let myself hope until the very end, until I was sure that my arms would cradle the child inside. Could Jochebed relate to these feelings of maternal insecurity? Did she press on each day of her pregnancy in spite of her fears about the future?

    When my daughter was finally with us, I could’t stop gazing at her in wonder. I could hardly believe she existed! Her birth was easy, my recovery uncomplicated. Suddenly I had this prodigious little person who had defeated all odds. I wound up marveling at motherhood with my last child as deeply as I had my first. I remained profoundly aware of the compounding miracles that made up my little girl. I’m just sure Jochebed reveled in every moment with her tiny Moses, too.

    Friend, all of motherhood is brief. The quote, “The days are long but the years are short.” smarts with accuracy. In my experience, parenting begins as a blizzard of activity followed by deafening stillness. My twenty years raising children recently slid into the rearview mirror and I’m still adjusting to the quiet. It went fast. Jochebed’s days with her son must have moved by at lightspeed. She believed she only had months with her Moses. I’m quite certain she made them count.

    However brief our mothering opportunity may be, it’s important that we make the most of it. I imagine Jochebed invested those first three months with Moses to her chest in prayer and devotion. She nurtured her son and along with it, her hope for his future. We all have dreams for our children. Did her circumstances discourage her from dreaming or press her all the more into prayer?

    A mother’s love is a essential investment in a child’s personhood. Psychologists are still coming to terms with the significance of a maternal figure. My father lost his mother to the polio epidemic when he was only four. His mother left a birthday party in an ambulance and lived out her last hours in an iron lung. For the remainder of his days, my dad nursed his wound of being motherless. When my own son was four months old, I was overtaken with the enormitude of my affection for him. I called my dad in tears to ensure him: “Your mother adored you. She poured her whole heart in for all four years she had with you. You are loved!”

    Jochebed must have attempted to cram lifetime of loving into her few short months with her son. They were brief but pivotal hours and days. Our opportunity to mother is much the same. The sand still slips through the hourglass at a reckless rate. We hope for eighteen years or more, but we never know what life might hold.

    We spend our limited time wisely when we invest ourselves in devotion and prayer. Somehow, in Kingdom economics, prayer empowers purer devotion, and purer devotion inspires still more prayer.

    We cannot afford to forget: our mothering moments matter – no matter how brief they may be.  Sleepy petitions over our baby’s downy head ultimately make a difference in their destiny. Jesus told us clearly: God honors the prayers of persistent women.


    “And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night?” (Luke 18:7 NIV)

    Devotion and prayer are the most powerful investment we can make in our children. The Lord alone knows who they might become, but He graciously invites us into His process for a finite season. We harness our opportunity when we spend the bulk of our mothering efforts on devotion and prayer. 

    Lord, we thank You for the miracle of motherhood. Today we marvel over the mysteries that happen in the secret place and Your invitation to participate through parenthood. May we mother well. May our moments with our babies bring out the best in us. May we invest our energies in devotion and prayer. We want to steward these days and hours well, even if they are brief. We do our part and we look to You as we entrust them to the waters beyond our care. Amen.

  • Fashioned for Motherhood: Expectation

    “Be fruitful and increase in number…” (Genesis 1:27 NIV)

    From the foundations of the earth, long before the Fall, God made His intentions for multiplication quite clear. Ladies, we were fashioned for motherhood. Our whole frame is built around our womb. Along with this dedicated equipment comes joy and pain, expectation and disappointment, life and death. In the coming weeks, we are going to discover how we were designed with motherhood in mind. God had a good plan when He called us to conceive, carry and cultivate children. Even if we haven’t opportunity to carry our own, we’ve been created with intention to nurture. When we learn to mother well, we grow up in the process.

    It’s been more than two decades since I saw those two pink lines, but I still remember running into our bedroom with the EPT in hand. My poor husband was half asleep in his response, I’m not sure it even registered. (We’d only been married a few years; now I know that he is not a fan of surprises, even good ones!) Unfazed, I was elated enough for the both of us, but in the very next moment, I sunk to the floor in realization: “What did we do!?!” Suddenly we were bringing a whole other person into the world and we could barely take care of ourselves!

    Whether we’ve hoped and prayed and tried for a pregnancy or been caught off guard and surprised –– we all approach motherhood with some measure of expectation. We have ideas about how and when motherhood might happen, what kind of mother we’d be, what sort of child we’d raise. We typically don’t get too far into personal experience before we realize the reality is quite different than our expectation.

    In the years since my first positive pregnancy test, I’ve studied many inspiring mothers in scripture. Jochebed (the mother of Moses) has stood out to me most recently. Her faith expressed in action over decades is nothing short of astounding. I’d like to spend some time together unpacking her story and making application to our own.

    As the book of Exodus opens, the Jews were still in Egypt four hundred years after Joseph had died. Pharaoh had long forgotten the dreamer and his salvation of the nation. The Egyptians began to see the Hebrews as an imposition instead of a blessing. Egypt found the their fruitfulness intimidating and enslaved them in an effort to squelch their spirits. 

    Historically, man cannot curse what God has blessed. The Hebrew population, though exploited, continued to explode under Pharaoh’s oppression. Jews weren’t fashioned for slavery, they were fashioned to flourish. And so they did, despite their deteriorating conditions. Pharaoh made their lives bitter, and when the bitterness did not diminish them, he set out to destroy their hopes further. He demanded the death of every newborn Jewish boy. He ordered the midwives to murder the boys at birth, but the midwives feared God far more than Pharaoh.

    Jochebed wasn’t a first-time momma when Moses made his way into her womb, but a seasoned parent. She had already given birth to Aaron and Miriam when she discovered she was pregnant again. Childbirth has always been risky business; until the last hundred years or so many women and children died in the process. Jochebed’s third pregnancy wasn’t a happy occasion, but a fearful thing with terrible timing. To carry a pregnancy to term under Pharoah’s reign was to embrace a fifty-fifty chance of heartache after the birthing pains had ceased.

    Moses was most likely loved and wanted, but going through with the pregnancy included a high cost for his mother. This is still true today: to carry a child from conception to birth and beyond is to open your heart up to tremendous risk.

    Four millennia before the sonogram, Jochebed had no way of knowing whether she was having a boy or a girl. Birthing a Jewish boy into Goshen meant murder on arrival. Was Jochebed tempted to end her pregnancy? Did she consider other alternatives? Abortion is an ancient option: there were tools and herbs and accomplices to accomplish the task documented as far back as 1550 BC. Jochebed didn’t bow to her fears or cave into temptation. She persevered through what could only be described as a high-risk pregnancy.

    The further I walk with Jochebed, the more I’m convinced, she was a brave lady full of faith. She carried on amidst the crush of hormones and the fury of Pharaoh. She chose to see her pregnancy to term. When her worst fears were realized and a baby boy was born, she hid him as long as she could. And then she built a basket and put him in a river –– but that’s next week’s discussion. 🙂

    We all know who Moses grew up to be. Where would we be without without his mother’s courage? What stories would be stricken from scripture without her commitment to hope and life? How many slaves did her son set free because she refused to let fear write her story? 

    The risks of motherhood will always exist. The temptation to avoid it remains. The means to extinguish have only improved. We must maintain divine perspective: however motherhood happens, we have been fashioned for it. God intentionally designed us for this awesome and terrifying responsibility. What’s more, He accompanies us on every step of the journey.

    Some pregnancy circumstances are more favorable than others, but when given the opportunity, God does marvelous things through these tiny humans He knits together in our secret places. As women, we have been entrusted with the holy, high calling of carrying children into the world. It’s costly, but critical to the redemption of humanity.

    “I am the Lord’s servant… May Your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:38 NIV)

    Lord, today we recognize that we have been fashioned for motherhood. We also realize the risks therein. Give us courage as we embrace Your good plan for humanity, especially as it unfolds in our frames. May we approach motherhood full of faith in Your ability to redeem all things. Amen.

  • Living The Adventure

    Fashioned by God: Living The Adventure

    “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT)

    This has been an incredible month. We started our Fashioned by God theme by talking about how we can consistently be Living in Expectation. Then two weeks ago we discussed how to be a person Living without Fear. Then last week we looked at the way children wholeheartedly trust their parents as we read about how we can act like a child of the King who is Living by Faith. Now we’re going to take the next step.

    A couple of weeks ago we talked about the fact that we tend to become fearful because of something that has not happened. In other words, we fear the unknown. Then we took it a step further and acknowledged that fully trusting God means that we must relinquish our control over the future. Again, the unknown. And by definition, every single future moment you have not yet lived, is the unknown. You are going to encounter unknown events throughout your entire life, no matter what you do. You can plan and scheme and try to control the future. You can set things in place that make you feel secure. By the way, did you notice the word ‘feel’ in the last sentence? A feeling is not guaranteed from one moment to the next. Feelings can change in an instant. On a whim. You can cry and pray and beg God to do what you want, which by definition is ultimately asserting your will. But in the end, you can’t control the events of your life, let alone the world, any more than you can make the sun come up in the morning, or stop shining, if you so wish. So you’re going to be walking into the unknown in each and every breath that you are given. You must decide whether you will embrace fear, or faith, along the way.

    There is just as much of the unknown inherent in fear as there is in faith. How can you begin to recognize and arrest the paralyzing grip of fear, and embrace the miraculous possibilities that are inherent in faith?

    When Mary the mother of Jesus was still very young, she was given a choice. She chose God’s way, even though it meant almost certain ridicule and judgment. She was young, but she was smart enough to know that she could lose her future husband. She was probably certain that she would be misunderstood by everyone around her, including her own family and community. But she said, “Yes!” She decided to do things God’s way instead of her own way. She chose the adventure. Listen to what she says when the angel appears to tell her about what God has planned for her future.

    She chose God’s way, even though it meant almost certain ridicule and judgment. She was young, but she was smart enough to know that she could lose her future husband. She was probably certain that she would be misunderstood by everyone around her, including her own family and community. But she said, “Yes!” She decided to do things God’s way instead of her own way. She chose the adventure.

    April Jones

    “Mary responded, ‘I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.’”  (Luke 1:38a NLT)

    Mary embraced the adventure wholeheartedly. She was all in.

    Remember, you are going to be on an adventure whether you like it or not. Every single moment is literally chock full of the unknown. Your life is truly and completely out of your control. Each second you are alive here on this earth is an unknown adventure.

    And don’t forget that you are only given so many earth minutes to spend. Although you have more than one life, you only have one life here on earth, in this body of flesh. How will you spend the rest of your earth moments? You have a choice. I have a choice. We all have a choice. Everyone has a choice. Heaven is waiting for your decision in each and every moment.

    “19 Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20 You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20 NLT)

    Begin to retrain your fleshly mindset, in order to see things through the anticipating eyes of faith, rather than the crippling lens of fear. Ask yourself regularly whose will you are chasing. Yours or God’s? Who’s calling the shots?

    “You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!” (Psalm 139:16 TLB)

    Never forget that you are given a choice in each and every moment of life. Don’t shy away from the detailed plan that God lovingly wrote out for you before you took your first breath. Embrace the adventure and jump in with your whole heart.  Live a life filled to the brim with God-purpose.

    Heavenly Father, thank You that You have planned out an amazing adventure with my name on it. You thoughtfully, intentionally and lovingly recorded a purpose-filled life just for me! I want to embrace that adventure with my whole heart. I refuse to shrink back in fear and therefore miss out on all that You have planned for me. I am eternally grateful that You want to use me in miraculous ways. I am nothing on my own. Everything I am and everything that I have ever done, or will ever do, is because of You. You are the most amazing master planner. Thank You that You saw fit to include me in Your divine plan. I realize I don’t deserve it, but I will forever be thankful. In the mighty name of Your son, Jesus. Amen.

  • Living By Faith

    Fashioned by God: Living By Faith

    “16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. 18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.” (1 John 4:16-18 NLT)

    Last week we talked about fear. We agreed that overcoming fear is possible. So now let’s talk about how to walk that out in everyday life. In Romans 12, Paul tells us that every believer has been given a measure of faith, and as we will read in a little bit, Jesus tells us that even if we have a tiny bit of faith, we can move mountains. But first, let’s look at Matthew chapter 8.

    “24 Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’ 26 Jesus responded, ‘Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!’ Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.” (Matthew 8:24-26 NLT)

    Jesus basically tells His disciples that their faith was too small, and implies that fear and faith are opposites. Now read what Jesus says a few chapters later.

    “‘You don’t have enough faith,’ Jesus told them. ‘I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.’” (Matthew 17:20 NLT)

    Twice Jesus tells the disciples that they do not have enough faith. Why would Jesus say that we only need a little faith, but then tell the disciples that they had too little faith? I submit to you that the secret to mountain-moving faith lies in the basic concept of love, not in an amount or a quantity.

    Why would Jesus say that we only need a little faith, but then tell the disciples that they had too little faith? I submit to you that the secret to mountain-moving faith lies not in an amount or a quantity, but rather in a basic concept.

    April Jones

    Let’s look at Matthew 8 a little closer. Jesus implies that the only way to combat fear is through faith. The bible is also clear that faith is imperative for a believer. You probably already know that it is impossible to be a God-pleaser without it.

    “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6 NLT)

    But what is faith? The bible doesn’t hold back on the answer to that question either. It’s an inner visual of our hope, the proof of those things we desire, even though we cannot yet see them with our natural eyes.

    “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11:1 NLT)

    Remember last week when we talked about how fear is the dreaded feeling that comes with the fact that we are walking into the unknown; that it’s a human emotion that you feel about something that has not happened? So here is where it gets interesting. The very definition of faith implies that we trust and believe in something that we can’t see. Therefore, both fear and faith are based on the unknown. So you just need to choose which unknown you are going to put your faith and trust in. Which unknown you will bank your life on, your reputation on, your relationships on: especially your relationship with the One who created you.

    You see, childlike faith demands that you trust the love of your heavenly Father to the point that you will jump into his arms with joy and unbridled, reckless abandon, even if you can’t swim. Have you ever seen a toddler giggle and rejoice with delight when her Daddy opens his arms as he stands in the swimming pool and tells her to jump? She will close her eyes with delight, laugh and jump into his arms. Why? Because she is 100% convinced that her Daddy will catch her, even if she has never jumped into a body of water before. And why is that? Would she jump into the open arms of a stranger standing in a pool? No, most likely not. She jumps into her Father’s arms because she knows he loves her. Her confidence in his love is immovable. She knows that he is going to catch her because she knows him. And why do you think she closes her eyes? She trusts her Daddy to the point that she does not need to see what’s going on with the water, how he catches her or even what other people are doing around her. She closes her eyes to focus on the delight that she is receiving in being in the presence with the one she loves.

    Have you ever seen a toddler giggle and rejoice with delight when her Daddy opens his arms as he stands in the swimming pool and tells her to jump? She will close her eyes with delight, laugh and jump into his arms. Why? Because she is 100% convinced that her Daddy will catch her.

    April Jones

    You have got to know the character of the Father. You must be so convinced of His relentless love for you that you are unshakable and immovable, even in the face of giant waves and pelting water. When you delight more in being in His presence than seeing what’s going on around you, you can begin to once again possess the childlike faith that all believers want to demonstrate, but most of the time fall grossly short.

    Our key verse tells us that fear cannot coexist with perfect love. It is impossible. It has never happened, and it never will. Our passage continues to remind us that if fear is present, it is for only one reason: it is because we have not yet fully recognized, understood or accepted God’s love, that is of course, perfect. 100% perfect. Not almost perfect. Not perfect in most situations. But just perfect. Period.

    Fear is a feeling; faith is a belief. It’s the confidence that God will turn every situation around for your good because He loves you (see Romans 5:8). Because He knew you before you were born (see Jeremiah 1:5). Because He chose you before the foundation of the world (see Ephesians 1:4). Because He has an amazing plan for you that He wrote down in a book even before He created your physical body (see Psalm 139:16). Because He has given you a God-ordained purpose that is more valuable than your day-to-day schedule or daily agenda (see Psalm 57:2; 138:8).

    Remember what Paul says in Romans?

    “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28, NLT)

    All things. Everything. Even stormy weather and splashing water that gets everything around it soaking wet. Even that difficult situation that you are currently facing. Take your eyes off of the waves and jump into the arms of the Father, who is waiting for you to join Him with reckless abandon. Choose to abide with Him. Resolve to live in His presence.

    Pray with me.

    Daddy, thank you that you have never left me and You never will. I am confident in Your never ending love for me and Your lovingkindness. Thank You that You love me, know me, chose me and gave me a plan and a purpose. I want to trust you with reckless abandon. I choose to go all in and jump into Your presence and live there. I resolve to take my eyes off the water and focus on You. Remind me to look to You again when I fail You and fall short of Your glory. In the miraculous name of Your Son, Jesus. Amen.

About STX Women

We are the Women’s Ministries branch of the South Texas Assemblies of God.

Women across South Texas desire a community where we celebrate each other and share each other’s burdens.

Together, we walk out our God-given purpose in our family, church, and community!

Our passion and love for Christ unite us to reach the lost at home and across the world. 

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