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 with Integrity

    Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it!

    Psalm 139:14 

    Our theme this year for STXWM is Fashioned.  When I first heard it, my honest thought was that I wanted to do some study about it.  This is not a word I use very much, so I started in the place that I usually begin when I’m studying: Webster’s Dictionary.  The second definition says that it is a verb (action word) that means:

    to give shape or form to something; to make, construct, or create something with careful attention or by the use of imagination and ingenuity; transformed.

    Wow!  How awesome is that?  (Yes, I am actually really excited about that.  After all, I will be the first to think about research and study when I hear a new word. I proudly wear the bookworm badge).  Let that definition sink in for just a moment with respect to God having FASHIONED you. 

    He has shaped and formed you.  With imagination and ingenuity He constructed you, giving careful attention to every detail.  By His hand, you are transformed!

    I absolutely love this time of year.  I love to get my house all cleaned up in the days after Christmas and start the new year with a clean space.  I love to buy new calendars and planners.  It all feels so fresh and full of possibilities.  

    However, this time of year can also come with a lot of pressure and guilt with regard to new goals that we’ve set for ourselves.  We make plans to improve our credit scores, our health, and our professional endeavors.  Goals are great, but I don’t know how anyone else is doing so far.  I have already used a cheat day.  It’s January 6th!  We can so easily fall into the trap of allowing accusing thoughts like, “How is it possible that I have failed already?” or “What is wrong with me?” to play on repeat.  

    Allow me to remind you of a few things:

    He has shaped and formed you.  Psalm 139 reminds us that He knit us together in our mother’s wombs.  He knows you.  He designed and loves every inch of you: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  All of you.  

    For years I was teased for being too emotional when I was young.  Even now, I cry when I’m sad, happy, overwhelmed, angry, frustrated or simply dealing with most emotions.  Tears are my release, but for a long time I was ashamed of it.  God had to reveal to me that what the world called too emotional, He calls tenderhearted.  He fashioned me with a heart that feels deeply to intercede in prayer, to weep with those who weep, and to rejoice with tears of joy.  When the world saw a weakness in me, God saw a tool He could use for His kingdom.

    With imagination and ingenuity He constructed you, giving careful attention to every detail.  God used his imagination and made you the original, and inventive you that gazes back from the mirror each day.  He not only understands, but He intentionally designed all the details that make you unique.  In His eyes you are stunning!

    We all have things about ourselves that we would like to improve.  Goals and growth are all wonderful biblical tools that God can use to draw us closer to Him, but comparison is the tool of the enemy to breed division and to destroy our confidence.  All too often, it is the fear of comparison that rules the day.  Hear what I am saying.  Set your goals.  Chase the growth and change that will improve your life and strengthen your character. Then at the end of every day (regardless of what the world labels as pass or fail, win or lose), look into the mirror and honestly see the amazing creation that you are.  You are already loved!  You are already enough!

    By His hand, you are transformed!  God is the one who will work true change and transformation in your life because He loves you, and because He created you for a life of freedom.  He is always working for our good.  When we are chasing hard after our goals and making strides for change, He is working.  When we are doing good just to make it through the day, He is working.  Even when we quit, He never does.  

    God has fashioned us with integrity.  Webster’s dictionary defines integrity as: 

    the condition of being whole, unimpaired, united, and of sound construction.  

    All that He has made was good.  You are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” (KJV)  I love the way that the New Living Translation says: Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex.  Complex not complicated.

    We have been told all our lives that we were made by God, but let’s make this the year that we allow God to show us what it means to be fashioned by the Creator.  His “workmanship is marvelous!-how well I know it!”

    Father, thank you for making us wonderfully complex women.  Thank you for forming us with imagination and ingenuity.  You had every detail in mind when you formed us in our mother’s wombs and a moment never passes when we are not loved.  You see us through our greatest joys and in our lowest moments and your love for us never waivers.  We have been bought with a price, sustained by your promises, and sent forth with your purpose.  Help us to know that.   Defend our minds against the lies of comparison that would seek to divide us from our sisters.   Imbed this truth in our hearts and minds that we are loved, we are enough, and we have work to do for you because we have been fashioned by your hand.  We will rejoice at the works of your hands this year, Lord.  We give you all the honor and glory!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

  • Anna: Worshipful Waiting

    We’ve just pulled through the longest night of the year. In fact, as I type, the last dregs of darkness are still swilling around me, reluctantly retreating as the sun pushes past the horizon, signaling the start of another winter day. December, with all it’s waiting, can feel quite stark.

    This pre-Christmas stretch is known world-over as Advent (latin for ‘the Coming’) and it is all about waiting. Advent is a built-in calendar reminder of the silent period between Malachi and Matthew. The prophets had gone quiet. Their promises nearly forgotten. And yet, on dark and cold night a couple thousand years ago, the sky erupted with angelic song and a salvation announcement. We wait ceremoniously now, standing in quiet camaraderie with the faithful folks before us. The Savior has already lived and died and rose again, paying the price for our sin with His sacrifice. And still, we wait through this Advent season, recalling His first coming and anticipating His second.

    There’s a woman named Anna who spent her entire adult life waiting. She is our last lady of Christmas and the kind of woman we’d all like to be one day. Anna’s brief account has a lot to teach us about receiving Christ rightly.

    “There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Israel.” (Luke 2:36-39 NIV)

    There’s an entire life packed tight into these sentences: Anna was a female prophet (kind of a unicorn in the New Testament). She was a descendent of a worshiper (her father’s name meant ‘face of God’). She had been widowed after just seven years of marriage, and it seems they had no surviving children. At life’s most critical crossroad, Anna emigrated to the house of God.

    Anna’s ministry was born of tragedy. Where others may have wallowed or given in to their sorrow, Anna chose instead to give herself over to God. She wasn’t just occupying a pew or consuming resources, she was serving continually. Scripture tells us day and night she worshiped. When the congregants had done their duty and pushed off after evening prayers, Anna remained, unwilling to let God go un-glorified. Anna’s worship and prayer was accompanied by fasting. She had determined that self-denial elevated the fervency of her prayers and the clarity of her request. 

    We can presume Anna was also a regular thanks-giver because gratitude was her gut-reaction when she first perceived the presence of the Savior in the sanctuary. Anna recognized infant Jesus from across the room and she immediately poured out thanks and praise. This was a woman who had cultivated a heart of thanksgiving every step of the way, despite life’s difficulties and disappointments.

    In her hard-fought-for spiritual maturity, Anna comprehended what most missed. Jesus was her hope: personally and corporately. Upon discovery, she confessed that He had come to rescue them. Then, she shared her story with others; publicly and prolifically. Anna understood that the gospel is not a private matter for personal embetterment, but an all-encompassing priority. 

    Anna had prepared her whole life to be entrusted with that singular moment of divine revelation. When Jesus showed up on scene, her character was already proven. Temple-goers would have known who she was and received her testimony to be trustworthy. Her witness was credible.

    We can be encouraged by Anna’s life of waiting, even reminded of the importance of stillness in our own story. So much of our unseen life prepares us for these sort of brief but mission-critical moments. Like an iceberg moving through arctic waters, Anna had spent years and years in the holy, hard work of personal sanctification. Her lifetime devotion to worship, prayer and fasting had readied her soul for just such an occasion: both the recognition and proclamation. Anna was a purified vessel, a tried and true voice, an apple of gold in a setting of silver for exactly God’s purpose.

    It is paramount that we get this right: our private life prepares us for our public life, What we do with disappointment and heartache today makes a difference in the years and decades to come. We can cope, inebriate or ignore as the world implores, but only worship, prayer and fasting will ready us for the unrepeatable opportunity ahead.

    When the unimaginable occurred, Anna intentionally moved closer to God. She decided to grow up when she surely would have preferred to stagnate in her sorrow. What we do with tragedy matters. How we choose to wait makes an eternal impact: on us, but also on the souls we come in contact with.

    Anna took her hardship to the temple. She stepped nearer when she was most likely tempted to step away altogether. She waited well. She earnestly attended God in worship, prayer and fasting. And when her Kingdom moment came, she received it with joyful gratitude. Her life wasn’t wasted, but gloriously spent for the furthering of the Kingdom.

    “For I am waiting for You, O Lord.” (Psalm 38:15 NLT)

    Lord, please forgive us for our frustration in waiting. May we fight our tendency to retreat and instead choose to move even closer. Grow our discipline in worship, prayer and fasting. Purify our private life as we wait on Your return. Prepare us to publicly proclaim Your promises without hesitation. Amen.

  • Mary’s Mother: Holding on and Letting Go

    “Mommy, I hold you?” 

    I can still remember my 2-year-old daughter saying that phrase to me as she reached for me, wanting to be wrapped in my arms. I felt like the days of raising little kids would never end. My back ached from carrying them, my eyelids drooped from lack of sleep, my hands tired of wiping noses and all the other things that need wiping with babies and toddlers around. And yet, those never-ending days actually did come to an end. Now I find myself looking at my once-little girl that wanted me to hold her realizing she’s become a young woman who will soon need me to let her go. 

    As I’ve reflected on the Christmas story this Advent season, I have found a kinship with Mary’s mother. We don’t know anything about her from the scriptures. We can assume because of Mary’s deep devotion to God, that she was raised in a religious household. I imagine she learned much of the character of God through her parents, and much of how to live her life for Him from her mother.

    “For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me. He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him.” Luke 1:49-50

    Reading The Magnificat– Mary’s Song of Praise- in Luke 1 we can see a depth of understanding of the Father’s love and plan for creation reflected in Mary’s worshipful declaration. What joy it must have brought her mother to see her daughter with a faith firmly rooted in Yahweh! But I have to wonder, what would her reaction have been to the news that her unmarried daughter was suddenly pregnant with a child she claimed was conceived by the Holy Spirit? I confess, if it had been my daughter, I would’ve been extremely doubtful. Even if she chose to believe Mary’s claims, surely fear for her daughter’s reputation and future were at the front of her mind. It must have been quite a crisis of faith- to love her daughter deeply, love her God deeply, and yet wrestle with the path He had called Mary to walk. 

    As a global worker, I have seen my own parents wrestle with watching their daughter walk in a unique calling from the Lord. If they had their personal preference, they would probably rather me and my family not spend years away from them on the other side of the globe. But their love for and faith in God compels them to trust His sovereignty. Now, a mother of a daughter preparing to launch out on her own, I too have the choice to cling tightly to my own hopes and dreams for her or release her to God and trust that even if His plans for her take her far away from me, His way is best. I can sympathize with Mary’s mother- we want our children to be safe and loved and when God’s plan for their lives requires risk and challenge we can be quick to question His goodness. 

    I cannot know Mary’s mother’s reaction to her daughter’s news that she was expecting the Messiah. I can only speculate how hard it must have been to see her daughter shunned and ridiculed by their community because of her pregnancy. It was quite scandalous, after all. I don’t know if Mary’s mother defended her daughter or felt ashamed of her. As I sit with my questions about the grandmother of Jesus, I sense the Spirit leading me to answer some questions for myself:

    If I call your children to walk a hard path, will you trust me?

    Can you bless and release them to fulfill the destiny I have prepared for them, even if it’s different than what you imagined?

    Would you be willing to deny yourself so that I might be glorified in them?

    Instead of holding on to your children, can you choose to hold onto me?

    “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” Luke 1:38

    She is the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about her come true.

    Oh that I would have the courageous faith to say that about my daughter, just as Mary said it about herself. No matter the cost, no matter the path, I pray that I would be willing to release my children and those in my life who I invest in to follow the will of God, no matter where it leads them.

    Perhaps Mary could hold the Messiah in her arms because she had a mother willing to release Mary from her own.

    Perhaps our daughters and sons can best hold the plan of God in their hearts and live it out in their lives when we release them from our own.

    This Christmas, may we be found as daughters of the King, willing to open our hands and release whatever God is asking us to so that His purposes can be fulfilled in our lives and in the lives of those around us. 

    And may we always remember that in the grief of all our letting go, we have the Author of Love ever holding us.

  • Mary: Favored, Trusted and Faithful

    This past year I’ve spent a lot of time with Mary.  My favorite account of the birth of Jesus is in Luke chapters 1 & 2.  It strikes me that even though this is the most detailed account as far as Mary is concerned, it’s still pretty short.  Two chapters to encompass all that she must have felt, feared, thought and believed in what had to have been one of the most devastating and amazing moments in her life and her husband’s.

    We meet Mary and Joseph as a young engaged couple, unremarkable really up to this point in their lives.  They were both faithful followers of God and upstanding in their community.  People thought well of them.  But God saw something more in them.  They weren’t just good people who went to synagogue and followed the rules.  They believed in a God who watched over their lives and that encountered His people; spoke to them, touched their lives.  It was because of this, that God chose them for the most precious and important of tasks; arguably the most important thing God has ever asked any regular person to do.  He wanted to trust them with His Son.  Jesus would come to the earth to point the way to salvation and ultimately to die so all people could have a personal relationship with God but first, He needed to grow up and be cared for and God thought Mary was the woman for the job.

    As I studied the life of Mary, I have gleaned such beautiful truths from her life and her story.  These are just a few of the truths that have challenged me and encouraged me this year.

    She found favor with God. (Luke 1:30)  When the angel Gabriel first came to Mary, he began by telling her that she had found favor with God and even referred to her first, not by her name, but by a title given to her by God himself; favored woman.  I know, in reading this part of the story, that I have often felt like Mary must have been so much better than me in many ways; more holy, more humble…  It is hard for me to imagine God finding favor with me when I am here with me all the time.  I hear myself talk and react and see myself stand idle sometimes when I should act.  I know that God also sees all of that.  How could he find favor with me?  

    But, in truth, Mary was not any more than I am now.  She was a regular woman.  I can imagine that she feared public disapproval, feared that she would not be believed, maybe even feared that she wasn’t up to the task of raising any baby much less the Son of God!  What is important to understand is that God did not call her “favored woman” because she was perfect.  He called her “favored woman” because she was His.  He called her “favored woman” because He loved her.  God does not ask us to be perfect.  He asks us to be repentant when we sin, obedient when we are called and faithful as we walk with Him.  Perfection is not on the table for us.  We don’t walk this journey hoping to become god one day.  We walk this journey knowing that God wants us with him even in our imperfection, in our impatience, in our fear and in our anxiety.    He calls us “favored women” because He loves us and desires a relationship with us.

    God trusted Mary. (Luke 1: 31-33)  The angel told Mary that God had chosen her and Joseph to deliver and care for His Son until He was an adult.  I’ll pause here while that sinks in.  If it had been me, I’d need a second to get my jaw off the floor.  I cannot imagine feeling less qualified for a job!  Mary was an unmarried woman with no children.  She didn’t even have a history of raising children to draw on.  As a mom, I know that the first child is often the guinea pig on which you try all of the things that you eventually realize don’t work and all children after that benefit from the trials they suffered through.  Can you imagine doing all that guess work with God’s Son?  In short, I’m sure the idea was intimidating.  The book of Luke says that Mary was “disturbed and confused” when the angel first approached her.  

    In the midst of all the confusion and fear, the answer was really simple.  God trusted Mary.  He chose her for this calling.  She was the one He had prepared before she even knew He was doing it.  Her whole life had been leading her to this important task and He trusted her with His Son.  He believed in her.  Many of us are taught from childhood to believe in God but how many of us are told that He believes in you?  Well, He does.  If He did not believe you, He would not have called you.

    Mary trusted God. (Luke 1:38)  “Mary responded, ‘I am the Lord’s servant.  May everything you have said about me come true.’”  Mary trusted that in all that followed, He would be with her.  She knew that Joseph could divorce her publicly and she could be stoned for what others would assume she had done wrong.  She knew that many would never believe that she was pregnant without ever having had relations with a man.  She knew that if Joseph was merciful to her, that others would assume it was his baby and he would suffer public ridicule.  She knew that her parents would be looked down upon.  There was so much at stake here!  How could God ask this of her?

    She knew that if He was asking, He would protect her and everyone around her.  She knew that this Baby was destined to be the Messiah that would save His people.  She knew that for that to happen, He had to live and she trusted God to take care of them all.

    The Bible is our love letter from God.  It was written to show us who He is and to tell us how much we are loved by Him.  I did not study the story and character of Mary the mother of Jesus for the past year to learn about her.  I studied the Word of God to learn who He is.  He calls me and you “favored woman.”  He walks beside us because He loves us!  He has called us each to a unique and specific ministry for which He was preparing us before we even knew that He was.  He trusts you.  He believes in you.  We may not have been called to deliver and raise the Son of God into adulthood but we have been entrusted with carrying Him to our mission field.  Wherever He is calling you, He will go with you.  God is trustworthy.  He prepared this ministry for you and you for this ministry.  He will equip you and prepare the way before you. “For the Word of God will never fail.” (Luke 1:37) 

    Be encouraged today, sister.  You are loved and you are trusted by a trustworthy God!  Don’t just believe that today, share it.  Encourage someone who needs to know that she is a “favored woman” in God’s sight and that she has been trusted with important work by a trustworthy God because He loves her.  After all, we truly are Better Together!   

    “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For He took notice of His lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed.” Luke 1:47-48

  • Elizabeth: Spirit-led and Immovable

    “40 … (Mary) entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, ‘God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. 43 Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? 44 When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. 45 You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.’” (Luke 1:40b-45 NLT)

    You have likely read the story of Elizabeth in the Bible, the mother of John the Baptist. But if not, stop right now and read the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 1. Although the entire story is amazingly miraculous, I only have the time and space to point out a few key extraordinary takeaways that seem to jump off the page.

    Initially, I am amazed at the fact that despite being barren her entire adult life (and the Bible is clear that she was a very old woman), Elizabeth was “righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations.” (Luke 1:6 NLT) In verse 25, she even mentions the fact that her barrenness had brought about disgrace. That is not only inspirational and encouraging on its own, but based on cultural norms regarding many pious religious leaders in Bible times, it is especially noteworthy. The fact that God called her righteous when she came from the priestly line of Aaron himself, the brother of Moses, speaks to the fact that she worshiped and sought the God of the law rather than the law itself. Her life represented what Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth years later when he said, “He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:6 NLT) She was way ahead of her time. Even though Jesus had not yet come onto the earthly scene, she seemed to already understand the things of the Spirit. She knew that her spiritual eyes were more reliable than the ones on her face. Oh that I could live with such passionate focus: that His eyes would become more keen than my physical ones.

    Also, I love the interaction between Elizabeth and Mary in our key verse above. Mary was young. She was pregnant and unwed. She was kin, and her questionable reputation could possibly affect Elizabeth and her family’s status. Yet she immediately recognizes the stirring of the Spirit in her womb the moment she sees her young expecting cousin. Her famous words, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed,” would be the same thing as what we would call in pentecostal circles today as ‘shoutin’ in the Spirit’ because verse 42 says she “gave a glad cry and exclaimed.” Again, instead of focusing on what her natural eyes might see, she chooses to praise God for what her spirit knows: that she is witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime miracle moment. She chose to encourage Mary instead of question God. As a sinner saved by grace, I can tell you that that skill doesn’t come easy. I would submit to you that she had practiced encouraging others rather than questioning God many times before she was presented with this monumental God-moment.

    And it is evident in verse 60 that Elizabeth wholly and completely trusted God and her husband. When her neighbors and relatives came to celebrate, they all wanted to name her baby after his father, which was practically a given for the first-born son at that time. It makes me chuckle that the Bible says that the guests wanted to name him. If you think cultural family and peer pressure is something new, this is proof that it is not, and that it has always woven strong throughout the tapestries of our cultural lives. It just presents itself differently with each generation and in each family or region. But Elizabeth stood her ground. She literally tells them all, “No!” She knows that God has a plan and that many times, His will doesn’t make sense to the general populace. And I believe that she probably also knew that her husband wanted to follow God’s instructions and she was determined to follow his example and do things God’s way. Even in the face of cultural persecution. All while knowing full well the risk of her personal reputation that would likely be involved. She wasn’t passive about it either. She literally had to stand up and declare the truth aloud in the face of controversy. She refused to be swept away in the cultural tide. Oh that I too would be bold with the truth, regardless of the consequences.

    She was determined to do things God’s way. Even in the face of cultural persecution. All while knowing the risk of personal reputation. She refused to be swept away in the cultural tide. Oh that I too would be bold with the truth, regardless of the consequences.

    April Jones

    Father, I sometimes give in to the temptation to try and control my circumstances instead of fully trusting that You have a plan. I also tend to worry about my earthly reputation instead of leaving it wholly in Your capable hands. And I have been known to give in to outside pressures more times than I would like to admit. Thank You for loving me anyway. Thank You for continuing to teach me, despite my epic failures. Thank You for allowing me to be a part of Your master plan here on earth, even though I don’t deserve it. Continue to remind me to trust You in every situation. I pray that I will grow and learn and reflect Your glory more and more with each passing moment. Use me for Your glory, despite my shortcomings. In the precious name of Your Son, Jesus. Amen.

    Listen to a live version of Bryan and Katie Torwalt’s “Holy Spirit” HERE for more encouragement in trusting the Spirit.

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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