Read Romans 16:1

As women we often feel that what we do is the thing that brings us significance. Our intentions to strive to be the best are sometimes filled with an inner desire to please others or to be noticed for something that matters. Many women have found joy in ministry because they feel respected in an area where they serve. There are so many women who push for position and pull for authority, that it dulls the presence of their gift and makes it hard for people to receive the very ministry they are trying to deliver.

Phoebe was a woman who ministered not out of a need to be noticed, but a need to see the kingdom advance and God’s name be glorified. Proverbs 18:16 says in the Amplified translation, “A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before great men.” Until we are able to truly serve God out of the abundance of who He is and without our need for recognition, we can never truly give the ministry we provide what it deserves. Phoebe was a blessing to God, and as a result, He made room for her gift and brought her before great men.


For many years women were oppressed from using their gifts in ministry. As a woman you may have had a painful experience in that area, but no one can minister effectively if it is rooted in pain. God sees you as a gift, a talent, and a treasure, and He has great plans for you in His Kingdom. Allow His healing touch to soothe away any pain of oppression and plug in to His purpose for your life with a new freedom.


Walk it out & Pray
Devote your talents to the Kingdom; begin to search your heart for your true motivation for ministry. As you serve in your area of ministry, see Jesus as the recipient of all that you do. When you focus your attention on serving Him, the need to be given credit melts away in the joy of knowing you are pleasing Christ. Bless someone anonymously with a card or a note of encouragement. A small token of love in secret is where God can give the biggest reward!

Read
Exodus 1: 15-20

A woman of destiny should always link herself with another woman of similar destiny. Godly relationships are one of the most effective tools in becoming who you want to be for the kingdom. Proverbs 27:17 (The Message) says, “You use steel to sharpen steel and one friend sharpens another friend”. Shiprah and Puah were women who decided not to let the next generation fall into the hands of the enemy. Each woman risked her life to defy the decree of the king, but knew that the Kingdom was at stake. Each woman has a destiny and a role to play in the advancement of God’s purposes on the earth.

There are at least three benefits to linking arms with other women of destiny and purpose in your pursuit for God’s call for your life. One is the fact that common vision births great ideas. I have often marveled at times when I thought I had a great idea and felt that I had covered all of the bases. I would then submit the idea to a group of friends only to watch those friends add so much more to the idea- much more than I could have ever imagined alone. The second reason to partner with other woman is that you can truly get more accomplished. Deuteronomy 32:30 (NIV) says, “One man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight”. You become more effective and accomplish more for the kingdom when you partner with other women who have similar purposes and goals. And finally, there is power in unity. Philippians 1:27 (The Message) says, “Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people's trust in the Message, …Your courage and unity will show them what they're up against: defeat for them, victory for you - and both because of God.” Unity of purpose pleases God and allows Him to move supernaturally in the situation.

Ok…Ok….It might not be that serious, but I am all about the messages that were preached at each campus as a part of the Heroes series. The message at each campus was about Barnabas whom God used to train and encourage Paul to realize his full potential and therefore achieve all that he did for the body of Christ. This message truly connects with my heart because like Saul (Paul) before Christ, I had a name (reputation) that I was not very proud of and wanted so much to change. It was not until I received Christ and then became surrounded by people of God (Barnabas’) who could see potential in me and tell me who I was called to be, that the name (reputation) began to change. I was so happy when God connected me to Pastor Jerry and Chris who saw past the rough edges and saw a heart who wanted to serve Christ. It was so awesome to be challenged and to be allowed to make mistakes as I grew.

At a recent time of prayer early one Saturday morning my husband closed prayer with a New Years exhortation about resolutions vs. resurrection. The word resolution means; a firm decision to do something, and the word resurrection means; the revival of something old or long disused or bringing something that was dead to life. He talked about the fact that many of us make New Years resolutions and truly expect to begin to change things in our lives for the New Year. We decide to exercise or eat differently to loose weight, or we choose to place our credit cards in a block of ice to stop spending. I know many of us have signed up for all types of classes and bought resources to help us to study and get degrees or to become better students of Gods word. He challenged us not to make a resolution but decide to live a resurrected life in 2008! We were encouraged to allow attitudes and thought patterns that have held us back to die and for new ones to come to life through God’s word and His love for us. That was such a life changing day for me!

It is the holiday season and many of us are getting ready to write our annual Christmas letters or holiday greeting cards, and sign them at the end with Love or Sincerely Yours. This year I started evaluating the things that I say and determined in my heart that I would say what I meant and mean what I say in areas of ministry, relationships and especially to God! Because of the weird way that I think, it caused me to reflect upon the things that I say and what others say to me. I began thinking about the whole Sincerely Yours at the end of a card or letter. The word sincerely in the dictionary means honestly and openly. So when we sign a letter with “Sincerely yours” we are saying we have been honest and open with the recipient of the letter in the correspondence. So of course I took that a step further and looked up the words honest and open and it gets even better. Honest means to be morally upright and open means not closed or locked, allowing people or things to pass through freely…. WOW!

I had a dream one night that was very weird for me because I had been a leader in church for over 10 years at the time. God often speaks to me in dreams…not because I am deep, but because I am often too busy to sit down and listen when I am awake! I dreamed that I was holding a pharmacist tray (the type that holds pills) full of jellybeans (jelly bellies …I love them). I had begun to pass the jelly beans out as I saw fit, knowing they were medicine, to certain people that I chose. Then someone hit the bottom of the pharmacist pan and my precious jelly beans flew in the air and I felt panic come over me. I realized that I always intended on giving the jelly beans to others, but it was to who I wanted and when I wanted.

Not the Chicago Bears, but the bears that we chase and slay to get to our destiny. Christian Life Center recently had Mark Batterson, the author of “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day”. He spoke of Benaiah, the man placed in charge of David’s bodyguard, who chased a lion into a pit on a snowy day and killed it. (2 Samuel 23: 20-21) Unbelievable! And we cannot forget the first of the lion and bear chasers and killers, David, who defeated both of his animal foes before he took on the mighty Goliath!

One of my friends has always felt that she was a rescuer. She was becoming so stressed and burned out, that she felt the Lord was telling her to stop. However, I saw that being there for people in need was a part of who God made her to be, though there was a healthy way to do so. I viewed my friend as being like a lifeboat. A lifeboat is a rescue vessel that saves people shipwrecked out at sea in order to carry them to the safety of shore.