Women's Ministry

Jesus said, “Come away with me to a quiet place.”

This has been one of my favorite moments with the Lord, alone on my wicker chair. Everyone is at school, and Anthony is at work. No distractions, no interruptions, sitting and worshipping in His presence for hours at times. Mixed with the overwhelming truth of “be still and know that I AM God.” Being totally captivated by His presence has been so monumental and grounding for me in seasons that have been good and not so good! 

But recently a lot easier said than done, especially now that we have Jacob! 

Having a 10-month-old, adjusting to a totally different routine, has been challenging for me. And did I mention homeschooling Abram for the first time!? This year has brought many interruptions to my “ALONE, quiet time, and being still” with the Lord that I freely had for the past several years!

But, what I’ve learned in this season is even in the busyness with my boys, and moving from one thing to the next, I have found the quietness, stillness, and overwhelming presence of being alone with Him in my heart and soul. But how?

Through thanksgiving, gratitude, and praise! What seemed like interruptions or distractions to what my schedule once was, have been opportunities for me to experience His presence in a totally different, yet powerful way. He has shown me that I can be busy on the outside and still be alone, quiet, still, sitting on my wicker chair on the inside with a surrendered heart posture and be totally captivated by His presence and His love!

So if you find yourself in a different season, different job, and it has become an interruption or distraction with your alone time with God, lift your thanksgiving, gratitude, and your praise. Allow your heart and soul to go away with Him to a quiet place, to be still and know that He is God!!!

It’s a Kingdom reality, where Heaven invades your Heart!

We want to thank Jerika Longoria for sharing this post.

Ecclesiastes 3:10-12, “I have seen the task that God has given the children of Adam to keep them occupied. He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but no one can discover the work God has done from the beginning to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life.”

In 2021, I gave birth to my youngest son, and life changed for me as I knew it. While I waited years for his arrival, the thought of how much my life would change had not occurred to me. Home life, friends, leaving the house for daily activities, the way I served in church, and, most of all, my prayer life and how I spent time with God. You see, I had this routine; my kids would leave to school, and I had all the time to spend time in prayer with God, then worship or read my bible.

But most of all, praying is my sweet spot! Prayer has always made me feel connected to God and confident in who I was. Then the season changed in my life with my newborn, and then an infant, and I no longer had that time for long stretched out times to pray and spend time with Him. I remember feeling dry and not connected with Him, because my prayers started looking more like 10–15-minute prayers in the morning, while rocking and feeding my baby. Some days, it was driving in the car for a doctor’s appointment or picking up kids from school.

This season in my life was different, and I really struggled with what God was doing. I had started to believe a lie that if it wasn’t a “certain” amount of time with God, maybe He was not hearing my prayers, or that, somehow, I was losing my relationship with Him. Looking back, I know now, it was a time in my life that God used to break off performance-based Christianity, because the truth is, God meets us right where we are at! 

While God does want us to be intentional about prayer and our relationship with him, God is really after so much more. He was teaching me how to break off lies and believe that my short prayers can be and were just as powerful as the ones I was praying before having my son. While I was trying my best to work hard and squeeze in all the “prayer and God time,” and feeling like I did not have the time or energy with a new baby to do it all, He had all the love and grace to meet me and answer some powerful prayers in my short time of conversation and prayer with Him. All He wanted for me was to enjoy my life and enjoy my new little one. He knew, and will always know, what’s going on in our lives. 

In the seasons of our lives as women that are busy with little ones or overwhelming schedules, God is still so loving to pursue us and meet us for those short powerful times with Him.

I want to leave you with this encouragement of a few people in the bible who prayed short powerful prayers, and God met them there.

1. 2 Chronicles 20 – Jehoshaphat prayed about judgement and sin over the people and God answered him. 

2. Numbers 6:24-26 – God shared a short prayer of blessing for Moses to give to Aaron so he could bless the people.

3. Matthew 8:2 – A leper asked Jesus for his healing, and he was healed.

We want to thank Brenda Martinez for sharing this post.

Lately, I have had many life changes where I have found myself without the words to pray. Yes, I know that prayer is powerful, and I am a firm believer in the fact that God answers prayer. But have you ever found yourself not being able to pray? You simply just don’t know what to say or don’t have the emotional ability to talk to God. 

The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 to “Pray without ceasing”. However, what do you do when your head tells you to pray, but you just can’t find the words to pray. That’s when my most powerful prayers have been spoken.

Back in April, my mom called me on a Saturday afternoon to let me know that she and my dad were at the hospital. They thought dad had suffered a heart attack and they were on their way to a bigger hospital via ambulance. I immediately got in the car and headed to the hospital, just a little over an hour away. By the time I got to see dad, the doctor said that he was in septic shock from pneumonia, and he would not make it through the night. To say we were shocked would be an understatement. As my family stood beside my dad’s bed, I simply didn’t know how to pray. Should I pray for healing? Should I pray that dad’s suffering would end quickly? All I could utter was the simple prayer of, “God, I trust You!” Eleven hours after dad walked into the ER, he walked through the pearly gates of Heaven!

Fast forward about 5 weeks. My mom called me one morning and said she had fallen out of bed and had a crick in her neck. Two days later, I took her to the doctor where we found out she had fractured her top two vertebrae and had to have surgery. After spending a week in the hospital, she was transferred back to her hometown to go to a rehab facility for physical therapy. It was so difficult to see my once vibrant mom have many moments of confusion, lack of strength and even lost the ability to feed herself. I found myself in my quiet time not knowing what to say to God. I simply prayed the same prayer: “I trust you God!” However, it was during this time that I learned that when I couldn’t pray, I called out to friends and I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that they were standing in the gap for me. My life group ladies were such an integral part of getting us through those difficult days. They prayed with me through the darkest days and rejoiced with me when we saw days of progress!

Four days after getting out of rehab for a broken neck, my mom fell off my porch and broke her hip. After surgery, she was sent to rehab again and a few days later, slid out of her chair and rebroke her hip. Once again, I reached out to my lifegroup to pray, because I simply didn’t have the emotional capacity to do it for myself. 

Mom is in a better place physically for now and looking back, I know that the most powerful prayers were prayed by people who love me. People who I trust. People who will pray when they say they will. People who have a genuine concern for my family even though they have never met most of my family. People who love Jesus and believe in prayer! 

So, if you find yourself in a place where you simply don’t have the emotional ability to pray, start by simply saying, “God, I trust you!” Then reach out to other people who you know will stand in the gap for you. Trust me, it’s the only thing that will get you through some days. 

We want to thank Vickie Young for sharing this post.

In Beth Moore’s book, “All My Knotted-Up Life,” she talks about how when she was younger, she prayed for a love of the Bible, of God’s word. 

When Solomon was appointed King, he asked God for wisdom:

1 Kings 3: 7-12

“ ⁷ And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. ⁸ And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. ⁹ Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

¹⁰ It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. ¹¹ And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, ¹² behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.”

Sometimes powerful prayers are simple requests to our Father. 

This played out recently in my Bible reading. 

I was having a hard time getting through the book of Jeremiah. I felt like I couldn’t hear or learn in the text. I wanted to love the scriptures, but I couldn’t focus or connect. 

I had a thought: Beth Moore prayed for a love of the scriptures and look at her! Solomon asked for wisdom! 

So, I prayed: 

“God please give me love for Your Word, give me understanding of this book. I want to know You, Your heart, and Your character.”

In that sitting, I received a flood of empathy: I am praying to the SAME God of the Old Testament. He loved the people in Jeremiah. He had blessings, a hope, and a future for them but they turned to idols. 

War and destruction were against the principalities that they turned to. But he had plans for hope and a future for his people. He loved them. 

It then brought me to thankfulness for Jesus. 

 Thank You, Jesus, for the blood applied to the world, to my life. 

God sent his Son to PAY for my sins; to cover the sins of the world. 

We have Jesus, yet we still turn to idols. Idols of work, money, perfection, a clean house. I think: If I have these things, then I’ll have freedom. 

Jesus is our freedom. 

My heart turned from friction of struggling to read through Jeremiah to a heart of tenderness, sympathy, and gratitude to a God who saw the world’s depravity and sent His Son to redeem us. 

Our simple prayers are powerful, because we serve a powerful God. 

Thank you, Father. 

We want to thank Lori Johnson for sharing this post.

If you don’t know where to start, start with a prayer. Talk to God, and He will lead you. Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be known by God.”

Reflecting on past life experiences, whether it be loss, sickness, suffering, or even joyful and happy times, God has taught me to never cease praying. As humans we see some only pray and seek God when it comes to the hard times, but as the Bible teaches us, we should pray in good as well as hard times. It’s so easy to not pray and give thanks when life is good, and you don’t have a worry or a heartache…to only seek him when we’re in need.

Growing up in a Baptist home, I was taught to pray with conviction. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with one of my uncles, who has always had a positive influence in my life. As we were catching up on how we had been doing lately, he started to fill me in about how powerful prayers had recently affected his life and how, unknown to me, he had recently been battling cancer. He was told by a doctor that due to his age and current health conditions, among other things, treatment was not an option, as he would not likely survive. He asked, “Why would you not give me a chance?” And the doctor told him, “You would have to pass a series of tests in order to receive the treatment or even be eligible for the treatment.” My uncle replied, “Let’s do it!” My uncle told his doctor, “My God is bigger than anything! And through my family and my prayers, I believe in Jesus’ name, I can be healed, and His will be done!” After a few days and his prayers, along with his family of prayer warriors, my uncle returned to the clinic for the testing.

A few days went by, and my uncle received a phone call from his doctor saying to him, “We have great news; you are eligible for treatment. Come in, and we can start your treatments!” Praise God! Now the real work began, as treatments would be underway. As he would return to the facility daily to receive treatments, he would take his Bible and read and pray, as well as meet new people and minister to them. As he got to know other patients, he would start to pray healing over them and encourage them to keep the faith! After a long journey of treatments and dealing with the effects of the treatment: there were many horrible days of feeling bad and some good days. Once treatments were finally done, the day came to go back to the doctor’s office. The doctor came in and said, “Well, great news, all the scans and tests came back and show you are now cancer free!” In that moment, my uncle praised God, proclaiming, “Jesus, my Almighty Savior and Healer, You have healed me, and I will praise You and I will testify to your healing and ministry and tell of how you have healed me!” Ever since that day, he has done just that! He always sings praises to our King, and ministers to others who are in need who have no hope. He continues to be a disciple of Christ! 

Not only has his experience been his testimony, but that doctor has decided to never let any age limit or past medical history be a deciding factor in who does or does not get treatment. The doctor told my uncle, “Sir, I know that as doctors, we are expected to know all the answers, but we are human, and we make mistakes as well. I have watched you through your treatments. I admire your faith and have seen you praying, and you have taught me through power of prayer, anything is possible!”

As I listened to my uncle, my eyes filled with tears of joy, to know how one person can truly make a difference! His entire life and his testimony are perfect examples of a disciple who has always committed his life to minister to others and has always dedicated his life to helping others find Christ.  Even in his worst times, and maybe even scariest times, he continued to have faith and never gave up knowing that the Lord had the final say! 

I am truly blessed with my family, which includes many disciples of Christ, and from a child even to this day, I have learned so much from every single one of our patriarchs! I pray that I can continue to show to my children and grandchildren the same faith in prayer and trust in the Lord.

We want to thank Linda Hernandez for sharing this post.

I know for some of us truth is a word that brings out the explorer in us. It’s something to be discovered and uncovered. For others, even just hearing or reading the word “truth” bubbles up fear, uncertainty, and a mental wall ready to crash down and protect us.

There was a time when my marriage was breaking, and I “needed” to know the truth. It would help me heal and give me closure. Knowing the truth would make me understand and understanding would fix the destruction in my heart and life. It didn’t. From then until now I have learned that not all truth is worth seeking. Not all truth needs to be known. The truth that was worth seeking, that fixed the destruction, was who God is and how He loves me. For all of my life, I believed that God loved others oh so much and I…I was an afterthought. So, I poured it all and then some into being a daughter, mother, wife, and friend. But the second my marriage broke, so did that truth. The one people-pleasers believe so well: We are only loved because of what we do. If our actions fall short, so does the love. If we stop, then our people will no longer love us; because people-pleasers tend to believe we are not loveable. We can work our whole lives giving and it’s never going to be enough because God is the only “enough”. 

My favorite verse God gave to me when I was a teenager, during a time where I really needed Him to speak, was this:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16 NIV 

He knew then that I needed that verse like an anthem. He brought me back to it yet again. Because I never really grasped that He has seen into the depths of my heart, all the dark places, and He loved me still. To be honest it’s something I must choose to walk in. As I pull back more of the curtain on who God is and the “me” He has for me, I’m realizing that all of the sources in which I used to seek after love other than God Himself, are now the places that I can pour love into because I finally believe that I am truly loved by Him. You see, in finding His peace, you can more readily love from your heart and His. In a world where the truth is subjective, our God’s truth is everlasting and so faceted, He does not change like shifting shadows. His word and heart are where we can all find the truth without fear, it’s where seeking it brings healing and peace. 

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

James 1:17 NIV

We want to thank Lauran Lancaster for sharing this post.

We are taught to be honest and tell the truth. I think we also must learn to seek truth and believe truth. As Christians we are supposed to think about what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise as Philippians 4:8 states. That means we must recognize negative thoughts and lies we wrongly believe and replace them with truth. I am one that must intentionally choose to take my untrue and negative thoughts (insecurity, doubt, and fear) captive and seek truth. The best way to battle this is with the truth in the Bible. 

The belt of truth is the first piece of the armor of God in Ephesians 6. The belt of truth holds the sword of the spirit. The sword of the spirit is God’s word which is the greatest spiritual weapon. 

I picked the below verse to say to my children as part of their bedtime routine. I didn’t expect that it would become so important to me as this truth was impressed upon my heart and mind.

“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

This verse is filled with good truth. 

– We belong to God.  
– God created me. And you. 
– We are His masterpiece. Not just a creation but His outstanding work of art! 
– You are forgiven and redeemed by Jesus. You are chosen. 
– God has good things for you to do. 
– God has an intentional purpose for you. And He planned it long ago. 

It is through God’s word that we can recognize the enemy’s deceit and replace it with truth. When I am tempted with negative thoughts and lies, I remind myself of the truth in this verse. Knowing our identity in Christ and knowing the character of God is so important. He is a good God. He has good plans for us. God loves us and we can trust Him with our future. We can have hope and confidence in His work in our life.

I hope you are reminded of your worth and significance to God with this verse and that He has good plans for you and your life. You are perfectly designed to do His good work. Seek truth from the Bible, believe it, and use it.

We want to thank Bailey Adams for sharing this post.

About 15 years ago I received my wake-up call. You know, that one where you read in your Bible that says, “Wake up sleeper!” (Ephesians 5:14) Well, that was me. Out of a deep sleep I was told it was TIME.

I knew what time it was. I was abused as a small child and I was still carrying ALL the scars, pain, shame, guilt, and most of all the chains and shackles. The Holy Spirit became my teacher. I did not know where or how to start, but the next time I heard that voice He told me to study. If you attended school with me, then you understand my lack of studying and you can stop laughing so hard now.

My only hope in beginning to study was that I was able to constantly ask the Holy Spirit, “What does that mean?” And the more I began to study, the more I was seeking what was true. It was the answer to why and how someone could do that to a child. I would walk and ponder, get mad, and sometimes yell. But I kept seeking truth in His word.

As I studied, I was in John 15 and the word “abide” was used ten times in the first ten verses. What does “abide” mean? It means to dwell, remain, be present, to be held and kept. In abiding, I studied and sought the truth. If you are in my Life Group or Bible study group, you have heard how I was able to forgive and heal my mind, heart, and soul.

I am now able to share my darkest secret and I am free from the chains and shackles that held me captive my whole life. If you continue to seek God, you will know the truth and the truth will make you free. (John 8:32) Believers in Christ are set free from sin. Jesus warned us that everyone who commits sin is enslaved to sin. Sin seeks to control us. But as a believer in Christ, believer’s sins are forgiven because Jesus sets the believer free from the slavery to sin. Sin will try to gain control and Satan never gives up. However, we are free in Christ! Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Christ has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)

So, what has changed? Believers have changed their master. Believers are now servants to righteousness and God will be working in every true believer to make them holy. Being filled with the Holy Spirit will help believers to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. (Phil. 2:12-13)

Here are a few benefits of being saved by faith in Christ!!

*Believers will enjoy being members of Christ’s body and part of His family.

*We can realize victory over sin by being filled with the Holy Spirit which will result in being empowered in the inner person. (Ephesians 3:16)

*The Holy Spirit will help believers pray and understand scripture.

*God teaches us that we can find Him if we seek Him sincerely and deeply.

*The facts of the universe and life will become obvious. If we seek wisdom in the pages of the Bible, we will know the truth and our God more deeply. Truth is found as we seek God in the pages of scripture.

True freedom is to let go of all those things from your past, give it to God, and allow Him to show you His plans for your future. It is not easy at all, but the payoff is huge! There is a new you that will wake up grateful and joyful. I have a picture in my head of what the joyful Julie wants to look like. It looks something like this…

In 2 Samuel 6:14-22, King David was so happy that the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and the blowing of horns. King David danced with all his might in the streets. They partied in the streets and God was the reason!

What an example of joy and freedom! I think the Lord might like that! So, my question for you today: Where is your joy and freedom?

We want to thank Julie Duke for sharing this post.

In March 2024 my Dad passed away and since then I have been grieving that loss. I have lost people in my life that I am close to but never anyone as close as my Dad. He was a great man who loved me and my family so well and he taught me so many things that dads are supposed to teach their daughters. Probably the most important thing he taught me was to be a woman who trusts in the Lord.

I knew after he passed it was going to be hard. I see my Dad in so many things around me, the cotton that grows in a field near me, farmers on their tractors and even in my own children. So, I knew after my Dad passed that I wanted to grieve well and grieve with hope. And as most people experience the loss of someone and are needing help grieving, they seek out help from others, the newest grief book or devotional, or even social media for advice on how to grieve. Not to say those things are bad but it was not helping me at all. So, one day it was pressed on me to start reading the Bible chronologically through the Bible Recap. I highly recommend it. They even have a children’s version too. I knew that nothing else was going to help me through my grief like being in the word. 

Well, if you read through the Bible chronologically, on day 4 you start the book of Job. Job is the 18th book of the Bible but chronologically it comes after Genesis chapter 11. If you don’t know much about the book of Job, I encourage you to look up the Bible Project and watch the video over it. If there was anyone, other than Jesus, that suffered in the Bible it was Job. He was a righteous man that was going through hard times. This was the exact type of grief help I needed, to see how he grieved and overcame. Most people think this book of the Bible can be so depressing because of all that Job endured, but I found it to be quite encouraging in the way that Job remained faithful to God even in his grief. 

In Job 29:4 it says, “I would be as I was in the days of my youth when God’s friendship rested on my tent.” Here Job is at one of his lowest points and is reflecting to his youth when God’s friendship rested on his home. It’s not that he lost faith in God while he was going through the hard times, but it was a reminder to him of God’s friendship then and now. 

That is what I had to do every day when I woke up in tears, when someone said my Dad’s name or when I saw a farmer on his tractor and a sudden rush of emotions came over me. I had to look back over my life, remember my friendship with the loving Father and know that I still have that friendship, and it remains over my tent. Not only did knowing this truth about our Father help me grieve well, but so did spending time in His Word more than I ever had before. 

Grief in the Bible is defined as pain in the body and mind or being in sorrow. Grief is not just the loss of someone; it can be grief over a physical aliment, loss of job, intrusive thoughts, etc. There is also no timeline of when grief will be over, everyone’s journey is different. 

So, whatever your grief is, I encourage you to seek the Lord through His Word because He is the truth during your grief. I still have moments where I can be fine one minute and sobbing the next over my dad, but I’m reminded to seek the Lord and to look back at my youth at his abundant blessings over my life.

We want to thank Bethany Williams for sharing this post.

Several years ago, our family believed God was calling us from our place of comfort and security and into a season of transition. We never imagined going from this beautiful place and ending up in the wilderness. Each day, we would cry out to the Lord and wonder what went wrong. We knew without a single ounce of doubt that we had heard His voice, so why were we here? Where did the road veer off? How had we gotten so far off track we couldn’t see The Light any longer?

It was here where we would quiet our hearts and realize, when you are looking for a map, sometimes the answer is God saying, “Take My hand. I’m going to guide you through this.”

As I was preparing for this, God brought me to the story of Hagar. She found herself in this season not once, but twice. She had run away and began to cry out and plead for the answers she so desperately desired. He would show her the well, and still, with Hagar in this wilderness place, she would tell God, “I see the God who sees me.” With the gift of desperation, she prayed, knowing, “God, You are all I have, but You are all I need.”

Other places in the Bible will show us many times where God was right there in the midst of the very people who loved Him and worshiped Him, but they were blind to His presence.

• Jacob – “I was unaware He was there.”
• Mary – thought he was the gardener.
• The two people walking to Emmaus.
• Samuel thought He was Eli.

We as Christians need to develop a healthy habit of listening to God’s voice before we get to this place of feeling left or forsaken in a place of wilderness. So, when we are there, His voice is what we hear, and others we do not harken to. He can use anything to speak to you. I mean, in the Bible, he used a donkey, a tumbleweed, fire……It’s just about finding yourself present in His presence.

Psalm 94:19 says, “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.”

The God of Heaven whom we serve is always there to console us, and in that consolation, the outcome is Joy. Unspeakable, everlasting, pure…..JOY.

Can we just breathe that in for a minute? God, hold me in this moment. Allow me to be as Hosea and say with my lips, “I came out of the wilderness leaning on my beloved.”

When I look back at our time where so many things were uncertain, I think of how God sees from the beginning to the end, and even when we can’t see ourselves, we have to know that He is sovereign. We have to trust Him with every step. God, You are good in my good and You are equally good in my suffering. The wilderness is a revealing season. What have I trained for? What have I been taught my whole life? When the darkness comes, I have the light deep inside of me, to speak it from my mouth and light up my surroundings. As a mother, I have deep rooted instincts to protect my children and do what is necessary when they cry out for help. So does my heavenly father who promised to NEVER leave me.

We want to thank Ashton Riddle for sharing this post.