SIL Sisters in Christ: What Does It Mean To Be a Godly Woman? Week One

As you may already know, I love Jesus. I'm a young Christian woman who is so passionate about her faith - and so passionate about serving The Lord. 

I've had some people email me about my faith and say But you're not a bible basher?! and that would be true - because God tells me to love all people - not beat them with His word. This series isn't about bible bashing - it's about coming together and celebrating women - the bonds we share, how unique we are, what we're going through in life - and of course our faith as well. 

I'm calling this little series SIL Sister's in Christ and it's going to be a weekly post series where we'll talk about different scriptures, how we can put them into practice in our lives and pray for one another. Think of it like an online version of Women's Ministry. 

But why did I want to start this? Because I have so many emails from readers who want to know more about Jesus - from readers asking me about the ministries I'm involved with and the church I attend to readers who just want someone to share their faith with as they live in a country that doesn't allow them to be free to do so or because their family and friends don't agree with their faith. 

I found my first "Sisters in Christ" through the blog and I want you to be able to have that too. It is an incredible feeling to know that you're supported by other women - and whilst I might not be able to meet with you in person to give you a hug or pray with you, I want you to know that each and every week we can come together (with hopefully lots of other women) and talk about God!

Each week, on a Wednesday Morning, I'll share our Sisters in Christ post for the week. It will probably change from time to time, but my goal is to; 

• Talk about God! Of course! We'll read through scriptures together, take a look at what they really mean and how we can apply them to our lives and prayers.
• Share an Inspiration Verse for the Week + FREE Printables/Screensavers
  Something I've been doing for a longggggg time is updating my phone screen savers to a verse for the week ahead. I've never shared these screen savers, however, when I've talked to some friends from church about this they were super keen to do the same.
  
  Each week, I'll be sharing our inspiration verse for the week and you'll be able to download it for your computer/iPhone/iPad/Android phone/photo frame - wherever you feel like putting it, you can (and if I haven't got it in a certain format, make sure you tell me!)
• Asking you for your input/thoughts/ideas
  This isn't about me, guys - it's about us. This isn't going to work very well unless you jump on the bandwagon too, so join us! Whether it's a comment, message or email or a post on your blog so that you can share your thoughts with your readers - the choice is yours!

I'm excited, so let's get started! >>

To start off with, I thought we should look at what it means to be a "Godly Woman" and how we can apply these things to our lives. I've broken down the series into five different parts, however, I wanted to start with the most important one: Seeking God First!

Scripture passages for this week: 

Jeremiah 29:11-13, Matthew 6:25-34, 

Additional passages to read: 1 Chronicles 16:8-12, Psalm 9:10, Psalm 40:16, 

For so much of my life, I was a control freak. I'm the queen of sticky notes, to do lists and journals and I always arrive at least 5 minutes before I'm meant to be somewhere. I have always wanted to control everything because that's when I felt the most calm and collected, however, it's these verses from Jeremiah and Matthew that have changed my life and that I now find the most comfort in.

Why? Because this world is stressful. We have so many things we feel we need to do - so many things we have to manage - so many things we have to take care of. It's easy to be caught up in the stress and worries of this world, however, Jesus tells us otherwise...  

In Jesus's sermon on the mount, He tells us; (in Matthew 6:25)"do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear" he asks us, "Is life not more than food and the body more than clothes?".

He says to us, in Matthew 6:27, "Can any of one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?".

What he's trying to tell us is that we're not supposed to worry about all of these things. Our worries are pointless and a waste of our precious time - but he doesn't leave us in the lurch, he tells us exactly what we should be doing...

"But seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well"

Jesus isn't telling us to sit around and do nothing whilst we wait for God to hand us a golden package - The Lord explains exactly what he means in this verse from Jeremiah (which is our inspiration verse for this week); 

"For I know the plans I have for you, declared The Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

But what does it mean to Seek God First?!
Basically speaking, it means to prioritise. We need to put His love, His commandments, His desires and His plan at the centre of what we are and what we desire to be. We need to seek the salvation that is found in Jesus Christ because that is worth so much more than all of the world's riches. 

Does that mean we have to neglect our daily responsibilities that help sustain our lives here on earth? No - it means that we should have a difference in attitude toward them. If we're seeking God as a priority - by seeking His salvation, living in obedience to Him, serving Him and sharing the Good News with others - His strength will see us succeed and we will live out His plans for our lives (which are so much greater than our own plans!).

Right now, you might be feeling like God has forgotten all about you. You might be praying faithfully, going to Church, serving Him with gusto - but you're not getting anywhere. What we need to remember is that it's humble obedience, patience and faith which bring Him onto the scene - it's about handing everything over to Him and trusting in His plan for our lives. 

What we plan isn't necessarily in-line with God's plan. We might feel like we need something, however, only God knows what we truly need. Think about all of the trials and hardships you read about in the bible - from Joseph who was betrayed and sold to slavery by his brothers to Job who was pummeled and tortured by Satan - all of these horrible trials were followed by restoration and sustenance. God doesn't want to see us fail, He wants to bring us to victory. 

Giving in and giving up (on our plans and earthly desires) is incredibly hard - but what we have to do daily is trust in The Lord and He will take care of things from there. 

God honours us when He is honoured as our top priority.

For so much of my life, I was scared of letting go. I wanted control - but then I realised that I just needed to trust Him - and my whole world turned around. It sounds cheesy, but it's true - the person I am today isn't the person I was before that time.

How can we apply this to our lives?

What we all need to do this week (and every week) is let Jesus be at the forefront of our thoughts. Let Him guide our hearts and see how he puts everything else into place. Give God the keys and let Him in the drivers seat - ask Him to take you step by step, inch by inch, along His path - because that's the path that you'll find the most success on. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

This Week's Inspiration Verse Downloads:
Click on the size (or sizes) you'd like and save them 
to your phone/computer/laptop/iPad etc.

1280x1024 Screensaver | Facebook Timeline | iPad 2 Background/Screensaver |
iPad Background/Screensaver | iPhone 4 Background/Screensaver |
 iPhone 5 Background/Screensaver | 1280/800 Screensaver 
1024x768 Screensaver | Instagram Format
This design is also at the Christian Designs & Apparel Store-----------------------------------------------------------------

No questions, just thoughts!
Leave a comment below and get talking with your fellow Sisters in Christ!
And if you have a prayer request, please leave it in the comments or send me an email.