A Wise Woman’s Guide to Life & Love

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It’s all about you!

God's Love

For more than a decade, my focus has been teaching women the Truth about men. That most of what we’ve believed about them has been a lie. Because the state of Christian Marriage has made it crystal clear that women – and men, too – are in great need of a Paradigm Shift.* And I still believe that’s true. But it’s not all we need to change.

We also need an understanding of Paradox in the Kingdom of Heaven (Luke 17:21). Have you ever noticed that God’s logic often doesn’t make sense? Two apparently conflicting concepts contained in the same Truth. For example:

An Error in Contemporary Christian Thought

A well-known author began his most popular book with the statement: “It’s not about you.” Clearly he’s missing another important Paradox. Perhaps the most important Paradox.

[callout]Although it’s implicit throughout the Bible,
we’ve overlooked this one Truth for far too long.[/callout]

The Bible is God’s Love Story …

  • to show us Who He is and
  • to let us know how important we are to Him.

After all, He created us in His Image to become the Beloved Bride of Christ.

And His thoughts about us (Psalm 139:17) are more numerous than we can imagine. He wants us to know – both individually and corporately – what matters most are …

Do you see the Paradox?

  • It’s all about you, Friend, AND it’s all about God.

THE BOTTOM LINE QUESTION:

I’m just asking …
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person,
though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.
But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by His blood,
how much more shall we be saved
from God’s wrath through Him!
(Romans 5:7-9)

 * Paradigm Shift – a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions.

** Paradox – a statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory.
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Joseph & The Karate Kid

In my last post, I shared part of my own story with you. And many of you responded.

I truly appreciate your kind words and encouragement. Although I meant to encourage you!

Because you have a story, too.

And you are really important in the Kingdom. So never give up on becoming what The Lord created you to become!

No matter what.

If you’ve read the Old Testament stories, you know no one’s journey followed an easy path.

They all messed up.
A lot.

And God used their circumstances to prepare them.

Joseph had a dream.

Several, in fact.

But he had a lot to learn before his dream could come true.

So The Lord took him on a long, painful journey that would transform him into the man he was created to be. And all along the way, Joseph was growing and learning.

Joseph trusted The Lord. He knew his gifts – interpreting dreams, for example – were God’s to use as He wanted. Despite all he endured, he was confident in Who God is.

What do Joseph and the Karate Kid have in common?

The Karate Kid had a dream, too. Not as noble, perhaps. And he certainly didn’t have Joseph’s confidence in his teacher. But we can still benefit by observing his learning processes.

Daniel wants to learn karate.

But Mr. Miyagi has had him slaving around his house for the past 4 days.

  • Sand the deck.
  • Wash the car.
  • Paint the house.
  • Paint the fence.

And Daniel is angry. But he’s been in training nonetheless.

YouTube player
Beware of Daniel’s language rated PG-13 maybe?

What is The Lord training you for?

Which methods is He using to transform you?
Is it working yet? You can always ask the Holy Spirit to help.

He’s always up to something in our lives! What are you missing? What do you need more of to be more like Jesus? No matter what: God’s process always contains His Goodness!

So look for it!
Because with God, all things are possible!

 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate The Lord’s glory,
are being transformed into His Image with ever-increasing glory,
which comes from The Lord, Who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
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Adversity & Joy

adversity & joy

As an official Late Bloomer, I spent a lot of years in survival mode. Struggling through college as a single mom.

Then grad school and trying to build a business.

My counseling practice launched when I got my Psychology License.

October 2007. Several of my clients were in real estate. Most were small business owners.

Economic issues hit them.
Then they hit me.

Teaching kept me going financially.
But working in three cities got to be too much.

So in May 2010 I left teaching to pursue my One True Passion.

Faith or Foolishness? Poor Timing?
Or the wrong area of expertise?

During my post-doctoral work, I had developed a passion for helping Couples.

As a twice-divorced woman, no church wanted me as their marriage expert.

Thus far, it hasn’t seemed to matter that The Lord filled me with a Passion to fight divorce in Orange County. Because – as you can see – very little has worked in my favor in fulfilling that desire.

I held on for as long as I could. Fought as hard as I could.
My resources gave out. The Father stopped me in my tracks.

During this time of uncertainty, I’ve been tempted to reinvent myself – my calling. But my Passion is so deeply ingrained in who I am that I have no idea where to begin.

So I wait. And I listen.

And I’ve learned to live in Joyful Anticipation.

The first thing The Lord has done is to show me Who He is for me. He never allows trials without an opportunity to become more like Him. In fact, that’s His primary desire for me. That’s why James said to count it all joy when we face trials of all kinds (James 1:2-8). Because every Trial has both a Test and a Temptation.

  • A test is God’s way of revealing who we are becoming in Christ.
  • The temptation is to allow the enemy to convince us of who we are not.

So the second thing The Lord has shown me is who He created me to be. From a purely material perspective, I’ve wasted my life learning about love, teaching others how to love and be loved, and never experiencing it for myself.

The enemy wants you to conclude that you are worthless in the Kingdom – and believe on a deeper level – that you are unwanted and unlovable.

mr-knightlyPerhaps I’m like Emma. She loved the idea of love. And played matchmaker to everyone in her community. Although she saw love from a distance, she couldn’t imagine what real love would be like for herself. But all the while, she was being prepared for Mr. Knightly.

Knowing who I am created to be – and I’ve heard it from multiple sources, including directly from The Father – should have made my priorities clear. But during this season of isolation – when I’ve little opportunity to work – He reminds me daily that He has given me a higher calling.

So has my education and experience been wasted? Or has it been my personal preparation to love and to be loved by this one man?

To be continued …

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