Post No. 9, Chapters 15 and 16

Chapter 15, Looking Out for Each Other

What a great chapter title! I like it…and so how can we start helping one another? Beth says and I so agree...that security can be contagious. Yes! And so let’s go for it.

Number 1- STOP MAKING COMPARISONS, We can admire a woman without subtracting from ourselves. We are going to start catching ourselves in the act of comparison and call ourselves out. Each of us is an original! (smile)

Number 2- START PERSONALIZING OTHER WOMEN, If we view potential contenders as equally broken people with real problems, pains, hopes, dreams and disappointments, we will have taken the first step toward unraveling a rivalry.

Number 3 –DON’T TRIP ANOTHER WOMAN’S INSECURITY SWITCH, Beth says when we can’t decide if our sensitivity is helping a friend or hurting them: the goal in our female relationships should be to encourage another’s security-not enable one another’s insecurity! If we simply help each other stay chronically insecure, we have accomplished nothing!

Number 4- WE MUST BE EXAMPLES OF SECURE WOMEN, Most women will never believe that a secure woman is a real, live possibility until they see one face- to-face. Problem-to-problem. Threat-to-threat. Chase-to-grace. We can each be an example in our sphere of influence. Don’t you love these thoughts? Each one of us created to be exceptional!

I was happy to see I had “accidently” chosen these two chapters to comment on…Chapter 15 was full of guidelines and good helps, to challenge us to move from insecurity to security… and I go for that! For only a little while, do I want to talk and think about the insecure parts of my life and then I want to be lifted and set free and see others set free. So, I like that Beth outlined some good steps for us to take to move forward to wholeness and freedom in our Lord and in our relationships.

My life has been blessed by exceptional women. Most I have met, through the years, in Bible study groups and in my church. The reason they are exceptional is because they know their Treasure is in Jesus Christ and their confidence is in Him. May we all say, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!”

Chapter 16, A Passion to Look Past Ourselves

This title is a challenge. How easy for me to fall into self absorption and so this made me examine my own heart over and over. I like Beth’s paragraph on page 310, “Christ, the Author of life more abundant, taught something totally different. He showed us that giving, rather than getting, is the means to receiving . …to find yourself, your true, secure self, you must lose yourself in something larger.” How easy it is for me to be comfortable, but yet I question the LORD /ask the LORD about “larger purpose” and at the same time hold back and resist.

It is so true as Beth says “we are surrounded by a superficial world making deceptive claims” and this can be a painful thought. O LORD, may I pursue a life of purpose. Show me the way to go.

~AS I close, DEAR BLOG GIRLS, I pray this for each of you, dear ones…LORD, guide them always; satisfy their needs in a sun scorched land and strengthen their frames. May each one be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Isaiah 58:11

Blessings to all,

Jean

(Jean Hueser is a wife, mother, and grandmother, who lives in Kearney, NE. Jean is a friend, mentor and so much more to me and many others. You see, for those who do not know, Jean is our rock star leader of our Sonrise Bible Study that has around 40 moms attending. She loves us each so individually and is a genuine example for us. With phone calls or just a "how are you?", she really cares. Thank you, Jean, for all you do.)