Posted on: January 15, 2010 by Terri
I’ve just started doing the On Demand workouts with Jillian Michaels. For those of you who know me, you know that tight abs, muscular arms and a trim physique have always been a struggle for me to achieve. During this morning’s workout, Jillian said something that made sense. She said, “You can’t phone it in, you have to do the work!” Her comment made me think about the areas in my life where I have done the work. The results do come.
I made the decision to follow Jesus some 10 years ago which for me meant committing to do the work - the work of developing my relationship with him, reading and learning the Bible, serving in my church, giving my money and sharing my faith with others. I could have just walked out of the baptism tub and returned to the day-to-day, but I wanted so badly to change who I was! I wanted self-esteem, I wanted to accept and see other people the way God did instead of judging them, I wanted to contribute to something significant, I wanted others to get the same new life I’d been given.
Whether it’s spiritual growth or exercise, the work isn’t easy; it takes time and priority adjustments. The person I was 10 years ago is pretty much gone. I think my family and friends would agree. The hard work has gotten me amazing results. The physical changes are coming a bit more slowly, but Jillian’s comment encouraged me to continue to do the work in both areas of my life.
Phoning in our desire to change isn’t an option. We need to do the work.
Tags: acceptance, clear, God, heart, jesus, Relationship, study, Women Filed Under: Bible, Connecting with God, Faith, Prayer, Relationships, Women
Posted on: December 20, 2009 by Diane
from Diane’s desk…
In the Bible - in the book of Mark - there is a story about a woman pouring expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus. A similar story was told in several other places in the New Testament. Scholars are not sure if it’s the same woman or not, but it doesn’t matter. The fact that a woman gave up something of such value to honor the man she saw as her Savior, is consistent across all of the stories.
But in Mark, Jesus says a phrase that has stuck with me since I read it a couple of weeks ago.
She did what she could.
In the eyes of those around her, this gift seemed a waste of good perfume. Jesus knew differently.
I can envision this woman - a prostitute - meeting Jesus, feeling loved in a way that she had never been before. He saw into her heart, and loved her as a person. Frantically looking around her small room, all she had was a bottle of perfume given to her by a wealthy ‘customer’. She had valued it for a long time. In fact, she saw more value in that bottle of perfume than she saw in her sorry life. Others around her were having him over for dinner, giving him a place to stay. Wine to drink. All she had was this bottle of perfume. She knew what she had to do, and she didn’t care what others would say. She had to show him how much she loved him.
She did what she could.
I so often think that what I do for God, in comparison to others, is so insignificant. It never seems to be enough. I miss so many opportunities to show others the face of God. I fail more often than I care to admit.
Yet, I do what I can do. Each year, I pray I can do a little more, stretch a little deeper, with less fear. More confidence. More faith.
Each day, I have a choice to make. To stop doing because I’ll never measure up to others; because I’ll fail more often than I succeed. Or, I can decide, to ‘do what I can do’. To see what value I can give today, and give it. And then, work on more tomorrow.
I am confident, that God is OK with that.
Posted on: December 16, 2009 by Terri
Women of all ages are invited to attend this morning filled with good food, great conversation and a lot of laughter! Cost is $5/person and childcare is provided.
Take a few hours away from the day-to-day and spend some time connecting with other women! For more information, contact Terri Stone at 610.792.0777 ext. 207 or terri@moviechurch.com.
Sign up for the brunch here!
Posted on: December 16, 2009 by Terri
Join us for our “in-house” showing of Julie & Julia. Women ages 16 and up are invited to a movie night for girls only! Bring a snack to share, your lawn chairs and a few friends. You don’t want to miss this fun and relaxing night with a group of gal pals!
Cost is $5/person and is due at the door. For more information, contact Terri Stone at 610.792.0777 ext. 207 or terri@moviechurch.com.
Sign up for movie night here!
Posted on: December 16, 2009 by Terri
This Bible discussion group is for women who want to know more, but have been afraid to ask. Together the group discusses questions about the Bible, Christianity, prayer, the church and everything in between.
Diane Karchner and Terri Stone lead the group. Join us at 9:00 AM the third Saturday of each month upstairs in classroom 1 of CCV’s Children’s Building! For more information, contact Terri Stone at 610.792.0777 ext. 207 or terri@moviechurch.com.
Posted on: December 9, 2009 by Terri
Isn’t that the title of a rock and roll song? As our CLEAR leadership team continues to think and pray and talk about all the things we want for women, these words keep coming to my my mind - girls, girls, girls. There are little girls, young girls, girls becoming women and women, like me, who like being referred to as a girl! For our team, age isn’t an issue; we want to come alongside all women and help them navigate through the waters of the Christian faith! We keep coming back to what we want most for all girls, young and old, - their own personal relationship with Jesus that transforms their lives.
2010 is almost here and we’ve planned a year full of opportunities for women to be challenged, to be inspired, to bring their friends, to meet other women, to serve other women and to pursue spiritual growth. We want all of you to come along as we continue the journey of becoming amazing women of God!
Watch this blog, talk to me (Terri Stone), Diane Karchner, Becky Preston, Renae Stone or Jennifer Thompson. We’re the CLEAR leadership team and we’re here to help you connect with God and each other and to help you grow in your faith. What are you waiting for? Jump in and be part of what God’s going to do in the lives of so many women!
Tags: Christianity, clear, Faith, friendship, God, individuality, jesus, Relationship, Women Filed Under: Christianity, Community, Influence, Leadership, Relationships, Women
Posted on: December 1, 2009 by Terri
The very words piqued my interest in late September. When this news special was announced on The Today Show, I was eager to listen to what Maria Schriver had to say. Reading Maria’s article at www.awomansnation.com shed some light on why she chose to do this study on women and how women are changing the landscape of the United States.
Maria’s mother was her role model - a woman who wore pants when women didn’t, she smoked cigars and worked outside the home. She says her mother raised her exactly like her brothers to believe she could do anything saying, “Maria, this may be a man’s world, but you can and will succeed in it.”
Out of her upbringing and more recently as the first lady of the state of California, Maria’s Women’s Conference was born. Her goal was to create a meeting place where women from all walks of life could come together and share experiences, information and motivate one another. When the 2008 conference sold out in 2 hours she knew something big was happening. Every workshop was packed with women wanting more. What did she learn? She learned that women are hungry for what’s missing in their lives - a place to connect! They feel isolated, invisible, stressed and misunderstood.
I’m certain the Women’s Conference is amazing, what it offers, its size, its celebrity. The lineup of speakers and workshop facilitators is unbelievable. I’m thrilled there’s a movement like this out there. Heck, I want to go! It’s about time women and men unite to bring attention to the inequalities that have existed for way too long, and further they’re working hard to do something about them.
Diane and I have dreamed, prayed, discussed and labored over the last few years hoping to create a Christian women’s movement like Maria’s through CLEAR. What’s different about what we’re doing is that it’s based on women having a relationship with God first and from that becoming deeply connected to one another, sharing burdens, influencing others, finding their voices and making significant contributions in their homes, churches, jobs and communities.
Women, we have the best advocate for equality and change that ever lived! We have Jesus. He came to breakdown all the barriers created from the fall of humanity and to give us what we need to bring about world change. The bottom line is that all the great speakers, workshops and money in the world don’t make a difference if they’re not based on helping women develop and grow in a relationship with Jesus. Why? Why, because there’s no eternal significance without him.
Imagine what we could do if we became razor focused on following Christ the way he asked us to and by uniting in a movement that would develop, encourage, empower and challenge women to make the world what God wants it to be!
Posted on: November 24, 2009 by Diane
from diane’s desk…
In a recent Huffington Post online article, Marcus Buckingham wrote about some research he is doing. He had a lot of really interesting things to say about women, and the decline in the general happiness of women over the last few decades. I’ll critique more of his series of articles in future posts, but one paragraph just jumped off the page at me…
When nationally representative polls of women and men are asked the question, “Which do you think will help you be most successful in life, building on your strengths or fixing your weaknesses?” men split right down the middle, whereas 73% of women report they would focus on fixing their weaknesses.
I would love to be able to scoff at that statistic. Deny its truth. But I can’t. And I bet most of you can’t either.
Why do women always think we need to be ‘fixed’? Why do we go to the ‘lack’ rather than the ‘abundance’?
John Maxwell, the leadership guru, often speaks of developing our strengths - the ones we know we have - instead of dwelling on getting that weakness fixed…into what? A mediocre strength? If it’s not a talent you have, why bother? Sort of like me thinking I can sing on stage. No amount of training or practice will ever qualify me to be the next Susan Boyle. Training might help me carry a tune - maybe - but it will never make me a star. I can’t fix the fact that I have a really sucky singing voice.
When I exercise my strengths, it is effortless. Leading, for me, is effortless. Public speaking, for me, is effortless. Writing is effortless. It brings me joy and comfort and energy when I am doing those things - they are my ‘zone’, as they say in the sports world. And when I work on developing these, they get even stronger. It’s how God wired me.
Just for this decade, or this century, can we concentrate on what God has created us to be - with the strengths he has given each of us, individually? And not worry so much about fixing the weaknesses that just sap our energy anyway? Frustrate us. Keep us out of the ‘zone’ where God can really use us.
So, join me. Concentrate on what’s NOT broken. Fix your focus, not your weaknesses. Focus on what keeps you in your zone. Just for this century.
Posted on: November 9, 2009 by Diane
from Diane’s desk…
On my way home today, I was lamenting my body. As usual. Too big, too fat, too bumpy, too lumpy - you know the drill! And this thought popped into my head - what if I can never lose a pound? What if my bumpy thighs and thick, muffintop waistline, are mine forever. I own them. What if all of this is mine.
What if all of your body image challenges - your height, your ‘cankles’, your weight, your skin color, your nose, your eyelashes, your toes - will never change (and in most cases, they won’t!).
It will never change.
Think about that for a moment. It’s a sobering thought.
For any of you who avoid mirrors, or hide behind clothes too big for your body, or hate the exposure of summer clothes. For any of you who hide from life to hide your body. This post is for you! (For the rest of you, keep up the great self-image!! Awesome!!)
But this ‘What if…?’ epiphany changed something in me.
When I got home, I went into the bathroom and took a look at my body. I took off my clothes and stood in front of the mirror. For awhile. And I cried. I cried because it had been a really long time since I had done that. A really long time.
And I cried because I realized that God had given me every single inch of my large frame. Every bump and jiggle - God loves every inch. Every muffin top - God loves every one.
I know that a healthy body is a thinner one. I know that. (So all your health nuts, don’t panic!!) But to get there, I think I had to arrive here first. To love what is staring back at me in the mirror. To touch it all. And to love it all, just like God does. To know that no matter what - even when we gain weight, lose hair, get a zit - God loves it. All of it. All of it. All of it!!!!
What if…? What if you loved every inch of yourself the way God loves?
Love is patient, kind. Love keeps no record of wrongs. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. I Cor. 13
Does this describe how you love yourself? Is this how you think about yourself when you look in the mirror?
It’s what God is thinking when he looks at us. It’s how God loves.
What if…?
Posted on: October 25, 2009 by Diane
We rely too much on ourselves, and too little on God.
Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? ~Matthew 6.25
Gosh, wouldn’t it be so cool if we could see the world, others, and ourselves as God does. Gosh, wouldn’t it be so cool if we could live life as if God was at our side, sometimes pulling, sometimes pushing us along. Encouraging us. Believing in us. Loving on us. Too bad we spend our lives thinking we are alone in the battle. Too bad that we spend so much time and energy hiding the authentic person that God needs to be fully activated. Too bad that we wear our Spanx so tight that even God can’t get in.
But all of that is a decision we are making. And decisions can be changed, altered, reversed.
Spanx are good to manage people’s perceptions about our body. They help with our body image, our self-esteem. They make clothes feel more comfortable. None of this happens when we Spanx our real uniqueness. We end up in constant state of withdrawal, uncertainty, fear of discovery.
We overthink our ideas.
We underthink our value.
We are in constant comparison of our insides with everyone else’s outsides.
We are in continuous denial of authenticity.
We rely too much on ourselves, and too little on God.
Sad part of all of this is that when you do this for years and years, it starts to feel normal. I don’t think God sees it that way.
His normal is a little different…no Spanx involved!
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