Posted on: February 9, 2010 by Terri
Sometimes best laid plans just don’t work out and these plans need to change or die. When we sense a change, how do we know it’s God wanting the change and not us wanting to change because things aren’t going our way or we’re bored or frustrated? I struggle with this a lot. After all, Jesus turned the world upside down in 3 years. Wouldn’t anything he’s at the center of do the same thing? I know it sounds corny, but I truly want to be part of leading women in a radical movement for Jesus! That said, should I be regularly analyzying, re-thinking, and second guessing what I believe God wants me to do?
Since I don’t have any answers right now and the desire to lead something radical isn’t leaving my soul, what I need to do is pray these words from Psalm 139:23-24…
Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
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 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: September 30, 2009 by Terri
After the brunch earlier this month, I talked with a few women who shared their negative experiences at their tables. And not just at this brunch, but at others in the past. One woman said, “I brought a friend and not one person at our table said hello or introduced themselves.” Another shared about a woman at her table who dominated the conversation, never giving anyone else a chance to interact. There were two women, none at the table knew, who never even got a hello. One other confided that three women at her table critized what CLEAR is and isn’t doing the entire morning all the while a woman who’d never attended sat there and listened. I was surprised these things would happen at a CLEAR event, NOT! At an event filled with women, of course there’s going to be some interesting situations. We’re still learning to be kind and accepting of one another and to think outside ourselves.
I know these things happen amongst women, because at one point in my life this was my game. I was the queen of sizing up another woman and deciding right there and then whether or not I’d welcome her into my presence! From that point on, I’d either chat it up with the woman or I was aloof and distant. I also loved to look on while others did their thing making comments on how I would do this or that and how much better it would be. I hurt so many women in my life with my behavior, co-workers, family members, neighbors.
In thinking and praying about how we change this within CLEAR, I thought of some of the passages in the Bible that talk about hospitality. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need, practice hospitality - Romans 12:13; Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers… - Hebrews 13:2; Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling - 1 Peter 4:9; We ought therefore show hospitality to such people… - 3 John 1:8.
Thank goodness there’s a flipside to the negative experiences. At the last brunch, I noticed two very good friends sitting at separate tables. I knew what they were doing without having talked to either one. These two women intentionally made the decision to mingle and meet new women. A woman at the table where the conversation was dominated by the one went to the two newcomers after the brunch and introduced herself.
Women, we’ve got to do it. We’ve got to show hospitality. I know we’re not all wired up the same way, some of us are shy, some of us love meeting people and some of us share too much. But for those of us who follow Jesus, the Bible’s pretty clear on how we should respond to those with whom we rub shoulders. It’s the better way. We all want to be known, loved and accepted. So I’m throwing out the challenge to all of us to be hospitable, and not just at a CLEAR brunch once a quarter, but in all situations.
Posted on: August 7, 2009 by Terri
Women, if you haven’t seen the movie, you should. I caught the end of it yesterday and watched it with my daughters. I saw it in the theater shortly after its release. Loved it then, bought the DVD, love it every time it’s on one of the movie channels. I never saw the show, but obviously that doesn’t matter because you get it when you see the movie. The “it” is the friendship these women share. It is freaking amazing. Each woman is a unique individual living her own life and the others support her regardless of her choices - good or bad. They tell each other the truth, they fight, they tease, they laugh together, they cry together, and they come to each other’s rescue. They are there for each other through it all.
Don’t we all want girlfriends like this? I know I do. Instead, here’s what I see: women keeping women at arm’s length, women talking behind women’s backs, women judging and critizing women who aren’t like them, women who are lonely, women who want to be accepted by women, women standing by watching women struggle and doing nothing. women who can’t commit. I know it’s a movie, but I know in my heart of hearts this kind of friendship can exist.
I’m one of the fortunate ones; I have a few friendships like this. If we don’t have friendships like this, why don’t we? I know friendships can’t be forced, but how can we women start treating each other the way Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte treat each other? The best place to start is with ourselves. We need to make the decision to see other females as valuable human beings with unique life expereiences that make them who they are. We need to start with a blank slate and an attitude of love, acceptance and genuine interest in the future of each individual woman.
There were tons of funny scenes in the movie that bring my point home. The clothes, jewelry and hairstyles are fabulous, the dialogue is raw and the sex scenes are very, very naked and steamy. But above all those things is an amazing friendship shared by four women just like you and me. What do you think? Do you think we girls can stop all the foolishness and start enjoying relationships with other one another that rock?
Posted on: July 30, 2009 by Terri
Dictionary.com lists these definitions for obey: to comply with or follow the commands, restrictions, wishes, or instructions of; to comply with or follow; to submit or conform in action to. Jesus said in Matthew 28:18-20 to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything he commanded. In John 14:23-24 he said “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.” and “Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.”
Jesus also said to “follow me.” Read the definitions again. Follow the commands or instructions, comply with, submit in actions to. Follow, obey hmmm… Are we, who profess faith in and love for Jesus, obeying his teaching; are we following him? He wasn’t just talking to hear himself talk, Jesus told us these things so we would become like him. He was radically different to those around him in his lifetime; he expects the same from us in our lifetime.
If we let ourselves be changed the way he wants us to change, if we obeyed his teaching, the world would be a different place. We Jesus followers wouldn’t be called hypocrites or judgmental, people would want to hear what we have to share, our money management would be the example, and our compassion and love for all people would be a large part of what defines us.
Some of the best ways to learn what he taught are to read our Bibles, to have conversations with one another often and to attend church services regularly. It’s not too complicated or too difficult if we take it one day at a time. We made the decision and shared that with the world in our baptism; now it’s time we take the decision to follow and obey to those around us. Let’s show them how what it really looks like to be the image of God.
