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Positive Christian Woman Conference
Positive Christian Woman Magazine is looking for a church in your
area to host an exciting new high-profile event just for women. The
conference will be an intimate, affordable day of praise and
inspiration that will minister to Christian women in your church and
community.
Get Busy: Better Managing Your Time
Do you find yourself wondering:
- How do I invest my time/talents/energy wisely?
- What does it mean to be a good steward of what God has given me?
- How do I discern when I'm staying busy for godly reasons as opposed to selfish reasons?
If so, you need to check out "Get Busy – Better Managing Your Time"
Digging In: A Discussion on Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is one of those tricky phrases we hear a lot in our culture. We're told it's a mark of a healthy person. Articles on self-esteem shout at us as we stand in line at the grocery store, looking at all the women's magazine covers.
What does it mean to have good self-esteem as a Christian woman? Does it even belong in a Christian's vocabulary? What does it mean to suffer from lack of self-esteem? How do we keep from settling on the world's definition of self-esteem, instead of God's? Some Christians even go so far as to say self-esteem is not of God – in effect, evil? What do you think? Let's dig in!
Help Design The Perfect Women's Event
What if you had the power to choose top Christian artists and speakers to create a phenomenal women's event? What if the topics and features were ones you specifically requested? Who would you select to appear at this event, tailored exclusively to Christian women? Does the thought make you giddy with excitement?
The good news is that YOU have a central role in selecting awesome Christian women for this event! Positive Christian Woman desires to give you top-notch speakers and artists that you enjoy and that you want to hear. This is no ordinary Christian women's event, because it is designed largely according to your feedback, and not by one person's programmed agenda.
We would love to hear from you. Help us serve you the finest Christian women's event around by providing us with your personal suggestions. We greatly value your input. Thank you for your part in helping us create successful and effective Christian women's events!
Help design the perfect women's event.
Avoiding an Identity Crisis
Women from God's Perspective
Expectations seem to fly at women from all sides these days. There are
bosses to please, households to keep up, kids to chauffeur, and relationships
to develop. What's the glue that holds us together when a frantic world
pulls us in all directions?
It's comforting to think that busy women weren't invented
in the 21st century. Though the details are different, the question
of how to live a hectic life wisely is nothing new according to the Bible.
Next time you feel overwhelmed, try reading Proverbs 31 for a refreshing
reminder of how God blesses busyness when we keep him on our calendar.
Most of us have come across the Proverbs 31 woman in
a women's group or Bible study. She gives us a graceful picture of how
God's spirit can permeate our lives, eventful as they are.
No one is more industrious than this woman. A successful
wife, mother, weaver, housekeeper, businesswoman, philanthropist, and
friend, she is an extraordinary multitasker. She carries groceries home
"like the merchant ships"—picture that next time you shop
at Costco or Sam's Club—and gets up before dawn to prepare meals
for her family. Always on the alert, she "watches over the affairs
of her household" and makes shrewd deals on real estate. She "works
with eager hands" to make luxurious clothes for her family and herself.
She runs her own garment business on the side. She goes beyond her doors
as she "opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy."
Intelligence, generosity, strength—there's a lot to
be impressed with! But before feeling daunted by this superwoman, it's
good to remember that the Bible doesn't roll her into one literal person.
It doesn't even give her a name. What's most important isn't matching
all that she does, but learning how to live our own lives with her spirit.
Let's look closer at some of the details of her personality.
She is loving, bringing her husband "good, not harm, all the days
of her life." She is wise, not giving endlessly, but setting sensible
priorities to make sure her husband "lacks nothing of value"
and her servant girls get their share. She is careful with her resources
as she considers a field then buys it "out of her earnings."
This woman keeps a cool head in the middle of the hubbub, lovingly meeting
the real needs around her without holding a grudge or running herself
ragged.
So what is her secret? We finally learn it at the end of
the chapter in a single phrase that reveals everything. She fears the
Lord. The words are simple, but think about what they mean. It's not the
approval of her children and husband, her success at work, or her charm
and beauty that give her an identity. She doesn't base her worth on her
abilities. She knows that true provision, for herself and her family,
isn't up to her. It's up to God.
There are no expectations to meet! That is the truth that
frees her to work well and show her love openly. She's doesn't do it to
build herself up. Her "strength and dignity" come from her faith
in God's care—not from her performance.
That's why she "can laugh at the days to come."
She knows not to take anything too seriously because she's not in control
of tomorrow—and she knows the One who is.
The example of the Proverbs 31 woman is crucial for us today.
We live in a culture that tells us our value is based on what we can produce
or do. For women in particular, there is an expectation that if we can't
do everything—as wives, mothers, and workers—there's something
wrong with us. But God has already told us that's not true. His love,
which "surpasses knowledge," is secure and sufficient for our
needs, no matter what we accomplish this week (Ephesians 3:19).
Meditate on that amazing truth next time you feel the pressure
to get things done. Do you find yourself trying to meet expectations or
get approval as you go through the day? Or are you free to do the best
you can and show God's love because you know it's not really up to you?
Before you do anything else today, take some time to pray and remember that there's nothing to live up to. As a child of God, you already have approval. It may not take things off your to-do list, but it may just help you keep perspective as you keep up with your schedule.
This is part of a series on how women in the Bible inspire
the lives of women today. For more on Bible studies and devotions about
women in the Bible, check out these resources and purchase one through
this website:
Women
in the Bible: One-year devotional study
Women
in the Bible: group studies, prayer guides
For an alternative viewpoint:
