Friday, July 29, 2016

Be Strong And Courageous


Be Strong And Courageous

I never knew how strong I was until
I had to forgive someone who wasn't sorry
and accept an apology I never received.  

One of the happiest moments in life is when you find the courage to let go of what you can't change. 

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you where ever you go." Joshua 1:9

women encouraging women







Thursday, July 28, 2016

Who Is The Holy Spirit? - Week 5

Discover your child's Spiritual Gifts

T2W Mentor Moms sharing Spiritual Truth with our Children

Week 5: Gifts of the Holy Spirit Part Two

Carri Pratt


“God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of Spiritual Gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” 
1 Peter 4:10

Last week we looked at the fact that the Holy Spirit gives gifts to all believers. We looked at 1 Corinthians 12:7-10. This list included attributes such as abilities, messages and power. 

This week we will look at a separate text found in Romans 12:6-8:

”In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.  If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

This list shows us the Spiritual Gifts of Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Encouraging, Giving, Leadership and Showing Kindness and implies that we should know our gifts and use them well.

So how do we discover our Spiritual Gifts? And how do we discover the Spiritual Gifts of our children?

I'm so glad you asked! Actually, there are many online "Spiritual Gifts Tests" that you can search for. I would like to share two with you that I find helpful.

The first is to be filled out by the parent. It is by Adam Stadtmiller.  Click here for the Free Spiritual Gifts Test.


A second option is to allow your children to complete the survey. A free online test can be found below:


 www.Titus2Women.org
Women Encouraging Women

Friday, July 22, 2016

Jesus Take The Wheel


Jesus Take The Wheel

Navigating life through faith means you not being in control. Surrendering to His will is not allowing your fears, or what others do and what is expected to dictate what you and your family does. 

There is much freedom in letting go by simply trusting instead. God has got your back, I promise! 

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." Isaiah 55:8

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27 

women encouraging women







Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Who is the Holy Spirit? Week 4

T2W Mentor Moms sharing Spiritual Truth with our Children
Week 4: Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Carri Pratt



"There are different kinds of gifts. But they are all given to believers
by the same Spirit. . . There are different ways the Spirit works. 
But the same God is working in all these ways and in all people."
1 Corinthians 12:4-6
 
In his first letter to the Church at Corinth, Paul states, "Brothers and Sisters, I want you to know about the gifts of the Holy Spirit." 1 Corinthians 12:1
 
So far we have helped our children understand that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, He is God in Spirit, believers are baptized with the Holy Spirit, He lives in all believers and gives power. The Holy Spirit was present in the Old Testament and empowered His people, revealed things to His people, was present in the New Testament, filled John the Baptist in his mother's womb, came upon Mary in the creation of the mortal body of Jesus, descended upon Jesus at His baptism, and was poured out on the believers at Pentecost.
 
If that is not enough, now we learn that all believers are given specific gifts by the Holy Spirit. Your children will probably want to know what gifts they will or have received!
 
Scripture reveals that there are many gifts of the Holy Spirit and God decides what each individual person will receive. God knows each of His children so intimately that He provides the perfect gift(s) based on what His will is for each life.
 
"All the gifts are produced by one and the same Spirit.
He gives gifts to each person, just as He decides." 
1 Corinthians 12:11
 
This is huge! Our children need to understand that God created them in His image and that they are special and unique. There is no one else on the face of the earth that has the same fingerprints as them, that looks and acts exactly as them, that has the same exact ideas and desires as them, and that can fulfill the specific purpose God created them to fulfill. They are of incredible worth!
 
Paul discusses the different gifts in his letter,
  
"A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 
  
To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice
to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge.   
The same Spirit gives great faith to another, 
and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing.  
He gives one person the power to perform miracles
and another the ability to prophesy
He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. 
Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages,
while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said."
1 Corinthians 12:7-10
 
The most important thing to keep in mind is that these gifts are given to "help each other." vs 7  Paul goes on to say that all gifts and all believers are important to the body of Christ.

"All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it."
1 Corinthians 12:27

Ask your children if he/she/they can recognize the spiritual gift God has given them. If they are not yet a believer, what gift would they want to receive from God? Why? 

Ask your child what occupations might be associated with these spiritual gifts?
For example:
The ability to give wise advice: Parent, Counselor, Lawyer, Judge
 
Family Highlights:
  • The Holy Spirit gives Spiritual Gifts to all believers
  • God decides who gets what Spiritual Gift
  • God has a specific purpose for each life
  • Every human being has immense value
  • Every child of God has incredible worth

Women Encouraging Women

Friday, July 15, 2016

Pray for our Nation


In The Lord I Take Refuge


"I trust in the Lord for protection.
So why do you say to me,
    “Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!
The wicked are stringing their bows
    and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings.
They shoot from the shadows
    at those whose hearts are right.

The foundations of law and order have collapsed.
    What can the righteous do?
 
4 But the Lord is in His holy Temple;
    the Lord still rules from heaven.

He watches everyone closely,
    examining every person on earth.
The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked.
    He hates those who love violence.
He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked,
    punishing them with scorching winds.
For the righteous Lord loves justice.
    The virtuous will see his face."
                                                                          Psalm 11:1-7
NLT 

Pray for our Protectors, our Cities, our Nation and our World
Pray that God will have Mercy 

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Women Encouraging Women