Think about the latest mag you are reading, open up and you'll find many a picture of a beautiful woman. That picture is a lie. Not only is there computer re-touching, there's digital altering of the picture so that they can now take a model and make a composite (made up of separate parts) woman. So models themselves don't even look like their picture. Their "perfect" beauty is an illusion, it's unattainable. And yet many of us are consumed with trying to "achieve" that look.
Why?
The lie we are believing is that beautiful is better, that physical beauty will bring satisfaction and recognition. If you are beautiful you will be happy and successful. You will be popular. You will receive lasting intimacy and true love. You will be important and significant.
The truth?
Even if it exists, physical beauty is temporal and fleeting. (Proverbs 31:30)
The beauty that matters most to God is that of our inner spirit and character (I Samuel 16:7, 1 Timothy 2:9, 1 Peter 3:3-5)
Frankly there are better things we could be doing with our time and efforts and we will never live up to that perfect ideal and then life starts to spiral downwards.....
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Tasmanian Womens Bible Conference 2010
Some responses from this year's conference:
How have you been challenged or encouraged today?
Suffering for Christ is an honour
Have met other Christian women, enjoyed the 'rest' there is in fellowship
To keep on in walking in God's strength, love & endurance. That the fight is a spiritual battle, so need the whole armour of god.
I have been challenged not to idolise comfort and possessions. I have been encouraged as a Christian woman to continue following Christ through the difficult times.
Challenged to be more deliberate in my faith
Good to get into the word more - good to be fed.
It was a great day and we are well underway preparing for next year's conference:
Saturday 26th March with Claire Smith, with Bible talks from Jude...Contend for the faith...'what I do with my time counts as I contend for the Faith'
Web-site & details coming!
How have you been challenged or encouraged today?
Suffering for Christ is an honour
Have met other Christian women, enjoyed the 'rest' there is in fellowship
To keep on in walking in God's strength, love & endurance. That the fight is a spiritual battle, so need the whole armour of god.
I have been challenged not to idolise comfort and possessions. I have been encouraged as a Christian woman to continue following Christ through the difficult times.
Challenged to be more deliberate in my faith
Good to get into the word more - good to be fed.
It was a great day and we are well underway preparing for next year's conference:
Saturday 26th March with Claire Smith, with Bible talks from Jude...Contend for the faith...'what I do with my time counts as I contend for the Faith'
Web-site & details coming!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Tasmanian Women's Bible Conference
It has been a little while between drinks, hasn't it? My apologies, our aim will be to contribute weekly - there it's in black and white, we'll have to stick with it. To be honest Jess is studying at SMBC now and she was always my techno guru, I had to reset my password and everything this arvo just to log on!!!
Anyway recently via Mikey's blog 'xn reflections' he was referring to and if I could I would do the link but alas no Jess no tech guru here! a blog written by a woman about the guilt one may get from women's conferences. She has a list of things she feels she gets out of articles and conferences specific to women, to name a few:
* making family budgets
* making meals for people at church
* re-organising our pantries and getting the house under control.
Let me tell you these are not the things you will get out of TWBC this year. The Tasmanian Women's Bible Conference is a day conference for women whose desire is to have their minds, hearts and lives shaped by the Bible. With Allison Street (our main speaker) we will be looking at Luke 14, thinking about the cost of following Jesus. We also have an array of very interesting topics to choose from on the elective side: live simply, so others may simply live ( thinking about our preoccupation with stuff and how that doesn't help with our holiness), Going the distance (thinking about how to keep running the race) and other great topics.
There is still time to enrol, we'd love to have all women, of all ages come and join us as we together consider what God's word has to say to us. For more info email us at twbcsouth@hotmail.com, or leave a comment
Anyway recently via Mikey's blog 'xn reflections' he was referring to and if I could I would do the link but alas no Jess no tech guru here! a blog written by a woman about the guilt one may get from women's conferences. She has a list of things she feels she gets out of articles and conferences specific to women, to name a few:
* making family budgets
* making meals for people at church
* re-organising our pantries and getting the house under control.
Let me tell you these are not the things you will get out of TWBC this year. The Tasmanian Women's Bible Conference is a day conference for women whose desire is to have their minds, hearts and lives shaped by the Bible. With Allison Street (our main speaker) we will be looking at Luke 14, thinking about the cost of following Jesus. We also have an array of very interesting topics to choose from on the elective side: live simply, so others may simply live ( thinking about our preoccupation with stuff and how that doesn't help with our holiness), Going the distance (thinking about how to keep running the race) and other great topics.
There is still time to enrol, we'd love to have all women, of all ages come and join us as we together consider what God's word has to say to us. For more info email us at twbcsouth@hotmail.com, or leave a comment
Monday, November 16, 2009
November
This November there are lots of things going on. Least of all I am turning a whole year older. Hmmm.
During this time we are thinking about wrapping the year up (why does this seem to get earlier and earlier each year?) and thinking about our goals and visions for next year.
Let me share one or two things - two goals we are considering for next for women's ministry across the congregations are: bible reading and evangelism.
As a team throughout the year we want to encourage women to get back into the word. Biblical truths never change, yet with womanhood life stages do. What we want to do is to give suggestions that will spark a new passion for reading and meditating on God's word. For example: reading a chapter of the bible on your own then meeting a friend for a walk where you discuss what you have read and pray when you get back home, stuff like that. If you have any suggestions, feel free to add!
In terms of evangelism, thinking about simply loving your non-Christian friends. Obviously we need to be intentional but I think that that will come out of a love for your friend, you want to see them eternally and when there is a genuine love for them, I think that this will happen naturally. Sometimes we forget it is God who changes hearts.
So two quick notes on our goals and visions. How are your individual ones for 2010 going?
During this time we are thinking about wrapping the year up (why does this seem to get earlier and earlier each year?) and thinking about our goals and visions for next year.
Let me share one or two things - two goals we are considering for next for women's ministry across the congregations are: bible reading and evangelism.
As a team throughout the year we want to encourage women to get back into the word. Biblical truths never change, yet with womanhood life stages do. What we want to do is to give suggestions that will spark a new passion for reading and meditating on God's word. For example: reading a chapter of the bible on your own then meeting a friend for a walk where you discuss what you have read and pray when you get back home, stuff like that. If you have any suggestions, feel free to add!
In terms of evangelism, thinking about simply loving your non-Christian friends. Obviously we need to be intentional but I think that that will come out of a love for your friend, you want to see them eternally and when there is a genuine love for them, I think that this will happen naturally. Sometimes we forget it is God who changes hearts.
So two quick notes on our goals and visions. How are your individual ones for 2010 going?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Post on MTS blog
Back in July on the MTS cricket blog site - Mikey placed a link to Fiona's thoughts on women in ministry. Fiona had written about how hard being in ministry is and that one should really consider it (more than a man anyway)
Anyway I don't disagree with how hard it is, but Mikey did ask for our thoughts, here's what I had to say:
I have been thinking a lot about the issue of Women’s ministry and how hard it is and Fiona and Emma’s comments back in July. (see MTS link 25th July )
Obviously I may be a little biased (I am employed by Kingborough Reformed Churches working in Women’s ministry) and I agree that women need to think really carefully about going into ministry (just as it is for men) but at the recent Challenge Conference I was really encouraged in my role as well thinking more broadly about women in ministry.
In our forum on women’s ministry we saw how important it is for women to be teaching women sound doctrine. Paul instructs Titus to ensure that women with spiritual experience were to be equipped to ‘teach what is good’ (Titus 2:3-5) That ‘good’ being sound doctrine.
Women are different to men. At times it can be as simple as that. We relate differently to each other.
When thinking pastorally about women there are just some issues that the male minister just should not be dealing with.
What better teachers to teach younger women in marriage than older women in marriage?
This does not make women’s ministry more important than any other ministry in the church, it is not a separate ‘cause’, in fact it is the opposite – in true womanly style it is a helpmate! At Kingston our aim as a team is to:
‘To work within our local churches to further assist it’s training by supporting women in their spiritual growth & encouraging them in prayer and bible study to prepare them for works of service’.
Having said that I completely hear Emma and Fiona’s points about how hard and emotionally draining being part of the ministry can be – here are three things that I have come up with that make women’s ministry almost impossible:
When women put an idea out there, they are putting themselves out there, so when the idea is rejected, women can take it as a personal rejection.
When women are not asked to do something (for very good reasons least they be that we are not worthy for the task) we also take that as a rejection. It’s not true but that’s how we feel.
Women understand women, I think this at times stops some action – “what will so and so think if we do it this way”
These (and I’m sure there are more) are the exact reasons why women’s ministry and teaching sound doctrine is vital. We need to hear God’s word in as many ways as we can, in the most helpful ways so that these issues can fade away in existence to the deeper issues – who we are in Christ and His promises that form our basis for daily living and the building of His Kingdom.
fade away in existence to the deeper issues – who we are in Christ and His
Next year at Challenge Conference, I hope to have more than the ‘one’ women’s ministry forum – there is so much need – how to set-up a women’s ministry would be good to look at, being the minister’s wife is an important issue, as well as thinking about Emma’s point, being the worker and your husband not in ministry. (That is our situation – but can be dealt with another time!)
This is what I think – whose with me?
Anyway I don't disagree with how hard it is, but Mikey did ask for our thoughts, here's what I had to say:
I have been thinking a lot about the issue of Women’s ministry and how hard it is and Fiona and Emma’s comments back in July. (see MTS link 25th July )
Obviously I may be a little biased (I am employed by Kingborough Reformed Churches working in Women’s ministry) and I agree that women need to think really carefully about going into ministry (just as it is for men) but at the recent Challenge Conference I was really encouraged in my role as well thinking more broadly about women in ministry.
In our forum on women’s ministry we saw how important it is for women to be teaching women sound doctrine. Paul instructs Titus to ensure that women with spiritual experience were to be equipped to ‘teach what is good’ (Titus 2:3-5) That ‘good’ being sound doctrine.
Women are different to men. At times it can be as simple as that. We relate differently to each other.
When thinking pastorally about women there are just some issues that the male minister just should not be dealing with.
What better teachers to teach younger women in marriage than older women in marriage?
This does not make women’s ministry more important than any other ministry in the church, it is not a separate ‘cause’, in fact it is the opposite – in true womanly style it is a helpmate! At Kingston our aim as a team is to:
‘To work within our local churches to further assist it’s training by supporting women in their spiritual growth & encouraging them in prayer and bible study to prepare them for works of service’.
Having said that I completely hear Emma and Fiona’s points about how hard and emotionally draining being part of the ministry can be – here are three things that I have come up with that make women’s ministry almost impossible:
When women put an idea out there, they are putting themselves out there, so when the idea is rejected, women can take it as a personal rejection.
When women are not asked to do something (for very good reasons least they be that we are not worthy for the task) we also take that as a rejection. It’s not true but that’s how we feel.
Women understand women, I think this at times stops some action – “what will so and so think if we do it this way”
These (and I’m sure there are more) are the exact reasons why women’s ministry and teaching sound doctrine is vital. We need to hear God’s word in as many ways as we can, in the most helpful ways so that these issues can fade away in existence to the deeper issues – who we are in Christ and His promises that form our basis for daily living and the building of His Kingdom.
fade away in existence to the deeper issues – who we are in Christ and His
Next year at Challenge Conference, I hope to have more than the ‘one’ women’s ministry forum – there is so much need – how to set-up a women’s ministry would be good to look at, being the minister’s wife is an important issue, as well as thinking about Emma’s point, being the worker and your husband not in ministry. (That is our situation – but can be dealt with another time!)
This is what I think – whose with me?
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Overheard conversation
This will not mean much to everyone, but to those who know us well, how cute is this?!@
Alexis: " Joey, I wish it was just you, me and Jordan in this world"
Joey: "Yeah that would be so cool if we were the only things in this world. You, me, Jordan and some shops. That would be cool."Alexis (wistfully sighing) "Yeah...."
Alexis: " Joey, I wish it was just you, me and Jordan in this world"
Joey: "Yeah that would be so cool if we were the only things in this world. You, me, Jordan and some shops. That would be cool."Alexis (wistfully sighing) "Yeah...."
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