Unraveling The O Word: OFFENSE

My word or words from God recently have been "RELATIONSHIP" He's shown me how to turn from offenses but also how I have offended others. It is blatant to me now how huge a bait of satan offenses are. OFFENSES DESTROY RElATIONSHIP. God wants our top relationship to be with Him but how can we develop that when other important relationships are crumbling. Anyhoo look at Monday's Utmost For His Highest:

Utmost For His Highest- Sept. 24th

...it was ALL good but I loved/hated this last paragraph:
"Never disregard a conviction that the Holy Spirit brings to you. If it is important enough for the Spirit of God to bring it to your mind, it is the very thing He is detecting in you. You were looking for some big thing to give up while God is telling you of some tiny thing that must go. But behind that tiny thing lies the stronghold of OBSTINANCY, (He keeps bringing me back to this) and you say, "I will not give up my right to mySELF"- the very thing that God intends you to give up if you are to be a disciple of Jesus Christ."

People are struggling daily with the people in their lives whether it's friends or family. Someone is always pissing someone off with words or actions or non actions. BUT it is ALL about relationship, relationship is what is destroyed with every offense. The very thing God calls us to is unravelling. I see satan everywhere now. But we as prideful SELF filled and SELF worshipping HUMANS are not willing to give up the one thing it takes to rectify the endless circle of destruction...ourSELVES.

I’m a 57 year old wife, mother, grandmother and farmer. These tags are important to me, yes they define me, but they don’t incapsulate who I am. I love God, my family and dear friends. I love to garden, cook and talk to my chickens, and in the midst of all of that…I SEE SQUIRRELS! So I’ll use this page to sort that out…. or not. I am the queen of fragmented/run away sentences and my use of …… is it’s own punctuation. I like to write as if no one is reading… which shouldn’t be a problem.

Project: WORLD O WOMEN ... overcoming the fear ...

The last two years I've spent taking a full on plunge into the WORLD O WOMEN! Upon becoming a "christian" a little over 10 years ago, I've been invited to multiple women's retreats and have only attended 2. I went kicking and screaming, and really to be honest (sorry girls), didn't enjoy them. I've also attended several bible studies in which I never finished. I always seemed to have a reasonable excuse as to why I shouldn't or couldn't return. So here's my point....This last week a couple of incredible women I know threw a day retreat called the "Fearless & Fit Retreat". It was SO much fun!!! But a heard a question asked repeatedly by the two women heading up the retreat as well as many who attended. 

Why are women so scary? 

Or rather, why do we avoid functions like these ones at all cost? I thought I was alone in feeling this way!! Apparently not. Lets face it, we've all had past experiences that have left us feeling more like an alien than 'one of the girls'...
Back to this journey I've been on. We'll just call it Project: World O Women. Creative I Know! Lol! As I've taken on this assignment to sort of infiltrate these strange beings, I've learned so much about myself. Here are a few things I've learned that may be helpful in overcoming your fear when it comes to large groups of women/people.

Wow! Building relationships just take too much time. Time that I obviously DON'T HAVE! Oh, how I have been guilty of using this A-L-I-B-I. It's God's desire that we build relationships with one another. As I seek Him first, He will direct my steps and help me to make time. We have also become such consumers of information. Coming together only to exchange all of the information we are inundated with on a daily bases. This is not a totally negative thing, but can sometime become a hindrance when trying to really get to know a person.

{Paraphrasing} 2 Timothy says to mark this: There will be teachers, men and women who will have a form of godliness but denying its power. Those who will be trying to deceive others. Have nothing to do with such people.


I've also been terrified of being "misunderstood". As I've ventured out of my comfort zone and returned to situations in which women exist: play dates, coffee dates, workout dates, various ministry groups etc...Guess what? I've been misunderstood and misunderstood others! Big Whoop! This plays a very important part in us developing relationally. If you are faithful in the "just showing up" department, God will be faithful in making what is crooked, straight {Isaiah 45:2}. In fact, the part of me that would prefer to correct the "misunderstanding" by re-explaining what it was I was TRYING to communicate, has begun to diminish. And in many ways is rooted in pride (that's a whole other topic). Now I just smile and nod knowing that the Lord will correct a person's perception if need be. Even if you are misunderstood time and time again, it will be okay. I promise! I wonder if this is why Jesus spoke in parables? Maybe He then could observe & discern whether the disciples were going to stop trying to figure everything out, and just allow His words to penetrate their hearts.

Another block for me personally is that I used to be a very success driven person. I didn't feel validated unless I was able to achieve some level of success by the worlds standards. I could be pretty creative in "talking shop" amongst some VERY successful people in the business world (don't ask me anything now, I've kept myself  completely out of the loop). This caused me to become terribly competitive and thereby I was unable to fully connect with people. Now, I revel in my weaknesses!!!

Something spectacular occurs when you allow people to see in to your frailties. It most often enables them to walk away from the conversation with permission to be real.

One more observation that I noticed women do. We fill the silence with endless chatter. When someone in their attempt at being vulnerable steps out, most women like to respond quickly with a solution. By nature, we sure like to fix things. Sometimes we are trying  to get rid of any possibility of 'awkward silence'. In the past when I've asked for prayer at church or elsewhere, women with the best of intentions have been typically quick to analyze & apply prayer accordingly. Sometimes all I need is for someone to listen and take their time praying for me. I've learned with my kids that when I'm too quick to respond, they walk away feeling as though I wasn't really LISTENING. They for sure won't trust me to listen when the next problem arises.

Knowledge puffs up, but LOVE edifies 

{1 Corinthians 8:1}.

I am truly thankful for my opportunity for personal growth within Project: World O Women. More importantly I've met the most outrageously talented and lovable women in the world! Thank you to the women who have taken the time to love on me while I've come to the realization that women aren't that scary after all!!!

Perfect Love... He is enough...

“Everyone longs to give themselves to someone. To have a deep soul relationship with another, to be loved thoroughly and exclusively. But God to a Christian says, “no, not until you’re satisfied and fulfilled and content with living, loved by Me alone and giving yourself totally and unreservedly to Me, to have a intensely personal and unique relationship with Me alone. I love you My child, and until you discover that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found, you will not be capable of the perfect human relationship that I have planned for you. You will never be united with another until you are united with me…exclusive of anyone or anything else, exclusive of any other desires or longings. I want you to stop planning, stop wishing and allow me to have the most thrilling plan existing, one that you cannot imagine. I want you to have the best. Please allow me to bring it to you. You just keep watching Me, expecting the greatest things. Keep that satisfaction knowing that I AM. Keep learning and listening to the things I tell you. You must wait.”

“Don’t be anxious and don’t worry. Don’t look around at the things you think you want. Just keep looking off and away up to Me or you’ll miss what I have to show you.”

“And then when you’re ready, I’ll surprise you with a love far more wonderful than any you would ever dream. You see, until you are ready and until the one I have for is ready, I am working this minute to have both of you ready at the same time, and until you are both satisfied exclusively with me and the life I’ve prepared for you, you won’t be able to experience the love that exemplifies your relationship with Me, and this is the perfect love.”

“And dear one, I want you to have the most wonderful love. I want you to see in the flesh a picture of your relationship with Me, and to enjoy materially and concretely the everlasting union of beauty and perfection and love that I offer you with Myself.

Know I love you.
I am God Almighty.
Believe and be satisfied.”