Womens Ministry

Life as a pastor’s wife has been a lot of fun, filled with new friendships and many learning opportunities. This life has also brought much heartache. I suppose we could say it is the best of times, it is the worst of times. With each lesson learned, I have thought of my fellow pastor’s wives and wondered - Are they feeling alone and longing for a friend? Are they earlobe deep in ministry and wondering where their joy went? Sweet Moments. A time to put their feet up and allow the author to minister to the listener. Let a new friendship begin!

"Chase your dreams and follow your heart, no matter the cost" is the call of the world today. The opposite extreme, often advised by well-meaning Christians, is to lay down all of our dreams and passions, avoiding all self-interest. One narrative says to follow a passion, and the other says to lay it down. Both claim to offer happiness and purpose on the other side. But what does the Bible say about dreams, goals, and passions?

Giving Thanks for a Perfectly Imperfect Life will dispel the worldly lie that perfection is (1) attainable or (2) desirable. As a recovering perfectionist, Michele Howe can speak from personal experience how damaging and paralyzing spending one's life in pursuit of perfection on any plane is to us spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Perfectionists believe they can control their relationships, lives, and environments, as well as the people around them, when the Bible teaches us that only God is in control.

Bárbara Palacios - Miss Universe 1986, Miss Venezuela, one of People en Español’s 25 most powerful and influential women of 2014, author and international lecturer - opens her heart by sharing memories and personal testimonies from her international career as a public figure. According to Palacios, women all around the world want to know how they can be good mothers, good friends, good wives, excellent professionals, and women of faith.

Fears. Faults. Failures. Frailties. Every woman at some point wonders, "Do I have to get past all my weaknesses before God can use me?" Wendy Pope is happy to tell listeners: No! You don’t have to overcome, correct, rise above, or get strong before you are qualified to be part of God’s plan. He can use you right now. You are a worthwhile possibility. In Hidden Potential, listeners see that they can be faithful, even in fear; included in God’s plans, even in weaknesses; worth something, even in failure; and valuable, even in pain.

For anyone who has ever struggled with their identity, Landra Young Hughes has a radically simple message: give up. Specifically, give up your need to be in control of how other people see you. Instead, let God's words - not yours and not others' - define you. Through her own deeply personal story of trying to control her circumstances and others' perceptions of her through an eating disorder, Landra points the way toward a life free from self-obsession and self-resentment.

Life can change in an instant. “He died at the scene.” “It’s malignant.” “I want a divorce.” Certain words, whether whispered or shouted, once uttered, severs us from the life we once knew. Such words can send us into a spiritual free fall, descending into a world we never wanted to enter. Often times, words meant to comfort can feel empty. Hope seems out of our reach when loss, grief, and depression tries to smother our faith. Freefall reminds us the God we serve gave us the tools to survive our darkest hours.

For many women, life can be full with family needs, home duties, work obligations, and church service. Does it feel like you’re doing everything you should be doing, yet something’s still missing? Does it feel like there should be more? In Yes, No, & Maybe, Proverbs 31 speaker and author Wendy Pope shares how women can find the God of "immeasurably more" at the intersection of the Bible and their obedience to it.

Motherhood is often noisy and rarely silent. Learn to hear God speaking above all the noise in these daily devotions that can be completed in five minutes or less. As moms know, even when there isn't noise around us, there is usually noise within us. The constant to-do lists that spin in our minds, the worry and wonder if we are doing a good job, and the need to stay two steps ahead of our families when we feel two steps behind keeps our minds routinely restless.

Your story. It zigs just when you thought it should zag. You honestly didn’t realize you had a plan for your life until it didn’t turn out the way you thought it would. But there’s good news. Belonging to Jesus means that your story is part of a much larger tale to be told.

With an understanding voice that will speak into your own circumstances, Kristen Strong walks beside you along the less traveled but more satisfying third way - the back road way - to belonging: remaining in Christ and relaxing into the unique role God has for you. Along the way, you will learn simple, doable actions that not only will help you feel and know that you belong but will welcome others in as well.

We are experts at hiding from each other. We withhold the truth, pretend we're okay, and perform at great personal cost. In fact, many of us are so good at lying to others about how we're "just fine, thank you" that we don't even realize anymore that we're lying to ourselves. We're missing the opportunity to offer our true selves to the world around us and to live with grace and gumption. If you're tired of smiling on the outside while you are broken and battered on the inside, Ashley Abercrombie has a message for you - it's okay to tell the truth about yourself.

Best-selling author Holley Gerth feels like your best friend, your supportive sister, and your biggest cheerleader. She understands that you want to be a woman who looks life in the face and says, "You can't beat me." A woman who knows love is a risk and reaches out anyway. A woman who understands kindness takes real courage. Who doesn't fake it or try to hide her scars. Who fights to believe she is who God says she is and helps others do the same. Strong, Brave, Loved offers 60 short devotions to empower you to be that kind of woman.

Life might not be fair, but through loss, grief, and cancer, Niki discovered life doesn't have to be pain-free to be full. With sensitivity and without Christianese or stock answers, she invites women to replace the lies they believe about themselves and God with sound biblical teaching and his unwavering promises. No matter how broken a life might seem, the abundant life Jesus promised is available - now and always. Let Niki show you the way.

With deep compassion, Maria Furlough delves into the root causes of our insecurity, offers biblical guidance for seeing ourselves as God sees us, and shows how to model our newfound confidence to our impressionable daughters. Speaking as a daughter, a youth leader, and a mother, Furlough shares her own struggles and triumphs, as well as expert advice from a pediatrician, a nutritionist, a Christian counselor, and more.

This inspiring listen is written for women who have struggled with self-worth and self-esteem. Whether you've grown up in a dysfunctional family or simply have bought into the lies sold by today's media, If You Could See as Jesus Sees promises hope...joy...a life of purpose...and more, while offering you a brand-new look at just who your Savior created you to be in this world. As you begin to see yourself through the lens of the Master Creator - through His lens of beauty, love, forgiveness, and mercy - you will begin to feel differently about yourself. A true life-changer!

Constant noise and distraction clamor for our attention and make it difficult to distinguish God's voice from the voices surrounding us - both internal and external. We can be immobilized by fear of failure and our own insecurities, leaving us uncertain that it is God's voice we hear.

What and who should get the best of us? And why is it so enticing to choose lesser things instead of lasting things? As moms, we know the magnetic pull to steer away from what's important and choose what feels irresistible in the moment. In Shiny Things, Amanda Bacon and Anne-Renee Gumley bring to light the distractions moms face every day.

Anxiety Interrupted grapples with the anxiety that creeps into our lives and helps us look to the promises of God and to the hope that He holds us securely. As Christians, we can struggle with our questions and experience His sovereignty when we invite His peace into our moments. God can handle our doubts. He can handle our anxieties. He can handle our fears. He can handle our hard questions. These things do not make us less than as Christians. God is the only steady hand that can handle our questions, doubts, and fears.

In Unsinkable Faith, author and Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker Tracie Miles offers hope for women who struggle with negativity. Each chapter explores Tracie’s and other women’s personal stories, showing how they rose above their circumstances by transforming and renewing their minds. Unsinkable Faith is a breath of fresh air for anyone longing for a heart full of joy, an unbreakable smile, and a new, more optimistic perspective on life.