The Assemblies of God has a great tradition
of successful women involved in ministry.
Perhaps as you’ve read about Etta Calhoun,
Lillian Trasher, Zelma Argue and the other
remarkable women featured in this issue of
Woman’s Touch, you’ve felt intimidated and
overwhelmed, wondering how God could use
you like He used faithful women in the past.
Be encouraged! God has a place of ministry
for every woman—especially you!
My father has always been a generous man, but
when I was a child, he set an unforgettable example of
generosity that has remained with me ever since. Dad
spent a lot of time working outside, and one icy winter
afternoon, he bought a brand-new pair of coveralls.
Money was tight, but his old coveralls were so worn they
didn’t keep out the freezing wind. As Dad drove home,
he saw a man with no coat walking by the side of the
road. Without hesitating, Dad pulled over and gave the
homeless man his new coveralls. He quietly used his old
ones for the rest of the winter.
Christians sometime...
“So much pressure is put on us to esteem ourselves…. That is not the sort of thing I want to put my
faith in…. Once we have overcome our own desire to be elevated, recognized, independent and all those
things that we value very much because we are part of this American culture… then God can use us as
a part of His Body to accomplish what the Body of Christ was left here to accomplish.” —Rich Mullins
Don’t be sexually active outside of marriage.
Don’t dwell on impure thoughts.
Don’t build up unrealistic romantic expectations of what “true love” is.
Don’t look at someone lustfully.
Don’t become emotionally involved with anyone other than your husband.
Don’t allow any form of pornography in your life.
How do you define contentment? Do the family
relationships in your life need to meet a specific
set of criteria: a romantic husband; well-behaved
children; parents and in-laws who respect your
boundaries? As important as healthy family
relationships are and as hard as we work to
nurture them, they simply can’t replace the one
source of genuine and lasting contentment: a
growing relationship with God.
The Bible defines contentment much differently
from our society. These steps will guide you as you
search for contentment in your life and family.
I’m smiling because they’ve finally driven me crazy!” the bumper sticker announced on the car I was following. When I could stand it no longer I gunned the accelerator and pulled alongside the female driver who looked fairly normal—frizzed hair, bitten fingernails, gray sweatshirt. Then she caught me staring and rewarded me with a wide grin—the kind I give out on Sundays when inquiring minds seem to wonder what’s behind my grin
Ministry has many dimensions and I have been involved in many of them in fifty-one years of marriage. As a pastor’s wife in our first church, I was pianist, Sunday school teacher, youth sponsor, and Women’s Ministries director. It was not that I was good at all those things, but that our small congregation did not have many workers. In the next two churches, I found other ministries. During thirty years in a district office, I discovered the ministry of being a maraschino cherry.
Trust, transparency, and accountability:
Safeguards for a happy marriage!
I loved my new church! It was vibrant, exciting, and on the cutting edge. The church was growing and impacting the community, and I felt so blessed to be a part of it all!
Hey, how does this one sound, Honey? ‘For he is our peace, who hath made both one...’” (Ephesians 2:14)
Tripp, my new husband, reluctantly pulled his eyes from the Sunday paper. For days I had been searching through our recently united collection of spiritual books for just the perfect quote to adorn our wedding announcements.
“I thought we had decided on that one from Kahlil Gibran. ‘The hand of life contains your hearts...’?”
“I don’t know, I just never got the right vibration from that one.”
“Where did you get this peace thing?”
“It’s from the Bible.”
Big families have more of everything—lunch boxes, laundry and loose teeth. We make more pancakes, beds and messes, do more homework and dishes. We need more patience, haircuts, and Happy Meals.
What we don’t need is more rules. Big families don’t have time for Twenty Tips on anything.
So I’ve stripped it down to the Three Be’s.
You may not have the hordes in your house that we have, but could your family use an uncomplicated, easy-to-remember system to keep your kids on target? If so, the Three Be’s may be just the right number for you
As Christian parents, we see all the temptations that surround our children. We’re concerned that as our children grow—and become more independent—the temptations will only intensify. What can we do to help our children stand strong in the face of temptations? How can we teach them self-control, even at a young age? Here are five tips.
On the kitchen table lay a slice of bread heavily doused with ketchup. Obviously my toddler had been at work again creating masterpiece food art, with bread and ketchup as the mediums.
I was beginning to think God had blessed me with a small creative genius who was exploding with ideas, yet I was not feeling much appreciation for his newly displayed talents. Apparently all the other art activities we shared together were simply not creative enough for his imagination. Or perhaps they had just inspired a deeper curiosity!
Cooking for a larger group is much the same as cooking for your family, you just need larger pans or many smaller ones. If you’re cooking in your home, you may need to make two or three batches because it won’t fit in your bowls. Be creative—a large plastic dishpan or bus box works well for mixing salads, etc. For a one-time event, you may want to buy large foil pans. Plan your menus keeping in mind how it will be served, how much cooking space you have, and how much refrigeration you need. If you have a small oven, then you must prepare things that will be cooked on top of the stove or things...
The square, bent-edged photo captures me in the driveway of our small 1950s frame house in Wichita, Kansas. I am wearing too-short bangs, a too-long dress, white ankle socks and am clutching my new school binder. First-day-of-school excitement and apprehension give me a goofy expression—as if the bangs and ankle socks weren’t enough. What could my mother have been thinking?
After a year of writing this column, I feel we know each other well enough to risk sharing a deep, dark secret. I am a leaf and nut person.
Now before someone draws an unflattering conclusion, let me clarify. Not just every nut attracts my attention, though some of my best friends are... well, never mind. I am particularly drawn to the nut of the oak—acorns, that is. Thus, I have a hard time resisting anything painted, printed, plastered, or pressed displaying leaves or acorns
“For Christ’s love compels us… Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone; the new has come!”
(2 Corinthians 5:14,17).
Bill and I were on a cruise to celebrate his Big Birthday. He’d been feeling melancholy about getting old, so we decided to take a cruise. “That’s what older people do,” I’d told him, which didn’t help him feel better.
So much of my life is consumed with thinking about food. Planning it, buying it, preparing it, eating it, cleaning up after it. Food is the centerpiece to family holidays, friends and fellowship with other people. When I married Bill I didn’t have a clue how much I would need to know about the subject. Pizza and chocolate chip cookies were all I could bake since I skipped home economics in high school and took music and French iinstead
Q At the age of thirty, I have yet to discover my gifts and talents. My mother is a great cook. My sister is a wonderful seamstress. But I can’t think of one thing in which I am gifted and enjoy doing. How can I discover what talents God has given me?
While at the lake my husband Van playfully asked, "Why don't you go out to the sandbar with me this time?"
"Yeah, right," I said, laughing. "You know I can't swim."
"Oh come on," he teased, "I'm a good swimmer. I'd never let anything happen to you."
I relented. I took his hand, and we headed away from the dock. "Look, you're swimming!" Van beamed. "I am so proud of you." As we giggled, I realized how much I loved him. Here I was at peace far from shore.
Suddenly, Van's breath grew labored. "I must be out of shape," he panted. It was the last thing he ever said.
"I've never loved you. Our marriage has been a mistake."
As these words came from my husband's lips, life as I knew it came to an end. With little warning my secure marriage was gone! One year later my pastor/husband had resigned from ministry, left our home, and filed for divorce.
How do you face life when your best friend—your husband—has rejected you? When your ministry is over and your future is gone, and you have two teenagers and not enough money?
