Legacy

by Ashley

Live In The Round Reader,

In the church today, at least in the church plant that I attend, older female mentors are very rare.  The Bible reminds us that older believers should teach the younger (See Exodus 12:25-27, Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Deuteronomy11:19-21, Titus 2:2-8).  However, more often than not, those reminders get lost in the great debates of traditional versus contemporary services, felt boards versus ipads.  Today, Valentine’s Day, I would like to honor a woman who has been a beautiful example of God’s love and forgiveness to His broken bride, the church. 

Dear Grandmother,

There are many reasons for this letter today.  It is good timing as you have retired yet again (Is it the third time?).  I know that this past year has been an emotional one for you, filled with goodbyes to loved ones and hellos to a few more.  Today, Valentine’s Day, whether Hallmark invented it or not, is still a day to celebrate love.  So, this is what I want to do.  I want to show you how much you are loved.

In thinking about all your characteristics, the first thing that popped in my head was how much you love people.  You have friends wherever you go. When I have been out with you, it seemed like everywhere we went, you knew someone.   You know their names, their stories, and their families.

You are deeply in love with your own family.  A sign of this is how you cannot wait to take pictures to capture the few moments when we all can be together.  You have learned how to work an iPad and Facebook, just to connect better with loved ones who you do not get to see on a daily basis.  I love that.

Generosity is written all over your heart.  You give gifts like it is your (fourth) job.  Thinking back to when I was younger, I remember going to your house and receiving presents from you.  I do not remember the experience truly being about the gifts.  I just remember thinking what an exotic grandmother I had for having such treasures. 

Only in the past couple of years, have I actually discovered that my grandmother is such a hottie!  Of course, I am not surprised by this revelation.  Although I do not know the reasons for not pursuing a relationship, I have observed a godly woman responding to offers of romantic relationships when she did not feel that God was leading her in that direction.

I love the way that you seek to leave a legacy to your family.  I love every moment that I get to hear you share stories about our family’s past.  People who were gone long before I was around.  People who I mostly remember through photographs.  Your own stories of crazy adventures that play like a black and white film reel in my head.

The most powerful thing about you, Grandmother, is your love for Jesus.  I know that people in the church have hurt you deeply.  You have experienced more than your share of pain from those who profess the name of Christ.  You have faced backbiters, slanderers, and busybodies.

When so many would give up on Jesus because of His imperfect, broken bride, you have only clung harder to your Savior.  You have responded with grace that only the Holy Spirit is capable of giving His followers.  I have witnessed Psalm 30:11-12 in your life:

“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!”

Because God has turned your mourning into dancing, He has used your story to point others facing the same heartbreak toward Him.  I cannot begin to describe the delight that fills my heart when I think of God using your story for good.  I pray that I remember your example when I face the temptation to blame Christ for the way sinful man acts, instead of looking to Him directly for comfort in my hurt. 

You do not stop there, though, with a story that happened so many years ago.  You follow a living God, who is still sanctifying your heart.  You are always excited about what God is teaching you, and it seems like you are always going through another Bible study or reading another book to keep your eyes focused on Him.  I look forward to our next phone call so that you can tell me all about what you are learning.

So, although we have differing opinions on topics such as Joel Osteen, female pastors, and Calvinism (-hey, why am I the conservative one here?!), you will always be my hero and an example of the command from Paul in Titus 2:3-5,

“Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine.  They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.”

It is my prayer that God will use your example to challenge many more women and bring them close to Himself, just as He has done for me.

See You In The Round (on your iPad, of course, Grandmother!)

Ashley

“Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

When Faith Gets Hard

by Ashley

When we truly experience God’s Grace and the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see Jesus’ finished work on the cross on our behalf, life is never the same. The lifelong adventure of following our Savior begins. We are excited, joyful, and maybe even a bit over-eager as new believers to share with everyone what God is up to.

Life Takes Over

However, somewhere along the way that energy begins to slowly bleed out. Life takes over and if we’re not careful, our First Love becomes routine. Good things like meeting with other believers and studying the Bible morph into a list of obligations rather than life-energizing opportunities. And all of a sudden following Jesus is just hard.

How can we regain the energy that formerly came from a thriving understanding of our faith?

According to the Bible, one way to reinvigorate our faith is to consider the faith of others. Read about the heroes in the Bible (see 1 Corinthians 11:1). Read biographies of those who have gone before us (see Hebrews 13:17). Do not forget to identify godly women in your own circles who have an admirable faith. Paul says in Philippians 3:17,

“(Sisters), join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.”

Foolish Choices 

In college, I struggled to reconcile my understanding of the Christian faith with my rebellious lifestyle. I would defend Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6), but my foolish choices birthed debilitating frustrations that ended up making me miserable. My life was a reflection of the discouragement that had overtaken me due to a lack of understanding about how amazing God truly is.

www.uncannytoys.com/drink-hat-red

One day I met two girls and it was obvious they were both in love with Christ. While I have no delusions that their faith was perfect, I saw these joyful girls who loved life, sought adventure, and worshiped Christ through it all. At first, I watched them from a distance. I heard stories of things that you truly can only get away with in college - deciding one night to go downtown in pajamas to see what kind of reaction they got from passersby, buying beer-drinking hats to fill up with soft drinks, again for the sake of funny looks, and other crazy stunts. They did the things I only wish I was brave enough to do.


From these girls, I also saw glimpses of a faith that I previously thought I possessed, claimed to have, and wanted for myself so desperately. I heard stories about meeting people of other faiths, befriending and sharing the Gospel, and fostering relationships with them. I heard about random stories of God’s miraculous hand at work around them. I saw how they loved people with a love that did not make sense.

A Grand Adventure

Through their example, I learned so much about the character of God. I learned that He is not a stodgy, vapid Being. I discovered through fresh eyes that He is active in the lives of His people. He truly transforms hearts to beat for Him. He continues to take us on a grand adventure, whether or not we notice. And when we passionately pursue Him, our faith flourishes and others take note.


These two women very quickly became good friends of mine. Although I never quite grew the....um... ovaries to join in their college antics, my joy in Christ grew exponentially.


This, I believe, is one of the many reasons we are wired to live in Biblical community, especially with other faith-filled women. Sometimes, we all need a helping hand, and honestly sometimes we need to be pulled along.


I’m not sure that I’ve ever shared with these two college friends the extent to which they unknowingly pulled me closer to Christ. Of course, I still struggle with seeing the excitement of living for Christ. I see my Bible gathering dust on my table and the inner-debate begins, much the same way I struggle to do the dishes. However, it is my deepest desire to remain in mutually-encouraging community with other women who will, if necessary, drag me forward in my walk with Christ with their words and experiences. This blog is the result of that desire.

How are you being pulled closer to Christ? Who in your life has been an encouragement in your walk?


See you in the Round!
Ashley

“Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

My First Blog (Again)

by Ashley

So I have a blog. Well, I had a blog. It came about after a friend asked me about an issue that I’d briefly studied, so I typed out my notes and journal entries and sent it to her. From there, I decided that there’s not much more required to actually publish it online, so why not? I thought of a catchy name and developed my voice (mostly coming out of the attitude that most Christian women’s stuff sucks- It’s either fluff, using the same Jeremiah 29 verse out of context or it’s again about Proverbs 31 or Ruth. I love both of those passages, but come on, let’s stretch a bit people).


Anyway, in my subsequent 15 posts, I didn’t do badly considering my limited circle. On my best day, I had about 60 hits, and most of those weren’t me refreshing the page (I hope). Then I learned the tragic part of blogging: if I don’t write, then nothing goes on the website. No one reads it. There’s no point. So my little blog didn’t last past a month. A year later, I tried again. After two posts, it went away (though the last post had the most comments of any of the blogs - a total of 5, including one from my aunt saying I did a good job...not really the point and probably shouldn’t count that one...so a real total of 4 comments).


Then, a year ago I had an idea. I wanted to discover how to develop a destination that was more than just a blog. What if there was one single website dedicated to women, written by a collection of women of various backgrounds that enabled them to speak to a variety of visitors? I wondered if that style of website would also encourage people to be open to hearing from others in different life stages.


I had a friend once who was single and really wanted to be married. She was head-over-heels for all things romantic. She watched rom-coms like grandmas play bingo. She read countless Amish love stories masquerading as wholesome Christian lit. On and on. However, to combat this utopian notion, all of her married friends went the opposite way and inundated her with ‘hard truths’ about the difficulty of marriage. She decided to turn away from the voices in the trenches (who could blame her) and went to the blogs written by single women. Now most of these focused on their singleness (articles along the lines of ‘Why God allows me to be 50 and single’ and ‘How to keep your pants on when you’re turning gray with no hub’). Even with a positive spin, it can be depressing after a while.


But what if? What if she could go to a website to get a real glimpse into a married woman’s heart- her struggles, her blessings, where God is working? What if she could identify with a single woman who isn’t defined by her singleness but rather by her Heavenly Father who is working in her day-to-day life?


And the same goes for any woman in any other life stage. Where can a young mother go online where she’s not totally bombarded by how to make her child the center of her world, but rather hear from a godly older woman about how to develop her relationship with Christ so that He is the reason for her life?


This is the heart behind our blog. Each of the authors has their own style, voice, and spans a wide spectrum of life-stages. Each woman has a heart that is desperate for God and wants to come along with Him on His mission in her life and in the lives of those around her. By opening our hearts and sharing our stories, we hope that you will be encouraged to grow deeper in your walk with Christ.


See you in the Round!
Ashley