The first day of spring is March 20!  I don’t know about you, but I am SO glad. Winter is my least favorite season (as you know if you keep up with me on Twitter or Facebook!) Spring brings such an awakening of all things for me.

As you think about new things, fresh starts and moving into a new season, how are you preparing as a leader? Are you thinking about things you still have yet to learn? Perhaps you are looking for ideas for reading.

Jaye Martin, women’s program leader at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY, has graciously shared with us the Bibliography for Ministering to Women compiled by the Women’s Leadership Office at Southern. As we continue to grow as leaders of women, we must continue to sharpen our minds and hearts in various areas that I think you will see on this list.

Blessings as you read!

Clocks are about to “spring” forward. Are you ready? I am looking forward to longer days (or at least longer daylight hours even if I can’t add a few hours to the day!). But even when it’s not time change weekend, our lives are in continually change.

How many of you are facing or have recently faced a major change in your life?  Don’t we prefer lives to follow traditional pattern.  You know, life the way it's supposed to be: birth, childhood, school, college, job, marriage, family, retirement, aging, and death.  In that order!  Right!

Truly I am a creature of habit, very comfortable with routines, plan A as opposed to plan B, and a somewhat predictable life.  Of course, that is not the life I’ve experienced for the most part. I have discovered that interruptions to that “perfect” order can be disturbing. Often we work hard to get past barriers and obstacles in order to get on with life as we think it's supposed to be (whatever that is!).

Life rarely works out the way we think it will and we face inevitable changes, times of struggle, pain, joy and growth.  Some of these are ordinary and others turn world upside down. All are opportunities for growth, for God to “show off”, to grow in all ways, and to develop a story that ministers to others.

So, how do you deal with change, especially with crisis and difficulties that cause change, such as death of a loved one, illness, job loss, broken relationships……
 

In an old book Future Shock  this statement was made: "Change is avalanching upon our heads and we are grotesquely unprepared to cope with it."  Change can be frightening because we don't know what result will be and we tend to be afraid of the unknown. Change disrupts our routine and brings unpredictability into our journey.  The question not whether we will have change, but how we will react to changes we will definitely have. 

Chuck Kelley, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary once made the statement "Change is inevitable, but adjustment of optional." So how can we face change with grace and joy and accept it as natural, healthy, spiritual growth opportunity in life?

In Experiencing God this is called a crisis of belief. We can't do it on own but it becomes a turning point where we must make a decision and what we do reveals what we believe about God. The author, Henry Blackaby, says, "You can't stay where you are and go with God"  God's revelation is our invitation to adjust our life to Him. The tendency is to skip adjustment (process of growth) and go from believing to obedience, but if we want to follow Him, we don't have that choice. We must be willing to pay price of adjustment to follow His will.

We must focus on our unchangeable God because at every change point in our lives, He has important things to teach us about ourselves and others, and most importantly, about who He is: the only one who is changeless, constant and perfect. James 1:17 says, Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning. We also know that His Word never changes (Matthew 24:35, Psalm 119:89)


Here are some practical tips for dealing with change:
1.  Let change happen-recognize and understand change is normal.
2.  Realize anxiety is normal as well!
3.  Don't keep feelings to self but open lines of communication and share what’s on your heart.
4.  Rely on others for support.
5.  Be active and stay healthy physically and nutritionally.
6.  Let go of old and look forward to new as you focus on what gained, not just what is lost.


Proverbs 3:5-6 is a familiar passage, but one that truly does give us an anchor to hold to when we are not sure what’s going on. Continually withdraw to spend time with Him when life gets out of focus and you aren’t sure what’s about to happen. Learn to praise him in the midst of uncertainty.

Philippians 4:4 tells us to rejoice when????  Keep a surrendered will, just as Jesus did in the garden before his crucifixion. Claim His promises that speak to you during your journey and you will ALWAYS find him faithful.

What do you do to navigate change in your life? Share your tips in the comments.

 

When you became a leader, did you think it would be easy? I am not sure I thought it would be easy, but I sure didn’t’ think it would be as hard as it’s been!  I mean, we’re serving God, as His calling…why would that be anything but blessed all the time? Truly, leadership has been more blessed than I dreamed it would be, but also more difficult than I ever thought.

If you scan the book of Joshua, you see so many incredible leadership principles. Let’s look at 3.

1.    Leadership Takes Courage: Take a quick look at chapter 1. You see several times God tells Joshua to “be courageous and strong.” Why does he tell him that? Must have been something scary going on…a difficult task. (You even see these words from Moses to Joshua if you back up one book and read Deut. 31:6-7.) Moses was commissioning Joshua to go take the Promised Land. He and the Israelites would finally face those giants that had scared them off 40 years before. This time they would make it, but it wouldn’t be easy. So, Moses encourages Joshua with those words. Don’t you imagine those under Joshua’s leadership were saying, “you want us to do what? Pack up and move in 3 days?  How? There’s a big river and big giants over there.”  But, the command was to go, and go they did. What “giants” in ministry are you facing right now?

2.    Leadership Takes Obedience: It’s hard to be obedient in difficult assignments unless we have courage. In Chapter 1:16-17, the Israelites said they would do all that Joshua had commanded them to do.  They even repeat the words, “be strong and courageous.” Maybe they are learning! In Chapter 3, they reach that first main obstacle, the Jordan River, in flood stage no less! Ok, how are we going to do this one, Joshua? God instructs the priests to go in front and step into the water. What happens when they do? (hint: Joshua 3:15-16) God provided as they obeyed, not before the priests put their toes in the water but AS they did. What is river is God asking you to put your foot in? Trust Him to part the waters as you walk in obedience to whatever He has already told you. I love the comment T. W. Hunt makes in his study, From Heaven’s View, “When God gives us a command, we don’t need to understand His directive, we need to understand His authority!”

3.    Leadership Takes Remembrance: In Chapter 4:1-7 we see what the people do after they all cross the Jordan safely. They build a memorial so that all who saw it would ask what it means. The people, and subsequent generations, would recount the story of God’s faithfulness and provision. They would remember from now on the wonderful works of the Lord. As leaders, we must tell the stories of God’s faithfulness in our lives, through the good and bad times. How else will others see through us how God uses all things for our good and His glory?

Learn from Joshua about courage, obedience and remembrance. Teach it to others!

What is it about stepping out in commitment to Christ that draws a huge target on our chests for the enemy to begin pounding on us? Somewhere in the mid 80’s my husband and I surrendered to ministry, not having a clue what that meant. We felt sure that is what God told us to do after my serving in a part time ministry position with our church in Texas and both of us having gone on overseas mission trips. We actually felt like God has called my husband into full time ministry so he went to seminary. But we made it public and there the story truly begins….

Almost immediately we faced road blocks and discouragement. We began to question the call. But as we continued to pray, we felt like we’d truly heard and must respond and that it was the enemy who was making us doubt, not God.

Did it get easier, no! Harder! First of all small things happened, my husband lost his job, lost his company car with the job, most of our appliances were falling apart (we’d been married about 15 years so it was time for them all to wear out at the same time!), and our car fell apart. My mom would call me and ask, “well, what broke today?”. It got to be somewhat funny and painful all at the same time. Then we began having a family relationship issue that was so very painful. The enemy tried to take our possession, when that didn’t defeat us he began to work on our family. But God….

If not for His power and strength, we’d have given up many times a long time ago! But He provided all we needed continually. For eight months we had no income (except for a small stipend I received from my church for my position there). Not once did we do without food or clothing, and we always paid our bills. I can’t tell you how that happened. As I tried to put it on paper, income and outgo did not match up. God told me to stop trying to figure it out, just trust Him. It was a huge stretching time for us spiritually, but it was very difficult to stand strong in the face of the devil daily. I remember actually digging my heals into the carpet and saying, “I refuse to allow the enemy to have victory!”. And some days, that’s all I had to make it through the day. Luke 4: 8 goes well here: “Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” (KJV)  But God….

How powerful He is. We know He’s more powerful than the devil. We read in 1 John 4:4, “You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them {evil spirits}, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. “ Do we really believe that? If so, DIG YOUR HEELS IN! Do not allow the enemy victory in your life, your day, your heart.” (HCSB)

Our job it to know Him, follow Him and obey Him. God’s job is to fight the enemy. He told the Israelites this in Deuteronomy 28:1, 7, “Now if you faithfully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all His commands I am giving you today, the Lord your God will put you far above all the nations of the earth.  The Lord will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you from one direction but flee from you in seven directions.” (HCSB)

Pretty powerful commander we have! I love what Beth Moore says in Esther: It’s Tough Being a Woman. “Some of us with little previous battle experience have no idea why God is allowing us to go through such difficult times in a place we thought was His will. He’s trying to make warriors out of us, Girlfriend! Rise to the occasion! But we aren’t meant to fight unseen forces alone. You and I have the God-given right to lock arms with our sisters and brothers in Christ and defend ourselves with the sword of the Spirit and the shield of faith. Here’s the best part: When we do, we are guaranteed the victory. I said guaranteed.”

We gain more strength by understanding Deuteronomy 31: 8, “The Lord is the One who will go before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.” (HCSB) The best part as a Christian is that we never fight the enemy alone! We have the best army there is, God leading, Christian sisters alongside us.

When you are struggling, be willing to reach out to those around you for prayer and guidance. More than once I’ve called my accountability partner to pray as the attacks became obvious and it dawned on me, it wasn’t just a “bad day”. It was Satan in my face! Outright spiritual warfare. We have to recognized it and face it in His strength.

Tips:

• Know God so you recognize His power in the face of the enemy.
•  Know your weaknesses so you know what boundaries need to be in place
• Memorize scripture so you can quote it in the face of the enemy. It works!
• Never think this won’t happen to you! That’s when you are at your weakest.
• Watch the little things. Failure to stand against “little sins” leads to bigger and bigger ones.
• Ask God to not let you get away with any sin, no matter how small. You want Him to quicken your spirit when you start heading the wrong direction.
• Remember that at times, spiritual warfare has nothing to do with you sin, it can have more to do with your obedience. You are much more a threat to Him when you are following hard after Christ. But it’s SO worth it.
• Put on the armor of God daily. Ephesians 6: 10-18. Check out this article by David Jeremiah, Spiritual Warfare and You
• Do a Bible study to equip yourself with armor. Try Spiritual Warfare by John Franklin and Chuck Lawless and Putting on the Armor by Chuck Lawless.

For more reading: The Fight of Your Life by Michael D. Warden

I recently read the book, The Butterfly Effect, by Andy Andrews at our team retreat as an assignment from our director. It only took about 20-30 minutes to read and then we were to respond to the question -- Does my life really matter?

The author shared that the theory, stated by Edward Lorenz, was that a butterfly could flap it’s wings and set molecules in motion which move other molecules and in turn would be eventually capable of starting a hurricane on the other side of the world. Edward was laughed at but 30 years later, physics professors proved that the a butterfly effect was accurate, now known as The Law of Sensitive Dependence Upon Initial Conditions.

One of the example the authors shares, goes all the way back to a man by the name of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a Union Army colonel July 2, 1863. With very poor odds they were able to capture the rebels at Gettysburg. In a hopeless situation, he chose to stand ground and fight. Eighty men, with no ammunition, captured over 400 enemy soldiers. It’s been said that had he not charged that day, that the rebels would have won that day and ultimately the war.  And it’s assumed that if that had happened, we would exist as two countries, the Union and the Confederacy.  The book continues to move through history, including Hitler’s reign and other historical events.

The point is, according to the author, “everything you do matters. Every move you make, every action you take…matters.”   I would add, even if you do not see results currently. DO NOT give up. In 2 Chronicles 15:7 Azariah is telling Asa and others not to give up. Their work has a reward. And Paul writes the Thessalonians, “do not grow weary in doing good." 2 Thess. 3:13.

If you are wondering if the time you are investing in Kingdom work is important, remember the story and know that you also have a “butterfly effect” that will be heard long after you are gone from this world. “This will be written for a later generation, and a newly created people will praise the LORD."  Psalms 102:18 (HCSB)

By leading women today, you have the “butterfly effect” of touching the lives of those who are yet to be born!  Can you even imagine? The author concludes, “You have been created in order that you might make a difference.” Continue faithfully serving and leading women, God will do far more through you than you will ever see in your lifetime.