Contentment, a Godly woman's adornment

For a while on this blog, I will share my quiet times notes on the book of 1 John and my thoughts on a book that I'm reading as part of a book club with Priscilla Shirer and the women on her blog. The name of Priscilla's book is: The Resolution for Women.

In the book, Priscilla says,"So let me just be clear. This book is slanted. It's decidedly and purposefully designed not to take into consideration the actions {or inactions} of the other members of your family or the people who live and work and go to church with you.  I'm not going to be addressing your husband or how he should behave. This is about what you will do, what you will become by God's grace from this day forward. This is the Resolution for WOMEN.  More specifically, one woman.  You."

In both the book club and the online Bible study I find evidence that "God is calling me to make hard yet necessary decisions for this season of my life." And sometimes, honestly, I become so overwhelmed by it all.  Being overwhelmed, I often times feel as if I'm being treated unfairly and then I began to feel as if I've being taken for granted, thus causing me to feel cheated and have a  attitude.

"Why does God want so much from me," becomes the lament of my heart.

But He keeps on putting me in these kind of places ... places where I find myself drawn to certain types of Godly women.  Women who will cause me to take a good look within and challenge me to change for the better.  Women who want to lead me into being all that I could possible be in God, for God and more.  Women like Priscilla, Courtney, the girls over at Good Morning Girls, and women like you.

God wants me to look inward.  God wants you to look inward.  God wants us to look inward, and to work on us.  That's why He keeps leading me here to these places, and that's why He's leading you here.  He wants, you too, sister to be a woman who looks inward so that she can be the woman He has designed you to be.


Priscilla touched on something that I've been going over in mind, even asking friends about.

You see, part of my life and my children growing up I don't remember.  It's a blur. Not until I read her words did I grasp what had taken place and more importantly, what I was allowing to take place!

Gosh I'm so glad that I have a name for it and can see what I was doing with my own hands because now, I can change.  I don't want to forget.  I want to savor.  Appreciate.  I want to remember all the intricate parts of my family and my life.

These were the illuminating words:

I recognized that by rushing through life, I'd been subtly devaluing those around me and the experiences I was involved in, not appreciating the importance and significance they bring to my life at this very moment, not grasping my responsibility for holding dear and treating these gifts God has entrusted to me.  Instead of embracing the privilege of being a blessing to my husband, my children, my friends, and others, I'd been quietly communicating that I wanted them to change and speed up, to get busy being somebody else, someone who's more in line with what I want and need, to hurry along to a place where they could make me happier than they currently do...{ um, um, um, that's me shacking my head at myself}.

That's me in a nutshell, oh my!  What a discontented person I've been!

She goes on and says, "Always looking toward the next moment, the next month, the next event, rarely allowing myself the privilege of fully participating and embracing the happenings that were right before me for that day" {or this day...{} mine}


Okay ladies, Priscilla asks us to do the following:

• carefully consider what the Bible says about contentment
• What have you been hurrying through?

Resolution 1: I do solemnly resolve to embrace my current season of life and will maximize my time in it.  I will resist the urge to hurry through or circumvent any portion of my journey but will live with a spirit of contentment.

To find out more about the book visit here The Resolution for Women or here Going Beyond Ministry

Tomorrow we will look at some thoughts on the our reading of the book of 1 John and I'll share some of the other women stories with you!

xo, Angela blog subscription  | twitter | facebook

This post is linked to:
Time Warp Wife
Women Living Well
Raising Homemakers