No pain ... no gain?

I have to agree with the following illustration. So often, I experience difficult life circumstances, sudden turmoil, or emotional pain, and am certain that God has taken a vacation, at least from me. In my head I know that's really not the case, but I'm guessing you understand what I mean. As Christians today in America, the idea that happiness equals godliness is often mistaken for the "Gospel Truth." I guess some folks forgot to talk with Job, or any number of our biblical ancestors. Their quest wasn't for more happiness, but for more of God. Consider the following ...

In his sermon on dealing with trials, Nashville pastor Byron Yawn points out: "For most, especially American Christians, even the remotest suggestion that there could be value in our suffering is viewed as uncaring and insensitive. We have been conditioned by our culture to believe the opposite. A collective attitude that exalts comfort and views personal happiness as the end of all things has blurred our perspective. There is no place for pain in American Christianity. "Because of this distorted perception, we rarely stop to search for the ’hand of God’ in the midst of our trouble. Seeking to understand God’s purposes in our pain is all but foreign. As a result, embracing pain’s role in our sanctification is usually the farthest thing from our minds. As one so aptly put it, ’Most people count it all joy when they escape trials. James said to count it all joy in the midst of trials.’ We need to come to grips with a significant truth: God’s will is not our happiness, but His Glory. The two may, or may not, be directly related."

SOURCE: PreachingNow Vol. 1, No. 20. Tue 9/3/2002.

Just a little something to chew on. May God show Himself to you in mighty ways precious Princess Warriors.

Too Busy?

Are you too busy to reign real effectively? Do you bite off more than you can chew? (forgive the cliche') If so, you're not alone by any means. Americans are just plain busy. As Christians, it is tempting to get involved with a ton of "good causes" and "good deeds." I've referred to this for those of us in ministry as "Ministry Madness." Most of us are guilty of doing too much at least some of the time.

I have no clue who wrote the following BUSY summary, but its words are very powerful. I know that I have had to eliminate a few activities from my schedule recently. Hopefully, after reading this, you'll take a look at your own life and evaluate your priorities. If we don't have time for God and our families, we're simply too busy.

Satan called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to his evil agents, he said, “We can’t keep the Christians from going to church. We can’t keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can’t even keep them from forming an intimate, abiding relationship experience in Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to the church, let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can’t gain that relationship with Jesus Christ. This is what I want you to do…distract them from gaining hold their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!”

“How shall we do this?” Shouted his agents.

“Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds,” he answered. “Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to works 6 or 7 days a week, 10 to 12 hours a day so they can afford their empty lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressure of work!

“Over stimulate their minds so they can’t hear that still small voice. Entice them to play the radio, CD player whenever they drive, and to keep the TV, VCR, DVD Players, CD’s and Computers going constantly in their homes. And see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ.

“Fill the coffee table with magazines, newspapers, and pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with bill boards; flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogues, and sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering them free products, services, and false hopes.

“Keep skinny, beautiful models on the covers of magazines so the husbands will believe that eternal beauty is what’s important and they’ll become dissatisfied with their wives. Ha! That will fragment those families quickly! Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted, and unprepared for the coming week. Don’t let them go out in nature to reflect on God’s wonders, instead, send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts, and movies. Keep them busy, busy, busy!

“And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so they leave their meetings with troubled consciences and unsettled emotions.

“Go ahead, let them be involved in winning souls. But, crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Christ. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause. It will work! It will work!”

It was quite a convention. The evil agents went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busy, busy, busy, and to rush here and there.

I guess the question is—has the devil been successful with his scheme? You be the judge.

Busy:
B: Being
U: Under
S: Satan’s
Y: Yoke

If you've read this before (I think I may have even posted it in the past) it still serves as good warning. Just because something is good doesn't mean it's God's will. God bless you, Princess Warriors!

Set Apart as Princess Warriors. Are you?

Suburban Pole Dancing…or Holiness?
By Carol Van Atta

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

When middle-aged moms trade their makeup parties and Pampered Chef classes for pole dancing, God's glory is definitely not the primary agenda. Okay, I have to admit, if my body was a bit more bendable, I can see where dancing around, and goofing off with friends in the comfort of your own home wouldn't be such a horrible thing. But pole dancing? Yes, there was a big article about Suburban Pole Dancers on AOL awhile ago. I'm not kidding!

Picture this: You've invited your neighbors and girlfriends over for an evening get together. You tell them it's going to be more daring than a lingerie party, but not quite over the edge.
You sit chit-chatting about soccer games, Little League practice, and the weather, when without warning, the front door bursts open to reveal a scantily-clad, middle-aged woman. She teeters in on heels taller than the Empire State Building.

"Girls, are you ready to move those hips?" She sashays to the center of your room and whips out what looks like an oversized shower rod from her bag. With a precise twist and a quick turn, the rod becomes a portable pole like dancers swing around in those hoochie mama places we hope and pray our husbands, sons, and daughters never frequent.

She opens a large suitcase and displays a number of high heels just like her own. These feather-covered, rhinestone pumps look like something you wore way back when. So far back you can't quite remember anything but how uncomfortable they were. Ouch! Please don't make me put them on. Actually, they're for sale. Your pole dancing "instructor" wants to make sure you have every opportunity to take home a pair of your own sexy stilettos, not to mention, the portable poles (really) she has available for $450 and up. After all, you'll want to continue your pole dancing in your own home so your children can watch you rather than argue about MTV. Why worry about provocative music videos? They've got their very own suburban pole dancer — mom.

Your instructor spends the evening teaching your group how to bump, grind, twist, and shimmy around a pole just like a seasoned stripper. Now, granted, most of the women have a few extra bulges and bumps that most exotic dancers haven't yet earned, but who cares, you've now got "the right moves." Right?

Now imagine; you're married. Your husband promised to stay downstairs with the kids during your little get-together. But, hey, who listens, especially when food calls ... and when he hears that bump and grind music coming from the living room? What man wouldn't be curious? So, with your six year old son on his shoulders, he makes an appearance only to be met with your sexiest neighbor, bent backwards, legs straddled around the pole. Ooops! Can anyone say temptation, lust, embarrassment, close your eyes, son and husband?

I guess what I'm trying to say is -- we are to live differently than the world.

What kind of example are we setting to others, and our families, if we choose to participate in party-pole-dancing? The Internet makes this practice sound like the ultimate, safe, suburban escape. In fact, it promotes how you can use your new techniques to entice your husband. Now, I'm all for keeping the spice of life in a marriage, but, really, I can't imagine Jesus and the heavenly hosts all applauding while we slide down a strippers' pole, even for our hubbies. I guess holiness is becoming even more passé.


Am I a prude? No. Is God? Of course not. He invented sex within a marriage covenant to be enjoyed. But, when we start imitating the world, we end up with what the world's got -- a big, sinful mess.


Do I want my ten-year-old daughter pole dancing? Silly question. After all, what I do effects what she does. How can we promote purity and sex after marriage when everything and everyone around us is pushing for more sexuality, more erotic dancing, more, more, more?


Just recently, I read an article about a school that had to ban "dirty dancing." The new form of dirty dancing completely mimics sex on the dance floor. Music videos showcase gorgeous women flaunting their EVERYTHING, while men eyeball their assets like a slab of meat at the butcher's shop.


Friends, we must stand for our families. Please, pray and refuse to participate in suburbia's latest party craze, or any other actions that don't reflect God's glory. Share your concerns with others. It's not about us, it's about God.


I suspect if I could get my body to swing around a pole it might be kind of amusing, however, it is not something that would bring glory to my King. It is not something a Princess Warrior for Christ would indulge in. There are so many crucial things we could be spending our time doing. We can still have a fanfare of fun without making it a sin fair.

Today, choose to live in a way that is pleasing to God. Let us act in a becoming manner that brings blessings not curses.

Although we live in the world, we are to be set a part. Why not take a moment to ask God what areas you're slacking in. What areas have you allowed the worldview to become your view? Is it time for a spiritual check up? Get the manual (Bible) out and see what God has to say. You'll be glad you did.


SUGGESTION: If you want to have an in-home dance class, there are some great worship-dance classes that honor God and are fun, too. You don't have to shake your bum to have fun. Instead, give glory to the King!


Check out my article on healthy, God-approved sex at Campus Crusade for Christ's onling magazine: Christian Women Today.

Don't worry, we'll get back to masks next. I thought this was a good lead up to Removing the Seductive Mask. http://christianwomentoday.com/relationships/godsgift.html