Be All Woman Blog

“For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” 1Cor.6:20

Your body is not your own. Therefore what you do with it is not solely up to you. You have been bought with a price. You have been paid for by the sacrifice of the Son of God. Your body belongs to God. It is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1Cor.6:19). The Amplified Bible says it is the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit.

God gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us live sepearted unto Him - to walk in holiness. It is the Holy Spirit within you who prompts you to do the will of God.

What would you expect if you received a spirit of unbelief? Unbelief. If you received a spirit of lust, what would you expect that spirit to promote? Lust.

You haven’t been given the spirit of unbelief or lust. You have been given the Holy Spirit of God Himself. God’s own holiness. His own Spirit came to us when we were born again. To do what? To promote holiness and separation of our lives, our hearts, our very lifestyles and every action unto God.

Some people say not doing certain things will make you holy.. like you can’t wear certain clothes, you can’t wear your hairstyle a certain way, or you can’t wear makeup and so on. None of those things will make you holy. They all affect the outer man. Those kind of things are the law and the law won’t make you holy.

Only Gods Spirit will make you holy. Our being united to the Lord in such a way that the Holy Spirit of God is leading us, guiding us and directing us in life is holiness. God loves you. He paid a high price for you. So glorify Him in your body. Honor Him with your lifestyle. Obey the promptings of the Spirit of God within you.

“In the beginning of my career in modeling, I kinda started with this idea that, ‘Oh it was going to be exciting!’ You know, I did think it was glamorous,” admits Jennavave Barbero of her former career.

“You see pictures in magazines, and you see girls on runways, and you think, ‘Oh this is just so fabulous,’ ” she remembers. “At the age of 15, I thought it was that. When I started, I was still very naïve and I enjoyed it very much.”

Then slowly during that time, Jennavave thought she got a jumpstart because the first thing the fashion industry wanted her to do was lose three inches around the hips. She had a month to do it in.

“It just began with eating disorders right off the bat because they weren’t interested in telling me a healthy way to do it. I wanted it so bad, that I just stopped eating. I worked out liked a mad person, and I just began this process of losing site of who I was and what was important to me … to get to an end result of being in pictures or having the high of being on a runway.”

Essentially, Jennavave felt trapped in the fashion world and after five years, it took a huge toll on her.

“I just saw a lot of extreme. I was still struggling with eating disorders. I had at that point flipped from being somewhat anorexic to being more bulimic. I was very unhealthy physically, emotionally, and mentally,” she says.

“I was there alone, and I was constantly bombarded with people trying to take advantage of me. They were thinking that, ‘She’s only 19, she’s alone, she wants to make it, so we can get what we want,’ ” she recalls.

And so Jennavave found herself many times in situations where she was set up to go to places that were not completely professional.

“I mean, it was horrific, and it really destroyed me. And when I came home, I had to deal with my dreams shattered.”

So, Jennavave decided to give it one more try in San Francisco.

“I was like 130 pounds, 5 foot 10 inches … which is a size 3. And you know, I was really skinny. They wouldn’t book me so, I said, ‘Okay, I’m done with this, and I had a complete breakdown.’ ”

That’s when she decided to leave San Francisco.

“One day, I looked in the mirror and the fog cleared. I saw what I had become and where I was going. My mom found me on the floor of my closet in a fetus position, just a mess,” remembers Jennavave. “And so I just started going to therapists. It began a five year process of mentally healing, letting go of that and saying, ‘What do I do next?’ ”

Jennavave realized modeling wasn’t what she needed and decided to go back to college to study fashion design.

“It just clicked, and I knew that’s really where my focus needed to be. The Lord showed me how He’d always been there for me.”

She moved to New York and went to church after being away from God for 10 years.

“After living a life of destruction, I just felt at home. I just felt so much love, and I felt that I belonged. And at that point, is when I really came to Him,” says Jennavave.

“I felt so rescued. I felt completely like I had stepped out of a dark, destructive path and into life. It wasn’t anything anyone said. It wasn’t anything anyone tried to talk me into. It was simply my heart condition that just in a moment, changed.”

And from that point four years ago, Jennavave’s life has radically changed.

“Today I’m so thankful. I just feel like I live in freedom. I feel like I have been given such a chance to do an incredible thing and to really live the dream that He put in me. Now I know He gave it to me, and it’s a treasure. I just want to see it grow, and I want to see it bless other people. So, my life today is remarkable.”

By Janet White

Speaking with tongues is a means of spiritual edification. And if you want to be able to edify others, you’re going to have to be edified yourself!

I believe this is the reason that many people are not the blessing to others that they could be - they don’t edify themselves. They don’t take times to build themselves up spiritually by speaking in tongues. But when believers get themselves built up, they can then help and bless others.

When we pray and speak with other tongues, it helps us to be conscious of God’s divine, supernatural presence in our lives through the Person of the Holy Spirit.

Howard Carter was one of the pioneers of the Pentecostal Movement and the founder of one of the oldest Pentecostal Bible schools in the world. He once said: “We must not forget that the speaking with other tongues is not only an initial evidence of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling, it is a continual experience for the rest of his (the believer’s) life to assist in the worship of God. It is a flowing stream that should never dry up, and that will enrich the life spiritually.”

Continuing to pray and to worship God in tongues helps us to ever be conscious of God’s holy presence in our lives. And if we are conscious of the fact that the Holy One lives in us, then we’re going to live holy.

There is tremendous value and eternal reward for living holy, consecrated lives before the Lord. And one way we can appropriate the power of the Holy Spirit to live holy lives before God is by praying in the Holy Ghost, speaking in other tongues!
Kenneth E. Hagin

Through this wonderful baptism in the Spirit which the Lord gives us, he enables us to talk to Himself in a language that the Spirit has given, a language which no man understands, but which He understands, a language of love. Oh, how wonderful it is to speak to Him in the Spirit, to let the Spirit lift, and lift, and lift us until He takes us into the very presence of God!
Smith Wigglesworth

Spending much time praying in tongues will help you to be able to be a greater blessing to others, be more sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit, live lives that are more pleasing to God, strengthen yourself spiritually and increase the anointing corporately and do much, much more. IS IT ANY WONDER THAT SATAN HATES IT AND DESIRES TO KEEP YOU FROM DOING IT?

As Christians, it should be our desire to be as effective for the Lord as we can be. We should strive to walk in the joy of the Lord in order to be the witness we should be. This cannot be ultimately reached if we aren’t using our prayer language on a regular basis. Praying in tongues is one way that we give the Holy Spirit control of our life to accomplish His will in us.

Many Christians aren’t experiencing the blessings that they are entitled to because of not using the language of the dispensations they’re living in. I’ve found that praying in tongues causes me to be more aware of the inheritance that I posses as a Christian. Satan again, doesn’t want you to begin to understand and enjoy the blessings of God because he knows that if you do, you’ll begin sharing them with others.

The more the believer matures in Christ, the more he sees the value of praying in tongues. As a young Christian it’s easier for satan to cause spirit filled believers to not use their prayer language. One way he does this is by causing young Christians to want man’s approval rather than God’s. I have determined that as a pastor I will do all I can to encourage believers to continually exercise their prayer language.

I have noticed that people who do a great deal of praying in tongues find it easier to experience the
presence of God. I can relate with Brother Wigglesworth when he speaks of being lifted up by the Spirit. Pray much in the Spirit and enjoy this experience for yourself.

Praying in tongues is one of the best ways of finding God’s will for one’s life. When people ask me what they can do to find God’s will for them, one of the first things I tell them is, “Pray much in the Holy Ghost.”
Pastor Curtis

Now, one of the things I appreciate most about being filled with the Holy Spirit is praying with tongues. From that day in 1937 when I was first Spirit-filled to this, I have worshiped and communicated with God, praying and singing in tongues, every single day. And I never have lest that place of prayer feeling that I didn’t say what I wanted to say, because my spirit was enabled by the Holy Spirit who indwells me to say what it wanted to say.

If you are not doing so already, I invite you to come on in and communicate with God supernaturally. God wants to do so much more for you. He wants to communicate with you in a better way. Know the joy of fellowshipping with the Lord in the Spirit.

Speaking in tongues is a continual experience to assist us in the worship of God. It is a flowing stream that should never dry up. It will enrich your life spiritually. And it will enable you to help others and to work with God Himself in the consummation of His work in the earth through the ministry of intercessory prayer.
Kenneth E. Hagin

Brother Hagin has probably influenced me more than anybody in my walk with God. For years I’ve followed his ministry and have found him to be a man of integrity and a man with powerful anointing on his life. A friend of his once told me that “If you are around Brother Hagin for any amount of time, you know what he does a lot of, …speaking in tongues.”
Pastor Curtis

Tongues must be exercised in our lives on a daily basis. When we exercise our tongues it puts us in direct connection with God and the Holy Ghost takes His place in our lives by bringing things to our remembrance. Tongues are a direct channel to the Throne Room. If you don’t know what path to take, you will when you pray in tongues. If you don’t know an answer, you will when you pray in tongues.

We must never be ashamed of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is an essential key to each and every one of us in the Body. Blinders stay on people eyes and hearts because of a lack of revelation. It is the Holy Ghost that is the revealer - we need Him to reveal the hidden things to us. He is a precious and much needed gift that needs to be acknowledged in our lives. To reject Him is to reject Jesus, because He is our comforter and He is the Revealer of the hidden things in Christ.

We are not to get weary in well doing! If there is one thing that the devil hates most, it’s tongues. When you feel worn out and weary, that is the time to press in and draw on the strength of the Holy Ghost. The enemy of your soul does not want you to pray in tongues! Satan doesn’t care if you read the Word, and you don’t use it. He doesn’t care if you go to church, and not bring anyone with you. However, he is a defeated foe when you start to step out in faith, believe and stand on the Word of God, start bringing people to church, and exercise your prayer language on a daily basis!

Lynn Hammond GPAN Prayer Summary
LIVING WORD CHRISTIAN CENTER,
9201 75th Avenue North, Brooklyn Park, MN 55428
Website: www.lwcc.org

Most women don’t realize that guys are visual. Unlike females, males are created testosterones that, as they mature, can be easily triggered simply by looking at a female who is dressed in a way that accentuates parts of her body. Guys have much more difficulty with what they see than girls do.

When a girl sees some guy without a shirt on, it may not create any arousal to her sexual desires. However, if a man sees a woman immodestly dressed, with her breasts or belly or a lot of leg showing, he can be sexually aroused immediately. It’s part of the difference of our makeup as male and female.

When girls dress in whatever is fashionable, many of them have no comprehension of or consider what guys have to deal with in their minds. When a guys sees a girl who is wearing tight fitting, revealing clothes, he wonders in his mind if she is saying, “Come and get me”.  I want you to have whatever you want and see.” Whereas a girl may think she is simply dressing fashionably.

When a girl makes an effort to dress modestly and still stay within fashion, a guy is more likely to think, She is secure in who she is and obviously isn’t trying to find her identity in showing off her body and what she’s got. She knows what she’s got and she’s saving it for the right one whom she”’ marry one day.

Over the years, I remember hearing about young guys who weren’t saved or even thinking about God make comments like, “That girl who is showing her stuff is who Id like to play around with, but that girl [pointing out the one who was dressed more modestly] is the kind of girl I want to marry.” Why is that?

I’ll tell you why. The girl showing her body represents someone to use and throw away. The girl who is covering herself represents something valuable that they guy wants to someday possess and keep. Ask yourself, “Am I going to be a cheap throwaway, or do I want to be a valuable prize to be treasured?”

A secure guy not a “body hunter”, is attracted to the strength of a girl who sets her standards and doesn’t cave in to his or anyone else’s peer pressure. She’s not pressured by the put-down comments of other girls who talk that way, attempting to raise their own value.

She’s is also not pressured by the manipulative persuasiveness of some slick-talking guy. She’s discerning and she possesses a strength within to stand up to criticism. She knows how to look while staying within boundaries when she dresses.

The quality guy then is not attracted to her for her outward decorations as much as he is to her inner strength, her love, her “realness,” her sincerity, her genuine love for others and her desire to please God.

Warning: If you want a guy to want your body, you’ll get a guy who wants only your body. He will get what he wants from you and then he will look for another body that he sees and wants. If a guy marries a girl for her body, he’ll continue to lust  for an attractive body that he sees, even after he is married.

I’ve counseled women whose husbands married them out of lust; consequently, these women have to constantly deal with the insecurity of wondering if their husbands are cheating on them or not. They also struggle with the absence of closeness in their marriage relationship, except for sex.

This produces a sense of no value except for her body. Over a periods of time, this can cause resentment, bitterness and a loss of any intimate love toward that husband. The marriage ten becomes just an existence together. When we focus our relationship with the opposite sex on our physical body and sensual clothes, it will be based on lust. Subsequently, whatever you obtain by lust, you’ll pay for with heartache and pain, because lust is never satisfied. It always wants more and will look everywhere in order to get more.

Source: “What Guys See That Girls Don’t or do they?”
by Sharon Daugherty.

Click Here To Read  Part 2

Prov.20:5 “Counsel in the heart of man is like water in a deep well, but a man of understanding draws it out.”

This woman at the well here is just totally amazed why Jesus is asking her to draw water from the well for Him. There is some sarcasm and prejudice here. Jesus didn’t have any prejudice towards her though. But she probably had met some Jews that treated her badly. She is wondering if Jesus as a Jew would have talked to her if He hadn’t need anything.

This woman has s lot of bitterness in her. When there is bitterness in you, you have to change before you receive from the Lord. These things hinder you and your heart from being receptive. The bible says: faith works by love. If you have a lot of hate, animosity, bitterness and prejudice in you; that’s not love. When love is not operating and faith works by love; faith will not work.

You cannot harbor ill will, animosity or prejudice against people and walk in faith to have victory. You just cannot do it. You also cannot be shallow to judge everybody by somebody’s actions. You cannot say “all women are that way” or “all white people are that way” or “all men are the same”. Because they are not. Don’t label people so quickly.

This woman at the well here is convinced that the Jews don’t have any dealings with the Samaritans. She might have missed out if it hadn’t been for Jesus here in this situation. This whole passage is around a well and they talk about the well and about water. Jesus took this opportunity to talk about salvation isn’t it?

John 4:13-14 Jesus says “all who drink of this water will be thirsty again. But whosoever takes a drink of the water that I will give him shall never, no never be thirsty any more. But the water that I will give him shall become a spring of water welling up (continually) within him for eternal life.”

Jesus is talking here to her about the work of the Holy Spirit in the new birth. When you are born again, you have the Holy Spirit on the inside of you. He is the spirit of life. There is also a following experience that everybody should receive and that is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That has to do with an endowment of power upon a person. It gives you power to be a witness for Jesus.

This endowment of power is described in John 7:37  “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” There is a difference between a well and rivers.

The well describes the work of the Holy Spirit in you for your own personal benefit. You draw water out of the well for your own personal benefit. But the rivers flow out. The rivers are not contained in one container. The Holy Spirit wants to flow through you; come upon you to touch other people’s lives as well. That is the rivers.

We need the well and we need the rivers. We need it all. The well has more to do with your personal life. The woman said here: “Sir, the well is deep and you don’t have anything to draw with. Where are going to get this living water?” Maybe you feel that way; the well is deep and you think you don’t have anything to draw with”. You don’t how to get anything out of the well.

You have to understand that within you is the Holy Spirit; the Greater one. The Holy Spirit is God and he lives inside of you if you are born again. All that He is and all that He has is in Himself and He is in you. So, all that He is, is in you. And all that He has is in you. There is a reservoir inside of you of unlimited resources. The strength of God is inside of you, the life of God, the wisdom of God, the knowledge of God, the understanding of God, the love of God, the peace and the joy of God, IN YOU!!

Come back and learn how to draw it out.

Have you ever taken one of those multiple-choice style quizzes in a magazine or online? It’s interesting how they can ask ten, or so, random little questions like, “What’s your favorite color?” or “Where did you last go on vacation?” and at the end, give you a surprisingly accurate synopsis of your personality and an overview of your fashion style. Somehow, it seems that in less than five minutes, they know more about you than your best friend! If only the other areas of our lives could be figured out so easily!

As women, we are born with an innate desire to express ourselves through our style. I can remember when I was a little girl, no one had to tell me to play in my mother’s makeup or jewelry; I just did it. It came naturally. I loved to put on her lipstick and necklaces. I felt so grown up and beautiful—even though that lipstick was anywhere on my face but my lips! No one ever had to tell me to pick out pretty dresses, and twirl around in them. And, as I grew up, no one had to tell me to love shopping, either!

It’s no secret. Most women do love to shop. Whether we buy anything or not, we can find satisfaction just in the experience. But, have you ever been shopping with a friend, trying to help them pick out clothes and they say, “Oh that’s not me.” Or “That is so me!” Women naturally want to make sure their clothing style accurately reflects who they are. Have you ever noticed that men don’t talk like that when they buy clothes? In most cases, they aren’t saying things like, “That is so me!” or “I feel fabulous in this!” They are buying clothes first and foremost out of necessity, and either the item they see fits the bill, or it doesn’t. Women dress according to their mood and feelings, men dress according to the facts, what they need to wear that day. That’s why men will never understand when a woman stares at her closet full of clothes and exclaims, “I have nothing to wear!” What she’s really saying is, “I can’t find anything that I feel comfortable in today.”

But have you ever thought that God created you that way for a purpose? Webster’s defines “style” as a distinctive manner of expression or behavior. Yes, we have our own fashion style in the natural, but did you know that we have a spiritual style, too? Just as you want to feel comfortable in your clothes in the natural, God wants you to feel comfortable in your spiritual clothes, too. He put something deep on the inside of you to recognize when you’re wearing something that just “isn’t you.” For example, Isaiah 61 talks about wearing a garment of praise instead of a spirit of heaviness. The bible also talks about wearing a robe of righteousness and a garment of salvation. We should recognize that any time we are feeling weighted down by the pressures of life, anytime we start feeling like we don’t measure up, any time we feel overwhelmed we should take one look at our spiritual mirror, the Word of God, and say, “Oh that’s not me at all!”” We need to take off those old, dirty garments of self-defeating thoughts and put on garments of peace, righteousness, praise, and love.

I love what is says in I Peter 3:3-5. It says that as women, we shouldn’t just focus all of our efforts on our external appearance, but we should remember that our inward appearance, our heart, is our most important accessory. It tells us that we should focus on having a gentle and peaceful spirit, we shouldn’t be anxious or easily upset, but we should reflect the character and style of God. Peter’s basically saying, “Listen, I know you women love to dress up, but let’s keep things in perspective. Let’s follow the example of the faithful women of days gone by who took care of their external appearance and their internal appearance.”

Remember, true beauty isn’t about what you look like, it’s the experience you leave with the people you encounter on a daily basis. Think about a beautiful song. You can’t see it, but yet it touches your inner being. In the same way, we should deposit good things into the lives of others. Do people leave your presence better off than they were before? The scripture tells us that when we bring Good News to others, even our feet are beautiful!

Make the choice today to allow the character and style of God to flow through you. Look for ways to do something beautiful in the lives of the people you encounter today. As you do, you’ll feel His garments cover your heart, and you will move forward in confidence knowing that His style is reflected in you.

By Victoria Osteen

The attitude of compromise has affected many Christians and churches today, and even some in leadership positions have comprised their lifestyles. Other leaders have been afraid to speak up and bring attention to areas that need to be corrected because of fear of offending people.

Sometimes in the desire to be accepted and popular, a person agrees with the crowd to please them instead of standing up to and challenging them toward what is right. It takes strength to go against the crowd and lovingly speak up and address what needs to be corrected. I personally have come to realize that it is good for each of us to check ourselves regularly, making sure we are seeking to please Jesus and not simply conforming to the world’s standards or what other Christians’ ideas may be, which are not godly.

In an article in Charisma magazine, August 2004, titled, “Put on Some Clothes!” Valerie Lowe shared, “Last year when a well-known female preacher arrived at a Pentecostal conference wearing an extremely tight dress, leaders of the group apologized to attendees and promised, “She will never preach here again.”

Do you think that was harsh? let me ask you another question” Do you think she was dressing to please God or to just look good? I don’t know who this person is, but if she wasn’t convicted over the situation, it is possible that her heart has become hardened to that still small voice.

The more sensitive we are to His still small voice, the more sensitive we will be in how we come across to those we desire to reach or tech. Romans 14:15 indicates that when your brother (or sister) in Christ is grieved over what you are doing, it’s time to evaluate your love walk. It’s time to consider how much you are willing to lay down in order to communicate the Gospel of Jesus

In this article, Valerie Lowe continues: “One Florida pastor, frustrate about immodest dress among his congregants, confronted the problem during Sunday morning worship. “When you wear your clothes tight and short enough, you’re making a statement about yourself. My advice to you is, “If you are not for sale, please take the sign down!”

Here is another question: What kind of girls or women sell themselves? Here’s an answer: The kind who make money with their bodies. Is that the kind of women you want others to view you as? Is there such thing as a Christian prostitute? According to God’s Word, the answer is “No.” (I realize in our society’s mind-set today, some might have different opinions. However, our standard to live is not the opinions of others but the opinion of God.)

Does the grace of God remove self-restraint and consideration for others? It seems that many in the church world have focused so much on a “no boundary” grace and freedom that they have removed any sense of responsibility of restraint on themselves. Self-restraint and consideration of others are characteristics of being led by the Holy Spirit. Having boundaries in our lives is fruit of true christianity. Remember, one fruit of the Spirit is self-control (see Gal.5:22-23).

Today it can be hard to tell if a girl is a christian or not if you only take into account the way she dresses. Most girls dress according to fashion without thinking about it. But whether you realize it or not, you are communicating to others with your clothes.

This may be a new thought for you to consider. We not only communicate with our words, but we communicate with how we dress. For example, it’s a general understanding that if an event you are attending is casual, you might wear clothes such as jeans and a T-shirt. If you were to wear a formal evening gown at this function, people would look at you strangely. Wheres, if you attended a more formal occasion, you would probaly wear a formal dress or a semi-formal pantsuit. Anything casual would draw attention as being “out of place.” The type of gathering you are attending is communicated by what you wear.

Here’s another thought to consider: We also communicate by the way we wear clothes. We communicate if we secure or insecure, in need of attention, or fearful of any attention, seductive, guarded or loose, feminine or manly, naive or totally aware. In any case, no matter what the occasion, or what we are wearing, or how we are wearing it, the Word of God tells us God’s will is for us to dress modestly.

Source: “What Guys See That Girls Don’t or do they?”
by Sharon Daugherty.

Read Part 1

John 4:13-14 Jesus says “all who drink of this water will be thirsty again. But whosoever takes a drink of the water that I will give him shall never, no never be thirsty any more. But the water that I will give him shall become a spring of water welling up (continually) within him for eternal life.”
Prov.20:5 “Counsel in the heart of man is like water in a deep well, but a man of understanding draws it out.”

It is not a coincidence that Jesus met this woman at the well and that their conversation was about the well. Jesus had been traveling and it probably was hot and He is there at the well thirsty and dry. The well is there but there is no way that He can get the water, because the well is deep and there wasn’t a drawing bucket there and not just anybody could draw water out of the well, because it was a community well.

There is plenty of water, but it is deep. So, you need to have an apparatus; they usually used a piece of pottery like a vase of some sort with a loop on it and a rope or a line. Kind of like a bucket with a rope that you could lower down into the well and let it fill up and then pull it back up. That is how you would draw water out of the well.

So, while Jesus is standing there and maybe looking down into it and wishing he would have some of that water; this woman comes by. She has something to draw with; she came to draw water. Jesus looks at her while she probably is lowering down her vase or bucket. Jesus looks at her and she might look back at him. Jesus asked her “would you give me a drink?”

She says: Why are you asking me for anything? You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan. She even might have said that sarcastically, because there was a lot of prejudice between the Jews and the Samaritans. The devil has always been around to stir up people against each other; hasn’t he? It’s not the color or background of somebody that tells us how a person is. It is the heart of a person that counts. Aren’t you glad that God looks at the heart of an individual?

So, Jesus is standing here at the well and asks her for a drink. One translation of the Bible says the Jews don’t drink from the same dishes as the Samaritans do. There was a lot of prejudice. Jesus smiles and says “if you would know who is asking you for a drink you probably would ask him for a drink and he would have given you living water.”

The woman says: “well, sir the well is deep and you don’t have anything to draw the water with.” He says: “the one that comes to me and believes on me; he’ll receive living water. There will be in him a well of living water that springs up into everlasting life. You drink this water and you will thirst again. But the water that I am talking about, that I will give you will cause you to not ever thirst again.

This woman became interested and wanted to have this water so that I don’t have to come here and draw any more. Jesus knew how to turn the conversation from prejudiced things into spiritual things.

When Jesus comes to you as your friend He wants to talk to you about things that you really need. This woman needed the living water that only Jesus could give her. She needed her heart restored and a change of mind. Jesus knows how to get you there. He wants you to know everything you need is on the inside of you. That is what this story at the well is about.

Kimberley Kennedy has felt the pain of disappointment and rejection and has found hope and healing. Twelve years ago, Kimberley had it all. She had a good friends, good family, wonderful career in TV, and she was about to be married to the man of her dreams. She focused on this man and anticipated the life that they were going to have together. On the eve of their wedding, Kimberley sensed something was wrong when her husband-to-be was late for their wedding rehearsal and dinner. His family was there and didn’t suspect anything. When he finally did show up, his sister took Kimberly to the minister’s office where he said five devastating words, “I just can’t do it.”

Kimberley was publically humiliated. Being a TV anchor in Atlanta magnified the pain. The encouraging words that were sent days before from fans turned into condolences when breaking news about their split was released within hours. Friends and fans were very supportive of Kimberley and she received a large stack of letters. Ten days after the nearnear wedding, Kimberley’s ex-fiancée reached out to her through a letter apologizing to her. She took him back and her heart soared. She saw her ex-fiancée on and off for the next year. This made getting over the break up take longer. When he started seeing another woman, Kimberley finally decided to break up with him for good because the emotional strain was wearing her out.

Kimberley says she had faith, but it wasn’t strong enough to help her through this difficult time. She now realizes that when she was left at the altar that she was a Christian in name only. That was why she could find no peace or comfort, though Christ promises both. She is thankful that she now has a deep walk with her Savior.

MAN’S REJECTION, GOD’S PROTECTION

Not long after Kimberley was left at the altar, a stranger stopped her at the mall and said something to her that she believes are words from God that have become planted deep within her soul, “Man’s rejection, God’s protection.”

Kimberley recites these words to herself everytime she feels rejected in any area of her life. Though a man rejected her, God was still there protecting and loving her and trying to draw her close if she would just let Him. God was preparing her for a brand-new relationship - with Him. She was not ready for a new relationship; she still wanted the old one and wanted to be in charge. In hindsight, Kimberley believes that God protected her from divorce. She has a new relationship with God, and God is preserving her and preserving her husband-to-be.

She quotes Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Since her “altar-cation,” neither Kimberley nor her ex-fiancée has married anyone, but Kimberley is trusting in God that He will still send her His best choice for a husband.

HEALING FROM REJECTION

Kimberley’s healing was a gradual process. She didn’t have an “aha” moment. She was grieving over her heartbreak. That grief turned to self-pity, and when it got to that point it didn’t appeal to her.

She got angry with God. She wondered why He didn’t protect her from this situation. Kimberley says it is in times like these where women feel rejected by God.

Don’t see yourself as a victim, what you’re not, or dwell on what happened. This blocks healing. You must know that everyone will be rejected, but God turns good things out of bad.

Finally, she was able to give her relationship over to God, and it took her faith to a deeper relationship. Because of this situation, she was able to have a real relationship with God. She truly began to learn that God is the only one who will never leave, forsake, or reject anyone. She began to learn to see God’s truth and learned that she had to reject the negative and the lies and believe the positive and the truth. When we experience rejection we think there is something lacking with us. Women need to see themselves as God sees them and choose to believe what He says. It takes a long time to process, but you have to turn it over to God, forgive yourself, and forgive God.

TOOLS FOR RECOVERY

Here are 10 tools that Kimberley shares that will help you move on and be the person God meant you to be. They worked for her:

1. Get into a good women’s Bible study or small group.
2. Lose the fear.
3. Don’t talk about rejection when you do start dating.
4. Realize that you will inevitably compare every man who comes along to the one who rejected you.
5. Don’t make it a priority or become obsessed with replacing that person who rejected you.
6. Develop patience.
7. Beware of loneliness.
8. Continue to reject the deceiver’s lies.
9. Realize that you may very well be rejected again.
10. Allow God to reveal to you the exciting plan he has in store for you.

Kimberley Kennedy

There is so much change going on; there are millions of women that are quitting their jobs to stay at home with their kids. Do you want to give more time to your children than 3-4 hours a day. Many women want to keep working when they get married, but once they have a baby things change dramatically. You love your baby so much; the idea of bringing your child to a daycare for the most hours a day will be impossible for you. So, moms will leave their big salary behind and want to stay home. If possible work from home.

This whole process needs a little strategy though; after all your household income will be cut in half. And then the question will arise “How can you stand to be home with your children all day?” It might be possible that you would like to go back to work after some time. So, it is very important to make some good choices now for later.

I know women who made some errors that you don’t have to make if you are rightly informed. It is hard to come back to work in a world where men competing with women for jobs. It’s sometimes even hopeless. You have to be a fighter. You have to do things right in repositioning yourself professionally, perhaps becoming something you never thought possible. You can get back on the same track, shift gears, accelerate, make sharp turns or change careers entirely.

You can start your own business. The time you take off to spend with your kids and away from the jobsite could not only be the most gratifying personal decision you could make, it might also be the best professional move you could make, if you look at it a little farther down the road. It’s all about planning.

There are tons of women who have gone before you. Ordinary women who have the most extra-ordinary jobs. Sometimes self created and sometimes on a jobsite; either way. It is important that you fins that particular thing that  you are wired for in a certain way. That no ther woman could do as good as you can do it.

It is possible. You have to learn how to keep your hand in the game. You can do some volunteering to help in school, you can become active in local politics or befcome totally frustrated and that’s not good.