girltalk Blog
2006 at 11:21 am | by Kristin Chesemore
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Series Girltalk Book Club
There were so many exciting and moving answers to last week’s question—tell us about a circumstance in your life where you now see God was working “behind the scenes” for your good?—that it was a tough decision. However, we thought that Christina Gillham’s story most closely parallel’s that of Ruth’s. Here it is:
Just like Ruth, the story of how God brought my husband into my life started out with difficult circumstances. I was starting my fourth year of college, helping to organize Bible Studies for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. During an event designed to reach out to students, a young man handed me a love letter saying that "God had told him that I was the one he was to marry". It turned out that this man was not a student, but a homeless schizophrenic man who now knew my address, since one of the Bible Studies was at my apartment. Over the next few weeks he dropped off letters at my doorstep, in the middle of the night, that became increasingly obscene and threatening. I decided to call the police.
I was advised to get a restraining order and not walk alone. God met my needs abundantly. My roommate’s father was a lawyer and filed the paperwork for me free of charge. Twelve other believers lived next door, underneath or across from me in our apartment complex. They took turns walking with me to class and going to the police station with me to drop off more letters as they came. At one point three young men slept on my living room floor with baseball bats "just in case". During finals’ week when my friends were busier and my life was more stressful, my dad took a week off of work and came to be with me.
During this time I met three police officers who were handling my case. I would find out later that all three were godly Christian men. Two were my father’s age and viewed me as a daughter in Christ. One was a good-looking single guy. He ended up being the one who came and arrested the man who was stalking me.
Over the summer break, the stalker was released from jail. I ended up having several conversations with the young police officer about it all. Each conversation would start out "Hello Officer" and end with "Good-Bye Sean." By the time I returned to school, at a different address, the homeless man had written me one last letter saying that, "God had told him to move on." The return address was in another state. The case was closed. Sean helped me move into my new apartment and took me out to dinner, our first date. We were married 10 months later.
Last year when I was talking to my son about Romans 8:28 he looked at me and said, "Mommy, that’s just like how you and Daddy met! God used it for good!" Amen to that. He sure did!
We all have stories of God’s faithfulness to pass along to the next generation. Let’s be faithful to tell them of the goodness of the Lord.
Moving on to Chapter Five, Dr. MacArthur notes that, “The value of persistent and passionate prayer is one of the central lessons from Hannah’s life.” So your question is: “Tell us about a time when you witnessed the value of persistent and passionate prayer—in your own life or someone else’s life?”
May you be inspired and provoked as you read about Hannah’s extraordinary life!
2006 at 1:08 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
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Series Girltalk Book Club
“Rahab is extraordinary precisely because she received extraordinary grace.” This statement by Dr. MacArthur from page 16 describes all of us. Whether you were saved while still a tiny thing or after many years of rebellion, your story is truly extraordinary.
Thank you for the many stories of extraordinary grace you sent our way. It’s always tough to choose. Our question from chapter 3, “How does ‘what you once were’ magnify the glory of divine grace?” was vividly captured by Stacy Reaoch:
I love to look back in my life and remember where I was before God divinely intervened! It is always a wonderful reminder of His sovereign grace in my life. I was a freshman at Michigan State University and the ways of the world were knocking at my door. Although I had lived a fairly tame, “nominal” Christian life up until this point, things were changing. I was enjoying the freedom of college life—partying, flirting, and I was being increasingly influenced by my liberal classes. I took a feminist theory writing class, which quickly became my most beloved class. After writing a paper entitled, “I Am a Feminist”, my professor kept me after class to tell me we were kindred spirits. As you can imagine, I was all about “a woman’s right to choose!” and constantly wanting to battle the supposed oppression of women.
Yet at this same pivotal time in my life, the Lord was at work. Although I lived in an enormous freshman dormitory complex with very little Christian influence, God sovereignly placed me next door to two Christian girls. They began sharing the Gospel with me and invited me to a Bible study. At the same time I was dating my high school sweetheart (now my husband) who truly was a Christian and attending Wheaton College—the clear opposite of MSU! God had used Ben and his family to plant seeds that were now being watered. It’s so interesting for me to go back and see one of the major issues the Lord used to draw me to Himself. My increasing interest in the feminist agenda was in conflict over what I knew some Christians believed. I remember attending a “relationship panel” put on by women in Campus Crusade. Oh how I pitied those women who believed in submission and adhered to such strict Biblical principals! I tried to debate them with the minute bit of knowledge I had. I loathed the texts in Scripture like Ephesians 5 and 1 Timothy 2. They were so offensive to me and everything I thought I stood for.
Nonetheless, God used my battle against biblical womanhood to draw me to Himself. I began attending the Bible study, Crusade meetings and churches to discover what the Bible was really saying. I wanted to understand to prove my points about the oppression of woman. But God used this battle to engage my mind in His Word and His purposes for my life. After much debate, prayer, and time spent with godly women who invested in me, I placed my trust in Christ for the forgiveness of my sins. As I began to grown in my knowledge of the Lord, I learned to embrace the beauty of biblical womanhood. I’m not saying everything happened at once. I still debated my future husband over why women couldn’t be pastors (after all, he was called to pastor so why couldn’t I?!) I struggled with difficult texts about the roles of women but eventually embraced the complementary design God created for us. Ten years later spreading a passion for God’s glory through embracing biblical manhood and womanhood is one of my greatest desires!
I sometimes wonder what my life may be like if God had not intervened. Oh, how much He has spared me from in this life and the next! I praise God who called me out of darkness into His marvelous light! To His name alone be glory forever! Amen.
Thank you Stacy!
Next week’s question, from the life of Ruth is based on a quote from page 77:
“Nothing happens by ‘chance,’ but God is always behind the scenes, working all things together for the good of His people (Rom. 8:28). There is no such thing as ‘luck’ or ‘fate’ for believers.”
Given this truth, tell us about a circumstance in your life where you now see God was working “behind the scenes” for your good?
Can’t wait to read your answers!
2006 at 3:17 pm | by Nicole Whitacre
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Series Girltalk Book Club
Last week’s question, “Like Sarah, what "earthly inconvenience" are you experiencing, and how is it "mitigated by the promise of eternal blessing?” provoked a number of wonderful answers. Whether it is the waiting for children or the difficulty of moving (while pregnant!) or the daily struggle with indwelling sin or even the trial of losing something of value—so many of you are hoping in God like Sarah did. The woman we chose to answer this week’s question—Jelinas Lim—has a firm hold of the promises of God in the midst of her earthly inconvenience. May you be encouraged by her example to trust in God’s Word.
I am twenty-eight years old and unmarried, and it sure is an earthly inconvenience.
Aside from the practical inconveniences like not having a man around to fix leaky faucets or help carry in the groceries, there are also spiritual and emotional inconveniences, like not having someone to rebuke you when you are wasting time at home or not having someone to encourage you when you’re discouraged.
It’s even inconvenient to go to weddings. You have to drive yourself and then sit at the reception with a bunch of twenty-three-year-olds because they’re the only other ones who are also still single, as you watch the twenty-five-year-old newlyweds rejoice because they’ve “finally” found God’s will for them.
But, as Sarah trusted in the promise of eternal blessing, I resolve to trust in the promise of eternal blessing. It matters not what I am lacking in my life today because I know what I am not lacking. I am not lacking a single thing that I need for life and godliness. The Lord has graciously provided all I need for that, daily.
How can I complain about loneliness when I know that, even if my bed is in the depths, God is with me? How can I complain about not having enough help when the Lord has promised that the Holy Spirit will be my helper? And why would I complain about getting older when each day that passes only brings me closer to my Savior?
God gives grace. Even when He’s not dispensing husbands, He’s daily dispensing grace. He has promised that those who obey Him will see his goodness in the land of the living. And I believe it because I see it every day. Praise God for His faithfulness to this precious promise!
Amen Jelinas!
Next week’s profile offers another opportunity to praise God for His grace—the extraordinary story of Rahab. Dr. MacArthur encapsulates “the lesson of her life” in the following sentence: “The disturbing fact about what she once was simply magnifies the glory of divine grace, which is what made her the extraordinary woman she became.” From that lesson comes this week’s question: “How does ‘what you once were’ magnify the glory of divine grace?”
Given the personal nature of this question, we completely understand if you would like us to post your answer anonymously. Remember that all answers are due by midnight Thursday. May you rejoice in God’s grace as you read Chapter Four: “A Horrible Life Redeemed.”
2006 at 5:37 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
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You still have 7 hours, 24 minutes, and 10 seconds to send in your answer to this weeks question from chapter two:
Like Sarah, what “earthly inconvenience” are you experiencing, and how is it “mitigated by the promise of eternal blessing”?
2006 at 3:23 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
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“Scripture…gives us no physical description of Eve. Her beauty—splendid as it must have been- is never mentioned or even alluded to. The focus of the biblical account is on Eve’s duty to her Creator and her role alongside her husband. That is a significant fact, reminding us that the chief distinguishing traits of true feminine excellence are nothing superficial. Women who are obsessed with image, cosmetics, body shapes, and other external matters have a distorted view of femininity. We need to go back to Scripture to see what God’s ideal for a woman really is. And the biblical account of Eve is an excellent reminder of what a woman’s true priorities ought to be.”
When I read this paragraph, I was struck by this truth: Eve’s beauty was not what gave her value! I tend to accept the “fact” that beauty is important because that is what the culture screams at me from every street corner. But this chapter was a fresh reminder to me that my priority should not be my outward appearance, but rather my God-assigned role as comforter, nurturer and helper.
One young reader, fifteen-year-old Joanna Linn, understands the importance of these priorities. You may remember Joanna’s story, which we shared with you last November. If not, read it now and you will be all the more encouraged by her answer to this week’s question:
How did this chapter influence how you think about your true priorities as a woman?
Being a young teenage girl, my true priorities would not be very different than a saved mother, grandmother, single woman, or any other lady. My true priorities as a girl are first and foremost to honor and glorify God in everything I do. After honoring and glorifying God, my priorities are a little different than some other women. My priorities are to respect and honor my parents, and to be submissive to their leadership. Just as Eve’s priorities were to honor God and serve her husband, mine need to be to honor God and serve my parents.
This chapter influenced me to think more about the Lord and my family. I need to be more aware of God and his desires for me at this point in my life. I also need to be aware of my parent’s desires for me. Being a young teenage girl, I am still under my parent’s instruction and care, and need to be submissive to them just as if the Lord was there telling me what to do. Ultimately, he is the one that I am obeying when I obey my parents. I need to keep God and my family as my true priorities.
Thank you so much for your thoughts, Joanna. You’ll be receiving your very own copy of Twelve Extraordinary Women, personally signed by John MacArthur.
For the rest of you—please keep sending us your answers! Here’s next week’s question from Chapter Two about Sarah (taken from page 36):
Like Sarah, what “earthly inconvenience” are you experiencing, and how is it “mitigated by the promise of eternal blessing”?
We are eagerly anticipating your responses, and hope you enjoy and benefit from Chapter Two!
2006 at 12:14 pm | by Nicole Whitacre
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Series Girltalk Book Club
Don’t forget to send in your answer to this week’s question from chapter one (by midnight tonight):
How did this chapter influence how you think about your true priorities as a woman?
Can’t wait to hear from you!
2006 at 6:28 pm | by Carolyn Mahaney
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Thank you all for your wonderful answers to our first Book Club question. We hope you found it helpful to synthesize your thoughts on the Preface and Introduction. For next week, we will read chapter one of Twelve Extraodinary Women and invite you to answer the following question (by Thursday midnight):
John MacArthur writes in chapter one: "We need to go back to Scripture to see what God’s ideal for a woman really is. And the biblical account of Eve is an excellent reminder of what a woman’s true priorities ought to be."
How did this chapter influence how you think about your true priorities as a woman?
Friday Funnies will be along shortly.
2006 at 5:18 pm | by Carolyn Mahaney
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In the final paragraph of his introduction to Twelve Extraordinary Women, Dr John MacArthur makes this declaration about these notable women of Scripture: “The faithfulness of these women is their true lasting legacy.”
One of our readers, Susan Jansen, captures this very truth in her poignant answer to our first Book Club question:
"Life is made up of ordinary days" is a favorite quote of mine. I can still remember my first moment of "ordinary days". It was soon after coming home from my honeymoon. The year before had been full of meeting my husband, being wooed, getting engaged, and planning a wedding. And an extraordinary day…all eyes were on us. Then, we were just another couple, learning, growing, going to work, and paying bills. Days, months, and a year went by, and then a new adventure: I was a mother to be. Well, the baby arrived, the grandparents glowed, the gifts arrived, and then Dad and grandma went back to work and I began a new set of "ordinary days". This extraordinary event happened 3 more times in the next 10 years. Now, with each child came more "ordinary days" and some "extraordinary ones": first teeth, walking, potty training, school, puberty, driving, graduations, and a wedding. The quote"extraordinary days" are few and far between, but the "ordinary days" are what make up the in-between. Those are the days when seeds are sown, prayers are prayed, and forgiveness is exchanged.
What makes for an extraordinary life? Faithfulness in the ordinary, motivated by His grace.
2006 at 1:36 pm | by Nicole Whitacre
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Series Girltalk Book Club
As a young girl just out of high school, I was eager to experiment with the craft of writing. So I hunted down the writers and teachers in my church and asked for their advice. My quest for guidance led me to the office of John Loftness, one of the pastors of Covenant Life Church (and a former English teacher). He told me that if I wanted to write, I needed to read. Read good books. Read a lot of good books.
Then he gave me some pointers on how to profit most from the books I read. For starters, he insisted that I should always read the preface and the introduction. Many people tend to skip over these, he explained, but they are essential to comprehending the author’s message and perspective.
We’re going to take Mr. Loftness’ sage advice. Instead of beginning with chapter one, your first assignment is to read the Preface and the Introduction of Twelve Extraordinary Women. And I’m not resorting to hyperbole when I say that they are worth the price of the book. Rarely have I read opening content that so fascinated and inspired me to keep reading. Oh, and the introduction is chock full of Scripture references, some of which you may want to look up on your own.
So, you have your assignment. Here’s your question:
How does your life feel ordinary and how can it be truly extraordinary?
We are not so much looking for the most cleverly worded answer here. Rather, we want real-life, personal illustrations of your thoughts, feelings and circumstances, and how this book’s message invades your every-day world.
Please have your answer (300 words or less) in by midnight (that’s close of business day for a mom) Thursday, July 20. We’ll post one response, and add our own reflections to the conversation. Until next Friday then, happy reading!
UPDATE: By request, we have postponed the deadline for the first Girltalk Book Club assignment to Thursday, August 3 in order to give everyone time to order and receive their books.
2006 at 1:59 pm | by Nicole Whitacre
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Series Girltalk Book Club
We hope you’ve been inspired by our “reading talk.” Writing on this topic has stimulated us too. So we want to put legs on our enthusiasm. And we want to do it together with all of you.
Drumroll please…
I’m excited to announce the inauguration of the Girltalk Book Club.
Its purpose is to promote the pleasurable discipline of reading and more specifically reading about biblical womanhood.
Here’s how it’s going to work:
* We’ll pick a book and post it on our sidebar.
* Each week, we will read one chapter and we hope you’ll read with us.
* Along with the chapter assignment, we’ll ask a question, and invite you to submit your answer.
* Among the answers, we will choose one to post.
* That person will receive an author-signed copy of the Girltalk Book Club selection.
* We will also comment on the chapters as we go along.
Does it sound like fun? Good! Then let me present our first selection:
Twelve Extraordinary Women by John MacArthur.
Have you ever wanted to get to know the women of the Bible more personally? Well here’s your chance. In a story-like fashion, John MacArthur introduces us to twelve of the most notable women in Scripture. But this work is far from fiction. It’s a biblically accurate portrait gallery of the life and times of women who were called by God. Not only do you meet these extraordinary women in the pages of this book, you encounter their faithful God. By doing so, you will become freshly encouraged by His steadfast love for you.
And for all our confident-in-your-manhood male readers, you can join in too. Here’s what pastor Rick Holland has to say about this book:
“Is ‘Twelve Extraordinary Women’ just for women? No, certainly not. Just as ‘Twelve Ordinary Men’ was written for every believer, so ‘Twelve Extraordinary Women’ should be read and studied by all. Both men and women will be encouraged by the message of this book, as they see God’s redemptive power exhibited in each of these fascinating women of the Bible.” —Rick Holland, Pastor of Student Ministries, Grace Community Church
So are you ready to go? We’ll give you a week to purchase this book (which you can do by clicking the picture on the sidebar) and then we’ll get started.
Thanks for coming on another girltalk adventure with us!
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