A newly engaged young woman asked her friends and family to boycott Victoria's Secret when they purchased gifts for her bridal shower. She explained that she did not want her marriage to support a business that so flagrantly abused sexuality and scriptural principles of modesty. This girl's stance brought a lot of people up short and made then stop and consider the implications of her request. Talk about standing alone!

The word "modesty" implies prudish, every inch of skin covered but is that really what God calls His daughters to embrace? Nancy Leigh DeMoss, a well-known author, speaker and Revive our Hearts talk show host tackles this topic in her radio broadcast in a way that is refreshing, challenging and convicting. You may not agree with everything she says, but I encourage you to check out the messages, especially if you have teen girls who are struggling to discover how to enhance their beauty without violating God's principles. Your teen boys would also benefit from understanding what a modest heart looks like and how to discern if a girl's heart is focused on that modesty. If you mentor teen girls, these broadcasts would be a great teaching tool as well. Nancy opens one broadcast with the words, "A woman's greatest loveliness comes through a modest heart, and a modest heart expresses itself in modest behavior, modest dress, modest reactions and modest attitudes." Just what is a modest heart and how do you know if you have one? Nancy's handling of scripture on this topic will take you deeper into God's Word as she offers some counter-cultural beauty tips. Here's the link to Revive Our Hearts. Enjoy!

http://www.reviveourhearts.com/radio/roh/today.php?pid=10868

In His grip, Sharon

I was seventeen years old and working at a Bible conference that summer. Housekeeping (cleaning up after campers) was my self-chosen job because I wanted to spend as much time on the beach as possible. Unlike the waitresses, dishwashers and cooks, housekeepers had their afternoons off once the floors were swept and beds were made. What could be better than a long summer at the beach with like-minded teens in a faith-based environment? But I had some emotional baggage that refused to stay safely packed away. My high school boyfriend did not share my faith. He wasn't thrilled when I informed him of my summer plans but promised to visit. It didn't take long in that Bible soaked culture for me to conclude I had to break off the relationship. Drama drapes teen lives and his first and only visit ended in more drama than I dreamed possible. I was almost sent home by the director's wife (that's another story) but I followed through with my commitment to break up and experience the summer commitment free. If it weren't for my mother, I probably wouldn't have stuck with my decision. Every night after dinner, I slipped into the phone booth, dialed home and held my breath until I heard her voice. I chattered about every detail of the day and waited for her to encourage me to stay the course. I wish I could remember specific nuggets of wisdom that she shared. It wasn't the words as much as the emotional connection with the one person who loved me more than anyone else in the world at that time of my life. What is it about a mother's voice that soothes and calms a daughter's troubled heart? Our daughter, Heidi, has noted specific times that she has called just because she needed to hear my voice. There wasn't anything I could do for her to change the circumstances but perhaps like me, she needed to connect with one who loves her in a way that no one else does.

Consider this:

If your daughter is stressed out, the soothing sound of your voice can relieve her anxiety as much as an actual hug, says a University of Wisconsin-Madison study. After a series of challenging tests, girls who were comforted by their mom in person or over the phone experienced a surge of oxytocin, the bonding hormone that also calms your stress response. In contrast, girls who had no contact with their mother showed no rise in oxytocin. So if you can't be there, speed-dial your daughter after her difficult exam, important performance or other big event (or tell her to call you). (Ladies Home Journal, page 164, October, 2010)

This study explains how a mother's voice for some daughters is better than a pill, alcohol or even chocolate. Just my mother's voice initiated a physical change in my body that lowered my stress hormones. There are so many "motherless" women who long for such a calming influence. Women whose mothers died when they were very young or whose mothers abandoned them emotionally. Perhaps this is another reason why God instructs older women to mother younger women (Titus 2:3-5). Perhaps it's more about that calming voice than it is about the words spoken. I need my mother today. I am restless and anxious. But my mother left this earth in 1998. Perhaps instead of longing for her voice, I can be that soothing voice for a motherless young woman, who longs to know that there is at least one woman who loves her deeply. Perhaps just hearing my voice will help turn her heart toward the One Who loves her even more than I do. And maybe that truth will produce a hormonal change that puts a skip in her step and a smile on her face.

In His grip,

Sharon

A wounded widow, a professional prostitute, an indomitable immigrant, a bathing beauty, a terrified teenager: Harlots and Heroines: The Midwives of the Messiah. When Chuck told me about his idea for this sermon series and book, I questioned how it would be different from the many other resources about women of the Bible. As a women's ministry leader and Bible study teacher, I had studied and taught the lives of Bible women on numerous occasions. Even the evil ones became spiritual mothers in my own life journey and I eagerly gleaned every life lesson their behaviors revealed. I even developed my own message about the women in the genealogy of Jesus. I thought I knew the five girls pretty well. What more could they teach me?

As Chuck unpacked the scriptural context of each woman, God reminded me that His Word is living and that I will never get to the bottom of His truth. Once more these women called back to me from their perch in heaven and gave me deep theological treasures that encouraged me to remember that God is sovereign and I can trust Him. And oh, how I need that reminder.

On July 6, 1993, our sixteen-year-old son, Mark and his friend, Kelly, died in a car accident. In death's aftermath, I struggled long and hard to reconcile God's love with His sovereignty. Fourteen years after Mark's death the messages Chuck preached on the midwives of our Messiah reminded me that God will keep every promise, that He IS keeping His promises, even when it seems He isn't.

Each woman in this genealogy faced insurmountable odds that would have disqualified her from most jobs in any church. Yet in this story of redemption we see God transform the scars of emotional abuse, prostitution, murder, death, lying, widowhood, begging and an out of wedlock pregnancy into glory. Unbeknownst to them, these women are on the pathway to the birth of our Messiah. Where we might see darkness God reveals His faithful love when He used the lives of these women to ensure that our Messiah would come at just the right moment and be born into the exact family prepared for Him by His Father. Their seeming disqualifications to be in the genealogy of Jesus actually become sources of great hope to broken people like me. Harlots and Heroines: The Midwives of the Messiah is a book about our spiritual mothers. They are waiting for us in heaven and as they wait, they call back, "Dear Daughters, study our lives and you will see that God is sovereign and you can trust Him, too." Thank you, Tamar, Rahab, Bathsheba, Ruth and Mary from one of your daughters.

In His Grip,
Sharon

Special Offer: Order your copy of Harlots and Heroines: The Midwives of the Messiah in time for Christmas giving.

Ok, Girls, I need your help. If you could ask another woman, in particular a woman further along in life's journey, one life question what would it be? I will share those questions with the women in the summer class I will start teaching on July 5. And I will share the questions and answers in this blog over the summer months. My working title for the class is: Life Lessons My Mother(S) Taught Me: Live, Laugh, Love, Learn, Leave a Legacy.

This class will be a sort of "group mentoring" where attendees will not only hear the Word but we will also hear from women who will share their own life stories of how God has brought spiritual mothers and sisters alongside of them. In Titus 2 the Apostle Paul tells Pastor Titus to equip the older women to teach the younger women how to reflect Christ in their daily lives. In keeping with that model, I've asked Chuck to join us at the end of class to answer a different life question each week.

We don't want to answer questions no one is asking so if you could ask an older woman any question, what would it be? And what life question would you like to ask the pastor? Send me your questions at Sharon.betters@markinc.org.

We'll share some of the questions and answers on future blogs.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

In His Grip,
Sharon