Kristi Woods

Encouraging Women to Walk Deeper with God

This One Parenting Point Caught Me Off Guard & What I Did About It

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Sometimes Christians need practical advice, especially concerning parenting, don’t they? I’m raising two hands here!

My husband and I claim three kiddos in our house. (And sometimes those kiddos claim us.) Trust me – we need practical Christian parenting advice often.

I awoke one morning to find a surprise: 3 TEENAGERS! Wasn’t it just yesterday that our littles played with tractors in the mud and doddled with dolls?

 

Outta nowhere, life changes. With kids, too.

 

Three teens now roam the halls of our house, finding their beautiful way through life and in faith, tossing “smarter than thou” attitudes here and there from time to time, grabbing keys as they celebrate 16, and waxing all googly-eyed as they dive into the dating scene.

I sat wide-eyed a bit as these parenting tornadoes hit. I should have expected them, I guess. And maybe part of me did.

For good parenting’s sake, Tony and I tossed little seeds of preparation to the kids over the years. I highly recommend it.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sighed in relief when realizing a tossed seed is bearing fruit in front of my eyes. Dare I doubt Jesus?!

Over the years, we read books and gleaned wisdom. (Keep watch below for a listing of some of our favorites.) I ooh’d and aah’d, highlighted, drooled, and verged on committing the sin of dog-earing a book page. Much of the advice was and is THAT good.

 

But one parenting question lingered. It caught me off guard.

 

What if the material doesn’t fit the flow of a family? We had yet to slide into our “perfect glove.”

Much of the dating content leaned conservative – quite conservative. It housed good material, and we used portions, but the flavor of our family tends to run a little more leanient than much of what we read. So what’s a parent to do when that point catches them off guard?

 

How about freak out?

Yeah, okay, don’t go that route. Tears and head-banging await. A much better path waits.

Why not lean on the Lord? As I did this, I scirbbled notes.

Those notes formed into an article and found their way to Crosswalk.com. 

 

Will you help me get 5 Ways to Help Daughters Prepare for Dating into the hands of those who will glean from it?

 

Forward this post to a friend. Share the article from my FB page, Pinterest, or directly from Crosswalk.com’s page.

 

And while we’re at it, below are several helpful parenting resources – books, kits, and a website. Enjoy!

 

 

Linking with other Jesus lovers and writers here: #chasingcommunity, #heartencouragementThursday, #faithonfire

Grab this New Memory Verse & Hide It In Your Heart Right Now

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Welcome to WORD18, our memory verse program. Welcome!

 

How’s it going? This year’s memory verses – are the nuggets of Psalm 34 getting tucked into your heart?

Oh, how sweet to admit I’m perfect, but that’s a big ‘ol dream contrived by darkness itself. So the imperfect me continues the journey toward memorizing the first 4 verses of Psalm 34.

 

In the meantime, welcome to this week’s new memory verse. And if you’re new here, welcome to you, too!

(Pervious verses can be found here.) 

 

If you’ve fallen off the wagon, trailing behind memory verse after memory verse, hop back on. You have permission. It’s okay. Things battle against us in our journey to hide God’s Word in our heart, because darkness simply shuns the Light. BUT, those things coming against us don’t have permission to stop us unless we grant it.

After all, greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

Like David, grab and hide God’s Word. Thwart that nasty sin. Cling to the very truth of God alone. Let’s do this! 🙂

(And remember, you have my permission to print the graphic above for your personal use.) 

Is God Prompting You to Step Out in Faith Right Now?

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Faith …

 

Have you ever sensed God prompting you to action, and deep in the heart you really, really, REALLY long to be obedient, but a blockade stands in the way?

It’s frustrating and a ball of emotions, isn’t it?

Truth be told, most of us face the obstacle of fear – that’s what it’s called –  in our faith walk. And it’s just that: an obstacle.

 

But who sets obstacles in our path?

 

~ Temptation – that which is of our own will & desire

~ Darkenss – the very one who comes to kill, steal, and destroy

 

I wish it were as easy as hearing God, hopping up on my feet, and following. But this internal war – yowza – it creates a situation of havoc at times. Then again, it might be room for God to move. Perhaps the solution remains simplier than we consider.

Four years ago I began a writing journey. I sat at my computer, scared silly. And I kid you not, I asked God FOUR TIMES, “Are you sure?”

Call me a bit of an instant gratification gal. Mounting rejections didn’t help. My flesh squealed a bit. (Okay, a lot.) I sat ready to quit.

But the Lord reaffirmed the call, reassured with answers. One of those answers included three simple words: Stay the course.

 

Have you ever been called to stay the course?

 

Maybe those exact words ring clear or remain situationally close? It’s somewhat like “run the race well” and “work out your faith with fear and trembling.”

 

 

Four years later, I sit at my computer, like I am right now, praising God. He opened doors in ways I never expected or could see all those times I sat and wondered Lord, did you really say to write?

A door swung open at Proverbs 31 Ministries. I wrote a devotional. The comments blew.me.away. How the Lord touched hearts – oh.my.goodness. Tears streamed that day.

He opened doors at Chicken Soup for the Soul and the Owasso Reporter. He flung open opportunity at The Upper Room, and now I contribute monthly at Crosswalk.com, and iBelieve.com. I sit here humbled and in awe of what the Lord has done, how He’s reaching folks across the globe like I never imagined.

 

Do you sit in awe at what the Lord has done in your life? Make a list as an offering. Click To Tweet

 

But there’s more. This time I sit in delayed obedience – which is a “make-me-feel-a-little-bit-better” makeshift for plain ‘ol disobedience.

Last year, I sensed a prompting to begin promoting myself as a speaker. Call me a “speaker who writes” vs. a “writer who speaks.” I feel as comfortable in front of a crowd as I do one-on-one. The only problem? Bowing to the fear of promotion has morphed this girl into a speaker who’s not speaking about Jesus.

Ouch.

Promotion of self seems about as comfortable as a wool sweater from the 1970’s, when donning one of those scratchy things without an undershirt proved pure torture.

But His plans don’t center around us. They pivot on Jesus. It’s not self-promotion; it’s lifting Jesus high.

Folks need to hear about hope. We’re called to promote. You know, the very name at which every knee will bow: Jesus.

So here I go, and I hope you’ll journey, too. Let’s listen to the Holy Spirit – promoting God Almighty. Let’s toss fear aside and venture where He calls – in utter and complete dependence, with arms lifted high in obedience, and hearts open in worship.

 

Here’s my first step this year:


Hello speaker card.

 

Area women’s ministries and groups will receive this simple postcard soon.

I wanted you, those of you subscribed here at KristiWoods.net, to be first on the “know” list. If you have speaking needs, consider praying over “who” He’s called to fill that need. Maybe it’s this girl, the one who desires to promote Jesus alone. If so, simply email me at Kristi@KristiWoods.net and take a peek at this speaker page.

Feel free to pass this along to folks you know, to pray or however He leads. Thank you for helping me step into obedience. I appreciate you!

 

OK readers, how about you?

 

Where do you feel the Lord prompting a move into obedience? Any feet willing to take one nervous step forward? How about “staying the course”? Let us know in the comments below. Because really, it’s often as simple as action – one step and then another in faith.

We’ll be cheering for you, and rest assured each comment will be prayed over.

Love you guys. #goJesus

 

Linking with other Jesus writers and lovers here: #raralinkup, #chasingcommunity, #fuelyourfaith

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