A Challenge to Women - by John Piper

This was a link on another blog I follow, so good, I thought I would post it on my own. Do not read unless you are ready to be totally convicted. Good, thought-provoking stuff here.



A Challenge to Women
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By John Piper January 1, 1995

That all of your life—in whatever calling—be devoted to the glory of God.

That the promises of Christ be trusted so fully that peace and joy and strength fill your soul to overflowing.

That this fullness of God overflow in daily acts of love so that people might see your good deeds and give glory to your Father in heaven.

That you be women of the Book, who love and study and obey the Bible in every area of its teaching.

That meditation on Biblical truth be the source of hope and faith. And that you continue to grow in understanding through all the chapters of your life, never thinking that study and growth are only for others.

That you be women of prayer, so that the Word of God would open to you; and the power of faith and holiness would descend upon you; and your spiritual influence would increase at home and at church and in the world.

That you be women who have a deep grasp of the sovereign grace of God undergirding all these spiritual processes, that you be deep thinkers about the doctrines of grace, and even deeper lovers and believers of these things.

That you be totally committed to ministry, whatever your specific role, that you not fritter your time away on soaps or ladies magazines or aimless hobbies, any more than men should fritter theirs away on excessive sports or aimless diddling in the garage. That you redeem the time for Christ and his Kingdom.

That, if you are single, you exploit your singleness to the full in devotion to Christ and not be paralyzed by the desire to be married.

That, if you are married, you creatively and intelligently and sincerely support the leadership of your husband as deeply as obedience to Christ will allow; that you encourage him in his God-appointed role as head; that you influence him spiritually primarily through your fearless tranquility and holiness and prayer.

That, if you have children, you accept responsibility with your husband (or alone if necessary) to raise up children who hope in the triumph of God, sharing with him the teaching and discipline of the children, and giving to the children that special nurturing touch and care that you are uniquely fitted to give.

That you not assume that secular employment is a greater challenge or a better use of your life than the countless opportunities of service and witness in the home the neighborhood, the community, the church, and the world. That you not only pose the question: Career vs. full time mom? But that you ask as seriously: Full time career vs. freedom for ministry? That you ask: Which would be greater for the Kingdom— to be in the employ of someone telling you what to do to make his business prosper, or to be God's free agent dreaming your own dream about how your time and your home and your creativity could make God's business prosper? And that in all this you make your choices not on the basis of secular trends or yuppie lifestyle expectations, but on the basis of what will strengthen the family and advance the cause of Christ.

That you step back and (with your husband, if you are married) plan the various forms of your life's ministry in chapters. Chapters are divided by various things—age, strength, singleness, marriage, employment choices, children at home, children in college, grandchildren, retirement, etc. No chapter has all the joys. Finite life is a series of tradeoffs. Finding God's will, and living for the glory of Christ to the full in every chapter is what makes it a success, not whether it reads like somebody else's chapter or whether it has in it what chapter five will have.

That you develop a wartime mentality and lifestyle; that you never forget that life is short, that billions of people hang in the balance of heaven and hell every day, that the love of money is spiritual suicide, that the goals of upward mobility (nicer clothes, cars, houses, vacations, food, hobbies) are a poor and dangerous substitute for the goals of living for Christ with all your might, and maximizing your joy in ministry to people's needs.

That in all your relationships with men you seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in applying the Biblical vision of manhood and womanhood; that you develop a style and demeanor that does justice to the unique role God has given to man to feel responsible for gracious leadership in relation to women—a leadership which involves elements of protection and care and initiative.

That you think creatively and with cultural sensitivity (just as he must do) in shaping the style and setting the tone of your interaction with men.
That you see Biblical guidelines for what is appropriate and inappropriate for men and women in relation to each other not as arbitrary constraints on freedom but as wise and gracious prescriptions for how to discover the true freedom of God's ideal of complementarity. That you not measure your potential by the few roles withheld but by the countless roles offered. That you turn off the TV and Radio and think about...

The awesome significance of motherhood

Complementing a man's life as his wife

Ministries to the handicapped

hearing impaired

blind

lame

retarded

Ministries to the sick:

nursing

physician

hospice care—cancer, AIDS, etc.

community health

Ministries to the socially estranged:

emotionally impaired

recovering alcoholics

recovering drug users

escaping prostitutes

abused children, women

runaways, problem children

orphans

Prison ministries:

women's prisons!

families of prisoners

rehabilitation to society

Ministries to youth:

teaching

sponsoring

open houses and recreation

outings and trips

counseling

academic assistance

Sports ministries:

neighborhood teams

church teams

Therapeutic counseling:

independent

church based

institutional

Audio visual ministries:

composition

design

production

distribution

Writing ministries:

free lance

curriculum development

fiction

non-fiction

editing

institutional communications

journalistic skills for publications

Teaching ministries:

Sunday school: children, youth, students, women

grade school

high school

college

Music ministries:

composition

training

performance

voice

choir

instrumentalist

Evangelistic ministries:

personal witnessing

Inter Varsity

Campus Crusade

Navigators

Home Bible Studies

outreach to children

Visitation teams

Counseling at meetings

Billy Graham phone bank

Radio and TV ministries:

technical assistance

writing

announcing

producing

Theater and drama ministries:

acting

directing

writing

scheduling

Social ministries:

literacy

pro-life

pro-decency

housing

safety

beautification

Pastoral care assistance:

visitation

newcomer welcoming and assistance

hospitality

food and clothing and transportation

Prayer ministries:

praying!!!

mobilizing for major Concerts of Prayer

helping with small groups of prayer

coordinating prayer chains

promoting prayer days and weeks and vigils

Missions:

all of the above across cultures

Support ministries:

countless jobs that undergird major ministries

Tonight The Biggest Loser was dragging on and on and on.....so I decided to make one of those chains you make in elementary school that countdown the days till Christmas break. I dug out my old scrapbook paper and cut 30 links and made a really fun chain. I hung it on our wall. 30 more days of engaged life. Well, 29 now.

Tonight I also discovered a nerdy habit of mine. Delilah. I am super cheesy and sentimental these days, so I listen to Delilah every night when I am driving home from Josh's. I have come to love her even though she is probably like a few steps below Oprah in the "people Christians love to not like" category. But, hey....I like her. She always has a cheese-tastic song to play for me as I drive from Gilbert to Tempe. Whether its "can you feel the love tonight?" or "I swear" I totally partake in the lameness.

When I am married I wont be in the car when Delilah is on...but then I'll be hanging out with my hot husband so who really cares.

Tonight I got 9 RSVPs in the mail. That's a record. TWO responses mentioned people's ability to do the Robot. Bring it!

Craft-licious

During the wedding planing process I have gotten to embrace my crafty side. I seriously love crafts. My first major in college was an elementary ed teacher for the sole purpose of doing crafts. Unfortunately an affinity towards gluesticks does not a good teacher make, although I am sure it doesn't hurt. But here are a few things my mom, and sister and sister in law and, actually, even my brother have helped with!

Just a little taste of my little damask -tastic wedding coming up next month!

First off we'll begin with a picture of my wedding craft crew minus my bro.

Kristi: Maker of the bows

Beth: Gluer of the ribbon

Lindsey: Chief designer - wire cutter, bling nazi

Mom: Fun Enforcer

I decided to make my bouquets. One, I thought it may be cheaper since florists were charging like $50 for a bridesmaid bouquet....two, I just wanted to make em. Is that so wrong?

Here are the early stages. At this point my hands were raw from using all my strength to cut wire. But my pain was alleviated by the satisfaction of getting to play with that fun green florists foam. A good time was had.

In these little contraptions you stick the bud of the flower in the top and then you cut off a bunch of stems and stick them in the bottom. I actually really liked this method. Then my brother hot glued them like crazy. Seriously, these flowers aren't going anywhere - except down the aisle.

My sister in law was my bow savior and helped me immensely! I chose green bows so they will stand out net to the bridesmaids black dresses. And of course, there's a subtle hint of damask. But not too much.... Just enough to say

"I am damask, but not TOO damask"

My lovely friend Jessie gave me a tip that Big Lots had flower girl baskets for $2. And they did! But, they were covered in daisies. Sad face. But you know what they say, when life gives you daisies - cover em with green fabric, hot glue and 79 cent fake flowers!

Voila! Here is the finished product. (please note the antelope head in the back of this picture - nothing says wedding crafts like some mounted game shot by my dad and hung on the wall)

And now just one of the reasons that if I was not marrying Josh I would marry Hobby Lobby....they sell stuff like this amazing damask hat box!

I am going to use this for my cards and all I did was tape some ribbon and add a black rose.

So there are just a few of the wedding crafts I've been busy with! I am also making the boutonieres which I will never ever spell correctly and my mom and I are making the ring bearer pillows - pics to come of those later! just always thinks pictures jazz up a blog a bit, so I wanted to post some!

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