Characteristics of Women of God

Ruth

- Ruth means "friendship."

- Faith (Ruth 1:6, 19)

- Devoted to her family (Ruth 1:15-16; Prov. 31:10-12, 23)

- First Gentile convert (Ruth 1:16)

- Believed in God (Ruth 1:16)

- Openly confessed her desire for God (Ruth 1:16)

- Constancy (Ruth 1:16)

- Loyalty (Ruth 1:16-17)

- Strong devotion towards family (Ruth 1:16-17)

- Unswerving devotion (Ruth 1:16-17; 2:11-12; 3:10; 4:15)

- Delighting in her work (Ruth 2:2; Prov. 31:13)

- Initiative (Ruth 2:2, 12, 14, 17; 3:5)

- Delighting in her labor (Ruth 2:7, 17, 23; Prov. 31:14-18, 19-21, 24, 27)

- Hardworker (Ruth 2:7, 17, 23)

- Obedient (Ruth 2:8-9, 14; 3:1-8)

- Gratitude (Ruth 2:10)

- Dedicated to Godly speech (Ruth 2:10, 13; Prov. 31:26)

- Humility/Humbleness (Ruth 2:10, 13)

- Dependent upon God (Ruth 2:12; Prov. 31:25b, 30)

- Selflessness/Unselfish (Ruth 2:14, 18)

- Temperance (Ruth 2:14-15)

- Piety (Ruth 2:17-23)

- Cleanly (Ruth 3:3)

- Dressed with care (Ruth 3:3; Prov. 31:22, 25a)

- Beautiful (Ruth 3:3)

- Discreet with men (Ruth 3:6-13; Prov. 31:11-12, 23)

- Courage (Ruth 3:9)

- Kindness (Ruth 3:10)

- Moral Excellence (Ruth 3:10)

- Virtuous (Ruth 3:11)

- Mother (Ruth 4:13)

- Wife (Ruth 4:13)

- Delivering blessings (Ruth 4:14-15; Prov. 31:28-29, 31)

Esther

- Loyalty (Esth. 2:1-11)

- Virgin (Esth. 2:2)

- Beautiful (Esth. 2:7)

- Lovely (Esth. 2:7)

- Blessed (Esth. 2:7)

- Obtains favor from other people (Esth. 2:9, 15, 17)

- Obedient (Esth. 2:10, 20; 8:7-8)

- Pride in appearance (Esth. 2:12)

- Provisional (Esth. 4:4)

- Respected (Esth. 4:5-6, 10-11, 15-17)

- Fasting (Esth. 4:16)

- Heroism (Esth. 4:16)

- Wisdom (Esth. 4:16; 5:1, 4, 8)

- Patience (Esth. 4:16; 5:1, 4, 8)

- Self-denial (Esth. 4:16; 5:1-8)

- Boldness (Esth. 4:16; 5:4, 7; 7:3-10)

- Devoted (Esth. 4:16; 8:3; 9:13)

- Courage (Esth. 5:1-4; 7:3, 6; 8:3-6)

- Bravery (Esth. 5:1-4; 7:1-10)

- Wise (Esth. 5:4; 7:3; 8:3; 9:13)

- Cunning (Esth. 5:4; 7:3; 8:3; 9:13)

- Tact (Esth. 5:8)

- Martyr (Esth. 7:3) – one who makes a great sacrifice for the sake of principle

- Submission (Esth. 8:3)

- Patriotism (Esth. 8:3-6)

Deborah (Judges 4-5)

- Patriotic Woman (Judg. 4:1-5:31)

- Wisdom (Judg. 4:4)

- Influence (Judg. 4:4)

- Strong walk with the Lord (Judg. 4:4)

- Leader (Judg. 4:4)

- Faith (Judg. 4:4, 6-7, 9, 14)

- Woman of Authority (Judg. 4:5)

- Led people to the Lord (Judg. 4:5)

- Accompanies Barak to battle (Judg. 4:9)

- Courage (Judg. 4:9, 14)

- Inspires Barak to action (Judg. 4:14)

- Sings to the Lord (Judg. 5:1-3)

Hannah (1 Sam 1:1-2:19)

- The Ideal Mother

- Fasts (1 Sam. 1:7)

- Prayerfulness (1 Sam. 1:10-13; 2:1-10)

- Humble (1 Sam. 1:11)

- Submissive (1 Sam. 1:11)

- Spoke with her heart (1 Sam. 1:13; 2:1-10)

- Pours out her soul to the Lord (1 Sam. 1:15)

- Respects her husband (1 Sam. 1:15)

- Worshipped the Lord (1 Sam. 1:19, 28)

- Mother (1 Sam. 1:20-23)

- Provides for her son (1 Sam. 1:22-23; 2:19)

- Dedicated her son to the Lord for his whole life with joy (1 Sam. 1:24-28)

- Self-denial (1 Sam. 1:27-28)

- Fulfills her vows (1 Sam. 1:28)

- Joyful (1 Sam. 2:1)

- Reflects on the wonder of God's character (1 Sam. 2:1-10)

- Thankfulness (1 Sam. 2:1-10)

- Blessed (1 Sam. 2:18-21)

- Didn't take her frustrations out on anybody

True Beauty of a Woman

Just as a flower sits in a bed of grass and the morning dew begins to gleam in the early morning sunlight; the light begins to reveal the delicate, tender, intricate details of the flower on the outside.  The prolonged stem, the softness of the petals, and the dark shadows cast within all are shown by the light.  But over time the petals begin to open and the light begins to reveal a whole other part of the flower that was hidden at first by the shadows.  It's when the flower begins to bloom and open up fully that one can fully appreciate what the flower truly is.  That beauty that comes from within truly was worth the time it took for it to reveal itself to us.  Beautiful are women as shown by the light.  Like a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valley.  Their eyes are like doves hidden behind a veil and hair that flows gracefully in the gentle breeze on a young summer night.  Her body is a temple that houses her most sacred desires, dreams, and memories.  The things she holds most dear to her.  Only by a patient lifestyle will a woman open up to reveal her most sacred desires, her untold beauty that resides deep within her character.  It's not something that is done overnight but spans over time.

Like a star that sits in the sky shining down on all who look above.  A star that appears at first to be small and far away but really is bigger than the sun itself and can illuminate the darkest of skies.  Only when we hold up our telescopes and peer through the glass will we begin to see the details of the star that we were unable to see from afar.  Each star has its own characteristics that make it unique from the rest.  The size, brightness, details that only the telescope can reveal is the same telescope that can only reveal the unique characteristics that lie in the deep roots of women.  The characteristics that give her, her own personality, grace, and beauty that separates her from the rest.  Only by looking through our telescopes will we begin to reveal what our eyes cannot see.  The untold fathom of the true beauty of a woman, her character!

Only by taking that character we have found and placing it under life's microscope can we begin to see the microscope details that are hidden within.  The part of her that can only be revealed by taking the necessary time and precautions necessary to open her up gently and remove the part that we want to examine.  Placing that part of her on a transparent piece of glass and delicately sliding it under our microscope being careful not to damage or lose that very special part of her that she holds most dear to her heart.

Only then can we appreciate the true beauty of a woman.  By sailing to uncharted territories, carefully examining the details that are exposed by the light, looking through a telescope to reveal the things hidden in the distance and magnifying the intricate details that only a microscope could reveal will we then see the true beauty of a woman, her character!

A Word from God

  I just got back from a Single's Retreat in Mittersill, Austria.  What a wonderful time we all had.  There was no snow when we arrived on Saturday but it fell Sunday night through Tuesday.  On Sunday it was a bright and sunny day.  I was dropped off at the cross country ski trails to hike around while everybody else went skiing.  There was no snow at this time on the ground and the sun was out with blue skies and clouds.  It was beautiful.

  I started to take photographs in black and white as well as color.  As I was walking along I heard water running to my right near some trees.  As I approached there seemed to be a small stream flowing.  I put my backpack down and attached my camera to a tripod to photograph the water.  I began to step over part of the stream to photograph parts of the upper stream.  As I turned around I heard a voice say "As the water flows over the rocks and smooths the rough edges so does my grace flow through your life."

  I took a couple of photographs but I felt like I didn't capture what God had spoken to me.  As I stepped back over the stream I stepped on a rock and my right foot sank into the mud up to my calf and I began to fall.  I was quickly reminded how dirty I am and how my sins cause me to stumble and fall.  As I regained my footing and tried to knock off some of the mud from my pants I was still reminded of what God spoke to me just before I fell.

  I turned around and looked at this little stream and I saw the photograph that appears above.  I took about      15 photographs in all but only about 10 in this little spot.  I chose this photograph as what I believe God was trying to convey to me that day.

  In our walks with God we have times where we feel like we are on a spiritual high.  That everything is going right and we see God's hand working in our lives.  But there are times where we are in a valley.  That life is hard to live and we wonder where God is or when He will deliver us from this suffering.  We have times in our walk with God where we bear fruit and have times of barrenness.  There are times in our lives where the path is rocky and unstable.  We may stumble and fall.  Somedays we walk in the light and other days it seems like we are in the dark.  But God is always there working in our lives.  His grace, mercy, love, peace, patience, and kindness flowing in the middle of our lives.

  The photo has captured this if you look carefully.  The water begins on a high point (spiritual high) and flows to a lower point (valleys).  The right side is has shadows (darkness) while the left side is basked in the glow of sunlight (light).  Near the top of the photo we see grass growing (fruitful times) and we also see empty branches with nothing (barrenness) growing on it.  The rocks are above and below the waterline (rocky path).  But the water flows right down the middle of the photography (God's characteristics).  It waters the soil to bring life.  It flows over the rocks smoothing out the rough edges and washing away the dirt and grime.  It is basked in darkness and sunlight.  It flows from a high point to a low point.

  But the key characteristic is that it is flowing.  No matter what it encounters or what is going on around it.  It is flowing.  It is constantly working just like God is always working in our lives bringing us closer to him.  He is smoothing our rough edges, reshaping our lives, washing away the filth of this world.  Constantly working in our high and low parts of life.  In our dark days as well as our bright days.  He is helping us to bear fruit in due season and teaching us patience in our times of need.

  What a wonderful God we serve!  Praise God!

Financial Struggles

Today was a very hard day for me.  I have been listening to sermon messages on courtship, singleness, and finances.  Realizing that I am immature in the financial area and wondering how I am going to make ends meet I decided to buy Dave Ramsey's financial freedom thing.  It looks like I spend more than I make.  Without any extra money to spend and setting up only $25 a month for my kid's (that I don't have) college education, $25 a month for retirement and $50 a month for savings; I am $743 short of paying my bills.  I only make about $1,490 a month working full-time for AAFES in the Powerzone on Vogelwegh AB.  I have to take the health insurance that costs $240 a month because I have had two near death experiences where my health gave out and I don't know what caused it.

I am very upset and crying right now having to admit that I am failing in the financial area.  I don't have any idea how I am going to make ends meet without overworking myself again.  I need to make at least $37 a day just to make ends meet without any money for myself.  I have a heart and desire for photography full-time.  Getting started is very hard work and takes a lot of time to find clients who will buy from me.  Photography may be the ticket I just not sure how to go about it.

$37 a day will meet my expenses and give me nothing extra to spend.  But I will not have the free time I need nor be able to concentrate on the photography like I need too.  That is alot of money also to make in a day.  That would be another 25 hours a week at a minimum of $7.50 an hour.  Taking leave could become a problem also.

But I am bound and determined to become a success in this world.  I believe God has a purpose and a plan that will benefit me and the family I believe he wants me to have in the future.  I think the family issue is the hardest thing to handle because I really could use one right now.  He has blessed me with lots of photographic talent and numerous achievements in a very short period of time but nothing monetary has taken place yet.

Anyway its late and I need to go to bed.  Everyday I wake up I am full of life and joy expecting God to bless me somehow despite my financial struggles.  Finding joy in a time of need is a great feeling but at the same time I shouldn't feel this way.  I guess that my faith in God's provision has grown over the years.  It's too late to tell me that God doesn't work.  Should of told me that before I met the Man because now I BELIEVE!  And that is all he asks of me.

Thank you Jesus for allowing me to be apart of your family!  I don't know if you really know how much it means to me!

Yesterday I went to church for the first time in a long time.  I attended the gospel service on Vogelwegh AB.  Some of the singles that went on the hiking retreat last month were there.  That is their home church.  It was nice to see them again.  After church they invited me to go over to someones house to eat.  We watched some comedian which was very funny.  We also watched a DVD that I put together from the hiking retreat we went on.  Rave reviews from the group.  The food was great.  It was just wonderful to be around people.  I am alone so much that sometimes I don't know how to act around other people especially big groups.  I plan on attending more often.  Sometimes I have to work on Sundays.

Later that day I uploaded some new pictures from some studio work I did and from the hiking retreat I went on over the Labor Day weekend.

The book I am reading called Deadline is pretty good.  I will read some more tonight.  I am off tomorrow and I may go to Heidelberg depending on the weather but probably will back out.  I may have to do some other work instead.

Bible Study will be on Wednesday for the gospel service, Thursday for the singles, and Friday and Saturday are the singles nights for both the gospel and protestant services.  This new church is nice and the preaching is good.  I can fill a lot of the voids that the gospel service needs for works with my past experiences involved with working in a church.  We will see what happens.

Oh well!  I probably will read some more of my book and read some bible stuff before bed.  It is pretty late.