I have a few copies of CoC Devotional for Mothers and Daughters AND the Women of the Bible Devotional for $6.50 (plus whatever it costs to mail them). If you are interested email me here- paulawiseman@paulawiseman.com
Here’s a revelation- I am not a daring risk-taker. (To my husband- not… one… word) I have never liked going first. Second was okay, but I wanted to watch someone else before I tried, whether it was fire extinguisher class in my chemist days or the trampoline in seventh grade p.e. class. When my husband got a pistol for Christmas, he found someone to teach us (me!) how to shoot, seeing I had never held a gun before.
Sometimes I need some help with intangible things, like how to raise the three wonderful, unique little people God entrusted to me, how to be the partner my husbands needs, or heavy stuff like how forgive the seemingly unforgivable. I need practical demonstrations to watch and learn from. God understands this about me, and He’s given me several options for learning how to navigate life’s situations.
1. Scripture- You knew that was coming, right? But God includes tremendous stories in His word about people dealing with a range of issues and handling them in good and bad ways. The Bible characters aren’t plastic, perfect people. They are flesh and blood with faults and flaws. Saul is my favorite example of how not to deal with the expectations of others. Philip is very sincere and practical in his faith but he has trouble grasping that Jesus has much bigger ideas in mind. That one sounds a little familiar too. If you get inside the lives of Biblical characters, the lessons are endless.
2. Mentors- Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:1 ‘Imitate me as I imitate Christ.’ There are folks out there, a little further down the life’s road who are great examples. Soak up their experience. I have a few writers I look to for guidance on how this process works, and what I need to do to develop the gift and the passion that God gives. There are few women whose life experiences have blessed me and helped me through some difficult times. Now those examples are people I don’t know personally. I’ve met or emailed them… but that’s about it.
The real mentors I rely on are folks I talk to regularly, through IM or email or over lunch or ice cream. We discuss how faith work in our daily lives, what God is teaching us, or what we don’t understand. The funny thing is, sometimes they think I’m mentoring them. No matter if you’re a baby Christian or a seasoned saint, you need to be in the middle of a mentor relationship, both learning and leading. My son mentors his 2 year old sister, but he gets mentored by his older sister (unwillingly, at times, I admit).
If you haven’t already, find a mentor… and a ment-ee. I highly recommend it.