Becoming a Woman of Extraordinary Faith

Clinton Julie

Description

Julie Clinton, author, speaker, and president of Extraordinary Women, has spoken to thousands of women across the nation and knows they are eager to break through ordinary busyness, discouragement, and distraction to embrace a meaningful life in Christ.With a practical, engaging 10-week format, Julie encourages women to experience this transforming life in and with Christ as she leads them to know God by spending time with Him and seeking His heart. Biblical and motivating, Julie awakens readers to inspired principles and life-changing priorities as they gather these and other riches of extraordinary faith:Refueled purpose and passion for their journeyHealing of and release from past woundsFreedom from guilt with love and graceRelationships and connections that matterThis exploration of God's Word and His desire for each woman's life reveals the remarkable, attainable picture of the godly significance she is made for.This book's content can be enhanced by the companion DVD.

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
• Date de parution: 01 août 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736942102
• Langue: English

Extrait

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS EUGENE, OREGON
All Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Cover by Koechel Peterson Associates, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota
Cover photo iStockphoto / piskunov
BECOMING A WOMAN OF EXTRAORDINARY FAITH
Copyright 2011 by Julie Clinton Published by Harvest House Publishers Eugene, Oregon 97402 www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Clinton, Julie, 1961-
Becoming a woman of extraordinary faith / Julie Clinton.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-7369-3926-3 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-4210-2 (eBook)
1. Christian women-Religious life. I. Title.
BV4527.C569 2011
248.8 43-dc22
2011012150
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 / VP-SK / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Acknowledgments
Week One Extraordinary Hope: Breaking Through Fear and Doubt
Week Two Extraordinary Beauty: Radiance from an Authentic Heart
Week Three Extraordinary Healing: When Life Hurts
Week Four Extraordinary Forgiveness: From Guilt to Grace
Week Five Extraordinary Me: Searching for Approval and Significance
Week Six Extraordinary Love: Pursued and Cherished by a Relentless God
Week Seven Extraordinary Dreams: Free from Disappointment and Regret
Week Eight Extraordinary Connections: From Loneliness to Laughter
Week Nine Extraordinary Passion: Living Free from Secret Bondage
Week Ten Extraordinary Faith: Believing God Even When Life Doesn t Make Sense
Notes
About the Author
Other Books by Julie Clinton
Acknowledgments
It s in the quiet moments of my life that God has revealed so much of himself to me, and I praise him for his grace and faithfulness! I also want to extend a special note of appreciation to my circle of dear friends who encourage me in my faith walk women whom I deeply admire and value as close friends.
Some of those women include Stormie Omartian, Carol Kent, Linda Mintle, Georgia Shaffer, Angela Thomas, Michelle McKinney Hammond, Lysa TerKeurst, Thelma Wells, Jennifer Rothschild, and Linda Barrick, who have come together to share their stories in the DVD portion of this Bible study. I really appreciate your honesty in sharing your heart and the time you ve graciously given to help bring this project to life.
A special thank you to Pat Springle for his help in writing this book. God has blessed you with incredible insights and a heart that radiates the love of Christ. I also want to give special thanks to Dr. Joshua Straub and Laura Faidley for the editing expertise, research, and insight they provided throughout the entire book. You guys are amazing!
Extending a heartfelt and sincere thank you to Harvest House Publishers doesn t seem enough for the support and encouragement they have given me over the years, but here goes-thank you to Hope Lyda, Gene Skinner, Terry Glaspey, Bob Hawkins, and the entire Harvest House staff, for believing in the EW platform and message and allowing me the opportunity to share my heart with women around the world.
And of course, to the EW Team-thank you for dedicating long hours during the week and on the weekends to faithfully serve Christ and women across the nation. I am grateful and feel extremely blessed to serve with you.
Finally, to my husband, Tim, my daughter, Megan, and my son, Zach-I thank God every day for the blessing you are in my life. You mean more to me than anything in this world. I love the way you love me. Thank you for being you!
Week 1
Extraordinary Hope : Breaking Through Fear and Doubt
hope: a strong and confident expectation that God is real, present, and working for my good, even when life spins out of control

A merican writer Jean Kerr perceived the essence of hope. She said, Hope is the feeling you have that the feeling you have isn t permanent. 1 Hope is as essential to life as breath itself. We may exist without it, but we can t be truly alive unless, in the depths of our hearts, we are convinced that something good will come.
George Iles similarly observed, Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark. 2
Hope is powerful and necessary, but it can be very slippery. False hopes lead to shattered dreams, and failure to hope at all results in perpetual apathy and isolation. What can we count on? What has God promised?
This week we ll look at Hannah, a woman who held on to hope during long years of disappointment when her hope remained unfulfilled. We ll also see how another woman found the true source of hope at an unguarded moment. Ultimately, our supreme hope isn t in the things we can see, taste, and feel. Our deepest longing is to find meaning and peace in our relationship with God himself.
Day 1
Tenacious Hope
If I do not look with eyes of hope I know nothing of Calvary love.
AMY CARMICHAEL
T here s nothing like a good hard cry, but for Hannah, tears were a daily reality. For years, this woman of God had prayed for a child, and still her arms were empty. When God doesn t come through the way we think he should, it s easy to become jaded. Bitter. To give up. However, Hannah chose to cling tenaciously to the hope that God was real, present, and working for her good.
In the Word
Read 1 Samuel 1 today and pay special attention to verses 10-11:
In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the L ORD , weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, L ORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the L ORD for all the days of his life.
Many of us live such frazzled lives as mothers that we long for a few minutes of peace and quiet to get away from all the noise and demands of our children-a warm, unhurried bath sounds like heaven! But I ve talked to women who would give anything to face those demands. They feel terribly empty because they can t have children. Each day, they wake up to the reality of the hole in their hearts that simply can t be filled by anything else.
Hannah felt exactly the same way. In a story reminiscent of others we ve read, her husband Elkanah had two wives, and the other wife, Peninnah, had several sons and daughters. In their culture, a woman s inability to conceive wasn t just a psychological blow; it was considered to be a sign of God s disapproval.
Elkanah, her husband, was a good and sensitive man. He loved Hannah with all his heart, and he honored her in every way he could. When he found her crying because she was so grieved, he asked, Why are you weeping? Why don t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don t I mean more to you than ten sons? (Sounds just like a man!) He meant well, but Elkanah simply didn t understand the depth of her sorrow and shame.
The other woman in the family didn t match Hannah s husband s comfort and understanding. Jealousy goaded Peninnah to make fun of Hannah, and I m sure Peninnah took every opportunity to talk about her children in front of her.
Hannah could have given up on her dream of having a child, but she didn t. Through her heartache, despite the ridicule she endured in her own home each day, and in the face of the shame she felt when she walked out in public, she kept asking God to answer her prayer. And after years of praying, pleading, and waiting, God gave her a son-but not just any son.
Little Samuel became a mighty prophet and anointed the first kings of Israel. Hannah s name means grace or favor. God certainly rewarded her persistent hope with his favor.
Make It Real
Most women struggle with holding on to hope. Should we ever give up on our hopes? No one can answer that for us. Novelist Pearl Buck once commented, Life without idealism is empty indeed. We must have hope as we must have bread; to eat bread without hope is still slowly to starve to death. 1 God s delay is not necessarily a definitive no. It takes wisdom to tell the difference between his voice and our personal longings. Sometimes, God wants to provide a miraculous answer. The process of waiting and hoping purifies our motives, strengthens our faith, and prepares us to accept God s answer with gratitude.
What is something you ve hoped for over a long period of time? Has God answered your prayer? Describe what happened and how it affected you.
Look over 1 Samuel 1 again. Describe Hannah s emotions and relationships in the years before Samuel was born. Do you think she regretted making her pledge to offer her child to God if he would give her a son? Why or why not?
How do you think we can discern the difference between God saying, Keep hoping and waiting, and No, it s not my will ?
How can you leave your heart open to the idea that God may answer differently than you expect?
Take a moment to read each one of these verses and think about how they apply to your life. Wherever you can do it, insert your name in the verses. Pray these passages over your heart.
But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. Save me from all my transgressions Hear my prayer, L ORD , listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping (Psalm 39:7-8,12).
For you have been my hope, Sovereign L ORD , my confidence since my youth. From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother s womb As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more (Psalm 71:5-6,14).
But blessed is the one who trusts in the L ORD , whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries i