The Uncommon Woman

"The uncommon woman refuses to be bullied by her fears"...Chapter nine in The Uncommon Woman. 


We just finished the book by Susie Larson in our Sunday school class. The message of the book could be summarized as "Living in the Spirit" or "Walking according to the Spirit" because to live the uncommon life is...well, spiritual...and it's holy. 


If you are like me, sometimes "holy" seems elusive as I snap at my husband, fail to call a friend when I know they could use a call, or feel sorry for myself because I have such a large yard to take care of all by myself ...why do I default to those things??? 


A problem we have as women is we often don't know what we are dealing with in  our mind-muddle, mulit-tasking mentality. We are going so many directions, dealing with so many issues at once that we don't understand how to assess what is residing in our hearts; what is causing us to react in ways that we often regret. 


In The Uncommon Woman, Susie helps us bring the muddle of our hearts and minds into clarity on so many fronts. Whether we are struggling with fear, receiving forgiveness, or fighting the ongoing battle to remain in our TRUE identity and shed the labels of the past. She walks us through sorting out the muddle and bringing truth to light. 


With declarations at the end of each chapter, we are built up in our faith. In making proclamations from our mouths, we become sturdier in our stand. This is one thing Susie does on a regular basis when she speaks, "Repeat after me...'I will NOT commit the sin of unbelief!', 'I will NOT commit the sin of comparison!'"  It is empowering and freeing. 


One woman in our fellowship has been battling several painful things in her life and sinking into bouts with depression and fear and sorrow, but she testified on Sunday that as she made the proclamations from the end of chapter nine, she gained a new stand. She received a fresh revelation of the victory that is hers in the battles she is facing because Jesus is her Lord!


As she described how she wasn't going to let the enemy bear down on her any longer but walk in a place of victory, my mind went to the story of David and Goliath. Israel had been being BULLIED by their fear of the giant for forty days. Then David came, full of faith, declared his faith, then advanced and conquered the giant.


Isn't that just like us? We are the anointed of God and yet, when we face the giants in our lives, we sometimes get discouraged and afraid. But in the depth of our being there is a "little David of faith" who comes to the forefront of the battle line, makes declarations of God's faithfulness, remembering who we are and Whose we are. Then we advance and take the giant with just a sling and a stone...which is really just putting feet to our faith in whatever circumstances our giant is manifesting. Victory is sure when Jesus is on our side. 


If you are battle weary, under a weight of care, or living with regrets, you will be blessed if you hang out with Susie and walk with Jesus through her book, The Uncommon Woman.

Force of Fear?

Today my son-in-law left for the Air Force bootcamp. He is going in the reserves. I have been dealing with a certain amount of concern fear for his six week experience there.

He's so...young. He's...small. How will they treat him? How will he respond? Will they crush his spirit? Will he respond with faith? Will he remember that the Lord God Almighty lives inside of him and is right there with him?

For a woman of faith, the concerns fears lead me to cast my cares on the Lord who promises to care for me and my family. (and I must fight to believe it sometimes!) As soon as the questions enter my mind I turn them into a specific prayer: Lord, please make Andrew aware of your Presence. Surround him with the right people. Help him respond with faith to the hard things. Help him grow through discipline. Help him be the man that you desire him to be...In Jesus' name! ~how grateful I am to be able to message the King of the Universe on behalf of Andrew!

Amazing to me is how "images" from movies or news stories seem to effect my thought process...and it's the worst images that come to mind. It has been a looong time since I have seen "An Officer and A Gentleman". But I remember scenes...and they impact my thinking. They bring fears to the surface. Ideas that I received from watching the film. And Top Gun. I imagine if you have seen these, you have images coming to mind immediately. Powerful, isn't it?

I have been mulling this over for a few days due to other stories I have heard recently. People's fears in certain circumstances become exaggerated due to images and movies they have watched. So I wonder...should we be curbing our viewing more than we are? I wonder, are we making our battle more intense?

“Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 1 Corinthians 6:12

Memory Triggers

After going to the bars in another town that were open til 2am, we were on the road home. My girlfriend was driving and I was staying overnight at her house. I was living in MN at the time, and the drinking age was lower in WI so I made regular trips over the river where several of my friends from Cosmetology School lived.

I remember feeling like we were going a little too fast. You never really know what kind of shape your drinking buddies are in, but trust that they know...We were going around a large curve, and I remember seeing a fence post in the ditch, and I knew we were going to roll, because in my drunken state I said to myself, "at least the fence post will stop us."

When the car landed it was laying on the passenger door, which meant my friend was on top of me. She was in a heap, not functioning very well. Two things were on my mind: 1. I had to go soooo bad, and was releived to find I hadn't peed my pants. 2. We gotta get out of here because I had seen what happened to rollovers on TV (because I watched "Chips") ...it might blow! So I said, "Fred, (that was her nickname) we gotta get out of here!"

Somehow I managed to stand and lift her door and we were able to crawl out and jump to the ground. First thing I did was take care of business, and as I was doing that, a man was coming out of  his house across the street, he had awakened to the sound of our rollover and was inquiring if we were alright. I yelled for him to stay there until I was decent.

Miraculously, we were not hurt. Fred's mom took me to the hospital to get checked out in the morning, and I just had a few bruises. I was shaken. She expressed to me that "Someone" had been watching out for us that night. I agreed.

To this day, whenever I am driving around a curve, I lift my foot off the gas to ready myself to break. Curves trigger an auto response in my foot almost every time. Unless I intentionally refrain. It has been probably 24 years since my rollover.

I have noticed the same kind of thing with emotional "accidents"...Past conflicts trigger auto responses in me. If I have angered someone and they have yelled, or come at me with an accusing tongue, I find it hard to trust that person again. I fear wronging them because of the pain that I remember.

Recently it has come to my attention that I need to intentionally overcome the fears that jump into my mind in those circumstances in order to have freedom in my relationships. I felt this week that the Lord wanted me to overcome one such obstacle, and I took a step in that direction. It was hard because I had to open stuff I would rather keep closed. I took the risk of bringing more conflict instead of greater peace, but as I went ahead prayerfully, I saw the Lord work. I have a deep longing for peace and freedom in this relationship. I will continue to work toward that. What I need to do is remove the obstacles that I have control of (with the Lord's help) and then trust Him with the rest.

I was wondering if anyone has a story of the Lord helping them overcome memory triggers...

1 John 5:4

...for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

An Untroubled Heart

Micca Campbell's book came out in March/April 2009. I received a copy from her to read and write a review on. I believe she asked me because I have posted about wrestling much with fear. It has been good to go through this study over the long time period that it has taken in preparing our yard for Kayla's wedding. I have had much to ponder as I planted flowers, watered, and pulled weeds.



God has been pulling some weeds from my heart at the same time...



My struggle with fear hasn't been so much over "lions and tigers and bears", but the"What if's?" What if I fail at...what if I don't get that done....What if that person yells at me(my personal pronouns are quite revealing).

I first encountered Micca @ She Speaks last summer. I attended a workshop she spoke at. I remember sitting there thinking, "I would love to have a chat with her, I think we could be fast freinds." She was very comfortable in her own skin, and exhibited true love for Jesus. She used alot of her personal stories to highlight her message. She does the same thing in her book.





Micca knows the answer to fear is faith in God. The entire book points to His power, His love, and His ability to handle anything that comes our way. Each chapter paves the way for the next. The first chapter is her story of loss, and how she struggled, but through faith, found her peace and rest in God. Because of this experience, she can encourage us in all our struggles... Warning, I cried! You probably will too! But it is good to know how God has carried our sister.





Reading the book was like having a friend to dialog with about my fears. Micca shared so many personal stories that I could relate with. The Lord would bring to mind incidents in my own life with similarities. Many times I was encouraged that I had turned over fears to the Lord, and other times, I was seeing why the struggle had become difficult...due to my wrong focus, or wrong thinking about God.

There are questions at the end of each chapter to draw out how we think about things, or what we are currently struggling with, and scripture studies to encourage, and transform our thinking...

I have not been struggling currently with any overwhelming fears, but from time to time, the wedding prep has brought "what if's" to my heart, and I have been using those times to put my faith into practice and turn it over to the Lord...

Thank you Micca, for being faithful to share what the Lord called you to share. Isn't it beautiful how He brings good from everything?

Now I am having a bloggy give-away! Today is Sunday, July 12th. Next Sunday, July 19th, I will draw from comments for a copy of Micca's book!!

BTW, I did have a chat with Micca in the lobby of the hotel at the end of the confrence, and even though she didn't know me from Eve (smile) she was sweet like I knew she would be...

God is up to Something Good

There seems to be a theme running around our little bloggy world..."a time for increased faith".

Last weekend I recieved a little book in the mail from a very sweet bloggy sister. Beth Moore's "A taste of Believing God". What a wonderful little refresher course for me as the Lord is stretching my faith. It has been a year and a half since I finished the Believing God study. This little booklet is reviving me, and firing me up!

Susie Larson (who is on my sidebar blog list) says that God always calls us to do something that is beyond us, beyond our reach, and we should always be believing God for something to build our faith muscle.

In my previous post, I mentioned taking one step. Many times that is how the enemy keeps us from growing and being effective in our witness or ministry, keeping us from taking that one step.

I was thinking about how God's word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Just little steps. That's all we need to take. And at every one step, HE IS THERE. God told Joshua "I will be with you". That is our encouragement as we take each step of faith. I am glad that we are called to walk by faith and not run. Less likely to trip that way.

In order to walk by faith, we need to have a "vision" of where we are going from the Lord. The vision propels us on as we take the steps ordered by the Lord. Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Prov 29:18 His vision keeps us from walking aimlessly.

I had a "vision" as a mother of seeing my children walking in the truth, loving and relying on God. That vision helped me take the steps daily to see to their needs. It also guided me in deciding what was important and what we could step back from. Of course I made alot of mistakes, but God has been faithful. As they mature,I continue to seek Him for new vision as a mother.

I have been given a "vision" to lead women to Jesus' heart, and encourage them. So the Lord keeps bringing me opportunities to do what I am unable to do without Him. Overcoming the fears that might hinder me, taking training as He leads me. Taking opportunities that He presents.

Going to She Speaks-alone. Traveling-alone. All things that I felt at one time I could never do.
It was a glorious experience to trust Him in all of it. I took the steps He opened for me and my faith has grown.

For more encouragement to stretch your faith, click on "Tea with Tiffany" on my sidebar blog list.

Oh for grace to trust Him more!!

A New Creation

The old has gone the new has come... 2 Cor 5:17

Is this the recipe for freedom? Yesterday I was resisting something the Lord wanted me to do because I dont feel like I am "right for the job"and feel like I have botched it in the past. I don't want to experience the battle of fighting my fear. But He keeps pressing my heart.

This is such a weight sometimes. My fears and limitations that seem to crop up so...naturally. Old (natural) nature gone. New (spirit) nature here. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free, do not be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. This is a command. DO NOT. Must mean Jesus is able to help me with the 'do not'.

So, everytime I submit myself to those fears and limitations, I am in sin. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin. Romans 14:23 Seems I have a faith problem.

Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see. Hebrews 11:1

Without faith it is impossible to please God, for anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Hebrews 11:6

It seems the idol I need to smash is me. Self-reliance. Fear comes from looking at my own inabilities and limitations. Fear of failure, fear of rejection or ridicule. I must see myself in the shadow of the Almighty and filled with His Spirit. I must rely on Him for every breath and every word and every step I take. Keep my eyes fixed on Him.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:24,25

Me dead...Him alive...I walk by faith not by sight. I have died to the old nature I live by the Spirit.

So-practical steps to live free from the old. Trust and obey.
I recall the man who wanted healing for his son so badly, and Jesus said "if you believe..." and the man replied, "I believe, Lord help my unbelief!"

Here is where it's at: I need to ask Jesus for the faith and trust that He will give it to me. Then when He presses something on my heart that He wants me to do that makes me fearful, I will go ahead and allow Him to remove my fears. I must be sure that He will do it through me(what I hope for) and certain that He is faithful to perform what He has promised (certain of what I do not see).

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phillipians 4:13

A step of faith. One step puts in motion His freedom. I am able to overcome my fear by faith.

Lord, give me the faith to do your will. In Jesus' name and for your glory. Amen