Rick Warren's Online Community for Pastors and Church Leaders
Lyn Smith served in Bible Study Fellowship International for 20 years as a Bible teacher and leadership trainer. You can read her blog and get to know her at www.lynsmith.org. She co-hosts blog talk radio show “Living Truth”, serves on the Human Trafficking Task Force for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, and is on the speaking and writing team ofLeadHer. She lives with her husband and three children in the Oklahoma City area. When she's not doing life in her four-inch stilettos, she's being athletic and running in her favorite sneakers.
As many of you know, I am back in school, getting a Masters degree in international studies. I have the opportunity to take a trip next summer for course credit. As I was looking at the options, I experienced a feeling that has become quite familiar lately. I’m not sure what to call it … longing, maybe?
As I was envisioning the …
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Since starting my Masters program three weeks ago, I’ve read over a thousand pages, heard six lectures, attended an on- campus banquet, and turned in a paper.
Meanwhile, the dust is coating my furniture, I’m walking on crumbs through the kitchen and my beloved InStyle September issue, all luscious 652 pages, remains unread. …
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I first remember hearing this foundational principle taught when I was 16 -- learn to accept, be content with, and thrive in the unchangeables God has given.
Some of those would include:
Biological parents
Birth date and year
Height
and …
gender, or physical DNA.
Surrendering the unchangeables to God leads to depth …
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The absence of a loved one. The loss of a best friend. The end of a career. Abandonment. Abuse. Being dismissed or overlooked. Loneliness. Death of a dream. Financial ruin.
No one wants to be in pain. We usually resist it with all we have in us. We pray against it or for it to go away. Think about most prayer requests we offer or hear. …
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Those of us whose ministry is also our job have an ongoing challenge.
There is a certain amount of work and business that has to be addressed. How much can we spend on something worthwhile versus how much we will make on it? Should we speak at some small venues that can’t pay much or only at the big ones? Do we write what will sell …
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Impossible
People who haven’t been trapped in an addiction or ingrained sin pattern do not understand its strength. Years of denial, suppression, or acting out create a dynamic that, apart from Christ, render the person powerless. They still bear personal responsibility, but that doesn’t change the fact that all their processes - …
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“I can’t do this anymore!”
Have you ever felt that way? Or maybe I should ask, how often do you feel that way?
The Problem
Unfortunately, that’s the thought that often leads to bad decisions. It comes from feeling stuck and hopeless. We feel like it will never change. It will always be this way. Therefore, we must do …
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Good-to-great leaders are able to strip away so much noise and clutter and focus on the few things that will have the greatest impact. (Jim Collins in "Good to Great")
That truth is not just for “leaders” but for every Christ follower. We aren’t here just to pass time until we die. We are here to enjoy God, fulfill His …
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What’s Going On?
Do you feel pressured to be entertaining, captivating and fun? We are competing with Youtube, texting, smart phones and iPads, all of which find their ways into church services and Bible studies. They are great tools that can be used in both settings to read Scripture, look up information, and share it on social …
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Here's the Deal
After reading this good article exhorting pastors to run from sexual temptation, I would like to exhort women to do the same. But for us, not only run from sexual temptation but from relational temptation.
Some women are highly sexualized, and so are readily tempted by sexual things. More women, however, …
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