Today our guest blogger is Debbie Stuart, Women’s Ministry director at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, TX.
You will be encouraged as you read what Debbie has to say about the hard pathways we all experience in our walk with Christ…
"It sounds so “cliché-ish” but I am truly glad to close the 2010 calendar and open a fresh page to January 2011. Last year was not my best year….am I the only one??? Turning the page to a new year just feels like new and great things are going to come. It gives the appearance of endless opportunities and high expectations. The Lord gave me a great verse as I closed the books on 2010, I hope it encourages you as well. It’s Psalm 65:11 – “You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance”. Perhaps during the course of 2010 you experienced some “hard pathways”, I am thrilled to report that an abundance of good things will come from those in your life IF you allow the Lord to work out his perfect plan on your hard pathways.
As a leader in Women’s Ministry one thing (probably THE THING!) that has proven to be the greatest source of strength in my life and leadership is to daily meet with the Lord before I meet with anyone else. Making daily plans with Him allows Him to plan the perfect pathway for me and ministry. As I reflect on 2010 there were many days I did not make my daily time with Him a priority and I wonder now…did I create my own “hard pathway”? I’m a hard headed kinda gal with a stronger will than I care to admit. But I think I have finally figured out that I don’t always have to go the hard way. I can bend my will and give myself to the leading of the Lord…EVERY DAY!"
Isaiah 58:2 – “Day after day they seek me out, they seem eager to know my ways”. May it be said us for 2011!
Today’s post is written by guest blogger, Debbie Stuart. Women’s Ministry Director, Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, TX and is a Lifeway Ministry Multiplier. She earned her Women’s Ministry Advanced Certificate from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is a member of the Association of Women’s Ministry Professionals . In addition to being a conference and retreat speaker and Bible study teacher, she was the founder and director of Network Extravaganza in the Shreveport, Louisiana area. She is married and has two young adults.