Missionary Women Registering for Prague...and "Stopping the Chaos" Continues...

The missionary women are registering for Prague. Please pray that God will get the word to every woman who needs to be there! We have 16 of the missionary women sponsored as of this writing. So, that leaves us with 34 for more to go. Please be praying about the opportunity to give toward the sponsorship of these women. No gift is too small or too large (smile).

I am excited about a couple of things God is up to for this group. He is always about the business of doing something unique for each group of missionary women. Love that about Him!!! I am working with a young woman in Albertville, Alabama who will bring to this group of ladies something we have never done before! Totally Awesome!!

Also, Patty and I made a trip up the road Saturday to Clarksville, AR to do follow-up from our Dominican Republic (DR) trip. We had lunch, shared about the trip, and showed a video that one of the missionary women from DR produced from our time in DR. The women also shared some things they are doing for our missionary women in Prague. Debbie, thank you so much for your church’s encouragement and support of Pure Joy International.

Well, we continue our journey of ‘Stopping the Chaos in the Family’ . . .

I hope you were able to take the time this past week to read Genesis Chapter 3 daily. I hope you have a nugget bag because I suspect you’re about to mine some important principles from this chapter in the next couple of weeks. I can promise you we will be parked here for a while. It is so crucial, because we had order in the world up to this point. Then sin entered the world and the result was . . . Chaos.

Let us begin with the last verse I gave you in the previous week from Genesis.

Genesis 2:6-17 “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘you may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’”

Know what? God gave Adam the first command ever given after placing him in the garden. I suspect Adam heard God’s voice for the first time when this command was given. “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Wow! Never lose sight of this truth! God told Adam, “don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or you shall surely die.” He told Adam this when Eve wasn’t even in the picture. To this day, we don’t really know who told Eve this command. Was it passed on from Adam or was it given to her by God as well? What we do know is that she knew the command. Ok, well maybe she didn’t really fully know it since she added to it, but she had the principle given to her at some point before the serpent entered the scene (vs.1-2).

Now let’s look at Genesis 3:1-5 (emphasis mine):

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘Youshall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

In verse one, I want to use the word subtle instead of crafty which many Bible translations use. The reason is that I want us as women to understand the enemy is subtle. He isn’t marching into our paths with a big neon sign saying, “I’m getting ready to trip you up!” In fact, God’s Word tells us in 2 Corinthians 11:14 “Satan masquerades as an angel of light.” Obviously, the serpent wasn’t so scary and offensive that Eve ran off yelling for Adam to save her from the big monster! Instead, she was actually tempted by him. Girls, please know that the enemy works subtly in our lives with his temptations. Temptations are anything that would cause us to put other things first before God, spouse (if married), and children. These things would initially just cause us to be distracted from what God’s plan is for our life but eventually lead us to sin.

Also, I want us to understand that the serpent came to Eve not Adam. Why? I suspect God’s Word in 1 Peter 3:7 hints at the answer. Women are the weaker vessel. “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the women as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life so that your prayers may not be hindered.” Isn’t it interesting that it appears that even the serpent knew the order of things in his approach in the garden? He approached Eve instead of Adam.

Ok, so we see the serpent is subtle. We also see his plan of attack.

• First, get Eve to doubt God. “Did God actually say . . . ?”
• Second, convince Eve that God is a liar. “You will not surely die!”

Today I close with these challenges for you. Where has the serpent deceived you regarding your relationship with God, your marriage, or your family? Where do you doubt God? What are areas of your life that God has given as promises to you through His Word, yet you have allowed the enemy to call lies?

Keep reading Genesis Chapter 3 because next week we are going to answer the question, “What the heck was Adam doing during this interaction between the serpent and Eve?”, because I suspect some of you feel the same way about your husbands. Where is he?

His,
Vickie

"Chaos in the Family" and the Journey to Prague continues...

Before I get to our Chaos in the Family portion of the blog today, I want to give a big thank you to the ladies in England, Arkansas where Lisa, Faith, and I traveled Monday night to do a follow up time with the ladies there that invested in praying, sending cards, gifts, and financial support for our Dominican Republic trip in May. Thank you so much for your sweet spirits and hospitality. But most of all, thank you for having a heart to minister to missionary women overseas by praying, going, and giving.

As we continue to prepare on our journey to Prague, we have 18 women registered as of today. Continue to pray as the word gets out that the exact women God wants to be there in October get signed up. Thank you already in advance for the prayers, because where it all takes place is in the heavenly realm. In fact, as I was typing that last line this thought ran across my brain . . . “Ask them to make prayer deposits, Vickie”. I like that, because I can actually visualize people doing that and you don’t even have to leave the house! Ha, ha, ha! Would you please be willing to support this trip by making a prayer deposit daily or weekly? And encourage us by letting us know what some of those deposits are!

We added one last person to our team Monday night. All spots are filled and overflowing! Pray for me as I listen for God’s direction for how to best utilize each one of the team members on this trip and to place them where I truly believe God is directing so that He may be glorified!

Chaos in the Family

For those of you who are just joining us, I began addressing the issue of “Stopping the Chaos in the Family” several weeks ago. Please go back and read those blogs (http://purejoyinternational.blogspot.com/2012/06/chaos-in-family-series-and-prayer.html) to catch up with us.

Last week I ended our blog by asking you this question: Do you feel that your husband is taking care of you? Does he see you as a gift that God has brought into his life?

Today, I want us to look at the flip side of that coin before we look at the first time chaos entered the world. Genesis 2:18 says, “Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’” That helper was Eve.

Now let me ask you this question: What are helpers and what do they do? They come alongside; they help us be successful, to accomplish a job, to give insight, etc. In short, a helper truly becomes a blessing to our lives. Would your husband be able to say about you that you are a blessing to his life?  May I ask you another question? What was Eve helping Adam do?

Go back to Genesis 2:15 and we will see that God put Adam in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. So Eve was helping Adam take care of that which God had given them together! Genesis 2:24 says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” There was no ‘mine’ or ‘yours’, but ‘ours’ and ultimately HIS! Genesis 2:25 goes on to say, “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” Translated from the Vickie commentary, “life was pure, it was content, and it was peaceable.”

Adam and Eve together as one were serving God and exercising watch care over His provision.

Are you functioning as one? Are you mindful that all that you have is from Him?

The answer to how chaos entered the world is in Genesis Chapter 3. In fact, Genesis Chapter 3 is so full of practical principles regarding the chaos in our lives today that I am going to ask you to read that chapter every day between now and the next blog. Pay close attention to every word you read. Ask God to give you an understanding of this chapter in a very personal way. Watch Eve’s conversation with the Serpent. Watch Adam’s conversation with God. Watch God’s proclamation to Adam, Eve, and the Serpent. Question what the heck Eve was thinking!! Question Adam’s ridiculous responses to an All-Knowing God’s questions. See God’s compassion to give Adam and Eve the opportunity to repent instead of cover up their sin. This is some good stuff, girls!!! Don’t blow over it.

And, by the way . . . none of the above would have taken place if the following commandment had not been given to Adam in the garden in Genesis 2:18. “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘you may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’”

IN SHORT, CHAOS ENTERS OUR DAILY WORLD WHEN WE DISOBEY GOD!!!

Enjoy your read of Genesis Chapter 3 this week!

I love you all Mucho!

His,

Vickie

Finally...

First, I apologize for not getting the blog out sooner this week. Life circumstances have a way of readjusting our schedules without our permission sometimes.

Before I continue our talk on “Stopping the Chaos in the Family”, I want to update you on the Prague, Czech Republic trip.

Our team is together! There will be 14 of us traveling to minister to the missionary women in Central Europe. Our flights were booked yesterday and we are on go!

Registration opened up online for the missionary women Tuesday and we already have six women signed up to come. I met with the Oklahoma portion of our Prague team last night for prayer time and it was so sweet! There is nothing like praying and watching God move on behalf of the missionary women.

For those of you that have participated with us on Pure Joy trips, you know what it is like to start the preparations for the journey toward Prague. Start praying for the team, the missionaries who will be going, sponsorship of the 50 missionary women who will be in attendance, their families, our families, the messages, worship music, hospitality, and other activities that God would have us provide for the women. If you would like me to come speak to people in your home churches about how to get involved, email me at vickie@purejoyinternational.org.

Monday night several team members who went to Dominican Republic this past May and I sat down to follow-up with women from local churches that were part of the stateside team for Dominican Republic. It was so exciting to hear their hearts as they shared what it meant to them to participate in the preparation of what ministered to the women missionaries in Dominican Republic. It was also sweet to hear how God used their time to connect and minister to one another. Also, hearing them talk about the personal relationships they have established with a missionary because of Pure Joy and their continual encouragement to them through email warms my heart. All these things are why we call Pure Joy an ‘inside out’ ministry.

So keep praying, giving, and always be open to going someday!!

Stop the Chaos Week 5

So far in our discussion of “Stopping the Chaos in the Family” we have established:

• God is Sovereign over all and therefore the ultimate Authority
• He is Creator and Maker
• He is a God of order and provision
• Chapters 1, 2, and 3 of Genesis are the garage you can always park the car in.

The question I left you with last week was: In the order of creation, Adam was created first then Eve. Why? What is the significance of this order?

First, we know that Adam illustrates the first Father-son relationship for us. That is significant because it foreshadows the Father-Son (Jesus) relationship.

Adam was to be God’s provision for Eve just as Jesus Christ is to be our provision for eternal life. Remember Genesis 2:15 when the Bible says: The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

The term Eden in its original Hebrew language means “Garden of Delight”. I love that because God literally provided everything for Adam he could possibly want and then said (even though this is unspoken in the Bible, it is implied), “Now take care of what I’ve given you because it’s my best!” Wow! Keep that thought!

God created and made woman from man (Adam). So, the order we have now is God, Adam, and Eve. Remember God NEVER created or made anything until He made provision for what He created and made. Adam was to be Eve’s provision with the principle at work that Adam would take care of that which God had given him.

Can I ask you this question today as a woman reading this blog? Do you feel that your husband is taking care of you? Does he see you as a gift that God has brought into his life? The answer to those questions, more often than not, would be “no!”

Next week we are going to be looking at the first time chaos enters the world as we understand it from God’s word. A good read of Genesis 3 would do us all good this week. Why? Well, at the end of reading it, you tell me.

I love you all!

His,

Vickie

Wait for it...

This week’s Blog entry has been delayed – it is Summer after all – but don’t dismay one will be making an appearance soon.

Thanks for keeping up with Vickie and Pure Joy and staying connected through our Blog!

"Stoping the Chaos" and Prague News...

Last week we established that God is the ultimate Authority and is Sovereign over all. We also saw that He is Creator and Maker. Today, we are going to see that He is also a God of order. Where there is order there is lack of chaos!

For those of you who don’t know me very well, I absolutely love the first three chapters of the Bible: Genesis chapters 1, 2, and 3. I believe that everything goes back to that section of God’s Word. It is an incredible thing to look at! God established His identity as Sovereign and as Triune God, His establishment of order regarding the universe; and He introduced the cast list for this play called life: God, Man (meaning others and myself), and the enemy. Sin enters the world and the consequences of sin are revealed physically, emotionally and spiritually, and it separates us from God. Man is sent out of the garden, and the Bible unfolds the greatest love story ever told. Incredible!!!

Now back to God being a God of order. Here is something interesting to understand today: Where there is order there is provision. So, at your convenience, indulge in a good reading of Genesis chapters 1 – 2 today. You will see that God is a God of order and provision. In fact, you will see that God never created or made anything until He had made provision for what He would create which resulted in order! Example: God didn’t create or make fish or water creatures before there was water. He didn’t bring cattle or animals into the world before there was vegetation, oxygen, and water. Are you getting this? There was order to creation, and with that, there was provision. Now everything was moving along just fine until Adam and Eve decided to do life their way instead of God’s way.

Last week I left you with the question of your willingness to sit under God’s authority.

This requires a personal relationship with Him. Some are deceived into thinking they sit under His authority without a personal relationship. This is not God’s order. This is called religion. Settling this issue will determine if your house is ordered by love or dictatorship as we continue our journey together.

Your question for this week: In the order of creation, Adam was created first then Eve. Why? What is the significance of this order?

Prague . . . Answered prayers!

Praise God our team has come together! Our location is just short of being locked in! We are hoping to open up registration to all the missionary women by the end of this week, but next week for sure. So to all of you missionary women out there ‘paying it forward’, let your friends in the Central Europe area know we are headed their way.

Thank you for your prayers for the Prague trip now and going forward!

"The key to prayer is simply praying." - A.W. Tozer

Love you all!

His,

Vickie

"Stopping the Chaos in Your Family" and Prague update...

Well, the journey begins today for those who are serious about stopping the chaos. If you have not read the last two blogs in preparation for this journey, please go back to http://purejoyinternational.blogspot.com/2012/06/chaos-in-family-series-and-prayer.html.

Let me start today by saying that if you are going to STOP the chaos, you must get order. To get order you must establish the measurement (plumb line) for order. In our case, the measurement for order will be the authority of God’s written Word.

Psalms 127:1 tells us . . .

Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

I say to many who are reading this blog today: God has a plan for your family. If you decide to do it your way, you will continue to labor in vain. The reason so many do it their way is because we live in a generation of adults who don’t want to sit under God’s authority. But if you are going to do family God’s way, then you need to understand the biblical response to this question: “Who’s the Boss?” Answer: GOD IS! This truth should give you much encouragement.

There are two forms of authority on this earth: intrinsic and extrinsic (also known as derived authority). Intrinsic authority comes from within. It means that person has the power and resources to carry out any and all things with or without the aid of anything or anybody. ONLY GOD has intrinsic authority.

Genesis 1:1-2 tells us . . .

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (The Hebrew word for “created” is Bara -- to make something out of nothing.) The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Psalms 147:4 tells us . . .

He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.

The God who created the heavens and the earth, shaped and molded this universe, and gave it order cares more about you than He does those stars He took time to determine their positions and to name. And if you have checked the sky lately, we are talking about a lot of stars!

Will you trust Him and His Word regarding your family? Have you trusted Him first and foremost as the LIVING GOD who came to take away the sins of the world?

Stopping the chaos begins with us understanding the answer to “Who’s The Boss?” The answer remains: GOD IS!

Our question for today: Are you willing to sit under His authority? Will you trust His Word and principles for your family? Are you willing to do family His way even when you don’t understand His ways, and when others makes fun of you?

Prague . . .

We are finalizing our team this week! Pray, pray, pray that God continues to put it together! Also, continue to pray for the location of the retreat that it will be exactly as God would have it be!

Love you all!

His,

Vickie

Week II "Chaos in the Family"... and Prague Prayer Request...

Last week I made a statement, “Don’t be willing to settle for chaos. It will make the enemy happy but it will keep you from living life God’s way.”

Remember:

Chaos looks like: disorder, nothing makes sense, confusion, things aren’t where they are supposed to be, you don’t know if you are coming or going, etc.

Chaos feels like: we don’t know what we are supposed to do; we are overwhelmed, hopeless, in shock or disbelief of our circumstances; another storm is always on the horizon.

If you are serious about removing the chaos from your family, I would ask you again to look at more pictures from that 2011 Joplin, Missouri storm.

View all

Get your own

If the slideshow doesn't show use this link to view the pictures

https://picasaweb.google.com/PattyShipp/ChaosWeek2?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPn22tvU1orhJg&feat=directlink

To remove chaos, you have to be willing to do the following:

1. Get honest with yourself and acknowledge the chaos. Quit playing “super spiritual family” to the world around you and get honest with yourselves. Admit your family is in trouble (Note: You cannot get honest with God until you get honest with yourself);

2. Face the issues head on as a family no matter how insurmountable they seem;

3. Sort through some issues;

4. Ask for help (Note: Drowning people can’t help drowning people);

5. Do not let the enemy convince you that you are the only family experiencing chaos;

6. You may need to separate from someone you love for a season in order to be able to come back together;

7. Salvage what is good (Note: Getting order doesn’t mean doing away with everything. It means keeping what is working and getting rid of the chaos);

8: After order has been restored to your family, then you must be willing to walk away from the past by leaving it behind.

So I close again this week with the question, “Are you ready to stop the chaos?” Next week we will begin to step on the road of overcoming. However, you must seriously be willing to look at the eight areas pointed out above.

We have defined what chaos can look like and feel like and what we have to be willing to do to walk out of it. Get on your walking shoes and don’t be afraid to share your thoughts with others through this blog as we journey forward.

Prague Report . . .

We are still praying for God’s direction on the hotel/resort area for us in Prague or in the surrounding area. Also, the team is being solidified. Several team members are in the decision making process this week. So, pray that God speaks clearly to their hearts. We want His team, not man’s, for the women in Prague!

Love you all!

His,

Vickie