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Thursday, September 2, 2010

a weak-willed woman

Recently I went to a conference called "Beautiful". Kari Jobe led worship & she was wonderful. You can read about that here. I kept meaning to tell you about the guest speaker, Angela Thomas. Finally getting to that!

I have to admit. I am a huge Kari Jobe fan & when i found out she was leading the worship services for this conference - that's when i decided i had to be there. I had never heard of Angela Thomas, but figured she'd be good.

I was wrong. She was better than good. She was FANTASTIC.
I love her.
I love her like I love Beth Moore.
Maybe more.

Ok, i'm totally kidding. But i do love her every bit as much as i love Beth. She was sweet, funny, down to earth, & had a powerful message meant to show girls & women how beautiful they are to God.


Angela told about how she practically got her degree in how NOT to get divorced. Her parents have been married forever & she knew it would be the same for her. Divorce was not an option. ...And then she got divorced. She didn't go into much detail but she did say that during that time, she felt so horrible & disgusting. She said one night she was just crying & praying & crying some more - & it was all she could do to grab her journal & write the words, "God, do you think I'm beautiful?" She said at that point in her life she felt that she could be nothing but UGLY in God's eyes.

God has done SUCH a huge work in her life & she shares it so that others may receive comfort & realize that God thinks we are all beautiful! I am really not doing justice to what an awesome speaker she is. She definitely has a gift. She is easy to relate to.

I know this won't do it justice... but here are some of her quotes from the conference...

"When God is in the room, all the wallflowers get to dance."

"God cannot be LESS than who He is. He cannot love you any less than the FULLNESS of His Love. Therefore - there is nothing you can do that will seperate you from His love." (this one was really awesome to me.)

"The man you love is just a taste of the love of God. He cannot fill you up & make you whole. That is ONLY going to come from God."

"Let your husband, your children, your girlfriends, & your possessions - let them all off the hook! That empty place is for the love of God."

"God calls you beautiful!"

Another thing she talked about was the weak-willed woman. First, she read 2 Timothy 3:1-6 & told us to ask God if there is any of this in us... "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. They are the kind who worm their way into the homes & gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires."

I have heard that passage a million times, but i never really focused on the weak-willed woman part. I just focused on how bad people will be in the last days. But it was interesting to hear Angela talk about the weak-willed woman. She listed qualities in a weak-willed woman & told us to search our hearts & let God reveal to us if we were any of the following... maybe you start out thinking "oh, that is so-and-so!" but then you realize how many of them are YOU...kind of humbling... {okay, maybe that was just my experience!}

A weak-willed woman  -
1. is consumed by her worries, fears.
2. is self-absorbed, cares more about what everyone thinks of her.
{"the voice you hear reminding you what others think of you - that is not the voice of God. It is the voice of the accuser."}
3. has a beaten-down countenance OR is loud/brash
4. does nothing for herself or the Kingdom of God, but doesn't mind telling YOU what YOU should do.
5. isn't really sure if God calls her beautiful - she wants to believe it but she believes what the magazines tell her more.
6. is disappointed, depressed, or deep in self-pity (because no one fills up her empty soul).
7. might harbor a grudge for a lifetime.
8. might discreetly gossip (with a "prayer request" or "sharing")
9. is easily hurt or offended
10. is spiritually knowledgeable but living a lost life.
11. has a critical spirit ("the ministry of discouragement")


I looked up verse 6 in the Amplified Bible & i loved how it was worded - "For among them are those who worm their way into homes & captivate silly & weak-natured & spiritually-dwarfed women, loaded down with the burden of their sins & easily swayed & led away by various evil desires & seductive impulses."

WOW. Don't wanna be THAT kind of woman! We always talk about being a Proverbs 31 Woman. Maybe we should also talk about NOT being a 2 Timothy 3:6 kind of Woman! :)


So the conference was awesome. I loved Angela. She has a book & Bible study called, "When Wallflowers Dance". I had seen it before but didn't think i was interested. But after hearing her speak about how when God walks into the room, all the wallflowers get to dance... that made me think i definitely want to read this book!

She is currently filming a bible study called "BRAVE".

Angela ended by saying, "Come with the truth of who you are to the altar of who God is. He will take your ordinary & cover it with His arms & make you extraordinary!"

Pretty cool. Check her out at her website or on facebook.

Thank you, Angela!!

6 comments:

  1. Wow! I absolutely love this. I've never heard of her, but I'm going to have to look into her books!

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  2. Hey Melissa ... thank you so much for posting this. What an excellent admonition ... about the weak-willed woman. That sounds like such a great message; and I love Beth Moore, too!

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  3. Hey girl! I'm giving you a Blogger Award! Head on over to my blog to get it! http://smjmrge.blogspot.com

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  4. Ooooh. That sounds like it was a super conference! I would have loved it.

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  5. Thank you! ...I just discovered Angela Thomas's books yesterday (bought "52 things kids need from a mom") & I'm blown away by her insight and expressiveness. I 'feel' her walk with God, and passion for God; and am inspired to know God more deeply in this close way too.

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  6. Having depression means I am weak willed? What about ptsd,adhd,panic disorder and traumatic brain injury? An honest question since tone is hard to hear through text and I really don't want you to think I'm being snarky or sarcastic. I am aware God gives us a spirit of joy, yet still I have all these things. I did really like your article and it came at the perfect moment. Thank you for sharing your experiences, that's pretty courageous.
    Amy

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Comments are my favorite.