Why I’m Not that empowered woman Journal #23

I’m not that empowered woman…does that sound crazy? Especially since I run a ministry with a vision statement to equip and empower women to be who they are created to be, inside and out.

There it is, that word “empowered.” When I scribed that vision statement down in 2010, it was fresh, new and felt good; it felt, well empowering! But over the last few years, I’ve heard the word so much in different arenas that I kind of feel like its become overused to the point that I’ve wondered and considered reevaluating whether its the right word to use for our vision statement. I mean, everywhere I turn it’s been watered-down, drained, abused, and sometimes ignored. It’s becoming a kind of white noise. My feelings toward “empowerment” are similar to my feelings toward Starbucks. I love it and I visit the quaint coffee shop quite often, but when I pass it on the street, I’m no longer excited because it’s not a super find. They are everywhere so you know you can find one at every corner. The excitement of strolling in through the door enveloped by a robust aroma and friendly greetings to order your favorite drink has grown stale. (Except during Christmas when the red cup appears. That never gets old.)

But back to the word empowered.

When God gave me the vision statement for Created Woman, it was a sort of license to encourage women that we, too, are born with a purpose and on purpose and we should pursue that. It was meant to help myself and others understand that no matter our age, background, race, or life experiences, God wasn’t finished with us yet. It made me think of these verses:

"Now when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep.”

Acts 13:36 (NIV)

"Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day." 

Psalm 139:13-16 (MSG)

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

Romans 12:1-2 (MSG)

These scriptures breathed by God himself, reminded me that He had a plan for me before I was born all the way until my dying breath. And that plan didn’t include me being comfortable in a mundane, ordinary life that just watched the clock tick by or wait for the day Jesus came back. It was to be one filled with adventure and reckless faith as we pursue our purpose for this generation. No matter if it’s raising the next generation, starting a business that employs hundreds of people or ministering to the woman in the next cubicle or next door – whatever that is, we are to go do it!

As we live a life on purpose, that is the ultimate sense of empowerment. There’s nothing more and nothing less.

What I’ve found in my own personal life is that as I’m pursuing God’s purpose, I have a sense of peace and calmness that I don’t always see in others. Even when the times get tough or there are things in the world I don’t agree with, I understand that God is still on the throne and that is what brings me the peace that passes all understanding. (Philippians 4:7)

So while I see others – men and women included – taking the word empower to be more like her or more like him, or better than her or him, I’m confident in the who God created me to be. With the confidence and leaning into God and what He’s saying, I see where and when He wants me to speak, act, and do. There’s no force, debating, or unrest in my own heart – just the quiet sense of God’s presence and taking the steps necessary as He empowers me to do so.

That’s the empowered woman I am.

What about you? Do you feel the peace that passes all understanding as you embark on being empowered or is there a sense of unrest?

I challenge you today and this weekend to ask God how He wants to empower you without being watered-down, ignored, or lost in the crowd.

 

Style Speaks IV

FASHION & FAITH INTERACTIVE EVENT

1 week away
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Join the Party! Style Speaks IV is all about YOU! Spend the afternoon being pampered, empowered and shopping local pop-up shops and salons. #IamCreatedWoman

2.18.17 || 4:00pm - 7:00pm || Venue: 800 Congress || $35

1st hour, Beauty & Bubbles
2nd hour,Power & Purpose
3rd hour, Fashion & Philanthropy

Click HERE for tickets & more details