Well today is our last view discussion of What Women Fear. Today, we are ending things with Jenni Catron.
From Angie:
Again, we gave Jenni one of the “oh-my-word that’s a tough one” chapters because we knew she would breathe her sweet wisdom into every thought. It’s a beautiful thing-to fear the One who calls you to come to Him as Savior. We wanted to translate the love of a Father that doesn’t want us to be afraid, but rather to reverence Him in a way that acknowledges His dominion over us and our need for Him. You will love what Jenni shares here…
We hope that this study has blessed you. Angie will wrap things up on Wednesday, so be sure to stop back!
Love,
ABOUT JESSICA TURNER
Jessica Turner blogs on The Mom Creative about motherhood,
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
My lack of reverence toward God was something I was convicted about a year or two ago. I had gotten to a place we God was only a friend, not my Lord. I’d like to say that since then I’ve figured out to live life in pure, reverential fear, but I can only say that I’ve gotten better. I love that you reminded us fear is a balancing act. He’s the balancing bar in my hand.
I’m sad to see the book end, but I have a little feeling that I will be reading it a few more times!
As I was going through this Chapter and I realized that I really need to take that moment before coming to the Lord with my praise/prayer/thoughts/ideas/wishes, and on and on…to take a breath fully recognize who I am about to communicate with. When I do this, not as often as I would like, there is a huge difference in the way I pray.
I appreciate how you just put the truth out there on Page 173, litmus test: how well do you obey Him? Yes, this is a great reminder to me to look back at the times I have been disobedient and check the attitude of my heart/spirit.
You clearly gave the definition of True Wisdom on Page 174, as wisdom increases so will our desire to please God……aligning your will with God’s.
Page 177: Tough Love: sometimes we cannot allow to stand by and watch someone repeatedly walk the opposite way of God’s clear commandments. This is very hard for me. I am NOT confrontational and would much rather allow others to figure things out and we would all live happily ever after. And I need to be reminded of truth and that is uncomfortale at best, other times it stings; but I am very grateful to the ones (usually later) who spoke truth into my life. I pray for a tender heart in this area. Lord, let me always be eager to learn, change, grow.
Pg 177: ‘where we deliberately lean into Him and away from our fear’….Lord help me to lean in deeply.
Angie, thank you for your wisdom in this book, your transparency and great love for God and His word.
I finally met you at the WOF in Rochester on Saturday. I practically ran when I heard you were doing a signing, I would have been first if I didn’t have to wait for my sister Sondra. Your words touched her deeply and I know that she was encouraged. Thank you for taking the time to ask her about her boys.
I was so excited to finally meet you, I am sure I babbled and almost started that ‘ugly cry’ but tried to make a joke….what was I afraid of? lol…
I may just go get a large load of warm laundry from the dryer and lean in it.
In God’s Love, sheila
Angie, you couldn’t have chosen a better fear to sum up the book and wrap it all up.
Of course, I cried and nodded my head a lot. I believe when I may do something that God would not approve of, I fear my consequences. I get scared and think if this is being written for Him to scold me for later, lol. But I enjoy this fear. He has my best interest at heart. There is no greater trust you can bank on that. He would never let me down. I believe this fear is good for me in my walk. It will help deter me and keep me along the path with Him.
Thank you all for this study. I am so satisfied by participating in all of the discussions and being in this 100%. It was an investment of my time that was well worth it. I will be back for Angies wrap up.
God bless you all!!
Thank you for this study. The book was really good.
God Bless You!
What a great ending to such an inspiring study! Thank you, Angie!!! This chapter was so heart-touching and thought-provoking to me. I loved your words on page 171…”The bigger He is to me, the smaller I must become” and “A necessary part of recognizing God is also accepting that we do well to tremble before Him. Not because we don’t trust Him to do what is right, but rather because we do.” I also loved the words on page 174, “The more I fear God, the less I fear everything else” and “I try to walk in light of my own smallness, because it illuminates the safety of His bigness” and also “Fear God in the way that makes your knees bend and your heart race. Reverence Him. Be in awe of who He is. Know that in His divine wisdom, He chose you, your circumstances, and every last hair on your head in order to woo you to trust and glorify Him the way He deserves to be glorified. He didn’t choose you because of anything in you, but because of everything in Him.” Praise You, Father!!! And thank you, Angie!
I’m in the midst of a “big issue” situation in my life right now, and when I read this chapter I was sitting on the fence about how I should move forward. When I read Angie’s words about obedience to God, it was a jolting reminder of the path I am called to take. While I wouldn’t have said so, prior to reading those words, I wasn’t taking into account how God calls me to respond. The word obedience is the mantra running through my head when things are less-than-easy. :-) And true to His Word, that obedience has led to wisdom.
Something God has shown me recently is that my decision about what to do and how I handle that moving forward are as far as my control will go. As it says more beautifully than I could on pages 180-81, my fear of God (trust, respect, and reverence) remind me that He is the One who is over all, and that in spite of the sometimes raging storm, stepping into what seems impossible will bring Him glory and me peace.
I think this sentence on page 173 sums it up well: “The goal should always be an solemn, glorious bowing of the knee the reminds us we are wholly reliant on His mercy in this moment and in the next.” I loved the story of your teacher opening the window and having you put your hand out into the rain. What a picture of our God! I think as we step out in faith and trust Him with what we most fear, we often find that He is using it to wash us clean.
Thanks for sharing, Angie. I was blessed.
I loved this last chapter. This book really helped me move through some very real fears and being reminded of the one fear we should have was powerful for me. I’ve heard the notion of God as buddy and friend preached so often that sometimes the notion of fear and reverence of an all-powerful, almighty God gets a little lost.
Wow this was a whole new experience for me! And it was so nourishing and full of blessings. Thank you Angie, thank you Jess, and thank you all for sharing your heart through the comments. It felt like talking over some coffee with long-time-cherised-dear friends. Blessings!