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Marnie

Dare Christians Trust Facebook?

Yesterday I released the link to my latest article:
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn & Blogs – Some Serious Time & Money Saving Strategies for Writers & Others with Large Groups. You may read the entire article HERE.

One of the comments back was….

“Do you know if you can really trust Face-Book? Because there are many Antichrists already in the world that would love to destroy the church by knowing where their members are located and who they are.”

This is SUCH a good question! Here is my reply:

There are definitely places in the world that I would NOT recommend taking out a Social Networking account at which you posted your position of faith: Many Christians in the 10/40 window would be waving an unnecessary “red flag”.

However, in the US we are not yet at that point.

Years ago I “fought” my way through the fear of becoming a well-known person — someone that would be EASY for godless people to persecute and even “make an example of”, if they chose.

Eventually, God brought me to a place of peace and trust, even if, like Stephen, that means death for His sake.

Besides, I think that the government already has all my statements of charitable giving and to which organizations — so, anyone with access to that would currently have enough evidence to condemn me of being a proponent of Christianity.

The one thing we want to do is follow Jesus – where ever He leads — even if it’s into the lion’s den.

BUT…. if God IS NOT leading us somewhere and we push our way through, that is just plain foolish! God spare us from such a fate!

Need Skits for Your WM?

Josephine Flicker of the Townsend Community Church Women’s Ministry writes…

“I am looking for a website or information to find good Christian Women’s Ministry short skits and plays that are either free or not very expensive to purchase. Do you have info about this?”

For sure!! My all-time favorite is: http://www.dramatix.org/. I can ALWAYS find a good skit at this site.

By the way, if you need similar sites for games or crafts, check out the Christian Women’s Directory.

And, thanks for asking! Marnie

Jesus’ Pearl: The Opportunity to Obey God!

I received this awesome reminder in my email bin this AM and wanted to pass it along to you!

My sister wrote to encourage me that God WAS using me… even when sometimes it is a confusing journey.

She wrote about a lesson God had taught her just prior to the date when her husband had a serious motorcycle accident. She writes:

————–
The opportunity to obey God was Jesus’ pearl of great price.

Jesus tells us that Heaven is what we are shooting for (Matthew 13:45-46), but He already had that.

He was willing to give up Heaven for the chance to obey God even to the point of death (Phil 2:6-8)! Doesn’t that just blow you away?
————-

Regardless of what God is asking YOU to do for Him today, do it! Do it with all your might and view it as the most awesome privilege, because it is.

And, when you are confused, in pain or feeling rejected, look at Jesus! He gave it ALL up for the awesome privilege of obeying God, for YOU.

Rejection: Why Leaders Must Give It & Take It

God is the Ultimate Leader. He selects and rejects people all of the time: There were many applicants for President of the United States, but only one was chosen. There was only one Moses, one Abraham, one Esther.

It’s interesting to note that people hate that about God. We hear comments like, “If there is a God, He wouldn’t do it like that!” Or, “A loving God wouldn’t send people to hell.”

But leaders make judgment calls all of the time. Leaders lead. They do so in the limelight, receiving praise or criticism based on the perspective of each affected party.

I rejected an applicant yesterday because she did not meet the qualification requirements at www.WomenSpeakers.com. While I never find pleasure in this, I am happy to enforce our parameters.

Not surprisingly, she was hurt; and, as is often the case, hurting people respond in hurtful ways.

I realized during this process that there are leaders who read this Blog who might sometimes feel ALONE — like you are the ONLY one who receives the razor’s edge of anothers’ pain when you enforce a parameter.

In her note, she wrote…

“…there is no way that God would ever tell them to exclude qualified people… no way. It is the same thing I ran up against in the non-profit world… BUREAUCRACY….”

I disagree.

The very term “qualified” means that there are some limitations as to who will and who will not be admitted.

As an employer, I disqualify people for the smallest of reasons: An applicant may have 99% of the qualifications I require, but if they are only available on weekdays and we are hiring for a Saturday position, I must reject their application on that 1%. It is a critical qualification.

As you proceed through your life as a leader, you will have the awesome privilege of saying “yes” thousands of times, and the awesome responsibility of saying “no” just as many.

My response to this gal ended with these words, which I share with you now:

I delight in receiving direction for my life and work from God, in making judgments based on His parameters, in asking God to provide guidelines so I can know what to do, in receiving His provision by following them, in looking forward to encounters in heaven that God has prevented on earth due to time, space, location or qualification.

I rest gratefully in the security blanket of Jesus Christ. In this I experience no guilt, shame or remorse. In fact, I would have it no other way.

Is There Such a Thing as Godly Stress?

There is a popular belief that Christians only experience stress if they are outside of the will of God. Mary Fairchild, the Christian Guide at About.com, puts it this way:

“Stress and anxiety for a Christian can take on many different shapes and forms, yet in general, for most Christians, stress boils down to one idea – lack of trust in God.”

While it is true that faith in God is what carries us through every stressful situation to a position of peace, it is also obvious that Christians experience stress while trusting fully in God.

Jesus Christ, the perfect God-man, and the example of faith for every Christian, experienced a state of ultimate psychological stress, hematohidrosis, on the night of his arrest. He exemplified God-induced STRESS, being literally “overwhelmed with sorrow”, “full of anquish” and “falling face down” in prayer.

Learn what Jesus did, so you can do the same next time you find yourself psychologically overwhelmed. Read the full article HERE.

Bible/Book Study: Feedback Please!

HUGE response from yesterday’s Marnie Minute requesting replies with the names of your groups’ favorite Bible or book studies. If you missed it, comment below!

We’ll be hosting a “Bible/Book Study” Expo online sometime later this spring and would LOVE to include books that your group has found to be favorites.

Thanks for your input! I am WAY excited to hear from so many of you all at once!

Marnie

Speaker 1st Steps

During today’s Coaching the Group call, Sherri and Ruth asked several questions about getting started as speakers. Here are a few tips:

Q: What should I do first?
A: Register with WomenSpeakers.com for a free listing. This is the largest online directory of Christian women speakers in the world and gets several million hits a year.

Q: I want to do a website, but should I start with a website or a blog?
A: Start with a website and then add a blog.

Q: How should I go about creating a website?
A: Steps…
1. Decide on a name for your website. Ideally, select your own name or the name of your ministry. Remember, you will need to say this hundreds of times over the years from the stage, on radio, etc. Choose a short name that is easy to say 10x fast! Do not use dashes or underscores.
2. Purchase the URL (website name). I use Godaddy.com, the World’s #1 Registrar.
3. Either hire someone to build your website or use a website wizard, like GoDaddy’s “Website Tonight.” Note: If you already have all the information required of our Qualified Speakers at WomenSpeakers.com, you could realistically put a website up in one evening. Most likely, however, you will not have all of these items when you are just starting out. Use the Qualified Speaker requirements/profile at WomenSpeakers.com as your goal. When you collect those items, you are ready to move to the next level: professionalizing your own website and getting additional visibility at WomenSpeakers.com.
4. Once you have a website, add a blog. I use WordPress.com. It’s free and fantastic. Link to your blog from your website home page.
5. When you have several speeches under your belt, have a one-sheet, a video clip, several topics and reference letters, then you may want to consider applying to a speaker’s bureau. Many of the big name speakers are on the roster of a dozen or more bureaus. Others have hired their own publicist.

Hope this helps!
Marnie

Changing the World, One Diaper At A Time!

I just finished being interviewed by Cindy Rushton for her BlogTalkRadio Show, “Mom to Mom” on the topic, “Changing the World, One Diaper At A Time!”

Matthew 25:21 reads, “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”

The implication is that a faithful servant willingly does her best on the “few” or small things, after which a faithful master (God) gifts her with happiness and more responsibility.

God already knows what He created us to do… it is our responsibility to “do the few things faithfully” in order to be ready, equipped and skilled enough to do “the many things” later.

Listen in to the whole conversation HERE.

Why My Christmas Tree Is Still Up on Feb 6th

Honestly! This post truly is about Women’s Ministry… sort of!

What “tradition” is your group holding onto that makes you feel sad, overwhelmed, discouraged or frustrated?

If you can think of one, then enjoy this little story about me and my Christmas trees:

Forever and always, from when I was born, our Christmas tree came down on January 1st. That was the day it needed to be done.

So, after I moved away from my parents’ home, I, too, took down my Christmas tree each new years day. And each year I felt sad as I put away the trimmings and hauled out the last green thing I’d see for months (in the northern tundra where I live).

Then, one year at Christmas time, my mother-in-law asked what I’d be doing the next week. I ran down a list of things including taking down the tree, after which I sighed and said, “It always makes me so sad to take it down.”

She laughed and said, in an off-handed sort of way, “One year we kept ours up until March.”

I was shocked! “You really did that?” I asked, quite sure that there was some law against it somewhere.

But, indeed, they had and now, do you know what? I do! I just leave it up until I’m good and ready to take it down. And, guess what? Now, instead of feeling sad on the day I put it all away, I am just plain glad to get it gone.

So, I encourage you: If there is a “tradition” that is causing you concern, take a fresh look at it. Is it really necessary to do things in that “exact” way? Is it necessary at all?

Often times just a fresh perspective makes all the difference!

There is an excellent training on this topic available to club members from here: LeadershipAttitudes.com