Living with Passion and Love

Seasons

2009-08-29T14:13:00.004-05:00

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven...
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Lord willing, September 2009 will launch a new season of the CWP. We have some behind the season changes happening. Please look for the next issue of the CWP before Thanksgiving. I'll keep you posted.

I hope you're thoroughly enjoying the last few days of summer!

With Christ's love,
Janel

Strong Women

2009-07-19T17:12:00.001-05:00

I finally published the issue I've had in draft for the last seven months. I hope you enjoy it!

You can find it here.

CWP on Twitter

2009-06-14T16:42:00.003-05:00

For those of your who love Twitter, I've set up a page for the CWP. Visit us on Twitter at cwpmag.

Celebrations - A New Issue

2009-06-14T16:04:00.002-05:00

Now here is a reason to celebrate: after many, too many, months, I published a new issue!

I've picked my favorite articles from the last ten years. While they are all reruns, except for the Hello Letter, we have many new readers who may or may not have seen them.

Enjoy!
Janel

If God Wills...

2009-01-09T16:00:00.000-05:00

As Christians, Scripture tells us in James 4:13-15 that we should say "if God wills" before we make plans to do such and such. God might have other plans. That has been the stuff of last year for me.

If you read my personal blog, you know that it's been a tumultuous year for the Messenger family. This post pretty much sums up what has been going on and provides links if you're interested to know more of the details.

All that said, I am preparing to publish a new issue with the theme Women of Strength. Look for it soon, Lord willing.

Of Purple Skirts...

2008-05-05T10:05:00.003-05:00

My daddy bought me a lavender skirt.

My mom and I spent some time singing together like we used to before I was married.

Which country singer 15 years ago crooned, "Life's about changin' nothin' ever stays the same"? She summed it up pretty well.

Every year when I was little, my grandpa used to make sure I had a new Easter outfit. There were the green years and then there were the purple years. Maybe that's why I fell in love with the purple skirt that Monday afternoon? Maybe it reminded me of a simpler time where life was good and time was my friend? Maybe that's why Daddy insisted, gently, that he get it for me?

Sometimes life seems so complicated and just plain hard. But when I stop to remember a time when life was simple and God was really big and awesome in a child-like way, today doesn't seem so hard. I think I'll dig out my purple skirt.

"I Serve A Risen Savior" Quotes

2008-04-19T20:14:00.000-05:00

We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us, we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.

C. S. Lewis

What is it to serve God and to do His will? Nothing else than to show mercy to our neighbor. For it is our neighbor who needs our service; God in heaven needs it not.

Martin Luther

Beginning Again

2008-04-15T07:06:00.002-05:00

I'm happy to tell you that the Beginning Again issue is fully published again. I had most of it online, but somehow "lost" the Hello Letter. It's found again and happily welcoming you.

I will be republishing the Running the Race issue next. I just need to add the articles to the database. I cannot tell you how cool updating like this is!!

Enjoy.

Quotes

2008-04-14T18:52:00.006-05:00

I'm getting our August-September 2001 issue ready to republish. It's been fun. I forgot that we used to add quotes to the main page each month.

Here are the quotes from the Running the Race issue:

It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to.

C. S. Lewis

It's hard for God to walk with a man who gets his mind made up to do things his own way.

Norvel Hayes

I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much.

Mother Teresa

6 Years Worth of Articles

2008-04-04T07:15:00.000-05:00

I'm happy to announce that all the articles we've published for the last 6 years are now back online! I've finished adding the rest of the articles to the Testify and Freedom issues.

Entering articles and adding them to the magazine is sooooo easy now! Rich made me a spiffy interface that sticks the articles in the database. As soon as I click "Save," the article is live and you get to view it. So cool.

Rich added a few new pages again last night. If you click on the category name in the top menu (Christian Living, Women Who Love, The 3 Hs), the link will take you to a page with all the articles listed in that category. If you would like them broken up by a more specific topic, use the drop down menu and choose from there.

Enjoy!

2008-03-31T11:25:00.000-05:00

I'm happy to let you know that I added more articles this morning. We now have well over 150 online again. wooo whoo! There are probably almost that many left to go up - in case you're curious.

To find out what I've added, check here at the blog for the latest updates.

Right now, I'm filling out the Freedom, Testify and Who Is This Jesus? issues. There are a couple more articles left for each issue.

Some of my recently added favorites are, but not limited to:

Reframing Our Finances with Faith by Patricia Prosser
Three Safeguards Against Adultery by Paula Friedrichsen
The Feast Makers by Elizabeth Fabiani - CWP Co-Founder

Enjoy!

Tea Time

2008-03-31T05:01:00.002-05:00

Rich and I have been fixing bugs and happily adding new articles all weekend.

After four years without being seen, I am once again thrilled to offer you the CWP Tea Pages! They are updated, revised and expanded! You'll find the link for them in our HHH section. The tea recipes listed in our Hearth section alphabetized by special Tea Page designation.

Please enjoy!

Mooooving

2008-03-28T06:16:00.002-05:00

The new site is live and the nameservers are switching as I type! wooo whoo! I'm so thrilled and excited!

The only glitch we have is that we can't get the menus to center in Firefox or Opera. Sorry! We know. ETA March 28: We've fixed the formatting problem and the nameservers are pointed to the new site. yeaaaaahhh!!

Please let us know what you think! And don't forget to start rating and commenting on the articles. : )

Hugs!
Janel

Down Sweet Memory Lane

2008-03-26T19:01:00.001-05:00

I've spent the last 3 days completely immersed in finishing the CWP redesign and uploading articles. I have all the issues after 2004 in the database, plus the new one, ready for upload. I started scrounging for 1998-2003 stuff. It has been the sweetest trip down memory lane...

Looking at the very first issues we published 10 years ago, (!!!) I'm tickled. I'm also delighted to know what God has done and where we've come. I haven't looked at any of these pages in 6 or so years. I find myself charmed by the sweet, innocent passion I had for ministering to women and the mission of the CWP. It stirs me.

Tabbing through the pages is like looking at a scrapbook. I had forgotten Misty Taggart interviewed Liz and I via live chat after our one year anniversary in 1999. That interview sent us more traffic than we ever dreamed possible. I recorded bits and pieces from the lives of my two oldest boys. I was mommy blogging before there was blog! But I'm like that. We had a chat room and e-cards. Then there's the Julia Stories that I can't wait to re-read. Oh and all of Cyndie's articles - our first author. I'm finding it hard to focus on "getting the job done." I really just want to call Liz and say, "Hey, you remember when?" But that would probably break the magic because she wouldn't be able to see them.

As if that wasn't all dreamy enough, this photo from our original "About Us" page made me stop... This was the first Easter picture we ever took. Those were my boys. Josh was 4 and Ben had just turned 2. I would get pregnant with Christopher that August.

Cuties aren't they?

Today, I read several blogs by moms with one or two toddlers or babies and I realized that I'm not there anymore. It seems so distant. I've got a teen and my youngest is reading! My "baby" will be 5 next week and is READING!! Nope, I don't relate. But reading the original issues of the CWP brought it all back.

I remember the sweet days again. They were simple and crazy and fun - diapers and all. There was no algebra to wade through. No grammar to make anybody cry. No reading lessons to scuffle over, just boy toys, hand-me-down Osh Kosh overhauls (b'gosh I'd forgotten about those too!) and reading Winnie the Pooh before afternoon naps.

That photo in 1999 started a Messenger tradition. With the exception of one year, we've got shots from every Easter from then to now. My cute little dumpins aren't so little anymore. Josh is taller than me by a 1/2 inch and Ben's feet are bigger than mine.

{sigh}

Life was so simple ten years ago. And I thought it was exhausting. Oh silly me! Little did I know...

Move Update

2008-03-25T18:33:00.002-05:00

Why oh why do things always take longer than you think?

I'm prepping to put the new issue in the database tomorrow morning. I'm crossing my fingers and praying that we'll have things ready to upload to the site tomorrow. Testing, testing and then hopefully we'll be live by the weekend. So neat!

Moving Web Servers

2008-03-23T22:04:00.002-05:00

Rich and I are working to move the CWP to a new server in the next 48 hours. The magazine might disappear (God forbid!) for hours or maybe days as pointers and DNS nonsense get all settled around. Don't panic. It will (Lord willing!) all be back up and running ASAP.

Please pray this goes smoothly!! There are many new changes and we're both really excited. I can't wait to show you what we've been working on!

Many thanks.
Janel

In the Works

2008-02-25T12:03:00.002-05:00

My husband, Rich, is a professional programmer. He's wanted to do some serious web programming, but hasn't had the opportunity until recently. His company just had him do a major web project that mirrors what we've wanted to do with The Christian Woman's Page, but never took the time to work out the kinks for.

The time has come.

In celebration of 10 years of publishing, the CWP is going high tech. We're going to database driven platform that will allow us to quickly and easily publish monthly, and be able simply republish all ten years of back issues that we couldn't before. I'm so excited!

Although we had hoped to have it finished for the March issue, the flu got us down. We're going to skip the March issue and publish the new site for the April edition. Lord willing, at that time we'll have every article we've ever published along with the new issue. I can't wait.

Please pray for us as we make these changes and transitions. In the meantime, enjoy what's left of winter!

Almost A New Issue - Clinging

2008-02-01T20:30:00.001-05:00

Although the newest issue of the CWP is finished and ready for press, problems with our webhost prevent me from getting it to you. I'm working with tech support now and hope to have the issue live by tomorrow evening.

Until then, enjoy your Friday evening.

Loving God - New Issue

2007-10-10T13:21:00.000-05:00

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Deuteronomy 6:5

From the very beginning, that's what God wanted from his people. This issue of the CWP looks at what that can look like in each of our lives.

Enjoy!

Good-Bye Summer

2007-10-03T12:22:00.000-05:00

New Issue

2007-10-03T12:17:00.001-05:00

Hello and good day to all three of our CWP blog readers! : )

I realize it's been a long time since we've published a new issue. Sorry about that. Lord willing we are going to go back to the once a month publishing schedule that I've longed for since the beginning.

I have a new issue half completed and plan to have it published before the weekend. The theme is Loving God. We've got some great articles.

Have a wonderful week!
Janel

"Help me God!"

2007-07-16T17:28:00.000-05:00

I always enjoy reading Liz's old writings. It's neat to be reminded of her journey - mine too. This piece is especially funny for me. The reason? The exact thing Liz was praying for and not hearing from God about, yet expecting... Came exactly a year to the day later. God has an amazing sense of humor! Too bad she had moved on. God knew she would. We had a really good laugh over it.

Enjoy... Janel

CWP eLetter -- Lessons Worth Learning -- October 12, 2005

“Help me God! I want to be an agnostic.” This was my prayer not so long ago. What do you do when you reach the end of your rope and decide you would rather be an agnostic? What do you do when it looks like being a Christian isn’t getting you all the things you were hoping for?

I try to keep my emotional drama out of the work place but one day it was unavoidable. As I cried on my co-worker’s shoulder I told her, “Right now, I am so close to becoming an agnostic. I am just so tired of my prayers going unanswered.” I was slightly comforted to find out she has wanted to be an agnostic at times too.

I would make a terrible agnostic though. I have too many Scriptures lodged in my brain. Like, Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? I couldn’t get away from His presence and that was the terribly ironic thing for me during this ‘episode’. I knew He was everywhere but I couldn’t feel Him at all. I kept thinking of this verse even while angry tears streamed down my face.

To turn my back on God I would have to clear out shelves of books and CDs. I would have to find a new job. (I presently work in a church.) I would have no One or nothing to write about. I tried, but it was virtually impossible not to talk to God in my head. My only hope would be electric shock therapy and really, that’s not a viable option!

The aforementioned verse continues: If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139:8-10

You really can’t get away from Him once you give your life to him. Perhaps he meant it to be that way because at some point, maybe several times in our life, we will be asked to trust that He is there even if you can’t see or feel or hear him. This is where I have been for months. I’ve been utterly frustrated that I can’t get away from Him, but I can’t seem to find Him either.

He knows where I am and He knows where I want to be, but his silence is deafening. I want to hear from Him or see some action. I want answers or resolution to things I have been praying about. I guess they will come when it is time. Meanwhile, I have to trust what I can not see, believe what I can not feel and act on what I can not hear.

Just when I really started to think that God is no where around, Jennifer called the church office. A conversation followed that demonstrated God’s ironic sense of humor. Jennifer has some mental issues and has called before when her counselor was on vacation. Since it was a late summer afternoon, all our pastors where either on vacation or had left for the day. Then she said, “Well can I ask you then?”

For 20 minutes or more I counseled this confused woman. She had found a scripture which caused her to doubt she is saved, so she is terrified she is going to hell. I tried to drill into her head through repetition, the very things I was having a hard time accepting myself. I felt like I was eating my words with a shovel as I told her “Repeat after me: Jesus loves me and He has forgiven me of my sins and because I believe in Jesus I am going to heaven.”

Every time she said, “But what if…” I would make her repeat it again with me. When she said she didn’t ‘feel’ like she was saved, I inwardly thought, “God we’re playing chess and I think I just heard checkmate.” Ironically, the next words out of my mouth were, “Jennifer sometimes we don’t feel anything we just have to believe what we know. We may not feel or see or hear but we have to trust what God says in the Bible and believe it, even if we don’t feel anything.”

God knows that when we speak the truth something solidifies in our heads that makes the truth even more real. Eventually, the things we struggle to believe become something we either believe and defend or disregard as untrue. In arranging for me to answer Jennifer’s call, God forced me make a decision to believe the truth with my mouth and my head and my heart. For some reason speaking the truth to Jennifer made a huge difference.

We have to stand on promises that we can not see and sometimes we have to follow a God we can not hear. This is hard! The alternative is to give up believing, which really isn’t an alternative. It looks like an easy way out, but have you ever tried to flee from His presence?

Widows of India

2007-07-05T23:00:00.001-05:00

Once again my heart breaks for the widows of India. I wrote about them before after seeing the movie "Water"

Today on cnn.com their plight is making news...

"These Hindu widows, the poorest of the poor, are shunned from society when their husbands die, not for religious reasons, but because of tradition -- and because they're seen as a financial drain on their families."

Such a strange world we live in that there can be such vast differences in how we treat people. Hop in a plane to Asia... and there they practical worship their widowed mothers. But in India sons disown their mothers simply because their father has died.

"Generally all widows are ostracized," she says. "An educated woman may have money and independence, but even that is snatched away when she becomes a widow. We live in a patriarchal society. Men say that culturally as a widow you cannot do anything: You cannot grow your hair, you should not look beautiful."

She adds, "It's the mind-set of society we need to change -- not the women."

This is a society that needs to reached with the gospel... the good news to all but especially the Widows of India.

This is a society that needs to be reached with the gospel - the good news - especially the widows of India. God, keep our hearts soft towards these women. May we be burdened to keep them in prayer. May we never take for granted the place women have in our American culture - in our Christian culture.

Reach down from Heaven Lord and send truth into the streets of India. Truth that strengthens the widow as she waits for truth to change the traditions of the Hindu culture that keep her living without hope or love or respect.

Unprotected

2007-06-01T23:31:00.000-05:00

Is she selling or is she buying?

For the sake of space and because I am not sure if I can quote a whole song follow this link and read the lyrics to this song:So Many Men, So Little Time by Miguel Brown then come back to me... I am serious go read the lyrics!

I always thought this was a catchy tune and I am sure I have danced to it at more than one wedding, but I listened to the words in the car the other day and I was shocked.

"They tell me I'm up to no good
I should just settle down
But I don't wanna stay with just one man

So many men - so little time.
How can I lose?"

"How can I lose?" How can she lose? Are you kidding me is this what this song is about? How have I never noticed this message of destruction.

What can she lose?

How about a life free from STDs for one. STDs that can lead to cancer or infertility!
How about gaining the reputation of a slut.
How about having something to give to a husband (other than an STD) when she finally decides to settle down.

Now because of the book I am presently reading I am on edge about these issues and the way Satan and his secular humanistic, hedonistic, narcissistic worldview is infiltrating society ... and I was going to say subtly infiltrating but if you read these lyrics you know there is nothing subtle -it is out right war against humanity and what as actually good for them.

So the question I posed is she selling or buying?

The singer/ the songwriter have they bought into this poisoned life they are living or is the song a platform they are essentially teaching from.

Is the singer covering up for some lack of emotionally connectedness or a nurturing relationship by throwing herself at a new man every night and maybe in 10 years she will see its lead to an empty life.

Is this song trying to teach us young women that it is perfectly acceptable to go ahead and have any amount of guys in your bed you don't even need to know his name. Trying to condition us to accept and believe that such behavior won't have drastic effects on women's physical and emotional health!

Casual se*ual relationships are not natural and yet society is telling us that you can do what you want... never mind that your reckless behavior can kill you.

I mentioned the book I am reading its called Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student (you might want to go check this link out before you keep reading)

This book is blowing me away. It is disturbing and I am disturbed by it. I am on edge and angry because this book put real people and statistics and explanations to things I kind of knew about, but didn't have the full story- partly because it didn't effect me! I wish I had someone I could help rescue from these lifestyles of reckless behavior. But let's face it a great majority of people who come to the CWP or Janel's blog or mine are not the women that need to hear this message. I can't help but think that there alot of people out there who come to the CWP who will never come in contact with HPV or have an abortion because you've "been a Christian all your life"... And praise God he has protected us from that!

But then again maybe you have and you'll understand why its important to teach and protect the unprotected- young women.

We need to know what's going on. We need to be fully informed and ready to serve or minister or fight if need be. Sooner or later we are going to come in contact with someone who is "Unprotected" who is dealing the aftereffects of abortion, STDs, infertility because they pursued careers instead or from STDs, or the revelation that their "friends with benefits" relationship had no true benefits. We need to understand them and understand that they may not have "been a Christian their whole life..." in fact that have a warped view of Christianity. But they need love and a listening ear and a mentoring message of hope in a non-judgemental way.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of reading this book. If you have teenagers, teach teenagers/college age, if you know people or work with people, if you love people, this book has information in it that people need to know. And it will disturb you, it will make you cry, it will make you angry but it will also make you ready to protect and stop the buying and selling when you can.

You probably haven't heard the last from me on Unprotected...

Erasing Regrets

2007-05-22T11:16:00.000-05:00

So I posed a question to a friend who I know has been involved in some sordid activities during his teenage and college years -

"If you could go back and erase the things you did that you regret (your major sins) would you do it knowing that you would lose whatever wisdom and understanding you eventually learned from the experience?"

His response was it "That's a no brainer." Meaning if he could he would most certainly erase the drug use and the sleeping around.

Still I pressed him about the fact that he would lose all he had learned. He might not be able to understand as well people who are doing the same things (sex & drugs). He might know less how to help them. (Helping is his line of work.) To that he said, "God is sovereign." Meaning God would provide him with the wisdom and knowledge he needs to do the things he is called to do.

I still struggle with this idea and how I would answer the same question. If it was a generic regret I wanted to erase I know I would go back to October, 1994, to see my younger brother one last time before he died.

With these sin-based regrets though there is so much that we learn because of our actions that it makes me nervous to think about who I would be today if I had not done X, Y, and Z. Honestly, this is a question I have wrangled with for as long as I have had regrets and only till I had this conversation with my friend has the concept of "God is sovereign" been able to wear away at the nervousness I feel when I think of some of my experience, understanding and knowledge being removed.

But, I have decided I would take my chances and change the regrettable if I was given that chance. Its only by God's mercy and grace that we learn anything at all from our foolishness and sin. One can only expect that in God's sovereignty he would provide all the information or wisdom necessary for the things He wants us to accomplish as opposed to redeeming our messes, which were never His intent for us.

There is a sense of freedom in coming to this conclusion, in letting go of the hard lessons learned is the realization that I wasn't meant to learn those lessons. I was suppose to obey and never choose sin... even after its forgiven and history.