Aspiring to be fall 2016

FALL 2016

ISSUE NO. 3

ASPIRING TO BE MAGAZINE

REMAINING HOPE-FILLED

RUN THE RACE SET BEFORE YOU

SHINE ON ME YOUR BODY IS A TEMPLE

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

Images: Free via Lightstock.com

aspiringtobemag.wordpress.com

A2B table of con tents 02 Letter From the Editor 03 Remaining Hope-Filled 05 Shine On Me

02

03

05

07 Your Body is a Temple 10 Run the Race Set Before You 14 Recommended Resources

07

10

14

A2B

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Dear Readers, I pray that the words in this issue is a balm to your soul. We desire for it to be something that you can go back to and read whenever you need encouragement.

As we each go through our days performing the same tasks day in and day out remember that you are loved, cherished and appreciated. Maybe you don't hear it enough, but I don't want you going through another day without hearing it from me. "I appreciate you."

God Bless, Dianna

Dianna Auton is a Homeschooling mom to 3 girls and wife to her best friend. She is a blogger, author, reviewer and a coffee drinker. She enjoys reading, writing, hiking, photography and shopping. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Christian Education from Calvary Bible Institute.

Her passion is encouraging women of all walks of life to be all that God has created them to be.

3

A2B

REMAINING HOPEFILLED IN THE MIDST OF HOPELESSNESS, UNCERTAINTY AND DESPAIR

BY ASHLEY CHAMBERS

We are all facing a mountain of some sort. I have faced many mountains in my life and what got me through was Hope. Hope is a driving force that launches us forward into an attitude of expectancy. We then clothe ourselves in optimism and confidence. We rise up and climb those mountains hand in hand with God one step at a time until we reach the top. We stand and act in faith on the scripture that tells us according to Mark 11:23 "For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."

Hope is a guarantee to us that creates resistance against despair and defeat. As long as we cling to Hope then we will overcome the uncertainty in our personal lives and in the world. We are all believing for things great and small and all things we believe for matter to God. Increase, a child, restoration, chains of bondage to be broken, a job. There are a multitude of things and it requires Hope from us to receive in due time. Everywhere we turn even in our churches we are seeing hopelessness. People are giving up. However, God tells us in Galatians 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

The world is experiencing the fulfillment of the end times and God's word is the trustworthy source of what's happening and how we are to walk through this time. Remain in Hope! It's your survival vest keeping you afloat. Let me encourage you to be a person of Hope. Be so hopeful that your hope causes others to take notice and it becomes contagious.

4

REMAINING HOPE-FILLED

God is faithful. Remain in hope and you will see his faithfulness in His infinite and perfect timing. I want to leave some of my favorite verses that remind me that I'm never alone and he is always with me. I simply need to call on him.

Deuteronomy 31:8 and 31:6, Joshua 1:5 and 1:9, 1 Peter 5:7, Hebrews 4:16 and 13:6, Isaiah 41:10­13, Psalm 55:22, Romans 8:28 and 2 Timothy 1:7

Ashley Chambers is a deep thinker and big dreamer who casts those thoughts and visions onto paper. Her purpose is to inspire others to see their potential and choose to be bold and courageous as they journey through this foreign land we call Earth. She runs the Facebook page Count it ALL Joy Where she encourages others in their Faith and challenges them to be intentional about their walk.

5

A2B

SHINE ON ME

BY CHRISTY POWELL The coffee was brewed and my cup was steaming in front of me. As I directed my thoughts and meditation toward Jesus in the early morning hours, I sensed the direction of ugliness of character. With the KJV bible, two other translations of the bible, and the Strong's book opened, I knew I needed to look at 2 Corinthians 4:4. All of which turned out to be a series of lessons on character development in my life.

"In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God, should shine unto them." ~2 Corinthians 4:4~ I began to think about the light of the glorious gospel shining on me. We must have the light of the glorious gospel of Christ shining on us, yes, to become born again and yet beyond­DAILY! Suddenly, while meditating on the glorious light, I saw myself holding a rectangular piece of glass about shoulder width at my chest area. The glass appeared as a black spray painted surface. In the vision, it was black soot on the glass. Its luster was very dull. As I watched what the Lord would say, the soot began to be wiped. It smeared until it became clearer and clearer. The light could shine through again!

As I thought about all I had seen, I had a knowing that what I had just experienced was a matter of the heart, my heart to be exact. My life in Christ and my reflection of his glory had become so darkened by life's everyday activities that I was no longer shining for Christ as I once had.

The light of the glorious gospel, Jesus Christ, SHINED ON ME that early morning! All the desires of salvation were made fresh and revival fire was rekindled in me! Glory to God! For many years, I had faithfully been in the word, but my prayer life had decreased tremendously compared to what it once had been.

6

SHINE ON ME

"And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistening." ~Luke 9:29~ We look at Jesus in Luke 9:29, we can see that his countenance changed as he prayed. The glory of God was upon him. We are no different. Our countenance will change also when we pray and the glory of God will shine upon us. In order to shine in his glory, we must first spend intimate time with him in prayer. The light of the glorious gospel must shine on us!

The enemy of our souls, the god of this world, would love to slide the veil over our eyes and hearts once more. He wants to thwart God's plan in our lives by slowly distracting us from prayer and personal time with God in his word. Jesus must be our example. He left the overwhelming crowds of people countless times in the scriptures to pray and hear a word from his father.

Jesus gave the disciples these instructions on prayer in Matthew 6:6. He said to enter in to your closet, and when you shut the door, pray to the father in secret and he will reward you openly. What was revealed to me that very day was a prayer reined in my heart and my mouth, yet I wasn't taking time to get in the secret place without distractions.

Since that day in early January, I have made prayer in the secret place a priority in my life again. Please let the LIGHT of the glorious gospel SHINE ON ME daily!

Christy Powell is a wife, mom and minister of the gospel residing in East Tennessee.

7

A2B

YOUR BODY IS A TEMPLE

BY WENDY MANESS Growing up in church I always heard the words, “Your body is a Temple”. Most of the times that I heard those words the preacher was referring to staying sexually pure or not drinking alcohol. As I have gotten older those words mean so much more to me. Those words mean that in every way I can keep my body healthy, then I need to do it.

I think about how well I take care of my house. I make sure that the house is clean. I make sure that if anything is broken, that I fix it. I take steps ensure my house is a strong house, that my house is safe place to rear my children. The same should be true with our bodies.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), obesity is now the number one health threat facing Americana, and Christian’s are not exempt from this disease. I remember as a child having fellowship nights at church, and believe me there was never a short of good food. We would always have fried chicken, mashed potatoes, baked beans, banana pudding, and cakes for days. Now, you may be saying, these foods aren’t bad foods, and in a sense you’re right as long as the foods are eaten in moderation. Where we mess up is eating to satisfy our fleshly needs, and not to fuel our bodies.

The Bible condemns overindulgence in many things, including food. Proverbs 23:20­21 says: “Don't associate with those who drink too much wine, or with those who gorge themselves on meat. For the drunkard and the glutton will become poor, and grogginess will clothe them in rags.” The overindulgence of food is rarely spoken about in the church, but we hear on a regular basis about over indulging in alcohol. There is no difference. Food is meant to fuel our bodies and satisfy the needs, providing energy and providing vitamins to keep us healthy. When we are eating too much, we are filling fleshly desires. Now, I will tell you that first bite of banana pudding taste so good. The sweet taste is very comforting. It’s not wrong to eat these sweets every once in a while, but when we eat them daily they become harmful to us. The world will tell

8

YOUR BODY IS A TEMPLE

A2B

you to enjoy because life is short, but life can be shorter if you are not taking care of your body. Life can be shorter if the food you are eating is harming you, instead of healing you.

There’s a saying by Aristotle, “Let food be thy medicine.”

Think about that, if food is your medicine, then you don’t need the pharmaceuticals that doctors will prescribe you. I went for my physical this year and my doctor looked at my chart, she said the last time we saw you you were on several medications, how is it you are now 37 and on no medicine. I explained to her that I started eating clean, and stopped eating things out of a box. She then told me that was unheard of at my age for someone to not be on medication. I was blown away! Why is it that it is not normal to be 37 and be on no medication?

"For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:20). When we keep our body healthy by eating the right foods and exercising, then we are able to do the work of the Kingdom of God. We are able to be physically active in missions, active int he church, and we are able to be mentally active in our spiritual walk. When I first started on this healthy journey it was hard, I didn’t know what to do, so I worked with a trainer online. She taught me the foods and portions to eat to fuel my body. I soon disciplined myself to eat healthy. Not only did I discipline myself to eat healthy foods, but also started out exercising at least 3 times a week. I quickly dropped weight and started feeling better. I had energy that I hadn’t felt in a long time. Exercising soon became time I spent with God. It became a time that was my time of worship. Just me and God and the rest of the world was shut out for a bit. I turned on my worship music, focused on the benefits of being healthy for God and it because a spiritual journey for me. Two years have passed since I have started my journey of healthy living. I’m closer to God than I have ever been. I am healthier than I have been since high school.

Changing your eating habits and learning to exercise can seem challenging, but it can be done with the help of God. As we know, “Nothing is impossible with God.” (Matthew 19:26) Since the Bible addresses eating, indulgence, self control, self discipline, gluttony, and other related sins, we need to be able to address this topic in our churches. We should be able to address this topic with out fear that we will offend someone.

When we learn to live a healthy lifestyle we can truly glorify God with out bodies and as the temple God designed.

9

A2B

Wendy Maness wears many hats, as most women do, she is a wife, mother, singer/songwriter, substitute teacher and assistant worship leader for Concord Methodist Church in Knoxville. She and her husband also stay very busy with their acoustic band, WestWend, which takes them all around the US and the World. She values being able to stay home with her two children, Ethan and Emily, and teaching them the importance of life. Wendy has a deep passion for sharing the Gospel and sharing what God has taught her through this process, we call life.

10

A2B

RUN THE RACE SET BEFORE YOU

BY DIANNA AUTON Hebrews 12:1 “...let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,” That verse has become my life verse. It is the verse I hold very close because it reminds me that God has set a “race” or purpose for me on this earth and it is my job to run that race with endurance. To never give up or give in. To run that race by relying on His guidance and support. However, too many times we try to run the race that God has set in front of someone else. As women we look to other women for inspiration, acceptance and, dare I say it, to compare where we are in life, to them.

When we do that, we start trying to run their race by mimicking their life, hobbies, interests and gifts. And when we don’t end up being as far along as they are, or we aren’t doing as well, we become depressed, judgmental and mean.

Why do we do that? Why do we start comparing our life and gifting's to those of other women?

We aren’t the same. Our gifting's are different. Our personalities are different and we all look different. God designed each woman with a certain personality, look and talents. These will be the things that will help us run our personal races, not the races of our friends. I mean think of it this way. God will call some to run cross country and others just a 5K. And there is always the possibility that you aren’t a runner at all. Maybe you're a walker and he has called you to walk your race.

You might think “But I want to be the fastest and get to the goal first so that I can win the award or get the recognition”. But guess what. It’s not about who gets recognized first or gets the big award. It’s about “how” you run/walk your race for the kingdom.

11

RUN THE RACE SET BEFORE YOU

When we start looking at others and try to mimic them, we are getting distracted from our true purpose. I want to share the entire verse in Hebrews 12:1 (AMPC) "THEREFORE THEN, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us," First off, we need to strip off and throw aside every unnecessary weight and sin that will try to cling and entangle us. If you seriously think about it, comparing our race to the race of our girl friends and others is an encumbrance to our own progress. It can cause us to fall into the sin of jealousy. Of constantly comparing ourselves to those around us. We then fall into the trap of “Why can’t I see those results now?” or “why doesn’t my life look like that?”. But you must remember that as women we go through different seasons of life.

Each of my friends are in a different season (empty nester, small children, working mom, stay­ at­home mom, etc...). We may all be called to run but each of our courses are somewhat different. Our pace will be different. One of us may have more hills than the others, but we are all called to run a race.

Let’s look at the second half of that verse : “and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us,” The Lord has called us to run with patient endurance, to be steady and actively persistent because God has appointed a course and set it before us. Oh I know patience is almost a four letter word to some people, but, seriously, we need to learn this patience thing. The quicker we do, the better off we will be. But we must also be steady (unwavering) and actively persist in the calling that God has placed upon us.

I have, unfortunately, tried to make things happen faster than I should. It caused all kinds of trauma that could have been avoided had I been patient and just ran what God told me to run trusting that he would give me the next step when I “obediently” followed the first one.

I think back to how many times I could have saved myself a whole lot of heartache if I had just trusted God with things instead of trying to force it because I wanted to be like someone else.

12

RUN THE RACE SET BEFORE YOU

It’s taken me a lot more years to understand that I need to run my race not the races set in front of my friends or those around me. Instead, I need to take the passions and talents that God gave me and run to the absolute best of my ability so that when this earthly life is over I will get to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21) As women we need to cheer each other on in their races and stop comparing our races to those around us. There may be times when our race will overlap with someone else’s and we can cheerfully and encouragingly run side by side. Eventually, your course may turn off in another direction and when that time comes you need to be obedient to God and run your path.

Remember there is a great cloud of witnesses cheering us on and I pray that you are also surrounded by a crowd here on earth that will cheer you on no matter how hard your race is or whether or not they agree with you.

If not, then let me cheer you on: “Great job! You're doing awesome! Keep up the good work! I am so proud of you!”

Now get out there and run the race that God has set out for you.

Dianna Auton is a Homeschooling mom to 3 girls and wife to her best friend.

She is a blogger, author, reviewer and a coffee drinker. She enjoys reading, writing, hiking, photography and shopping. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Christian Education from Calvary Bible Institute. Her passion is encouraging women of all walks of life to be all that God has created them to be.

13

14

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

15

Do You Write?

Are you a writer? Do you enjoy encouraging others in their spiritual walk? If so we are looking for contributors to add to our growing list of writers. If you are interested you can go to http://aspiringtobemag.wordpress.com/contribute for more inoformation or to submit an article.

aspiringtobemag.wordpress.com

Available on amazon