Are you ready to kick off Transformed Tuesdays with us today?

We’re excited about this new weekly link up that will give us time to reflect on what it means to live a life more bright, more beautiful, more like Jesus as we dig into the Word, share our stories, and discover what a life changed by God really looks like.

Let’s Focus on Romans 12:2

As promised, each Transformed Tuesday will have one focus verse, announced the week before. This week’s verse is one many of us know and love. It comes from the book of Romans, written by the apostle Paul, and in two short sentences, calls us out of this world and into a life changed by God.

Romans 12:2 NIV

Do not conform to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is
—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

As you look at this verse, what do you think it tells you about God and about how to live your life?

I love to break down a verse, nearly word by word, and as I consider these three questions in search of “transforming truths”:

1. What is God telling me to do or not do in this verse?
2. What does this verse tell me about God, his character, and nature?
3. What does this verse tell me about me, as a child of God and follower of Christ?

So how would you answer these questions? 

I see with such clarity a reminder that this world has a pattern, like a connect-the-dot, that will be so tempting to follow. But I also know that God wants me to follow His pattern, so I have to learn how to stay on His course. I have to get my mind involved — to have it transformed.  Only then will my living line up with His truth as I experience a change in my thinking.

This verse has a rich promise — the ability to know His will (which is good, pleasing and perfect)! But it also comes with a condition: we must steer clear of the pattern of this world.  

So, how do we go about seeing the world’s pattern and making sure we don’t slip into it?

What are we doing to make sure our mind is changed by the Truth?

How are we testing what we think we believe is true according to what God reveals to us through the Scriptures?

Do we even feel like we really know God’s will — his good, pleasing and perfect will?

These are tough questions, but are worth pressing into Scripture to find the answers  and also seek the counsel of mentors to encourage us in a godly direction.

Lord God, as we think on today’s Scripture truth, may we embrace
Your life-changing work in our lives and inspire others to seek You, too.
Show us, oh God,, what it means to live a life transformed by your Word,
your pattern, your purposes. May we not be conformed to
the pattern of this world. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

So will you join us in sharing your stories and transforming truth keepers?

Link Up & Share …

There are three ways to link up and share in Transformed Tuesdays. Pick what works best for you…

{Option 1}  Share Your Story:  Link up to a post you’ve written about that reveals God transforming work in your life.

{Option 2}  Focus on the Key Verse: Link up a post in which you share your thoughts on the key verse from above.

{Option 3}  Spread It Around:   Share the Scripture graphic from above!

Next week’s key verse: Philippians 1:9-10

…so come on back and join us for Transformed Tuesdays…

:: and grab the button on the side bar, over there –>

{linking up here, too}

You know how we love offering you mentoring training and studies — especially when we keep hearing all the amazing feedback — so we’ve gone ahead an put another set of dates on the calendar.

The next 4 week free course, which is really like a mini-bible study and book discussion group using Impact My Life: Biblical Mentoring Simplified, is scheduled to start on July 8th. You can click here to register.

Even though it may seem too far off to plan, we’ve tentatively scheduled the next 6 week course to start on September 17th, which you can sign up for here (payment is not due until September).  The 6 week course also uses the Impact My Life Study Guide, and offers a more in-depth group experience with life coaching principles.

These courses are GREAT for women of any age and every stage! 

With the principles found in Impact My Life and the convenience of the online format, the benefits of these courses is amazing and diverse:

• moms walk away with ideas for connecting better with their teens
• youth and women’s ministry leaders learn how to communicate even more effectively
• women who think they can’t mentor are gaining confidence and courage
• young and seasoned Christians alike are inspired to follow Christ distinctly

…and this is all happening in four to six weeks with a personalized study schedule!

So, will you be the next person to sign up for an M2B Mentoring Training or Study Course and walk away floored by what God can do in you and through you to impact this world for His glory?

4 Week Study ::  Starts July 8th ::  FREE — click here to register

6 Week Study ::  Starts September 17th :: $10 — click here to register

…click here to learn more about the course details…

Questions?

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

email more at moretobe dot com

 

 

You already know that the Lord has been taking me on a brave new journey, showing me that courage is rooted in courageous faith. I’ve been writing and sharing about jumping out in faith in my own life and even recently confessing another stronghold of fear over here.

As God stirs my heart to be a woman of courage, I’m discovering that this message about bravery isn’t only for me.

It is for my own son and daughters. And it is for me to challenge you, as moms. We have a special calling to inspire not only our sons, but also our daughters to live brave.  It is a process and journey, which God’s be gracious to give me the words to share with you how to take each faith step. You can download the free, Live Brave, resource here {and get some other goodies, too}.

So come on over to the brand new MODsquad site, now called Mothers of Daughters, to read more about living brave and inspiring your girls to do the same! So head on over and see what my dear friend, Stacey Thacker, has been up to, making MOD a place for you to grow in your faith and equip you as a mom of girls.

“So when do you think you’ll do it?”

That was the question marking every conversation amongst my friends in high school. I was one of those girls obsessed with boys. It was so bad we had to give all the guys I liked numbers, just so we could talk in code when we passed them in the hallway. In our free periods, we dreamed about who might ask me out. Oh would it be number 1 or number 5?  When I finally landed with number 8 (yes, a bad choice), the question became, “So when do you think you’ll do it?”

Yes do it.

“Doing it,” was like a coveted prize that declared true independence and accomplishment. It was never a question about who I’d lose my virginity to nor a matter of waiting until marriage. It was a question of how soon, as there was no good reason to wait. It was just sex, of course.

Is purity in their vocabulary?

I was never a part of a youth group or involved in any mentoring relationship where the topic of purity would have made it into my vocabulary much less my philosophy.  Of course, the romance novels and movies I watched taught me that sex with a boyfriend was the greatest sign of being truly loved, and so what teenage girl wouldn’t spend hours dreaming about such a moment!

As much as my parents loved me to the moon and back, talking about boys…and the birds and bees…well, let’s just say it never made into a conversation I remember having. Or maybe the noise of my peers drowned out the words from my parents?

Either way, I made up my own mind. I foolishly gave my purity away to a boy and lived for years in the shadow of a broken heart with busted up self esteem. I wish I could say it was a one time mistake, but without the Truth to guide my decisions, I continued on a path of promiscuity in a search of being known and fully loved. Of course, it never happened. I only found authentic love when Jesus grabbed my heart and made it fully His, giving me a place to lay down my bruised body and find hope to heal my soul.

As least in my journey, I have a good reason why I wasn’t guarded about my purity.

I didn’t know any better.

But what about the girls who do know better? What about the boys who should do better?

Or worse yet, what if purity is taboo?

I wonder about this when it comes to my own children and the girls I mentor, and as I think about this generation raised in Christian families who are immersed in a culture that says purity is taboo?  The noise is louder than ever before, simply because the technology age screams sex across nearly every screen. The visuals being fed into their minds communicate that being sexy is everything. And, whether or not it is true, they believe their peers proclamations about whose doing it as though it is a blood-pact from elementary school days.

Everyone is doing it.

Yes, they believe that is a fact!  I’ve heard the confessions and fears from girls who are sexually active and those who think they are the last virgin standing…in 9th grade (and younger, mind you).  Our seemingly “good” Christian kids are tempted to play with the promiscuity fire for fear of being left out.  Like generations before, they’re duped into believing that sex is worth the risk, the compromise, the giving up of something that is already good, but not yet fully known.

So how can we get our teens to embrace purity?

In my humble opinion, we can’t get our teens to do anything.

They have a will all their own — and we should be thankful for that, as one day it will help them to live independent lives. However, we can become a primary influence in their lives on a topic that is of number one priority to them –  Yes, sex.  But not just that. If they want to be known and loved unconditionally, then we need to answer that cry of their heart with our attention overflowing onto them with the love of Christ laced in our words and responses.  Oh, they may not be able to put it into words, but this is really what they want and are willing to do just about anything to get it (and depending on their wiring, that risk may be intensified).

If sex is a means to an end, then the topic is a perfect opportunity to talk about much more than the birds and bees.

Why wouldn’t we want to harness what our teens are already focused on so that we can impress upon them truth?  To tell them about God’s deepest desire that they would know Christ personally and find true unconditional love in Him? From there, we can share about His design for marriage and purity. We can talk about the bonds we form with others and how to guard our heart. We can dig into identity and worth. We can open up the truth about grace and forgiveness, for some already need this message! And we can give them hope as we explain the gift they’ll get to open when their future relationship with a spouse starts with a pure commitment to Christ and His ways.

Oh friend, I know this type of conversation with your tween or teen could be scary. Or maybe you feel like you’re giving it everything you got, but nothing seems to be getting through. Please don’t give up. They need you to give them your time and your ear, without a screen in the way. Approach with questions and humility, and trust God to equip you and sustain you. He will. He always does.

If you want your teen to embrace purity, you need to embrace the opportunity to influence them again and again on the topics that matter most to them.

Your past doesn’t forbid you to do so.

His grace is good enough for you, too.

So will you download our free guide to Dating and Courting (and other FREE resources), which is full of biblical principles for cultivating pure relationships, and work through it with your tweens {no, they are not too young} and teens?

Click Here to Download our Free Dating Resource!

Get the guide for Moms, Mentors, and Youth Leaders!

***

I’m honored to be linking up with a group of bloggers reflecting on the matter of purity.

  May you be inspired to pursue purity for yourself and
influence the next generation in the process.