The Battle

"The mind is a great battlefield. The Bible tells us that we have the mind of Christ because we have a personal relationship with Him, but we still have to allow or choose to "let" the mind of Christ be in control. Every day we are at war for the control of the mind. Who wins that war is up to us and the choices that we make.
Proverbs 23:7 tells us, "For as he thinks within himself, so he is" (NASB). In other words, what we think about powerfully influences who and what we will become. Our actions, our attitudes and habits are born in the mind, an offspring of the thought life we entertain. Our actions, our attitudes and habits are born in the mind, an offspring of the thought life we entertain."
"We can literally change our life by changing how we think - but we cannot do it alone. God's standard and guideline for our thought life is very clear and demanding. In fact, it's completely impossible without God's power at work in our life.
"Think about the things that are good and worthy of praise; think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected" (Philippians 4:8, NCV)"
Mary S

Created for this purpose!

November 2, 2010 by Jory · 1 Comment
Do you ever wonder why you are alive–who you are and what your purpose is in life? Do you feel as if you have nothing positive to give? Do you sometimes feel like giving up? In order to answer life’s biggest questions, Rhonda Darville boldly proclaims that first we have to understand who we are. We often hear that to pursue our future, we have to know our past. Rhonda takes that even further. She says we need to look at what we were created for and who we were created by. Through examination of the truths in her own life and ultimately the truths in Scripture, she has been able to help others fulfill their purpose. Rhonda has discovered that even though we may take significant detours, we can return to the path we were created for by returning to our Creator.
About Rhonda Darville
First and foremost, Rhonda is a follower of Jesus Christ. Originally from the Bahamas, she is a speaker, writer, and advocate for the Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center in Lynchburg, Virginia, teaching young women who they are, what they were created for, and how they can make positive changes in their lifestyle.
Rhonda has served as a high school teacher and has been involved in women’s ministry and youth ministry for many years. Her work today is to inspire young women with the truth of who they are and to enable them to fulfill the plan God has for their lives. She seeks to bring glory to God through her story and through the work He has done in her life—work, she says, that only He could do.
Rhonda’s Coaching Suggestions
1) Seek God first. Find out who He is by reading Scripture and reflecting upon His creation.
2) Love others. Look into their hearts and discover the good they have to offer. Connect.
Rhonda’s Scripture for Today
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11


To hear my interview with Jory follow the link below.

http://womenfindpurpose.com/created-for-this-purpose-rhonda-darville/

THE FIRING SQUAD How much do you have to hate someone to watch them confine themselves to a fiery eternity?

A young woman enters a church; she is known to have lived a life that is not pleasing to many in the church. A mother grabs her daughters by the hand and tells them,”you see that woman over there have nothing to do with her, she is a bad woman”; another mother grabs her son and says if you bring that kind of woman home, we will disown you. A group heading to Sunday school looks at each other and subtly close their ranks, concerned that she would want to be a part of their class. All day at the church, no one wanted to make contact with her eyes, no one asks her how she doing. THE FIRING SQUAD

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house; she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, and she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner." THE FIRING SQUAD
40Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."
"Tell me, teacher," he said.
41"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[d] and the other fifty. 42Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"
43Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."
"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.
44Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.
47Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."
I choose these words and this verse to give you a picture of my life. I am a wife and mother; I have been saved for many years in my life. I have been on staff at a few churches, I have taught Sunday school, I have instructed teens on right living and led small groups, I have been in the choir, and in other words I have been very involved in my church and the spreading of God’s word. But there is something else; you see I have been that woman in the verses above. I had committed many sins and would not allow anyone to know my sins because I was afraid of the firing squad. Remember I am actively involved in the church, I am accepted but I felt the same way the woman above felt. I felt small, I felt unworthy, I felt condemned, and I felt I had no voice. You see I was not able to have a “life more abundantly” because I was afraid.
You see I was afraid of judgment from the church just as the Pharisee (remember Pharisee’s were the leaders in the church) in the verses above was ready and did condemn the woman. "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner."
I am a sinner, but a sinner forgiven just like the woman in the verses above. You see my dirty laundry was that I had had not one but two abortions during my teenage years and because of that made many more mistakes/ sins for a few more years. My laundry is not dirty anymore because I went to Jesus’ feet and asked, no begged his forgiveness and HE gave it to me. I have not been able to share this for many years because of the anger from many who believe abortion is wrong. Please do not misunderstand me I FULLY AGREE…..ABORTION IS WRONG! No one could shoot bullets at me better than I could shoot bullets at myself. I still see myself as a murderer, worse I murdered my own children. God has chastised me but he has also forgiven me.
This of course is a generalization, and of course I have looked at others from a point of judgment, how they could do that, what they are thinking, that kind of behavior will send them to damnation. I experienced freedom through a post abortion study at the Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center, freedom to speak, not about me but about what God has done in my life; about God’s ability and, desire to clean up a life heading to damnation. I am now assisting at this crisis pregnancy center. I put myself in each person’s shoes I come into contact with, knowing there is hope and I am not better than them because of my salvation but desiring the same freedom for them. I am now living abundantly because God has granted me the opportunity to reach young women and men before they make a choice that will change their lives, but also to offer compassion to one who has already made a choice they cannot change.
As we seek to get the message out, that abortion is wrong. Let us remember Christ did not come to seek those that are well but those who are sick, those who are lost. How can we reach them, by our love? By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." This “one another” means all God’s people. We must speak the truth in love or we risk being just like the Pharisees and helping someone to fiery eternity because they did not see or feel our love for them. Let, therefore brothers and sisters in Christ speak the truth but always in love. The book of Hebrews, tell us that Christ is the better choice, better priest, better example; he has allowed us the opportunity to reach us for eternity during times of great crisis. We can look again at the verses above; his example was love and forgiveness. The Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center strives to provide that atmosphere of love and safety and no condemnation and I am a testament to that. May God Bless You All!

Supernaturally Natural and Naturally Supernatural!

Yesterday at the Refuel Conference we were challenged by many great men of God. There were so many great messages and words from God to myself. One that stood out for me was the Supernatural power that can only come from God. We receive this power through:
1. Prayer:- As we seek to do the will of God, we must first seek him. Matthew 6 tells us "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all other things will be added". When we look at the life of Jesus, it was filled with prayer. Jesus prayed in season and out of season. Jesus was very deliberate in his prayer life, he took time out to commune with his father on a regular basis. Realizing that he had come to do the will of His Father and He could do nothing without him. By watching his example, his disciples desired this and asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. We can do nothing for god without prayer.
2. Be who we are:- Jim Cymbala and others noted this yesterday. We are called but we all have a specific calling. mine will look different than yours because God has made us all unique. Cymbala said that when he was called he desired to be a preacher but he knew that he was not. He could not figure how he could be used because he was not like Jerry Falwell; or he did not have the training that others had or he did not have the heritage or legacy that others had come from. He realized that he had to be who he was. "God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise." Once he embraced that he opened himself up and allowed God to work through him.
That is what it all is about, we are naught but filthy rags and we bring nothing to the table. God has the plan, he has the blueprints, he equips us. We are to be the vessel and allow him to fill us with his fire. Moses said he could not speak, Esther was afraid, Gideon was unsure, Samuel too young, we could go on but it is not about the man or woman but god's work and fire moving through them.

"David, wearing a linen ephod, dance before the LORD with all his might" (2Sam 6:14)

When I see this verse, I experience the unrivaled joy that David must have been feeling at that time. I am not dressed in a linen ephod, but figuratively I am. With my writings I am baring myself before my GOD and you, to demonstrate his glory, grace and abundant blessing to me. I cannot boast of anything because there is nothing I could have done in my life to bring me out of the mire clay that my life was in and the pit that was my life.
I am able to proclaim the joy of the LORD because of his mighty works. David experience the removal of the blessing of GOD because of DISOBEDIENCE and I likewise also experience this. This disobedience brings death and destruction and devastation. All of which I have lived through for many years. In the opposite way OBEDIENCE to God and HIS word and HIS will brings blessing, joy, awe. It brings freedom.
I am not just writing to air dirty laundry, I am PROCLAIMING THAT MY LAUNDRY IS CLEAN BECAUSE OF GOD!!!!AND NO ONE ELSE.
My great-grand mother always and I mean always told us "obedience is better than sacrifice" and I did not understand that as a child, I understand it now and wish that I had learnt the lesson earlier. I have felt more alive than I have ever felt in my life because of the freedom that only God can give. God has enabled me to minister to so many women in the last two weeks than in my whole life before this time. I am in awe at this. The one thing that I have always desired was to help others but was unable before I was holding one vestige of my life to myself and not allowing God to use it.
"Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is Holy"!

Taking a Walk Through the Past 3.....We need to know where we came from in order to appreciate where we are!

The day I met my husband to be was a normal one, like I said i needed by brakes fixed but, God had other plans. He knew before me that this was the man I would marry. Well, I was not looking for a husband and definitely not a man because of all that had gone on in my life. A relationship was not in the cards for me, I was trying to fix me. Well, I offered him my telephone number if he would assist me, I was in dire need. He took the number and told me that, "I had better be home when he called." Well, I thought to myself, "Who is he talking too?' and white boy at that, laying down orders. Umph, well guess what, I stayed home to see what would happen and HE called. We talked for awhile and decided to see each other another time.
He was the sweetest man I had ever met and never pressured me for anything. This man would call and ask if he could come by and always brought something he knew I liked. We would talk for hours about anything and everything. He really earned my trust and respect and I grew to love him. Unbeknown to me this love would be a pitfall for me, you see I had not finished healing and my relationship with Christ was not what it should have been. I put Jeff in the place God was suppose to be, I looked to him to fulfill all my needs and he could not.
This created problems in our marriage very early on, because I was not content. God blessed us with a beautiful daughter and I sought to pour love on her that I had never known. She flourished and made us both happy. Although for me happiness, contentment was elusive. Our marriage hit a bad spot in the road and we had a time of separation. We thought we were headed to divorce. During this time I made a huge mistake, of course because I was still looking for this love in all the wrong places. For me, this took me spiraling down a slope that nearly killed me. I became so depressed and suicidal that I could not get back on track.
Jeff asked me to come back home, but he did not know what I had done. I had to tell him. He forgave me, I could not forgive myself and did not think I was worthy to live. I tried to take my life. They admitted me to the hospital in a secure ward. While there, my pastor gave me some sermons to listen to and this change and melted something in me. I remember him talking about being tried and tested in the fire and coming out as pure gold. That's how I felt that I had been through the fires but was still alive.
They let me out of the hospital and I recommitted my life to Christ. I spent many weeks on the altar because I felt and knew there was an ocean to pour out to him. He cleanse me and made me whole. I began a life of transformation and got involved with my church helping in nay way possible. I sought to be a good wife and mother and be pleasing to God. He had entered my life and I knew I was a new creation, old things had passed away.
For many years I have served in the churches we have attended a having a heart for the people but there was still a block. Every time I got close to being truly effective, I would run. I remember one pastor saying to me that I was an answer to a ministry at the church, I ran so fast. I was employed at a Christian university and also at a church' youth group, and felt that things were not right. What I did not know was that I was allowing Satan's lies to become a stronghold and to take me off a path that God was calling me to. I allowed fear to dictate my steps.
Now since the Forgiven and Set Post-Abortion Bible study and the Breaking Free Bible Study I am no longer bound I am free. I know that God has been calling to help others who have gone done this part, to help others make the right choice, the choice for life and to teach purity and abstinence to young men and women. I am volunteering at the Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center and helping watch as God's word reach others and change lives. When Jeff and I made a decision to come to Lynchburg Virginia become of the testimony and life of a man, Jerry Falwell Sr.; we thought it was just to study the Bible.
But God had a plan: "Seek ye first the kingdom and God and His righteousness and all other things will be added" That is the verse we made our move on and we are seeing God's hands in every step.

A Day of mixed Feelings---

Yesterday we celebrated Mother's Day! What a Blessing it is to celebrate this day with the ones you love. For me it was a day, filled with calls to my mother-in-law, sisters, and other family members to wish them a special day. Likewise I received many calls from my family and friends. We went to church as we normally do on any given Sunday. The service was phenomenal and one part of the worship stood out to me, when we sung the song, When I Don’t Know What To Do. This song is one of those songs that express what we all feel sometimes, but it could have been where you found yourself yesterday. Thinking about those that are with you and those that are with Christ in Heaven. When we do not know what to do, we could literally apply the words of this song as a balm to our minds and hearts because Christ knows what to do and he is waiting for us to call on Him. The words of this song are below and I believe poignant to any situations in our lives. Enjoy!

Here are the lyrics, and here is a link to iTunes to download it. For 99 cents, about the cost of a Snickers bar, you can receive a much sweeter blessing. This song wants to be played loud, by the way.

Lord I surrender all to
Your strong and faithful hand
In everything I will give thanks to You
I’ll just trust Your perfect plan

Chorus:
When I don’t know what to do
I’ll lift my hands
When I don’t know what to say
I’ll speak Your praise
When I don’t know where to go
I’ll run to Your throne
When I don’t know what to think
I’ll stand on Your truth
When I don’t know what to do

Lord I surrender all
Though I’ll never understand
All the mysteries around me
I’ll just trust your perfect plan

Bridge:
As I bow my knee
Send Your perfect peace
Send Your perfect peace, Lord
As I lift my hands
Let Your healing come
Let Your healing come to me

This song talks of worship in a new way, that expresses that we are nothing apart from Christ. That He is an intricate part of who we are and that he has all of the answers.

Blessings to all!