GLOW

I woke up this morning with a heavy heart for the women of NewLife and of the area we live in. I can't describe the burden I feel when I witness the effect that this world has on the spirit of any woman in my view. I'm not talking about physical appearance or aging. I'm talking about how you look at someone who puts their faith in the uncreated God, but yet something behind the exterior just doesn't glow like it used to. Sometimes we lose our glow because a loved one is in need of healing, sometimes because there is true strife in our own home, sometimes because we feel like we will never get it right or measure up. Let's take a look at some scripture that I feel applies to our situation.

In Genesis 37 we get to follow the life of Joseph, who for various reasons was strongly disliked by his 11 brothers, one of which was certainly jealousy over a special robe that their father had given Joseph because of his love for him.

18 "But they saw Joseph in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.... 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the richly ornamented robe he was wearing- 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern."

Why is it that rather than just killing him where he stood, the first thing they did was to strip him of his robe?

Because his robe was the symbol of his father's love and favor on his life. Just like our unexplainable joy is the symbol of our Father's love and favor on our lives. Satan is simply irritated and jealous for our robes of joy, so his first attack on our lives is to neutralize us by taking away the most obvious connection with our Father in heaven.

Fortunately for us, our robes of joy are not something that Satan can take away from us without our permission. Ladies, I beg of you, hold on to your robe with white knuckles! Don't let it slip away without your notice! Too often we allow the pressures and hurts of this world to affect our spiritual wardrobe in a scary way without even realizing it.

For those of you fighting to hold on to your glow, keep fighting. For those of you who feel like you can't remember the last time you saw that robe hanging in your spiritual closet, I urge you to remember your first love. Spend some time in his beautiful, life-giving, presence. When Moses spent time face to face with God, it was said that his face shone with light for some time. Trust me ladies, life doesn't seem so grim when you view it through the reflection of a little glow!

For those of you who don't know, B'LoveD is hosting something really exciting this October...GLOW, our B'LoveD retreat! We are so excited and overflowing with expectation about what this amazing time with our awe-inspiring Father is going to do in our lives. We hope you will join us October 7-9, at the NYLO Hotel in Las Colinas. You can find more information HERE. But be sure to register soon, deposits are due by July 11!

I love you ladies, and I pray for your infectious glow on the world around us!

~Laura~