Lovelier women...

Hello Mrs Nanda, my name is Cintia Cuccato and I'm a 
pastor's wife here in Ribeirão Preto (Brazil).

Even without ever having met you, I have great love and admiration for you and I wanted to share a few testimonies about the challenge that you posted on your blog "40 days to Becoming a Lovelier Woman."

Every Monday I hold a meeting for a group of women that is called "Women that excel" and I have done the tasks with them. There has been a great turnout. I always ask them to write to me about the tasks since they are still too shy to speak during the meetings, hehehe... Many of them have changed their behavior and are learning how to deal with and understand other people. The majority of them are single women 
but there are also some older ladies in the group.

For example, there are two ladies that I really like, they never miss a meeting, and we had the task to do our eyebrows... I thought to myself, I don't think that is something those ladies are going to do...Mrs Nanda, I totally missed the target...hehehe do you believe that one of them wrote to me saying that she had never done her eyebrows nor had she even thought about getting them done but due to the task for becoming a lovelier woman, she went to the beauty salon and got her eyebrows done and felt very beautiful, I was so happy!

Many of them have given their testimonies, stating that they are learning to trust in themselves more, to respect other people, they are learning how to express themselves without being rude and they are not being annoying anymore...hehehe

I notice that these women are maturing both physically and spiritually, they are becoming better daughters, wives, homemakers, in short, what makes me even happier is knowing that they are more intimate with God, these tasks have made them get closer to God and have made them believe that they are capable of becoming lovelier for our Lord!!

I thank God for giving you that inspiration, for it is very special for these women, those are their own words!!! They really value it, for it is a task after all... we stopped on task 35 this Monday, so we are reaching the end... but even if we are almost finished, we will have many fruits to reap from the seeds that have been sown. 

I apologize for the long email but one of my tasks is to become more objective with my words....hehehe

May God continue to bless you more and more in your marriage, ministry and everything else...

A big kiss and bring on the new tasks!!!

Cintia Cuccato

I decided to change!

Hi Mrs Nanda,

It’s been awhile since I thought of sending you an email to let you know what has been happening to me lately.

For some weeks now, I have been seeking God’s help to change some things I was not been able to. I kept on telling myself…I will get better at this, I will change that, but sooner or later I would end up being the same Raquel.

Recently I said “enough” to the whole situation. I could not accept that situation any longer!

It was then that I started asking God what it was that I really needed to do so I could see a definite change in me and become a reference of Him.

Whilst seeking Him, He spoke to me…”my daughter, it is very easy to be a reference to those outside the church.  What you really need is to be a good example to your husband! Start pleasing him as you would want to please Me and respect him as you respect Me!”

He also reminded me of one of Bishop Macedo’s messages where he mentioned about that Bible verse that talks about loving your neighbor as yourself. 

Bishop asked: “Who’s the person who is closest to you?” And he answered: “ Your husband/wife. This means that you can do everything for others, but if you do not do it for your husband, taking care of him and respecting him, you are not pleasing God.”

Such an important message as this one, had everything to do with the messages we receive every morning in our meetings.

God could have not been clearer to me!

I immediately understood that I needed to become this woman of God to my husband. After all, he is the person that knows me the best! 

Since then, I made a decision. Every time my husband asks me to do anything, I will not give excuses not to do it. I will respect him in every way. Instead of trying to convince him of something, I will stop doing those things that displease him and show maturity through my submission…I will deny my will and will no longer impose my will/opinion. Amongst other things too…

And to be honest, I noticed a great change since that prayer. It’s been weeks already and I feel such a peace inside me because now I have been pleasing God with my actions. I see that now, God is pleased with me. This experience brings me such a satisfaction! Not even to mention that I am not using strength to change, but rather, I have strength inside me to make this change happen.

This week, my husband told me that God had spoken to him too.

My husband is naturally caring with me but I noticed an even greater care coming from him. We are now even closer, happier and even better…our work has been bearing fruits. God has been blessing us.

All this change happened when I decoded to listen to God! How glorious is the Holy Spirit!

Well, this was my most recent, wonderful experience with my dear Father!

Lots of love and thank you for all your help.

You see dear friends? One action brings a reaction! She acted and changed and consequently, her husband sought to change too!!!

How wonderful!

If all could understand this…but no. They wait for others to change so they can change. What’s the pleasure in that?

Want to see results too? Do as Raquel did! And I dare to say more, what’s the point in being a reference in the church or outside if inside your own home, you are not a reference of Him???? Let’s think about this…

I was feeling a bit stuck in my spiritual life and I needed to do something about it…

It’s still very clear in my mind what I asked Him in that Campaign of Israel: “My Lord, do whatever is needed so I may mature and grow in my spiritual life.”

I presented my sacrifice and moved on.  Not long after, my husband and I were sent to do the Work of God in places I had never imagined I would go, and then the new experiences began. My journey to spiritual maturity…

I faced spiritual deserts, difficult situations, fear, and disappointments.

On a particular occasion, a terrible thing happened to me and I felt as if I had lost the ground beneath my feet… No one really understood how I felt. It was as if a void had overwhelmed me. It was a spiritual desert.

I remember praying and feeling as if there were no one listening to me, as if I were alone.

One day, as I asked God to show me what to do, the truth hit me right in the head: He reminded me of what I had asked Him and showed me what my true spiritual condition was. I was weak.

God showed me many things when I went through my trials; I know there’s much more to come, but this time it was different. He was showing me that I was not all that strong. I was not firmed in Him as I thought I was, but in people around me.

The penny dropped and I cried out to Him and, since that time, I always pray that He will not let me deceive myself into thinking that He is first in my life when, in fact, other things (people I love) are.

I learned that if God is in first place in my life, even if the world comes crumbling down, I will never feel lonely.

I will love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
my God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 

I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies. The pangs of death surrounded me,
and the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me. 

In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

Psalm 18:1-6

Starting over…

Many people wait the whole year and say…”Next year it will be different!” “Next year, I will start over” “Next year, I will organize myself better” “Next year, it will be my year” “Next year, I will definitely loose weight!”

Usually, this happens towards the end of the year. These ideas start to come in mid December…

What if you started the year on the wrong foot?

What if things haven’t been too good so far?

What if even with so many plans, nothing went right? What to do then?

Wait for a new year? Become desperate?

Our God is so wonderful that He gives us with each morning an opportunity to start over. You do not need to wait for a new year!

Today is a new day and tomorrow it will also be and this shows us that we should never give up. It does not matter your pain, your difficulty, it will all go away.  What matters is that you make the most of each morning as a gift from God.

Aren’t you happy or satisfied?

Start over! And what about starting over in the right way?

Here goes just a tip for you who want to start over:

Forgive.

Forgive that someone who hurt you; who said something you did not like; who betrayed you; who offended you.

Forgive yourself. Stop putting yourself down because of a mistake you made.  It does not matter how bad that mistake was; if you do not drop it, forgive yourself, then you will never be able to start over and get it right next time!

Look at this wonderful scripture……

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

This means that we have the opportunity to start over every day!

How about you? What are you waiting for?

When it starts hurting more…

Most of the time, we bear a situation to the point it starts hurting even more and we become so overwhelmed that we let go of all that we conquered for so long.

Thinking about sacrifice, which one is the greatest of all? The one we cannot forget?

Well, it is the sacrifice that the Lord Jesus did for us, our Savior, who died on a cross so that we could be forgiven and saved.  But have you ever thought what could have happed should Jesus have given up when the moment came when it started hurting more?

Just the thought of it brings me great fear because we would not have the right to salvation…

Now, just picture this…There He is, our Lord Jesus, crucified and in the middle of His sacrifice, suddenly, when He is almost there, the pain gets stronger…What if He had asked the Father to end all that and to abort the mission? All that He had done on earth would have been in vain. All would be lost because a mission can only be a success or a failure. And if it’s not a success then the failure doubles!

We must bring this example to our own life. It is when it’s hurting the most that we should lift up our heads and go on! Because it is He who confirms in His word that He does not give us more than what we can cope with. Therefore, when the pain gets stronger, and if we give up, we will be throwing out the window all that we have already conquered!

And even if more and more situations come our way that makes it look like our fights are even greater, we must persevere, because if our Savior came to this world in form of a man, it was to show us that if we have the Spirit of God, although being “mere humans” we will be victorious!!!!

Written by Priscila Rebequi. (pictured above)

Changes...

My dears, shortly we will be changing this blog's address. 

We are already working on the new "look" and I can't wait to have it ready...

How beautiful, I can't get enough of it!

I have no idea how many times I've heard this song but the truth is that I don't get tired of it!

If I'm home alone, talking to God, this song is playing in the background... how marvelous! Everything passes! Everything is going to be alright! He is with us!

Here it is for you to try it. Enjoy!

The Price of Disobedience

I was 7 years old when my brother and I were waiting at home 

parents to come home from work. A little while later my dad calls 

to tell for my us that he's on his way and was only going to stop 

by a shop before coming home.

 

Immediately I ask:-"Dad, let us go over there to meet you!"

- "No, my daughter! Daddy is on his way!" My dad answered. 

I insisted- "Please, let us!"

Again he said no -"There's no need for that my daughter, 

I'm already on my way."

But I, anxious and disobedient, asked for the third time -" Dad, 

let us.... we can make it there quickly!"

Defeated by my insistence my dad agreed - "Alright, come 

with your brother and I'mm meet you there."

-"Yupppyyy!"

I was so happy and I ran out with my brother (who at the 

time was 11 years old.) We left our house and went to meet our 

dad.

When we reached the main road (it was very busy), I quickly 

spotted my dad on the other side of the street.

We decided to cross over right there (I didn't want to go all 

the way to the pedestrian walkway).

I looked both ways quickly and I ran in my dad's direction happily!

All of a sudden, BOOOOM!.... I was hit by a car!!!!

I was launched meters away! Just like a rag doll I twirled in the 

air and I was thrown very far from where I was.

I was rushed to the hospital. While inside the car, I didn't understand 

what had happened, I placed my hand over my face and it was full 

of blood. I fell into despair! I cried a lot!!!

Oh how I regretted having been anxious and disobedient! But, 

at the time, it was already too late.

I spent a few days in the hospital and returned home but till this 

day I carry a scar with me! :(

With my sad story I want to show you that if you are anxious and 

disobedient, sooner or later you will suffer the consequences. 

Perhaps God is talking with you the same way my dad insisted with 

me.

He is saying: "Don't do that, my daughter, wait!" And you, perhaps, 

are acting like I did. 

Be careful friends. Don't wait to have a "scar" that you will regret 

later!

Kisses and till next time.

Written by Raquel Ouverney, a pastor's wife in England