You Are!

I was thinking the other day about all of the things that a woman does … all of the hats that she wears … and all of the things that are expected from an ordinary woman.

Mountains of dirty, stinky laundry to conquer and sinks perpetually filled to overflowing with dirty dishes …

Peeling potatoes by the dozens and making dinner night after night after night …

Wiping dirty little faces and poopy little bottoms …

Cutting endless coupons and attempting to stay on a budget with no wiggle-room …

Calling the repairman about the dryer once again and filling the car up with gas in all sorts of inconvenient weather …

Planning birthday parties … teaching Sunday school … caring for aging parents …

Writing Christmas cards … making Easter baskets … planning Fourth of July picnics …

Getting the kids ready to go back to school …

Planning family vacations and writing thank you notes …

Making beds and vacuuming floors and washing windows …

Meeting with teachers and being at the office by 8 a.m. …

Going to the gym and staying on a diet …

Cleaning bathrooms … the absolute worst …

Falling into bed at the end of a long day and trying hard to love the life you have been given …

Are you tired yet?!

Perhaps much of what you do isn’t even on my list!  You could probably add 20 … or 30 … or 40 more jobs to that already overwhelming list!

Perhaps the demanding and detailed “To Do” list of life has kept women so horrifically busy that we have forgotten who we are.

Who AM I?!  Why was I created?!

Women are afflicted with self-induced amnesia when it comes to remembering who God created us to be.

God created you, my friend, with divine purpose and with miraculous destiny in His brilliant mind.  Yes … it’s true … you must get most of the things done on your “To Do” list on any given day … but don’t allow the mere tasks of life to mask the genuine and lasting purpose of your very existence.  The mundane should never overpower your grand life of God-ordained destiny! Rather you should overpower your mundane with heaven’s perspective on the matter!

You are made in the image of God and your job description has been carefully crafted in the heart of God! Your being and purpose has been strategically designed in the workshop of heaven!  You are made for more than an unending list of appointments … dust bunnies … and an underactive thyroid!

Coupons … laundry detergent … and taking out the trash don’t begin to define the life that you were called to live!

It’s time for you to encourage yourself in the Lord and then to realize why you are alive at this very moment according to heaven’s eternal and powerful strategy!

You are created to be a warrior that makes hell shake and heaven roar!  You are here to take down the gates of hell and to send the dastardly enemy of the people of God into a sheer tailspin! 

You are!

You are created to be a woman of authority and power.  Your life is meant to be a demonstration of victory and triumph in every battle situation!  You are engineered to be strengthened with joy and to live in the stronghold of hope!

You are!

You are created to be a spokesman for all that is good and right and pure!  The words of your mouth are meant to be a wellspring of life and joy for everyone that you meet.  As you speak today, remember that your words will splash life and hope into the lives of anyone who comes in contact with you!

You are!

You are created to be a peacemaker among nations, between peoples and in the family home.  Your life should be an olive branch that carries the sweetness of the miraculous peace that passes understanding!

You are!

You are designed to create beauty everywhere that you go!  Your life is a masterpiece of vibrant colors, of fragrant prayers and of brilliant facets.  God created you to leave a path of unmatched beauty and breathtaking loveliness in your wake.

You are!

You are a woman whose prayer life will leave ripples in the ocean of history.  The prayers that you will pray today will strategically and masterfully change the course of the future of all those that you love.

You are!

You are a woman who was created to dream in tandem with the Creator of the universe!  He has left a deposit of His creative and dynamic nature within your soul.  He created you to be the architect of the greatest and most astounding plans for this generation!

You are!

You are enough … you have enough … and He is more than enough!  He adds the “more” to your “enough” and you become a woman to be reckoned with!

You are!  Yes, indeed, you are!

Carol McLeod
Carol says, “I am just a girl who is head over heels in love with Jesus ... passionately addicted to His Word ... and find all of the joy that I need in time spent in His presence." Carol is a Christmas-aholic, loves ACC basketball and the beach! Like all menopausal women, she is overly fond of chocolate and enjoys a good read. She doesn't like cleaning her house and is an expert in carry-out dinners. She hates to shop … loves to jog … and somehow finds time in her busy life to hang out with small children. She is the kind of woman that you could laugh with over lunch, cry with over disappointment and shout with over a victory! But … if you need her official bio … read on! Carol is an author and popular speaker at women's conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. She also hosts highly successful Just Joy! outreaches. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN.  A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers.  Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain.  She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY.  Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren! Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN.  A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers.  Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain.  She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY.  Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren!
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