Wild Women

I've been reading a book I've had for a while --- one that I put on a shelf because God needed me to wait until now to read it. It's One in a Million by Priscilla Shirer, and in the first four chapters, I have worn out my highlighter. Her writing is easy to understand, and when I read her words, I feel like we must be sisters. IN reality, we are: Christian sisters. At this point in my life, I am thinking about and praying for the very things she addresses in this book, and I want to share one part this morning. In chapter 4, she talks about letting the floodgates of heaven rain down in her life. She talks about a time in her life when she took God out of the box she had built for Him, allowing and expecting Him to be "predictable in His character, yes, but . . . unpredictable in His activity." You see, Shirer grew up in a strong church that taught Biblical truth; in fact, her father was the pastor. She was immersed in Bible knowledge, but she became spiritually hungry for people who might join her in going beyond to a different level of worship and faith. In that search, she found what she calls "wild women": " . . . people who have as their goal a mind-blowing, life-altering experience with the living God of the Bible...'wild women' -- people who pray and believe, who ask and expect, who hear me out and set me straight." I love it. Not only do I want to surround myself with such people, but I want to BE that person. I want to be openly, radically and wildly obedient to God's call, every day, convenient or inconvenient, wherever He leads. I want to be known as His daughter, His follower, His servant. I want to be an answer to the prayers of others, and I want to allow God to fill my life with believers who are just as wild for Jesus as I am. And guess what: He's doing just that. In the last few years, I have prayed for God to place in my life women who love Him radically , and as long as I have remembered to put Him above all else, He has been doing that for me. I thank God today for the women who have become a part of my circle of believers -- women who wake up every day to serve Him --- women who pray every day to be His hands and feet --- women who are not satisfied with the status quo of life --- women who are prayer warriors for His Kingdom. Through His grace, He has given me friends north, south, east and west, and in the last few months, he had added some right in my back door. So why am I telling you all of this? Because I need to thank Him and praise Him in a loud voice, and I need to share what I've learned. I thank God for my praying sisters in North Myrtle Beach, Georgetown, Murrels Inlet, Florence, Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Walterboro . . . the list goes on and on. I am blessed. I thank God for my radical, crazy friend who went back to school to study God's Word . . . two young children, a full-time job, and she's a student again. Crazy, but exactly what God asked of her. I thank God for my Facebook friends who encourage me to write. I thank God for allowing me to reconnect with my wonderful cousin who loves the Lord. And most recently, I thank God with all I am for bringing my Sunday School class into my life. They care, pray, text, call, show up, cook . . . whatever it takes to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and I know I am loved. Thank You, God. Not to slight the godly men in my life, I am grateful for a pastor who preaches the Word with passion, intelligence and honesty. I am grateful for a husband who knows the desires God has put in my heart and encourages me to pursue them. I am grateful for so much. Thank You, God. And what's the lesson in all of this? I love being surrounded by Christian friends --- "wild women" and radical men who hunger for God and His desires, but they can never come before my hunger for God. And when I put Him first, He never fails to surround with exactly who I need at the perfect time. He never fails to lift me up through the hands of other believers, and He surely never fails to open doors of service and opportunity --- chances to be an humble, grateful servant alongside others who love Him in the way I do. If you want to be a passionate follower of Christ, surrounded by others who will join you in His service, put Him first and let His desires become yours. He will bless you every single time. I am sure of it. Live tenaciously.