Radiant Women

I’ve really felt God wanting me to write on this topic for a while now, and since then, I have spoken to quite a few friends who are really struggling with reading their Bible at the moment, so I’ve taken that as a sign from God that this is what He wants me to write on this week! I know for most people – in fact probably for every Christian at some point in their life – reading the Bible can seem like a big and daunting task. It is such a big book – well, a book of many books, really - covering so many topics, and it can seem impossible sometimes to know where to even start or to persevere with reading the Bible when you get to some of the trickier and not-so-easy-to-read books. I know this was the case for me. Last year, I really struggled with reading the Bible. I was trying to read the whole Bible in a year (which I didn’t quite finish and still haven’t quite!), and I had read all the New Testament books and just had some of the harder Old Testament books left, which I ha...

Some people think that they have to be perfect for God to use them. They come up with a long list of reasons why God wouldn’t want to use them – they’re ‘’too young’’, ‘’not qualified or educated enough’’, ‘’not holy enough’’, ‘’too weak’’, ‘’too insecure’’, and the list goes on. But the truth is, God wants to use us all. He doesn’t wait until we are perfect. If that were the case, He couldn’t use us, as we aren’t perfect, and never will be. Instead, He uses us in our weaknesses. We read in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, where Paul is writing to a church in Corinth and telling them what the LORD said to him, ‘’ But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.’’   Paul is saying here, ...

One of my passions that God has really been using and speaking to me about recently is serving. I have always loved serving, caring for and helping others, but recently God has shown me that it is a gift He has given me and has been showing me why serving is so important and also how rewarding it is. So in this post I want to share with you what I have been learning. Serving shows Jesus to others - Last week I was at an amazing youth week-away. As well as worship, teaching, prayer and fun and games, in the mornings we were running a holiday club for the children in the local community and then a lunch club, serving the kids and their parents a free hot meal each day. It was amazing to be a part of serving the community and seeing the reactions from the kids and parents. One couple’s reaction sticks clearly in my mind: It was the last day, and we had so much food left over, so one of the leaders gave them a big Black Forest gateau to take home with them. They couldn’t believe th...

It is easy to be joyful when life is good. But other times, we can be so overwhelmed by the situations we find ourselves in and being joyful may not come as easily. We can get so caught up in our circumstances that we forget that we need to stop and rejoice and sing God’s praises even in the storm. So below, I’m going to share with you just a few of my thoughts on joy and how we can choose to be joyful no matter what we are going through: 1)       Joy is a command 1 Thessalonians says, ‘’Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.’’ We should be rejoicing ALWAYS. That means in the good and the bad; whether we feel like being joyful or not. I know I definitely struggle with this. So why does God command us something so difficult? ‘For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.’’ What a challenge. It’s not just a suggestion, it is God’s will for our lives. Not because God wants...