James and Teabags

Hi Ladies,

Do you resonate with any of these statements?

“I don’t struggle with anger, but whenever I’m around so-and-so, I become a different person!”

“She/he knows just how to push my buttons.”

“If I just didn’t have to interact with [fill in the blank], I’d be a lot more Christlike!”

“He/she did this, and so I couldn’t help but….”

We live in a sin-cursed world. It has infected everything, and everyone. Have you ever heard someone say, “Ministry would be a lot easier if it weren’t for people!”? Despite it being tongue-in-cheek, it’s true. Ministry is hard because it involves people.

But the hardship is not just them. No matter how godly and “balanced” you think you are (or I think I am), you and I are part of the problem. All those statements above that you had names for? Well, you might be the very one in mind for others. (“Surely not!” our inner lawyer rebuts.)

This is humbling. And that is good. 

James 4:1 says, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” 

Throughout the end of chapter 3 and all throughout 4, James is showing his readers all the yucky fruits that stem from a heart of pride. And in this particular verse, he highlights our selfish desires. We are really good at convincing ourselves of the rightness of our thoughts, our ideas, our plans….

“It’s the most logical.” 

“It feels right!” 

“It’s the easiest option.” 

“It’s what I’ve always done!” 

I wish I could say that the Spirit prompted me to write this for you. But I think He probably did so for me. 😊 And yet if I need it, then hopefully some of you can benefit from it too. 

The first step is to recognize the problem. Someone once gave this analogy, and it has been incredibly helpful for me: 

You and I are teabags. 

From the outside, we can look like we’ve got everything together. But as soon as we are put into hot water, everything inside comes out…the good, the bad and the ugly. The people we want to blame? They are simply the hot water. They didn’t make us sin; they simply drew out what was already in our hearts. 

The second step is to remember the power. Maybe that person did sin against you. (Remember, in case you forgot… we are all sinners!) However, no one else’s sin causes you to sin. If you are indwelt by the Spirit, you have everything you need to respond as Christ would. That doesn’t mean it’s easy. Believe me, I know! But as you continue day-by-day to saturate yourself in the Word and live in prayerful dependence on our Triune God (think, abide!), He will equip you to live as He has created and called you to live.

And when we fail, repent. Remember, with Him there is forgiveness and plentiful redemption. (Ps. 130:3-7) 

If God - the perfect Creator-Father - is this merciful toward His children, how much more should we be toward our imperfect brothers and sisters in Him. If we have sinned against someone, let’s be quick to own it and repent. And if we have been on the receiving end, let’s be quick to forbear or forgive.

Can we pray these things for one another (and ourselves) this week? We need it. I need it! ❤️🙏🏼

Anna

More than words (Col. 3:12-16)

Hi Ladies,

Wasn’t it great to be back in Proverbs, and James for those of you in our summer study? Words, words, everywhere!

But I keep being confronted with something significant. It’s not all about words. Maybe you already know this, but it’s easy to overlook. At least it has been for me. What do I mean? 

Picture this: a brand new car - shiny, sleek, clean, and fast. At least, potentially. Problem is, the fuel line is broken. This picturesque car is powerless to do what it was designed to do. It must have its needed fuel. 

Similarly, God has designed us - crafted us as His image-bearers - to speak words of life, of truth, of love. But we are powerless to do so without the Spirit’s “fuel.” 

How do we make sure this fuel is flowing? The Bible tells us that if anyone is in Christ, he is “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17). We have His Spirit from the moment we believe (1 Cor. 12:13, Rom. 8:9, Eph. 1:13-14). And yet, we all know that life-giving words don’t naturally spill out every time we’re bumped! So, what’s missing? 

Rather than something “missing,” I think it’s more accurate to think of it as what some have called spiritual amnesia. We forget who we are in Christ.  Our "fuel line" is clogged. And so we stop working to become practically who God has already made us positionally. Sanctification takes work! It’s fueled by the Spirit, but it requires our submission and our obedience. Let me show you this from Col. 3:12-16:

“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom…”

I want to highlight two things from this passage: 

First, notice who Paul is addressing: “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.... Forgiven.... Called.” Positionally, they’re His - called and forgiven - they’re holy, and they are fully loved. But Paul doesn’t stop there. This position necessitates “putting on” characteristics that mark God's people. In other words, they - and we - are called to live out practically who He has created us to be positionally (in Him). 

Second, notice the focus on character. Read through it again. The first 10 characteristics are all about our hearts! Only when we get to verse 16 do we read anything about words. And first, we let His Word dwell in us. Then, and only then, after all this putting on and “being” (abiding!) does Paul address our words: “teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom.” 

Ladies, this is so significant! Our words are the overflow of our hearts. This is why Paul focuses so much on who we are to be before what we are to speak. 

Words are critical. But if we don’t begin with our hearts - if we don’t have Spirit-fuel flowing to the engine - we will not run as God designed us to. 

And the glorious news is that we have all we need in Christ - His Spirit’s power in us - to be rightly fueled! So don’t resist the hard work. Be grateful for His power, and His patience, and His forgiveness when we fail and get clogged and have to repent and try again, and again. 

And praise Him for a Body to spur one another on in this! Let’s pray for one another and encourage one another this week not to forget who we are and what we have in Christ by the Spirit. And let's not resist the Spirit's work (even when hard!) to increasingly conform our hearts to Christ's so that we overflow with His words - words of life, of truth, of love. ❤️🙏🏼

Anna 

2026 Halfway Check-up

Hi Ladies,

Happy halfway through 2026!! It’s fitting that we rehearse and check up on our goals for this year as a women’s ministry. The Lord clearly directed us to focus on abiding in Him, and aren’t you so grateful? It’s been a needed study and wonderful blessing for me personally, and I trust for you too. But since it’s easy to forget, I wanted to take this week to remind us all of some of the key truths.

To abide means to remain, to dwell, to stay, to continue. To do that in Christ is possible for all believers since we are placed in Christ - united to Him - at the very moment of salvation. Our union with Him is fixed, and it can never be broken. Praise Him! But our communion with Him takes work, as we all know…both from Scripture and from experience!

Scripture tells us to abide (to remain, dwell, stay, continue):

- in Christ (John 15:4; 1 John 2:28)

- in His Word/commandments (John 8:31, 15:7; 1 John 2:24)

- in love (John 15:9; 1 John 4:16)

And these three are not unrelated. In fact, the passages demonstrate that they are different ways of referring to the same thing. (We looked at this in our study of John 15:1-11 earlier in the year). So what does this look like practically? Or better yet, how can we check up on ourselves to see if we are progressing in this goal this year? 

Here are a few questions to prayerfully think through. I’m praying that these will both encourage and exhort us toward more through the rest of 2026, and beyond! 

- Am I quicker to filter things I hear and think through what I know about my God? 

- Am I more at peace, even if things around me are stormy? 

- Am I able to speak truth more readily? (Either to myself or others?) 

- Do I have increasing capacity and desire to love others, especially those who are harder to love? 

- Am I seeing His strength shine through me more, even in my weakness? 

This list is not exhaustive. And it is not designed to condemn. Our God is so incredibly patient with us. And He has given us everything we need to do what He desires us to. We just need to remind ourselves of this frequently, and then act on it! 

So this email is a check-up for us all. We are here to spur one another on in this great goal. Let’s pray for one another this week, that we would not grow weary in this eternally worthwhile pursuit, and let’s find ways to help each other stay the course. 

Perhaps you could ask or share with someone how things are going in this area! I need you. We need each other. Let’s continue to abide, together. For His glory, and our good! ❤️🙏🏼

Anna