Brenda Rodgers

Author: Brenda Rodgers

  • Guest Post – Awakened Anew “A Single Woman’s Tarnished Past”

    Those early days when a girl is just about to be set free from the nest to fly on her own are the most crucial.

    Everything that has been packed into her mind, soul, and spirit from years previous is now ripe. If those messages are true, then her first flight will most likely be a success. Sure she might tumble and scamper on the ground a few times, but there won’t be any catastrophes like crashing into the earth and not being able to get back up again.

    However, if those messages of her mind, soul, and spirit aren’t true, if she wasn’t taught properly about her value to this world and to God – the unique treasure that He created her to be to accomplish His purposes – then her first flight will be daunting and possibly tragic. She will be on her own to sift through the lies this world tells her, and without even realizing it, she will make decisions based on what she knows.

    After realizing her mistakes, she’ll try so hard to turn from them, but truth still won’t be there to catch her. So she’ll make the same mistakes again – and again.

    About this time the Enemy – Satan – will begin to whisper to her that she’ll never learn to fly. She wasn’t fortunate like the ones around her.

    And she’ll start believing that lie too. 

    For so many single women this is the path they find themselves. During their teenage years and twenties they make decisions about boys and dating and marriage that were not God’s best for them, but it was all they knew.

    Then, years later, they are left with lifetime consequences and the Enemy’s voice saying, “It will never be different”, “You aren’t worthy”, “You aren’t one of the fortunate ones”.

    Throughout our lives we are susceptible to the Enemy’s lies. Sometimes they come in through our own inner voices, sometimes they come from the media hype around us, and sometimes they come from Pharisee Christians who know a lot about Jesus but only a little about the Cross.

    For single women, these voices whisper:

    “He’s too good for you. Your past is too bad.”

    “You will never be happy alone.”

    “If you don’t do this or this or this, then you will never get a man.”

    “I’m tainted. A good, Christian man would never want me.”

    “I’ll never find someone who will accept all I’ve done.”

    And they leave us in a cycle of defeat. 

    However, there is another path.

    Jesus came to break the cycle.

    However, we have to allow Him to break it in our individual lives.

    How do we allow Jesus to break the cycle of defeat from our pasts? 

    1. We accept Him as our Savior.

    Until we truly believe and accept Jesus’s free gift of salvation, then He cannot begin to break the cycle in our lives.

    2. We learn and meditate on Truth.

    Every day we replace the lies we believe, hear, and tell ourselves with God’s Word – Truth – about who we are and what our pasts are meant to be used for. This is not a “once a day” prescription. It is being in constant conversation with God throughout the day and every time an untrue thought comes into our minds.

    3. We allow Truth to change our hearts.

    When our hearts change, then our actions change. And when our actions change, then we see different results in our lives.

    Two Truth Verses to Begin With: 

    God uses all things for good. 

    ” And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

    God makes all things new. 

    “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

    When the cycle is broken you can then see it’s purpose. That doesn’t mean you necessarily like your past any more, but you appreciate how it fits into God’s ultimate plan of redemption and glory.

    The purpose of our past is to bring God glory for His power over sin and to bring other people to Him through the stories we live. 

    Are you believing lies about your past? Are they keeping you in a cycle of defeat? Do you wonder about the purpose of your past? 

     

    For years I believed that God was holding out on me by not giving me the husband and family I so desired. Finally, I surrendered to the truth that God loves me and has a perfect plan for my life.  I wrote an eBook out of this experience called Fall for Him: 25 Challenges from a Recovering Single. It’s available now in PDF, Kindle and Nook formats. The purpose is to help single women see that their life is not waiting out there in the future for them. Their life is now. But it can only be fully revealed by being surrendered to Jesus – allowing Him break the cycle of defeat in their life by believing His truths.

    If you are single, this book is for you, to help you take a tarnished past and create a clean future based on truth. If you’re married, this book is a great gift for that single woman in your life who is struggling with the desperate desire to be married. Maybe your niece, cousin, or sister. Maybe your best friend.

    Go ahead. Reach out your hand. Bless this special woman with your love. Give her an eBook that will help. You can purchase a copy by visiting www.FallforHim.com.

    Brenda considers herself a “recovering single” after years as a single woman chasing her dreams instead of God’s dreams for her. Now she lives with her two miracles: her husband who God physically saved from Cardiomyopathy after a dramatic heart transplant and her baby girl who will be born this month from those three hearts. Brenda encourages women to live a life surrendered to Jesus in every season on her blog, Triple Braided, and she recently published her first eBook, Fall for Him: 25 Challenges from a Recovering Single. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

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  • I’m a Stay-at-Home-Mom Without a Soul to Call “Friend”

    Welcome to our series, Motherhood: More than Meets the Eye, where every week until December 18th eight bloggers explore what the world of motherhood truly looks like and how even though each unique, we’re all on a mission! Please join us!


    This post is part of our motherhood series. You can see all the posts here.

    On July 11, 2012 I wrote the following in my journal (four months after arriving in my new home):

    Oh how I long for friends, but fear being vulnerable. Having a toddler certainly makes it harder to meet people and develop relationships. Of course, I have no regrets about being a stay at home mom, nor do I harbor an ounce of bitterness toward my baby, because being a mom is one of my greatest joys. It is a gift and a blessing! Yet, I long for friendships. I’m lonely.

    For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ~Romans 5:6

    Pull me out of my fatness and need for comfort and ease. Give me eyes to see Your will.

    I was so tired of waiting for 5 o’clock to get here so I’d have another adult to talk to. I was so tired of wondering if we’d ever have friends. I was so tired of going to the park by myself. I was so tired of waiting on the Lord to supply friendships and fellowship in one of the most un-churched towns in Colorado. I was so tired and so lonely.

    How does a lonely stay at home mom without community do it?

    Join Leigh Ann today at Intentional by Grace as she explores dealing with the isolation that sometimes comes with being a Stay-at-Home-Mom.

    Want to read all of the posts in this series? Check them out by clicking here!

     

  • Are Single Women Included in Titus 2?

    When I read the words of Titus 2 my heart stings a little.

    “Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.” Titus 2:3-5

    It stings because I remember reading these words as a single woman and wanting so desperately to be included – so desperately to have the benefit of an older woman who could urge me on, encourage me, and train me.

    Even though I wasn’t married, I needed a Titus 2 woman. 

    And I think most single women do. 

    Today I am honored to be a guest writer at Teresa’s Thought for Today. Teresa writes about faith, family, and food.

    Will you join me there as we continue to discuss Titus 2 women and the single woman? 

     

    Have you heard? My new eBook Fall for Him: 25 Challenges from a Recovering Single is now available on Amazon, Nook, and in PDF formats! With the holidays coming up this would be a great gift for either yourself or the single woman in your life – maybe a friend, sister, cousin, or niece. It’s only $4.99. Give a gift of encouragement to a single woman today!

  • Who are You Leaving a Legacy?

    When I write the word “legacy”, who is the first person to come to your mind? Most likely it is your children. We are constantly in pursuit of how to leave a legacy to our children, and rightly so. Our children are who we are commissioned to in order to do just that.

    But what if there’s someone else who we should be leaving a legacy? What if there’s someone who’s not even in our family, but there, on the outside, needing someone to invest in her?

    My hunch is that there is a woman in your life who needs you to mentor and to leave a legacy.

    Today I am writing about finding this woman over at Leaving a Legacy, a blog that encourages women to leave a legacy. Will you join me there?

    Have you heard? My new eBook Fall for Him: 25 Challenges from a Recovering Single is now available in Kindle, Nook, and in PDF formats!  With the holidays coming up this would be a great gift for either yourself or the single woman in your life – maybe a friend, sister, cousin, or niece. It’s only $4.99. Give a gift of encouragement to a single woman today! Go to www.FallforHim.com for more details!

  • Trusting God Enough to Hand Over the Reins

    Today I welcome guest writer, Sarah Beals, from Joy-Filled Day as she shares her story of trusting God.

    Ever find yourself worrying about the little things in life?

    At a young age I trusted Christ for salvation, but throughout my 20’s, I struggled to trust Him completely everyday.

    I doubt I would have ever verbalized this, but I didn’t like the doctrine of God’s sovereignty. It scared me.

    Especially after I had children. I would lay awake at night straining to hear my newborn breathing because I was afraid of SIDS. I would startle awake with nightmares that our house was on fire and that I couldn’t get all the kids out. On and on this went.

    God loves and cares for my kids more than I ever could.

    It wasn’t until my niece, my youngest sister’s first child, died at three months old that I really started searching the scriptures for evidence of God’s total loving control in our lives.

    Did God care about a 25″ long casket that contained my niece? Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?

    I studied the Bible and read:

    In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. Job 12:10

    But our God is in the heavens; he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Ps. 115:3

    All authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Matthew 28:18

    The Lord has prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.” Ps. 103:19

    One day it struck me: If I can’t trust God to rule this world, who can I trust?

    Who, exactly DID I want ruling?

    You see, I knew the basics about God, but I didn’t really know God’s character. I was thinking about Him in terms of human character instead of His absolute holy character.

    God is not like us, but we think he is. We are so used to dealing with sinful people that we mistakenly expect Him to be like sinners.

    People let us down, and we assume God will do the same.

    Friends are unfaithful or unloving and we assume Christ is that same way.

    Our minds think thoughts like “God is not good, ” “God is withholding things from me,” “God is trying to ruin my life.”

    But that is not what we see in God’s word.

    God never has a grumpy day that ends in yelling match or hurtful words.

    God never exhibits sinful, irrational anger.

    God is not like the mythological gods Zeus, Thor or Ra, who were feared because they supposedly punished people when they were angry. We don’t need to wonder if our car accident was punishment for bad behavior, or that kids sickness was payback for unfaithfulness.

    God is never unjust, unkind or unloving. God is not just loving, God is love. We only know what love is because we know God.

    God does not deal with us according to our iniquities. We tend to repay evil for evil, but God exudes grace. In fact, when we deserved punishment, God offered forgiveness.

    And when we were dead in our sins, God loved us. He planned to rescue us from our own mess. He planned good for us when we hated him. He blesses us through Jesus Christ and when God looks at us, He sees his beloved Son.

    God never turns his back on us or betrays us. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to him.

    So now when I struggle with wanting to run my own life instead of relinquishing total control to Jesus Christ, I remind myself to go back to God’s word and remember who it is that I am handing the reins of my life over to.

    Are you struggling today with fear? Can you hand over the reins to God? It is hard to trust someone you don’t really know, so make it a point today to get into your Bible and search to see what God is really like.

    Sarah Beals has been married to her high school sweetheart for 21 years, and is the mother of five children, ages 9-19. She enjoys watercolor painting, antiquing, chats with friends over coffee, good books, watching BBC drama and writing at joyfilleddays.com.

  • How to Choose Between Political Candidates

    I struggle with how much to say about my beliefs on political candidates especially on social media.

    On one hand I think that the world needs more Christians to verbalize truth. Notice I said truth, not religious dogma, but what the Bible actually says in all its analysis and contexts.

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