Michelle McKinney Hammond - A Womans Gotta Do What a Womans Gotta Do: Wisdom for Taking Control of your life

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Verses marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Ste #200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920. www.alivecommunications.com.

Cover by Koechel Peterson & Associates, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota

Cover illustration iStockphoto / VectorsEdge

A WOMANS GOTTA DO WHAT A WOMANS GOTTA DO

Copyright 2007 by Michelle McKinney Hammond

Published 2012 by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McKinney Hammond, Michelle

[Sassy girls checklist for living, loving & overcoming]

A womans gotta do what a womans gotta do / Michelle McKinney Hammond.

p. cm.

Originally published: The sassy girls checklist for living, loving & overcoming. 2007.

ISBN 978-0-7369-2655-3 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-4271-3 (eBook)

1. Bible. O.T. Proverbs XXXIDevotional use. 2. Christian womenConduct of life. 3. Conduct of lifeBiblical teaching. I. Title.

BS1465.54.M35 2012

248.8'43dc23

2011032579

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 / BP-NI / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To every sassy woman in search of
a higher level of living.
Heres to owning our stuff and doing
whats necessary to reach our goal.

To my Harvest House familySimply, I love you and appreciate all that you do.

Beth JustinoThanks for not only working so hard on my behalf but being a great sounding board and a treasure chest of wisdom.

To all the sassy women in my life (you know who you are)Without you I wouldnt be as sassy! Love to all and unending thanks.

W e see them everywherethe MasterCard ads and billboards telling us the value of specific items and then concluding with the idea that truly it is the intangible things in life that are priceless. The same can be said of women. The price tag attached to the things that make us beautiful and desirable on the outside can range from the inexpensive to the outrageous, but it is the nature and character of a woman, the indefinable essence of who she is, that makes her priceless. I imagine that if MasterCard were to devote one of its advertisements to women it would go something like this:

Its true that though there are certain diva staples every woman in the know has in her closet, it is the very thing that cannot be purchased that makes her priceless to her loved ones, her community, and to the world at large. Like the worlds costliest fragrance made from countless flowers crushed to extract the rare oils, so it is that every sassy diva becomes the sum of the priceless fruit that has been deposited in her from her vast array of experiences that have taught her lessons and seasoned her character with grace. When squeezed by the situations and circumstances of life, her essence grows sweeter and blesses everyone around her with its fragrance.

For the most part, no one will ever be bold enough to tell you what is missing from your internal toilette. You must claim the responsibility of checking yourself, so to speak, and cultivating your mind, your heart, and your spirit to line up with the divine attributes and fruits that will make you so rarely youyou, the life-giver, the nurturer, the sister, the friend, the wife, the mother, the quiet influencer who causes invisible revolutions with a mere touch, look, inflection, or suggestion.

Woman, do you know how powerful you really are? How valuable you are? Only a true sassy girl knows for sure. She never settles for one level of living. She always aspires to know, be, and do better. A sassy girl continually takes her own temperature and heart rate and challenges herself to grow beyond where she presently stands. She is constantly up for promotion and expansion beyond her personal borders. Removing the limits, finding and tapping new inner strength and a greater understanding of who God created her to be provokes her to bear and share richer fare with those who surround her. We find the perfect example of this divine principle being lived out when we examine the life and attributes of the ultimate sassy girl, the woman found in Proverbs 31. Her life gives us a clear-cut road map we can follow to reach our destination of rejoicing in being all that God created us to be, a loving testament of His excellence, glory, and power.

On that note I have to ask: Are you up to the challenge, girl? Are you ready, willing, and able to do the work it takes to go to the next level of partaking of the divine nature of God and manifesting that as only a true diva can? Are you willing to check yourself and make the changes necessary to perfect the art of being a woman according to Gods design? Of being sassy, saved, and oh so successful in every area of your life? Then get ready, roll up your pretty sleeves, and lets begin.

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

PROVERBS 31:10 KJV

O ften quoted but not commonly seen, the search is on for the virtuous woman. Chokmah is the Hebrew word used to describe a woman of excellence, one who has mastered the art of skillful living. Skillful living hints at perfecting the delicate balance of the components of life so that each is performed well. No jack of all trades and master of none stuff going on here. Each area of life has been approached from a place of discipline and thoughtful consideration to the timing, logistics, and even the consequences of each choice. Faith has been supplemented with virtue because of the knowledge acquired to impart self-control, which ultimately leads to godliness with great gain, which in turn releases you to walk in unconditional love toward all you encounter.

But more than that, the art of skillful living has to do with having an understanding of the seasons of your life and the purpose for each season. This was the essential key to the excellence spoken of by Bathsheba, the wife of King David of Israel, to encourage her son Solomon in what to look for when seeking a wife. Whether you are married or single, you must be cognizant of the fact that timing is everything, although its aligned equally with attitude. Our attitudes shape our words, which shape our actions. Those actions become habits that form our character. Our character determines our destinya destiny that can be filled with blessings or curses based on our choices.