Darlene Sala - Encouraging Words for Women

2002 by Darlene Sala.

Print ISBN 978-1-68322-127-2

eBook Editions:
Adobe Digital Edition (.epub) 978-1-62836-534-4
Kindle and MobiPocket Edition (.prc) 978-1-62836-535-1

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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the H OLY B IBLE, New International Version. niv. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Published by Barbour Books, an imprint of Barbour Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683, www.barbourbooks.com

Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses.

Printed in the United States of America.

To the memory of my dad, Guy P. Duffield, whose love and enthusiasm for the Word of God first kindled mine.

TO ENCOURAGE:
to hearten, stimulate, strengthen, spur on, assure, reassure; boost, excite, galvanize, pique, provoke, quicken, stimulate, energize, fortify, invigorate; rally, stir

E ncouragement often sets off a chain reaction. Those who encourage us inspire us, in turn, to reach out to still other people with words and deeds of encouragement. That has been true of the process of writing this book.

Im grateful for the motivation of Marcus Ryan at www.Christianity.com whose question, Are you writing anything lately? got me started. Paul Muckley of Barbour Publishing read the first selections and encouraged me to complete the manuscript. Ellyn Sanna, as she has done before, made sure that what I wrote communicated my intended thoughtsshe is so good at that, as if she could read my mind!

My husband calls this the book written in the middle of the night. Thank you, Harold, for putting up with my writing habits. Those cups of coffee you brought me first thing in the morning really helped make up for lost sleep.

If after women read this they are motivated to reach out to others with encouragement, the chain will continue. That is my prayer.

W hy doesnt Alex just rely on God and let Him deal with her problems? I asked my friend Donna. God can help her! Hes so great, so powerful, so loving!

But, Darlene, she doesnt know that! replied my wise friend. And she was right. When Alex was born, her dad was so disappointed she was not the son he wanted so badly that he gave her a boys name. Her home life was far less than supportive. She grew up struggling because she didnt know she could trust God to be true and faithful.

On the other hand, I have been extremely fortunate to have seen firsthand the faithfulness of God. I recognize the priceless legacy of having grown up in a Christian home, married a fantastic Christian man, established a Christian home, and lived long enough to see my three children have Christian homes. Because my environment immersed me in scripture, I am so blessed!

Im also aware that many women today dont have that heritage. Although they think of themselves as Christians, deep in their hearts they dont know for sure they can rely on God. Theyre hoping, but theyre not certain. So theyre carrying around a load of stress and worry and depression that Gods Word could relieve.

Sometimes when I read the Bible, I get so excited I just want to run out and find someone with whom I can share what Ive discoveredbecause my own heart is thrilled by the jewels of truth that are there. That excitement about God has turned into this collection of encouraging words. The ideas came from my own time in the Word, and they continue to speak strongly to my own heart. They are my efforts to share my heritage of faith with other women.

No matter what our backgrounds are, we all need an eternal perspective. Were so much in this world that it warps our outlook. We dont see Godor our circumstancesas they really are. Every day we need to go back to the Owners Manual and realign our thinking with His.

When we read the Word, sometimes God puts His loving arms around us and gives us courage to keep going. Sometimes He puts up a barrier to redirect us from the way were headed. Other times He gives us a spiritual kick in the pants to spur us on to do what we know we should. And sometimes He just says, Stay here with Me for a while. I want to spend time with you. But always He encourages us, in the full meaning of that word.

I pray that God will use this book to encourage your heart. You can trust HimHe loves you!

W hat can God do? Maybe we should turn that around and ask, What cant God do? Can you think of anything?

How about that problem youre grappling with? Because youre so close to it, does it seem bigger than God? Does it cast a shadow that seems to hide Gods presence? When lifes troubles loom over us, we all tend to lose our sense of perspective. As we focus on our problems, God seems to fade into the background of our lives; from our faulty point of view, His presence seems tiny and insignificant. In times like these, we need to remind ourselves of the simple but incredible description the apostle Paul gives of what God can do. Paul tells us that God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

In order to really grasp that verse in a practical way, I need to break it down into bite-sized truths. Paul is saying that God is able to do

What I ask.

All I ask.

More than all I ask.

Immeasurably more than all I ask.

What I can imagine.

All I imagine.

More than all I imagine.