Welcome to 2013 and to my Simple Sheep blog.
Why another blog? Does the world really need another person “blogging”? To be quite honest about it, I’m pretty nervous about this whole blogging thing. Not so much from the stand-point of ~ ‘will anyone read this? will I have any kind of following?’ . . . no, that is not my concern as much as this ~ ‘will I say what others need to hear? will it encourage women? will it challenge women? will it lead women to a closer relationship with the Great Shepherd?’
My greatest desire for this blog is this: that it pleases Christ and brings God glory. That is truly it. I’m just a simple sheep seeking Him and learning (and many times, re-learning) how to follow Him.
What’s spurred this new adventure on now . . . at this point in my life? Well, a couple things: first, I finally (after 8 years) completed my Master’s in Biblical Counseling in the Spring of 2012. I love to learn but I also need an outlet to share what I’ve learned. Creating my own blog was an option that made my heart beat a little faster. Second, I love to teach (mentor/disciple) women; especially women who, for one reason or another, are struggling to follow Christ. Listen, I struggle to follow Christ (surprise!) . . . but when we open up and share with one another our struggles and then look to Christ and to the Word we will find answers, we will see how deeply He loves us and we will find that He desires for us to live the abundant life He said we could live. Now, abundant life does not mean a pain-free or trouble-free life. What it does mean is that life with Him is ‘abundant’ in the grace He showers on us, in the love He lavishes on us and in the delight of an intimate relationship with Him. (We’ll talk more on this in the weeks, months and years to come.)
Lastly, and probably the biggest reason I have ventured into this world of blogging is a two-fold reason . . . let me see if I can explain and make sense of myself. Two events happened relatively close to each other that laid very heavy on my heart. One thing I have learned over the years is that when something lays that heavy on my soul, I must respond. His wonderful Spirit is pushing me forward for something that He has in store for me . . something that I would not have chosen for myself.
First event was a phrase that lingered in my mind many days after one of my devotional times with the Lord. On November 17th I opened up my “Jesus Calling” devotional to read how in Christ there is no condemnation just living in a freedom that is truly hard to grasp. To live in that freedom we must listen to His voice and not the world’s voice(s) or my own voice or the voices of others around me. Then it said, “Be content to be a simple sheep” . . . that phrase grabbed my heart and mind. Over and over it replayed in my head. Listening ONLY to Christ. Following Christ ALWAYS.
The second event was what flowed out of me for my article in the women’s newsletter for my church. The article is called, ‘Idle or Industrious?’ I had spoken to a group of young ladies this summer about what it means to be a disciple and I ended the talk with a YouTube video called, “My Better is Better than Your Better”. It is about athletes who are continually and consistently training to be better than their opponent. I’ve asked this question of myself many times ~ “Am I continually and consistently training myself to be a disciple He is pleased with and one who is better than her opponent?” I am the first to admit that I can be a more ‘idle’ disciple than an ‘industrious’ disciple. But the time came to really truly DO something about that.
Hence, the blog idea weighed much . . . much too heavy on my heart to not take action.
Will you join me in learning to be a content, simple sheep . . . who seeks and follows only His voice . . . and who is not idle in this endeavor but industrious?
