By His Grace
Kerri Jeter: Freedom Sisters

Kerri Jeter: Freedom Sisters

In this episode of By His Grace, I chat with my new friend, Kerri Jeter. Kerri is the Founder of FreedomSisters Media and Ministry, an army veteran, mother, and military wife. We discuss the important work that Kerri is doing with women veterans through her organization, FreedomSisters. Kerri reminds these courageous women that God delights in the work that they do and she helps them to find hope and healing following their time in service to our country. 

Kerri shares her journey to faith in the Lord and her life verse, Zephaniah 3:17, which reads, “The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He takes great delight in you and he quiets you with His love.”

Key Takeaways 

  • “God takes great delight in the things that you are doing.” 
  • “Suffering is not the end of your story.” 
  • “Jesus pulls us up out of the shame, out of the pit, and gives us the name daughter. Take heart, daughter.” 

Resources

Freedom Sisters Website: https://freedomsisters.com/

Freedom Sisters Podcast: https://freedomsisters.com/podcast

Freedom Sisters Blog: https://freedomsisters.com/blog

Keep up with Kerri and Freedom Sisters Media and Ministry on Social Media! 

Freedom Sisters Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freedomsisterspodcast/

Freedom Sisters Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FREEDOMSISTERSpodcast

Freedom Sisters Twitter: https://twitter.com/FREEDOMSISTERS2

 

Ronne Rock: One Woman Can Change the World

Ronne Rock: One Woman Can Change the World

This week on the By His Grace podcast, Misty Phillip welcomes Ronne Rock back to the show for a far-reaching conversation on the value, worth, and role of women.  Ronne recounts stories of women changing the world by living out their purpose and calling based on her new book One Woman Can Change the World: Reclaiming Your God-Designed Influence and Impact Right Where You Are.

One Woman Can Change the World

The heartbeat behind her book is contained in the subtitle, “Reclaiming Your God-designed Influence and Impact Right Where You Are”.This book is for any woman who wants to serve the Lord well as she searches to find purpose in her calling. Learn the story of women from around the globe like Ena from Honduras.She founded NICO to help tutor needy children. A story of a woman who did what she could with what she had. Ronne also shares her personal testimony of stepping into a children’s home in Guatemala, and how it shifted her perspective.

One Woman Can Change the World

Key Take-Aways:

  • In Genesis 1 God created humanity, and it was good. He beautifully designed and created woman.
  • We are the apple of his eye. He calls us beloved.
  • “His purpose is you! It has always been you!”
  • Rest in His love and walk with him.
  • Deep your toe in the water, and if you see the water part, then you did your toe again.
  • God created us to be leaders.
  • If you feel a burden or a passion begin to step in faith and continue to step.
  • Historically women have been strong leaders as judges, prophets, and priests.
  • Women are strong helpers Ezer Kenegdo in the Hebrew standing face to face, side by side our male counterparts to be an advocate for justice, a mouth-piece for redemption, and reflect God’s character in all we do.
  • Created in the image of God we are glorious.
  • Let God speak over you, and fuel the fire within you.
  • Changing the world doesn’t mean fixing it all. Impacting the world around us doesn’t mean we have to solve all the problems.
  • Just love Jesus. Just trust Jesus.

My favorites quotes for this episode:

  • “His purpose is you. It has always been you.”
  • “Serve with grace in a culture that teaches me to hoard it all for myself.”
  • “Not be afraid to use my voice.”
  • “The most powerful thing I have still to this day are the heartfelt on your face before God cries in prayer that, that shatters the principalities and that shatters darkness.”

Bio: 

Ronne Rock finds joy in telling stories that change stories. She weaves themes of transformative hope and grace-filled leadership into everything she shares on page and stage. An award-winning marketing and communications executive in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors, she now shares her more than 30 years of expertise in creative leadership with faith-based organizations.

Ronne also travels around the world to gather words and images that inspire others to action with Orphan Outreach, a global nonprofit dedicated to serving the orphaned and vulnerable. She’s a writer, blogger, and speaker–sharing battle-tested wisdom about leadership, advocacy marketing, and finding God in the most beautiful and painful of circumstances.

You can make a difference:

Ronne Rock is the author of One Woman Can Change the World: Reclaiming Your God-Designed Influence and Impact Right Where You Are. Your purchase of One Woman Can Change the World transforms the lives of orphaned and vulnerable children through the ministry of Orphan Outreach. Ronne is donating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the books to Orphan Outreach. Dar-Ul-Fazl in India is the first recipient of this gift, thanks to you!

One Woman Can Change the World

Thank you for listening to the By His Grace podcast! If you’ve enjoyed this episode please leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts, This helps others discover the content we create and share on the By His Grace Podcast.

You may also enjoy listening to:

Daniel Grothe: Chasing Wisdom in a Chaotic World, and Kristen Welch: Faith in the Unknown.

 

Fear of the Lord

Today I want to share the post I wrote last week for PhilanthropyFashion.com on the Fear of the Lord. I hope you enjoy it! Blessings, Misty

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As women today, we can be consumed with how we look, and fight the aging process tooth and nail, but if we look at Proverbs 31 we learn that our beauty, charm, and favor will diminish with time, but what makes us praiseworthy is that we fear the Lord.

“Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain but a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised.” -Proverbs 31:30

[ctt template=”2″ link=”H20GV” via=”yes” ]The woman of Proverbs 31 is one who fears the Lord.[/ctt]

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I am acrophobic! Acrophobic comes from the Greek: ἄκρον, ákron root, meaning “peak, summit, edge” and φόβος, phóbos, which means “fear.” I have an irrational fear of the edge or precipice. I am not afraid of heights per say, but I am absolutely terrified of the edge of almost anything. Anytime I am more than two inches off the ground I get an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. It doesn’t matter if I walk upstairs in my own home, I can’t get near the railing and look over. It practically undoes me. I get the same feeling if I have to sit in the balcony area at church, or when I visited GTNP or the Grand Canyon. I have an unhealthy fear of the edge, and I am frightened by it. Is this the kind of fear the woman in Proverbs 31 has?

What does it mean to fear the Lord?

Moses exhorts the Israelites to get their hearts right in Deuteronomy 10, and we learn several things in the passage about the fear of the Lord.

 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 10:12

From this verse we four important things the Lord requires of us.

Fear God – We often think of fear as being afraid, but we are not to be afraid of the Lord. Fearing God doesn’t mean that we should be scared of God, instead of the meaning of fear in these verses is awe and amazement of the Lord. We should stand in wonder toward the Lord with respect and honor! Our God is truly awesome! Because He is awesome, we are to be bold in our faith. In fact, in 2 Timothy we learn that we are not to have a spirit of fear. “I have not given you a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

Walk in His ways – We are to walk humbly with God. Micah 6:8 says that “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” God despises the proud and the haughty.  He wants us to be in constant communication with Him as we go about our daily life. When we spend time with Him and in His word, he shows us what to do and where to go. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and light to my path.” -Psalm 119:105

Love Him – “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” – Deuteronomy 6:5 God loves us so much that He sent His one and only son to die for us, and in return, He wants our love. He doesn’t require it of us, but his hearts delights in our affection for Him.

Keep His Commands – Do what He tells you to do and follow His commands. Just like it pleases us when our children obey us, God wants us to listen and follow Him.

What else does the Bible say about the fear of the Lord?

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In the book of Proverbs, we learn that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”  Proverbs 9:10

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!”  -Psalm 111:10

When we combine our knowledge of the things of God, with wisdom we apply God’s word to our lives. We will have a healthy fear of the Lord. We will see Him as a loving Father that we do not want to disappoint, but we will also stand in amazement of who He is. If we want to be truly beautiful and praiseworthy Christian women, then we should begin by standing in awe of God.

If we want to be truly beautiful and praiseworthy Christian women, then we should begin by spending more time in the Word of God, and devote our lives to prayer and praise Jesus.

 

Wisdom from Broken & Free Tour

What would you ask Ann Voskamp, Christy Nockels or Rebekah Lyons if you could sit across from them and ask a question?

I decided that I wanted to get an encouraging word from these women to share with my fellow Christian blogger friends and ministry partners. God has called us to an amazing journey but it has its own set of challenges that these women are all too familiar with!

I recently attended the broken and free tour and over the course of the evening, we worshiped God with Christy Nockels and listened to inspiring messages from Ann Voskamp and Rebekah Lyons.IMG_1591.JPG

I have been following and Ann Voskamp’s blog for many years and her book 1000 Gifts was life-changing for me!  I was reading it during my pregnancy with my baby Liam who had trisomy 18. Ann’s wisdom helped me take the most excruciatingly painful experiences and pour it out in an offering of gratitude and thanksgiving to the Lord and to others. If you’ve never had the chance to read 1000 gifts or her nearest book The Broken Way, I would highly recommend them!

You can not feel fear & gratitude at the same time.-Ann Voskamp

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Christy Nockels and her husband Nathan started off in Houston many years ago. I had the opportunity to see them when they came to Champion Forest Baptist Church in the 1990’s and have loved them ever since. Christy’s music has always taken me into the presence of the Lord during some of my most difficult times and some of my sweetest memories of worship.

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This was my first opportunity to meet Rebecca Lyons. I loved her message of freedom and feel like we are probably somewhat kindred spirits since we both know the joy and the pain of raising a special needs son.

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My one question for them was this: looking back over the course of your ministry, what one piece of advice would you give your younger self?

The wisdom these ladies shared did not disappoint.

Ann Voskamp took her cue from Beth Moore and said if you are writing a Bible Study to teach it to the ladies God puts in front of you. She said to teach it to the people right in front of you, get feedback, and do business with the Lord there working that thing out. She concluded by saying to pour your life out as an offering and let the Lord use you right where you are, and Rebekah Lyons shared a similar sentiment about ministering to those God puts right in front of you.

I love the wisdom Christy Nockels shared about ministering from a place of rest! It is easy to get caught up on a hamster wheel of life, and ministry is no exception. Christy’s message was similar to a word that I received last year from Beth Moore, which was “enjoy the process.” The video below is Christy’s response to me, I hope it encourages you as much as it encouraged me.

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Broken things can become new! – Ann Voskamp

Shauna Groves was our host for the evening, and one of the highlights of the evening was when Compassion International  signed people up to sponsor children. Compassion is helping release people from poverty all around the world.

 

Jesus Christ came to heal our brokenness and set the captives free! Are you walking in freedom today my friend? Do you know the lover of your soul? Do you have an intimate relationship with him? He loves you, and He came to save you! As we prepare our hearts to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus during Easter this year, I challenge you to go deeper in your relationship with Him!

Seek Jesus, Study the Word, and Grow in Grace

Please drop me a note if you are in need of prayer today. I would love to pray for you!

Much Love, Misty

 

Refresh Gathering

Are you weary? Does your soul need to be refreshed?

As women and especially as wives and mothers, our hearts can become so weary from caring for the needs of others that we tend to overlook taking care of ourselves. Recently, I listened to a message from my friend Lisa Allen, Executive Director of Ministry Training at Proverbs 31 entitled, “Self-Care Isn’t Selfish.” This message really resonated with me. As women, wives, and mothers, why do we think it is selfish to tend to our own needs? For years I have poured my life out for others and neglected to care for myself. The Lord is showing me that life is a marathon and not a sprint. Runners don’t run marathons without first being properly nourished, rested, and hydrated.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us – Hebrews 12:1

As Christian women, we are called to run our race in life with endurance. To run with endurance, we also need to be properly nourished, rested and hydrated. Our nourishment comes from spending time in the presence of God, meditating on His word, and loving others.  Before any flight takes off, the flight attendant instructs passengers of what to do in an emergency.  Passengers are told to put on their own oxygen mask before assisting anyone else.

This past weekend was a breath of fresh air for my soul, it was a privilege to attend the Refresh Gathering hosted by my friend Debi Chapman. I am so excited to share the Refresh Gathering with you this week.  I love Debi’s heart for the Lord, and her multigenerational vision to encourage women. The Refresh Gathering was held at a beautiful venue in Grapevine, Texas called the Laurel. The day was referred to as a “spa day for your soul.”

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It is a beautiful thing when women of all ages come to together to enjoy Christian fellowship with one another and to encourage one another in their Christian walk.

Debi Chapman’s great opening session centered around the story of Lazarus in John 11. The key scripture from her talk was John 11:40.

Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” John 11:40 ESV

If you believe (in the midst of your pain, suffering, and mistakes), then you would see the glory of God. The enemy wants us to question God when things go wrong in our life. We can’t go back and change the past, but we can choose to see Jesus in the midst of our circumstances.

We must believe that no matter what happens in life….. that Jesus sees us, He hears our prayers, and He loves us!

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[ctt template=”2″ link=”a148b” via=”yes” ]Where do you need to be refreshed today?[/ctt]

Colleen Stickl of Awakened Heart spoke on receiving refreshment and taught from the scripture in John 4 about the woman at the well and our need to be refreshed by living water. Colleen focused on three specific areas where we refreshment, our identity, our perspective, and our purpose. Each day our souls need to be refreshed by living water so that we can refresh others out of our overflow.

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” – John 4:10 ESV

The woman at the well was full of regret and was isolated. As Christians, our identity is not shame or regret. We need to remember who we are, and whose we are!

Our identity is in Jesus, and we are called, chosen, and forgiven.

My favorite statement of Colleen’s was this….

The enemy wants me to look back at regret and look ahead and fear.- Colleen Stickl

Our identity, our perspective, and our purpose need to be in Jesus. 

Monica Zuniga of We Are Unveiled spoke on being refreshed through forgiveness. She taught from the story of Joeseph and reminded us that we have been set free so that we can forgive others. My two favorite quotes from her talk were….

The enemy will always divide

Man will subtract

God brings Unity

Our encounter with grace and mercy with the King of the universe should affect our encounters with others. – Monica Zuniga

Next, we heard from Emily Thomas of Mom Struggling Well. She encouraged us to obey God, and if God is telling you to do something, just do it. He will help you do whatever it is he calling you to do!

Kaye Haun of House on Oak Street encouraged us to allow the Lord to renew our souls. To create an environment that brings refreshment to ourselves and those who we have the opportunity to serve in our homes, we need to be sensitive to our season in life. She talked about slowing down and being present with the people in front of us and being present with the Lord. She encouraged us to spend time with the Lord listening to how he would have us care for ourselves and for others, and allow him to give us ideas of refreshment.

Cindy Haggerton spoke on wellness. Dr. Jim Bob and Cindy Haggerton are a husband and wife chiropractic team who have dedicated their lives to educating the public about health and wellness. I encourage you to find out more about them here at Family Wellness. Cindy shared her powerful healing of restoration in her marriage to Jim Bob. She taught about the brain, digestion, and chronic inflammation and it was fascinating. Her philosophy is “move well, be well, think well,” but this is my favorite quote from her session.

“Your husband needs to see you refreshed.”- Cindy Haggerton

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Susan Ryan has lived an incredible life of international travel and is passionate about developing leaders. Through humor and wit, she encouraged us to embrace life in all its fullness, messiness, and beauty.

I love this quote from Susan!

“Talent is universal, but opportunity is not.”- Susan Ryan

Lexa Brecheen of Gateway Church was precious! She spoke on God’s sufficiency to supply all of our needs. She told us about the importance of one word of refreshment and how it can change the course of someone’s day. Refreshing other people is not about us. It is about God being glorified. Make it all about Jesus.

The day concluded with an insightful panel discussion and Q&A with the speakers, and Debi Chapman closed out by sharing Jeremiah 15:19.

Therefore thus says the LORD: “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them.- Jeremiah 15:19 ESV

Her final charge was this: We are precious because we are made in the image of God, and that the enemy tries to convince us that it doesn’t matter what we do, but what we do matters!

What we do matters!

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. -Proverbs 4:23

We are salt and light, and as we are refreshed by the Lord, we need to refresh others. There were other amazing vendors and sponsors, so be sure to check out Refresh Gathering for all of the details.

I want to close with one final thought from the book of Hebrews.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. – Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV

Let us encourage one another to love and good works. I would love to know how you inspire and refresh others in your sphere of influence!

 Link ups this week.


 

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