This is what I desire that myself and every woman following the Lord hopes for, strives for, and prays for to describe themselves (adopted from http://www.pearlsandgrace.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-new-church-lady.html):
She will truly have His heart and His eyes to see sons and daughter when she looks at His people.
She will be a doer of the word and not a hearer only.
She will refuse to judge and condemn and do her best to love people back to wholeness.
She will be a fountain of mercy and grace and one who will breathe life back into dry bones.
She will know that it is the love of God that breaks every yoke.
She will be a living epistle of love and humility and will demonstrate the scriptures with kindness and gentleness and compassion.
She will give credit where credit is due.
She will point others to Him. She will give Him all the glory. All of the honor. All of the credit. Always.
She will understand fully-the truth is this: If it were not for the grace of God-there goes I.
She will reach to the back row and encourage and minister to the hearts of the women who can't get past the grief and sorrow of their own life.
She will look past circumstances and situations and appearances that look different than her own to see daughters of the living God who have yet to discover their worth.
She knows that "humility isn't thinking less of yourself but it is thinking of yourself less."
Graciousness is her hallmark.
Gratitude is her beauty treatment.
She is a woman of her word.
She is a worshiper. In spirit and in truth.
She is a prayer warrior and holds trust from others as sacred.
She is supportive of others and is not an opportunist.
She understands that to become a Proverbs 31 woman, you can't skip chapters 1-30.
She is fully aware of her own shortcomings and seeks Him daily for His love and guidance.
She recognized hopelessness and worthlessness in others and speaks life.
She is an excellent listener. She listens with her head and her heart. She hears what is not being said.
She is a lifter. An encourager. A hope giver.
She forgives fully.
She know that the same grace that was made available to her is also available to everyone else.
She does not gossip. She does not constantly brag or boast. She speaks blessing.
She sees the best. Believes the best. Hopes the best.
She places a high value on God's people.
She invests in the greatest investment in the world--His people.
She is known for what she stands for.
And of course these changes can only come from God. But we have to let Him take control. Let Him change us. Philippians 1:6 (ESV)-And I am sure of this, that he who has begun a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
At the beginning of the blog that I got this wonderful list from, the blogger described the judgement that she once felt from the people of the church. It was very evident to her what they stood against. She was a single mother giving church a try and she felt nothing but condemned. She left the church for an entire decade because of that. This breaks my heart and I'd like to say that things like this are made up or that they don't happen anymore but that, unfortunately, is far from the truth. I'm tired of it. We are called to live like Christ but we are failing that task ridiculously. Think about who Jesus hung out with. The widows, the poor, the prostitutes. He knew who needed love the most and showed it to them. I'm tired of my best friend telling me that she doesn't feel included in the ministry that she's involved in. I'm tired of hearing about people who have lost hope and faith completely, enough to the point where they never want to walk into a church building again, because they were burnt by it. Wake up, church of God! These are real people, God's people, with real stories. We have all been giving millions of "second chances" by God. We've all been forgiven 7x70 times, so why wouldn't we treat everyone with that same manner? Be a doer of the Word. Place a high value on God's people. Refuse to judge and condemn them. Invest in them. Love them. Accept them. Include them. We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
