I came across this poem written by Beth Moore, an amazing Bible teacher. Let it speak to your heart.

My Dear Sister,
The God of Glory
Has called you.
You have a ministry.
In Christ, you are enough for that ministry.
Never forget that showing God off is your ministry.
No matter what,
Keep your heart in your ministry.
Unveil your face
And serve others with authenticity.
Always remember
That the power is in God’s Presence.
Let nothing
Come between you
And intimacy with God.
Keep moving forward
From glory to glory.
Let God thin that veil.
Remember, ministry is not about position.
It’s about people.
Let name after name
Be written on your heart.
Do not seek great things for yourself,
Seek a great God.
As you leave this place,
Go in a fresh anointing.
He who turns water into wine
Turns wimps into warriors.
You have a ministry.
Go fulfill it!!
~ Beth Moore

Question: When have you been moost wimpy? most like a warrior? 

You Are a Warrior!

High school graduation, then adios. . .hasta la vista, bebe.

Poof. They’re gone, a magician’s trick?

No. It’s us. It’s me. It’s our church youth groups.

Like too many parents, I have a kid who’s out of high school and stopped attending church altogether.

In junior high and high school, she went to youth group, special teen events at church, even missions trips. When she returned from the Dominican Republic she said she wanted to go back as a health worker one day.

One day?

I felt proud — too proud? – like the Hubs and I are doing something right with our kid.

Now I’m not so sure.

This video got to me. I encourage you to take the two minutes to watch it. You may agree or disagree. That’s cool. Just think, please. And pray like it’s your battle cry.

Let us not lose this generation.

Segregation from NCFIC on Vimeo.

Question: How can we help our kids remain connected to church after high school? Ideas, anyone? 

You Are Loved!

The sad sad sad statistics.

Did I say sad?

Nearly 2 million
Number of children trafficked each year for sex around the world. (UNICEF)

11
Average age of sex workers around the world. Some are as young as 5 years old. (CIA)

100,000
Number of children and young women who are trafficked in America today. They range in age from 9 to 19, with the average age being 11. (FBI/ABC News)

$32 billion
Amount of money generated annually by human trafficking. (International Justice Mission)

2nd
Ranking of human trafficking among all income-generating syndicates (after drugs). (Born2Fly)

I feel sick to my stomach. I want to kick something. I want to do something.

What about you?

Chances are. . .you don’t know what to do. Here’s one easy thing. Think about it. Pray about it. 

1. Have a yard/garage sale. On my website, I got a bunch of free resources to help you “save the girls.” Click the Save the Girls tab on my website and get your free Save the Girls Yard Sale Kit.

2. Hand out information sheets at your Save the Girls Yard Sale.

3. Promote Save the Girls by wearing Save the Girls tee shirts (if you like). Sell them too. They’re available at my store.

4. Donate a % of your proceeds to one of the anti-slavery charities at the Save the Girls page or another charity of your choice.

Ta-da! That easy.

If you have no plans for a yard sale or garage sale, consider talking to the youth leader at your church and hosting a Save the Girls car wash. Or do a lemonade stand. Or a bake sale?

Or?

Question: How can YOU make a difference?

You Are Amazing!

Karen Hammons, the founder of The Offenders Wife blog and ministry, shared a heart-breaking story about her husband.

Yes, he was arrested.

Yes, the charge branded him a “sex offender.”

And yes, the church leaders told her she was welcome to attend worship services but

he was not.

You read that right. The church leaders said Danny was barred from church. His home church.

You can listen to her story, which aired on my radio show this week. This is the link: http://blogtalkradio.com/cwa-radio/2010/07/20/the-sisterhood-of-beautiful-warriors/

To make sure I heard her right, I asked her again.

“So they weren’t telling him to just stay away from kids’ ministry or youth ministry? The church leaders told him he could never step foot inside the church?”

Yep. Karen put a joy-filled spin on it. I was livid. The folks in my blogtalkradio show’s chatroom — where people may share comments while the show’s on — went wild.

“Where’s the grace?” one asked.

“If church’s barred all who’ve sinned, there wouldn’t be anyone in the pews or in the pulpit,” typed another.

Ya think?

I don’t know which church did this and I don’t want to. Karen was quick to say the church leaders did what they and their lawyer thought best.

She’s far more godly than I am. I’ll say that.

No one is condoning the actions of a man who has admitted to chatting with an underaged girl over the Internet. No. Not ever.

But the church leaders?! Were they right to bar this man from worship service with his wife and little boys? I say no. By the way, after a year, the Hammons found another church that welcomes them, warts and all. They now worship together.

Question: What do you say? Leave a comment.

You Are Beautiful!

I used to feel dirty and unsexy and ugly but NO MORE.

I got clean.

Moving from the mud puddle to pristine waters was one of the very very very hardest changes I’ve ever made. And, of course, I needed help. Mr. Clean (aka Jesus) scrubbed me clean, one layer of dirt at a time.

I don’t remember how I slid in the mud puddle.

Maybe one too many steamy scenes from “Dark Shadows,” an old soap my mom watched as I toddled in diapers, did me in.

Or not.

Maybe I slid in the puddle when my older female cousin showed me her Playgirl magazine, like Playboy but for women. Strangely enticing and repulsive!

Or not.

But I do remember a time at age 14 that I said “No” but should have said “Yes” and another time at age 19 when I said “Yes” but should have said “No.”

Yes, no, no, yes. How confusing!

Confusion is just the state Satan wants you. Upside-down, inside-out, topsy-turvy thinking run amuk. Yuck!

Pause. . .I have free Think Well charts for the asking; email me at Lucy@LucyAnnMoll.com. . .Unpause.

I felt dirty even though I was a believer in the beautifully biblical sense of the word. Our Lord Jesus died for every one of my ugly choices, including my sexual sins, and his resurrection proved his victory over death.

He redeemed me and I still felt dirty.

God adopted me as his child and I still felt dirty.

He gave me every spiritual blessing is the heavenlies and I still felt dirty.

Why? Why did I cling to my grime like a lover?

Like many sex-stained women, I believed two lies straight from hell:

1) I was so far gone that even God couldn’t cleanse me, and

2) I wouldn’t  be free until I forgave myself.

In the first case, I doubted God’s power. In the second, I thought too much of myself, my power, my pride.

Me,

me

and me.

Did you know that know verse in the Bible says, “Thou must forgive thyself”? Look. You won’t find it.

I know because I looked. And so I had a choice:

Believe the gospel according to Lucy and live a joyless life while Satan snickered.

Or accept Jesus’ gift of forgiveness for my dirty bad and live in clean victory.

I’m spotless. Thank you, Jesus.

Question: Do you want to shower in Jesus’ forgiveness too?

You Are Blessed!

P.S. As a trained biblical counselor, I offer a free 30-minute consultation (no obligation) to Christian or spiritually seeking women who have hurts. Email me at Lucy@LucyAnnMoll.com to find out if biblical counseling is for you. Request the free eReport “You Are Beautiful.” 

Mary DeMuth, a bestselling author and international speaker, courageously shared healing words of redemption after childhood sexual abuse on my BlogTalkRadio show, and the women in the chat room went wild.

Not uncontrolled wild.

But ohmyGodsomeoneelsegetsit and I feel understood thankyouJesus kind of wild.

A sweet release. Unshackled.

Wildly in love with Jesus.

If you or someone you know has been sexually abused — okay, okay, that pretty much includes every one since one-in-three women fit this descriptor — please do 3 things:

First, get your hands on Thin Places, Mary’s moving spiritual memoir of God’s touch on her life. . .even at age 5. . .when several teenage boys took their turns with her on a bunk bed in the bedroom while

a mom baked cookies.

Please, someone give me a rock to throw, a pillow to punch, a butt to kick.

I am angry.

Second, if you’ve been abused, tell someone your secret. Shining light in the darkness brings healing. One safe place to tell your secret is Mary’s blog My Family Secrets. You can post anonymously. You may also send me an email. Lucy@LucyAnnMoll.com. I keep confidences.

Third, listen to a replay of Tuesday’s BlogTalkRadio show featuring Mary.

A beautiful warrior — like Mary, like you — seeks healing.

You Are Precious!