When I began Real Hurts, Real Hope more than a year ago, my purpose was to give hope to Christian women who hurt and to the people who love them. This remains my passion.

Healing the brokenhearted is my heartbeat. It’s God’s work for me and my joy.

God spoke a “second step” to my heart too: The Sisterhood of Beautiful Warriors. Click the link and take a peek.

My beautiful warrior blog encourages Christian women who have struggles — and don’t we all? — to acknowledge their pain, bring it to the Lord and leave it at the cross AND to embrace the truth of who they are: God’s little girls all grown up, completely loved and accepted by him.

In a few days, I’ll pour Real Hurts, Real Hope into The Sisterhood of Beautiful Warriors and I’m asking you to come along. I plan to send you the Beautiful Warrior blog and let it minister to you. If you don’t want it, tell me. Just send an email to Lucy@LucyAnnMoll.com. Sound reasonable?

A few things my Beautiful Warrior blog gives you:

~ encouragement, just as you are

~ reminders that you are who God says you are

~ opportunity to hear from other Christian women who’ve faced difficulties and found hope

I’ll post Monday through Thursday and some Fridays at Beautiful Warrior. If you have suggestions, I’d love to hear them.

Here’s the lineup, which’ll change with your input ~

Rainy Days and Mondays

Blog Talk Tuesdays

Warrior Wednesdays

Let’s Give Thanks Thursdays

Funny Fridays

In case you’re asking, Why the change? I can’t keep up with two blogs and do both well. A girl’s gotta know her limitations and where God is leading. 

You Are Loved!

My blogger friend Lynn Mosher asked me to write a guest post for her blog about my God-given passion for helping Christian women discover hope and healing. So here it is, for you. I love to hear your feedback.

Q: Lucy, do you have a Scripture that speaks your heart and defines God’s purpose for your life?

A: I do. It’s this: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV).

The word comfort is used four times. This is no accident. Our God is a God of comfort and compassion. This means a lot to me because I’ve known trouble. Here’s an idea:

Depression. Check.
Panic attacks. Check.
Sexual abuse. Check.
Mentally ill parent. Check.
Dysfunctional home. Check.
Infertility. Check.
Addiction. Check. (For me, people-pleasing.)
A history of family alcoholism. Check.
Lived in a broken home? Check. (My parents divorced, remarried each other and divorced again.)
Recurring negative thoughts. Check. Check. Check.

The best thing is that God comforted me in all my troubles, just as He promises in the verse. Now that I’ve received comfort, I give comfort. He spoke His purpose into my life and called me to counsel hurting Christian women. When I meet women at churches where I speak or visit, I see pain and broken hearts.

Q: Lucy, what type of counseling do you provide?

A: I counsel according to the truths of the Bible. It’s sometimes called biblical counseling or pastoral counseling or soul care. As a counselor friend says, biblical counseling is not “here’s two verses and call me in the morning.” It’s comprehensive.

Q: What do you mean by comprehensive?

A: I really get to know the women I counsel – their struggles, their hopes, where they’ve been and where they hope to go. I listen and give clear direction. Homework, too. I also use a Personal Data Inventory. This helps me know many things, including a need for a doctor’s visit.

Q: What’s your stance on medication?

A: I’m open to the use of medication prescribed by a medical doctor.

Q: Do you meet with your counselees in person or over the phone?

A: Both. Some I meet face-to-face, but I counsel most of my clients over the phone. It’s amazing. With the explosion of technology, women who do not have a biblical counselor in their area can still receive hope and healing through Jesus. I’ve met many of my counselees through Twitter and by word of mouth from other folks on Twitter and Facebook.

Q: What are the advantages to phone counseling?

A: It’s cheaper. This is a big deal in today’s tight economy. Counseling by phone also is convenient. The counselee doesn’t have to drive to an office. It also offers greater anonymity. Some women who’d feel awkward or fearful to make a face-to-face appointment are very willing to share over the phone. Several of my clients have told me this.

Q: What are the disadvantages to phone counseling?

A: The main one is I cannot read my clients’ nonverbal communication. This has yet to be a major problem to helping hurting Christian women find hope and healing. I offer to meet by webcam.

Q: Why can you offer hope and healing despite this disadvantage?

A: I truly believe it’s the power of the Holy Spirit. Before, during and after every phone meeting, I pray for the woman and for me. I pray that the Holy Spirit shows each of us what He desires. This is what He does, every time. It’s amazing.

Q: What training do you have?

A: I graduated from Western Seminary, Portand, Ore., with a diploma in pastoral care for women. In addition, I have taken courses from the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors. I am not a state-licensed counselor, however.

Q: Why haven’t you sought licensure?

A: Two reasons. First, I looked into programs at the university in a neighboring town; I’d have to learn atheistic Freudian concepts and counsel by them in my training. I won’t compromise my religious beliefs. Second, the United States holds the position of “separation of church and state.” My state requires that a person performing a religious function come under a religious adjudicatory body that can attest to that person’s qualifications. In this case my church fulfills this role.

Q: If a woman is interested in finding out more, what should she do?

A: Check out my website and go to the e-counseling page. My website is www.LucyAnnMoll.com. Or email me: Lucy@LucyAnnMoll.com.

Q: Do you have any other words for hurting Christian women?

A: Get help. Jesus wants to heal you. You may feel alone or full of guilt and shame – maybe you’re scared what people would think if they knew the real you. God knows the real you, and He loves you just as you are.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus said the most amazing and wonderful thing. Reading the words of the prophet Isaiah, he said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because he has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19 NIV)

Then, he rolled up the scroll, sat down, and stated: “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:20 NIV) Wow.

Are you poor, imprisoned, disabled, or oppressed by life’s troubles?

Hope has come: Jesus.

Question: Has God comforted you in your troubles?

You Are Loved!

Is ordering a mocha from Starbucks a sin?

You could have sent the $5 overseas to feed starving children. Right?

Or. . .

is spending money on mocha just fine with God? Perhaps, even. . .godly?

These sorts of questions pepper an eyebrow-raising book titled Pure Pleasure: Why Do Christians Feel So Bad About Feeling Good?  (Zondervan, Nov. 2009) 

Simple pleasures like homemade chocolate cake, a round of golf, the perfect cup of coffee, your morning run – or your afternoon nap — are created by God for us to enjoy – not feel guilty about.

So says bestselling author Gary Thomas. In Pure Pleasure, Thomas urges Christians to embrace pleasure and carve out time to enjoy life because pleasure is a gift from God that points us back to him. According to Thomas, “God isn’t just our Redeemer. He is our Creator. He made us, and he made this world. So when we participate in this world as he made it, we celebrate him every bit as much as we honor him when we do things that reflect his redeeming work.”

Thomas offers an impassioned biblical defense of pleasure and explains how God delights in, and shares, the pleasure we experience when we encounter his world with thanksgiving. Everyone finds pleasure in unique ways, and whether readers delight in high thread count sheets, gourmet cooking, the scent of freshly cut flowers or finishing a crossword puzzle, Thomas says incorporating guilt-free pleasure into our lives rejuvenates and refreshes individuals and provides a stronger platform for a lifestyle of worship.

He confronts the contentious issue of the cost of pleasure and how we can balance our need for restorative pleasure with our call to be faithful stewards of God’s resources. He helps readers come to grips with the true costs of that daily latte or expensive vacation – not necessarily that those things are sinful, but how they affect one’s spiritual life.

“I’m asking you – no, pleading with you – to embrace pleasure with sophistication. Pleasure is a gift from God. It is good. He designed us to receive pleasure in many ways and is, in fact, preparing us for an eternity of pleasure. We must also realize, however, that there is a hierarchy of pleasure – with God at the top – that orders all of our other pleasures. If the hierarchy gets broken or becomes skewed, then lesser pleasures will begin to war against the primary one, which is delight in Christ.”

A provocative read that just may make you feel better about your simple pleasure.

RECOMMENDED 

About the Author:

Gary Thomas enjoys spending time with his family, is an avid runner and has completed seven marathons including the Boston Marathon. He is a writer and adjunct faculty member at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of several books including Sacred Marriage, Holy Available, Sacred Pathways, Sacred Parenting and the Gold Medallion Award-winning Authentic Faith.

Pure Pleasure
Release: November 2009
Soft cover, 272 pp., $14.99
ISBN: 0310290803

This is a 3-part series on submission, marriage, God and the devil.

SUBMIT. Use this S word in church-y circles or even at Wal-Mart, and you may hear this verse quoted, word by word, sometimes pridefully, sometimes timidly, and only occasionally with proper use.

It is among the best known verses in the Bible. Here goes:

“Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:18)

Two similar verses pop up in Ephesians.

“Wives, submit to your hubands as to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:22)

“Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” (Ephesians 5:24)

Hit Pause. Like now.

Whether you’re married, single or single again, this message is for you. The battle of the sexes, especially in our homes, endears us mortals to the devil, who not only wants marriage redefined — you know, guy with guy, gal with gal. . .maybe even guy with gorilla. . .Barak Obama and far left judges have opened Pandora’s box — but also destroyed, along with the couples’ innocent children. If you have a kid or were a kid, read on.

OK, hit Play.

While many can quote the “wives submit” verses, few remember its counterparts, one in Colossians, two in Ephesians.

“Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.” (Colossians 3:19)

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (Ephesians 5:25)

“In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives, as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.” (Ephesians 5:28)

The command the apostle Paul chose for women: submit. For men, love.

Hmm. Submit and love. It this unfair? shortsighted? out of wack?

Are women suppose to obey? Be doormats?

No!

Rather, both the husband and wife are called to self-sacrifice. Look at the word the apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, selected for love. It is agape in the Greek. This self-sacrificing kind of love isn’t about sex or affection or brotherly kindness. It is the kind that lays down one’s life for the other.

It looks alot like. . .submission.

The wife is to submit and the husband to sacrifice.

As a Bible study author astutely poined out, an argument in such a home would sound like,

“I insist that you have your way.”

“No, no, really, I insist you have your way.”

Wow. Just imagine that was the tone of your arguments, each trying to out-sacrifice (the man) or out-submit (the woman) the other. Just imagine the number of marriages that would not only survive and thrive. The kids too.

You Are Loved, Lucy

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