 “This is a lemon. It will take too much work. This is not your home.”
It was crushing to hear those words from a good friend as we were standing in another home I came so close to purchasing to be The Faith House. Months earlier, God had impressed upon my heart to open a women’s home in Waco, Texas, where I was currently on the staff of a Christian ministry. But things were unraveling, not moving forward and time was running out. We were days away from school starting with a commitment from eight ladies to live with me that year. And still, there was no place for us to lay our heads. Was I totally delusional? Had I not really felt God had placed that dream in my heart? I had told people God had called me to believe for this. I had hired a realtor to help me find a home after raising $60,000 in pledges to help either build or update a home. But nothing was working out.
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Written by Lori Joiner, featured in Katy Christian Magazine https://www.katychristianmagazine.com/2020/05/19/dont-sell-yourself-short/  Many people sell themselves short in the discipleship arena. They will cite their personality drawbacks, their past mistakes, their age, or a stage of life they are in as justifications to not disciple. Let’s look closer at a couple of these hesitations toward discipleship to understand why they are truly unwarranted.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. Everybody has a seat around the discipleship table. Every personality type is needed to be a discipler, because every personality type needs to be discipled! God is not looking to your outward personality to see if you can disciple others. He looks at your heart. Written by Lori Joiner, featured in Katy Christian Magazine https://www.katychristianmagazine.com/2020/02/05/do-you-have-the-time/  Many people want to pay it forward! They want to invest in another spiritually to show gratitude for the people who helped them in their walk with God. Getting in the boat with another person spiritually and helping them become grounded in the basics of the Christian faith is exactly what we are called to do.
I love how Paul said to Timothy, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” Written by Lori Joiner, featured in Katy Christian Magazine https://www.katychristianmagazine.com/2020/02/05/do-you-have-the-time/  It’s the number one hindrance facing women when it comes to discipling other women. I don’t have time. They don’t have time. Who has the time?
I surveyed 100 women formally — and countless others in casual conversations — over my 20 years in women’s ministry to discover what was their biggest roadblock to pouring their life into another woman spiritually. Time was the number one answer. I get it. As a mom of two active boys with a full schedule of speaking engagements, writing deadlines and running a ministry, the sheer thought of trying to line my schedule up with somebody else’s is almost impossible … almost. Written by Lori Joiner, featured in Katy Christian Magazine https://www.katychristianmagazine.com/2019/12/05/you-would-think/  You would think getting kicked out of school during my sophomore year of high school for five weeks would have gotten my attention. But it didn’t. I was headed in the wrong direction, trying to impress the fast crowd I was running with at the time. I was partying my dreams away all the while sinking deeper and deeper into trouble.
Written by Lori Joiner, featured in Katy Christian Magazine https://www.katychristianmagazine.com/2019/10/12/my-body-my-instrument-for-god/  I signed up for my first gym membership in college. That first morning, I stumbled through my first exercise class. Winded during the entire workout, and very sore the next day, it’s a wonder I ever went back! But trying to rid myself of the weight I had gained by eating pizza every day in the school cafeteria was a good motivator!
Written by Lori Joiner, featured in Valley Business Report https://valleybusinessreport.com/business-advice/conquering-workplace-conflict/  In teams of any size, workplace conflict will most assuredly happen. This conflict, if not handled well, will lead to a toxic work environment, low production and employee turnover.
Written by Lori Joiner, featured in the Katy Christian Magazine https://www.katychristianmagazine.com/2019/08/05/taking-inventory/  ach week at my home, I meet with a few women I am discipling. One of the women has an extended family with numerous issues involving deep hurt, dysfunction and downright craziness. She is burdened with each situation and through tears, she unpacked several for me this past week as we were meeting.
After listening to her, I said, “You are burdened by things you can’t control. You are upset about things you cannot change on your own. There is so much going on here, I believe you need to take inventory. Written by Lori Joiner, featured in the Hola Katy Magazine https://holakaty.com/2019/04/16/friends-to-enemies-in-a-split-second/  I’m in the phase of life where my children are best friends one minute and enemies the next! They can be playing well together, laughing and having a good time. Then, in a split second, one offends the other in some small way and you would think the world was coming to an end!
Written by Lori Joiner, featured in the Katy Christian Magazine https://www.katychristianmagazine.com/blog/2019/06/05/when-your-bible-study-goes-off-the-rails/  “Here she goes again, monopolizing the Bible Study discussion with another one of her stories. I just wish she would give others a turn so we could actually ‘discuss’ and not just listen to her long answers …”
Have you ever thought this about someone in your small group Bible study? Perhaps you and some neighbors, friends or members of your church get together weekly and the above issue, or others, is holding up the discussion? |
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July 2020
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