Our Calling.

As the next generation of Godly women, we are called to be a lot of things. We are to be pure, kind, meek, loving, honest...and the list goes on. In a nutshell, we are to honor Jesus in everything.

Above all of these, there is one thing that Jesus commands all of His followers to be active in constantly. And that is proclaiming His Word.

I'd like to invite you grab a cup of coffee and a snuggly blanket and open your Bible to Luke 19:11 - 27. Take your time to breathe it in and really study His Words - His letter to you. Make sure to pray for guidance before reading.

In this passage, Jesus tells the tale of a Master who gave each of his servants the same amount of minas (ancient currency). Every servant chose to do something different with their minas. Two of them made as much interest on the money as possible as to please their Master. The other simply choose to hide it away in fear of rejection, punishment, and losing his mina. 

Our Master has rewarded us all with minas (which in our case, is the gift of the Gospel). We all have the same thing. But, it's up to is what we do with it. Do we hide it away from the rest of the world like the unfaithful because we're scared? Maybe we should go and read what the Master had to say to THAT guy in verses 26 and 27: "He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.' " 

So what can we do with our minas? Even a glass of water given in the name of Jesus will be used for His Glory! Share His Word and His Love with others today...everyday! Share because you choose to use what your Master has given you for good! Share because you want to hear Jesus say "well done, good and faithful servant." Share because Jesus gave His life.

What will you do with your mina?

A Controversy

The bloggirls here at Altogether Separate recently posted a review and hosted a giveaway of Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. A couple of us were in the middle of reading it and really loved what we were getting: encouragement, wisdom, and beautiful writing.

However, it has come to our attention that this book is actually rather controversial, and in the interest of our readers we wanted to make sure all of you knew that we were featuring this book in a good light because of the points emphasized in this post: seeing beauty in even the most mundane and painful of circumstances, praising God every day, living in the fullness of joy.

Ann's writing is ambiguous in many places, and has been interpreted by some as panentheistic (for more on this, you can read this in-depth examination of the book); the romanticism and sensual terms that Ann uses to describe her relationship with God are offensive to some.

Every popular author is going to have his/her naysayers, and in a work that puts forth some theological views there is bound to be a lot of discussion in Christian circles, on both sides of the issue. If you are a new Christian, or if you have not had much experience in reading the scriptures or studying apologetics, then it may be best for you to steer clear of this book entirely.

For all of the theologically questionable bits in OTG, there are some wonderful messages (for one writer's commentary, see this article), but here is a question that we should all consider: how can we discern spiritual truth when there are so many sides to so many issues? I have heard great praise for OTG from sources I know and trust, and yet there are also articles and blogs which say potential readers should "run for their lives."

How do you decide which books to read, which movies to watch, which sources to trust? How can you know when to keep the baby and throw out the bathwater, and when to stay away from something altogether?