Virtues and Vices – Page 2 – REACHING HURTING WOMEN MINISTRIES

VIRTUE: a valued principle of good moral behavior; a holy habit.

Modesty: regard for decency of behavior, speech and dress.

VICE: a practice of wrong doing; the corruption of virtue; an unholy habit.

Exhibitionism: a compulsive desire to attract attention to oneself by exaggerated behavior; exposing oneself.

Growing up my father kept a Playboy calendar just above the scales in our only bathroom. So needless to say, modesty wasn’t taught to me as a child. Yet, when I became a teenager in the early 70’s and going bra-less was “cool” my father would berate me and say, “No daughter of mine is going to walk around like that!” Conflicting messages to be sure.

Admittedly, I lived most of my life as a sex addicted exhibitionist, reeling in prey for my sexual desires. Though in recovery eight years, modesty still remains my biggest challenge. No matter how well I’m doing with my own personal speech, behavior and dress, the enemy will sneak up when I least expect it and try to get my mind. Satan knows if he can plant an image in my mind, sexual fantasies are not far away. And if a fantasy takes root… acting out is sure to follow.

Modesty among Christian women is a real problem today! Even with strong boundaries on my media input at home, the enemy’s is still at work… for my worst days are often at church. I stopped attending a local church because there was a woman greeter that regularly dressed like she was going clubbing: decked out with 6′ spiked platform shoes, a low cut clingy top and a tight short skirt. That’s not what we need to see coming into our house of worship!

When we fall in one Virtue… we fall in many. A lot of things in life cause chain reactions, the Virtues are no different. Here are a few Virtues I believe that affect our Modesty or are affected by our lack of Modesty…

Chastity, Composure, Graciousness, Humility, Integrity, Meekness, Piety, and Purity.

Are you one of those women who doesn’t care how she dresses even at church? We must be mindful of our speech, behavior and dress. We never know who is watching and how it could be affecting them.

Let’s prayerfully rededicate our mind and heart to God with this Keith Green classic song:
Create in Me a Clean Heart http://youtu.be/mD2PJ0xbAdY

VIRTUE: a valued principle of good moral behavior; a holy habit.

determination : a firm or fixed intention to achieve a desired end.

VICE: a practice of wrong doing, corruption of virtue; an unholy habit.

procrastination :the act or habit of procrastinating, putting off or delaying.

Starting in 2006, my husband’s new business consulting company took us on a cross country adventure. From the Gulf Coast to the Pacific and back again, we moved eight times in four years. In 2009, after growing many other people’s businesses, Bill decided to start his own. So thankfully, in 2010 God brought us back to Texas!

As you can imagine, starting a new business is quite painful. It requires a commitment to long hours, courage to do the seemingly impossible and dedication to the long-term goal; all which my precious husband has. I, on the other hand, have the simple job of supporting him… simple but not always easy.

This calendar year has been one of the toughest for me for various reason. I’ve struggled with courage, patience, hope and faith… all the required ingredients for Determination.

I like how we discussed the Virtue of Determination in my church class last year. Specifically because Determination didn’t stand alone but was taught along with Diligence and Perseverance. What I found most interesting was how they were linked together. But first let’s look at their working definitions:

DETERMINATION is looking at insurmountable obstacles as opportunities to cry out for God’s supernatural intervention. It requires patience, hope, discernment, courage and faith while remaining committed over a long period of time.

DILIGENCE accepts each task as a special assignment from the Lord and uses all energies to do it quickly and skillfully. Diligence is duty bound. It requires deep faith during trials, courage against despair, patience in strife and mirth to stay balanced.

PERSEVERANCE is the steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose. It says, “Yes” to a vital cause, refusing to take no for an answer. It may fall down but always gets back up.

Like I said before, what I found most interesting was how these three virtues are linked together, how they blend and build each other up…

DETERMINATION is the cognitive decision to tackle an obstacle.

DILIGENCE is the action walking out that decision.

PERSEVERANCE is the energy that drives the action.

…All three critical ingredients to successfully completing a goal.

Certainly the last three and a half years starting our business has been a daily exercise in Determination. However for me personally, the last calendar year has been one of the most difficult. It hasn’t been so much about faith in God to provide, because He has come through in the most incredible ways time and again, meeting all our needs.

Rather, my challenges have been with living out what I know God has called me to do in ministry to reach hurting women with the freedom I have found in Jesus Christ.

When I get discouraged because I can’t see a clear plan for what I’m supposed to do, I have to be determined to press through procrastination and answer the call. But that determination must be driven and energized by perseverance so I will diligently study each week and continue to write for my blog while I wait to see God’s greater purpose.

So don’t lose your confidence. It will bring you a great reward. You need endurance so that after you have done what God wants you to do, you can receive what he has promised. ~ Hebrews 10:35-36

How do you struggle with determination? What keeps you moving to your goal?

Let’s be determined together and Press On http://youtu.be/_Bg2cJ5bw2k

Resources:

Christian Virtue by Patty Woodmansee