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The Re-Use of the Wretched
If you are listening to the news there are so many wretched things happening to humans today including things that are legal to do.
We are beating people with all manner of weapons over a tree. We are killing babies for convenience. We are hazing people for fun. What’s happening is that love is going cold (Matthew 24:12) because of this lawlessness.
The Good News
Lawlessness is the reason we are being called into ministry. If there wasn’t lawlessness there would be no need for us to lead ministries that change lives.
The bad news is that your own lawlessness has given you the experience needed to run this ministry with compassion. Your healed heart from the experiences you have endured, is how your ministry will lead others to the power of Jesus.
Your Wretched Experience is the Catalyst
The fact that you have endured that wretched experience and have a testimony of complete healing from Jesus will be the catalyst for your ministry. The Lord is going to make all things new for you not all new things.
The ministry you create and lead is the gateway to their heart healing because the Lord has healed you. Before that you will not be able to speak with power out of pain. Your power will come from your healing and compassion for those who are going through the same thing.
The hard part is that Jesus may hold you back from ministry until you are completely healed and ready to testify.
Emotionally Healed
This complete healing is of the anger, disgust, sorrow, grief and pain you are holding because of the wretched thing someone else did or what you have done as a result.
Your healing can be the bodies healing because we, as leaders, are rooted and ground in Jesus Christ. If we are not, than we should be chasing this with everything we have. As leaders and leaders in the making our faith needs to be firmly fixed on Jesus.
Re-use of Your Healing Testimony
Your testimony is what brings people to Christ. It is not that you healed yourself but that Jesus gave you the tools to be healed and the time in which to do it thoroughly.
It is when you realize that the Lord has turned all of this wretched stuff into something new that you can testify of His goodness to those He wants you to testify too. He reuses your healing testimony over and over again until you fully understand the healing as well.
Prepare Your Life for Leadership
Christian living is not an easy task because the world tries to draw us back into pain and sorrow, over and over again. The Lord has commanded us to persevere through every testing and trial.
You will only be able to persevere the way Jesus has created you to do it. Each one of us is unique in who we are and have different needs to move forward.
What are your needs? Email me to let me know, so I can either send you a link to a free training or have a great conversation with you about a long term solution.
You might need to start this with cultivating a deeper relationship with Jesus (click here if this is what you need), or time management skills so you can make time for Jesus (click here if this is what you need), or maybe you just need the confidence to start talking about Jesus more (click here if this is what you need).
Effective Christian Living for Kingdom Leaders Community
Effective Christian living for Kingdom leaders is imperative to last. Your leadership is needed in the kingdom and your example is the catalyst for healing. Join the best community on Facebook here for learning how to live an effective Christian life as a leader or leader in the making for the Kingdom.
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Defined by Progress
I had been wondering about putting my strengths, experiences and knowledge to work for the Kingdom of God. I go back and forth with what they are worth and what they are not worth. Don’t you?
For three years I have been focusing on putting them to work and learning how they will work for the Kingdom of God. It is not like I have graduated from theological school or business school or even social work school.
Those are not the experience and knowledge I have. It is the experience of living my life in ministry with Jesus that gives me the strengths that I have.
What I DO have
By putting those strengths to work I have gained tons of experience training myself and others to live the mission God has built for them by empowering them to be more purposeful about their own vision from God. This experience has given me special insight into how to create an amazing process to get this done.
I have been and will continue to be an influence to thousands of women since I began yet today I still question my abilities to do this. And I think my lack of confidence sometimes is based on the newness of what God is calling me to do every single day.
I get complacent when I know how to do something well and want to live in that for a while.
Every day is a new day with a new commandment and a new lesson to learn to perfect it. This new commandment is riddled with error until such time as I have perfected its use in my life.
MY Mistakes don’t define me MY Progress does.
I don’t like making mistakes and I have had mental breakdowns for days after discovering one. I am learning to expect and thrive from my mistakes because they lead to progress. I am not allowing my mistakes or my breakdowns afterwards to define who I am.
My three fold Mission (Commission, Ambition, Transition) depend on the progress I make with every directive from God. Therefore I am willing to endure it because I am not willing to end it.
P.S. – If this blog moves you to advance your vision from God — share it with your friends so together we can create a movement of middle aged mothers dedicated to putting our strengths, experiences and knowledge to work for the Kingdom of God.
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Leading the Way with Real Fruit
I have been to the fruit store and been perplexed about what apples to buy because there are so many choices.
It becomes a process of elimination first then turns into a choice between the few I know I like. It is the same when I am leading myself into a choice of who I want to be in any given situation.
The truth about who I am may not be evident to most people but it is evident to Jesus therefore my goal is to blaze a trial to her, the good apple. I don’t always love my current self but I know I am going to long for this good apple that God is transforming me into.
The Lake of Laxi-Daisy is not for ME
As a path finder for the Kingdom of God, my true pathway is created for the authentic me. I don’t want to drift around in the ‘Lake of Laxi-Daisy”.
I want to find my way to shore with every new adventure from God and blaze the trail to it’s fruit.
How do I Come Ashore
The constant choice between becoming the good apple or remaining the bad apple is driven by the connection I have to Jesus and the connection I have to my true self. I know who she is. She is a fulfilled genuine woman of God that He knows I am. He has given me a picture of her that I will never forget.
To come ashore I need to throw the bad apples overboard and just start paddling toward the good apples. As long as I can see the shore, it is an easy target. And if a fog rolls in, making it hard to see the shore, I have the image of my target burned into my soul – Kathleen Victoria Derbyshire. I can lead the way to my City on the Hill (my vision realized) with the real fruit of who I am.
Are you coming?
If this blog moves you to the true you, share it with your friends and together we can create a Midlife Ministry Movement for women of faith to advance the Kingdom of God.
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Fitting in and Not by Force.
You can only do what the Lord created you to be able to do.
I spent a lot of time praying the Lord my plan to apprehend. Because sometimes I want the Lord to push me into the position He has for me. I had been sitting around for so long in this room I now refer to as my jail for Jesus.
I don’t want to leave and when I do leave I don’t want to come back.
But I do come back because I am the elect of God, holy and beloved. I am required to put on tender mercies toward the people I serve and when I do that I am thrilled to come back.
It isn’t by force that I am fitting into my vision from God or into the Kingdom. No force is required when I put on tender mercy.
It is by putting on the tender mercies I have for women in middle age. Those women whose need is great to fit into the Kingdom of God for their own well being, for their own fulfillment and to thrive in their own vision from God. I am tender toward them.
Your Tender Mercy is Needed
What people group are you to put on tender mercy for?
What problem do they have that you are called to be tender toward?
What problem do you have putting on that tender mercy?
The Problem I Solve
Do you want to understand how you can thrive in the Kingdom of God in your midlife?
I can help you solve the mystery of “What do I have to offer the Kingdom?”
Contact me at kathleen@kathleenderbyshire.com for a free “Visionary Living Consult” to discuss how I can empower you to recall your commission, grow into your vision and chase your ambition toward the body of Christ.
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Brute Force is NOT my Spiritual Gift
I had no idea what I wanted to accomplish in my life but I knew I had leadership skills and organizational skills.
In my family my dad was the clear winner of the leadership game through brute force. All of my sisters have leadership skills with brute force as well. And here I was with leadership skills lacking the brute force component.
Hidden in Plane Sight
I was hiding my skills in plane sight. I hid them for many years because I refused to use brute force to secure any leadership role. Bullying anyone, to get my way, has never been how I wanted to obtain any leadership role.
I am a “natural compassionate leader” who has organized and lead some very successful projects that had impact on the world around me. I assumed, once I became a Christian, I would continue using my God given talents within the church body. I was determined to get my life and leadership skills into position for when God opens the door for me.
I was also determined to do it WITHOUT brute force or bullying. I was determined to do it with compassion and encouragement because God has also gifted me with teaching and exhortation.
Practice on Myself
I knew that to be a good leader I would need to be able to use those same skills to lead myself through life successfully. So, I began practising leadership over my own life. Despite how my life played out I was always hopeful in the Lord’s ability to use the skills He has bestowed upon me in whatever task He had me doing, in whatever capacity He had me in.
I didn’t let life deter my skills in leadership because I used them on myself to get ready for what I am doing today. I didn’t let being in a leadership role define my life because I trusted the Lord to fulfill His plan for me.
I am neutral about life and leadership because I am faithful first to Jesus.
I know that faith has to come first before I will have a ministry that will change lives.
Come out of Hiding
Is it time for you to come out of hiding to create a deeper faith life so you can be faithful to Jesus first?
Are you ready to accept who you are (leadership skills and all) and create the significant impact you long to have in your world?
The “Your Way” Series is the perfect way to boost your second calling into significance in the way the Lord created you to serve, utilizing every skills He has given you including that powerful Spiritual gift of Leadership.
Get life time access to this inspiring bundle of four DIY “Your Way” Courses plus four 30 minute 1:1 “Visionary Life Planning” calls and the cherry on top is sixteen hours of “Plan Propelling” question and answer time. Sign up for the “Your Way” Series here and being leading yourself into significance tomorrow.
rePurpose your leadership skills for impact while leading yourself into the ministry role the Lord has planned just for you.
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Breaking Old Dreams
When I was younger I had great plans or should I say great childish dreams.
I was going to marry a rancher down south in the United States and have kids. I was going to be a master horse woman and sought after teacher. The best part of this was I am going to live where is was warm.
I am sorry to say that is not exactly what happened. Actually, none of that happened because I didn’t make it happen. It was just a dream because I did not plan how I was going to get it. But it made me happy as I slugged my way through high school.
When I graduated that dream found its way into a trash can as I struggled to find work and enough money to put good food on the table.
rePurposing Old Dreams
The old dream came to life again this past year as I binged watched “Homestead Rescue” on Discovery+.
There was a reason why I was dreaming that dream in my youth. I was dreaming it because I wanted to have a purpose in my life. Something I can focus on. Something with meaning.
When that dream disappeared, so did my focus. Watching “Homestead Rescue” revived a vision I was given when I was a child in Christ. Seeing the Raney family help homesteaders revive what they started and making their homesteading dreams into a vivid reality set my soul on fire for my own vision.
Preach New Life into Old Dreams
That rancher ended up being an automotive worker. The ranch is an English Tutor house on one acre of property in a city of 22,000. There are no horses in our yard but there are deer, squirrel, raccoon, coyote, skunk and the neighbours dog.
I am not sought out for my horse training skills but I am sought out for my insight regarding Christian living reEnvisioned.
Revival began with re-purposing my old dreams into my new vision from God. The old is dead and the new will live. The Lord called me to preach new life into my old dreams. To preach new life into my old bones.
He has eventually called me to preach new life, through the gospel of Christ, into women who have aged out of the life they loved.
I guess you can call it “Christian Vision Rescue” coming soon to “Re-Discovery+”.
Do you need confirmation that God fully intends to use your time, talents and treasures even though you have aged out of all the works He has previously assigned to you?
Register for the “Your Way” Series here to re-envision a new life from dead dreams.
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Introducing the new blog “rePurpose”
This weekly blog is for vintage (over 40) Christian women who have a growing desire to rePurpose their time, treasures and talents to serve the Kingdom of God without feeling overwhelmed.
My most passionate day is when a woman tells me she is setting time aside to reDisover Jesus. There is a reason I get so excited about that.
I get excited because I know that when you discover who Jesus is you WILL discover who you are and what the Lord has called you into salvation to accomplish.
This thing that you are born to accomplish will make you feel alive and it will make the people you serve come to life too. There is nothing better than that.
Don’t waste another ounce of your time going in unfulfilling directions. Connect with Jesus and reDiscover His plan for you. Connect with yourself and reEnvision your passion. Connect with believers and reVisualize your Kingdom purpose.
The Kingdom of God is a vast place with plenty of room for every single one of us to fulfill our God given vision. It is for this reason that you were called.
Connect with me if you are driven to rePurpose your time, treasures and talents for the Kingdom and let’s do this thing “Your Way”.
Look for rePurpose every Thursday to blaze your visionary vintage trail to your city in the Kingdom.
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Dang, I’m Old
Recently I have been losing my energy a lot faster than I used too and I noticed in the summer that I cannot handle the heat like I used too.
I thought I would just be able to do what I want when I want but my body is telling me that that is not possible.
I wonder if I can do what Jesus has planned for me now that I am old. I worry He will be done with me before He even got started with me.
Then I am reminded of all the things I have been teaching.
Jesus knows me better than any one else does and I know Him too. If He has put the desire in me to live for Him than it will be fulfilled. I don’t remember Him giving me an age cap.
Phew!
Now I am okay with being old. Thank you Jesus.
I invite you to take my complimentary course called
Knowing Jesus is Knowing Me: A Practical Introduction to who You are in Christ.
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The Musings about Knowing what I Know
It has been just over the past three months that Jesus has helped me to clarify how to articulate that ministry He has been preparing my life for.
Have you ever been so unenlightened about His path for you?
I wanna call it confused but Jesus is not the author of confusion so I cannot. It is just a matter of not knowing or having the correct words to use to say what I know I already know.
I have known that I am gifted to teach, speak and make clear the life lessons found in the Bible. BUT can I articulate that in one little sentence or phrase that says it all. I have not been able too for many years until just recently.
I have known that I would live my whole life in ministry to Jesus whether it is talking to family, a complete stranger or my boss. It was only at the beginning that I did it without any fear. (When you do it without fear it usually turns out bad.)
The Beginning of Musing
My beginning was rocky and hard to follow because I needed to get to a place where I was actually walking in ministry to Jesus. I needed to be trained in everything from morning routines to money management, from goal setting to boundary defending, from how I thought about myself to how I thought about others.
All of that training put me in position to live in my ministry to Jesus. It all started with understanding that the more I knew Jesus the more I began to know about who I am.
This is a small part of the journey I will never regret and will never forget because it had a profound impact on who I thought I was.
I was that small tree I kept seeing on my path to my “City on the Hill” (my vision from God).
https://kathleenderbyshire.com/register/knowing-jesus-is-knowing-me/ -
Priscilla, A Woman who Does!
Is there people who are telling you that God’s calling on you is not something He would actually call you to do?
Are you standing still because of what people are saying or what you think they are going to say?
Biblical Ground Work: Acts 18, Romans 16:3, 1 Corinthians 16:19, 2 Timothy 4:19
Priscilla would be, or could be held back by that kind of a thing but she wasn’t. She was born into a time where women were not given the time of day.
They were not adored by any man.
They were neglected and left behind.
Her husband was a devout man of God and he understood that his wife was created in the image of God.
She is a great example of a woman doing what the Lord requires of her even if people try to stop her.
The Biblical Strategy for Living this out: Look for the motives of people to prepare yourself to either partner with them or go through them, around them or over them.
Would you like to continue this conversation with us?
Watch the Live here
In The Bible Gals we talk about the women of God because we need to know that Jesus loves us, He gifts us and He expects us to do what He has called us to do.
The Bible does not tell us we cannot — people do!
There is plenty of evidence in the Bible that we deserve to talk to the Body of Christ with the authority of Scripture, lead them with zeal and teach them with wisdom even if you have been told “NO” all of your life.
Join us as we work through this tense subject every week. I promise you will walk away with a renewed mind about what you can do for Jesus.
