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September 26, 2010

Girl Talk: Truly Set-Apart

Hey girls!

This is Ariel. I've been reading Set-Apart Femininity by Leslie Ludy and God has been convicting me in very deep places in my heart. I'm not afraid to confess it--I am not fully dedicated to Him. Recently, I've been letting entertainment, friends, looking beautiful, and hobbies give me refreshment or value, and I've been spending a lot more time on Facebook, watching TV, listening to music, and other worthless, worldly things than making a valuable heart-to-heart connection with God and growing in Him. I'm guilty of being a hypocrite, but I've made the decision to start throwing away these worldly distractions so I can focus on seeking Jesus with all my heart!

I know I'm not the only one who has had these thoughts flitting through my mind; I've been thinking about how big and amazing God is, and how temporary and useless all these things that our culture distracts itself with today is. Is anyone else getting the feeling that maybe Christians should be different because we're not caught up in what the world is--looking attractive for the opposite sex, hanging out with our most popular friends, drinking in pop culture's poisonous messages, spending significant daily time watching TV or going on the internet, having all the hottest or musically superior artists on your iPod--but we're caught up in the King of the Ages, and Him alone?

I'd recommend Set-Apart Femininity to all of you girls--what I've been learning through this book isn't enough to fit into one post!

But again, I know I'm not alone in my thinking--what are you girls doing to un-conform yourself from the patterns of this world and sticking to Jesus' pattern for true, lasting joy, peace, and love instead?? Share in the comments below!!! Let's start a meaningful discussion.

In Him,
Ariel

4 comments:

  1. Personally I'm making the decision to watch no TV except for very, very rare occasions when the program is really educating for my spirit, or when my family is all watching a show and wants me to join in.

    I'm going to cut back on the secular music and time I spend on non-productive websites, also. Hopefully I can use all this time to spend with God, worshiping Him and learning more about Him in His Word...

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  2. I've read the first couple of chapters of Set-Apart Femininity on Google Books and so far it's amazing! It's awesome to hear about your decisions, Ariel :)

    God has also been convicting me deeply. I am determined to hold on to God's promises and look to Him only for fulfilment, rest, peace and joy. I commit the first part of my day to spend time with Him. I will pray for His Word to truly come alive for me, and I will let go of all the things that hinder my relationship with Him. For me, these things are the internet, books, my own plans, ambitions and fears. I want to lay them down, and to trust in Him :)

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  3. Thnx for this post! It cut me to the quick becuz I get so wrapped up in stuff, like I go thru numerous phases where all I can think about is this one thing, or many things, and I don't take time for God. I've been reading a book called "A Young Woman After God's Own Heart" and ohmygoodness I TOTALLY AND COMPLETLEY recommend this book! Its by Elizabeth George! You should all read it!

    Love,
    Manda

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  4. Yes....it's good to remember that as Christians, we need to be set apart from the world. Often I get angry at some of my friends and teens in my youth group because I feel that they are no different from the world. Standards are low and they don't seem to have any interest in taking their relationship with God seriously. But God has convicted me; I can't let this anger turn into bitterness...I need to act on it. Reading "Do Hard Things" has really challenged me to to more for God, to surrender more to Him and be more of a role model to those around me than before.

    Some things I try to do to make sure that I'm on the right track are spending around an hour a day in devotions and quiet prayer time, interceding for my friends, volunteering at my local Carenet Pregnancy Center (supports women with unplanned pregnancies), trying to get a group together to volunteer at Salvation Army and the local soup kitchen, play piano for my youth group's and adult sunday service's worship teams, email encouragement to my friends and stick bible verses up around my room. I began to start thinking that I had it together, compared to those around me, but Im realizing how much more God has in store for me...I just need to be willing and humble.

    Thanks for this post!
    Love,
    Megan

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