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Woman to Woman Woman to Woman is one of my ways to minister to other women with words of encouragement on topics that are common to all women.

26/06/2025

Hi ladies,
Today our topic is Paul’s wonderful prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21. We will focus on vs. 16-19:

Vs. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
Vs. 17 So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted & established in love
, vs..18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide & long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
vs. 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Isn’t that awesome? First, let’s note that Paul is talking to believers. They have already accepted Christ. Paul is praying from this perspective. Also, lets note in vs. 16 when Paul states, “out of HIS riches” - that is God the Father & He has no limitations in anything & never runs out. This is from where what we receive comes from. We can look at these requests as progressive – building blocks so to speak. These verses include the Father, Son & Holy Spirit.

1st request: Spiritual Power (through the Holy Spirit)
2nd request: That Christ dwells in your heart through faith.
3rd request: Rooted & established in love –
4th request: Understand the love of Christ

At salvation Christ comes to live in us, but this request is for Him to be welcome in every part of our life. He is not a guest only allowed in the living room, but a family member at home in every room. Rooms that are clean and to His liking. When we give Christ unrestricted access we are rooted & established in love. We become more like Christ. More of Him – less of us.

When we have grown, where the first & second requests are a reality, then vs. 18 can start to bear fruit. Note it says, “together with all the saints.” As we study, discuss and share the scriptures together we with the help of the Holy Spirit better understand the love of Christ. The dimensions given for the love of Christ might be considered as follows:

the width - as wide as the whole world – God’s grace in salvation
the length - as long as forever – all eternity
the depth - as deep as the cross – Christ’s death covered our sin
the height - as high as heaven where we will spend eternity with Him

As we progress through these levels of spiritual growth, our aim is to ultimately be full of God. Not that we will ever have all the fullness of God since that is unlimited, but we can have as much as our human limitations can contain. As long as we are on earth, we have room for growth.

God bless,
Marilyn

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20/06/2025

Hi ladies,
A devotional I read from My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers really grabbed hold of my attention this week. It was titled “Abide In Me.”

John 15:4 ESV: Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

It is so wonderful how God speaks to us in different ways over one verse. We can read it many times and apply it one way; then another time it speaks to you differently. That is so great. That was the way John 15:4 was for me this week. My attention drawn to the first part of this verse. We won’t go into the branch and vine part. Our focus will be “abide in me and I in you.”

This verse can bring up some hard questions. Such as “do I continually abide in Christ or do I abide in Him just sometimes? Do I abide in Him just in church, or when around other believers, but when I am by myself and frustrated about some issue the abiding stops? All these are questions we may need to ask ourselves. But first we need to understand what kind of abiding John is talking about; what does it mean?

We can abide (remain) in many things that has nothing to do with Jesus. The majority of people do so. They abide in the world. But that is not the Lord’s desire for us. He wants us to willingly continue in Him as He lives in us. We are to remain in His perfect will at all costs. His Word is to abide in us. They are to become a vital part of our life. We are to be filled and guided by His Words.

This is what I see abiding in Him means; our heart, our mind, our actions are Christ centered. He becomes so much a part of us that we live and move and have our being in Him. He gave us life and we freely submit to His having control of it. It doesn’t mean we are perfect and don’t stumble now and then. It means we don’t turn from God when we do. Instead, we acknowledge it and humbly ask for forgiveness which we know He will give.

We are conscious of His being in us, with us. He is part of everything in our life. We don’t hold back. It isn’t me, but we! That is who we are - Christ & Me - working together, playing together, doing life together. Without Him we would only exist.

Lord, thank you for all you’ve done for us. Thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to live in us. May we cherish this infilling and give you full reign to work through us to your glory. You don’t force us to do or be anything, but quicken us to grow more like you. May we truly abide in you every moment of every day – willingly submitting to your will in complete faith and trust.
God bless,
Marilyn

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13/06/2025

Hi ladies,
I usually don’t type this many verses, but think we need to read them all for the message.

1 John 5:1-5 (NASV)
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, & whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God & observe His commandments.

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; & His commandments are not burdensome.

For whatever is “born of God overcomes the world; & this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.

John’s message shows us several things about faith:

1. Faith is founded on being a member of the family of God; through salvation in Jesus Christ.

2. As such, we need to practice our faith; doing so reveals our relationship with God. As we mature spiritually, our faith grows.

3. As a child of God, we are to love his other children (our brothers and sisters in Christ). We aren’t told we have to agree with them on everything or even like them, but loving God equals loving His children!

4. We are also told if we love God we are to keep His commandments. This is putting our faith into practice (action).

5. As we put our faith into practice (through our actions) love will naturally flow out of us from our joy of the Lord. This won’t be burdensome.

As believers we are to practice our faith. We don’t always see this happening, unfortunately, in the lives of some professing Christians. Because of this they have no joy in life and present a defeated attitude. Even in the midst of difficulties, Christians can be positive because we know God is with us.
The practice of one’s faith is the overcoming power in life. Our love for God should produce love for others, obedience to His commandments and joy in the Lord as we overcome this world!
God bless,
Marilyn

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06/06/2025

Hi ladies,
We are going to look at 1 Thessalonians 1:3 today. Just one verse with so much in it. Paul was addressing the church in Thessalonica who had stood firm when they were persecuted. Paul commended these young Christians for three things. These three things are how Christians today still need to live.

(ESV) Remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

When people remember us, what do they remember? Paul was remembering the Thessalonians:

1. Work produced by faith
2. Labor prompted by love
3. Steadfastness of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ
Lets take a look at each of these great examples:
Work of Faith
The word “work” implies the general idea of daily tasks or employment. Whatever their work was, it was characterized by faith. It was activity that faith inspired. We know Paul emphasized salvation by grace through faith apart from works. Our works don’t save us, but our faith should produce works. The Thessalonians produced good works in their daily tasks – showing those around them Christ. Our faith should be doing the same thing.
Labor Prompted by Love
In a general sense, work and labor could be basically the same thing, but in this context, they are somewhat different. Labor here seems to imply weary work, even toiling. The willingness to do so (to labor) is from the love they have as Christians; love they received from God is now prompting love through labor. We can labor in many ways for others – battling in prayer is a great example. It can be weary, but we still stand firm – our love enables us to do so.
Steadfastness of Hope in the Lord Jesus Christ
Some translations use the word endurance or patience. Whichever word used, it isn’t meant as negative. Although they imply difficulty in the natural; they are positive characteristics in a Christian due to our hope in Jesus Christ. We have assurance of eventual victory.
This one verse should characterize the life of a Christian: faith, love and hope. Characteristics we can possess in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Dear Lord,
May our life in you produce works of faith, labor of love and steadfastness of hope so that we will be light in this dark world. Amen
God bless,
Marilyn

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22/05/2025

Hi ladies,
Many Americans will have a three day weekend due to Memorial Day Monday. I hope everyone has a wonderful time. The definition of memorial is something established to remind people of a person or event. It could be a physical structure like a War Memorial with names on it or a day set aside to give honor.
Our Memorial Day holiday was created to honor the many American men and women who died in military service. The difference in Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day is that Veterans Day honors all military veterans, living and dead, but Memorial Day just those who died in military service. It is important we honor both, but those who gave their life gave all they had.
This observation is on the last Monday of May every year. Around this time our weather is turning warmer and schools are closing for summer break. So in a way, most consider Memorial Day as the unofficial beginning of summer. I believe the official date is June 20th, but in Louisiana it usually starts feeling like summer in May.
Lets relate the purpose of this holiday to some scripture:
John 15:13 ESV Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
Many people would give their life for family or friends, but those in our military are called to risk their lives for more than family and friends – even for those who oppose the values this country stands for. The willingness to lay your life down for such people is showing the capacity humans have to love; to love unconditionally – to love for honor of country and God.
This weekend we need to take time to give honor to all who have given such love – their bravery and dedication. We can do so by sharing with our children what this holiday stands for, by remembering someone we knew who gave their life in service, and by giving thanks to God for the sacrifices they made.
We know the ultimate sacrifice for humanity was Jesus giving His life for us so that we could be reconciled to the Father; the sin price paid by his shed blood for anyone who would accept Him as their Savior. This was a price that no mere mortal could pay. Many a person has died serving their country so its citizens would be safe, but no one but Jesus’ life saved anyone from hell.
Lord, We ask for your mercy to be upon our land; may peace reign. As our service men and women service this nation, we ask you to protect them from harm, but give them the strength to give their life if needed and more than anything we ask they know you personally and their eternal destination is in heaven.
God bless,
Marilyn

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16/05/2025

Hi ladies,
Romans 12:1-2 NIV
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.
There is so much in these two verses. We know that at one time God required His people to present animals for sacrifice to the priest. PTL that is no longer required. Through Jesus the ultimate sacrifice was made. Salvation is a gift He has for each of us, but we have to accept it. Then we are to do as Paul is urging the Christians in Rome and us today to give our whole self. We are to offer, present, yield to God.
This whole self includes our mind. I don’t know about you, but my mind can get distracted. It often needs renewal. I have to work at not letting all the junk of the world fill my mind; rather to be filled with the spiritual. My desire is to have the mind of Christ continually, but that is not my natural mindset. I have to purpose to live in renewal.
How can we do this? First, as verse one says “we have to offer ourselves to God.” This requires yielding; personally acknowledging that we belong to God. We are not our own. When we accept the gift of salvation we are yielding to His ownership. We are given new life, but the old one is still there. We have to continually yield.
The flesh and the Spirit; the self-life and the Christ-life are at odds with each other. As we yield to the Spirit, He will work in us to overcome the flesh, but it only comes from a yielded life in our mind and body. We need to yield our eyes by controlling what we see and read, our ears by what we hear, our mouth by what we say and how we say it, our mind by our thoughts and attitudes, our hands given to work and serving others, and our feet going where God would have us go. These are parts of our body we certainly should yield to God, but what about even our stomach – not giving in to the flesh with overeating or the countenance of our face (do we smile or frown). All of us should be daily yielding to God so we are pleasing to Him and reflect Him.
I imagine we all fall short in some of these areas at least at times, but we can change that. Renewal is a wonderful thing.
Dear Lord, We come before you desiring to live a life that puts these verses in Romans into action; that we daily yield every part of ourselves totally to you. May your Holy Spirit work in us to battle the old nature. May we grow to become more like you; living in your perfect will.
God bless,
Marilyn

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09/05/2025

Hi ladies,
This Sunday we celebrate Mother’s Day. Not all of us are Mothers, but we all have or had a mother. Usually, we think of Mothers as being nurturing and loving. Of course, that isn’t always the case. Some think knowing how to mother is a natural instinct – you’ll just know how as you go along. There is probably some truth to that, but motherhood is so much more.
Often, we follow the example of our parents or others we have had in our life and that isn’t always best. I do believe that most mothers try to do the best they can raising their children with the experience and situation they are in.
I know for myself, looking back, if I knew then what I now know I would have done many things differently. I simply didn’t have the knowledge and maturity needed and most important I didn’t know the Lord in early years of Motherhood. Even though I had been raised in a loving home, it was not a Christian home. I had no example of seeking God for parenthood or anything else.
PTL, my husband’s family was raised in a Christian home and I came to know the Lord before our children were very old. I loved to read as a youth and when I became a Christian that love carried over to the Bible. It took awhile, but my spiritual growth started impacting how I mothered and my desire became that my mothering would reflect the love of God to them.
It would be so nice, if when we accepted Christ, we automatically became a mature Christian. All areas of life would definitely be much easier, but that isn’t how it works. Instead, as we go through life, we need to stay close to the Lord, do the best we can (learning from our mistakes) and trust He loves our children even more than we do and He is in control.
God showed us His love by sending His only son Jesus. Jesus showed us His love by giving of himself on the Cross. As Mothers we show our love for our children by giving of ourselves to them; not just providing a home, food, and clothing, but giving them our time, our attention and living a testimony of Christ in us.
Motherhood doesn’t stop when the kids get out of school or leave home. It is a lifetime position. As long as we live, we can be a godly influence in their lives. Even after we are gone, this influence can impact generations to come.
For all you Mothers out there, I wish you a wonderful Mother’s Day. I pray you are surrounded by family and friends, embraced in love and assured your Heavenly Father is with you.
God bless,
Marilyn

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02/05/2025

Hi ladies,
My thoughts turned to “time” recently. This came about because I was having to do something I found unpleasant and I wanted time to pass faster than it was. Of course, time doesn’t change, but that day during that 30 minute timeframe - to me it seemed to take forever.
We are all familiar with the creation account in Genesis 1. God creates light, separating it from darkness. He then names the light "day" and the darkness "night,". He created the sun, moon and stars, establishing the concept of a 24-hour day cycle. He finishes his creation with making man in His own image.
God has always existed. Time doesn’t apply to Him. God created time for humanity. Humans’ lives are dictated to by time – we have a beginning and an end. We can’t choose when we are born or when we die (at least not a natural death), but we can choose how we use the wonderful thing called time that God gave us.
Every human has the same amount of time. The minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years do not change. What God set in place remains. God loves us and uses time as a blessing.
It is up to us what we do with this blessing. In the parable of the fig tree in Luke 13:6-9, we see time was given for the fig tree to start producing. With us humans, God gives us an amount of time to change, repent and grow in Him. We need to use this time wisely. Time is precious. We now have calendars to mark days and months; time pieces to designate the hour and minute, but they can’t tell us when our end is – when our time on earth is up.
Benjamin Franklin said, “Time is “the stuff life is made of” (Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1746).
The definition of stuff: matter, material, articles, or activities of an indeterminate kind that are being referred to, indicated, or implied.
In many cases, you could probably say, “Time is all the junk we fill our life with.” Stuff that has no eternal value. It would be so much better if we used this precious gift of “time” and fill it with things of God. Things we can leave behind in the lives of others that they can pass on; like compassion, love, mercy, integrity, etc.
Lord, our desire is that however much time we have left on earth our life becomes “more and more of you!”
God bless,
Marilyn

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25/04/2025

Hi ladies,
Recently my husband and I started watching The Chosen t.v. episodes. Currently there are 4 seasons available and they are working on season 5. I’m sure they took some artistic license since the Bible and historical documents don’t tell us everything, but to me they did an excellent job of portraying the lives of these Bible characters and the culture they lived in. Seeing the Biblical events of the Bible on the screen seems to bring it more to life; easier to picture. If you’ve never watched these shows, I encourage you to do so. We watched them through Amazon Prime. I’m sure other sights also have them available.
Today I want to comment on a few things watching these episodes brought to mind. Mainly is just how human the men were who Jesus chose as his disciples. That is so reassuring. We don’t have to be perfect to be called, but as we follow Him our lives are changed. Who the disciples were when they first followed Jesus is not who they ended up being. Jesus works in our weaknesses, our ugliness and our failures. As we allow Him to work, He grows us to become more like Him.
Humans are imperfect beings, but Jesus doesn’t require perfection. What He requires is our heart. We don’t have to understand everything about Him, ourselves, life, etc. All we have to do is love Him and accept His love and be willing to allow Him to work in us. When we do, there is no end to the possibilities of the life He has for us. We just have to be willing vessels.
I am so grateful Jesus doesn’t require the most intelligent, most beautiful, most wealthy, most successful, etc. Our social or economical standing doesn’t matter. Isn’t that wonderful because most of us would greatly fall short if those were the requirements. Jesus sees how we can be in Him.
When the disciples first answered the call, they had no idea where it would take them. We are told more about some of the disciples than others, but we can see how God changed lives. The same is true of us. We don’t know specifics of what Christ has in store for our lives, but faith grows as we grow in Him; trusting whatever is ahead and that He is with us.
Even in modern times we have seen ordinary people do extraordinary things – even non-believers because God created humans with great capacity. But when lives are given over to Jesus, the extraordinary can become supernatural – more than human effort. It can become Christ in us! Through Him we can live an abundant life according to His plan for each one of us.
Dear Lord,
We submit our lives to you to do with as you see fit. May our main desire be to please you and follow you all the days of our lives. As we move through our days, may you flow through us to touch the lives of those around us. We give you all the glory!
God bless,
Marilyn

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18/04/2025

Hi ladies,
May all of you have a wonderful Easter holiday – remembering all that Christ has done for us and the love He has for each of us. Thank you Lord Jesus!
An update on my foot: The surgery went well. Surgeon referred me for wound care which I go to twice a week and to an infectious disease doctor who is having me take an oral round of antibiotics twice a day plus daily antibiotics through pic line we do at home and go weekly to infusion place for cleaning and labs. The foot is looking much better. Don’t know at what point they determine when they can do the next surgery. Guess when they decide can save my toe. I appreciate your prayers.
As you can imagine this is a trial for me. I don’t like not being able to do what I want; just as all of us would. Limitations are difficult, but I do try to find positives in them and if there is a lesson the Lord wants me to learn. As I have been seeking Him on this matter, what I’ve heard is “don’t grow weary.”
Galatians 6:9 NKJV tells us “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” I am much more likely to grow weary from not doing. There is so much I want to do that I consider good, so not being able to is difficult. But I know the Lord’s timing isn’t always the same as mine. I just have to wait on the Lord and not lose heart.
For me the best way to not grow weary or lose heart is encouraging myself in the Lord by praising Him. Also for me, one of my go to scriptures for this is Psalm 103. It’s too long to type, here, but would be good for you to read. These verses celebrate the Lord’s perfection, compassion, forgiveness and goodness.
Psalm 103:1-5 The Psalmist praises God for his mercy to each individual
6-14 The Psalmist praises God for his mercy to the whole community
15-18 The Psalmist contrasts the frailty of humanity with God’s constancy
19-22 The Psalmist proclaims God is worthy of praise
When I purpose to meditate on all God has done for me, to reflect on his Word and on Who He is and Who I am through Him, my spirits lift. I can see past the present difficulty and ahead to a better tomorrow. Ultimately, my tomorrow is with Him in glory. I have that to look forward to even while having to live in this fallen world. Because of Him I am an overcomer no matter what life throws my way.
I know ya’ll all have trials – be encouraged that the Lord your God is with you through them all.
God bless,
Marilyn

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28/03/2025

Hi ladies,
Before we get into today’s message, I want to let you know I am having another foot surgery Wednesday, April 2nd. They found deep infection, fluid and a loose screw so need to go back in. Praying this one isn’t as extensive and I’m not off my feet so long. So I may not be able to send these devotionals for a couple weeks. Would greatly appreciate your prayers.
It is kind of funny. Ya’ll can now say literally, “I thought she had a screw loose.” HaHa!
Today we will look at our expectations. Psalm 5:3 (NIV) says, “In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” Do we do that? Do we wait expectantly after going to the Father in prayer? And what are our expectations?
Most of us probably believe 100% that the Lord will hear us and answer us. Maybe our problem is how He will answer. As humans we usually want things our way and that usually applies to our prayers, also.
We could simplify answered prayers by placing them in three categories. The answer being yes, no, or not now. The yes answer is really what we want. If it is sickness, we want to be healed immediately. If it is a financial issue, we want that resolved now. That is human nature. We would be weird if we didn’t feel that way, but when it comes to the spiritual we need to not limit God with our expectations. That is possible. We can’t limit His power, but we can limit how that power works in our lives. We can fight against what He wants to do in and through us and be a hinderance.
Even the “not now” answer can be taxing for us, as waiting is hard. I have served the Lord for many years and know that I know He loves me and wants the best for me. As a mere mortal I don’t always understand what the best is. Even though I know this, it isn’t easy to always place a matter at his feet and leave it there trusting Him to work His plan in His time.
When I take on a task, I do the best I can and want the results to show that. I want to see evidence the job is completed. That may work in this physical world, but it doesn’t always work that way in the spiritual world. Our job is to take our issues to the Lord in faith, obediently do what He tells us (through His Word and the Spirit), and wait with expectation that He is in control even when we can’t see it.
The last answer “NO” is the hardest of all. We don’t like to be told no to something we want. Parents have to tell their children no at times for their own benefit. Every parent understands this. The same with our Heavenly father. For our benefit He will tell us no at times and we need to submit to His authority trusting His love.
Like David we need to lay our requests before the Lord and wait expectantly. We can expect Him to answer every time and we can trust that answer will be what is best.
God bless,
Marilyn

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21/03/2025

Hi ladies,
Before church last Sunday morning, in my quiet time I asked the Lord what He wanted from me today. So often I come to Him with all my needs and needs of others, but putting those needs aside for right here and now how could I bless Him? Of course, I knew worship was one way, but I wanted His Word to speak to me.
He lead me to Psalm 22. As I turned there and read the title this translation assigned this chapter I thought maybe I had misunderstood. The title was Psalm of Suffering. That didn’t sound too promising for sure. Then I thought about how much Christ suffered for us – for me. Am I willing to suffer for Him?
As I read the Psalm, David is pouring his heart out to God in the midst of his suffering proclaiming his faithfulness, his worship through it all. David wanted God to answer his prayer – to meet his needs. David told God how much he was suffering and that is okay. We can do the same. But by the end of the Psalm, David turned to worship.
I’m taking the liberty to share just the phrases of these verses proclaiming praise.
Verse 22 (NLT) I will praise you among your assembled people.
23 Praise the Lord, all you who fear him! Honor him! Show him reverence
25 I will praise you in the great assembly.
26 All who seek the Lord will praise him.
27 All the families of the nations will bow down before him. (submission)
29 Let the rich of earth feast and worship. Bow before him, all who are mortal.
30 Our children will also serve him.
David faced his troubles going to God. He knew of God’s goodness and testifies of it to others. This is David’s response to God in the midst of his troubles: praise, honor, reverence, bow down (submission), worship and serve.
We all need to follow David’s example. No matter what the circumstance, our Lord deserves all these things from us. Doing so – giving of ourselves – our heart to Him pleases Him. It doesn’t take money, talents, a special position or such to bless the Lord. It just takes love.
God bless,
Marilyn

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