Tag: positive women

Step Up to the Challenge

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Our challenges often prepare us for leadership and develop in us a sense of courage, strength and perseverance. Take Mary Crowley, founder of Home Interiors & Gifts, for example. She is considered one of premiere business women in Dallas, Texas. Her life was not an easy journey, but she as a woman with a firm faith in God, she grew and learned through each struggle in her life.

Married in 1932 and with children coming soon after, she and her husband struggled to survive through the Depression. Mary realized that if she was going to be able to feed her family, she would need to find a job. Although jobs were scarce at the time, especially for women, Mary chose a store she wanted to work in, dressed up and armed herself with a confident smile, walked in the doors of the store and got the job!

Without realizing it at the time, this job enabled Mary to develop a shrewd business sense that later prepared her to become head of a multimillion dollar company. Sadly, her marriage crumbled in 1939. She began studying to be a CPA and worked full time at an insurance company. Additionally, Mary suffered from insomnia, yet she turned her problems over to God. She used to pray, “Lord, you know I’ve got to get my rest. You worry about these problems. You’re going to be up all night anyway.” She would then go to sleep, leaving her problems in God’s hands. Her faith in God never wavered, and she found her confidence and strength in Him during those lean years.

In 1948 she married David Crowley, Jr. whom she had met at the insurance company. As a newlywed, Mary wanted to make her home as attractive as she could, despite her limited funds. She took a job as an accountant in a furniture company, and soon she began to notice that as people came to buy furniture, they had no idea how to accessorize their new furniture. Ideas began to dance around in her mind as to how she could help these people, but she also longed to be home with her children. In God’s way and in His timing, He began to put it all together.  Several years later, a man who imported gifts and decorative accessories, asked Mary to become his sales manager in a new direct-sales company.

After working with this company for only three years, Mary’s staff had increased to five hundred women selling accessories through home parties. Sounds like a Joseph-type success, doesn’t it? The owner was pleased with the success, but he decided to add cocktail parties into the company functions, and he put limits on the commissions the sales women could make. Mary told him she didn’t agree with these conditions, so he sent her the office furniture that belonged to her and he was done with her position. Mary grieved the loss of being tossed off of that mountain, but she trusted God and knew He had a plan.

It was then that she birthed her own company, Home Interiors & Gifts. Mary followed God’s leading, and she gave Him credit for the success of her company. She knew that it was God who opened the doors, but it was her responsibility to walk through them. Mary’s desire was to help woman and minister to their needs. Many of the women who became a part of her team had never held jobs before and even needed help with their appearance.

Soon Mary’s company was helping women both personally and financially, paying dividends and bonuses. The business continued to grow and in 1962, the sales force recorded one million dollars in sales. Sadly, it was the same year she was diagnosed with cancer. She ended up fighting two bouts (mountains if you will) of cancer, but continued to fight on and bless many women in the process.

Mary was one of the first women to serve on the board of directors of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. She received two honorary doctorate degrees before her death in 1986.[i] Today, the Mary Crowley Cancer Research Centers in Dallas provide hope to cancer patients by expanding treatment options through investigational vaccine, gene and cellular therapies. Despite the setbacks Mary faced, God used her perseverance and creativity to inspire women and bring hope to generations of cancer patients as well.

What can we learn from her story?

 

  • Embrace the mountains in front of you and see them as opportunities for growth.
  • Don’t blame others or make excuses.
  • Do your work with excellence and integrity.
  • Be faithful in the small tasks.
  • Always ask, “Lord what do you want me to learn here?”
  • Keep your eyes on God’s plan for you.

 

Personalize It

  1. What mountain are you currently facing in your leadership role?
  2. What is God teaching you personally through this challenge?
  3. How can you thank God specifically for this mountain?

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This is an excerpt from Positive Leadership Principles for Women

Photo by Bruno Nascimento on Unsplash

[i] Mary Trotter Kion, http://www.historyswomen.com/1stWomen/MaryCrowley.html

Turning Negatives into Positives

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Sometimes life hits hard. Circumstances can take a downturn. Frustrations may seem overwhelming. People may be cruel and hurtful. How do we handle the disappointments and devastations? Is it possible to birth something hopeful, when all we can see is our pain?

Being positive doesn’t mean we ignore the pain, but it does mean after we grieve the loss, we ask the question, “How can I grow or learn or make something good come out of this?”

Helen Keller showed us what it looks like to overcome the negatives. Born in 1880, a severe illness left her unable to see or hear. Yet through the patient and persistent instruction of her teacher, Anne Sullivan, Helen learned to read, write and speak. She didn’t stop there! She went on to study French and Greek at Radcliffe College. At the age of 26, she published her life story and became a well-known public figure and humanitarian, speaking in over twenty-five countries throughout the world. Her life and story has inspired countless millions to turn life’s challenges into possibilities.

She wrote, “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” Certainly her incredible accomplishments epitomize human potential in the face of adversity.

It’s not what happens to us that define us, it’s what we do with it that matters. Let’s be willing to change our focus. Let’s be creative and look for ways to make the best out of the worst. May each of us find hope in unlikely places.

Read more in The Power of a Positive Woman.

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Photo by Sara Kauten on Unsplash

Courage

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God has a unique plan for women in this world. He designed us with a distinct purpose in mind, using our unique feminine strengths, as well as some of our personal weaknesses. Throughout history we read about women who played a role in shaping culture and defining new standards.

For the next few weeks, I will be highlight women who used their God-given strengths to make a positive difference in their culture. Today, let’s look at a strong and courageous woman named Deborah whose story is found in the book of Judges in the Bible.

According to Edith Deen’s book, All the Women of the Bible, Deborah was the “only woman in the Bible who was placed at the height of political power by the common consent of the people.” Deborah’s courage, like that of Joan of Arc 27 centuries later, was based on her faith in the Lord. She was a counselor, a judge, and a brave advisor in time of war. When other leaders were afraid, she led the nation of Israel into battle and on to victory with these words; “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera (the enemy) into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?”*

The victory was won because of the leadership of one brave woman who didn’t let obstacles or fears confine her. Her faith guided her and gave her the courage to move forward. Where do you need to step out in faith and courage? What fears do you need to overcome? Where do you find your guidance for your next steps?

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Read more in The Power of a Positive Woman. Click here for more info.

*Judges 4:14

 

Photo by Karl Magnuson on Unsplash

Never Underestimate Your Influence

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Henrietta Mears saw the best in the people God placed in her life. Although at an early age her physical eyesight began to deteriorate leading to eventual blindness, her insight into God’s word and talent of seeing the potential in others grew in strength throughout her life.  Born in 1890, Henrietta loved God’s word from an early age.  She constantly begged her parents to let her go to the adult Sunday School classes at her church, so she could learn deeper truths about the Bible. She taught her first Sunday school class at eleven years old.  When Henrietta graduated from high school her eye doctor warned her that she should not seek further education as it would strain what little eyesight she had left.

Henrietta didn’t let the doctor’s orders stop her as she was determined to use her eyesight until it went out. She did her best to listen in class in order to reduce her need for reading. When she graduated from college she went on to teach high school chemistry, but her first love was teaching the Bible at her church.  Her classes grew and grew in size as she taught God’s word with creativity and accuracy.  Eventually she was invited to be the Christian Education Director at a Presbyterian church in Hollywood, California. She accepted the position and immediately began to write new curriculum to replace the old dull lesson she was provided.  She wrote Sunday School lessons for first through twelfth grades which led her to eventually start a publishing company called Gospel Light Publishers.

College students were her first love and she faithfully taught their class every year. The students loved her because she taught such fun, quirky and creative lessons. Henrietta sincerely loved her students and helped them dream big dreams and catch the vision of what God could do in their lives. Hundreds of her students went on to full time Christian ministry including Bill Bright who founded Campus Crusade ministries. Henrietta planted many seeds which God watered and grew into great and fruitful trees. She started a youth camp in California which is now known as Forest Home Conference Center.

One year Henrietta invited a young evangelist to preach to the kids at Forest Home camp.  This young preacher was struggling with what he believed about the inerrancy of the Bible.  Henrietta talked with him and prayed with him. Most importantly she didn’t give up on him, recognizing that God was doing a great work in this young man’s life, knowing God would carry it out to completion. The preacher took a long walk in the forest and then got down on his knees declaring to God that he would stand on the Bible as God’s truth even if it didn’t all make sense to him. Young Billy came back that evening to preach one of the most powerful sermons Henrietta had ever heard.  Many kids came to trust Christ that very night. Billy Graham went on to preach his first crusade soon after his experience at Forest Home.

Billy Graham said that Henrietta Mears was one of the most influential women in his life besides his own mother and his wife.  Aren’t you glad that Henrietta saw her students as works in progress? She didn’t give up on them. She didn’t focus on their faults, rather she poured into them and nurtured them in the Lord.  She reminds me of Paul. Henrietta wasn’t imprisoned by being chained to a guard, but she was imprisoned by her physical blindness. Yet just like Paul, she didn’t let her challenges keep her from building up others and encouraging them to be all that God wanted them to be.  She looked for the potential and not the problems.

 

This is an excerpt from A Woman’s Passionate Pursuit of God.  Click Here for More Info.

Looking Up This Week

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Many Americans are turning their eyes toward the heavens this week as we experience one of the most unique solar eclipses since 1979. This is the perfect opportunity to stop and consider God’s creation and observe His amazing and ordered universe. I marvel at the work of His hands in creating the cosmos. Take some time this week to reflect on His handiwork and thank Him for all He has made. One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Psalm 19. It’s a great passage to meditate on and memorize. Allow its truths to permeate your thinking this week.

 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.

 Yet their voice  goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.

 The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
 The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
and all of them are righteous.

 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
 By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
 But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

 

Here’s some websites to check out if you want to find out more about the eclipse:

https://www.nasa.gov/eclipselive-info

http://time.com/4882923/total-solar-eclipse-map-places-view/

https://www.space.com/33797-total-solar-eclipse-2017-guide.html

Looking for fun space ideas to do with the kids? Check out www.positivemom.com

Photo by Michael on Unsplash