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Today we continue to talk about women. It always amazes me how giving women are. They have the biggest hearts, and would give whatever they have to help others. They usually think of everyone else ahead of themselves.
If someone needs a hand, they give it
If someone needs a meal, they cook it
If someone needs a coat, they’ll give you theirs.
They give great big offerings….. Present a need, they’ll find a way to give
They are sale finders and most make an effort to spend money wisely.
In the Bible women gave by:
Being hospitable to a prophet
Being kind to the poor
Contributing to caring for the financial needs of Jesus and his disciples
Washing Jesus feet
Serving in the church
Working along side of Jesus and the disciples
They were:
Ambitious,
Constant,
Capable,
Committed
Self-sacrificing,
Humble
Full of Faith
And willing to be a blessing!
I’m sure you know women who demonstrate many of these qualities. Ladies, I hope you know how valuable and precious you are, and how much God adores you. God sees it all, your labor isn’t in vain! Go girl!

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Women are a blessing, the ultimate “Good Thing”- as stated by God in Genesis! Not only good, but very good. Here are two ways that women are a blessing.
1. They are a blessing to their families – Women work hard and are responsible for many things – tplus they bring beauty to life. The woman in Proverbs 31 looks like many woman today…multi-taskers who do a great job at many things. The Bible says that a good wife is a good thing from God, and her husband has favor with God because of the love, care and provision he has for his wife. Prov 18:22 says that He who find a wife, finds a good thing and finds favor with the Lord! Genesis 2:18 – Says that Adam needed a help mate. Women are great helpers, and having help is a blessing! A good mom can help propel her children into all the good things God has for them. Two important ways they can do this is by: living the Word in front of them, and by praying for them.
2. They are a blessing to the body of Christ! Women are not a problem, they are problem solvers. God has never been confused about the worth of women. Jesus always honored and respected women, and He longs for them to know how valuable they are in the body of Christ. Jesus celebrates women! He has a very high opinion of women. Even in the genealogy of Jesus, three women are mentioned…Rahab, Ruth and Mary. In Hebrews, in the hall of Fame of Faith, four women are mentioned, Sarah, Rahab, and Mary and Martha who received Lazarus back from the dead. Who is the one woman listed in both places? Rahab….. Her name is also mentioned in James because she chose to put action to her faith by receiving the spies in Jericho. She was a former prostitute who changed her life and became a woman of faith and blessed the body of Christ. If a former harlot can bless the body of Christ, so can the Godly, faith-filled women in your life, who forget their past and live for God.
As you think about the women in your life, thank God for them and pray for them today.

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Intro:
Welcome to you daily eword. I want you to be encouraged to live life to the fullest and to enjoy every moment of today. This week right after mother’s day, we’re talking about women. As a wife, mom, and now even a mother in law, being a woman is really wonderful. This week’s encouragement is for the wonderful women in your life. If you are a woman, I hope these words encourage you. Here is your encouraging word for today.
Today is the day after Mother’s Day… It was a day to salute and be thankful for our moms. Most moms have wiped hundreds of dirty noses, done enough dishes to reach the top of the Eiffel Tower, climbed the laundry mountain of Mt. Never rest(!), and have daily helped with homework, been the taxi, and have served, loved and given from the vast treasure of love that is stored in their heart. When from the outside it looks like they’ve given all there is to give, they still seem to give more. Moms are amazing! Although most of us moms would like to have monthly menus planned, all the wash folded and ironed before bed time, warm, delicious, healthy meals on a regular basis, kids that are bathed every night, dishes done within a half hour after dinner, an efficient filing system for all that paper work, plus an adoring husband who daily told us how beautiful we are and how they love us with their whole heart(!!!), most of us would settle for a loving and peaceful environment in the home and a family that loves God.

A peaceful home and kids that love God and are following Him is a tremendous reward. Our greatest investment is in our kids, spiritually, emotionally and physically. And I want to salute all you moms out there who are loving and giving, and serving your family and raising the future generation of leaders who will know what loving sacrifice is all about.

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Sometime little things can make a big impression. The same is true in the opposite direction. Sometimes little things make a big negative impression. We can’t ignore little things or hope that nobody notices. How does that apply to our own lives? Usually we’ll give ourselves a lot more grace than we give anyone else. I think the reason we do that is because we know our intentions. For example, we know that we tried to make it on time, but we had unexpected traffic, or a sick child. But because we don’t always believe the best in others, we just think that if they had just planned better they could be on time, even though they might have had the same issues we faced. When we might have been late a time or two we think to ourselves that it is beyond our control and couldn’t be helped. Another little thing is the mentality that prevails when we’re volunteering. We may think that we’d do our best if we were getting paid, but “Hey, this is free labor, so you get what you pay for”. Another little thing is the attitude of mediocrity that says “I’ve served my time, now it is someone else’s turn”. If we all felt like that, nothing would get done for the kingdom. To combat these “little foxes” that can steal, we need to remember that even when others aren’t watching, God is. God sees the big picture and not only sees your actions, but He knows your heart. If we want to represent the church on the earth as a place of quality and excellence, it is up to us as individual members to act like it is our responsibility.
When we take ownership not only of our own actions, but of our attitudes, we can move from mediocrity to a place of excellence, and really glorify God, not only in word, but in deed as well. Is there someplace in your life where you can see a need to rise above mediocrity and go the extra mile? Why not do it today! If everyone did that, every single need would be met, in every area! Let go of average, and go for the best. Let’s be excellent for Jesus.

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How is your attitude today? Everyone has had attitudes before! The greatest thing about being a human is that we can change our attitude. I hope you end up have a great attitude today. The Bible actually tells us to have the same attitude as Christ Jesus. What kind of attitude do you think He has? He has confidence, but at the same time has the heart of a servant. He is secure, and at the same time is willing to lay down His life for others. It sounds like he has a self less attitude. He cared more about others than he did about his own self! That should make us want to be more like Him. Let’s wake up every day and determine that we will have the same attitude that Jesus had. Don’t try to put yourself first. Don’t try to make everyone notice you. Don’t try to make yourself the center of the world! We are important to God, but He didn’t make us the center of the world. He is. Our world should revolve around him. So why not today, check your attitude. Does it look like the attitude Jesus has? Does your attitude glorify God? Does it make you helpful in your home? Does it make you want to serve others? Then you are on the right track! Keep it up. Having an excellent attitude lets others see Jesus in you! As we celebrate 25 years in the Magic Valley, remember that we are God’s representatives, and our lives bring Him glory, every day of the year as we lay down our life for others, and have a heart to serve.

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Don’t you just love to be pampered? Even getting your hair cut can feel like pampering as the hair stylist washes and massages your scalp. Having a back massage, or taking the time out to have someone paint your nails, just enjoying a nap once in a while, or even sitting in a hot tub can leave you refreshed and revitalized. I don’t think there are many people on the earth who don’t enjoy at least one of the things I mentioned. During our Ladies Conference we always try to find ways to pamper the ladies who attend in some way. We have great items to give away, and try to let every lady know how special they are. It is always so sweet to receive thank you notes from those who are so thankful and appreciative that we would go out of our way to give them gifts and make a special place for them to fellowship. It was so wonderful to see how a little effort on or part, makes women feel pampered. Sometimes little things can make a big impression. Why not do something for someone to show them your love today? At the end of our conference this year, everyone was handed a piece of paper to fold into a note card, and given 2 minutes to write a note to someone. It could be for someone in the sanctuary with us, our speaker, or even a note to themselves, to remember what God had done for them that weekend. What a beautiful sight to see women’s beautiful words written down, so that they could be remembered. It was such an affirming and encouraging way to end the conference, and because one of my love languages is words of affirmation, I not only got to bless someone, but I was blessed by thoughtful, heartfelt words of many of the ladies there. Why not do that same exercise today. Write a note of appreciation to someone today. Maybe even one of your pastors as they celebrate 25 years in the Magic Valley. Your words can pamper their soul!

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Let’s look at excellence on the human level. What are the “quality materials” needed to build a strong foundation in our lives? The basics include – starting with a true relationship with Christ, reading, studying and meditating on His Word, spending time in prayer and praise and worship, and fellowshiping with other believers around His Word. Those are elementary. It really does surprise me and sadly disappoints me at the same time, at how many “long term” Christians don’t do these foundational things even one time a week. I’m sure I’d be surprised at how many people even in our congregation who haven’t cracked open a Bible on their own in a long time. If we ignore the foundational principles, things begin to crumble around us. We are representing Christ – the living Word, the Bread of Heaven, and often we haven’t had a “bite” of His Word on our own in a long time. We’ll be spoon fed at church, but to break it open and feed ourselves just takes too much time and effort, or we feel like our lives are too busy. If we want excellence on the outside, we have to have quality on the inside. That means getting the Word inside our heart. Your Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against you, it says in Ps 119. What goes in is what comes out! Thank God for the conviction of the Holy Spirit. There is hope for change, and all it takes is a decision. My hope and prayer is that we can say, “I’m putting quality materials into my inner man, so that my outer man represent Christ excellently”. I am encouraging you toward quality living, today.

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Have you ever done an addition or a remodel in your own home? As we celebrate 25 years in the Magic Valley this month, we are looking back at some great pictures to see where God brought us from. From a little living room, to 5 years at the YMCA, to our current location, we have experienced building projects all along the way. We have built for excellence. This fall our current building will be 20 years old, and praise the Lord, it isn’t crumbling or in need of repair. All of the additions have been done with excellence, and on a firm foundation. It is very similar to how we are to build our lives. As believers we represent Christ on the earth. Excellence starts in the heart and works its way outward. During the process of building a new building, an addition or doing a remodel, things can get messy. Grass has been torn up, so that means there is dirt everywhere. In other words, during the construction phase, we have to remember that excellence is a process. It’s a time where you keep things looking as good as possible, and ask for grace in the areas that we have no control. Quality building takes time. Quality and excellence go hand in hand. If we want to have excellence in building, we use quality materials. We want to make sure the foundation and structure are firm and strong and constructed with the best quality materials available. As we continue the construction process in our own lives, let’s strive for excellence. Let’s be the best representatives for Christ that we can be. That alone could be some awesome encouragement for someone around you. At the same time, let’s thank God for the beautiful building and acreages we own to the glory of God.

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If we want quality on the highest level – the treasure on the inside of us needs to be expressed. We do hold a treasure in an earthen vessel. That’s the KJV way for saying that Christ lives in people, who are simply cracked pots! It doesn’t sound very flattering, but when you think that a King would want to take up residency in you, it makes you feel like royalty. It makes me want to clean up the earthen vessel, make it as beautiful for the King as possible. It also makes me want to use the gifts and talents He gave specifically to me to the best of my ability and more, because they are the stamp of God in my life. When we know what our gifts are and we are using them for the glory of God, it means there might be things that we lay aside so we can run the race God has for us without any hindrance. Are there distractions in your life that you know you need to lay aside? Why not choose to lay them down. It will give you the room and the time to grow and get better. If you are willing, your life will step up a notch! Are you ready to get bigger and expand on the inside? I hope you are! Then your life can be evidence of God’s glory, and it can show up on the outside. I hope you are ready, because we’re moving on up! When one moves up, it helps the whole body do better! Let’s be our best for the King of Majesty. Greater Things are Yet to Come

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As a staff, we were trying to decide on a theme for our 25th anniversary celebration during the month of May. The words that felt right were these, “Greater Things Are Yet To Come.” We know that God has great things for our city, our valley, our state and our nation. We glance back with joy and press forward with anticipation. We have an outstanding line up of speakers each weekend in May, and Greg Fritz is on for next Sunday, Pastor Rex Baker on Wednesday the 15th, and Pastor Casey Treat, and Pastor Mark Boer the last two Sundays in May. As I talk about excellence this week, remember that, “Greater Things are Yet to Come”! Here is your dailyeword.

Anything worth doing is worth doing right. I’m not sure where that quote is from, but my Dad gets credit for saying it millions of times while I was growing up. Whether it was cleaning my room, arranging some flowers, or mowing a lawn, you do it right the first time, and do it with excellence, because Dad said so! Our heavenly Father likes excellence too. Let’s do our best for God. It is so important for believers to realize that we represent Christ on the earth. We are his ambassadors, or representatives, and when the world (those who don’t know Christ yet) look at us, they should see a good facsimile of who Jesus is. That kind of puts the pressure on – but in this case, it is good pressure! We should be much more than mediocre. We should be much more committed than average. We should be people of impeccable integrity and character. We should be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, not only when people are watching, but every moment of every day. As big as I am on making things look good on the outside, that certainly isn’t the heart of the issue. The heart is the most important issue. We all know that just changing outward circumstances doesn’t make a change on the inside. Real, lasting, effective change happens from the inside out. That usually means making some adjustments, changing our thinking, controlling our thought life, and making the decision to live and serve others with excellence. When that happens on the inside, there will be dramatic change in what people see on the outside. That is the Word at work within you! Anticipate the greater things that are to come in your own life as you choose excellence today.

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