{"id":301356,"date":"2007-05-04T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2007-05-04T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/sisters-in-service-part-2\/"},"modified":"2007-05-04T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2007-05-04T15:00:00","slug":"sisters-in-service-part-2","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/sisters-in-service-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Sisters in Service, Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michele Rickett talks about her sisters in Christ around the world who are risking their lives to share God&#8217;s love.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2007-05-04.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"11.55M","filesize_raw":"12105910","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2821],"tags":[4292,4952,4001],"podcast_series":[7520],"cwp_profile":[9069],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-301356","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reaching-out","tag-children","tag-persecution","tag-women","podcast_series-daughters-of-hope","cwp_profile-michele-rickett","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/301356\/sisters-in-service-part-2","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/301356\/sisters-in-service-part-2","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"zS8gEtUTBN\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/sisters-in-service-part-2\/\">Sisters in Service, Part 2<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/sisters-in-service-part-2\/embed\/#?secret=zS8gEtUTBN\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Sisters in Service, Part 2&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"zS8gEtUTBN\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Michele Rickett talks about her sisters in Christ around the world who are risking their lives to share God's love.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2007-05-04.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\tMichelle:\u00a0Some Indian women came to us and asked us, \"Has anyone ever spit on your because you're a Christian?\u00a0 Has anyone ever burned your house?\u00a0 Has anyone ever thrown rocks at you?\"\u00a0 And they were asking that because they have experienced all of those things and yet they stand so very bold in the face of those things.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0It reminds me of the Apostle Paul who said, you know, these light and momentary afflictions, they're just for a moment, and they're working for me \u2013 far more eternal weight of glory.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0This is FamilyLife Today for Friday, May 4th.\u00a0 Our host is the president of FamilyLife, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 What momentary light afflictions are you facing today that are producing godliness in your life and how can we reach out to help our sisters all around the world?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0And welcome to FamilyLife Today, thanks for joining us on the Friday edition.\u00a0 I have a question for you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0Okay, got it.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0You have heard people say for years that one of the things about Jesus and Christianity is that Christianity transformed women in a society and in a culture.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0Jesus had a completely different view of the dignity of women than was prevalent in His culture in that day, right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0In that day, women were viewed like property.\u00a0 They had very few rights and were not viewed with any kind of nobility or dignity.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0Now, today in our culture, there are a lot of people who would look at Christianity and the role of women, and they would say just the opposite \u2013 Christianity isn't liberating to women.\u00a0 In fact, it puts them into some kind of marital bondage.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0There are those in Christianity today who have put women down, and that is not true Christianity.\u00a0 As I look at the New Testament, Jesus placed high value upon women as did the Apostle Paul, and just because we have a different role in the marriage relationship doesn't mean there's lesser value, it just means we have functions that are different as husband and wife, and we need to complement one another. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0I think what's happening today is the culture is trying to homogenize the sexes where there are no distinctions and where men and women are just two interchangeable units and, if anything, I think we come to the Scriptures to find out what the true identity of a woman really is.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0But you would say authentic Christianity in our day is still exalting to the value and worth of women, the nobility of women, right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0Absolutely.\u00a0 All you have to do is go overseas.\u00a0 I mean, if you go overseas and see what's happened to women there, all of a sudden, you realize Christianity in America has done much to protect, again, the nobility, the value, and the role of a woman in our culture.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0Again, there's been distortion, no doubt about it, but we have a guest who has seen some of these distortions internationally.\u00a0 In fact, Michelle Rickett formed an organization called Sisters in Service, which really has, as the purpose, to correct the wrongs that are being perpetrated upon women.\u00a0 Am I right, Michelle, is that pretty much what Sisters in Service is all about?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMichelle:\u00a0Yes, we certainly want to address things that are abusive and oppressive to women and girls and certainly aren't what God has in mind for women and girls.\u00a0 Oppression, the fact that girls are least fed, least educated, least valued, as you mentioned, considered a piece of property.\u00a0 This is not God's heart for little girls and for women.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0And so what we want to do is address issues of poverty and oppression and persecution and spiritual darkness in the most culturally appropriate ways but in the loving way of Jesus.\u00a0 This isn't an angry feminist approach; instead, it's the heart of Christ that always existed for women and girls.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0You know, I'm glad you said it that way because a part of what Bob and I have fought hard for here on FamilyLife Today is to be known by what we're for.\u00a0 We are for marriage, we are for marriage that goes the distance, we are for men to be sacrificial servant leaders of their wives and their families, we are also for women, for mothers and wives.\u00a0 And that's what you're about.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0In fact, you've written a book called \"Daughters of Hope,\" which are stories of women whose lives have been transformed by Christ, and they've begun to reach out to others.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0I want to take you to a country right now that's in the news, and I want you to give us a glimpse into how women are viewed and are treated in the country of Iraq.\u00a0 What's happening there?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMichelle:\u00a0Well, I'll tell you, though, some really good things are happening.\u00a0 The Iraqi Christian leaders tell us that they are so very grateful that we intervened; that innocent girls were snatched off the streets by Saddam Hussein and his sons before, and defiled, and then tossed back to their families; that everyone's life was oppressive during that regime.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0So they're very grateful, the local people, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, we know there's a lot of conflict right now.\u00a0 One of the unfortunate things is as the hostile people in the area, it's a regional problem not just one country's problem \u2013 as they try to dig in more deeply, some of the unfortunate practices against women and girls are more prevalent right now \u2013 the honor killing problem.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0Honor killing is basically because a girl and a woman are property to a family, everything they do reflects on the father or the husband.\u00a0 So if there's a dishonor in any way \u2013 let me give you an example.\u00a0 One of the men, as he dropped off his children, said, \"Oh, I don't have any wives.\u00a0 I know I'm very unusual, a Muslim man, I could have four wives.\u00a0 I only had one.\u00a0 She was the love of my life, but we had an honor problem in our family.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0One day my wife was at home washing her hair, and it's very thick, beautiful hair.\u00a0 No one ever saw it but me and unfortunately it wouldn't dry, so she opened the window to allow warm air to blow through her hair as she brushed it and, unfortunately, right at that moment, my father passed by the window and saw her hair.\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0This inflamed a murderous anger in his heart against her, and so he called a meeting of all the male relatives and said, \"We have a dishonorable woman in our family flaunting her hair.\u00a0 It's the job of the husband to stamp out this dishonor.\"\u00a0 And he said, \"I pled for my wife.\"\u00a0 I said, \"We'll board up the windows, she'll never go outside,\" and they realized he was not going to take care of it. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0So about a week later, his brothers broke into his home, kidnapped his wife, took her up into the mountains and murdered her.\u00a0 This woman was murdered for brushing her hair in her own home.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0I'll tell you, of all the things women and girls must suffer, I just can't sit still on this kind of information.\u00a0 We have got to do something to get the message of God's love and value to them.\u00a0 Surely, they don't have to suffer without knowing there is a God who loves and treasures them.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0But if you bring the Gospel into some of these countries, and you reach these women, and they begin to see the liberation in Christ, they still have a problem.\u00a0 They still live in a culture that does not value them the way the Gospel values them.\u00a0 What does that do for them?\u00a0 I mean, how do they continue to function in their culture now that they see what is true about them in the eyes of God, and yet the culture does not reinforce that?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMichelle:\u00a0I have been amazed at how these women know when to be bold and when to pull back.\u00a0 I wouldn't begin to try and tell them what's appropriate in Afghanistan right now.\u00a0 It's part of the beauty of how Sisters in Service works.\u00a0 We have an invisible servant role.\u00a0 We identify the local Christians who are there, and their initiatives, and then we fan into flame their strengths and their abilities.\u00a0\u00a0 They are sensitive to the issues; they are sensitive to what's going on, and they know how to reach out to the women in a way that's not going to draw hostile fire.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0Where if I tried to show up and translate, you know, my teaching that I do on spiritual formation here in the United States and just do it over there, I could cause all kinds of problems for the women in the things that I just don't understand about the culture. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0And yet the women who are running the initiatives that we're working with \u2013 the Iraqi Christian women, the Chinese Christian women, the Indonesian Christian women \u2013 are atypical to their culture.\u00a0 And I have this sense that once you \u2013 and I am atypical, in a sense, to my culture.\u00a0 Once you understand how deeply loved you are, you can boldly live. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0And it's not about living a life of comfort anymore, it's about shining the light of God's love in the face of darkness and evil, and that's what we're talking about is evil.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0And so your goal with these women is to equip and encourage them to reach out to other women in their community, is that the idea?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMichelle:\u00a0That's right.\u00a0 There are Christians in virtually every country of the world.\u00a0 That wasn't true 100 years ago, but because of the good work that missionaries, mostly Western missionaries have done, we have grown an indigenous church \u2013 local Christians who are there who have the spirit of God, who understand how to study the Word.\u00a0 Many of the women I deal with have higher degrees, seminary degrees, than I do.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0So they are there, they are equipped, they know the language, they know the culture, and they have these initiatives.\u00a0 So like the women in Africa who wanted to provide school, they were willing to do the work for free; to bring their own food, and yet there was no way they had the capacity to do what needed to be done in this garbage-dump community.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0So I have this theory that God has reserved a tiny percentage of the whole family of faith and given us the purse-strings and given us the freedom to speak up about what is true and what's good from His heart so that we can join arm-in-arm and work together.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0Give us an illustration in one of the countries where you've traveled to of how you have come alongside a woman who is one of these heroes of the faith, who has demonstrated great courage of putting the arms and legs to the love of Christ as she has reached out to other women in her culture.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMichelle:\u00a0Well, there are so many women going through my mind right now \u2013 one woman was a priestess in India in a tribe, a very small tribe, the Banjara [sp] tribe, a very hostile and entrenched people group \u2013 very superstitious.\u00a0 And she was famous in her community \u2013 it reminds me of a Bible story \u2013 for being able to help couples conceive who could not conceive.\u00a0 She would cast a spell on them.\u00a0 If people were sick, she could heal them with demonic power.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0Well, her sister came to know Christ, and that was through a discipleship, an evangelism, and [unintelligible] program that Sisters in Service helped some local Indian women have.\u00a0 So this sister went to her priestess sister and shared Christ with her, and this priestess was very resistant to the Gospel, and she would sneer at her sister.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0But then the priestess herself became sick, and she could not get well, no matter what incantations she did, she couldn't get well.\u00a0 And so her sister said, \"Well, you know, if I pray for you in Jesus' name, He might have mercy on you even though you've talked about Him that way and, sure enough, she was healed in Jesus' name and afterwards this very priestess, \"Now,\" she said, \"I have a job to do.\u00a0 I have to go back to all of those people I've given such bad spiritual advice to and tell them that Jesus is the one true God.\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0There was a shrine that people used to go to, and they would put money there, and food, to try and get the demonic forces to help them, and she made it her cause to stomp around this shrine, and she said people just mysteriously stopped coming.\u00a0 She said, \"I stomped around and in Jesus' name cast all the forces of darkness away and now nobody goes there anymore.\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0If I ask you to juxtapose American Christian women and the African Christian women that you've met, or the Iraqi Christian women that you've met or the Afghan Christian women that you've met, what are the big differences in how they're living out their faith and how Christian women in this country are living out their faith?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMichelle:\u00a0They understand that this world is not their home.\u00a0 There was an encounter that we recorded in the book, \"Daughters of Hope,\" where some Indian women came to us and asked us, \"Has anyone ever spit on you because you're a Christian?\u00a0 Has anyone ever burned your house?\u00a0 Has anyone ever thrown rocks at you?\"\u00a0 And they were asking that because they have experienced all of those things, and yet they stand so very bold in the face of those things.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0It reminds me of the Apostle Paul who said, you know, these light and momentary afflictions, they're just for a moment, and they're working for me \u2013 far more eternal weight of glory.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0He said, \"I glory in God, in exalting Him,\" and when that becomes your focus, building the kingdom of God, then you can put up with all kinds of \u2013 well, the Apostle Paul was talking about being beaten and left for dead, right, and some of the women I deal with have been stoned and left for dead, and there is that marketplace parallel.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0If you're living for making Christ known, you're living for His glory, you realize this is a sin-sick world, and the Bible tells us Jesus said it's going to get worse and worse before Jesus returns \u2013 \"Some of you can be taken into custody, some of you are going to be put death for My name's sake,\" he said, \"but don't be alarmed.\u00a0 These are the birth pains before the birth of my kingdom.\u00a0 Things are going to get worse, but I want you to understand something\" \u2013 He told his followers \u2013 \"This Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations and, after that, the end will come.\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0So if we get off mission and think that we have some other job to do in this life, we are going to be, of all people, most miserable.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0You think that the affluence of American culture is a hindrance to the work of the kingdom?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMichelle:\u00a0Absolutely.\u00a0 We are lulled to sleep, much like Queen Esther in the Bible, you know, I think she had a nice job being the Queen of Persia, and you had servants, you had to put on facial creams a lot, as I understand, and have a party every now and then.\u00a0 But the people of God were in big trouble.\u00a0 It wasn't Esther who came up to the moment.\u00a0 Remember, it was a male relative, and he came to her and challenged her and said, \"Esther, wake up, it could be that it's for such a time as this that you are in this position,\" and she resisted.\u00a0 She said, \"I don't think I remember his former wife.\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0But, finally, he said, \"Well, don't think that you're not going to go down with all of us.\u00a0 I want for you to reconsider your part in this\" and, finally, she said, \"Ya'll pray for me,\" because she was from Southern Persia \u2013 \"Pray for me, and if I perish, I perish.\"\u00a0 That's what we love about her.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0So I think she had to be jolted awake from her affluence and her ease and finery, and we need to be jolted awake, too.\u00a0 We've had a little bit of that hostility in our borders.\u00a0 It's time to awaken to the joy and the privilege of speaking up for those who suffer to serve.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0Do you think it was your years in Africa that jolted you awake?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMichelle:\u00a0That was a beginning.\u00a0 When I came back from overseas was when I really began to research and see what a pervasive problem women and girls had everywhere.\u00a0 We do live in a little bubble of affluence and ease.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0I know lovely Christian women who would not think of going through the day without studying their Bible.\u00a0 They don't do the big sins, you know, but they're not happy.\u00a0 They don't have this bedrock joy and fulfillment they're supposed to have, and they sigh and wonder what's going on, and then I meet a woman who makes 50 cents a day busting rocks with a hammer to make gravel, and she tells me when she has Jesus she has everything.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0So, for me, that is the problem.\u00a0 Without a vision, something that's bigger than ourselves, the people perish.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0You know, you don't know this, Michelle, but Barbara, along with her friend, Susan Yates, together are working on a book around calling women to a mission and a vision.\u00a0 And it's really challenging women coming out of raising a family and into that period of time of the empty nest with a higher calling.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0It's kind of designed to be the women equivalent of half time.\u00a0 You know, we talk to men about their half-time in their career and how they can use that as an opportunity in their 40s and 50s to recalibrate and think about how they can use their skills for the kingdom of God.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0Well, what Barbara and Susan are doing is they're writing a book to really come alongside ministries like yours and challenge women to say, what is my vision?\u00a0 What am I about?\u00a0 What is my purpose?\u00a0 What's my reason for getting up in the morning?\u00a0 Is it rescuing women in foreign cultures who will be taken advantage of, maybe sold into slavery, sex slavery, or little girls taken advantage of?\u00a0 How can they use their influence, their leadership skills, their hearts, to represent Christ around the world?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0And I just appreciate the leadership you're giving to Sisters in Service, as well as this walk, where you're challenging women and men, for that matter, in churches, on the Saturday before Mother's Day, to get out of their churches and take a walk in the neighborhood.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0Yeah, but it's four miles, right?\u00a0 You want women to walk four miles?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0And pray for their neighborhoods, right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMichelle:\u00a0That's right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0Pray for women, pray for mothers, and begin to reach out in the name of Christ.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0You are hoping that this will be a national movement.\u00a0 In fact, you're hearing from churches around the country that are going to participate in this on the Saturday before Mother's Day.\u00a0 If somebody is just now hearing this program and thinking, \"Well, we've got a week, maybe less than a week, how do we join in?\"\u00a0 What do you want us to do and what do you hope will be accomplished?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMichelle:\u00a0Well, what we're inviting people to do is, as you said, just flow out of their churches and prayer walk their neighborhoods the Saturday morning before Mother's Day.\u00a0 We want to contact local media, you can contact the newspaper, local newspaper, and say, \"Hey, this is what we do, as Christian women, we really care about moms who stand alone near and far, and so it's a sponsored walk.\u00a0 We get four sponsors and walk four miles for moms.\"\u00a0 It's very simple.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0You don't have to organize a big rally, you need to pray.\u00a0 I believe in the power of prayer to hold back the darkness with the beauty of the light of Jesus Christ, and I want to tell the nation that.\u00a0 This is what Christians are for.\u00a0 We care about moms, and we pray for them, and we are going to help them.\u00a0 It's not rocket science.\u00a0 It's very simply, \"Do we believe in prayer or not?\"\u00a0 Yes, I think we do.\u00a0 Let's exercise that a little bit.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0And the money that gets raised on that day will go to help these women in these other cultures who are living in very oppressive situations, right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMichelle:\u00a0Yes, they're going to help moms near and far.\u00a0 We are actually going to be working with the local churches that partner with us on determining \u2013 up to 50 percent will go to local ministries in their communities.\u00a0 They'll recommend to us \u2013 these are ministries that provide emergency help to moms or education for them so that they can get a leg up and then, of course, 50 percent or more will go to projects overseas that do the same kind of thing.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0Yes, we've got a link on our website at FamilyLife.com to the National Walk for Moms website.\u00a0 If you go to FamilyLife.com, and you click the red button that says \"Go,\" in the middle of the screen, that will take you to the broadcast page, and there is information available there about how you can connect with the Walk for Moms, information about your book, \"Daughters of Hope,\" which we have in our FamilyLife Resource Center, and you can order a copy of that book online, if you'd like.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0Again, the website is FamilyLife.com, click the red button that says \"Go,\" in the middle of the screen, and that will take you right to the part of the site where you need to be to get more information or to get resources from us here at FamilyLife.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0You can also call 1-800-FLTODAY if that's easier, 1-800-358-6329, 1-800-F-as-in-family, L-as-in-life, and then the word TODAY, and we'll answer any questions you have or make arrangements to get resources out to you as well.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0Something we're pretty excited about here at FamilyLife, we have had a group of friends who have come to our ministry, and they want to encourage listeners to FamilyLife Today to join with them during the month of May to help support this ministry, and they've agreed to match any donation that we receive this month on a dollar-for-dollar basis.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0So a listener sends us a check for $50, and that's matched with another check for $50 from this group of friends.\u00a0 Or if you send a $25 donation, that's matched as well.\u00a0 Any amount is matched dollar-for-dollar up to a total of $475,000, which means that we need as many of you as possible to make whatever donation you can make during the month of May so that we can take full advantage of this matching gift opportunity.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0It is easy to donate online at FamilyLife.com.\u00a0 You can also call 1-800-FLTODAY to make a donation.\u00a0 In either case, the donation you make is going to be matched, dollar-for-dollar, and, of course, all donations to FamilyLife Today are tax deductible.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0So, again, we hope to hear from you this month.\u00a0 Go online at FamilyLife.com or call us at 1-800-FLTODAY and make a donation to the ministry of FamilyLife Today, and we appreciate your financial support.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0And that is going to wrap things up for us this week.\u00a0 I hope you have a great weekend.\u00a0 I hope you and your family are able to worship together this weekend, and I hope you can be back with us on Monday, when we're going to hear a clear call to men to step up and embrace what it means to be a man.\u00a0 We're going to hear a powerful message from Dennis Rainey on this subject, and I hope you can be with us for that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0I want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, and our entire broadcast production team.\u00a0 On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 Have a great weekend, we'll see you Monday for another edition of FamilyLife Today. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0FamilyLife Today is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t_______________________________________________________________\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts for you. However, there is a cost to transcribe, create, and produce them for our website. If you've benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright \u00a9 FamilyLife. All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>www.FamilyLife.com<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>","theme_header_position":"","post_header_is_sticky":"","is_header_overlay":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/301356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301356"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301356"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_series?post=301356"},{"taxonomy":"cwp_profile","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cwp_profile?post=301356"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=301356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}