Women of Faith

Hello and welcome! Thanks to our wonderful Nadia, you will now be able to join in and experience what will hopefully touch, inspire, or at least make you ponder in a new way =). My name is Victoria, and here I join two people I am blessed to call my closest friends.

I will ask that you make yourself comfortable in your chair, with tea or coffee...or whatever keeps your eyeballs open, and enjoy the ride inside my brain as I open the first discussion.
First, though, I would like to inform the readers that my blogs will be random, may differ in style, and might not always make complete sense =) but I assure that you will end it at least with a "hmm".

So, i have this super cool Bible, called the "One Year Bible" and this year, I chose to continue reading in English, and use the Russian Bible only at church...or small groups as necessary. Mornings before work is usually when I do my readings, which, honestly, has become a new consistent routine (since i am a night person). But look at how it worked in an amazing way one day for me:

So the cool thing about this particular Bible is that you open By the date, say Jan 1, and begin reading a chapter from Genesis, then Mathew, then Psalms and Proverbs...and January 2nd, would be Genesis ch2, mathew ch2...and they are one after the other--get the idea?

it was God's Word in Mathew 5:43-48 that helped me through the day of January 6th =)
it was an overwhelming day at work, and since I am still new, I don't know many people's personalities. well, Una Persona, wasn't exaclty the most welcoming that day, in fact, it got me really flustered and I felt a certain discomfort after her sharp, brief little barks, or so that's what it seemed like. Naturally, I make a mental note: STAY AWAY FROM MS> PERSONA. and moved on through the day. but nooo, I am a CHristian, and God speaks to the heart, overwhelming day or not. And that is when, as if an echo in my head from the morning...i remember, or..God strikes a chord rather--"If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much" and I realized how foolish I was to react or respond so quickly and naturally to the negativity that i felt. Although the person wasn't even close to being my "enemy," the little encounter caused me to pull up my invisible walls of protection, which is expected (human nature right?) but shouldn't be expected from a Christian.

then, of course, God points out in my head...or reminds me in my shame.."He gives His sunlight to both the Evil and the Good, and He sends His rain on the Just and the Unjust".

so, my darlings, go out there and do what is opposite of the expected!!!! You are a Christian, and THIS is how you shine in the world. "If you are kind only to your firnds, how are you different from anyone else?"...after what seemed like the red pigmentation of guilt subsided on my face, and smiled for God, and thanked Him in my heart for that morning's word. That persona is now one of the coolest people that I work with. Un Be Leave A Bull.
=)
now a suggestion to all ze night people out there: honestly, reading the Bible in the morning somehow makes more sense. Multiple Studies have concluded that 98% of those people who do read the Bible in the morning, and implement the learned, sin 50% less than average Joe.
hahah jk.