'At the Well' kicks off today...

Today is the launch of the new 'At the Well' gathering place where the heart of Titus 2:2-5 is the focus. The team has organized a great line-up of memes covering various aspects of that scripture, like homemaking, raising children, marriage, etc. To get the full picture and to really appreciate this new gathering place, please visit the team At the Well.

To kickstart the launch, the team has given us 3 questions to ponder. They are challenging questions which are good for stirring complacent hearts, of which mine can become so easily. So let me face the music and answer honestly the probing below...

When you read the Scripture found in Titus 2: 2-5, how do you see this playing out in your own life?

As a missionary in Africa, I have the great privilege of regularly teaching both men and women of varying ages on various Biblical topics. I also sit at their feet and learn from them, and it's a joy to share our personal gleanings from the Word, and the practical experiences that go with them. In this sense, the admonishment to teach goes hand in hand with the desire to be taught. I know I don't have all the answers...in fact, I have a great many questions. But my walk with God has blessed me with an abundance of testimonies that authenticate my teachings on certain subjects, and these life lessons I share eagerly with others. At the same time, I am still, and always will be, on a journey of discovery, which makes me an eager pupil wanting to learn more about this amazing God who calls me 'Beloved.'

What are your areas of strength? Of weakness?

My strengths are in teaching and communicating the Word of God clearly. My heart is to see others develop a close, intimate relationship with the Lord, and undergo the unparalleled transformation of their hearts as they fall deeper in love with Him.

My weaknesses are many...where do I start? I am opinionated and confident, which doesn't go over too well as a woman in Africa (does it anywhere?), but I struggle to be meek and submissive. I was raised with only my mom and sister, and my mom constantly reminded me that the sky was the limit...I could do anything I wanted if I just set my mind to it. So I have to remind myself that it's not my will but Gods that I want, and keep offering myself up to Him as a daily sacrifice.

I'm not a great homemaker or mother, in my opinion. I want to be involved in the YWAM ministry, preaching in the prisons, active on the leadership team, participating in the vision of the base to be a bridge of healing to the nations. I struggle to get the balance between home and office. I love my kids, don't get me wrong, but I get fulfilled and excited by what God is doing in the YWAM ministry. It's a constant state of tension.

I'm still learning how to be a Proverbs 31 wife...sometimes it seems far too high a standard for me. I grapple with expectations of the African culture we live in, the Western cultures of my husband and I, and the Biblical standards of God Himself. I desire to be the woman, wife, mother, colleague that God created me to be, and to use the gifts and talents He has given me to His glory. It's a lifelong process. That's why my blog is 'Molding a lump of clay', because I want to be the form that my Father, the Potter, desires for me. It's all about Him, anyway.

If you could set some sort of goal in relation to this Scripture, what would it be?

My goal would be to come to a place where I know who I am in Christ, and how that looks in my relationships. And then that I would be able to help other women in the same path of discovery, so that we all would be living as members of one Body, in our different roles, with no condemnation or guilt, but the releasing truth that we are who we were created to be. Pretty big goal, maybe, but we serve a Big Big God!