Every Woman Devotional: The Journey to Becoming a Woman of Purpose

By Peta Gayle Oates

The Devotional is designed to empower, motivate, equip and transform women so that they can fulfill their God given purpose/ potential. Women will be taken on a Journey of three phases that will boost their confidence, their spirituality, their relationship with God, themselves and others and will empower them to excel in all areas. Each phase will have 25 Devotional that consists of a scripture from the Holy Bible, a song, the Devotional and a short prayer. Each page will have a power pebble.

The first phase of the journey will consist of Devotionals that will help women to understand God as their source (creator, provider, guide etc.). It will inspire women to seek God and get to know Him on a deeper spiritual level hence giving them the drive needed to start the journey and to maintain.

The second phase will have Devotionals that will help women to become better aware of who they are in God, understand their God given role as women and to identify their God given purpose.

The third and final phase of the journey will provide Devotionals that depicts what is needed for fulfilling their purposes, role and God given potential.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 2, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496952424

Peta Gayle Oates

Peta Gayle Oates is a motivational speaker, blogger and radio host. Peta’s passion to see women empowered and fulfil their God-given purpose led her to write a daily inspirational devotional for ladies in both print and social media. She is a devout Christian woman who lives in Jamaica and attends the New Life Community Church International. This is her first book, designed to empower, motivate, and inspire every woman to become a woman of purpose.

Book preview

AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2014 Peta Gayle Oates. All rights reserved.

Authors photo taken by Fearon’s Exquisite Photo Studio

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/25/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-5257-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-5241-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-5242-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014919940

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Website

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgement

Introduction

Phase 1: God Is Your Source

God is your source

Spending Time with God

Divine Guidance

Let Go, Let God

It Is Well

Count Your Blessings

Allowing God to Control Our Thoughts

Guarding Our Hearts (Part 1)

Guarding Our Hearts (Part 2)

Lead Me Not into Temptation

Hope

Man Plans; God Wipes

Friend of God

Seek Peace

The Lord Sustains

His Eye Is on the Sparrow

He Lives

Blessed and Highly Favored

Neither Give Place to the Devil

Amazing Grace

Don’t Let Your Ship Sink (Part 1)

Go to the Rock

Daily Bread

True Wisdom

God Will Provide a Lamb

Phase 2: Know Thyself

Woman, Know Thyself

What Is in You

You Are No Grasshopper

You’re Rare

What’s in a Name?

How Do I Look?

How Does My Heart Look?

How Do My Attitude and Appearance Look?

A Woman’s Worth (Part 1)

A Woman of Strength

A Woman’s Worth (Part 2)

Becoming a Woman of Excellence (Part 1)

Becoming a Woman of Excellence (Part 2)

Experience Teaches Wisdom

Forgiveness

Pushing Past Your Limits

Me Time

Be Content

Comparison

Ripple Effect – The Power of Words

What Is Wrong With the World?

Break Up Your Fallow Ground

Nothing Just Happens

Don’t Let Your Ship Sink (Part 2)

Consider Your Ways

Phase 3: Walking In Your Purpose

Walking In Your Purpose

We Have Everything We Need to Succeed

Consider the Eagle (Part 1)

Consider the Eagle (Part 2)

Seasonsed With Grace

Becoming Effective

Spring Is Here: It’s Time to Bear Fruit

Change Agent

Be the Best That You Can Be

Crazy Dreams

Good Deeds

World Changers

Protecting God’s Gifts

Leaving a Legacy

A Winning Attitude

Shine Like Stars

Another Level

Encourage Yourself in the Lord

I Am Determined

Never Give Up

Common People Achieve Greatness

Extra Work

Establishing Boundaries

Thankful

You Can Make It

Bibliography

Dedication

To my mom…the first Woman of Purpose I knew.

To all women who want to identify the purpose that God has for them and walk in that purpose.

Acknowledgement

I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to everyone who accompanied me on my journey towards beginning and completing this book.

Thank you to the readers of my blog for your comments and your compliments; for allowing me to be a part of your day to inspire and motivate you. You have made me believe that I can write. You have inspired me.

Thanks to all of you who have allowed me to use your experiences and quotes in creating this devotional.

Thank you to my family—Auntie, Ba (wish you were here), my six big brothers and the three best big sisters in the world. You believed in me first and you are responsible for who I am today.

To my pastor—thank you for always pouring into me, planting the Word and believing in me. I am a writer—I’m so excited!

To my team—Marshella, Annakay, Sandra, Oran, Sharon, Carlene and Nordia—you edited, you commented, you talked me through, you gave me advice, you provided support. It’s finally here, guys!

A big thank you to Marsha M., my copy editor, for putting the icing on the cake.

Thank you to all the women (and men) who played a part in making me the woman I am today—some of you I know personally, some I have never met.

Thank You, Lord! You are my Creator; You are my source; You are Creator of all my thoughts. Without You, this would never have been possible!

Introduction

This book is designed to inspire every woman—despite her race, color, class or creed —who desires to become a woman of purpose. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that the Lord has a plan for all of us; these are plans that are good—plans to give us a future and hope. With these plans, every woman can fulfill her God-given purpose in this lifetime.

Living a life of purpose does not mean that you have to be born under the right conditions, and it does not mean that you have to be successful based on the standards of this world. Living a life of purpose means that you are doing what God has ordained you to do and you are content, fulfilled, and happy doing it. Living a life of purpose also means that you are uncomfortable if you are not walking in God’s will for your life. Therefore, a woman can be poor and still fulfill God’s purpose for her life, just like the woman who is very wealthy and successful.

This book of devotionals aims to help women to take the journey to becoming women of purpose. The journey will have twists and turns and obstacles along the way, but my hope is that these devotionals will provide some direction and inspiration as you travel along this road.

The book is divided into three sections called phases. Each phase has twenty-five devotionals that are made up of the following:

• A scripture

• A song or proverb to meditate on

• The devotional

• A prayer

• A Power Pebble—a tidbit drawn from the devotional to motivate you for the day

The first phase is entitled God Is Your Source. Every woman of purpose should recognize that God is her source and should be first and foremost in her life. John 15:5 says, I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (NIV) Therefore, the woman of purpose understands that she should have an intimate and active relationship with God and should always look to Him as a source for guidance and direction before making any move. The devotions in this section will focus mainly on getting to know God, having a relationship with Him, and bearing the fruits of this relationship.

The second phase is entitled Woman, Know Thyself. The woman spoken about in Proverbs 31 was a woman who was emotionally stable and confident, and she understood her role as a woman, a wife, a mother, an entrepreneur, and a woman of God. In the same way, a woman of purpose needs to know who she is. She needs to understand her purpose in life, her role as a woman, her weaknesses and her strengths, and what she is worth. To this end, the devotions in this phase inspire women along the journey to evaluate and know themselves, and to develop characteristics of women ready to walk in their purpose.

The third and final phase of the journey is entitled Walking in Your Purpose. This phase of the journey is made of devotions that provide women with strategies and tools for fulfilling their purpose on this earth; they are full of biblical and real-life examples of people who have walked into their purpose. This phase is also designed to encourage the woman of purpose along the way whenever she feels like giving up.

As you read these inspirations that are full of godly wisdom, my personal experiences, the experiences of others and inspirational quotes from famous persons, my prayer is that you will enjoy this journey and that you will be encouraged to fulfill your God-given potential, knowing that whatever God has started in you will be perfected. I also pray that whatever you do, you will come to know Christ for who He is and that you will impact the life of others along the way.

God bless you, ladies.

Let’s start the journey of becoming women of purpose.

Phase 1:

God Is Your Source

GOD IS YOUR SOURCE

Main Scripture: I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5, NIV)

Song for Meditation: My God is Awesome by Pastor Charles Jenkins and Fellowship Chicago

A source, according to the Oxford Dictionary,¹ is a place, person, or thing from which something originates or can be obtained. For example, mackerel is a good source of fish oil. This simply means that without mackerel or another source, we could not get fish oil. Therefore, ladies, if God is our source, it means that we are on this earth because of Him; without Him, we would not exist.

Ladies, on the journey to becoming a woman of purpose, it is very important that we acknowledge the fact that God is our source. Today’s scripture reminds us that Christ is the vine (source) and we are the branches; therefore, to bear fruit we must always be attached to the vine.

In order to acknowledge God as our source, we must recognize God in all that we do so that He directs our path (Prov. 3:6). Ladies, throughout this journey, let God know your plans and trust Him to direct them.

Also, don’t just tell God your plans, but submit your will to God’s will. This is very important to us becoming women of purpose because at the end of it all, it is God’s purpose for our lives that must be fulfilled. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that . . . we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (NLT)

Ladies, we must also acknowledge God as our source by refilling ourselves constantly with the word of God. God’s word (His spirit) will renew us, change us and help us to take on God’s characteristics. Philippians 2:5 encourages us to let the mind of Christ Jesus be in us. Christ was humble, obedient, longsuffering, faithful, forgiving and peaceful. These are all characteristics we will need if we are to endure to the end.

Lastly, acknowledging God as our source will cause us to become spiritually intelligent instead of being emotionally intelligent. As ladies, we often operate out of our emotions; however, operating out of our spirits will cause us to realize that our emotions are unstable and should not be trusted. Walk in the will of God, become more resolute, and walk into a different level of favor.

Have a God-filled day, ladies.

Let’s pray:

Lord Jesus, thank You for being our source, the one who created us. Today, Lord, as we begin our journey to becoming women of purpose, we place our plans before You and submit our will to You. Give us, Lord, the mind that is in Your son Christ Jesus and cause us to become spiritually intelligent.

In Jesus’s name, amen.

Power Pebble: On the journey to becoming a woman of purpose, it is very important that we acknowledge the fact that God is our source.

SPENDING TIME WITH GOD

Main Scripture: "Very early in the morning, while