Kingdom Woman: Embracing Your Purpose, Power, and Possibilities Read Online Free PDF Page A

the lives of the people she loves. There is nothing like a kingdom woman who succeeds in finding and fulfilling the purpose for which God has fashioned her.
    There is nothing like a kingdom woman fully formed.



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    A WOMAN OF VALUE
    When a kingdom woman begins her day, heaven, earth, and hell take notice. When she nurtures and advises the man she loves, he can do little to resist her. When she offers care, comfort, and encouragement to her friends and relatives, they are able to go farther, faster, and in confidence because of her inspiration and reassurance. “Her children rise up and call her blessed” (Proverbs 31:28, ESV ). Other women turn to her for wise counsel and a compassionate ear. Her church relies on her faithful service. She is a vital contributor to culture and a gatekeeper at her home to keep out the negative and promote the positive.
    When we examine the history of the Christian faith, kingdom women (both married and single) are everywhere. Kingdom women throughout the Bible saved lives and nations. It was Jochebed who intervened on behalf of her son Moses (Exodus 2). Because of her watchful protection, Moses was later used as the deliverer of Israel (Exodus 3). It was Moses’ wife, Zipporah, who saved Moses’ life when God was going to punish him for his refusal to follow a simple command (Exodus 4:24–26). Esther’s bravery gave the opportunity for the Jewish people to defend themselves from what would have been utter annihilation (Esther 7–8). Ruth’s refusal to return to her own people because of her dedication to her mother-in-law, Naomi, led to the ongoing line of the Messiah (Ruth 4:18–22). Rahab was instrumental in the victory of Israel over Jericho (Joshua 2). Mary carried God’s Son in her womb (Luke 1:30–35).
    The clearest profile of a kingdom woman that I have ever found in the Bible is in Proverbs 31. What is interesting, though, is that in all of my study of Scripture, I have never found a corollary passage for men as Proverbs 31 isfor women. It could be that men need the whole Bible to get it right, while women just need a chapter.
    The Proverbs 31 woman is the hallmark of kingdom women. I like to call her a woman for all seasons. She is strong, intelligent, capable, giving, resourceful, efficient, spiritually minded, and much more.
    Now, don’t close this book just yet. I know that sounds like she is a perfect woman, and you may feel that her standard is set too high to actually reach. But the Proverbs 31 woman is not the model of a perfect woman. Neither is a kingdom woman called to perfection.
    Let’s use a stay-at-home mom as just one example. A kingdom woman is not someone who can multitask perfectly while also homeschooling three very different children, serving on four church committees, carpooling eleven neighborhood kids back and forth to soccer, keeping her home spotless, coaching the spelling-bee team, functioning as a killer CEO in the workplace, making her husband have the best night of his life each and every evening, and maintaining a size 6 figure well into her fifties—all while cooking only organic, nongenetically modified foods and making every meal from scratch.
    That woman doesn’t exist. And we didn’t put this book together to make you think that you should be her either. In fact, from my experience pastoring a church for nearly four decades and spending thousands of hours counseling both women and men, the issue is often that women are trying to do too much—and all at once.
    Women, you can be a Proverbs 31 woman and more—but that doesn’t mean you do it all at the same time.
    One of the most important principles for you as a kingdom woman is that your life flows through different seasons. Each of these seasons carries with it different time constraints, blessings, and demands. To try to do all things without being cognizant of the season you are in is the surest way to burnout and even bitterness.
    The primary foundation of being a kingdom woman