women of truth

i have started a discipleship group called Women of Truth (taken from that classic Martin Smith song Shout to the North, for all u musicians out there!) the group is aimed at women of the Christian Union, and it was something i was thinking about before Christmas and had a real passion to see women of God built up in their faith and in their journey with God. the overall aim is for women to be confident in who they are as women, not to bow down to the pressures and constraints of society but to encourage one another in love. this group is split into 5 sessions with a social session at the end as a type of review of the course and improvements. we are now on week 3 (Monday 13Th march ) and should be done by the Easter holidays, and all is going well. the issues we are talking about are personal and difficult, but all is backed up scriptural, trying to keep things in context and being able to be real with the girls. i am one of four leaders, and i always encourage my leaders to open their heart, be vulnerable and honest. this is obviously sometimes hard but i believe we are women with integrity and know when to speak and when not to.I've have done my homework so am not speaking out of line and believe that God has a passion to see his children as growing in strength and character. here's an outline of the sessions

week 1. Beauty, Modesty and Propriety 27th Feb (entitled 'who do you think you are... any spice girls fans in the room?) it was about do we see ourselves, how does god see us, and why is fashion such a pressure and make up and plastic surgery. challenging girls to be accountable to each other in the way they dress and their behaviour towards each other)

Week 2. Sexual and Spiritual Purity 6th March (a subject that is NEVER preached about in church and always seems to be aim towards the 'youth services' (as if God only wants to talk to the youth about SEX!!) breaking the taboo... this was a more open session looking at why there are sexual codes and ethics, what was gods intention with making eve, why should we and why are Christians encouraged not to have sex before marriage. (this was a challenging session as most of the girls seem to be indoctrinated with 'christian= no sex' but never really understood why) but most of all the session was about lust and the problem of it, it governs our thoughts more than we would like to admit and dwelling on lustful thoughts is not living spiritually.

week 3. Singleness and Marriage: 13th March (it's OK to be single!) this session looked at the issue of being single, being in a relationship and marriage. The main point is 'it's OK to be single, don't feel pressurised into having a partner (girls have a 1:5 chance of finding their partner at Chester university!) the most important thing you can do whether your single, married or in a relationship is to build on your relationship with God. being secure with who you are, both in and out of a relationship. spending time finding out what God has planned for your life and pursuing that. Everyone has a ministry... whats yours. Also seeing the value of being single, being free to pursue the heart of God and not being 'tied down' (more focused on overseas mission) if your in a relationship, not feeling the pressure to get married (why is it Christians get married SO young....?) and if your married to keep working at your relationship, soon as you say your vows it does not end there.

Week 4. Friendship 20th March (a huge issue at Chester CU at the mo, needs lots of prayer!!) Qualities you look for in a friend are the qualities that you need to posses, so work on them. What are the attitudes, motives of having male friends, how does this effect our relationship with God. major issue of jealousy in friendship, seeing the good values and attributes in your friends and praying with each other! and GOSSIP!!! (man this makes me MAD!!) a basic down the line STOP DOING IT! its not good and it is not helpful! (phew, glad i got that off my chest!)

Week 5. Feminism 27th March (a bit of a hippy, liberal term but important nonetheless!) looking at the issues of independence, homosexuality, women preachers and teacher (a subject I'm passionate about, being a youth leader!) women's role in the church. why there is such a battle with women having 'equality' when its not shown in the workplace, in the home or in relationships. Women don't need to fight men all the time, in order to be successful.

Week 6. P.A.R.T.Y... with every student favourite meal... pizza

apologies if you got bored half way through reading this but if you read nothing else please read this..

PLEASE PRAY FOR ME AND THIS GROUP AND THE OTHER LEADERS! this has been so challenging and God has taught me so much and i pray that these sessions bless people as well as bring them closer to God!

Thank you