The Wise Women Encourages Younger Women
This is it, ladies. This is the final chapter in our Wise Woman study. There have been many hard and controversial lessons over the past 16 weeks. It is my hope and prayer that those topics that were hard, that may have upset or angered you at the time have now caused you to dig deeper in the Word and in your faith. If you missed the prior weeks, Chapter one can be found here: A Wise Woman Builds Her House on the Rock.
This study is for women only. I encourage women to study Scriptures about how to bed a godly woman and men to study Scriptures about how to be godly men. It is my experience that when we study the Scriptures about the opposite sex while married, we start comparing our spouse to Scripture and any little failing starts growing larger and larger in our minds. I had to cut relationships and keep at arms length certain family members as they were not helping me be a godly wife or encourage and build my husband. Instead I was being taught to “be my own person” and “tell him” this or that. Our role as a wife is to fit ourselves to our husbands. Telling my husband what he must do to make me happy, or how to be a godly husbands is not my job.
This chapter focuses on Encouraging younger women. I also did a study on that prior to starting this book. You can find that here.
Chapter 16
Women, Encourage the Younger Women
Older women . . . teaching what is good, that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored. —Titus 2:3-5
In our society, young women seek out “experts” to help them in marriage, childbirth and child training. These young women, for the most part, have rejected the notion of being stay-at-home moms and submissive to their husbands. They unknowingly are dishonoring, even blaspheming, the Word of God by their actions. “To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed” (Titus 2:5, KJV).
Are they to blame? Where are the older women who will encourage and teach the young women in their roles as wives, mothers and homemakers?
The older woman is reading this workbook. It is you. No matter what your age, you are an older woman to someone. Even a young woman in her twenties can influence a girl in her teens. And if we don’t take the time to encourage and teach these young women, what else are they to do but seek out the world’s view and standards?
Titus 2:4-5: “That they [older women] may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”
Many of you are encouraging and teaching younger women and you don’t even know it. You are teaching them by your example. Young women in your church, your neighborhood, your place of work, and family members (your daughters, nieces and younger sisters)—they are all watching. What do they see? Are you an example of a godly woman or a woman who claims to be a Christian yet does not emulate this chapter’s opening verse?
Second Corinthians 3:2: “You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men.”
Second Corinthians 3:2, KJV: “Ye are our epistles written in our hearts, known and read of all men.”
Your life is an epistle or letter, which is being read by women who know you and also women who you may not know. Is your life bringing glory to God? If it is not, then what are you going to do about it?
What to Teach
There are many things that we could teach the younger women, but does God give us any guidance or directions as to what we are to teach? God doesn’t leave it up to our favorite subjects or our passions or our preferences. The Bible clearly gives us a specific outline. But before He gives us His list, He sums it up right in the beginning with, “Teaching what is good.” Then He elaborates this first prerequisite with this list in Titus 2:3:
teaching what is good, that they may encourage the young women . . .
to love their husbands
to love their children
to be sensible
pure
workers at home
kind
being subject to their own husbands
[so that] the word of God may not be dishonored.
Know—Live—Speak
Whether or not you want your life to speak to others is not your choice. Our lives are our letters “known and read by all men.” I don’t know about you, but I want my life to show Jesus. People aren’t impressed with your Christian bumper sticker or fish on your car. They are not impressed with the cross you wear around your neck or the Bible you carry with you. They are looking at your life, your attitude and your love (or lack of love) for others. It is my prayer that these verses have brought conviction to your heart and that you will take the next step toward a life that whispers “Jesus.”
To change your life you will need to do these three things in this order:
- Know the Word of God.
- Live the Word of God.
- Speak the Word of God.
Know It
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15, KJV). Until you know something you cannot live it. If this is your first time through this workbook, you have seen how learning the truth has set you free in many areas where you were once bound. This is not the power of this workbook; it is the power of His Word.
Dear friend, you have already taken the first step toward a life that will encourage the younger women. By taking this course you have begun to study the Word of God as it relates to women and the issues women face. Most of us, if not all of us, built our houses on sinking sand. Our opinions and lifestyles were not a result of knowing what God thought; instead we ignorantly accumulated teachers that tickled our ears.
But now we are all at the same place; we are all at the glorious point in our lives where we are open and searching for the truth. I know because you have sought after this workbook that is convicting and very difficult to swallow, especially in today’s world. We know that as we have renewed our minds on just a few of God’s principles that we were once ignorant of, we have seen tremendous changes in our lives. This motivates you and me to want more.
Once you know the truth, then you need to replace your old thoughts and old opinions with the truth. As you have been reading through this workbook, if you have been making those 3×5 cards as I have suggested, then you are well on your way to a new life that will change the lives of others.
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2). God’s way of changing us is simple and perfect. He tells us in this verse that by renewing our minds we will be transformed. On top of all that, we also prove, by our lives, what the true will of God is for a woman—that which is good, acceptable and perfect! Hallelujah!
How often have we TRIED to change ourselves? And every time we try we once again are defeated. Then we add more defeat to our lives as we try and change others, which has an even higher rate of failure. God’s ways are different. His ways are far above our ways and our reasoning.
Isaiah 55:9: “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Proverbs 3:5: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”
The only way for us to change ourselves is to renew, or make new, our minds. The only way to change others is to live with them in love that is patient, kind, etc. As I mentioned before, using the 3×5 card method works. I know because in my mind are hundreds of Scriptures that replaced my thoughts and the way I used to think.
And without any effort on my part, my life started to change because of the Scriptures that I read over and over again. Many women who now have restored marriages have told me that this method changed their lives. In addition, many write to tell me that they have literally worn out their books, reading them over 50 times!
Putting that much of God’s Word in your mind will undoubtedly result in a totally transformed life!
Live It
Once your mind is renewed by a particular principle, then your life will naturally begin to reflect the change. In addition, we must also be willing to make the changes necessary and not compromise the will of God that has come to reside in our minds. The changes will appear in the ways that we act and react to things, the priorities in our lives and even our desires or goals. All of these thins will begin to reflect our newly renewed minds. However, if we try to hang onto our old habits or friendships that don’t fit in with our new minds, then we fall into the trap of double-mindedness.
James 1:6-8: “But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
When we continue to associate with those who are now not like-minded or hold on to old habits, doubts enter our minds. We begin to doubt the validity of the principle. We must instead not hesitate to take our renewed mind to the next step by making the changes in our lives that we have been prompted to make by the Holy Spirit.
Unfortunately too many make the mistake of hesitating to obey the leading of the Holy Spirit by not making changes in our lives. It is in the midst of this hesitation that we find ourselves in the very dangerous state of double-mindedness. This unfortunate state is where, I believe, most Christians of today live. It is why they don’t receive abundant blessings from God and do not live His abundant life as He promised. God tells us that those who are double-minded should expect NOTHING from God. It all began with knowing the truth, but then failing to live the truth.
We see it often in our ministry. When someone finds out the truth about trusting God in a particular area of her life, through the renewing of her mind she comes under conviction. But because of fear, rebellion or apathy, she fails to line her life up with her conviction. Soon there is a pattern of failure and confusion follows: the “double-minded” man principle is activated.
At this point, many women want to ask me what they should do about their newfound convictions when their husband does not yet share these convictions. This is when the principles in “Won Without a Word” should be followed. If you are careful NOT to manipulate and have stopped trying to get your own way, and if you have shown your husband the gentle and quiet spirit that is willing and eager to follow his lead, then when a situation arises you will not only be able to share your newly found conviction with your husband, but because of the gentleness of your spirit, he will very likely want to act on your newly found conviction.
If you are so radically and wonderfully changed in your attitude toward your husband, your husband, as was mentioned in the very beginning of this workbook, will want to get a copy of the men’s manual. This will put you in a perfect position for your entire family to be that “epistle read by all men.” Your positive influence can have a radical effect on the world around you when it is not only you who has changed, but your change has spilled over into the lives of your husband and your children. It happens all the time in my life and in our ministry—may it happen in your life!
Speak It
Once your mind is renewed and your life reflects your renewed mind, then God will begin your ministry to other women. One of the greatest needs of today is for women to minister to other women. There are many young women who are going into seminary to become lady preachers. Personally, I am not interested in what they have to say. I am interested in a woman who has lived the life I have been called to live (as a wife, mother and homemaker) and has come through it victoriously. I don’t want someone to point the way; I want them to have built a bridge over the deep rivers and valleys they have personally crossed.
When I had to face caring for my father who was dying, I looked to an older woman who had cared for her bedridden mother. I knew she knew what I was feeling and the hardship that I was facing. Knowing she had done it and had not only survived but was greater for the experience gave me the fortitude and example to accomplish this difficult task. I cannot tell you how many times her example helped me to go on, not only to make it through caring for my father, but then again when I was caring for my dying mother. There are very few who will live a radically different life, a life that whispers, “Jesus.” But those who do are the ones who change the course of the world and never really know it.
God will begin your ministry, most likely, in the confines of your family, friends, church and community.
Later, if you continue to grow, God will expand your territory. Who would have ever dreamed that the Lord could take a heartbroken person like myself and allow me to minister around the world? Certainly not me!
Second Chronicles 16:9: “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”
God is looking for you. He wants to use you. Just one person like yourself can change thousands of lives if you just search for the truth, get outside your area of comfort, allow the convictions to change you and begin to line your life up with your newly found principles. God will do the rest.
I don’t know about you, but I want God to ask the devil to consider me like he considered Job. I want God to take this frightened woman who is hiding behind this computer and make her a “mighty warrior” like Gideon. I want to have such faith that I could be like Abraham and be a friend of God’s. I want to be after God’s own heart like David and walk with God like Enoch had the pleasure of doing. I want to have the wisdom of Solomon to minister to the women of this world. I want to be a leader like Moses to deliver God’s people from the bondage of the world and lead them through the wilderness to the Promised Land. I want my life to be so pleasing to God that because of me my children will be blessed like David’s children and lineage.
You may say “impossible,” but I know it is possible. God said it and I believe it.
“Jesus said, ‘With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God’” (Mark 10:27).
Fruits!
Matthew 7:16: “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they?”
Matthew 7:20: “So then, you will know them by their fruits.”
How do the younger women find you? They find you by your fruits! When women look to me for personal help in training their children, I tell them to look for the ladies in their church who have well behaved children. They are there, yet sometimes they are hard to find. These are the children who often sit in church with their parents rather than going to children’s church, but you may not notice them because they are not disruptive. You don’t notice them because they are not running around with the other children up and down the aisles. But when you find them, you know it.
Though I totally messed up in my marriage because of my ignorance of the principles of marriage, I did a bit better with my parenting and now I’ve got a LOT of fruits. We are continually praised for our children and for their behavior. These are my fruits in the area of children.
Young women need to see a happy woman for them to WANT what she has. This is a powerful evangelism tool. My older sister who just recently became a powerful, on-fire Christian told me that I was the greatest influence that led her to the Lord. She said quite frankly, “I wanted what you had!” She said she saw my children, my life and the blessings I lived in and said, “Why not me!” Then as I talked to her she realized Who was at the center of my life and Who was the giver of these blessings. This is evangelism!
So many women talk and lecture to their family members until they are blue in the face, and are puzzled why they don’t want to accept the Lord or any of our counsel. But if we are unhappy, miserable in our marriage, keep a dirty house, and act frazzled and unnerved most of the time, who would want what we have to offer? However, if you can live a life, not FREE from trials, but rather with the blessings that follow a woman who praises the Lord in the midst of those trials, that’s a life worth wanting.
It doesn’t happen overnight. It is a process. Personally, I began looking like a complete NUT, a moron, a fool—but I turned out to be a “fool for the Lord!” God in His infinite wisdom “has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong” (1 Cor. 1:27).
I stopped debating or trying to make them understand why I did what I did. They confronted us on the number of children we were continuing to have, the way we disciplined them, our decision to teach our children at home rather than sending them to school, my “standing by my man” who was in adultery, and our non-dating practices for our teens who are now in their twenties. But it didn’t take long for me to see that I was not going to convince them or anyone else by what I said; I had to live it long enough to produce fruits.
Jeremiah 17:7-8: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.”
I love the way that verse reads: “who trusts in the LORD and whose trust IS the LORD.” If your trust is in Him and in His Word and in His promises, then I promise you that in the end you will not be ashamed.
Fulfilling Your Call
When my fourth child was born I was in my early thirties. This child, a girl, would forever change my life. I knew that someday she would look to me and emulate me as she grew to womanhood. I knew I needed help. When I discovered the passage in Titus 2 about the “older women teaching the younger women” I went to my pastor and asked him where I might find an “older woman” to teach me. His reply was simply, “I don’t know.” If a woman came to your pastor, today, and asked the same question, what would be his response?
Unfortunately, most young women don’t even know that the Bible tells them where they are to get help, and even if they did, would they find you? It has been my heart since that day my house fell to be an older woman who helps younger women prevent their houses from falling. I made so many mistakes that could have been avoided had I just had a godly woman willing to show me what the Bible said and to love me enough to tell me when I was making a fatal mistake, as with my contentiousness, which resulted in my marriage being destroyed. And now to complicate matters, most young women don’t want to listen to anyone about anything. They seek out “experts” in child training rather than the woman who has the well behaved children. They listen to talk shows to get “advice” from other foolish, arrogant woman who are in the world and follow that fatal advice with their husbands.
This workbook and the video series, I feel, is just one of the ways that the Lord has given me “the desires of my heart.” My ministry, for the most part, is spent helping desperate women who have just found out that their husband has been sleeping with their best friend, has moved in with her or has just filed for a divorce. My heart for YEARS has been to be able to somehow prevent the pain and heartache that I had to endure. Rather than waiting for the problem to arise, let us all fulfill the call on our lives as the “older woman” and invite women we know to study A Wise Woman.
Most groups are born when just two like-minded friends get together to go through the workbook. Then, lo and behold, they meet someone who would benefit from the information and they invite her for the next time through. Their group grows by word of mouth and the fruits are incredible: women are getting saved, marriages are being restored, and women are leaving the workplace to care for their little ones. Soon they find that they are older women MINISTERING to the real needs of the women in their church, neighborhood and circle of friends.
God’s way often doesn’t happen through a board of directors or a vote. His way begins with women, like you and maybe your friend, who want more of God in their lives. They want their lives to be different and they stumble on A Wise Woman, which they find different than anything they’ve ever read or heard. Its message is tough to swallow, but soon after a “peace” sets in. They are forever changed by the power of God and by the principles and promises of His Word.
Has God placed a burden on your heart for the women in your life, church and community? Then I would urge you to begin praying about opening your home to the women the Lord will send you. If you have a VCR and a coffee pot, then you are ready to begin to change the world around you. This may be just the first step in your ministry to reach women with the gospel and to heal the brokenhearted in the church. Will you fulfill the call the Lord has on your life?
I Shall Not Be Ashamed
God promises that if we look to Him, if we trust Him, if we follow His commandment about how to live and set our faces like flint, not allowing criticism and controversy to cause us to compromise what we know is true, then we, too, will not be ashamed.
Psalm 34:5: “They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.”
Psalm 119:6: “Then I shall not be ashamed when I look upon all Thy commandments.”
Psalm 127:5: “How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them [children]; they shall not be ashamed, when they speak with their enemies in the gate.”
Isaiah 50:7: “For the Lord GOD helps Me, therefore, I am not disgraced; therefore, I have set My face like flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.”
It’s not an easy road being a powerful Christian woman today and following the teachings of the Lord and His Word, but it is rewarding. It’s not about living a “religious” life. Being religious does more to run people off from God than to win them to Him. It’s living a fruit-bearing life that comes from a renewed mind followed by a life of dying to self. It’s a life that shows through by the way you radiate the love of the Lord and exhibit the fruits of a life devoted to loving Him. It’s about living the gospel, not just in word but in deed. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16). Will you join me?
“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me His prisoner;
but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God . . .”
—2 Timothy 1:8
May Your Life Encourage and Teach the Younger Women!
Personal commitment: To make my life a living epistle that will glorify God. “Based on what I have learned from God’s Word, I commit to learning, living and speaking the truth to the younger women in my life. I will begin at home and move out from there as the Lord leads.”
Date: _________
Signed:
Homework
- Please, write down the verses from this lesson on your 3×5 cards.
- Ladies, you’ve got a ministry that is just waiting for you to embrace it. “Do you not say, ‘There are yet fourmonths, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest” (John 4:35).
- Share this information with one other woman who you believe would want to hostess A Wise Woman with you.
Write her name on this line
and then pray.
Notes:
I’m going to insert a comment here. While Erin state that any woman younger than you makes you an older woman, that is not the teaching of the Bible. In studying the original text, an older woman is a aged woman. Most scholars say the “older woman” should be in her late 50’s or over 60 to gain this title.
I am not in any way diminishing what younger women have to offer. I have taken many webinars by younger women. I have learned a lot of tips and tricks from younger women. But when it comes to the Biblical calling for an older woman to teach the younger women, God is talking about an experienced “aged” woman. The older woman has years of experience that a younger woman does not have. The older woman has lived through what worked and what didn’t work.
I encourage you to look at the godly traits of a woman from the Word of God (not what the world says), then look for an older woman who exhibits those traits and is willing to mentor you. Some churches have actual mentoring programs set up this way. Sadly most don’t. Too many are spending their efforts on building a community for the older people in the church to do things together – movies, trips, eating out, etc. In fact, most segregate the congregants by age and create things for the people in that age group to do things. The problem with putting people of like age together the majority of the time is that don’t benefit from the wisdom and experience of those older than them. They don’t learn to grow in wisdom. Instead the churches should be training each age group to be living the roles God has laid out. From young on training the believer to be a servant is teaching them (us) to be like Jesus.
Resources:
First a warning: We who have gone through difficult situations, like: bad marriages, separation, divorce, and/or abuse want to warn you about books, ideas or other people who will sway you to go the way of the world, which always ends in disaster. It may seem like the easiest road, but in the end it is the road to even more sadness, trials, difficulties and heartache than you are already experiencing. Please be careful what you read! Those books whose foundation is in philosophy, or those written by psychologists, marriage counselors, and the “experts” will fill your mind with destructive thoughts.
We do not recommend reading books that cover the following topics: “spicing up your marriage,” “tough love,” and “co-dependency.” We have seen the damage these ideas have done in destroying marriages and the women who looked to them in their desperation.
Look to God and to those of like mind to encourage you. Please go to the Counselor (God’s Word), which is free, and save your money and your marriage. Stay away from the “professionals.” If you cannot find these books in your church library, ask if they might order them from your local Christian bookstore. The ISBN number will help them to order the correct book. All of these are in paperback and most are very inexpensive.
The Bible. New American Standard Bible. The verses in this workbook have been taken from this version. Some have asked me why I used the NAS and not the King James Version. The reason is that when my husband left me, he left behind his Bible, a NAS. I used his Bible for about 20 months before he asked for it back. I lived every Scripture that is in this workbook. In addition, before my husband left I was not submissive. I had my KJV because I was a Pharisee. Each woman should use the version that her husband uses. When we began attending a new church, my husband began using KJV and I got one as well! Currently our new pastor uses a NIV that my husband now uses, and you guessed it, I use the same version.
Workers@Home: Making the Most of Your Time by Erin Thiele. This book will help you to run your home effectively and efficiently. “This book has totally changed my life.” D.T. “This book is the best book I have ever read bar none!” K.D. This book is offered through Restore Ministries International.
HomeSchooling by Conviction! Workbook by Erin Thiele. “This taught me not only about homeschooling, but about being a better wife and mother. My home is now a happy home!” “What I liked best was the great and practical information, but the very best was Erin’s total focus on the Lord.” Offered through Restore Ministries International.
How God Can and Will Restore Your Marriage by Restore Ministries International for the marriage that has crumbled or that looks a little shaky. This one book has restored more marriages and given hope when it was desperately needed in a “seemingly” hopeless situation. “ALL the things in this book are true. My spouse has not only returned home, but our marriage is better than when we first met.” M.H. This book is offered through Restore Ministries International.
Me? Obey Him? by Elizabeth Handford uses God’s Word to present the reasons for a wife’s submission to her husband. She shares all the blessings, joys and privileges that living a life according to God’s plan will bring. A book every woman must read! The older edition is better. Her revised edition squirms on women who are abused. ISBN 0-87398-552-4
The Way Home by Mary Pride answers the questions: “Is a career always more fulfilling than motherhood?” “Can woman realize her full potential only by leaving home and getting a job?” She discusses why many Christian wives and mothers have finally turned their backs on “planned barrenhood,” the “me” marriage, “no-fault” childrearing, careerism and a host of other non- biblical, unchristian alternatives. ISBN 0-89107345-0
Supernatural Childbirth by Jackie Mize. This book is full of Scriptures and is an awesome and powerful testimony to the Word of God and His promises. Jackie was told as a young girl that she would never be able to have a baby, but when she met her husband who knew the promises of God, their awesome testimony began. Not only did they discover how to conceive and carry a baby to term, together they discovered the secret of having a totally PAIN FREE labor and delivery!
Who Will Rock the Cradle? by Phyllis Schlafly. Each chapter is written by a different expert in the area of childcare, from pediatricians to the actual owners of a multitude of day care institutions. Surprisingly, all agree that the phenomenon of day care is destroying our children and our society. The book, I found out, is currently out of print. However, large book distributors can still get them.
How to Save Your Marriage Alone This book by Dr. Ed Wheat helped me when my husband was gone and gave me my first glimmer of hope. ISBN 0-310-42522-0
Streams in the Desert Mrs. Charles Cowman wrote her thoughts, quotations and spiritual inspirations which helped to sustain her during her difficult years as a missionary and particularly the six years she nursed her husband while he was dying. This has been a devotional classic for more than seventy years! A must if you are living in the midst of trials! I lived in this book for more than 2 years! ISBN 0-310-22420-9
Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurburt. This is available in most Christian bookstores. It is a story about the character “Much-Afraid” and her journey to perfect peace. Her struggles and fears will make you cry and her triumphs will inspire you to continue your difficult walk. I have read this many times alone and to my children. ISBN 8423-1433-4
Come Away My Beloved The poems and short stories are written as though God was speaking to you Himself. This is a wonderful book for meditation and comforting thoughts. ISBN 0-932814-02-6
My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. This is a wonderful daily devotional as well as a place to journal your growth in the Lord. ISBN 1-57748-737-5
Dr. Pohl and Dr. Rawson in Houston, Texas who specialize in microsurgical vasectomy reversals and tubal ligation reversals. Contact Dr. Pohl’s at 1.713.Reverse or vasectomyreversal.com. Contact Dr. Rawson at 1.281.363.4445 or fertility.com.
RestoreMinistries.net Order Line: 1-800-397-0800 Office: 1-888-721-5253
About the Author
Erin Thiele has been blessed to be the mother of four boys, Dallas, Axel, Easton, and Cooper, and three girls, Tyler, Tara, and Macy. Her journey to become the Wise Woman for her daughter began when Tyler was just two-years-old. In 1989, Erin’s second husband left and eventually divorced her. Restore Ministries was founded when Erin searched every denomination in her area but was unable to find the help or hope that she needed.
God has used Erin Thiele to encourage and motivate hundreds of women through her books and website to seek God for their hope and help. It was in 1989 that she spent two years seeking the Lord when she became a single mother of four young children. Looking back, she said that they were the two best years of her life, because of the intimacy she gained with the Lord. However, she said that because of the fear of the future that it robbed her of the joy that she could have experienced had she had more faith in God and His plan for her life.
In 1991, her husband returned home, and they had three more children together. Then in 2005, the rains hit Erin’s life again. Here is what she says, “I can tell you honestly that though God told me that 2005 would be the hardest year of my life, it has undoubtedly been the most joyful!! Each trial, crisis, and spiritual attack brought me into an intimacy with my Beloved more deeply than I could have imagined. My ministry did not collapse, as many had believed; but instead, it took on a newly found focus—to seek the Lord and become His bride!
This time, I knew for sure that anyone can find joy in the midst of any crisis. This joy is well beyond the “peace” that I found the first time I found myself alone, (and this time with six children still living at home, a niece who came to live with us, not to mention my older sister who moved here from Florida and who had no one who wanted her). Each day, I wake up as if I am opening a present from God! Every night, I stand and look out my window and thank God for the dozens of blessings He has given me each day! My heart so often feels as if it could burst with joy, and the tears that I shed are no longer because of sadness or pain but have been replaced with tears of joy!!
One of the greatest changes in my life is to look for and pursue all the blessings that come from being single again. Without a doubt, the greatest benefit is to be able to pursue God without anyone hindering me. This is our option when we find ourselves in a state of singleness. We are either to be reconciled with our husbands or remain single. (See 1 Cor. 7:11). I agree wholeheartedly with the apostle Paul who said it was better to remain single! Not so we could find another man, but so we can focus on the things of the Lord, since women who are married are “concerned with how she may please her husband” (See 1 Cor. 7:32–35).
Today, I am able to devote myself to the Lord and my seven children. Years ago, when God asked, “Who will go?” I said, “Send me!” Even though I have always been a homebody, I began traveling to share about the goodness of God only a couple of weeks after my divorce was final. Though many women age and suffer the ravages of divorce, going through it with God created a new woman in me!
Many feared what this would do to my children. The key, I found, is in how we women respond to the adversity. We set the stage for love and joy in our homes. We set the thermostat for forgiveness. How we are will affect our children for the better or worse, and with the LOVE that we get from our new Husband, it is more than enough love that will cover any sin or trial that comes from anything that they have to deal with.
You may not believe that walking out God’s principles would work in your relationship, but that is only because you do not know God and His faithfulness as I have come to know it. It is my prayer that you will give RMI and our Restoration Fellowship the opportunity to help you find the Abundant Life that God has for you too!
Right now, we are focusing on Pursuing God (PG) as He restores ALL of our relationships, not just marriages!! First, He restores our relationship to Him, then He begins to heal and restore relationships with: children, our parents, siblings, in-laws (and former in-laws), coworkers, and even neighbors or old friends.
Yet God doesn’t stop with our relationships, but is also showing us, as we become HIS bride, that He restores finances, health, our homes, and everything else that affects our lives! Even if you are married (even happily married), all of us are the Lord’s bride, and until we make Him what He needs to be in our lives, we will fall short of the Abundant Life He died to give us. Blissful eternity does not need to begin when we die, it can begin today as we accept our Beloved’s proposal and become His bride. Once you become His bride, your life will never be the same!!”
Erin has written other books with her distinctive style of using the Scriptures to minister to the brokenhearted and the spiritual captives. “He sent His Word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions” (Ps. 107:20).
Website:
RestoreMinistries.net
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1-800-397-0800
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417-581-8221
RMI Office:
1-888-721-5253
RMI International Office:
417-458-8111
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