What I know is that my heart is full.

• Full of love for each of you.
• Full of respect for your fortitude in the face of all the challenges we’ve experienced over my time serving.
• Full of awe for your selflessness.
• Full of wonder for how you care for aging parents, or manage single motherhood, or juggle multiple children’s schedules, or support your husband, or work a full-time or part-time job doing one or more those things.
• Full of gratitude for how you’ve loved me, served alongside of me, encouraged me, and supported my vision for the Women’s Ministry.

Through tears I say, “Thank you!” In October, I shared about Discerning the Voice of God; in November, I wrote about Obeying the Voice of God; and in December, I encourage Resting in the Voice of God. Allow Him to sing over you.
“The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17

Once we’ve discerned God’s Voice and choose to obey it, then as we walk in fulfillment of His plan for our lives, we can rest knowing that He rejoices over us with singing.

It truly has been my joy, privilege, and honor to serve you. May you continue to be women who follow closely, listen intently, and obey the Lord fully.

Serving with Love,
Elizabeth

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I love this translation of 1 Samuel 15:22. The prophet Samuel was in the middle of a rebuke of King Saul. Earlier in the chapter, Samuel had given very clear instructions on what the Lord required of King Saul, but he did not obey.

Samuel asked, “Why did you not obey the Lord?” Saul replied, “But I did obey the Lord.” (1 Samuel 15:19-20)

Saul obeyed some of what God said and then set out to justify his actions. Some might argue that his partial obedience is better than complete disobedience, but in God’s eyes partial obedience is disobedience.

I’ve also heard it said that delayed obedience is the same as disobedience.

Ouch! I know that I have been guilty of both of those scenarios. What about you?

Today, my heart is to encourage you to be fully and immediately obedient to the voice of God. Last month I shared about discerning the voice of God. If you missed that message, I encourage you to check it out here as I was privileged to have it published by Josh McDowell Ministry as a guest blog post. (https://www.josh.org/hearing-gods-voice-like-waves/)

Once we discern that God is speaking, we have the opportunity to choose obedience.
What I find so helpful is that God doesn’t require us to take 100 steps of obedience, just the next one! And then He calls us to trust Him as He illuminates the next step of obedience.

“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Psalms 119:105

And thus, my need to share with you God’s next illuminated step for me. I have submitted my intent to step out of my role as Women’s Minister of Cottonwood Creek Church and return to what I like to call Marketplace Ministry. I’ve been hired by Southwestern Consulting as a Sales and Leadership Coach. This affords me the opportunity to continue ministering through serving business owners, those in sales, and those desiring professional growth. I will also continue assisting my husband in his photography and videography business.

Please know that we will continue attending Cottonwood Creek and I’ll be here to cheer the new Women’s Minister on she takes up the mantle of serving the Women of Cottonwood! Please join me in praying for who God intends to fill that role. For now, you can expect to see me as usual through the end of 2020.

I’ll write more in December as I reflect on the great honor and privilege it has been to serve you. Thank you in advance for praying for me as I obey the voice of God in my life and trust Him in my next steps.

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To me, the sound of waves is a ministry to my mind. I deal with tinnitus, which is a loud ringing in my ears. At its worst, tinnitus can bring on a panic attack. But it’s best managed when I am able to focus my brain on something other than the annoying ringing. Listening to waves helps me do that. Truly, their sound is a ministry to my soul and mind.

I think discerning God’s voice works this way for me, as well. Read on.

Discerning God’s Voice Like Waves

I was recently asked by a friend how I discern God’s voice. I shared that it’s like a wave; that a thought hits the shore of my mind. I’m aware of it, but it ebbs away as I move about my day. But sometimes the thought revisits the shore of my mind. It could be a scripture, or a person’s name, an idea, a situation, or a sin that I need to address. As the thought ebbs and revisits, I become aware of its consistent repetition. Sometimes the thought crashes; other times it’s a gentle, persistent lapping.

Praying, looking to God’s Word, listening for the Holy Spirit, and seeking wise counsel are part of discerning God’s voice. But when a thought keeps nudging me, experience has taught me that it’s often God trying to get my attention about something He wants me to do, either for myself or another person. Oh, I wish I could tell you that I always acknowledge and act on what I hear, but I don’t. Only God knows the blessings I have missed out on by ignoring His voice.

You might be asking, “How do you know that it’s God’s voice and not your own thoughts?”

First, by considering the thought. I compare it to what I know about God’s character, and whether it is contrary or in direct defiance to the truth of who God is and what He expects of His people. I then go to the Bible. And I pray. I ask God to confirm what I believe I hear Him telling me.

Would God ever tell me to get even? No! (Romans 12:19) Would God tell me to sin? No! (Matthew 5:48) If my thinking doesn’t align with God’s Word, I can be sure I need to reject it. We know who originates that kind of thinking, right? Satan. And we know what God tells us to do with the thoughts he suggests: reject them!

As God’s Word teaches us in Galatians 5:16, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” If our thoughts are not of God, we are called to confess any sin around our thoughts and walk in the forgiveness that Jesus Christ has secured for us.

We may never fully understand the mystery of God’s voice in our life, but we can listen for evidence of it. Today, consider your own persistent thoughts.

Is God trying to get your attention so that you take action? How is God prompting you to look to His Word for guidance, to pray, or to rely on the empowerment of His Spirit before you make a decision?

Be encouraged that God is speaking to you, in waves both crashing and lapping. He desires that all of His children hear His voice. But we have to listen, pay attention, and be willing to take action.

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Here is an overview of how I would answer each one. As far as ministry, my time was spent looking for creative ways to encourage you online. How did God show Himself faithful? Well, going live everyday for weeks and developing a podcast style interview allowed me to get to know more of the Cottonwood women! As a church we have improved our online offerings, and we have hopeful anticipation for how God will use these new online offerings to share the hope of the Gospel well beyond our local community!

As far as our family is concerned. I spent a great deal of time in March brainstorming with my husband to keep his photography business going and then working like crazy to implement those ideas. We lost 90% of our business in a matter of two weeks. But God showed up big time in providing for our needs. I have so many God stories of how He worked through friends, provided just what was needed to pay that next bill, and honored our efforts to work hard while trusting Him with the results. It has strengthened my hopeful anticipation for what God has in store for us. Some of the ideas we’ve implemented provided new opportunities that wouldn’t have been explored if not for the pandemic shutdown.

Did I like the shutdown? No!
Am I grateful? Yes!
What about you?

If you would, are willing, share your answers to these by emailing me at elizabeth@elizabethmahusay.com. Let’s celebrate the goodness of our God as we head into summer.

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Speaking of mothers, I am sure if we could sit across from each other over coffee or tea, there would be plenty of conversation over memories of our mother’s raising us into the women we are today. In the good, the bad, and let’s face it – the sometimes ugly, our moms did the best they could to equip us for life. With each passing year of our boys growing and maturing, I have a whole new appreciation for my own moms. Both the mother who birthed me and my step-mom who has loved me as her very own child, each have made a huge impact on my life.

This Mother’s Day, let’s lift praises to the Lord as we acknowledge our moms. If you’re a mother we celebrate you. If you desire to be a mom and you are waiting for the fulfillment of that desire, we pray alongside you for God’s perfect plan in your life.

Until we can be together again, I’m praying for God’s protection over you, His encouragement of you, and His light to shine brightly through you.

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As women we likely see our reflection hundreds of times a day. The messages we allow to develop our self-image can radically impact what we see in our reflection. I was honored to share a five-minute message on this topic for the Chapel Sessions that Bridgette Hammers and Creek Worship are producing! I invite you to take the time to click the link and watch.

https://www.facebook.com/cottonwoodfamily/videos/521556815420263/

I also want to encourage you to join in the Transform My Thinking, God Bible study that will air on cottonwoodcreek.tv Mondays at 8pm starting April 20th! The videos stand-alone but if you want to complete the Bible study, you can purchase a book on Amazon by clicking the title above. I’ll be on live chat during the lessons to engage you!

Be sure to check out the rest of the newsletter to find out what is happening for the Women of Cottonwood.

Serving with Love,
Elizabeth

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