In This Issue:

1. Welcome from Kelly

2. Women in God's Kingdom

3. Participate - Your School Choice

4. Book Recommendation - When Life and Beliefs Collide by Carolyn Custis James

If you haven't read the Core Principles of Tabitha's Team yet, I invite you to review them now. Tabitha's Team is not about feminism. It is about women finding their place in God's kingdom as the hands and feet of Jesus.

Women in God's Kingdom

If you have spent some time on the Tabitha's Team website, you already know that the goal here is not to simply make women "feel better." We do want to stop beating ourselves up with our perfectionist tendencies; however, the purpose of this is so that we can get out of the way and let Jesus use us.

Do you remember when you were first "on fire" for Jesus? Maybe you still are. As women move into the role of wife and mother, we sometimes start replacing our passion for ministry with an effort to create a "nice church family." Before we know it, we have become the very picture of "religion" that we once found offensive and boring.

As a whole, the church is spending much more time looking inward than outward. Our "discipling" programs are looking more like self-improvement classes, and out "outreach" activities are often a scheduled, packaged call and visit program complete with rehearsed lines and methods.

There is world full of lost, hurting people around us that need to see and experience Jesus. I'm afraid that many of us have buried him behind the image we think we are supposed to project.

I don't have all of the answers. I am joining you in this wake-up call and asking you to participate as we learn how to truly be salt and light in this world.

Our role definitely includes leading and teaching our children, and there will be a lot of "mom business" discussed. However, we need to make sure that we are setting the example that they need to see. Are we grounded in our theology enough to lead our children in more than "acceptable church behavior?"

Your School Choice

In this month's recommended book, Carolyn Custis James outlines many reasons for women to be grounded in their theology. One of those reasons is that our children will be looking to us for answers.

Regardless of the schooling method we choose, as parents we are our children's primary educators. Therefore, finding God's unique plan for our children to learn is very important and should be done with careful consideration and prayer.

Many readers may be examining their choices, and could really use some genuine advice based on your experiences. Please share with us what influenced your decision to use private school, public school, homeschool, etc. Our children all have different personalities and learning styles, so sharing this information and how it affected your decision would be most helpful.

What is your school choice and why?

Recommended Book

When Life and Beliefs Collide: How Knowing God Makes a Difference By Carolyn Custis James / Zondervan Sooner or later, life's difficulties bring every Christian woman to God's doorstep with questions too personal to ignore. "Why does God let me go through such painful circumstances?" "Why does he seem indifferent to my prayers?" We're tired of spiritual pie in the sky. We want authentic, God-as-he-really-is faith---the kind that holds us together when our world is falling apart and equips us to offer strength and hope to others. When Life and Beliefs Collide raises a long-overdue call for us to think seriously about what we believe about God. With passion, brilliance, and eloquence, Carolyn Custis James weaves stories of contemporary women with episodes from the life of Mary of Bethany to illustrate the practical benefits of knowing God deeply. Examining the misperceptions and abuses that discourage women from pursuing a deeper understanding of God, this insightful book demonstrates how practical and down to earth knowing God can be.