Encourage. Uplift. Inspire.
{BIG REVEAL} Coming this Friday at 10am EST! Mark your calendars, because you don’t want to miss this very special tribute! The UYM team, along with our incredibly talented in-house Director of Videography, Joshua Chaulk are very thrilled to share this wonderful project with you!!! #SHINEproject 💛
Until Next Time,
Uniquely Yours Ministries, is very thrilled to announce… “Shine Project!”
#SHINEproject is a promotional campaign dedicated to reaching out and encouraging women in communities across the globe. With the help of you, our dear readership…We are in pursuit of reaching new heights of ministry! Here is our ultimate GOAL:
-3,000 Likes on Facebook
-500 Followers on Instagram
-500 followers on Twitter
We have exactly ONE month, 30 days to accomplish this amazing ministry goal! We believe that with God, ALL things are made possible…With many exciting campaign kick-starters, encouraging scriptures, inspirational videos, special tributes from The UYM team and much more coming your way…You will have the pleasure of sharing, with all your friends and family. This month, will be an incredible month for UYM! Join us August 1st-August 31st for #SHINEproject! We would love to see what you are sharing and doing to promote SHINE in your community! You may be wondering…”How can I help?” Well, by simply pressing that share button at the bottom of this post, you may just be changing a life forever 🙂 Shining through social-media! So please use our hashtag, on ALL sources of social media. Thank you in advance for your support! We are so grateful!
Click HERE to watch the exciting Promo Video of #SHINEproject!
Until Next Time,
~The UYM Team
Written By: Marnie Pouget
Jon Glock, currently Vice President for Advancement at Emmaus Bible College in Dubuque, Iowa, then a Youth Ministries Worker in Murfreesboro, Tennessee came to our youth retreat as the guest speaker. His passion for youth and his captivating preaching style had our attention from the get-go. He spoke with a bit of a southern drawl and one of his phrases has stuck with me over the last 17 or so years. “Your walk talks and your talk talks but your walk talks louder than your talk talks.” (try saying that 10x fast!)
It can be a tongue twister for sure but don’t let the truth of it get twisted in your mind. I am sure you have heard another version of this truth. “Your actions speak louder than your words.” What you do matters.
If we claim to know Christ and the power of His resurrection, if we are willing to speak out about our faith and our convictions, then how we live is important. It is the witness that what we do lines up with what we say.
The apostles and disciples preached Christ crucified. They shared the gospel, the good news but even Peter was publicly rebuked by Paul. We read in Galatians 2, that Peter was fine eating with the Gentiles until certain Jews came along and then he refrained and separated himself from the Gentiles. Peter knew that the Gospel had been freely given to both Jew and Gentile and yet he was not consistently living that out. Paul sums it up saying, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
I like how Paul puts it in Philippians 3:16 “Only let us live up to what we have already attained.”
We have been given the free gift of salvation. The chains of sin have been broken. The power of death has been defeated. Then why do we continue to live like we are still in bondage? At what point do we allow the fruit of the Spirit to abound in our lives? The New Testament letters are full of lists of what we should be “putting away” and what we should be “holding on to”. Why do we continue to live like these instructions don’t exist? Or maybe we think they don’t apply to us.
Romans 8:29 says “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” When do we stop holding tightly onto our own image and surrender to being conformed to the image of his Son, our Savior? This proverb well known in Christian circles and is commonly attributed to St. Francis of Assisi
The truth is that St. Francis said no such thing and many Christians are up in arms about this saying. I have read articles and heard preachers denounce this notion emphatically. While the quote cannot be rightfully attributed to anyone, I am not sure that it is completely without merit.
We are called to preach the gospel. It’s the great commission. Jesus commands it. Therefore, words are indeed necessary. However, if our actions don’t follow the words we preach then we are guilty of hypocrisy. In Matthew 23:3 Jesus gives this warning about the Pharisees “But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.”
It is good to note that the followers of Jesus did not name themselves “Christians”. Acts tells us that when Barnabas returned to Antioch, he saw the evidence of the grace of God in the followers there. It was here in Antioch that believers were first called Christians. The people recognized them as different, identified them with Christ and named them accordingly.
This common question is worthy of consideration. “If you were tried in a court of law for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Ponder that for a few moments. Weigh it out. What’s your answer?
Paul encourages, in 1 Peter 2:12 “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”
“In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.” Titus 2:7
The Bible is full of instructions to believers on how to live. I imagine if how we lived wasn’t that important, the Holy Spirit would have left sections of the New Testament out. But he didn’t therefore we should take them seriously. We are called to be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have (1Peter 3:15). The call to preach the gospel wasn’t a suggestion. It was a command. But whether you like it or not, we are called to live the gospel. The power of God and the evidence of His transforming work in our lives should be visible. Tangible. Unmistakable.
How is your talk? And your walk?
Until Next Time,
~Marnie
Written by: Marnie Pouget
Remember that moment in Pixar’s, A Bug’s Life, when Heimlich transforms into the beautiful butterfly, but he doesn’t?
I admit that in that moment I felt let down. The overweight, unrefined caterpillar was supposed to emerge from the cocoon as a majestic, distinguished, exquisite creature. Instead he was the same old, same old with some minuscule winglets popped out for good measure. He enthusiastically embraced his new life as a butterfly but there really wasn’t much of a change to celebrate.
At our church we sing the old hymn, Just As I Am.
I love the words and the contemplative tone as the decision to surrender a life is pondered and accepted. “Just as I am, thou wilt receive, wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; because thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.” ~Charlotte Elliott
And it’s true. There is welcome, pardon, cleansing and relief. The calling to come, just as you are. Every time I hear this song, I can hear my sister’s voice, the clear, sweet melody and as I close my eyes, I am thankful for such mercy and grace that welcomes a sinner with a repentant heart. “Come just as you are Hear the spirit call, Come just as you are, Come and see, Come receive, Come and live forever.”
“Life everlasting, Strength for today, Taste the living water, And never thirst again.” ~Crystal Lewis
The offer is free. Just as Jesus offered the woman at the well, living water (John 4:14). He knew who she was. That she had had five husbands and the man she was with was not her husband. This was not secret to him. He told her the circumstances under which she was living AFTER his offer of eternal life. He wanted her to come, just as she was.
When Jesus called Saul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), He knew exactly who Saul was but, God called Saul then and there. The zealous persecutor of Christians. Self-proclaimed as the worst of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). God called and Saul came just as he was.
As the teachers of the law, and the Pharisees brought before Jesus, a woman caught in adultery (John 8) they were ready to stone her. Jesus challenged the accusers “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7) The accusers all left and there was no one to condemn her. Jesus knew her sin but he welcomed her to come just as she was.
God calls us to come just as we are. His mercy and grace are free gifts. There is nothing that you can do to earn forgiveness and salvation. You don’t have to clean up and straighten up before you come.
But here’s the thing. I hear too many people who have “come as they are” and they want to stay as they are. They have miniscule Heimlich wings, to indicate something happened but, they have fully embraced their definition of who they are and they aren’t willing to let it go. I hear comments like “it’s just who I am” and “that’s me –take it or leave it”.
The Samaritan woman at the well, recognized Jesus as a prophet and went and told everyone about him. The townspeople came to see and believed first because of her testimony but also because they too saw and heard him. (John 4:39, 42)
The adulterous woman was not condemned but was told to “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:11) Saul, when something like scales fell from his eyes, and he could see again, got up and was baptized. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. (Acts 8:18, 20)
We are called to live transformed lives. Lives that are evidence that something has changed.
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” ~Romans 12:2a
Romans 6, encourages us that the old self was crucified with Christ and is dead and we are alive in Christ no longer in bondage to sin.
Romans 8:29, reminds us that…
“those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” ~Ephesians 4:22-24
God calls us to renew our minds, to live lives that are no longer in bondage to sin, to be conformed to the image of His son and to be made new in the attitudes of our minds. We are called to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
When we come to Him, he seals us with his Holy Spirit and we are told in Galatians 5, that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
As we walk with Him, these fruit will abound. Who wouldn’t want more of this fruit in their life? He wants you to come just as you are but He doesn’t want you to stay just as you are. Don’t embrace in a strangle-hold your definition of who you are. Be willing to be transformed into all that God wants you to be!
He calls you to a Bugs Life. Or more accurately, a butterfly’s life. Where the transformation, in process, is evident.
Until Next Time,
~Marnie
Written by: Marnie Pouget
I am a photographer and scrap booker. A writer. A baker. But I am not a crafty person. At all. I try. And fail. I want to be crafty but rarely do my attempts turn out pretty or even useful. My sister is a creator. She has done it all in the crafting department, it seems, and everything she puts her hands to is beautiful work. Ceramics, toile painting, upholstery, stained glass, pottery. She finds beautiful craft ideas and just does them. I am envious of people who can create naturally because I just can’t.
However, the day my sister told me that she was expecting their first child, I decided I was going to knit a sweater with a matching bonnet and booties. I had never picked up a set of knitting needles in my life BUT I was determined to teach myself. And I did. I bought a beginner knitting book with great diagrams and instructions for a lovely sweater set. I bought the yarn and needles prescribed. I painstakingly followed the directions provided, often referring to the pictures and I managed to “cast on” the correct number of stitches.
I had no idea about knitting a swatch to make sure my knitting was the correct size. And when I read that recommendation, I thought it was such a waste of time. I tried to run the yarn through my fingers but the feeling of it annoyed me so I didn’t. My mother told me that my tension would be off. I didn’t care.
In spite of all of my inadequacies, after a significant amount of time, I managed to knit a beautiful sweater set for my lovely niece. When her brother came along, I had to be fair and knit him one also. But I didn’t like knitting enough, so that pretty well ended my knitting projects. I feel slightly guilty that I have never knit a thing for my own children.
Through that experience, I learned that knitting is a two-handed process with a purpose. I can barely knit well with two hands, I wouldn’t want to try with just one. And honestly, I think knitting with no purpose is just a waste of time……and yarn.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13 When you were created, God had his hands all over you. You were created with intention and purpose. You are “fearfully and wonderfully made” Psalm 139:14b.
He chose your parents – the right parents for you. Not the perfect parents. They aren’t perfect (but neither are you). But the right parents. I realize that for some, this is a hard pill to swallow. Your parents are not only not perfect but they are so far from perfect, that it is hard to understand why you were placed in their family. But you were.
He chose your siblings for you. When he placed your siblings in your family, you weren’t an afterthought. No “oops what was I thinking putting this child in the same family as (insert your name here). Your siblings are an important part of who you are and who God has you to be. You have a purpose and responsibility in their life and they have a purpose and responsibility in yours. Don’t miss out on the blessing and joy of your siblings or the important relationships you should have because you are too busy questioning God’s wisdom in placing you together.
1 Corinthians 1:25 reminds us “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” I don’t always understand His ways or purposes but just as I see a bigger picture of life’s circumstances than my children, I know that He sees and understands the bigger eternal picture of our lives.
You were born in this time and place in history for a reason. There are things for you to do and things for you to learn. Don’t waste your time bemoaning your circumstances and miss the opportunities and lessons God has for you.
As a work is completed the artist adds his mark, identifying it as his own. The painter adds his signature, the potter adds her stamp. The photographer adds a watermark. It’s important. An artist’s work is their creation. A reflection of themselves. A precious piece of who they are. They created this work and it is theirs.
You are the creation of the Master Artist. Made in His image. A reflection of who He is. As a wise friend, Bob Tissot, says, “You are a unique, unrepeatable masterpiece of God.” He created you and you are His.
Until Next Time,
~Marnie
Uniquely Yours Ministries 
