Buy your ticket before December 2 and receive a $10 discount!

Anita Renfroe, Shelley Jennings and I would love to see you there...

November came and went as quickly as the leaves turned colors and fell from the trees in our front yard! My Dr. Phil celebrated his forty-fourth birthday, dear friends came for Thanksgiving, and between Connor's basketball practices and Clayton's debate tournaments, our home was buzzing with the busyness of family life.

I did sneak in some time to read an incredible book though!

Persuasion by Jane Austen was written between August 1815 and August 1816. While Jane was writing this fascinating story, she became ill with Addison's Disease, a tubercular disease of the kidneys, which would take her life in July of 1817.

She was only 41-years old when she died and did not get to see its publication. Her devoted brother, Henry, published it a year after she passed away, and interestingly, he named the novel Persuasion.

How curious it is to wonder what Jane would have named it if she had lived? The characters are so intricate, the story is captivating and the sheer beauty of the language is transporting. Persuasion features a maturity of thought that really inspired me.

Now, the whole time I listened to that great book, I did so with a hand-full of a marvelous new candy. I am afraid I'm developing an addiction against which no amount of persuasion will be effective - dark chocolate M&M's. Plain or peanut, I am crazy about them.

You do know they're healthy, don't you? Dark chocolate is high in anti-oxidants, and peanuts, - can you say protein?!

I also got to visit a dear friend and sip tea at the fabulous Grand Lux Café in Dallas. It borrows design themes from the 'old world' cafes and bistros of Europe, and was an escape from the ordinary.

My friend Lisa (who has such a delightful, generous spirit and is teaching me so much about authentic living) invited me and another friend who I admire to splurge for a Texas-size High Tea! Sweeter than the scones, more satisfying than the cucumber sandwiches and richer than the Devonshire cream was spending tea time with Lisa Whelchel and Ney Bailey.

Ney is an insightful author, trusted counselor and popular speaker on university campuses and conferences worldwide. She's also been an integral part of the Campus Crusade for Christ staff for more than forty years. (Click here to read her testimony.) It was really an honor to sit with such a sage woman of God and learn from her wisdom.

Thank You, Lord, for friends like Lisa and Ney.

Our tree is up, the temperature is down and Christmas is just around the corner...So give these things a taste test:

1. Persusion by Jane Austen

2. The fabulous Grand Lux Café in Dallas, TX

3. Dark chocolate M&M's

4. Lisa Whelchel's excellent Christmas book, " The ADVENTure of Christmas"

Lawana Blackwell wisely stated, "Age is no guarantee of maturity."

Now that I'm well into my forties, I understand exactly what she means! My body has certainly grown-up as aging has followed its prescribed path; but in some areas of my life, it seems as though maturity is still catching up! We don't simply grow chronologically - sometimes we develop unevenly. Our number of years can exceed our degree of emotional, spiritual, or even intellectual maturity. No matter what our age may be, it's true that we can be mature in one realm and still be childish in another. If we don't think about this, we can remain immature as we age.

I have operated under the mistaken notion that childishness and immaturity would just fade away with time. I've ignored some immaturity in my life because I just assumed that the older I got, the more mature I would become. I wonder if I am the only one who has thought this way?

Paul said, "When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child. When I became a man, I put away childish things." (1 Cor. 13:11) Paul knew quite well that the addition of years does not assure the subtraction of childishness. Childish things don't just fade away with time. They must be "put away."

It's finally cold here in Springfield and I pulled my winter coat from the closet where it has hung since last March. I would have been wearing that lovely wool Banana Republic bargain for the past seven months if I hadn't made a conscious choice to take it off and put it away?

My coat doesn't just fade off of my back because the weather warms up, the seasons change or the time passes. I have to put it away. That's the way we should approach childish things. We need to put them away also. After they have served their purpose, when the season of adulthood arrives, we need to take special effort to put away the childish things.

So what childish things are still a part of this season of your life?

A quick reaction when you don't get your way?

Shouting or pouting when something happens that you don't like?

Operating from the belief that you are the center of the universe?

An unwillingness to share your toys...or your time, your forgiveness or your treasures?

Part of the reason we still struggle with childish things far into adulthood is because we never took responsibility for putting them away.

Sydney J. Harris once said, "We have not passed that subtle line between childhood and adulthood until we move from the passive voice to the active voice - that is, until we stop saying 'It got lost,' and say 'I lost it.' "

In other words, we must be accountable for the childishness that remains in our lives. We must take action to "put it away."

So here's what I'm learning about putting childishness away:

1. RECOGNIZE the areas of our lives where we still carry childishness.

Is it in our attitudes? ("Poor me...that's not fair...") Note the season of your life. If you are an adult, do you think, speak and reason like an adult? Or do you have some tendencies to think, speak and reason like a child?

2. REMOVE the childish things.

You can't put away your coat if you don't first take it off. The same applies to childish things. Take them off! One tug at a time, - note how you speak, how you think and how you reason. If you entertain a childish thought, put it away. If you engage in immature speech, put it away. If you reason like a child would (this usually shows up in being unreasonable), put it away.

3. REPLACE Put on...

The same Paul who told the church at Corinth that he "put away" childish things, told the believers at Rome, Ephesus, and Colossi to be active in "putting on" that which would make them mature in Christ. If we put on the same, it will begin to replace the immature thinking, speaking and reasoning. It will replace childish things with maturity.

 

• "...put on the armour of light." (Rom. 13:12; also Eph. 6:11)
• "...put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." (Col. 3:10; also Eph 4:24)
• "...put on love..." (Col. 3:14)

Question:

Do you, as a full time speaker, receive a high number of gift baskets? What do you do with all the goodies (and the baskets!)? Do you have suggestions for the women's ministry leaders for possible favorite gift/thank-you ideas that are of a unique nature?

Thank you! - Teresa P.

Answer:

What a creative and insightful question! I am treated so kindly by the women with and to whom I minister each weekend, and often their kindness is shown by gifts. Believe it or not, most of what I receive is edible (thank you very much for the dark chocolate), so there's no problem with taking care of that! I happen to receive candles and lotions also...I love that!

Practically speaking, gift bags are more manageable than baskets when it comes to airplanes, and liquid gifts that are 3 oz. or less sure are nice so I can carry them on the plane.

I've received Christmas ornaments and pens from churches - those are a nice way to remember. And lately, I've received some really fun bedroom slippers!

Gifts from the women I am with each weekend are like a little party in the hotel room and make being away from home a little easier. The gifts also tell me a lot about the personality of the women with whom I am spending the weekend...thoughtful, generous and kind.

And now, the beans are officially spilled!

 

1. Pray that God would grant wisdom as LifeWay and I are in the midst of discussing my next Bible study.

2. Please pray for strength and protection for Phil, Clayton, Connor and the fabulous women that work with the ministry.

3. I really feel passionate about the message of Self Talk, Soul Talk and ask you to pray that God will continue to get it into the hands of those who need it most.

Thanks for being a faithful friend...

- Jennifer

 

This month's winner is Susan from Xenia, OH (crumbacher@...)

Susan wins a six-pack of our new Girlfriend Blend Coffee Pouches! Each bag serves up eight to ten cups of rich coffee and includes a fun expression on each label.

Congratulations, Susan! Please email us your mailing address.

Each month we give away something from the JenniferRothschild.com Store. All you have to do is click on the link below to let us know you were here. Your name will automatically be added to a random drawing to win. Then read the next month's email to see if your name was picked!

 

For the month of December, we want to offer you a special gift. It's our way of saying "Merry Christmas from the Jennifer Rothschild team."

When you order one or more copies of Jennifer's latest book, Self Talk, Soul Talk, we'll include a FREE pouch of Jennifer's Girlfriend Blend Coffee (brews 8-10 cups). It's a perfect way to enjoy time with friends, and it makes a great gift to stick in someone's stocking. However you use it, we pray you are blessed and encouraged to share in the generous spirit so characteristic of Christmas and our Savior.

Order Self Talk, Soul Talk today and receive your FREE coffee! (One free package per order.)

Note: This free package of coffee will not show up in your shopping cart, but it will be sent with your order.

I hope you'll consider being one of my faith-walkin' Sole Sisters. I covet your prayers and appreciate so much the things you do to spread the word about my message.

Here are just a few of the small things you can do to make a big impact:

Here are some Quick Links you might find helpful:

 

• Fresh Brewed Faith Conferences
• Jennifer's NEW Self Talk, Soul Talk Blog
• About Jennifer Rothschild
• Video: My Story
• Jennifer Rothschild Store
• Subscribe to WomensMinistry.NET weekly eNewsletter
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