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The purpose of The Internet Café is to unite women of faith, regardless of our stage in life, our roles as women, our hair color, our political party, or the church we attend. We believe that one of the best ways to do this is to encourage each other in faith, by our spoken and written words accompanied by a short study each day to challenge and motivate you. Most of our devotions are written by regular monthly contributors but we do accept submissions...  Read More →

A Woman Inspired Online Conference

A Woman Inspired was a vision birthed in the heart of a small group of online friends whose mission was to minister to women online. It all started with the successful venture of a home education online conference and it just took off from there. The first A Woman Inspired Conference, Get Revived 09′, was held on April 6-9 and we had a record breaking number of women registered and even more set free from bondage and inspired to live the life Christ died to give to us.  Read More →

Toolbar for Christian Women!

The ladies at A Woman Inspired know that you want to simplify life so we've created this FREE toolbar just for you! First of all, the search is powered by Google so you know that you get the best of the best and no personal information is required to install it. It is also virus free, spyware free, easy to install, easy to use, disables pop-ups, enables privacy,it won't slow your computer down and best of all it puts the best of the web (for all of God's girls) into one central location! You can't beat that! Features include...  Read More →

Online Parenting & Home Education Conference

Our mandate is given in Exodus 18:20. God wants us to teach our children His principles, His thoughts on family, His plan for our future. Those are His mandates that must be taught at home. Every parent is a teacher. This is not a just a homeschooling conference but also a parenting conference. Please join us for this fun, informative, and encouraging conference from the convenience of your own home!  Read More →

Would you like to be a barista for a day?

The purpose of The Internet Café is to unite women of faith, regardless of our stage in life, our roles as women, our hair color, our political party, or the church we attend. We believe that one of the best ways to do this is to encourage each other in faith, by our spoken and written words accompanied by a short study each day to challenge and motivate you. Most of our devotions are written by regular monthly contributors but we do accept submissions...  Read More →

What is your pain today?

What sufferings are you experiencing, living through minute by minute?


Look around you. Nearly every person you see has some kind of pain in their life at this moment. We may not share it with those around us; we may instead hide it, put on an attractive mask that speaks more to the crumbling inside of us than it does to the outside world. But a common bond we share with the rest of the human race is the fall and brokenness of this world we live in.


So what's the purpose? Have you ever, in the midst of a severe trial in your life, when you are in pain of some kind- physical, mental, emotional- cried out to God and said "Why me?" That response to suffering, far from the lack of faith it seems to convey, could be part of the process to acceptance and growth. And if we don't waste our pain, we can bear fruit from suffering that we would otherwise never taste.

Suffering...is almost always experienced as an unwelcome intrusion into our lives, something that should not be there...[but] the deep truth is that our human suffering need not be an obstacle to the joy and peace we so desire, but can become, instead, the means to it.

Henri Nouwen, Life of the Beloved

How can we possibly use our pain?


Then again, as followers of Jesus, how can we not?


It seems such a bizarre notion to the non-believer, but our sufferings as Christians not only draw us closer to each other if we allow others to bear our burdens with us, but also allow us to draw near to the One who suffered most. For us. Not one ounce of Jesus' pain was wasted. Instead His pain gave us a chance at life. Jesus is identified by the pain He suffered and the life-giving power that His resurrection holds. Jesus is the suffering servant, the sacrificial Lamb. He is the suffering that He endured. In the same way, our pain defines us.


Our wounds are often an essential part of the fabric of our lives. (Nouwen)

Looking back over my life, the times I have suffered the most have resulted in the character traits in me I am most thankful for. Compassion, generosity, empathy, endurance, patience, faith, gratitude. All of these fruits are gained in large part because of, not in spite of our pain and trials. The grain of wheat must die before it can grow. So, too, the deaths in our lives- of our dreams, health, marriages- will bear fruit if we don't waste them.


Christine can be found daily at her personal blog:






This post was inspired by a devotional by John Piper.
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The other morning my husband and I were making our bed. This is not a chore we usually do together. It is so silly, but, working together, chatting about daily life, helping one another complete this simple task filled me with such joy. I was making his side and he was making mine. I'm not even sure how we ended up that way, but each was making up the other's place. I pulled up his covers, he covered where I sleep. It was so sweet as we each took care to straighten the other's spot, making sure the pillows were in the right place (there are three colors with the green going on the outside!). In the midst of this, God whispered to my heart, "Tracy, this is how marriage should be. You should cover Brian and he covers you."


Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
1Peter 4:8


I thought of the bed as our MARRIAGE.....How wonderful it would be to remember to COVER my husband, even when he is grumpy, even when he isn't "perfect," even when I am offended, even when he hurts my feelings.... to extend grace to him.


And, when we are working TOGETHER on "life"- parenting, finances, taking care of our home- how much smoother it works to work together..hand in hand, side by side, helping the OTHER person with HIS "side of the bed."




Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:


If one falls down, his friend (spouse) can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! -Ecclesiastes 4:9-10



God has brought us together to become ONE with our husbands. And, like our beautiful bed, how lovely we are when, working together, covering the other's side, we "make a bed."


This is a plaque that hangs in our bathroom. Because we see it everyday, walking past it hundreds of times, we may not notice it. But, I want to take the time to read it and pray it DAILY!




Lord, help us to remember when we first met and the strong love that grew between us. To work that love into practical things so nothing can divide us. We ask for words both kind and loving and hearts always ready to ask forgiveness as well as forgive.


Dear Lord we put our marriage into your hands.


Author Unknown





I would love for you to visit my personal blog:

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HAPPY FOURTH of JULY! The Internet Cafe is THRILLED to welcome Jocelyn Green! She is an award-winning freelance writer and author of Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (www.faithdeployed.com), from which this devotional was taken.

The Internet Cafe Team would like to extend a HEARTFELT THANK YOU to each and every military family. Thank you for the sacrifices that you make each and everyday, in your commitment to the freedom of America. God Bless America!


In celebration of July Fourth, we're giving away a signed copy of Joceyln's book one lucky comment
er! Comment up!



Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2 nasb

I sat in our Bible study and watched another woman share a prayer request. She was having a hard time dealing with the fact that her parents and sister's family had moved across the country. After years of living in the same small town of Homer, Alaska, this woman missed them terribly and was growing bitter about it.


As I listened to her share with broken voice and many tears, I'm ashamed to admit I had no compassion for her whatsoever. The first thing that jumped into my mind was, "You call that bad? Try being a military wife! We hardly ever get to live near our extended families. We don't even live with our own husbands half the time!"


I carried my "I have it worse than you" attitude home with me that day. I snuggled up to it to make myself feel more virtuous or worthy somehow. But the tighter I held on to it, the less Christ was able to use me. I used my own trials as something to be proud of. What a ridiculous thing to boast about!


Proverbs 14:10 nasb says, "The heart knows its own bitterness, and a stranger does not share its joy." When I read that verse, it seems to tell me that each person's burden causes him/her a pain that should not be diminished just because someone else has it worse. It is impossible and worthless to compare trials. A truly humble person would have compassion and bear one another's burdens no matter how they "rank" next to my own.


In The Life You've Always Wanted, John Ortberg says this: "Humility …involves a healthy self-forgetfulness. We will know we have begun to make progress in humility when we find that we get so enabled by the Holy Spirit to live in the moment that we cease to be preoccupied with ourselves, one way or the other." When we are with others, we're not assigning value to their prayer requests and feeling more spiritual if our own trials seem more acute.


In Galatians 6:2, Paul does not say, "Bear one another's burdens only if you deem the burden of sufficient magnitude. If it isn't a big deal to you, go ahead and let your sister in Christ figure it out on her own. She'll get over it." We are to "Bear one another's burdens"—period.


Philippians 2:4-5 nasb tells us, "Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus." Now, if anyone had the right to consider other people's complaints as petty, Jesus did. Jesus knew he would die a horrific death on the cross to pay for the sins of the people who put him there—and yet he took time to comfort and heal thousands of people with lesser trials. May we seek to model Jesus' humility and compassion in our own lives.


Ask

Am I harboring feelings of being more spiritual because of the difficult circumstances the military has given me?


How can I communicate love and understanding for other people this week?


Pray

Lord,
It's so easy to focus on my own troubles. Please grant me the humility to set them aside so I can be genuinely available to minister to my brothers and sisters in Christ without comparing our burdens. Help me get my mind of myself by serving other people this week.

Amen.


Jocelyn Green is an award-winning freelance writer and author of Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (www.faithdeployed.com), from which this devotional was taken. She and her husband Rob live with their two children in Cedar Falls, Iowa. She also has a facebook for faith deployed wives! You'll find it here!

“Reprinted with permission from Moody Publishers


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Drops of Inspiration is the Internet Café's monthly writing prompt!
We should be able to see the hand of God in all things whether it be a trip to the grocery store, a rainbow, or a mishap with a toaster oven. He is always with us; always teaching us; always loving us. We encourage you to share your God experiences with us through this writing exercise.
On the first of every month there will be a new scripture, quote, photo, opening line, closing line, word, song, or video to inspire you and your objective is to write a post using that prompt and then post it on your blog! You can link back to it here by using MckLinky (not to be confused with the misbehaving Mr. Linky). Then you should place your posts exact URL in the URL section, your name in the name section, and then leave a brief comment. This is a community activity so be sure to visit others who are participating. You can join us at any time during the month.

For full guidelines please click on the "writing prompt" tab in the navigation bar or click here: Drops of Inspiration.


Here is the writing prompt for July:

You do have permission to click-lift this photo for use on your blog but you must link back to this post.

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The Cafe is welcoming Guest Barista, Gery today!


Matthew 6:12. NKJ

And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.


The waiting room was full. I pulled a number 135. I just knew it would be a long wait. Next to me sat an nondescript woman. Everything about her was a brownish gray. I looked around and knew most of us were here to get our pension applications in. Every one was around the same age, 65.


I took out my papers and gave them a quick glance over. Everything was there. The woman next to me said:"Excuse me, can you look at mine?"


I felt instant resentment boiling up. Why did people not make sure they had everything in order, before they showed up. I said:" OK, let's look". I saw her name date of birth and Nationality, German. Thought nothing of it.


I started asking questions, while going through her papers and she noticed my Dutch accent.

"Forgive me!" she suddenly said. I looked up, surprised and asked: "What?"


"Forgive me for what we did during the war."


"The war? You were just a child, just like me. You did nothing wrong."


Then she told me. She told me about the war and how they had to go to school and salute the hated flag. It was a Lutheran village and most of the kids did not salute the flag. There parents told them it was wrong, she did not understand the why of it. She was only 8. Then one morning soldiers came in black uniforms. They told the kids, if they did not salute the flag they would be shot.


The little girl in front of her did not salute.


She was shot!


She told me how scared she was and that she SALUTED the flag.


She was crying now. People were looking at us. Her sobs were loud.


Again she lifted her tear streaked face to me and said: "Forgive me!"


"You were just a child" I said again. We were standing now, facing each other, no longer aware of the others in the room.


"Please, please, for just one time in my life I want to here some one say, I forgive you" she cried.


I did it, I said: "I forgive you!"


We stood there oblivious to all others. We hugged each other and both cried. Cried for the sorrow and the abuse of war. The sorrow we both had gone through. The hunger, the pain and the fear.


Calling number 135.


Father, help me to always understand what a great gift, forgiving really is. A great gift to others, but also to oneself. To forgive, or to be forgiven, gives us a new hope. A hope to live. A hope to love.


And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.

In Him,

Selemat

Gery is Canadian resident. She and her husband are involved in mission work. She calls herself a "grey haired, 70 year old senior." She has been blessed with 5 children and 23 grandchildren and has been married nearly 47 years!


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