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Magnificat Morning: Contentment in All Seasons


And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Philippians 4:19-20

True contentment seems to be an elusive character trait.  Do you know anyone who is truly content? Are you? If you are like many, your contentment is most likely dependent on your circumstances. When life is going “your way” you’re content, when it isn’t, then you are not so content. You are not alone in this phenomenon! Yet, this is not the way it is supposed to be for women who seek to “pursue their joy in Christ alone”! What does God say about our being content in His Word? Can we really learn to be content, no matter what?

To help us answer these questions, the FPCC Women’s Ministry Team is excited to have Jodi Ware coming to explore the foundations of true biblical contentment. Every teen girl and woman is invited to come and be challenged by Jodi to embrace God’s provision regardless of our circumstances. We can learn to be content because our God is a Bountiful Provider!

Jodi is the wife of Dr. Bruce Ware, a professor of theology at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY. She is involved with the music ministry and women’s ministry at their church, Clifton Baptist, in Louisville. Jodi also works with the Seminary Wives Institute as a registrar and teacher, and the Facility Wives at Southern. She loves walking, reading, playing the piano, and meeting one-on-one with women, engaging in “conversational ministry.”

This will be a relaxing and casual morning with great teaching, wonderful fellowship, light refreshments and a book table specific to our topic. Tickets will be available after the Worship Service and from the church office for $3 per person or $5 per family. We look forward to seeing you for this great morning of encouragement!

Check the event page for more information.


Craving Beauty


Living in Michigan, one sees a fair share of grey, overcast days. It is about this time of year that spring and summer are eagerly anticipated. We look around and wonder when the first buds will show and what our surroundings will look like again when all the flowers are in full bloom; when trees are full of leaves and the sun is high and bright. As a matter of fact, many retreat away from here during the winter to simply get a break from the cold, grey days. And yet, though grey and sometimes dreary, there seems to be a treasure therein waiting to be discovered…

As the days of Lent come to a close, reflection on the crucifixion of our Savior shifts toward an anticipation of the resurrection. As stated in The Village Church’s Lenten devotional:

“Lent is a reminder that the resurrection only occurred after the crucifixion… Lent is a season to prepare ourselves for the joy of Resurrection Sunday as we enter the sorrow and pain which preceded it.”

“Where Advent is a season of ever-increasing light awaiting the incarnation of Christ, Lent is a season of ever-decreasing light approaching the cross.”       

So it seems our surroundings here in Michigan serve as a perfect backdrop on our approach to Easter.  As we crave beauty to bloom again all around us may it serve in causing us to reflect on the Giver of the most beautiful Gift, Jesus Christ, our Savior! And may we echo this prayer found in The Valley Of Vision:

            “What more could be done than thou hast done!

                        Thy death is my life,

                        thy resurrection my peace,

                        thy ascension my hope,

                        thy prayers my comfort.”


Preparing Our Homes for Easter


Many families celebrate the various holidays throughout the year with different traditions. In our home we have generally given the most attention and preparation to Christmas, but after reading Noel Piper's blog and contemplating her thoughts on the Lenten and Easter season, we have been encouraged to rethink what preparation for Easter looks like in our home.

In Treasuring God In Our Traditions, Noel writes:

Over the course of the Lenten and Easter season, we are remembering the lowest points of sin and the highest heights of what God has done for us through Jesus. Through Jesus we have the only way to the Father. That’s worth celebrating!

Jesus said . . ., “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
And yet, every year somehow, it’s so easy for Easter to slip up on us, and suddenly we’re saying, “Oh my goodness, it’s Palm Sunday already!” Let’s try to think of some ways to be prepared, to be waiting for Easter.

Although Easter is the highest celebration of the Christian’s year, it doesn’t have the fascination and thrill that surrounds Christmas. There’s a reason; the death of Jesus and our part in causing it was a very somber and tragic event. But we mustn’t avoid preparation for Easter simply because the sober, contemplative season of Lent precedes it. As with all the other special times of our year, we’ll be wise and obedient if we start by preparing our own hearts and lives. Lent offers us seven weeks for this purpose.

Lent comes from an Old English word that means lengthen, signifying that the days are getting longer because Spring is here.

Traditionally Lent is a season of sober, realistic reflection on our own lives and our need for a Savior. It is a time for turning away from anything that has kept us from God and for turning or returning to him. It is a time to pray that God renew our love for him and our dependence on him.

Such a helpful reminder! For other thoughts and ideas on how to prepare for the Easter season, check out these resources:

- Lenten Lights: Eight Biblical Devotions to Prepare for Easter by Noel Piper

- A Season of Lent by Geoff Ashley

- A Guide to Lent by The Village Church


Feminine Appeal - A Review


Carolyn Mahaney has been married to CJ Mahaney, a pastor and ministry leader, for more than 25 years. She has spoken to women in many churches and conferences, including Sovereign Grace Ministries, the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and Family Life. She and her three daughters also write the blog Girl Talk containing gospel-centered conversations on biblical womanhood. She has also written Feminine Appeal: Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother.

Feminine Appeal goes through seven virtues of a godly wife and mother, namely loving my husband, loving my children, self-control, purity, working at home, kindness and submission. Carolyn’s passion for who God is and how he has designed womanhood is evident throughout the book. As she continually points back to the amazing truths of the gospel she never loses sight of how practical those very truths are.

I first read Feminine Appeal the first year JJ was in seminary. My women’s small group went through it together and I loved it! It was so convicting and well written that it felt like you were just having a conversation over a cup of coffee with Carolyn. She is a great example of a Titus 2 woman who shares great biblical and practical wisdom throughout the book. It had such a significant impact on my life and marriage that I have given away dozens of copies of this book at wedding showers and to many friends and family.

This book also includes one of my favorite quotes when talking about the attitude of humility and mercy. She quotes Charles Spurgeon, who says, “He who grows in grace remembers that he is but dust, and he therefore does not expect his fellow Christians to be anything more. He overlooks ten thousands of their faults, because he knows his God overlooks twenty thousand in his own case. He does not expect perfection in the creature, and, therefore, he is not disappointed when he does not find it.” What a great reminder that I try to apply daily in my marriage and in all my other relationships!

This book is great to read on your own or with a small group, as it has helpful study and discussion questions in the back of the book. The chapters on marriage and children have had the most impact on my life for there she reminds us that wives and mothers need to die to self every day and we need to preach the gospel to ourselves constantly. She says, “As mothers, we have a choice. We can either resent the challenges and demands that accompany motherhood and persist in our selfishness, or we can draw from God’s grace and receive His help to cheerfully lay down our lives for our children.”

Finally, I love how she encourages women to passionately and joyfully love their husbands and children. This is a wonderful book for a younger woman who is thinking about marriage and children because it can prepare her for these endeavors, as well as for those women who have been married for many years and already have children because it can encourage them to be the wife and mother they were designed by God to be. 

Nancy Leigh DeMoss summarizes it best in the foreword when she says, “Carolyn is not just a theoretician. Through nearly thirty years of marriage, and as a mother of four, she has lived out the priorities and virtues of Titus 2 in the laboratory of life. And, as the Scripture directs, she is a discipler and has poured out her life to teach the ways of God to others - first to her three daughters and then to women in the church.”

Feminine Appeal is a great book for women in the church and I pray that the Lord will use it in your life as much as He has in mine.


Join us for Tapestry this February!


Navigating life as a woman in today’s world is a tricky thing.  The choices of where we can spend our time, talents and resources are endless.  Every one of us is stretched thin and if you’re anything like most women, you feel the burden of a million things that could be done, should be done, and in the end probably won’t get done.  Life is stressful. Everywhere we turn we hear conflicting messages about life, happiness, fulfillment and almost every other topic under the sun. We feel bombarded with the world’s message of what it means to be a woman; but wait!  We’re Christians.  Doesn’t that mean our lives should look different from women who don’t confess Christ as their Lord and Savior? Seems right, but ummm… how different should we “look”? 

Join us for the February Tapestry as we search the scriptures to find out what it means to be Godly Women living in today’s world.   We'll meet on Feb 20th (7:00 pm in Rm I/J)and try to become better equipped and encouraged to embrace God’s beautiful design for our lives as women created in His image. 

Btw…if you’re interested in attending an event for teen girls and their Mom's that encourages communication and sexual purity; check out Pure Freedom. It’s coming to Brighton on March 16th!


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