Women's History Month

This one’s for you, dear reader!

Thank you:

Thank you for joining us in March for Women’s History Month. We considered the lives of Abigail Adams, Vonette Bright, and Elisabeth Elliot. Your feedback affirms that the moments shared have been encouraging.

Now, this one’s for you! As an amazing woman with a significant contribution to make in history, the moment has come for you to write your own Cameo.

Tell Your Story:

Your life is a story, which deserves to be told. Whether God asks you to go across the ocean or across the street, He wants to use your story to help tell His Story. So, in everyday situations, just speak up. Tell who Jesus is and what He means to you.

Take the Next Step:

Be ready to ask an individual the simple question: “Where are you in your faith journey?” Then, be sensitive and ready to offer an appropriate next step.

Turn to Prayer:

We live in a world populated by hurting people. Loneliness smothers our society; anxiety plagues our population. As your day brings you into conversation with individuals, gently ask the person if you can take a moment to pray with them. The very fact that you care enough to stop and bring God into the realities of a person’s challenges will offer them hope beyond belief.

Try It:

Yes! Try it. Allow the Holy Spirit to fill you, guide you, and speak through you. Take the next step in Living With Eternal Intentionality® and see what new pages God will write in the volume of your story. And you are not alone. Heaven is cheering you on!

Tell Us:

Please be sure to come back and let us know what you discover as you say, “God, I am available to let You use my story to help tell Your Story.” “Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire.” - Catherine of Sienna

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

“He has also set eternity in the hearts of men” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:8).

How do you relate to the idea that you have a story that God wants to use in telling His Story?

When have you recently seen loneliness or anxiety displayed in a conversation?

Which everyday situation comes to mind where you believe The Lord wants you to speak up?

Women's History Month

Elisabeth Elliot

1926-2015

“NO!” I screamed.

Reality showed no mercy. The impersonal screen of my iPhone delivered the news that my dear friend and beloved mentor Elisabeth Elliot was with Jesus. Over the last decade, I attempted to prepare myself for this moment. Not even close. My world was now a world without her, and of all things, I learned this on Facebook. No warning, no cushion, and no “I’m sorry I have to tell you this . . .”

I immediately dialed Elisabeth’s number at Strawberry Cove. Aware of a deep ache inside of me, I wanted desperately to talk to Lars, her husband of 38 years; I wanted to hear his rich, velvety voice. He would provide the personal touch missing from a cold, social media announcement.

No, again. The answering machine clicked and waited for my message. Pain and emptiness were gaining a foothold here, and I needed to be alone with God.

After climbing the three flights of stairs to my corner office in our headquarters, I stood and stared out the window at the lovely grounds below. Sunshine and beautiful flowers met my gaze—beauty in my bereavement.

“Oh God, I worship You. I worship You for the incredible ministry she had in my life.”

Gone. With only the silence to distract me, I prayed, “Oh God, I worship You. I worship You for the incredible ministry she had in my life.”

I sat down and reflected.

Elisabeth was one remarkable lady. I met her publicly and then became acquainted with her privately. What an unspeakable privilege to have known her as my mentor and as my friend.

Soft-spoken and precise, she never wavered when it came to the choice of obedience to the Lord. No, she was not a saint, but she was certainly set apart to mark a generation with her wholehearted devotion to Christ.

“May I call you Elisabeth?
There was no mistaking her answer:
Yes, but thank you for asking.”

I experienced her clarity mixed with kindness over our first shared meal. She and Lars had flown to Garmisch, Germany, where she was a guest speaker for our annual Eastern European Women’s Conference. As conference coordinator, I made sure to take advantage of the opportunity to reserve a private meal with her. A quiet table in a European restaurant marked our sweet beginning. Over dinner, surrounded by a cacophony of noises, I ventured to ask, “May I call you Elisabeth?” There was no mistaking her answer: “Yes, but thank you for asking.” Whew.

Now that we were on a first-name basis, the real question weighing heavily on the soul of this young wife of a leader tumbled out. Suddenly, I became remarkably vulnerable with a woman I had just met, and asked, “What do you do with criticism of your husband?” Without batting an eye, she went straight to the point with precisely the answer I needed to hear.

“Well. First of all, certainly, no one likes it.” Shock. Had I heard her correctly? Heaven and earth stood still as my soul came up for air.

No being made to feel guilty for struggling. No quick-fix verse. No vague spiritual airs. No sermon or suggestion.

Just a true, forthright transparency. “No one likes it.” With that response we bonded; a treasured friendship was birthed. From that moment Elisabeth and I launched into a lifetime friendship that would leave me forever changed by her wisdom and uncommon understanding.

Honestly, I was not prepared to like her so much. But that single answer from her changed my life. I immediately knew that I could trust her; I could learn from her; I could really like her.

Over apfelstrudel and coffee, I listened intently as she shed more divine light on my painful question. “Remember, God has given him a grace to bear this criticism. You do not have the same grace that he has, but God has given him grace for the criticism. Also, remember, there is probably a grain of truth within the criticism that he needs to hear. Allow God to use this in your husband’s life.”

Repeatedly, I have returned to her teaching at a table at the foot of the Alps. Thank You, God; thank you, Elisabeth. In the coming years, I would turn to her with countless other questions. The story was always the same—unconditional acceptance and grace-filled wisdom.

Her gentleness with our children repeatedly stood out to me. As we visited on hallowed occasions around our dining room table, she treated them as if they were her own grandchildren. Their questions were handled with tenderness and respect. I smile while reflecting on the discussions.

“What was your favorite animal when you lived in the jungle?”

“The toucan.”

“Why do you use one name with your books and another with your husband, Mr. Gren?”

“When you are a writer, it is important that your readers who knew you in the past can trust you to be the same person in the present. You don’t want to confuse them with different names.”

“What was the strangest thing you ever ate in the jungle?”

“Monkey!”

Laughter followed, of course.

Elisabeth and I would go on to journey together in the coming years, mostly at a distance, but our lives intersected when geography allowed. She remained consistent: uncompromising obedience, crystal clear clarity.

“Don’t worry. When I think back on my life and consider the things I worried about, I realize it was a colossal waste of time. And keep a quiet heart.

”

— Elisabeth Elliot

Once in Budapest, as we sat drinking apple juice and eating cookies, she offered much-needed advice, “Don’t worry. When I think back on my life and consider the things I worried about, I realize it was a colossal waste of time. And keep a quiet heart.”

I miss her. One day, in The Land That Is Fairer Than Day, at The Marriage Feast of the Lamb, we will enjoy far more than Apfelstrudel and coffee.

Elisabeth modeled courageous faith. Her wisdom was gleaned from her experiences as a twice-widowed wife, mother, grandmother, missionary, Bible translator, radio broadcaster, public speaker, and best-selling author. Her many books include Keep a Quiet Heart, A Path Through Suffering, The Savage My Kinsman, and The Shadow of the Almighty.

Elisabeth Howard was born in Brussels, Belgium, where her parents served as missionaries. She graduated from Wheaton College and later went to Ecuador as a missionary. In 1953, she married a former classmate, Jim Elliot. Together they worked on translating the New Testament into the language of the Quichua Indians. Their daughter, Valerie, was born in 1955. Ten months later in 1956, Jim was killed by the Auca Indians while attempting to take the Gospel to that primitive tribe. Elisabeth continued her work among the Quichuas, and she later lived and worked among the Aucas.

She returned to the United States and remarried. Her second husband, Addison Leitch, a professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, died of cancer in 1973. Elisabeth remarried, and until her death, she lived north of Boston, Massachusetts, with her husband, Lars Gren.

Of her own spiritual journey, Elisabeth writes, “At the age of ten, I wanted to be born again. It was very simple. I took God at His word, ‘received’ Him, and was given the power to become a child of His.”

Gateway to Joy contains significant spiritual lessons, which have been transferred from Elisabeth’s pen to my heart:

Set aside time for God.

It is a good and necessary thing to set aside time for God in each day. The busier the day, the more indispensable is the quiet period for prayer, Bible reading, and silent listening. It often happens, however, that I [Elisabeth] find my mind so full of earthly matters that it seems I have gotten up early in vain and have wasted three-fourths of the time so dearly bought (I do love my sleep!).

But I have come to believe that the act of the will required to arrange time for God may be an offering to Him. As such He accepts, and what would otherwise be “loss” to me I count as “gain” for Christ. Let us not be “weary in well-doing,” or discouraged in the pursuit of holiness. Let us, like Moses, go to the Rock of Horeb, and God says to us what He said to him, “You will find me waiting for you there” (Exodus 17:6, NEB). (A Lamp for My Feet)

Do not be afraid to tell Him exactly how you feel. He’s already read your thoughts anyway. Don’t tell the whole world. God can take it—others can’t. (Keep a Quiet Heart)

Let Him redeem it.

Are you sure your problems baffle the One who since the world began has been bringing flowers from hard thorns? Your thorns are a different story, are they? You have been brought to a place of self-despair, nothingness. It is hard even to think of any good reason for going on. You live in most unfavorable conditions, with intractable people, you are up against impossible odds. Is this something new? The people of Israel were up against impossible odds when they found themselves between the chariots of Egypt and the Red Sea. Their God is our God. The God of Israel and the God of . . . thorns looks down on us with love and says, “Nothing has happened to you which is not common to all. I can manage it. Trust Me.”

He wants to transform every form of human suffering into something glorious. He can redeem it. He can bring life out of death . . . When our souls lie barren in a winter which seems hopeless and endless, God has not abandoned us. His work goes on. He asks our acceptance of the painful process and our trust that HE will indeed give resurrection life. (A Path Through Suffering)

Pray for your husband.

Lord, grant me the vision of a true lover as I look at _______. Help me to see him through Your eyes, to read the thoughts he does not put into words, to bear with his human imperfections, remembering that he bears with mine and that You are at work in both of us. Thank You, Lord, for this man, Your carefully chosen gift to me, and for the high privilege of being heirs together of the grace of life. Help me to make it as easy and pleasant as I possibly can for him to do Your will. (Newsletter)

The life of Elisabeth Elliot has been a living example of the prayer of missionary Bette Scott Stamm, a prayer that, at sixteen, Elisabeth copied in the back of her Bible.

“Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all, utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt, send me where Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever.” (These Strange Ashes)

Elisabeth left this life with the same exactitude with which she had lived it; at 6:15 a.m. on 6-15-15 she departed. Imagine that.

Living with Eternal Intentionality®

“He has also set eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Why would you like to spend time with Elisabeth Elliot over coffee and apfelstrudel?

What about this cameo spurs you on in your walk with Jesus?

As you consider her quotes and comments, which one that stands out more than the others to you?

Content lifted from the pages of The Leader’s Wife, Living With Eternal Intentionality®

Women's History Month

Vonette Bright

1926-2015

A dry, merciless, desert heat defined the day. A mysterious wind accentuated the intensity of the temperature. As I walked the pebble path, the weather and my nervousness walked with me.

My classes were over for the day, and I headed toward a small bungalow on the property of Arrowhead Springs. The appointed afternoon finally arrived for my visit with Vonette, the wife of Bill Bright.

Currently, at the headquarters of Campus Crusade for Christ® (as Cru® was known then) in Southern California, I immersed myself in training to join this movement. Yet, too often my heart drifted across the country back to Mississippi; deeply in love, I sorely missed the one I loved. He worked as a summer youth director at a small church in a quiet Southern town, and our lives stood worlds apart.

As I walked, I wondered, “What would Mrs. Bright be like?” I had heard her speak, but that was at a distance when she stood behind a podium. What would it be like to be with her, one-on-one, in her home?

With embarrassment, I recall requesting a private appointment with a woman I had never met, an extremely busy woman with endless demands on her schedule. But I was driven by love. As the wife of a great spiritual leader, I wanted her answer for the largest question on my heart.

For this occasion, I carefully selected a short-sleeved cotton dress with a round Peter Pan-style collar. I can still picture the black, orange, white, and green tiny floral print. The wide, elastic waist made it comfortable. (Candidly speaking, that dress was too short—much too short. Blame it on the 1970s. Good thing this was California).

Upon reaching the top of the path, the red tile roof of their bungalow home came into view. I navigated my way downward, crossed the courtyard, and rang the doorbell. While I waited, a lizard scurried past. At least one detail felt familiar to Mississippi.

A smiling Mrs. Bright welcomed me and invited me to take a seat in her lovely living room. I moved toward an aqua velvet chair while she returned to her kitchen to retrieve two glasses of a cold beverage. In this moment alone, I admired the numerous gifts on display from around the world, and desperately attempted to quell my nervousness.

Momentarily, Mrs. Bright rejoined me in the matching pair of chairs; I could tell this meeting was important to my hostess. Concurrently, I sensed the need to get to the point, so I swallowed a gulp and launched.

““I came, Vonette, to ask you a question about a young man in my life. We love each other, and I need your input. So, my question is this: What can I do to best prepare myself for my relationship with him?” ”

“I came, Vonette, to ask you a question about a young man in my life. We love each other, and I need your input. So, my question is this: What can I do to best prepare myself for my relationship with him?”

Gripped with love, I possessed no better sense than to bring this dreamy question to this leading woman in the evangelical world, this question of my aching, longing, love-smitten heart.

Without blinking she asked, “Honey, are you engaged?,” as if engagement would make a difference in her answer.

Embarrassed, I sheepishly responded, “Noooo. No, we are not engaged.” Pause. “But there is a real possibility for a future together.” (I surely didn’t tell Larry of my answer to her!)

Sitting in her pale, pastel-colored living room, she answered, and there was nothing pale about her advice.

““Honey, you just get to know Jesus. That is the best thing you can do in your relationship with this young man.” ”

— Vonette Bright

“Honey, you just get to know Jesus. That is the best thing you can do in your relationship with this young man.”

Looking back on that hot day at Arrowhead Springs in 1972, I am so glad Vonette knew—not what I wanted—but what I needed. Her Spirit-anointed answer seemed way too simple and far too short.

I secretly longed for romantic suggestions. I came to her hoping for a curriculum, a list of books to read, a guaranteed formula for becoming the woman I wanted to be. I anticipated far more than I received, at least that is what it seemed.

“Honey, you just get to know Jesus.”

Even now, I marvel at the lasting impact of her words, for what was true then is still 1,000% true today. The one best thing I can do for my relationship with Larry remains to get to know and keep getting to know Jesus.

Imagine: One hot afternoon. One young woman. One short sentence. One lifetime lesson. Thank you, Vonette. Your words have born lasting fruit. I commit to continue sharing your wisdom with other young naive women, who like me, yearn to live life to the fullest along- side dynamic leaders as we partner to help fulfill the Great Commission.

A contemporary model of Proverbs 31, Vonette, along with her husband, Bill Bright, cofounded Cru®. She authored or co-authored more than twenty books and numerous Bible studies and devotionals. The founder of The Great Commission Prayer Crusade, Vonette enjoyed being a mother and a grandmother.

I always appreciated her forthright ability to articulate her commitment to her leader-husband.

Once, when I asked her, “What does it mean to you, Vonette, to be the wife of a leader?,” she responded by saying, “Honey, come here. Let’s sit down.”

We pulled away from the center of the party and made our way to a couch in the corner where she began to talk. Her thoughts flowed as one who spoke from the voice of experience and the voice of conviction. I felt privileged to hear this woman’s answer.

““Get ready to share him with other people, lots of other people. You must be ready to do this.””

— Vonette Bright

“Get ready to share him with other people, lots of other people. You must be ready to do this. This requires you to think and have a plan and be aware of his situation. You will find yourself getting jealous, but don’t be jealous. Be as involved as you possibly can in his world. Other women will be in his world. But you be the first to do what he needs done, if at all possible. Be actively involved with him.

““My first calling is to be the wife of Bill Bright. ”

— Vonette Bright

“My first calling is to be the wife of Bill Bright. I would say no to anything that he did not want me to do. Go where he goes, be in his world. Pursue what he is involved in,” she said. “I chose to have no other field for myself. I would ask myself, what does he need? And then I would seek to meet that need.”

When asked, “What was your job description on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ?” she responded with conviction, “To be the wife of Bill Bright. I just looked for what needed to be done, and I tried to do it.”

Living with Eternal Intentionality®

“He has also set eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Who has God used as a mentor in your life?

What wisdom from that person still molds your life today?

Content lifted from the pages of The Leader’s Wife: Living With Eternal Intentionality®

For more on Vonette Bright