Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Because Life Doesn’t Always Go According To Plan ... continued

About the Book:

(Kerrville, TX) – From the beginning of time women have dreamt about their “Plan A” - the perfect husband, cute children, immaculate home, size six wardrobe, prestigious job, fabulous friends. But it doesn’t take much of real life to set in before compromises, changes and disappointments manage to cloud those dreams. The Plan A Woman in a Plan B World: What to Do When Life Doesn’t Go According to Plan encourages women to re-evaluate the Plan B route and discover the blessings of God’s Plan A.

Using nine landmines that often claim the God-given plan for women, author/speaker Debbie Taylor Williams helps women reclaim hope and teaches them how to manage those sabotaging thoughts that claim many minds. Sprinkled with humor, an obvious love for God’s Word, and discussion starters for small group study, The Plan A Woman promises to help woman believe that God does have special plans for her, even in this Plan B world.

Something Extra:

The Plan A Woman in a Plan B World, by Debbie Taylor Williams
“You’re Not the Only One Who Missed Plan A” Chapter 1 excerpt, pages 23-27.

God Has an A+ Plan for Your Life

“I know the plans that I have you for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”Jeremiah 29:11

If ever a convention were held for women who feel they’ve missed Plan A, the room
would be filled. You’d undoubtedly hear comments like these:

“My husband left me when our children were three and five,” one woman might say.

“I’ve always dreamed of being married and having children. But I’m single with no hope of marriage.”

“My Prince Charming turned into an abuser.”

“I was fired from the company I built from the ground up.”

“My child died of leukemia.”

Biblical Plan A Women in a Plan B World

Not only do we hear the voices of friends today, but we also can imagine the voices of those whose lives are recorded in the Bible. Perhaps if we caught each one at the moment she was hit with her Plan B, we might have heard something like the following:

“Adam and I were supposed to live happily ever after in Eden. My oldest son was not supposed to kill his brother.”—Eve

“I thought Abraham and I would have children when we were young.”—Sarah

“I thought I’d live a quiet life. I never dreamed I’d become a queen—or that the lives of so many people would depend on me risking mine.”—Esther

“My plan was to marry Joseph, then have children. Never did I imagine that I’d conceive a child by the Holy Spirit while a virgin. ”—Mary

As you can see, a long list of women in the Bible lived something other than what they must have considered their Plan A lives. No doubt, they appeared to be everyday women living ordinary lives: preparing meals; washing dishes and clothes; competing with other women; and experiencing problems with in-laws, children, infertility, sibling rivalry, and so on.

What they probably couldn’t see at the time, but what we have the opportunity to see now, is how God used them. Their lives counted for him and for eternity. Though at times some may have felt like appendages to their husbands and their husbands’ calling, while some may have felt lonely and isolated, God used each woman. Their names are recorded for eternity. God listened to these women’s prayers, intervened on their behalf, and met them where they were—in the desert, by a river, in a field, inside their homes. He met them in the midst of their daily responsibilities—drawing water, gleaning wheat, searching for infertility cures.

Did they know they weren’t rocking mere infants but future kings? Did they realize they weren’t just dressing babies but grooming leaders? Not simply singing psalms to toddlers but planting scriptures in the minds of prophets?

God had an A+ plan for these women even though they didn’t know it at the time. God has an A+ plan for your life too.

-Used by permission Leafwood Publishers


Lavonda

2 comments:

Cindy said...

I think that someone has been reading my mind. This is an amazing post. Have you read the whole book? I assume that you have. I may have to put it into my list of books for someday to read. Hope that you have more adventures tomorrow in your traveling. Can't wait to hear about them.

Lavonda Pflug said...

Cindy,
I am reading this book now. So far it is good. I hope to do my own review on it when I am finished.
This post was provided by the publisher.
I don't know any woman who has never faced disappointments or experienced some "Plan B." We can all relate.
Thanks for sharing your comments with us. :)