Soul Inspiration: The Triumphant Testimony of a Praying Wife
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About this ebook
This book is for any woman who wants to be truly happy and receive the abundance of God in her life, marriage and family.
Sheritha Bowman is the author of This Too Shall Pass: Meditations, Affirmations and Encouragement for My Sisters and publisher of the mini-magazine, The Inner Woman. Bowman, a Spiritual counselor and minister of the Gospel, facilitates workshops and renders the word of God nationally. She lives in Maryland with her husband and their three children.
Sheritha Bowman
Sheritha Bowman is a devoted Christian who believes Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. She is the author of "This Too Shall Pass: Meditations, Affirmations & Encouragement for My Sisters" and publisher of The Inner Woman, a mini magazine for women that promotes spiritual growth and self-awareness. Sheritha is a member of From the Heart Church Ministries in Temple Hills, Maryland under the leadership of Pastor John A. Cherry.
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Soul Inspiration - Sheritha Bowman
Contents
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
UNEQUALLY, WHAT?
MY STORY: HOW I BECAME UNEQUALLY YOKED WITH A GRASSHOPPER
SPIRITUAL TRANSITIONING
DON’T GIVE UP!
SUBMISSION: THE WAY WE SHOW GOD’S LOVE
RIDING THE STORMS
PRAYER: THE WEAPON FOR SPIRITUAL WARFARE
LOVE, LOVE, CRAZY LOVE
TAKING TIME OUT FOR SUPERWOMAN
HE MAY STILL LEAVE THE TOILET SEAT UP
PEACE IN THE MIDST OF IT ALL
AFTERWORD
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With total adoration and love,
I dedicate this book to my husband, Kevin.
I thank God for you.
PREFACE
Soul Inspiration: The Triumphant Testimony of a Praying Wife is a book of inspiring and encouraging anecdotes written for any woman who has ever felt like giving up. Although geared to the woman married to the unbeliever or carnal minded husband, this book is for any woman who believes in prayer and everlasting love.
I used to cry my eyes out over the fact that my husband wasn’t saved and didn’t go to church. It hurt me to my heart to walk in church each Sunday without my husband by my side. I wanted to yell to the entire congregation, I’m married and my husband loves me, but he just won’t come to church!
For years, I ran around looking for a ministry that spoke to the heart of my situation. There was the Single’s ministry. Youth ministry. Music Ministry. Men and Women Fellowships. Helps Ministries. Where was the ministry that encouraged women who loved the Lord but just so happened to be married to an unbeliever? It was as if God said, What’s wrong with you? Why don’t you speak to the hearts of women married to unbelievers? Then I thought: Well, I do know firsthand what it’s like to be married to a man who doesn’t know Jesus. I also know what a wonderful change the Lord has made in my life as I have continued to trust in Him. But then I’m thinking, I’m the one seeking inspiration and encouragement, Lord. Then a voice deep within said, You receive inspiration and encouragement as you so give.
Thus I present my love offering to you.
Believe and receive,
Sheritha
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I will be forever grateful to the following people:
My mother, Sherry for your continued support and believing in me every step of the way.
My father, Lawrence for your words of strength and encouragement.
My precious children, Kevin, Sherel and Jeron. You make my heart smile.
Aunt Lu, thank you for speaking life whenever I needed a spiritual tune-up. Your words stirred my Spirit and helped sustain my faith in Jesus.
Georgianna, Lanetta, Vivian, LaTanya and Robin for the hours you put in reading and editing. Thank God for Sisters like you!
To my Gran
Margaret Cary for taking me to Sunday school where I first learned about God and His love.
To Jackie Dobson, for teaching me to trust Jesus and have peace in the midst of it all.
To Pastors Dwayne and Kitt Brewington for teaching me that the Word of God is POWER.
To Pastor Phillip W. Davis and Reverend Thomas Pumphrey who come out to I.C.O.G. every Sunday and teach me about God’s awesome love and faithfulness.
And Jesus Christ, my Mighty fortress. To You, I give all honor, praise and glory. Thank you for keeping me every step of the way and showing me the real meaning of love.
UNEQUALLY, WHAT?
For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband?
(1 Cor. 7:16)
Praise the Lord Sister! Before we get comfortable and begin fellowship-ping, I want to make sure you understand what it means to be married to an unbeliever. Or in other words, what it means to be unequally yoked.
The Bible tells us to Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers (2 Cor. 6:14).
When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we become new creatures. The things we used to do, slowly but surely pass away and all things become new. We aim for the light and do all that we can to avoid darkness. By all means, we try to live our lives according to our faith in Jesus Christ. In Galatians, Paul says it best:
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me (Gal 2:20).
Therefore, to intentionally unite with someone who has rejected Christ, who walks in darkness and lives life with no concern for their soul, is to go against the will of God and places you in a position where you are likely to compromise your faith.
There are three common ways a believer becomes unequally yoked:
1) An unbeliever marries another unbeliever, later one of you accepts Jesus Christ, which causes an unequally yoked marriage. The woman who received salvation after marrying her husband did not disobey God. God called her to salvation. Therefore, she should feel no guilt regarding her situation.
2) A believer marries out of total ignorance of what the Bible says about the intermarriage of a believer and an unbeliever. Many women receive salvation and barely open their Bibles to learn what God has to say about life and living. It’s not enough to be saved. Every Christian should seek God’s wisdom and counsel from the Holy Bible daily in order to learn what God’s will is for their lives.
3) A believer intentionally marries an unbeliever despite her knowledge of God’s commandment against marrying unbelievers. For whatever reason, you decided you just had to have him—saved or not. If you married an unbeliever intentionally, I hope and pray that you have repented and set your heart right with the Lord. 1st Samuel 16:7 says, "…. the Lord looketh on the heart."
If you are a woman married to an unbeliever, more than likely you fall into one of the above categories. Whether you married your unbelieving husband intentionally or you accepted Jesus Christ after you married your husband, know that God is a forgiving God:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
Every moment, the woman married to an unbeliever is reminded in some way of her unequally yoked situation. From feeling like the whole congregation is staring at you on Sunday morning as you walk in alone toting two and three kids. To ending up in a heated argument with your spouse because you decided to take a stand for Jesus. My intention is to build up your faith and trust in God. To help get you to a place where you are able to look beyond your circumstances. With the help of God, I hope to inspire you to cherish your marriage. I also want you to know that you are not alone. There are many women in the church today married to unbelievers who feel that the fullness of their lives can’t begin until after their husbands are saved. Well, I’m here to tell you that God has plans for your life now. While you’re going through. If you would trust Him with your whole heart, mind and soul, God will do a miraculous work in your marriage. Just trust Him.
MY STORY: HOW I BECAME UNEQUALLY YOKED WITH A GRASSHOPPER
One hot summer day in 1981.
It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got the go-go swing…I say doo-wop, doowop, doo-wop, doo-wop, doo-wop, doo-wop!,
sang two of my high school girlfriends and I as we sashayed down Benning Road in Northeast D.C. We were singing the Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers go-go remake of the Duke Ellington 50’s classic, It Don’t Mean A Thing.
I was one of those D.C. teenagers that grew up in the eighties when go-go music was all you thought about. Back when go-go music was alive and kicking—without the guns and the violence. If you are not familiar, the go-go I’m referring to is not a topless disco. The go-go I’m referring to is a musical sound that originated on the soulful streets of Washington D.C. in the early eighties (actually the late seventies for those who remember the free playground concerts). You could walk past street corners in D.C. (such as Georgetown or Downtown D.C.) and find an aspiring group of young boys banging on trash cans and buckets with sticks, spoons and forks. They created a sound such that if your eyes were closed, you would think they had real instruments. While the go-go imitators played the street corners, the groups that managed to save their summer job money and buy instruments played the high school gymnasiums and local nightclubs. This fresh, head-bobbing groove spread through the inner city like wildfire. Everybody was talking about go-go. At least everyone I knew. Most of the guys would walk around at school during lunchtime with their walkmen shrieking loud go-go. Some would even bring their boom boxes from their cars and sit them on the school steps