Welcome
I hope you are doing
well and enjoying your children.
Make time to let your children
know today how glad you are that
God gave them to you. You do know
they are gifts from God. I told
my children they were gifts from
God when they were little and
they went around telling others
they were presents from God. Amen!!
To you new CWM sisters in Christ,
Welcome!! If you have any questions
about our CWM community visit
www.christianworkingmom.com
or send me an email to Kimberly@kimberlychastain.com.
I always love to hear from my
CWM sisters in Christ.
Prayer Partner
Needed
One of the most
special and precious things about
the CWM community are the virtual
prayer partners. CWMs are linked
with one another and agree to
pray for one another’s needs.
I have heard some wonderful stories
of women all over the globe making
new friends and prayer partners
through email. I have a CWM who
would like a prayer partner. If
you would like one as well send
an email to Kimberly@kimberlychastain.com
and put prayer partner in the
subject heading.
Article- How do
you smell to others?
I bet when you read
the title to this article you
wondered what in the world I was
talking about. First, of all I’m
not talking about your personal
hygiene or what perfume you wear.
As children of God we put off
a certain aroma to those around
us. Listen to this verse, “Therefore
be imitators of God, as beloved
children. And walk in love, as
Christ loved us and gave himself
up for us, a fragrant offering
and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians
5:2.
As Christians we
actually give off two different
aromas. First, before we talk
about those aromas I want to ask
you some questions to consider
about your work place:
1. How do others
see you? Are you seen as helpful
at work or a complainer?
2. Are you there to listen to
others when they are hurting
or do you try to avoid difficult
people? (Within reason, we can’t
spend an inordinate time at
work listening to others problems).
3. Does your boss see you as
a hard worker or do you try
to get out of work early?
4. Do your co-workers see you
as honest? Making the hard decisions
when no one is watching.
5. Do your co-workers see Jesus
in you?
All of us have
bad days at work, but we are being
watched by others to see how we
react. Does being a Christian
really make a difference in how
we live? When the storms come
into our lives do we look different
from the nonbelievers? Do we have
a quiet peace about us in the
midst of the storm?
Let’s look
at the two aromas we send out
as Christians. Listen to 2 Corinthians
2:15-16, “For we are a fragrance
of Christ to God among those you
are being saved and among those
who are perishing; to the one
an aroma from death to death,
to the other an aroma from life
to life. And who is adequate for
these things?”
First of all the
gospel of Christ, as it goes out
is sweet smelling, but it is not
always received as such. To people
around us who are interested in
knowing Christ they are attracted
to our aroma, because it smells
of life – eternal life.
The people around us may not know
it at the time, but that distinct
fragrance and aroma we have as
Christians is desirable. Often
unbelievers can’t put their
finger on what is different about
us, but there is something attractive
in the way we lead our lives.
Now, the difficult
aroma is to those who reject Christ.
We smell of death, because our
very presence screams Christ.
To reject Christ is to accept
death, eternal death. We are confronting
them, even if we don’t use
words, about their eternal judgment.
Have you ever been around someone
who rejects Christ and they accuse
you of judging them when you haven’t
said a word? I have. It is definitely
uncomfortable. Our very existence
cries out God’s law and
his judgment. People don’t
want to face their sin or how
God views sin. The fact that we
as Christians have certain standards
and morals is a foul smell to
them. We see more and more how
Christians in our culture are
made fun of and hated. The reason
we are mocked is we represent
Christ. We really shouldn’t
be surprised. Christ was rejected
by men. Since, we represent Christ
we will be rejected as well. The
more people see Jesus in us the
more they will reject us if they
are rejecting the Savior. That
is a very hard truth for us to
accept, especially if we want
to be liked by others. If someone
absolutely rejects all things
Christ represents then we will
be rejected.
So, as Christians
how do we spread our aroma? Here
are just a few suggestions
1. Realize we
are being watched as followers
of Christ. That doesn’t
mean we have to be perfect.
It does mean we are Christ ambassadors
and need to represent him faithfully
and honestly.
2. There will be those around
us who think we smell of death.
They won’t say it that
way. It is our job to share
the gospel by how we live, but
ultimately it is up to God to
convict them of their sin. Realize
when they don’t like us
they really don’t like
who we represent.
3. Find ways in your everyday
life to spread the sweet fragrance
of Christ. Take that extra step
in the check-out line to make
eye contact with the cashier
and ask her how her day is going.
Pray for those at work you are
having difficulties with and
ask God’s wisdom in how
to handle the situation.
4. We need to spread Christ
aroma at home as well. Do we
treat our family with less respect
than we do co-workers? Are we
less patient with our children
than other peoples’ children?
Our children are watching for
how we smell of Christ as well.
5. Ask God daily for you to
be a faithful witness and sweet
smelling to all those around
you.
My prayer for all of us is that
we are faithful witnesses for
God and his gospel and to all
those around us our aroma will
be sweet. To those who reject
Christ we can continue to pray
for them and show them the love
of Christ. So, go out there and
be smelly for Christ!!
Final Thoughts
Please know you can “win”
no one to Christ by yourself.
God calls us and draws us to himself.
God does the saving, we just do
the sharing. So, if someone rejects
the gospel when you are sharing
it with them, do not try to badger
them into the Kingdom. You are
planting a seed that someone may
reap later. Our job is to share
Christ with others and leave the
results to God.
Till next time,
Kimberly M. Chastain
Kimberly M. Chastain,
MS, LMFT is the Christian Working
Mom Coach and a Licensed Marriage
and Family Therapist. She is the
author of The Voices of Christian
Working Moms, 2 ebooks and an
online Bible study. To find out
how to receive coaching tips by
email daily, go to http://www.kimberlychastain.com/cwmtips.htm.
To find out more about her books
go to www.christianworkingmom.com.
For a free, initial coaching session
send an email to free@kimberlychastain.com.
