Charissa Dowdy {Be Encouraged with Kristina}

Dear friends, I have someone very special to introduce you to today! Her name is Charissa Dowdy and she is one of the sweetest young women you will ever meet! I had the honor of getting to know Charissa this past April at the Pursuing the Light (now Delight!) Retreat. I have been so impressed by the way that Charissa loves and serves those around her! She has encouraged me in so many ways and so who better to share with you than this darling girl! I know she will encourage you too as you read her thoughts and hear from her heart. I love you all, Kristina

“Is not the Lamb that was slain worthy to receive the reward of His suffering?”

-Paris Reidhead

As the eyes of my heart were opened and the veil removed, I realized the God who created the universe was a worthy God. The YahWeh that chose vibrant oranges and reds to burn the evening sky as the sun fades from my view– is worthy. This Heavenly Father does not deserve wayward glances and hateful remarks. He deserves the praise of the very people He created.

So what am I gonna do with all His worthiness?

I, myself, being hard-hearted and apathetic towards the very One who gave it all, could do nothing. And once I realized that I was totally incapable, that I had nothing to offer which He Himself had not given me, He beckoned me forth. He called me His own and when the Father looked at me He saw His beloved Son, the One He loves most.
Get this: the Father shares the greatest love with His Son. They love Each other perfectly and fully. Yet, for some unfathomable reason, the Father sent the Son to die for you. To die for me. He gave His greatest Treasure in exchange for my measly, rock-hard heart.

Once I saw this, what else could I do? The precious Lamb that was slain deserved so much more than I could offer Him, but I gave Him all I had: myself. My body, soul, heart, desires, everything.

He took, as I gave, each of those things and began to make them into something much more beautiful than I ever could have imagined.
He began to turn me outward. Revealing the great difference between convenient Christianity and crucified Christianity, the God of Heaven made it clear that this Christian thing was not merely a part of my life, but rather, the entirety. The purpose of my existence. This God that radiates love wants His people to fully know His glory. He wants His children to give all for His sake. While He was willing to give His very Son, He asks that we be willing to give our very lives. Our very lives for the Gospel. Mediocrity is not allowed in the Kingdom of Heaven. Neither is apathy. He asks that we give all and do all for Hi

m while He Himself provides exactly what we need to do that.

Day by day, as I see the Cross, I realize more and more the worthiness of my King. I remember the death that He suffered and then die myself, so that the Loveliest of all can live through me.

There, I just gave you what I spend everyday, but especially Saturdays, thinking and talking about. On Saturdays I invade my church with pink. Pink tablecloths, pink candles, pink plates- everything pink. Why? Pink is as feminine as you can get. Then, I fill teapot upon teapot full of some extravagant loose-leaf tea. I stick a sign on the door and thank the Lord for this exciting opportunity. Then, with my lovely co-leader and dear friend, I great 12 girls one or two at a time as they arrive. We gawk over tea and treats and get some soft music playing in the background. Over the next 2 hours we will learn of the worthiness of our King. We will learn how He deserves all and we will talk about women who have given their lives to Him and the work of the Kingdom, such as Amy Carmichael or [my personal favorite] Sabina Wurmbrand.

As we come, God calls us to rid ourselves of any mamby-pamby Christianity in our lives and shows us how to practically live for Him. Some will describe the struggle to truly give all, others will share ideas of how to give Him more one step at a time. We all have one thing in common: we are all responding to the call of our precious Jesus found in Song of Songs 2:10: “rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away”. No matter where each girl stands in the depth of her relationship with her King, our goal is to see each girl go deeper and know Him better than they ever did before.

Elizabeth Elliot says that “the preoccupations of young women do not change very much from generation to generation. But in every generation there seem to be a few who make other choices”.

So, dear friends, this would be my encouragement to you: be one of the few. The few who respond to the worthiness of our King.