 |
|---|
|
|---|
______________ ______________
|
Interview With
Lysa TerKeurst is a wife to Art, mom to five priority blessings and a nationally known speaker. She is an award-winning author of 11 books including her latest, What Happens When Women Say Yes to God. She has been featured on Focus on the Family, Family Life Today, Good Morning America, Woman's Day Magazine, “O” Magazine and on the Oprah Show. She is the co-host of the Proverbs 31 Ministry’s national radio program, which airs daily on over 1,200 stations as well as a writer for the ministry’s e-mail devotions called "Encouragement for Today," reaching more than 210,000 subscribers every day. It is my privilege to connect with Lysa this month, and introduce to you this wonderful woman of faith. So without further ado, here is our interview... I recently discovered that you are the president of Proverbs 31 Ministries. I’ve been hearing so much about it this past year, and it’s all been good. :) How long has it been around, and what is the passion of that ministry? We do this with our daily e-mail devotions that reach 250,000 subscribers, our one-minute radio segments, our monthly magazine called “The P31 Woman,” and through our speaking engagements conducted by our team of speakers. The funny thing about me being the president of this ministry is that when I was asked to help with the ministry 14 years ago, I’d never read Proverbs chapter 31. After three months of helping out with a few projects, it dawned on me that it might be a good idea to read the ministry’s Scriptural basis. When I did, I told God He’d picked the wrong gal. Since then, God has been teaching me that the foundation to the Proverbs 31 woman’s life wasn’t her perfect performance. Rather it was in the choice she made to follow after Him wholeheartedly. Despite her shortcomings, He made her life count for a rich and wonderful purpose. I want that same thing for my life and for every life that we touch through this ministry. I love that story Lisa! And your point that He doesn't need our head knowledge or expert performance--He desires our heart. I know that you’ve written several books, but I want to ask you about What Happens When Women Say Yes to God: Experiencing Life in Extraordinary Ways. Can you briefly tell our readers what that book has to offer?
By answering “yes” to God in your own life, you have experienced extraordinary blessings—two in particular being your two eldest children. Can you share that experience with our readers, starting from the moment you first heard God’s voice? We walked into the concert simply expecting an afternoon of entertainment. But God had so much more planned. The boy’s music was beautiful and captivating. They sang from the depths of their soul about the joy of the Lord. It was such a joyous event until half way through the concert we learned the horrific story of why the boys were touring in America. Fifteen years before rebel forces had moved into Liberia. They would move from village to village killing all of the men, women, and older children, leaving the babies to die among their parent’s dead bodies. Each of the boys that stood singing before us that night had been one of those babies. They’d been rescued and taken to an orphanage where they’d grown up. They ranged in age from 11- 14 years. The choir was sent to America to raise money and awareness. As the boys got back up to sing, I was stunned. As the boys got back up to sing, God clearly spoke straight to my heart informing me that two of those boys were ours. I tried to ignore it, but I just couldn’t. After the concert, everything in me wanted to grab my little girl’s hands and run out the back door of the church. But something in my soul compelled me to walk forward and ask some questions. After a few minutes, two of the boys walked up to me, wrapped their arms around me and called me Mom. It's awe-inspriring to think that even when those boys were being formed by the Creator's hands, our Father had already chosen you. I think it's amazing that God made a way for them to find you. What was your husband’s reaction, when you first approached him with the idea of growing your family? Oh, I can imagine! :) I honestly never thought he would agree. But God. God literally chased both of us around with confirmations. One day on his way to work Art called me and asked me to start the adoption paperwork. I watched your adoption story on Oprah. How exciting! I love how you glowed like a new mom. Do you know how her show found out about your family, and what was your reaction when they contacted you? Eventually, more kids were adopted from that same orphanage in Liberia by other families. Two years after we adopted our boys, one of the moms heard about a contest that Good Morning America was running. They were looking for several groups of friends that had amazing stories. We were one of the groups chosen to win a week long cruise hosted by Diane Sawyer and Gayle King. Gayle is Oprah’s best friend who also works as the editor for O Magazine. She decided she wanted to run a story about our families. That article ran in the December 2006 magazine. And I guess Oprah reads her own magazine so it wasn’t long before the producers called and inquired about having us as guests on her show. To be honest I was very hesitant at first. I don’t agree with some of Oprah’s teachings right now. I didn’t want God to be taken out of the story. Without Him there would be no story. So, at first we declined the opportunity. Then the producers came back and agreed to keep in all references to God and prayer. At first, the story was only supposed to be a two minute clip. But when we went into the interview, Oprah requested that the cameras continue to roll. When the show aired, the truth of God and the power of prayer were openly preached on national TV. Yes! I noticed that too. Actually it's through your website that I found the video clip, because I'm not an Oprah watcher myself, so I missed it when it originally aired. But I loved that God was such a major focus of the piece! I also saw the other adoptive families on the show with you. How many of your friends followed your lead, and said “yes” to God too? That is truly amazing. Praise God! Bringing two teenage boys from Liberia, Africa into an American family home, could be quite a culture shock for them. What are some things your family has experienced in the transition of blending two cultures? My boys had never learned to respect the authority of a mom and dad’s leadership within a home. They had never learned how to feel secure that their needs would be provided for. They had never had the love and attention of a family before. So, we spent time intentionally working on all these things. It was especially important for my husband to establish his role as the man of the home in an authoritative yet grace-filled way. He taught my boys how to properly respect me, my girls and others. We taught them basic manners like how to answer the phone, how to have eye contact with people who address them and how to properly shake someone’s hand. We also kept establishing that we were their forever family which meant our love and provision would always be there for them. I especially like the "forever family" part. Security is something many of us take for granted, I can't imagine the expectant fear of losing it. I think my girls think it’s very cool having two older brothers. Having brothers who were once orphans, has helped my girls have an awareness about the world that they would not have otherwise. If you ask my girls how many kids they want to have when they grow up, they would be quick to tell you how many they want to have and how many they want to one day adopt. Your story had inspired my daughter with the same hope of one day adopting. She wants me to take care of it now, but I'm not hearing that call on my life. ;) At times many women have asked themselves, “Is this really God’s voice, or is it my own?” How do you decipher between the two? I think the more I fill my mind and heart up with God’s truth, the more I am able to hear and understand His voice. Also, I ask Him to help me understand what He wants to say to me and spend time listening for His direction in my devotion time each day. It is part of growing in my relationship with Him. But there are 5 questions I will ask if trying to determine if something I’m hearing is from God or not:
Can you share a scripture with us that God has recently placed on your heart? This causes me to pause. To step back from my life. To do a little reflecting and soul searching. What is the overflow in my life? Is it frustrated attitudes of grumbling? Or is it praise and thanksgiving? During the course of my ordinary days, do people ever see my reaction to situations and take note that I have been with Jesus? Peter and John went on to say“… we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20) The challenge in this verse is so penetrating I can hardly get it out of my mind. As a matter of fact, it is part of what inspired my next book to be released by Zondervan in October 2009. It will be a book, Bible Study, and DVD teaching series called, “Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl.”Lysa, thank you so much for being our guest this month. The spelling of your name has kept me ever on my toes. :) You are truly an inspiration to women, and an encouragement to us that we turn ear toward God with great expectation. I'd like to invite our readers to visit your website at: www.lysaterkeurst.blogspot.com
|
______________
 ______________
|
CWO Cover
