Woman of the Month…Tina Yeager!

On January 24, 2011July 1, 2011 By femmefuelIn FemmeInterviews by Sasha Katz, Transform YourselfLeave a comment

I met Tina Yeager through her leadership position in a local foster care organization. As I got o know her, I was impressed by her warm, professional manner and passion for serving the community. As it turns out, like most of FemmeFuel writers and followers, she does the balancing act—Business Owner, Committed Mom, Christian Leader and Writer. She is absolutely qualified to be our very interesting woman for January 2011. I hope you enjoy her candid thoughts on femininity, relationships and being a single mom. Feel free to post your comments and ask questions—she will be with us all week! – AbbyA

AbbyA: What fuels the Godly woman?

Tina Yeager: The Godly woman is fueled by a desire to please the Lord. Instinctively, we dedicate our lives to nurturing those around us. As mothers, we spend endless hours on homework, laundry and taking care of the daily basics such as homework, meals, baths, prayer and even discipline. As women, I feel giving back to the less fortunate and raising children who understand and walk in true relationship with Jesus is what the Lord is calling us to do. Each day, as we grow closer to the Lord, we are able to make wiser and wiser decisions and avoid the self-gratifying and self-serving decisions which give us that instant gratification we so craved as non-Christian women.

I pray Psalm 51:10 frequently: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Even in my early days of serving the Lord, I struggled with allowing God to fuel my desires versus worldly desires guided by my own emotions. I have made so many mistakes in the past because I didn’t understand spiritual warfare and the need for putting on the full armor of God as described in Ephesians 6:10-18. Now what fuels me is knowing that I helped someone in need, seeing my friends come to Christ and even sharing my testimony with others so that they understand what redemption means and that Jesus loves us despite of ourselves. Although my struggles were many, with God’s Grace, Love and Strength, I am able to live in victory—knowing that the women I share with, gain hope and strength from learning this about me, fuels me to continue on my mission.

What is my mission? 1) To help women and children overcome abuse, neglect and hardship; 2) To teach them that, if we surrender our hurts and pasts to the Lord, choose to let go of them, forgive others and press forward, anything is possible with Jesus in us.

We simply have to truly surrender and not let Satan control our thoughts, emotions or decisions in any way. This comes not from just being a Christian, but from true relationship with God. Many women do not understand what true relationship means because we were never shown what healthy relationships looked like as children. True relationship means simply spending time with the Lord every day (sometimes minute-by-minute), talking, listening, reading His Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us in all decisions.

When we make a decision, do we ask Jesus his opinion or do we simply make the decision and then pray that He will bless it? See the difference? I didn’t, for many years. I am fueled and fired up for Jesus and sharing Him with others. How about you? What fuels you?

Tina Yeager has been an RN for 18 years and the CEO/owner of Ocean to Ocean Healthcare since 1995. She has been nominated for “Business Woman Of The Year” by the South Florida Business Journal. Tina is currently chair of the development council for 4Kids of South Florida, an organization committed to meeting the needs of foster care children. She is also active in a community outreach endeavor that benefits The Boys and Girls Club of Broward County. This endeavor is called “Dunn’s Run”. Tina sits as the chairperson for this annual community event where proceeds go directly to The Boys and Girls Club, and is also a corporate board member and chair of the volunteer committee.

What You DO Matters

On January 21, 2011 By femmefuelIn Transform YourselfLeave a comment

Do you divide the world into “spiritual jobs” (e.g., missionary work) and “secular jobs” (e.g., account executive at ABC Company)?

Do you ever sit in your cubicle thinking, “I’m just a pencil-pusher. What I do here doesn’t really matter in the great scheme of things.”

Do you send out resumes, hoping to find a job that has “real meaning and purpose”?

Is your vocation a part of your spiritual calling?

Check out this article by Scot McKnight, as published in Relevant Magazine, where he maintains that, “Your vocation, which in so many ways is unique to you, can genuinely matter if you keep your eyes on the Kingdom of God as your guiding North Star.”

The Power to Invent

On January 20, 2011January 19, 2011 By femmefuelIn Transform YourselfLeave a comment

According to the Boston Globe, “Young women have all the characteristics to be inventors but do not regard innovation as their forte, a self perception that deprives the United States of an untapped group of creative talent.”

Do you have the gift of invention? Of creativity? Then why aren’t you using these gifts? Here’s what scripture has to say about your ability to invent and create…

Exodus 35:31-32

And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze.

Ephesians 2:10

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Genesis 1:27

So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created Him; male and female He created them.

Amos 4:13

For behold, He who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is His thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the Lord, the God of hosts, is His name!

Colossians 3:23

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

Exodus 31:1-6

The Lord said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. …

Genesis 1:26

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Psalm 104:24

O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom have You made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures.

1 Corinthians 14:13-17

Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up.

Exodus 25:1-40

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for Me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for Me. And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair, tanned rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood, …

Jeremiah 10:12

It is He who made the earth by His power, who established the world by His wisdom, and by His understanding stretched out the heavens.

Psalm 150:1-6

Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens! Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with lute and harp! Praise Him with tambourine and dance; praise Him with strings and pipe! Praise Him with sounding cymbals; praise Him with loud clashing cymbals! …

Joshua 1:8

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

In God’s Hands

On January 19, 2011January 19, 2011 By femmefuelIn Transform YourselfLeave a comment

In God’s Hands is a faith and fashion-based clothing line, designed by Lauren Lusk, whose husband, Jeremy Lusk, died in a motorcross accident. Read how she changed this tragedy into triumph in CNN’s Belief Blog.

Now check out her glam-rock style fashions here…

How will you transform your tragedy into triumph this year? Isn’t it time to stop mourning, and start creating?

Chinese Mom? American Mom? Godly Mom?

On January 18, 2011January 19, 2011 By femmefuelIn Transform YourselfLeave a comment

Many of you paid close attention to the drama that unfolded last week when Amy Chua’s article was featured in the Wall Street Journal about, “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior.” Pros and cons in the debate between Eastern vs. Western methods of parenting were amplified all throughout the web. However, silent in these exchanges were what kind of parenting style was God’s preferred style.

The Christianity Today women’s blog, Her.meneutics, recently provided some insight as to what God might think of this discussion. What kind of parent will you be transformed into this year? Check it out…

The True, Eternal Time Keeper

On January 17, 2011August 27, 2011 By femmefuelIn Best of Sasha Katz, FemmeFeatures by Sasha Katz, Transform Yourself3 Comments

By AbbyA

Time. There have been times in my life when I planned ahead. I planned for who I would be and in what time of my life I would be “her.” I planned for things like becoming a Supreme Court Justice and for being a stay at home mom. I planned for a wedding before I had a date. I planned for walking the red carpet in a very, large fancy dress to a charity gala in which I had raised a lot of funds. I remember planning to be famous when I was four – – I insisted on wearing a night gown to school fancying myself to be different, and therefore, famous. I planned on famous again when I was twelve making my brother take a video of me ballet dancing – – of course, the video would capture the priceless dancing of the young woman before her upcoming fame. I always had something quite big in store for myself. But in the deepest part of my heart, I often felt very small.

Time. It is the planning ahead that minimizes the ups and maximizes the downs of this life. I will have you know that I am neither a Supreme Court Justice nor a stay at home mom. It is the planning ahead that later causes us to “discover” we have fallen short, taken a wrong turn or missed the mark altogether. I have never worn a large, fancy dress anywhere (except to prom). The calculation of time judges our understanding of our successes and failures. And, finally, I am not famous. The circling of numbers measures you. It measures you. How are you holding up under the weight of time?

Time. The digital glow that gets you up. The tick tock that pushes you out. Alarm dings for when to leave, who to call, where to meet. Married by thirty? Boy and girl? Keep trying. Either way, get it done by thirty-five. Did you have them potty trained by two? Were they reading by five? Mortgage to pay by the tenth. Kids to pick up by three. Mouths to feed by six. Work begins, work ends. Client I missed? Who can I text while I am waiting in line? Grocery list? Who will I call to set plans straight? Efficient or not. Behind or ahead. You’re middle-aged by forty.

Time. Feeling quite small under its suppression? Mind you, it’s temporary. There is a time not too far ahead of this temporal place. Eternity. Where there is no time. Where a day is a thousand years and a thousand years is a day. Where we arrive as the completed “her” without any planning ahead. Where we wear large, fancy dresses and are quite famous in His eyes. Where the depth of the mind and the sweetness of the soul replace the ticking of the clock. Where we will be thriving in the light rather than striving in the shadow of time.

Time. If you can catch the “what you planned” without fine sieving it through the net of time, you will find a few jewels. You will find that you may have attended a gala event in lovely navy pants for a cause in which you raised some money. You will find that God did not plan for you to be a Supreme Court Justice, but a lawyer and a very good mom. You will find that feeling quite small is a reminder of the very big unfailing love that the Father has for you.

Time. You will find that planning ahead is a journey in which time is not a marker or a judge. You will find that planning ahead is about subject matter and substance. It is about building a life and not a list. It is about establishing principles and surrendering failures. It is about coming home after being far away. It is about a map that takes on many forms, but always brings you home.

Time. This time I have with you. I want to draw with you a map where the points of interest are subject matter and substance. It is for the woman wearing many hats who desires a map that brings her home. You will find this map to cover both the what we do and who we are. It will change the way you plan ahead. It will appeal to our familiarity with the temporal but set our minds on the true, eternal Time Keeper. Love to you until next time.