A small coffee shop in an obscure neighborhood in Warsaw, Poland, became a place of forever inspiration for me. Sitting with a beloved friend, one of the first women in our ministry outreach in Poland, I longed to unearth thoughts deeply influencing her unusual fervor for Christ. Her commitment to Him had cost her greatly. She had been questioned several times by the secret police and had borne years of financial challenge while seeking to live on a small salary. She didn’t want to work long hours; she wanted to preserve time in her daily calendar to encourage women around her. Sacrificing so much to live as a believer in a Communist country, she pressed forward knowing that persecution and difficulty lay ahead. Why?

“I learned that Jesus is the King of the universe,” she said. “As His child, I understood that because I was related to Him, I was a princess, royalty, personal worth, something I never found in Communism. That gives me great value as a human being. I never found that sense of self anywhere else. Living as God’s child gives me purpose, meaning, forever love.”

We long to know our lives can make a real difference— that our being alive and making right choices isn’t just a duty but also a heart-gripping reality that will make a purposeful impact in the lives of others. When we seek to encourage and personally affirm those who come across our path, we are cultivating in them an understanding of their great worth to Christ. We are instilling within them a hope that they, with their unique personalities, skills, and circumstances, are playing a part.

That’s what discipleship is— captivating hearts with a passion for Christ and teaching others to commune with Him through the seasons of their lives. Discipleship, then, is not about indoctrination. Discipleship is about the heart. So now is the time for Christians— the Christ ones— to emulate His greatness, excellence, beauty, civility, redemption, care, and truth that conquers all.

When women are filled with the strength, love, wisdom, and celebration of the Spirit, the next generation will catch the fire of their passion. What about you? Can you lean into the strength, wisdom, love, and gentleness of your sweet Savior and then come out of His presence giving a fragrance of His reality?

Together, in this week's Teatime Discipleship Book Club, you and I will learn how being called to a life of discipleship means taking a step of faith. We will learn how, out of compassion and sympathy for others, to take the initiative and reach out, provide a place for friendship, and seek to be the hands, heart, and words of God to those near you who long for this. Together, we will become life-givers.

Step One: If you haven't yet purchased your copy of the book, you can click the link below to grab one!

Step Two: Read Section 3: Light a Candle in Teatime Discipleship

Step Three: Read the questions for this week (at the bottom of this email) click over to the forum (the button to the post is in the email, as well!), and post your answers. I'll pick someone who posted in the forum for the book club to gift a new copy of the deluxe edition of Mom Heart Moments.

Step Four: To go deeper with what you're reading and discussing, you can download the Heart of a Disciple journal, listen to my exclusive podcast episode, or even participate in the all-new retreat! You can utilize all of the resources, or just what meets you where you are right now.

Buy Teatime Discipleship

This Week's Reading: Section 3: Light a Candle

After you read this week's reading assignment, hop over to the Life With Sally Forum (button below) to join the discussion for our book club! Here is what we will be thinking, discussing, and pondering over on the forum:

Question #1

In my letter to you this week, I talked about how discipleship is captivating hearts with a passion for Christ and teaching others to commune with Him through the seasons of their lives. Discipleship, then, is not about indoctrination. Discipleship is about the heart. So now is the time for Christians—the Christ ones—to emulate His greatness, excellence, beauty, civility, redemption, care, and truth that conquers all.

Do you take the initiative to reach out, provide a place for friendship, and seek to be the hands, heart, and words of God to those near you who long for this? How does Christ’s last command to “make disciples” apply to you, right here and right now? How can you be a disciple of Christ, ready to make disciples?

Question #2

Life is a long, complicated, difficult story for most of us. But when we add up a life of faithfulness—years of serving God and accumulating maturity, grace, knowledge, wisdom, and forgiveness—we will see that those years and that life have been made of thousands of moments where we chose to practice greatness, one situation at a time. Our story becomes a masterpiece, one small stroke at a time.

God has given us this opportunity, today, to invest our lives for His glory. But greatness requires endurance and perseverance. What does God require of us to accomplish His work? A steadfast heart, mind, and work ethic. A determination to keep going, keep seeking, keep trusting, keep moving ahead by faith.

What might you do today to help your focus shift from the situation immediately surrounding you to the eternal, unseen glory that is being worked out through those situations?

Question #3

Jesus became my model of a different way of leaving a legacy. He gave His life for my benefit—freely, generously. As He chose to serve me, us, I have understood that service is what I must pursue as well. It is natural to be self-absorbed, supernatural to serve others. And in choosing to be a servant, I know I cannot frivolously throw words around that might cause hurt or a sense of failure in the lives of others. And so, I have learned little by little to give love and forgiveness, serving because I know it to be the only way to heal and be restored. He alone showed me how.

Is it easy for you to offer forgiveness, apologize, or choose peace? Becoming a peacemaker in this world is an act of will, an obedience of conscience where we serve God by doing what is right. Today, how can you take one small step in choosing to be a peacemaker.

Join the Discussion on the Forum