This post was written by Heather Patenaude. 

In 2008, when I attended my first True Woman Conference, I had no idea how God would use that weekend to set me on a new path in my walk with Christ. It was the day after my 34th birthday, and Mary Kassian’s message rocked my thinking. I was a feminist! The culture had infiltrated my mind way more than I cared to admit. God had some foundational repair work to do.

At the end of the weekend, I was more than thrilled to sign the True Woman Manifesto, and with gusto, I took this message back to my church and girlfriends. But I found out that most of my friends weren’t interested. I felt like I was hitting brick walls and eventually just got frustrated with even trying to talk about biblical womanhood. (Insert Heather not following the Holy Spirit here!)

By the time True Woman ’10 rolled around, I was beyond excited, longing for deep fellowship with other sisters. And that’s just what I got. I didn’t know it at the time, but God also had plans to peel back another layer and dig even deeper into my heart and attitude.

It started when Nancy Leigh DeMoss shared that she had just come from her cousin’s funeral, where the line to visit the family was hours long. She explained that her cousin didn’t have a big platform, but simply lived out biblical womanhood with her husband and sons. That impacted me greatly!

Then Holly Elliff said that we’re busy doing things, but are we busy doing the things God has called us to do? Those were two of the most impactful moments for me at True Woman ’10.

I came away from the conference knowing just what God wanted me to do:just do it. Just live out biblical womanhood with my husband and sons. Be a true woman in my home for an audience of One, the One who really matters.

A couple weeks later, I was listening to a podcast with Mary Kassian talking to Bob Lepine about The Art of Marriage. After looking over the website, praying about it, and talking to our pastors, my husband and I decided to host an Art of Marriage conference. That stirred in us a desire to do more marriage ministry.

Now, a year later, we have a newlywed ministry at our church and are pouring into the lives of five newlywed couples. These couples are watching our life, marriage, and family—watching us live out biblical manhood and womanhood.

I smile as I think how God had to rearrange my heart, attitude, and ideas. He was so tender and gracious with me. His patience is priceless!

This is why I am beyond excited to talk about True Woman ’12. If you want God to pick you up, put you on a new path, and do a new work in your heart, then plan on joining me in Indianapolis in September for True Woman ’12! I can’t wait to see what God has for me (and you!) next.

How about you? Did God rock your thinking at a True Woman Conference? I’d love to hear about it!

Related posts:

1. The True Woman ‘CLICK’
2. True Woman ’10
3. True Woman 08 – SOLD OUT

Meet Sharon Beougher, a high school Bible teacher at Christian Academy of Louisville. Sharon has a passion to help the girls in her school make wise decisions about how to live. She knows that some of the biggest “influencers” on young people are their teachers. So she intentionally uses the opportunity God has given her to make an impact in their lives. I asked Sharon to share how “Girls Gone Wise” helps her do this:

Girls Gone Wise by Mary Kassian has been a perfect book to do with high school girls at school.  The sessions are short enough to cover one or two points of contrast between the wise woman and the wild woman; each session include biblical truths pulled out of Proverbs 7, and they give practical ways to become a wise women.

As a teacher at school, I have found two different ways to use the material.  First, I invited the girls who had study hall to come to my room during my planning period on Fridays to study the book. Sometimes we would do just one session and some weeks we did two.  We discussed the highlights of the chapter, answered some of the questions on the worksheet (printed from their resources on-line) and I followed some very helpful suggestions from the leader’s guide on-line.

It was extremely helpful to have the leader’s guide and the worksheets for each young lady (which has just recently conveniently been put into a companion book).  The girls had the questions to think about and it made the discussion easy to keep going.

At the end of the study, I printed off the leader’s guide for the girls so that they could start a Bible study themselves with other girls (high school OR middle school).  These studies were planned to be a half hour before school.  I found this to be an easy way to not only to teach the girls about living a godly life, but to teach them to teach others!

The way I am using it this year at school is to have a Friday lunch Bible study where the girls come into my room with their lunches, and we cover just one chapter each week.  Doing it this way gives all the girls a chance to participate if they choose.  The girls who went through it last year will be facilitators of the lunch group and will help teach.  They can all register on the Girls Gone Wise blog and see video clips and other articles to add to their learning. This semester we have 30 freshman/sophomore girls going through it with the biology teacher and over 15 juniors and seniors (led by two of the girls that went through it last year)

My vision for the material is to introduce starting a new semester class splitting up the guys and girls and using it as part of an actual curriculum for a semester “girls only” class during their high school years.  I teach at one of the largest Christian school systems in the United States so I know that I have the freedom to teach Christian values to teenagers, but if a teacher at a public school wanted to meet with some girls outside of school at a coffee shop or a home, this is definitely a perfect book to use!

Sharon wants to challenge other teachers to intentionally reach out to young women. She says, “Let’s take the baton and disciple these young ladies that the Lord has entrusted to us for a short amount of time!”

We agree, and we salute you, Sharon, for loving these young women, and for exemplifying for them what it means to walk wisely in a world gone wild. Congratulations for being our Wise Thing of the month!

Do you have a Girls Gone Wise story to share?  Email us: office @ girlsgonewise dot com.

The Christian Academy School System serves almost 3,000 students in Preschool – 12th grade on four campuses in the Louisville and Southern Indiana area.  Christian Academy offers an excellent, well-balanced education to students that supports their efforts to reach their God-given potential in academics, athletics, missions, fine arts, and extracurricular activities. We intend for our students to know Jesus as their personal Savior, to know that God has a plan for their lives, and to be noticeably different because they think from a Biblical worldview.

Related posts:

1. Ludy & Gresh Join Girls Gone Wise
2. Girls Gone Wise Video Shoot
3. Cover Design for Girls Gone Wise

The first thing my husband said when he picked up and examined a copy was, “WOW!  This is really striking!”  And it is!  This new eight-week “True Woman 101 – Divine Design” Bible Study is  printed in full color. It’s bright. It’s bold. It’s beautiful! And it’s chock-full of great content! My friend, Nancy, and I spent many months writing it. I had thoroughly previewed a digital copy, but I gotta admit, the final product still WOW-ed me !

It was our aim to provide teaching on womanhood that went beyond cliched advice, shallow caricatures, and cookie-cutter solutions. We wanted to provide a resource with foundational teaching that could be applied to different stages and circumstances of life, and that would be just as applicable to the great-granddaughters of our generation as it is to us.  I think we hit the proverbial “nail on the head”! At least I hope and pray that we did.

Only seven days until True Woman 101 hits the shelves in stores–and until the launch of the new TrueWoman101.com website!

Watch the Promo Video:

• Download a Sampler
• Take advantage of pre-publication pricing! (Hurry – the offer is only good until March 1, 2012)

To celebrate getting my box of books, I’m giving away two free copies! Just leave a comment below, and I’ll draw two names from comments posted before Sunday, February 26, 2012 at midnight (CST)

Congratulations to Tamara Thompson and Rachelle H. –winners of the draw for the True Woman 101 Bible Study books!

(The draw is now closed)

Related posts:

1. Announcing True Woman 101 – Divine Design
2. True Woman 1829
3. True Woman ’10

The NEW Girls Gone Wise Companion Guides and DVDs hit store shelves this month! I’m excited about these new resources because they’ll help women study the book in a more intensive way–and help even more women go wise in a world gone wild! Just this week, I heard of a small group, a Sunday School class, a high school, and a women’s prison that are all using the new materials to launch Girls Gone Wise studies.

The video team and I had a lot of fun shooting the footage in Canada, Michigan, and Indiana. Here’s a look at the promotional video we put together:

(If the embedded video doesn’t display on your browser Click Here to watch the promo )

Over the next several days, I’ll be posting some sample content from the Companion Guide and DVD, and giving away free copies of these new resources. Help me spread the word by commenting, Tweeting, and Facebooking your friends about the new resources. Everyone who joins the “buzz” will be entered in a daily prize draw.

We’ll announce the first winner tomorrow.

Related posts:

1. Conversation Peace on DVD
2. Girls Gone Wise Video Shoot
3. Official Girls Gone Wise Release Date Today

True Woman 101 “Divine Design” Bible Study – Coming Soon!

click to download True Woman 101 Sampler

Whether it’s designer handbags, fashions, frames, or décor . . . women tend to gravitate toward designer brands because they’re the highest quality. They’re often the most attractive and beautiful. They’re authentic. They’re true to the designer’s exquisite specifications.

Did you know that God has a divine design for True Womanhood? His plan is absolutely spectacular! If you’re tired of the world’s cheap imitations and knock-offs—or if you’re tired of clichéd advice, shallow caricatures, and cookie-cutter solutions—then this eight-week Bible study with foundational teaching and insight from God’s Word by Mary A. Kassian and Nancy Leigh DeMoss is for you!

Thousands are tossing the world’s brand of womanhood and joining a quiet counter-Revolution. Find out why. Grab some girlfriends. Dig into the heart of true manhood and womanhood, and discover the beauty, joy, and fulfillment of being exactly who He created you to be. Best of all, learn how your life can put Christ and the gospel on display!

Reserve Your Copies – Save up to 45%

Endorsements

Related posts:

1. True Woman ’10
2. Cover Design for Girls Gone Wise
3. The True Woman ‘CLICK’