The Salvation Army Women's Ministries Texas

📢 Join a Global Movement for Justice! 🌍

The Salvation Army International Women's Ministries department invites you to participate in "Reflections on Justice," a powerful devotional series written by Salvation Army women worldwide.

Starting TODAY, November 1st, dive into daily Scripture readings, reflections, and prayers focused on making a real difference in the fight for justice.

This initiative coincides with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25th, reminding us of the urgent need for change.

Let's unite in prayer and action to create a more just world for all! 💪

📖 Join the "Reflections on Justice" reading plan:

On the web: https://salvationarmy.org/ihq/reflections-on-justice
On the Bible App: https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/51965 (Available in multiple languages!)

'Let justice roll like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!' - Amos 5:24

This November, you are invited to read Reflections on Justice, a series of daily devotional reflections written by women from around the Salvation Army world who have a passion and desire to help others in Christ's name.

As human beings, created in the image of a God who is just, may we seek to embody and cultivate a heart of justice too. As you read, pray and respond, may these reflections stir within you a deep desire to 'do something'.

🌍 Download the Reflections on Justice journal from Salvation Army Women at sar.my/wm

📖 Read on the Bible app: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/51965

📖 Day Four: Translating mountaintop praise into our daily living

‘Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.' (Hebrews 13:15)

Author Ann Voskamp writes, ‘We were made to live in a posture of grateful worship, and when we live in praise we live our purpose, and all the pieces fall in place, us all falling down in thanks.’

As we develop a daily posture of gratitude in a world filled with chaos, it will overflow into our witness and testimony. One of my favourite worship songs is ‘I Speak Jesus’. A particular line resonates within me: ‘Shout Jesus from the mountains, Jesus in the streets…’ May we always desire to proclaim his praise!

🤲 Challenge: How can you make praise a lifestyle? Every day you’ll praise him, every day you’ll share who Jesus is and every day you’ll speak the powerful name of Jesus.

🙏 Prayer: Lord, I pray my praise for you will be loud and bold, declaring you as the One who is holy and just, bringing joy and peace to our souls.

🌏 Through November, we are sharing in daily devotional readings of 'Reflections on Justice', a collection written by Salvation Army women from around the world. Read with us: https://salvationarmy.org/ihq/reflections-on-justice

Sometimes I think it would be nice if, after we prayed, I could get some sign that God has actually heard my prayer and is answering. I long for some spiritual equivalent of the little bubble dots in my phone messages when someone is replying; even if I can’t read the words yet, I know they’re coming.

But with the Lord, there are no websites I can check for “expected processing times” or “status updates” like there are for passports or job applications. There are no heavenly email autoresponders or tracking numbers with estimated delivery times.

Those little bubbles, email updates, and tracking apps all serve to let us know that “something” is happening. They remind us that we have not been forgotten, and our name and request is on someone’s radar. If we don’t get this kind of update after ordering something online, we get nervous: Were we heard? Did it work? Do we need to do it again?

While we may not get the confirmation email, with God we can have confidence that we’ve been heard when we pray. “Listen! The Lord is not too weak to save you, and he is not becoming deaf. He can hear you when you call.” - Isaiah 59:1

When you pray, God listens right away…

…He does not have “do not disturb” settings.
…He does not have vacation responders.
…He does not leave you on read.
…He will not ghost you.
…He will not laugh at your request.
…He will not forget.

We may not get an update letting us know our Father has “received our request and will respond to us shortly,” but we have something much more trustworthy. We have “great and precious promises,” as Peter describes them (2 Peter 1:4) to:

… hear our prayers as soon as we wake up (Psalm 5:1)
… open his ears to us (1 Peter 3:12)
… ask him confidently for anything, knowing he hears us (1 John 5:14)

As you pray, imagine settling yourself into his hands in quiet trust. He’s listening with love. He’s acting with power. He’s timing it perfectly. We don’t need to track every step of the process. God’s ways are faithful and true: on time, every time.

By Bronwyn Lea

My father-in-law once told me that in the end, you’re blessed if you have one or two friendships that truly stand the test of time. Having experienced a stinging string of friendships lost — through death, distance and devastating fallouts — I’ve found this reality check rather humbling. Maybe you can relate.

Thankfully, though, in Jonathan and David’s friendship (1 Samuel 18-23), we find conviction, comfort and an incredible model of the great love story of Scripture.

Jonathan and David’s friendship was shocking, considering Jonathan’s father was the jealous-turned-murderous King Saul who kept David on the run for years. Amid his father’s spiritual and mental decline, Jonathan — who would’ve been heir to the throne — amazingly accepted David as the true, anointed king chosen by God.

Jonathan even made a covenant with David, promising to protect David from Saul, and David promised to protect Jonathan’s descendants (1 Samuel 20). It seems Jonathan saw in David the same love for God he had, and “he loved him as his own soul” (1 Samuel 18:3, ESV). Faith in God’s steadfast love (hesed in Hebrew) was the basis of their friendship.

After Jonathan tragically died in battle, David cried, “Your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women” (2 Samuel 1:26, ESV). Many of us can’t imagine friendship love running deeper than romantic love. But David could — he loved Jonathan enough to fulfill his part of the covenant even when his friend had passed.

And this points us to the God who has invited us into His friendship. Though we rejected Him, He sought us out, making covenant promises to men like Noah, Abraham and David of a forever love that unfolded for generations.

Then God’s Son came to earth. Jesus, our Messiah King, said, “No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). And with a love surpassing any romance, He laid down His life for us.

All this so we, too, could feast at His table and enjoy the banquet of His love (Matthew 8:11) — not merely as His servants but as what He now calls us: His friends (John 15:15).

-Quina Aragon

How have you experienced extraordinary love through friendship?

💬 Meet Nancy, a resilient senior who never gave up hope, even when she had no place to call home. 🏠💖 Thanks to The Salvation Army, Nancy now has a safe place to live. Her story is a powerful reminder of what compassion and community can do.

Together, we can keep making a difference and uplift those in need. 🤝✨

Want to see Nancy's testimony video? Check the link here: https://www.facebook.com/reel/883090640400908

Monthly Ministry to Women Highlights for this past month are The Lubbock Corps & The Jefferson County Corps!

1) "Lori Basaldua provided all of the supplies - paint, canvases, small easels, etc. Ladies were encouraged to paint on their canvas...something representing their current mood. All were judged for a contest. Winners received a journal. Lori did a great job, and everyone had a wonderful time together." - The Salvation Army Texas South Plains

2-5) "Celebration Time! The group planned a "16 de Septiembre" theme party to celebrate the Hispanic Heritage Month of September. They dressed in cultural attire and ate Hispanic food. They love fellowship." - The Salvation Army of Jefferson County

6-10) "Service Project. Maricela, Laura, and Yadira led the women's group this day and spent the morning giving a little TLC to our rose bushes in front of the chapel doors. The ladies also planted 3 new rose bushes and added fresh dirt to the rose bed. They are hands-in and do not mind getting dirt under their fingernails. Our devotion time was spent reading Leviticus 27: 30-32 and learning about tithe and conversation of giving of our time as well." - The Salvation Army of Jefferson County

‘Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.’

- Isaiah 40:31 NLT

During Isaiah’s lifetime, the nation of Israel suffered a period of great distress. invasion and oppression. Israel was a hurting nation on the brink of giving up hope. Feeling abandoned by God.

Isaiah reminds Israel that their God has not left them. If they remain faithful and trust in his timing, they will soar.

Our faithful God will replace discouragement with joy, weariness with fresh energy, weakness with renewed strength.

We need to be faithful too, to persevere with patience, keep showing up and trust he’s working in the waiting.

🙌

that in a letter to her family, Ensign Helen Purviance, one of the original “Doughnut Girls,” wrote that on a typical day in WWI, two officers would bake 2500 doughnuts, 8 dozen cupcakes, 50 pies, 800 pancakes and prepare over 255 gallons of cocoa?

📸 via The Salvation Army National Archives
✍️ via Salvation Factory

The enemy wants us anxious, distracted and afraid of missing out. Sometimes we can become so consumed and discontented with life that we end up completely missing out on the most important thing of all — our relationship with Jesus.

Practicing gratitude can remind us of how much we truly have, even when our physical measurements tell us we’re lacking. As God’s children, through Jesus, we have an inheritance that is not from this world (Ephesians 1:11-14). Spiritually, we are rich beyond what we can fathom and blessed beyond measure. God has set us up with every single thing we will ever need to thrive (Philippians 4:19). All we have to do is ask and receive.

If you’re currently feeling stuck in a busy season of anxiety and chaos, I want you to know that there is a never-ending supply of what you need: peace, rest, contentment, joy, hope and love!
Life may not slow down or wait for us, but we are not alone. In the chaos, the stressful situations, and the demands of everyday life, Jesus is right there waiting in the midst, offering us a personal invitation to enter into rest and contentment at His feet!

-

How can you reframe gratitude as an invitation — not an obligation — in your own life this week?

📣 New resource: Reflections on Justice 📣

We are delighted to share our latest resource, Reflections on Justice, a daily devotional written by Salvation Army women across the world.

With a focus on being engaged in social justice and action to positively impact the world, this reading plan contains daily Scripture, reflective reading, prayer and a challenge to go and do something.

From 1 November to 1 December, we are running our first ever global reading event. All Salvationists are invited to read the devotions within their teams, families and churches, or as part of personal devotions, and we want you to be part of it!

🌏 Download, print and read in translation: https://salvationarmy.org/ihq/reflections-on-justice
📖 Start a reading group on the Bible App: https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/51965

10 Bible Verses About Gratitude To Cultivate a Thankful Heart Looking to cultivate a thankful heart but don’t know where to start? Scripture offers profound wisdom on gratitude and how it can transform your perspective and deepen your relationship with God.

"Looking back, without fail, I can see where God's version is so much richer, so much better, and so much more beautiful than whatever plan I had in mind." - Kristin Mudge

Sometimes it's hard to trust that God has a plan when life gets messy. But looking back, we can always see how He was working behind the scenes to create something beautiful.

Read the full article for more inspiration and encouragement ⤵️
https://southernusa.salvationarmy.org/uss/news/from-the-editor-god-is-in-the-details