It's 2015 Happy New Year from She is Set Apart!

Happy New Year! I wanted to personally thank you all deeply for your support of She is Set Apart in 2014 and I am extremely excited for what God has in store for 2015.  

If I'm honest I never had intentions of starting a ministry.  I just honestly love to serve and help people.  As I've talked about before, last April I read a book called Spoken For by Alyssa Joy Bethke and Robin Jones Gunn.  

This was at a point when I deeply desired to be in a relationship and be pursued by a man of God.  I had always been single and I felt frustrated and that it was my time. You can read more about this here.  During this time I was reading Spoken For and I came across the chapter titled, You are Pursued.  That chapter hit me like a ton of bricks.  It beautifully showed how we are constantly looking and searching for something to satisfy us and we do this b pursuing everything but God.  Yet, no matter how many times we turn our back to God he relentlessly pursues us.  The God of this universe wants us enough to pursue us.


That day I was overcome with emotion and I said to myself I want every woman to know this and deeply understand this.  This is when I had the idea to host a conference where women could hear this truth.  I had no idea how it would happen or what it'd be called but I gave it over to the Lord.  

You see during this same time I was given the opportunity to serve as the Group Coordinator with Pinky Promise Movement where I help college women start up Pinky Promise Chapters on their campus.  I was working with a college student who felt led to start a chapter on her campus at the University of Houston.  I live near the city therefore after much prayer I reached out to her about the vision of this conference and she jumped right on board.  Ever since August we've been working hard to bring you this conference.  

She is Set Apart is a ministry with the vision to reshape how we view the single season.  Right now the world messages to singles that we are not loved, not wanted, not chosen, not valued, not loved, not pursued & etc... And we really start to believe this.  Therefore, we feel that we need a relationship prove that we are wanted and worthy of being chosen.  However, if we turn to scripture and God's word we see that we are wanted, chosen, loved, pursued, and valued already by Christ and as a single we are set apart to serve God in this season.  

Romans 1:1 says, Paul a servant of Christ Jesus called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of Christ.

Paul was a single man.  He viewed himself in his life during his singleness as a set apart servant for the Gospel of God. Wow! What if we as singles viewed ourselves in our single season as set apart servants for the gospel?

This verse tells us exactly what we should be doing in our singleness and that's fulfilling the great commission as a servant for Christ, spreading the gospel, and making disciples. 

Is this what you have been doing in your single season or have you been too distracted? Have you been too busy desiring a man or a relationship because of some fantasy of everlasting satisfaction you think it will bring you?  

Let's be obedient to the call of the great commission, right now, as single women.  Let's live with an eternity focused mind.  When we fully understand that our desire to be wanted, loved, chosen, pursued, valued & etc... has already been perfectly fulfilled in Christ alone this frees us to discover God's will and live according to it.

I'm looking forward to seeing you all at the She is Set Apart 2015 Conference. Recently I hosted two livestreams for the conference. One was with with potential conference spoken word artist Arielle Estoria Wilburn.  You can watch that interview here. The other was with the founder of Changed Hearts and potential conference speaker Angel Walston which you can watch here. Monday we will be hosting our next She is Set Apart Conference 2015 livestream with Author of Truth, Lies, and The Single Woman Allison Flexer on our YouTube Channel.  


Any other information about the conference is listed here.
Join She is Set Apart to get access to our newsletter. 

Tierraney is the founder of She is Set Apart. She currently teaches 3rd grade math and loves almost anything that comes in pink. She also serves as the Group Coordinator for the Non-Profit Organization Pinky Promise Movement. 
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Livestream with Arielle Wilburn!

As we head into the new year we are busy planning the She is Set Apart 2015 Conference. Last week we hosted a livestream with potential conference speaker Angel Walston.  You can watch that interview here. Tonight we are so excited to be hosting our next She is Set Apart Conference 2015 Hangout tonight with Arielle Willburn on our YouTube Channel.  

WHO IS ARIELLE.

Arielle Estoria is passionate and unapologetically zealous in her pursuit for more of God. An avid Blogger, Writer and Spoken Word Artist using her gifts of art as a ministry.Currently attending and soon to be graduating from Azusa Pacific University as a

The Idol of the Ideal Man

Sometimes when I read about how the Israelites would create idols of wood or precious metals and then turn around and worship the very same inanimate object that they fashioned with their own hands, I can’t help but scoff. Seriously though, how they could logically allow themselves to believe the image that they created was responsible for creating them, let alone controlling everything in the world around them?

As baffling as that may seem to us in the 21^st century, I have to remember that though we don’t create carven images to worship anymore, we do attribute glory to millions of other objects of the noun persuasion (person, places, people, things, ideas). It’s pretty clear how we can idolize people, things, and so on, but for this post I’m going to focus specifically on the idea aspect of idolatry.

Making a list, checking it twice

Throughout college I maintained what some of you

She is Set Apart Conference 2015

We are excited to officially announce that there will be a She is Set Apart 2015 Conference!

This FREE conference is open to women of all ages.

There will be speakers, spoken word, music, vendors, fashion, multiple workshops, & more...

You would love this conference if you've ever thought...

"Why am I still single? There must be something wrong with me."

"I'm not beautiful."

"God has forgotten about me."

Have you ever felt like the church values marrieds more than singles?

Have you ever wanted to just settle?

Have you idolized marriage or even your singleness?

Or If you've ever heard phrases like...

"How are you still single?"

"Just make Jesus your boyfriend!"

"Just be content & your spouse will come."

"Or God just has some more work to do on you before you're properly prepared."

If you've resonated with any of this; The She is Set Apart 2015 Conference is for you! We're going to be shattering the lies many single Christian women believe with truth and talking about how we can live as single Christian women with an eternity focused mind.

Where: Houston,TX at the University of Houston Central Campus 

When: Tentatively Saturday, April 11, 2015
Time: 9am-5pm

Cost: FREE when you donate to one of the below campaigns.

By donating you are basically choosing who you want to see at the conference because you are donating funds towards the persons transportation cost to get them at the conference to speak or perform.

How do I register and get my ticket?

The conference is FREE! You just donate any amount to one of these campaigns get a ticket. Once you donate in Jan. 2015 we will email you the link to complete your free conference registration and receive your ticket.

Who is Speaking and Performing?

That's your choice!  We are letting you choose the speakers and performers for our She is Set Apart Conference in April 2015. The way you choose is by donating any amount to the speaker/performer of your choice Go Fund Me campaign. Currently our potential speakers are Angel Walston founder of Changed Hearts and Allison Flexer author of Truth, Lies, and The Single Woman. One of our potential spoken word performers is Arielle Wilburn.  If these ladies campaigns gets fully funded they will be at the conference. So if you want to see them there donate to their campaign above.  By donating any amount to one of the campaigns you will get access to register for the conference for FREE. Yes, FREE.

For other information and details about the conference Join She is Set Apart to get access to our newsletter. 

Join us at the conference!

Give Me A Husband…Or I’ll Die!

Have you ever had a dream that was delayed for so long that you became frustrated? So frustrated you thought it would kill you? (Maybe not in the literal sense but in the spiritual one.)

Rachel tells her husband, Jacob, “Give me a child or I’ll die!” Dramatic? Maybe, but it’s a heart cry I understand. In my lowest times, I’ve begged, demanded, that God give me a husband. Like Rachel, jealousy had once crept into my heart and nearly destroyed me.

Jealousy, that “green-eyed monster”, has a way of taking over.  It whispers to you of the blessings other people have and reminds you of your barrenness in that particular area. It causes our eyes to be transfixed on their abundance and our hearts to murmur over our lack.

In Genesis 30, Rachel’s older sister, Leah, was also married to Jacob but he didn’t love her. He only loved Rachel. Still, he had to fulfill his husbandly duties and because God saw how miserable Leah was He blessed her with many children. Envy burned so hotly within Rachel as Leah’s arms filled with babies that from her mouth overflowed those desperate words.

Set Apart SPOTLIGHT: Laura Toeniskoetter

I've been single for all my life, minus five or six weeks in high school where I dated a guy. Needless to say, the whole thing was kind of a disaster (we both made it much more worse than it needed to be when we broke up) and relationships have just had a sour taste to me.


Isn't it funny the things we expect out of our life? The world seems to tell us that life isn't as complete when you're single as it is when you share it with someone? Being single is supposed to be lonely, and yes, I'll admit there's moments where it is - but being single is such a blessing too. 

Not that I won't be open to a relationship when it's time, but it's not the time and I am completely okay with that. So many people think life begins when you fall in love, but I totally disagree. 

I'm not in love with any man, but in my twenty years, I've built a career that includes a successful blog, self-publishing a book in the beginning of the year, and so many other things. Sure, we can all wait around for Mr. Right to come around, but life is so much more complete and fun when you make it yourself. 

When I do meet Mr. Right, I know that I'll be everything I want to be for him, independent and able to take care of myself because I've been through so much to get to that point, but because I can take care of myself, it's not the end of the world if he never shows up. When the time comes, I don't want a relationship that completes me, but one that compliments both of us. 

Laura is a college junior, life style blogger, and award-winning author. On her

blog, The Laura Way, she blogs about college, life, trying to organize and her journey on prepping her book, THE ASSASSIN, for publishing.

Oh Be Careful Little Eyes

Back in the day I was a sucker for a good chick flick. If you were to scroll through my collection of movies while I was in college, you would think I had an addiction. My bookshelves were lined with romantic comedy after romantic comedy… and the occasional action movie (as long as it had a good love story).

What God meant for good

Romance movies have acquired a negative stigma among Christian women because they tend to be the culprit behind unrealistic expectations in relationships. For single women these movies can evoke a desire for a relationship that don’t really exist, and for married women chick flicks can cause tension when the woman realizes her husband doesn’t fit her skewed concept of who he should be.

Although the idea of romance predominantly perpetuated by media, causes such annoyances in our lives, it didn’t start out that way. If we take a look at the Bible as a whole, it’s one big love story, the overarching reality for every believer across the world.

Beyond Waiting

I was sitting in his living room, my heart divided between what it wanted in that moment and what it wanted for all of time. Looking back now, it seems the choice should have been easy, but sometimes the moment seems to carry more weight than it actually does in truth.

“I can’t do this,” I said.

“Why?”

I’ve always hated that question. Hated how it forces me to sort through my motivation when always the answer is just there at the ready.

I shook my head. “I don’t have a logical answer. I’m sorry, I know that’s what you want.”

But how does one even begin to tell a man that he is too safe, too comfortable, too secure? Isn’t that what any girl should want?

 

A Season of Singleness

Autumn arrived with the changing of the leaves and a chill in the air. In Genesis, God used the seasons to show passages of time, one giving way to the other. Yet as we get older, we notice that there are some seasons in our life that go on longer than we’d like and with it comes an uneasiness in our hearts (more on that later).

 

This season for singleness doesn’t have to be a holding period for your life. I believe God has many wonderful things in mind for us:

Purpose – There are many women who feel like their purpose is to be a wife and a mother. Yet, what happens when those purposes feel frustrated?  Friend, can I tell you that your meaning and worth are not found on being a wife or a mother but a daughter of the Most High God. He created us with purpose and our season of singleness gives us the perfect opportunity to seek it out. We are able to serve our local churches and our communities, our families and friends with wholehearted focus.

GIVEAWAY - pRAISE Clothing LA

Hello Ladies!

Welcome back to She is Set Apart. Today we are teaming up with pRAISE Clothing LA to bring you an amazing giveaway. 

How to enter:

We want you to showcase how you would rock pRAISE! 

Use the polyvore app which you can download on your phone to create a collage where you have styled one pRAISE Clothing LA piece of your choosing.  You can access their polyvore page here.

Once you are done upload it to Instagram & in the caption describe why it is important to wear your heart for God on your sleeve. 

Also in the caption use the hashtag #SetApartpRAISE and tag @pRAISEClothingLA & @SheisSetApart

Once you have done this make sure you verify your entry using the widget below.

To Re-cap the entry requirements you will....

1. Create a polyvore photo collage styling on pRAISE Clothing LA piece

2. Upload it to instagram

3. In the caption tell us why it is important to wear your heart for God on your sleeve and tag @SheisSetApart and @pRAISEClothingLA and use #SetApartpRAISE

4. Verify your entry by posting the photo url in the widget below

What will I win?

You will win the one piece that you styled in the polyvore collage. 

Not one but two winners will be chosen. The giveaway opens today October 22, 2014 and closes on October 31, 2014 at 12:00AM CT. 

We can't wait to see all your wonderful pieces!

Did you know we are hosting the first ever She is Set Apart Conference in April 2015? Click here for more information.

GIVEAWAY - pRAISE Clothing LA

The Top 3 Negative Phases of Singlehood and Ways to Overcome Them

Are you entirely content with being single? There were a few times in my life where I could say that this was true of my story, but there were also certain phases I passed through on my journey to total contentment, where this was certainly not the case.  Thankfully phases are meant to be passed through, not dwelled in, so they didn’t last forever.

If you find yourself stuck in one of the following phases, I’d love to share some tips on some of the ways I was able to get through each one. Hopefully they'll be of help to you as well. 

Phase 1: Cray cray for a bay bay

Single & Focused on Eternity

Life is not a waiting room for marriage so why do we act like it?

Most of us know the great commission: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Matthew 28:19-20 This is what life as a Christian should be about. Unfortunately some women's obsession over their desire to be married has caused them to forget this.

No where in that scripture does it say only when you get married go & make disciples. Nope. We can go & make disciples right now as a single woman being led by God. But who can honestly say that as a single they've been doing this? 

Set Apart Spotlight: Victoria Olaniyan

 A while back, I went through a season of feeling alone and constantly feeling that I needed more because something was missing.  There was emptiness in me but I felt like I couldn't talk to anyone about it. I would pray and read my Bible and I'd still feel better but very soon after, I'd go back to square one.

While praying one day, I felt God ask me what exactly it was I wanted, however I didn't really pay attention to it. I carried on like this for a while, still smiling, socializing and putting on my "all is well" mask at church meetings. I kept on filling my days with mundane and unnecessary tasks.  Then one day I came across a song by The Planetshakers called 'Healer', I immediately connected with the song and God started speaking to me through it.

"I believe You're my Healer

I believe You are all I need

I believe You're my Portion

I believe You're more than enough for me

Jesus You're all I need"

Eve's Issues | Part 2

Eve’s Guilt Trip

This second installment of the Eve Series won’t be as extensive as the first. Rather, it will make you think and God-willing encourage you!

As a female, has anybody tried to make you feel guilty for Eve’s actions in the Garden of Eden? Has a male, specifically, tried to use her actions to guilt trip you? This happens to me all of the time as a young woman of God. And to be 100% honest, I don’t always know what to say.

What I do know is that it took two to commit the sin. Yes, Eve initiated and gave it to Adam, but did Adam, as the “leader”, have to listen to her? To me, personally, I think it was both Adam and Eve’s fault. So how does this affect us ladies in 2014?

Through Every Season of the Soul

Shortly before I met my husband, I had the audacity to pray a prayer that went something like this:

“Lord, I think I’ve done about all the growing I can do as a single person, can you give me a husband to help me grow even more?”

Who prays prayers like that? Unfortunately, this girl.

It’s time to get bumped

As a young Christian champion for purity and self-worth, I truly thought I had it all together. When Paul says in 1 Corinthians that it’s better to be single than to be married because you can better devote yourself to God, I was the loudest person in the bandwagon shouting amen. During my single years I experienced some of the most intimate times I have ever had with the Lord. I used to go on dates with Jesus, have weekly devotions by the lake, dance to worship music in study halls for hours, and write tons of intimate worship/love songs.

Set Apart SPOTLIGHT: Dephne Madyara

There just had to be more for me... The clubbing, drinking and partying no longer fulfilled me, it just didn't suffice. My heart began to search for more, there had to be a greater joy, peace and fulfilment that is not found in things, substances or people. Would you believe me if I told that God began to speak to me before I knew Him? This is because He is an awesome God and He does what He wants and wills for all things were made through Him and for Him! 

My loss of interest began when I saw the Holy Spirit in a dream. My heart began to search for more...there just had to be more for me in this life. In a dream I was seated in a

Eve's Issues | Part 1

As women in Christ, we often get referred to Eve, more than often with a negative affiliation. I’ve decided to go deeper into this subject matter during my study of the Word. I have learned plenty from Eve and her decisions, and I’d love to share them with you, in hopes that you are encouraged by it! 

In the book of Genesis, we see the encounter of Eve and the serpent in the Garden of Eden; the very encounter that brought sin into the world. The prominent issue in this encounter was Eve falling for Satan’s lies. She allowed his foolishness to defect her obedience to God. There are a few additional issues that Eve struggled with during this encounter that lead to sin, issues that we can certainly learn from.

When the Question is Why?

A lot of the time I want answers from God. I want the when, where, how, what and most importantly I want the why. God leaves several promises for us in His word.  He even may share certain promises with us during our quiet time with Him. But often times, we feel as though, his promises aren't enough.  Especially when we don't immediately see the fruit or "proof" of the promises. 

Side Note: Why is it that we feel God needs to prove himself to us? I guess that's for another time.

Recently I was anxiously awaiting for a promise to be fulfilled.  As time continued I felt myself becoming more and more impatient.  Then these words came to mind, "Don't let your impatience cause you to doubt my promises." My initial thoughts were "Whoa! Alrighty then, my bad."

GIVEAWAY - Arroway Designs

She is Set Apart has partnered with some awesome Christian women bloggers to bring you this exciting giveaway from arroway designs!  Please check out their blogs by clicking their links below!

arroway designs // arroway blog

heavens to betsy // k, // east coast chic

huck and oats // she is set apart // suzie lou

charlie jaymes // seeking individuality // life with mrs. g and the artist

There will be one winner chosen to choose a free print from Arroway Designs by Megan.  All entries will be verified and the winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter. You can enter the giveaway by using the widget below. The giveaway closes on July 30th!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Set Apart SPOTLIGHT: S'ambrosia Wasike

I always knew I was different, set apart. I didn’t fit in with the other kids at school, and I didn’t really care to. All I wanted was God. Now that may sound overly religious to some of you, but it was my reality… at least I thought it was.

At the age of 4, a major crush on the Italian heartthrob known as Carman and fervent prayers that he come to my hometown in Kansas brought me to the day when God answered my prayers and I accepted Jesus as Lord of my life. Under the tutelage of my mother, I grew in the knowledge of God and began to excel in biblical studies. Throughout my teenage years I engaged with the Lord often through dance and song and spent hours beside the lake just soaking in His goodness.

Set Apart SPOTLIGHT: Lauren Ashley Gilmore

Goodness me! What an honor to be asked to share "my story". The Lord is still writing, editing, highlighting, tweaking and refining this story, but I'm pleased to be asked to share it. It's perfectly imperfect and any glint of lovely was placed by His hand.

So here goes... I was born into a Pastor's home in the Deep South some 20 odd years ago. I was home schooled, christian schooled and public schooled all by the time I turned 8. My parents truly set Godly examples of what it means to "walk the walk" not just "talk the talk". Something I didn't learn until much later in life (but more about that soon). My Dad always told me "Your walk talks, and your talk talks , but your walk talks louder than your talk talks". He's the master of turning a life lesson into a catchy phrase.

Brown Girl, Green Lifestyle

I first experienced weight related issues beginning in the fall of 1999. At that time I was a rather cute and chubby little girl transitioning from pre-k to kindergarten. Prior to beginning kindergarten I had not been drastically overweight. I possessed what most people would have labeled baby fat, pudge in my cheeks and belly that may have disappeared as I grew taller. However, the summer before school started I gained a significant amount of weight, most likely do to over indulgence and little physical exercise.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved to go outside and play. I spent many summer days tramping around my grandparents five-acre wooded property: making mud pies, riding my tricycle, and having fabulous adventures in my blow-up pool. But the child’s play I partook in could not compensate for my love of southern delicacies (such as fried chicken, peach cobbler, and gumbo), and my ever increasing waistline.

I was usually allowed to when and what I desired, but the price I paid was the sum total of social out casting among my peers and the resulting mental and emotional torment.

GIVEAWAY - Spoken For Book!

We are very excited to host our first ever She is Set Apart Giveaway!  For this giveaway we will be giving away not one but two copies of the book Spoken For by Alyssa Bethke and Robin Jones Gunn.  

As our founder shared in her story the stories Alyssa shared in this book helped her to see how she was Set Apart and ultimately led her to start She is Set Apart.  This book encourages all women to fill themselves up with the truths found in God's word and not the messages of the world.  It also helps women base their identity in Christ and nothing else by embracing who and whose they are.

 

 The winner will be announced on our social media accounts (Twitter, IG, and Facebook) on July 14th(Our founders birthday).  God loves you and so do we!

 

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY BELOW:

Spoken For Book Giveaway!
 

Set Apart SPOTLIGHT: Caitlin Williams

My story started as a little girl. I have been going to church all my life and was baptized at the age of eleven. Unfortunately, I never knew really how to have a relationship with Christ. I spent all of my junior high and high school years feeling like I was inadequate.  I allowed the words of others to control me. 

It wasn't until my senior year of high school that I got so tired of dealing with the sadness and decided to call on God. That was the best decision ever but my fight wasn't over yet. 

I headed to college with my new relationship with God but still wasn't fully invested in Him. My freshman year of college, I was so pressed for a relationship that I was the one pursuing the guys!

Set Apart SPOTLIGHT: Ariel Richardson

         

I always start my testimony with before I was conceived.  All of my life the doctors told my mother that she would not be able to have children.  So when she became pregnant with me it was evident that the Lord saw fit for me to be here regardless of human thoughts.  Growing up the first five years of my life I really don’t remember but from looking through photos I would say I was a pretty happy child.  Starting kindergarten I was mean and violent, much so that I was expelled from my elementary school.  I believe this behavior was a mirror of what was actually going on in my home.  Around this age my mother and father filed for divorce and my father left my mother to raise my brother and me by herself.  This put a lot of pressure on my mother and this is when abuse started to happen.  Patience wasn’t present in our house thus as young children and even teenagers when my mother would lose patience it was brutal punishments, emotional and verbal damage.  So here I was during the most critical time of nurturing development left to find that somewhere else.

Set Apart SPOTLIGHT: Joy Pedrow

My story is a story of failure and redemption.

I tried to gain fulfillment on my own, and every time I was left searching. I was a happy person, and I had great friends and parents who loved me, but I just felt like there had so be something more. I tried to become the person I thought others would like, but nothing was enough.

Once I realized that my story was not about me, but was about Jesus, only then did I find satisfaction.

At the time, I did not know that God was calling me to be set apart from the world. I believe he had been calling me for a while, but I was to consumed in the world to notice. I was the queen and life was about me.

I was failing, yet Jesus kept pursuing me.

Welcome!

Hello and Welcome to She is Set Apart! Tierraney was given the vision for She is Set Apart on May 25, 2014.  God used her past of her life of singleness which made her question why she was un-wanted, un-loved, and un-cherished to help her realize that those were simply lies from the enemy. 

Through the message of other Christian women[Heather Lindsey and Alyssa Bethke] she came to understand who and whose she was.  She came into the knowledge of truth that she was so wanted, so loved, and so cherished by Christ that He had her hidden. He protected her from the trap of years wasted on meaningless relationships that many women experience. Instead of allowing her to conform, He set her apart.