A Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow
For the past several months, I have been barraged by negative thoughts and accusations. While I have always been my own worst critic, I have never experienced something so deep, dark, and relentless. I am not good enough. I am nobody. I am a horrible sinner. All my sins and failures kept parading through my mind. I might as well give up and stop trying. And to tell you the truth, most of those thoughts are true. My work is not perfect and lacks so much. I am a nobody, and I am a sinner. I fall so short in everything. I thought perhaps I just needed to be reminded of this because I was becoming prideful or something. I prayed about it, but the negative barrage kept coming.
Then, in February, I made the drive up to the Dallas area to visit Barbara Mouser for a few days. As I sat down in her living room in Bill’s old recliner, she began to speak, and the first words that came out of her mouth were that she was going through a deep, dark valley. She related how all her sins, mistakes, and failures over the years kept replaying in her mind. She was not good enough. She was a nobody. Nothing she had done in her life mattered. She might as well throw in the towel and give up completely.
I held in a gasp and my tears as I quietly listened. In those moments, it became obvious to me that we were under a mighty spiritual attack. Later that afternoon, as we were taking a walk through a beautiful old cemetery, I told her what had been happening to me, and as I shared, she too came to realize what was going on. We walked silently.
I then thought of the passage in Zechariah 3:1–10, where in a vision the prophet saw the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of the Lord. The accuser, Satan, was beside him, and he was accusing him of all his wrongdoings. His clothes, the robes of the high priest which were supposed to be clean and spotless for him to stand before God, were instead filthy. This means the accusations had weight, and they stuck. He was indeed wearing filthy clothes. Yet in reply, the Lord rebuked Satan and had His servants remove Joshua’s filthy robes and dressed him in festive robes and a clean turban. The action lovingly indicates the removal of sins and God’s pleasure in Joshua. In His words to Satan, the Lord said of Joshua, “Isn’t this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”, the Lord claims Joshua as His own. He had already saved him. He was the Lords’s and stood there forgiven and clean, and He delighted in him.
The two women who wrote the book on the language of clothing in Scripture and the wonderful truth of what it means to be clothed by Christ, were lovingly reminded that day that we too were sticks snatched from the fire and lavishly covered by the blood of Christ. The accusations were silenced that day, and we were reinvigorated for service.
We’re 35 years old!
The International Council for Gender Studies was founded in 1991, and in 1992 the Five Aspects of Woman was officially published for the first time. Since that time, the Five Aspects of Woman has been constantly in print and studied by scores of women across the world. This means that for nearly 35 years these bible study materials have been ministering to multiple generations of women. Largely, this ministry has evaded the pomp, circumstance, and limelight. The founders clearly saw that the message was not about publishing deals or a traveling ministry, but rather the faithful work of preparing the soil, weeding, and planting seeds in the hearts and minds of people. Healthy, biblical sexuality … well, it is personal. True success can only be measured by God who alone knows how many lives, marriages, and homes have been both saved and built through the faithful teaching of His Word. We thank the Lord for the work that He has been doing through this ministry for so long and for letting us be a part of it.
Psalm 145:4
One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.
Five Aspects of Women and the More to the Story Podcast with Molly White
In early January, I sat down with Molly White, former member of the Texas House of Representatives, to record a two-part series podcast on the Five Aspects of Women. Normally, Molly’s podcast is about pro-life issues and abortion policy. However, when she contacted me, she told me that she wanted to take time this year to go beyond talking about the problems and the policy, and get, instead, at the heart of the issue: human sexuality. However, she didn’t just want to talk about the problem, but rather, to teach what the Bible has to say about it. When she thought about how to do this, she told me the first thing she thought of was the Five Aspects of Women bible study because God has used it in her own life to heal her own errant views of sexuality nearly two decades ago. She wanted me to introduce her general audience to the Five Aspects of Women and what resulted was a delightful discussion between Molly and myself. If you are interested in listening to the conversation, the following is the link for the first in a two-part podcast interview.
Deborah: Prophetess and Mother
At the end of January, we released the bible study, Deborah: Prophetess and Mother. It is the first in our Wise Women Bible Study Series. The study delves into the dual telling of the story of Deborah in Judges chapters four and five. In Judges 4 we have a prose telling of the story, and in Judges 5 the story is retold in poetic form. This 9-lesson study dives into the context and characters of the story, and it ends with a fresh and strong clarion call for women to be strong leaders in the faith in decidedly feminine ways.
New Release: Calm Women in Turbulent Times 2nd Edition
In April, we are getting ready to release the second book in our Wise Women Bible Study Series. Our study, Calm Women in Turbulent Times, has been upgraded and expanded into this new 2nd Edition. This bible study takes up where we left off in Deborah: Prophetess and Mother, as it picks up at the end of the period of the judges. In an age of upheaval, we discover the quiet power of biblical women who thrived amid chaos. Through the stories of Mrs. Manoah, Naomi, Ruth, and Hannah, this 7-lesson study reveals how ordinary faithfulness—intelligent submission, resilient hope, diligent work, and persevering prayer—builds God’s kingdom even when everything seems to crumble. Learn to stay calm in the “heat of the day,” nurture homes that shape the future, and intercede for godly men in shaky seasons. Perfect for women’s groups or personal devotion. Find peace that anchors you in every storm. Your calm faithfulness matters—coming this April!
If you have comments or questions about our materials, please contact us as info@fiveaspects.com.
In Christ,
Kristine Vermillion
Editor and Director of Women’s Ministry
Five Aspects Ministries