January was a big month for Truth for Women. We held our annual Passionate for Truth Women’s Retreat in Lancaster , PA at the Eden Resort.
The retreat was beautiful. Women coming together to share their love for Christ and being in a safe environment to discuss life challenges and issues.
Elieen Alpaugh spoke about “Great Expectations.” This message was about our expectations in life. What were some of your expectations? I know when I was little I wanted to be a teacher. I also wanted to marry a prince and live in a big house. I wanted to be married by 25 and have two kids, a girls and a boy. Sometimes in life our expectations do not match up with God’s plans. It’s great to have goals and dreams in our lives but sometimes we go through things in life that we just didn’t expect. But through our circumstances and blessings we realize that God is with us if we trust him it all works out for his Glory. The tough times in life only draw us closer to him and make our “tests” into “testimonies”. I like to think of the scripture Eileen quoted in Philippians 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
Irene Gerontianos spoke on “Fear Not! Why Not?” First, let me tell you that I have never if my life met anyone with the courage and strength as Irene. She is truly an inspiration. Irene has terminal cancer and walks in faith everyday. She is truly used by God and praises God through all things. Irene taught about why not to fear. She said that fear is mentioned in the bible 920 times. Her amazing testimony will strengthen you through the Holy Spirit. Millions of people are faced with many types of fear. Fear of rejection, fear of dying, fear of failure or just plain panic attacks. The devil uses fear to paralyze us. He tries to stop us in our purpose so God’s work cannot be done. Irene said “the best protection is praise and worship.” “The battle belongs to the Lord”. Irene gave us five steps on how to face fear.
1. Remind yourself your source of help.
2. Deny the tendency to trust others.
3. Remember who God is and what he can do.
4. Take your position and stand on it.
5. Move out and face the enemy.
In my life, I have had many fearful moments. The one thing that got me through was scripture. I would look up fear in concordance and find a scripture. I would write it down in my bible or on an index card and anytime I would feel fear coming upon me, I would quote that scripture(s) and the feeling would leave. I would ask God to help me through prayer.
In our breakout groups we had to look up scriptures on fear and below are a few that I have used in my life.
Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Psalm 23:4 “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Kim Checkeye spoke about two things “It’s Time to Have Passion for God and It’s time to be Stirred:
Three things to begin your journey to have a passionate life for God:
1. Read the Word of God
2. Apply the Word of God to your life
3. Begin to have a hunger and thirst for righteousness
Five things to be Stirred up in Life:
1. It is time to be stirred back to our fist love.
2. It is time to be stirred into power.
3. It is time to be stirred to tame our tongue.
4. It is time to be stirred to know who you are in Christ.
5. It is time to be stirred to walk in the call on your life.
These are eight life changing points from Kim!
We can all remember the feeling and the day when we first accepted Jesus as our personal savior. It’s a joy that cannot be explained and it’s a joy that only comes from the Holy Spirit. We felt like we can conquer the world. We could make the world a better place. Sometimes, that feeling fades away because our “life things” get in the way. We are working, driving the kids here and there, dinner, laundry, cleaning. Sometimes, we get into bed and fall asleep before our head hits the pillow. I decided to make that special time for God in the morning so I would have the strength to get through the UUGGHs that were going to happen during the day. Doing this in the morning makes my day start off powerful. Jesus waits patiently for us. He loves us more than we can possibly imagine. Spending that special time with him is where we can hear. It is when we can cast our fears and lay them at His feet. Where we can take our expectations and get stirred up by God. It is where we can take all of our burdens and desires. It’s an amazing place to be. I will make it a point to make sure I make time for HIM so I can have the peace and strength I need to get through the day.
The retreat was such a blessing. I know it touched not only me but so many by the inspirational testimonies the ladies shared. Women are designed to nurture and love. Putting 50 women in a room and sharing the gospel will bring tears, joy and most of all laughter. Some of us laughed till we cried. I thank everyone who attended. It was a pleasure to meet all of you and share this wonderful and empowering experience with you. I can’t wait till next year!!!
