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!!!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
New Year - New Me by Shana Minervini
As we are going into another new year, and the Christmas season has ended, I can’t help but reflect on my year. The feeling on New Year’s Eve is one of high anticipation, feelings of hopes of what your new year will bring.
As I start to reflect on the year that has passed, thoughts vividly pass through my mind. I start to think how many times God was there for me. Amazing prayers got answered recently and ones that were said years ago, all the times that God took care of my needs and worries and wiped away endless tears. The unexpected blessings he lavished me with, the angels that he used as friends.
At this time, I had situations that I could not fix or control. In these times, I met my “Heavenly Father”. My relationship with Him grew deeper and deeper. The trials I faced left me with one option – To Trust Him. I learned to take the heavy back pack of worry, fear and hopelessness and lay it down at His feet. In Matthew 11:28 it says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest”.
Trust, Faith and Hope were words that I clung to. Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." In 2009, my husband was laid off from his engineering job due to cutbacks in the firm. At the end of that year, through much prayer and direction we felt that God was leading him to become a financial planner. This is a business where you get paid when you get clients. He is working two jobs six days a week trying to make ends meet and for heath insurance. So 2010 became my walk of faith.
I had to go through a time this year with no health insurance. That was huge in my faith. To me, the thought of something seriously happening to me and not being covered would be an area of panic. The only solution I had was to trust and have faith that God would protect me. A humorous story happened a week after my 40th birthday. I was walking down the stairs with a laundry basket when somehow I saw the white basket leave my hands and fly through the air like a boomerang. My body was following but I was in the air also. The basket lands and here I come now in a tumbling position. " Houston I have landed." As I sat there, I felt like my legs were in another room and someone had to put me back together again. I felt this burning sensation. I laid and just cried (yes I am a little dramatic) but the cry was not only from the fall it was one of those cries where it comes up from your toes. The pain wasn't about just the fall. I started to think if something is broken I have no insurance. My husband helped me up and thankfully nothing was broken just bruised. God did take care of me and put me back together again.
I’m not telling you my year was easy. Yes, there were times where I was having my fits and felt like rolling around on the floor like a two- year- old. But I felt like I could tell Him my feelings of frustration. Instead of calling a girlfriend up and going on a rampage I started to turn to God first. It brought such a peace. It was like letting it go and giving it to Him. I let Jesus be my Hero.
If you ever saw the movie Elf there is a scene where Buddy the elf thinks the real Santa is coming to the department store. He is truly excited. And he screams real loud I KNOW HIM!!! That’s what I feel like my year was. I feel like screaming from the roof top "I KNOW HIM!!! I KNOW JESUS!!"
Going forward into 2011, I have decided to keep a journal filled with prayers, answered prayers and testimonies. So when each year turns into the next, I can reflect on how God’s hand has touched my life. I will see how many times God has carried me when I was too weak to fight the battle.
I am so grateful for 2010. I thank Jesus for all the hardships, pain and blessings because it made my faith grow. The seeds of faith were planted as far back as I can remember but this year is when they harvested. This Year’s resolution for me is New Year - New Me. I don’t want to have a list of all my resolutions because it would be right up there with the top two dieting and exercising. By February, we all know that the resolution wears off and we are in the drive through at McDonald’s ordering a Big Mac and shoveling it in our mouth. I want my resolution to be more of Jesus. At least I know with this choice there is no guilt, just unconditional love and forgiveness, a chance for him to show me his plans for my life. Jeremiah 29:11 states, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. I want this to be another year I can shout I KNOW HIM!!!!
As I start to reflect on the year that has passed, thoughts vividly pass through my mind. I start to think how many times God was there for me. Amazing prayers got answered recently and ones that were said years ago, all the times that God took care of my needs and worries and wiped away endless tears. The unexpected blessings he lavished me with, the angels that he used as friends.
At this time, I had situations that I could not fix or control. In these times, I met my “Heavenly Father”. My relationship with Him grew deeper and deeper. The trials I faced left me with one option – To Trust Him. I learned to take the heavy back pack of worry, fear and hopelessness and lay it down at His feet. In Matthew 11:28 it says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest”.
Trust, Faith and Hope were words that I clung to. Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." In 2009, my husband was laid off from his engineering job due to cutbacks in the firm. At the end of that year, through much prayer and direction we felt that God was leading him to become a financial planner. This is a business where you get paid when you get clients. He is working two jobs six days a week trying to make ends meet and for heath insurance. So 2010 became my walk of faith.
I had to go through a time this year with no health insurance. That was huge in my faith. To me, the thought of something seriously happening to me and not being covered would be an area of panic. The only solution I had was to trust and have faith that God would protect me. A humorous story happened a week after my 40th birthday. I was walking down the stairs with a laundry basket when somehow I saw the white basket leave my hands and fly through the air like a boomerang. My body was following but I was in the air also. The basket lands and here I come now in a tumbling position. " Houston I have landed." As I sat there, I felt like my legs were in another room and someone had to put me back together again. I felt this burning sensation. I laid and just cried (yes I am a little dramatic) but the cry was not only from the fall it was one of those cries where it comes up from your toes. The pain wasn't about just the fall. I started to think if something is broken I have no insurance. My husband helped me up and thankfully nothing was broken just bruised. God did take care of me and put me back together again.
I’m not telling you my year was easy. Yes, there were times where I was having my fits and felt like rolling around on the floor like a two- year- old. But I felt like I could tell Him my feelings of frustration. Instead of calling a girlfriend up and going on a rampage I started to turn to God first. It brought such a peace. It was like letting it go and giving it to Him. I let Jesus be my Hero.
If you ever saw the movie Elf there is a scene where Buddy the elf thinks the real Santa is coming to the department store. He is truly excited. And he screams real loud I KNOW HIM!!! That’s what I feel like my year was. I feel like screaming from the roof top "I KNOW HIM!!! I KNOW JESUS!!"
Going forward into 2011, I have decided to keep a journal filled with prayers, answered prayers and testimonies. So when each year turns into the next, I can reflect on how God’s hand has touched my life. I will see how many times God has carried me when I was too weak to fight the battle.
I am so grateful for 2010. I thank Jesus for all the hardships, pain and blessings because it made my faith grow. The seeds of faith were planted as far back as I can remember but this year is when they harvested. This Year’s resolution for me is New Year - New Me. I don’t want to have a list of all my resolutions because it would be right up there with the top two dieting and exercising. By February, we all know that the resolution wears off and we are in the drive through at McDonald’s ordering a Big Mac and shoveling it in our mouth. I want my resolution to be more of Jesus. At least I know with this choice there is no guilt, just unconditional love and forgiveness, a chance for him to show me his plans for my life. Jeremiah 29:11 states, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. I want this to be another year I can shout I KNOW HIM!!!!
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