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What a Difference a Year Makes

/ Jana / Leave a comment

One couple, believe it or not, was divorced when they came. Another couple was moving toward divorce.  In fact the only reason the wife stayed was because there were two beds in their room.

Where are they now, a year later?  The divorced couple is remarried! Not perfect but willing to try marriage God’s way. The other couple has had radical life changes as they begin to see how God changes everything. Again, they are not perfect, but they are still together and willing to try life with God as the center.

Other couples came to get refreshed, or reconnected, or catch their breaths.

What are we talking about? The Marriage Retreat of 2010.  And with the deposit deadline approaching for the Marriage Retreat of 2011, I want to challenge you to get off the fence.  Trust God for the money. Take the time to invest in your marriage.

Your marriage affects EVERY area of your life. Don’t think for a moment that this time isn’t well spent, the money isn’t well invested.

Deadline to register is THIS Friday. It’s only $50 to reserve your suite. Renew your hearts with God and with each other.

Register Here

Just in Time for Giving

/ Jana / Leave a comment

Wow! Do I have  a lot to be thankful for…And on the top of my list is the new book, “Dine with Me.”  It is a year’s worth of thoughts, stories, meditations, songs and challenges. It was so good for me to be working on it these last two weeks because it just filled my heart with reminders of God”s faithfulness over the last year.

Hope you will feast on it too.  It is a great way to enjoy the Lord, but it is also a great way to introduce your friends and families into the deeper life with God that’s possible for us all.  Order now. We are only getting limited numbers in the beginning. Cost is $12.

Labor Pains

/ Jana / 1 Comment

It is always good to throw yourself out there. Risk is good for the Christian because it forces us off the ledge and into the arms of God.

So with that preface, here is me running off the cliff.  Our new Devotional Book is to be delivered Dec 12th! And our new worship CD will be released in February 2011.

There is still much to do, much to pray through and much to watch God do. But I am eager to see where all this lands.

Please be in prayer for all the hands that are working in this delivery process.  I told Laura last night as we looked at each other, tired and bewildered, that labor is always hardest right before the baby comes.

So pray for us band of midwives as we seek to deliver these messages of God’s power and beauty.

Sure You Do!

/ Jana / Leave a comment

So Chuck is out of town this week and Charis made him a package of notes and cards. His first one was a doozy. Lots of sweet words and notions, but she ended it with a great question.

Do you miss me? Sure you do!

Chuck and I laughed about her tender heart that is so willing and able to receive love. She just simply can’t fathom why someone wouldn’t enjoy her.

And after I got off the phone with Chuck, I considered that God sends us similar notes. “Jana do you miss spending time with Me? Sure you do!” And He is right. I do. Like Charis, only moreso, Jesus is so willing and able to receive love and can’t fathom why I wouldn’t want to simply enjoy His presence.

Don’t just talk about what you need or should do to strengthen your God connection. Just do it. You both will be better for it. You both will enjoy the time spent together.

A Goal For Your Life Today

/ Jana / 2 Comments

Sometimes we stop everything we are doing to talk about what’s wrong with everything we are doing. You’ll notice, that while evaluation is good, rarely does it change the circumstances.

What changes the circumstances is making willful, conscious choices in the right direction. What improves and empowers our life is surrendering to God’s ways of doing life. Love God. Love your neighbor. Love yourself. Love your enemy.

These are not analyses. These are action items.

Francis of Assisi said, “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

For me today, that means my Doing what’s Necessary— my confession and forgiveness. I have business in my heart that needs tending to. No amount of talking about it is going to substitute the act of it.

Then when I have done what’s necessary, forgiving myself and others, I can do what’s Possible—loving again.

And suddenly, I am doing the Impossible — moving out of my self-centered drama and into God’s life, His work, His heart.

So what are you waiting for? What’s the first necessary thing you need to start?

What’s Your “Must Have” ?

/ Jana / 2 Comments

Proverbs 2: 9-11
9 Then you will understand what is right and just
   and fair—every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
   and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you,
   and understanding will guard you.

Sometime we get so caught up in keeping the rules, or avoiding them, that we forget to engage our hearts with God. God is the good path. His wisdom changes our lives and the course of our lives. So to grow in wisdom is to see it as a “must have.” More than hair color, or latest fashions, understanding God’s way of doing what is right and just and fair becomes our greatest gain. He promises when we adjust our lives to that end, we will experience great benefit.

Open, Eager, or Desperate?

/ Jana / 1 Comment

Are you ready? Here we go.

To be “open” to something is to acknowledge that your mind is considering new ways and options of thinking. We often use the phrase “open minded.”  We consider such a person to be a broad thinker and willing to be tolerant of opposing or unknown areas.  A think-er is not always a do-er.

Open-ness is not necessarily eager-ness.  With eager comes a kind of desire that pushes you into action. Not just an open-handed consideration, but an eager desire that needs to be acted on.

Now compare being eager to being desperate. Desperation is a driving force that must be  completed, satisfied, answered.  Acts of desperation are done without regard to personal cost.

Now then. Which are you— open, eager, desperate— when asking for God’s gifts, His spiritual gifts?

1 Corinthians 14:1 talks about following the way of love and eagerly, jealously, ardently desiring the works of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Paul said many times that we are to want all the gifts that God has for us, and to do that in a desperate, driven, longing for fulfillment kind of way.

So, how much of God do you want?

Unhindered Encounter 2.0 Registration

/ Lyschel / Leave a comment
Registration is now LIVE!

We are so excited to offer a discounted price for the February Unhindered Encounter 2.0. You can register right now for ONLY $35 (limited time). This price includes: 4 teaching session, live worship, lunch, the Unhindered Worship CD, and more.

Join us for a one day woman’s event hosted by Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church and Women Getting Real Ministries.

Lead by Author/Speaker Jana Spicka and the Women Getting Real Team.

Don’t forget to share with your friends!!!

For more info about the Unhindered Encounter click here

Unhindered Volunteer Call

/ Lyschel

Hello Friends!

Get ready…..…it’s coming! We are excited to announce that the next Unhindered Encounter will be on February 12, 2011 at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, TN.

My name is Michelle Gilbert and I am serving as the Volunteer Coordinator. So guess what my role is? To ask for volunteers. We are calling on everyone whether you are new to an Unhindered Encounter or a veteran. There are many different ways you can volunteer. You can volunteer a little time or a lot, it’s up to you. We are expecting this to be a large group of women and will need many volunteers.

We need a team leader and individuals for the following areas:

  • Promotions Team (do you have an hour to put up posters or hand out postcards to friends?)
  • Registration Team (want to help women check in the morning of the event?)
  • Product Team (help us add to someones journey by selling WGR product at the event)
  • Food Team (can you help decorate tables, set out some food and assist with clean up?)
  • Welcome/Greeter Team (is your gifts in hospitality….always willing to help someone?)
  • Ushers (can you help with directing traffic throughout the day?)
  • Intercessory Prayer Team* (feel lead to pray over these women prior to and during the event?)
  • Foot Washers* (want to serve here?)

At this point our immediate need is in the areas of promotions and registration, but you can volunteer for any area. Some of you may doubt your ability but as Jana often encourages us to ask Jesus, I ask you to go to Jesus and ask him what he thinks and how he would have you serve.

To volunteer, please contact me. The best way to reach me is through email at mamagtn@gmail.com or you can my cell at (865) 824-8382. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Thank you in advance and I look forward to seeing how God will work in the lives of His women!

Blessings,
Michelle Gilbert
Unhindered Encounter Volunteer Coordinator

Are You Complacent?

/ Jana / 1 Comment

Proverbs 1 :32
32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
   and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety
   and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

Complacency is a scary word. It means: A feeling of contentment or self-satisfaction, especially when coupled with an unawareness of danger, trouble, or controversy.

When it comes to spiritual blindness, numbness or ignorance, those three things being distinct, complacency is toxic. We don’t look or ask or pursue the things of God because we are content with our own perspective. Yet our perspective is “unaware” of pending danger.

Proverbs is meant for one thing, making one wise. Listen to the way of God. View things through His lenses. Be actively engaged in your world through the power of Christ.  Then you will live without fear of harm.