women getting real

Fountain Springs Community Church presents an Unhindered Encounter

/ Lyschel

Join Us for a two day event.

A candid conversation about how we’ve formed our definition of beauty, what it is costing us emotionally, how it effects our choices in relationships, how porn poisons our perceptions and how God has more than pat answers to offer to all of this.

Its a powerful weekend to be washed by Truth.

March 18th, 7:00pm – 9:30pm

March 19th, 8:30am -1:00pm

Ticket includes a goodie bag, snacks and two days of teaching.
($20 in advance and $30 at the door.)

To learn more about the Unhindered Encounter click here.

He Has Given Us Eternity

/ Jana / 3 Comments

Just wanted to share this beautiful expression of hope from Salem. It makes me think of 1 Peter 3:15, “always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you.” May you be comforted as well.

 

He Has Given Us Eternity


What is life without love’s desire?
A smoldering, dying fire.
A faded shadow of one’s self.
Dreams left collecting dust on the shelf.

He has given us eternity.

To wake another morning,
Looking to see the sun rising,
And think, “‘Tis only one more day.”
No man was made to live that way.

He has given us eternity.

We’re made to dance, and given hope.
We don’t hang by a fraying rope.
We are steadfast in our belief,
That we live under His mercy.

He has given us eternity.

So, jump into the raging seas.
You may drown in uncertainties,
But He stands on the shore.
Go, run to your true Father, for,

He has given us eternity.

–Salem Spicka

Connecting the Dots

/ Jana / 1 Comment

God is about instructing us. “Instructing” comes from a Greek word, paideia — meaning faithful instruction of a believer for a whole person transformation.

I love that. No boxes to check. No stone unturned. Not selective grooming, but a total makeover inside and out.  God is after the transformation of the whole person.  Now look at this perhaps familiar scripture, and then let’s play “connect the dots.”

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.  Philipians 4: 4-8 NKJV

What comes first?  Rejoicing or worship. Transformation is always preceded by worship because we have to get our hearts aligned with Who Truth really is. After worship follows gentleness. Worship has a way of softening hard hearts, watering hard soil. Once the ground has been softened and hearts become gentle, truth can enter in. Who is entering? The Lord is at hand.

He is here among us so that we don’t have to be anxious. This is confidence, that God is among us and for us.  So with confidence we can ask and believe. What comes next? His peace. A peace that acts as shield and covering for our hearts and minds, not our manufactured peace but the supernatural peace of Christ. And once the peace of God is in place, then comes focus. Focus of our thoughts, intentions and attitudes. God wants to instruct us to think about what we think about. Whatever is. . . true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, of virtue, praiseworthy, think on these things. This is God’s loving instruction to simply walk in truth, in God’s perspective on things.

Worship comes first, then gentleness, then confidence in Him, then peace, then focus. . . Meditate on these things.

The Other Side of Asking

/ Jana / 1 Comment

It was one of those 4 a.m. wrestlings.  I was rolling around and around about this relationship and that problem. “Lord, help me, help me.”  And His voice came so clear to my spirit: Do you Receive My grace as much as you Ask for it?

What?? Then He tutored me on moving from always asking to simply receiving the Yes and Amen of His heart: His Grace is His promise to me, to you.  So I went back through my list and re-stated my prayers: “Lord, I receive Your grace for this situation. Lord, I receive Your grace for this relationship. Lord, I receive Your grace for the unknown of this outcome.”

I do a lot of talking to the Lord, which is a good thing. But after this revelation, I realize the Lord is leading me to a different place of believing in Him.  Remember Graham Cooke said that we work “from victory not for it.” So in the same way, we not only ask for grace but we Receive it. Do I believe this? Do you? It is one thing to ask, it is another thing to believe He hears and responds. Yes, we may not see the end result immediately. (It’s called walking by faith not by sight.) But will we walk in the belief of and rest in the Yes of His Grace?

I got the best picture of two people talking. The first person asked for  a present from the other person. But just as the second person began to hand the first a gift, the first person turned her back.  The first person kept turning in circles and continued to ask for a gift.  All the while, the second person was trying to get the attention of the first person to give her the gift she asked for.

Sound familiar?  Maybe today, modify your prayers from “Will You Lord . . . ? to “I receive Your grace for . . . .”  He loves to be our Yes and Amen God.

Following You

/ Jana / 2 Comments

In honor of Valentine’s Day and a momentous two year anniversary, I want to play you a song that is on the Real. Life. worship cd.

The two year anniversary marks one of our darkest seasons when Chuck and I were both stepping back to assess whether our marriage could be salvaged. We were separated and seeking the Lord for resurrection power. This morning, we prayed together with hearts full of gratitude that He indeed  had resurrected our lives out of the ashes.

What’s ironic is that I wrote this song in the first year of our marriage almost twenty years ago. I had no idea the prophetic word it would be over our lives.  God has done exactly what the lyrics say:  Burn us up/ melt us down/ create a gold that’s new.  I see that it is our following Jesus that has brought us to this point of gratefulness and joy.

I love Him. I love that He loves us so. Thank You, Lord, that You did not shy away from the heat of loving us. Amen.

Following You

Words and Melody by Jana Spicka
Guitar Framework by Roselynn Spicka

Acoustic Guitars: Stephanie Sapp

I’m following you through the fire
I’m following you through the fire
Of a burning churning love affair
I say you and you say me

We say you, me, you
It’s a fire of a lifetime
Of days turned  gray with age
and years of burning love

Stronger than rivers
Carving out canyons from stone
Stronger than tremors
Cracking the face of the earth
Greater than thunder
Rolling the passions of our souls

I’m following you through the fire
And I know we’re really scared
I’m following into the fire of hearts
and we’ll make a new home there

Burn us up and melt up down
and create a gold that’s new
It’s a fire of a lifetime
I will not shy away from the heat of loving you

Fire and flame
How we change
Past the pain
We shall rise above

Through days turned  gray with age
and years of burning love
Stronger than rivers
Carving out canyons from stone
Stronger than tremors
Cracking the face of the earth
Longer than mountains
Falling from the weight of time

Following you through fire
fire and flame

You’re My Beloved

/ Jana / 1 Comment

It is so perfect that Valentine’s Day falls so quickly after the last Unhindered Encounter. Watching God literally sweep women out of their pews and off their feet is truly “supernatural.”

You heard Him clearly. You didn’t hear Him clearly. You are messed up. You are naked and exposed. You are confirmed and affirmed like never before. So I wanted to offer this bit of coaching for the “now what” phase we all enter.  The only thing I can tell you is let go. Let go. Continue letting go. I told a friend of mine this morning, “Just fall into His arms.”

When I get bound up in questions like, How do I look?, Is this right? Am I on track? — my eyes are still on me. It is a lot  like when you are learning how to dance; you watch your feet. But when you look at the face of the person you are dancing with, you let go of getting it just right. Look into His face. Sure you will stumble and step on His feet, but His arms steady you. Over time, you will begin to feel the rhythm of the music, the feeling of His embrace. If you will let yourself go,  you stop worrying about what your feet are doing because you just want to move to the music. Move to His music. And keep asking for more.

You know what I am going to do today? I’m going to make Him a Valentine card. I want my heart to be His. So I thought I would stretch and see what happens when I ask Him to be my Valentine.  Remember it is about the dancing, not the feet.

Just enjoy the process of discovery. He sure does. “I am my beloved’s and His desire is for me.”

Unhindered Encounter – February 12, 2011

/ Lyschel

‘…it feels like Jesus has washed my face. He has carefully but intently scrubbed off the lies, heartache and rejection caked on my face then rinsed it with his living water. And with my face cupped gently in his hands, he smiles and whispers, ‘Oh there you are’.” – from Unhindered, by Jana Spicka

Go Deeper.
Real Life. Real God. Real Freedom.

Radical definitions of beauty, intimacy, life. Experience a true love story.

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.

Ticket prices includes: 4 teaching session, live worship, lunch, the Unhindered Worship CD, and more.

Register Early for Discounts!!!

To find out more about the Unhindered Encounter event and hear personal testimonies click here

Reality Check: Sessions include candid conversations and mature themes in media

Click Here to Register

(you must create an account to access the registration form)

Battle Cry

/ Jana / 2 Comments

I was going to take out segments of this article as fodder for the conversation about who are we battling and why. But as I re-read it, it is simply too rich to condense. Mull on the phrase, from victory not towards it. Intimidation is answered through intimacy. May the Lord grant you revelation of your authority as co-heir and may you walk in His power for His glory today.

Jana

THE BATTLE IS NOT OURS TO WIN…
IT IS OURS TO LOSE

by Graham Cooke

Jesus has disarmed both rulers and authorities, making a mockery of their power in the process and celebrating His own triumph over them by the cross (Colossians 2:15). Now as ever the battle is not ours but the Lord’s (2 Chronicles 20:15).

We serve a powerful King who loves to fight! He laughs at those who oppose him (Psalms 2:4; 37:13). In the Kingdom, we fight from victory; not towards it. Jesus has already won. In Him we partake of His overcoming. We are more than conquerors because we know the outcome before we enter the fray.

In Christ, our posture before the enemy must reflect our status in the Kingdom. We are an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ. We have been given power and authority through the Holy Spirit. In warfare, we rejoice before we pray. We give thanks for His majesty and supremacy. We are not overcome by our circumstances, we are overwhelmed by sovereignty. We are too busy being fascinated by Jesus to be intimidated by the enemy. We rejoice so that our praying can be powerful and effective. We praise because we occupy the position of an overcomer.

We stand in this space and we occupy our standing in Jesus through praise of His Majesty. The battle is won already; it is our partnering with victory that guarantees the outcome. We have the capacity to lose this battle only by default.

Lack of true rejoicing and thanksgiving will always embolden the enemy at our expense. The power of wickedness may increase in our perception if our worship is diminished and our focus on sovereignty reduced.

The only viable answer to intimidation is an increase in intimacy with the Lord. David was a “man after God’s own heart;” i.e., a worshipper. His intimacy gave him power over the intimidation of Goliath. He became a giant killer.

We can lose every fight if we have no focus. If our lives display a lack of worship we will never even show up for the fight. We will lose because we do not know how to stand. We will petition God for power when He has already given us authority in Jesus’ name. In rejoicing we receive revelation concerning the particulars of our overcoming.

Decide who you want to be and the Holy Spirit will empower you to become it.
-Graham

What Are You Battling and Why?

/ Jana / 1 Comment

The world, the flesh and the devil.

I have heard three very powerful concepts lately. First: Graham Cooke talks about how “in the Kingdom we fight from victory not towards it.” Second: another devotional talks about how weary we become when we battle the world, the flesh, and the devil. And finally the Lord is giving me a revelation out of Psalm 19 about the meditations of our hearts and the words of our mouths. Stay tuned as we unpack all three of these and how they are related over the next few days.

For today, I want to sit in the reality of the sufficiency of God in our lives and in our moments. If Christ is victorious, then why do we live such defeated, helpless lives? If God is for us, then why do we live as if we are abandoned and alone? If the Holy Spirit leads us into truth and comforts us, then why do we talk more about our world, our flesh and our enemy than the presence of God? 

This morning my soul groans to be swept up into the arms of God to see the greater reality of Him. Either He is, or He isn’t. If He truly IS, then everything about our lives is changed because of it. If He IS NOT, then indeed our lives are as bad we say they are. It is our trying to live between these two statements that is killing us.

Today, let’s realign ourselves with the Truth. He is a warrior God, Almighty is His name. He is victorious over the world, our flesh and the devil. We are on the Winning Side. We are not the conquered captives, hanging our heads in shame. We are the valiant ones charging forward in the name of God, in the shadow of His wings. Be still and KNOW that He is GOD over all. Even your world, your flesh and your devil.

WGR Spring Class 2011

/ Lyschel

This is a great place to go deeper into relationship with Jesus and other women. Both seem scary we know. But this is a place where we talk about real life topics and look for God to show up in the middle of our lives.

The class is for all ages and does not require perfect attendance. Or homework. Join us in person at Fellowship Church every Tuesday night from 7:00pm – 9:00pm (childcare is provided for those who register).

Or join us online LIVE. Our next session begins February 1, 2011 and goes until May 2011.

Can’t make them all? No worries. Just come when you can.

Don’t forget you must register below in order to have childcare throughout the session. Wanna know more about what the WGR Class is all about? Click Here