Calvary Women's 2nd Annual Mystery Girls Night Out

Friends,

I am so sorry it has taken me an eternity to post the pictures from our 2nd Annual Girls Night Out. Thank you for being patient with me. What a fun night it was! Enjoy the pictures. I love you all...to pieces.

Gasping For Air

Dear Sisters,
Life is hard sometimes. Things get tough. Hearts are breaking. Many tears have been shed. The Lord tells us in His Word that in this world, we will have trouble (John 16:33). Sometimes life becomes so difficult, that it feels as if we are choking and looking for opportunites to gasp for air. Worries that plague our minds, all of sudden, start to consume our hearts...so much as to make us quickly lose our focus and take our eyes off of the prize (Phillippians 3:14). We are so apt to take trivial matters within our lives and turn them into mountains that block our paths toward righteousness.

If this is you, take heart. I pray that you will keep an eternal perspective. Second Corinthians 4: 17 and 18 tells us for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all (the challenges of life). So, let us keep our eyes NOT on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary. (Praise the Lord.) But what is unseen is eternal. (Hallelujah.)

I want you to know that you are loved. I think about you all almost everyday. I pray for you often. I want nothing more than for you to know how much our Savior loves you. He is crazy about you. He wants you to walk with Him. If you are gasping for air, cry out to the Lord. He will answer by setting you free. Check it out for yourself in Psalm 118:5-7.

Bible teacher Beth Moore said, "You will never waste a moment you spend with an open heart in God's Word." I have found this to be so true for my life. I pray God's Word will become a physical component of who you are. Ask the Lord to help you make His Word become active and alive within you. He will show you how. He is just waiting for you to ask. Quit gasping for air. Your Life Support is just a prayer away.

"Do not withhold your mercy from me, O Lord; may your love and your truth always protect me. For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. Be pleased, O Lord, to save me; O Lord, come quickly to help me." - Psalm 40:11-13 (NIV)

I have the proof!!

Girls,

I knew you wouldn't believe me if I just told y'all this. So, I took a picture so that you would believe that this event actually occurred. Are you ready? Brace yourself...

Brent mopped the floor for me last night and did a fabulous job. For those of you who attended the Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage event, you will understand that this monumental occurrence made my heart pitter pat...which, in return, led to a big fat smiley face on Brent's "face." ;) He accumulated many "dings" as a result of this. Trust me, girls. Work the system. Work the system.

Food For Thought...

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20

I was moved today by something I read. Each day, I try to read from Charles Stanley's publication entitled In Touch. Today's entry convicted me to my core. Here is what Stanley said...

"In Matthew 28:18-20, the Lord gives us what is known as the Great Commission. This is a charge for all of us who believe; we are to go out and spread the truth about Jesus Christ, teaching others what we have been taught. Likewise in 2 Timothy 2:2, Paul instructs Timothy not only to tell others what he has learned but also to encourage those men to tell even more people. In 2 Corinthians 5:20, Paul even states that we, as believers, are 'ambassadors for Christ.' In other words, we are His emissaries to the world. We are to take what we know and make it known to those we encounter. For what purpose? The passage makes it clear that our mission is to help others be reconciled to God. How can we ever doubt the urgency of this message? We have a truth to tell, and we must share it."

Stanley then presents a challenge to readers...

"This week, take the time to write out your faith story, including all the key details. Review this testimony so you'll feel comfortable and confident sharing it with little or no warning. Then, pray for opportunities to share your faith. This shouldn't be scary; just tell your story, and trust the results to God."

What's your story?

You are loved!

I am...

I thought this would be a fun way for us to learn more about one another. I am going to list 10 things about myself, and I would love for you to do the same in the comment section of this blog post. Looking forward to reading and learning more about you. You are loved.

I am...
a daughter of the King and want to never take that role lightly.
married to the sweetest, cutest, and most loving man.
in love with my two boys - Wade and Eli.
addicted to Hot Tamales (the candy).
listening mostly to Selah's new cd.
apart of a church family that wants only the will of God to be done.
thankful for my bff - Erin.
shopping mostly at Cato's these days (such cute clothes).
an avid collector of purses and shoes (thank you, Dana, for my new purse).
hoping to learn more about my Calvary sisters through this blog post.

Breathe

I was caught off guard today. At church, we sang Breathe as the invitation song. Girls, I was so convicted as I listened and sang the words of this song. I have so many conditions that I place on God. For example, I often look forward to Sunday so that I can get my "God-fix" for the week. When things aren't going the way I would like them to go at church, at home, at work, wherever, I often feel like I've been separated from the Lord. I believe that is because I put God in a box that I only open on Sundays at MY church. The Lord reminded me today through the words of this song just how much I need Him in every aspect of my life. He wants so much to be MORE than a box JUST opened on Sunday. Girls, He wants to be the air we breathe. He wants us to want His Holy Presence to live in our lives. He wants us to need Him like we need food and water. He wants to be our Daily Bread AND He wants us to hunger for His Word so that it becomes a physical component of who we are.


I realized this morning just how desperate I was for Him. I realized, too, just how lost I am without Him. As I was overcome with this realiztion...as I was caught completely off guard, all I felt I could do was extend my hand to Him and acknowledge just how desperate I am...just how lost I am without Him. We don't have to wait until Sundays to experience His presence in our lives. We don't have to wait for our Sunday School teacher or our Pastor to deliver some radical message just so that we will feel His existence in our lives. We can have Him everyday, wherever we are, and there is nothing in this world that can separate us from His love. I don't know about you, but the Lord simply took my breath away this morning. As my heart was pounding so loudly that I thought those around me were going to hear, I cried out and said, "Oh God, carry me, help me, love me. Because Lord, I AM desperate without you. I am lost without you. "


Girls, He's right there...just a prayer away. Tell Him how much you need Him and ask Him to surround you with His presence. Ask Him to show you how to make His Word apart of your life. He'll do it. Don't wait until Sunday to ask. You'll forget by then. Ask Him now. Know that I am asking Him the very same thing. You are loved so very much.



Take a minute to worship Him as you read and apply the simple lyrics of this song.

Breathe
This is the air I breathe.
This is the air I breathe.
Your holy presence living in me.

This is my daily bread.
This is my daily bread.
Your very word spoken to me.

And I'm desperate for you.
And I'm, I'm lost without you.

2nd Annual Mystery Girls Night Out

Girls, it is that time again!! Time for our 2nd Annual Mystery Girls Night Out. Mark your calendars for October 10. This event will guarantee a time of much-needed and long-overdue fun. I am having to resist the urge to tell you all about it (hence the word Mystery). Rest assured, however, that it will be a fabulous time.

Here is what I need you to do. If you plan to attend, I must have your name. We need to have an accurate headcount in order to ensure enough food. All you need to do is ONE of the following: 1) comment on this post, 2) send me an email at calvarywomen@gmail.com, OR 3) sign up in the foyer located outside the piano-side entrance to the Worship Center. The deadline to sign up is Sunday, October 4. Please don't wait until the last minute to sign up. We don't want anyone to miss out on this event. :)

Please feel free to invite your friends, family members, co-workers, Sunday School members, etc. The more, the merrier. If you have a Calvary Women T-shirt, please wear it if you would like. If you don't have a T-shirt, don't worry. We will be selling them at church on Sept. 13, Sept. 27, and at Mystery Girls Night Out on Oct. 10.

The plans are to meet in the church parking lot at 5:00 p.m. This event is completely cost-free. Oh, how I can't wait to see all of your precious faces. Have a great weekend. See y'all next week. Brent and I are off to watch LA Tech play Auburn. Go Dawgs!! :)

We Laughed Our Way...

My Dear Sisters,

My jaw muscles are sore. My abs have gotten the work-out of my life. And I am depressed. Depressed that Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage is over. Watching Mark Gungor and his team walk away last night after the event ended was like watching my children graduate from college and move out of the house. I was so sad to see them go. One thing is for certain. The Lord showed up, and He showed up in a mighty way. What amazes me is how closer I feel to my church family. Isn't it astonishing what coming together as the body of Christ and laughing our heads off can do to the soul?! I love my church family more today than I ever have.

If you were unable to come to Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage, I must admit that you missed out. But you can still hear a sample of what we heard over the course of the weekend. Simply, go to laughyourway.com and click on anything that strikes your fancy. I promise you will have a good laugh.

If you were able to attend the event, I would love to hear what you thought. Tell us any funny stories you might have OR just how the Lord used this event to make an impact on your life and/or your marriage. I can't wait to read what you've got to write.

Have a wonderful weekend. Love to you all.

It is official!

Well girls, I created my first-ever blog. I pray this blog will be a source of encouragement for you. I can't wait to share more with you about what the Lord is doing in my life. I look even more forward to reading what the Lord is doing in your life. Please feel free to comment on any post I make...I encourage you to do just that. I will first read each of your comments then be able to publish them for the rest of us to read. In the meantime, read this quote and then comment so that I can read what you think about it. Here it is...

"It [being a Christian] is not a game where the winners are living to their full potential. It's not a quest to be happy. It's a life of surrender and sacrifice, which means sometimes you might not be happy. You might actually find the most precious gift of all through your own brokenness.

Following Jesus isn't about having your best life now, that's for sure. It's not about me at all. It's about denying myself, picking up my cross, and following the Sufferer all the way. The way is rough, the way is narrow, and the way is very, very dirty." - James Perry Walker from Dirty Word: The Vulgar, Offensive Language of the Kingdom of God

Now that's something to chew on. Let me read your thoughts...