The Gift of Sisters in Christ

I remain prayerful for you as my sister in Christ;

That the Lord meets you at the threshold of your needs, hears your hearts cry, speaks to your insecurities, heals the wounds of your past and reveals to you the joy of Christian sisterhood and community;

I pray,
That through your journey, (which is your response to the Lord’s
leading in your life), you are able to remember to do unto others as you’d have done to you;

That you know to give place to wrath, for it is written “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

I pray,
That you will be blessed with the fruits of the Spirit and that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control may rest, rule and abide in your spirit;

That you will know the FULLNESS of God and His purpose for your life specifically in this season,

I pray in earnest that you may be STILL and know that He is God;
That you may find refuge in His Word, and it inspires you to live holy and righteous in His sight, to always speak the truth in love;

I pray,
That you pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another;

That He heightens your discernment and that you will SEE the wonderful gift of sisters in Christ who are willing to share with you;

I pray,
That in His time, for His purpose, He ministers to you through
your gift of sisters in Christ that he has planted around you!

You have been a GIFT in my life and I will always
pray for, and thank God for you, my sister in Christ!

My Fervent Prayer

Six months ago I happened upon a place called Landmark Church. Not by accident, (of course,) as nothing happens in the Kingdom of God by accident. I like to call it a Divine Incident. Although I really did not know it then, The Lord was about to answer my most fervent prayer.

I had been praying for some time for a peaceful place to fellowship in a community with Women of God… a place fertile with the Word and free of distractions of any kind. I also prayed for a timely Word, a Word that deals with women today in times such as these!

It all started with me wanting to go to an Avalon concert. The concert was being held at Landmark. I remembered how to step out in faith having just 8 short years prior moved to a town where I knew no one. So feeling completely confident going to the concert alone, I bought a ticket.

The concert was fantastic (I love AVALON!) and on the way out, I saw a sign that read, “Women’s Sunday School Class”. (Divine Incident!) Immediately deposited in my spirit I knew I was supposed to go back to the class.

The very next Sunday morning, on my way to the class, I wondered, what was it that was drawing me there? Why did I feel so calm and comfortable about going? Well I knew part of the WHY was in how a Divine Incident works. The Lord knows EXACTLY what we need and when we need it. HE also knows the plans that he has for us, plans to prosper us and not harm us.

The other part that made me so comfortable was the atmosphere of the drive in! The long curved driveway up towards the sanctuary of Landmark Church was so peaceful! By the time I stepped in the front door of the church, I had already encountered some of my favorite things, park-like trees, a beautiful waterfall fountain, ducks and the most-friendly people.

My spirit was already primed to receive some AWESOME things. Once in the class, I was not disappointed. The class teacher, Marie, immediately impressed me as a Woman of God, who I could tell, had a real passion for women. Not unlike a passion of my own, I felt a kindred spirit. The environment of the class was warm and inclusive and most importantly, Jesus-centric.

One of the first things Marie said in class was how women today can turn to scripture for God’s WORD to live in this season….she was talking about a right–now Word!

Wow! My prayer! The Lord is really in the blessing business when we step out in faith.

Sometimes, well most times, we are not even remotely aware of the magnificent plans HE actually does have for us or just how His answers to our prayers unfold.

Each time I returned to the class, formally called Gifted Women’s Life Class, (GWLC) the Lord revealed a little more to me of why I was there.

Needless to say my time with the GWLC was nothing short of miraculous and actually lined up with so many things the Lord had placed in my spirit.

I have so appreciated my time with the GWLC at Landmark Church. Although I’m saddened that the class will end soon, I am encouraged by the growth at Landmark and the need to add another worship service. And as the Lord would have it, HE did not leave me or forsake me, HE saw fit that the GWLC would go on in a monthly worship service to “ReFuel” me. HE, again, met me at the threshold of my need.

Six months ago, I thought I was just going to a concert, but the Holy Spirit had a different agenda. I was led to the GWLC at Landmark Church and the Lord, through Divine Incident, answered my most fervent prayer.

Women Who Encourage!

“ Therefore encourage one another and build each other up…” 1 Thess 5:11

One of the most important things we can do for each other, especially in this season, is to ENCOURAGE one another! Why? Because we have been DISSED! Disenfranchised, Dismayed, Disenchanted, Dispersed, Disengaged, and Dismissed! The only way to reverse the world’s effects, is for WOMEN of GOD to set a standard of encouragement. Being encouraged DAILY gives women the building blocks needed to stay in the right posture as God’s girls! It’s the divine fuel, that keeps us going. Just a few words of encouragement releases us from the world’s toxic grip. When we encourage, God’s power to heal and restore is diffused through us.


What’s Your Favorite Way to Encourage Others?

One of my favorites is to offer praise. Sometimes women need to hear something really good (and true!) about themselves. An outfit that looks good on them, a skill they excel in or a special personality trait they have. I want them to know that I see their significance and I appreciate it!

Here are some other ways to encourage others:

Make celebration a more regular part of your relationships. Celebrate others' victories, large and small-with a note, with coffee together, with a special meal, a congratulatory phone call or just a high-five!

Use encouragement as an outreach. If anyone should be known for being an encourager, it should be the Christian. Write a letter of appreciation to people at work, your apartment manager, your child's teacher or your doctor. Often when we interact with these people, we are asking for their services. Take time just to say thank you!

A Night of Hope

I just recently volunteered at a Joel Osteen event. It was the most spiritual event I’ve attended in quite some time. Not sure if you have ever been to “A Night of Hope” with the Osteen’s, but let me share it with you.

Early in the afternoon, shortly after arriving at the venue, our volunteer stint began with getting our assignments. I took 3 girlfriends with me. We all volunteered to be ushers. We were all so excited.

The Osteen group is so large that they designate teams to travel to specific cities. The ones assigned to us were responsible for the 100’s of volunteers ensuring all went well in the areas of greeters, ushers, set up people and retail.

After being instructed on our duties, we were told to pick a section of the arena and get acclimated to the layout (where restrooms, and concessions were etc). and just simply “love up” on the people as they entered in to our sections. WOW!

We had about an hour or so still before the event began. We were escorted to a comfortable private seating area where we enjoyed boxed lunches and conversation with the other volunteers! WOW!

Now as an usher, our specific duty was to pass out offering baskets on one side of the aisle and collect them on the other. Upon picking our sections, we tallied the number of aisles to get the appropriate number of offering buckets to store them in our sections until we heard the signal to retrieve them. We were to return the full buckets to a collection team that would meet us several feet away after offering was completed. After that, we were free to enjoy “A night of Hope”.

The worship leader was Cindy Cruse-Ratcliff, who with a back up ensemble, sang to the LORD! Halleujah! With several large video screens showing the words to each song, the audience could join in. And we did! What a magnificent spirit that covered that place! Wow!

During the course of the night, Joel and Victoria spoke and prayed over the audience, who at this point, had became a congregation. Joel’s mother gave her testimony of being victorious over cancer. And in a tender moment, Alexandria Osteen, Joel and Victoria’s little daughter, sang. It was so moving and uplifting.

At one point during the night, Joel became overcome with emotion as he spoke of his dad, who passed away after seeing Joel preach in his stead for the very first time.

Then, Joel's message.

If you have ever heard Joel on TV, he has the most calming demeanor, the most peaceful, authentic, sure delivery. He delivers a POWER punch without ever hitting you. His message just falls ever so gently, like a feather, taking its time, floating back and forth, and you, entranced by the shear beauty of it; as it lands purposefully in your spirit. It is an awesomely beautiful thing. And you just get it. Wow!

His Kingdom Come - TODAY!

I subscribe to a magazine called, “Today’s Christian Woman”. The tag line reads, Engaging your Heart, Soul, Strength, Mind

I thoroughly enjoyed the below article:

Jan/Feb 2008 issue
Article Author: Keri Wyatt Kent
Scripture References:
Luke 10:8-9; 17:20-21; Matt 5:3; 6:10; John 13:35; Matt 25:35-36; Matt 6:3

The article was entitled: “Your Kingdom Come”

As a child, one of the first passages from the bible I committed to memory was the Lord’s Prayer. When I grew up, often still reciting it, I wondered what it REALLY meant. It was not until I started to study God’s Word, that I understood exactly what, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” really meant. The time to actively start kingdom building (and living) is TODAY!

The writer says, the kingdom of heaven is not just a destination, it is a movement!

A movement? That’s a shift, a shake up, a rallying together for a CAUSE, an action. Could that mean that the Lord wants us to DO something, to change our posture toward something so that “on earth, as it is in heaven” will come to pass? If the Lord wants us to have what He created for us in heaven right now, that is exactly what it means! We have to actively pull the kingdom of heaven down!

The Lord wants the fruits of the spirit to be in full bloom, today. He wants us to do unto others as we’d have done to us, today. He wants us to bear each other burdens, today.

According to the gospel of Luke, the victim in the parable of the Good Samaritan, was helped, nursed back to health and his lodging and food paid for by a stranger. The Lord wants us to “go and do the same”, today. In Matt 25:35-36, “when I was hungry, you gave Me food, I was thirsty, you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked, and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison, and you came to Me”.

The writer says that people in the kingdom of God choose to do these things TODAY.

We can reflect the kingdom of God here on earth today, as it starts in our own hearts. From the heart, comes the DOING! The writer suggests these spiritual practices;

* Praying – Against injustices and listening to what the Lord would have us do
* Living Simply – Seeking God’s kingdom first
* Giving – As the Lord instructs

In addition to learning that prayer as a child, I also learned that actions speak louder than words! So, in participating in the movement, I study and consistently try to put God’s word (written and revealed) into practice on a daily basis. After coming in to the knowledge of what this part of the Lord’s Prayer really means for us, it is obedience and submission to His master plan that will allow His kingdom to come TODAY!

Grateful

I subscribe to a magazine called “Just Between Us”. The tag line reads, “For Women with a Heart for Ministry”.

I read an article from the Winter 2007 issue recently.
Author: Joyce Wallace
Scripture References:
Psa 30: 11-12; 1 Thess 5:16-18; Psa 106:1; Rom 5:3-4; Rom 8:18-19; Rev. 7:17; 2 Cor 4:17; Jonah 2:9

The article was entitled, “habits of the GRATEFUL”

With excitement of the New Year still fresh, I have pondered what I will do in 2008 to be all the Lord has called me to be. Although I have been “churched” all of my life, I realize that I fall short of what the Lord has called me to be consistent in.

The article starts with an awesome quote from poet Celia Thaxter, “There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart.” The bible teaches “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”. 1 Thess 5:16

Really, everything? In our daily lives it seems increasingly hard to “give thanks” in everything. That would mean, disregarding my worldly expectations, disappointments, afflictions, and every other thing that life deals me that would not ordinarily warrant a sincere grateful heart. Getting past this is exactly what Paul means when he writes in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us”. Our focus needs to change to understand that our gratefulness is in a God who never forsakes us, never leaves us and has specific promises for us. “For I know the plans I have for you..” Jer 29:11

Once we receive this in our spirits we can begin to consistently incorporate gratefulness in our everyday lives. The writer offers these simple habits:

Say Thank You
Pass Gratitude On
Celebrate God’s Bounty
Be Generous
Be Honest about your Sorrows and Thank God for who He is
Read the Psalms

As the Lord would have it, BEFORE I read this article, He had led me to purchase several boxes of “Thank You” notes to share with all the people who have through the years sowed positively in to my life. I shared with a new sister in Christ recently, there is no such thing as a coincidence. I believe in a Godincident and of course this article has truly been that!

My thank yous are not quite ready to be mailed but I really feel good about the Lord’s leading in my life to express a sentiment that is SO long overdue.

Dreams

I subscribe to a magazine called PRAY! The tag line of it reads: A Decade of Encouraging a Passion for Christ through Prayer.

I read a very interesting article in the Nov/Dec 2007 issue recently.
Author: Arlyn Lawrence
Scripture References:
Gen 31:11-13; 37:5; Numbers 12:6; 1 Kings 3:5; Matt 1:20, 2:13
Joel 2:28-29;Acts 2:16-17
Job 33:14-15

The article was entitled, “Was That You, Lord?”

I lost a dear friend and mentor to me on December 18, 2007. Strangely, 2 days prior to his death, I had a dream that he died. I told my husband about the dream and really did not dwell on it too much. I have had these types of dreams before.

When I came across this article, it made me really consider my dream a little more closely and just why I had it. The writer begins by saying that she had dreams that came to pass in her own life and she wrote them off as coincidences. As she matured in her faith she realized, what I have come to realize as well, that God speaks to some (not all) in this fashion, in our dreams!

In scripture, God spoke to Jacob in a dream showing him that he knew what his father in law Laban had done to him. As we also remember quite vividly from scripture, Joseph had many dreams where God showed him many things. An angel of the Lord offered another Joseph a warning for he and his family to flee to Egypt in Matt 2:13.

God primarily uses dreams to:
Warn us
Give us direction
Prepare us for something
Give us His perspective on something about which we may have a blind spot
Call us into intercession
Give us specific supernatural insight about how to pray for a person/situation


The writer suggests that you keep a pen and paper by your bedside and record your dreams as soon as you wake up. That is a great suggestion.

In the future as I dream, I will too be prompted to ask, “Is that You Lord?” and pray for discernment as I reflect on the dream.

I will also be increasingly aware that the Lord DOES speak and dreams are just one of the ways that He does.

DawneBiggs