Stop Wavering!

Hey Ladies!

Long time no blog. My bad. I have no excuse. Bummer about not being able to meet this past Monday due to the weather (have I ever mentioned how much I *dislike* snow and cold?!). I was pretty pumped about the last lesson in our Wake Up series, so I thought I would take a blogging opportunity and give you the much condensed version of the lesson. :-)

Were any of you ever spanked as a child? I'm not ashamed to admit (maybe I should be) that I was spanked quite often. I was a very busy child and oftentimes my busyness got me in trouble. My mom was the spanker in the house. Bless her heart, God love her for not giving up on me, I gave her plenty of reasons to. My mom did something unique whenever a discipline need presented itself. She would spank me, and then she would hug me and tell me she loved me. A hug after a spank. The reason for the discipline was always explained and the hug assured me that no matter what the offense was, I was still her child and she loved me dearly. The last lesson in our Wake Up series was intended to be the hug after the 'spanking' we have taken all semester. (smile)

We spent a lot of time talking about the Israelites in the time of King Josiah and how they followed after God, but only in pretense. Their hearts were actually far from God (2 Chronicles 34-35; Jeremiah 3:10). We talked a lot about choices this semester - are we willing to tear down the Jesus idol that we have built in our own image? Are we going to be honest about the spiritual adultery we have committed? As I was thinking though all of this the phrase "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him" came to me. (You can read the whole story in 1 Kings 18 - one of my all time favs!) I did a little reading on the word waver and it means "to halt" and "to limp". The word picture here is of someone with one leg shorter than the other. Interesting, don't you think? Is the Church limping back and forth between two opinions? Are we seeking after our own desires and then limping into church on Sunday mornings? When will we decide to follow the one true God - wholeheartedly?

In Revelation 3:2, Jesus says "Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God." I have asked myself a lot lately, "what remains?" What was Jesus talking about? I'm no scholar, but I think He was talking about our FAITH.

So back to limping. Why do we limp? Paul admonishes us to run the race. How in the world can we run the race if we are limping? I personally believe one of the main reasons we limp is FEAR and guess what can't exist simultaneously alongside of Fear. Yep, you guessed it: FAITH. If we are going to strengthen our faith, we must remember how HUGE and POWERFUL and SOVREIGN our God is! Have we forgotten that God did not give us a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7)? Take a moment today and read Psalm 23. You may need to be reminded that you need not fear even in the valley of the shadow of death! Why? Only one reason: God is WITH YOU. Remember who your God is! If He is for you, who can be against you??

Let's step up our prayer life. Let's pray like the believers in the first century that constantly faced persecution. They prayed for BOLDNESS. If we fix our eyes on God Almighty, the Creator of the universe, the One who gives us breath, our fear will melt away knowing He is in control and He is with us.

No more limping! Pray for boldness! Strengthen what remains of your faith!!We have a HUGE God!! We need not fear.....anything!

There's your hug.
:-)

Got Issues??

Hi ladies,

Just looking for a little feedback.. actually A LOT of feedback would be more helpful.

Please tell us your number one "issue" that you are dealing with, struggling with, trying to get over, wanting to learn from, completely confused by, frustrated about, angry with, etc. etc...

What is your ISSUE in life right now?

Feel free to reply as ANONYMOUS.

thanks, girls!

I want you to cover me..

It was a simple scenario. My 5 year old daughter and I were on our porch waiting for the bus to arrive. It was a little chilly and I had even decided to put a light sweater on her. But when I asked if she wanted to wait inside, her reply was sweet and pleading: "No, I want you to cover me."

I immediately brought her into my arms and 'covered her' as best as I could. I also immediately thought of how much I long for my Heavenly Father to cover me.. and how thankful I am that he does.

His response is swift; without hesitation. His response is automatic because of his great love for us; he doesn't stop to think about whether or not we deserve it. He simply acts:

When we call, he is there.
When we cry for mercy, he forgives.
When we are desperate for healing, he sends forth his word and heals.
When we need direction, he guides.
When we are grieving, he comforts.
When we are despised and rejected, he defends and cherishes.
When we are empty, he fills to overflowing.
And when we plead for his covering, he covers us.

I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand —
I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, and who say to [you], 'You are my [daughter]'. ~ Isaiah 51:16

It's that time of year again!!

Man time goes by fast! I can't believe the kids are already going back to school and the stores are selling sweaters. I don't even want to think about colder weather! Yuck! But, I have to remember, with the fall comes many exciting things that make the gross weather tolerable. One of those things is the Beth Moore simulcast! Woo Hoo!! This year will be the third time Ignite has hosted this awesome event. We anticipate it to be even bigger and better than ever before. We are partnering with K-LOVE and have contacted over 100 churches in the area to help us get the word out. We are praying for an awesome outpouring of God's Spirit and we can hardly wait to see what God has planned for us! Don't forget that this is a FREE event so grab all your girlfriends and head to The Creek on 9/18!!
Ignite is also gearing up for a new teaching series beginning on Monday, September 27th. The series is entitled, "Wake Up!" and the idea for the series came from Revelation 3:1-3. I don't want to give too much away at this point but I will tell you this; God has been preparing me and the other ladies who will be teaching the lessons this fall and we are so excited we can barely see straight! We know God has plans to shake us up this fall! Bring it on Lord! We are so tired of sleeping our way through life! We want to be women with strong faith and unyielding courage! We are tired of blending in with our culture!
I hope you will make plans to join us this semester as we cry out to God to WAKE US UP!

Restless?

Do you girls ever get restless? Like you know you are on the edge of some kind of change but you can't put your finger on it? You get the feeling that God is working on a plan but hasn't let you in on it just yet? That's the situation I'm in right now! I have been praying for so long that God would show me the details of His plan just like He did with Moses when He showed him the details of the tabernacle (and talk about details!)
This restlessness that I'm talking about is one of those that has to lead to action - I can't just sit still. Decisions are going to have to be made. I'm trying hard to make sure that the decisions I make are God-driven ordained decisions. I have long said, "It's easier to steer a moving car than it is a parked one." (And just for the record, this weekend I was honored to hear Sarah Palin speak at a Women of Joy conference and she said "God doesn't drive parked cars." Exactly!)
So, with the chance that some of you are perhaps dealing with the same sort of restlessness right now, I wanted to share some of the questions I'm asking myself to make sure my focus is right and I'm being propelled forward in the right direction. Always, always and I say again...ALWAYS check the motives of your heart!
Here's the questions:
1)What stirs my heart?
2)What moves me?
3)What gets me noticeably excited?
4)What propels me forward?
5)What frustrates me?
6)What do I want to set right?
7)What do I want to see?

If your answer to these questions accurately reflect the desires of your heart and you recognize that God Himself has given you those desires; then keep moving girlfriends! He will continue to direct your steps even if He's not showing you all the details of the plan right now. I'm trusting Him to do the same for me!

Looking forward to seeing you all at the Christa Wells and Nichole Witt concert next Monday! What a way to end the semester!!!

Love you all dearly!

BREAKING FREE

Hi girls ~ be sure to make your plans NOW to participate in the newly released Breaking Free study by Beth Moore. Beginning June 14th at 6:30pm Atrium B. To reserve a workbook, email Linda@ignitewomen.com

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO... you won't want to miss this!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIjZt5ux4Gk

I like to win!

I like to win. No, I mean, I really, really, REALLY like to win. Which means I REALLY hate to lose. I mean, I really, REALLY hate to lose. If you know me at all, you know that I am a University of Kentucky basketball fan, and I mean...I am a FAN. If you cut me, I will bleed blue. We have the most winning history in college basketball history. I know what it feels like not to just win, but to be on a winning team. Know the difference? Winning is the norm, not the exception. You get used to that feeling. Therefore, when a loss comes - well, I just can't even begin to describe to you the feeling. Maybe some of you are die hard Colts fans and you know what it feels like when your team doesn't perform the way you know they can and it costs you the game - the win. Ug! I hate that feeling! I'm still in the "I cannot believe this happened" stage and the wound is still fresh so no one is allowed to talk to me about this, at least for another week or two. But just for the record, I'm now hoping Butler takes it all the way.
Now, why am I whining about this to you? Because in the midst of my pitifulness this weekend I was gently reminded by the Holy Spirit of something that spoke to my heart like nothing else could have. Because I am a follower of Christ - I am on a winning team! And I mean... a WINNING TEAM! Maybe you are like me and sometimes you watch the news or you listen to the cries of pain from those around you resulting from broken relationships, pain, suffering, and even death. If we're not careful we can start to believe that we are losing this game. But, if we will take the time to look at the Team Captain, He's not worried! He knows what plays need to be made and He is in complete control and when that last buzzer (or trumpet!) sounds, WE WIN! The enemy doesn't stand a chance!! I'm determined not to get distracted by the other team's nasty remarks, flagrant fouls and cheap shots. The scoreboard may even look like he's winning at times but we can know without a shadow of a doubt, we will be the ones cutting down the net when it's all said and done. Now THAT gets me going because I LIKE TO WIN!