Just checking in

I'm sitting at my desk at work and thought I'd take a quick break to hop on here and say HI! I have an awesome view from my work window. For those of you who don't know, I work at The Salvation Army shelter downtown. When I look out of my window, I see the front entrance to the Murat theatre (so if any of you want to know what's showing, give me a holler! Right now it's The Lion King!)When I'm typing, I'm facing my window so I always notice folks walking down the sidewalk and for some strange reason I'll never understand, almost always, I look up just in time to see them SPIT. Seriously. I would bet you 7 out of every 10 people that I see, SPIT! What Is Up With That??? And usually they do it right as I look up so if I had glanced up just a half a second later, I would have missed it, but nooooo, I see it ever daggum time! Will someone please tell me if there is a meaning behind this??? Am I supposed to learn something from this or just stay totally grossed out?!?! It's super great when it happens while I'm eating lunch!

I hope you all are having a great December and are relaxed and ready for Christmas! Andrea is working diligently on the e-newsletter and looks like we will have it out sometime next week! We'll be updating the website soon with the dates for our meetings next semester. Looking forward to seeing you all again as we kick off our series of Radical Authenticity! Woo Hoo!

Just stuff

Hey there Ignite gals! Hope all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! This year was very different for Jake and I; we celebrated the day with his mom by going to Cracker Barrel! No one had to cook which means no one had to clean up! The only down side was that there were no left-overs to pick at during the afternoon movie. Thankfully, Jake's mom made some delicious taco soup that was thoroughly enjoyed.
This morning I got to sleep in, what a treat! Jake was in front of the TV when I came downstairs for my coffee. I'm always up before Jake during the week and I never, ever turn the TV on in the mornings - I have to start my day in the Word or it just all goes south quick! So this morning, I took my coffee and the Word to another room, but I could still hear the annoying murmur of the TV. I knew he was watching the FOX News channel and it must have been bad because I heard him say something about how the whole world is going somewhere in a hand basket. This made me think about how I am totally surrounded by amazing comforts, blessings and opportunities and they are such a constant in my life that I sometimes forget to be thankful. From today on, I want to make an effort to be deliberate in my thinking and deliberate in my thanking (and do my very best to stay out of any hand baskets!)

And...just for fun, I thought I would share a couple of pictures with you - because I CAN!!! (I'm still pretty excited about being able to do this!!)
The first one is of my favorite person in the world and my favorite dog in the world. This is Jake's most common pose. (I mean talking on the phone, not squatting!)


The next one is my brother Kirby and my nephew Scott. I had the awesome privilege a few weekends ago to attend the much anticipated movie premiere of "Cannonball", the movie that my nephew wrote, directed and starred in! He and his buddies worked on it for 6 years! The movie theatre in our hometown of Danville, KY let them show it for free. It was awesome to be in a theatre packed full of cheering people when the names of those we know and love came up on the big screen. What a great night! And the movie is hilarious!! As soon as I can get my hands on the DVD I'll plan a movie night at my house!

Aren't they cute???

I am looking forward to our next Ignite meeting! We'll be wrapping up our series of Radical Obedience and giving a slight preview of what to expect next semester! See you then!!

A note from Andrea

Hey there gals! Here's the information from the flier that Andrea put together regarding the donation drive for the ladies at the Salvation Army:

Calling all Ignite Ladies!!
The Salvation Army Needs Your Help Again
Matthew 25:40 ...I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.
Last month, many of you donated wonderful items for the children of the Salvation Army. (Check out the pictures in a previous post on this blog!) This drive was a huge success and it could not have happened without your involvement.
I am conducting another drive; this time for the women of the Salvation Army.
Below is a list of items that the women would appreciate and this would also serve as a wonderful Christmas gift to them as well. I will be collecting these items at our November 24 and December 8 meetings. If you can donate anything from the list below, please bring your donation to any of these meetings. I will then be making a delivery to the Shelter during the week of December 8. If you will not be at any of the next meetings, you can drop off your items at my house. You can call me at 317-862-8273 to designate a time to come by my house.
Again, you have no idea how much these donated items mean to the women at the Shelter and how much I appreciate your wanting to be part of this opportunity.
Items needed for the women include the following:

Flip flops for showering (all different sizes)

Underarm deodorant
Hygiene products (tampons, sanitary napkins)
Fixodent
Depends
Shampoo and Conditioner
Toothbrushes & toothpaste
Dental floss
lotion
Monistat
Body lotions and moisturizers
Body sprays
Bibles
Nail polish and Nail Remover
laundry detergent/dryer sheets
Face cleanser
Hair bands, pony tail holders
Makeup: Mascara, lip stick/lip gloss, blush, eye brow liners (black, brown)

God bless you and thank you, in advance, for helping out the wonderful women at the Salvation Army shelter.
Andrea Bates

See you all on Monday!!

I'm alright with weird

Would you all think I'm weird if I told you that I have stared at that first picture of our group at least a hundred times? Would you think I was even weirder if I told you I bawled over it the first time I saw it? Oh well, if you have been around me for any amount of time, you probably already think I'm weird so I'm not exactly surprising you here with some big revelation. :-)
Seriously, I have to be honest. When I looked at that picture of the whole group, it was like I was looking at you girls for the first time and I was just absolutely overwhelmed with several feelings. First of all, why in the WORLD would God put me in front of you? I know better than to think any of you are showing up to hear me so I have to believe that something you are hearing in our series of Radical Obedience is ringing true for you. I have prayed desperately that God would make us a group of women who are absolutely desperate for Him and Him alone. I have prayed that we will be nothing less than fertile soil for a planting of His Word that will influence every aspect of our lives. I have lived, and still am living this series of Radical Obedience. I can say now that I honestly understand why teachers say God teaches them the lesson first before He has them turn around and teach it to others. He has taken me on an amazing ride over the past few years and it has everything to do with what you have been hearing in "Radical Obedience".
I am having mixed emotions about this semester coming to an end soon. I'm sad because I never feel like I have said or done enough to make the lessons of His Word clear. I'm nervous yet excited about what God has planned for Ignite in the future and I'm bummed because I wanted to get to know all of you and it's like I blinked and this entire semester just disappeared! Time just goes by way to daggum fast. I was looking at pictures just the other day of my wedding rehearsal (almost 10 years ago!) and I'm telling you, my nose has gotten bigger. It's a scientific fact that your ears and nose NEVER stop growing and I'm telling you it's true. Time is not being nice to my face. Anyway, God willing, I will be able to connect with more of you during our last 2 sessions.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for allowing me to serve you with His Word. There is nothing on earth I would rather do. Cling to Him with everything you've got. He is our Everything.
See you on the 24th.
Paulette
Jeremiah 20:9

Lookin' Goooood!

Now that I know how to do this, there is a good chance that I am going to become obnoxious with it, so feel free to tell me to knock it off when you get tired of having your pictures taken. But until then, check out how great you gals look!

I'm so glad we had some new faces with us last night! And thanks to the ladies who have been with us since the beginning! It is our hearts desire to serve you so if there is anything we can do, hunt one of us down or shoot us an e-mail; you will find our e-mails on this website under "Contact."

Now if I can just figure out how to put fun, witty comments under the pictures, I'll really be doing good!

See you ladies on the 24th!

Check it out!!

Hey Ignite Girls! I figured it out!!! I finally learned how to post pictures! Of course this means that I am going to post all kinds of fun stuff now! Make sure you look extra cute at our next meeting and I'll bring the camera! Nope, I'm not kidding. How fun!!
Okay, what you are looking at are some of the pictures of all the great stuff you gals donated for the kids at The Salvation Army shelter! Wow! You all really came through for such a short notice! Andrea is the one that put all of this together and she is super thankful for all of your efforts. Sometime in November she wants to do another drive for the single ladies in the shelter and maybe even an "adopt a family" project for Christmas. We'll have more information at the next meeting.

Several of you told me this past Monday that you have tried to leave a comment on the blog and have not been able to do so. If you try again and are still having trouble, PLEASE e-mail me and we'll figure it out. I SO want to hear from you!!

Thanks again ladies for being part of Ignite. I'm having a ball.
Stay in the Word!!

Okay, so I have sat here at my desk staring at my computer screen way too long trying to think of something to say. Well, not just anything to say. I know what I want to say but I have already said it but for life of me, can't think of a new or better way to say it. So looks like I am just going to have to repeat myself. Here's a BIG FAT THANKS to all of you who are part of Ignite! I am continually amazed at the group of women that God has brought together. I am so encouraged and inspired by all of you and your willingness to give and serve. I am so humbled that God has for whatever reason, allowed me to be a part of what He is doing and I am so glad that I get to do it next to all of you.

I also want to say thanks to all of you that were there this past Monday. I have been thinking about you and praying for you. I pray that hearing the truth of who you are in Christ will encourage you and make you bold in your walk. I pray that the image of how our sins wrap us in chains won't leave us anytime soon, and I pray that we dive with absolute desperation into God's Word so we can be armed and dangerous and able to make the enemy wish he had never messed with us!

Believe it or not, we are already half-way through our series of Radical Obedience! I am praying desperately for God to light a fire under our tails like none we have ever known before. That we will be a group of women who are determined not to live a life of mediocrity, but to set our faces like flint and go where He tells us to go and do what He tells us to do because we are madly in love with Him! What a ride!

See you on the 27th!
Paulette :-)

Givin' Him Some Praise!!

Hey Ignite Girls!
This morning I came across something I had written back in April of this year. This was way before Ignite even had a name or a purpose statement, we were still in the very beginning stages of planning and praying. I had started a list of prayer requests (2 pages!) of things that my heart was desperate for, things that we needed that I knew only God could provide. Things like child care workers, table leaders, specific direction for the lessons, and the list goes on and on. As I began reading down the list I was overwhelmed at all the requests that have already been answered! I began writing "Thank You Jesus!" by all of the ones that He has answered and continued to pray the ones that are still a need. I was blown away! Then I got frustrated with myself because I not taken the time to do this before now. I have allowed myself to get so busy with what is going on around me that I had not taken the time to THANK God for what He has already done. God is up to something big in Ignite and He is pouring out His blessings and favor over us in a most obvious way. I don't want to forget that or miss any of it for a split second. I am going to be very deliberate in my praise to Him today! And while I'm at it, let me say a HUGE thank you to all of you who are playing a role in Ignite! Thank you for your willingness to serve and thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve alongside of you. As God shapes our hearts to respond to Him with Radical Obedience, may He blow us away with more than we could even think to ask or imagine! Come to think of it, He already has.

Last night

What a blast we had last night! And that ice breaker was the best! Who would have known that I would be in politics (at least until November- I was George W!) The lesson was outstanding, something I can work on. I can't wait to see everyone in that setting again. My prayer for this group is that we will continue to grow, in every way, (except my hips!) with our roots burrowing down deeper and deeper, grounding us in our faith. Soooo, I'll meet you in the fields (the ones that are plentiful) where we can continually bring more in! What a plan!

Wow!

Thank you to all who were a part of Ignite's first meeting last night! What a great night!! It was SO much fun to see with our eyes God's literal answer to many, many prayers! God is definitely doing amazing things among us! I pray you were blessed, encouraged and hopefully inspired to deepen your relationship with Christ. I had a great time and I am so looking forward to getting to know all of you!

Here's the information that was on the last slide last night. Many of you asked for it so here ya go!

AAA Application

Acknowledge - Acknowledge that Jesus has not been the consuming desire of our hearts and our obedience to our desires have left us empty and lacking satisfaction (Psalm 62:8 - pour out your heart to Him! He already knows!)

Ask - Ask Jesus to fill us with His living water and begin to quench our every thirst.

Allow - Allow God to begin the (sometimes) painful process of circumcising our hearts to be able to love Him with ALL of our heart, mind, soul and strength so that we may truly LIVE! (Deut 30:6, Mark 12:30).

Remember, we are obedient to our desires!

Thanks again ladies! Can't wait 'till the 22nd!

Woo-Hoo!!

Hey there girls! I just about sent myself into a panic attack when I looked at the calender and realized that the Ignite kick-off is in 12 days! Our sign up list keeps growing and growing and we are getting so excited we can hardly see straight! If you are landing here in search for a women's group, I hope you will come check us out on Sept. 8th! Feel free to just show up but we would love for you to shoot us an e-mail so we'll have at least an idea of how many to expect. We're trying to plan snacks, you know. :-)
Please know that this group is being bathed in prayer. We KNOW that Ignite was God's plan and can't wait to see what He is going to do with this group of women!
See you on the 8th! I'll be the one in that horribly bright green Ignite t-shirt with a Big Stupid Grin on my face! :-)

Simulcast Stuff

Hello Ladies!
My bad for not doing this sooner, but better late than never, right? I am happy to tell you that there were almost 400 of us that gathered at The Creek on August 1st and 2nd to hear the Word! Isn't that awesome?! According to Beth, there were over 70,000 of us gathered in over 700 locations, so if my math is correct and we look at the average.... that would make us one of the largest groups! Very fun! Thanks again to all of you who came and my prayer is that each of us will hide the Word that was sown and persevere until we see that hundred-fold harvest! Bring it on, Lord! Bring it on!!
I'm also very excited to tell you that we raised over $6,000 for Shepherd Community Center! Woo-Hoo!! Thanks to all of you who so willingly gave. What a huge blessing to Shepherd!

I had every intention of attaching some pictures from the weekend but much to my dismay, ALL my pictures turned out blurry (big fat bummer!) and I can't even figure out how to attach them anyway. That's on my list of things I need to learn. In the meantime, I would love to hear some of your simulcast stories! I have heard some good ones and can't wait to hear more!
God Bless,
Paulette :-)

A BIG FAT thank you!!

It's one thing to believe that God is faithful, it's an entirely different thing to KNOW He is faithful. Girls, we KNOW God to be faithful! This past weekend is a huge testimony to God's faithfulness! We believed Him for it and He showed up in a huge way. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it all.
I plan on sharing details of the weekend in a later post, but for now I wanted to use this forum to say a BIG FAT thank you to ALL of you who volunteered. Wow. You all were awesome this weekend and it would not have been the success it was if you had not given of yourselves the way you did. I am forever indebted to you and count myself as one blessed woman to have been given the opportunity to serve alongside of you. I also want to say a special BIG FAT thanks to Laura and the praise team - man, you all were just flat awesome, and a BIG FAT thanks to Andy and Mary for running all that technical stuff. :-) None of this would have happened without you.
And I want to say a very heart felt thank you to the girls that worked so closely with me on all of this. Those of you who prayed with me, cried with me, encouraged me and did everything that I was unable to do. You know who you are. I love you dearly.
"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zeph 3:17. Ladies, take some deliberate time this week to know that your God is delighting in you and rejoicing over you with singing over a job well done.
I love you all so much. :-)

Double-Dog Dare Ya!

Hello Ladies! Ignite’s big kick-off is right around the corner! We are getting so excited to see what God has in store for us this fall! I hope that you too are feeling the excitement and anticipation for a great movement and touch from God. I have often asked Him, “What would you do with a group of women who were totally sold out to You? Women who were resolved to believe You and take You at Your Word?” The possibilities are absolutely endless. As I was imagining what a group of women wholeheartedly committed to Jesus would look like, I decided that we would all look wind-blown and maybe even soaking wet. Here’s my line of thinking…..

Do we worship and follow God because of who we know Him to be by our own personal experience with Him, or does our worship and allegiance merely come from what we see Him do for others? Do we take Him at His Word or do we base our beliefs on what we see Him do for others and consequently live in a state of wishing we could experience Him like others do?
I wonder if the disciples who chose to stay in the boat wish they’d had the courage to get out of the boat and walk on water as Peter did. Or, did they watch from the boat as Peter began to sink and think, “Whew! Better him than me! I am safe and sound right here in my boat!” Did their thinking change when they saw Jesus reach out and save Peter? What must have been going through their minds as they watched Jesus and Peter walking on water back to the boat together? I know what I would have been thinking; “Daggum! I should have gone! Look at Peter!! He’s walking on water with Jesus! Why didn’t I get out of this stinkin’ boat??” Scripture says in Matthew 14:32-33, “And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Scripture doesn’t say, but I would guess that Peter’s worship of Jesus that day and the worship from the disciples who never got out of the boat looked somewhat different. Peter worshipped Jesus because of what he knew and had experienced. The disciples in the boat worshipped Him because of what they had merely seen. Both were undoubtedly powerful experiences, but which experience do we want to have?
Aren’t we tired of boat-living? Watching others walk on water with Jesus, wishing it was us? What’s keeping us in our boats? Is it fear of sinking? Are we afraid that if we step out of our boats in faith that we will fail? Scripture says that Jesus “immediately” reached out His hand to Peter when he cried out to be saved. The only reason Peter began to sink is because he began to look at the wind and the waves instead of the One who made the wind and the waves! Girls, we never have to worry about sinking when we keep our eyes on Jesus. Don’t let fear of sinking keep you in the boat. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for some serious water-walking in my life. I don’t want to reach the end of my life having never been wet or feeling the wind on my face. I want to praise Him because I know from experience what it is like to do the impossible, not because I watched Him do it with someone else while I stayed “safe” in my boat. Yuk! No more boat-dwelling for me. I want some water under my feet and some wind blown hair! How about you? Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus and get to walking! I double-dog dare ya to get out of the boat!