'Tis the Season?!

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone.  I don’t know about you but I still have turkey left-overs in my fridge.  The feast was days ago and I can say with full confidence that I don’t want to eat anymore stuffing for the next eleven months!

You know this time of the year, this holiday season, really is unlike any other.  The stores are not nearly as crazy at Memorial Day or 4^th of July.  The demands are more complicated.  The preparation is more involved.  The stress level can rise and the faith level can drop.

No other time of the year is as crazy busy as the time from Thanksgiving to Christmas.  And sometimes we can make it even crazier for ourselves.  While we try to cross off everything on our holiday to-do lists, we can forget the true meaning of what we are celebrating.  Then… And then! We feel guilty for not fully grasping everything we are “supposed” to grasp.  Did we meaningfully reflect on God’s goodness to us this past year?!  Are we really ready to receive the most precious gift?! Before you know it, you are staring at your Christmas tree, exhausted on Christmas night after all the hubbub of the day wondering, “Did I miss it?  The trueness, the realness, the faithfulness?  Did it pass me by this year (again?!)?”

So, how do we do it differently this year?  How do we keep this season of gratitude, wonder, and joy from slipping away? This kind of question, it makes me think of Ann Voskamp.  It reminds me of her words in “One Thousand Gifts” defining Eucharisteo:  “Grace, thanksgiving, joy.”

Since Thanksgiving is still fresh on our minds, let’s start there.  One of the best ways to build your faith level up is to look back on the year.  Think about all of the things God did for you in 2015.  The blessings, the answered prayers, the encouragement, the little love notes He placed before you each day. 

Now, I know, you are busy.  I’m busy too!  There are kids to get ready for school, work to do, important things.  But, there are pockets of time in our days (aside from our "quiet time"); that we can pause and remember God’s goodness and faithfulness.  Those times when you are in the car alone, or even waiting in line at Wal-Mart (I’ve done it!).  And as you remember all those things, thank God.  Thank Him for His faithfulness, His goodness, His love, and His grace.

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” Psalm 77:11-12 (NIV)

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100:4-5 (NIV)

As you look back on the year and remember God’s faithfulness, your stress will decrease.  I promise!  You can’t look back on what God has done for you and still be tense.  Wrapping paper and bows will fade away as you pause and remember and give thanks.  Plus, you know what dear old Ann has to say about thanksgiving don’t you?  It always precedes the miracle. 

In the pausing and giving thanks, our faith swells.  As we remember each blessing, a brick in our “wall of faith” is laid.  Plus, the act of thanksgiving leads us to recall God’s amazing grace.  The great gift of God’s unmerited favor.  Who couldn’t use a reminder of grace during this season?!  Burnt the Christmas cookies? Grace.  Forgot to wish someone a “Merry Christmas”?  Grace.  Toddler has a melt-down in Target? EXTRA grace ; )  My friends, during this season, grace is a gift we all can use! 

And you know, as we bask in the warmth of God’s grace, we find joy.  Isn’t that what we all are striving for this time of year?  To have joy in the Christmas season?  To be overflowing with joy as worship the miracle we celebrate each December?

So my encouragement for you this year, this holiday season of 2015? Well, just as the calendar begins our holiday season with Thanksgiving, we too should begin with thanksgiving!  Recall how God has been faithful to you this year.  Allow that to build up your faith.  Then rest in God’s grace.  The world’s version of the Christmas season is going to try to wear you out – physically, mentally, and emotionally.  Soak up God’s grace.  And then, then my friends, the joy will come.  Your heart will be ready to welcome the King!

“For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

Post by: Marcy Gates

All The Single Ladies... (Part 2)

Have you heard the idea of finding “The One”? Have you fell in to that thought process or teaching that there is someone out there who is “The One” and at the right moment God will show you with neon signs and flashing lights that this person is, in fact “The One” you are supposed to marry? Okay, maybe that was a tad dramatic, but I believe that it is not far from the mentality that has been taught over the years. And so, if you have found yourself leaning on this way of thinking I would like to offer you a fresh perspective, a perspective that allows God to be the center rather than a puppet master pulling strings.

So here are… Three Points To Turn Your Perspective While Waiting for “The One”!

1)   Become “The One”

If you are focused on finding “The One”, are you focusing on what is happening in your heart? Are you allowing God to mold your heart to look like His? You see when we set our sights on finding “The One” we are putting this person up on a pedestal, elevating them above God. Instead we should be learning how to be the wife God is calling us to be. Allow God to teach you how to do relationships well. He has a whole instruction manual on how to love others and serve them well. This should be our goal when looking for a spouse, to love and serve them well. Let’s spend our dating or single years allowing God to teach us and prepare us for the marriage we will enter into in the future.

Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.

Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.

Love doesn’t strut,

Doesn’t have a swelled head,

Doesn’t force itself on others,

Isn’t always “me first”,

Doesn’t fly off the handle,

Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,

Doesn’t revel when others grovel.

Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,

Puts up with anything,

Trusts God always,

Always looks for the best,

Never looks back,

But keeps going to the end.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 (MSG)

2)   Keep God First

That idea of “The One” that we elevate, sets these high standards that no one can live up to! We think that when we find that perfect person that we will be fulfilled. We tend to fall into the line of thinking that they will complete us. This is dangerous territory. No person can fulfill that longing, satisfy our needs or complete us. Only God can fill that longing for wholeness! There are two mistakes that can happen when we put “The One” in that place only God can fill. First, we drum up this idea of who “The One” is and what they need to be. Maybe we meet someone who we think is “The One” but we already have this idea of them in our heads that they can’t live up to. It is a set up for failure. The second is we then wrap our identity up in that person, or who we think that person is. When we have our identity wrapped up in a person and they fail, then we get hurt. We are then left with no idea who we are.

Dear ones, we must look to finding who we are in Christ. If you are spending your time seeking the Lord, it is there you will find yourself. As you seek Him and what He wants for you, He will guide you and show you people around you that are seeking the same thing!

3)   Good Marriages Don’t Just Happen

Following the idea of “The One” leads us to believe that finding that person means we will have a good marriage. Good marriages aren’t found they are made. Good marriages take two imperfect people choosing each other every day. Finding “The One” does not guarantee a good marriage. When both of you are seeking Christ and keeping Him at the center - that is what guarantees a successful marriage.

My hope always is that you find encouragement and freedom! So I pray that you have found freedom from all that pressure! Find your identity and confidence in Him! He always, always, always, has your best in mind!

With Love,

Jimmie Lee

Blossom Retreat - Recap

Ladies, I have got to say, I’m still smiling about this past weekend’s Blossom Retreat!  I know we promised you a recap post so here it is!

On Friday evening, three cars loaded up with the girls, their small group leaders, and lots of luggage (!) headed to the beautiful Chapel Valley Estate Bed and Breakfast in Ellwood City.  Despite a few detours (yes, I got our caravan lost a couple times!) we made it to the bed and breakfast right on time.  Jennifer Goebbel and the Innkeepers, Pat and Tom Bishop, all greeted us at the door while the girls “oohhed” and “ahhed” over the adorableness of our accommodations.

Our super cute place mats

After a dinner of pizza in the dining room, which was decorated specifically just for our group (swoon!), we headed to our meeting area for the first message of the weekend.  We were so thankful to have live worship to open our first session of the weekend.  It was amazing and helped to prepare each of our hearts for the message to follow.

So ladies, this retreat was full of “firsts” for me personally.  My first time ever at a bed and breakfast, first time attending a retreat, first time helping to lead a retreat, and first time giving a message!  Yes, I’ll repeat that, giving a message.  

Let me back up a bit…  Way back in the spring, I heard that Stasi Eldredge had released a new book for teen girls that was similar to her books for women, “Captivating” and “Becoming Myself”, both of which I loved.  So I thought I’d read her latest book because I just can't get enough of Stasi’s writing and sometimes, my inner monologue is more “13 year old Marcy” than “39 year old Marcy”.

As I read the book, I just couldn’t help thinking that the topics Stasi covered were all things I wished I had known as a teenage girl.  Even as an adult woman, the areas Stasi wrote about spoke to my heart.  By the time I finished reading the book, I really felt like God was telling my heart that all the lessons I learned from the book needed to be shared!

God has such a way of working out His Plans!  I thought I would just suggest that someone, certainly not me, maybe do a book study with the teens on this book.  I never would have imagined that God would bring about a whole retreat and that I would get to be a part of it or that I would even get to speak at it!  I mean, I’ve never done that before.  But with God, you really just need to be willing and obedient and He works out all the rest : )

So anyway, back to the recap! Friday night I spoke to the girls all about our hearts.  I impressed upon them that the condition of our hearts is so important.  I told them how much God wants our hearts and how we need to be good to our hearts.  I also reminded them that a lot of times, our hearts are the way they are because of things from our past and how Jesus can come in, bringing healing and restoration.  I closed my message that night empowering the girls with five truths from God’s Word that they can hold onto in their hearts.  And can I say, my heart was so glad when I scanned the room and realized each girl there was diligently writing them down! So awesome!

Following the message, the girls had some “free time” but it was spent mostly talking and playing games.  You see, we informed the girls early on that we would be holding on to their cell phones and avoiding the tv’s in our rooms. Yep – no phone or tv – for the whole retreat (except for our selfie scavenger hunt, but more on that later)!  We wanted the girls to truly be able to focus and hear from God during the weekend. And you know what? They were all ok with that.  There may have been a tiny bit of phone withdrawal here and there but the girls did great.

Saturday morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast that smelled so good it should be captured and turned into a Yankee Candle, lol!  With full bellies and smiles on our faces, we headed back to our meeting space for "quiet time" and then later, more worship and Session #2 of the retreat.

Jennifer Goebbel delivered the second message to the girls called “Authentic Beauty”. Her powerful message spoke to so many of us.  As she talked about what real beauty is and how God truly sees us, hearts were moved.  There were tears and smiles at the end of the message and throughout the discussion time afterward.  I believe everyone who heard it had a new definition of beauty by the time our morning session concluded.

Quiet Time on Saturday morning

Our schedule of events

After taking a break for lunch, it was time for our first “fun activity” of the day.  We headed down to the event room where each girl found a blank canvas at her seat and a stack of papers that had words like: beautiful, strong, worth it, child of God, etc. in different fonts and colors on them.  A large table was set up as a sort of “craft buffet” with a wide variety of paint, ribbons, scrapbook paper, embellishments, and lots of sparkly things!  The girls were instructed to use whatever items they desired to create a “self-portrait collage”.  We reminded the girls that this was going to be a time of hearing from God and to be listening for His Voice.

I’m not even kidding when I say that 2 whole hours later, all the girls had completed their portraits!  Each was unique and different.  Some were simple yet powerful while others took full advantage of the all the paint and Modge Podge – lol!  It was so awesome to see each girl admiring not only their own canvas but the canvases of all the other girls around them with giant smiles on all of their faces.

Beautiful ladies on the inside and out!

Having some fun ; )

Next up was the “Selfie Scavenger Hunt”.  Basically, the three small groups the girls had been divided into became three teams on a mission! From such things as “take a picture of your entire team under a bed” to “take a video of your team playing leap frog” to “take a selfie with Innkeepers, Pat and/or Tom”, silliness ensued.  These girls had their eyes on the prize though: bragging rights for the winning team and the right to be the first group to pass through the popcorn bar at our pajama party that night! 

After time had run out for the scavenger hunt, the girls were instructed to get ready for our celebratory dinner!  As we entered into the dining room, the girls were blown away not only by the table that was beautifully set for us, but by the surprise gift by each of their place settings!  Each lovely lady was given a special bracelet to commemorate their weekend retreat.  We wanted to celebrate the ladies, who they are, who God says they are and how much He dearly loves them.  It was important to us that the girls really understood that they are worthy, treasured, and deeply loved in God’s sight.  Before we prayed over our meal, Jennifer shared this empowering quote from Catherine of Sienna with the girls which still sticks with me today, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” 

As the girls were showing their bracelets to each other and discussing the events of the day, our dinner was served. It was such a special time of celebration and reflection of all that we had heard and learned from the Lord!

Following dinner, we gathered together one last time for worship and the Word.  As I gave the third and final message of the retreat, I looked around the room and was simply blown away by these amazing young ladies.  My last message of the weekend was about our names.  I reminded the girls of their true names, that we are God’s beloved. You know sometimes, we allow other people to give us names and often, we label ourselves with names that simply are not true. I impressed upon them that in those times, it is vital that we switch it up and remember and believe the truth – the name God has given us!  As I closed out my message, I gave each young lady a note card with the meaning of their name and the Scripture connected to them.  Following the message, we broke back up into our groups for another time of discussion and reflection.

Then it was time for a party – a pajama party that is! We all changed into our pj’s and settled in together for a movie and snacks from the popcorn bar.  The girls got to mix in things like chocolate chips, pretzels, etc. into their bags of popcorn.  We all got comfy with blankets and pillows and enjoyed the movie.  It was my first slumber party in ages but… some things never change.  There was a lot of laughter and silliness and even some singing!  All we needed were a few “hairbrush microphones”!

Following the movie, we decided to have an “open style” discussion.  Basically all the adults sat on the couch while the teens sat on the floor and got to ask us any question they wanted.  I gotta tell you, a lot of people worry about this generation or feel like they can’t relate to them.  But I’m here to tell you, they still have the same questions we all did when we were their age.  And I have to admit, it was really fun answering their questions from the “adult” side of the teenage years with a Christian woman’s knowledge and perspective.  

The next morning it was time to pack up and head home.  But, not before another scrumptious breakfast!  I think we all were giddy at the sight of bacon on our plates! After filling up on the delicious food, we thanked Pat and Tom and their staff for a great time at Chapel Valley.  We loaded up our cars and headed back to West Ridge, smiling as every mile melted away on the highway behind us.

Post by: Marcy Gates

I’d like to extend a special thank you to the following people who worked so hard to make the Blossom Retreat unforgettable:

Jennifer Goebbel – West Ridge Women’s Ministry Director, Speaker
Jimmie Lee DiIanni – Small Group Leader
Amy Knox – Small Group Leader
Erik Kerr – Worship (Friday)
Becca Cummins – Worship (Saturday)
Nicole Yoder – Selfie Scavenger Hunt Creator/Facilitator (& deliverer of lunch, lol!) 
Pat & Tom Bishop & the staff of Chapel Valley Estate