"Taking Every Thought Captive" Women's Conference 2015
Ladies...who's getting excited? This year’s women’s conference: “Taking Every Thought Captive” is next Saturday, September 19th, from 9:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. at The Cornerstone Church in Cheshire. If you have not purchased your tickets, do it today!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/taking-every-thought-captive-womens-conference-tickets-18011883027?ref=estw
Women are constantly bombarded with thoughts of fear and anxiety. We try to measure up to the world’s standard of perfection, including having the perfect body and being the perfect wife, mother, and career woman. But, God calls us to a different standard, where we can live in peace, freedom, and contentment with who we are in Christ. Stop listening to the lies of the enemy. It’s time to Get Real!
We have an awesome day planned for you all, and we hope that you will be a part of it. Amy Carroll, from Proverbs 31 Ministries, will be joining us and will be talking about her new book titled, Breaking Up With Perfect. She will be sharing on how to move away from this unrealistic standard.
Other speakers and topics included in this women’s event are:
Jessica Landmon: Faith verses Fear
Shila Anderson: The Battle of the Scale
Rachel Axtmann: Wisdom for Wives
Worship will be led by Esteban Ramos. The cost is $35 per person. Lunch is included.
We hope that you will be able to join us! For more information, email jessica@womengetreal.org or go to:
http://www.womengetreal.org/event/taking-every-thought-captive-womens-conference/
Think About That
Sleepovers. Don’t you just love them? Put a bunch of hormone-crazed girls in a room, jack them up on sugar, deprive them of sleep, and then hope for the best. I remember one sleepover in particular from my childhood. The effects of it lasted weeks, if not months. But, I’ll get to that in a minute. Being a Christian woman isn’t easy. Life is hard. It is constantly presenting different circumstances that test our faith, some real, while others are just an attack on our emotions of what could happen. One moment we are fine, the next we are a worrying mess. I particularly find this scripture in Philippians 4:6-7 comforting during those moments.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
What assurance we have as children of the living God. He promises us His peace no matter what situation we go through. I have gone to this passage, time and time again, in the midst of trials and moments of fearfulness. We need to remember that God never promised that we wouldn’t pass through difficult waters, but He does promise to be with us through them and give us His peace.
For years, I would just reflect on this passage of scripture without reading it in its whole context. I thought I just had to pray, with a thankful heart, and God would protect my heart and mind from any fearful thoughts. That is, until I continued to read on in Philippians 4:8.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
The Word of God instructs us to keep our minds focused on uplifting things because what you feed your spirit affects your thought life! What you see, talk about, and listen to become what you think about. If it doesn’t meet the criteria from the scripture above, get rid of it. The scripture doesn’t say, whatever is full of fear, whatever is depressing, whatever is worrisome, whatever is gory – think on these things. No!
We need to protect our emotions and put a guard over our eyes and ears. Stop watching all those crime scene investigation programs full of horrific bloodshed or dramatic love stories where the young woman dies of some rare disease. That’s not entertaining or romantic! Those fear-filled images and depressing storylines create anxiety. They can invade your mind when you least expect it.
I learned this lesson back at that sleepover nearly thirty years ago. I left that party with more than just a goody bag full of candy. Some of the girls thought it would be fun to watch a horror movie. Although we only watched ten minutes before we turned it off out of sheer terror, it was enough to invade my thoughts and dreams for quite some time. It created a new level of fear in me for things that I didn’t even know could happen.
Ladies, it’s time to do some spiritual housekeeping. Examine your books, Facebook page, television shows, movies, music, and conversations. Make sure you aren’t inviting negative thoughts into your life. Let’s entertain ourselves only with things that are excellent or praiseworthy . . . and think about that!
Welcome to My Blog!
I had an opportunity to attend She Speaks 2014 in Concord, North Carolina this past summer. As you would imagine, there was a special anointing that fell on that event. It was awesome, overwhelming, and life giving, all at the same time. That first morning, almost 800 women and I eagerly walked into a huge banquet room filled with anticipation of what God was going to do in us and through us that weekend. As I made my way to the front of the room, to get the closest seat possible, I finally settled for a seat, secretly wishing I were just a little bit closer to the platform. But this seat would have to do.
Now some time into the conference, Lysa Terkeurst mentions that there is a scroll with a scripture verse placed at everyone’s seat. She continues that the staff at Proverbs 31 spent countless hours asking God for specific scriptures to include in these scrolls to bless the women attending. They prayed that the Holy Spirit would direct the right woman to the right scripture. See, as I was making my way through the crowded banquet room, I thought my seat was happenstance, but in fact, it was the result of the fervent prayer of some faithful women.
Well, as you would imagine, I eagerly tore the little ribbon off the scroll to find this verse:
Psalm 107:2, “Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story—those he redeemed from the hand of the foe.”
So as I launch my blog, I reflect on that scripture verse and realize, in perfect clarity, what God has called me to do. I am here to tell you my story. It’s time to get real!