Words

Our theme for our next Refresh for the ladies is Words.  The group of women who help plan out Refresh have been thinking about words and praying about our words........sending each other articles on words and devotionals on words.

As I sat down today to have some time with God, I grabbed my journal, my Bible
 and a few of the books I have been reading through. I had just read an email of a devotional from one of the ladies on words - Isaiah 30-21 "Your ears shall hear a word". Her email went on to say.....
A "word" from God can bring you the solution you need. God created the world with a word, so imagine what a word from HIM could do for your situation. The Bible says,"Your ears shall hear a word behind you. saying, "This is the way, walk in it," Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left." Notice the words, "Your ears shall hear a word." But if your spirital ears are not open, trained and attuned to God, you won't hear what He is saying to you. Furthermore, if you filter what He's saying to you through human intellect in order to harmonize it with your own opinion, you will get nowhere. God gives a "word" to those who have an open ear and heart.

When you pray, what are you looking for? A spiritual high, or a time of intimacy with the Lord in which he speaks and you listen? When you read your Bible are you seeking confirmation of your own thoughts or are you seeking God's will? Imagining what one of God's ideas could do for your life! The people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits (Da 11:32) If you dream of doing great things in life, get to know God. He will reveal Himself to you through His Word. You will hear a lot of different ideas each day; some will benefit you, others won't; But when you get a "Word" from God it's like a seed; it has the potential to produce at tree; or better yet, a whole orchard of fruit.

Have a great week!

So thinking on her words I began to read Proverbs 7 - and I was stopped on vs.21 - "With persuasive words she led him astray; and she seduced him with her smooth talk." Now to be honest with you I have always scanned through this chapter thinking.....this doesn't apply to me, it is about an adultrous woman who uses her words to seduce a man and ruin a home.....not Me. But in this moment I could hear God's words saying to me - Who have you led astray with your persuasive words? Forgive me, Father. Immediately I could think of many times I have used persuasive words to get my own way, to cast doubt on someones character, shared tantilizing gossip or even tried to sway someone to my side of the story.

Proverbs 18:2 - Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

Sticks and stone will break your bones, but words will break our hearts. ~ Robert Fulghum

God has given us an incredible treasure - the gift of words. This gift wasn't intended to be hoarded or ill used. The gift is to be opened and shared to help others be all that God intended them to be.

Ladies, we have incredible influence as women with the words we choose to speak. Words - one of the most significant forces in the universe - can be used for good or evil. Your words, and my words can change the course of a day....the course of a life. Your words become the mirror in which others see themselves.

A careless word may knidle strife;
A cruel word may wreck a life.
A bitter word may hate instill;
A brutal word may smite and kill.
A graciaous word may smooth the way;
A joyous word may light the day.
A timely word may lesson stress;
A loving word may heal and bless.     ~Author Unknown

Look up these other verses and let God's Word speak to you. Ephesians 4:29-32;
Col. 4:5-7; James 3:3-12; Galatians 6:10

My prayer is O Lord set a guard over the door of my lips (Psalm141:3) and help me be quick to listen, slow to speak   and slow to become angry,..(James 1:19)

 I would live to hear your story, send me your thoughts from God's Word. Hope to see you at Refresh if you are in the Ocala area.....it will be on Monday, September 17th from 7-8:30pm; for women only at Church of Hope.

choosing Him,
Linda
Linda@hopeinocala.com
www.hopeinocala.com

Refresh....we are made to Crave!

Crave (krav) v. craved, craving: to have an intense desire for; to beg earnestly for; to long for; to feel intense need of something or someone.... What do you crave? We all have cravings....I crave chocolate, coffee, beach days, friendships, relationships, shoes, ice-cream.....the list can go on and on. The reality is my cravings will always be there, they will never go away and they are never truly satisfied.....maybe for an hour or a day but they come back up later. It's like sitting at the table on Thanksgiving, we eat until we are "satisfied" and we think that we will never need to eat again but we find ourselves right back in the kitchen pulling out all of the leftovers to eat again 3 hours later. Did you ever think that maybe we were made to crave "more" to discover that the "more" we crave can only be filled to the brim, overflowing and completely satisfied in a relationship with God. Ladies, come to Refresh on Monday night from 7-8:30pm in the Worship Center at Church of Hope as we have fun with our cravings, and then dig in to the idea that maybe God created us to crave so that we would crave Him. Come with a craving ready to be satisfied! Bring a friend and a heart ready to be refreshed on this shared journey of faith! Psalm 107:9 - "For He satisfies the craving soul and the hungry soul he fills with good things." For more information email me at Linda@hopeinocala.com.I would love to hear from you.....send me your "cravings".

Refresh

Monday night was Refresh! Thank you to all of the women at Hope who helped put this incredible evening together. I know I was Refreshed:) I loved our Refresh mugs that we enjoyed during the evening but also took home to remember that as long as we keep our eyes on Jesus not only will everything be ok but He will brew in us a "fresh-brewed" faith. Our theme was "Smell the Aroma of Fresh-brewed Faith" The atmosphere was beautiful and it smelled like we were entering a French Coffee Cafe. The chocolate fountains and the pastries were delicious.

We had fun connecting with each other.....and of course there were gifts given away.

Leesa shared with us the recent "grinding" of her faith that has produced a "fresh-brewed" story of a deeper faith & trust in God. The fragrance of her faith in Christ during her recent difficult season was so fresh that the doctor's office asked her if she would reach out to a young mom getting ready to walk the same path that Leesa is on. Wow! How many times in my own life when I am going through a "grinding" of my faith I can very naturally become so focused on me that I miss others that God may want to bring across my path to share the Hope that I have in Him. Thank you, Leesa, for being willing and available to share a very fresh personal experience with us. I love you my friend:)

I sure do love all the women of Hope! You ladies have enriched my life in so many ways. I can't wait till the next Refresh. For more information or questions please contact me, Linda@hopeinocala.com or check out our websight http://www.hopeinocala.com/

The Next Refresh

I have heard so many great comments about Refresh on Monday night. Our desire for Refresh is to create an atmosphere for women to come.....feel loved, affirmed, accepted and leave with a refreshed and renewed understanding of God's love and plan for their life. As women we are not an after-thought. God not only created us but He has a design for us as Women to influence those around us for His glory. Each Refresh will have a different theme but the purpose remains the same to love on women and Partner with them to discover that in Christ we have Hope! As we plan for our next Refresh send me your ideas. Our "shoe" theme - "Walking Worthy in Way Cute Shoes" was so much fun and it was great to see women at any age connecting over "shoes". Send me any pictures from Monday night and any ideas for the next Refresh to Linda@hopeinocala.com. I sure do love the Women of Hope....your love for Jesus refreshes me and inspires me to love Him more!

Refresh

Refresh.....Real Women....Real Life.....Real Hope "Walking Worthy in Way Cute Shoes"

Last night the Women of Hope hosted our first Refresh! A night filled with laughter, chocolate, shoe confessions, and a gift from Jesus who is our Ultimate Prince Charming and He is the perfect fit to your life and will completely satisfy you.

Thank you Rebecca, Cindy, Brenda and Sarah for creating an atmosphere of Worship. You ladies Refreshed me and reminded me of God's love for me and that as women we are free to be exactly who He created us to be!

Julie shared with us that - There is something wonderfully loyal about shoes. Outfits can turn on you but shoes they never disappoint us - "You Gotta Love Shoes". Debbie and Julie helped me keep the conversation flowing with all of the "shoe" stories and then connecting it to our walk with Christ. Thanks to Robbie and Donna who helped us with the lights, sound and our fun video clips:) You ladies are awesome!

The chocolate was delicious.....I've heard it said that, "Good chocolate is like shoes, you can't have just one!" I do love chocolate and I love cute shoes:)

I love our Hope Life Group girfriends......you all are amazing women and you do have cute shoes:) I loved watching you have fun together and thank you for all of your help. You ladies are fabulous and I love "doing life with you"!!! To "walk worthy....live a life worthy of our calling as women!" For every woman in any kind of shoe, there are steps of faith - steps toward a deeper, richer, relationship with a holy God. At different seasons in our life we are called to Stand in His Presence, to Walk in His Confidence and even to Run With endurance the race that he has marked out for us. Let's continue on this shared journey of faith...we are better together! (Hebrews 12:1-3; Ephesians 4:1-3)

Thank you to all of the Women of Hope that stepped up and helped with the decorating, the coffee/chocolate/refreshments, the greeting, and the clean-up. You are amazing women and I love partnering with you as we share the Hope we Have in Christ with the women in Ocala. I love you all!!!!

Next Refresh.......Monday, September 20, 2010.

PS.....If anyone has any other pictures from Refresh, please send them to me Linda@hopeinocala.com