Spice October 2013 by College Heights

October 2013

College Heights Christian Church – Joplin, MO

 Women In Ministry  In the last two issues of THE SPICE, we have emphasized the importance of Bible Study in our growing relationship with the Lord. This month’s SPICE focuses on some of the other disciplines that develop as our love for Jesus grows, specifically, quieting our heart and prayer. November’s SPICE will be on memorizing Scripture. May we suggest some books: Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald, The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan, Celebration of Discipline by Richard J Foster, and Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney.

Quiet Escape

into His Presence PRAYER RETREAT

Cave Springs Quapaw, OK

October 11-12 Cost: $37 Registration forms and brochure at the Information Center or from the WIM office. It’s not too late to register but space is limited to 20. ~~~~~ What is a Quiet Escape? It is simply a time for quiet…and escaping the phone, TV, radio, laundry, and the multitude of other things that vie for your attention. It is a time to quiet ourselves before the Lord and LISTEN to Him through our personal time in His Word and prayer

Springfield, MO

November 8-9 Friday 7:00 – 9:30 pm Saturday 9:00 am - 12:30 pm Location: Second Baptist Church 3111 E. Battlefield Rd, Springfield, MO 65804 Cost: $34 (if registered by October 14) Hotel: approx. $120 per room – split 2/3/4 ways Speakers: Jennifer Rothschild; Ann Voskamp; Pam Tebow

We will leave CHCC at 3:30 PM

October 2013 | Page 2

Can Busy Women Pray? These four words have echoed throughout history in the lives of women. No matter how much we do to save time, there will never be enough of it. We make lists and follow schedules but there is still never enough time to read a book, talk to a neighbor, sit down with a friend, clean house, exercise, eat, sleep…and the list goes on. We know what we need to do, we know what is important, but life continues to steal our time and we are left wondering where it went. An area in women’s lives where these four words often reside is prayer. We want to pray. We know that we should pray. We recognize the need to pray. We just don’t have time. Our lives are packed full of responsibility and when we lay our head on the pillow we have nothing left to give. Guilt plagues our spirit and we carry the burden of it daily. Is it even possible for busy women to pray? The answer is Yes. And guilt free! Satan wants us to believe we don’t have time to talk to our Father. He has planted lies that many of us have believed for years. Lie: I will be more holy if I am sitting still, eyes closed and quiet while praying. Truth: JESUS makes us holy. Whether we pray standing still or traveling to work, eyes open or shut, hands clasped or soaked in dish water, God sees us through the cleansing blood of Jesus. Lie: God will be disappointed in me if I get distracted or ramble during my prayers. Truth: God wants to communicate with us. He wants to talk to us. He wants us to talk to Him. Our wandering minds do not disappoint God. The goal of prayer is Lie: God will love me more if I get up early or stay up late to pray. the ear of God, Truth: God’s love for us is unconditional. No matter how early or late we are up or how a goal that can only be much time we spend in prayer, He loves us the same. His love never changes. reached by patient and continued and God designed prayer for us. When we communicate with Him we are the ones who reap continuous waiting the reward. The following are three examples of how busy women can pray: upon Him, pouring out  Train your mind. Make the choice to turn over every thought to God - the good, the our heart to Him and permitting Him to speak bad and the ugly. Rather than just thinking or saying what is in your mind, tell God as if you to us. Only by so doing were talking to a friend. Thank Him for a good parking spot or a clothing item just your size can we expect to know Him, and as we come on sale. Cry out to Him for help as you care for your children or work with difficult people. to know Him better we Share your hopes and fears with Him. Admit your faults. Confess your sins. Out loud or shall spend more time in His Presence and through the whispers of your mind, share your life with God. find that Presence a  Take a 10-second Time Out. At the risk of sounding silly the only way to describe this constant and an ever-increasing delight. is to Stop, Drop and Carry On. When you have a deep yearning, a random thought, a - E. M. Bounds desperate cry, or a burst of thanksgiving, stop whatever you are doing, drop to your knees (depending on the circumstance it may be more appropriate to stand still, bow your head, or lift your eyes) and then carry on. The joy of hearing His voice speak to your heart and taking the time to listen and respond is worth every second.  Combine physical exercise with spiritual exercise. When you walk, talk. A good walk relieves the physical tension of the day, and conversation with your Father helps clear your mind of the world’s clutter. Through different seasons of your life, the Spirit may bring about conviction to deepen your communication with Him in other ways. These may include being quiet and still, memorizing and praying His Word, and waking early or staying up late. When the Spirit leads, it is always best to follow. Satan will continue to speak lies but if you train your mind to be in communication with God, the Spirit will reveal truth. There is great freedom in knowing and living in His truth. Busy women can pray. It takes discipline but to start, you need only to begin talking. You don’t have time not to. ~ Lesli Neuenschwander

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Striving to Be Still Strive is a word that is rarely used in modern day vocabulary and yet I am living out that verb every day. I strive to be a godly wife. I strive to eat healthy and take care of this body I have been given. I strive to bring up Godly sons who take light into a dark world. I strive to have a clean house with an empty sink and folded laundry. I exert so much mental and physical energy to achieve those goals until I am depleted and have nothing left to offer. A few years ago when I attended a silent prayer retreat, I learned the meaning of another word. “Still”- to remain at rest; free from noise; hushed; free from turbulence; peaceful; calm. I had attended this retreat at a time when my life was full of turbulence and internal commotion. The thought of being silent was so appealing to me. So I packed my Bible, my journal, my pillow, and a change of clothes. During the weekend, I ate meals with the other women who were there. But the real food for my famished soul came during those four hours between the meals where I read the word my Jesus had written to me and wrote out my prayers to my Father. Sometimes I just sat on the window seat in my room and breathed in the quiet and exhaled the noise in my soul. I walked away from that time knowing I had to bring the stillness of God into my daily striving or I wasn’t going to make it. I’ve learned to embrace the stillness in my life since that weekend. I’ve learned when I get swallowed up in the business of my day, I breathe shallow breaths which only makes my chest feel tight and my head hurt. So sometimes, I just stop in the middle of what I am doing and I take a long deep breath praying for God’s clarity in the middle of that current commotion. This sets me physically and mentally back on track, and I am able to move ahead, to strive to complete whatever needs to be done. Sometimes that stillness needs to come in the form of a five minute, ten minute, or one hour “time out.” I let my husband and children know I am going to my room for a set amount of time. I go to my room and usually I lie on my bed. I just lie there and ask my God to breathe His peace into me. But there are times when my body and soul crave the stillness of those two days in 2006. So, I will take a two-day personal retreat. This usually means I head to my in-laws’ home. They have a room over the garage that I have claimed as my own. Okay, it is actually a sewing room with a bed in it. BUT, it is secluded. No T.V. No telephone. No distractions. (Except the fabric, the fabric is distracting.) I take my Bible, my journal, my pillow and a change of clothes. I breathe in the peace of my Lord and I breathe out the turbulence of my heart. Psalm 23 holds with it a lot of meaning for people. But I have a favorite line that I hold very dear to my heart: “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” Did you catch that? Before He guides me through paths of righteousness; before I walk through the valley; before I fear no evil; before His discipline comforts me; and before I sit down to eat dinner with my enemies…He makes me rest, to be quiet, be still so that He may fill me up and restore my soul. Oh how my Father knows me. He knows that if I don’t start with stillness, the striving will do nothing but deplete me. I don’t feel guilty anymore about being still. AND my sisters, I don’t want you to feel guilty either. Your Father wants to restore and refresh your spirit for He knows what your road ahead entails. Praying with you, as together we strive to breathe in His peace and breathe out our commotion. TO BE STILL. ~ Krista Milliser

October A Taste of What’s Happening for Women Sun

Mon

Tue 1

www.chcchurch.org/calendar

Thurs 3

Fri 4

Sat 5

9 *MOPS 11AM Fredrickson Pumpkin Patch Play Date

*MOPS Atrium 9:30-11:30

For a complete list of happenings at CHCC, go to

Wed 2

*MOPS Atrium 9:30-11:30 20

30 *MOPS 9:30 Costume parade at Spring River Chrn Village

Ladies Prayer Retreat Cave Springs 18

Let’s Do Lunch

11:30-1:00

(Come & go as your schedule allows)

Fazoli’s 24

Contact Carol for more information: cbowland@chcchurch.org 417-624-6915 x301

YOUR WIM PLANNING TEAM: Cheri Adcock adcockcircus@gmail.com Carol Bowland cbowland@chcchurch.org Dalenna Giles dgiles@chcchurch.org

Tiffany Fink o2bad@hotmail.com Sandi McReynolds sanandmac@gmail.com Lesli Neuenschwander leslijn@gmail.com

*For more information about MOPS, contact Amanda at abhedger@gmail.com