January.February.March 2016 Edition
Ignited by Love 4 Modern Day Slavery 8
IPHC Women’s Publication
How I Met My Honey 11 7
Yes Lord, I Will Go
And I Will Not Fear
8
Modern Day Slavery Fight Against Human Trafficking
12
In Our Silence
Prayer Speaks
18
Head To Heart
2016 Book Review
24
Project Kid
Tools for Parents
26
At Home
Erica Campbell
Designer: Lindsey Snider, Kaleigh Bishop Photo Credits: Fotolia, Sam Snipes, Susan Beacham, Linda Thomas
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A Note From Sam
Samantha Snipes
Director IPHC Women’s Ministries Ssnipes@iphc.org
“We are fully Ignited with God’s love.” This year we are going to look at Heart Vision Ignited by Love. We are taking the time to talk with God and know our purpose as He makes it clear on the tablet of our heart. All the ingredients are there as He formed us with intention and purpose designing our very sinews with what we are called to do. How then could we question Him? We look in this GPS edition at a person who does just that and how God’s purpose prevailed in His life and his Heart Vision was Ignited by Love. Let’s purpose this year to seek the heart of God and see what happens next. Exciting aflamed times are here!
! s U h t i w t c e n n o C
Find out all the latest updates and announcements through social media
IPHC WOMEN’S MINISTRIES DEPARTMENT EMAIL: women@iphc.org PHONE: 405-792-7132 www.facebook.com/iphcwomen ADDRESS: P.O. Box 12609 Oklahoma City, OK 73157 www.twitter.com/iphcwm www.pinterest.com/iphcwm
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Ignited by love
“
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (ESV, John 3:16).
So loved.
God, ignited by love, did what was already in His heart to do and in doing this He saved the world. His love for us was the catalyst needed to ignite a flame of change. He sent His one and only Son to serve as the salvation for the world. Perhaps you’re fully on fire and know without a doubt why you were created. Or maybe you’re not exactly sure what your purpose is yet, but you are ignited by a love for God, and his people, to fulfill his calling on your life. That ignited love is what truly impacts the world the way that God intended.
Let’s take a look at a life ignited by love.
This child was spared death at an early age. In the world at the time of his birth, he was destined to be killed immediately by order of the leadership of that time. But that was not to be. He instead was rescued by the Pharaoh’s daughter and raised in a palace. Now being a Hebrew raised as an Egyptian in the shelter of a palace, one would think all might be lost in his participating with His people. But that was not the case. Exodus 1:11-12 says, “One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian.” This revealed his heart for his people. He did not like the abuse. God did not like this either. We cannot say exactly what caused him to take action, but anger at the injustice or the desire to protect could have been motives. He then flees for the Pharaoh was not too pleased with this and was going to kill him for this action. Again, death by Pharaoh is averted. Moses voluntarily exiled himself to Midian for 40 years.
But God.
Did this mean that the very reason he was born went away and he was no longer able to fulfill his heart’s desire? All roads seemingly closed to him having anything to do with his people again.
Then the burning bush.
God does somehow get our attention when it is time to ignite. Moses talked with God, heard His heart for
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His people, and received the commission to do something about the situation. Even though he was created for such a time as this, wired for the job and had the heart for it, he felt inadequate, slow in speech and tongue and asked God to send someone else. God reminded him who He was and said, “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say” (Exodus 4:12). Moses was still wriggling under this call. God knew what he was capable of but Moses did not. God sent a helper, Aaron, along with Moses to facilitate the commission. God is so good; he does not give up on us and will send someone alongside us to finish what He has started. He is faithful to complete what he started in us (Philippians 1:6). The ending of the story is the deliverance of an entire race of people from slavery. It is not only deliverance but a blessed outgoing into the Promised Land. Moses had it in him to do what he did after his conversation with God, but it took God revealing who He was to him in that conversation and many afterward. Exodus 33:11
says, “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” God reveals His heart to us when we talk with Him. When we seek His heart, our heart is revealed. He reveals our heart to us in His presence. He is Love. And when we are with Him, we are ignited by His Love in us so that we cannot sit any longer. We are fully ignited with His Love and called to action to light the world
It was already in us and He just calls it out and lights all the ingredients.
on fire with the commission He gives us.
Our Heart Vision Ignited by Love. Samantha Snipes
Director IPHC Women’s Ministries Ssnipes@iphc.org
When we seek God’s heart, our heart is revealed. He reveals our heart to us in His presence
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- Leader’s- GPS GPS 6 6 --
yes lord i will go and i will J
oshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” God promised to give Joshua every place he set his foot. He promised to never leave him nor forsake him. In order for Joshua to receive his inheritance, he had to be obedient to God and surrender to Him.
When I’m faced with something new, I often times say NO because of the unknown. I have
to choose to live with fear, or fight it with faith. Fear doesn’t live in us, but faith does (2 Tim 1:7). Fear gets thrown at us, but just because a ball is thrown at us, it doesn’t mean we have to catch it. We have to reject fear, surrender to God and say YES, so He can use us for His purpose and glory. Recently, I was asked to officiate my friend’s 14 year old daughter’s funeral. I wanted to say no, but I said “YES Lord, I will go.” Immediately my mind was filled with “what if’s” and thoughts of fear and failure came. I had to
reject those thoughts because I cannot serve faith while serving fear and neither can you.
Not long ago, I was moved to my feet during my personal prayer time with my arms stretched high surrendering all to God. I saw myself standing there in the “I surrender” stance and God showed me while I was in this position, it looked like a perfect “Y” and when I’m willing to do this, I
not fear
would be ready to say YES to Him and if I would allow Him to lead me, He would use me for His glory. Oh Lord, I want to always be found in the position of surrender to You.
What is God asking you to do that you’re hesitant about? I challenge you to stand up right
now as you read these final words, lift your voice in praise to our God, lift your hands and assume the “Y” stance in total surrender and obedience to Him and say “YES Lord! I will GO!” You may be surprised at what He asks you to do. But as you allow Him to lead you, remember that if He brings you to it, He’ll get you through it. Be strong and courageous! Do not fear! GO!
Nicole Hammond lives in Modesto, California and serves as Women’s Ministries Director in Pacific Western Conference. She and her husband Mark serve as campus pastors at Celebration Center and are blessed to have all of their children serving alongside of them. In her free time, she enjoys a good book, movies, hanging out with family and being anywhere near the ocean!
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As I sat and listened to Charles share I knew that the church had to join in the fight against trafficking, but the question that filled my mind that night was…how? How could a small church in western Pennsylvania make a difference in such a huge, overwhelming world-wide problem? The answer was not as difficult as one might think…do something. So I simply said to Charles, what can we do? He replied, “more than anything we need long-term aftercare facilities that will offer healing and recovery to those women who are rescued from the world of trafficking.” The ministry of “Project Restore” was born that night and developed over the next three years with a mission to provide a safe and healthy home environment where Hope and Christ-centered love collide to offer complete healing and restoration spirit, soul, and body. Project Restore serves women ages 18 and older in a long-term, aftercare home called “Lyndsey’s Place.” Lyndsey’s Place is an 8 bedroom home with each individual having her own room and space. Services are comprehensive and meet emotional, spiritual, and physical needs as we are equipped. We are blessed by Joan, who serves as the Director of Housing (house mom), and Savannah, who is the Director of Programming. Both Joan and Savannah live full-time in the home and are supported by the most amazing and caring volunteer team one could hope for.
modern day
s l av e r y H o w one pastor jo in ed th e f ight a g a inst sex traffic king .
I
t was a Sunday in October of 2010 that I first met Charles Powell of “Mercy Movement.” Little did I know as we sat and shared over a meal at a local restaurant how my life was about to change. Charles shared passionately with me about the current state of trafficking that we were facing right here in our own communities. Not some remote country far from the western Pennsylvania community I call home, but right here in our hometown. That’s right…modern day slavery, also known as human trafficking taking place in major cities, as well as, rural communities here in the land of the free. Human trafficking deviates from our historic view of slavery, making it hard to conceptualize. But ultimately, slavery today and 200 years ago share the same notion; it’s the notion that a person’s life, liberty, and fortune can be under the absolutely control of another, and be sold, bought, or used at the will of the owner. Statistics estimate that there are between 10 million and 27 million slaves in the world today. It is also estimated that human trafficking generates profits of 32-33 billion dollars annually. The victims most vulnerable are women and children. Children in particular are sold, bonded, trafficked, subjected to commercial sexual exploitation, recruited into armed conflicts, and forced to work as domestic workers. Many are being forced into sex trafficking at the early age of 12-14 years.
Project Restore and Lyndsey’s Place are outreach ministries of both Bethel Life Worship Center and River of Life Ministries Conference. Should you wish to have more information about the ministry you may visit our website at www.projectrestore.org and follow us on Facebook. If you would like to know how you may support financially or connect with Project Restore and Lyndsey’s Place please email us at pastorkent@ blwc.org. Pastor Kent has served as the Lead-pastor of an IPHC church in Western Pennsylvania for the past 11 years. With a vision to share the love of Christ with a lost and hurting world He casts vision to bring light to the darkness of the victims of human trafficking. Through Project Restore and Lyndsey’s Place, lives are changed by bringing hope, healing, and restoration.
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Because every life matters. SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE
january seventeenth, 2016
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Stay in Touch A
s we celebrate the beginning of a New Year, this is a wonderful time to encourage our local Women’s Ministries groups to Stay In Touch” with our missionaries serving all across the world. Our “Stay In Touch” ministry was birthed with the idea of keeping in contact with our missionaries and their families. This is a ministry of prayer and encouragement to our IPHC missionaries, chaplains, and military. A few missionary families are assigned to each conference Women’s Ministries. The conference WM board then assigns them to the local Women’s Ministries groups. The local WM groups are encouraged to keep in touch by sending letters, e-mails or even connect through face book. (This is also a great introduction to missions for our Girls’ Ministries. Encourage them to connect with the children of our missionaries.) Families can be involved by praying for our missionaries. The Link Prayer Guide is provided by IPHC World Missions which is used to pray for missionaries by name, people group or ministry assignments. Read missionary biographies with your children. Have your children send birthday cards to the missionary kids. Help your children write letters to them. Learn about where they serve and keep up with current events in that location. Pray for a particular need each day of the week. Host a missionary family when you know they are home on furlough. Spending time with missionaries is one of the
best ways to expose your children and family to missions. Our missionaries love this type of contact and emotional support. As a Conference Women’s Ministries Director if you do not have an assigned missionary, please let us know so that we can update our records and make an assignment. Remember, Together We are Building the Kingdom. Our missionaries need our love and support.
All correspondence should be sent to: Missionary Name PO Box 12609 Oklahoma City, OK 73158 (The mail is forwarded weekly to each missionary.)
Patsy Deese
Secretary IPHC Women’s Ministries
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Tell us how you met you r honey! t he sto h t t ps : / / sco n t e n t. xx . f bc d n . net/ hp hSam otos - p Snipes r n 2 / Linda t 3 1 .& 0 -Jo Thomas Susan & Doug Beacham & Todd
My story is simple. Iand waswent new to Iatwas a freshman to the the area local I wasn’t personally acEmmanuel College in the fall of 1971. Doug lived in Franklin Springs but was completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Georgia. Early that fall semester he visited the EC campus and we met on the steps of the Taylor Chapel on the EC Quad. We began dating that fall and the rest is history.
Christian bookstore to find some music. Todd helped me and then invited me to church. Funny thing is that I was planning on going to that church on a recommendation from a friend of a friend. When I pulled out the home phone number of that person it was also Todd’s number! The contact was Todd’s roommate. I met Todd at church the following day and that was the beginning of our adventure together!
quainted with Joseph Eugene Thomas until the end of my sophomore year when my best friend’s boyfriend suggested to him that he should invite me to the Junior-Senior Prom. He did …. and we have been waltzing through life together ever since. We celebrated fifty-two years of marriage this year.
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In Our Silence, Prayer Speaks
Essential Oils
Oils can provide many health benefits to the immune system, nervous system, respiratory system, and the health of your skin.
T
he most powerful forms of healing, other than miraculous, are found right here on God’s green earth. We can consider essential oils as the “life blood” of a plant. They circulate through all tissues carrying nutrition into the cells and taking waste products out. Thus, the “essential” part; without them, the plant would die! It’s very interesting that when essential oils are applied to your skin, they do many of the same tasks that they do inside the plant. Essential oils quietly but quickly permeate the cell walls of your skin to deliver nutrition and remove waste, helping to clean the receptor cites of your cells which are easily disrupted by man-made heavy metals and petrochemicals. As this cleansing takes place, balance is restored to your body and you feel better. An “essential oil” is natural oil typically obtained by distillation and having the characteristic fragrance of the plant or other source from which it is extracted. Essential oils are available through any number of manufacturers. Great news!
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However, there are times when we need more than “feel good” application for life. We need peace, rest, wisdom and emotional healing in times of loss, discord, or anxiety for friends and family. At times we face the difficult task of attempting to comfort those who go through all these difficulties and trials of life, and we find ourselves in a situation where we just don’t know what to do, or what to say. We want to encourage, but the words are just not there for the situation, so we just remain silent and whisper a prayer for God’s intervention and help in removing the disruption in the person’s life due to their present situation. Or perhaps the one who needs help is YOU! When we don’t know the best action to take or the right reaction in a particular instance, we should apply prayer to our lives as we would apply oil to our skin. Prayer confirms our faith in
God to handle the problem. Never doubt that HE HEARD YOU and He is, perhaps quietly and/or quickly, delivering strength and grace for you or others. In fact, submitting all to God’s will in prayer and allowing the Holy Spirit to pray for us is advantageous in that what we don’t know is given to the One who does know. Consequently, in our silence, prayer speaks to permeate the issue with hope and healing, speaks to remove people or circumstances out of the way, and brings spiritual cleansing, balance and restoration to our lives. So don’t sweat the times when you don’t know what to do or say. In our silence, prayer speaks! Resource: National Library of Medicine
Dr. Brenda Grasty
Assistant Director IPHC Women’s Ministries
EssentialOils
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Her Heart
A woman’s heart is such a delicate part of her being...
Erica Campbell
Next Gen Board Member IPHC Women’s Ministries
E
motional, sensitive, romantic to the core, and no matter how well put-together and grown up we try to be those fairytale stories will always dazzle us! Let’s be honest, ladies, who of us didn’t spend significant amounts of time dreaming up our perfect wedding day? Playing dress up in mom’s old wedding gown? Or sitting in awe of the Prince Charming we’d someday marry and live happily ever after with....the end! Right? Well, maybe for a few lucky ones that stuff all actually happened the way it was supposed to the first time. Unfortunately, for many of us those dreams crashed and burned. As a result, we’ve suffered broken hearts and fractured hopes. For you whose home was either neglected by an absent father or wounded treacherously by an abusive one, your idea of love came under attack from the very beginning. After all, for better or worse, as little
girls our first picture of how a man should treat a woman is painted by our daddy. And
even for those fortunate enough to have had a great dad, we often willingly gave our hearts away prematurely to someone who wasn’t anywhere near ready for that responsibility. Still others of us may have been victimized in other, more criminal ways by some man or boy who’d seriously lost grip of what’s right...
You see, though the details vary, we are all, in a major way, quite similar. We all have a story. We all have wounds and scars
that require significant healing. We’ve been caught in the tragic outcomes of fairytales-gone-wrong. We wrapped our hopes up into the very people that we should have stayed away from. We learned the hard way that heartbreak is the natural course of the world we inhabit and that the deep-
est places in our hearts were really created to be filled by Someone completely unlike the fickle princes populating the hallways of our past. What we didn’t quite understand is that we have a King who’s been pursuing us from...well, before we were born. A King who knows better than anyone just how delicate our hearts really are. A King whose plan for our hearts— no matter how broken and fragmented they may have become over the years—involves being made completely and fully His through a relationship that consumes every part of our being. Ladies,
please believe this: His plan for you is precious because, in His love, He sees you as priceless. So priceless, in fact,
that He’ll stop at nothing to bring you complete healing and restoration. Song of Solomon 2:10-12 is one of the most accurate pictures that illustrates how God pursues us. My beloved spoke and said to me,“Arise, my darling! My beautiful one, come with me. See! The winter is past;the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land… The way it happened for the bride in Song of Songs is the way I know Jesus wants it to happen for you. The scene is set. Your groom is in His place. Through the cross, the invitation has been offered to you. Jesus is assuring you, even now, that all is well in His world. The winter is past, the rains are gone, death is dealt with, and new life is singing its song over the land. All you must do is leap out in faith and follow Him. And as you begin to “come away with Him”, you will also start seeing beauty replace brokenness in your heart and in your story.
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The Language of LOVE
I
remember Spain 2014 sitting in missionary, Kathy Petty’s, ELL (English Language Learners) class as we (IPHC WM’s) were having discussion sessions and sitting in awe of such an experience. Our purpose: let them see the love of the Lord through us! Of course, I was completely ABSORBED in this encounter because I am a public school teacher! At times, some Christians think less favorably of public school teachers than they do of private school teachers. Early in my career I developed the same mindset that so many missionaries, like Kathy Petty, have: the public (school) sector is a great place to show and exhibit the love of Christ! Granted, the law is very specific on what a public school teacher can or cannot say and can or cannot do. Public school teachers must use discretion when choosing the how’s and what’s to use and say within the classroom. However, there are times (more often than not) within the classroom that students are allowed to voice their thoughts and opinions. In the elementary grades (K-5), holidays, weekend activities, and special events make great discussion starters and journal writing (illustrations included) with the opportunity to share with the entire class or pair-share. Students can also create and teachers can display a monthly word list that will assist students with their writing projects. Students are given the opportunity to bring books from home to read during DEAR Time (Drop Everything and READ) or SSR Time (Silent Sustained Reading). Self-selected reading options can be available within the elementary classroom and a teacher may ask for students to help with the donation of books. Students may choose to bring age appropriate Bible stories. The Bible is still considered to be a great work of literature. One elementary campus hosted a weekly student lead Christian praise session before the day’s classes began. The teachers called it, “The Jump for Jesus” club! Also, the Fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness & self-control) make an excellent foundation for a character trait program.
The Secondary Level (6-12) provides opportunities for students to share their faith as well. Clubs such as Teens4Christ, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and Fellowship of Christian Students are student led but are overseen by faculty or staff members. Over the intercom announcements promote these school-wide clubs as well. Some denominations promote/sponsor before school or after school Bible Studies. Of course, if Christian students would promote/recruit for these clubs, we would definitely see an increase. Students at the secondary level have the opportunity to compose writing projects of topics of their choosing at times. This is a perfect opportunity to share the Gospel especially with allegories/symbolisms within works of literature or film. “See You at the Pole” is a national incentive (www.seeyouatthepole.org) for students (elementary and secondary) to gather around their school flagpole before school for prayer. Paul so beautifully prays over us with this mandate in Philippians 1:9-11, “So this is my prayer, that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of; bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God” (The Message). They will know we are Christians by our love! One thing I know for sure is that I will never forget when I was in middle school and a friend of mine sang, “Amazing Grace” during one of our middle school history projects, or the little first grader who told the class Christmas was about the birth of Jesus during share time! The Language of LOVE is Powerful!
Michelle Drake
Board Member IPHC Women’s Ministries
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DownTIME Michelle’s Book & Web Recommendations
Four Seasons of Marriage
perfect for a daily devo!
Understanding and talking about the ever changing cycles of marriage
Jesus Calling Enjoy Peace in His Presence
STARFALL.COM GREAT educational website for teachers and parents
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HEAD to HEART 2016 IPHC Women’s Ministries Book Review
S
cientists now say the heart has a brain and that the “heart brain” has full capacity to think and remember. (“The Three Brains”, Dr. Caroline Leaf) It has been reported that some people who receive heart transplants start to have cravings they never had before and experience dreams related to the person whose heart they received. The heart is more than an organ that pumps blood; it also stores and pumps past memories, both good and bad, into our everyday life making it difficult to believe something that is contrary to our own personal experience. As a young child in a boarding home, Maria was repeatedly molested. She was beaten and told she did not have a mother because God did not think she deserved one. She experienced abandonment, loneliness, rejection and hopelessness. As a result, she attempted to cover her pain with drugs and alcohol. Due to her childhood devastation, when told Jesus loved her, she could believe it in her head but not in her heart. Therefore, she was always eighteen inches away from victory. As a young lady, through the fire of the Holy Spirit, Maria experienced conviction of the sin of drugs, drinking, ungodly communication, immodest clothes and adultery. Although she was instantly delivered from drugs and alcohol, it took decades for the same fire to burn out the seeds of negativity that had taken root in the deepest recesses of her heart. In order to experience deliverance, Maria realized that
“we can’t walk forward while looking backward!” She also recognized that we must “give
Janice Marshburn
Board Member IPHC Women’s Ministries
the past to the Lord, and ask Him to wash away all the sludge that keeps us from taking a giant leap forward so the cycle of the past can be broken once and for all!” Just as Maria did, we need a brain wash of all the things from our past that speaks destruction and death to our selfesteem. We need a brain wash in order to be able to move forward as warriors for Christ and claim new territory and to take back what the enemy has taken from us. Maria’s book is a great read full of encouragement and exhortation. My prayer is that by the power of the Holy Spirit there will be a connection between your head and heart. I pray that you will exercise your right to unlimited access to the throne of God. May you experience a washing of the brain of the heart that will rid you of all the “clogs” of distorted thinking, false beliefs, and accusation that makes you feel inadequate or even unloved and of no value. Join us in reading From Your Head to Your Heart this year!
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ITE 2016 IGNNCE CONFEREER! SPEAK
rt Great to sta for the first of the year!
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New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are indeed a very special occasion. It’s a new beginning and renewal for all of us. I’m sure that listed in our New Year’s resolutions is the goal to set more time to prayer. We are accustomed to praying when we need help from God in our present circumstances, or relief from the things that are coming against us. We all want God’s protection from trouble. (Psalm 50:15) But prayer is much more than crying out only in times of crisis. True prayer is motivated out of desperation for Christ’s life. The Lord desires that we seek Him. “For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: ‘Seek Me and live!’” (Amos 5:4). If Christ’s life is in us, let’s open up the floodgates of
His blessings by proclaiming what He has promised in His Word. We can, for example, pray a biblical declaration over ourselves and loved ones every morning to start the New Year in a powerful way. Let them be the first sentence of our daily chapter of life. I put together my favorite prayer proclamations, one for every morning during the month. You can pray them over your life, over your family, over your friends, or over your circumstances. *article was adapted from “Prayers, Decrees and Declarations for Breakthroughs, Overcoming and Restoration” (TheChurchGuide.com)
Lydia Treviño
Board Member IPHC Women’s Ministries
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Let’s starrty! in Februa
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A
Cause for Celebration
W
e stand on the precipice of a brand new year! 2016! As we stand at the threshold and look forward, what do you see in your own life, the lives of your children or grandchildren, and what about the world they will be growing up in this year and down the road? It is exciting to watch our children and grandchildren grow up. Yet, the threats of economic downturn, ISIS, and even home grown terrorists could be daunting and leave us
feeling hopeless if we allowed it to take root.
I wonder how different the excitement, apprehension, and fears are today than 70 years ago? Had you been standing on the threshold of the new year 1946, what would you have been thinking? What would you have envisioned for the future of yourself, your children, and the world in general? World War II had just
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ended. The country had barely come through the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl during the 30s when World War II broke out. The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, had catapulted the U.S. into the war! By the time the war ended in August of 1945, nearly 60 million world-wide had died and huge swaths of Asian and European countries had been destroyed with tons of border redrawn. According to “American Women in World War II,” (http:// www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/american-women-inworld-war-ii), the female percentage of the U.S. workforce increased from 27 percent to nearly 37 percent between 1940 and 1945. By 1945, nearly one out of every four married women worked outside the home. The world had changed dramatically and women had changed with it. No doubt, the changes that were taking place in the secular world were impacting those in our churches as well. What were the thoughts of the women leaders of the P. H. Church as they faced that new year? While they could have stood on the threshold of 1946 and been overcome by the fears of an unknown future, they chose to take action and create a new way to share the hope of Jesus Christ. Even as the war was ending in 1945, they had officially organized as the Woman’s Auxiliary of the Pentecostal Holiness Church. While I imagine it was in part a reflection of what was happening in society, I have no doubt that it was a God-ordained and Spirit-led birth. And then, in 1946, the women listened to the prompting of the Holy Spirit again and gave birth to Junior Auxiliaries for ministering to girls. What does that mean for us today? It means that Girls’ Ministries is turning 70 in 2016! Can you believe it? It means that we are going to spend the year celebrating! It means that we are going to look back some and reflect on how we got to where we are today. It also means that we will be sharing our goals and thoughts about the future to make sure we continue what some great ladies started. Since day one, Girls’ Ministries has been dedicated to helping girls discover who they are in Christ and helping them to grow in that grace and knowledge. Without that foundation in Christ, the influences of a modern society can sway and uproot even the youngest of lives. Just as our founders in 1946 chose to do, we will continue to offer the same HOPE through Jesus Christ. The name is different now and the methods have changed many times over the past seven decades. In fact, over the course of 2016, you will also learn about a new focus for Discipleship Ministries. And where children are concerned, you will see our three main areas (Girls’ Ministries, Royal Rangers, and KidMin) joining forces to promote
Family Ministry based on Deuternomy 11:1821.
Our birthday celebration that will span the coming months will be based on the praise concept of Psalm 145 where David praises and extols God. Verses 4-7 are a fitting description to why we have chosen to celebrate all year long!
“One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty–and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They tell of the power of your awesome works–and I will proclaim your great deeds. They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.”
For 70 years, women from several generations have been doing that very thing–passing on their knowledge of Jesus Christ. So as Girls Ministries celebrates over the next 12 months, we will do so using what we will call the “Three Rs of Our Celebration.” Stay tuned as we 1) Reflect, 2) Reveal, and 3) Reaffirm. As I personally look toward 2016, I know I must do it through the eyes of God. I cannot allow myself to be swayed by circumstances or the trends of an ungodly society. I will keep my eyes fixed on Him and I will celebrate His goodness. I will continue to thank Him for a godly legacy that has brought me to this point. I will ask Him to reveal Himself to me fresh and new every day and keep me on His path, and I will reaffirm my faith in Him and my commitment to do everything I can for His kingdom! I invite you to join me as we step into a brand new season!
Irvina Parker
iparker@iphc.org Director IPHC Girls’ Ministries
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TOOLS for the FAMILY
>>QUESTION
“I was checking my daughter’s Facebook the other day and noticed she wrote a nasty comment on another girls page. Should I talk to her about this?”
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>>ANSWER by Student Ministries Team Leader, Stephen Jones Short answer--I would definitely talk to her about it. Longer answer--I see at least three primary issues related to this question. First, consider the area of internet monitoring; parents should always retain the option of monitoring their children’s online activities, and especially activity on their mobile devices. The second area relates to cyber-bullying. Students and teens are still discovering, developing and shaping their own sense of identity; we have all seen the tremendous damage done when they choose to do so through belittling others. The third issue, more generally speaking, relates to privacy and mutual respect. Parents need never apologize for protecting their children from danger. Our desires to protect them and our intended actions to do so should be clearly and often communicated--and consistently enforced. They may not like you reading their texts or social media posts--but they shouldn’t be surprised when you do so.
Through interactive adventures and beautiful animations, kids explore the big stories of the Bible. The Bible App for Kids is a delight-filled experience designed to encourage kids to return again and again. It’s the beginning of a lifelong love of God’s Word
Send your questions to kids@iphc.org! - GPS 28 -
at home
with ERICA CAMPBELL
We would like to welcome the newest face to the IPHC Women’s Ministries Board, Erica Campbell! This Next Generation leader is a graduate from the great Emmanual College and works at Lifepoint Ministries in Georgia. She is a newlywed with a packed schedule, from leading the Women’s Ministry at Upward Church to serving alongside her husband as he corrals 90 college guys as the Resident Director at Emmanuel. You go, girl! Items You Will Find In My Purse:
Favorite Scripture:
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My Personal Motto:
If I Could Have A Superpower:
I Love To Shop For:
As A Kid, I Wanted To Be:
I Can’t Leave Home Without:
If I Could Live Anywhere, It Would Be: I’d Do Anything To Avoid:
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