Volume 1 ~Issue 2
February 2015
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Table of Contents 3~Notes from Rebecca 4~About Us 5~Restoration & Renewal 6~Christ on Campus by Taylor Smith 7~Spotlight on: Roxanne Coutts Anguiano Eilers , Artist 8~Young Christian Mom by Rachel Dills 9~Parton’s Petals by Keitha Parton 10-13 Handmade in Israel 14-15~Women of Valor: Interview with Katrinka Webb 16~Poetry of Peace & Praise by Jaime Dills 17~Grace Moments by Roxanne Rogiers 18~Pastor Ishmael Nyambane, Kenya 19~My Story...My Walk 20~God’s Toolbox 21~Ruth’s Recommended Reads & Book Reviews 22~PPM eStore 23~StillWorks Imagery eStore Back Cover~StillWorks Imagery
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Notes from
Hello to all readers! First, I want to thank you for clicking on the link that brought you to this magazine.
Rebecca
New this issue: A new page called Women of Valor, where I interview women in ministry, leadership, and/or are a great asset to their community. This month’s woman of valor: Katrinka Webb. A new page called Grace Moments by Roxanne Rogiers. A new page called Ruth’s Recommended Reads & Book Reviews, where I share a summary on a book I’ve read, and highly recommend. We have designed this magazine to be different than typical online magazines. First of all, as you can see, it flips like a real magazine! Each issue will come out on the 8th of each month, so look out for it! The purpose of this magazine is for help, hope and encouragement toward our fellow man. It is about promoting Godly endeavors and Godly results. It is not about judgment, or whether our beliefs are the same or not. The adversary is about division and subtraction; God is about multiplication and addition. We are our brother’s keeper!
Our prayer is that there will be a blessing for each reader among these pages. God bless each and every one! Shalom. Sincerely, Rebecca Matthews Founder, administrator, and ordained minister at Philippi Prospect Ministries Editor in chief of Grace Point! eMagazine Photographer and curator at StillWorks Imagery 3
When we set out on the road in August 2010, little did we know where God would take us. We traveled with Jamie Coulter for a few weeks, and went with him to Virginia. There we met some wonderful people. Especially Linda, Shirley, and Charlena. We helped move a mountain of sand for the kid’s playground at the church we were visiting~28 tons!
Linda and Shirley, the dynamic duo! James hauling sand. Charlena laughing at my joke. Our next stop was Seminary, Mississippi. Yes, we have been to Seminary. A word of warning: if anyone is camping in Mississippi, don’t leave any food out at night. There are thieving raccoons everywhere! And, here is where God led me to a beautiful lady that I mentored for the next two years, as she went through a life-changing situation. ~Roxanne~
James and Jamie setting up the PA system in Seminary, Mississippi. Testing 1-2-3.
Next, we were off to Mountain View, Arkansas. Deep in the Ozarks. There we met a motorcycle riding, piano playing pastor named Kerry Smith, and a lovely older couple that played and sang for us. We have many stories, praises, testimonies, life-lessons, and unique happenings to write about each month. We look forward to sharing them with you. 4
A Journey to
Sometimes, we feel as though we are walking in a very narrow place, where the slightest misstep will create the sinking feeling that we have been there before. Too often, we let aspects of our past control our present environments, which in turn, affects our future. Only the enemy would attempt to keep us in a negative place, to keep us feeling defeated. When the children of Israel came to the Red Sea, with Pharaoh barreling down on them from behind, God said to “Go forward!” God’s plan is for us to be victorious over the enemy. And that happens by learning from our past, not living in it. It happens by moving forward, toward the goal He has put in our lives. This requires prayer for guidance and insightful revelations to aid us in this journey.
I don’t know about anyone else, but when my past rises up against me, it looks something like this: Nasty, slimy, ugly, and foul; and none of that is Godly. This translates into anger, envy, resentment, and a bad attitude. Now, who would want to be around that? Only our enemy, and he will feed it with more and more negative thoughts and actions until we turn it loose to Jesus, which will send it back to the depths from which it came.
Let’s put our past back where it came from: the past! So that we may walk with God unhindered and untethered, loosed from a burden placed on us by the enemy.
a publication of Ruth Ministries-The Virtuous Woman,TM a woman's restoration ministry/a segment of Philippi Prospect Ministries TM
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hrist on
ampus
Your Calling is Wherever You Are by Taylor Smith
Have you ever just felt like you have no idea where God is calling you? It’s so hard to figure out His plans for us, to know what we’re doing is ‘right’, and to be sure of where we are supposed to go. I have been doing this a lot. I graduate in a few months, and I’m at a loss for what I should do afterwards. I could work, go to graduate school, travel the world, write a book, start a business, or anything else I truly want to do. It’s been so hard in my journey to discern what God is telling me to do, I’ve come to find that it’s okay. I recently quit my job at school; it was a part time job, and I just didn’t feel like I should be there anymore. I quit on a whim, and God provided a lesser-quality job, but at the time it was all I had. I kept debating in my head whether this was where God was calling me, or if I should look for something else. During this time, I have realized a few things. God will use you wherever you are. You might make a few wrong turns, take the long route, crash into a pole, or get a speeding ticket on your way through life, but God will use you in those moments. I could have worked anywhere, but I know that through each situation that I will be used to minister to someone, or just live how Jesus did. It’s the same situation after I graduate. There is no perfect scenario for me; there is no one profession where God will use me the most. He will use me wherever I end up. It’s relieving to me because it takes the pressure off of ourselves. While we shouldn’t jump into anything, we can feel assured in the fact that we will always be furthering God’s kingdom in any part of our life. We don’t need to sit and worry for days if what we choose is holy enough or Christian enough. We just need to go into our lives with the mindset that we are God’s warriors, and everywhere we go is our mission field. He’ll use us.
I have realized a few things. God will use you
wherever you are.
For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Phil. 2:13 We can even bring it back to the fact that God used a prostitute, Rahab, in the Bible to do His will. In Jericho, she concealed spies because she recognized the call put on her the moment the men of God were put under threat. She is even in the genealogy of Jesus and is considered a heroine of the faith. He can use you, too!
Don’t worry about it. Don’t be afraid. You can’t go wrong, because God has the ability to transform what seems like a life of poverty into an eternal life of gloriousness, righteousness, and honor. Take a leap of faith and keep an ear open for His voice to speak. 6
read more about Taylor at
Live By Faith
Roxanne Coutts Eilers Artist Welcome to the gallery of Roxanne Coutts Eilers. Roxanne is one of the granddaughters of the internationally known artist, Gordon Coutts, and daughter of accomplished American artist, Jeane Granada Coutts. Roxanne was born and raised in sunny Palm Springs, California. She started her art when she was just a child and has sat under the tutelage of her mother, Jeane. Roxanne 's collection of oil paintings depict the innocence and beauty of life reflected in the faces of people. She works on capturing the pure heart and simple uncluttered, uncomplicated life. Roxanne values the rich heritage she has come from and desires to create her art as a vehicle to make others feel happy and carefree, as they behold innocence, beauty and love in a world that can be very demanding and stressful. Her art is part of her ministry and she prays that the Lord would use each unique piece to draw people to Himself and bring Him glory.
Her art is part of her ministry and she prays that the Lord would use each unique piece to draw people to Himself and bring Him glory. Delicate Fragrance
Love's First Kiss
She is also a singer, musician, writer and speaker. She writes inspirational material that encourages and lifts up the heart, and she travels around and speaks about how God made a tremendous impact in her life and how He gave her strength and hope in tremendously difficult years. Roxanne earned her Bachelor's in Biblical Studies and a Masters in Theological Studies from Vanguard University. Presently, Roxanne lives in Palm Desert, California, where she and her husband, Ike, pastor the Harvester Church they planted. Their son Joseph is also a gifted writer, musician and singer. 7
Young Christian Mom In the months before and during my pregnancy, I had not been living the Christian life I should have been. I have always believed in Christ, but at this point I wasn't truly saved. I wasn't going to church, or trying to keep a healthy relationship with God. I never got into drugs or drinking, but my mind still wasn't on trying to build my faith. I was more concerned with trying to keep him happy and provide whatever he needed. I was working full time at a daycare facility while trying to take care of the baby in my womb and steer clear of any complications. I stayed busy and kept counting down the days until it was time for my little man to make his appearance.
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by Rachel Dills
On December 29th 2008, at 8:16 pm, I gave birth to my baby boy. Honestly, I can't put into words the joy I felt when I heard that first cry. It is truly indescribable. I had him via c-section so I didn't get to hold him right away, but the doctor held him near me so I could see him before he was taken to the nursery. I remember my first words to him were "Hey sweetie. I love you." That moment was perfect. If I could have stayed in that moment everything would have been okay. But as they say, "It's always darkest before the dawn."
While I was on maternity leave from my daycare job, the center shut down. Here I was with a newborn, I lost my job, he wasn't working, and there were bills that needed to be paid. The stress was almost too much. I couldn't even make ends meet or pay the rent. It was at this time that he talked me into moving to Indiana, where he was originally from. For the sake of providing a better life for my child, I agreed. In October of 2009, I packed up all of my belongings, left my entire family, and moved nearly 500 miles away. If I had known how bad things were going to be, I would never have even set foot out of the front door. 8
petals of wisdom, hope, inspiration, and truth by Keitha
Parton
What Is a Prayer? As a child growing up, I always heard the terms, “pray about it, talk to God in prayer, let’s all pray, or there is power in prayer.” Recently I started to ponder the word pray and the action of prayer. What does the term really mean? I know from experience that it is carrying my concerns, thoughts, or feelings to Christ by talking to him. I also know that many scriptures in the Bible speak of the power of prayer; however, how could one explain what prayer is to a nonbeliever? When put on the spot, would we as Christians really know what to say, or how to describe what this powerful gift from God truly is? To find the answer to this question, I sought the answer in the most logical place…my Bible. There are numerous passages in scripture that tell us to pray. Prayer is defined in the Bible as: 1. A lifting up our soul to God: Psalms 25:1; 143:8 2. A pouring out our heart to God: Psalms 62:8 3. A crying out to God: Psalms 86:3 4. Spiritual incense to God: Revelations 5:8 5. Coming before the throne of grace: Psalms 84:1-2; Hebrews 4:16 6. Prayer is a spiritual sacrifice and the fruit of our lips: Hebrews 13:15 7. Drawing close to God in friendship, fellowship and trust: James 4:8 Christian theorist and scientist, Blaise Pascal wrote, “The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing…” He proposed that prayer has its reason, and I agree. Prayer is an act of obedience. God calls us to pray and we must respond because, if we do not, then how can we truly develop a close relationship with Him and know truly what He has chosen for our lives. The very act of prayer permits us as Christians to worship and praise our Lord. It allows us to admit our sins, which opens the door for our soul to seek genuine repentance. The very act of prayer grants us as human beings the opportunity to present our desires to a loving God who cares for us and wants to guide our path. God is personal, He cares for us deeply, and wants to commune with us through the quiet act of sincerely talking to Him in the act of prayer…give it a try, do it often, and watch your relationship with Him grow.
learn more about Keitha at Tuckasegee Country Living and Keitha Parton-Official Mary Kay Consultant
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See more from this artist at Denisart
Denis Filtzer was born in 1968 in Moscow. He studied sculpture in the Arts & Industry School of Moscow. Since 1990 he lives in Israel. Denis's sculptures are made of natural pottery. He nearly completely avoids using glazing and prefers to leave to clay its original color and texture. The artist principally limits the use of modern and glamour materials, trying to reach the result not by means of technical means but rather due to his mastership, which can be appreciated looking at the sculptures – all of them are different, you will not meet identical ones. The entire work is made manually. Even the same sample is created each time from the beginning – movement, mimics, pose, location of minor details.
NEW!!! PERSONALIZED FIGURINES!!! Made to order from 2-3 photos. Karmiel, Israel
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See more from this artist at
Blue Noemi
Bluenoemi offers affordable top-quality jewelry inspired by Nature and the unique ambiance of Israel and the symbols of the Holy Land. . Dina from Bluenoemi is an Internet entrepreneur marketing WORLDWIDE Israeli designer products as jewelry and gifts. visit the artist’s website Blue Noemi Tel Aviv, Israel
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See more from this artist at
EleNesSilk
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My name is Elena. I am pleased to welcome you in my store. How do I create my works? It all starts in my head. I have an idea, an image of the future scarf, shawl or a painting, then I draw it on paper and then on pure white framed silk. Then the most interesting part starts. In my work I use professional dyes. Colors and their combination are the most important thing in painting for me. Finally, I roll it in paper and steam for 3 hours. After that the clothing is ready to wear, can be washed without any fear of fading. Tel Aviv, Israel
See more from this artist at
LenaMer
Born at Soviet Union, and at age of 12 emigrated with my family to Israel at 1990. Grown here in Israel definitely had huge influence at my character and the way I feel and see things. While designing and making my jewels I'm looking for a way to make casual to fun, and always enjoying the beauty of natural gemstone. Today, I live at center of Israel, with my family: husband, son, and our cat.
see more at Interview with the Artist 13
My interviews with women of God.
The Ministry of
Shear Glory Hair Design I first met Katrinka Webb in the late spring of 2011, when we came through Haywood County (NC) for the first time. Within minutes, she had shown such a genuine compassion for us, that we were amazed at her concern and generosity. We had come to realize then, and have experienced it since, that not all are as genuine as they would want others to believe. But, this lady: she is the real deal! So, here is her story, in her own words. PPM: How did you come to have Shear Glory? Katrinka: After 20 years in the business, and working at several different places~some good, and some not so good~I had started praying about it. A lot of the young girls, because they did not have a large clientele, a lot of the salons did not want to help them. So, I really got a burden to help the young ladies get on their feet and build their business, while giving them a safe environment. Some of the environments I had gone into were not so great. I wanted to give them an environment where they could grow and learn, and be all that God wanted them to be. So, I had prayed long and hard over it, and came across the first building in Hazelwood. We were there five years, and then the owners put it up for sale. At that point, we had grown. God had blessed it; then we moved to Waynesville. When we came in there, there were a lot more people coming through, and we were able to reach out a lot more. The ministry had started out with nine widows, and we would take them baskets on holidays, and visit with them if they were in the hospital. We tried to look after them as best we could. And, sometimes, we were the only people they got to see.
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PPM: And you do this as part of the Shear Glory ministry? Katrinka: Yes. That is part of the ministry. I tell the girls when I hire them, “This is not mine; it belongs to God. And this is His ministry. And, that is what it’s all about.” And I really think that’s why God has blessed it so much. We have come here to this new building, because the building we were in is in the process of being sold-again! God gave us this building, in the best location, and the nicest building that we had found. God has worked everything out, so that we could set everything up, and it has taken us a month to get the floors down and the walls up, and set in motion! I can see God’s hand in it. We have a range of ages now; we don’t just have young girls working here. We have Sandra, Tera, and myself, as well as a complete agerange of customers. Our goal is to be an outreach, and that is why I picked out the painting! It is my mission statement. Because I do believe when you go into ministry, and you put Christ first, He blesses it, and that way, you can reach out to people. Then it is not just a salon; it becomes a ministry. And, that is my goal!
Autumn Jones, Rayna Conard, Katrinka Webb, Sandra Justus,
Tera Presnell
Shear Glory Hair Design on facebook 15
Lord Lord, I love Your instructions Help me to obey Lord, help me follow Your words and never stray Lord, help me follow along Your path Sink me down in Your holy bath Cleanse my body and make me free Let this sin drip off of me.
Lord, You amaze me I am here to serve You And here at will No matter all the wrong I have done, You still love me Lord, teach me to do right unto You Lord, help me to follow Your commands And I will always know what to do.
Lord, help me to do right unto others Help me realize I can make my enemies My brothers Lord, help me to walk down Your path Leading to Your light Lord, help me use Your word When I’m ready to fight.
Lord, give me strength to make it through When it seems all else will fail Help me understand the pain Endured by every single nail Lord, use me as You want I will follow Your command Help me for the rest of my years To live by Your right hand.
by Jaime Dills
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by Roxanne Rogiers We are all familiar with the hymn, "Amazing Grace." The GRACE of God is truly amazing! However, many Christians believe that GRACE is only applicable to their soul's salvation. Indeed, it takes the grace of God for any person to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord. But, how many of us believe that it is the GRACE of God that enables us to live the Christian life, as well?
When defining grace, many believers are familiar with the acronym, "God's Riches at Christ's Expense." Grace is also the power of God that enables us to obey the Lord's will for our lives. Sadly, many believers rarely tap into the grace of God to live as the Father would have us to live.
GRACE IS GREATER THAN ALL OUR SIN And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. -Genesis 3:21 (NLT)
Ever wonder why the Lord God did not strike Adam and Eve dead the moment they rebelled against Him in the Garden of Eden? GRACE! It's been said that grace is what happens when God does not give us what we deserve. However, grace is not a license to sin. There were ramifications for Adam and Eve's transgression. The Lord pronounced judgments against the man and the woman. Most notably, the ground would no longer yield its fruit to the man and he would labor over it with the sweat of his brow. His wife's desire would be for her husband, and she would experience the pain of labor in childbirth. The couple was also expelled from the garden and the intimate fellowship with the Almighty, that they had once enjoyed, was no more. Yet, despite their fall into sin, and the consequences to humanity because of it, the Lord God made the first animal sacrifice. Something had to die so that they could continue to live. The blood of an innocent animal had to be shed to provide a covering for the man and his wife. The GRACE of GOD covers our shame, even after we have sinned against Him.
Roxanne Rogiers is a self-published Christian author, writer, and blogger.
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Pastor Nyambane is located in Kisii, Kenya. I met him in November, when he sent me a message asking me to pray for him. I had had no prior contact with him, nor did we have anyone in common that could have directed him to me. God had he and I on a mission that day, for Pastor Ishmael was being bombarded by the enemy, and was about to take his own life. But, God intervened, and now Pastor Ishmael is back doing the Lord’s work wherein he has been called, with a heart now operating in grace, and not condemnation! This is what he wants me to pass along to you, the reader, as a way of expressing thanks to God for showing him His unconditional love. Psalms 124:1-7 Had it not been the LORD who was on our side,� Let Israel now say, Had it not been the LORD who was on our side When men rose up against us, Then they would have swallowed us alive, When their anger was kindled against us; Then the waters would have engulfed us, The stream would have swept over our soul; Then the raging waters would have swept over our soul. Blessed be the LORD, Who has not given us to be torn by their teeth. Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the trapper; The snare is broken and we have escaped.
Hebrews 13:10-14 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
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Romans 12:4-5 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
John Who? Way back in 1996, when praying by my bedside one night, the Lord impressed upon me to pray for ‘everyone in the world named John’. That was a considerably tall order, but I prayed as the Spirit led. I knew several ‘Johns’, some from childhood, and some from my adult life, but none of them seemed to ‘fit’. The indication to pray that prayer again never came, and over the years I wondered who the prayer was meant for. Then, back in the fall of 2012, 16 years later, and after asking God to reveal to me who this ‘John’ was, He let me in on the secret. It was during this time that I was trying to find different platforms from which to launch the blogs I was writing, and I opened up a WordPress account. I sat up until 2am one night setting the whole thing up. By the time I got sleepy enough to go to bed, I had decided that I did not like that platform. Even though I had published one post, I closed the account first thing when I got up the next morning. Unbeknownst to me, I had an email waiting for me from a man who had read that single post in the approximate 8 hours it had been up. When I saw this email , at least an hour after I had closed the account, it brought a smile to my face. This man had commented on the post~from my very first blog~that I had written a few months prior. After a few kind words, he gave me his partial testimony. He lived in Canada, was presently retired, but his occupation had been that of a butler to a very wealthy family for twenty-five years. He went on to tell me that he had no living relatives, and had not had any in many years. He told me how he had given his life to Christ seven years earlier, after living a homosexual lifestyle his whole adult life. As I read all of this, I was overcome with emotion at the sincerity I felt in his words. Then I read two things that made it all make sense. One of the last things he said, in reference to having no family, was that he knew that he had no one that would have prayed for him in all those years before, because he did not know, nor had any dealings with ‘Christians’ until he came to salvation. The second thing was that it was signed “Love, John.” God had answered a prayer, because the spirit told me instantly that this was the man I had prayed for 16 years before. It warmed my soul to read his testimony, and know that God let me play a part in it. That being said, whenever a prayer is impressed upon anyone’s heart, pray it, no matter how silly it may seem. It might take sixteen years to get the reason why, but He will reveal His purpose for it!
see more of my blogs at My Story...My Walk
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God gives each of us a box full of tools. Are we using them for what they were designed for?
Volume __ Issue __
January 2015
Faith lets us believe God, even in the worst of times.
By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with Godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
Faith lets us to see with our spiritual eyes.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1
Hebrews 11:7 Faith lets us step out into the unknown.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. Hebrews 11:8 Faith lets us comprehend what science cannot.
By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Hebrews 11:3
Through faith we obtain righteousness.
By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous Hebrews 11:4 17
& Book Reviews I read this book in 2013 and, as a woman, it showed me things about myself that I had never recognized before. Not only does the author address topics that concern us women in our Christian life, but also how social, family, and cultural issues form how we operate in that Christianity. The book starts out talking about the general roles in our lives: wife, mother, career professional, and how wearing these masks create a filter through which we live a Christian life. In these roles, it is easy for the enemy to bind us through a mask of ritual and routine. The following chapters go on to talk about all the masks we wear to cover up our past, whether it be pain from childhood abuse, loss of a loved-one, and various negative relationships. Then, some of us seek help through counseling or self-help groups, and how to overcome living our lives according to how other people see us. Some of us get into competitions with coworkers, family, and neighbors, as well as compare ourselves with others that we deem better than us, or that we perceive to have a higher social status. The book deals with condemnation, whether from ourselves or from others, and the masks it causes us to wear, and the unrealistic expectations we put on ourselves. Once all the masks are identified, the remainder of the book tells us how to truly take off the masks that we wear for the world, so that we can be transparent and bare-faced before God. As this author so eloquently points out, using her own experiences throughout, in order to be real with God, we have to take off all the masks. The only way we can have our identity in Him is to take off all of our worldly masks, and have no fear of anyone seeing the real “woman behind the mask.” I absolutely loved this book!
❤❤❤❤❤
a publication of Ruth Ministries-The Virtuous Woman,TM a woman's restoration ministry/a segment of Philippi Prospect Ministries TM
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