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Dear women of our communities,
We have been in prayer and petition seeking the Lord for our community. We have been quiet and patient trying to lead with the Lord's wisdom and plans rather than our own. And although God rarely shows us the full course map, He has been incredibly faithful to give us what we need each day. We are seeking Him through His Word, prayer, and worship and as we do, He is filling us with peace, hope, and joy. It is clear that many are filled with anxiety and fear and are continuing to search for hope. While we aren't clear yet on each detail for gathering, we know now more than ever, we must not give up on meeting together and spurring one another on! (Hebrews 10:24-25). We, the body of Christ, do not have a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7) Let us embrace that Truth. Friends, if you are being filled with God's peace, He wants to use you to show it to others. If you are struggling to find that peace, He is begging you to go to Him- to cast all your anxieties upon Him because He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7) We have a good, good Father who has all this worldly craziness under control. So, as God is always waiting with open arms, we too open our arms to you. Come, join us for encouragement, fellowship, prayer, and God's unchanging Word. After another summer weekly study, our Monthly Gatherings are starting back up! More details on what to expect here. We plan to meet on the first Friday of the month from 6:30 pm to approximately 8:30 pm. Mark your calendars to join us on October 2nd in person or virtually. Our hope is to gather in Heather's heated barn with our own chairs and maybe a comfy blanket. You can wear masks or no masks- God loves all of our faces either way. We can be socially distanced to your comfort level and enjoy some warm (or cold) beverages and dessert. We will be sure to enjoy our God through his Word and fellowship with one another. We also would like to try Zoom to gather with those who prefer not to come in person. We pray this year we can wrap our community in the love of Christ! We will take the next 3 months to explore the messages at the end of the book of Acts. The topics will be Presenting the Gospel, Facing Problems and Pain, and Living Your Faith. (If you joined us for the summer study, they are the last 3 lessons.) We cannot wait! As always, anyone is invited, so tell a friend or forward this email. Sending you love and prayers, Kaylee and Heather
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Did you miss our May Gathering? If you did (or if you just need a refresher on joy :) you can catch up below on what you missed! Excerpts taken from “A Jolt of Joy” devotion plan on YouVersion Bible app
Joy! (From Day 1) If you desire a joy so pervasive that it will trump every other circumstance in life then you must spend time in the presence of the Lord. If you are desperate for a joy that will literally defy all of your life’s depressing situations then you must choose to marinate in His presence. (That’s what we want to do together tonight!) Read Psalms 63:1-8 Example of joy in the midst of dark circumstances: Paul and Silas Read Acts 16:22-34 (From Day 5) Paul and Silas had been beaten until they were bruised and bleeding. Their clothes had been violently torn from their bodies and they were sorely in need of medical attention. Paul and Silas, these two great men of God who were traveling the ancient world proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, were thrown into a Roman prison and their feet were locked into stocks. A Roman prison was a place of nearly instant mental illness; it only took a few nights in this fetid, black place to lose one's mind. Set down in the belly of the earth, it was a place that reeked of urine and vomit. Prisoners received only one meal per day that consisted of moldy bread and tepid, dirty water that had already been used for other, unmentionable things. Each time a guard would bring food, he would make sure to kick the prisoner in a place that it would do the most damage and bring the most pain. Roman prisoners would sit in their own excrement day after endless day. And then there were the varmints and insects that continually crawled over the body of a prisoner. Spiders would crawl in and out of the prisoner's nostrils while rats roamed freely across other private areas of the prisoner's unprotected body. At about midnight, when most people give up in despair and sink into depression, Paul and Silas found joy! They discovered it in the putrid smell of prison and in the dank and damp of hopelessness. They discovered joy with their feet bound in purposeless and in the sewage of their own existence. Paul and Silas chose to worship Jesus at the very worst moment of their life. Paul and Silas found joy! Now ... what's your excuse?! As Christians, we have a responsibility ... yes ... a divine duty even ... to meet the very worst that life offers with a joy that is defiant! When you choose to break out into unrestrained worship at the midnight hour of your life, watch out! Heaven may begin to rock the foundations of your life in order to set you free from the circumstances that bind you. Their joy overflowed from them and led to the salvation of the jailer and his whole family! This is exactly what Jesus says will happen in John 15... Read John 15:11 Also, keep in mind we have great joy to come...thank you, Jesus! Read 1 Peter 1:3-12 I am sure I'm not alone, but my emotions are wavering by the day/hour regarding all that's going on. I know that God promises to use all things for the good of those who love Him, and I really believe this to be true. There are moments I am even filled with excitement about all that God is doing right now. But I also find myself grieving at times for all that we (and our kids) have lost during this season. In all of these mixed emotions and feelings, I keep hearing God say, "Hold fast to me." As a community, let's keep doing that together. It's our prayer that holding fast to Jesus now builds in you a deep relationship with the Savior that you cling to throughout your life and lead others to experience, too. "But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now." Joshua 23:8 "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23 Will you 'hold fast' with us? Our next monthly Gathering is set for Wednesday, May 6 at 6:30pm. It will still be held, but virtually using Zoom this time. We look forward to seeing your faces! Watch your email for an invite. If you're not on our email list, contact us and we'll add you. "So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter." 2 Thessalonians 2:15 Friends, are you like me? In these crazy Old Testament-like times I find myself wavering from marveling over all the good I see God doing to just wishing life would get back to NORMAL. I miss normal. I miss dropping my kids off at school (who am I kidding, I miss them being AT school!). I miss going out to eat. I miss watching my kids play sports. I miss having quality alone time with my husband because now we are ALWAYS ALL TOGETHER. I miss giving hugs to my friends when I see them. I miss seeing friends period. I miss going to the grocery store unaware of the germs that are on every. single. thing I touch. I could keep going...there's a lot that I miss. My prayer the last couple weeks has been...God, show me the good. Give me your eyes to see the good that I trust you are bringing to those who love you during this season (Romans 8:28). Because my eyes can't see the good without your help. Have you seen the good yet? Good for me is video chatting with my siblings more in the last couple of weeks than I have in the past couple of years. Good for me is instead of watching my oldest play soccer, she is teaching me how to play. Good for me is watching my kids enjoy each other because each other is all they have right now. Good for me is not looking at my calendar even once last week. Good for me is not being rushed at all when I spend time with those I love the most. What's your good? (We would love to hear--comment below!) Scripture talks a lot about the good. Did you know that by doing good we can conquer evil? It's true! It says so right here: "Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good." Romans 12:21 The catch is, I am unable to do good on my own. Let's just say it doesn't come naturally. I need the power of Jesus in me because if I rely on my own strength it will run out. "God uses [Scripture] to prepare and equip his people to do every good work." 2 Timothy 3:17 Did you catch that? Scripture is my life-line to seeing and doing good! It always comes back to abiding, doesn't it? :) You know what else has been good for me? Connecting with Christ and our community through the YouVersion Bible app devotion plans we have been reading together. What an incredible way to abide and feel deep community during this time of distancing. YouVersion can be used on your phone or computer, so pretty much anyone can join us! We are currently reading Faith Over Fear together, and in a few days we plan to start Women in the Easter Story. Are you longing for peace, hope and community? Join us! If you need help getting started, we would be thrilled to help, just let us know. "For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the GOOD News so that you will be fully prepared." Ephesians 6:15 "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7 Dear ELG friends, Due to schools closing, our ELG Schools Prayer Walk that was scheduled for this Wednesday, March 18 has now become an ELG Schools Community Day of Prayer. Let's join together in spirit to still pray over our school community from our homes! We encourage you to take some time this Wednesday, March 18 to pray--alone, with family or friends, at dinner or bedtime, throughout the day...please share this so many people will be praying! If you'd like to use a guide or Scripture to help you in praying, use the buttons below. We've also gathered specific prayer requests from students and staff. Please pray over these items listed below... Prayer Requests from StudentsPlease Pray...
Prayer Requests from StaffPlease Pray...
Join us in covering the Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah School District in prayer. This will be our third prayer walk in 1.5 years! We're changing up the structure a bit this time...after we begin with prayer as a large group, we'll break up individually or with partners and silently pray throughout the schools in an intentional effort to pray over each and every classroom. Everyone is welcome!  "He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." - Ephesians 4:16 I need you. It's true. I am not complete without you, the body of Christ. If I'm an ear (which I'm pretty sure I am), then I need some feet! I need feet to walk me to where I need to go use my gifts. I also need a mouth. Only a mouth can better communicate the things that I hear and take in. We each need the whole body of Christ to be healthy and growing and full of love. Our current You Version devotion called "Better Together" is challenging us to press in to what God really has available to us with a community of believers. It is challenging us to allow others to really know us in deeper relationships and also to love others well. I was reading recently in Ecclesiastes where the writer portrays the sobering reality of life - that although we "toil under the sun" to find happiness and satisfaction, we will only ever be really satisfied with Jesus. Chapter 4 talks about the advantages of companionship: 7 I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun. 8 This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing. We are meant to live in community with one another, like a braided cord that can't be broken. We are meant to be the hands of Jesus when our friend has fallen. We are meant to be the eyes of Jesus when our friend's vision is blurry. We are meant to be the heart of Jesus serving and loving others. In a recent Jennie Allen message, she said we have powerful weapons in the Word of God (the Truth of the Bible), the Spirit of God (through surrender and prayer), and the People of God (followers of Jesus Christ). We want to encourage you to surround yourself with each one of these. We are not perfect, but we sure will welcome you with open arms. Our next gathering is March 4th at 6:30. Hope you will join us. Our monthly Gatherings continue to be source of joy, wonderful community fellowship, and encouragement. Here's what we covered this week on Feb. 5 just in case you missed it! Song: Let There Be Light (Acoustic)- Hillsong Read: John 1:1-14 Reflection: How would you describe darkness? What effect does darkness have on us? Isaiah 59:9b-10 describes life without the Light of the Lord. What effect does light have on the darkness? Christ offers His light to every person, but each of us must personally make the choice to follow or reject him. “To all who believed and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12) See prayer below... Accept the gift of Light and Life Jesus offers: “Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God, that you died on the cross to rescue me from sin and death and to restore me to the Father. I believe you overcame death and are alive, preparing a place for me in heaven. I choose now to turn from my sins, my self-centeredness, and every part of my life that does not please you. I choose you. I gratefully receive your forgiveness and ask you to take your rightful place in my life as my Savior and Lord. Come reign in my heart, fill me with your love and your life, and help me to become a person who is truly loving—a person like you. Restore me, Jesus. Live in me. Love through me. Thank you, God. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.” More Scripture about Light:
"I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark." John 12:46   Just one month ago, we celebrated Christmas and the birth of our Savior. A time of remembering when the angel said, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people." (Luke 2:10) Friends, that good news was meant for us then over 2,000 years ago and is meant for us today and everyday. Because of Jesus, we can have joy! The world tells us to "choose joy". We see t-shirts, posters and coffee mugs that profess this truth. So can we just "choose joy"? Is it as simple as waking up in the morning and deciding to have great joy? I say, yes and no. Try choosing joy with your effort alone, and you will fall short. You will become exhausted and defeated. But if we wake up in the morning and decide to fix your eyes on Christ and abide in Him, joy will come without our effort. Joy will overflow from the depths of our souls like a water spring shooting out of a rock! According to usgs.gov, "A spring is the result of an aquifer (rock) being filled to the point that the water overflows onto the land surface." Isn't that what Jesus promises us in John 15?! His joy fills us to overflowing! After He tells us to abide in Him like a branch to the vine, He says "When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!" (John 15:10-11) When we are filled with Jesus, joy overflows out of us onto whatever or whomever is near. When we remain in Him and His perfect will for us, the good news that causes great joy cannot be taken away. Paul says it like this to God's people in Philippi, "But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy." (Phillipians 2:17-18). Even from prison, Paul took great joy in living obedient to God. Paul knew Jesus and had been transformed by Him. He simply could not stop the spring of joy in his heart from pouring out on others.
So, we do well to ask ourselves often if we are living life as an offering to God. Because if we trust Him in this, we can say "Joy to the World" all year long! Friends, we continue to pray that as you connect with Christ, you will be filled with joy that overflows to your family and community. During the Christmas season we often hear about Jesus being the Prince of Peace. Psalm 34:14 tells us to "seek peace and pursue it". We often think of peace on a global scale, but how do we pursue peace in our hearts? Luke 10:38-42 Isaiah 30:15 Jesus offers us peace like no other when we pursue a relationship with Him. But pursuing takes effort and intentionality, doesn't it? Reading His Words. Talking with Him. Giving Him space in my day to communicate with me. Am I making that relationship a priority, or is it an afterthought? Jesus is offering me peace with open, outstretched hands, but by my lack of effort am I basically telling Him, "No thanks" ? Why would I refuse the peace and rest in my heart that He offers? Matthew 11:28-30 Take a moment to reflect on these questions:
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Kaylee & HeatherWe were just two moms who started abiding in Christ and praying together weekly. Find out more about Our Story. Archives
September 2020
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