Come Grow with Us!

At some point we all experience life defining moments that shake us to the core and shape us by the choices we make. Some of those we don’t see building up and suddenly we wake up to a reality and find we are in crisis.

Those bills piled up, you cannot pay and now you suddenly face unbelievable challenges on how you will survive.

There was tension building and now suddenly you are facing a broken relationship that may split your family in two.

You knew something wasn’t right. You, your spouse or a child are suddenly in a medical crises that may end in saying goodbye for now.

The rumors of down-sizing end in a call to you and suddenly your future is uncertain.

The baby you always wanted is born with a disability, health or behavior problem and suddenly, your dream come true, becomes a daily struggle.

I had one of those “suddenlys” on December 14, 2014. The head-on, high impact collision could have killed me. The officer on the scene said, “I don’t know who you believe in but you had angels or a higher power in that van, because you should not have survived.” I’ve had countless injuries, 2 major surgeries and 6 months in bed but I stand here today claiming that, that one moment changed my life AND is one of the best things that has ever happened to me.

Out of my many lessons I learned, I want to focus on what I call, “the miracle in the middle”.

For the most part, all of the “suddenly’s” I mentioned started with things being generally good, exciting even. We start on the shore, full of hopes and dreams. As we row out into deeper water we still feel a bit invincible. As we near the middle, the boat starts to rock and waves start to hit. We are in trouble. We start to lose faith. We try to keep rowing but mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually, we are tired. We want to give up. Jesus. Help.

Look at Matthew 14:22-33. Where is Jesus?

Looking back, I did OK for the first month, 2 months, 3 months, 4 months….but as time dragged on, the pain and the surgeries started getting old. I was “in the middle”. The meds were wearing off and I had to accept that this was my reality and would be for much longer than I had hoped. At that moment, it became about perspective. It became a daily choice to exhaust myself or seek the instruction manual for direction. There, you will find 365 “fear nots”, 1 for each day of the year. You’ll find 7,000 promises to stand on, claim and shout them at the top of your lungs if you have to. In the middle you can experience Jesus on a deeper level than you ever can on the shore. His grace, His provision, His faithfulness and His peace are found in the middle of the worst of storms, the worst of the “suddenlys”. When you take your eyes off the problem and lean into Jesus it will change you. The problem may still be there but you will have the confidence that he will work it all out for your good. Praise him, maybe not for the problem, but because he will never leave you. When you are weak, He is strong.

When you lean into Jesus, you stop questioning your choices, blaming, wondering if it’s your fault. You simply trust him as he comes walking across that water. He’s not worried. He’s got you. Trust him with your life. Read the story in Mathew again. What does Jesus say? “Take courage…It is I….Do not be afraid”.

Friend, Sister, life is a journey. I am sure there will be a boat ride or two in the future. We may face some storms. It may get really rough. And until we reach that eternal shore prepare. Read the instruction manual. Get to know the master of the wind personally. Memorize his promises. Remember the words, “It is I…Take Courage….Do not be afraid.”

And if you see someone in a storm, step up and throw them a life line of encouragement or even supplies if needed. Stand strong, pray, praise and just marvel as he works for your good. He loves you and he’s got you even in the Suddenlys.

The book of Psalms is full of distress calls. Psalms 56-69 and 118:6-120:1. Call to him if you are in the midst of storm. He wants you to ask for help. And remember, Psalms 46:10, Be Still and know that I am God.

Father, give me peace in the midst of the storm. Let me rest when I see conflict form, when the plans I make seem to crumble and break. Thank you. If it wasn’t for the lighthouse where would be my ship be.

Safe Sailing

- Sandy Skartsiaris

God has used sunflowers to give me great focus this summer. I have been simultaneously comforted and challenged as God has used sunflower-sightings to prompt thoughts of devotional writings by gracespring women. Be intentional. Be focused. Resemble the Son.

This week I encountered a different kind of sunflower. It wasn’t tall and sunshiny. It didn’t resemble the sun. It wasn’t focused on the sun. It didn’t draw my attention in the happy way that sunflowers do. It certainly didn’t seem to fit the sunflower theme!

But as I lifted the ‘flower’ to really inspect it I saw the Miraculous. FRUIT was being produced. The sunflower had kept its eye on the Sun constantly until the time came for fruit to mature and come forth. The ‘job’ of this sunflower was now simply to bow… to surrender… and let God finish His work.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. – Galatians 5:22-23

Fruit production is a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can mature good fruit… fruit that will last. Certainly the framework for fruit production is rooted in our relationship with the Lord… focus, form, foundation. But Fruit matures and is brought forth when we simply bow… like this sunflower… and surrender OUR plans to the Holy Spirit’s Work.

As a wife, mother and friend, I tend toward ‘over-tending’ the fruit production process. I mistakenly act as though fruit production were MY job. Quite the contrary; anxiety can be the ‘fruit’ of too much tending (aka: hovering) and trusting my own design more than God’s design. Despair can often be the ‘fruit’ of little faith… not trusting God’s hand or plan or provision.

August’s end will bring a time of ‘surrender’ for me as our Meg leaves for college. Eric has already relocated to North Carolina. Nick and his new wife, Kylie, moved to Grand Rapids. My challenge is to remain firmly rooted & watered while surrendering to God’s changing design… just as it was on the day Meg left for kindergarten!

Whatever August’s end brings for you, embrace a surrendered September. Stay rooted in the Lord. Be watered by His Word. Surrender to His Work (There are Jerusalem-walls at church that still need shoring up). Only then can we look EXPECTANTLY for the fruit that the Holy Spirit will mature and bring forth!

In Him,

Julie

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. – Galatians 5:22-23

It was a perfect Spring Day… perfect temperature and beautiful sunshine! We rented a lakeside cabin for a celebration. The family was taking a walk and I was in the cabin. Suddenly there was a VERY loud noise that sounded like a train. The ground began shaking and the hanging light fixtures were swinging. At 12:23 p.m. on May 2^nd, 2015 a 4.2 Earthquake occurred in Michigan!!! Having experienced a 6.7 earthquake while living in California, it felt familiar and I quickly took refuge in a doorway. The rental cabin felt like it was on a firm foundation. I immediately asked the Lord to keep my family safe. It lasted only a few seconds, but it still sent a chill of shock and fear of the ground moving uncontrollably beneath my feet.

Like natural earthquakes, relational earthquakes can damage, destroy and sometimes cause irreparable devastation. Natural earthquakes are caused by major faults beneath the ground. Relational earthquakes are centered on major faults that lie deep within our flesh nature. Those human faults rumble beneath our new nature in Christ until the relentless pressure causes an emotional break. While Seismologists can give us “what-to-do” lists in the event of an earthquake, The Lord has provided disaster relief guidelines regarding life’s emotional tremors. He has given us principles from His Word to equip us for relational earthquakes

As far back as I can remember, my Mom and I have always had a challenging & complex relationship. Recently I visited her in New York. Suddenly, the relational earthquake hit hard! I was standing on shaky ground again. It happened quickly … I needed to respond & not react!!! I needed to seek refuge … “On Christ The Solid Rock I Stand”… my Only Firm Foundation. I needed to revisit the steps to recovery. It was a choice I had to make.

ACKNOWLEDGE what happened. Living life here on earth makes us susceptible to human faults! We read in Isaiah 43:1-3 – “I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you… For I am your God”!!! Whenever we are suddenly shaken, jolted and shattered by relationship tremors, it is only the heart-knowledge of God’s presence that enables us to maintain balance no matter how shaky it gets.

ASSESS the internal damage. Darkness always accompanies relational earthquakes. We need light to work our way through the emotional debris. Ephesians 5:8-9 holds a comforting assessment verse. “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.” (NLV)

ACCEPT what has happened. We cannot ignore the brokenness. The cracks may seem small; but they can go deep. Psalm 46:10 reminds us to “Be still, and know that I am God.” Focus on our Solid Foundation … Jesus! No matter what happens, He brings healing in His time!

We all face choices in relational earthquakes. Will I remain frozen in the paralyzing pain & fear? Will I allow my spiritual vision to be blurred? Will I focus on II Corin. 9:8, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that in all things at all times having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”? It’s a liberating decree that we don’t have to do it alone! We can ADVANCE by strengthening our foundation in God’s Word!

DJ Feitl

At the outset off summer, my personal goal was to SLOW DOWN. Day one went pretty well. I made a priority list and focused only on top priority items. I sat down to listen to my teenage daughter and refused to let myself think about getting up until she was completely done talking. I made dinner for my family and we actually lingered on the sun porch after we ate!

The next couple of days were a little rough – appointments, work issues, three teenagers out of school but who need help filling their days. Still, I persevered with high priority items only and intentionally ignored all else for the sake of “slowing down.”

Then we left for “vacation”… I truly intended to focus on quality time with my parents and my brother’s family. But our 5 pound Yorkie went missing for 24 hours in our absence, my employer needed something ASAP, my in-laws are in the midst of an issue that could get really ugly, and on, and on, and on…

It began to feel like “slowing down” and keeping life from falling apart were mutually exclusive. Furthermore, I felt like God was showing me that I am in simply not in control of the pace of life. Some days, even the high priority items prevent “slowness” of any sort. Therefore, “slowing down” isn’t necessarily an achievable goal.

These BIG THOUGHTS (I had a lot of thinking time while driving back from our vacation spot to rescue the lost dog!) brought me back to the sunflower analogy. While I can’t control the pace of life, I can control my focus. Just as a sunflower remains focused on the sun, I can choose to remain focused on my Lord.

So I abandoned my “slow down” goal and am only on Day 2 of my “focus” goal. It’s not exactly easy but it has been less frustrating than my futile attempts to control the pace of life. When the unexpected occurred today, rather than lamenting that the day was far busier than I had hoped, I purposefully turned to God and asked Him to help me make the most of each moment. And as I focus on His will and His way for my minutes and hours, I find myself less concerned with my task list and more concerned with His purpose for the time He has given me. Somehow, my pace feels “slower” even if it’s not.

Not coincidentally, I’m sure, I am working through a Bible Study in Proverbs with the women in my community group. Proverbs 2:8 speaks to me with where I’m at right now: “For he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.” All I have to do is FOCUS. Just like a sunflower.

Dear Lord,

Just as a sunflower keeps its face turned toward the sun, please keep me fully focused on Your will and Your way for my life. I want my days to be about more than how many tasks I can check off my list before I go to bed. I want my minutes and my hours to be glorifying to You, Lord. Please help my focus not to waver.

Thank you, Jesus.

Amen.

To God’s holy chosen women living in reach of gracespring Bible Church...

“ Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus..."

 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God,” (Philippians 1).

You may need to reread those words. Familiarity with the passage may tempt us to skim, so feel free to read over, and over again. These words were written by a man to his beloved co- laborers thousands of years ago. Yet somehow they can reflect how we women at Gracespring feel about each other as members of one body, the Church. We are co-laborers with Christ and with each other. No matter the battle, when the LORD moves in us to give Him praise and glory, the battle is being won! Remember—worship is our primary tool against evil, against our enemy. The Lord is surely at work within us, among us. We need to remember the Lord has brought us here and kept us here at gracespring for such a time as this: a time of vigilant striving to do His will with great joy.

 Front and center of my prayers for us is to know with hope the good work the LORD has planned for us, and that the fruit be praise to GOD.

 “For this is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go,” Isaiah 48:17 NIV

Thank you, Lord, for being the Light on our steps and for desiring to partner with us. You are calling us into good work which You will accomplish through us.

Where do we start? Good work is such a broad idea.

First, I believe it is the Lord’s desire that we the family of gracespring Bible Church will mark this summer of 2015 as a time of concerted prayer-led and joy-filled service. Let us commit to lifting up each other’s burdens and lifting up praise where all praise is due. Perhaps stop reading now and do this. Listen, because the LORD will surely fill your prayer time when you seek Him with your whole heart and praise His name.

Our prayers will certainly lead us to remember together that our faith is daily. Our struggle is not with the day after tomorrow or its troubles. The battle and its victory are here and now. Let’s seek the Lord’s best use for our day today and then ask Him to guide and bless us again when tomorrow is today. One of our greatest struggles is to be attentive to the praise and worship moments here and now—we are so capable of seeing and planning ahead that we can miss the opportunities at hand.

I am daily mindful of an example of a woman who lived her faith daily. She was told she must throw her baby to the crocodiles in the Nile River. Every day she prayerfully hid her newborn son and one day, with no idea what the result would be, she wove a basket. Imagine this tired mom sitting in the hidden dark of her house, probably late at night, weaving reeds. Maybe she wondered what good it would do. But it was all she could do that day on behalf of her helpless son. She simply did all she could do that day and God used that little reed vessel to carry His servant baby Moses into the arms of a sympathetic princess, into the palace of Pharaoh and eventually into leadership of His beloved Israel out of slavery. Yochebed did such a small thing! But it was exponentially useful in God’s capable hands.

“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (Philippians 1). Lord help us to focus today on You—the tasks, the concerns, the work are Yours. We may not be able to see past today or we may be drowning in concerns for tomorrow. Whichever the case, fix our gaze on You that we may seek You first and give you praise.

“I will praise you, Lord, among the nations, I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens, your faithfulness reaches to the skies.” (Psalm 57:9-10)

Lord may our seeking You bear its inevitable fruit: praise. When we seek You, we find You (Jeremiah 29:13). Where we find You, we cannot help but praise Your great name. May we the family of gracespring be marked by joyous praise for our Savior. This is where our victory lies—by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony (praise!).

Evil prowls. The enemy is stirring fear and hatred all over this globe. The seemingly endless tragedies and nightmares of the innocent abused fill our inboxes and spatter our social media.

“What can I do? What can I do right now?” we ask.
The LORD answered that for me this week.

We can praise. Yes, praise. Pray without ceasing and pray out loud! This sends the clear message that we believe and evil cannot win. Worship with song and study and service! Simply marvel at who GOD is, sometimes out loud, for a broken world to glean some much-needed hope and light.

This is our greatest work, meeting the greatest need of our world today—the worship of the One who was and is and is to come!

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart please You, Jesus, Amen.

Love in Christ,
Melanie DeKruyter

Isn't it interesting when there are times that you may hear a phrase or word or scripture that is continually repeated or put on your heart. You ask yourself if God is trying to tell you something.

Well, lately the word "intentional" has flooded my thoughts. God has continually reminded me to be intentional in all I do. So I've been praying for the Holy Spirit to make me more aware of what He is doing around me and He definitely opens my eyes to see what I can so easily miss.

God impressed on my heart this scripture found in Colossians 4:2-6:

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

After much thought and prayer over these verses, I prayed that God would use me on my trip to California a few weeks ago in whatever way He saw fit. On my flight there, I happened to sit next to an exchange student from France (actually a divine appointment). After some conversation and watching the designated movie together, God put on my heart to read a book that could be a good conversation piece when the time was right. After sporadic turbulence on the flight which terrified her, she asked me what I was reading. God opened the door and let me share this book I was reading by Francine Rivers, a Christian author. It was a great segue to sharing the peace and confidence I have in Jesus Christ despite any storms that come my way. I was able to share the gospel with her for over 30 minutes! It was amazing the questions she asked and how God brought the answers through me. She did not make a decision to follow Christ at that time, but a seed was planted!

I know if I had not prayed to be intentional on my trip I would have missed out on the blessing and opportunity to share with her.

God has purposefully placed us in our neighborhoods, jobs, schools and activities for a purpose. Are you daily praying and being watchful to show and share the love of Jesus with your neighbors? Co-workers? Other moms? Widows? Strangers? Or are you too busy?

Are you fearful of what to say or don't feel you have enough wisdom? Rest assured, God encourages us in James 1 to ask for wisdom and He will gladly give it and He also states in Ephesians 1:3 that we who are in Christ have been given everything we need, every spiritual blessing. He will give you the words. Are you fully trusting Him?

Is your conversation with others filled with salt and grace? Is it attracting others to desire what you have or is it a repellant?

Are you staying in your comfort zone or are you praying to seek those that need Jesus?

Please share your story of how you have been intentional or how God used you instrumentally in reaching someone around you. Let's encourage one another to be salt and light to a world that so desperately needs Jesus!

Love in Christ,
Tammy Tema

The older I get the more I realize that everyone has a story. It’s easy to see a sister-in-Christ and think she has it all together or that her life is in some way “charmed”.

One of my many hopes for this blog, is that you’ll come to know some of our women’s stories, you’ll get a better appreciation for the idea that we really are all in this together, and that we ALL need encouragement from our sisters sometimes.

The word encouragement means the act of giving someone support, confidence or hope. I’ve heard it described quite literally to mean the act of putting courage into someone else.

I don’t know where I would be if it weren’t for the women who encouraged me. As the oldest, on a farm with my dad and sisters, I didn’t have a mom regularly there during those tough teen years. BUT, I did have coaches who poured into me, youth volunteers who encouraged me and aunts who helped plan birthday parties and back-to-school shop. As a new mom, struggling with postpartum depression, I often felt heavy, hopeless and filled with guilt. BUT I did have support of MOPS women who brought me meals and mentor moms who rocked my fussy baby so I could find hope for tomorrow in some much needed sleep. As I walk through child rearing with deadly food allergies and difficult learning disabilities that often have us in full homework meltdown, I sometimes feel defeated and heartbroken. BUT I am blessed with many women who have come before me and who are willing to help, teach, encourage and pray. I am forever grateful for the women who walk alongside me, helping me grow along the way and Jesus, who in those times just picks me up and carries me.

When I think of Biblical characters, I think of Paul as a master of encouragement. He endured so much and yet spent his final breaths pouring into generations to come. One of my life verses, Philippians 4:8, comes from some of the last words written to his much loved friends and supporters in the Philippian church. He writes,

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

He goes on to say that if we follow his example, the GOD OF PEACE will be with us! Isn’t that good? When you’re feeling sorry for yourself, Philippians 4:8. When you’re slipping into despair, Philippians 4:8. When your mom leaves you or being a mother yourself isn’t what you expected, Philippians 4:8. I’ve had to memorize this verse and I’ve rehearsed it countless times when I start to spin my wheels over worry, loneliness anger, etc. etc. etc.

I want to ENCOURAGE you, to memorize Philippians 4:8 this week. Ponder each of those adjectives: True, Noble, Right, Pure, Lovely, Admirable, Excellent, Praiseworthy. What is true? What lies do you need to replace with God's truth? What is Noble? How can we think on and behave in a way that is "noble"? And so on.

If you’ve got a moment, grab your Bible and read all of Philippians 4. Let Paul’s encouragement seep into who you are. If you have a sister who has been Jesus’ hands and feet, I want to ENCOURAGE you, to call her, write her a note, or boldly name her in the comments below. If you have a scripture verse that has been a source of encouragement, post in the comments so we might all be encouraged in Christ together!

Many Blessings to you, Sweet Sisters! I’m grateful for you and excited to be growing alongside you this summer!

In His Service,

Sherry Crossley
Women's Ministry Coordinator, Gracespring Bible Church

Suddenlys - Sandy Skartsiaris

Fruitfulness from Surrender - Julie Thompson

Foundation: When You’re On Shaky Ground - DJ Feitl

FOCUS - Gwen Wild

A Summer of Prayer and Praise - Melanie DeKruyter

Intentionality - Tammy Tema

Focus: Think about such things - Sherry Crossley

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