Hi Ladies,
As I reflect on all that God has done in and through our women this year, I'm amazed and humbled! We focused more intentionally on becoming
equipped for every good work. And by God's grace, He moved many of us closer to that goal - a goal that won't be complete until we're glorified, but one that we are called to continue pursuing until that day!
After seeking the Lord about what our specific focus should be this year, He has led toward exploring what it means to
abide in Christ. I can't wait to journey into this topic with you! Below are some of the ways we will do that through our women's ministry this year:
1) One of the best ways to abide in Christ is
to be with Him in His Word. As I do every year, I exhort you to
make a plan for that - whatever plan works for you. Reading for breadth is important, so a plan to read through the Bible is great. Studying for depth is also important. I find that doing both at the same time can be tricky, so one of my favorite plans has been a
5-day reading plan that gives me the weekends for deeper study time. But I encourage you to 1)
pray and consider what the Lord wants you to do this year. And then once you 2)
decide, 3)
tell someone, so they can help keep you accountable.
We need each other! (If you need more ideas/plans, check out
these, or feel free to ask.)
2) I'm excited to be able to hold another
local weekend retreat - an almost spring one this year, rather than winter.
🪻😊 It will be Friday evening, March 20 - Saturday, March 21. More details to come, but the theme will be Abide. We'll be exploring God's plan from the Garden to our glorification, union with Christ, and what it looks like to abide in Christ practically. I hope you will put this on your calendar now! 3) A group of us will be heading to Indianapolis again for the
TGC Women's conference Thursday-Saturday, June 11-13. The theme is
Turn Your Eyes: Seeing the Savior in the Psalms. What a perfect complement to the theme of abiding in Him! In addition to a firehose of rich teaching, this is a really sweet time for fellowship. And if you like books, it's like Christmas… multiple free books and a huge exhibit hall of discounted resources. Ticket prices go up every few months, and the next increase is January 9, so prayerfully check it out at the link above and let me know if you're interested. (Women's Ministry will help offset hotel costs, so don't let cost stop you.)
4) We will continue our
quarterly brunches, with our winter one approaching soon on
Saturday, January 31 from 9:30-11:30am. We're inviting our brothers to this one, not only to let them in on these things, but also to affirm and encourage them in their own growth and goals this year. We'll be down in the gym for more space, and we'll need your yummy food as you always provide so well. 🙂
5) We'll be continuing our
Book Club, the first which is scheduled for
Wednesday, Feb 4 from 6:30-8pm at ABC. Come having read (or reading!) Jeremiah Burroughs'
The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, and join in an informal discussion. The connections to abiding are numerous.
6) Many of you are meeting with someone for
discipleship/mentorship, but I know that many of you still want/need that. If that is you, I cannot encourage you strongly enough to make it a priority for this year.
We desperately need each other in order to grow in Christlikeness - those who are wiser than us and more experienced in life, those who are journeying alongside us, and those who are coming up behind us who need what we can channel to them.... Or, as you've heard us say, a "Paul," a "Barnabas," and a "Timothy."
Please pray about what the Lord wants of you regarding discipleship this year. And if you need help getting started, I would LOVE to help. Please, come talk to me!
7) Our
contact circles will continue. This is an attempt to make sure every lady in our church family has someone checking on them periodically. It's informal, but also incredibly helpful for me to know that we are joining arms in caring for one another. Many of you are already helping me with this, but if you're not and would like to, I'd love to tell you more about this small commitment but extremely important ministry.
8) I shared this last year, but if you are looking for
free classes for deeper study, MBTS's
For the Church Institute has incredible offerings! Check them out
here.
9) I will endeavor to continue sending
weekly prayer devotionals. These have two goals in mind: stirring of mind and heart to know and love God more, and unity in prayer. I pray the Lord uses these to help as abide in Him this year. If you would ever like to contribute one yourself, know that I would love to involve you in this ministry.
10) With
Deep Discipleship continuing until April, there won't be a specific women's Bible study offered this spring. But stay tuned for studies coming.
We have lots of exciting things in store! But it will be of
no value apart from our abiding in Christ and the Spirit's power needed to do this work. So
let's be on our knees together as we head into all that God has for us.
Would you join us for our New Year's Eve prayer gathering for that purpose? We'll be in the Fellowship Hall from
6-7pm. I would love for us to pray together in person.
I'm so grateful to be in this with you. ❤️🙏
