Revive - Refresh - Renew RETREAT in PA

I had the great privilege of teaching at a retreat last weekend with Hope Community Church from Gilbertsville, PA. We stayed at the INN of Leola Village in Leola, PA, a beautiful facility hidden in the heart of the Amish Country.

My dinner table group on Friday night before the sessions began!

I wrote a skit about the Presence of God - and Natalie [left] played the little girl, and Carly [right] played the mother. Their added humor made it come alive for all those who enjoyed it! Great job ladies!! You're going on the road with me from now on!!

Worship was a focus of each session. The team from HCC is Carly, Danielle, and Marcie

Teaching for Saturday's morning sessions.

Gretchen was one of the ladies who came to the Bible study session on my favorite chapter of the Old Testament = Exodus 33!

This was our prayer upon beginning the retreat: As a Get-Away Weekend with the KING of kings – THE LIVING GOD.

We asked God to...

REVIVE us with YOUR LOVE …. that we may see clearly exactly WHO YOU ARE! Revive us with YOUR PRESENCE in a way we’ve never known. REFRESH us with YOUR SPIRIT, LORD, let the wind blows across our face. Refresh us with YOUR WORD so that we are able to live fruitfully and abundantly in these last days. RENEW a RIGHT SPIRIT within us, LORD Bring us to OWN RENEWED COMMITMENT - to follow hard after You!

It was my JOY and pleasure to serve you all!

Choosing JOY in this season,

Stephanie

PICTURE PERFECT

NEW BIRTH

Please Welcome:

Jossara Makenna

[Josie Mae] for short
8 lbs. 7 oz. 21 "long
her name Jossara means :

God will increase / Shield of Joseph

Makenna in Hebrew is "Machaneh" = Armies of the Living God
it also means 'encircled' or 'encamped'.

My son and his new daughter!

Her 5 psalms for LIFE are:

Psalm 24 - 54 - 84 - 114 and

Psalm 144

[Selected section]

Of David
1 Praise be to the LORD my Rock,

who trains my hands for war,

my fingers for battle.

2 He is my loving God and my fortress,

my stronghold and my deliverer,

my shield, in whom I take refuge,

who subdues peoples under me...

12 Then our sons in their youth

will be like well-nurtured plants,

and our daughters will be like

pillars carved to adorn a palace.

13 Our barns will be filled

with every kind of provision.

Our sheep will increase by thousands,

by tens of thousands in our fields;

14 our oxen will draw heavy loads.

There will be no breaching of walls,

no going into captivity,

no cry of distress in our streets.
15 Blessed are the people of whom this is true;

blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.

[emphasis added]

Mommy of Three - Susy

The poking begins!

Hands - Feet and HUGS!

My family is growing fast!

Choosing GREAT JOY in this season,

Stephanie

NESTING by Susy Brower

My Daughter-in-Law wrote this today......and we all cannot wait for Baby Girl AND JESUS to arrive on the scene!

NESTING
by Susy Brower
I am a nesting nut! Besides organizing the entire house, I have the baby's room decorated, clothes washed, bags packed, and even have the phone numbers ready to share the news. I am about as ready as I will ever be for this baby - and good thing for she is due in less than a week.
All this preparation makes me realize how I fall short in preparing for the Lord's return. Am I anticipating it like I should? Am I getting ready? If I were truly excited about it and expecting it to happen any day now, I would be getting the room ready (preparing my heart) washing the clothes (getting rid of sin) packing bags (storing treasures in heaven) and have the phone numbers ready (telling others about the news).

Ready for a baby!
Just like my baby could come any day (and she better come soon!) Jesus could come back any day. Are we nesting?

Matthew 24:42 NKJV - "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
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She writes at WordPress:
Nesting
Susy February 22, 2011

A TALL ORDER of...

Hebrews 11:1 [NIV 1984]

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

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What is on God's agenda right now in your life - in this new season - that seems to be a very TALL order of your faith?

Are you up for the challenge of trusting God with it? What are you doing to PREPARE yourself for it?

I'm asking the same questions of myself right now. So let's join together to follow through on FAITH ... living, real and active FAITH ... the kind of FAITH that stretches us beyond what we are capable of - and moves us into the place of trusting God in His ability to equip us for the tasks at hand. Are you with me? Are you armed with the Word of God? What verse are you claiming through this?

Hold tight to Jesus and walk TALL in the Spirit .

By faith _____________ ... [insert your name]

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Choosing JOY in this season,

Stephanie

A New SEASON - Will You Still Follow?

I haven't been 'blogging' much in the past few months because God has called me to a new season with Him that demands my time in other places and with other people. I continually pray for my blog sisters [and brothers, like Kurt] by name from my prayer list and I also stay in touch with many of you. We have become true friends and have developed relationships that otherwise would never have been - had not we met in Cyberspace!

I say all of that to bring you to the reason for my post today.

Early this morning when I turned on my laptop, I saw a blog post title in an email that intrigued me. So I jumped on that blog and read the short post where God truly had a Word for me.

That is not the point of this post however. Stay with me here.......

As I prepared to make a comment I knew I had to 'sign-in' first - so the fastest way I knew was to jump on my own blog - it signs me in automatically. So, that's what I did.

Here's where this post began....

When I opened my own blog I noticed that my 'followers' list had decreased by one. This had happened a few weeks ago too. Down two, hum........ but this wasn't ever something I pursued [getting followers I mean] in fact for a long time the Lord would not allow me to have a button for followers. I don't do Facebook so my followers were always limited. I know that since I have not visited blogs lately, nor posted much in recent weeks, [this being my first post of the New Year] I even understood why someone would stop being a follower. I thought to myself at that moment, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away."

But then......... John 6:66 flooded my mind:

After Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand ~ After Jesus Walks on the Water ~ After He declares to be the Bread of Life .....we come to the end of John chapter 6 and find this:

John 6:53-69 [SELECTED] NIV 1984

53 Jesus said to them,

“I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Many Disciples Desert Jesus

60 On hearing it, many of His disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
61 Aware that His disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.”
6:66 From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.
67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to Whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” [emphasis added]

I weep whenever I read that passage. Last spring I taught a Bible study on the Words of Jesus and we camped here for one long session. Can you imagine the hurt in His voice when He said,

“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve - those who were His closet followers.

Those who left could not understand this difficult portion of the blood and guts of the Sacrifice He was going to have to pay. He tried to explain it but they didn't get it. Instead of trusting Him more, they deserted Him instead.

Friends, we are capable of the same thing if we do not stay as close to Him as we can. Intimacy with Jesus, means intimacy with The Father [for us]. That's not something I'm willing to give up! Jesus calls us [in these last days] to some very hard stuff... hard sufferings, difficult sacrifices, yet our lives are to be LIVING SACRIFICES according to:

Romans 12:1-2

Living Sacrifices to God

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. [emphasis added]

Let's never give up following the King of kings, even in the hard seasons of life! May the reading of God's Holy Word [His TRUTH] fill your hearts and minds this beautiful cloudy, or sunny, or snowy day wherever you are! I love you all!

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Choosing JOY, Stephanie

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PS: The post title that spoke to me was written by Kelly over at Titus 2 in Action, called: Faith Like Noah. I hope you read that too! Maybe God has a Word for you as well! Be Blessed!

In Darkness Or In Light

This Little Light of mine - I'm gonna let it Shine!

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Happy New Year!

I'm looking for Jesus' in the Clouds to return as Coming King

~ how about you?

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Choosing JOY, Stephanie