Hannah Overton

As many of you know we have been fervently praying as a church for the release of Hannah since her imprisonment 5 yrs. ago. We continue to hold out hope for her freedom and for truth to prevail. To keep up with her story and the recent hearing held a couple weeks ago, please visit her website at http://freehannah.com/.
Amos 5:24...But let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream. 
In Him,
Women's Ministry

"A New Way to Process Conflict"

Courtesy of Proverbs 31 Ministries...

"When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say, and she always says it kindly." Proverbs 31:26 (MSG)

It was like we were speaking two different languages. Even though my friend and I were both talking in English, we couldn't seem to understand each other. I started the conversation with the assumption we would see things the same way, but emotions rose, opinions conflicted, and wounds were inflicted. How did we get here?

After a little cooling-off period, I called a wise, truth-telling friend. I told her the basic outline of the conversation, trying to keep it neutral. Finally I asked, "What do you think went wrong?" She astutely turned the question back to me. "What could you have done differently?"

Honestly, at first, I couldn't think of one thing. After all, I was convinced this conflict wasn't my fault! But after some reflection, God began to soften my heart and show me some big mistakes I made.

I called my friend during an extremely busy time in her life with a suggestion that would add to her overloaded schedule. Instead of being sensitive, I pushed and pushed my own agenda. As our emotions escalated, my defensiveness increased, making my responses sharp and prickly.

My wise friend who I had called for advice gently prodded, "How could you have listened more carefully? Would truly listening have made you more compassionate? How could you have responded with more grace?"

For the rest of the afternoon, God etched a new way of interacting in hard situations on my heart. This is the truth He carved: Listen with compassion. Speak with grace.

Listen with Compassion
Years ago, my pastor shared an invaluable method for re-adjusting his attitude when dealing with conflict. He asks, "Is this behavior consistent with the person's general character?"

Wow! If I had applied that question in the conversation with my friend, I would have remembered her kindness, her servant heart and her calm nature. Then I might have wondered what was changing her normal response. I could have been compassionate toward her and the stress she was under. I would've listened with a heart to serve her, instead of insisting on my own way.

At its core, listening with compassion is simply obeying the biblical commands to die to ourselves (John 12:24-25) and to consider others more highly than ourselves (Philippians 2:3).

Speak with Grace
Proverbs 15:1 says, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger" (NIV). There is no downside to a gentle, grace-filled answer. I'm embarrassed to admit that I've often viewed responding this way as losing or giving in. That's simply not true. Needed truths can be told in very kind and gentle ways. Just think about how my wise friend treated me when I sought her advice.

Before I called my friend to ask for forgiveness and clear up the misunderstanding, I prayed for a Jesus-sized dose of compassion and grace.

Since then, I've been rehearsing "Listen with Compassion - Speak with Grace" over and over in my mind. Last week I had a chance to put it into practice when I received a difficult email. My first response was defensiveness, but then I started to repeat my new way of processing until I could hear the needs in the email with compassion and respond with grace.

I love how God gave me the chance to practice when I had time to take a breath, pause, rehearse my new motto and then respond. Life and relationships are filled with conflict, so I have no doubt I'll have a chance to practice again. Next time, I'm praying I'll be ready!

Mentoring Moms

Our 3rd meeting of the year...

I’m a mom with a 19 year old and a 17 year old. One has been in college for 2 years and I am about to graduate my “baby”. I have been homeschooling for 14 years so I am graduating tooJ. I am truly blessed because my girls are really good in spite of all my mistakes as a parent. Praise God for he is good.

I used the illustration of ironing to help me communicate how our children are like garments that we must know before we iron them. We must know what fabric they are made of, the structure they are to hold and what temperature they can withstand.  Are these wrinkles or are they pleats. The first I will want to get out, but the later I will want to iron very carefully so as not to ruin the garment. Do I use a cool iron? Medium heat? Can I use steam? This  is where temperaments come in. We are born with different temperaments/personalities. Gary Smally and John Trent developed a fun way to classify them: the Lion (dominance), Otter(influence), Golden Retriever(steadiness), and Beaver(compliance). Each personality has strength’s and weaknesses. Our job as mother’s is to understand our children’s personalities with their strength’s and weaknesses and train them by praying God’s word which is our iron and the holy spirit is the steam. Proverb’s 22:6 tells us to “train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he won’t depart” so it is important to know their strengths and weaknesses so we can TRAIN them/Direct them. As we train them they become more balanced. As an example, a Lion’s strength’s are strong willed and independent with weaknesses of seeming domineering and unemotional. As a mother of a Lion we would want to pray this  way.  May_________________ obey his/her parents in the Lord, for this is right. Ephesians 6:1.  They are wired to be in charge, but a 5 yr old is just not ready for the job yet, so we must help them.  They need to learn that the ultimate one we are to be obedient to is Our Lord Jesus. May_________ show his/her love for Christ by obeying His commands. John 14:15.  We can pray Job 22:21 to petition for submission to authority. For the weaknesses we can pray for a servant’s heart by praying 2 Timothy 2:24-25- As the Lord’s servant, may ___________ not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. I LOVE this! That is sooo how we want out Lion to turn out to be. By knowing your child’s strengths and weaknesses you can pray purposefully and passionately for their heart’s  by using God’s word effectively. It says in James 5:16B The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Let’s use the iron the Lord has given us-His word. Even before they become readers we can direct them to the word when we are disciplining them.

There was a point I had wanted to share in this area that I forgot so if you don’t mind I will share now. When Rebekka (my oldest) was young (@ 7 or 8), she was still very strong willed and she didn’t want to obey. At children’s church they were doing a series about obeying your parents, but not just obeying,  obeying ALL the way they called it. This was something the Lord brought at the right time. What an answer to prayer. Because it was not just coming from her parents, (it was coming from the Children’s pastor) we began to see a change in her. She began to obey a little more, however her attitude was still not obeying. Her body was obedient but her heart was not.  If I asked her to pick up her toys and put them away, she would pick them up roughly and storm out the room, gritting her teeth saying ”fine, I’ll put them away”. So the Lord gave us  the phrase “ are you obeying or obeying all the way?” to help train her and God worked on her heart.  Our prayer was that she would obey ALL the way.  And we are blessed that the Lord worked in her this way to give us a very respectful, obedient daughter.

We must also know our children’s Love language before we can truly understand how God made them to receive love. The five love languages are:

1.       Word’s of affirmation

Lots of I love you’s are important and the reason why is icing on the cake

2.       Quality Time

Undivided attention-Being therewith no distractions/chores, TV, etc.

3.       Acts of service

Doing things for them like fixing a broken toy is the bomb.

4.       Receiving gifts

Loves gifts-a piece of candy is the crown jewels to this child.

5.       Physical touch

Hugs and kisses mean the world to these children.

We all need all of these, but there are usually one or two that really speak to us. If we speak their love language they will be responsive. If we don’t we can really hurt their feelings. I shared how one time I LOST it and yelled at them then I realized it really hurt their feelings (their eyes were as big as saucers). I apologized and put myself in timeout. Soon they were sitting beside me with their arms around me forgiving me. If I had not done the right thing I could have caused terrible harm. I also shared how my Katherine is a Quality Time kid and was always pulling on my leg for attention. The Lord impressed upon me how I could train her and her sister a better way to get my attention since I was obviously not aware of when they needed it. I sat them down and told them that I wasn’t very good at realizing they needed attention so whenever they wanted my undivided attention all they had to do was put their hand on my leg or shoulder and that would be MY que that they needed attention. Once I gave them eye contact they could tell me ”mommy I need attention” and I would actually stop whatever I was doing and go sit on the sofa and cuddle. We roll played this many times with me being me and then them being me. We pretended to wash dishes, talk on the phone, be in a conversation with a friend, all events that naturally happen so they could understand the application. And it worked and it still works today only I can’t put them in my lap anymoreJ  

I hope I have been able to give you tools that help you know your garments(children) by understanding their temperaments/personality types and how they receive love. Also how you can use God’s word effectively to pray purposefully and passionately for their strengths as well as their weaknesses so your garments can come out crisp, ready to be enjoyed. I want to thank you for your graciousness  and I pray God’s blessings on you all as you do YOUR ironing.

Blessings,

Alicia Ramirez

Passion Week~"As a Family" Devotion

Passion Week Schedule April 1st - 8th 

The idea of Passion Week is to come together as a family or families and devote time together walking through the last week of our Lord Jesus Christ’s life. It’s a time of deep reflection on what Jesus did for us. It’s also an amazing way to prepare your heart to evangelize the message of hope that Jesus’ death and resurrection has brought to our own lives and to share that hope with our family members we will be spending Easter with.
Palm Sunday Services April 1st
Pre-glow @ 8am
Palm Sunday Services @ 9am or 11am
Pre-glow @ 6-6:30pm
Arising @ 7pm
As a family, read the account of Palm Sunday in Matthew 21:1-17. Talk about “Hosanna”-please save or save now. Talk about those people you know that need salvation and who you’d invite to Easter service.
Monday April 2nd Prayer
Prayer at church @ 6 am & 6pm
As a family, read Matthew 21:18-46. Talk about the importance of prayer and the attitude of our hearts vs.22. Talk about asking for forgiveness in the 1^st parable and receiving His Son in the 2^nd parable. Pray together as a family. Pray for those people God has placed on your heart to invite and that they would receive Jesus.
Tuesday April 3rd Worship
As a family, read Psalm 22; 100; 148; 150; Hebrews 13:15. Talk about the importance of praising God with our whole being. Sing songs with one another and give reasons you can praise God in your own life.
Wednesday April 4th Seder Meal @ Church
Service @ 7pm…we will be partaking in a Seder with all the elements that a Jewish family would have but we will be talking about how each piece points to Jesus.
Thursday April 5th Communion
As a family, read Matthew 26:17-30. Have communion as a family. Talk about what Jesus’ blood being shed and body being broken has done for you.
Good Friday Services April 6th 
Service @ 6:30pm - Potluck
As a family, read Matthew 27:1-61.  As a family, discuss why this day is called ”good” when nothing good seems to have taken place. Talk about why it was necessary for Jesus to die.
Saturday April 7th Reflection
Suggested movies to watch:
Adults -The Passion of the Christ.
Children – Jesus Movie For Children.
Idea: Make resurrection cookies as a family.
http://www.devotions.co.uk/cookies.shtml
Easter Sunday Services April 8th 
Hallelujah!  He Has Risen!
Sunrise Service @ 6am
Pre-glow @ 8am
Easter Services @ 9am or 11am

The "More" Conference with Ann Graham Lotz

This weekend I was privileged to attend the More Conference at Harvest Ministries, in Riverside.  The guest speaker was Ann Graham Lotz, daughter of Billy Graham. The Lord has gifted Ann in many ways and what was apparent to me was the gift of evangelism and teaching. I had never heard Ann speak or teach before this weekend and let me tell you, she is awesome.  Even after only having 3 hours of sleep the night before due to a wonderful time of fellowship (a few of us stayed at a hotel in Corona) I was intently listening to her teach all day Saturday. Here are a few nuggets I would like to share from the conference.  Also, the DVD of the entire conference is for sale on the Virtue website, through Harvest Ministries.com. http://www.harvest.org/virtue/

                        Lori w/guest worship ~ The Getty's

                       Steph, Xochilt, Charlene, and Nikki

                                   Ann Graham Lotz

~Friday evening we looked at John 17:1-4. The four points she taught from those four verses were: 

1) Having a personal relationship with Jesus 

         a. Jesus invites you into a relationship, not a religion, or a church, or anything else but a relationship. 

         b. It's personal! In the verse, Jesus addresses God as "Father".

2) Salvation is permanent 

        a. There is no other way to heaven except through Jesus.

        b. The verse says,  "Glorify Me (Jesus) .."

        c. The cross reveals the love of God.

3) A relationship / friendship with Jesus is a privilege 

       a. In Genesis, Abraham was said to be a friend of God.

       b. To know God is a privilege and He extends it to all of us!

4) Our life has a purpose

       a. Jesus had a purpose on earth, it was to glorify God - as is our purpose.

       b. People should see God in us as we go through life especially in the trying times.

       c. He wants to use us to reach others through our circumstances.

       d. How can we bring Him glory?

"Faith is caught, not taught" -Ann Graham Lotz

Ann used to catch her mom praying on her knees and reading the bible all the time and that was her example of a godly woman wanting more of Jesus.

~On Saturday we started with session 2 - More of His voice. We looked at John 10:1-10, Jesus the True Shepard.  We learned of 3 characteristics of His voice:

1) It is Biblical

     a. The authentic voice always comes through the door, which is the Word of God.

     b. Thieves and robbers (the religious leaders or false prophets) come from a different way.

2) It is Personal

     a. We need to stay close to The Shepard in order to know His voice (READ the BIBLE).

3) it is Powerful

     a. When we hear the voice, we must heed the voice.

     b. Hearing and heeding His voice is for our own good.

     c. His voice is life saving and life changing.

Session 3 - Learning to listen to His voice.  We need to get a grip on the Word, not just for information or for facts but so we can live it out in our lives. Select a paragraph, or 3-4 verses from a book in the bible that the Lord has put on your heart to study. Our aim should be to listen to His voice and not to get through the bible.

Step 1 : Read God's Word.  Look at the passage.

Step 2: What does God's Word say? List the facts, DO Not paraphrase (do not put it in your own words)!

Step 3: What does God's Word mean? Learn the lesson. (Is there a command to obey, warning to heed, or example to follow) 

Step 4: What does God's word mean to me? Listen to His voice

Our last session was about wanting more of His Spirit.  We looked at John 16:5-16 and found 3 characteristics of the Holy Spirit.

1) The Holy Spirit is a person

    a. Holy Spirit is referred to as He or Him

    b. Holy Spirit is invisible

2) The Holy Spirit has Power

     a. Victory in the life of a christian is through the Holy Spirit

     b. Be filled of the Holy Spirit.

3) Priority

    a. The priority of the Holy Spirit is to exalt Jesus that we might know Him.

    b. If we want more of the Holy Spirit, then we need to make sure He has ALL of us.

I was so blessed by this conference and I walked out of there just wanting More of Jesus!

Be Blessed,

~Xochilt De La Cueva

Just Give Me Jesus...you won't regret these 10 minutes!

"Living Relationally" Women's Study Week 2 ~ Noah's Wife

Review to come soon!

"Living Relationally" Women's Study Week 1 ~ Eve

Our Women's Bible Study started up on Monday night as we set forth on the journey of exploring the Women of Genesis.  We implemented the book "Live Relationally" by Lenya Heitzig & Penny Rose.  We started with Eve, the first woman as noted in Gen. 2:18-3:24. Her name means "Mother of all Living." Matthew Henry says that "woman was formed out of man-not out of his head to rule over him; nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him;but out of his side to be his equal, from beneath his arm to be protected, and from near his heart to be loved."  We see the first marriage as mentioned in Gen. 2:19 "A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh.  And they were naked and were not ashamed."  They lived in paradise with nothing to worry about and yet Eve was discontent and doubted God's Word. Eve committed the first sin.  That word for sin is an archery term for missing the mark. She choose to listen to the lie of the enemy and disobey the only command of God as to not eat of the Tree of Life.  Eve was deceived by the enemy to think that she would be like God, knowing good and evil.  She not only disobeyed God but influenced her husband to sin as well.  How are we wives influencing our husbands? For good or evil? Even in their sin, God pursued them as He was walking in the cool of the day calling out to them.  There's hope and grace even when we sin. We also discussed that she was the first designer of clothing- she sewed fig leaves together.  Which seemed like a good idea at the time, but in actuality the shrank and crumbled in a matter of days.  God's solutions are always better and He provided tunics of animal skins.  We see the first animal sacrifice for sin as well.  Then in Gen. 4:1 we observe Eve as the first mother.  She names her son Cain which means "with God's help I brought a man into the world.  
In His mercy & grace, Lori Cook

Mentoring Moms

This past Friday, Feb. 24th, we had our 2nd Mentoring Moms bible study of the year. As always, it was a sweet time with the mommies. The topic was "Creative Prayer and Encouragement...Not Just Surviving but Thriving! We looked at the word creativity, which means: approaching a need, a task, or an idea from a new perspective. We talked about how we need to look to God, our Creator, for His vision and direction for our ministry of being a wife and mother. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Who better to turn to for creative prayer and encouragement then God! 
Three points we talked about to help us do this were: 
1. It takes our time. We shouldn't be to busy to raise our children in the ways of the Lord. Take time to pursue and draw out from the hearts of our children. Deuteronomy 6:4-9
2. It takes humility. Putting others first. We want to pray for a change that benefits the one were praying for not a change that makes our lives easier. Philippians 2:4. Also, in our words, be encouraging, build our husbands and children up for success. Ephesians 5:29
3. It takes faith and trust. We pray for God to write  our story of motherhood but of course we're not going to know what each new day will bring but we can believe by faith that the author and finisher of our faith does and with His help we can face each day with an assurance that He will give us all we need.


We talked about what the lack of prayer and encouragement can look like in our lives and used Pharaoh as an example. God did many miraculous signs in his midst but Pharaoh didn't take any of it to heart. He was unyielding and refused to change (Exodus 7:13-14;23). So to as moms we can become hardened to the wants and needs of our families if we neglect seeing and searching for the Lord. We need to let the word of God keep our hearts pliable towards our husbands and children and especially towards God.


Lastly, we looked at surviving vs. thriving. The word survive means: to live, but the word thrive means: To grow and flourish. We looked at Jeremiah 17:5-8 and compared the woman who trusts in herself to live versus the women who trusts in the Lord to guide her life.


Praise God that He is the one who will give us the creativity to reach our husbands and children's hearts through prayer and encouragement so we can help them to thrive in the Lord, and in that we will see ourselves grow and flourish as well.
In Him, Sarah Esquivel

"Proverbs 31 Woman" Night

"She extends her hands to the poor, yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy." Proverbs 31:20
Last Monday night we were inspired as women to take this scripture to heart and be doers of the word not just hearers only. We were blessed with a sweet time of fellowship over an abundance of dessert. We had a short devotion where we looked at the Proverbs 31 Woman as being a woman who understood the core of her calling. She was a woman who was focused on looking upward to God for direction so that she in turn could reach outward to those God put before her.
We looked at ways to help meet the spiritual and practical needs of those who who are homeless. We then proceeded to arrange "care kits" to keep in our cars and distribute as needs would arise. These "care kits" consisted of a water bottle, two granola bars, a can of vienna sausages,  a mini boxed cereal, a handy wipe, and most importantly two laminated scriptures with Romans 10:9 and John 3:16 on them.
It was a wonderful way to start off our first Proverbs 31 of the year by being others focused and being encouraged to look out not only for our needs but the needs of others.
In Him, Sarah Esquivel

                              Even the kids got involved!