I Have a Prize for You by: Debra Courtney

“I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.” Jeremiah 45:5

This is the firm and immovable secret of the Lord to those who trust Him – “I will give your life to you…” What more does a person want than their life! It is the essential thing “… your life… as a prize…” means that wherever you may go, you will come out with your life and nothing can harm it.

I as so many of us are caught up in exhibiting things for others to see, not showing off property of possessions, but our blessings. All these things that we so proudly show have to go. But there is something greater that can never go – the life that “is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3. It is a life long journey this life hidden in Christ.

Are we really prepared to let God take us into total oneness with Himself, paying no more attention to what we call the great things of life? Are we prepared to surrender totally and let go? The true test of or surrender is in refusing to say, “Well, what about this?” The moment we allow ourselves to think “What about this?” we show that we have not surrendered and that we do not really trust God with the circumstances of our life.

However, once we do surrender, we will no longer think about what God is going to do. What He does is always in our best interest. Surrender means to refuse ourselves the luxury of asking any questions. If we totally surrender ourselves to God, He immediately says to us, “I will give your life to you as a prize…” The way we get out of that condition is to surrender ourselves to God. Once we get to the point of total surrender to Him, we will be the most delighted and surprised person on earth.

God will have you absolutely, without any limitations, and He will have given you your life. 

It is a life without and beyond limits!

Debra’s life goal is to inspire and motivate women globally to become all they have been created and designed to be by using the guiding principles of their Creator’s word in gaining wisdom, understanding their designed-given personality identities & create their purpose!

When Your Life Doesn't Look Like You Imagined... by @ShelleyHendrix

Sharing a little update on C4C, our history, where we are today, and how none of it looks like I wanted it to look. ~ Shelley

Debra Courtney,
1st Director of C4C

I clearly remember the first time the idea of a community-wide, cross-denominational ministry for women entered my mind. I was sitting at Atlanta Bread Company with my friend, Debra. Debra was the first person God laid on my heart to invite into the ministry I was already leading. We met to talk about life, ministry, and where we sensed God may be taking us. We discussed the different events we had been a part of it and the local study we were leading at our home church. This was August of 2007. She asked me something along these lines at one point in the conversation, and like a hinge on a door, when this question was posed, the direction of my life changed, and it never went back to what it was before. She said, "Shelley, if you could do anything, what would you do?" And the answer surprised me. 

You see, I had already been speaking at various events around the US, mostly in the SE where I live. I had written a book and was considering writing another one. At the time, I was leading a conference series with a friend of mine, and I thought I knew the direction I was heading. So when I told her what I told her, I knew it was a desire and a dream that God was placing in me. It both scared me and excited me at the same time!

C4C Fall 2009

I said, "What if we could take the best of both worlds and put them into one ministry opportunity for women? I mean, what if we could take the elements of events, like a weekend retreat, a Ladies' Night Out, or conference and have the energy and excitement of this type of experience and combine it with the best of what we see in a weekly Bible Study or class: the friendships built, the relationships nurtured, and hearts and lives discipled? And what if we could do this as a seasonal ministry for women from all over the community so that no one has to think she has to belong to a certain church or denomination to attend? What if we could create a place of grace where we can nurture a woman's heart and teach her who she is (in Christ) instead of giving her yet another list of things to accomplish to make yet another person in her life happy?" Or something to that affect. This was almost five years ago.

A lot happened in my own life personally, in my family, and in the lives of others who joined with us to create this kind of place. I surrendered to follow God's path, and then the wolves showed up in full force. It was one of the biggest challenges of my life.  The details would take far too long for a blog post to comfortably contain. So,"yada, yada, yada" (ha ha), we began meeting officially in September of 2008.

At the time, the only other community style ministry that came even close to what I could picture was a little Bible Study out in Houston, TX that you may have heard of. *Wink* But I sensed God was up to something different here. Not better. Just different. As we've met seasonally now for the past 4 years, my understanding of the purpose and mission of C4C has changed quite a bit. And, you know what, I'm perfectly fine with that. I've watched way too many people wait, and wait, and wait some more to get perfect clarity on something they sense God calling them to do before they'll take even the slightest risk before taking a step. Although in some cases we do need to look before we leap, in other cases, God calls us to take a big leap because He has already seen where it is we're heading and He is already there!

C4C is a place of grace for
women of ALL ages!

I had no idea in the fall of 2008 that the official name of the ministry would be something as cute and fun as "Church 4 Chicks." I was trying to be all deep and spiritual with a different name. 

I had no idea how many teens, tweens, and elementary age girls would connect with the messages and the mission of C4C. It has been such a neat surprise! I LOVE watching the generations connect in authentic relationships with one another, doing life together, and ministering to a community arm-in-arm. It's been incredible!

And, I definitely had no idea the Father would use someone like me to start a ministry that would not only touch a handful of people here in my own community, but that He would choose to use me to reach women all over the world--maybe not thousands like others He chooses to use in that way--but women and girls from all walks of life in various parts of the world, with the message of His immeasurable grace and the new identity He offers each and every person. It's overwhelming to be even a small part of what my Heavenly Father is up to in my generation. 

C4C Fall 2010

And, today, I think about the women and girls who have shared how much C4C's mission and message means to them. I think about the women and girls who are getting it: getting it that God really does love them and really does have an incredible purpose for their lives. I think about women and girls who have never served others through ministry before, but are discovering the many gifts and talents within them that have remained dormant up 'til now. 

I'm also beginning to think more and more about those women out there who know God has also called them to something specific in their generation. I find myself wanting to be their biggest advocate and biggest cheerleader. I want to tell them that no mountain is too big for their God. Whether that mountain is formed by painful memories and experiences in their past; issues they view as disabilities; financial challenges; educational setbacks; WHATEVER! God is NOT waiting for us to remove the mountain so that we can get to work for Him. God is waiting for us to surrender to the Mountain Mover so He can do a work in and through us!

I want to tell them that there will ALWAYS be voices of negativity and condemnation and misunderstanding and judgment out there, but to PRESS ON as they PRESS INto their Heavenly Father. I want to tell them that this world is big enough for every single believer to be FULLY engaged in her purpose without it taking away from anyone else, so don't let petty jealousy of others keep them from going full on with their life's mission. 

I want to tell them that, although a purpose-filled life is going to be HARD at times, it sure beats living a life without purpose! I want to tell them to exchange regret for new dreams. 

Beloved with Kim of Queens, Kim Gravel 2009

I want to tell them to look for others to encourage along the way, too. To not be a voice of negativity to others. To realize God will never take from them to give to someone else, so to send envy packing when it rears its ugly head in her life. I want to tell her that her Heavenly Father is slap-happy crazy about her and that He will catch her when she falls and will redeem the mistakes she is going to make along the way. 

Church 4 Chicks doesn't look like what I thought it would. But it looks so much better than I ever imagined! And you know what else looks different? ME. It's true that God is more about the journey than He is about the destination. And I'm so thankful He is. I'm not where I want to be, but thank God, I'm also a long, long way away from where He found me. 

Friend Me Conference 2013

If you're interested in learning more about C4C, please feel free to visit our website at www.church4chicks.com All of our Social Media Links are here and on our main home online.

Letting Go ~ by @emilylaney

Photo credit: Artotem (creative commons)

LETTING GO 

By Emily Walters Laney

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”  
Proverbs 3:5-6

I’m going to start this post out today by confessing something to you all:  I’m a planner.  Okay, if I’m being honest, I’m a bit of a control freak, too.  I am really good at planning out my life, my family’s life, my career, my year, my day.  If you name it, I’ve probably got a plan.  Twenty-year plan, ten-year plan, five-year plan, yearly goals, daily to-do list - Yep, got those.  I really enjoy task lists, plans, schedules, and agendas. 

It’s not bad to be a planner.  It’s not sinful to be organized and task oriented.  In fact, planners help make things happen.  Organizations with strategy and mapped-out plans tend to reach their goals.  Many successful people have goal lists and a personal mission statement and plan.  It’s important to have purpose and goals for your life.

There’s a catch.  When we get engrossed and obsessed with our own plans, we can miss the powerful plan God has for our lives.  I know that I have the tendency to go to God with my plans clenched tightly in both fists.  I pray, asking God to reveal His plan and His purpose, but I refuse to open my hands and drop my ideas at His feet.  They stay clenched at my side, a death grip on the "perfect’" plans that I have.

You’d think that after years and years of God rocking my world with crazy awesome twists and turns that I’d have figured out by now that His plan is so much better than mine.  I’ve gotten better at surrendering, but sometimes it’s easier to stick with what I think is the ‘best’ option.  The irony of this mindset is that usually our plans are not the best.  I’ve just ended a season in my life where I really thought I had a perfect plan figured out.  That plan didn’t work out the way I thought.  I was left wondering what on earth God was up to, and I was disappointed.  

“Lord,” I said, “I really thought I had this figured out.  Why am I sitting idly?  Are you going to come through?” I felt in my heart the Spirit say, “Wait.” 

Well, I waited, and waited, and waited.  I almost lost hope, but in the end, God came through in ways that I wouldn’t have even imagined.  So on the date of this post’s publishing I will be starting a new adventure at a new job, and it is better than I ever would have thought.  It’s perfect really, and God knew all along.  He used that season of waiting to mold and shape me, to show me His provision, and to remind me of the amazing people around me who care about me.  It was stretching, but it was oh so beautiful.

God is so powerful, and the Holy Spirit does amazing works through God’s children.  When we understand God’s power and the power of Christ in our lives, we will fully understand our potential to change the world for the glory of Jesus.  If your hands are clenched right now, loosen your grip, drop your worries, plans, and burdens at the feet of Jesus, and let Him lead you down the path towards a surrendered and powerful life.

Emily Laney is a social worker, educator, and justice seeker.  She has worked with vulnerable populations in the United States and abroad and loves to help startup nonprofits reach their goals.  She is a Passion City Church door holder and leads a team of abolitionists at Not for Sale Georgia.  She loves her husband Brent and their rescue pup Biscuit.  Sunsets and Sushi make her happy.  

You can connect with Emily on twitter @emilylaney or on her blog www.emilylaney.com.

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Jamie Grace - You Lead (Lyric Video) from goteerecords on GodTube.