Category Archives: Reflection

New Year’s Resolutions for 2013

God Can Do Anything: WOF Conference in Washington, D.C., August 2013

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When 20,000 women get together and worship, it is a beautiul thing!

This past weekend my daughter and I traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend the Women of Faith Conference at the Verizon Center for two days. Not only did we enjoy the music, but we listened, learned, and came away with many insights from such speakers as Sheila Walsh, Priscilla Shirer, Liz Higgs, Angie Smith, Judah Smith, and Mark Lowery. Everyone shared valuable lessons and their voices were definitely heard.

Believe God can do anything was this year’s theme, and I truly felt blessed as I talked with numerous women who attended the conference. The highlight and perfect ending to the conference was when I was able to share one of my stories with Liz Higgs. The night before she spoke about Sarah and how the angel had told her she would have a child (at the age of 90). I shared how I struggled with trying to get pregnant and then after 18-1/2 years of married bliss, God blessed us with a daughter. There were so many times that I wanted to give up, but throughout my journey, I believed that God could do anything–but it would be in His timing and not mine. As I continued to share my story and enthusiastically spoke of all the amazing details of how God spoke to my heart that I would get pregnant one year before my daughter was born, and that I wrote down her name and date in my journal, Liz and I rejoiced together. She patiently listened to my voice, and I felt honored that she was willing to listen.

As women of God, He has a plan for all of us and He wants us to use our voices for Him. You don’t have to be an eloquent speaker or an author, He just wants us to share our stories (the good, the bad, and the ugly) and voices with others as He gives us the opportunities. It could simply be a kind word to a stranger, a smile, asking a friend to go to lunch, calling someone you haven’t spoken to in a while, or praying for friends, family, and co-workers. If you hurting from disappointments, remember God can heal the broken-hearted.

I know that my weekend was incredible, and I have been challenged in His word.

If you are struggling in your walk with God and want to learn how to live free from life’s hurts, order a copy of JoAnn Fore’s new book, “When A Woman Finds Her Voice”, available through Amazon.com in October. JoAnn is a life coach who will lead you through biblical truths to find healing in your hurts and then leads you to help others to do the same.

May God richly bless and use you for His glory!

Blessings on you,
Yvonne

Reading for the month of August: “The Crossroads” and “Michael Vey: Rise of the Elgen”

There Is A Time For Everything

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Ecclesiastes 3:1: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”NIV

Time marches on…
Time stands still…
Time after time…
Time heals all…
Time is on your side…
Time is a window of opportunity…
Time is of the essence…
As time goes by…
A time for us…

Three weeks ago as I was preparing to go to Virginia to help my daughter and her husband move into their home, I was very aware of the number of days that I would be gone from my home and what I needed to do before I left. Time, however, got away from me and some of the things that I wanted to get finished were left undone until I returned. Time has a way of doing that. We think that we have more time than we actually do; however, it often comes down to the fact of how we manage our time as to whether or not we get all of those projects finished.

Even the best laid-out plans sometimes need to be changed. For example, while I was there, I painted their bedroom, dining and living room. However, we ran out of paint and I could not finish the hallway or foyer because the paint store did not have the base color we needed. I, therefore, decided to do some other things around their home such a washing their clothes and emptying as many boxes as I could before I left the following morning. I still felt that I accomplished a lot, and they did too.

Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that there is a time for everything, and it further states that there is a time for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Time is a gift from God and how we manage our time is part of God’s plan for us. He expects us not to waste this precious gift. But I, too, have been guilty of wasting time or at least not making the most of this gift. We only have one life so let us rejoice in this gift every day and ask God’s guidance to use it (time) wisely.

Just when I had been thinking about time management, the Lord directed me to a fantastic ebook that I downloaded on my Kindle entitled, “Attack Your Day” by Mark Woods and Trapper Woods. This ebook explains that “every day we are given three incredible gifts: the gift of time, without which activities cannot be executed; the gift of personal energy, essential for doing the activities; and the gift of choice, to determine what activities we will do.”

Let us make the most of these incredible gifts in how we plan our day, the activities that we do, and choosing wisely what we want out of life. There is a time for everything and for every activity under heaven. Let His word be our guide and rely on His guidance in all that we do.

Reading during July: “Attack Your Day” by Mark Woods and Trapper Woods; “Michael Vey: Rise of the Elgen” by Richard Paul Evans; and “Inferno” by Dan Brown.

Blessings on you,
Yvonne

Father’s Day, 2013: The Measure of a Man

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How do you measure a man who…

Today as I was walking my dog, Buddy, I began to think about Father’s Day and of course, began thinking about my husband’s life and then these words, how do you measure a man, began to flood my thoughts. Thinking about the special qualities that a man should possess, my thoughts turned to the following:

A man is measured by:
. His character–consistent, loyal at home and at work
. His attitude–towards life and others in general
. His love for God and his community
. His love for others–lending a helping hand to a friend (i.e. family/friends, spouse’s family, his children, and church family) or to a stranger in need
. His love for his spouse: unconditional love; encourager/supporter

As I listened to God speak to my heart about the above-mentioned traits, I thought of an unfamiliar, god-given saying: “A man is like a ship who, when sailing on rocky waters, learns to remain calm and trust in his God to help him sail through it!” (Yvonneism)

The stories I could share here about the love of my life of almost 45 years, my husband Roger, would undoubtedly fill a book, but it would also tell of a man who is not measured by his wealth or fame but by the grace and spirit of God living in his life on a daily basis.

I’m reminded of another famous quote by a man who stated that, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

As we celebrate Father’s Day in a couple of weeks, let us remember that the true measure of a man is his love for God and how the light of His love comes shining through in everything that he does.

Blessings on you,
Yvonne

June reading: “Life After Art” by Matt Appling; purposeful creating!

Still Waters

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Psalm 23:2: “….He leads me beside still waters….”

Calm

Serene/peaceful

Quiet

For the past two weeks, I have been playing and singing a beautiful song entitled, “Still Waters” by Milton Carroll. As a musician, I allow music to fill my ears not only with the melody but with the lyrics. This song has more than spoken to my heartstrings, and I hope to share it on Sunday morning during our worship time. This song speaks about how we go out on a ledge all on our own and realize that we can’t do everything ourselves without God’s help. We cry out to Him, He hears us, and leads us to the still waters once again so that our souls can be restored. We often leave a place of peace and tranquility and experience those storms in our lives, sometimes willingly and sometimes not so willingly. Although these storms are to help us grow and mature in our relationship with Him, they can be difficult and painful to endure. But it is the recognition that once we are going through the storms of life, that we can call out to God and He will guide us through.

There is a “quietness in the stillness”. We need to just listen for His voice and forget about our own will and allow Him to show us His.

I’ll leave you with the words of the song that has spoken to my heart over and over again and may you find that peace and calm during whatever storm you are experiencing. Just let go and allow God to walk you through it.

Still Waters

Trembling on this ledge I’m standing on, please hear my call.
I need to be secure in who You are, please break my fall.
I missed Your will, and followed mine.
So now I’m asking one more time.

Lead me to the still waters. Lead me to the still waters.
Lead me to the place of serenity and grace by still waters.

I left that place of peace and found this storm, all on my own.
I need to hear Your voice to lead me back, where I belong.
I need Your will, I don’t need mine.
And now I’m asking one more time.

Lead me to the still waters. Lead me to the still waters.
Lead me to the place of serenity and grace by still waters.

This song can be found in the 4th Edition of the “Praise Hymns and Chorus” Class Songbook, published by Doulos Publishing, A Division of Maranatha! Music.

May the Lord richly bless you as you go through the storms of life with the realization that He is carrying you.

Blessings,
Yvonne

Valentine’s Day 2013: “Who Is Your Neighbor”

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Matthew 22:37: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…And love your neighbor as yourself.” (NIV)

For two days in January, my husband Roger and I attended a pastor/spouse retreat in Alexandria, VA, with over 32 couples in attendance, and heard several sessions throughout the retreat that dealt with ministry, marriage, and family. One of these sessions included the scripture Matthew 22:37 where Jesus talks about the two greatest commandments: to love God first and to love your neighbor as yourself. The presenters asked the question: Who is your neighbor? Most of us would think of our neighbor as the person(s) across the street or next door to us, the cashier at the grocery store, the waiter/waitress at your favorite restaurant, etc. But what we fail to realize is that our neighbor includes our spouse–love your “spouse” as yourself. We are to love our spouse as God loves us and in doing so our love will deepen in our relationship with our spouse, and it will then branch out to our next door neighbors, friends, and family members because we love the One who gives us love.

On Saturday afternoon we visited the Mt. Vernon Estate of George and Martha Washington and had lunch at the Mt. Vernon Restaurant. Most of us had never had the privilege of visiting this historical place and seeing first-hand where President Washington and his wife lived. Afterwards, many of us noted that we learned more about President Washington after visiting the estate and museum than we knew about his life before we came. We all felt blessed to learn more about his morality, integrity, and beliefs which helped build and strengthen this great nation of ours.

More importantly, we all left that weekend learning more about ourselves and how to love each other more despite our differences and issues that were discussed in order for healing to take place in those relationships. The weekend ended with a time of communion, prayer, and blessing over each other at God’s table.

“Who is our neighbor?” Let us begin with loving our “spouse” as ourselves in the way that God has called us to love. That even means when trash is left on the counter top, dirty dishes are piled in the sink, and dirty socks are lying on the floor. We are to love as Christ commanded us to love, which is not based on feelings or how the other person is loving us. We love because He first loved us.

On Sunday, Roger shared a beautiful love letter from God to us, entitled “Father’s Love Letter.” This letter can be found at FathersLoveLetter.com. Reading these words from our Father can change your life if you let them. Valentine’s Day is this week. But don’t wait until a specific day to show your love. Do it today and every day as God intended.

Blessings on you,
Yvonne