Wellspring Women’s Ministry Blog and Online Community

Well, I had to go to the dentist this week. Time for that regular 6 month cleaning, you know? I think that it was Socrates that said, “An unexamined life is a life not worth living.” So we regularly let people examine our teeth too, how funny is that?

Do you dread the flossing part? I do, and especially the part where she always asks me how often I floss. (um….well, once in a while. gross I know.) The thing is, I have an Aunt that always flossed every day. I am sure she still does. She and my uncle lived with us for a while and her flossing habits became common knowledge in my house. We just didn’t think that average people did that! And apparently “we” (meaning my sister and I) were right.

So, two dental cleaning visits ago my husband decided that he would do it! He would floss every day just so he could hear Roxanne’s praise when she cleaned his teeth the next time. Wellllllll…….you can probably guess, she didn’t say a thing about how nice and clean his teeth were, so free from the ususal plaque! He had to tell her that he had been flossing!! Haha, I knew it. It is just what she says to all her dental patients!!!
I think that I will try the flossing experiment during this 6 months and see what happens. You never know, I might just find out I really like plaque free teeth.

Don’t you think we sometimes do that with God? We check in with Him periodically and expect the same sort of convictions (feels like criticisms sometimes) as the last time, but we figure that “really, no one does it right, you know?” so, why should I? None of us really pray (read the Word, love our neighbor, fill in the blank) daily. We know that it would be good for our spiritual health, but it is so time consuming and sort of painful, like flossing.
Maybe I will try a spiritual experiment too. What would happen if I really got out of my comfort zone and got to know my neighbors? Or what about starting my day with the Word and Prayer…EVERY DAY? Instead of only most, or some days?
I think that God would be a much better observer of the difference in my spiritual health than poor Roxanne is of my gums and teeth.
I think He would be happy about it and I can hardly imagine how I would feel. Can you imagine being able to tell the hygienist, “yes, actually, I floss every day!”? Ah….yes, that would be wonderful. It will be even nicer to not feel like I am ashamed when the Holy Spirit asks me His questions.
ya’ll can pray for me, haha.
Love,
Sheri

Well, I have succumbed to all the pressure to sign on to Facebook. I can hardly believe myself, actually. And I am not sure exactly what happened to make me take the plunge, but I did sign on to Facebook last week. I just did it. I got the umpteen hundredth invitation to be someone’s friend on Facebook and I just did it. I said yes and signed on.

Now what is really amazing is that I am actually enjoying it! I have enjoyed connecting to people I haven’t heard from in ages. I am enjoying being able to carry on short conversations with people I love but don’t see often. I am loving the opportunity to deepen some casual friendships that I haven’t had time to develop through in-person contact. I am fascinated and surprised by the intimacy of some of the immediate-message moments that spring up. I love the comments friends make about the pictures I post on my wall, and I love being awakened to the reality of their lives as I look at their photos. I am shocked to find that I am really delighting in my Facebook experience!

I was expecting something superficial from Facebook and part of my resistance to joining was that I didn’t want to trivialize my life or the lives of others. Instead, I have found just the opposite. I am getting to know people at a deeper level, getting to know what they really think about things, and being introduced to the thoughts and opinions of so MANY different people! It’s a strange phenomenon, don’t you think?

And the young people are amazing! There is something about Facebook that makes them banter with me (an old lady of 62!) and also carry on serious conversations like they have never done with me face to face. What a hoot that is!

So I am eating my words. I am trying to do it graciously, but I am jumping up and down inside with the thrill of doing something “techy” and enjoying it! I don’t even mind admitting I was wrong! And I hope you will all sign up and be my friend on Facebook — right after you make a comment here on the blog!

In January I decided to start in Genesis and just read through the Old Testament book by book.  I almost didn’t make it through Leviticus.  Sorry, God.  I just don’t do numbers and really long sentences very well.  I’m happy to say I did make it through, and now I’m in 2nd Samuel.  It has been so awesome these past months reading about how it all started.  I have been reacquainted with some really cool people.  They are not just characters in a story to me anymore.  I found that I can identify with every single on of them – the good and the bad.

At the same time of reading through the Old Testament I’ve also been experiencing a revival of sorts in the area of arts and creativity.  I think it started one day when I was so upset about something, and I was tired of talking to God about it, tired of thinking about it, and I just wanted it OUT of me.  So I decided to draw it out.  I took all of my colored pencils, a blank piece of paper, and I just started writing out exactly what I was feeling (it was VERY raw), one phrase on top of the other, until I had gotten everything out and it looked like this…

I felt much better.  I’ve been doing it since then, when I really just need to express some strong emotions – it has been very healthy for me.  The other day I did another one that was inspired by all of the people I have “met” in my Old Testament reading.  I have come across hero after hero, people who were normal ragtags just like me, except that their aim to live and die for God’s fame being spread has made them heroes of the faith, and I long to have that kind of a warrior heart.  So I just thought, I don’t want to forget these guys.  I want to remember that if they can do it, I can do it.  So I drew out an ode to these heroes.  Here’s what it looks like…

I simply wrote out what marked their lives (in my opinion), whether it be a certain statement they made or a description of their character.

I have found such release in drawing my feelings out on paper.  It doesn’t matter if it’s color splashes, words, symbols, or just PLAIN BLACK OVER THE WHOLE PAGE (that’s for when I’m REALLY mad and upset and confused and depressed!), I feel like it keeps me healthy.  But that’s just me.  I’d encourage you to try it.  And I would also love to know what YOU do to stay emotionally healthy.  What are some ways in which you expose your soul to God (not that He doesn’t already know, but you get my drift)?  How do you vent?

Jessica

This is just a little enouragement for those of us who have been diligently praying for the return of prodigal children and relatives. It is an excerpt from a book I have recently been reading. I would highly recommend it to those of you who are praying for the salvation or return of loved ones. It is “Praying for Those You Love”, by Jack Hayford.

“The Promise of Return.”
“The next Scripture passage is a beautiful prophecy. It addresses the desire that our children come into the Kingdom. ‘Thus says the Lord: “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.” Thus says the Lord, “Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord, and they (that is, your children) shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope in your future, says the Lord, that your children shall come back to their own border.” Jeremiah 31:15-17.

To the weeping parent whose children could not be found, the Lord said, “Stop crying. Your work shall be rewarded. Your prayers, your sowing of the seed, your introduction of the leaven will be rewarded. Your children shall come again from the land of the enemy and enter into their own border.” (Chapt. 5, pg. 52-53).

We serve a mighty God who always keeps His promises! We should remain diligent in our prayers and hopeful in the promises of God.

Make-overs are really fun, aren’t they? I have one friend who hosts a small group where, once a month, the women help one another with new hairstyles and cosmetics. It’s fun to experiment with new products and techniques and get honest input from girlfriends about what looks best. Playing in this way is fun and usually healthy for women.

But, for some women, the pressure to be glamorous and stylish is overwhelming. Feelings of insecurity about personal beauty can push us to over-emphasize the externals and forget how much things like purity, contentment, inner peace and happiness contribute to how we look on the outside.

In this video, the mother and daughter have a good time getting quirky make-overs — a fun idea for an afternoon together. They have glamour shots taken by a photographer, posing and modeling and having a good time together. But all the time, in the background, a lovely song is playing (Jonny Diaz singing “More Beautiful You”), pointing out the pressures that come to young women to look  glamorous and sophisticated. How easy it is to forget what real beauty is all about!

Unfortunately, every girl doesn’t come from the kind of healthy, affirming family represented in the video. And even when she is surrounded by a loving family, many girls lose their perspective when faced with strong peer pressure to conform to a different standard during their teen years.

At this year’s Wellspring Women’s Conference, my good friend Sheri Cox will be conducting a workshop on Beauty. Hopefully, the women of all ages who attend, teens as well as adults, will be drawn to Sheri’s wisdom and insight on the topic of femininity and beauty. I was with her this past weekend and was enthralled by the power of her message. When I saw this video today on Tangle I just had to use it to put in a plug for Sheri and her workshop.

Watch and enjoy and let me hear your thoughts!

It’s funny how we learn things without realizing we have learned it — like patterns of behavior, for instance. When I was a kid my dad moved around a lot with his job. He went to seminary when I was 6 and then, from the year I was 9 until I left home for college at 18, we never lived in one place longer than 3 years. He was a pastor who was good at helping troubled churches and became bored when everything was going smoothly — so we moved a lot!

I didn’t consciously realize it, but somewhere along the way, I began to protect myself from the pain of losing friends by not allowing many people to get close to me and, when someone did become a close friend, I cut them off quickly when we moved. I separated myself from them emotionally and never contacted them again. I did not make a conscious decision about this, but, in self-protection, I adopted this pattern of behavior.

In 2000, Michael and I moved away from Fuquay Varina where I had lived for over 20 years (it was his home town). I had many deep friendships there, some with women who had grown up in the Lord together with me. But when we decided to move, I fell back into that old pattern of behavior I had learned in my childhood. I shut down towards my friends, and after we moved I did not write or call or visit or try to continue those old friendships. I didn’t make a conscious decision to do this, but I just fell into it. I was miserable in my new town, lonely and depressed, but trying to throw myself into the new work and into making new relationships in the new place. I missed my old friends terribly but felt it was somehow my duty to not look back but to press into the new thing God had for me.

One day, one of those old friends from Fuquay Varina drove down to see me and confronted me (lovingly but truthfully). “Why are you cutting me off?” she asked. “From the time you knew you were moving you began to shut me out of your life. At first I thought you were mad at me, but then I realized you were doing it to everyone. What’s going on?”

How I praise God for that friend! We prayed together and God showed me that old behavior pattern I had adopted as a child. He convicted me of having an area of my life that was not entrusted to Him. In the area of friendships, I was trying to protect myself instead of trusting Him. I repented, and He faithfully gave me grace to stop the old pattern. Today I have renewed those old friendships in Fuquay Varina and continue to have contact with those women and they are a great joy in my life. In addition, I have been able to make new and lasting friendships here in my new home, and I am so grateful to be set free in this area of my life!

Yesterday a young woman called me to ask for prayer. A very close friend of hers was moving away in a few weeks and she found herself shutting down emotionally toward the friend. She thought she had a “bad attitude” and had been repenting for being resentful and offended at her friend and at God for separating the two of them. But the repentance was not working. She continued to be unable to stay emotionally connected to her dear friend.

As we prayed together, the Lord reminded me of my own old behavior pattern so I shared that experience with her. It turns out that she was an “army brat” and grew up as I did — moving a LOT. The Holy Spirit convicted her that she was like I had been, stuck in a stronghold of self-protection. When her friend decided to move she fell back into the old behavior pattern of her childhood and shut down toward her friend.  She prayed with me over the phone, repenting of her self-protection and choosing to entrust that area of her life to Jesus. The whole conversation did not last more than 10 minutes, but she was set free to be a friend.

I just got a phone call from her. She has called her friend and shared with her what happened on the phone, and their friendship is once again on a solid footing. She is finding a new freedom in her life, as I have, in the area of friendships. Praise God for the deliverance He brings from destructive behavior patterns that steal our joy!

So here is another principle of the Kingdom of God floating to the surface of my life: when you get healed of something, you turn around and there is someone needing to experience the same thing! “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any afflictions with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. Praise God for the good behavior patterns we learn from the Holy Spirit!

Gloria

My brother is The Mountain Man.  He lives about 40 minutes outside of Boone, in a 400 sq.ft. cabin on a few acres in the mountains of Tennessee.  Just him and his pure bred German Shepherd, Hunter, who looks scary but is one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever met.  Joseph, my mom, and I went to visit my brother on Sunday, and came back Monday. It was a short trip, but so worth it.  It was great to spend time together, to get a small glimpse of the world he lives in, and to enjoy the mountain air.  And let me just say that now I understand why my brother hates the city!  Once you’re up there you realize you can live without the fast-paced pressures life has to offer.  It’s a laid-back, simple life up there and I LOVED it.  Here are some of the highlights from our 24 hours in the mountains of Tennessee:

1.  Huge tracts of land, rolling green hills filled with wildflowers and Christmas tree farms that amazingly were not being taken over by townhomes and condominiums.  Here in Greensboro, everywhere I look they are building new apartments or condos.  I don’t understand why a city needs that many!!!  Just keep the trees up and let us breath a little but, for cryin’ out loud!!  :-)

2.  Seeing my brother’s land for the first time.  We went down one road, then turned onto his “street”, which is just a gravel pathway big enough for one car to fit on, and drove up and around and around again until we saw his cabin.  It was the cutest thing ever!  So tiny, but just perfect for him.  He has his own vegetable garden growing out in the yard, and he has a storage shed that he uses to, well, store stuff obviously, but also to set up equipment to record music.  So cool.  Lots of trees all around, a nice view of the mountains beyond, and total peace and quiet.  He’s done pretty well for himself.  I was proud of him.  

3.  One of my worst fears came true.  I forgot to pack my underwear.  Yes, I did.  And yes, I said it for the whole blogosphere to read.  I’ll say it again.  I forgot to pack underwear.  Now, remember, this was only a 24 hour trip, so although you might scoff at the idea, I am not too high maintenance to wear the same pair of underwear 2 days in a row.  Sometimes you just gotta live a little.  And live I did, with the same dang pair of underwear I arrived in.  I thought it was funny, and thought that us sharing a laugh together would make it even funnier!

4.  Nature.  I love being outdoors, so I had the best time walking around the Appalachian Trail, climbing up rocks to see a waterfall, sticking my feet in the clearest, cleanest, freshest water.  It was so beautiful.  

5.  Nighttime.  FREAKY  Seriously, it was a little creepy at night when we went to bed because it was so quiet and so dark.  I turned off the lights and thought, “Is this what it’s like to be blind?”.  I had my eyes open but could not see ANYTHING.  It was pitch black.  So eerie.  And on top of that it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.  Took me a while to go to sleep because I like a lot of noise while I’m sleeping.  

Those are the main highlights of my 24 hours deep in the mountains of Tennessee.  Not a very gripping tale, I know, but at least the part about me forgetting my underwear was interesting.  There I go bringing it up again.  It must have been really life-changing for me to think about it that much!

What did you all do this weekend?

Jessica