Every Soul Has a Purpose

Devotions
Oct 192009

“Everyone who breathes has a mission, has a work. We are not sent into this world for nothing; we are not here that we may go to bed at night, and get up in the morning, toil for our bread, rear a family and die. God sees every one of us; He creates every soul for a purpose.” John Henry Newman

Have you reflected lately on your purpose in life? Are you already aware of the ways that God has gifted you? Have you seen the ways in which God wants to use you in your community? We get so busy and wrapped up in the every day things of life that we sometimes forget the bigger picture. There really is more to life than getting through it day by day. God has made each and every one of us in a unique way with gifts that He wants us to use for His glory.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 says “there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.”

What is the BIG picture God has for you? What is your mission, your work? Are you a teacher, a leader, an encourager, an evangelist? What are you doing today to fulfill God’s plan for your life? If you don’t know the answers to these questions, how do you find them? One simple way can be found in Henry Blackaby’s Experiencing God. Blackaby says to find out where God is already working and join Him. If you see something God is already doing that really excites you, jump in. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. God gave you talents and desires that naturally express where He may want to use you.

1 Peter 4:10 says “each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”

Take a minute in your busy schedule to consider your personal calling. The constant list of demands in your daily life can obscure the richness to which you are called. Consider your destiny. What are you doing today that will have eternal significance? Try to fit the little things in your life into the bigger picture. Prioritize your daily activities to include what God has planned for you.

Psalm 34:3 says “Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.”

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Prayer points for October 11-17

Prayer Points
Oct 162009

Fear Not!!  Our VBS song this summer declared, “I will not, be afraid, though trouble’s out there, night and day.  No I will not, be swamped with fear, because God is always, always, always….yeah… He’s always here.

In a season where cute pumpkins and happy hayrides sometimes get overshadowed by death, gore, and fear, God gives us a clear message of hope. He is with us, He loves us and He is personally involved in the details of our lives!!

Isaiah 43: 1-7

 1 But now, this is what the LORD says—
       he who created you, O Jacob,
       he who formed you, O Israel:
       “Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
       I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

 2 When you pass through the waters,
       I will be with you;
       and when you pass through the rivers,
       they will not sweep over you.
       When you walk through the fire,
       you will not be burned;
       the flames will not set you ablaze.

 3 For I am the LORD, your God,
       the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
       I give Egypt for your ransom,
       Cush and Seba in your stead.

 4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
       and because I love you,
       I will give men in exchange for you,
       and people in exchange for your life.

 5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
       I will bring your children from the east
       and gather you from the west.

 6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
       and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
       Bring my sons from afar
       and my daughters from the ends of the earth-

 7 everyone who is called by my name,
       whom I created for my glory,
       whom I formed and made.”

Dear God, I praise you because you know my name. You not only formed me, but you called  me by my name, and you even came looking for me and brought me back to you.  You protect me in ways I don’t even know. When I go through hard times you not only know about it ahead of time, but you even walk through the difficulties with me. You don’t allow me to be destroyed.  You restore my children.  I am called by Your Name!  You wanted me in your family.  Help me to remember that you made, formed, and created me for your glory!  Let my strengths bring you glory.  Shine your light through the cracks in my life. God, my neighbor, my husband, my child, my friend needs to know your Name.  Draw _______(insert name) to Yourself.   You are good and kind.   I love you.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

To reach Dawn Kennedy please click here.

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The Significance of "Being"

Life Happens Jesus Answers
Oct 152009

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When I was in my twenties, I thought prayer and Bible reading were boring. I couldn’t muster the motivation to make time for them even though I knew they were important. Apparently, they weren’t important enough. Back then, I was attending college and working, and hadn’t yet learned the value of spending intentional time with God. Hindsight and hard knocks tell me I missed out.

We all miss out when we habitually choose busyness and service over being with Christ. God is interested in us first, and then our ministries. As women, it’s natural for many of us to spend time talking on the phone, gathering for fellowship at PWOC, seeking chances to escape the clamor of our beloved children, spending time texting, e-mailing, searching for friends on Face book, and Twittering our time away. Socializing, serving and caring for our families are things we do well. We make time for those things. Jesus longs for us to make time for Him — to be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10).

It is true that the Lord can speak to us anytime, anywhere, through any circumstance. But do we want to have a sporadic, haphazard relationship with our Savior? In what ways do we demonstrate to Him, and to those in our sphere of influence, that He is top priority? In what order does He appear on our to-do lists? Do we care about knowing Him intimately? Do we trust Him to lead us through mind-bending trials in order to strengthen our faith? If so, how do we do that? How do we grow as Christians and become more like Christ?

Let’s look at an example from Scripture. Appropriately, she happens to be a woman. Her name is Mary, and I’m sure you’ve read or heard this story from Luke 10:38-42. Martha, Mary’s sister, was busy in the kitchen making preparations for Jesus. Mary chose to stay in the other room where she planted herself at Jesus’ feet. When Martha nearly ordered Jesus to make Mary help her in the kitchen, Jesus replied, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Mary chose to spend time with Jesus rather than pots, pans and kitchen utensils. People are always more important than things, and Jesus is the most important One of all. No matter what we do, whether or not it’s ordained by God, it is not more important than Him. We can “do” until we’re blue and it won’t make a cotton pickin’ bit of difference (thank you to my friends from the Carolinas) unless we place ourselves in a posture of submission, humility and gratitude to our King. Once we’ve established God as our number one priority, spending time with Him becomes more of a joy than just another thing on our to-do lists.

I’m grateful to say that I’ve recovered from the aimlessness of my twenties, and have grasped the significance of being in the presence of God. The more time I spend at His feet, the more He blesses me with His amazing peace (Phil. 4:6-7) and the straighter His path before me. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Pro. 3:5-6).

_____________________________

LauraFirtko“Life Happens – Jesus Answers” is a weekly column addressing the challenges we face in life, coupled with the presence and grace of Jesus, our One True Source of hope and peace. The column’s author, Laura Firtko, can be reached by email here:   LifeHappens@pwoc.org

Over the years, in addition to regular soul-cleansing journaling, Laura Firtko has written for the Azusa Pacific University campus newspaper, The Clause; World Vision Public/Media Relations department; Focus on the Family Brio, Breakaway, Clubhouse and Youthwalk magazines; and the Fort Carson PWOC newsletter. She is a member of the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild and occasionally pops her head into Springs Writers group meetings at Woodmen Valley Chapel.

Laura and her husband, Steve, are stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado. They have two adorable beagle daughters, Aspen and Roxy, who love doggy walks and squeaky toys.

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The Hard Questions

Leadership Development, Leadership Wednesday
Oct 142009

On PWOC Sunday, I was able to speak to our congregation at Fort McPherson. Besides sharing the theme Scriptures, I asked the worshippers some hard questions.
While looking at our New Testament Scripture (I Peter 2:9-10), we see Who Christ is and who we are in Christ. He becomes our identity. And that leads me to ask these questions about Christ, you, and PWOC.

Who is Jesus Christ?
Who are you?
Who are we as a ministry?
Who are we trying to reach?
How welcome are the unchurched in our groups?
Are we comfortable sharing the Gospel with someone from a different background?
What about the young spouse with her many tattoos and piercings?
What should the face of PWOC look like?
In what or whom do we put our trust?
Is in the pin we wear? or our matching t-shirts? or our abundance of black conference bags? or this familiar logo?
Is our identity wrapped up in our stuff?
Or is our identity as Christians and participants in the Protestant Women of the Chapel in Jesus Christ Himself?
In the grace only He can give? In the regenerating and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

This is where our true identity lies — not in our externals (what we put on) but in Whose we are (Christ’s).

Melinda Hemphill, PWOCI Communications

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Are you having trouble with MS Office files?

Tech Tuesday
Oct 132009

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I’ve received a lot of questions lately about Microsoft Office files. Most of these questions point back to the same answer so I’m going to discuss it here today.

How do you know what type of file you have? Every computer filename has two parts separated by a period. The first part is the file’s name and it comes before the period. The second part, following the period, is the file extension. This file extension, usually 3-4 characters in length, will identify what type of file it is. For example, Microsoft Word files often end in .doc, whereas Excel and PowerPoint files end in .xls or .ppt respectively. These extensions tell your computer how to open the file, or which application to use to read the data it holds.

Did you catch that I said ‘often’ above in regards to the Word file extension? The reason I said ‘often’ is because the newest versions of the Microsoft Office suite have actually added an ‘x’ to its file extensions, both Windows and Mac versions. This is where the questions are generated.

If you try to open a Word file with the .docx extension using an earlier version of MS Word (2003),  you may run in to trouble. The same is true with the other office applications, as well. There is a way to resolve this problem, however, and it does not require an upgrade purchase!

Microsoft has created a Compatibility Pack available for free download on their site. This download will enable users to open these new files in older versions of Office with no trouble. Note: Some features of the new applications may be lost even when using the Compatibility Pack.

For those of you that blamed these troubles on the Windows/Mac conversion, that has nothing to do with it! So, if you’ve had trouble with these files and couldn’t figure out why, try the download and see if that takes care of it.

Click here to learn more about the Compatibility Pack and to find the download link.

“Tech Tuesday” is published every Tuesday. To reach Tracy with comments or questions, email her here.

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Heaven

Devotions
Oct 122009

I’ve been thinking about Heaven lately.  I recently moved from a very large city that was over crowded, had crazy traffic, terrible pollution, and a few very unpleasant smells.  On the way to our new duty station we stopped in Hawaii.  It was overwhelming.  After cohabitating with millions of people in a tight urban space, Hawaii was paradise. The contrast between to two places kind of blew my mind.  We only had a few days there, which weren’t enough, but better than none.  The lyrics “Better is one day in Your courts, better is one day in Your house, better is one day in Your courts than thousands elsewhere …” kept repeating themselves in my head.  Three and a half days in Hawaii were great, but what will heaven be like?  I know it will be more beautiful than Hawaii, more beautiful than I can imagine.

Psalm 16:9-11

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;  my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

As life ramps up and gets busy, keep your focus on eternity and things that are eternal.  Prioritize your life in a way that gives the weight of your time to things that will last and less to the things that will pass away in an instant.  Take heart in the hope that our present sufferings and annoyances will all change when we meet our Savior face to face.

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Those Deployment Days, weeks, and so on and so forth...

Friday Fruit
Oct 092009

I realized today that we are finishing month seven of our deployment year and felt extraordinarily tired.  After having three sick children last week, and trying to catch up on life this week, I found myself turning the cell phone off and laying next to my three year old for nap.  As I drifted off to sleep I cared less and less about all the things I needed to accomplish today and fell to sleep until I heard my older children coming off the school bus.  “Wow – I can’t believe I slept that long”, I thought.  I jumped up to greet them and even though I had slept for almost 3 hours was still was so exhausted. 

Do you ever have these moments in your life where  everything just hits you like a ton of bricks and the weight of life just makes you tired?  Like deployment, a loss of a loved one, sickness, busy schedule?  I know I have in the past, and I obviously just did.  This evening as I write this I am contemplating how to end my dayand I know what I am going to do.  I am going to have some hang time with my Daddy, my Best Friend, my God.

I making myself a cup of tea, getting into bed, curling up with the best book ever, my Bible, enjoying a good read, and having some time in prayer.  I am confident I will find all that my mind, body and soul need right there.  How about you?

“Come unto me all ye, who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.”

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Jesus Christ, Our One True Source

Life Happens Jesus Answers
Oct 082009

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Life brings joys, pains, foibles and foul-ups on a daily basis. The good news is that Jesus responds when we cry out to Him, and His answers are always best. Our challenge lies in learning to trust and believe that His answers, and His timing, are indeed the very best.

When life throws us a crowbar and it hits us on the head, who do we typically turn to? Our initial inclination is to turn to a friend or family member, pastor or counselor. While these people can be wise advisors, turning to Jesus in prayer should always be our first step. Because He knows everything past, present, and future, and because He knows each of us intimately (Psalm 139:1-16), He knows which advisors are safe and which are not.

Consider this: The well-meaning individuals we listen to will offer advice and opinions through the filter of their life experiences, mindsets, personalities, preferences and spiritual maturity levels. They are not you, and they are not me. Only God, through His Holy Word, can shine the light of truth and clarity when we’re wading through muddy waters. He knows exactly what and who we need, and when we need them. Our initial inclination, then, should be to seek Him first (Matt. 6:31-34). He always has our best interest in mind even when we don’t see it that way. Remember the scope of His vision – He knows what’s ahead.

Here’s another consideration: Time and faith-building experiences prove that God is faithful, just, merciful, trustworthy, and gracious. We never have any reason to fret or fume, but it takes a while to get this truth through our thick human heads and vulnerable human hearts. Once it takes hold, we can walk in it confidently, and a new sense of deep, abiding peace holds us together.

So, when life hits you on the head with a crowbar, run to Jesus first as your One True Source. He’ll lead you on a challenging but worthwhile journey toward greater freedom, wholeness and peace.

LauraFirtko

“Life Happens – Jesus Answers” is a weekly column addressing the challenges we face in life coupled with the presence and grace of Jesus, our One True Source of hope and peace. The column’s author, Laura Firtko, can be reached by email here: LifeHappens@pwoc.org

Over the years, in addition to regular soul-cleansing journaling, Laura Firtko has written for the Azusa Pacific University campus newspaper, The Clause; World Vision Public/Media Relations department; Focus on the Family Brio, Breakaway, Clubhouse and Youthwalk magazines; and the Fort Carson PWOC newsletter. She is a member of the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild and occasionally pops her head into Springs Writers group meetings at Woodmen Valley Chapel.

Laura and her husband, Steve, are stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado. They have two adorable beagle daughters, Aspen and Roxy, who love doggy walks and squeaky toys.

We are overjoyed to bring you this exciting new column.  You may contact Laura Firtko, by clicking here

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Kimpo Is A Curse Word In Our House

Real life stories
Oct 072009

Submitted by Judi Crocker of Fort Polk, LA

In January of 1999, my husband left for his first unaccompanied tour to Korea. That means that he goes for a year and his family stays behind. Our children were 7,6,4 and 4. The children and I packed up to California and stayed with my parents. He was due home for mid-tour leave on August 1, 1999(which meant that he got to come home for 30 days and then go back). I lived EVERY day telling myself that if I could JUST make it to that day in August that he came home, everything would be fine. That I would be fine. I pinned my very survival on that man and his homecoming. Every day as I became more and more weighed down from the heavy load, I was still somehow, breathing a teeny bit easier because I was one day closer to relief and wholeness. The day before he was due to get on his flight, the area around the border between North and South Korea was stricken by a monsoon. My husband was able to call and tell me that he was okay, but the base was on lock-down. No one was allowed to leave. Therefore, he would not be getting to Kimpo airport, or getting on his flight to come home. This was devastating to me. Do you know that screen that comes on the TV in the middle of the night when there is no more programming? That snowy/fuzzy screen? That is what I saw and heard on the edges of my mind. I couldn’t think. I didn’t know how to function. I was able to get myself into the bathroom and start a bath. I sat down next to the tub and sat and sat. The tub filled and filled. And I sat and sat. Not thinking, not planning, not meditating. NOTHING. Just sitting. The snowy place grew bigger and I couldn’t remember what one does after turning ON the bath. So I just sat there. I had no thought to my children or to my parents or even to my very breath. It was as though I was absent from my own mind. I remember my Mom coming in and shutting off the bathwater as it was about to flood the bathroom. I don’t remember if I ever even got in it. I spent the next two days living just on the outskirts of the snowy place. I don’t know if I ate, went to the bathroom, slept, changed my clothes, tended to my children AT ALL – I’m pretty sure my Mom did that. At some point she told me that I had to pull it together. Yes. Thank you. I have to pull it together. I couldn’t think of that. I could only hear the soft sound of the snowy place.

This instruction, coupled with my man coming home (only one day late), helped me to get the programming back on and disconnect the snowy place.

To this day I cannot say or read the word Kimpo without cringing.

This was an extraordinarily painful lesson to learn. I cannot rely on my husband for my health, safety, or survival. People fail. The only true, unfailing, infallible thing I can rely on is my God. The God. The Creator of heaven and earth. Only He will never fail me.

Jeremiah relayed this message, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.’”

Wow. That is what I felt like when my husband didn’t come home on time. How did Jeremiah know this? Oh, that’s right – he was a prophet ~ and as he says, ‘the Lord said.’

Jeremiah went on to say, “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:5-8)

Wow. I have been watching for another day in recent months…the day my husband returns from Iraq. He was supposed to be on his way home yesterday. They were weathered out and were unable to get out as scheduled. I truly am blessed. There is Someone who is ALWAYS with me. I have put my trust in Him, and I did not fear when the heat came. I did not fall down. I did not run a never-ending bath. I did not abandon my children to the snowy place. Not because of my strength – but because of His.

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him.” (Psalm 28:7)

Sunday I will be singing the offertory. I will be singing these words with the utmost conviction and a peace that passes all understanding….

If all I had was one last breath, I’d spend it just to sing Your praise…just to say Your name.
If all I had was one last prayer, I’d pray it ’cause I know You’re always listening.
If all I had was one more song to sing, I would raise my voice to make the heavens ring!
If all I had was one last chance, I’d take it, I would stake it all on You!
I know You’re there. I know You see me.
You’re the air I breathe, You are the ground beneath me.
I know You’re there, I know You hear me.
I can find You anywhere. I know You’re there….

(I Know You’re There – Casting Crowns)

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Finding a PWOC Point Of Contact

Tech Tuesday
Oct 062009

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Change is in the air, but what’s new there, right? After all, we are military families and if something isn’t changing, we get antsy, don’t we? I know I sure do. I figure I have 2 years, perhaps 3 before I start getting the itch. Funny thing is that I’ve been married to the military for less than 10 years. For the 28 years prior to my marriage, I lived within 3 miles of the home I grew up in. Funny how things change, huh?

Okay, moving on.

Historically, PWOC leaders handled all of their communication needs through their personal email accounts. This presented problems in that leaders transition and leaders move. Often, that meant a drop in communication.

This year, we added a new domain name to our website – pwoc.org. ( read here to learn more on that ) With this, we’ve also created new email addresses for all of our International and Regional leaders, as well as a new email address for every active PWOC around the world.

From this point forward, finding a PWOC leader on any level should be as easy as accessing the pwoc.org website. To find a Regional or International Board member, find a complete list on the Contact Us page. A link to this page is also available from the main page and in the footer of all pages on the site. Each of the Regional pages will also have a listing of their region’s board members with email links, as well. To find a local leader, simply go to the Installation Locator. Each installation name is an email link to that installation’s inbox.

If you find that you send a message to any one of these addresses and don’t get a response, please notify the Web Manager as there may be an error with the mailbox and your message has not been delivered to the intended recipient. Computers happen, right?!

“Tech Tuesday” is published every Tuesday. To reach Tracy with comments or questions, email her here.

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