2010 July » PWOC International Blog

What Region Am I In?

Jul 152010

Did you know that PWOCI is divided into regions? Yes, folks we are. How else would we be able to reach so many women all over the world? Did you or are you PCSing and wonder where you will fit into PWOC at your next location?

Our regions include:

Alaska Region: Alaska
Asian Region: Korea, Japan
Pacific Region: Hawaii, Guam
West Region: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Washington
Central Region: Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin
Northeast Region: Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia
Southeast Region: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
Europe Region: Belgium, England, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Turkey

On our PWOC website there is an installation locator. On this page, you can find up to date information on the PWOC chapter nearest to you. This amazing feature allows you to find out the meeting day, time, and location. You may also click on the installation name to make contact with them by email.

We all know how difficult it can be when you move. This resource will help you know where to find your new PWOC home as soon as you get there, if not before!

So ladies, if you are going to PCS this summer, check it out!!!

Off to a Great Start

Leadership Development, Leadership Wednesday, President's Pen

Jul 142010

We are in the leadership season of receiving the PWOC baton from the past board and running a new leg of the “race” in 2010-2011. The path before us can look much different than in seasons past, even different than the immediate past board’s path. Because of this difference, it is important to start your leadership year off right by seeking the Lord for His direction. Whether this is your first time leading or your fiftieth time, there is always a new path for you to take. God is moving forward with His Kingdom calendar and has a specific assignment for you and your PWOC each season of your lives.

As you seek God’s direction for your PWOC, challenge yourself in the area of leading out of the overflow that comes from spending quality time with Him. By meeting with God daily and asking Him to reveal Himself to you, He will fill you up with His love and show you the direction you are to go. It’s easy to jump start the race and get ahead of His plan for your PWOC. Watch and listen and then when He gives the green light, run with confidence the path He has given you and your ministry team to complete.

Some of His plan will include looking at how you are shining and reflecting His glory. Over the course of a year, He may reveal some “pot holes”, which will need some attention in order that you can continue growing as a leader.

It’s my desire that you continue to grow as a leader who shines in the light of God’s glory. Below you will find a list of attributes that I think are important for every leader to move towards. These attributes are good prayer points for yourself and others on your ministry leadership team:

Love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength
Serve out of the overflow of your relationship with Him
Serve out of a pure heart and pure motives
Live your life in balance with God’s plan for your family and ministry
Listen for the Lord’s voice and walk in radical obedience to what He says
Courageously join God in His Kingdom work
Extend forgiveness, grace, love and mercy to others
Celebrate each other’s victories and growth in the Lord

There are many people praying for you. Keep seeking the Lord and watch to see how God shows up and shows off in your life and the lives of others around you.

Wild About Jesus and You!

Email Etiquette - Do you Forward?

Tech Tuesday

Jul 132010

I think everyone has a family member that seems to forward every joke they’ve ever received clogging up your inbox with messages you’ll never have the time to read. My advice? Don’t be that person!

Clean Up Emails Before Forwarding Them
Forwarding emails is a great way of sharing ideas, but make sure the original idea is not hidden in obfuscation.

Remove All Email Addresses When You Forward a Message
Share the message, not email addresses when forwarding an email.

Don’t Forward Hoaxes
Always verify authenticity before forwarding any story or warning.

Use Current Antivirus Software, Keep it Up to Date, Scan for Free
Make sure you’re not spreading worms and viruses via email or act as a vehicle for spreading spam. All this can be caused by malicious emails. Fortunately, there’s protection.

Source: About.Com

God and Birds

Devotions

Jul 122010

I am a self-professed bird nerd. I love birds. A pretty feathered friend outside my window can easily distract me. Anyone who is a facebook friend of mine can attest to my bird-nerdiness. I have documented the drought of hummingbirds this Spring and most recently the growth of a Mockingbird family right in my front yard.

What do birds have to do with God? Well, I believe that He uses birds as one way to show me He loves me. And His bird timing in this case was spot on. This past June 20th was Fathers’ Day and also my 12th Anniversary. Due to my dear hubby’s deployment it was sure to be a depressing day. But God had other things planned for me. First, He gave me an awesome husband who remembered our special day and spoiled me rotten from afar. Then, He planned in advance a special birdy treat just for me.

A few weeks ago we noticed a pair of Northern Mockingbirds building a nest in our little oak tree out in the front yard. Time passed and on a cool, stormy day, I noticed that one of the birds was patiently sitting on the nest. Eggs! Immediately I suspected she was sitting on eggs. And sure enough, she was. I needed the ladder to confirm it….there were five beautiful speckled eggs in that nest.

A few days later I noticed that both birds were suddenly being very attentive to the nest. That told me the chicks had hatched. We hauled out the ladder again, this time with the camera, and began to document the babies as they grew from fragile, weak, ugly, featherless creatures, to cute fuzzy chirping adolescent birds. Everyday we watched as they made great strides in maturity and development. We took great joy in watching the bright yellow beaks pop up at any sound or movement. It was a thrill hearing their little chirps for the first time on Day 7. We learned a lot about them and had such fun.

Early on June 20th (baby bird Day 13), I noticed that one of the babies was out of the nest on a branch. Then a short while later, two were perched on branches. We spent most of the day (when we weren’t at church or eating) keeping track of the birds’ movements. All five left the nest. All five left the tree. It was a big adventure for their family and mine. We were running all over the place trying to keep up. One baby spent a good deal of time in our backyard, so we could see him up close and watch as he hopped around and tried to fly a little. The parents were brave and merciless in defending their offspring, attacking bigger birds, squawking at my cats and us if we were too close to the babies.

As I lay down that night I realized that the entire day had passed without a tear, without a single moment of heaviness. God had carried me through it and given me a precious glimpse into His wonderful creation. He had even made it fun. He’s so good to me. I don’t deserve His love, but I will gratefully receive it and give Him the glory.

p.s. A pair of finches are building a nest in my hanging petunia and the humming birds have finally arrived and look like they may stay a while. My cup overflows.

Psalm 17:6-8
I call on you, O God, for you will answer me;
give ear to me and hear my prayer.
Show the wonder of your great love,
you who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their foes.
Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings

Psalm 36:5-7
Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
O Lord, you preserve both man and beast.
How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men
find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Matthew 7:11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Prayer Points for July 11th-17th

Prayer Points

Jul 092010

Many of us enjoyed summer kickoff this week. Let’s pray together that this would be a time of building up and being encouraged by God’s Word of grace. We pray that each sister would know her inheritance in Christ.

³²“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

Acts 20:32 (NIV)

The Shining Scepter

Leadership Development, Leadership Wednesday

Jul 072010

Submitted by Rose McConnell, Ft. Leavenworth, KS

We have talked and sung about the Kingship of God, and we have looked at ourselves as princesses this year, but we have not talked much about the image of the scepter, so I ask you to go with me for a bit. We look at the scepter as something that is extended to us (like Ahasuerus [Xerxes] scepter extended to Esther), or even extended for us as we walk in Christ’s authority (represented in Col. 2:9-10 and Eph. 2:6). But let me propose another way to look at the scepter. As I looked at the word in Hebrew (the scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of justice) — shevet, I found it is translated in a number of ways into English. It shows the symbol of authority in the hands of a ruler.

It is the same word used in Psalm 23:4 “your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

It is the same word used when describing how to make Aaron’s priestly garments – the breastplate on the ephod, which has a stone for each of the twelve tribes – the word tribe is shevet. Exodus 28:21

The most common meaning of shevet is “tribe,” because each of the twelve tribes of Israel had originally been shepherded by a rod or staff.

So, this symbol of authority, of power, is also a symbol of protection for the sheep, and the authority of God in the people of Israel – His chosen people walk in His authority. If we are the spiritual offspring of Abraham, ones chosen by God to walk in His authority in His kingdom – is it not possible that WE are the scepter that the LORD is extending? As He is sending you out to other places, as he is keeping you in place to nurture another group of people coming from all over the world – we are His ambassadors – we are His scepter, that He is extending to the world – the Kingdom of God is at hand – it can transform your life, it can transform those around you – we can live in His victory and His power.

Arise! and Shine!

ARISE from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you–rise to a new life! SHINE, be radiant with the glory of the Lord, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! Isaiah 60:1 AMP

As we are extended out into the world, we are that city on a hill that cannot be hidden, we are the ones to shine out God’s light and love into a dark and lonely world, to draw others to God and bring him glory as we reflect Him, wherever He extends us in this world.

The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday. Prov. 4:18 HCSB

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16 AMP

RSS? Feed? Speak English, Please!

Tech Tuesday

Jul 062010

This one is for those of you new to blogging (and, yes, that is a verb!). If you follow only one blog, it’s not difficult to open that page each day to check for new entries; however, if you are like me and follow more than twenty blogs, this can absorb a tremendous amount of time that you’d rather spend doing something else. Mix in that many bloggers don’t add new posts every day and you’ve wasted time navigating to their page only to find nothing new. Ugh!

Enter Blog Readers, an ingenious techie tool! There are many Blog Readers on the internet so just enter ‘Blog Reader’ into your favorite search engine to find a list of options. I like integration so I use the one that fits in with all of the other online business that I do, but that’s certainly not a requirement.

What does a Reader do exactly?
A Blog Reader makes checking a list of Blog entries as easy as checking your email. In one place, you have a list of all the blogs you follow and the reader will alert you to new entries by making the related title bold, just like email! Simply click the bold title, and read the entry. Voila! It’s really that easy!

How do I get started using a Reader?
Looking toward the upper right of the PWOC Blog page (above the Search box), you’ll find a Subscribe link that looks like this:

Clicking this image will return the many Reader options from which to choose and selecting the Reader of your choice will subscribe the PWOC Blog to your Reader. From here, you simply check in with your Blog Reader daily to find what’s new in your Blog world.

Disclaimer: This has in no way been a step-by-step tutorial for establishing a Blog Reader account. For more detailed instructions, there is a virtual mountain of information available online found by using your favorite search engine as described above.

No Dry Places

Devotions

Jul 052010

“There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God . . .” Psalm 46:4

Our family just completed two years at Fort Irwin, California. It is one of the most dry, barren, isolated places to be assigned in the military. The first PWOC meeting I attended proved to be a deep, rich stream of living water that ran through this desert.

When we move from place to place there is a tendency to think that one assignment is better or worse than another. But when we are carried along the current of God’s plan, every person, place, and circumstance is divinely placed in our life to give us what we truly need to accomplish His perfect work in us. Because of Christ’s work on our behalf we are objects of God’s love, which has come not just to make us feel good, but to make us more like Him.

Our relationship to Christ as our “living water” gives us everything we need to live life the way God calls us to. When the Holy Spirit reveals our desperate need of the Savior, we confess our sins to the Lord and the blessings of Jesus’ sacrifice flow to us like a wellspring upon our hearts. Continual unhindered access to God works heart-changing truth about our identity into our innermost being. Then our minds are flooded with thoughts like “I am forgiven, relentlessly loved, accepted, and beautiful in God’s sight.” These truths are the present blessings of the Gospel running over us every moment of every day. Those who drink them in bear the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and faithfulness.

Are you going someplace you don’t want to go? Are you living in a place that has everything you want but leaves you dry spiritually? Drink in the fullness of Christ and take part in God’s plan to make glad the people of God.

Prayer Points for July 4th - July 10th

Prayer Points

Jul 022010

Lord, as we celebrate America’s birthday this week, we ask for your forgiveness for our sins and for your healing mercies to be poured out in our land and on our people. We pray Psalm 51 for our beloved nation.

Psalm 51

¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
blot out the stain of my sins.
² Wash me clean from my guilt.
Purify me from my sin.
³ For I recognize my rebellion;
it haunts me day and night.
⁴ Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
You will be proved right in what you say,
and your judgment against me is just.
⁵ For I was born a sinner—
yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
⁶ But you desire honesty from the womb,
teaching me wisdom even there.

⁷ Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Oh, give me back my joy again;
you have broken me—
now let me rejoice.
⁹ Don’t keep looking at my sins.
Remove the stain of my guilt.
¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not banish me from your presence,
and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

Journey of Transformation, Part 28

Jesus Answers, Life Happens, Life Happens Jesus Answers, Real life stories, Testimonies

Jul 012010

Another Emergency

Here we were, back in Colorado Springs in the summer of 2002. We temporarily settled into my parents’ townhome while we waited for our renters to move out of our house. Our Chaplain friend delivered the Honda Accord to us a couple weeks later when he arrived to attend the conference at the Air Force Academy.

Spouses are welcomed to attend the conferences, and I wanted to go so badly but couldn’t quite muster the strength. Most of my days were spent in bed or sitting in a chair. I felt less and less like being up and about. I camped out in the guest room most of the time, sleeping intermittently through each day. I remember hearing strange construction-like noises outside, but the window well blocked my view. It was rare for me to leave that room.

The white calcifications on my fingers could no longer be controlled and they developed into nickel–sized ulcers on my knuckles. The ones that erupted on my elbows were particularly excruciating. The burning pain was more than I could bear and I ended up at the Air Force Academy ER as I had months before. This time the ER staff was so puzzled and horrified by what they saw that they took x-rays of my hands to check for soft tissue abnormalities. Nothing showed.

Because the Air Force rheumatologist wasn’t available to assess me, and they didn’t have room to keep me around for hours, the ER staff redirected me to the ER at Fort Carson. I wondered if they thought I had some bizarre contagious disease that could spread to the whole community. They were far more alarmed than I was. I just needed painkillers again.

When I arrived at Fort Carson the ER staff administered morphine and this time I made sure they gave me an anti-nausea medication to go along with it. They probably gave me prednisone too but I don’t remember that. The anti-nausea medication made me feel weird. When I was being discharged from the ER I wasn’t sure if I should leave. Was this feeling going to subside or was it going to worsen?

Upon attempting to leave post my folks and I drove to a gate that was closed. Being 1 a.m. it was dark everywhere and Fort Carson didn’t have many streetlights. We ended up lost in one of the housing areas and I felt so weird I wanted to get home. Finally, we managed to find our way to the main gate which is always open.

We arrived home around 2 a.m. The anti-nausea medication created a strange sensation in my lungs. I was afraid that if I fell asleep I would stop breathing and die. So I stayed awake until the weird feeling subsided.

By September my health disaster was out of control. Clearly, there was more than lupus ravaging my body. The time had come to take my healthcare to the next level. I needed answers and I needed them fast. Fortunately, God had an awesome rheumatologist waiting in the wings.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES . . . IN SEPTEMBER:

During July and August I will be spending concentrated time with the Lord for refreshment and renewal. I appreciate all of you who faithfully read LHJA each week, and I encourage you to join me in September when the journey continues. In the meantime, bask in the warmth of the Son.

____________________________

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

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Off to a Great Start

Email Etiquette - Do you Forward?

God and Birds

Prayer Points for July 11th-17th