Bits & Pieces » PWOC International Blog

The Suspects, Prospects and Clients Around Us

May 232012

We have all done it. While walking into a store to buy a few items, we happen across a table offering free samples. What does it hurt to try a small sample and move along? If you are like me, simple eye contact with the one offering the product engages me in a conversation, typically ending in an additional item in my cart. What these stores understand is that if you allow your consumers to “taste” the goods, the likelihood of a purchase increases exponentially.

The same concept happens in marketing. Our senses absorb the external selling around us as we see flashy billboards, smell delicious aromas pouring out of restaurants, and listen to 15 second blurbs on the radio. The lure is strong and ever-present.

In his book Duct Tape Marketing, John Jantsch describes the stages of gaining a client through marketing. He first explains that everyone has a group of suspects or potential clients around them. The goal is to get that group to identify themselves as true prospects – those who respond to your invitation for more information. You must sell them through continued efforts and show them that your product is worth repeat business for them to become clients.

Our PWOC ministry is much like the marketing world. PWOC suspects are walking by you daily. They become prospects when the Lord leads them into your lives and they begin watching, seeing a keen difference in you. They become clients when they realize the genuine love you have for the Lord and for them.

You invite them. They come curious. They will stay when the product is genuine.

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:23-25

Jenn Cook – PWOCI Communications Coordinator

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Three Steps to Getting Rid of My Inner Wimp

Bits & Pieces, Life Happens Jesus Answers

May 132012

You have probably heard the phrase, “I need to get in touch with my inner self.” These days, I am trying to get out of touch with one aspect of my inner self…My Inner Wimp.

Here I am, wrapping up one adventure, one phase of my life, and getting ready to fly into a new adventure in Virginia. Times of transition call for faith, flexibility, adventurousness, boldness, and energy. I want to arrive ready to blaze new trails, unpack numerous moving boxes, meet new people, attend to the billion and one details that go with helping kids get settled, and so on and so on. I want to hit the ground with my TACA (Transition and Adjustment to Change Accelerator) armed and ready to fire.

So back to My Inner Wimp.

Where does this girl come from? Why does she pop her unwelcome head up at a second’s notice, right when I am feeling good about things and feeling ready to conquer? She slips silently in the back door of my thoughts and sneakily plants something like, “You won’t be able to…, What will you do without….., You’ve made a mistake…, It’s going to be cold there…, You’re going to spend half your life sitting in traffic…., Kids do drugs there…blah-blah-blah….”

Once My Inner Wimp gets a word in, it’s amazing how my entire seemingly rational thought capability stands at attention, revs its engines and races off with breath-taking speed. It doesn’t seem to matter if I tell My Inner Wimp to shut up and get out. She speaks with an uncanny influence—even though most of what she says is untrue, often ridiculous impressions that are enshrouded in the fog of “what if…”

Last week I decided I was done letting this girl weigh me down with anxious thoughts and the unsettled feelings that change can bring. I borrowed a TACA from one of my Moving Goddess Friends, and fired off several rounds. I blasted that girl right out the front door of my thoughts and slammed the door shut. Feeling sassy and relieved, I went on about my business of getting ready to move.

She snuck back in the bathroom window a few days later.

Slowly, but surely, God is teaching me ways to deal with my Inner Wimp.

Three Steps to Getting Rid of My Inner Wimp:

1. Recognize when My Inner Wimp has slipped into my thoughts.

2. Identify the distortion in what I am thinking—separate fact from fiction—truth from supposition, real from imaginary, logical from irrational, seen from the unseen. You see, My Inner Wimp loves to magnify and over blow one small issue, making it feel all important. This distorted hyper-focus takes my eyes off the big picture and tempts me to think as if God is smaller than He is and the issue is bigger than it is. In many ways, it is an up-side down view of life. It’s kind of like looking at a beautiful painting and obsessing about one blade of grass that didn’t turn out right.

3. Change my focus. Many things are a matter of perception. I need to see clearly–to look at the right thing. I have to purposefully take my focus off what My Inner Wimp says and fix my attention on Christ. Hebrews 12: 2 puts it this way…” fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…”

Have you ever thought about what an amazing gift God-focused perspective is?

When I see clearly, I can walk confidently.

As I think about this, the Spirit reminds me of that the righteous will live by faith, not by sight… (Romans 1:17) which includes all the worries that My Inner Wimp tries to glue the eye-balls of my attention to. The following verse is great ammo for blasting out My Inner Wimp:

What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

Matthew 6:31-33 The Message

My Inner Wimp may show up, but she is not welcome to stay.

Ginger Harrington

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Sanity in a Three-Ring Binder…Priceless!

Bits & Pieces, Life Happens, Life Happens Jesus Answers

May 062012

“Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be established.” Proverbs 16:3

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5

Anything that requires planning and organization on my part is definitely a matter for prayer! This is why God gave me a husband and some good friends who are good at this kind of thing. Slowly, but surely, I am learning from their example.

Larissa’s Moving Notebook

One of the things that I love about this gal is her ability to make the ordinary into something special. I knew better than to ask her why she would take the time to make such a lovely cover, cause I already know the answer. “If it looks good, it will motivate me to use it.” Bingo! I like that philosophy, even if I don’t have time or the inclination to do such a thing. Unlike my notebook, her sections are nicely labeled and the sections are well on their way to being full.

Notice the lovely map of Oahu

Here’s a list of Larissa’s tabs:

Orders
Moving Calendar
Checklists
Pets
Housing for New Location
Shipments (including the inventory of her last move and storage inventory)
Car Storage and Transport
Travel Arrangements/Itinerary
Last Things to Do (places, people, and purchases)
Information on New Location
Miscellaneous–gotta have one of those!
Moving Tips

And of course, don’t forget those important documents like passports, power-of-attorney, birth certificates, wills, and shot records. You might not keep these in your notebook, but it is important to have an organized way to hand carry these with you. Accordion files are great for this.

As we were chatting about the whole notebook thing, Larissa shared some of her notebook wisdom with me:

1. You have paperwork all in one place.

2. You can look back to refer to what worked and what didn’t work on the last move. This is key for those of us who seem to make the same mistakes over and over again.

3. With each move you can build on good information and eventually work your way up to Moving Goddess status–a little-known-but-elite corps of military wives who have moving down to both an art and a science.

4. Here’s a good one: Being able to find information and paperwork when you need it saves marital squabbling over misplaced documents. Ohh…not good. Moving is stressful enough without stressing where the furniture inventory or the hotel reservation numbers are.

5. You are prepared to share great information with others–another fine trait of the Moving Goddess. If you can’t be one, it sure is handy to know one!

6. Sanity in a three-ring binder…priceless.

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PCS Anyone?

Bits & Pieces

Apr 292012

Organizing For The Move

Ginger Harrington

In general, there are several schools of thought on how to handle the physical details of moving. The first, and most effective-sanity-keeping method is called the We like it ORGANIZED way. On the other end of the spectrum is the Just throw it in a box and sort it out on the other end way. I generally fall into the Meant to be organized, maybe next time way. This is the lament of the good-intentioned and the ever-hopeful. On the extreme-almost-at-the North-Pole end are the Moving Nazi’s, that drive themselves and everyone around them over and beyond what is sane or reasonable in their obsessive need for control in a live-by-faith situation. I call it this because once those movers take off with your stuff, you are living by faith, like it or not. There are many other methods of handling moves, but these are enough for today.

I have friends who are big proponents of THE MOVING NOTEBOOK, and have had their notebooks filled for months now. Not wanting to be left behind, I bought myself a nice neon green notebook in hopes that some of their organizational gifting might rub off on me. Does that make me organized for this move? Apparently not, because someone saw my notebook and helpfully suggested that I should label the different sections. They even kindly offered the use of her label maker. Well, I was going to get to that…eventually.

Organized or not, moving can seem like a full time job. (Because it is!) Particularly international moves.

Today this is where I am in the process. I have been to the Smooth Move Workshop, so I am now prepared with lots of information filling up my brain, mixing freely in the grey matter. I have been to the “My Move” website and created a personalized calendar with all of the items I learned about in the workshop, plus a few bits and pieces that I know just because I have moved a lot. I am well on my way to making it into the We like it ORGANIZED moving methodology!

So now the next four months of my life are planned out with tasks to do, information to find, and arrangements to make. Yea–are we having fun yet? I have reminders to contact the veterinarian and schedule packers, as well as a scheduled day to begin cleaning out and sorting through stuff. (Can I go somewhere else that day?) After completing my personalized calendar of slavery to the move, I printed out the task list, conveniently arranged by date (very organized).

Life does not stop just because you are moving!

Nothing slows down so I can get that five-page single-spaced task list done. The family still has to eat and they generally prefer to wear clean clothes. There are still multiple daily rounds of the Mommy Taxi, homework, projects, and band concerts don’t slow down just because you are moving.

As with so many things in life, steadily moving forward eventually gets us where we are going. I love the African proverb that asks, “How do you eat an elephant?” One bite at a time…particularly for those of us who are directionally challenged in multi –tasking. So I will keep chewing my way through each task, asking God for grace and energy to do all that needs to be done. When I start to feel overwhelmed, anxious that I will never get it all done, I will remind myself that the Lord is my helper:

Don’t panic. I’m with you.
There’s no need to fear for I’m your God.
I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you.
I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.

Isaiah 41:10

The Message

Hmm…what happens if I lose my Moving Notebook?

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What If All We Have Is Bread?

Bits & Pieces, Who are we

Mar 282012

As our installations (and therefore most of our PWOCs) are facing budget cuts, we all find ourselves in the position of re-evaluating the things we do in the name of ministry. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Let’s bear in mind:

1. It’s all about the Kingdom. In the story of Gideon (find it in Judges chapters 6-8), God takes an army that was already woefully inadequate and reduces it to one that is laughable. He then sends this little group of 300 men armed with trumpets, torches and empty pitchers against the enemies of Israel, who were “lying in the valley as numerous as locusts,” (Judges 7:12). You’ll forgive me for saying that this sounds like a bad plan.

It’s helpful to know the back story here: God had called the Hebrew people into a covenant with Himself for a specific purpose. Through them, He was going to reveal His nature and teach the world what sin and righteousness were. Through them, He was going to bring forth His Son, Jesus, to redeem mankind from the curse of sin. And through Jesus and those He would redeem, God was going to establish His Kingdom. This ragtag little army was really just a tool in God’s hand to accomplish His purposes. All it took was a little obedience on Gideon’s part. God did the rest.

Maybe your PWOC’s resources seemed inadequate to start with and now you’re down to the ridiculous as you look across the vast needs of your installation. God’s plan might not look anything like you’d expect, but if you have no other goal than to expand His Kingdom by leading women to Christ (PWOC Aim #1) and then equipping them to do the work of the Kingdom (PWOC Aims #2-4), the King Himself will provide, current budget situation notwithstanding.

2. It’s all about Jesus. In John 6, Jesus feeds a huge crowd (incidentally, with absurdly insufficient resources again). The next day, the crowd comes looking for Him on the other side of the sea. He tells them that their focus is off; they’re just looking for more food. He then tells them that what they really need is right in front of them: Jesus, the Bread of God, who “gives life to the world” (John 6:33). Just a few verses later, though, He says some things that apparently don’t go down too well and most of the crowd walks away. Jesus doesn’t try to coax them back. Those who want Jesus stay. Those who were really looking for something else go elsewhere to find it, and He lets them go.

As we’re re-evaluating our PWOC budgets, we might find that we have to make some tough choices. We might have to do away with some “loaves and fishes” aspects of ministry that have kept women coming back. What if all we had to offer them was Jesus? What if they came to our meetings and found not a single loaf or fish, but they did find women who were in love with Jesus, hungry for His Word and His presence, laying down their lives so that His kingdom might come? What if we couldn’t offer them anything but the one Bread that could satisfy their deepest hunger? Food for thought.

Nancy Wheatley

Southeast Region Titus 2

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“I Am Worn Out”

Bits & Pieces, Devotions, Life Happens Jesus Answers, regional review

Mar 152012

As I sat at my desk pondering what my blog would say, I laid my head down and wept just calling out to God because I am just “worn out”. I was home from the mainland ten days when there was a Red Cross message sent to my husband – his mother was in ICU, come home immediately. The next two weeks was a haze for me: hospital visits, cooking for 12 people, cleaning, grocery store, sleepless nights, hubby got very sick, etc…How could I not be “worn out”. (Mother-in-law pulled through. She is back at pulmonary rehab. Praise be to God and everyone’s prayers.)

God and his infinite wisdom knows what we need at the right time. I will be facilitating a new study at PWOC titled “Brave – Honest Questions Women Ask” by Angela Thomas. As I was preparing the first session, it is titled “I Am Worn Out”. Laughing, I listened to the video and opened up my Bible, I learned how to take this “worn out” body and restore it.

Here is a statement from the book: “Sometimes it literally feels like I have a huge weight pushing down on top of me. A heaviness follows me from room to room. Sometimes it’s physical. Sometimes emotional. Sometimes I am too numb to tell the difference.” (This is me in a nutshell) God’s word says: “The man declares, I am weary, O God, I am weary, O God and worn out.” Proverbs 30:1 ESV So I stood up and I shouted, “I am not superwoman! I need your help God”.

As I continued to listen to Angela Thomas, she gave me steps to restore my body, mind and soul. “Come to me, all of you, who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 So I took the following steps to heart:

Take the Sabbath day to refresh your body, spirit and soul. Hebrews 4:9-10
Repentance leads to refreshing. Acts 3:19
If you walk in the good way, your soul will rest. Jeremiah 6:16
Godly friends restore your soul. I Corinthians 16:18

One of my favorite verses tells me: “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall: but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31

I am turning to God, I am going to rest on the Sabbath, I am going to walk in the “good way” and I will spend time with my godly friends. Here is to restoring my “worn out” body, mind and soul.

Jody Garcia

Pacific Region PWOC President

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God Is Moving In Japan

Bits & Pieces, Life Happens Jesus Answers, regional review

Mar 112012

Many of us have been experiencing various emotions as the anniversary of 3.11.11 approached. It’s been a year since the triple disaster of a 9. Earthquake, an unbelievable tsunami, and a nuclear disaster hit our host country. On our installations many voluntarily evacuated and some were sent home early not to return. We do not want to be a people living in the past…but it is fitting to reflect. Consider the words below from OMF International (formerly China Inland Mission).

As you reflect, consider God has been faithful! New doors of ministry are open. Many of us have grown in intimacy with Abba through the events of the past year. Personally, I’ve learned to follow His lead in a much more vulnerable and intimate way when there is little left to trust but His very presence. I challenge us all to continue to let His light shine in this unique time of history.

It has been humbling to serve with you at this time. I have been in awe of His grace as I hear of the ways various individuals and groups have gotten involved with the ongoing relief and rebuilding efforts in our host country.

Truly God IS on the move in Japan. God persists. Hope Persists! I pray the life of Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, flow into these communities and our installations with as much reality as the tsunami did a year ago.

De’Etta Goecker

PWOC Japan Region, President

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God, You Are Awesome!

Bits & Pieces, Devotions, Praise and Worship

Feb 242012

I love our theme this year – “Your Kingdom Come.” What if we add to that, “Your will be done?” We could stop and hang out there for a while! It’s something I’ve actually put in my prayers for many years now and I love that it’s our theme too! But, for the moment, I want to focus on the part that comes just before that. “Hallowed be (or Holy is) Your Name.” Or in other words, “God, You Are AWESOME!!”

Take a walk with me to Ps. 103:1-2 says, “Let all that I am praise the Lord, with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does or me.”

David right here in his own words was saying, “God you are awesome! And you want to know why? Well, I’ll give you a list!” Then he proceeds to explain what he is praising Him for.

Just in verses 3-5 we see a list of things! “He forgives all my sins, heals all my diseases, redeems me from death. He crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things, and my youth is renewed like the eagle’s.“ (If you want a more fun approach to this passage, look it up in the Message!)

How often when we wake up in the morning do we start our day off with, “Lord, I will bless you today because YOU are awesome!”? I would venture to guess most of us begin to look at what we have going on that day, or remember what we’ve been dealing with for awhile and begin to focus on the issues and problems we are facing wondering how we are going to handle them. Maybe you or someone you know is dealing with a sickness, a rebellious child, a job loss, an estranged relationship with a friend, a recent death of a loved one, the list goes on.

I recall the life of David. He dealt with a lot of awful things in his life, yet he still was able to “rise up early in the morning” and declare the awesomeness and holiness of God!

I had the privilege of growing up under one of the wisest men I knew. He’s a great minister, singer, author, songwriter, and he is my dad. Recently he said something that I thought was very powerful.

“ Most of us start to count our troubles and add them up like a math equation. Instead we should be counting our blessings – naming them one by one.”

David gave us a great example to follow! If you’re having trouble finding something to give God praise for, I would encourage you to flip through the book of Psalms for starters. Some of those writers walked through difficult times, but there was still something they could find to give God praise for! For some, you might only be able to say, “Thank you, Lord for waking me up this morning,” or “Thank you, Lord there is food in my cupboard today.” For others, you might be saying, “Thank you, Lord for a restored marriage,” or “Thanks, God for bringing my kids into a relationship with you!”

Find your quiet spot today and begin your time with the Lord, by saying “God, You are awesome! And here is why…..” He is a holy God and worthy of our praise! Then, check your thoughts and attitude afterwards. I’m absolutely positive you’ll see a difference!

Kayla Atkins

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When We Pray

Bits & Pieces, Devotions, Prayer Points

Feb 232012

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. ~ James 5:16

I have struggled with the second part of this verse at times in my life. “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective..” In the past I have attributed answered prayer to “who” is praying… if I really need prayer answered I’ll ask “so-and-so” and I’ll see answered prayer. Maybe you’ve felt this way before too. The Lord took me through a couple life-lessons on Prayer to show me what prayer is really about.

You’ve heard me share about my Dad. It was May 2009, I just arrived home from speaking at a PWOC Retreat in Ft Belvour… as soon as the plane landed, my next stop was the hospital. My spirit was so full of all the amazing things God did during the Retreat… I don’t know if I had a bigger measure of Faith in my life. I prayed like I had never prayed before for healing for my father… yet, 2 weeks later my Dad died. I was disappointed and confused… what about this verse? how much faith do I muster up to see a miracle, Lord?

About a month later I had another opportunity for prayer. To be honest… I stopped praying for awhile. I had nothing to say. A dear friend called from the hospital… she was in the middle of labor. It had been a long, tiresome, painful day and she finally asked for an epidural… only to have it done incorrectly which meant the pain reliever was NOT working and she was only 3 cm dilated. I couldn’t ignore the desperation in her voice… “Kristina, will you pray with me?” Oh no… should I tell her my prayers are out-of-order right now!?? What do I do? Okay… I’ll read Psalms to her. So I began to read a Psalm to comfort her and remind her that God is our HELP in time of need. I began to pray to the Lord for my dear friend. Honestly, I didn’t really think He would do it… after 20 minutes of praying… we hung up. I went to bed worrying for my dear friend. She called me the next day to tell me as soon as we hung up the phone she had a HUGE urge to push. The nurse didn’t believe it could be possible, so they weren’t in a hurry… again she wanted to push. During our 20 minute prayer… God caused her to dilate from 3 cm to 10 cm. And indeed… it was time to push! Her sweet little girl was born shortly after our prayer. God did a miracle…. despite my lack of faith. It was GOD… it is the LORD who causes all things to happen according to His ways and His purposes.

That was a huge lesson in prayer for me… it freed me up to TRUST that the LORD will accomplish His purposes despite my meager or great faith. HE is the one who acts for the BEST in the situation. I need to ASK and He will be faithful to answer the prayer according to His will. Don’t let the enemy lie to you and tell you that your prayers are not “good-enough”…. it isn’t about you… it’s about GOD who is GREAT ENOUGH… POWERFUL enough… and ABLE to do all things. You may or may not get the answer you are looking for… but you can be sure that your God is Faithful, and answers you according to what’s best. His ways are higher than our ways… so we may not always understand.

Speaking of the prayer of a “righteous man”… you have heard the verse, “The righteous will live by faith.” Habakkuk 2:4. The word “faith” is a word in Hebrew ‘emuwnah (Strongs H530). It might be better translated as firmness, steadfastness, steadiness, faithfulness. It is the same word used in Exodus 17:12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up–one on one side, one on the other–so that his hands remained steady till sunset. or Isaiah 33:6 ~ He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure. or Deuteronomy 32:4 ~ He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.

With that in mind… a better translation for Hab 2:4 would be, “the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.“ Not simply in their own FAITH… but Faith that is rooted, and firmly established on the LORD. The word for salvation in the verse above (Isaiah 33:6) is yĕshuw`ah. Yeshua… Jesus, our Savior… He will be our sure foundation for our times… good or bad… He is a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge in all situations. We can trust that our prayers and circumstances are being handled by the One who holds all things together and knows what is best.

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints– the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.~ Colossians 1 :3-6

Kristina Estep

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The Idol of…Sleep?

Bits & Pieces, Life Happens

Feb 122012

⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 New International Version 1984 (NIV1984):

Have you ever considered sleep an idol? I hadn’t until recently, but I realize I regularly count the number of hours I get per night, and tend to resent anything (husband, children, stage of life) that subtracts from my “perfect” number. I am also tempted to become cranky and irritable when I don’t get “enough sleep” and often justify my reactions, rather than labeling them as sin.

No matter how subtle or respectable a particular sin may be, it needs to be confessed, and repentance – a turning away – needs to take place. Often I need to apologize to those I have mistreated as well.

We’re told in the book of James that God has a limitless supply of wisdom for those who ask, so I will be asking God for a new strategy to deal with sleepless nights, trusting that His power will be made perfect in my weakness.

By Andrea Plotner

Asst. to the President, PWOCI

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Older Entries

PWOC International Blog

The Suspects, Prospects and Clients Around Us

Three Steps to Getting Rid of My Inner Wimp

Sanity in a Three-Ring Binder…Priceless!

PCS Anyone?

What If All We Have Is Bread?

“I Am Worn Out”

God Is Moving In Japan

God, You Are Awesome!

When We Pray

The Idol of…Sleep?

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