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Worship and Expectations

Jan 292012

God has recently been teaching me not to worship my expectations, but to worship Him in the midst of the circumstances He allows. I first realized this while reading How People Change by Paul David Tripp, but am trying to move to the place of full surrender in this area. When I let go of my expectations, then I’m not so easily tempted to be frustrated, hurt, anxious or angry.

Another helpful book I’m reading along these lines is Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges – full of great reminders about the good news of the gospel for maturing believers in Christ.

Andrea Plotner, Asst. to the President PWOC International

Are you for us or for our enemies?

Devotions

Aug 292011

^“13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

¹⁴ “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”

¹⁵ The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.”

Joshua 5:13-15

Joshua is my all-time favorite Old Testament hero. He was a soldier and he knew how to take orders and he never questioned those orders (kinda like our husbands right?) As the Israelites approached Jericho, they were tired and covered with 40 years of desert dust. They had just celebrated the crossing of the Jordan and readied themselves to celebrate the Passover feast. That Passover was very special because “The manna stopped the day afterthey ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.” (Joshua 5:12) I am sure that the Israelites had mixed feelings about the stop in manna production. It probably did not taste like fine French cuisine but it represented a daily reminder of God’s provision for them. But on that day the manna stopped.

I also wonder how Joshua felt that day. He had led the armies in battle while Moses was in command and became Moses’ replacement (see Deuteronomy 31:1-8). So far so good. Joshua successfully led them into the promise land and crossed the Jordan river. Now they were facing Jericho. Jericho was going to be a decisive battle in the conquest of Canaan.

Are you for us or for our enemies? Neither. Don’t you love the response? Neither. God is not here to support our plans or our enemies’ plans. He is here to fulfill His plans. Regardless of how good my or your plan may seem, God’s plan will always prevail in the end. Joshua knew that and responded by asking, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” What a beautiful image of worship that is. Joshua was about to face the battle of a lifetime but he is aware that his own plans are futile if they do not line up with the LORD’s plans. He doesn’t ask, “please grant me and your people victory” or “please make my sword sharper” or even “please turn my men into invisible ninjas”. No, he falls facedown in worship and asks, “What message does my Lord have for me?”

Shouldn’t we do the same? Instead of forcing our plans and wishes on God by praying for Him to bless them, shouldn’t we ask about His plans and how we can be part of it today? When you and I do this, I guarantee you that we will be successful and that our prayers will be answered every time.

What message does my Lord have for me?

Submitted by Muriel Gregory

Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord

regional review, Testimonies

Nov 092010

MAKE a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.

~Psalm 100

This is one of my favorite psalms in Scripture. In fact, I love it so much, my husband and I included it in our wedding.

This psalm speaks of worship—making joyful shouts, singing happy songs and serving God with gladness. In short, there are times to worship the Lord with expression. The next part speaks of WHY we worship; because He is worthy. He is God and he made us.

As I sit writing these thoughts, we are just days away from gathering in Dallas for our International Conference. I keep imagining our praise and worship time when more than 1,300 of us raise our voices together to praise the Lord.

Conference is certainly about learning more about how to minister to our military community. It is also about fellowship with old friends and making new ones. It will be a time of refreshing and deep spiritual growth.

As we approach the conference, anticipating all the weekend holds for us, we need to remember the most important thing; we participate in PWOC because we want to grow closer to the Lord. We do what we do because of the great sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for us. He is the reason we want to learn more. He is the reason we have fellowship. He refreshes us and causes us to grow.

So, soak in all that conference has to offer and worship with joy during our praise and worship time. He is worthy of our praise and He will be greatly blessed by our corporate worship. I am imagining that praise and worship time might just be a little taste of what Heaven will be like…

Presidents Farewell

Leadership Development, Leadership Wednesday, President's Pen

Nov 032010

Dear Beloved of God,

In my final letter to you as PWOC International president, please allow me the opportunity to express my heart to you one last time.

In this role, I have seen God’s hand move in incredible ways within PWOC. Throughout this journey, my desire has been to help us connect deeply with the heart of God and communicate our need to return to our first love, Jesus Christ, so that we could be free to fulfill His plan for our lives. As I have spoken with many of you through emails, Facebook and at many PWOC events, I sensed that as a group of women, we are desiring more than just a religious experience inside four walls, we are desiring a true and deeper relationship with our Lord. Perhaps it is due to the pressure of the almost ten years our nation has been fighting the war against terrorism. Whatever the reason, God knows the season we are in and will work it together for our good and His kingdom purposes.

Over these past four years, I have had the honor to work with two incredible international boards. I appreciate them so much for waiting on the Lord with me, for being passionate about hearing from the Lord in His assignment for us and for their willingness to go the distance needed in order to accomplish God’s vision for His ministry. As I have told them before, I love hanging out under their “fruit trees”. I have learned so much from each of them.

I would like to thank the following people for blessing me with their support in this term of office: first, our official PWOC sponsor, US Army Chief of Chaplains, Chaplain Carver for his support of PWOC. Your example of being a worship “warrior” and having a heart like King David has encouraged me and has caused me to press in deeper with our Lord; Chaplain Puchy for being our PWOCI Chaplain through the thick and thin. Your spiritual leadership encouraged each of us. You are a vision caster, who has a true pastor’s heart. The PWOCI Executive Board: Lucia, Cinky and Melinda, you three are incredible women of God! It has been an honor to be a part of this team with each of you. We have seen the Lord weave His message of love for all of us in such amazing ways. You have helped connect our hearts to those who know little to nothing about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, much less the ministry of PWOC. Thank you for your support. I will never forget our times of prayer in seeking God’s face for the ministry and the work we did together. “Align, Arise & Shine” was truly a God breathed vision for the work our board would do together.

To the PWOC International Board (aka the Glory Train ministry team), each of you helped put His vision for us into motion. It has been a great adventure and I believe we have all been stretched in our gifts, relationships and callings while on this board. But more than that, I believe we have become God’s beautiful harmonious symphony sound that I have spoken about. You have heard His sound and are singing His song. It’s simply beautiful!

To the PWOCI Titus II Advisors, Becky Shirey and Rhonda Mixon and our prayer coordinator, Dawn Kennedy, you three have been instrumental in helping me through the thick and thin. You are true prayer warriors and advisors who walk in the love and wisdom of God. Thank you for holding me accountable, teaching me so much and holding up my arms. I loved strategizing with each of you and processing the revelation and wisdom of God for this ministry.

Thank you to our eight regional presidents and boards and Europe’s area boards who have been our feet on the ground, connecting with our beautiful local PWOC women. You have each been instrumental in pushing out the vision of PWOC International. I love how you each have connected with one another as well. Keep up the great work. I know you will be a wonderful help and blessing to our new PWOC International president this upcoming year.

A special thank you to Dutch Sheets, Lee Grady, Cheryl Wright, Chaplain Doug Castle, Chaplain (Ret.) Lou Shirey and Valerie Bixler who have personally come to help equip and teach the PWOC International Board more things about the power of prayer, our intimacy with the Lord, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the presence of God, the fundamentals of understanding forgiveness and trusting God, all of which are crucial teachings in this season we are in. Also, thank you to Dustin Britt, Blake Howard, the team at Matchstic and Jennifer Cook for their help in providing our refreshed graphic look and helping us to communicate who we are. I would work with all of you again any time. Thank you again to Jennifer Cook and Jodie Brickson for your help with our PWOCI themes. God has gifted you both with incredible creativity and talent. I would like to thank Erin Nonaka for managing our PWOCI blog, which posts daily words of encouragement for our women. And Shellie Kelly for the many hours she worked with us from the Army Chief of Chaplains office. And speaking of the Army Chief of Chaplains Office, everyone who worked with us, Chaplain Robinson, Chaplain Warden, Chaplain Lees, Nina Joyner and many others, we couldn’t have done all that we do without you. All these amazing people and many more have blessed the ministry of PWOC in so many ways. May the work of your hands produce a harvest of much fruit in years to come.

Thank you to each of my personal prayer intercessors, those I knew and those I didn’t. Each of you served as a crucial part of my ministry team. Thank you for praying for my family and I over these past four years. I knew you were praying. Any additional prayers you want to send on our behalf as I transition into my new role would be equally appreciated.

Thank you PWOC women for the many ways you bless our chaplains, our chapel communities and the many women within PWOC. I know that this ministry will continue to take the love and good news of Jesus Christ to many more people than it does now. It is His desire that we fulfill His great commission.

I want to thank my family for all their prayers, sacrifice and support. I love each of you so much. To my wonderful husband, David, who is truly my treasured gift from God, thank you! You are the love of my life and my knight in shining armor. Thank you for the many ways you have blessed the women of PWOC by praying with me for them. Thank you for always listening and encouraging me along the way. I could not have done this without you. May the Lord bless you for your great sacrifice in this season of our lives.

And to my Lord, Jesus Christ, I love you more than I ever thought humanly possible. You have given me the greatest treasure of all, a heart that is free to love You, to dance with You, to sing to You and to share that love with Your people. Oh, how you have rend my heart for You. May your sons and daughters be open and unhindered in allowing You to do the same for them, for if they do, I know they will not be disappointed.

Thank you for the honor and blessing of being able to serve you as the PWOC International president these past four years. May the Lord call each of you into a deeper relationship with Him. You can never exhaust the depths of His love for you.

“…Arise My Darling, My beautiful one and come with Me”. Song of Songs 2:10, 14 NIV

To God Alone Be All the Glory

Intimacy on the Run?

regional review, Testimonies

Nov 022010

Submitted by De’Etta Goecker

The greatest command is to love God wholeheartedly. Intimacy with God is my life’s priority, before serving His bride. The Gospels inform us the second commandment is “like the first,” – “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This is where acts of service, leadership and volunteering in PWOCI enter into my relationship with Christ. Service and love of others flow from intimacy with Christ. This command is important, it is “like the first,” but it is clearly SECOND.

It is vital that I keep first things first. I am not primarily “Asia Region’s President.” I am foremost a lover of God. The “secret place,” the “garden tryst,” the “tent of meeting,” must be central in my life. I cannot create intimacy on the run.

Yes, I can worship while I drive or workout at the gym…but if the totality of my intimacy with God is “on the run,” intimacy will wither. My relationship with Jesus will lack depth.

I once found myself in a season where I consistently treated my garden tryst with Jesus as a visit to the gas station. I filled up when the gauge was on empty. Not because I loved being at the gas station, but so I could get to what I really loved – the adventure of a road trip. I found myself, coming to Him in prayer and worship, to be filled up so I could pursue my first love, the adventure of serving the bride.

Jesus asks, “Am I your first love or is ministry your first love?”

“Am I your lover or your ministry partner?”

“Forgive me. You are the lover of my soul. You are my heart. Forgive me for the times when I try to exist with intimacy on the run. May I always love You more than Your precious bride.”

I am changed. I set the table with the bread and wine of His presence; I slow down, pull away and make a conscious choice to commune with Him. I settle in for private worship, study and simple silence in His presence… Intimacy is love enjoyed….to BE with Jesus, hear His heart and long for Him. The response of the heart of God is lavishly explosive when I set my heart to love Him above all else.

He invites us to a place of intimacy in the midst of our serving. Will you join Him? My prayer is that each of us pursues HIM above all else. He calls us first and foremost to love Him.

When Someone Else Writes Your Song

Leadership Development, Testimonies

Oct 272010

I love music. I love to listen to music and sing music. I love praise and worship and anything that focuses my thoughts and heart motives on Christ. I have many favorites; they draw me closer to our Savior and Creator. They fill my heart with His love.

But with this song, it’s like someone else saw deep into my soul and wrote what I wanted to but didn’t. It’s by a group called downhere. I saw them in June of 2008 at Stone Mountain Park while attending AtlantaFest, and while struggling with something for a while (putting my name in for leadership selection for this board position), they sang a song that was like God saying, “Go For It.”

Have you ever had a life verse from Scripture or some kind of motto in your life that was more prominent than others? For most of my life, mine has been from the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah. I learned this verse when I was a young girl attending church and missions conferences, always in reference to giving our lives over to God and His work in the world.

The song includes some of these lyrics….

You reach for the deepest hope in me
And call out for the things of eternity.

That’s what God was doing. He had to dig deep into my relationship with Him to pull out something eternal. He was calling me into a God-sized assignment, something I couldn’t do in the flesh, but that was promising to bless many and reap something big. For Him.

Here I am, Lord send me
All of my life, I make an offering
Here I am, Lord send me
Somehow my story is part of Your plan
Here I am

This has been the chorus of my life….that whatever He has given me would be able to be returned as an offering unto Him. That He would call me, that I would answer. That He would continue to write His Name on my heart. That I would continue to acknowledge His work in my life and in my service.

These broken parts you redeem
Become the song that I can sing

He took a mess of a heart and still is recreating it in the image of His Son. He is just that loving and forgiving! I love how He uses our natural talents, learned skills and spiritual gifts for His purposes. Are you seeing that this message is not just about me but also about you? Yes, you! YOU have so much to offer the Body of Christ, and I encourage you to listen to God’s song over you. What is He saying? How is He calling? Look for the confirmations of His calling in Scripture, in prayer, in conversations with trusted godly people, and just maybe, you’ll hear Him singing His song to you at an outdoor music festival. I did.

Thanks for the opportunity to serve you in the area of Communications for these two years. It’s been an incredibly sanctifying journey.

Somehow my story is part of His plan.

Love,

Melinda

“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 ESV

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The Communications – 3VP update is published on the fourth Wednesday of the month. For questions or comments please email communications@pwoc.org

Where is God Working

regional review

Sep 302010

Submitted by Leona Tatum, West Region President

Since becoming the West Region President, I see God constantly moving in our region. Early in my term I felt God moving me to look at the installations in which we currently had PWOC chapters and then to look and see where we were not.

As I began to do this God allowed me to see that there were still many installations that did not have PWOC chapters and in some cases when I would call to inquire, I was surprised when I would hear someone say that they had never heard of PWOC. I have to tell you in the beginning it was very overwhelming as I was trying to understand what God was doing.

Now, I have to say that my plan was to contact everyone and then start sending out information packets because I wanted others to know and experience the love that can be found when “Daughters of God” come together to worship, study, pray and cry. Yet, over the last few months I noticed that this has slowed down in a lot of ways. Times that I wanted to work on this I found myself having to do other things; and would not be able to move towards this goal, yet I knew that God was in the midst of this work. A wonderful thing that started happening during this time was that God divinely positioned women in some of the places in With every location God showed me , I thought it meant I needed to pursue it. However, then God would send someone to me that would be moving to that location.

I have to say that while there are many more locations to inquire about, I have learned in this season that when we allow God to show us where He is working, it doesn’t always mean that He needs us to DO anything. He just wants us to know that He is moving in His time and in His way. So, if you, like I, started this journey thinking of all the things you needed or wanted to get done, and felt that things were moving slow, please be encouraged. Know that God is working at His pace and in His way. He sometimes just wants to remind us that all we have to do is to be available to His leading.

The theme that God gave me for the West is Women Positioned for Prayer and I can truly see that as we pray God is adding not just installations but to those who love Him. God is truly raising up women that will “Shine In the Light of His Glory”.

______

The West region update is published on the fourth Thursday of every month. Submit comments or suggestions to: WestPresident@pwoc.org

A Beautiful Picture of God's Love

Local Limelight, Testimonies

Apr 072010

Submitted by Erin Nonaka, PWOC worship leader – Fort Bragg, NC

In the planning and preparation for our final PWOC meeting before Easter and Spring break, I was praying that the Lord would give me direction for our praise and worship time. For months as I prayed, the Lord gave me a vision of our women having the opportunity to lay their burdens at the cross and to find newness and freshness in Him. What a better time to do this than when we are preparing our hearts to celebrate the sacrifice God made through the gift of His Son. What a time to start fresh; to have a visual representation of new life through the Cross. WOW!

So as the music team and I prayed for this week, we prayed that the Lord would intentionally place every song, every word, every scripture, and every person that would be a part of this time we were to share together. And that is what He did!!

As the worship began, there was a large wooden cross in the front of the room. Each woman had a piece of paper on their chair as they sat down. I shared with the women that the papers were for them to write down anything they needed or wanted to give over to God. The women could take the pieces of paper and place them on the cross at anytime during the service. The time here was for us to do some business with God, so to speak; to get our hearts right before Him, to cleanse our hearts and our minds.

As our time together continued women came up one after another to place their papers and burdens on the cross. My heart was overwhelmed with how it created such a beautiful picture of the purpose of the cross for us. It opened our hearts in a fresh way, and His Spirit filled the room with such sweetness. The way that everything was orchestrated could not have happened without the divine hand of our loving Father. To have the treasure of leading, participating and watching God’s goodness that morning was a great honor and tremendous blessing.

My prayer was then and remains to be, that women’s hearts will continue to be transformed as we draw nearer to our unconditionally loving God who desires to call us His own.

Combining PowerPoint Slideshows

Tech Tuesday

Feb 232010

Does your local PWOC use PowerPoint for announcements or worship? Do you have multiple contributors to this process? If so, you’ll want to know how to combine slideshows. It’s super easy if you know the right steps to take.

Open all PowerPoint files that are to be combined and switch each file to the Slide Sorter View. You can do this by clicking the icon in the bottom left border of your window that looks like four squares or by choosing the View menu and selecting Slide Sorter View from the drop-down menu.
From the file that you want to collect slides from, Control+Click (Command+Click on a MAC) each of the files that you want to copy and choose the copy command from the File menu (or Control/Command+C).
Navigate to the file that you want to paste your slides to and choose the Paste command from the File menu (or Control/Command+V) to place them into your slideshow.

It’s that easy!

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

Prayer Points November 8-14

Prayer Points

Nov 112009

Hebrews 12:28

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is consuming fire.

Father, We are thankful for the unshakeable kingdom we are receiving. As the economy shakes, as the nations shake, as systems and rulers shake, God we gratefully turn to you in awe and reverence. Thank you that you are God and you do not change like the shifting shadows. (James 1:17) You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) We worship you for your goodness, your kindness, and your unchanging love. We worship you, Our Consuming Fire! Burn off the emotional baggage, the thought patterns, and the willfulness. We submit ourselves to you. We repent so that our sins may be blotted out and times of refreshing can come. (Acts 3:19) We welcome the holy fire of your love. We love you so much. In Jesus Name,

Amen

Older Entries

PWOC International Blog

Worship and Expectations

Are you for us or for our enemies?

Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord

Presidents Farewell

Intimacy on the Run?

When Someone Else Writes Your Song

Where is God Working

A Beautiful Picture of God's Love

Combining PowerPoint Slideshows

Prayer Points November 8-14

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