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GraceTouch
Facilitating global impact
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Sometimes it's hard to believe that our lives are significant. Yet in every season, God values and continues to mold us. He wants to give us a hope and a future!
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Journey to Significance
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by Sharon MacMillan
"God is sovereign and his kingdom advances in his own ways. But we are significant, and while we do not always know the ways that God is using us, it is our part in the partnership that we must pursue with energy, humility-and trust."
- Os Guinness in
Renaissance
Do you believe your life has great significance? Personally, I certainly never imagined that God would plan for me, a wounded woman paralyzed by fears and insecurities, to be used in significant ways for His purpose.
When I was growing up, my mom provided great stories about missionaries who were called to live in very different places than mine. I envisioned myself living in Africa like Isobel Kuhns, eating monkey-eyeball soup, traipsing through the hot, humid jungle. But the vision stopped there. I was paralyzed with fears, inadequacies, insecurities and false humility. I worked so hard to try to please God by doing all the right things! The only fruit that I produced was exhaustion and disillusionment.
As a music student at UCSB who was, quite frankly, tired of trying to be spiritual, I experimented with the world's ways. I enjoyed my newfound freedom, disconnecting from my parents, doing things they never would have condoned.
I seemed to be getting away with my new choices. That is, until one dark, quiet night when a troubled young man broke into my off-campus apartment and crept into my bedroom. He then woke me up to attack me, telling me he had a knife. I froze in terror. Oddly enough, I remember telling him that Jesus loved him. ( continue)
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| Prayer Watch |
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 It's here-and you can be a part of it! We have an historic opportunity for the entire global Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches to unite in prayer for our future. This fall representatives from the countries that have Grace Brethren Churches are gathering in Bangkok, Thailand, to discuss the common identity that unifies us as a movement. We are seeking to have every minute of the time they are together covered in prayer. Our brothers and sisters around the globe will also be signing up to pray. Liz Cutler Gates, Executive Director of GraceConnect, will be in Bangkok providing a list of specifics for how to pray as the meetings progress. We can start right now praying for the details of travel for the representatives: getting visas, health, safety for their family at home, etc. Go to Time to Sign Up to select a 15-minute slot to pray for these important meetings.
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| Cameroon Opportunity
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"I wish I had more training." That is the perspective of many women who married pastors, never realizing how much they would be called on to minister alongside their husbands. This is a challenge no matter what culture you're in. So as the plan to train pastors in the Cameroon developed, Karen Foster and Jacquie Jensen initiated training for the wives of the students, too. This will greatly increase the effectiveness of the couples. It will cost about $3000 a year to train the 25 wives for the next four years. If you would like to help them meet their goal, you can send your gift to Women of Grace USA marked "Cameroon Leadership Training for wives."
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| It's Me Again with Pat Ashcraft |
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Yep, it's me again. Have you noticed that every month I have a small article "asking" you to support Women of Grace USA (WGUSA)? It really is my privilege to ask you as I am excited about what WGUSA has to offer. I would love to tell you that we have so many people supporting this ministry that we don't need anyone else. But that wouldn't be true. We need more support to continue what we are doing for women's groups, leadership training and support of mission. But even more importantly, we need support because there is more to be done. We are excited about the churches hosting Women's Leadership Studies in the months ahead. Yet there are areas of the country we haven't even begun to go with these Leadership studies. In other words, we have much more to do. So please click here and see how you can be a part of this ministry to women.
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| Musings for Moms |
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As the leaves here in Georgia change color around me, I am constantly reminded of these Bible verses in Ecclesiastes 3:
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace." What season are you in? I am almost ready to be in a "new baby" season, four weeks from today. As I prepare to be a mom for the third time, I have a lot of different emotions going through me. I am excited to bring a new little life into this world and nervous about all the "baby" changes that are on the horizon. It is a new season. I have been struggling lately with the "season" that I am in with the ministry God has given me. continue reading
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| The Prayer Dare, by Ron Kincaid |
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"I dare you to enter into a deeper relationship with God through prayer." Author Ron Kincaid issues this challenge in the opening pages of The Prayer Dare: Take the Challenge that Will Transform Your Relationship with God. He issues this challenge as a committed pray-er and one whose 30-year journal records over 40,000 answers to specific requests.
In similar fashion to The Love Dare, Kincaid leads the reader through 40 daily challenges to deepen her relationship with God. Each challenge includes a key scripture on prayer, a real-life experience involving prayer, a prayer dare, and space to answer questions related to the dare. The personal examples are shared with honesty and are easy to identify with. The dares are pointed and build upon one another.
At first, I was concerned that this book might offer another "magical formula" for getting what we want from God. (read more)
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| Mark your Calendar |
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Revive '15: Women Teaching Women, September 25-26 Info
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| An Invitation to Stand Firm |
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Standing firm is easy until your ground shakes. The current issue of Women's Spectrum magazine invites us into the worlds of individuals who have discovered what it means to Stand Firm in the faith. Be encouraged as they share the truths of what it means to stand firm in Jesus even when the world around them is uneasy. Hear the stories of missionaries who have made it their calling to speak up even when it gets difficult, and explore how you can stand with them from your own situation. As you read the stories, you will rejoice at the reminder that we were never meant to stand firm alone. Click here to find out how to order your copy of the Women's Spectrum.
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| Answering the Call |
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The world around us is changing, and our awareness of the challenges to stand firm as believers in Christ is increasing. This year at Women of Grace USA we will be exploring the call to "Stand Firm." A Bible study to help guide us in this theme is available for download as a pdf that can be printed and distributed to your study groups. The twelve-lesson study, appropriately titled "Stand Firm," will leave you with a triumphant perspective on the dynamics of standing firm in all circumstances. Click here to order.
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| Shop Amazon Smile |
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Do you shop on Amazon.com? You can select Women of Grace USA as your charitable organization and we'll receive a portion of your purchase total as a donation. Simply click here to sign up and be sure to use smile.amazon.com when you shop.
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| What's going on? |
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with Women of Grace USA
Check our Facebook page to see some of what God's been doing among women through Women of Grace USA.
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| Help a friend |
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If you enjoy GraceTouch, why not share it with your friends? It's as easy as clicking Forward email at the bottom of this page, or forwarding it through your email program. And it's free! |
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