Are you Gifted?

Here at Stella's house the women of Bethany community of hope meet every Monday for a Bible study. I want to talk to you about what we've been studying and learning about in that Monday bible study. 

We've been studying about spiritual gifts. We started by taking a spiritual gifts test to find out what gifts we each have. I think most of us entered into this Bible study thinking that we were going to learn about the gifts that we have and how to use them. I for one have learned so much more. So much more that I can already tell what I originally intended to be one post will probably turn into a series. 

 The leader of our bible study researches, studies God's word, and prays about each gift individually. She never tells us which one will be coming up next. Each week we are surprised by the beauty, strength, and uniqueness that God has placed in each of us through these gifts. 

I don't know about you, but before when I thought about spiritual gifts I thought that if I had a certain gift it would tell me that I was supposed to work in the nursery or on the greeting team or teach a class. Our gifts can give us insight into areas of ministry where we can serve God in our church and community, but I have learned that they can mean so much more. 

First, the use of your spiritual gift must be Holy Spirit led. What that means to me is that truly the person doing the work is not me. It's the Holy Spirit. I am simply the vessel. A broken vessel though I am, the Holy Spirit can work through me. I want to share with you how I experience this. 

When I sit down to write I begin by praying and asking God to fill me with His Holy Spirit. I ask Him to tell me me what He wants to say. When I am faithful to do that the words pour out. I have very little re-structuring or correcting of the writing that I have done. 

There are times that I neglect to ask the Holy Spirit to work through me. I sometimes have an idea for this blog that I think is great, clever, and I really want to talk about it. Those posts have not been posted here because they are never successful. The writing is disjointed or confusing or it just falls flat. There may be a witty phrase or two. The subject may be good and worthy. God may have something to say about it, but if I didn't ask Him, then I don't hear what He has to say about it. If I don't invite Him to be a part of that project or to empower me with His spirit, then He doesn't empower my gift. I am then working under my own power. I may have the natural talent that God has given me, but without the power of His Holy Spirit I will not be successful in pointing to Him, articulating His purpose, or building His kingdom. My words are simply that, words without His deeper meaning. 

Yep I was right, the Holy Spirit has so much more to say about our spiritual gifts. We've only touched on one bullet point in my notes about what God has shown me about the gifts He gives us, and we are only about half way through our bible study on spiritual gifts. 

What are the spiritual gifts God has given you? Are you communicating with the Holy Spirit to use your gift for God's glory or are you relying on your own power to accomplish tasks. 

Love in Christ, 

Amanda

Transition - Part 2

Transition Part 2

Sherry Poe

Transition is the act of moving from one place to another and is certainly the buzz word for today as our old administration is transitioning out of power and a new administration has formed a team to transition into their place in government.  Whether you like the way it happened or not, this has been our form of government since after the Revolutionary War.  George Washington was offered a lifetime appointment but he declined, recognizing the danger of absolute power—because “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  Our lives are actually a series of transitions from one life stage to another:  infancy, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, adulthood, middle age, old age, death.  It will happen whether we are ready for it or not.  Psychologists have determined that how well we accomplished the goals of one stage affects the success of navigating through the next stage.  God is eternal so He has never moved through the stages of life, but because Jesus came as a baby, He did move through the same stages as other humans, although His life here was over at 33.  His wisdom is eternal for us and we find answers to our questions in His word.  He finished His work.

As we received our first resident at Stella’s House this fall, we realized we were in transition also and it was a time of stretching and calling us out of our comfort zone into a new and exciting dimension.  We are daily challenged to hear God’s call and directions for guidance, both for ourselves as volunteers, and for assisting our resident on her journey.  Two things became evident quickly:  As a wise woman told me, “She must find her own way.”  Then I heard, “You are here to learn how to take care of yourself, because we cannot do that for you.”  Both of those statements are empowering for our resident and freeing to us as we don’t assume false responsibility for her journey.

God has been bringing new folks to join us on the journey of discovery as we follow His word and obey His voice.  Our transition team is a powerful testimony of the love of God to these women who are hurting from the lifestyles that have held them in bondage for way too long.  We are all unique in our giftings and each is important to form the Body of Christ that leads and guides our residents on a gentle journey of recovery and transformation. 

Do you have a group with whom you are transitioning through life?  If not, reach out, test the waters, allow the Spirit of God to guide you to people who are not afraid to share their own vulnerabilities.  Our generation of sojourners desire authentic people—real life people who are looking for answers from the One who journeys with them.  Be that person to someone.

A Special Thanks To Our Donors

A Special Thanks To Our Donors

 

 

Ruts in the Road or Victory in Christ?

Photo borrowed from schoolontheroad.wordpress

On our family vacation last year, we visited a site where we could view a portion of the Oregon trail. When it was used, the trail was over 2000 miles long,  traveled by approximately 400,000 settlers who traveled west over the course of two decades to settle along the Pacific coast. 

Portions of the Oregon trail can still be seen over a century later.  The ruts were so packed that in places they cut feet into the rock, and still in some places no vegetation grows in the ruts where the trail travels across prairies. 

I was reminded of the experience of seeing the ruts of the Oregon trail during a discussion at a Bible study one day. One of the ladies made the comment that sin is like ruts in a road. Sin, shame and bad habits wear ruts on our minds and our hearts like those wagon wheels wore ruts on the land. Those ruts can leave marks on our minds and our hearts for sometimes a very long time. Like wheels that get stuck in the ruts in a road we can get stuck in those lies and patterns of thinking. 

When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, at that moment, God removes the curse of sin from our lives. We are free in an instant!  While we are free from sin, the process of becoming like Christ is a journey that we're on the rest of our days on Earth, and the ruts of our sin can continue to wear on us. 

In my own journey I've learned that acceptance and understanding of my eternal home in Heaven was easy. The lessons I've learned along my journey to becoming more like Christ have been a little more difficult. Some lessons have been gradual, gentle, and I've learned them in increments. Some lessons have been an epiphany. Then there were those other dreaded lessons that bowled me over. Unfortunately, I've had to learn a few of those more than once. 

With each lesson learned and each step along the path of spiritual growth, my ruts have shrunk or disappeared. If sin creeps back in or if I allow the enemy to remind me of regret and shame the ruts start to wear again.  However, when I take every thought captive. When I remember that God has given me the mind of Christ and power over sin I don't have to let the ruts of sin, shame and bad habits direct my path. I can walk in freedom and victory in Christ.  

TRANSITION
Webster’s Dictionary:  passage from one state, stage, subject, or place to another, a movement, development, or evolution from one form, stage, or style to another
Who doesn’t want change?  Only problem is we don’t usually want to change.  We left Bethany House, our ministry home for the past six years, and moved to a “modern” and much smaller home we call, Stella’s House.  Our leaving was two-fold: our host for the past six years, the Episcopal Church of the Messiah, decided to utilize the former rectory, our Bethany House, as an office; secondly our new 501c3 group, Bethany Community of Hope desired a home for women to heal and transition from a life of addiction or abuse to a life of wholeness and purpose.  We wanted to leave, but we didn’t want to leave.  Does that make sense?  So, as the deadline for us having to move grew closer we were pressed into action.  It was almost a relief—I mean our choices were narrowed down for us. I think in major life transitions, this happens often as we think we are in control of the transition only to find outside circumstances seem to press into our comfort zone, requiring us to take action.  And usually it is before we are entirely “ready”. 
You know this is exactly what happened to the nation of Israel as they were pressed into leaving their “predictable life” of generational slavery and move into a vast unknown destination.  They had no frame of reference for what took place from the first time Moses spoke to the leaders about their upcoming exodus from Egypt and their actual departure. God’s supernatural chain of events in the form of plagues forced them into looking at God in an entirely new way. He was actually intervening in their lives.  And then when they were told to pack up and get ready to leave after the first Passover they must have felt it all very surreal.  What would it be like to leave Egypt?  Generation after generation after generation were born, lived, and died there.  What would it be like to go on a journey with a cloud by day and a fire by night?  From where would their food, water, and shelter come?  How would they live out their lives?  Would the transition be good or bad?  What were they to learn from their experience in the desert?  How would it change their lives?
Change and transition have been around since the beginning of time.  It is part and parcel of the human condition.  But, does it make it any easier?  Does it affect us each in a different way?  Can we prevent change from happening? Does God expect us to change? No, Yes, No! Yes!
God does expect change—it is called repentance.  We stop what we are doing, turn and go another direction.  We stop agreeing with sin and begin agreeing with God’s Word.  We receive a new birth; we become a new creature in Christ.  Acts 3:19 says “So you must change your hearts and lives.  Come back to God, and he will forgive your sins.”
No, we don’t know everything about our new direction through transition, but we take a step of faith and move forward with the assurance that God will never leave us or forsake us.  At Stella’s House, women will have an opportunity to move into a new dimension of living away from addictions or abusive lifestyles.  Will it be easy? Probably not.  Will there be problems too big to handle?  Probably so.  Will there be events along the way that will catch them off guard?  Yes. Will you have all the answers?  Probably not, but you will be pointed to the One who does.  As with the nation of Israel, this is not a journey to take alone.  There are others who are also on a journey, transitioning and maturing through life, or as the Bible says, “going from glory to glory”.  Let us embrace our journey and the changes along the way.  Let us help our sisters when they fall.  Let us love each other during the uncertainties we face.  Let us point each other to God and learn of His great love for us all.  Happy trails……

Sherry Poe

Moving Day...

Bethany Women of Hope have moved from our beloved Bethany House to our new location:  Stella’s House of Hope, our transition home for women.  Thanks to Casie and David Ehrig and their “home group” of movers and shakers.

God is Speaking. Do You Hear Him?

 

God is speaking. Do you hear Him?

A goal of this blog is to inspire and encourage you in your relationship with Christ. Today I want to share with you one of the ways God catches my attention and encourages me.
God speaks to us and touches our hearts in many different ways. It may be through something we read, something that someone else says, or undoubtedly scripture. Music is often a way that God speaks to me and inspires my walk with Christ.
I may have listened to a particular song hundreds of times. I might know the words from memory, and one day God will sort of highlight the words for me. He will reveal a deeper meaning to me, or show me how the song relates to a specific situation in my life. This new revelation that He gives me is usually encouraging and often helps me think through something that I’ve been wrestling with. I’m not saying the words of the song give me the answer. It’s more that the words that God has pointed out to me help me to see the problem or situation from a different perspective.
Recently God pointed a song out to me. This time it wasn’t to help me answer a question or work through a situation. It was simply to tell me that He loved me. The song was “Sons and Daughters” by Brett Stanfield. We sing this song regularly at our church, and I really enjoy when we sing this as part of our worship. This day as the music began I glanced at the words on the screen and the words held me in a trance. Instead of joining in with the singing as usual I found myself just reading the words, and I felt God speak to me in my heart. “You are my daughter, Amanda. Look at what I have done for you.”
This is not new knowledge for me, but it is something that I have been internalizing over the past year and a half. I’ve had the head knowledge that I am a child of God, but it has not truly been a part of my identity until the past few years. God provided encouragement and a little gift for me that day through that song.
Here are the words for you, and I pray that you will hear God speaking to you today.
Sons & Daughters
by Brett Stanfill
Before He spoke creation God of heaven knew our name
Formed in His reflection we are His glory on display
His heart is good
He is always kind
With the cross He proved
He is on our side
We are the sons, we are the daughters of God
no matter where we go we’re close to the Father’s heart
And though we stumble He will not let us fall
We are the Lord’s & He will never forsake His own
We are the sons, we are the daughters of God
His love He lavished on us & called us children of the King
In His loving kindness He chose the lowly & the weak
His heart is good
He is always kind
With the cross He proved
He is on our side
We are the sons, we are the daughters of God
no matter where we go we’re close to the Father’s heart
And though we stumble He will not let us fall
We are the Lord’s & He will never forsake His own
We are the sons, we are the daughters of God
And when the lies speak louder than the truth
Remind me that I belong to You
And when I can’t see past the dark of night
Remind me You’re always by my side
We are the sons, we are the daughters of God
No matter where we go we’re close to the Father’s heart
And though we stumble He will not let us fall
We are the Lord’s & He will never forsake His own
We are the sons, we are the daughters of God
How does God speak to you? Are there any songs that God has used to touch your heart?

Your sister in Christ,

Amanda