Category:Uncategorized

You Run Your Race, I’ll Run Mine

Written by Rachel Snyder Over the past few years, I’ve been working really hard at contentment. I can say I’m happy without a palatial estate, a closet full of shoes, and diamonds on every finger. I mean, those are the extremes, but I’m content with what I have and with getting rid of what I […]

Putting Off and Putting On: A Lenten Challenge

Written by Laura Acuña Thinking of giving something up for Lent? Consider a challenge: This year, instead of giving up a favorite food or TV and those kinds of things, consider giving up a behavior or attitude that does not reflect well on your identity as a follower of Christ.  Let’s “put off” anything that […]

Do You Want to Be a Big Girl?

Written by Laura Acuna. It was about eleven years ago that I came to the realization I was completely stuck in my walk with the Lord.  I had gone to church my entire life, spent countless hours in Bible studies, and attended many, many retreats and conferences.  I was even the Women’s Ministry leader in […]

Thankful for Leftovers

Written by Paulette Stamper I know that not everyone is a big fan of leftovers. Me? I’m a big fan. Knowing that I can rummage through the fridge and find something to eat instead of having to make something, well that’s a huge bonus. I’m already looking forward to the leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner. I […]

Cease Striving

Written by Laura Dingman   Make sure you read all the way to the bottom for info on how to enter an awesome give away!   I squeezed into the window seat struggling over strangers. This flight numbered seven in the course of five weeks. Not my normal. I yearn for quiet most. Serenity. Solitude. […]

Straight-up Crazy!

Make sure you read all the way to the bottom for info on how to enter the contest!   Written by Paulette Stamper.   The parting of the Red Sea. The walls of Jericho falling. Gideon changing from a big chicken into a mighty warrior. David taking on a giant with just a few small […]

A Broken Heart: When the Church Hurts You

Written by Laura Acuña.     “There is nothing quite like the pain of being hurt by the church.” This is what my new pastor acknowledged to me when I first visited him after leaving the church where my husband and I raised our boys and served for over fifteen years.  Boy, was he correct […]

Red Hot Faith Give-away!

With author and guest blogger Cindy Bultema. Hey Friend – Do you ever feel overwhelmed? Stressed out? Perhaps your heart is heavy, or you’re just plain tired. Me too. How I long for a faith life filled with purpose, passion, spark, and meaning— but truth be told —most days I feel caught up in the […]

God Asked

Written by Dene Nidiffer Since just over three years ago, God had been asking me, pushing me, and providing me with some opportunities for change in my life. And I knew He expected me to act on these! It didn’t come easy for me… I looked at these particular things at times as hard and […]

Don’t Freak Out

Written by Paulette Stamper I love it when I read a passage in Scripture and something I hadn’t thought of before pops out at me. This morning I was reading Luke 8:22-25.  It’s a very familiar passage. Jesus tells His disciples to hop in the boat so they can go over to the other side of […]

It’s Time to take a Risk Sweetheart

Written by Dene Nidiffer,   January 10th, 2014 marked my last day as a business owner after 22 years! It was a REALLLLLLLY big decision for me!  When I accepted ownership years ago, I thought I would always be a business owner until I retired, because that is just who I am… I am a […]

What Makes a Wise Man Wise?

Written by Amy Byrd. Matthew 2:1-12 Camels, a bright star, a long journey, gifts and three men have been labeled as the wise men of the Christmas story.  These men are a bit mysterious to me.  We really don’t know much about them except that they were from the East (maybe Babylon, Persia or Arabia) […]

Eclipsed by the Son

Written by Rachel Morgan. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us […]

Force of Evil

Written by Dene Nidiffer. I have been feeling particularly affected by the state of the world or at least my perception of it.  It feels like there is evil everywhere I turn!  I simply won’t listen to the “news” as it offers little to no good! In just the past few weeks alone, I learned […]

Friendships

Written by Paulette Stamper.   Will you allow me to share with you what God has been teaching me about friendships recently? God never intended for us to “go it alone.” We see God instituting the importance of relationship when He made Eve to be Adam’s companion. Don’t worry; I’m not going to give you […]

I didn’t Ask

Written by Dene Nidiffer. The intent when blogging is to prepare something positively inspiring, right? Unfortunately,  I am not feeling positively inspired today. I should, though, because I am sitting in Orlando on my second day of vacation at a beautiful resort, sipping Diet Coke and waiting on my plate of nachos to arrive.  My […]

Taste Testing

Written by Amy Byrd. Our taste buds are a tiny, yet terrific part of our body.  Think about it…you have a spoon that is a bit larger than your mouth which you use to scoop up a generous bite of warm, gooey hot fudge cake topped with vanilla ice cream which merges on your spoon […]

When life happens, which will you choose?

Written by Ann-Margaret McIntosh. I came in from work tonight ready to write this blog…and then life happened.  First, I got a notice in the mail that my payment for a speeding ticket wasn’t received and my license would be suspended in 10 days unless payment was sent in immediately.  I hurriedly got out my […]

It’s raining, it’s pouring!

Written by Paulette Stamper. I prayed what I believed to be a huge prayer about 8 years ago. What I didn’t know then, was that God’s answer was way bigger than my prayer.   I prayed God would surround me with women who were crazy in love with Jesus and craved His presence and activity […]

Found

Written by Laura Dingman. When my daughter was about a year old, I started playing peek-a-boo with her.  I would hide her face with a blanket and say, “Where is Abigail?”  After a few seconds of building anticipation, I would pull the blanket for the big reveal and say, “There she is!”  She would just […]

Dreaming

Written by Dene Nidiffer. Dreaming really big is something that I have not let myself do as much as I used to, and frankly, it saddens me.  My personal dreams have centered more around my daughter while my professional dreams have been overshadowed by a downturned economy – the simple fact is that we [women] […]

You may be a spiritual infant if…

Written by Amy Byrd. I have the sweet opportunity to serve as “house mom” in a home for single mothers.  Recently one of our residents gave birth to a beautiful little boy.  When we brought him home, life as we knew it just a couple of days before was now completely refocused.   All of us […]

DISCLAIMER: I’m just venting…

Written by Rachel Morgan. “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29   DISCLAIMER: I’m just venting… This is a phrase I found myself using often. I’m “just venting” about […]

Comforts and Complacency

Written by Ann-Margaret McIntosh. I am a psychotherapist.  Part of that role is to comfort; however, a much larger part of that role is to create discomfort.  A former patient of mine playfully stated, “Ann-Margaret, you’re like a masseuse.”  She then described how a masseuse relaxes the body with gentle touch and then, at the […]

Just flat crazy

Written by Paulette Stamper. I had a teacher in the 7th grade that I thought was a little nuts. She was older, probably in her early 70’s or so. I remember laughing at something in her class every day. Okay, well maybe I was laughing at her. We seemed to share the same sense of […]

Grace Grows

Written by Rachel Morgan. There are times when I get stuck, entrapped you might say, in living a certain way, in repeating unproductive and at times destructive behaviors. It seems so impossible to change, to battle against the comfortable and known, no matter how unproductive the behavior may be. We grow accustomed to the expected […]

A Sign

Written by Dene Nidiffer. Wednesday. Just walked out of the condo. Preoccupied with who knows what. Not paying attention much to my surroundings… which, by the way, was a beautiful blue sky with huge, pristine white clouds.  The kind of clouds that you imagined you could lie on when you were a kid (I still […]

The Value Factor

Written by Amy Byrd We are God’s Masterpiece… Ephesians 2:10a Have you ever been given information about yourself based on how another person perceives you?  Did it take you by surprise?  Not long ago, one of my daughters relayed a story to me about an acquaintance that began a conversation with her, which quickly turned […]

Well Woman

Written by Rachel Morgan Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” – John 4:10 (NIV) How many times do I attempt to offer Christ what I have?  What I […]

Turning 50

Written by Dene Nidiffer. Some believe that talking about your age is inappropriate.  I disagree.  It was a milestone birthday just last month for me!  Yes, half a century… The BIG 5.0.!  I’ve never been someone who worries about age and most people tell me that I look younger than I am, which is good, […]

A Fully Present Life

Written by Laura Dingman. Panic set in. The kind that makes my heart pound and skip beats. The kind that makes me sweat a little (ok, well a lot) and makes me have to work to catch my breath. I dig through the depths of the gigantic purse that really looks more like a suitcase […]

Are you a Christ follower?

Written by Linda Thomas Calling myself a Christian in America seems almost meaningless anymore. It’s not a strong enough statement in this present culture. Everyone and their sister claims to be “Christian.” I recently heard someone describe himself as “Christian-ish.” The fact is, there’s no such thing. I am a Christ follower. As a Christ […]

Pack Mule Mentality

Written by Amy Byrd. Beautiful thoroughbred horses carrying a very small human around a one and one quarter mile track – running as fast as they can. This has become the famous “Run For The Roses” that takes place the first Saturday in May each year at the Kentucky Derby. It takes intentional breeding, years […]

The Perfect Planner

Written by Rachel Morgan. I was listening to a song recently about the plans that God has for us and the hope we can have – and I had a thought, “What makes someone, specifically God, having plans for us, such a source of hope?”  The thoughts thereafter were of my recent experience of being […]

Enduring Love

Written by Ann Margaret McIntosh. The last 3 years have been filled with loss…my position at my dream job was eliminated, the ministry where I had invested my heart and soul fell apart, dear friends moved away, I had to move when my heart didn’t want to, diseases ravaged my family leading to physical and […]

DON’T WORRY. Just Pray.

Written by Dene Nidiffer I hope that you will not consider me lazy by simply sharing this writing from my husband…Yes, this is a blog for women and typically written by women, but I identified with this particular devotion and as it turns out, so did a lot of other women and men! I felt […]

I can do it myself!

Written by Laura Dingman I can still remember the look on her face. My daughter stood in the doorway, clenched fists on her hips, and in her most determined little two-year-old voice said, “I can do it myself, Mommy!” She’ll be seven in two months, but her determination hasn’t changed much. It’s amazing how God […]

Whack Those Weeds!

Written by Amy Byrd, author of Blessed Beyond Belief. After living in the cotton fields of Texas for many years, I decided that a garden would be a lovely addition to our backyard. I had watched the gardening shows on HGTV and looked at the pictures in gardening magazines as I envisioned the lovely splashes […]

Join us in praying

After getting ready for church last Saturday night, I had a few moments to spare so I began scrolling through my Twitter feed. I soon began to see some disturbing tweets about prayers for Rick and Kay Warren and the loss of their son. My stomach dropped. Oh no. No. No. Please don’t let this […]

Can you imagine?

Written by Linda Thomas (adapted from In Step with the Spirit – A Life of Passion, Power, and Purpose) Imagine for a moment what God can and will accomplish through you if you allow the Spirit’s power to flow into the mundane, ordinary days of life. Imagine what your life would look like if the […]

A living stone?

Written by Rachel Morgan. As you come to him, the living Stone —rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. – 1 Peter 2:4-5 (NIV) The […]

Standing on the promises

Written by Ann Margaret McIntosh Writing this blog was really difficult…difficult because I am currently enduring a set of circumstances that have me sitting in the proverbial “sackcloth and ashes.”  I am actively seeking the Lord. I still have no answers…no resolution. In the Bible, ancient Hebrews often wore sackcloth to symbolize grief. Ashes have […]

Remember the Reality

Written by Laura Dingman Over the last week I have been reminded that we were not created to endure suffering.  There have been sudden deaths from cancer, pending deaths from cancer, infant losses, marriage infidelity, victims of sexual abuse and all of the grief that goes along with it.  There are times when the grief […]

The alarm is sounding…

Written by Linda Thomas The alarm is sounding… Nearly 10 years ago, our family moved from the St. Louis area to Indianapolis. (Did you know the word “Hoosier” is a derogatory term in good ol’ MO?) But that’s a completely different story…maybe for another time, another blog. Maybe. So in the summer of 2003, we […]

“Big Buts” or Core Values – You Decide!

Written by Dene Nidiffer A few weeks ago I attended a business workshop called “Big But.” The premise was to eliminate the “buts” we have life with regard to conducting business: but if I only had more time, I could be better at marketing;   but if I only had more money, I could buy […]

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Written by Amy Byrd Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side…the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Matthew 14:24 There I was…a woman that Jesus called out personally to be His follower.  […]

Submit? Resist? Not my favorite verbs.

Written by Rachel Morgan Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. – James 4:7 (NIV) Submit. Resist. Not my favorite verbs.  The definition of submit is to “yield or surrender to the will or authority of another; to subject to a condition or process; to commit to the […]

Complaining or Thanking?

Written by Ann Margaret McIntosh   By nature, I’m feisty.  Sometimes I talk AT God.  It’s a terrible habit and one I’m desperately trying to break.  At times, I seem to be making improvements and at other times…well… The other night I was feeling so desperate for an answer, I actually gave God a deadline.  […]

I hear Dolly Parton in my head

I bet a lot of you remember the movie Steel Magnolias. Come on, admit it. You know you love to laugh and cry with Sally, Olympia, Julia, Daryl, Shirley and of course Dolly. There are so many memorable lines from this classic movie, but one in particular stands out in my mind today. Remember at the […]

Crazy and Wacky Resolutions

It’s that time of year again! Time to make your New Year’s Resolutions! I know, some of you are already thinking about how you don’t make resolutions anymore. Well, for the record, I don’t believe you. I think many of us do make New Year’s Resolutions, we just don’t want to admit it, you know, […]

All I want for Christmas is monotony!

For those of you who haven’t figured it out yet, the title of this little article here was my attempt at dripping sarcasm. How’d I do? I mean seriously, who would want monotony for Christmas? Just for fun, I looked up some synonyms. Here’s what I found: sameness, boredom, dullness, repetitiveness, repetitiveness, repetitiveness, okay…you get […]

Studies available online!

I am so happy to announce that Ignite will now be able to offer all teaching sessions online! The last series, The Point of the Summit, is now available. Just visit our Bible Studies Online page and click on the picture. Stay tuned…we hope to have Sand Surfers teaching sessions online soon!

New Bible Study!

Lisa Harper’s new Bible study, “Malachi, A Love That Never Lets Go” begins on October 8th! Visit our Bible Study page for more information and to register!!

This time last year I was putting the finishing touches on the Intro session of Sand Surfers and getting pretty darn excited/nervous/anxious/terrified/ecstatic! I can hardly believe it’s been a year since God blessed me with the unspeakable joy of writing and teaching that Bible study. I’ll never get over it! My world was forever changed […]

New Fall Series!

Join us this fall as we journey with Moses, Elijah and Abraham and experience three incredible mountaintop encounters to discover The Point of the Summit Monday evenings: 9/17, 9/24 & 10/1, 6:30-8:00pm North Wing Room B To register and reserve your copy of the accompanying 3-week Journal*, email us at Summit@ignitewomen.com Childcare is available. *Journal cost is […]

Time to Break Free!

  Ignite is offering Beth Moore’s Breaking Free this summer! Classes will begin on Monday, June 4th. Visit our Bible Study page for registration information. Hope to see you there!!

Something Was Missing – by Dene Nidiffer

We had no idea that we’d be one of the statistics of couples who could not conceive, carry and raise a biological child. As a non-Christian I had been feeling specific nudges and that something was missing from my life, having no idea that it was God showing me that he was there for me…for […]

New Bible Study!

How do you know if God is speaking to YOU? Join Ignite for our new study, “Discerning the Voice of God: How to Recognize When God Speaks” beginning Monday, March 19th. Find out more by visiting our Bible Study page! Hope to see you there!

Change Your Past

No, I haven’t lost my mind and yes I meant to title this post “Change Your Past.” I remember a cartoon character from my childhood named Ziggy. (Anyone remember Ziggy? Whatever happened to Ziggy, anyway?) Here’s the only thing Ziggy ever said that I remember: “Today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday.” Hmmm. Ziggy wisdom. […]

Round Two!

It’s hard to believe, but the study “Sand Surfers: Encountering God and Discovering Divine Purpose in the Desert” is about to go to print….again! If you have taken the study we would like to hear from you! Will you leave a comment or email us at SandSurfers@ignitewomen.com and share in a few sentences about how […]

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful time with friends and family this weekend. Make sure and take time this season to remember how awesome your God is! Love you all dearly! Paulette

Saying good-bye to the desert sands

As many of you know, Ignite wrapped up “Sand Surfers: Encountering God and Discovering Divine Purpose in the Desert” this week. What a ride! After class, many shared testimonies of how God used this study to challenge them to leave behind their deserts, to draw closer to Him, and to march forward into their own […]

Need a reminder?

Here’s what a friend reminded me of today: “You came to Christ because you were drawn to Him by the Father; wooed by His faithful, passionate love for you. Indeed it’s true – we love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). God took the initiative. He wanted you. He pursued you. And […]

Anticipatory Praise

Hello fellow Sand Surfers! We are in Week Seven of our workbooks (already!! can you believe how fast time is going by??) I was wondering how many of you had finished Day Three, “Anticipatory Praise”. I would love to hear how you are practicing anticipatory praise in your own life. Is there something that you […]

Still hanging on

Hello Ladies! I need your help again. I’m working on another lesson and would like to hear from you about specific sins that still cause you to experience guilt and shame. Maybe you realize you have been forgiven but the guilt and shame still lingers. Obviously this is a very sensitive subject so please respond […]

Lessons from a stray

On Monday night I told my Sand Surfers class about an adorable little puppy I found near where I work in downtown Indy. This precious little guy had hair at least 10 inches long and was covered in mattes the size of softballs. You couldn’t even tell he was white or see his big brown eyes! […]

Disappointed with God?

Hello beautiful Ignite ladies! I am working on an upcoming lesson for Sand Surfers and would really appreciate some feedback from you. Has there ever been a time in your life when you have been disappointed with God? Maybe He didn’t answer you the way you had hoped or maybe it seemed like He didn’t answer […]

One last thing…

The few hours following a teaching session are always tortuous for me. I replay the night over and over in my mind and inevitably I remember the things I meant to say but didn’t, things I shouldn’t have said but did, and things I should have said differently. Last night was no exception. For months […]

Sand Surfers is here! Register today!

Click Here to Purchase your book and RSVP in our online store! *Registration for Sand Surfers is now closed. Do you yearn for a fresh encounter with God? Are you searching for divine purpose? Did you know that the same God that Spoke to Moses from the burning bush, Turned the Nile River to blood, […]

Bring on the fall!

It is absolutely gorgeous outside today. If I didn’t know better, I’d think the cooler temperatures were ushering in the month of September already! For the first time ever I’m actually looking forward to the fall. Usually I hate to say good-bye to summer but this year the fall is bringing with it something new and super […]

Cambodia looks awesome in Pink!!

Several years ago we began to pray that God would use Ignite to make an impact around the world. We had no idea how that would be possible or if God would even answer that prayer. Note to self: God is able to do more than we could ever even imagine to ask Him! If […]

The Name above every name

I bawled my eyes out last night. No, I didn’t receive any bad news and no, it’s not because I’m homesick (okay, I am homesick but that’s not why I was bawling), and no I wasn’t having a PMS moment, though those have happened before; come on… I am a girl! I was bawling because […]

Sealed, Preserved, and Protected

Have you ever made jam, or perhaps watched your grandmother as she made it when you were growing up? If so, you may recall watching her pour wax over the top of the preserves until it was at the brim of the jar – and then carefully wipe some wax around the rim itself, and […]

Proclaim His Goodness

I will never stop being amazed by God – never. And yet I realize that as much as He amazes me now, I will be utterly blown away when I am able to behold His glory forever and ever!! I look forward to that day, but for now, I will continue to seek Him here […]

Change can happen!

  About 5 years ago I agreed to do something completely out of my comfort zone: facilitate a Beth Moore study at my church. I had told the Lord shortly before that I wanted to be obedient; radically obedient. I had no idea He would ask me to do something that would make me so […]

Look at that, would ya!

Well, well, look who’s rocking the new website! You know, sometimes change is a good thing and I think in the case of Ignite’s website … it’s definitely a good thing! This new site will allow us to keep you better informed and up to date on all the cool Ignite happenings. And speaking of cool […]

Stop Waivering

Hey Ladies! Long time no blog. My bad. I have no excuse. Bummer about not being able to meet this past Monday due to the weather (have I ever mentioned how much I *dislike* snow and cold?!). I was pretty pumped about the last lesson in our Wake Up series, so I thought I would […]