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!!

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 us, with a lesson.  We began to go to church. This was the first time that I had attended church regularly. It felt good, right, appropriate and seemed to help me “feel better” about the experiences I was having specific to conceiving a baby. Sort of the way you might expect it would feel in our legalist view of God.

As this story goes…ten years into our marriage, thousands of dollars spent and many tumultuous experiences proved to be a success for us finally when we became pregnant with our first child. At first, we didn’t know we were pregnant. A fertility specialist visit revealed we in fact were; however, it didn’t appear that this pregnancy would be sustainable. I was told to go home, rest and take it easy to see just what would happen with the pregnancy. I vividly remember lying on my bed; feeling exhausted mentally, devastatingly worried. The result was a miscarriage two days later.  I was angry! I was sad! I felt betrayed…after all I was finally turning to God. Why had He let this happen to me? Why did I not feel loved by Him? Why was I finding it hard to love?

Many months later, after other failed attempts, we decided together that we would no longer pursue fertility treatment of any kind and that we’d pursue adoption. Growing in our spiritual life, still due to God’s nudging and need for what was missing, we became at peace with our decision and began the adoption process. This story is no different than many who are put through a round of a billion questions, or so it feels, are “checked out” in every imaginable way, and are asked to consider some very difficult questions about what “kind” of baby you are willing to accept. In June 2000, it happened, a birth mother chose us! Our second child, a daughter, was born! We drove to Lafayette to meet the birth mother and our baby to hold her, name her and bring her home! God’s plan was different, it didn’t happen like that at all – the birth mother decided that she’d keep her baby.

After unbelievable depression, disbelief and generally giving up, we had made the decision that we’d not become parents and that God didn’t want that to happen for us – still having no idea why, but choosing to remain faithful to Him. Just as we’d considered removing ourselves from the pool of potential parents, we received a call on August 30, 2000 telling us that a birth mother wanted to allow us to parent her unborn child and that she was to be born that afternoon by c-section. We’d go to love the baby and when this birth mother decided to keep her baby, too, then at least we’d been there for her child during the first 48 hours of her life. After all, God would want us to do so and had prepared us for just such an event.  God’s plan was different, it didn’t happen like that at all – the birth mother decided that we’d keep her baby!

God revealed for me and David that the “something that was missing” was the true recognition of what His love truly feels like as well as what it feels like to mirror His love to this child! We experienced, first hand, loving others in the way God intends. We continue to praise God for showing us this through our third child and daughter, Delaney!

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!

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.

I have kept a journal for years and one of my favorite things to do is look back to see what I was doing this time last year, or two years or even three or more years ago. It’s no surprise the choices I made then affected my circumstances today. So, the better decisions and wiser choices I made then changed my future, which is now my past. See? I can change what will soon be my past by making the right decisions today.

The best decision I ever made was to consciously strive to be fully and radically obedient to my Savior. By making that one all-important decision, my life looks incredibly different than it would have had I not decided to “change my past.”

What are you holding on to today that you know you need to give over to Jesus so He can begin to change your tomorrow? And once you allow Him to change your tomorrows, He will change your yesterdays. That just makes today even better, doesn’t it?

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 God used the study in your life? We would love to include your words in the new book!

Here are just a few examples of what some of you have shared:

“This study brought to life for me a portion of Scripture which, though I’d read many times, had never spent much time thinking about. I also learned that no matter what we do, God is always faithful on His end to bless, protect, and provide for His children!”
Pamela

“Realizing that you are now God’s Holy of Holies changes a person. Those stubborn Israelites in the desert had God right in front of them – we (sometimes as stubborn!) have Him inside of us. Could He be any closer?”
Carla

“The lesson on our bodies being the Holy of Holies because of the Holy Spirit residing in us has ROCKED MY WORLD!!! I look at EVERYTHING I DO AND SAY differently now. I still shake my head in awe at that…….profound.”
Cindi

“Sand Surfers assures me that even as I walk through a desert, God sees me – and wants to be seen by me. He will use what I’ve been through for his glory.. because that’s the kind of faithful, loving God he is.”
Linda

Can’t wait to hear from you!

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

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 “Promised Land”. I have to admit, it was by far my favorite night of the entire series! Thank you again to the many of you that traveled the desert sands with me over the last 10 weeks. I will never forget it!

I’d like to say a quick word to those of you who finished the study: Don’t Quit! Keep going! Stay in the Word! And most importantly: REMEMBER who your God is!

I love you all dearly!

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 He will never, ever leave you.”

I needed to be reminded of that – I thought maybe you did too. Yes, we are definitely flawed, but we are also fully forgiven and highly favored. What an awesome God we serve!

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 are trusting God to do and you have already begun praising Him for the answer even though you have yet to see it? I so want to be a part of a generation of faithful women whose walk is marked by belief in not only what God has done but what He has yet to do. Won’t you join me?

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 anonymously.

Thank you for your participation – you all are awesome! And make sure you don’t miss the next class on November 7th! It’s a doosey!

Love you ladies dearly!!