GOD's "Assignments"-Reflections from our Women's Conference

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of GOD, and not of us." 2 Cor. 4:7 KJV

"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet MY unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you." Isaiah 54:10

   Dear Praying Friends and Family,

         It sure is peaceful out here on my front porch listening to the crickets softly chirping.   It's a lot different than this time a year ago, when deadly EF5 tornadoes had already taken the lives of 4 people in our county, demolished countless homes, and forever changed the landscape and the lives of those who live in our county and state.  Today is the one year anniversary of those powerful tornadoes that reminded us once again of our fragileness as humans and the POWER and mercy of our ALMIGHTY GOD.  Please remember those families who  lost homes and loved ones in your prayers.  The LORD also reminded me that a year go today, my dear friend Darlene who has gone to be with JESUS, had me over for lunch.  She was feeling good that day, and she prepared a delicious "macrobiotic" lunch that her husband had cooked before he left for work that morning.  She was battling cancer, and eating really healthy. We had some kind of greens, grain, and beans, and it was wonderful!  To see Darlene feeling so well and enjoy her sweet fellowship was the most wonderful part.  I miss her and look forward to spending all eternity with her in heaven where she is with JESUS.

      Last weekend, i ask you to pray for our Women's Conference at First Baptist Church and how the LORD answered your prayers!  Thank you so much for taking time to pray for us.  After the first session was over that morning, I told someone we could go home and we would be so blessed.  It was evident the LORD was with us in a special way.

  

    I knew hardly anything about our speaker except what i shared with you in last Friday's email...that she had cancer, and that first husband had died.  Friday night i had the privilege of sitting with her at supper, and I asked her if her husband was a pastor.  She told me her first husband was a pastor, she is now married to a man who sells real estate.   She said that was in her testimony and she'd be sharing it the next day.  Betty Dean Newman asked Karen to get up and share a little bit after we ate, and Karen at once put us at ease.  She had on blue jeans and she was apologetic about being so casually dressed...she thought she was meeting with a committee of 3 or 4 and they would finish decorating for the Conference that was held in our Family Life Center.  The "committee" turned out to be about 60 women, many who had been there decorating the Family Life Center all day.  If you clicked on my blog late last Friday, you saw i had posted pictures of some of the beautiful "tablescapes," that our women had decorated on Friday http://mitzi-hisgraceissufficient.blogspot.com/2012/04/its-not-too-late.html.  The Family Life Center was decorated with purses and high heels and women's stuff, including wreaths on the doors with little purses inside because the theme of the conference was "Perseverance."  Somewhat thought of "Purses" out of the Perseverance...so that's where the purses and all came in.  

Jenny Chandler, Betty Dean Newman, and Jackie Jackson

     On Saturday, our Bible study groups, "Willing Hearts," the older women, and "Growing Hearts," the younger women, arrived early and scampered around making last minute preparations and getting pictures made. 

Our dear"Willing Hearts"

 It wasn't long before our guests arrived and the beautifully decorated Family Life Center began filling up.  This was the first year we did the whole Conference in the FLC, we usually just eat the meal there.  But it worked out really good as everyone sat around the beautifully decorated tables as we listened to the speakers and singers and the round tables afforded closer fellowship with each other. 

 I saved my Mother in law and her friend, Hilda, a seat at our Pastor's wife table.  I had planned to sit with them, but GOD had a different assignment for me that was better for my allergies.  At the last minute after the Conference had started, Jackie Jackson asked me if i would sit near the door so i could help those who were coming in late, and also assist the men who would be coming in to serve the women lunch.  I told her i would be glad to, so the LORD gave me an "assignment" at the door, where i could help out, and also it helped me out by not having to sit several hours surrounded by perfume and other fragrances.   I had saved a seat for my friend Wanda, and it occurred to me that maybe the LORD didn't want us to sit together at the Conference so we would reach out to others.  Karen had reminded us the night before that GOD knew exactly where we would each be sitting the next day and there were no accident's in HIS plans.  As Wanda came in, and i was showing her where i had saved her a seat, someone came up and grabbed her and took her to another table...a table where one of her coworkers from another church was sitting!  So Wanda knew that was where she was supposed to be sitting and i did too.  I knew that sitting by the door was where i was supposed to be to even though neither of us had planned on sitting where we did...it was all a part of GOD's "assignment" for us that day.

     When Karen Alexander Doyle began to speak she started sharing her testimony and talking about we all have different "calls," in our life.  She said we have the call for salvation, and that GOD called her and wanted all of her.  She thought she was going to China when she surrendered her life to the LORD, and she reminded us that GOD's call in our lives are always best.  She told us about a young man she met in Sunday School when she was 8, and then several years later, she met him again when she answered GOD's call to go to college, and that is who she married.  She knew that GOD had led their paths together after all those years and  it was no accident.  She said she was "engaged" to him since the time she was 8. Her husband became a pastor and everywhere they lived she said was their favorite place. She reminded us that GOD calls us to do only what HE can do through us so that HE can get the glory.  HE doesn't call us to do what is easy to us, otherwise HE would not get the glory.  She told us when GOD calls us to pray...to STOP and pray.  She said that "the call" came for her a new journey.  She liked the journey she was on being a pastor's wife, and boy,could i relate to what she was saying.  I liked the journey we were on too, when my husband was a pastor.  I became very sick with two babies, and the "call" came for us to move back home so i could have help and Johnny went in the restaurant business with his family.  That was a "calling," or "assignment,"  that I didn't want and it took me a long time to accept it.

     Karen Alexander Doyel told us about a phone call that she received from her son asking her to pray for her husband.  He had taken their 3 boys camping at the end of the year to talk about GOD's goodness in their lives the previous year, and goals for the upcoming year.  When her son called, and told her that her husband was in trouble she kind of blew it off and said, "oh it's just going to make for a good sermon illustration," and her son said "No mom this is really serious...you need to pray."  Karen's husband and sons had arrived late at the campsite, it was night time, and her husband was sitting on a three legged stool.  He had just finished looking out over the beauty of GOD's creation and said  something like, "Who can see all this beauty that GOD created and not believe there is a GOD?" and then he was gone.  Without a sound, he had fallen backward off the side of the mountain, 200 ft into the river.  They didn't realize that at the time,  that he had fallen into the river. Two of the boys went over the cliff looking for him.  They too, nearly fell down below, but grabbed hold of a small tree that keep them from falling also.  The third son had gone to call for help.  The next morning, they rescuers found his body in the Tennessee River down below. 

     Karen shared how difficult the days ahead were...everyone wanted her to be okay.  She said when she was alone in her car the tears would flow and she would beg GOD to bring her husband back.  She said she didn't think that you could hurt like this and live.  She said that waves of grief would come to her, and that even when she was so weak, that GOD was faithful to her.  She asked the LORD, why am I here?  She said "It's hard to live among the living when you miss someone."  And GOD told her, "I will betrothe you to ME forever.  You are going to know me like you've never known me before.  She said that she would not trade a single second for the relationship that she has now with her GOD.  She said her son said "I cannot ask for my Dad back" because of all of their relationship with GOD now.  GOD's way is best.  She encouraged us to tell our children what GOD has done for us, the trials HE's brought us through and HIS goodness and lovingkindness in our lives....tell to remember.  I guess that's some of the reason i write these emails...to tell, to remember GOD's lovingkindness in my life, our family and friends life.  It does me the most good to sit down at the end of the week, and remember GOD's goodness over the past week and write it down.

    Karen reminded us that GOD called us here...HE called each and every one of us here and that everything that GOD does is good.  She said she reached the point that she was no longer asking for her husband back.

   Then she said that GOD called her into an art gallery one day.  She said she wasn't the type to go into art galleries but one day she was walking along, and she felt drawn to go into this gallery.  She said when she went in  she saw a painting that looked exactly like the place where her husband had died and their was a cross painted exactly where he fell. When her sons saw the painting she said they said, "That's where Dad fell."  The painting was $700 dollars and she couldn't afford that so she didn't buy the painting.  The boys encouraged her to contact the painter who she didn't know, to let him know what happened there.  The painter was Thomas Kincaid, and she didn't know who he was and didn't really want to write him but she did for the boys sake.  She said she didn't expect to hear anything back, but about a week later, she received a call from Thomas Kincaid's assistant.  She told Karen that her letter had been read over the intercom to the workers in the business, and they shut down for the rest of the day because it moved them so.  She found out that Thomas Kincade woke up one morning and the LORD had put that scene in his mind to paint.  He even included the little tree the boys grabbed a hold of to keep from falling down the side, and some reddish bushes that are native to that area of Tenn. but not in California where Thomas Kincaid lived.  Karen told us that everywhere she goes, they send her these cards with the painting on it, so that she can share it with others. The card is a little tract with the plan of salvation inside.  She also told us that Thomas Kincade sent her a musuem size copy of the painting and it's in her home in Lenoir City, Tenn. if anyone wants to come and see it.  

     There were other trials and triumphs that Karen shared with us that day, such as one of her son's getting cancer as a newlywed, and recovering, and then she developed cancer and told her family just as her son finished his last treatment.  The LORD healed her for several years, and now she has had a reoccurence.   We all were so encouraged by her encouragement to us to trust the LORD and reminding us how GOD is sovereign in every detail of our lives.  HE is working out HIS best plan for us, through HIS eternal love for us.  

   After Karen shared her testimony, Kathleen Phraner sang the beautiful song, "Blessings," http://www.youtube.com/watchv=1CSVqHcdhXQ? by Laura Story that went perfectly with Karen's testimony.  Only the HOLY SPIRIT could have orchestrated how well the music went with the message.  I have shared "Blessings,"  a few times in my emails, and i sure want to share it again in this week's email.  It is a powerful song, written out of her own struggles with her young husband's sickness.   As i told you after that first session, i was so blessed, even though i could barely see the speaker or the stage from where i was sitting.  We took a short break, and i went and spoke to a few people, including Paula Curnutt, the wife of our opponent my husband ran against in the campaign we just came through and got beat.  I was so glad to see her and she said she was blessed also...she later told me the Conference was Wonderful and she was so glad she came...i was too and I am so glad we are no longer competing against one another, though i know that was GOD's call for my husband to run for that office....not win, but run.  

                                       Carrie Weigart and Paula Curnutt

    After the short break, it was time for me to help get the food out for the men to eat after they served the women lunch, so i missed most of the second session which was about GOD's WORD.  Before i left, Karen said, "HE makes HIS ways known to us through HIS WORD  and HIS ways are best. " I'm going to have to wait and watch the video to hear that part, and that's a good place to tell you they did record the conference so if you are interested in a video you can contact Jackie Jackson through email jackiejackson12@gmail.com and make arrangements to receive one.  Karen also had DVD's that you can order from her website.http://karenalexanderdoyel.com/.

     After the delicious lunch we had of chicken salad, apple rings, a croissant i didn't eat, and lettuce, I helped the men get their lunch and they really enjoyed the barbecue and fixins that were from our restaurant.  I hadn't "planned," on heating the food up, and getting it out and helping serve them, but that was GOD's "assignment" for me, and i was so glad i was able to do that.  After i made sure the men were squared away and they had everything they needed, i found my place by the door, and listened to Karen speak to us about "Gratitude."  She opened up sharing a devotion from "JESUS Calling," the devotion book that has meant so much to me this past year as i experienced a "new" assignment with my health issues...a very uncomfortable assignment.  She told us that if we focus on what we don't have that our minds become darkened, and she shared with us the power of gratitude.  She shared Psalm 100:

¹Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. ²Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. ³Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. ⁴Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. ⁵For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

   She encouraged us to be thankful for the LORD is good, and to be thankful in the situation we find ourselves in.  She said that we have become people of ingratitude, and we are incredibly blessed.  She encouraged us to walk a life of gratitude, to see GOD in everything in every part of the day.  Circumstances and Scripture make us aware of gratitude.  This is not the end all...We are being prepared for forever.  She said the power of provision is released when we are grateful.  Jesus looked to heaven and blessed the two fishes and five loaves.  We often look at our provision instead of our Provider.  He provides "Exceeding abundantly beyond all we ask or think."
     There is Power in looking at the Provider.  HE 's going to give me more than i need to walk in faith.  Gratitude gives power for JESUS to heal...and she used the example of the 10 Lepers.  Nine were healed, but only one came back to say thank you.  JESUS told him that his faith had healed him.  The power of our faith is gratefulness.  GOD will heal the bitterness,  and the anger as we are grateful to GOD.  She used David as example of being grateful in Psalm 97, 98, and 99.  She said that thankfulness makes GOD known.  Gratefulness to GOD makes HIM known to others.  Be thankful for our salvation, tell others, and remember what it cost GOD and JESUS to save us.  JESUS loved me and went through that pain for me and for you.   Be thankful for the forgiveness that we have in CHRIST JESUS...Psalm 103. 
    She said HE is GOD, "I trust YOU." There is power in gratitude.  If we want miracles we must thank GOD.  Paul thanked GOD...He was an encourager.  Paul thanked GOD even while the ship was still rocking and that gratitude brought power.  
   She told us that nothing she said would change our lives, but GOD's Word will.  "Whatever you do  in word or actions..."  give thanks to GOD.
   "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks for this is the will of GOD in CHRIST JESUS concerning you." I Thess. 5:16-18
    Karen warned us out of Romans 1 what would happen to us if we aren't thankful: We become futile in our thoughts, and develop a spirit of ingratitude.  Our hearts become darkened, ungrateful, and we become self centered.  We get hurt easily because we are self centered. Thank GOD...
    She ended by exhorting us to surrender to the LORD and letting HIM transform us.  She closed with Psalm 107:

 

    ¹O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

 ²Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

 ³And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. ⁴They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. ⁵Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. ⁶Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. ⁷And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. ⁸Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! ⁹For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. ¹⁰Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron; ¹¹Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High: ¹²Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help. ¹³Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. ¹⁴He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder. ¹⁵Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! ¹⁶For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder. ¹⁷Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. ¹⁸Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death. ¹⁹Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses. ²⁰He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. ²¹Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! ²²And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing. ²³They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; ²⁴These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep. ²⁵For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. ²⁶They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. ²⁷They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. ²⁸Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. ²⁹He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. ³⁰Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. ³¹Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! ³²Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders. ³³He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground; ³⁴A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein. ³⁵He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings. ³⁶And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation; ³⁷And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase. ³⁸He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease. ³⁹Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow. ⁴⁰He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way. ⁴¹Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock. ⁴²The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth. ⁴³Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.

    She said that GOD thinks we are really special when HE entrusts us with sufferings.  It tells us in the book of Hebrews that GOD disciplines those HE loves.  Karen said that, " The basis of our gratitude is HIS SOVEREIGNTY.  "When you criticize, you act like you know better than ME." 
      Kathleen Phraner closed this session with a song that i heard several years ago called, "He'll Do It Again," http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i-xhFIMVw4 . It is a  powerful encouragement to us that the GOD Who has delivered us from past trials, will deliver us again.  Again, GOD reminded us of HIS faithfulness to orchestrate our Women's Conference by having this song go so perfectly with what Karen just shared with us.

   The Women's Conference was a test of our faith and Perseverance.  It just didn't come together like it had in the past, and the attendance was down and Betty Dean, our leader, confessed she had thought about canceling it.  She told us she got down on her knees and prayed.  For Betty Dean, with MS that was difficult.  Thankfully, the LORD led her to persevere, and GOD brought it all together, and she and many have said it's the best one yet.  GOD was with us in a special way last Saturday and HE brought the women, over two hundred. "HIS grace was sufficient, and HIS power was made perfect in our weakness."

    It was a GREAT day in the LORD, and I have not been able to serve it justice in this email.  But i hope that you will order the DVD, and i pray that this email encourages your heart and mine to trust HIM, to give HIM thanks  in the midst of the storms because HE is SOVEREIGN, HE loves us, and HE always comes through for us,  "We may not know how, we may not know when, but He'll do it again!"  

   Lord help me to remember these words, help me to remember Your Calls and Assignments in my life.  Some "calls," i really like, and others i really don't.  Help me to be thankful for the ones i don't and trust YOU because YOU love me and YOU love those who are involved in the call that you have for me.  YOU are Sovereign.  Thank you for YOUR call, YOUR  assignment for Karen Alexander Doyel.  Your encouragement through her, came at a great cost to her, just as our salvation came at a great cost to you.  YOU are using her so mightily to bring hope and encouragement to hurting hearts that YOU knew would be ministered to through her story and cross. Help me to surrender to your calls in my life and be grateful for Your plans and purposes through them.

"We never want to become so settled and "secure" in a home, job, social group, or geographic location that we are not willing to move or change the instant GOD wants to give us a different assignment." Nancy Leigh DeMoss

     "Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you"...So Abram went, as the LORD had told him." Gen. 12:1,4a

    Thank you for spending this time with me this week...I hope these reflections about GOD's calling and assignments will encourage your heart as they have mine.  HE has a plan, and many callings and assignments for each of us.  May we surrender with open hearts to the assignments that HE has for each of us.  He wants to reveal HIS great love to us, use us to bring others to HIM, and glorify  HIMself through our lives. If you haven't trusted JESUS as your LORD and SAVIOR you can do that right now...JESUS is tenderly calling today, calling you to surrender Your life to HIM and repent of your sins.  HE is calling you to a relationship with HIM for all eternity...and HE has "assignments," for each of us where our greatest joys are found in HIM.  

                                                                                                With all HIS love,

                                                                                                     mitzi


     "Though HE slay me, yet will I trust in HIM."Job 13:15
     
     "Have we come to the place where GOD can withdraw HIS blessings and it does not affect our trust in HIM?" Oswald Chambers

Our Young Women's  Group "Cornerstone"
did a Great Job Singing at our Conference

It's Not Too Late!

"Choose life so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your GOD, listen to HIS voice, and hold fast to HIM." For the LORD is your Life." Deuteronomy 30:19-20.

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

Beautifully decorated table in the foyer of the FLC

    It's not too late to come to the Women's Conference at First Baptist, Athens tomorrow!  Just wanted to extend to you a final invitation to come and be a part of a special time of encouragement in the LORD this weekend.  Even as i type the women are busy at the Family Life Center decorating the beautiful tables for the "Tablescapes."  Karen Alexander Doyel,http://karenalexanderdoyel.com/ our guest speaker is making her way to Athens, prayers are going up, food is being prepared, music has been rehearsed and rerehearsed by "Cornerstone" and Kathrine Phraner.  The only thing missing is YOU!  If the LORD is making the way for you to come...just come on tomorrow morning and we will have a place for you.  I found out earlier this week, that our guest speaker has cancer, and is on chemo, and that her first husband was killed.  I don't know what all she has been through, but I know the LORD is going to use her in a powerful way to bring HIS comfort and encouragement and salvation to our hearts as she talks to us about "Persevering through Trials."  IF you can't come, will you please be a prayer warrior for the women who are able to attend?  I would appreciate your prayers so very much for all that GOD wants to do in each heart that HE draws this weekend to the Conference.  You will be a part of what GOD is doing by your faithful prayers for us throughout the weekend...thank you so much!

    

 "In HIS inscrutable wisdom and love, GOD is able to use even the most agonizing circumstances in your life to refine and purify you, to make you fruitful, and to magnify HIS grace and glory through your life."  Nancy Leigh DeMoss, www.reviveourhearts.com

" Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of GOD in CHRIST JESUS for you. I Thess. 5:16-18    

     

     I didn't think i was going to write, but the LORD had this on my heart this morning when i woke up to invite you once again to come to the Conference.  HE reminded me of a portion of Scripture that i read earlier this week out of Luke about how the parable of the marriage supper: 

Then He said to him,  A certain man gave a great supper and invited many,  and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, Come, for all things are now ready.  But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.  And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.  Still another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.  So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.  And the servant said, Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.  Then the master said to the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.  For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper. (Luke 14:16-24 NKJV)

    You know as we have invited many to come to the Women's Conference, CHRIST invites us to come to HIM that HIS House may be filled.  There are a lot of things going on this weekend, and our numbers for the Conference are somewhat down.   We are continuing to go in the "highways and hedges," inviting whosoever will to come.
  Added 4/21   A couple of years ago, i was the one who had other plans as we were planning to take my daughter to college to register for the fall.  I had been invited several times by the ladies to come to the Conference. We were not members of First Baptist at that time.  Each time they invited me i thought no, i'm going with my daughter that weekend, and if not, i'm going to another ladies day that another sister church was having.  Little did i know that GOD was planning for me to be at FIRST Baptist Women's Conference.  I got to feeling badly and was unable to go to Mobile with my daughter and husband.  When Betty Dean Newman found out i wasn't going to Mobile, her gentle persistence paid off and she said on FB, "Now you can come to our Conference, i'll have you a ticket out front!"  The rest is history...i was drawn by the love of the LORD through the ladies at First Baptist  to the Conference,  and through my disappointment of not getting to go to Mobile.  I was so blessed by GOD's love that poured forth through the women when i walked in the door.  GOD was leading us to become members at First Baptist later that year and used the Women's Conference as a part of HIS drawing.  I am so thankful for GOD's sovereignty in our lives and HIS love for us to get us where HE wants us. I will be honest, i don't understand all about HIS irresistable grace, and about our free will, but I know that unless HE draws us we can't come to HIM.
     This parable is an illustration of the ever loving heart that JESUS CHRIST has for us, as HE invites whosoever will to come to HIM.  Many are too busy, and have excuses to come to JESUS and it grieves the heart of JESUS.  JESUS wants all to come to HIM and none to perish, but those who reject HIM will perish in the everlasting lake of fire.  Today is the day of salvation and there will come a time that it is too late to come to HIM.  None of us are promised the next minute, much less the next hour or year. Added 4/21 Yesterday morning when i wrote this, i read the story of Rachel Scott, the young teenager who refused to deny CHRIST at gunpoint at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999.    Rachel had already been shot 3 times and as she lay crying in pain, the murderer lifted her head by her ponytail and jeered, "Do you believe in GOD?" She said "yes," and he put a gun to her temple and killed her.  Yesterday was the anniversary of her homegoing to JESUS.   When Rachel got up that morning to go to school, she didn't know that she would be going to see her SAVIOR that day.  Is HE your SAVIOR?  If HE's not, HE can become yours right now.   If you haven't trusted in JESUS as your LORD and SAVIOR and repented of your sins, HE invites you today to come, just as you are, and HE will clothe you with the robes of righteousness that you may attend the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

   I love you and though this is much shorter than usual, i wanted to invite you again to our Women's Conference..."It's Not Too Late!"  But more importantly, i invite you to JESUS!  HE loves you so very much that HE gave HIS life for you and me on the Cross of Calvary.  Come to HIM before it is too late....

     "For GOD so loved the world that HE gave HIS only SON that whosoever believes in HIM shall not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

     "GOD knew before the foundation of the world what the cost of our disobedience was going to be.  HE would be the ONE to pay.  It was on that cross of Calvary that HE paid the price-out of love." Elisabeth Elliot

     "HE chose us in CHRIST before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before HIM in love." Ephesians 1:4

    In case you missed that beautiful song, "JESUS Saves," sung by Prestonwood Baptist Church Choir in Plano, Texas, i'm going to include it again this week for it is so powerful!  I've listened to it about a hundred times, surely you can twice:).  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPIc4UFwR0Y&feature=share

"JESUS SAVES" Prestonwood Baptist Church

    Thank you so much for your faithful prayers for the Women's Conference this weekend at First Baptist.  Our ladies will be gathering tonight to eat supper with our guest speaker and we will have  a time of prayer afterwards for the Conference tomorrow which begins at 9:00 a.m.  Thank you for lifting us up before our Father in heaven.  I hope to see you there!

     "I am absolutely convinced that GOD, because HE is a loving FATHER, cannot possibly want for us anything less than joy." Elisabeth Elliot." 

     "It is here, in my corner of GOD's earth, that I am assigned my lessons in the School of Faith." Elisabeth Elliot

                                                                                       With all HIS love,

                                                                                                 mitzi

--

Just one of the beautiful decorated tables for the Women's Conference!

This one is decorated by Beth Ann Haynes...she learned how to fold the napkins from "You Tube!"

I love these bright and cheerful colors!

"Persevering Through Trials" is the theme

Beth Ann Haynes, Susan Hofacker, Chris ?, Tracy Albritton and Jan Morris...just a few of the many who have worked so hard to make the Conference a great blessing!

Jenny Chandler and Kaye Burlingame add the final touches on Kaye's table!

Another one of the many beautifully decorated tables...we're up to 210!  Come join us!

"Is GOD Mad at Me?"

"God said, "Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings,as well as to the people of Israel.  And I will show him how much he must suffer for me." Acts 9: 15-16

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present world are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to be revealed to us." Romans 8:18

Dear Praying Friends and Family, 

     I may have to consider changing the name of this email from the " Friday email," to the "Whenever GOD Allows It" email.  To say that I have had difficulty getting it done on Friday's in recent weeks is an understatement.  I have had time to write the past couple of days, i just have had difficulty concentrating and settling down to write. I have to keep reminding myself if this truly is the LORD's email to be an encouragement and share CHRIST with all who read it, then HE will give me the thoughts and ability by HIS power when it's time to write...i hope it's time, to finish what i attempted to start on Thursday.

     I want to remind everyone about our Women's Conference next Saturday at First Baptist in Athens. It's not too late to get your tickets so please come if you live close enough.  Karen Alexander Doyel who will be our guest speaker is a pastor's wife, and she has had many trials.  She will bring GOD's message of encouragement to us, "Persevering Through Trials," a need that is universal to all of us.  As my friend Tony Greene used to say, we are either in the midst of a trial, coming out of one, or going into one.  I find that to be very true and at any given time, we may be the encourager to others going through trials, or we may be the one needing encouragement.   None of us are immune to trials and tribulations in this world....just ask my friend i had lunch with this week whose son was killed in Iraq by a sniper's bullet, and has been going  through a divorce for three years or ask my friend Tim Greene who was going 70 miles an hour in a bus they recently purchased and didn't have insurance and he went through the windshield. Four surgeries later, he is anticipating getting back on the road again singing for JESUS.  Or ask another friend i met on the campaign trail whose mother in law is dying of cancer.  She and her five children moved  from North Carolina to take care of her mother in law while her husband is in seminary in North Carolina.  Just this past week, the LORD granted this dear lady dying of cancer, her one desire before going to heaven, to take her family to Disney World.  The trip took a lot out of her and her daughter in law said this has been her worst week.  Ask the Malone family about trials, as last year their son was in a car accident, and at 22, had to have both legs amputated.  One leg is below the knee and is healing nicely, but the other one, amputated above the  knee, has had difficulty healing, and he has had to multiple surgies and now he has a staph infection.  There is also my friend whose granddaughter had a baby several months ago and the daddy of the baby walked out of the hospital and returned only  just a few weeks ago, wanting joint custody of the child.  Another family is prominent in our community and their  family is going through a severe crisis.    Our dear former pastor that i asked you to pray for his son last fall when he fell 30 feet and the doctor said he would never walk again, just had his first grandchild and she is 3 months early. The baby weighed just a little over 2 lbs when she was born. Those are just a few of the people on my prayer list, and i'm sure yours is the same way..."Man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward," Job 5:7.  We are NOT immune to trials...no, we are guaranteed them by JESUS Himself.  "In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."  John 16:33  I invite you to come and be encouraged in GOD's Word to help you and your loved ones in times of trouble.     Kathleen Phraner, pastor's wife at New Life Assembly of GOD will be leading the music, along with our own women's group, "Cornerstone.'   Contact me for tickets if you would like to go. We will spoil you and love on you and send you home encouraged in the LORD to face the places HE has engineered and is walking through with you. 


     "When we find ourselves most hopeless, the road most taxing, we may also find it is then that the RISEN CHRIST catches up to us on the way, better than our dreams, beyond all our hopes.  For it is HE-not HIS gifts, not HIS power, not what HE can do for us, but HE HIMSELF-Who comes and makes HIMSELF known to us." Elisabeth Elliot, "Keep a Quiet Heart"

   

  

       I mentioned last week that i had met a new friend and asked you to pray for her. Earlier this week, she came over my house  and we sat on the front porch and ate a tuna fish sandwich together.  Nothing fancy but the sandwich sure was good...i haven't had tuna in a long time. My friend and i enjoyed the warmth of the sunshine as we sat in the rocking chairs, and ate, and we talked about life.  Not far below the surface of her smiling face is a heart that is struggling with GOD's ways in her life.  She has some very deep wounds as she wrestles with her son's death as he died serving our country and with a marriage that unraveled years before it is "officially" coming to an end.  There are lots of questions for this one who prayed over her son's uniform and wrote Scriptures on the back of his name tag before lovingly sewing it on.   One of the questions she asked me on the porch that day "Is GOD mad at me?" 

   As we ate our sandwiches and i pondered her question, i shared with her the first thing i thought about when i learned that her son had been killed serving in Iraq.   GOD knew how she felt as HE gave HIS SON so that we could be set free from the death and sin.  Her son was killed in the line of duty by a sniper's bullet.  He was a Marine and all he ever wanted was to be in the infantry and shoot the big guns she said. She tried, and other's tried to talk him out of it, but that's where he wanted to serve our country and he gave his life defending our freedoms. 

    It's been several years but the pain is very much still there just beneath the surface for this Mama who lost her son. The questions are still there and she asked, "Is GOD mad at me?"  When will the next "bad" thing happen to me or someone i love?

    As we talked, the LORD brought some godly men to my mind who had died at an early age...Jim Elliot, who along with four other missionaries was killed by the Auca Indians they were trying to minister to and reach for CHRIST in early January of 1956.  Later, his wife, Elisabeth had the privilege of living among those sames savages that killed her husband and many, if not all of them, came to know CHRIST as their LORD and SAVIOR.  Keith Greene came to my mind.  Many of you are familiar with his songs as he wrote and sang powerful CHRISTian songs in the early 80's like "Make My Life a Prayer to You," "My Eyes Are Dry," "Create in Me a Clean Heart," "O Lord You're Beautiful," "There is A Redeemer," and many, many more.  Keith and two of his young children were killed in a small plane accident.  Also, Dan Dehaan came to my mind, an outstanding young Bible teacher from the Atlanta area i believe that GOD was using to reach others for CHRIST all over the world in a powerful way.  He too was killed in a small plane crash as a young man.  

    I shared these men with my friend,  to try and help her to see that GOD takes the godly home sometimes at an early age and that doesn't mean HE is mad at us. 
   

     I read the following words from Chuck Swindoll this morning and i shared them with my friend.  I hope and pray they are an encouragement to her, as they spoke to me in my own life about holding on to loved ones too closely.

     Each of our children grow to become a self-sustaining, responsible servant of Jesus Christ, in his or her own way. As God intended from the beginning, we released them to follow their destinies.
Some of you reading these words did not release your children in this way. Perhaps you have lost your child through death, a terrible crime, divorce, or some other horrible tragedy. Let me be clear about this. While God is the sovereign ruler of all and nothing is beyond His power or knowledge, a horrible tragedy is never a cruel, merciless act on God's part. God did not find delight in making you endure such grief. Yes, as with Job, He permitted it, but He is not the author of evil. The evil intent of a world that has been twisted by sin took your child from you.
God hates not only sin, He also hates death. He hates it so much that He sent His Son to destroy death by dying and rising again. Death is called in the Scriptures our "last enemy" (1 Corinthians 15:26). Ultimately, the Lord will have the last word in this fight against evil, and He spoke that word to us through Jesus Christ. Put simply: Death is the will of a world gone wrong. Resurrection is God's final triumph over evil.
Whether we lose our children by tragedy or design, this much is true: Anything we hold dear, we must learn to hold loosely. Let's face it, if we hold anything too tightly, it probably has us rather than our having it. And God will not allow that for your sake or the sake of your loved one.
Ultimately, the decision to hold anything loosely—especially as it applies to relationships—is an act of faith. Human instinct would have us clutch the things we adore most. Releasing them, presenting them to God, requires that we trust Him to do what is right. When we do this for our children, the lasting impact we leave is a practical model of faith. And I can think of no better way to teach our children about the God we worship than by modeling our trust in Him daily.

Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005). Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.


     After i sent this to her, i hoped that i was not being cold or careless with her heart that struggles to make sense of her son's death.  The only way we can make sense of our sufferings is through the Cross of JESUS CHRIST.  HE died that we might be set free from our sins and have eternal life and abundant life here on earth.  How do we experience that  abundant life when our circumstances sometimes scream otherwise?   One way is by learning to give thanks in everything, even those things that we despise the most and think we could never be thankful for like losing a child, trusting GOD that even this too, fits into a pattern for good,is  and HE will do what is right and best.


     "The message of the cross is transformation.  We bring our sufferings, and CHRIST gives us joy.  We bring our pains, and HE gives us comfort.  We bring our deaths, and HE gives us life."  Elisabeth Elliot, www.elisabethelliot.org


     "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:10

   Below are some wonderful words of exhortation and comfort, not only in the big trial like the death of a child, but smaller trials that are  more natural to grumble about like the weather.  GOD asks us to trust HIM and thank HIM in everything. In fact not only are we not to grumble...that is a sin, but we are commanded to give HIM thanks in everything.   "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks for this is GOD's will for you in CHRIST JESUS."  I Thess. 5:16-18

   I read a couple of devotions this week from Sarah Young's JESUS Calling  devotional book that really addressed  what the LORD has been speaking to my heart about this week  as i have struggled with feeling sorry for myself with much smaller trials than loosing a child.

 Trust Me in every detail of your life. Nothing is random in My kingdom. Everything that happens fits into a pattern for good, to those who love Me. Instead of trying to analyze the intricacies of the pattern, focus your energy on trusting Me and thanking Me at all times. Nothing is wasted when you walk close to Me. Even your mistakes and sins can be recycled into something good, through My transforming grace.

While you were still living in darkness, I began to shine the Light of My Presence into your sin-stained life. Finally, I lifted you up out of the mire into My marvelous Light. Having sacrificed My very Life for you, I can be trusted in every facet of your life.

“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.”
—Jeremiah 17:7
We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.
—Romans 8:28 amp

He drew me up out of a horrible pit [a pit of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay (froth and slime), and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps and establishing my goings.
—Psalm 40:2 amp

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. I Peter 2:9
From Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

Also from JESUS Calling:

   This is the day that I have made. Rejoice and be glad in it. Begin the day with open hands of faith, ready to receive all that I am pouring into this brief portion of your life. Be careful not to complain about anything, even the weather, since I am the Author of your circumstances. The best way to handle unwanted situations is to thank Me for them. This act of faith frees you from resentment and frees Me to work My ways into the situation, so that good emerges from it.

To find Joy in this day, you must live within its boundaries. I knew what I was doing when I divided time into twenty-four-hour segments. I understand human frailty, and I know that you can bear the weight of only one day at a time. Do not worry about tomorrow or get stuck in the past. There is abundant Life in My Presence today.

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
—Psalm 118:24

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
—Philippians 3:13–14

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young  

"The deep peace that comes from deep trust in GOD's lovingkindness is not destroyed even by the worst of circumstances, for those EVERLASTING ARMS are still cradling us." Elisabeth Elliot, Keep a Quiet Heart

    I used the opening verse about Paul, because it reminded me that GOD's choicest servants are those who have suffered the most.  Think about those in your own life whom GOD has used the most in your life....are they not those who have been through the most difficult trials and overcome them through CHRIST JESUS?  I can think of several just right off the top of my head...some i've listed above, that have impacted my life the most and they are those who have suffered the most severe trials. When i think of my new friend who has undergone such a loss, i think of the ministry that she can have to other Mom's who have lost their children.   GOD can use her greatly to comfort others with the comfort that she has been given if she will embrace that comfort and receive HIS love in the midst of her pain.


      "In all your suffering, HE suffers.  HE is with you in the midst of it.  Helping you.  Loving you.  Drawing you closer to HIM, making you more dependent upon HIS grace and power."  Nancy Leigh DeMoss


"In all their affliction, HE was afflicted." Is. 63:9

     I entitled this email"Is God Mad at Me?" because that was the question my friend asked me and i hope that what i have shared has helped us all to realize that GOD is not mad when HE allows severe testing in our lives.  In fact, Hebrews 12:5-6 says:

     "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,

        Nor be discouraged when you  are rebuked by HIM;

    For whom the LORD loves HE chastens,

              And scourges every son whom HE receives."


   On the contrary to being mad at us when we experience trials, Hebrews reminds us it's those the LORD loves that HE chastens:

     "The hard place in which you perhaps find yourself is the very place in which GOD is giving you opportunity to look only to HIM, to spend time in prayer, and to learn long-suffering, gentleness, meekness-in short, to learn the depths of the love that CHRIST HIMself has poured out on all of us."  Elisabeth Elliot, Keep a Quiet Heart

    However, if you have never trusted in JESUS CHRIST as the payment for your sins on the cross, you are the enemy of GOD.   GOD loves you so much HE gave HIS SON to die for you and for me and "whosoever believes in HIM shall not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16.  It is not HIS will that any should perish.  "The Lord is not slow in keeping HIS promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."2 Peter 3:9

      "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to GOD by the death of HIS Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by HIS life."  Romans 5:10

   I received a song earlier this week through email that has ministered to me so much called JESUS SAVES.  It was sung by Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas at their Easter Service this past Sunday and it is a powerful song, proclaiming what JESUS did to reconcile us to GOD so that we would no longer be HIS enemy, but be HIS friends, HIS children, and  one day rule and reign with HIM.  "If we suffer with HIM we shall rule with HIM." 2 Tim. 2:12.  I hope you will take time to listen to this BEAUTIFUL song "JESUS SAVES." :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPIc4UFwR0Y

"Jesus Saves"

Hear the heart of heaven beating, "Jesus Saves. Jesus saves."

And the hush of mercy breathing, "Jesus Saves. Jesus saves."

Hear the host of angels sing, "Glory to the Newborn King."

And the sounding joy repeating, "Jesus saves."

See the humblest hearts adore Him. "Jesus saves. Jesus saves."

And the wisest bow before Him. "Jesus saves. Jesus saves."

See the sky alive with praise, melting darkness in its place

There is life forevermore, "Jesus saves. Jesus saves."

He will live our sorrow sharing, "Jesus saves. Jesus saves."

He will die our burden bearing, "Jesus saves. Jesus saves."

"It is done!" will shout the cross, Christ has paid redemption's cost!

While the empty tomb's declaring, "Jesus saves."

Freedom's calling, chains are falling, hope is dawning bright and true.

Day is breaking, night is quaking, God is making all things new.

"Jesus saves."

Oh to grace, how great a debtor! "Jesus saves. Jesus saves."

All the saints who shout together. "I know that Jesus saves."

Rising us so vast and strong lifting up salvation's song,

The redeemed will sing forever, the redeemed will sing forever, the redeemed will sing forever, "Jesus saves."

"Jesus saves." 

    

     If you've never trusted JESUS to be your LORD and SAVIOR, i invite you right now, to ask JESUS to forgive you for your sins.  Whether it is telling lies, stealing, grumbling, dishonoring your parents, lust, fornication, adultery, idol worship,  all have sinned and come short of the glory of GOD Rom. 3:23)....confess it to HIM, and ask HIM to be the LORD of your life.  Instantly HE will save you, and you will go from being an enemy of GOD to being at peace with HIM and receiving the abundant and eternal life that is yours through CHRIST JESUS. 

"You are longing beyond all words to be restored and to be in communion with the SAVIOR again, and you can find no rest or peace until you are.  That is a sure sign that HIS SPIRIT is even now working in you." Hannah Hurnard, Mountains of Spice

     "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." Jeremiah 6:16

     "Through HIS sinless life, HIS death on Calvary as the sinner's substitute, and HIS victorious resurrection, we can be fully forgiven for all our sin, we can be reconciled to the GOD we have offended, and we can have the power to live holy lives." Col. 1:21-22

     "You, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, HE has now reconciled in HIS body of flesh by HIS death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before HIM." Col 1:21-22

     "We are not saved from sin by trusting in anything we have done.  The only means of eternal salvation is through placing our trust in what JESUS did for us on the cross, when HE died in our place." Nancy Leigh DeMoss, www.reviveourhearts.com

     "HE saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to HIS own mercy." Titus 3:5

And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11 NKJV)

But you  are  a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once  were  not a people but  are  now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:9, 10 NKJV)

   Oh, what a SAVIOR, JESUS SAVES, JESUS SAVES!!!  If i don't do anything else in this email, whatever day the LORD blesses me with the words to write,I want to proclaim HIS praises and proclaim JESUS SAVES! JESUS SAVES!!!  I am so thankful HE saved me from my sins when i was 19 years old...praise the LORD, JESUS SAVES, JESUS SAVES and HE wants to save you too.   Trust HIM today, HE loves you so much HE gave HIS life for you and me. 


    Please remember my friend this week as you pray, and please remember me too, as i try to be a friend to her and be sensitive to her precious tender heart. I don't want to say anything or do anything that will cause her to doubt GOD's love for her.  I love that line in the song, "JESUS SAVES," HE will live our sorrow sharing."  Pray for my friend that she will know the comfort that only the LORD JESUS can bring to her broken heart for HE shares her sorrow and yours and mine. Oh, what a SAVIOR...


         Pray for me...as the verse says, above..."not that  I have taken hold of this,"-  I haven't , but i am pressing on toward the prize in CHRIST JESUS. Believe me, i wrestle with thanking GOD and trusting HIM too, just like you do when the going gets tough, and i have even this week, when the going wasn't so tough. I need you to hold me up in your prayers and remind me of what i'm sharing here...we all do, and that's why i appreciate your emails so much and you giving me the privilege to pray for you and you doing the same for me. 

     

    Thank you so much, for taking time to read the email this week...may we walk in the joy and power and freedom of our sins forgiven, no matter what suffering we may encounter while we are here on earth knowing that JESUS indeed does SAVE!

     "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:  Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the GOD of my salvation. Habakkuk3:17,18

                                                                                          With all HIS love,

                                                                                                mitzi

     

"For GOD so loved the world that HE gave HIS only SON  that whosoever believeth in HIM shall not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovYPQl93zro

 "Just As I Am" Brian Doerkson