Scripture Memory Team Verse 3 – February 1, 2015

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I am thrilled to be part of the Scripture Memory Team with Living Proof Ministries in Houston, Texas.  The post from Beth Moore for “verse 3” can be found HERE.

My verse for February 1 is from Colossians, chapter 4, verse 2, the English Standard Version:

Continue steadfastly in prayer,
being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

The Amplified Bible says to “be earnest and unwearied and steadfast in your prayer [life], being [both] alert and intent in [your praying] with thanksgiving.” I love this verse and pray it will soak in deep and that I will be unwearied in praying. Praying is hard work and takes time and discipline. The rewards are more than we can even imagine, that’s why the enemy does everything to keep us from praying.

This morning my Pastor, Dr. Jim Perdue preached on prayer. His text was Luke 18 on the parable of the persistent widow.  It’s been a great day with a PRAYER emphasis.  

Then I saw on Twitter yesterday that the new movie from the Kendrick Brothers (who brought us Courageous, Fireproof, Facing the Giants) is due out soon. It is called “The War Room,” and yes…it’s on prayer. The amazing young Bible teacher and writer Priscilla Shirer has a leading role. Here is a clip:

It is going to be great. I’m already looking forward to the impact it will have on the Kingdom of God to unite the Body of Christ. Let’s be praying! And remember, nothing is too small to bring to God in prayer. He is a God of details and He designed us, so He knows. Just talk to Him and be faithful in doing so. 

GRANJAN

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Priscilla Shirer – Beyond Beyond!

psl - church signI still remember what I was doing that beautiful Spring morning (April 2013) when I “got the call” from Lifeway! “Hello, Jan? Would Second Baptist Church Warner Robins, Georgia, be available as a host site for a Priscilla Shirer Live Conference in 2014? ” Let me think….YES! I had been working in my garden and I was taking a little break to drive around our pond in my golf cart.  I nearly drove the cart into the pond with excitement as I called to share the news with my friend and women’s ministry team partner, Cindy Schult. I even asked her if she was sitting down! Our team had been praying for a couple of years about hosting an event and the time finally came when we decided it was time to move on…God’s timing is always perfect. What seemed a long time away from the call actually occurred last weekend (August 22-23, 2014) as 2,000 women gathered to worship together and hear the teaching of one of God’s gifted servants, Mrs. Priscilla Evans Shirer.

I wanted to give a recap here and also share what a joyous journey it was for me, Cindy Schult and Teresa Thomas, women’s ministry leaders from Second Baptist.  Our Lifeway Coordinator for the conference was Tammy Slayton, and we loved her within 3 minutes of our first meeting. (I can’t say enough about how wonderful every single aspect was for our team. Lifeway was a JOY in every way!) Cindy is a woman of  great detail and handled every detail to the fullest. Teresa was our Prayer Coordinator and she was amazing. Her weekly prayer updates were a highlight for me and many others. I’ll never forget the night we met to pray over every seat in our church! We also had two young women, Kala Raines and Lindsey Myers who helped with all things social media and Google docs.  Love those two girls!!! Many many many of our ladies served in so many ways – hospitality, food service, encouragers, bookstore, and on and on.  God knows who they are and I pray He rewards them for their faithfulness to serve.

PSL - full house

All the tickets were GONE several months before the event, so Lifeway asked if we could seat women in the choir! YES! This is a view from the choir loft. (Our awesome photographer was Keith Thomas, husband to our prayer coordinator Teresa.)

PSL - team

We had a sweet time of fellowship with Priscilla during the break Saturday morning. She is so kind and genuine. She even expressed how at home she felt among us and she loved the diversity of the women attending the conference!  We loved on Priscilla and showed her true Southern hospitality! (That’s Cindy and me standing, and Teresa, Priscilla, and our pastor’s wife Stephanie seated.) 

PSL - Anthony

I love this picture so much! Priscilla also enjoyed the worship led by her brother Anthony Evans.  My favorite song of his was “The Mercy Tree.” His energy in leading worship was contagious – it was so awesome to hear 2000 women singing praises to Jesus!

Me and Priscilla - first arrivedHere’s me and sweet Priscilla right as the event was beginning Friday  night! She is adorable. Look at that smile!

psl - from sound boothHere’s a view from the lighting booth way up high that my friend Amy Yaughn took. I loved seeing the church “full to the brim” with women praising and praying together.

Priscilla shared “THE FIVE P’s OF BIBLE STUDY” Saturday morning.  She uses this as she studies the Word of God for herself and in her devotional time as well.  Here they are:

1. POSITION yourself to hear from God.

2. PORE over the passage and PARAPHRASE the major points.

3. PULL out the spiritual principles.

4. POSE the questions. 

5. PLAN obedience and PIN down the date. 

Here are also some “nuggets” that I wrote in my notes:

  • God does not just speak to be heard, He speaks to be obeyed.
  • God’s sovereignty allows us to be in the place where He can use us and show us His power.
  • God Margins: the space between my experience and His majesty!
  • The enemy tries to keep us from what God has for us because He knows our position in Christ.
  • Fear causes us to forget the faithfulness of God.
  • The enemy can’t form the weapon if we don’t hand it to him.
  • From Exodus 14:13-14 ~
  •      BE FEARLESS – do not engage in fear in any way
  •      BE STILL – plant your feet – stand firm
  •      BE WATCHFUL – see the salvation of the Lord all along the journey
  •      BE QUIET – train yourself not to open your mouth in complaint

There are dozens more pictures and comments on the Priscilla Shirer Live Warner Robins Facebook page!  Click on this link to see them: PSL – WARNER ROBINS

I am so thankful to the Good Lord for allowing me to be a part of this event and to serve the women who attended.  I pray still that lives,  homes, marriages, and families will be impacted for eternity as a result!  

Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think,
according to the power at work within us,
to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations,
forever and ever. Amen.

GRANJAN

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PRISCILLA SHIRER LIVE RALLY!

We are just days away from the PRISCILLA SHIRER LIVE RALLY event! I hope you are planning to attend!

RALLYWHAT:    Priscilla Shirer Live – RALLY!

WHEN:    Thursday, April 17, 2014 – Doors Open at 6:30 PM

WHERE:  Second Baptist Church “Hangar”  – 2504 Moody Road, Warner Robins, GA  31088

WHY:       Because God is going to do something amazing at PSL – Warner Robins – August 22-23, 2014

This event is going to be great with lots of great food, fun, and fabulous door prizes.  VIP Tickets will even be given away at the event!

SEE YOU THERE!

Jan

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Fabulous February – 2014

I fully hoped with much faith that 2014 would be a “better” year than 2013 was for our family.  God is faithful and was so good to see us through the trials we faced. I experienced His grace in so many ways in 2013.  I wrote about it in a post entitled Triple Trials. You can’t always see God’s purposes in every season, but His peace and His presence are very real.

February has been a great month for so many reasons! Remember my blog counting to 1,000 GIFTS when I posted pictures and shared the JOY of counting His gifts of grace? Well, this post is going to be similar as the pictures tell the story…here goes!

I spoke at a retreat for pastor’s wives in North Georgia at the beautiful Georgia Baptist Conference Center in Toccoa.  The theme was “Live Out Your Legacy,” and God blessed in every way. The most precious time for me was when my son Jeremy introduced me before I spoke on Friday evening. Talk about a living legacy! He made me cry my eyes out – it was a surprise and a blessing all rolled together. I love him so much! He and his brother were pure JOY to raise.

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We’ve had a TRUE winter here in the South. Lots of snow and lots of fun! I’m hoping tomorrow when March rolls in…we can see some signs of sweet Springtime! I’m ready to get in the garden.

Zeke-snowman snowbabies

Abe-JD&snowBasketball Snow

We’ve had some great meetings this month and the momentum is building! Second Baptist Church Warner Robins is blessed to host Priscilla Shirer Live this coming August 22-23, 2014. The event is open to all women and we hope that all 2,300 seats are taken! Please go to LIFEWAY to order your tickets before June 27th for a discount!PSL-SBCWR

This blog began because of my JOY in becoming a grandmother.  The joy continueth…

EM and bitty babyZeke-possum

marshmellowsZekefeedingAbeAforAbe

More random… My friend Jan and I auditioned last summer in Atlanta to be on the Wheel of Fortune! We did really well and made it through to the final cuts… SEVEN MONTHS LATER…we were called to go to Culver City, CA for taping, and the snowstorm of Atlanta cancelled our flights and the trip to “spin the wheel” was postponed.  The fine folks at Wheel of Fortune say we are at the top of the list for rescheduling a “Girlfriends Getaway” themed week…and we hope it’s soon! “TEAM JAN” is ready to go!

WOF

Quilting is another love of mine. I made a quilt this month at my sister’s request (several months ago) to help raise funds for her son’s high school baseball program.  She is in charge of the annual big fundraiser.   I sure hope it does well for them – tomorrow is the big day!  Ola-Quilt

My sweet husband and I had the privilege to attend our son’s church this month! It was our first time to be there since they moved last September. This Sunday was special for several reasons…it was our first occasion to attend, we were able to hear Jeremy preach a wonderful message, it was my husband’s birthday, and our youngest grandchild “Abe” was dedicated to the Lord.  Our hearts were overflowing.

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February 2014 has also provided some good times here at the Farm enjoying the sunsets and time around the fire pit on those rare warm days we enjoyed. SunsetFirepit

Teaching Wednesday Night Bible study is a JOY and privilege.  To experience learning and growing in the Word of God is something I hope to never take for granted.  This study “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World” has been timely, rich, and wonderful!MaryHeart

I always see a pattern in these posts…faith and family – the two treasures I hold dear.  I hope that never changes. I’m so very thankful.Christmas2013

Love and JOY from Gran Jan on this last day of Fabulous February 2014!

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Priscilla Shirer Live – Coming to Second Baptist, Warner Robins, GA

I am very excited to announce that my church (Second Baptist, Warner Robins, GA) will be hostessing PRISCILLA SHIRER LIVE…and it’s a YEAR away! However, our Women’s Ministry Team (Cindy, Teresa, Jennifer, and me…love these girls!) are getting geared up and prayed up and fired up! We will be putting together a BIG CORE TEAM as well for this event, so stay tuned here on my blog, and on Facebook and Twitter! Priscilla is a tremendous teacher of the Word of God and is so genuine. WE LOVE HER BIBLE STUDIES! I’ve given her a title that to me fits her so well. “Queen of Analogies.”  She can make a concept so clear and plain by the wonderful way she weaves a day-to-day analogy to the spiritual teaching she is expounding upon.  So mark your calendars and save the date for August 22-23, 2014!  To attend, you must register through the LIFEWAY EVENTS link.

A little unknown fact to many people is very special to us at Second Baptist.  We heard Priscilla speak at a retreat we attended at Callaway Gardens, Georgia about 12 years ago.  We loved her so much we invited her to come share at an in-house women’s retreat at our church.  She came and we loved her even more…and especially when she told us she was three months along in her first pregnancy.  Now she is the proud momma of three sons!  God is so good.

This following description is from the Lifeway site:

Ever feel like you’re in a rut? Whether you need inspiration or a challenge, Priscilla Shirer Live will snap you out of routine faith. Priscilla’s ministry to women around the world focuses on the expository teaching of the Word of God. She desires to see women come to a full understanding of who they are in Christ by hearing the uncompromising truth of Scripture. With passionate Bible teaching from Priscilla and worship by Anthony Evans, you don’t want to miss this intimate and inspiring event for women of every age, culture, and background.

Thankful, blessed to serve, and praying for Priscilla Shirer Live! 

Jan

 

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