Bible Study Fun

Hello ladies! We had such a fun time of fellowship and laughter tonight. Thank you, April for letting us use your Anita Renfroe Big Ol Ice Tea DVD. We will not be having bible study next week. I pray that you have a good week, and I'll see you on the 13th (let me know if you want to sign up for the main entree, a side or desert). Please feel free to email, call, text or post your prayer requests this week. I love you all and I'm so thankful for your involvement in this ministry. I'll leave you with the prayer from our last session of Breaking Free:

Dear Sister,
Yesterday is behind you. A new day has come. Christ has set you free. It’s time for you to accept that you are forgiven and blessed. When you feel bad let him preach you some good news. When your heart breaks, let him bind it up and heal it. When fires come, let him give you beauty for ashes. Walk with Christ just one day at a time and he will make you someone you never dreamed you could be. Stay in the word. Do what it says. Do not give up. Do not give in. You have the indwelling power of Christ. Girlfriend, you can do this. Now unto Him who can keep your feet from falling and present you blameless before God with dancing and leaping joy, be glory and majesty power and authority forever and ever amen.

in His love,
crystal

Prayer Requests

Hey ladies! What an amazing study this has been. I pray that those of you who were not able to do the homework will be able to take time in the future to catch up, you will not regret it =0)

Here are the prayer requests for the week:

Kim - for her colleagues at work to have peace about their jobs and gain clarity for direction, and for her husband as he starts a new job on Monday.

Crystal - please pray for my sister as she is back on drugs again. I have so much hope now that I know that God was able to reach her once. I know that He can do it again, I pray that He does whatever He needs to so that she will direct her attention once again to Him. Please pray for the teachers as they go back to school - pray that the will be proactive and sensitive to their "problem" children's issues. Please pray for Mark and I as we start our new business.

Luisa - for her mother, Eva to learn to receive the love that is given to her. Luisa believes that her mother's low self esteem is the root of this issue.

Laura - please pray for her father's health and for her friend who accidentally chopped off her pinky.

I'm looking forward to seeing all of you next week. We will be gathering for a time of fellowship, prayer and connection =0)

in His love,
crystal

Prayer requests August 9, 2010

What a great bible study session tonight! Here's Beth's perspective: God says that we love because He loved us; therefore, He is the initiator of love. There is never a time when we are thinking about how much we love God that He hasn't just expressed His love for us. Our response should be I love you too, God. Amen! It's incomprehensible to me that our God loves us as much as He does while we are yet sinners. God is so good. I am so thankful for His grace and mercy, and for the freedom to love Him. Here are the prayer requests for the week:

Please pray for Tanvir's mom; she was robbed in a home invasion last Monday at 5am. The robber woke her up and made her go though the house with him, giving him her valuables. The stress of the situation caused her to have a heart attack and she had to have two stints put in her heart. She came home from the hospital Saturday, but she is having trouble sleeping. Please pray for physical and emotional healing and also that she is able to experience peace during this time.

Please pray for Connie's grandson, Collin. He has just returned from spending the summer with his mother and he is having some disciplinary issues.

Please pray for Kim as she was not feeling well this evening.

Please pray for my sister, Tanya, and her son (my nephew), Nickolas; Tanya was amazing for about a week, but then she disappeared and neither of us has seen her. She has called him once or twice, but I know that he misses her terribly. Please pray for God to send people to minister to Tanya. I am still certain that she was a different person the day I talked to her, but I think that the enemy wants nothing more than for her to go back to her old ways. Please pray that she is strengthened and able to stand up under her temptations.

Please pray for all of the children, parents and teachers as they prepare to head back to their school routines.

Thank you ladies! It is a pleasure to study God's word with you. See you next week!

in His love,
crystal

p.s. anyone want to bring snacks? =0)

Bible study =0)

8 people called, emailed or sent me a text to say that they couldn't make it to study, so the few of us who were there decided that we should wait until next week to show the session so that everyone didn't get behind. I've prayed for those of you who are sick and needed rest, and I look forward to seeing you next week. Please take advantage of this week to get ahead, spend some special time with the Lord, or catch up. This is a great study and I think the enemy wants nothing more than to deter us from breaking free from our strongholds.

I pray for all of you and I feel blessed to have each of you as part of our group. May the Lord's face shine upon you this week.

in His love,
crystal

Prayer Requests for July 12, 2010

Wow, ladies! What an amazing bible study last night. I really enjoyed connecting and praying with you. I am so glad that God has brought each of you to this bible study. We missed those of you who could not be with us, please let me know if you have any prayer requests. Here are the requests from last night:

Kim - please pray for her friend, Nancy. Nancy's husband passed away last week. Please keep her and their family in your prayers.

Janet - please pray for her husband, Rick and for his heart to be softened. Pray for God's will in their relationship. Please pray that God would reveal Janet's role in their restoration.

Janet asked last night that we pray whenever we think about her situation. I think that's a great idea and I pray that each of you will be mindful of each other throughout the week and pray for eachother. Pray that we will make the time to do our bible study, pray that we will allow God's word to change us. Pray that we will continue to grow closer together as a group.

I have a huge praise report! God says that the ancient ruins long ago devastated can be rebuilt and He showed me an amazing example of this just a few minutes ago! I felt as though my prayer request for my sister was a bit long so I took out the part where I told you that I am actually the one who turned her in to the police and had her arrested (at least I think I left it out LOL). My sister is/was vengeful, angry and had an incredible knack for holding grudges. I was pretty sure that she would not be happy with me when she found out that I was the one who initiated the entire process. I got a phone call from her this morning and she has been released on a plea bargain. She will have two years of deferred probation and she is required to go into a drug rehab program. The best part is that she is a changed person. I have never been able to trust her, but I'm telling you that something was different. She started out by apologizing to me, mark and the children for everything she has done to us and for the pain we had to endure while SHE was in jail! She said that she wanted to start over and that she understood that it would be a long process. I told her that it didn't need to be a process at all and that as far as I was concerned she was completely forgiven and we could start over immediately. I invited her to our group and also to church. I pray that she will come. Please pray for her support system. Pray that she will not turn back and that she will continue to cling to God like she did when she was in jail.

Thank you ladies! I love you so much!

in His love,
crystal

Prayer Request July 7, 2010

Please pray for my sister, Tanya, and our family. She was arrested today. My prayer is that no one in our family will give her money to get out of jail so that maybe she can get the help she needs. I'm of course praying for God's will in this matter. She has been addicted to vicodine for at least a year and has recently added new drugs. She had a warrant out for her arrest for stealing 6 of a family members rings, one of which was her wedding ring =(. She has done terrible things for drugs and I pray that she feels God's mercy, grace and forgiveness during this time.

Prayer Requests for July 5, 2010

Hello ladies! We had a great bible study last night. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing group of women our home each week. God has been so sweet to design this bible study exactly like He wanted. He has brought the people and He continues to prove himself faithful. I pray that each of you are dealing with your past and that it is as gentle as it possibly can be on you. I have already made it through this journey once, and yet again there are still things that I need to Break Free from. Thank you for the time and effort you put into everything you do. I pray that you will have an abundance of time so that you will be able to complete your study this week. We missed those of you who were still out of town, and I know that I look forward to next Monday.

in His love,
crystal

Here are the prayer requests for the week:

Connie - please pray that my teeth turn out ok for next Tuesday. Please pray for Alexis to be alright through Keith's & Sonja's break up, and please pray that our house would sell soon.

Lynn - please pray for the Juarez family. Pray that the Holy Spirit will comfort them during their time of loss. Please pray for favor over my family. Pray for my mother to have peach and also for Sammie Juarez, the boy who died.

Janet - Please pray for my friend, Stephanie Barnes. She has had cancer for awhile; believes, and has been given many, many words that God is going to heal her. She is in the hospital now; pray for her mental and physical strength, pray for her husband's strength, and pray for her 6 children.

Crystal - please remember my friend, 18 year old Jonathan O'Malley, who has been battling cancer for the last two years. He is currently in the ICU with some intestinal issues. Please pray that he is healed from this issue soon. He had a bone marrow transplant in February, but has been battling various other issues that come from the weak immune system. Please also pray for my sister and her drug addiction.