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Soul Spa |
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Monday, January 22, 2007 |
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Blog of the Palm Valley Women's Ministry |
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Summer Reading Groups |
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By Soul Spa on
Friday, June 15, 2007
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Looking for a good new book to read? Sign up for one of the women's Summer Reading Groups.
Pick a book from the list below (or all 3), purchase a copy online or a local retailer, read it and then come to the group night ready to talk about what you learned and fellowship with other women.
“The Velveteen Mommy” by Jenn Doucette
Modeling her book after the beloved children’s classic “The Velveteen Rabbit” and injecting liberal doses of humor, Jenn asserts that becoming real hurts. She weaves in gentle Biblical encouragement to remind moms to hang in there – that God is with them in the midst of mommyhood pain! God doesn’t minimize our struggles, she writes, but uses the pain of mothe ...
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If God wills it, rely on it! |
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By Soul Spa on
Thursday, May 31, 2007
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by Jennifer Sloniger
Romans 8: 28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
This verse is so important to me. I don't know about you, but I need this verse! Sometimes I tend to bypass such a small sentence when reading scripture and forget that when it comes to God's Word every line, every word has deep meaning and is living breathing truth. Every word is a God-breathed gift to us!
Everything that exists is from God. It's all for His purpose. Sometimes I forget that. Sometimes I begin to operate less like I believe God has everything under His dominion and more like He's an absent minded professor just letting me run wild (and off into a ditch).
Our God is a God of great purpose. He is NOT ever into wasting ...
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Lessons From Daniel 2 - Part 2 |
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By Soul Spa on
Thursday, April 26, 2007
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by Julie Gumm
So, to continue with our 3 friends and the fiery furnace…
Daniel 3: 25 says that King Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
The only thing that God allowed to be touched by the fire was the ropes that bound the men. Sometimes we are so bound by the sin in our lives that God allows us to go through a fiery trial so that we can be freed from that long term bondage.
When the men came out, “They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.”
Nine years ago my husband’s grandparents house burned down. There was not much l ...
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Lessons from Daniel |
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By Soul Spa on
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
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by Julie Gumm
Lessons from Daniel Chapter 2 – Pt 1
If you grew up in church, you are probably very familiar with the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the fiery furnace. There were tons on interesting points Beth made in the study, but the biggest area was in relating the story to our own personal “fiery trials”. She outlined 3 scenarios.
Scenario A: We can be delivered from the fire. Dividend? Our faith is built. (Although sometimes we later forget and tend to chalk the deliverance up to luck or coincidence.)
Scenario B: We can be delivered through the fire. Dividend? Our faith is refined.
(NOTE: We will never escape trials entirely)
Jn 11:4 (Lazarus death) When he heard this, Je ...
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In the Face of Tragedy |
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By Soul Spa on
Thursday, April 19, 2007
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by Julie Gumm
So many emotions have been present this week as I have watched the tragedy at Virginia Tech unfold – horror, helplessness, sadness. If I let myself, the despair of living in such a world can often overwhelm me. Last night I was reading a news story that listed each of the victims and told a little bit about them. One in particular really touched me.
Lauren McCain, 20, of Hampton, Va., an undergraduate majoring in international studies.
On her MySpace page, McCain listed “the love of my life” as Jesus Christ. Her family said McCain became a Christian some time ago.
“Her life since that time has been filled with His love that continued to overflow to touch everyone who knew her,” the family said in a statement.
"Lauren had s ...
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Learning to Know Him |
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By Soul Spa on
Monday, April 16, 2007
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By Karina Yandell
Can anyone out there relate? While preparing to speak to a MOPS group last week on the topic of “This Season of Our Lives,” I came across the following excerpt from some journaling I did when my own children were preschoolers:
I have a three-year old daughter and a nineteen-month old son, and I have finally reached the point where I can shower in the morning without keeping my children corralled in the bathroom with me. As I’m certain other mothers can understand, reaching this point has given me an incredible sense of freedom. No longer do I have to shower in a frenzied rush, wondering about whom is getting into what, why there is so much crying and yelling going on, or – even worse – why it is so quiet.
When I entered into motherhood, no one told me I would have to give up that wonderful, stan ...
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Parent's Prayer Program |
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By Soul Spa on
Friday, April 13, 2007
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by Julie Gumm
Like all moms, I’ve prayed daily for my children since they were born. It was the usual stuff – keep them safe, let them grow up to love Jesus, etc. Then one day an article in the Focus on the Family magazine changed the way I pray for my children.
Written by Bob Hostetler, the Parent’s Prayer Program lays out a way for us to pray that our children will develop strong Christian morals and the fruits of the spirit. Use these prayers during your quiet time or throughout the day. You may even want to include them when saying bedtime prayers with your child so that he/she can hear the character traits that God desires in them.
1 salvation "Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesu ...
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Faithful To Me |
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By Soul Spa on
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
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by Jennifer Sloniger
Did you ever lie in bed as a kid and kick up your sheet high above you? I would lie still, waiting for the sheet to come back down. The sheet would drift slowly and gently until finally it would come to rest on me softly. Giggles would ensue and then another kick...... back into the air the sheet went flying.
Have you ever known something without ever really stopping to meditate on it and let the enormity of the realization fall over you like that sheet? I have to be sure! This is one of those such truths I realize I need to allow to settle over me today:
Through the covenant relationship we've entered by the blood of Jesus Christ, the God of all creation is loyal to us.
Okay, you may say, “I know this already.” Yeah, me too. BUT do I live and breathe, think and act like I really KNOW it?
In our Beth Moore s ...
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Lessons From Daniel |
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By Soul Spa on
Saturday, April 07, 2007
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By Julie Gumm
Lessons from Daniel – Chapter 1 (I'm leading a group of ladies through Beth Moore's Daniel Bible Study. These are some of my thoughts.)
Daniel 1 speaks of the capture of the people of Judah by the Babylonians. Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar requested that the strongest, healthiest and best looking men of Judah’s royal family be brought to the palace and trained in the literature and language of Babylon for a period of 3 years. At the end of that time Nebuchadnezzar would select some of the men to become his advisors.
Daniel and his 3 friends (whom you probably know by their Babylonian names Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) were selected. They were to be fed from the king’s own table – his best food and wine.
But Daniel had the courage to stand up for his convictio ...
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Welcome |
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By Soul Spa on
Saturday, March 31, 2007
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Welcome to “Soul Spa” the new blog of the Palm Valley Women’s Discipleship Ministry. Our goal is to give you someplace you can retreat to for a little quiet time, where you can be inspired and encouraged in your relationship with Christ, and where you can get connected with other women of Palm Valley.
You’ll be hearing from a number of “voices” on a variety of topics. We’d love to hear from you. You can contact us via the link on the left side.
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