Big News!!!

Sorry it has been a few weeks since my last update. I promise things have been happening at True Vine Ministry. Last week I signed a contract with an on demand publishing company called Missional Press. I am so excited about this opportunity to publish Reflecting His Glory. I am currently working with an editor and illustrator. If all goes well, Reflecting His Glory will be available around October of this year. Please join me in praying for this project.

I continue to write Free To Thrive! Yesterday I passed the half way point. I hope to complete this devotion by the end of the summer.


Stay Tuned--- God size things are happening.

Facebook

Well, I did it. I joined the rest of the world by creating a Facebook account. I think it is goign to take some time but so far I like it. I can see how easy it is to get sucked into the Facebook world and spend way too much time reading other peoples thoughts. So, I am going to try to remain balanced by checking my Wall once or twice a day. We will see!

This is the last week of school. Can you believe it? Summer will be here soon and we will be doing all the great things summer has to offer. I look forward to swimming at the pool, cooking on the grill, and taking a family vacation. Due to the rain, we will be playing a lot of make up baseball. I hope we can get it all in before it is too hot.

Have a great week!

Summer Plans

Well, I set a pretty bold deadline for Free To Thrive! If you remember, I planned to have this new 40 day devotional for women on the go complete by the end of may. Let me just go ahead and say--- I have let myself off the hook. There is no way I can do a good job and complete Free To Thrive! by the end of this month. So, I am giving myself this summer (I hope by the end of June) to complete this new project.

I am really looking forward to the summer. The boys are older and I can take them to do more activities. Silver Dollar City, Wild River Country, and a local swimming pool are on the top of our summer "to do" list. I think we will have a fun summer.

Speaking of summertime fun---- I am writing my July column for Women's Inc. The July theme is Summertime Fun. This theme made me think how easy it is to plan all kinds of fun summer events and leave God out of the mix. Therefore, the article will challenge women to add a passion to know Jesus Christ to the top of their summertime "to do" list. I pray this article challenges women in their summer routine. I know I have been challenged by the concept.

Yesterday I had a phone conversation with Ron M from Brussels, Belgium. Ron is my point person for the mission trip I will be taking in July/August. Jay and I will be traveling to Germany in order to minister to missionaries who serve in Western Europe. I will be teaching the women's Bible Study for the week. Can I just say---- I am very excited about this trip.

As I talked to Ron, the Lord confirmed in my heart the primary reason I am going. I am going to let these ladies know that I love them and that they are not alone in their work. As I spoke these words to Ron, I could tell he appreciated them. At the same time, I knew the Lord was giving me a clear call--- "Andrea, go and love them." I will do just that. I will also trust that the Lord will give us an amazing week in His Word.

I pray that you are having an amazing week in God's Holy Word. Don't let the busyiness of life stand in the way of digging into God's Word and finding everything you need in order to make it through your day!

Weekend Review

This last weekend was great! Friday night I traveled to the small town of Oden, Arkansas. Oden Baptist Church invited me to speak at a banquet honoring the women of their church. I had a wonderful time with the women. I was inspired by the people who attend this small church. Not too long ago, they were running 16 people on a Sunday morning. Now, they are up to 50! Praise the Lord. This summer they will host a VBS that reaches over 120 children.

Often we think small churches do not have a chance to make an impact. I do not believe that is the case. Small churches have a unique opportunity to meet the needs of the people in their community. I am thankful for Oden and their desire to reach men, women, and children with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Saturday morning, I spoke at a Mother's Day Brunch at Beryl Baptist in Vilonia. The crowd was huge and they were ready for a Word. I love it when I walk into a building and I can "feel" the presence of the Lord. As I got up to speak, the Lord laid a clear Word on my heart for the women. It was not the Word I had planned to share. Yes, it was similar but I was surprised by the Lord's direction. As I was sharing the Word I was trusting the Lord to make it all come together in the end. And of course, He did!

This weekend wrapped up my speaking schedule for the first half of the year. I will have the next month and a half off and then return to speaking in July. In the mean time, I am working hard on the new devotional called Free To Thrive! I am loving every minute of this project and cannot wait to see the final copy. God is speaking a clear Word to women and I am grateful He is allowing me to be a part of the process.

I promise I will update the blog soon! Check back over the summer and I will share some of the family happenings.

A New Project!

I am pleased to announce that I am working on a new project!

The new project is called Free To Thrive! I am so excited to tell you all about this new resource. Free To Thrive! is a 40 day devotion designed for women on the go. Each devotion provides spiritual meat for women who long to grow spiritually but only have a few minutes to spend in the Word. In fact, each devotion is designed to take 8 minutes or less!

Here is a portion of the intro page: (This is still in rough draft form!)

"The formula for this devotion is simple. Each day you will be asked to Read It!, Think About It!, and Respond To It! This simple approach allows you to take a close look at a spiritual truth and then respond to that truth in your life. The 40 devotions are power packed and designed to speak to the heart of those who long to have freedom in their lives. Galatians 5:1 provides the key point for this study. It states, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

Galatians 5:1 teaches that freedom is available today! In fact, Jesus valued your freedom so much that He gave His life in order to secure it. This truth should cause you to stop and think. No longer do you have to remain bound up in slavery. Freedom has been purchased and is offered to you.

In your walk with Christ, the choice between slavery and freedom is yours. Will you apply the freedom that Christ offers or will you remain in the slavery the world creates? Free to Thrive! invites you to choose freedom every single day of the week."

I hope to have this devotion finished by the end of May. (YIKES that is soon!) If you would like to be a part of the test group, please let me know. I will need around 5-7 ladies to work through each devotion and provide feedback.

On another note, I want you to know that I love you and I am praying for you today. Allow me to share a verse of scripture with you--- "He who dwells in the shelter of the most high will rest in the shadow of the almighty." Psalm 91:1. You know what I love about this verse? Dwelling leads to rest. So today, if you need a little rest in your heart and in your life, dwell in the presence of our Almighty God!

A bad day turns good!

Do you ever have one of those days when you need a little encouragement? I was having one of those days yesterday. Let me just go on record and say that yesterday was an all around "blah" kind of day! I did not feel well, I was exhausted because I not gotten much sleep the previous night, and the new Women's Inc Magazine hit the stands and I felt like my article made no sense! (Great time to do a last minute check!) It was just one of those days! I was grumpy, tired, anxious, and generally in a bad mood.

To make things worse, I was suppose to spend yesterday preparing for a speaking engagement that is coming up this Saturday. As I sat at my computer, I could not get focused. I tried everything---prayer, praise and worship, even extra Bible reading. But on a day like yesterday, nothing seemed to work. All day I wanted to throw my hands in the air and yell, "I quit!"

Then in the afternoon I received an email from a friend. The email was totally out of the blue and certainly unexpected. The email simply read--- "I just love your blog and am so glad God laid it upon your heart to create it. I love the Romans 8:28 blog on April 20th. I’ve been feeling down lately... and I know I shouldn’t. I’ve certainly let Satan slip in several times down this road we’re traveling and I know in my heart that God has a purpose. I keep seeing little “pick-me-ups” here and there and know that God is saying everything will be fine if we just trust in Him. Your blog on this verse was a great uplift!! Thanks for all you do with your ministry."

Wow! I really needed an electronic hug and I got one. I also needed the reminder that Romans 8:28 provides, All things work together for good--- even bad days!

Today has been a much better day. I was able to get a good start on the speaking outline for this weekend. More importantly, the Lord kept my eyes focused on Him not my feelings. Thank you Lord for that!

I do have one funny thing to tell you--- I picked Andrew up from pre-school this morning and he looked at me and said, "mom, you need to shave your whiskers." hmmmmm, I will have to check on that!

I hope you are having a good day!

Boys and Baseball!

Baseball season is in full swing and I love it! I love everything about baseball--- the boys learning how to work together as a team, the parents cheering them on, and the thrill of a win. Speaking of a win, Jake's team got their first "W" last night. It was so much fun!

Jake plays catcher and he did a great job defending home plate. He also had three great hits. One hit went to the fence and he made it all the way to third base. I believe they call that a triple in baseball lingo. I do not know who was more excited, Jake or me! In fact, when I was putting Jake to bed, he mentioned how I was jumping up and down while he was running the bases. I guess I do get a little excited but I think of it as a good work out plan!

Andrew kicks off his baseball career next weekend. Of course, he is playing the kinder gentler T Ball but it will still be fun to cheer him on.

As I think about boys and baseball, I want to share a thought from the Women's Inc article that I am currently working on. The topic of the magazine is men and I wrote about the importance of lifting up our men with the words we use.

This article was challenging for me to write because it called for me to be very honest. Why is it so hard for us to lift up the men in our lives? Perhaps pride plays a key role in the interfering process. Pride keeps our eyes on ourselves and our perceived needs.

In contrast to pride, we find humility. Humility focuses on the other person in the process and challenges us to first think about their needs. Philippians 2:3-4 states, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others." Looking to the interest of others is hard. Why? As sinful fallen people, we look out for number one. This is true even in our marriages and our parenting routine. Often women dig in their heals and refuse to meet another persons needs until they perceive that their needs have been met. Scripture confronts this type of living and calls it sinful.

How can we meet the needs of the men in our lives? Allow me to share a few thoughts that have been helpful to me:

• Pray for Them!: Pray daily for the men in your life. Pray for your husband to love Jesus with all of his heart. Pray for your son to be a man of integrity.
  
• Brag about Them!: Brag about your guys to the important people in their lives. A few examples include your husbands parents and your sons close friends. Don’t forget to brag to your close friends and family members too.
  
• Support Them!: Support the decisions your husband makes. Do not undermine your husband in front of your children or wait for the chance to tell your husband, “I told you so.” Give your son space to make decisions in his life. Encourage your son in the decisions he has made even if they do not work out.
  
• Respect Them!: Men’s number one need is respect. Respect involves giving special attention to someone or holding a person in high regard. One way to respect your husband involves making a special effort to meet his needs. As you make this effort, do not tell him what you are doing. Instead, make the effort not expecting anything in return. For your son, respect him by granting him the opportunity to be the person God has called him to be. Do not force your plans, dreams, and desires onto his life. Rather, allow your son the chance to follow the Lord’s leading in his life.

This week I am praying and asking the Lord to help me function out of humility. I invite you to join me in this process. As you do, feel free to post about your experience. I will be praying for you!