The Grove

Summer Studies

Hey ladies! 

I just wanted to send you a reminder that next week starts our Summer Studies. Click the link to check out the line up!

Happy Summer,

Alicia

Do You Miss Us Yet?

It's only been a couple of short weeks and I'm missing you already! I'm missing you so much in fact that I can't wait to tell you about some fun opportunities to connect over the summer! 

First, we have a study going on at the Prairie Lakes Church Cedar Falls campus that's digging deeper into Beth Moore's Daniel: Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophecy.

"Join Beth in a faith-building study of prophecy and learn how to live with integrity in today's self-absorbed society. The prophet Daniel faced unbelievable pressures to compromise his faith, to live in a hostile culture, and to confront temptations and threats. Today, believers in Jesus Christ face many of the same trials."  

This group will be led by Carolyn Haney and Delores Stibal and meets Tuesdays at 9:30 beginning June 5th through August 21st. There are no materials necessary for this study, unless you would like to purchase a Member Book.

Second, I will be leading a study about having the passionate marriage God intended you to have. Move from roommates back to honeymooners with the help of Dr. David Clarke's Kiss Me Like You Mean It: Solomon's Crazy In Love How To Manual.

"Goodbye, passion? NOT SO FAST. Yes, its true - that glorious, heart-pumping feeling of love and desire does seem to vanish in the wake of kids, careers, and well, life. But you can reclaim that mad-for-you, crazy-in-love feeling, and this time it will be deeper and more intimate than ever before. Your guide? King Solomon, the Bible's greatest lover, who has a few secrets up his ancient sleeve about how a husband and wife can experience unending passion -- and have a blast doing it."

We will be meeting at my house on Tuesday's at 9:30 beginning on June 5th through August 7th. You will need a copy of the book sold HERE or at most booksellers or get a Kindle copy on Amazon.com. If you are interested in attending this study please let me know (sherwood.mandy@gmail.com) so that I can get an idea how many are attending and so that I can get you my address. Also children are welcome to attend (mine will be playing somewhere in the background) but subject matter of this study is mature. 

Finally, if you are looking for something beyond Tuesday mornings, Prairie Lakes Church is offering Summer Small Groups: an opportunity for you to get in community with some new people and walk out your faith together. These groups are 8 weeks long, perfect for just the summer or a great launch pad into a deeper year round community. Sign up HERE for an opportunity to get connected beginning June 3rd. 

Looking forward to seeing how God is moving this summer! 

Blessings friends,

Mandy Sherwood

 

Winter/Spring 2012 Semester Closer

If you weren't able to join us yesterday morning for our semester closer- here's some of what you missed:

• We shared a fantastic breakfast provided by some of our very own Grove friends. A big thank you to those of you who helped!
• We gave away some Walmart gift cards and Seed curriculum packs. Congratulations to our lucky winners!
• We listened to your testimonies from the semester. It is always such a blessing to hear about what God has been doing in and through you both inside and outside of our studies. 
• We also had a great reminder that although we come together to gather in community with each other and to grow in our knowledge of the bible and in our likeness to Christ, the ultimate goal of all of it is that we would leave here equipped to GO into our communities and pour out all that we receive on Tuesday mornings into others. We are exceedingly proud of all of you for striving to take steps in that direction. 

Even though this Spring semester is in the books, don't miss out on your chance to join a study going on here at the Cedar Falls campus this summer. Beginning June 5th at 9:30 there will be a group of ladies viewing the Daniel series by Beth Moore. There is no materials to purchase and no homework required. You are invited to come as you are to view the video and stay for some discussion afterward if you would like. There is no child care offered on site but this is a You Pick We Pay Event for you ladies that have little ones and would still like to attend. 

There are some really exciting things coming this fall at The Grove. First of all, Alicia Whalen who has been our Women's Ministry Coordinator, is taking a step back over the summer to focus on her administrative duties in the Group Life department at PLC which means that although she will still be a part of our Grove team, there will be a new face in charge of coordinating all of the women's ministries. Her and her family will also be welcoming a new baby girl into their family this summer so I suppose a little break is in order?  Keep watching the blog for news about the new Women's Ministry Coordinator. 

Next semester begins on Tuesday September 11th with our new updated Tuesday morning format! Starting this fall we will be bringing back an enhanced community piece to our mornings.  We are planning on having a new start time of 9:00 beginning with a light breakfast and fellowship in the Cafe'. Start out your morning by connecting with old friends and making a few new ones over a meal each week. Study materials will be available for purchase as well as a place to help your guests get connected their first time. As always, we will gather upstairs for studies at 9:30 and run until 11:15 when childcare closes. We have some fantastic study offerings in the works for fall including Beth Moore's "James: Mercy Triumphs". Keep watching the blog this summer for opportunities to get connected this fall. We NEED you to make this a success!

Finally, (and I am about to burst on this one!) I am excited to announce that coming in August we will be hosting a Women's Event! We are planning worship, food, gifts and inviting a dynamic speaker for you to enjoy. Keep your eyes open for details. You're going to want tickets for all of your friends! 

Blessings friends,

Mandy Sherwood

Stronger Than You Think

Winnie The Pooh is one of my favorite childhood characters.  His humble nature, gentle heart and round little belly still bring a smile to my face every time I think of him.  This morning I started thinking about Winnie The Pooh and... Jesus.  Not seeing the connection?  Let me share a story with you to help you out...

Over the past few weeks I have had the pleasure of shepherding a group of women through the Made To Crave study.  Truth be told there are times when I am not sure who is shepherding who since I get just as much out of it as the women I'm leading!

I have stumbled my way through this study with the help of my sisters, picking up my cross and getting healthy and then laying it down again and worshipping at the altar of McDonalds.  This weeks challenge was to add exercise to our routine.  I decided it was time to get serious, downloaded a Couch 2 5K app on my phone and headed to the treadmill. 

I remembered that before you jog you're supposed to stretch, so I awkwardly forced myself into some interesting positions that I thought may not hurt me be effective.  Next, came a five minute warm up walk, which felt really good but as the time grew closer to the end of it I felt a panic rising within me.  My heart started to beat faster and my hands were clammy and it was not due to the exertion of my labors.  It was fear.  I've spent so many years living under the cloud of what cancer stole from me.  I've hated my body for betraying me with those mutant cells and I've grown to believe that I am weak and unable.  I have believed a lie. 

At the five minute mark, the beep from my phone signaled it was time to jog and I took a deep breath and said the name of Jesus.  As I jogged that first 60 seconds (which would leave some of you rolling on the floor laughing at the thought of that actually being hard but work with me here) I just focused on the name of Jesus.  I did not look at the time, I did not think about when it would be over, I just focused on his name. 

The next beep came and it was time to walk and catch my breath and I felt exhilarated.  I had done it!  I knew that He was here with me.  The next beep set me off to a jog again and this time I started a dialogue with Him.  Everytime I would jog I would speak his name and repeat scriptures tucked away in my head including:

I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. -Philippians 4:13

In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. -Romans 8:38

But he said to me, "My grace is suffcient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness… For when I am weak, then I am strong.” -Corinthians 12:9-11

Toward the end, when it began to get a little harder, I focused on this week we are in; the Passion week.  I thought about how the steps I was taking on that treadmill were nothing compared to the steps Jesus took for me.  I began to realize that if He could endure the shame of the cross and shed His blood for me then I could endure a simple workout and shed some sweat for Him.  And this is how my time ended- thanking him for making me stronger than I thought I was, and braver than I thought I could be. 

And that's when I started thinking about Winnie The Pooh.

There is a scene in one of the Winnie the Pooh movies where Christopher Robin (who is Pooh's best friend and whole world) is going to school.  Knowing that Pooh will be afraid in his absence, Christopher gives him something important to remember :

“If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together, there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart, I'll always be with you.”

Those words started playing in my mind as the treadmill came to a halt.  I just stood there gasping for breath (and this time not from the exercise), but from the realization that Jesus spoke words like this to his disciples and that although I first heard those words from Winnie The Pooh, today they were coming from JESUS.  

Blessings friends,

Mandy Sherwood

The Power of Less

Yesterday, after about the fourth time this topic has popped up in conversation and the second blog post I've "stumbled upon", I decided that perhaps God was trying to get my attention.  I tend to be a bit hard of hearing sometimes when it comes to his voice.  I'm talking about minimalism or learning to live joyfully with less.

I've discovered this book by Jen Hatmaker called 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess which I simply must get my hands on.  It's the story of how Jen, her husband and her children took seven months to identify seven areas of excess in their lives and to pare them down to enjoy what she calls a "radically better existence".

I began to think about the ways we tend to live a little too abundantly...

For some it is possessions.  We tend to naturally be hoarders, and the fear of lack leads us to hold so tightly to things and possessions that they get in our way.  The media tells us we need to trade in our cars, our homes, our stuff for the newest, fastest models.  We have an insatiable appetite for bigger... better... faster.  MORE. 

For others it's evident in our schedules.  We seek our identity through our jobs, our activities and our status.  We run ourselves, and our children, ragged chasing down one activity after another.  We drive ourselves further and further into exhaustion.  We can't sit still.  Can't stop moving.  Can't stop producing. 

We are living in a culture surrounded by noise.  We have Twitter, Facebook, internet, email, 200 channels on our tv and endless media at the touch of our fingers.  We are so busy listening to the cacophony of noise around us that the still small voice of God gets drowned out. 

We have all but forgotten how to Sabbath.

This idea of "less" and living the "simple life" isn't a new one.  Jesus teaches us in multiple ways to live this out.  For example, when Jesus called his disciples he didn't tell them to tie up their loose ends first.  There was no command to check their calendars or balance their finances first.  He simply said, "Come" and the Bible tells us that they dropped what they were doing and went.(Matthew 4:18-22)

There is the story of the rich young ruler.  He approached Jesus asking him how he could obtain eternal life and Jesus said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.".  The Bible tells us that the man went away grieving because he had much wealth.  (Matthew 10:21-22)

Hear me on this:  It's not wrong to have possessions.  It's not wrong to have a job and recreational activities.  It's not wrong to watch tv or check Facebook. 

What is wrong is when all of those things take the place of your fellowship with Jesus. 

Are there some areas of your life where you could identify excess?

Is it stuff?  How many pairs of shoes do you need?  Are your kids rooms overflowing with toys?  Do you really need all that tupperware?  (Don't ask me how I thought of that one).

Is your schedule bursting at the seams?  Do you find yourself saying "yes" when really you need to say "no"?  When is the last time you didn't wake up still exhausted?

How "noisy" is  your life?  Are you afraid you might miss something life changing if you don't check your Facebook page again today?  How upset will that person be when you don't send an instant response to their email? 

When is the last time you stopped?  Took a breath?  Took a break?  Enjoyed a Sabbath? 

Jesus spent time being quiet before God.  (Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16, Luke 6:12.)

He knew how important it was to stop and nurture our relationship with the Father.  He showed us we need to be praying, seeking, listening.  He had a life full of demands yet He knew how to put that before everything else. 

Jesus knew the power of less. 

Blessings friends,

Mandy Sherwood

How big is your friend list?

If you're on Facebook, and are like most people, you probably have a large friend list.  And, like most people, you probably only actually see a handful of them regularly.  Now before you get all defensive on me about how Facebook is a good way to connect with people, know that I have a Facebook too, and I totally agree with you.  What I will say is that many of those people that I have online relationships with make no real investment into my life, nor I theirs. 

I have spent a lot of wasted time in my life managing relationships and others opinion of me.  I am a die hard people pleaser and make it a point to try to keep everyone happy.  I hate conflict and will go out of my way to avoid it.  And most recently, I have mourned deeply some relationships that have ended, and the discovery that a relationship was not as deep as I thought it was. 

Check out THIS  blog post today by Kasey VanNorman.  She is the founder and president of Kasey VanNorman Ministries and a teacher and speaker.  Her post touched on a lot of those very issues and was a timely reminder to me that the only true relationship that I need in my life is that with my savior and friend Jesus.  I can have an intimacy with him that I can have with NO other on this earth.  And if I am investing time developing that relationship above my earthly relationships, then I will find infinitely more joy in my those relationships as well.

I hope it's a good reminder that as we Gather and Grow together at The Grove we are building relationships, but the goal of those relationships should be to help each other grow closer to Jesus. 

Blessings friends,

Mandy Sherwood

Paying For It Twice

A few months ago my husband and I were praying over some debts and making plans to pay as much of it off as we could. Early in our marriage we made a lot of mistakes with debt. We believed the lie that because we both worked hard we "deserved" to have what we wanted. We collected a stack of credit cards and started spending. We quickly fell behind on payments and got into a mess, including bankruptcy.  

Several years later,  after medical bills from cancer treatment, costs from going back to college and more mistakes, we still had a lot of debt. We were making progress- but more slowly than we had hoped. Through the Holy Spirit we had our eyes opened to the truth about debt and that it is a master over us. We desired to be set free and began working toward freedom.

At the rate we were making payments, one debt would have taken us 3 years to pay off. In God's miraculous provision, it was forgiven us! In the the mail a week later I received the document showing our account closed. Stamped across the top in red ink were the words "CANCELLATION NOTED". We were free and that freedom felt so good. 

What would you say to me if I told you that I continued making payments on that debt? And what if I told you that sometimes when I felt guilty that I wasn't paying enough or that I wasn't paying it fast enough, sometimes I even paid extra? You would tell me that I was crazy, right? That no sane person would continue to pay for something they didn't owe. It's like paying it twice!

What if I told you that you do it too? 

If you took a survey with the question, "What do you have to do to get to heaven?", many people would tell you that you need to "Be a good person.", "Read your bible.", or "Go to church." Even as Christ followers who know that apart from a relationship with Christ none of those things will get you there, we still spend a lot of time trying to earn our salvation. We set up a list of rules for ourselves and feel condemned when we can't fulfill it. Even worse, we condemn those around us whose sin seems "worse" than our own. No wonder the world is hesitant to step into relationship with Jesus when we make that relationship look pretty darn depressing at times. 

Romans 3:23 tells us,  "for all have fallen short of the glory of God."

Did you catch that word "all"? That means everyone. None of us are off the hook. We have all messed up.

And according to the book of Isaiah, it gets worse.

"Your iniquities (your sins) have separated you from God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." Isa 59:2.

Because of our sin, we owe a massive debt to God. A debt that we can not pay. Even if we try making payments on it for the rest of our lives, we are bankrupt. 

But there is hope. 

"And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross." Colossians 2:13-14

On the day that Jesus was nailed to the cross he shed his blood for us, and doing so he paid our debt. The last words that came from his lips as he died were, "It is finished."  

In other words "CANCELLATION NOTED." Jesus is the ultimate debt reduction program. 

My prayer is that you would walk in this freedom today friends. Stop making payments on a debt that you don't owe!

Blessings friends,

Mandy Sherwood

We're doing it!

Good morning friends! I wanted to take a moment this morning to tell you how overwhelmingly humbled and blessed I am to be a part of this ministry. We are doing it! We are changing lives and taking ground for the Kingdom together! 

Here we are in the middle of the Winter/Spring semester and it's easy to get bogged down a bit with life. Kids get sick, schedules get hectic and sometimes it's just easy to say to yourself, "It's not really a big deal if I miss The Grove just this once." Before you know it you miss one more and since you've missed two already you're already behind so you decide to start fresh "next semester".  I know how this goes. I've been there in the past.

But girls, this is exactly what Satan wants to do. He wants to get you out there on your own. To separate you from the flock, and it's there that he can work his dirty work in your life. Even if you've missed a few weeks, or even if you don't  have a clue where your book is (don't ask me how I know about that one) come back, make a little wiggle room for the rest of us and we will do this thing together. 

Here is an email that I got this morning from Molly Lawson. I'm sharing it with her permission. It is a testament to what being in community with others and doing the "work" of diving into the study you're in this semester can do in your life. Thanks, Molly for being transparent with us.

 

"Yesterday I was on the phone with a friend talking about our Bible study and hers.  Do any of you process stuff by talking it out loud?  Well, I certainly do.  And during this conversation I had one of those "ah ha" moments where I felt my sin so deeply!  I was sharing (a) verse that I shared at our table, Psalms 37 in the NLT that says "He delights in EVERY DETAIL of their lives."  Learning that God cares even about what I put in my mouth has been eye opening, to say the least, but thinking on the "EVERY" in this verse opened my eyes even more.  As I thought about those little details of my life, God brought to light all those "little" sins in my life as well.  He reminded me that sin is sin.  The so-called big sins of others are the same as my self-righteous little hidden sins. OUCH. 

 

And, wonder of wonders, (NOT) the verse "Do not judge, or you too will be judged" (Matthew 7:1) popped into my head.  The truth is all believers will be judged on the last day.  All my sins will be brought to light.  Those little ones that I had hidden so well behind my "normalcy."  OUCH again. 

 

A big wash of guilt came over me.  I was a wee bit overwhelmed at the magnitude of my sin.  But God gives grace.  Think on this:  "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.' "  (Lamentations 3:22-24)  How cool is that?  There's that word "portion" again, that Lysa talked about in (our) video Tuesday.  He is what I need to overcome these sins.  Pretty cool indeed."  

Blessings friends,

Mandy Sherwood

 

Risky Obedience

Over the past year and a half God has called my husband and I into a season of sacrifice and risky obedience.

First, he called Tim to trade a job with monetary value but no spiritual value for one with less monetary value but endless spiritual potential.

At the very same time our financial situation got tighter he began calling me to release my grip of fear in His ability to provide for us and to give financially in a way that was painful on our budget. Even though I knew all we have belonged to Him I still alternated between a state of either fear or complete trust. 

At that very same time our housing situation was bleak. Our home was falling apart. We had multiple structural problems including mold in the walls of our trailer. We were bursting at the seams of this tiny home that was disintegrating rapidly and I spent many hours in prayer, crying out to God, "Lord, I know this is not your will for us. You have called us to more. I am at the end of myself and  powerless to change this situation. You have to do it for me." And then, as I finally opened my hands in surrender, he came to our rescue. 

Over the next couple of months we saw the promise of Malachi 3:10 come to fruition in our lives ;

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."

Gifts began showing up in Tim's mailbox exactly when we needed it. We were blessed at Christmas and were provided a much needed vehicle for Tim to drive back and forth to Osage each weekend. And just two weeks ago God took us out of the trailer and into in a beautiful farm house with space for my kids to run and play. We wake each morning to an amazing sunrise out our back door and cows in the field out our front door. I stand in awe of His blessings and provision. 

I'm not sharing this story out of any pride or desire to have any credit. I am telling this story so that you may see the blessing and favor of our Father in heaven. He wants to love on you in extravagant ways if you surrender to Him. 

What would he have you open your hands to today?

Is it your finances? Is he calling you to give in a way that hurts?

Your service? Is he calling you to serve in areas that you never felt bold enough to step into before?

Is it your pride? Is he calling you to honor your husband when to you, he doesn't seem worthy of that honor? 

Maybe it's the time line of your life.. you had hoped to be married, or have children, or that job you wanted so badly a long time ago and still you wait.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

His Word is true. When we get out of the way and stop trying to make everything work in our own power He is free to rain down blessings. I can't wait to hear how he has blessed you. 

Blessings friends,

Mandy Sherwood

Do you long to have it "all together"?

Check out the post on our sister blog- http://www.plcblogs.org/cafemom/

Dani Olson wrote a very true post on this very topic!

Alicia