The Grove

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

"Waging Kana"

Lately, I've been trying to eliminate things in my life that seem to take away from some of the more important things. And as I was thinking through this, I was also thinking that this would be a good idea to start a fast of some kind. When I was surfing the net for some ideas, I found this great article written by T. Suzanne Eller.

I decided that I'm going to start my fast by choosing to immerse myself more in scripture. I love the idea of being flooded with more knowledge of God, rather than flooding with just the earthly things that don't really matter. Plus, this will allow God to show me the areas where I really need to give up things, so I can get more of Him.

I hope you find this article as inspiring as I did!

Love to you all,
Alicia Whalen 

Volunteer Help Needed!

We are getting ready to start another semester of The Grove.  As we are setting up our volunteer teams, we have several key positions where we are in much need of help. Teams serve on an every-other-week rotation.

• Check-In- 3-4 needed per meeting
  • Help check-in behind computers on lower level and upper level. Print out name tags.
• Coffee Maker crew- 2  needed per meeting
•     Show up 30 min. early to brew coffee and set up Coffee bar.
•     Stay 15 min. after to clean up and put away items

• Preview Day/Semester End Gathering Food help-
  • Assist with setting up and cleaning up food for beginning and ending semester large group gatherings

If you are able to help, please contact alicia.whalen@prairielakeschurch.org. 

 

Winter/Spring 2012 Semester Kickoff

Hello ladies, how I have missed you all!  Beginning with our first Tuesday of break it went from, "Oh, I have nowhere to be today!" to a groaning, "Oh, I have nowhere to GO today."  I simply can not wait to start this next semester with you. 

Our leadership team has been working very hard to plan and prepare for our upcoming studies.  Be sure to check out the Study Listings Tab for an updated listing of studies.  I am very excited to announce that I will be joining you for a second session of Made To Crave with the "Made To Crave Action Plan".  We will be putting together the "how to" to go with the "want to" we will learn in the first half of the semester. 

To hear more about the Made To Crave track as well as the other fantastic studies we will be offering this semester join us this upcoming Tuesday, January 10th for our 2012 Winter/Spring Semester Kickoff.  As always, childcare is provided, coffee will be flowing and we will have a light breakfast together as well.  You will get a chance to listen to the leaders of each study and have time to purchase materials at the end. 

Are you looking for an opportunity to get more involved in The Grove this semester?  We still need voluteers!  We need help with making coffee and smiling faces who can greet women as they arrive.  There will be a sign up table at our kickoff.

Finally, I want to remind you to be recklessly invitational this semester.  Invite your friends, neighbors, and that woman who works out next to you in your exercise class!  If the late start in Cedar Falls schools is an issue, don't let it be!  We have built time into the morning to accommodate those women.  Everyone can use some fellowship, support an encouragement so don't keep it to yourself, spread the word.  See you Tuesday!

Blessings friends,

Mandy Sherwood

Window Peeping

I have a confession to make.  I'm somewhat of a window peeper.  Before you start judging me and making sure your blinds are closed tight admit it- you do it too! 

You know how it is, you're driving across town in the evening and it's just too easy to glance up and see what people are watching on TV, what colors they painted their dining rooms and, this time of year, how they decorated the Christmas Tree.  It's not really my fault.  God just made me curious I guess. 

A few weeks ago I was driving home from getting groceries and I was stopped at a stop light right across from one of those 24 hour fitness places.  Right there in the middle of the gym was this young guy sitting on one of the weight benches.  He was all by himself working out when suddenly he finished up the set of exercises he was doing, stood up and walked over to the mirror.  He started flexing and looking at his arms and I couldn't help but find the whole thing funny.  I mean- last thing I knew it didn't quite work that fast.  He really seemed to be looking for immediate evidence of his efforts though.

And then I realized something- I do that too, and so do you.

It may not be with weight lifting of course, but many times in our lives we've all started something and wanted instant results.  That project you meant to just spend an hour on is suddenly your entire kitchen torn apart because you couldn't leave it "unfinished".  That time you started a diet and did really well for one whole day and felt like you'd been starving for a month and were upset when you didn't see anything happen on the scale the next morning.  How about those "get rich quick commercials" that sounded so convincing?

It seems like a common thread among women is that we're never quite where we want to be.  We're never the kind of mom we hope to be or the perfect wife that we think we "should" be.  We put a time table on not only day-to-day events, but on our own life process.  We think we should be able to read a good parenting book or attend a marriage conference and "BAM" everything will be in order. 

In the real world, we know that real change doesn't happen overnight.  We get in a hurry though and forget that good lasting changes take time.

We have a word for that kind of change in the "Christian" world too.  It's called "sanctification".

Sanctification is the process by which Christians are set apart from the rest of the world by God to be used for his purposes.  We are sanctified before God the moment that we enter into relationship with Him- that change is once and it is final BUT the result of that change in our lives takes a liketime to complete.  Each day as we live in relationship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit, who lives within the hearts of those who belong to Him, will teach, counsel, convict and encourage us to live lives that look closer and closer to Jesus day by day.  

The Bible gives us a beautiful picture of this change in 2 Corinthians 3:16-18:

But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.  For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord.  And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. 

Much like that man I saw working out will probably have to wait through a few more workouts before seeing the results he's looking for, you and I will have to give ourselves a little grace in becoming the woman that Jesus has made us to be.

Paul confirms to us that it is a life long process:  I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection.  But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.  Philippians 3:12 

Finally, we can get excited with the knowledge that we have everything we need to be more and more like Him daily:  By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.  We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.  And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises.  These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.  2 Pet 1:3-4

Keep pressing forward friends.  Your "best version" of yourself is not the perfect person you picture in your mind through your best efforts, but the flawed person living in total reliance on Jesus and His efforts for you.

 Blessings Friends,

Mandy Sherwood

And don't forget to leave your curtains open for me!

 

Broken Glass

In case you missed it, this Tuesday we were all gathered together for The Grove fall session closer at Prairie Lakes Church.  A special thank you goes out to the many hands who came together to make the morning possible.  We had a nice breakfast and a sweet time of fellowship.  My favorite part of the morning, as it is every time we gather as a large group, was hearing the testimonies of a few women from each class. 

As I was listening throughout the morning, I was struck by the way that God seems to weave a common theme through the session each time.  This session it was all about growing.  It is amazing to me to watch women take steps of obedience in growing closer to God by following his promptings in choosing a study, following through with faithful attendance each week and being open to sharing what God has been teaching them with other women. 

Since Tuesday, I've been thinking about the way that God bringing all of you women together from different ages and stages of life and different races and economic classes is creating this beautiful picture of His love.

If you know anything about stained glass or mosaic art, you know that before anything is made from it it's really just pieces of broken glass.  It comes in all different shapes and colors and when it's held up to the light each piece in it's own unique way, and all on it's own, is beautiful.  But when it's all put together, by the careful loving hands of an artist, something incredible is created. 

It's us in a way, that broken glass.  We are each unique.  We are different shapes and colors and sizes, and all on our own we are beautiful-especially when we let the light through.  But when we gather together the way we do on Tuesday mornings at The Grove, we become the art.  In the hands of a loving artist, the God of the universe, He bends and molds and places each piece just where it was meant to be.  And just like we do, when we come together at the end of each session and listen and look at whats been created over the last weeks as we've gathered and studied together, He leans back and looks over what he has created and proclaims, "It is good!"

Thank you for sharing your lives with us at The Grove over this past semester.  You can preview what we will will be offering next session HERE.  I hope that you will plan to join us beginning January 10th and that you will make sure to being along a friend or neighbor who can become a part of the next great masterpiece we will create together!

Blessings friends,

Mandy Sherwood

 

Semester End Gathering- Dec. 6

My sweet ladies, I hope you all had an enjoyable holiday!

Tomorrow is our last morning meeting seperately in our studies, but next week (Dec. 6) is our fun Semester End Gathering to come together and share our stories.

We are looking for a few women to brave the stage and share a quick testimony about how God has moved in their lives during their study.

We know how inspiriational it is to hear how God is moving in the lives of our friends and this is just one way we can do that. You might think that your story is small or insignificant, but you never know how it might bless someone else. So please, the more stories we get to share, the more God will be glorified that morning! 

If you have a story you'd like to share, please email alicia.whalen@prairielakeschurch.org. And if you want to share your story, but would rather remain anonymous, you can write it out and give it to your leader to read outloud, all the while keeping your  name confidential.

See you tomorrow!