From The Heart Of Our Speaker

We asked Kim Fowler, our speaker at the women's retreat, to share some thoughts about her experience this past weekend.

"It never ceases to amaze me how God works in and through His children. This past weekend's retreat proved God's love for us once again. Several women shared with me how much my story meant to them. They, too, have their own stories, but knowing that someone else has and is going down the same path somehow gives comfort and courage for the journey. I did not realize until I began work on the series of sessions for the Women's Retreat that God would lead me to share my life's journey. Having never done this it was a learning process for me. One comment that blessed my heart came from Jade Queen, a young college student who co-led worship with her mom. She said that she had never heard a preacher speak of going through "hard times". She said it was all so real. I give thanks to the Lord for this young woman's comments.

A very precious moment came in the Saturday evening service when some of the women laid hands on me for a special prayer time. How great God is when given the opportunity to minister, the ministering comes back to you!

Oh, may God continue to meet the spiritual needs of these precious women. My love and prayers to all of you! "

~Kim Fowler

Kim with Ronda Sheets and Wanda King

Annual Women's Retreat Part 3

Sunday morning brought with it a mix of threatening thunder storms and lightening and a slightly hidden sunrise. In lieu of an outside sunrise communion service, we had our regular meeting time with communion afterwards. It was perfectly planned. We had been studying out of Ephesians 1: 3-10, learning about God choosing us and what that choice means for us. Kim shared about the generosity of God's choice, the purpose of God's choice, God choosing us through adoption and the gifts that come with that adoption. After her teaching we were presented with the elements of the Lord's supper and took communion together as a group. We closed in prayer, hugged new and old friends and went home.

There was such a sweet presence of the Lord there. People commented on it all weekend. The Lord blessed our time and we are so thankful.

This post will be brief so that in the upcoming days, those that attended can share their hearts and pictures with us about their personal experience of the weekend and how God met them in a special way. If you would like to send us a picture, testimony or both, please email them to shadygroveww@gmail.com We can't wait to hear your story!

A special thank you to the retreat team: Susan Gravely, Amber Gravely, Holly Little, Heather Carroll, Lynn Moody, Kathy MacLeod, Cassie Geary, Tammy Sechrest, and Amy Comer. The did a phenomenal job preparing, setting up and executing the behind-the-scenes details that made this such a smooth-running retreat weekend.
Another special thank you to Angie and Jade Queen on leading us in worship that brought us directly into the heart of God.
Blessings and much thanks to Kim Fowler for sharing her weekend, her life, her heart with us. We were touched beyond measure and so grateful for her willingness to be used so freely of God.
Beyond all this, thank you Lord Jesus for making Yourself real to the women in a very special way this weekend. If You hadn't shown up, this might have been fun, but would have missed the point. Thank You for making sure, we didn't miss the point. And that point, is always, YOU.

Annual Women's Retreat Part 2

Saturday broke a beautiful sunrise, morning stars still in the early dawn sky sparkling in the light. God was present, and we were aware...oh to be aware of the presence of God.


After another time of worship, we spent some time alone to have a quiet devotion.


We reconvened and Kim shared more of her story with us. Her story of how her life didn't turn out like she expected, but God had a greater plan. She shared how to save her life, she must lose it, abandon it to the control of God.

As we broke for free time, she challenged us to meet with God and ask Him what He would have us do, how He would have us proceed, with the knowledge that His best may not look like what we think it should.

Our evening session of worship and teaching ended too soon, and Kim was raw in her honesty and vulnerability. People can question the Bible, point fingers at churches or leadership or programming...but when you share your own testimony and there is evidence in your life of the movement of God - no one can question that.

Through Kim's strength in being real, we saw such evidence and it left us powerfully aware of God's hand on her life, and also on each of our own. We ended the night in prayer, praising Jesus and praying for His glory. No better way to close.

Annual Women's Retreat Part 1

There's something about bringing a group of like-minded people together, in a new locale that sparks a specialness between them. Make that a group of believers, and its even more special. Have those believers be women of all ages and you have one amazing experience!

That amazing experience is what happens every year at the women's retreat. A group of ladies - who may or may not know everyone there - come together for the sole purpose of being refreshed and meeting God. Always faithful, He shows up every time, blessing and loving on His daughters.

Our Friday night session began with a great worship package by Angie Queen.
How wonderful to be brought into the presence of God by worship through music. And then our beloved Kim Fowler, shared from her heart.

Through stories and testimony she shared about the power of laughter and how it physically can improve our bodies. She spoke of how having a cheerful heart was not only Biblical, but critical for enduring the hardships that come our way.

Some of us got the point right away. We laughed.


And laughed some more...



Even Kim got tickled.



After Kim's sharing, we had a time of prayer, praying for specific prayer requests, for ourselves, our neighbors, our friends.

It was a most precious time. The presence of God was apparent and a quiet sense of awe filled the room. How amazing it is every time God shows up. His presence is always awe-some.What starts as a single individual praying...

turns into a community of prayers, ...

which turns into a bond that cannot be easily separated...

And this is just the first night! Come back tomorrow to see what God has in store for the ladies here in Myrtle Beach!

Manna For Your Monday

...On A Tuesday.

"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through Him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God." 2 Corinthians 1:20

I love that verse. It brings such confidence to my prayers. If ever I wonder when God is going to say 'yes' to a request, all I have to remember is this verse. In Christ, all of God's promises are "yes".
Let me show you what I mean.

Say I am worn out, stressed, exhausted, tired, weary... are you getting the picture? I need a break! So I pray for relief. Now, it could go one of two ways. I could find immediate relief, or it could seem that God isn't answering my prayer. But then I remember 2 Corinthians 1: 20 and open my Bible to read what God has to say about my situation.

Jesus said in Matthew 11: 28-30 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Jesus promised to give me rest. He said his yoke was easy and His burden light. Those are promises I can take to the spiritual bank. But what is my part in it? Ah, there's the hang-up, at least for me. You see, there are several things that must happen before I can receive His rest. If I don't realize my part, I will constantly think God's promises are not true for me. There is always a my-part and a God-part.

1) I must be weary and burdened. Seems strange, but its God's paradoxical wisdom. Its like trying to rescue a drowning person. You must let them lose all strength before going out to rescue them or they will (either in twisted logic or complete fear) think they can use their own strength to "help" you help them and both of you drown. If there is any strength left, the person will use it. Only when they are completely helpless are they able to be rescued.

So it is with me. I think I have something to offer God; I think I can "help" God help me. But that is not how He works. He needs the willing heart and nothing more; no works, lest I should boast. I must be completely weary of trying, burdened and exhausted with my own efforts. And then, when I cry out and say I have nothing left, our dear Savior replies, "Yes, now you are ready for My rest. Come and learn the real way, My way."

2)I must recognize that God's rest and mine look different. His rest doesn't mean I get to relax and take it easy and have no responsibilities in life. His rest may or may not include a cup of coffee and chocolate. (or whatever your preferred stress-reliever may be!) His rest requires that I take off one yoke and put on another. His yoke. Praise the Lord that His yoke is gentle! He says His yoke is easy! And I dare say, it is much easier than the heavy yoke of living in the flesh. (Which is what we wear when we aren't in step with Him.)

3) I must be willing to learn His way. My way certainly has not done well for me, especially if I'm at the point of weary and burdened. I must learn His way and it invariably means learning something new. This can be hard for change-wary-people. But in order for my soul to be refreshed, I must be willing to learn life His way.

I enjoy how the Message translates those verses: "Are you tired?...Come to Me. Get away with Me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

That is a marvelous promise I need on any day of the week...thank God it is "Yes" in Jesus!

Thoughts From The Heart

Epiphany, according to Webster's Dictionary: an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking; an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure.

I had an epiphany Sunday during worship. And according to Webster's definition, I had an "intuitive grasp of reality through something simple". Truly, it was simple. We were singing praise and worship songs. I breathed in, the cold air hit my throat and I thought, "That was refreshing." And in the next nano-second realized that what was TRULY refreshing was what that breath was for; I was about to use it to praise God. A simple act like breathing taking on a divine characteristic. In the next few moments I contemplated how amazing it was; breathing in and out for the sole purpose of praising God. What better, purer motive could there be for breathing? Praising God, making the point of my existence worthwhile, doing what I was born to do...it was quite refreshing.

What are we using our breath for today? Are we holding it in? Trying not to blast the person that just earned a piece of our mind? Are we using it to share a juicy tid-bit of information? Are we blessing our families with our breath? Are we cursing the driver that thinks they can multi-task by texting and driving and putting on make-up at the same time? (Not that I have EVER encountered a situation like that...I'm just saying...) What are we using our breath for today? Praising God goes beyond being a Proverbs 31 woman, where the "law of kindness is on her tongue"; praising God moves us to kingdom building and giving God the glory due Him. I want my breath to be used for eternity. How about you?

Psalm 150

Praise the LORD.

Praise God in His sanctuary;

praise Him in His mighty heavens.

Praise Him for His acts of power;

praise Him for His surpassing greatness.

Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet

praise Him with the harp and lyre,

Praise Him with tambourine and dancing,

praise Him with the strings and flute,

Praise Him with the clash of cymbals,

praise Him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD.

~Submitted by Jody

Wednesday Night Women's Bible Study

Did you know we have a Wednesday Night Women's Bible study? It's led by Muriel White at 7:00pm in the Education Building on the 2nd floor. (That's the old church building upstairs, in case you aren't sure.) Muriel shares a bit about their study group:

"We meet in the middle of the week to focus on building relationships with other women in the church, supporting one another in prayer and studying relevant topics in order to grow in our faith. We welcome anyone that would like to be refreshed spiritually to join us. Warning - come prepared to laugh a lot, maybe cry a little but leave rejoicing because of our time together."

This is an open study group, which means you can join at any time! So stop on in and take some time to refresh yourself with great fellowship and an encouraging word from the Word.