Blogs

Happy Labor Day to all of you!

We hope you are able to enjoy the day off today like we are! We will see you here tomorrow! 

Happy Friday!! Since it’s Friday I thought we could discuss something that we all have in common......NAILS! Ha!

So, I feel kind of out of the loop because until about a month or so, I hadn’t heard about the world of Shellac Nails! 

I am always so reluctant to get nail polish when I go to the nail salon because I don’t want to experience my nails chipping shortly after leaving the salon, so as boring as it sounds, I normally get clear polish. 

On one occasion the nail technician convinced me to get a polish and against my better judgement, I caved and about 4 days later, this is what my nails looked like.....

Horrific I know.!

I posted this awful picture on facebook stating that I was going to invent a nail polish that doesn’t chip and I quickly discovered that somebody already beat me to the punch! One person commented on my picture and said, “You need to get with the program.....Shellac Nail Polish is the way to go”! 

Since then I’ve been doing my research and asking around and I am still torn on what to do. One group of folks stated that they love it and will never go back. However, another group stated that they will never get this type of nail polish again because it caused their nails to weaken and many complained about the process of removing the polish. 

So what’s a girl to do......

Have y’all tried it? If so, what has your experience been like? How long does the nail polish truly stay on? 

Please oh please give me the 411 so I can make an informed decision:)

Enjoy your weekend and holiday!

Antrenette

THE TONGUE HAS THE POWER OF LIFE AND DEATH

AND THOSE WHO LOVE IT WILL EAT ITS FRUIT

PROVERBS 18:21

I was reading thise verse yesterday morning and my eyes couldn't seem to move forward down the page and kept their gaze right smack dab on the words "power of life". My tongue, your tongue, has the ability to create life or death. 

Life or death.

That's a big deal. I am thinking about all the things I can say in a day. The fact that we can create life with our words is incredibly exciting. But the fact that we can bring death through our tongues makes me cringe. Because I'm afraid that more times than I would like to admit in a day, I can be speaking something that I have no business speaking. 

So...... TODAY I want to charge us. For just today I want us to PAUSE before we speak, before we share a thought. It is life giving? Are you blessing your friends, your coworkers, your family by the words you speak?

I'm curious to know how hard this is going to be for myself but am totally inspired by this verse. I'm going to place it on the front of my computer screen so that I'm constantly reminded of it. I want to focus on the positive side of this verse and how much life I can bring to myself and those around me just by speaking truth and love!

I want to hear how your day goes and see if there were moments that were challenging for you or if you were quite surprised by how God can use you to bring hope and life to situations today!

It's going to be fun! Let's do it! I'll let you know how my day goes and you do the same =)

Linnae

I'm still soaking in my wonderful weekend at the Going Beyond Event in Lewisville. It was a fantastic spiritual adventure.

Thought I'd share this with you today. Press play and enjoy!

Priscilla

Video Link 

To join us in prayer for the requests we received during the event, click here

I kinda' think there is an egg-sized, bruised lump on my head today...from smacking my forehead while saying, "Annetta, will you never learn?!"  Do you feel like that sometimes?  I jump on the Paul train when he says, "What I want to do I do not do, but what I do NOT want to do, I do."  This New Testament tongue-twister seems to sum up half of my grown up Christian walk.  In fact, this summed me up just yesterday.  

It was a classic, rookie mistake.  The problem is, I've been at this walk long enough, I should know better.  "Shoulda, coulda, woulda," my Mom would say.

I had been given some fun little things by my Father.  And soon enough, my greedy little hands were clenched so tightly to those sweet, precious gifts.  They were clenched so tightly, that it would have been easier to take candy from a baby without him crying than it would have been to extract the gift from me...without someone losing a finger that is!  

Valuing the gift over the Giver.  You've heard it before.  I will hear it again.  And I made that classic rookie mistake. 

So last night, when my bestie asked me what would happen if God took that gift away, and I saw RED, well, let's just say The Holy Spirit was quick to bring in the conviction card...and my stomache dropped.  No one wants to lose a gift once it's given.  For a second I kept thinking, "No, surely He wouldn't let me have this for a bit just to take it away, would He?"  And then I realized, "Actually, He would."  You see, we serve this jealous God.  He wants our attention and our affection and our thoughts.  He wants ALL of our attention and our affection and our thoughts.  And when I prefer to think on some fun things He's given me, even if it is "for the Kingdom," He leans in.  And when I still elevate that gift above Him...well, He gently takes it away.  Because just as much as He is Jealous, He is also Good.  And Gentle.  And He knows that our lives depend on being in an undivided relationship with Him.  Undivided.  

Today.  What are you holding onto that is keeping you from undivided focus on Him?  Is there something good that you are holding onto that He wants you to "hold loosely"?

You are loved!

annetta

The Going Beyond Women's Conference in Lewisville this weekend was EPIC! Worship resounded passionately from the hearts of the women who gathered from all over Texas as well as other southern states. When it was time to dive in the Word, everyone leaned in with eagerness to hear from God.

I was so grateful to the Lord for every minute I got to spend at Westside Baptist Church.

One of the best parts of the event was our outreach to a local ministry who is helping expectant mothers.

Take a look!

(http://vimeo.com/m/48270962)

Were you at Going Beyond Lewisville? What did God teach you?

Priscilla

PS. . . to learn more about The TurnAround Agenda Pregnancy Center and to donate your new and gently used items click here

I cannot wait for this weekend! I've been thinking about the Going Beyond Lewisville Event for quite sometime now; wondering about the eclectic group God will gather together and how He plans to surprise us all with His presence.
I'm so looking forward to it.

There is a message burning on my heart that I'm eager to share and it's all about spiritual passion - that raw, fresh, internal fire that can often burn much lower than it should over time. Our hunger for the presence of God, desire to hear a Word from God, eagerness to step into the purposes of God and excitement about gathering with the people of God can become duties instead of the delights they were always intended to be.
What causes our passion - the kind we had when we first came to know Him as Savior - to wane and deflate and, more importantly, how can we fix it?

That's the question on the table.

I'll be teaching from Luke 7 where a highfaluting Pharisee and a woman with a bad reputation both meet with Jesus at a dinner party. Both were in close proximity to Jesus but only the woman was noted for her passion for Him.
This teaches us a convicting lesson - proximity doesn't equal passion. Just cause you are doing all the right religious things, with all the right religious people, at all the right religious places doesn't mean that you are motivated by a sincere love and desire for Jesus Christ.
I guess it's possible to be with Him. . .without really being with Him.

Lord, let us love you with our whole heart and mind and strength - FOR REAL. By your Spirit, stir in us a passion that will not quit.

You are loved. Have a great weekend!
Priscilla

I'm not sure if you saw Priscilla's tweet on Monday about Fall Bible studies, but she asked all you "tweeters" which bible studies you are doing this fall, and I LOVED getting to see which books everyone is going through, whether individually or with a group. 

Here are all the different studies you guys mentioned:

Nehemiah, Kelly Minter

To Live Is Christ, Beth Moore

James, Beth Moore

David, Beth Moore

Esther, Beth Moore

Crazy Love, Francis Chan

Gospel Revolution, JD Greear

Faithful Abundant True, Beth Moore, Kay Arthur, Priscilla Shirer

Authentic Beauty, Leslie Ludy

Conversation Peace, Mary Kassian

Knowing God By Name, Mary Kassian

Duty or Delight, Tammy Head

The Heart of the Story, Randy Frazee

Holy Habits

Malachi, Lisa Harper

He Speaks to Me, Priscilla 

SEED, Priscilla

Discerning the Voice of God, Priscilla

Jonah, Priscilla

One In A Million, Priscilla

Resolution for Women, Priscilla

Stuck, Jennie Allen

Unglued, Lysa TerKeurst

When Wallflowers Dance, Angela Thomas

Romans Precepts, Kay Arthur 

A Daughters Worth, Ava Sturgeon

Me, Myself and Lies, Jennifer Rothschild

Courageous Living

Philippians, John MacArthur

Isn't is awesome that there are so many bible study resources out there? Reading through these makes me want to do every single one of them. I'm not going to lie, I think I need to get my hands on a copy of Unglued. 

We are currently working on getting a link for our website that shows where Priscilla's bible studies are taking place in different parts of the world, but until that time we wanted to see what you guys are reading this Fall...

Are you guys doing any bible studies from the list above or is there another study we need to know about?

Be inspired, grab some friends, and let's get into the Word together!

Linnae

Yep. It’s official. I’ve moved into a sorority house. Last month, when my roommate was engaged, I started looking for a new place to live...and landed in a house with 3 other girls. The funny thing is, every night I’ve been there, there has been a bevy of psuedo-roomies...an out-of-town friend from England needing a place to stay for a week, a friend in-between leases, a married/pregnant friend in town for the weekend. We’re considering switching out our large oak front door with a revolving door.  It would at least make moving in an easier job for our transient roomies.  All to say, with all these girls (each from different cultures and places in life), there has been one clear conversation that continues to be brought up, again and again (usually over breakfast with 5 others sitting around).

DREAMS.

You’ve got dreams.  I’ve got dreams. Some of these dreams are God-breathed.  Some of them are...well, ME-breathed. It’s sometimes painful to realize, but I know that if a dream is not a God-dream, then it’s not a good dream. I guess it’s one of the reasons that I broke off an engagement with a good godly man 4 years ago. I won’t tell the whole story here...but suffice to say: He was a good man. But he wasn’t GOD’s man for ME.

So in the middle of these estrogen-laden, dream-weaving conversations, a friend started talking about how she’s seen God work in her life...she said, “He changed my idea of Him, then my idea of me...and now? Only now is He changing my circumstances.”

I started to think about this...sometimes we don’t get our dreams right away because God loves us.  Sounds crazy, eh? He withholds something that we think is part of our core (and it is) because He is GOOD?

The deal is, our dreams ARE pivotal to us living out our created purpose. But the biggest dream for our lives is not being married or having kids or a successful business or ministry...or even enough money to pay the bills.  These are GOOD dreams.  Even GOD dreams.  But.  The BIGGEST dream for our lives is knowing God. Period.  

To believe God is WHO He says He is, to trust Him, to LOVE Him, this is the grandest fairytale we could dream of stepping into.  Tag-team that with understanding who we are IN that story...we are the recipients of that Love, of that Grace, of that Goodness.  We are the Princes and Princesses in His story.  It’s a story about Him.  About His glory.  But He INCLUDES us. The God of the Universe includes us in His story. Even as I wrote that my eyes teared up...I am so completely unworthy my friends! But HE. HE INCLUDES ME.

I am done. I have no other need. He is Present. He loves me.

I am un-done. HE loves me?

And only after we start to get this does He allow some of these dreams to come to pass.  Had they come earlier, they would swallow us. They would eat at our souls. We would be shadows of our true selves our whole lives. We were CREATED to be in relationship with Him. Outside of this relationship, everything else pales.

So today. Where are you? I feel like I make the rounds of these 3 spaces, time and time again. I continuously have to be reminded of Who He Is.  And in the same breath, who I am IN Him, TO Him. And occasionally, He lets me play at doing something for Him, so I feel included in His Story. He’s pretty great eh? I can’t believe we get to worship Him. I can’t believe we get to KNOW Him. Praying for your dreams to be released to you today...but moreso, that you see His Goodness...His story. We are just nuts about you at Going Beyond...we pray for you all the time. And we wanna know where you are today! Take a minute and tell us your favorite thing about God...that you’re pressing in to believe...and we promise to pray for you in return!

You are STUNNING!

annetta

This Sunday, I learned that being perplexed is not only normal but to be expected in the life of a believer. I was so grateful to hear that since much of my life seems to be a mystery right now.
There are several issues that I really do wish God would give me directions about. AND I'd like them to be clear and specific - given on a heavenly bull horn that resonates in a divine tone that is unmistakable. But this isn't happening right now and according to the Apostle Paul, it's alright. Apparently, being perplexed is normal, even natural sometimes.
Despite our persistent desire to know every detail as to why God is doing something and intricate information about how He is doing it, He often chooses only to give us little bits of insight at a time. We have to choose whether to appreciate what we've been given and walk obediently and confidently in it or languish in despair over that which is still not clear and become paralyzed by worry and concern.

What if God has chosen to give you and I a certain measure of obscurity in our circumstances because it is the best gymansium in which our faith can be strengthened. According to Paul, knowing it all is not always best for you. . .or for me. So, God often chooses to allow us to look at life with a raised eyebrow that furrows our brow and say, "What in the World?".
Then, instead of answering, He just keeps controlling the world and our lives in it.

That's why Paul says we can be perplexed without falling into despair. Because a godly perplexity is cushioned by a secure hope in the sovereignty and safety of God.

Perplexed about something today? Don't despair my friend. 
You might not be sure about much but can be confident in Him.

Priscilla