Tonight I start a bible study growth group with women on the book “Every Woman’s Battle-Discovering God’s Plan for Sexual and Emotional Fulfillment”.  I have always felt that churches should be relevant in what they teach and preach and this is surely a relevant topic! Although many people are in denial about just how much battling they go through when it comes to sex, sexuality, the marriage bed, sexy and singleness, etc.

I am surely no expert but I walk alongside my sisters to fight this battle.  “One out of every 6 women struggle with an addiction to porn. (Today’s Christian Woman, Sept/Oct 2003). This is real and it impacts Christian leaders as well. We have already seen what it has done to some great men of God we looked up to

Anyway we start our introductory session tonight April 20^th but our first chapter review won’t be until next Tues, April 27^th so if you are in the SoFlo area, please come by and join the group of women who are taking this on! We expect to win second by second.

 BTW, the men are doing it too! Visit www.savethenations.com for more info.

“Don’t rush me, the hurrier I go the behinder I get” –a sign at a workstation

As a few of you have noticed (because I have rec’d your emails about me not blogging in a while), I haven’t had time to sit down and post a decent thought in months. Not because of lack of thinking (I do too much of that), not because of lack of opinion (I also have a boat full of opinions on a myriad of things) but simply because of time.  I am chock full busy. 

Why so busy? Well, I have a family…wife for 20 years, mother of two boys. I home-school my oldest son. I am an Executive Pastor at a three-year old church plant trying to organize, structure the church, motivate leaders, keep myself grounded spiritually. I am the chief visionary for the women’s organization I founded in 1996 www.celf.org and I work with a team of CEFL women to publish Soar Magazine.  Finally, I am a consultant for nonprofit organizations in organizational development and fundraising. I also promised myself and my mentor (Dr. Shirley Arnold) that by March 2011 my book would be done. BUT because I love what I do, there are many days that it doesn’t feel like “work” and on most days, I don’t sigh.

HOWEVER, in the book “Leaders Who Last” author, David Kraft quoted a Sunday newspaper that stated “we have lost the rhythm between action and rest. There is a universal refrain: I am so busy (oops I just said that in above paragraphs didn’t I?) As it all piles endlessly upon itself, the whole experience of being alive begins to melt into one enormous obligation. Sabbath time is a revolutionary challenge to the violence of overwork. Many of us, in our desperate drive to be successful and care for our many responsibilities, feel terrible guilt when we take time to rest.”

David believes as he states in his book (p. 69) that leaders are travelling too fast and attempting to do too much. He writes “if priorities PROTECT my purpose and passion, then PACING prolongs it. That’s the thought in Psalm 139:3 ‘You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment, you know where I am.” (TLB)

He goes on to say that “if the Lord were an officer of the law, he would give many of us a speeding ticket.” And he asks the question “is there a speed limit for life and ministry?”

Good question huh? The funny thing is that as I pondered this question and chewed on it for a few days I got an email inviting me to speak at a women’s conference with the purpose of helping women in ministry in any capacity the opportunity to guess what….”Relax, refresh, rejuvenate” and for a few days release the “to-do list”  as well as do something else we don’t take enough time to do “relate with other women who are in the same boat as we are BUSY with kingdom work.  What do you think I said? YES of course!

The conference info is here http://www.thereconference.com/ and its called the RE:Conference. Yes, God’s powerful paradoxical prefix RE. Another funny thing about all this is that this weekend (April 24-25) I head out to my college reunion and will meet up with sorority sisters where I am actually doing a ceremony on out of all things…the Power of Re! Seems like RE is big right now.

I will be there sharing on Friday afternoon on Marriage plus Ministry and I invite all my CEFL sisters locally in South Florida to definitely make it out but I know my sisters in other states could use a little time to RE and guess what? It’s not too late to REgister either? Conference cost Before May 1: $165
and Regular Registration: After May 1st: $175. The venue is the awesome Doral Resort and Spa www.doralresort.com.

I believe it in this type of a conference so much, CEFL is actually one of their partners and we’ll have a table there. So I would love a great showing of CEFL women to come out and not only support a conference that is all about helping you take the time to smell the roses but so that you individually get the rest and relaxation you need to keep doing what God has called you to do. I know I want to do better in 2010. Better health is wealth and it begins by you taking a little time to be still and know that He is God…He WILL still be God when you take a break. Trust me on that one!

This June stop the rush rush and RE. See you there!