Camp Success!

GEMS Camp was a huge success! Thank you to all those who came, volunteered, and prayed for this camp! Pictures from camp will come via an email link to all adults who attended camp.

Counselors, you may have noticed in your emails regarding the upcoming Fall Workshops in August, that my name (Julie Ball) is no longer at the bottom. Carla Hoekzema from First Seattle is the new Area Coordinator and she will be working with Tami to love on you and teach you the new theme. She is going to be great and you will all love her! Thank you for being so supportive of the leadership training and the GEMS program. You continue to bless many girls for Jesus.

GEMS CAMP CONFIRMATION INFORMATION

Dear Campers and Cabin Counselors,

We are so excited that God is bringing you to GEMS Camp 2014 in just a couple weeks! We have been praying for this camp and for YOU and we know that God has plans for us there and can’t wait to experience camp with you. This letter contains A LOT of important information, so please read it carefully and do not hesitate to contact one of us if you have any questions at all.

1.      Camp begins with registration at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, June 6, 2014. Please eat dinner before you arrive. Upon arrival, you will check-in, find your cabin, and have the opportunity to explore the camp grounds before we begin our first official activity at 7:00 p.m.

2.      Please bring the following items with you: sleeping bag, pillow, swimsuit & towels, sunscreen, toothbrush, toothpaste, other toiletries, clothes for hot & cold weather, shoes for walks/hikes, coat/jacket, flashlight, Bible, and a refillable water bottle. Life jackets are provided by the camp for all lake activities. If you would like to have your daughter wear water wings or a life jacket in the pool, please send that along from home. For your peace of mind, know that lifeguards are on duty at the lake and the pool during the entire time the girls have access to those areas. Safety is of utmost importance to us during camp.

3.      We realize that many of the older girls have cell phones and that parents rely on these to be able to reach their children. We ask that the girls do not bring cell phones or music players to camp, but if the parents feel it is necessary, we ask that the girls refrain from using them during camp activities except in case of emergency. We reserve the right to hold on to a girl’s cell phone or music player during camp activities if we believe it is being used inappropriately at camp. Cabin Counselors may bring cell phones, but we ask that you only use them as necessary and with discretion, as your primary task while at camp is to be with your group of girls and accompany them and assist them throughout the camp experience. Parents, please feel free to call the phone of your daughter’s club counselors if you need to reach your daughter during camp at any time.

4.      Directions to Lake Retreat & Conference Center:

From Tacoma: 
North on I-5 to Federal Way
East on Hwy 18 at exit 142A
Right on 272nd Street (this is also Hwy 516 and Kent-Kangley Rd. - same road, three names)
Right on Retreat-Kanaskat Rd. SE
Lake Retreat is approx. 1/4 mile on the left 

From North of Seattle: 

I-5 South

Merge onto I-405 S

East on I-90
Right on Front Street in Issaquah at Exit 17
Approx. 20 min. drive to first stop sign. Left onto Kent-Kangley Rd.
Right on Retreat-Kanaskat Rd. SE
Lake Retreat is approx. 1/4 mile on the left 

From Seattle: 
East on I-90
Right on Front Street in Issaquah at Exit 17
Approx. 20 min. drive to first stop sign. Left onto Kent-Kangley Rd.
Right on Retreat-Kanaskat Rd. SE
Lake Retreat is approx. 1/4 mile on the left 

From Ellensburg: 
West on I-90
West on Hwy 18 at Exit 25
Off at Hobart exit, turn left
At first stop sign turn Left onto Kent-Kangley Rd.
Right on Retreat-Kanaskat Rd. SE
Lake Retreat is approx. 1/4 mile on the left 

 If you would like to see a map or have any other questions about the camp facility, you may visit their website at lakeretreat.org. In case of emergency, the main phone number for the camp is 425-432-4293.

5.      Transportation to & from camp should be coordinated with your club. Counselors, please communicate to your own girls your travel information.

6.      Camp will end by 10:30 on Sunday morning, June 8, at which time you’ll be given the opportunity to load up your vehicles. We hope to have everyone on their way by 11:00 a.m. A travel snack will be provided, but you will be on your own for lunch if needed on your way home.

7.      When you arrive, each camper and cabin counselor will be given a name tag, a schedule, and a booklet with devotions and other pertinent information. Emergency phone numbers will be included in this booklet.

8.      Parents: If your daughter requires medication while at camp, please advise the counselors she will be traveling with from your club. We will have a camp nurse for acute care and emergencies; but she will not be able to distribute medications. Likewise, if your daughter requires an Epi-pen or other immediate care medications for allergies or chronic conditions, please consult with your club counselors to clarify her care.

9.      Many clubs have offered to donate snacks and supplies. A separate letter with counselor information and these details will be sent to all Club Coordinators and Cabin Counselors who are registered for camp.

As we have said before, please do not hesitate to contact either one of us with any questions or concerns regarding camp. 

Looking forward to camp with you,

Julie Ball, Camp Co-Coordinator

Tami Cleveringa, Camp Co-Coordinator

GEMS CAMP

Registration forms & money for GEMS Camp must be mailed and postmarked by Monday, May 5, which is tomorrow! Once all registrations have been received and data has been entered into a spreadsheet, clubs will be contacted with final details and information regarding camp in general and any details your club needs to know regarding how you signed up to help. Look for all this to come to you by May 20! Please let us know if you have any further questions or if we forget to give you the information you need by that date. Keep praying for our camp that will begin in just 33 days!

Prayers for God's Glory

“How great you are, Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.” – King David

2 Samuel 7:22

David’s greatest passion was for God’s name. His passion for God’s greatness was on display in the sheep pasture, the battlefield, and the palace. It was evident in his psalms and prayers, and God’s glory was the drive behind his desire to build the Temple. When Nathan told David that he was not to build the Temple, but that God promised to make David’s name great and establish his throne forever, David said nothing to Nathan. Instead, he went to the Tabernacle, sat before the Ark, and talked to God (2 Samuel 7:18-29). His posture, prayer, and position exemplify John’s words and God’s command, He must become greater; I must become less (John 3:30).

David’s posture. David learned of God’s covenant promises and sat before the LORD. To sit rather than stand in God’s presence was a posture of humility and recognition that this was a gift of God’s grace. He didn’t earn it. He didn’t deserve it. All is grace! He was overwhelmed by God’s promise. “Who am I, Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? This decree – Sovereign LORD, is for a mere human!” (v. 18)

David’s prayer. Within David’s prayer of gratitude he refers to God nine times as either the Sovereign Lord or Lord Almighty. God’s greatness is his prayer focus and praise. God’s glory is the heart of his petition. He urges God to fulfill His promise, not for David’s gain and glory, but God’s! “Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever” (v. 26). David recounts the great and awesome wonders God performed for His people, he trusts God’s promises, and gives thanks for His forever blessings.  

David’s position. Within David’s prayer he refers to himself ten times as God’s servant. Whether living in obscurity as a shepherd or crowned king of Israel, he rightly understood and accepted his role as God’s servant. God is God. He was not. He is the Sovereign LORD, Master, Owner, and Ruler of all. No matter David’s position within the kingdom, his heart was postured as a servant for God’s glory.

God’s promise to David was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ whose mission and prayer was God’s glory. On route to the garden He prayed, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you” (John 17:1).

HE>i: Think about your prayers. Is the focus of your praise and petitions God’s greatness and glory?

Today when you pray, start with God. Survey what He has made. Recite what He has done. Proclaim who He is. 

Mark Buchanan

grace and peace,

Lenae

Self-Forgetfulness

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Galatians 6:14

Since youth I’ve been a list maker. Need something done? Put it on the list. Check. Check. Check. What joy to cross off accomplished tasks with the scratch of pen to paper. Today my lists are driven less by the desire to check off tasks, and more by the necessity to write things down so I don’t forget! Don’t tell me on the fly that you need razor blades or milk. Put it on the list or it won’t happen. There are moments it would be helpful if I had jotted down why I entered a room. Can anyone identify?

Sadly, the one thing I rarely forget is the very thing I should: myself! In his book, The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness, Timothy Keller writes, “Gospel-humility is not needing to think about myself. Not needing to connect things with myself. True gospel-humility means I stop connecting every experience, every conversation, with myself.”

The Apostle Paul understood, taught, and lived what it means to be self-forgetful. Although he had every right to boast in outward appearances, he wasn’t puffed up with pride. He considered them garbage that he might gain Christ (Philippians 3:3-8). Although he admitted he was the worst of sinners, he didn’t self-deprecate (1 Timothy 1:15-16). His identity and purpose were not founded on what others thought of him or even what he thought of himself. His boast was in Christ alone! He wrote, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14). For God to become greater and us to become less we must boast in Christ, and be self-forgetful!

• The self-forgetful are more concerned about pleasing Jesus than making good impressions. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will . . . so you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way (Colossians 1:9-10).

• The self-forgetful look out for the things of Jesus rather than their own comfort and security. For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:21).

• The self-forgetful do good deeds for the praise and glory of their Father, not for the praise of people. (Matthew 5:16) 

HE>i: How self-forgetful are you? Seek to think more about Jesus and less about yourself.

True humility isn’t acting to make ourselves seem humble to others, but striving to forget ourselves for the sake of others.

Burk Parsons

grace and peace,

Lenae

What's your Vision?

What’s Your Vision? 

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

Isaiah 6:1

When Helen Keller was asked “What could be worse than being blind?”, she replied “To have sight without vision.” How true.

In chapter 5 of his book Isaiah points his fingers at the faults of others:

• Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field (v. 8)
• Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks (v. 11)
• Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit (v. 18)
• Woe to those who call evil good and good evil (v. 20)

A dramatic change took place in Isaiah when he had a God-sized vision of the LORD Almighty. Try to imagine the sights and sounds that Isaiah saw!

I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Isaiah saw angels and heard them calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” Doorposts shook. Thresholds trembled. The temple was filled with smoke! (6:1-4)

No longer was Isaiah pointing his fingers at others. He had seen the LORD! He had seen His greatness and glory! The vision of God’s splendor convicted him of his sin. He cried out, “Woe to me!” (v. 5) A God-sized vision transformed Isaiah into a person God could use! After he was assured that his guilt was removed and his sin atoned for, he was ready to hear God’s call.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (v. 6)

How we see God affects the way we live. Our lives show God and others if we have a God-sized vision of the LORD or a pint-sized one. When Saul was anointed the first king of Israel his vision of God was so small he hid in the baggage. When David ran (yes, Scripture says, “ran”) to the battle line to meet Goliath, his vision of God’s greatness was aligned to the truth of who God is and what He says He will do. David said, “It is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s” (1 Samuel 17:47).

HE>i: What is your vision of God?

Sometimes when we get overwhelmed we forget how big God is.

AW Tozer

grace and peace,

Lenae

Reminders

The Whatcom County GEMS Skating Party is this coming Tuesday at Lynden Skateway, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., $5/person or $7 if you want inline skates. Bring a friend and join us!

Also, notice that in the right-hand column you can access the forms to register for the ALL WASHINGTON STATE GEMS CAMP, June 6-8, 2014 at Lake Retreat in Ravensdale, WA. We can't wait to see all you GEMS Campers and Counselors!! There is a new HEATED INDOOR POOL we get to use on Saturday afternoon, so no matter the weather, we will have opportunity to swim!!! Cost is $100/person. Forms are due TO YOUR CLUB COORDINATOR by May 1 and must be postmarked to me, Julie Ball, by May 5.

The Potter > the clay

Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Isaiah 64:8

During a Threading the Theme sectional at an ACTS Fall Workshop in Sioux Falls there were five or six ladies standing in front of the group miming one of the ways we can serve others and point to God’s greatness. At least that’s what they were supposed to be doing. (See page 41, “The Potter and the Clay” in the Theme Resource Book.)

The specific assignment was for one person in the group to be the “potter” and the rest of the ladies to be the “clay.” In silence, the potter was to sculpt the clay into an act of service, and the clay was supposed to conform to the potter’s molding. It wasn’t going well.

There was no silent submission. The clay insisted on her way. “No, no! We should do this!” “Let’s do it this way.” “No, let’s try this!” Instead of waiting for the potter to shape them into position, they were rearranging themselves and telling the potter what to do. Talk about an object lesson within an object lesson!

God’s Word is clear. The Potter is greater than the clay! Yet like the Israelites, how often do we turn things around, acting as if our ways and plans are greater than the Potter’s? Isaiah wrote, You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”? Can the pot say to the potter, “You know nothing”? (29:16). Paul reiterates the same truth in Romans. Who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? (9:20-21)

Sisters, this is our reality. We’re cracked pots. That’s right. Cracked pots. The size and shape of the cracks and chips in our pots may look different from one another, but we each have the same choice to make. Will we make ourselves the greatest by sitting on the potter’s wheel and grumbling with our Maker? Or will we submit and let Jesus, the treasure within us, shine through our cracks and display the all-surpassing, great power of God within us? (2 Corinthians 4:7)

HE>i: Like clay in the hand of the potter, God has His hand on you and your circumstances. How are you responding to His sovereign choices?

His hand is on your life, developing your faith to display His glory. He will transform you into a vessel of honor. You can trust your life to the Potter’s hand.

Anne Graham Lotz

grace and peace,

Lenae

A letter from the GEMS Board

March 3-2014

Dear Friends,

At this time last year, we were introducing you to a new Executive Director of GEMS Girls’ Clubs. Since then, there has been adjustment and growth, especially spiritually.  God has been stretching us, challenging us, encouraging us and walking each step with us.  He’s been teaching us much. And we are thankful. 

One of the things He has been teaching us is that there is a time for everything.  While we do not fully understand His timing, we do trust Him.  God brought Kathryn Miller to us a year ago to be the Executive Director of GEMS and while we all thought it would be for a longer period of time, she has sensed His call to move in a new direction.  We have learned much from each other and are able to see, without a doubt, that God brought us together for this time – without a doubt.  He has worked His purposes through our time together and we celebrate this and support God’s next steps for Kathryn, as she does for the GEMS Ministry and each individual in it. 

Our official time together drew to a close at the end of January, but we are certain many friend connections will continue.  Kathryn has relocated to be near her family in Texas.  On the GEMS website under the Leaders’ Blog, you will find a letter from Kathryn, dated Feb. 4 and a letter from the GEMS Board, dated Feb. 7.  If this is the first you are hearing of this transition, then these letters will be especially helpful to you.

 

Since January, the GEMS Executive Board has formed a Search Committee which has arranged for the position to be posted.  We are in that time frame now.  If you know of women who you think God may be calling to this opportunity, please let them know immediately.  The position is being posted from Feb. 17 to March 7.  Information is available at www.gemsgc.org.

Be assured that in this interim time of a couple months, the regular operations of GEMS will continue as usual – GEMS Sundays, Leadership Training, Conference planning, Get Connected Camp, website updates and more.  We have a wonderful, capable staff that manages the day to day operations and a board who is committed to help out as needed. 

Ladies, thank you for all you do – for your encouragement and prayers for the overall ministry of GEMS, and for your love and care shared through your local community of leaders and GEMS girls.  You are all specially called and are special!

Together we continue to grow through this year’s theme, and apply what we are learning in praying over this whole transition, fixing our eyes on Jesus so that the He is the focus. He is The Greatest.  We trust in Him.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.      Romans 15:13

On behalf of the GEMS Executive Board,

Mary Jo Vis - Executive Board President (new!) and

Henrietta Reinders – Search Committee

GEMS Girls’ Clubs

www.gemsgc.org

SKATING - MARCH 25

Hi everyone! The Whatcom County GEMS Roller Skating Party has been rescheduled for TUESDAY, MARCH 25. We hope you can all make it from 6:30 - 8:30 at Lynden Skateway!!

SKATING PARTY CANCELLED

The Whatcom County GEMS Skating Party that was scheduled for tonight has been CANCELLED due to the wind & snow. Please pass the word on. We will reschedule for a later date. Watch here for details. Stay safe & warm at home tonight!

NEXT EVENT!!

Our next event is the All-Whatcom-County-GEMS Rollerskating party at Lynden Skateway! Please join us (& invite your friends!) on February 24 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. The cost is $5/skater or $7 for inline skates. This is also a fundraiser to help us pay for use of the NEW POOL at GEMS Camp in June! Woo-hoo! Watch for details on camp coming SOON!!

Last interview with We Walk speaker!

Book one, Shadows in Tenebray Forest, is dedicated to your grandfather. The dedication includes a photograph of him as a young man in a World War II uniform and reads “In memory of my grandpa. He gave me so much straw.” What are you referring to here?

The straw is referencing a Russian proverb that appears in the book, “Would I know where I’d fall, I’d lay some straw there ahead of time.” In other words, if I knew what parts of life were going to be hard I’d do something in advance to make it a little easier. At one point a character refers to this and says, “But that isn’t possible is it? To know what will happen, and even if we did, I doubt we’d have enough straw. It brings out the theme in the book that perhaps our lives are intertwining and intersecting all the time and even though we don’t know what will happen, and even though it seems as though we’d never have enough straw, perhaps we provide straw for one another in the way our lives intersect.

I was very close to my grandfather. He was a WWII vet, but I never heard him talk about it. When I was in middle school he became very sick with cancer and was given a very short time to live. His sickness prompted my entire family to go with him to Europe and retrace his steps during the War.

My grandfather was in the second wave of soldiers who landed on Normandy Beach on D-Day. I will never quite comprehend the horror he saw that day. It must have been like walking into the very pits of hell. And standing there with him as a kid I remember thinking it was crazy. I mean why run across that beach? Why run into all that danger? A smart person would have run the other way.

A few days later we visited Dachau Concentration Camp. I saw for myself the effects of evil unchecked, unstopped, unopposed. My grandfather’s dying lesson to me was that there are reasons to run across a beach, there are things worth fighting for, there are times to run into battle. That lesson changed who I was. The books I have written are due in part to the fact that as a young man, my grandfather ran across a beach. So in many ways, he is my straw.

In book one, Shadows in Tenebray Forest the main characters connect with a woman who was a child during the Nazi occupation of Poland. The woman tells the girls of a brave and courageous thing she did as a child to oppose the Nazi regime. Why is it important to teach kids about World War II and the holocaust?

Let me preface this by saying that it has to be age appropriate. The goal isn’t to destroy the innocence of children by presenting them with the most gruesomeness of human history. That is why for instance the Holocaust Museum in DC has both a main exhibit and an exhibit for children. Some things are not appropriate for kids. That being said, we aren’t doing our kids any favors by pretending or teaching them that evil doesn’t exist and bad things never happen.

History, both the dark side and light side of history are important because it gives kids a framework for understanding that evil is real. It isn’t just an idea or a metaphor. We have to stand up against it. I read a quote at the United States Holocaust Museum about how the Holocaust wasn’t an accident and I think this is important for kids to know. It is important to understand that bad things don’t happen by accident. Rather they happen because of choices, both the direct choices to inflict hurt or injustice on another person, but also because of the indirect choices of silence, indifference, apathy.

I tell kids that on a smaller scale, what happened in history happens every day in their schools, on the bus, on the playground.  We always face choices of how we are going to treat another human being or how we are going to respond to how someone else treats another person. What history shows us and can illustrate for kids is how those choices and their actions are bigger than themselves. We see this repeatedly throughout history—how someone’s small act explodes into something bigger. And an understanding of this, that our actions reach beyond ourselves and have bigger consequences is valuable for a child to learn.

It also gives kids a framework for heroism. A hero isn’t simply a gorgeous movie star, but to learn about normal, everyday people, even other kids who made a difference, who made a crack in that machine of evil that looms so large opens up what is possible in their lives.

So certainly, the goal is not to destroy innocence, but rather to give kids the tools to navigate the realities of life.

Tell us about the We Walk Tour coming to Abbotsford on February 8.

The We Walk Tour is a three-hour mother daughter event. The tour is hosted by GEMS Girls’ Clubs, which is a dynamic international club program for young girls. For years GEMS has encouraged girls to find their voices and to become activists for Christ no matter their age. The tour is an extension of this. It’s really a call for girls to avoid the lure of indifference and apathy and silence.

The We Walk Tour challenges girls to stand up for what they believe in, even when the world does not value their voices. The event will open with great praise and worship, I’ll be speaking, we’ll have videos, and interactive object lessons. There is a mom-only session led by two amazing women and I’ll be leading a girl-only session. There is a craft, a snack, more praise and worship, prizes and giveaways. It’s a fun and meaningful morning where girls can better understand that their small acts, in the hands of Jesus, can be the catalyst for huge change in the world.

The event is on February 8 at Gateway Community Church in Abbotsford. Tickets are $15 per ticket and can be purchased through House of James, Blessings Christian Marketplace, Tourism Abbotsford or through at itickets.com http://www.itickets.com

You can also find information on my website. gemsgc.org/mrm.

More interview questions with Sara Lynne Hilton

If you had to pinpoint the main theme of The Micah Road Mysteries series, what would it be?

I think it would be that our lives have meaning and purpose beyond our line of sight. I want kids to know that their lives matter now—not just when we are grown. I hope kids walk away from the books with an understanding that the things they do and say matter. The way they treat each other matters.

You often write and speak about history and injustice. How do kids respond to this? 

I love talking to kids about injustice and their role in making things right. I find that most kids have an innate sense of justice. Ask most parents and they’ll probably tell you that their kids very willingly share what is not fair! This innate sense means kids tend to get really passionate when they learn about injustices like slavery.

The key is to bridge history with what is going on in their lives. For instance, when I talk to kids about slavery, most of them get fired up and tell me how they would have worked on The Underground Railroad. So I bridge it by saying, “Hey, I love the way you are talking. I love your passion and courage. Did you know that there are injustices in the world today? You can’t work on The Underground Railroad, so let’s fid a way to use your passion and courage today.” Then the kids and I brainstorm ways to make a difference in their own worlds. 

What is your favorite part about being a writer?

I love talking to kids after they’ve read one of my books. I recently did a school visit where all the kids had read Shadows in Tenebray Forest in advance of my visit. Hearing the kids talking about the characters and debating the choices the characters made was an unbelievable experience. To have the chance to see how my work has left my arms and is out there in the world is extremely gratifying. 

Tell us about the We Walk Tour coming to Abbotsford on February 8.

The We Walk Tour is a three-hour mother daughter event. The tour is hosted by GEMS Girls’ Clubs, which is a dynamic international club program for young girls. For years GEMS has encouraged girls to find their voices and to become activists for Christ no matter their age. The tour is an extension of this. It’s really a call for girls to avoid the lure of indifference and apathy and silence.

The We Walk Tour challenges girls to stand up for what they believe in, even when the world does not value their voices. The event will open with great praise and worship, I’ll be speaking, we’ll have videos, and interactive object lessons. There is a mom-only session led by two amazing women and I’ll be leading a girl-only session. There is a craft, a snack, more praise and worship, prizes and giveaways. It’s a fun and meaningful morning where girls can better understand that their small acts, in the hands of Jesus, can be the catalyst for huge change in the world.

The event is on February 8 at Gateway Community Church in Abbotsford. Tickets are $15 per ticket and can be purchased through House of James, Blessings Christian Marketplace, Tourism Abbotsford or through at itickets.com http://www.itickets.com

You can also find information on my website. gemsgc.org/mrm.

An interview with author and We Walk speaker, Sara Lynne Hilton

Bio

Sara Lynne Hilton is the author of The Micah Road Mysteries series and the keynote speaker for the international We Walk Tour. She is the former Senior Editor for both Shine brightly and Sparkle magazines and a frequent speaker at conferences, schools, church clubs, and other events. She has a deep a passion for encouraging girls to use their voices to make change in the world and to reject the lure of apathy and indifference. Sara resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan with her husband, two kids, and a cat named Chucky Buckles.

You can find her at www.gemsgc.org/mrm

1. What is the book series about?

The Micah Road Mysteries are about Tasha and Chloe, two girls who decide that they aren’t going to be the kind of girls who stand back and just allow bad things to happen, they are going to be the kind of girls who do something about injustices. So they convert an old playhouse in Tasha’s backyard into a detective agency and start taking on simple cases like lost cats. However, the girls’ bright shiny plans take a back seat when real life shows up. They end up facing series cases and learning that sometimes doing the right thing is very hard.

2. Book two, The Secret Order, asks the question, “What is true power?” What made you decide to tackle this topic?

I was reading an article about how young girls are targeted in some countries simply for seeking an education. I was struck by how often powerful regimes go after innocent and helpless people. Is true power simply brutality and force against the weak? To me, that reeked of fear and cowardice, and it begged the question, What is true power?

3. The Secret Order suggests that true power is love that doesn’t give up. Did you have that idea in your mind when you started the book?

No, the idea that true power is love that doesn’t give up developed as I wrote. The girls end up discovering the story of a mother and daughter who fled slavery during the 1860’s. As I was writing, the power of this mother’s love became so evident and so much purer and stronger than the forces around them. I wondered if love transcended earthly powers. Could love create a place that brute force couldn’t touch?

When I balanced that idea against my faith it made sense to me. As a Christian I believe God is all-powerful. But what is it about God’s power that brings me to my knees? It is his brute strength? Is it the knowledge that he can crush me? What is it? I realized that it is pure love and grace brings me to my knees. Let’s face it, we humans are pretty screwed up. We are a mess and yet God never gives up on us, and that is a Godly quality that I can’t quite grasp. I can understand brute power. I can understand being so angry that I want to destroy. But unceasing love? Love that doesn’t give up? Love that sacrifices for the undeserved? That is a power I can barely comprehend. That’s what makes me fall to my knees.

4. If you’ve ever been the recipient of love that doesn’t give up?

Yes I have and it was one of the most startling moments of my life.

5. Tell us about the We Walk Tour coming to Abbotsford, BC on February 8th.

The We Walk Tour is a three-hour mother daughter event. The tour is hosted by GEMS Girls’ Clubs, which is a dynamic international club program for young girls. For years GEMS has encouraged girls to find their voices and to become activists for Christ no matter their age. The tour is an extension of this. It’s really a call for girls to avoid the lure of indifference and apathy and silence.

The We Walk Tour challenges girls to stand up for what they believe in, even when the world does not value their voices. The event will open with great praise and worship, I’ll be speaking, we’ll have videos, and interactive object lessons. There is a mom-only session led by two amazing women and I’ll be leading a girl-only session. There is a craft, a snack, more praise and worship, prizes and giveaways. It’s a fun and meaningful morning where girls can better understand that their small acts, in the hands of Jesus, can be the catalyst for huge change in the world.

The event is on February 8 at Gateway Community Church in Abbotsford. Tickets are $15 per ticket and can be purchased through House of James, Blessings Christian Marketplace, Tourism Abbotsford or through at itickets.com http://www.itickets.com

You can also find information on my website. gemsgc.org/mrm.

Two weeks until We Walk!

The We Walk Tour is only two weeks from today!!

IF you would like to avoid the taxes & fees that apply when purchasing tickets online, you may place a bulk order for tickets with me. A counselor in Canada will get us tickets at one of the local outlets, but I will need to have your order by January 27. Email me for details about how to do this!!

The Comparison Game

Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Galatians 5:26

Until last week, I’ve read Galatians 5:26 as an itemized checklist. I understood them as standalone commands.

√ Do not be conceited. (My translation: You shall not be proud.)

√ Do not provoke one another. (My translation: You shall not irritate, aggravate, or intentionally step on someone’s last nerve.)

√ Do not envy each other. (My translation: You shall not covet your neighbor’s jean size, spiritual gifts, picture perfect family, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.)

Within his book, Galatians for You, Timothy Keller gave me needed clarity about this verse. Although they are standalone truths from God’s Word, they’re intentionally woven together. All three (not just the first command) are tied to conceit.

Keller writes, “’Provoking’ is the stance of someone who is sure of his or her superiority, looking down on someone perceived to be weaker. ‘Envying’ is the stance of someone who is conscious of inferiority, looking ‘up’ at someone they feel is above them.”

Provoking and envying are flip sides of the same self-absorbed coin. One is conceit absorbed in superiority; the other is conceit wrapped in an inferiority complex. Both are driven by comparisons, either feeling greater than or less than others, depending on the crowd and context of the activity or conversation. Both seek glory for self instead of for God.

When God is the greatest in our lives we find our identity and worth in Christ instead of comparisons. When God is center of our lives we grab hold of who He says we are! You glorify God instead of self when you . . .

• Praise Him because you are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).
• Give thanks for the place in life that the Lord assigned to you and to what He has called you (1 Corinthians 7:17).
• Test your own actions, instead of comparing yourself to others (Galatians 6:4).
• Delight in how He has determined the times set for you and the exact places where you should live (Acts 17:26).
• Give thanks for heaven’s gifts, handpicked for you (John 3:27).
• Celebrate that you are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for you to do (Ephesians 2:10).

HE>i: How often do you play the comparison game, which leads to judgment (superiority) or jealousy (inferiority)? 

When we feel conceited–superior or inferior–we need to root our glory, our sense of worth, in who we are in and through Christ.

Tim Keller

grace and peace,

Lenae

Fly to Higher Ground

Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,

nor his ear too dull to hear.

Isaiah 59:1 

On this morning’s jog down our gravel roads there were three birds running in front of me, obviously frightened. It must’ve been my heavy breathing that scared them. It certainly wasn’t the speed of my approach! It looked comical as the birds ran as fast their feet could mange. I wondered, “Why run when you can fly?” As if they heard my thoughts, they did just that and flew to higher ground.

Why run when you can fly? It’s a question worth asking. When problems and pain come our way do we run in our own strength or fly to God, the Rock who is higher than I (Psalm 61:2)? In every circumstance, temptation, need, and grief His arm is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear (Isaiah 59:1)!

1 Samuel 30 records that the Amalekites attacked the city of Ziklag, burned it, and took captive all the women and children, both young and old. David and his men experienced deep grief. Crushed with distress and bitterness, the men ran to self-reliance. They took things into their own hands and talked of stoning David. David chose to fly to higher ground. David found strength in the LORD his God (1 Samuel 30:6).

When Esther learned of Haman’s plan to destroy the Jews, Mordecai urged her not to run into the supposed protection of the palace for personal escape. She listened and chose to fly to the LORD whose arm is not too short to save, nor His ear to dull to hear (Isaiah 59:1). She asked the Jews to join her in a three day fast. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish (Esther 4:16).

When the music sounded signaling that all peoples and nations were to bow to King Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego soared by faith. Rather then caving to peer pressure as the people around them bowed low, they testified that the God we serve is able to save us from it [blazing furnace], and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up (Daniel 3:17-18).

The blazing furnace of grief, attacks from the enemy, and temptation to bow to false gods is not unique to David, Esther, or Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. It’s our story, too. Let’s refuse to run when we can fly.  Lift up your eyes to the hills. Our help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 121:2). He’s the greatest!

HE>i: Where do you turn when faced with loss and adversity?

When I get overwhelmed, confused, exhausted, I need a safe place where I can run and be protected. I need the name of the Lord.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss

grace and peace,

Lenae

One month!

The We Walk Tour is one month from today!!! See the post below for more detailed information...

BUT I have news for you!! IF you would like to avoid the taxes & fees that apply when purchasing tickets online, you may place a bulk order for tickets with me. A counselor in Canada will get us tickets at one of the local outlets, but I will need to have your order by January 27. Email me for details about how to do this!!