BE.

The worship tonight was astounding... to see so many women taking time away from stuff to just BE with God produced a sincere joy in many of us. I WISH you could have heard your voices in unison from where we were standing!!

Several women tonight began to share their stories... what distorted reflections they are fighting and how they want God to be their identity maker. Be encouraged! Your identity, value and purpose come from a perfect source... not what people think about your title, your appearance, how well your children behave or your special talents. Kick down the circle of mirrors- put it BEhind you- and walk... no, RUN toward the one who knows you best.

And this week- BE compassion. BE love. BE yourself.

Wanna GetAway?

What commercials are branded in your brain? Even though they are intentionally crafted by creative people to help us remember to purchase specific products, I often wonder if the ones I remember most have something to say about my twisted sense of humor... or maybe about things I wish to have. Hmmmm.

Don't you love those Southwest Airlines commercials? You know the ones I'm talking about? Where someone has done something completely boneheaded... usually left to hang in the awkward tension of everyone's stares. Then you hear the very recognizable SWA "ding!".. "Wanna get away?"

It usually makes me giggle and think... "uh... yeah."

Who doesn't want to get away from every day life sometimes? Stress... temptation... work... carpool... things I won't mention because it would offend my husband and sons (oops). But whenever we choose to get away from something, aren't we really choosing to GO TO something else? Where will you go to get away? And what will you find when you get there?

Christ pretty much summed it up. Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.

Rest. Ahhhh. Such a beautiful word... even to a driven girl like me.

Yet, we can't mistake rest for saying "someone else will take care of my stuff" or "I'm going to take a life-nap while God addresses all the junk flying around me." Rest is really more a state of the soul.

Worship, prayer, reflection, the Word, and listening are just a few of the ways we can approach God for rest in our souls... to simply cup our hands and say "God, I'd love to exchange my gritty attitude and exhaustion for some of Your peace and strength. (or maybe) Could you pour out some grace for a girl who doesn't have it all together?"

Well here's an opportunity, HillsideWomen! Thursday, April 23rd at 6:30pm we will have a 90 minute worship retreat and spend some time adoring God together. A time to GET AWAY. And a time to GO TO.

Childcare is available, but please make a reservation by April 19th. Drop by our GetAway table on April 12th & 19th, call Marie at 457-4918, or email Lisa Bradshaw at lisa.bradshaw@hillsidewired.com.

Make it a girlfriend night! Bring a friend! Come GetAway with our Lord for a couple of hours. Never know what you might walk away with... perhaps something you can GIVE AWAY to someone else!

Faces in the Book

What's "Faces in the Book?"

We used to shake our heads at our sons when they initially spent so much time on Facebook, browsing through all the profiles, pictures, stories, comments and information... accumulating friends like football cards. But it was amazing to watch how many details they learned about their "friends" through this little social tool. Through people's bios and comments, they sometimes discovered more about their friend's character that was attractive.... and sometimes quite the opposite. Either way, they always seemed to be a little more in touch with some people than they ever had been before. (Hey, and they were reading more!)

Of course we couldn't let them have all the fun. (Funny how the things we initially mock, we end up appreciating) We joined the cult phenom and have reconnected with friends from high school & college and keep in touch with family and friends. It's also an easy way to pass info about upcoming events!

Many of you probably already have a Facebook. Most of you might already have a Bible, too.

Quite a tool... this amazing Book of profiles, pictures, stories, and lessons of life. This spring we are focusing all our Bible Studies on the lives of some of the Book's greatest characters. We want to seriously invite you to join us for the "Faces in the Book" studies. Invite your friends to join too! For several weeks we'll take a regular look at several people's profiles in the Bible and hopefully learn a thing or two about ourselves along the way. On the right side of this page you'll find a list of everyone we're going to get to know better.

Registration is on, friends! Take a chance and join us this Spring! http://www.hillsidewired.com/ministries/adults/for-women/faces-in-the-book

Lisa Shares: Remember When?

Remember When?

Tommy recently asked us at Pageant if we remembered when we got that special present we asked for one Christmas. I do. It was Christmas of 19.., oh well, that doesn’t matter. Let me just say I had just turned 6 and wanted a "big girl bike." There it was on Christmas morning; a shiny, royal blue Schwinn. (That was top of the line in those days!)

I couldn’t wait to get outside to ride it, but my Mom said I had to wait. So my Grampa winked at me and told me to follow him. I went down the hall to my bedroom where he met me and said “Hop on!” “Really?” Yep, we were going to ride gently down the hall. Now mind you, the hall was probably 10 feet long.

Well, I hopped on, got a little push and down the hall I went. Bam!
I didn’t know how to stop it and I crashed into the wall by the kitchen. My Mom came flying out and stood in the hall with her hands on her hips and observed the GIANT black tire mark on the wall. That was the end of the bike for the day.

Have you ever worked really hard for something, or maybe even manipulated a situation, thinking the thing or result was going to make you the happiest person alive? Then, surprise, you realized that thing or person only caused you grief or heartache? Life is full of those lessons, like the bike. Got one to share?

How did u-connect?

This past weekend over a hundred wild-for-God women spent time drawing closer to Him and each other. This was not just a "nice gettaway in the mountains"- it was purposeful time to break the magnetic draw of the everyday and purposefully connect with what the magnificent One has to offer in living through Him. There have been so many stories shared of how God changed some hearts and will change some lives. We wanted to give some space for you to share how God spoke to you.

What did this time change in me? The message on Friday night is still rolling around in my head. It has shifted my thinking about Christ's blood. It's always been hard to imagine God did all that for me. It sometimes felt like too much pressure, you know? But understanding the sacrifice process and that the blood wasn't "for me" but "for God" has liberated my mind!! Understanding that God is "satisfied", I can grasp the thought that there is no time I will ever be loved by Him more than right now. Most of us probably struggle with feeling unworthy of receiving the blood- but if it was for God's satisfaction and not mine- that flips a thinking pattern in my mind. And it strangely brings a fresh freedom perspective that I can't "unworth" my way out of.

At iConnect, I also received the blessing of new friendships and a tighter sense of community.

I love you, HillsideWomen!