hcfwomen

The Survivor Tree

August 3, 2015by hcfwomenLeave a Comment

Recently, my family and I visited the OKC bombing memorial while visiting family, just like we have done several times before. This time was a little different as God began to speak to me surrounding the “Survivor Tree” that sits on the property of the memorial. This tree started out as just a scrawny parking lot tree that was almost destroyed when the federal building was being built. This beautiful tree survived and continued to thrive, doing its job of shading cars.

In 1995, when the tragic bombing occurred and killed so many people, somehow this tree survived. Although it was damaged and required some healing, miraculously, this tree again rose up and began to thrive. The inscription surrounding the tree today says, “The spirit of this city and this nation will not be defeated; our deeply rooted faith sustains us.” As I reflected on this tree and the depth of what it represents, it reminds me of the unshakeable God that we serve. May my roots be planted deeply in the love of Christ. No matter what happens in this world around me, I know that I have an unshakeable God that protects and sustains me.

“Blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green. It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

There are many things that are uncertain in everyday life, but there is one promise that I hold on to in times of trouble…blessed are those whose hope is in the Lord. Hope in anything else brings anxiety, worry, striving, an overwhelmed spirit, and a lack of joy.

What are you worried about today?
Are you fearful about your current circumstance?
Are you overwhelmed today?

I want to yield a fruitful life and thrive no matter the circumstance. I want the testimony of my life to be that I was firmly planted and deeply rooted in Christ, how about you? Let’s be fruitful, thriving women who radiate joy to the world! 🙂

This post was written by Amy Meek. To read more about her, click here.

Identity, Worship

The Truth About Worship

July 6, 2015July 6, 2015by hcfwomen1 Comment

When I was asked to write this post on worship, my first thoughts were, “I’m not a worship leader! I can think of many women more qualified to write this post than me.” Then came the gentle voice of Truth—a voice that told me that I did have something to say on worship. This patient Holy Spirit voice reminded me of my identity in Christ.

My worship comes from knowing the truth of who I am in Christ, and who God is in me. I am chosen by God (as are you) to declare the praises of him who called me out of darkness (1 Peter 2:9). Although I’ll probably never lead worship from behind a microphone and guitar, I have been called to worship in my everyday life, just by walking in who He create me to be.

I can clearly remember the season of my life where this revelation became cemented in my spirit. Very soon after Kirby and I married, he was diagnosed with stage 3B cancer. In that season, I ran headlong into this tension between the facts in our life and the truth of the Word of God in our life. Let me explain: the fact was that my husband had life-threatening cancer, but the Truth of the Word says that by his stripes, Kirby is healed. The fact was that I was a scared young bride who had no idea how to care for a husband with cancer. The Truth says that I have been given everything I need for life and godliness. I found that as I chose to embrace the facts—but believe the truth in my life—I began to position myself to follow the Holy Spirit guiding me through my everyday. And out of that place, worship began to flow naturally.

When worship flows out of the truth of who we are in Christ, it goes way beyond Sunday morning. True worship evolves into serving our life groups, loving our husbands, discipling our kids, being excellent in our careers, and so much more. When we choose to say yes to our identity in Christ, we can begin to truly engage in worship in our everyday.

I love the way the Message Bible puts it:
“Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.” John 4:24

Here’s what is at stake: If I allow my circumstance (facts) to determine whether or not I worship, then I won’t worship. My decisions will sway in whatever direction the wind blows. So let’s allow the Truth to win the day in our hearts, sister. Let’s choose to worship in Spirit and Truth – the truth of who God is and who we are through Christ. Let’s choose to engage.

This post was written by Catherine Dunn. To read more about her, click here.

Fruitfulness, Prayer

A Call To Fight

June 18, 2015by hcfwomenLeave a Comment

C.S. Lewis wrote, “Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. ”

Because of the influence of my sisters, I now mentally make Lord of the Rings analogies to life…and I’ve noticed I’ve been doing this more recently. To me, this and other stories like it give a picture of a time when people lived fully, loved deeply, and fought fiercely. And I believe that we are in a similar place today: a place where we need to allow ourselves to be fully present to those in our lives.

And there comes a time even now when we must fight. Sometimes it’s for ourselves and sometimes it’s for others. We fight for our families, we fight for our friends, we fight for our churches. This is not in the physical, it is in the spiritual, but it doesn’t make it any less important.
We fight to choose life every day.
We fight in worship.
We fight in prayer.
We fight in faith.

There is an account in the book of Exodus when the Israelites are fighting a battle, and their leader, Moses, is standing at the top of the hill. Whenever he lifts his hands up, they are winning, but when he lowers them, the enemy begins winning. Moses is very old at this time, and his hands grow tired. Two of the leaders have to hold up Moses’ hands on either side, and the victory is won.

Our prayers matter. In this, we are lending our strengths to others and speaking life over them. We are reminding them and ourselves of the truth of God’s Word and speaking it into our reality on earth. This does not mean that we let our hearts get hard; but we are willing to step out in courage–to step up and fight. We do this because our hearts are tender, we care about people, and we are willing to fight for them in prayer (and action, too). These are not scared prayers; these are declaring God’s Word over people and situations, and reminding our own hearts that God is bigger than anything we might face.

We do not fight as if we do not know who will win the battle. We fight because we know that our God is on our side, and he is victorious. He does not slumber or sleep, but will keep our hearts and lives safe–hidden in him. In the physical, this may or may not work out like we want. But we know that we can trust our God and press hard into Him no matter what.

This post was written by Heather Dillard. To read more about her, click here.

Love, Marriage

From Ordinary to Extraordinary – Part 2

May 29, 2015by hcfwomenLeave a Comment

Continuing from our previous post on marriage (if you have not read Part 1, click here)…

God’s story for us is one of pursuit and redemption, of lavish gifts and sacrificial love. This is not an epic love story—it’s The Epic Love Story.

God is love.

I love my husband. And over the last almost nine years, our relationship has grown from initial attraction and interest to deep love and affection; it has, at times, been both passionate and romantic, and other times, both ordinary and comfortable.

But Howell cannot be the lover of my soul. He cannot fill all my desires. He can’t complete me or satisfy me or fill me.

Only Jesus can do all of that.

And the moment I put that expectation on Howell: I fail, he fails, and our relationship stops working. Who can live up to that pressure? Who can trump Jesus?

It may sound paradoxical—let Jesus have all my desires, and my desire for Howell will be greater. Let Jesus fill me, and my love for Howell will be fuller. But that’s precisely how it works.

Today, we do have an extraordinary marriage not because of luck but because we’ve chosen to fight for our marriage—to choose forgiveness and to release expectations. Walking out forgiveness is even more countercultural than our expectations for love.

Deep down, here’s the battle. I love my husband, and I know he loves me. I know that he’s not spiteful or mean-spirited. He never intentionally hurts my feelings or disappoints me. But in the moment, I also feel hurt or disappointed. So the battle is determining what to choose—to choose what I know or to choose what I feel. And on paper, this sounds easy.

Obviously, I should choose what I know. But in the moment of your hurt feelings or disappointment, it’s a much more difficult decision. You think, if I choose to resolve this now, he won’t know how big of a deal it was. Or, if I choose to forgive, it’s just the same as saying it’s okay—and it’s not okay. Actually, the greatest lesson we could have learned (and I really believe this) was to stop saying “it’s okay” altogether. To, literally, stop using those words, and instead to say “I forgive you.”

Forgiveness brings freedom to your marriage. When you take the steps to surrender that issue—whether big or small—God comes in and does the supernatural work of healing. God comes in and restores love and grace in your heart toward your spouse. If the issue is small, the process of forgiveness is often easier, quicker. You remember why you love your spouse, you remember to expect the best in them, and you remember that you don’t want to keep record of wrongs. And so, you surrender and you release.

If the issue is great, sometimes that process takes more time. But don’t lose faith in His supernatural power; God is a God who heals—physically and emotionally. He can make you whole and free. He alone can fill your every desire. And He can bring extraordinary love to even the most ordinary marriages.

This post was written by Laura Brandenburg. To read more about her, click here.

Love, Marriage

From Ordinary to Extraordinary – Part 1

May 16, 2015by hcfwomen3 Comments

My husband Howell and I will be married 7 years this summer. I don’t want to gush, but in all sincerity, he is my greatest gift from God. We understand each other, even though our personalities are very different. I can’t remember the last time we had a fight, but it’s been weeks, maybe even months. I believe we have an extraordinary marriage, and when I really do think about it, I feel lucky.

But the Lord reminded me today that our journey to get here was paved with grace and forgiveness and hard work—not luck. During our two years of dating, we probably fought every day if not every other day—about something. Anything. And our first two or three years of marriage seemed only slightly better.

I was constantly offended; my feelings were always hurt. Generally, our arguments were based on this: I hoped/thought/expected that he would do/be/say X. And when he wasn’t doing/saying/being X, my feelings were deeply hurt. Clearly he didn’t love me because he if loved me, he would say/do/be X. And since he didn’t say/do/be X, I shouldn’t trust him, respect him, or love him either.

It was exhausting—for the both of us.

But today, our marriage is a source of joy and a safe place because we have chosen to persist in two major areas: expectations and forgiveness.

One of my issues—the creation of false expectations—was closely related to our culture’s view of love—our very false, very misplaced presentation and consumption of love: that love is romantic and fairytale, that love says your man will be transformed and will eventually—and at all times—meet your greatest desires with the right lines and big gestures.

So I had a lot of expectations about marriage and about Howell. Most of them were uncommunicated, too, so they became guesswork for him.

When we would argue, I would shut down, waiting for him to say the right line—the magical words. Read the script, Howell!

Of course, he didn’t know what his lines were supposed to be.

I remember one fight—a pretty serious one—where I left the house. I went to a park. I was hurting, and my instinct in our arguments was always to run. But in Hollywood, the boy always follows. He knows instinctively where she is. So I sat, and waited, and eventually (more angry than before), I went back home where my husband was also hurting and stressed out and unsure of what to do. I hadn’t given him the script then, either.

So maybe Hollywood and our culture are to blame, but the real ownership on my part comes from recognizing that my expectations were for Howell—not Jesus—to be my everything: to fill me, complete me, know me fully inside and out, comprehend my every thought and desire.

There is only one perfect man, and His name is Jesus. He made the greatest gesture any man could ever make for us; He became the ultimate example of self-sacrifice. Nothing trumps that. Nothing.

Stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon!

This post was written by Laura Brandenburg. To read more about her, click here.

Faith, Family, Parenting, Trust

Hope for a Happy Ending

March 30, 2015July 6, 2015by hcfwomenLeave a Comment

This post originally appeared as part of an article on Sheila’s personal blog, Pausing to Praise. She has given us permission to share it here.

I remember when we brought my oldest son, Justin, home from the hospital after he suffered severe brain damage following open-heart surgery. He was a dramatically different child from the happy, energetic five-year-old little boy who went into the hospital several months earlier. My red-headed fireball of energy was no longer able to walk or talk or eat or even hold his head upright without assistance.

I felt as though my whole world had come crashing down around me, and all joy had been swallowed up in deep darkness. But in the midst of my pain, I clung to the hope that someday he would recover. I imagined a day when Justin was again normal and all my children were healthy and happy. My heart hoped for a happy ending that would relieve my suffering by removing it.

How do we envision our happy ending? Most of us have a preconceived idea of what will make us happy, satisfied, and fulfill all our longings.

Of course there are some very real hurts and difficulties in this broken world, but most of us are unhappy because we’re chasing earthly things, and all the while our hearts long for something more. But when we don’t understand our heart’s cry for God, then we have a misconception of both suffering and happiness.
So we keep hoping for our ‘happy ending.’

But hope is a ‘maybe’ word, while faith trusts in a sure thing. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). I love what Matthew Henry had to say in his commentary on this verse. “Faith and hope go together; and the same things that are the object of our hope are the object of our faith. It is a firm persuasion that God will perform all that he has promised to us in Christ.”

If He is the object of our faith, then He is the substance of our hope. But we don’t often exchange our hope for faith overnight or with the sheer force of our will. Sanctification is a slow process, fed by devotion to prayer and God’s Word. Some lessons don’t ever seem to take a permanent hold in our thoughts—we have to keep preaching them to ourselves—reminding ourselves about the truth of the gospel and the sovereignty of God. Often it is suffering that forces us to surrender our imperfect desires and our feeble hopes, and brings us to our knees and to God’s Word.

The day when Justin fully recovered from his brain injury never came, but I found true joy and the real source of my ‘happily ever after’ did not rely on material possessions, earthly relationships, or circumstances that relieved my difficulties. And today I remind myself that when I surrender my hopes for happiness for faith in a sovereign Savior, he becomes both the source and substance of my joy–today and tomorrow and ‘happily ever after.’

This post was written by Sheila Campbell. To read more about her, click here.

Faith, Fruitfulness

When Dreams Invade

March 16, 2015by hcfwomenLeave a Comment

This post originally appeared on Heather’s personal blog, Discovering the Extraordinary. She has given us permission to share it here.

“What would you do if you knew you would not fail?”

I’ve never really liked this question.
To me, it seems to put so much pressure on finding that one thing that’s absolutely perfect for the rest of your life.

What’s the opposite of failure? Success.
Well, maybe…but I don’t think so.

I don’t think success has anything to do with not failing. In fact, if someone does anything successful, chances are, they’ve failed many, many times. Because we all have times that we fail, make mistakes, and royally mess up. But that’s part of the journey. Success is taking those failures and learning from them, and getting up and continuing to move forward.

So maybe the right question to ask would be:
“What would you do if you knew your heart would come alive?”

What comes to mind when you hear this? Does your heart leap within you? Do you feel free and inspired? Or do you feel fear and discouragement?

I don’t know if you have these moments like I do…but I can’t seem to get away from them. Let me set the stage for you here: In reality, I find myself in situations where it seems like the dreams God has put on my heart are impossible–or at the very least, postponed for a very long time. Things just don’t work out as I thought they would.

But then God keeps putting these things on my heart. Even in the midst of my heart giving up, these dreams keep coming back, and keep invading my thoughts and the direction of my heart. I’ve even been so brazen as to ask God, “Why?”

Why, after all that is going on, is this coming up now? Why, when it looks like everything is a mess, do You even put this as a thought in my heart? Can’t You see that it’s impossible? Can’t You see that reality has set in…that this can’t happen now?…

But as much as I try to get around it, His response continues to be:
“These are dreams that I have put in your heart. I spoke these words to you in the first place. And I will fulfill them.”

I don’t know what that will look like (chances are, it’s not going to be how I pictured it, anyway). But I keep coming back to this promise from God:
I’m not done yet.

This post was written by Heather Dillard. To read more about her, click here.

Family, Parenting

A Note to Moms

March 5, 2015September 5, 2016by hcfwomen3 Comments

For a month now I have been really praying and seeking the Lord about what I would share with you in regards to raising godly children. My children are 3 and 1, and though we talk about the Lord, pray, and worship daily in our home, my three year old will flop back and forth every week on whether or not she prays. She told us a few weeks ago that she was simply “over it.” Yes… she’s over it. So when I was first approached about writing to you all about this topic, I kind of wept and honestly took my heart to the Lord.

“God… there is no way I have anything to say! My children are one and three… I have no track record and quite frankly I’m pretty sure I’m doing it ALL wrong. What could you POSSIBLY have for me to share?”

God: “That right there.”

It took me a few weeks to process all of that but here’s what I feel like God told me: The vast majority of Christian mothers feel as though they are failing. That they are not good enough, that their children are not mannered enough, dressed well enough, spiritual enough, or even playful enough. In my life I know this to be true.

It has taken so much work for me to shake a lot of this fear of failure, and believe me—it is a daily battle. I still have to wake up in the morning and remind myself of who I am in Christ and that when it comes to motherhood—I haven’t failed! I may have small battles with my children that I don’t always win, but in the BIG picture—I haven’t failed, and neither have you.

“My chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, and their descendants with them.” -Isaiah 65:23

Moms—this season is tough. There are so many days I feel like I’ve got it all wrong. Remain teachable in his Spirit. Allow him daily to lead you to wise counsel when it comes to raising those sweet babies, and remember his promises.

So when you wake up in the morning and those fearful thoughts start creeping in—allow him to remind you of who you are! That you are victorious through all that his Son did on the cross—that you are WHOLE complete, LACKING nothing. That you are NOT a failure. He has given you all you need to parent those gifts he gave to you. Pull out his Word, bring your little bit of willingness to hear his Spirit talk and lead you, and as Lysa Terkeurst would say, “trust him enough to let HIM write their story.” Push through, sweet mama friends—You got this!

“Your greatest contribution to the kingdom of God may not be something you do, but rather someone you raise.” —Craig Groeschel

This post was written by Maggie Riley.

Fruitfulness, Scripture

Be A River

February 9, 2015by hcfwomen1 Comment

One thing I love about God’s Word is that it’s always fresh and relevant. Just when you think you’ve read a Scripture a hundred times, God can shine His light on it and cause you to see a whole other level of meaning. Even so, I think it’s easy sometimes to fall into the “been there, done that, got the t-shirt” (or bumper sticker, or refrigerator magnet) trap. Especially for folks who have grown up in church, the power of the truths that we hear preached over and over again can seem to get lost in their familiarity.

So what’s the solution? Be a river. Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'” (John 7:38 NASB) We’re meant to let life flow from our hearts. We’re meant to take what we’ve been given and share it with others.

Do you know why the Dead Sea is dead? It’s constantly being poured into, but it has no outlet. This results in a toxic situation in which nothing can live. The Jordan River flows in, but then the water is trapped and eventually just…evaporates. If the Gospel seems stale, powerless…it’s not a problem with the message. Maybe it just doesn’t have an outlet. Allow the Good News to flow and see if that doesn’t bring life to all involved.

Proverbs 11:25 says, “Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” (NIV) Another version says it this way: “He who waters will himself be watered.” (NASB)

We know all about the need for water here in West Texas. We’re all too familiar with drought. We would think it was crazy if a farmer had an irrigation system with a full well and he never used it to water his crops. No one would just sit there and watch his harvest literally shrivel and die just because he made a choice to keep the water for himself. Let’s not make that mistake as Christians. There are people all around us–in our own circles of influence–who desperately need the life-giving water we’ve been given. We’re meant to flow. We’re meant to be refreshed…inspired…ALIVE…and that’s what happens when we become a river.

This post was written by Becca Wilhite. To read more about her, click here.

Life Groups

We See Leaders

January 27, 2015by hcfwomenLeave a Comment

This post was initially written by Jodi about her life group during the fall semester. However, it is still a great post for us today, as we have just begun life groups for the spring semester! For more information on HCF Life Groups, click here.

We kicked off the Fall semester Life Group last night with a meal at our home, and I’ve been thinking about what a great time we had being together. We’ve led this group for quite a few months, and this morning I am pondering our group’s personality and potential. My husband and I felt totally filled up with love and goodwill last night by having two Life Groups share a meal in our home (we literally ran out of chairs and people were sitting on the floor).

Colossians 1:27-29: “To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.”

God showed me that I get to be a part of creating an atmosphere for each one of these precious people to experience Christ revealed in them. Each person is a depository of His grace, His power, His heart, His creativity. They are future leaders who will impact their family’s legacy. Literally generations are held inside them, and our Life Group team gets to speak life and encouragement over their giftings, callings and potential.

We don’t just want to gain members at Harvest. We train leaders. Life Groups help us disciple people to lead. That’s our group’s mission. We are leaders and we want to come alongside other leaders as they grow.

We desire each person in our group to SEE themselves as a leader.

Why, you may ask?

Dear Reader, you lead yourself as you submit to Christ. You lead your family as you serve. You lead those outside your family group as you stay true to who you really are in Christ. He is our hope of glory! Simply put, leadership = influence. And you have influence. I beg you to leverage your influence to build God’s kingdom.

In case you haven’t heard, there are a lot of people in this world and in your realm of influence that aren’t experiencing a Jesus-filled life. I’m NOT saying you have to quit your job and become a full-time evangelist. I AM saying that you need to see yourself as a full-time evangelist as you leverage the giftings and unique personality God has given you to serve those around you, however God calls you.

In other words, be yourself!

May we remember our true identity as sons and daughters of the King as we live (more than just survive) through this day. We have a choice to rely on Christ’s power in us moment by moment. Let’s step up to the plate, actively depend on Christ today, and encourage each other as we go.

This post was written by Jodi LaFrance. To read more about her, click here.

If you are not currently in a Life Group, we would love to have you! Find a group by checking out the HCF Life Group page here.