Monday, December 29, 2014

Grace

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. Eph. 2:8-9 Aren't we glad that God's Word tells us His grace does not depend on our performance?? Man, I'd be in a bad place if it did…anyone else with me? As 2015 starts, many of us do New Year's resolutions. I think it would be great if we can do one together. How about we commit to reading the Bible? You can commit to a daily thing or 4-5 times a week. You can do books at a time or just chapters or verses to meditate on. The point is to do it more than you do it now. I'd like you to write your commitment to yourself (and God) on a paper and put it in an envelope and seal it. No one else will see it, but sometimes we do better with a promise to ourselves if we write it down. Put your name on the front of the envelope and give it to us. We will keep them until we break for the summer. You are welcome to list other things that you want to commit to, but right now I want you to set your goal to be of the spiritual nature and think of a way that you can grow more in that area. I'm sure that all of us could use that, right? If you want some additional help, just let us know. We have lots of devotional books and blogs that we can list, as a matter of fact I'm reading an app right now that is pretty great. It's called SheReadsTruth and there is a free version. There are also versions in this that you can purchase, but I'm doing the free one and it is wonderful. There are others that are great too in the app store: Jesus Calling, d365 Daily Devotionals, Girlfriends in God Devotional… If you can do this by Thursday (Jan. 8) and bring it to class and give it to us you can get into class free that night. So, get your letters written. Do it for yourself! We pray this will bless you (and grow you) in 2015! Kacey and Candace

Monday, December 1, 2014

Luke 2:1-20

Luke 2:1-20New International Version (NIV) The Birth of Jesus 2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. So have you ever really thought about the meaning of the gifts the wise men brought to Jesus? Gold represented royalty, frankincense was a substance used to worship God (in Jewish culture) and myrrh was a perfume like material that people used to help with burial. These men knew that Jesus was the KING, that He was indeed divine and that he came to die on the cross for us. To me this is so cool. These wise men knew who Jesus was and what he was coming to do and I think they were showing their support of him. Makes me sit in awe for a bit… Now, come back to present day. What gift can you give to Jesus this holiday? We are going to challenge you to spend time with him this season. Go here:https://www.biblegateway.com/blog/2012/11/happy-holidays-our-christmas-devotionals-are-here/ and scroll down and select this: Christmas for the Faithful Woman (and any other topic you are interested in) Then you can go to the right side and put your email in and you should get daily advent devotionals. So cool! We can all do this together. Merry Christmas!! We love y'all!

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Challenge Time

Alright ladies, you have officially been challenged! In order to complete this challenge, first we need you to read the book of James. Sounds like a lot, but it's only 5 chapters…but don't think this is going to be easy! It will be a stretching activity (spiritually) for all of us. I would love for you to really take your time reading this. I have been doing a study on it and in the study we write 1 chapter of James a week. This has really helped me think more about the words and let them really resonate in my heart. Another good idea is to read all of James every day! This will really touch you!! Trust me! Okay, after you have done this, we need you to pray about opportunities for you to show God's love and your own love to others by doing something nice for them. Our Bible verse for the month is: You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was perfected. James 2:22. Our works are not what saves us but they sure can be a mirror of what our hearts look like. Jesus died to save us from our sin and since he paid the ultimate price for us it is our job to show others to him. One great way to do this is by what we do and how we react. I'd really like for you to challenge yourself to complete this challenge daily…if you can…but I'd be happy with 1 time over the holidays too. What does this look like? Well, thanks for asking. This could be as big or small as you and God think it needs to be. Holding open the door for others. Paying for someone's meal. Volunteering at a shelter. Inviting someone to come to dinner so you can get to know them better. Asking someone to spend the holidays with your family if they have no family close. We will not ask you what your challenge was…we only want to know that you completed it. If you are completing one every day then bless you! We are so proud of you! Now show the world how pure and beautiful your hearts are! Challenge completed? Let us know!! We love you! Be some light!!

Friday, August 29, 2014

Less of me, more of you...

So I know that today has been hectic! For some of us that might be an understatement!! If you are anything like me, my day starts the night before…as I lay in bed. I make sure that I have my checklist going in my head. 4:30 get up and get dressed to teach 5:15 early morning class 6:00 quiet time (while oil pulling…I know I'm crazy) 6:20 shower 6:30 make breakfast Need I go on?? I have been convicted lately about not only praying more for our country and the Christians around the world that are being persecuted, but I've also been convicted of being more intentional. Now, I'm a pretty quiet person. I like to watch people. I like to have my own space when I can…granted I teach preschool so having my own space is very rare. But, I feel like I need to do a better job of being intentional. Intentionally starting a conversation. Intentionally smiling at someone I don't know. Intentionally giving grace when reprimand was needed. Do you ever feel like that? I don't want my friends, or anyone for that matter to ever feel like I am too busy to help them, to pray with them, to love on them. I love my schedule…trust me, but there are times that I need to go out of my comfort zone to obey what God is telling me to do. In Galatians 5:6 (which is our verse this month) it says, " The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself in love." I have to ask myself the question…Did I show love today? Did I show love the way that Christ shows me love daily? Maybe that needs to be the first part of my day from now on. Lord, please help me to exude your love and grace today to everyone that I meet.

Monday, August 11, 2014

Class starts back Aug. 18 at 6:30

Can you believe it's time to start back? Where did the summer go? Well, we have been hard working on new songs and we are ready to get back to work. We will start back Aug. 18 at 6:30. Please bring your insurance card for your participation form and come a little early to fill this out. If bracelets are in then you will get your new one when you turn in your form. If they are not in we will start a list and hand out bracelets when they come in. Please help us spread the word about class starting back. In the past we have sent out a reminder email, but not this year. We want y'all to get in a habit of checking here on the blog or on FB for updates. We will also start preordering our new tank on Aug 18 (and for a few weeks after) so please bring a check (made out to Jody Crump) or cash for $15 when you are ready to preorder. We love the new tanks and we think you will too. If you have questions, please email us. Playlist will be coming later this week!! We love you and hope you had a restful summer! K and C

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

May is here!

This month we would like to encourage you to get plugged into church and over the summer please start making it a habit to get into the Word daily! If you are looking for suggestions of studies to do, here are some suggestions: *http://lysaterkeurst.com *http://www.playingsublimely.com/women-near-the-cross/ *http://shereadstruth.com/category/plans/women-of-the-bible/ Also, on iTunes you can get podcasts to listen to as you walk or clean your house. Some of our favorites are David Platt. He can PREACH! We would love suggestions of studies that are your favorites!

Monday, April 28, 2014

NO CLASS TONIGHT, MONDAY APRIL 28

Due to the nature of the weather we are canceling class tonight. Stay safe and we will see you Thursday! Please help spread the word!

Sunday, April 6, 2014

He first loved us!

Our verse this month is 1 John 4:19 "We love because He first loved us." Let's stop and think about this… The verse doesn't say He loved us because we did anything. He loves us in our brokenness. He loves us with our faults. He loves us even though we gossip. He loves us even though we don't do what we say we will. He loves us when we fail. He loves us even though we are not perfect. He loves us… If Christ can love us so much…with us who we really are…then why can't we do the same? We should love others who are broken. We should love others with faults. We should love others who gossip. We should love others who don't do what they say they will. We should love others that fail. We should love others because no one is perfect…except Him. And He loved everyone and set that example. I'm encouraging you this month to love others. This will look like: thinking of others first, controlling what you say to spare feelings of others, getting to know others, reaching out to others you know are in need. I'm asking that you SHOW Christ's love. Easter is later this month. Won't you invite someone to church and show them Christ's love. It is the ultimate gift. If you need some place to come, please come talk to us.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

NO CLASS MONDAY, MARCH 3

Due to WCS schools closing, we will have no class Monday, March 3. Come at 6:15 on Thursday for a breakdown this week and regular class will start at 6:30. Stay safe and warm!!

Friday, February 28, 2014

Are you stuck in a rut?

So around this time of the year, resolutions start to get old and harder to commit to. Is this you?? We know that even coming to class gets hard...with all the directions that we are pulled daily! Please stay strong! Taking some time for you is very important! Exercise is so important to keeping your stress level down, clearing your head, and overall health. Stay strong! You can do this! If you need to wake up early or stay up late, please do it! God wants us to keep our bodies healthy. This is the only one that we get!! It is also very important for you to watch your diet! If you are trying to lose weight...diet is the key! Eat as much fresh and less processed! Shop on the outer edges of the grocery store and not as much down the aisles. Stay strong!! Here is a great website with a lot of videos that you can do at home. We enjoy these too. There are so many that you can choose high intensity workouts or low impact barre videos. Copy and paste this link to get to the videos. http://www.youtube.com/user/FitnessBlender Remember you can do these this month when we don't have class for Spring Break!

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Class is on! 2/20!

Class is on tonight. We will start right at 6:30 so that we are finished right at 7:30 (no abs...we want to get home before storm gets bad). Feel free to check your phone during class for updates on weather. We will be. See you before 6:30!

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Love...

The Bible says to love your neighbor as yourself... Do you love yourself? You need to! We are God's creation...made in His image! We are not all the same and God doesn't want us to be! How boring would it be if we were!! We are going to focus this month on LOVING us and each other. How can you do that? Wake up every morning thanking God for who he made you to be! Make a point of not being critical of yourself! Give people compliments! Be genuine! Look into peoples eyes when you talk to them. Take time to listen! Pay it forward in what ever way you can for the day! We love you!

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Growing in the Word!

Happy 2014! Have you made your resolutions yet? I have...well, I've made some hopes for this year. One of my hopes is to get more into the word and really LISTEN to what God wants me to hear. I'm praying for the time, energy, and ability to really sit in His presence. What about you? I'd love to hear some of your favorite studies... Right now I'm sharing one of my new ones. Enjoy!! http://shereadstruth.com/2013/07/20/day13/