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Women of Worth (WOW) - Women's Ministry Newsletter

Volume 13 – June 2021

Inspiring, equipping and empowering women to live extraordinary lives in Christ Jesus

In This Edition...

Waiting for the Gift, by

Ronda Hastings

My sister's Closet
Fashion Show &
Clothing Exchange –
July 24

Juneteenth – Celebrate
Freedom June 19

An Example of
Unconditional Love - A
Father's Day tribute, by
LaRonda Johnson

Perceive it. Believe it.

Receive it, by Michele
Loaiza

Waiting for the Gift

By: Ronda Hastings

 Director, Women of Worth Ministry

Acts 1:4 “On one occasion, while He was eating with them, He gave them this command:
Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised. . .”

I have a friend who just can’t wait to open his presents. He tells of how he would get in so
much trouble at Christmas because he would wait until his mother went to sleep, slip down
and open his presents early. The problem is that he continues to sneak and open gifts
every time he has a chance. Actually, I can understand that as I, too, have trouble
waiting. Waiting for anything is so frustrating.

Recently in a class I was in, I learned a really important principle, “Who you become while
you are waiting is as important as what you are waiting for.” Is that powerful? As I
reflected on it, it completely shifted my mindset. Suddenly, waiting was no longer a waste
of time, instead it became a place filled with important action. That place of waiting
became a place of preparation that is vitally important to my growth and development.

In Acts chapter 1, Jesus told the disciples that they had a critically important mission to
accomplish, they were to be His witnesses and that the power of their testimony and
proclamation would spread throughout the entire earth. That is an assignment that I can
get behind! It fires up my soul and fills me with passion to move out and do
something!! But, instead of giving them a pep talk and sending them out, Jesus told them
not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised. It seems that there is
a space between the initial assignment and the execution of that assignment. That space
is a place of preparation. In the same way that the disciples were not ready to run out and
change the world, we too must wait while God works deep within us shaping us, renewing
us and equipping us to fulfill His call.

The Greek word for “waiting” here is a really unusual word. It means to wait with
expectancy. To be sitting on the edge of your seat looking for the move of God. There is
a hint of urgency, a knowing that you desperately need God to move in your behalf before
you can take the next step. Following the ascension of Jesus on the Mount of Olives, the
disciples and other followers of Jesus returned to the upper room in Jerusalem where they
devoted themselves to prayer. They continued in prayer for about ten days, and during
this time God was working in them, leading them, transforming them, and preparing them
for what was to come. I see them growing in persistence and consistency. I see them
tenaciously refusing to give up. I see them reaching out with determination, refusing to
miss what God has for them. It was a time of becoming for them. They were becoming
people who loved to seek the face of God, who recognized that human action without
divine empowerment is irrelevant, who discovered that trust and faith in God supersedes
human action and, that worship trumps to-do lists.

When the time was precisely right, and everything and everyone was in their place, God
moved. Acts chapter 2 tells us that those 120 people gathered in that upper room heard a
noise from heaven like the sound of a violent rushing wind. That supernatural sound filled
the entire house where they were gathered and they saw something like a huge ball of fire
appear. Then tongues of fire began to move out and rest on each of them. Something
unprecedented happened - they were filled with the Holy Spirit who was the gift promised
by the Father! They were filled with a divine power and an anointing that would enable
them to succeed in the strategic mission assigned to each of them.

I want to encourage you to step into your personal waiting room right now. Perhaps you
are waiting for a husband, a baby, a job promotion, etc. Just as the disciples desperately
needed to be transformed by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, God has something that
you desperately need while you wait here in this space. I know it is hard and that some
days you feel like you just can’t do it anymore. I feel that way too sometimes, but I can
assure you that your God knows exactly what you need and exactly when to give it to
you. My sister, you are in the process of becoming that beautiful, extraordinary woman
you were created to be. It is okay to pause in the waiting place and learn to rejoice in the
Lord! Breath deeply beautiful one, and know that profound things are taking place. Wait,
my sister, wait for the gift that God has in store for you.

WOW Bible Study

Teaching: Ronda Hastings
Topic: Rebuilt for Victory
When: Tuesdays @ 6:30 PM
Venue: Facebook and Livestream

Description: Our weekly Bible Study ministers to women

Join via
Facebook through dynamic worship, anointed Bible teaching, and
intimate small group interaction in order to help them
become the extraordinary women God designed them to
Join via be. We want to see women grow spiritually, personally,
Livestream
and relationally as we draw near to God and are
transformed by the power of His Word.

SSS (Sisters Sowing Seeds)

 Teaching: Ramonda Bacon
Topic: Woman in the Mirror
When: Last Monday of each month (evenings)
Venue: Zoom

Description: We desire to establish a sisterhood based

upon respect, integrity, morality and unconditional love. To
Email to Register inspire women to embrace their life purpose by
recognizing their identity in Christ. To celebrate our
individual uniqueness and gifts, all while fostering a
solidarity of lifelong sisterhood.

Tuesday Morning Study

Teaching: Becki Rodriguez
Topic: I, II and III John
When: Tuesdays @ 10:30AM (on break June 15 & 22)
Venue: 720-740-9824 Access Code 8683511

Description: Women are welcome to join our Bible Study

Email to Register
at any time as we have an ongoing study of one book of
the Bible at a time. It is a time of encouragement and
learning to apply His Word to our daily lives.

Thursday Evening Study

Teaching: Bunnie Endres
Topic: TBD
When: On Break until July
Venue: Teleconference

Description: TBD
Email to Register

Cover-to-Cover Book Club – 2nd

Monday of each Month
Teaching: Anna Mortara
When: 2nd Monday of the Month, at 6:30 PM
Venue: Zoom

Description: Join our monthly book club for men and

Email to Register women. We are meeting for a rich discussion of pre-
selected books.. Contact Anna Mortara via email to learn
about the current book.
 Fervent Bible Study
Teaching: April Williams and Gisselle Ventura
Topic: Fervent, by Priscilla Shirer
When: 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the Month, at 12 PM
Venue: Zoom

Description: You have an enemy . . . and he’s dead set on

destroying all you hold dear and keeping you from
experiencing abundant life in Christ. What’s more, his
approach to disrupting your life and discrediting your faith
isn’t general or generic, not a one-size-fits-all. It’s specific.
Personalized. Targeted.

So this book is your chance to strike back. With prayer.

With a weapon that really works. Each chapter will guide
you in crafting prayer strategies that hit the enemy where
it hurts, letting him know you’re on to him and that you
won’t back down. Because with every new strategy you
build, you’re turning the fiercest battles of life into precise
strikes against him and his handiwork, each one infused
with the power of God’s Spirit.

Join us on the first and third Saturday of each month for

this incredible journey towards living a victorious life
through powerful prayer!

Email to Register

Single Moms Small Group Bible

Study

Teaching: Michele Loaiza

Topic: A time to Reflect, Renew and Reposition
When: 2nd Friday of each Month at 7:00 PM
Venue: Zoom
Email to Register
Description: This group encourages a special time for
single moms to connect in a loving and Christ-centered
environment where we can collectively offer support to
one another through faith-based lessons, sharing, prayer,
and friendships.

Reflect on the unique gifts of being a single mother

and women in Christ.
Renew our strength and hope that comes from the
Lord.
Reposition our Crowns of Rejoicing, Righteousness,
Glory, and Life.

Single Mom, “being confident of this, that he who began a

good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day
of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 (NIV)
 Other Events

Come out and join our weekly MOVE class every Saturday at 8:30 AM at Washington

Manor Park. It’s all about you moving the body to gospel music. We dance and praise the
Lord as we do different movements. Come out and join the fun! We lift each other up in

dance. Strict Social Distancing is observed.

What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth means June 19th, Freedom

Day, Liberation Day, Jubilee Day or

Emmancipation Day.

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally

celebrated commemoration of the ending of

slavery in the United States. On June 19,

1865, a Union General rode into WE ROSE

Galveston, Texas to announce that the
From Africa’s heart, we rose
Civil War had ended, and slaves had been Already a people, our faces ebon, our bodies
lean,
freed. We rose

Skills of art, life, beauty and family

Crushed by forces we knew nothing of, we
Though the Emancipation Proclamation
rose
became law in January 1863, it could not Survive we must, we did,
We rose
be enforced in places still under
We rose to be you, we rose to be me,
confederate control. Thus it took over two Above everything expected, we rose
To become the knowledge we never knew,
years for approximately 250,000 Texan
We rose
slaves to learn their freedom had been Dream, we did
Act we must
secured by the government.
Kristina Kay
 An Example of Unconditional Love - A Father's Day Tribute
by LaRonda Johnson

I always loved when my father called me “half-pint”, a term of endearment he used for me.
That was before I was ten and my parents divorced. As the youngest in a family of eight, I
often felt left out, specifically by my five siblings. But running out to my dad and being
called half-pint made me feel important and special. Despite the many difficulties in my
childhood, my father taught me what it meant to be unconditionally loved, an example for
me to know God’s love.

Thinking back on it, I wonder why he decided to call me half-pint...other than I was the
youngest and smallest. (I won't mention the cutest. I could be ornery sometimes, even
back then!) There was Laura Ingalls, from Little House on the Prairie, who had that
nickname. I did love me some Little House. Of course, there's a half-pint of liquor. Yet, I
never saw my father drink more than a beer or two while enjoying his cigar. Then there's a
half-pint of milk. However, I don't think my father considered that small carton we drank
everyday at school, the ones that could be so difficult to open!

The term half-pint has so many connotations; but I don't even care about those. I only care
to remember running into my dad's arms when he returned home from work, him lifting me
up with a large smile, and saying in his quiet, teasing voice, "Hey, half pint!" That image
was seared into my heart. I knew there was someone in the world who would always love
me and find me special, know matter what.

Happy Fathers Day to all dads! My prayer is that you understand the power of love you
have and will bestow it upon the young ones in your life. Then, they’ll have that indelible
example of our Father above and will carry it throughout their lives.

My father - Dawson Johnson, 1923-1991

 By: Michele Loaiza

This year, spring cleaning began in my house two months ago. One Saturday, my cousin
David felt inspired to send me music to enjoy and keep my spirit aligned to God's plan for
the day, which was to get my house in order. During the days leading up to that Saturday,
I had been planning my attack-and-conquer strategy in one area of my house: the
garage. I had a vision of what the area would look like after I was through, and how I
would accomplish the task following a streamlined approach. That morning, as I took my
plan to the Lord, to my surprise, He redirected me to another part of the house entirely:
my bedroom. So, there I stood in a different room as I tried to discern what God was
telling me.

Moments later, my cousin texted me saying: "Today is a day to perceive the new thing
God is going to do in your life. However, for it to come to fruition, you must believe with all
of your heart that He will do what He says He will do and finally you must prepare your
mind and your spirit to receive the blessings and breakthrough He has in store for you.

Those three words stayed with me that day:

Perceive means to become aware or conscious of something.

Believe means to have faith to accept.
Receive means to be presented with.

As the praise & worship music continued to stream throughout my home, the Holy Spirit
began to shift my mind to allow me to perceive that there was a new plan. I then had to
choose to believe what He was affirming in my spirit. This then prompted me to stand
silent in the room waiting to receive guidance, vision and direction from God. I knew there
was purpose and understanding and that I couldn’t take another step without hearing from
God first.

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” – Isaiah 43:19 (ESV)

God has so many good plans for us, and they are better than the plans we create and see
in our minds. However, there’s a critical preparation and an alignment process that
includes following God’s direction, even when it doesn’t make sense to us, or doesn't go
how we expected. The process includes surrender, refinement and yes, a season or
seasons of waiting. But how we wait is just as important. Ephesians 5:15 reminds us
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise.” (ESV)

That morning, the process that began with God drawing my attention to an entirely
different place ended with a mandate to shift my focus to a place that God deemed was
more important in my journey. A spiritual purge of my plans from my mind, a literal
purge of my drawers and closets where I found many things from my past that I had
forgotten about. Some of these things made me smile, and some took me back to very
hard and painful memories and drew me to heavy tears, because I remembered where I
was back then, and knowing that God had since brought me to a new
place. Consequently, donation and trash bags filled my room. The next phase was
removing the trash, including those things that reflected a tormented and hurtful past. As I
obeyed and acted in faith, I began to receive healing and breakthrough. At the very end, I
then moved the furniture to the center of the room, to create space to begin patching
dents, stains and cracks in the walls. A preparation that was needed before I could begin
to apply the new, bright, and beautiful paint upon the walls.

“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully
on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” – 1Peter 1:13

Throughout the day, I stayed in communication with my cousin who became the person
God connected me with for support, which also shows how God doesn’t miss a single
detail. Reflecting on everything that had been revealed during the day, my cousin David
wrapped up his message, reminding me that God was much more interested in
repositioning me for a sustainable breakthrough throughout that process, than simply
clearing out a garage.

As such, breakthrough often requires more than just a little surface dusting and
cleaning. It can require some purging and a whole lot of listening to God for His
direction. It can include some heavy lifting through prayer and faith while we remain in
that season of patience and waiting. It was evident that God used this experience to
teach me a spiritual lesson that would mark me forever.

Today, I sit and look around my new room with a smile on my face. It’s beautiful, bright
and it took some hard labor on my part, and a bit of time, encouraging support from my
cousin David, and a willingness to share God's word: Perceive it, Believe it and Receive it!

Thank you, Father God, for being with me through the entire process that was so much
more than just restoring my room to beauty, but for restoring me to a place to receive a
powerful and sustainable breakthrough.

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 Special Thanks to our
Newsletter Committee:

Ronda Hastings, Michele Loaiza,

Gwen Elliott, LaRonda Johnson
and our Newsletter Designer, David
Garcia

​ ​