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Seminar

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Sister to Sister: Tell Your Men about this Seminar…

Men of Integrity

I used to be shocked when I’d hear statistics about pornography use in our country and even in our congregations. But statistics seem cold and almost benign, in a way, when, over and over, I’ve seen Christian women, up-close and personally, experience the pain of opening a computer to see a husband’s history of  images filled with unclothed women. The longer the sin—a direct violation of Matthew 5:28—has been going on, the darker its progression and the more difficult to break free. Many young men enter marriage with expectations that have already been skewed by the devil through pornography and are, thus, unable to enjoy the normal gift of intimacy that God has reserved for Christian couples. Pornography is perhaps the most addictive sin of our time and certainly one of the most destructive. I have seen men sacrifice jobs, marriages and lives with their young children because of the progression of the feeding of the addiction. I have wept with some of you who are reading when your worlds were rocked by the nuclear bomb that pornography is or has been to your lives. 

Like many other sins, today’s participation is never enough. Each computer click calls for another and another and the material of each session is a bit darker than the previous time. Men (and sometimes, but far less frequently, women) do not look at those first sensual images with the plan to become regular pornography users or addicts. But, unlike the drink or drug that can, with steely determination, be locked away from my reach, pornographic images are stored permanently in the mind and breaking free is further complicated by that reality. Further, the devil has successfully made that which formerly at least had the built-in inhibitor of purchasing or obtaining the material, now free and accessible with ownership of the almost universal smart phone. Remember he is like a lion and he is actively seeking souls to devour.  

I appreciate the good elders at the West Huntsville church for planning events designed to help men of God refrain from this sin. They’ve asked all of the West Huntsville men to be present on Saturday, March 2nd at 10:00 am for a short seminar called “Men of Integrity” designed with a two-fold purpose: first, to   protect hearts from involvement, and second, to give those who are struggling or involved an avenue to break away from the sin of pornography. 

So I wanted to let you know…for your sons, grandsons, husbands and brothers in the Lord. Some of your husbands may be men who can help younger men conquer the addiction. Some of your husbands are elders who may be instrumental in leading entire churches to be protective in this area. Some of your brothers may want to come and think about planning their own seminar like this one. 

So it’s Saturday, March 2nd, and now open to all Christian men. There’s no need to pre-register. Just tell them to show up at 10 for just an hour-and-a-half. It will conclude at 11:30. 

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

You Could Spend a Lot More on a Girl’s Trip….But Why?

I know I am biased, but if you have not been to a West Huntsville Women’s Seminar, you’ve just missed out, so hoping you can make it on September 15th and 16th when we will be thinking about the Super Lives of Women of God. The thrust this year is encouragement to stay the course. We think this is timely in 2017. It’s tough when your husband is not a Christian, especially during the formative years of your children’s lives. It’s hard when your children are going through stages of unfaithfulness or rebellion. It’s difficult when the liberal agenda in our nation is shouting its empty rhetoric at your family or when even those who wear the name Christian do not always lend support to righteousness. It’s just hard. I need days of reflection on the  power that’s in the Word, enabling His women to overcome—enabling ME to win over Satan. This is the week’s end that can help you make it to the world’s end. It’s the retreat that can renew your spiritual stamina to persevere to the final rest.  I hope you can make it to this event. Remember, it only happens once every two years. 

Friday night will be our “Sweet Hour of Prayer.” It is sweet. It’s a bunch of God’s women being real and asking for the prayers that we know we need and asking for the blessings our families need.  We take them to the throne together. We’ve praised Him in years past for the answers to these prayers. We know effectual and fervent prayers avail much! This starts at 7 on Friday night. we’ll have snacks and lots of visiting then, too.

Then those who’ve traveled to come will be welcomed into homes of ladies at West Huntsville. We believe hospitality is a gift—a gift to those who get to offer it! So we hope we can fill up several homes with visiting ladies. We’ll do our best to offer you comfort and we look forward to that fellowship!

On Saturday, we’ll hear three lessons from Celine Sparks. You know her. She makes us laugh in every issue of Christian Woman magazine. But wait till you hear her in person! She will make you laugh, then, too. But she is one of my two favorite sisters (ha!), for a reason. She is able to take eternal concepts and make them so simply obvious, that you leave knowing where you’re coming up short in His service, as well as determined to be better for having come. She’s motivational….Not in the “let’s-all-feel-good-about-ourselves” way; but in the “let’s-all-do-the-right-thing” way. We’ll sing and praise and pray. And there will be childcare for those children age four and under during all of Saturday’s sessions.  Lunch will be provided on Saturday. 

There will be a book display with something for everyone furnished by Publishing Designs. Digging Deep materials will also be available. 

I guess there could be something you might do on Saturday that would be worth more to you than attending this event. But probably not. Bring some sisters and enjoy an inexpensive road trip to this spiritual spa. You could spend a lot more on a girls’ trip, but why? 

Register today at www.seminar.westhuntsville.org.

 

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Share this! Prayer and Praise and Power in this Package!

Don’t Miss This Time with Sisters!

If you’ve never been able to attend the bi-annual ladies seminar at West Huntsville, you’ve missed some of the most fortifying material and fellowship to which I’ve ever been exposed. We think this year will be no exception. 

As we’ve done in recent years, we will begin on Friday night at 7pm with our “Sweet Hour of Prayer.” It’s a time when we bring our needs before each other, but most importantly, before  our Father—together. We spend time in prayer on Friday night and, then on Saturday, you’ll leave with a list of those sisters who have requested prayers….for souls, for the sick, for the hurting, for the rejoicers–so you can keep praying at home.  Each time we’ve done this, our faith has grown as we, through ensuing months, have seen the answers to the petitions that emerged in this session. The truth is, God knows how to answer better than we know how to ask, but He wants us to ask! We do this in a rich time together on Friday night before our morning of study on Saturday. 

Celine Sparks. our speaker this year for the Saturday sessions, is eminently qualified to encourage us. She will make you laugh—at yourself and at her. That will be a medicine for your soul (Proverbs 17:22). But she will call to your spirit, too, through the Word, to reach its full potential, letting the Word empower you to do things for the greatest cause on earth—things you may not have thought of doing before. I really believe souls will be saved as a result of the ripple effects of this seminar. They will be saved, first, because of the blood of Jesus, of course, but when we become more keenly and practically aware of the fact that we really can do all things through Christ (Phil. 4:13), we connect people to the saving blood. Maybe you will get an idea that will impact your child eternally. Perhaps you will have an “aha!” moment about what to say to a lost co-worker. Maybe someone you can bring with you will be encouraged to shed self-pity or an inward focus and, instead, focus on serving others and ultimately winning souls. Maybe your daughter will be stronger for some temptation that’s soon to be headed her way. Maybe you’ll find a book that is just what a struggling girlfriend is needing. Maybe you will leave with a renewed will to pray for a lost friend every day. Maybe some souls will be around the throne one day because of these few hours we have to refocus on the powerful influence we each can wield. This one hope makes every ounce of preparation and effort for the day far beyond “worth-it!”

I challenge you to share this invitation–not because it’s mine, but because it could make an eternal difference. Some of us cannot go to a foreign missionary site to teach home Bible studies. But everyone who reads this can share with someone. Everyone who attends can invite at least one someone to come with her. If everyone who reads would do those two things—share and personally invite another—I believe the day will have super power to strengthen our homes and congregations. You don’t have to be at the seminar to go to heaven, of course. But it just might help! 

As always, there’s free housing and fellowship with our sweet ladies. Snacks and lunch are provided. You can register here: http://seminar.westhuntsville.org/registration/ and you should do that today!(Scroll to the bottom for a menu that will direct you to all details! Feel free to print flyers for your group!) We hope all of our housing is all used up and all of our food is eaten! Don’t forget to share! 

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Sister to Sister: Battlefield Heroes–Teen Boys Protecting Purity

12494653_651034511389_5979043142628718031_nFinding quality programs that help our kids to stay sexually pure through the teen years is not as easy as finding activities that encourage impurity these days. Finding a seminar that encourages both sexual purity and purity of heart is an even more formidable challenge. To locate a venue that offers both of these things in a doctrinal context that you’d feel good about is almost unheard of. And to find one that’s for boys…well, if you have teen boys,  that’s something you don’t want to miss. Finding all of this at no cost, with free food and lodging to boot…well…go ahead and make it a road trip or even a plane trip.

It happens once every four years at West Huntsville and THIS IS THE YEAR! The devil wants to overexpose your boys to sex in all the wrong contexts and under-prepare them for his assault on the family as we’ve known it thoughout our American history. We can and must do battle with him to enable our boys to courageously defend virtue and honor in all of their relationships.

So go ahead. Make the small investment to be sure your husbands and sons make this happen. Send your congregation’s boys, with a mentor, on the church van. Bring a big group to spend the night in a godly home and then attend the sessions. Finding resources right now are so much better than finding you have regrets later. Help your boys to happiness. I hope you can help those boys get their driver’s licenses. Maybe you can enable them to score so high on the ACT that they get great college scholarships. Maybe you can purchase all the right equipment and make sure your son gets the training to excel in his sport of choice. Maybe it’s an elite education or an internship that you can provide. I hope you can maximize talents and minimize obstacles. But remember: None of these can prepare your son in the most important way. The most important preparation is wrought in his heart. I hope you can put in some extremely valuable hours toward the protection of your son’s most valuable commodity. Here’s what you need:

Battlefield HEROES

–Protecting Purity–

A Seminar for Young Men

6th-12th Grade

Saturday, 30 April 2016

0830 – 1430

Guest Speaker: Jeremy Hall

Minister, Millview church of Christ

Agenda:

• 2 Lessons by Jeremy Hall

• 3 Breakout Sessions

Q & A session with Jeremy Hall for all attendees

Submit your questions today!

Light Breakfast and Registration begins at 8:30 am in the lobby

Lunch will be served

Click Here to Register

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Sister to Sister: At Last! the West Huntsville Women’s Seminar 2015!

11222795_10153195680049069_178530950660725037_nIt’s finally time to register! (http://seminar.westhuntsville.org/)…for GREAT lessons about living with purpose that will get you back on track for Him and for your families. “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” the popular Friday night time of petitioning God together in behalf of the needs of those sisters in attendance and those we love, will, once again open our weekend with prayer and refreshing encouragement from sisters. Then, on Saturday, Kathy Pollard, of Denver, Colorado, will be taking us to the scriptures to give us just what we need to keep on keeping on as we close a year that has been one of the darkest years for morality in the history of our country. We NEED this weekend!

Kathy will also give us a crash course in Bible marking, for which I, personally, can hardly wait. There’s free Friday night housing in homes. There are snack times, there’s book-store perusal time, singing time and there’s encouragement coming from hundreds of smiles and praying hearts. We can do this thing of raising kids and grandkids in a culture gone awry! Kathy will be giving us ammunition for the fight that is ahead.

I truly hope you can come. Make it a sisters road trip. Make it a weekend and stay over for Sunday if you can. We’ll meet your flight and get you to your lodging. Bring your prayer requests for Friday night. Bring your Bibles for marking. Bring your daughters for the faith of your future grandchildren. Bring your sisters for growing closer. Bring your non-Christian friends for a glimpse of hope. Bring your appetites, your singing voices and your pajamas. This only happens every other year, so don’t miss it. If you come and you do not find strength for the journey, I personally will refund your registration fee!…

Okay, so it’s FREE. The seminar itself, the snacks , the lunch, the housing in homes…It’s all free of charge and waiting— for your spiritual advantage. So go here …http://seminar.westhuntsville.org/ …for answers to your questions, and to sign up. The T-shirt is the only thing you can buy on the whole page and it’s certainly optional and sold to you at cost for eight dollars.

Have I convinced you? So go sign up, already!

(ps….if you have questions, call or text Emily at 256-509-2541 or Holly at 256-322-7556)