A Young Woman of the Word

Are you a young woman of the Word?

The Lord has been showing me more and more each season of my life how crucial His Word (the Bible) is to every aspect of my walk with Him and life!

The three things that I have found to be so important are to:
- Be in it
- Have it in me
- Live in the reality of it in daily life

These are ways it can be real in our lives:

Read the Word:
Matthew 4:4, “...Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
- Be in the Word daily.
- Read it for what it is - the word of GOD to you!
- Read asking Him to speak to your heart.
- Ask Him to work what you read into your heart and life - and follow Him in obedience!

I have found it to be so important to be in the Word every day. Just like we need to feed our bodies to keep us alive, so we need to feed our souls with the Word of God! God speaks to you through it, you come to know Him more, and it shapes who you are and your perspective on life! We cannot afford to miss reading it!

Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Memorize the Word - and think about it through the day:
Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom...”
- Hide God’s Word in your heart and mind.
- Let it fill your mind and shape your thoughts. (That’s why it is so good to have it memorized - so you can think about it any time!) It often takes training and disciplining your mind to turn to the Word for a while to form a habit.

One way that is so helpful in memorization is to write the verse(s) that you are memorizing on a 3x5 card. This way you can carry with you, or put it in a place where you see it a lot. You can also find a friend to hold you accountable!
Luke 11:28, “...blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”


Live out the Truth of it:
James 1:22, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
- Let it go from your head to your heart and come out in how you live.
- You live what you believe. What you base your life upon will be evident by the fruit of your life.
- Live each moment in the reality of the truth of God’s Word.

For me it has been saying, “I KNOW this is true, but I need to walk in the reality of it in how I live each moment.”
A beautiful way to make this really personal is to take a verse and to insert your name into it.
“The Lord is (your name)’s Shepherd, (your name) shall not want.” Psalm 23:1
So, today as I think about the coming week in light of that verse, I know I will not lack anything, because the Lord is my faithful Shepherd. I just want to cling closely to Him!

John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

So, together, let’s be in the Word, let the Word be in us, and accept the Lord’s grace to live in the reality of it every moment of our lives!

Let’s be young women of the Word, friends!

John 14:23, “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

LTLM Family Summit - "Christ-Centered Vision" - July, 16-18th, 2010

We are thrilled to announce that this coming summer on July 16-18th, 2010 we will be hosting our first Family Summit, with the theme of "Christ-Centered Vision."

It has been our desire to be able to encourage whole families in seeking the Lord, serving Him, and gaining a vision for living for Him together. That is the purpose of this Summit.

LTLM and the Vest family are so grateful to have the Cavanaugh family of Vision 4 Living Ministries, Inc. join us as our main speakers and teaming up with us for this event!

The Cavanaughs are a family with a passion for Christ, a commitment to His Word, and a mission to impart to families a vision to glorify Him.

The Summit will include: powerful messages and testimonies, a special program for children during the sessions, time for vision casting as couples, breakout sessions for the young people, fun family activities, campfires, amazing fellowship, delicious food, and more!

The Family Summit will be held at the beautiful facility of Camp Lebanon in Upsala, Minnesota.

We are so excited for what the Lord has in store and would love to have you join us!
For more information and to download a registration form, you can visit our website and look under the "Events" section at www.lovingthelordministries.org! We encourage you to register early, as space is limited!

May the Lord bless you as you seek to raise your families for His glory!

Psalms 63:3

"Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee."

December Girls Discipleship Gathering Report

At the last Girls Gathering we had a wonderful time of singing carols, reading and thinking about the miracles surrounding Jesus’ birth, and we had a special time of sharing together. One of the main aspects that we found as we read miracle after miracle was that most of the people that were asked by the Lord to go some place or do something obeyed God immediately, not delaying at all. It was amazing to see this obedience displayed over and over again. May we all be quick to obey our Lord at whatever He beckons us to do!

We would love to see you at the next Girls Gathering, so mark your calendar for January 9^th at 10:00-12:30 at Vision of Glory Church in Plymouth. Blessings in Jesus!

The Gift of the Heart

Christmas is such a special time of the year! Why do we celebrate? Why is this time so wonderful? It is all rooted in the deep meaning of Christmas. CHRIST. Jesus truly is, "The reason for the season." Yet, if we are very honest with ourselves we will admit that we can so easily get caught up in all of the activity around us, the things we need to do, and the places we need to go. As a result, we can so easily miss the purpose that we celebrate this special time of the year.

A few Christmases ago, I was thinking about what I was giving to people for Christmas. As I thought, it came to my heart to ask the Lord what HE wanted for Christmas. So, I asked the Lord, "Lord, what do You want for Christmas?" I remember Him saying, "I want your heart." My heart. The throne of my life, my affections, my will... This throne so rightly belongs to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, deserves to sit on the throne of my heart, as I humbly bow at His feet.

Yes, the Lord does not care so much about all of the decorations and packaging. He cares about the heart. The Lord looks right beyond the outward decorations to what really matters. "...for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 We can put all the effort we want to decorating and wrapping the outside of a box, but if there is nothing inside it will be of little worth. How easily we can put our effort, attention, and heart into the outward decorations of Christmas. This often ends up resulting in an empty feeling even amidst the activity of the season.But, if Christ truly has our heart and is the heart of why we are doing these things, then the activities can be a special avenue to worship, celebrate, and know Him more! The festivities that surround His birth will not be distractions, but will burst forth with meaning and will serve as reminders of our Savior. The decorations of the coming of the King, the gifts of the greatest Gift, the lights of the Light of the world... What matters most and makes all of the difference is where our heart is at! Someone once said, "The heart of the issue is the issue of the heart." The state of our heart dictates, motivates, and affects our actions. Proverbs 4:23 tells us, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." If Christ has our heart, He will impact all that flows out of it and the results will be incredible.

My friend, the Lord wants your heart for Christmas. A heart that views each situation in life as a gift that will allow it to know Christ more, a heart that beats for the Lord with a love that nothing can quench, a heart that seeks to please Him, and a heart that longs to share Him with a hurting world. He wants to be the focus of our hearts, the reason that we sing, the purpose that we live, and the object of our affection. He wasn’t born with the purpose that we would fill the season of His birth with activity, He came so that we could find the complete fulfillment of a relationship with Him.

I believe with all of my heart that this complete fulfillment in our relationship with Him is what He most wants to give to each of us this Christmas. The gift He is asking us to give Him is our hearts. I am praying that as we give Him our hearts and embrace His gift to us, we will have the most treasured Christmas we’ve ever known.

May Christ be the heart of our Christmas and may we give Him our hearts every day that we live.

Verse: "...for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

Challenge: Give the Lord your heart afresh today. Set your focus on Him. Seek to find a regular time in your day (Both during Christmas and throughout the year) to check up on yourself and make sure that Christ is the heart of why you are living.

Merry Christmas!

Dear Friends,

Merry Christmas! I hope that you have had a wonderful month and that you are having a meaningful Christmas season. This time of year is always so special to me. It seems to grow even sweeter the more I come to know and love the One Who’s coming we celebrate! To think that He came out of such love, to endure such pain so that we could have a personal relationship with Him if we would accept the gift of His salvation! Such love calls for all that we are! The article I am posting covers something that has been stirring in my heart recently and I pray that it will be an encouragement to you.

You are in my prayers as you continue to seek the Lord and find Him to be the greatest treasure in the world! Have a wonderful Christmas rejoicing in the Lord’s great love for you!

Much love in the One we celebrate,

Amy Vest

Finding True Life in Surrender

Never stop short of total surrender to God.
Surrender means to, “yield, give up, submit, relinquish...”
The world, the flesh, and the devil all try to make us think that if we totally surrender all that we are and own to the Lord, we will be miserable. But the reality is just the opposite.
The secret to finding true life is to die to ourselves and allow Christ to fill us and live through us!

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
~ Matthew 16:24-26

As we surrender our self to the Lord (our will, desires, dreams, loves, things we are holding onto), He is then able to fill us and use us in ways that are beyond our wildest dreams and the make an impact that reaches through all eternity.

It is a step that we take to surrender our lives to Christ and then it is a day-by-day, moment-by-moment choice that we must accept His grace to make for the rest of our lives.

When we “lose” our life in surrender, we truly “find” it in all it was meant to be!

Sisters, let’s not settle for anything short of TOTAL surrender!

Dear Friends,

You are always close in heart and we hope you are doing well in the Lord!

The Lord has been doing so much in the ministry and in bringing things together for upcoming days of ministry over the past weeks. He is amazing. We can’t wait to update you!

Upon returning from the last conference, there was a flurry of activities and now currently, I am just recovering from 12+ days of the flu. Now we are catching up and preparing for the coming year with great anticipation for what the Lord has in store!

The Lord has used all of the events of the past weeks in a powerful way and has been doing a deep work in my heart… and I have seen afresh how He has so much He wants to teach us every day, if we will only listen and let Him work! I am so excited to share more in the days to come.

We rejoice in what the Lord has been doing in your hearts and are so excited for all that He has in store for seeking Him together in the days ahead! Know that we are praying for you and we love you very much.

On to love our Jesus more together!

“When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.” Psalm 27:8

Your sister in Him,
Amy

Christmas Discipleship Gathering - December 12th

You are invited to join us for the Girls Discipleship Gathering Christmas Event on December 12th!

This special Christmas version of the discipleship gatherings will include:

~ Singing Carols

~ Learning about the miracles surrounding Jesus' birth

~ Sharing a favorite Christmas tradition

~ Testimonies

~ Lunch will be provided

We hope to see you there and celebrate our Jesus together!

For more information, you can visit our website www.lovingthelordministries.org or email Elizabeth at elizabeth@lovingthelordministries.org!

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 8:9

Nothing satisfies like Jesus.

November Girls Discipleship Gathering

At the last Girls Gathering we watched Amy's session from the "Changing Your World for Christ" series and discovered “Secrets to Being Mightily Used by God”.

Here are a few of those secrets:

~“Make and keep the Lord as #1 in your heart, life, and focus.” James 1:8

~ “Learn the Power of Prayer.” James 5:16

~ “Live and serve the Lord in His strength.” Isaiah 40:30-31

~ “Live to please Him and don’t fear what other people think of you.” Gen.17:1

One of the very special aspects of being apart of these Girls Gatherings is having sweet fellowship with one another. It is a place where you can be refreshed and encouraged as you interact with other girls who are following Jesus and are desiring to know Him more each day.

If you would like to join us in this month’s challenge, here it is:

~Talk to Jesus throughout the day!

~ Listen to His promptings!

~Purpose to glorify Jesus in all that you do and ask Him to help you not be distracted! “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:17

We would encourage you to prayerfully consider joining us on the 2^nd Saturday of each month at Vision of Glory church facility to seek the Lord together! We hope to see you there! Blessings to you as you seek Jesus!