Last night was our WCW Kick-OFF and I am still overwhelmed at how AWESOME it was!!  There was such a strong Presence of the Holy Spirit there--like never before!  From the time I got back up to the church at 6pm there was this incredible energy & expectation from every single woman that was there--leader & attender alike!!  We had seating for 96 women & there were only 2-3 empty seats!!!  WOW--what a great start, especially with about 12 of them being 1st-timers!!  God is so very good!!!

We started a new tradition this year by beginning our Gatherings with the song "Chasing" by Desperation Band--it was "cranked up" & I began clapping & dancing around & motioning the women to follow my lead.  At first everyone was just looking at me & smiling but eventually they ALL joined in & were singing LOUDLY to this amazing song of worship/devotion to Jesus!!  UGH--it brought tears to my eyes b/c this is truly a sign that God is doing a NEW THING in all of us!!  Here are the lyrics-- 

Chasing- Desperation Band

Never Stop
Never Stop
Never Stop
Never Stop
Never Stop

Chasing, chasing...

Every time I walk away
You are here waitin'
And even when I turn my back
You are still sayin' You love me

Every time I look at You
The world starts fadin'
And when I hear You call my name
I can't help sayin' I love You

I LOVE YOU!!!

I will never stop chasing You
I will never stop running after You...
Are all I want forever

Every time I walk away
 You are here waitin'
And even when I turn my back
You are still sayin' You love me

Every time I look at You
The world starts fadin'
And when I hear You call my name
I can't help sayin' I love You

I LOVE YOU!!!

I will never stop chasing You
I will never stop running after You...
Are all I want forever
(Repeat)

You are all I want!!!

The big message of last night is that GATHERINGS are times when we spend time "CHEERING ONE ANOTHER ON"!!  Hebr. 12:1-3 in The Message is powerful--that is what I shared first & just reminded them that we do have people who are cheering us on in the heavenlies but also here on earth!  We renewed our commitment to be:

• REAL WOMEN--nothing to hide or be ashamed of b/c we are ALL works in progress;
• REAL LIFE--not always what we expect but choosing to give God ALL of it & not letting our past define our futures; He works ALL things together for our good & HIS GLORY
• REAL FAITH--CHASING after the DESTINY God has for each one of us 

We had new ministry brochures for everyone with the Gatherings calendar/topic in it as well as all the Connect Groups, Yada Yada Prayer Groups, Retreats and Mission Trips they can get involved in!  At the end of the night we had a time for sign-ups for each of our groups--had a GREAT response!!  It is truly going to be a FANTASTIC year of Women Connecting Women!!  Everyone was giving a royal blue silicone wristband that says:"On Your Mark~Get Set~PRAY"  (like the famous yellow "Live STRONG" ones that Lance Armstrong started)!! 

At the end of the evening I shared a message on the theme for this year:

On Your Mark. . . Get Set. . . PRAY

What happens when you “start in the blocks” of PRAYER?

No more "hoping for the best" but rather choosing to get "On Your Mark. . . Get Set. . ." through PRAYER!  This is where we will be prepared/focused on the purposes of God for our lives!!  We will be READY for whatever life holds b/c we have been with Him, heard His plans, experienced HIS peace & destiny in our hearts before the day has ever started!!

Luke 6:12-- Jesus went to the mountain to pray. 

         Immediately after this He :

• chose the 12 disciples (knew exactly who to choose b/c He had heard from the Father!
• healed many from various sickness & disease
• preached "The Sermon on the Mount"--the most powerful message ever!!

PRAYER is not giving God our "grocery list" of wants/desires.

(we are here to serve God & people--He is not here to serve us/give us everything we want!!)

PRAYER is seeking God, His will, His character, His authority, His power in the relationships or circumstances of our everyday life!

I referred to the Power of a Praying Parent book--some amazing stuff in there! We ended the night with each table discussing the following questions: 

1. 1.Who is someone in your life you recognize as a "praying woman"?  How did she impact you with her prayer life?  What can you add to YOUR life from her example?
2. 2.WHEN can you set aside time to pray?  (15-20 minutes/day to start)
3. 3.WHERE will you go to pray?  (this is where Mom prays for us!) 
4. 4.WHAT are the top 3 things you will pray about? (God, show me how to pray for these people/circumstances/decisions/opportunities so that I have the confidence of knowing that I have heard from you & will see you move in POWER in response to these prayers!!

 

 Adoration--give God the GLORY He deserves (You alone are God, there is NONE like you, etc.)

 Confession--confess/repent of sins; come to him asking for mercy "I can't do this life without you, Jesus)

 Thanksgiving--thank Him for who he is and what He has done already/is working on in your life

 Supplication--pray for those relationships, circumstances, situations, decisions  

 

---

Here is a copy of the email that I sent the WCW Leadership last night:

Angela Smith
Women Connecting Women, Director

We recently were blessed with a new camera but it has taken us a little while to figure out how to download them to our computer.  So here are some overdue pics from some GREAT summer moments!! 

We take pics of them in the tree in the front yard every year--it is fun to see how big they have grown!

Some of you have heard of Hootie & The Blowfish.  Well, there is a summer league (wood bat) baseball team named after them.  Check out some cute pics from our July 3rd attendance to the game--it was so much fun spending it with our good friends (who moved here from AL)! 

Isn't this the CUTEST mascot you've ever seen??!! HA!

Laurel eating a special Zesto's ice cream cone--YUUUUM!

This past weekend we spent a few days in Charleston but especially at Isle of Palms beach.  It was quite possibly the BEST time we have ever had at the beach with the kids!  Thursday we let them play a little but only in clothes b/c it was already 6:30 when we got there.  But that didn't stop Lucas from playing in the waves to the point he just layed down in the water!  Kids don't know any bounds to FUN!!  On Friday we spent 5 of the best hours on the beach!!  It was one of those times when we wondered "why don't we do this more often?" especially since it is only about 2 hours to the beach!  More trips are already planned before the end of August!  Anyway, it is amazing what happens during even a short get-away trip--such refreshing of mind, body & spirit that we really appreciate & enjoy each other more than ever!

  So much is happening these days that I have lost track of time--on Xanga that is!  Life just seems to be moving too fast--they said it would once I had kids but I think I didn't understand until now!

Well, I am going to try to re-cap what the last several months have been like in the Smith World!

MARCH:  for me the biggest deal was the 1st Breakaway Retreat that I had told you about in previous post.  WOW--God just completely outdid Himself!!  It was so wonderful to see the Lord at work in the lives of 63 women from all different ages, races, backgrounds, and even churches!  THANK YOU for your prayers--we could feel the power of the Lord in a mighty, mighty way there in the mountains of NC!

APRIL:  THIS was one BUSY month!! 

• Lucas turned 4 on April 5th--just a few days before Easter.  We had several parties because this Momma can't handle all the cousins (10), friends (7) & parents(16) all at one time!!  So we had a family party on Monday night (the night we usually have our Family Dinner w/Justin's family) and then our friend party on Friday--both were Thomas the Train which is Lucas' "very best friend!"  After Spring Break, we had another birthday party at his preschool--very cute & I even got to read the storybook for the class that day! 

• Beth Moore's Living Proof LIVE event was here in Columbia April 13-14th--it was AWESOME!  There were 17,000 women (some men)--it was an experience I will never forget! Even her team said they have never felt the Presence of God so profoundly in any arena they have been to before!  The months before this event were filled with prayer--every Friday at noon women would meet at the different "gates" of the city to pray!  And I am still hearing testimonies of what God has done to bring together women of different denominations & cultures--it brings tears to my eyes.  Anyway, God met ME in such a special way--spoke so powerfully through Beth (as always) but even in my private journaling time that night too!  Her message was on James 1--Answering the Questions:  "What is your Life?  What is the Point?  What is the BIG picture?  And NOW?  Truly, God answered so many of my questions from the past 18 months--especially in what He is doing in my (currently non-existent) relationship with my mom (who walked out of my life 2 years ago).  I have struggled so much with "what are you doing b/c I can't see anything!"  But God spoke so clearly to me "just like a building that was in an earthquake, so is your relationship with your mom.  I can't just repair a spot here & there; rather, I have to tear it down (Eccl. 3: 3 "a time to tear down and a time to build") AND remove the rubble before I can build! This process takes time but it will be worth it.  Just be still & know that I am God--you know that you can trust me!  I AM FAITHFUL!"  THANK YOU Jesus for being my Savior & the REDEEMER of all that feels lost!
• April 20--27th we vacationed in Orlando FL with Poppa Mel & Momma Jo--my Dad & stepmom who live in Abilene TX.  They graciously provided a place for us to stay with them at a WONDERFUL timeshare place--it was so nice to be close but also have some space to ourselves!  My twin brother Marc was even there with us for a few days--it was really, really good to see him too!  We played at the pool quite a bit but the highlight of the trip was taking L & L to Disney World for the first time! (it was Poppa Mel & Momma Jo's first time too!)  We had a GREAT time--I think that Laurel had more fun than Lucas by the sound of her squeals "I want to see DAISEEE!!"  Where is MICKEY's?? (his name always ends with an s for some reason!?)  We even had breakfast with Mickey & Goofy--take a look at the smile on Lucas' face when Mickey gave him a hug!!  We spent Monday & Wednesday hopping the parks but our favorite is still Magic Kingdom!!

MAY:  As director of Women Connecting Women, I hosted our first CELEBRATE WOMEN brunch the weekend before Mother's Day.  Most churches I know of have a "mother-daugther" thing but too often that leaves out someone who is hurting and my heart was to make sure ALL women felt celebrated!  We had a wonderfully catered brunch, a speaker from The Women's Shelter of Columbia who we were able to raise $500 for through the cost of the brunch tickets!  And then I shared a message to encourage & celebrate the women by reminding them of who they are in the eyes of the Father!!  We had almost 100 women attend & probaby 40 of them came by to tell me how much the message was "right on time" for them!  GOD IS GOOD!!

The week after Mother's Day we celebrated the arrival of another nephew!  Justin's youngest brother Ryan & his wife Katie now have a 2 year old & a newborn!  Celebrating new life is fun for us--we order in Outback & eat together in the room at the hospital!  This tradition started when I was in labor for so long they got hungry & brought in Outback (I didn't get to it that time!) but they liked it so much that we have done it for every birth in the family--7 babies now! 

JUNE:  June 3rd was the 1st South Carolina Master's Commission GRADUATION!  These 18 kids have transformed our church, our lives and especially my heart!  I didn't know I could love them like this and was so proud of them that I cried almost the entire day!  Pastor Stephen preached their "commencement service" that morning & then the graduation ceremony was that afternoon--ALL of it was POWERFUL!!  The really awesome thing is that (to our knowledge) there has never been a program that graduated the exact same number of students that started the year (usually a few drop out mid-year).  Pastor Darren & Mandy Hileman have blown us away with their heart/leadership/training of these students for LIFE and then for ministry!  For this 1st year they would have been very happy with 12--we had 18!  This coming year they have accepted 16 2nd years, and 30 1st years!!!  GOD IS GOOD!!!!!  One of the reasons SCMC was so special to our family is that we adopted 2 of the students as sons this year--Jesse & Dustin--who are truly brothers in Christ because wherever one is you will usually find the other one!!  On Mother's day they made me laugh really hard when I couldn't figure out why they were telling each other to go to the bathroom--until they handed me a card admitting they had just signed in the bathroom!! They even reminded us that we weren't allowed to have any more "SCMC kids"--"you can love on our sisters but we don't want to share y'all with anyone else!"  That made my heart melt!  Speaking of sisters, that is what I loved about this SCMC group--they refer to themselves as brothers & sisters by title but more so by heart!  One of the "sisters" became very special to me--Ailene.  She spent part of her Spring Break here with us b/c she couldn't afford to go home.  We made a very special connection & have spent a LOT of time together ever since.  The best part of having SCMC kids is watching them grow but also growing from them--both are so rewarding!  EVEN BETTER is that 16 of our 1st years are coming back for 2nd year--including our sons & Ailene!  Lucas & Laurel have grown very close to Jesse, Dustin & Ailene--all 3 of them love on our kids & know how to make them feel special!  Lucas has named his stuffed dogs after the guys & told Justin "Ailene is so beautiful, Daddy!"  I think he has his 1st "older woman" crush--but I think he'll be okay!

Goal of Summer:  "have as much FUN as possible"!  The Lord blessed us with a playset for the kids--they LOVE it!  The backyard is just so much more inviting now that we have a place to slide, swing, climb & even hide!  We are also blessed to have our family friends invite us to their community pool pretty often--that is really, really nice!  Makes me want to go there NOW!  However, I must say that we haven't been outside as much as we had planned--playing outside in this heat/humidity wears us all out in about 15 minutes!!   But we have spent a lot of time at the local library--the kids love picking out new books but also playing in the children's area where there are puppets, puzzles, blocks, and crayons!  Nice to have a cool spot to go play--just thinking of it makes me ready to go back!  I have also been reading--a LOT!  I chose to dedicate my summer to reading fiction--so far since May 24th I have read 5 books--each 400 pages!!  I read the 2nd--5th books in the Yada Yada Prayer Group series (waiting on the 6th one to arrive in the mail) and then some Ted Dekker books--just finished BLINK in less than 24 hours!!!  THAT was an incredible book--talk about an anointing write!!  I would LOVE to meet that man & hear him talk--his mind is AMAZING!!

Another fun time we had with the kids was celebrating Father's Day at Chuck E. Cheese--honest, it was Justin's idea--much to the delight of Lucas & Laurel!  We played until the 100 tokens ran out--although many of them spent by Laurel was on the Clifford the Big Red Dog ride!  Happy memories & very happy kids.  Just because I know that most of you are wondering "are they planning on having any more?" the answer is YES!  Because I am an "over-planner" I have realized that we need to wait a few more months so that I won't be in labor during our Breakaway Retreat in March!!   But keep us in your prayers that God will bless us with another child in the RIGHT time!! 

June 24--27th:   4th Word Spirit & Power Conference--RT Kendall, Jack Taylor & Charles Carrin are the speakers.  If you don't know of them, you definitely need to check them out--all of them are authors & all of them are powerfully anointed by God.  Their testimonies are amazing at how God brought them together from such diverse backgrounds to minister together like they do all around the country regularly.  I call the WSP conference "camp for adults" because we have 2 meetings per day for 4 days where there is powerful/life-changing preaching & Holy Spirit filled altar ministry times!!!!  God did so much in me this year despite me feeling rather unprepared for it that I can't hardly put it into words.  I keep reading & re-reading my notes getting something fresh almost every time!  My devotions in The Word are so ALIVE--I can't journal fast enough & almost have to make myself stop reading my Bible so that I can take care of other things!!!  I have an increased expectation of God like NEVER before--it is AWESOME b/c right before this I had been feeling so frustrated over how much my devotion life had changed since motherhood!  God heard my cry & just changed me and I am encountering Him like I never have before.  The Holy Spirit used someone on their team to speak over Justin & I a "release of dreams/visions & open heavens" with a new anointing unlike anything we've ever experienced--a confirmation of something our Pastor prayed over me about a year or so ago!!  Since then God has been doing so much in this realm--it is AMAZING!!

JULY:  where did July go??!  We celebrated our Independence with close friends at a Blowfish Baseball game & fireworks on the 3rd and then an all-day family thing on the 4th.  Lucas hates the loud noise of fireworks but was delighted with the fireworks on TV because they have my favorite music from Baby Einstein (classical music)!!  Too cute but it was nice to see him so happy rather than in the fetal position on my lap covering his eyes & ears with his blankets!!!!!  As for Laurel, she covers her ears & smiles at the "pretty fireworks"--all she wanted that day (and everyday) is GRAMMY!!  Nice to see that she is just as close to Grammy as Lucas even though Grammy kept Lucas while I was working & didn't Laurel b/c I quit my job!

• The rest of this month I am working very hard to get our lives into a routine--something God was dealing with me about but the 1st message of WSP conference was on "Disciplined Disciples"!!  I have made a lot of progress personally but now it is time to get the kids into a good routine--morning/evening/chores/etc--you should see their rooms & hear the squeals (mine & theirs) when trying to get out the door in a hurry!  Lucas will be in 4 yr. old 5 morning/week preschool this fall & Laurel will start the 2 yr. old 3 morning/week preschool program--both at Gateway Baptist very near our home.  It will be good for all of us but we need to be prepared more than we are now!! 
• In the midst of this new "discipline" I am working on the plans for WCW 2007--2008!!  God has given me so much these past several weeks but now I just need to clearly define things--monthly Gatherings as well as the weekly and biweekly groups!  It feels good to be building on the foundations we laid last year--but I just want to hear from God as we "take it to the next level" this year!  He has given me the focus of prayer for this year--I am really excited about it.  Please pray for me as I continue to develop the leadership team of this ministry--calling women into servant leadership is my focus this year!  I think sometimes we forget this part of it when we get our eyes on ourselves/our reputations/our schedules/our frustrations/etc.  But every where I turn in my devotions, in my studies, in my conversations it is about leading as a SERVANT!!  I am really excited but I need these ladies to get on board & catch the vision for where God is calling us to lead these women to strengthen their relationship with God through prayer, praise and producing fruit!!  It is going to be an EXCITING year but I can't do it without people like YOU praying for me!!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures & more will come soon.  We were blessed to get a new camera but I haven't figured out yet how to download the pictures to the computer--it is different than our old one & with a LOT more "bells & whistles" as my dad would say!