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It’s the time of year when we traditionally make resolutions. We determine that this year, we’ll be more disciplined about exercise, budgeting, Bible study, or whatever goal comes to mind. There’s nothing wrong with that. But isn’t it wonderful to realize that we don’t have to make ourselves better for God to love us?
2008 is the year of grace at Women of Faith. Our 2008 conference theme is Infinite Grace; it’s about God’s inexhaustible ability to give us what we can never deserve. Grace is not something we can earn, no matter how hard we work. We can only accept it with thankful hearts. |
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Fortunately for us, God’s eagerness to extend grace to us is even greater than our need for it ― for no good reason except that He loves us. He doesn’t dole out grace in meager spoonfuls, either. He lavishes it on us in overwhelming floods.
So go ahead and make your resolutions. But whether you keep them all year or blow it by the end of the week, rest in the assurance that God’s unending, unequaled, infinite grace is available to you. It’s true, you know: understanding God’s grace can change your life FOREVER.
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Spice Up Your Winter Breakfast
 Most everyone is familiar with holiday foods of one kind or another, but now the holiday is over. Is there a traditional January food? Sort of . . .
Twelfth Night was the evening of the 6th of January (or the 5th, depending on your calendar. The British tradition is to serve “spicy” foods like gingerbread on Twelfth Night. Granted, Twelfth Night has come and gone, but that’s no reason not to enjoy this delicious recipe for gingerbread pancakes. They’re perfect for a winter breakfast, especially when paired with wassail (spiced cider) or eggnog. |
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 I believe God speaks to us in ways we can understand. We have his written Word, the Bible, and we have his sweet Holy Spirit, who occupies the mind and heart of every believer with counsel, comfort, and truth. These are God’s basic tools of communication to his children. But he also allows circumstances, people, and yes, even creatures to cross our paths and give us living demonstrations of what he wants us to know. In my life, he used an orphaned dog to speak to my heart many wonderful truths about grace. (Click here to read the full story.)
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On his way to perform at a Women of Faith National Conference, Steven Curtis Chapman found a lost song in his guitar case. To us, it would look like scribbles. To him, it brought back lyrics and music for a tune he had written a few years earlier to love and encourage the woman of faith in his life―his wife Mary Beth. It occurred to Steven that maybe this find was not accidental . . . it might just be the encouragement the women he was about to see needed. At the conference, just before singing the song, Steven shared these “lost song” insights and the fact that this song was as yet unrecorded. At the end of “One Little Heartbeat”, he heard a chant coming from the Women of Faith audience, “Record it! Record it! Record it!” Now, per that request, he has! It’s part of Steven’s new album, THIS MOMENT. Click here for an exclusive Women of Faith link to that song, plus info on where you can see Steven in person this year. |
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 Did you enjoy some favorite family foods over the holidays? And does everyone in your family have those recipes? Here’s a fun idea sparked by a Christmas gift given to our Web designer: turn those family recipes into a combination scrapbook/cookbook. It’s not just recipes, it’s family history! Each page contains a recipe, a photo of the friend or family member who submitted it, a story about that person or comments about the recipe, and other fun decorations. Click here to see sample pages.
If you start now, you may have it finished in time to give next Christmas. It’s also a terrific for a wedding shower or to give that graduate who’s moving out on their own for the first time. Be sure to include some blank pages so they can add their own favorite recipe memories! |
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All Aboard in Alaska
It’s the best way we know to beat the heat and keep the conference experience going for a whole week! Our 2008 Alaska Cruise sets sail from Seattle, WA on June 29. Join us! Bring your friends and family for a vacation they’ll never forget. We’ll enjoy a week of High Heels, High Hopes, High Calling on the high seas!* Click here to watch the cruise video and get a taste of the fun in store. For more information – or to make your reservation – click here |
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 Sheila Walsh
on Life Today
Are you in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area? Join Sheila Walsh as a special guest at a taping of LIFE Today! The taping will be at the LIFE Today studios in Euless, Texas, on January 29 at 7 pm. Tickets are FREE! Reserve your seat today ― call 817-354-3655 or e-mail audience@loi.org. The studios are located just minutes from DFW International Airport at 1801 West Euless Boulevard (Highway 10), Euless, Texas 76040.
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*Disclaimer: the Alaska cruise will not actually travel on the “high” seas, but it sounded so good with High Heels, High Hopes, etc. that we couldn’t resist a little artistic license. The cruise does travel through Glacier Bay National Park and along the coast of Alaska – which has much better scenery than you’d get out in the middle of the ocean.
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Copyright © 2008 Women of Faith. All Rights Reserved.
Faith to Faith is a free monthly publication of womenoffaith.com
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