Hello Again Friends!

Well, I know it has been far too long since I have posted a new entry here :-) We have been so very busy with our foster care journey, church, speaking at conferences, and being a family that I haven't had time to keep up with TWO blogs! One of my blogs is a secured foster care blog that I am doing to journal our family's journey these days. So, many days I just don't have time to post here. But, God's Word has been thick with its perfect manna each morning, for sure!

This weekend I am off again to share with ladies in Toccoa and I just can't wait! One extra special part of this retreat for me is that By Design, a ladies' musical group, whom I LOVE will be there ministering through music all weekend!! I have had the opportunity to share alongside them before and can't wait to see them again. They are amazing and have a new CD out that I can't wait to get my hands on :-)

I would love to have your prayers with us this weekend as we seek to Satisfy Our Souls together with God's Word and the power of His Spirit in our lives! May this not be yet another conference...but a time when we are changed through His Word forever!

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the changing colors and glorious tapestry of grace each moment. I love you all...

Hi there...

Well, as you can guess...our new foster child has kept our family pretty crazy busy :-) He is precious and has energy and volume to spare! We've had the absolute best time with him and are so grateful that the Lord has placed him in our home for right now. His family will go to court tomorrow and then we will know more. He may be going to relative care or he may stay with us. We just don't ever know ;-)

Please be in prayer with us about his court hearing tomorrow. We pray each day that the Lord will open the eyes and ears of those involved and we trust that HIS will is going to be done in this situation. Only He knows the true hearts and issues involved and what is best for this entire family. Would you pray with us?

I will do my best to update this blog as often as I can...but I can make no promises right now :-) But, isn't wonderful when your journey is so full that you barely have time to talk about it? I'll certainly try to stop by here as often as I have time...but I am posting to another secured blog at this time about our family's adventure right now. If you would like to share that journey with us...please leave your email in the comment box with your name and I will send you an invite but won't publish your comment for your security.

You can always email me at frances@desertflowerministries.com too! See you soon...I hope!

Our Newest Member...

As of this afternoon, we are officially foster parents! We were in the midst of doing respite for another foster mom, when we got the call for our first foster child. He is almost 3 years old and right now he is in the hospital. We went down to meet him this afternoon and we don't know yet when he will be discharged. Pray for this little fella and his health, loss of family, transition into our home, and for his family. We pray that God will unite this family again soon, if that be His will!

Hope for the Hungry Update

Well, yesterday was AMAZING! We loaded up and headed to the church around 9am and were joined by lots of precious Noonday folks who were going to be a part of this ministry. The truck arrived and the training began! Our folks were registering people, handing out food boxes, taking pictures, greeting, signing our guests in, and "shadowing" counselors. It was awesome to see our faith family loving others and loving each other!

It was our first day and since we didn't get our promotion sign until Monday afternoon...we only had 2 days promotion. Even with that we were able to serve around 25 families from our community AND...

10 people prayed to receive the Lord Jesus as their Savior!!

Four of those 10 people where Spanish speakers...and the Lord allowed one of our deacons from Cuba to share with those precious people and they were able to understand and accept Jesus as their Savior!!

The great thing is that all of these people are in our community and we are able to follow up with them. We can check in and make sure they understand what comes next, answer any questions, encourage them to find a faith family, and begin to disciple them. Also, we got the prayer requests, those who are not attending church anywhere...and our Lifegroups are following up with all of them!!

I already got 4 contacts for women who accepted the Lord Jesus as their Savior whom I will contact personally!! It's so exciting to see lives changed...theirs and ours!

We have a wonderful prayer team that lifts us up...and we would covet your prayers also. If you know of anyone that is in need of food, love, and prayer...and JESUS...please let them know that they can stop by our church on the first Wednesday of every month and Hope for the Hungry will be there...and so will we.

Our prayer is that the BREAD OF LIFE will be glorified in every single moment of this ministry. Won't you join us in that prayer? If you have any other questions feel free to leave a comment...

There's Hope for the Hungry!

Today, our church will host our first There's Hope for the Hungry ministry!! Several months ago, a man in our church asked Jay to go with him to see this amazing ministry at a local church. Jay went and when he came home, he told me that no matter what it took or how much it cost, our family would be a part of bringing this ministry to Noonday and our community. Well, about a week or two later the entire staff went to see There's Hope for the Hungry in action and THEY felt the same way too!

Last Sunday, my husband preached an amazing sermon on Fields of the Fatherless...why we should care about the poor, the fatherless, and the lost. It was hard...but true. Then, we had the pleasure of having Michael Brown who is one of the directors of There's Hope for the Hungry come and speak to us. He showed the following video. It tells all about the ministry here in Georgia...and gives a real view of why they exist in a way much better than I could ever do justice here myself.

Please go to this link and watch the video North American Mission Board did on their ministry:

There's Hope for the Hungry Video

Here is the sermon Jay preached and the testimony by Michael Brown at that service:

Fields of the Fatherless

After our church heard the sermon, watched that video, and heard Michael Brown speak...the Holy Spirit broke loose and people were lining up to partner in any way possible to love those in our community and share the GOSPEL with them.

I have been in church most of my life...and travel to churches all over...and truthfully I have only seen the Spirit move in a handful of times the way He moved in our church that morning. People received Christ as their Savior, rededicated their lives, lined up to volunteer, gave money, prayed at the altar...it was amazingly POWERFUL. I cried and laughed so hard...all at the same time!

What encouraged me the most is that our church was responding to taking the GOSPEL to those who are hurting, hungry, fatherless, poor, widowed, and lost!! That's what opened the door and ushered in the unmistakable move of the Spirit. And...it is continuing!! This Sunday was amazing as well!!

So, today begins our partnership with There's Hope for the Hungry. I can't wait to get up there tomorrow morning and be a part of this! The exciting thing for me? I get to serve the poor and the lost alongside my husband and children...God is just SO good!!! Another amazing part of this ministry is that our church will do the follow up on the people that come. They are in our own community and since they register and we have a record of them...we get the honor of touching them, praying for them, sharing Christ with them, disciplining them, and loving them!!

 I LOVE IT!!

Compassion!!!

I have been wanting to wait until everything was set and finished and for sure before I mentioned this on my blog. But, today my THREE boxes arrived from Compassion filled with all the resources and promotional things I will need...since I am now coming on board officially with Compassion International as one of their speaker advocates!!!

About 2-3 months ago, I was contacted by Shawna who is the Women's Speaker coordinator for Compassion International. She and I had the most amazing heart connection and we knew this was a perfect fit for our ministries. So...from there I began to learn, fill out paperwork, and most importantly pray! It has been a beautiful fit and one that God had already begun to place on my heart at the beginning of this year.

God was placing on my heart the desire to take ministry opportunities WITH me as I travel. I wanted to not only encourage women...but provide avenues for them to overflow into the lives of others. Since I had been with Compassion as a sponsor for over 6 years and sponsor 2 children with them, I am humbled and over the moon excited to take them WITH me!

I will offer Compassion packets alongside my Bible studies and we will work together to provide ways for ladies to not only seek satisfaction for their own souls...but provide that hope to another...to a child! I can't believe God's goodness in this and His amazing way of connecting people.

I didn't even know this kind of thing existed with Compassion (except for singers and artists!) and I know that only God could have made this amazing connection! That thrills my heart and gives such JOY!

So, here's just a little glimpse into my boxes today...I'm like a kid at Christmas...

My groovy shirt that I will wear at events as I share! I love the verse specifically...

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.

 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." Provers 31:8-9

LOVE IT!! I'll be wearing this all the time for sure...

Can't WAIT to read this book!

My "how too" manual on working as an advocate.

You can tell they work with women speakers...there's amazing DARK chocolate:-)

There was even more...and I can't wait to dig through and look/read it all!!

Please continue to pray for this partnership! PLEASE let me know if you would like more information on sponsoring a child with Compassion. I would love to help you get started, offer you a child packet, share at your upcoming event, and encourage you to make the most awesome investment $38 will ever make.

Let's work together to help children in Jesus' Name...

Thrive sweet friends,
Frances

Women's Ministry Exchange Event

Today, I joined over 100 women in seeking God's direction in loving and serving women. These ladies traveled for hours and hours...staying in hotels together last night...in order to come and journey with us. I was able to be a part of the panel discussion and lead 2 breakout sessions. I loved hearing the challenges and the joys of leading women in this interesting season of women's ministry.

Change is in the air and women are ready to seek after God with all their hearts! They are passionate for women everywhere to seek God's Word...prayer...community...purpose...and mentoring with renewed vision! God is shaking loose the hem of these garments and asking us to return to Him. He wants us to stop looking to others...and look only to Him. Allow Him to meet our every need. Allow Him to satisfy our souls.

His call rings solid in this society of shifting sand...You Follow Me!

Will we look into the eyes of our Savior and say YES?

My prayer today was that each lady who joined the journey today...is turning their sweet faces towards the risen Savior whose WORD is our portion for today...and follow HIM!

Let's thrive today!