Jana Spicka and Women Getting Real Ministries
Posts tagged Beth Hungerford
Zim Prayer: May 24 – May 30
May 24th
Here are some of the highlights to be praying for the Zim team over this power-packed week:
Monday, May 24 - Eiffel Flats
Tyler will be speaking and Anna will be sharing her testimony
Tuesday, May 25 – Women’s Bible Study
Jana will be speaking
Laura and Beth will be sharing their testimonies
Wednesday, May 26 or Thursday May 27
Kadoma Boarding School for kids with disabilities (this will depend on whether the cholera outbreak is over)
Laura will be leading fun kid songs
Friday, May 28
Camp activities, Construction at Lasting Impressions
Saturday, May 29
The team travels to Karoi
Jana speaks at Women’s conference
Sunday, May 30
Dutch Reformed Church
John speaks
Team does a skit
Songs by Jana or Laura
Afternoon tea; Sue speaks
Take a Breath, by Guest Blogger, Beth Hungerford
Mar 23rd
The Lord gave me a really cool spiritual picture. Jana was talking to me about sin issues and how when we have a break-through that it’s like God is bringing us up for air and letting us take a breath before we have to go back down and keep working through the issue. In other words, we are not done; He’s just giving us a breath and a sense of making progress.
Here is the picture He gave me. We were playing water polo during swim practice several summers ago. Brittany, my very fun and extremely competitive coach, was on the other team. I was having a great game and had scored 2 or 3 times practically unguarded. Brittany was getting frustrated that no one was defending me so she switched from offense to defense. The next time I got the ball she wrapped her arms around me from behind so tightly and completely that I couldn’t move and plunged me under the water in hopes that I would let go of the ball. After a few moments she brought me back up said, “Take a breath,” and immediately dunked me right back under. This is such a strong picture for me of what Jana was talking about.
As I thought about it more the Lord clarified it a little making a distinction. Brittany was taking me under trying to get me to give up and stop fighting whereas the Lord’s goal is for us to be free and have a deeper and closer walk with Him. He lets us struggle until we are ready to give up and then brings us up for air to let us catch our breath and says, “Ok you ready? You are stronger now and you can hold your breath longer so this time we are going in deeper and it’s going to be even more amazing.”
This goes for more than just sin issues. I need to remember this the next time I find myself having to deal with something I thought I had already worked through. We weren’t done, He was just giving me a breath.
Will You Help Us Change the World?
Jan 27th
Isn’t that an audacious question? It sounds like, uhm, let me think — oh yes, it sounds like Jesus. He is the One who took a handful of scarred and frail believers and changed the course of history. Their encounter with the Living Messiah, their passion to tell their story about Him, changed the world, one person at a time.
That is what we are up to at Women Getting Real. Our desire is to rescue people from the heartache, lies and defeat in their lives and lead them into the presence of the Loving God where He can restore, renew and heal. Are we there yet ourselves? Nope. We are all in process, on the journey, ever seeking His face. But this one thing we know and bank our lives on: the same God who is healing us, will heal others too.
We believe that the same tender love, the same Living God who has radically altered our lives, altogether changed our existence not only in the hereafter but also with His overwhelming presence in our daily lives, is able and willing to do that for others too. And we want to tell our stories, now and later, near and far, home and abroad.
Will you help us with this Holy Search and Rescue Mission?
There are four of us going to Zimbabwe in May. I am going to teach retreats and teens. Two other “dream team” members of WGR are going, Beth Hungerford and Laura Jones. They are invaluable leaders in the workings of Unhindered events, and behind the scenes work of the ministry. When they go to Zimbabwe they will be helping with the youth camps and orphanage there. The final representative from WGR is our youngest team member, Salem, my 12 year old daughter. She is a bundle of gifting: child magnet, willing builder and adventurer extraordinaire. God was so clear to us all that she was to make this trip. So we are quite eager to see all that God will reveal and deposit in her.
It is not so much what we offer, but that we have all been clearly, and almost humorously, Called. And we must answer. We are joining a larger team going with John Dee and Ebenezer Ministries and will be gone for three weeks. Does this sound crazy to you? It still does to me. But isn’t that just like God? Nothing is impossible for Him.
So we are extending an invitation to you to link arms with us. Will you pray for us? Salem said it best. When I was helping her with her donor letters, I asked her what she wanted to put under her “prayer requests.” She said, ”Preparation and faith.” I love that. That is our first step. Preparation and Faith. Our second step is to pray in the funds to go. We know that God has all the money we need. And He has given me such a verse:
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: ”He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
2 Corinthians 9: 8-11
We stand on His promises to provide through many hands.. Will you link arms with us financially too? Maybe you can’t go, but you can help send us. You are going to Zimbabwe “through us” as we all go through the power of Christ.
So if you want to join the Change the World adventure with us, click here. This is will give you all the info you need to be part of this God work.
“Lord rend the heavens and come down, Seek the lost and heal the lame, Father bring glory to your name.”
Who's Got Your Back? By Guest Blogger, Beth Hungerford
Jan 22nd
Jana is preparing for a marriage retreat. But she will be back on Monday with a special blog about Wrinkle Release!! Some of Jana’s recent posts are available here.
Enjoy this great story from Beth.
I was on a walk with the Lord when I started seeing snails. Every few steps I was passing a little snail on the ground. I didn’t really think anything of it until I was almost to the end of the greenway and there was a much bigger snail on the ground. It caught my attention because the shell was spotted just like the back of those giant slugs you see every now and then.
The last time I was out at the rock when I had stopped fighting and was only pulling on the really loose rocks, I had accidently grabbed one of those huge slugs thinking it was a piece of the rock because it was underneath it. I don’t get grossed out very easily but that did it for me.
At the time I had heard God telling me to pay attention but I didn’t know what a slug had to do with anything and I had pretty much forgotten about it until I saw this snail. I was looking at it and basically commenting to the Lord about how it looks just like that slug and He said, “Except that it carries that big heavy shell with it everywhere it goes. Wouldn’t it be easier if it didn’t have one like the slug?”
I said “Yeah but the shell is how it protects itself,” and the Lord responded, “Yes, but the slug was protected too…it just has to rely on an outside source of protection and was using the rock.”
WOW…I’ve been thinking a lot about that and He’s showing me that’s why I’m fighting so much. I think I’m protecting myself, but really I’m just making it harder and heavier than it needs to be.
Stop Fighting Part II – by Guest Blogger, Beth Hungerford
Jan 21st
Jana is preparing for a marriage retreat. But she will be back on Monday with a special blog about Wrinkle Release!! Some of Jana’s recent posts are available here.
Enjoy this great story from Beth.
So you would think that after my encounter with the ocean waves I would have learned my lesson about fighting against the Lord. Apparently I am a really slow learner.
About a month later, I went to one of my favorite places to spend time with the Lord…a large rock that hangs out over the river. I have many conversations with Him while out there picking pieces and sometimes large chunks off of the rock.
This time I was working particularly hard at trying to get off a large piece that was just loose enough to make me think I could get it. I heard Him again telling me that I was still fighting.
“But I really want to get this piece off.”
“Stop fighting. You don’t have to work that hard. Just worry about the really loose ones.”
I wouldn’t listen. He kept gently repeating Himself and even told me exactly where to go on the rock but I still insisted on trying to get the pieces that just weren’t ready to come off.
I think He finally got tired of me not listening and insisting on fighting so He let me suffer the consequences.
I was looking down at a lot of small cuts and nicks on my hands from where the rock kept breaking off (instead of coming off in chunks like it usually did). The Lord said, “Those hurt didn’t they?”
“Yes,” I said as I went back to pulling on a large piece of stubborn rock.
Then He said, “You know, you’re only getting hurt when you’re fighting. Just stop fighting.”
“I will just as soon as I get this…”
Right at that moment it gave way or at least part of it did…my hand slipped and my finger got cut deep enough that I now have a scar.
Now fast forward about a week. I went back to the rock this time fully committed to working where the Lord told me and only pulling on the pieces He gave me permission to pull on. At one point He said “look where you are.” I looked down to see that I was stretched out as far as I could over the water and that’s when it clicked. I had been upset and angry about cutting my finger because I really was going to obey once I had gotten that piece off. But… had the Lord not stopped me and allowed me to continue while I was still fighting and not listening, I would have been in the river. He had protected me until I was ready to handle what He had for me.
