I grew up in the crc, and am still here, along with my family. I'm married to Daryl, who has a construction business. I had a cpa license for 10 or so years, then I added EX to the front, and MOM to the back, so now I'm an EX CPA, MOM =). I am MOM to Duncan(12), Ian (8) and Samantha (6). Our family also owns a raspberry farm, and in the summers we get to work out there.
Several years ago, the LORD re-opened up the eyes/ears of my heart to see/hear Him again. This was a profound change in my faith and walk with Him, making my relationship with Him much more personal, and discovering the "secret place" (Ps. 91:1 NKJV) with Him. That caused me to pursue listening prayer, which is something I've realized is not a strong point in our denomination. I'm praying God will be gracious and teach us this amazing gift, He designed for us, His children. I love to spend time in prayer, worship, reading His Word and lots of books based on His Word. and I love to share and have conversations with others, discussing our faith and what God is doing. I would love to see the crc understand "high praise" (Ps. 149:6 NKJV as one reference) I would love to see the crc eagerly pursue the Spirit given gift of prophecy, not just acknowledge it. (I Cor. 14:1) I would love to see the crc embrace fasting more intentionally as a practice (Matt. 6:16...when (not if) you fast) I am excited and encouraged with the prayer summit being planned for this April, and hope I will be able to be there.
The editorial linked to below mentions "prophetic" in some form 2 times. I also heard this word being used at synod in various discussions. I'm interested in what you think this might mean.
Several years ago, I heard the concept “high praise” at a prayer gathering, and it was the first time I could remember that I had heard that term, at least the first time it registered. I tucked that thought in the back of my mind and, every once in a while, would reflect on it.
The LORD put the song "O Church Arise" on my heart several times over the last year as I pray about our (the Church's) role in bringing love and healing to a very broken world.
I've been meaning to post this for a while, so we can use this as a guide for some of our prayers concerning the various spheres of influence we have...
Ok, I had shared part of a testimony as a reply under the first "listening prayer" posting ... what was interesting timing is that very day when I wrote this 2nd part, I later ran into the cantata director to get his permission to share his part in it.
Doug (and Martin), I personally will find (and already have found) this discussion insightful and useful in various ways... not sure how many others besides those who were involved in writing and...
Bless your heart Martin... I believe the answer and actions on behalf of displaced Palestinians (recognizing there are complex historical questions regarding "palestine") will come through...
I am very very thankful for this discussion... it's been a long time coming in the CRC! Mr. Ed Fredericks personally brought an overture to Synod back in 2011ish regarding (the theology of) Israel...
thank you all for "speaking" up and adding your voice to this important conversation about power and it's use, misuse and abuse! I'm very thankful to see more and more voices helping increase...
One of the beautiful collaborations of unity happening in Israel, is Messianic Jews, Christians and Palestinian believers coming together to worship Yeshua! here is the first album representing...
As part of the Kingdom Church, the CRC can encourage praying for God's heart for Israel, and for the nations. His Word encourages us to pray for the peace of Israel and Jerusalem... I understand...
wow, i'm in tears... how can it be heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time... by the love and grace of God... thank You Lord!
and thank you Kelly and safe church and all of you who...
just to be clear 67% of respondents said they had experienced it... that doesn't mean 67% of leaders abuse their power... we don't have a stat on that at all that I'm aware of... and at this...
That's right, i forgot about this interesting article based on the first survey recently completed on spiritual abuse... the estimate of those who have experienced spiritual abuse in some way,...
I am curious on the 2% of leaders abuse their power stat... what I've found is significantly higher... ie. various surveys results indicate that 30-40% of pastors have had inappropriate sexual...