La Belle Design

  Deeper Still is a ministry for those with abortions in their past who recognize that rather than fix things, abortion has left them broken. It is a Christ-centered ministry that provides weekend   retreats free of charge to men and women so they can work through their past and be set free in Christ. Too many times the sins of our past keep us in bondage believing that we are not worthy to speak Christ into the lives of others,   serve Him fully, or worse--we believe we don't deserve salvation. Many who have gone through Deeper Still retreats have finally found freedom in Christ and their voice to speak out against abortion after years of shame that kept them silent. This growing ministry is not only helping those with abortions in their past but also helping turn the tide of abortions in the future. As a Christian and as both an adoptee and adoptive mom, abortion has long been on my radar. I am thankful I was born before Roe vs Wade and wonder if I would be just another statistic

This past week and weekend I was blessed to participate in the Missions Get Together 2024 in Brentwood, Tennessee. About 550 women from all over the state gathered to be encouraged, strengthened, and equipped in our walk with God. Numerous breakouts, corporate worship, updates from missionaries, and our keynote speaker all worked together along with fellowship with ladies from my church and others to make it a special time.  Our keynote speaker was Brenda Croston and she spoke on 1 Peter 4:7-11 ESV - The end of all things is at hand; therefore be  self-controlled  and  sober-minded  for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since  love covers  a multitude of sins. 9  Show hospitality  to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as  good stewards of God's varied grace : 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies--in orde

  (This blog post is from my 4/5/24 newsletter) I've written about rest before, and I can't stress how important it is that we not only rest our bodies but also our minds. Over and over again in scripture,  God makes rest a priority for his people . On the seventh day of creation in Genesis 2:2-3, God set the example, and Jesus did as well in the New Testament. Often the times that Jesus withdrew, scripture mentions it was to pray (Luke 5:16; Luke 6:12-13; Mark 1:35; Matthew 14:13, 23). We see in Matthew 4: 2 (Mark 1:12, 13; Luke 4:1-13) that Jesus went into the wilderness for forty days to fast. We should note that he was tempted at the end of this period. Jesus' temptation in the wilderness  is something we should all become familiar with as Christians. It is often when we feel the closest to God or everything seems to be going in a positive direction with our spiritual walk, that we are hit with spiritual warfare. We may not have Satan literally dangling promises of much