Love AND Appreciation

Submitted by Debbie on Thu, 07/12/2012 - 08:37

I am currently on vacation. During this time, I am completely offline. While I am getting some rest and enjoying time with my family I thought you would like to hear from some of the Pink Team. This is a blog post from Adana Wilson. Adana is the Pastor of Pink and Adult Ministries at Gateway Church Frisco. She is happily married to Craigh and they have three boys.

Love,

Debbie

Several days ago I was returning a text and started to type "I love and appreciate you." After typing that, I glanced at it and thought it sounded a little repetitive. As I got ready to erase some of it the Lord spoke to my spirit. He said love and appreciation are not the same thing.

As I began to think about it I saw how true it was. I can "love" a lot of people in my life (my husband, my boys, family, friends, etc), but am I appreciating them in my life? Do I tell them I appreciate the things they do for me? Do I show them I appreciate them by my words and actions?

The Lord had me take it a step further. He said you say you love me but do you appreciate me? It was a real eye opening thought for me. I do absolutely love the Lord, but do I always appreciate him? Do I show him I appreciate him?

One of the definitions of appreciation is an active thankfulness. Am I actively thankful to the Lord or I am constantly wanting/desiring for more from him? When I spend time with the Lord is it mostly about what I want, need or desire for him to do in me or through me? Or do I appreciate (actively thank) him for what he has already done, is doing and will do in my life?

So I want to challenge you as I have been challenged to appreciate the Lord in your life. Show him your appreciation in your words, actions and the way you live your life. Show him active thankfulness in worship when you feel like it and even when you don't. Psalm 107 is a psalm completely focused on thankfulness. All 43 verses express appreciation to the Lord. It starts in verse 1 "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies." That psalm ends in verse 43 saying "If you are really wise, you'll think this over -it's time you appreciated God's deep love." MSG

No matter what our circumstances, feelings, or the world says God is a good God and so worthy of our love AND appreciation!

 

Pink Voice Report

Submitted by Debbie on Wed, 05/16/2012 - 15:23

Thank you to all the Pink Impact attendees who participated in the coat drive and the Pink Voice offering. I was amazed at your generosity!

Through your donations we were able to bless Mission Arlington with over 250 coats. They were extremely grateful and I wanted to share a special thank you note from the founder, Tillie Burgin.

Dear Friends:

Thank you, dear friends, for sponsoring a Coat Drive to benefit Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex. Many of you say, "Oh, don't send a note." But it helps me to be able to share and tell you what God is able to do with the gifts you give.

Recently, I was standing outside in the alley of Mission Arlington, and an older lady came to me and said, "I came here to ask for a mattress, and found that others are in greater need than I am. I sat in your front room for over an hour and listened to the heart break of so many people in need. I just wanted to hug every one of them and tell them they would be okay because they had made it to Mission Arlington where they would be helped." She said again, "I wish everyone could come and just be in your front room and hear the moms trying to get food, clothes, toiletries, rent help...," and on and on she went. It was evident that her heart had been changed as she walked away saying, "I need to go see what I can give. I will be right back."

Please know how important you are and how grateful we are for you and your hearts filled with care and compassion.

God bless you,

Tillie Burgin

We also collected $15,000 that will go toward future Pink Voice projects. The offering that was taken at Pink Impact 2011 bought two vehicles for Perfect 10 Charity, and I can't wait to see what God will do next!

 

 

Pink Impact Highlights and Shout Outs

Submitted by Debbie on Fri, 05/04/2012 - 10:19

 

I hope all of you were at Pink Impact. My heart was so satisfied. 5,500 God seeking women, plus One God that loves to be found, makes for an amazing conference. I thought I would share some of my highlights and you can add to my list.
  • Night of Worship: It was so sweet!
  • Pre-Conference Workshops: What a great line up of speakers! Blynda Lane led off with a great word. There is so much more to her than a pretty face! All of the workshops will be on our audio podcast soon.
  • The Opener: It was not only beautiful but also powerful. I thought it set the mood for the entire weekend.
  • Beth Moore: She was classic Beth. She taught from the word and what is necessary to be a healthy child of God. My favorite quote: “It does matter how you live. Yes it does!”
  • Friday Morning: Our very own Gateway Girls, Michelle Cohen and Elaine Fisher, ministered with power. I am so proud to be raising up a delegation of women who can and will deliver God’s word. I heard that Kari Jobe was amazing at NRH!
  • Andy Andrews: He was refreshing and humorous as he impacted us with his words. I hope you will read his books. I personally loved The Noticer and The Heartmender.
  • Holly Wagner: She challenged us to be women that were courageous. I love Holly! She is a Pink sister. She blessed us with her words and spirit. 
  • Saturday: I got to go to NRH and then to Southlake. Before I spoke at Southlake, my sweetie surprised me, and introduced me. It was so sweet!
May I give you a few shout outs?
  • All the volunteers! Every volunteer made a difference. Our volunteers make the ministry possible. There wasn’t one place where our volunteers didn’t meet the challenge. 
  • Adana Wilson and everyone who attended Frisco. You are Rock Stars!
  • You wanted God even if it was by simulcast! You inspired me! Adana’s leadership and heart for women was on display for all to see. (I read the surveys and heard from you that you want to do Pink Impact at Frisco next year. There is so much to consider, but we will think about it.)
  • Lynda Grove and Mallory Bassham did a fabulous job at NRH. I heard all about the women at NRH. Lynda and Mallory were so proud of all the women there. 
  • The Pink Team! I am honored to work with such an amazing team. One thing about the Pink Team that I love is the unity. About 10 women got along so beautifully during a stressful time. You can see what people are made of when stress hits. Our girls are made of grace. I Love them!
Here are some things you should know:
  • Next year you can choose your own seat. Go to PinkImpact.com
  • Conference B is about 50% sold out! Please get your seat now! Other churches will buy chunks of seats and you will wish you would of listened to me.
  • There will be childcare for Conference A only.
  • You can get your seat for the night of worship too. It is free!
Pink Impact 2013 will be here before we know it. We plan this conference with you in mind. Please be there next year. 

 

God Loves His Girls

Submitted by Debbie on Mon, 03/19/2012 - 07:45

Pink Impact is quickly approaching and I feel the surge of excitement building.  I know God wants to do something incredible in our lives.  Why can I say that? Well, I know that God has a tender place for His Pink girls.  God has been for His girls since Eve.  Scripture tells us that he helped Eve have a baby (Gen. 4:1).  He met Hagar when she was mistreated by Sarah (Gen. 16:1-14). He went out of His way to talk to a Samarian woman at the well (John 4). He healed the woman with the issue of blood in Luke 8.

God loves his girls.  I believe he is excited about what He is going to do in our hearts during those few days. 

Would you join me in praying for a God encounter?  I want every woman to leave saying what Hagar said after meeting with God. She said, “You are the God who sees! Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”

Love,

Debbie

Victory!

Submitted by Debbie on Wed, 02/22/2012 - 11:34

The A21 Campaign had a huge vicotry this week! Thank you for your continued support and prayers for Chris and her team. Below is the letter from Chris explaining the court case.

"I just had to write and tell you the incredible news…WE WON!!! We just won a huge court case in Athens!  You have probably heard me tell the story before of a girl that was trafficked in a shipping container.  She underwent unimaginable abuse as the oxygen tank in the container broke and half of the girls inside died.  And that was only the beginning of her nightmare entry into Greece, where she was sold for sex countless times during her captivity.

But TODAY she is not only free – she has seen justice prevail as her traffickers are now in prison!! Both traffickers were sentenced to 15 years and each fined 75,000.00 euros. This is incredible as the maximum prison penalty in Greece for human trafficking is only 10 years!

In the midst of economic crisis and instability in Greece, we continue to take ground, and we consider you a big part of this.  Thank you for your prayers and support.  This truly is a battle against powers and principalities – but together, darkness doesn't stand a chance against us!

I also wanted to let you know about what is happening on Monday, February 27th. That is the day that the song "27 Million" is being released.  Matt & Beth Redman, and LZ7 have put together an anthem to help raise awareness about human trafficking…and I must say, it is POWERFUL!  The song tells the gripping true story of an Eastern European girl, trafficked into the London sex trade. The song title reflects the estimated 27 million individuals trapped in modern slavery today. The release of 27 Million will be accompanied by a music video recorded live at Passion Conference.  I was there the night they recorded it, and let me tell you, it was something I have never seen before…a stadium filled with 45,000 young people making a very bold and passionate statement against human trafficking.  Here is just a taste"