Setting Goals for Our Life

Psalm 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;  I will counsel you and watch over you.


What a great time of fellowship this morning at Healing Broken Vessels!  Diantha greeted everyone and one of our guests led us in the hymn "Because He Lives".  Priscilla read our scripture and  Danielle prayed for the time of fellowship and for our speaker.

Our speaker, Hiwanda Gaerte took us on an uncharted path to Idaho...yes...Idaho.  We did not have a map, nor could any of us think of anyone that had ever been to Idaho to help guide us.  We learned very quickly, that we needed a map and a guide to help us along the way.  We stared this journey to Idaho, but did not have a goal of how we were going to get there.

Hiwanda took this example and began to share of a time in her own life when the path she was on did not seem to be the right road.  She was introduced to a group of people who had a common goal of healing the mind, body and spirit...sound familiar?  She then decided she wanted to be a part of this group and it's teaching and therefore, set her goal for her future.

She shared with us how she set this goal and handed out 3x5 cards and a safety pin.  We wrote down our short term goal and she suggested we keep it with us at all times so that we have our goal in front of us.  The SMART acronym for goal setting was introduced:

Goals must be:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely

Consider the WHOLE you when setting goals:
Spiritual
Family
Social
Physical
Work

Embrace God's design for your life through goal setting and planning and watch amazing things happen in your life.  Because goals are the map that will guide you toward your God-given purpose, without setting them you will also wander in circles without getting where you need to go.
-Hiwanda Gaerte

After your goals have been set, can you honestly pray this prayer?
In agreement with Your Word that says You intend to give me a future and a hope, I offer these goals and plans to You as a gift from my heart.  I will challenge myself to see deeds done for Your kingdom through my life.  I fully understand that all goals are subject to change and to Your perfect will.  With Your help, these dreams of my heart shall become a reality.

4th Saturday Meeting 5/28

If you have not visited Healing Broken Vessels on the 4th Saturday of the month you are missing something special.  We meet from 9am to 11am.  Light refreshments to follow the meeting.  Thinking about joining us....

Here's what you can expect:

Praise
Prayer
Scripture
Safe setting to share
Encouragement
Inspiration
Laughter
Occasional tears
Speaker who is knowledgeable about their topic
Tools for growth and healing of the mind, body and spirit

There is no fee to attend and all are welcome.  Hope to see you this Saturday.  Blessings to you!

Still Trying to Understand...

There are times in our lives when nothing seems to make sense.  We question our current and past circumstances.  We try to make the puzzle pieces fit our situations so we can come up with an answer to the question...WHY?  We lean on our own understanding that is made up of good and bad experiences, good and bad information, and last but not least...good and bad advice from friends and family.

But when do we solely rely on God?  Too many times, we FINALLY go to God when we have no other options.  Our friends and family may become impatient with us or our church family has deserted us.  All of our normal methods of coping with trials in our life are just not working.  At this point we make one of two choices.  We either continue down the same path of searching for answers or we submit ourselves to God.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says this:
Trust in the Lord with all your heat and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight.

If you are hurting, confused, scared, depressed, hopeless, defeated, angry or sad...turn to the Lord for strength and guidance.  Let him take your burden so that he can lighten your load.  Allow yourself to grow from the trial and ready yourself to receive the blessings that await you.  In every situation, God works for the good.  Let God take your crooked path and make it straight.  After all, it's much easier to navigate a straight path than a curvy one!

Blessings!

Full Spirits at Healing Broken Vessels

The Feed the Spirit conference was a HUGE success!  There is already talk about getting ready for next year.  Thank you so much to the ladies of the Esther Sunday School class at First Baptist Church in Lebanon, TN.  Diantha McLeod, Director and Founder of Healing Broken Vessels was presented a beautiful hand painted banner to display at future Healing Broken Vessels events by the class.

Wow...so much to share with you.  Deanna Freeman, accompanied by her son,  led the praise and worship. The songs chosen prepared our minds, bodies and spirits to hear the word from our speakers.  Each speaker gave insight to God's will for our lives in how we treat God's precious vessel (our body), how our minds can be our best or worst enemy and how our spirit's fire can be snuffed out by the daily grind of the world.  You can see how excited Deanna's spirit became... : )

The ladies of First Baptist Church treated us to a wonderful lunch of chicken salad and pimento sandwiches, soup, fruit and cookies.  The lunch was so yummy that I saw a few ladies taking "to go" cups of soup at the end of the day.  The ROCK building was the perfect place for the conference.  The coffee bar set the stage for a day of getting comfortable to feed our hungry spirits.

After lunch we were treated with a special mime presentation that was out of this world.  It's hard to describe in words how the performance moved us.  The mime was so filled with the spirit and it was amazing to watch her convey God's message through body movements.  Just another reminder that we are used in so many ways to share the healing message of Jesus Christ.

We ended the day with an invitation to receive special prayer.  At one point, I noticed a line of ladies waiting to have someone pray with them.  What an awesome privilege to hold hands with another person and share an intimate time of prayer.

You dont' have to wait until next year's conference to experience the love that Healing Broken Vessels, Inc. has  to share with you.  Come listen to our speakers every 4th Saturday of the month from 9am to 11am.  You are sure to leave with a full spirit.  GOD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU!