What I love most about the beginning of a new year is the opportunity to start over or try again. I'm not big on resolutions as they are often so short-lived, but I do usually set a few goals for the year. One of my goals is to do better at providing a weekly blog that will encourage us to live the life God has called us to live. Some argue that people don't read blogs anymore. I don't think that's true. I believe if someone is encouraged by what they read, they will return to read more and will often share it with others.
I awoke early this morning and started my day with a cup of coffee and some prayer. I found myself in Psalm 52, and when I got to verse 8 all of my CGWM sisters came to mind. Today is the last day to save with early registration for The Flourish Conference!
I love that the purpose of our annual conference is to equip and empower women to flourish in God's Kingdom. I would love to see every woman (and man, actually) in the Churches of God General Conference flourishing whether they attend our conference or not.
So I wonder this morning, are you flourishing? Are the people in your house flourishing? Is your church family flourishing? What does that even look like anyway? Will you join me on a short treasure hunt in the Word?
We start our treasure hunt in Psalm 52:8. "I am like an olive tree..."
I am instantly transported back in time to Camp Sonrise Mountain last April as Kelly DeVincent invited the women of the Allegheny Region in for a weekend retreat entitled "Grafted In" for which I was the keynote speaker. I learned more about olive trees and the process of grafting than I could have imagined! All that information begins floating around in my head as I take notice of the little note in my Bible by the word olive tree.
A treasure hunt, by the way, is when I start with a verse or a passage and follow all the links to delve deeper into the Word and see what the Holy Spirit wants to teach me.
So, I take the first leap to the note in my Bible about olive tree. It says that trees were not planted in the temple area, but if one were it would, because of its long life, spend many years in God's presence. Olive trees can live for thousands of years! I have seen pictures of an olive tree growing in the Garden of Gethsemane today that Jesus would have walked by!
Treasure #1 If you want to flourish, you must live daily in God's presence.
There are also a couple of references to other verses next to olive tree in the verse, so that is where we are going next. First, we go to Psalm 1:3 where we learn that a tree planted by rivers of water is fruitful and healthy.
The beginning of Psalm 1 gives us clues about how to be a fruitful tree. It says this person doesn't hang out with the wrong people. Instead, this person delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night.
Treasure #2 If your want to flourish, you must spend time daily in God's Word and then meditate on what you read there.
The word meditate takes me to a note that says to meditate is from the Hebrew word hagah (Strongs #1897) meaning to ponder or think about, to softly repeat the words of Scripture. This is a critical component of the process. To flourish, we must go further than simply reading God's Word. We must spend time thinking about it. I have found that speaking verses out loud can help me to internalize the Scripture as I learn to live what it says.
There are a couple of references next to the word trust, so we'll go there next. Both Psalm 6:4 and Psalm 13:5 remind us of God's unfailing love. A flourishing woman of God knows with every fiber of her being that she is loved. It is pretty easy to understand that truth with your head, but often we struggle with a heart that believes it!
It is ok to ask God to help you understand more fully how much He loves you. You are loved by God more deeply than you will ever know whether you feel it or not. Begin by accepting the truth of God simply because He said it. Then ask Him to help you to believe it. He will.
Knowing that God loves you is critical to being able to trust Him, and that leads us back to where we started in Psalm 52. I trust in His unfailing love.
Treasure #3 If you want to flourish, you must trust in God's unfailing love.
Precious sisters in Christ, my prayer for you in 2025 is that you will indeed flourish in God's Kingdom. You are loved. God has wonderful plans for you this year! I hope that includes your joining us at the Flourish Conference.
Reminder: Today is the last day to take advantage of our early registration. Register online at https://www.theflourishconference.org/. If you mail your registration, you can get your early registration by making sure it is post-marked today. Be sure your pastor's wife (or female pastors) knows that can receive a complementary ticket, but they will want to register early because these free tickets are first come, first served until they're gone. A print friendly version of the brochure is available if you want to print some to share with friends who aren't on our mailing list.
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