March Newsletter - 2009

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT: Kate Leach

SIMPLE PURITY OF YOUR LOVE FOR CHRIST

“Will you put up with a little foolish aside from me? The thing that has me so upset is that I care about you so much – this is the passion of God burning inside me! … And now I am afraid that exactly as the snake seduced Eve with his smooth patter you are being lured away from the simple purity of your love for Christ.”

2 Corinthians 11:3 from The Message

The simple purity of your love for Christ. What a beautiful thought. Check your heart a minute by asking yourself, ‘Are the things I do being done out of simple, pure love for God?’ ‘Are my prayers flowing from this pure motive, to just sit in His Presence and speak with Him or have other, lesser motives crept in unnoticed?’ These lesser motives creep in, you know. They do not ring the doorbell and announce themselves. Like weeds, they multiply if left unchecked.

Our daily goal must be to sustain the freshness of His love inside us so that we are as the aroma of freshly baked bread wafting Heavenward. Anyone care to eat stale bread? Do you think God appreciates our rote expressions of love? How do you like receiving that peck on the cheek from your spouse? Does it thrill you like the full mouthed kiss of intimacy? Well, we throw God a peck on the cheek in most of our prayers, yet expect Him to answer with the Full Monty of His powerful love in return. (Full Monty here meaning complete; the whole thing.) How about insincere compliments? Do they make you feel the person really knows you? It is good for us to remember that God has emotions, and He responds likewise to these expressions of Christian religious duty.

Father God and Jesus the Christ both long to hear fresh expressions of our love. This is one of the many reasons we were equipped with the Holy Spirit, so that we were outfitted to offer spirit filled songs of praise! So make your expressions personal; sing a new song to Him. Sing to Him in the Spirit and then spontaneously add to your song the feelings/emotions for Him that bubble up. Bubbles indicate freshness, liveliness, LIFE!!

Then take the AXE of PRAISE to the distractions of your daily calendar. These activities may seem like harmless activities, even “good, noble and worthy” things to do, but unless He has given you permission to engage in them, they are self ordained. If they do not originate from the Holy Spirit, they are distractions for YOU. One of the enemies’ chief tactics is to DISTRACT us from intimate time with God by our own busyness. Get in the habit of always asking God permission to attend an appointment, and then you’ll KNOW that you are always where YOU are supposed to be.

There is just one place to remain FRESH and it is not Panera Bread; it is in His Presence. See you in the Throne Room! Sending my love and blessings, Kate

GUEST SPEAKER: Cecilia Stanback

Cecilia Sugay was born in the Philippines where she married Thomas Stanback and had two children, Diana and Thomas Jr. She followed her husband in the Air Force to the U.S., where they have lived in Georgia, Oklahoma, back to the Philippines and then finally settling in Florida since the early 80’s. In 1984 Cecilia and her husband joined the Tabernacle Church in Melbourne. While a member of the Tab, Cecilia became a prayer intercessor, a praise dancer and was a volunteer for the children Sunday school for several years.

After her husband retired from the military, she began working for the Lord full time. She continued her dancing and attended classes, studying to improve her understanding of the Bible. In February 2007 she was led by the Holy Spirit to found her own church, and has been the head pastor of The Ark of the Covenant Worship Center in Melbourne. Merritt Island Aglow warmly welcome Pastor and evangelist Cecilia Stanback to our podium!

APRIL 11^th MEETING CANCELLED SO YOU MAY ATTEND CONFERENCE!

Because of the upcoming Aglow “Joyful Revelation” Conference being held April 17 &18^th, 2009 at the Melbourne Beach Oceanfront Hilton, the Merritt Island Aglow Board has decided to cancel our local meeting on April 11. The Melbourne Beach Hilton is located at 3003 North Highway A1A, Melbourne, FL 32903. Phone: (321) 777-5000.

We are urging everyone to attend this conference sponsored by the Area Board and avail yourselves of the richness of the 2 guest speakers, Joy Green and Linda Markowitz. Please join us for 2 days of intimacy with God … experiencing worship, drinking in the Word and joyful, social fellowship time with your sisters in the Lord!

Joy Green is an Aglow U.S. Regional Director for the Southeast Region. She has a desire to see every woman reach her highest potential in Christ and encourages us to “dream big” and then to pursue that dream and see what God will do. Linda Markowitz is Founder of Establishing Covenant Ministries and is an ordained minister through International Fellowship of Christian Ministries (IFCM) of Mt. Dora, FL. Linda is a dedicated woman of prayer and is anointed as a teacher to the Body of Christ, who ministers with a keen and accurate prophetic anointing. Both Joy and Linda are loving, anointed female leaders who will surely inspire you. Linda's spiritual insight brings revelation to her teachings that impart understanding and practicality to the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. I am CERTAIN that God will indeed refresh you though this time apart with Him ….He always does!

The registration fee is $40 which includes a lunch buffet on Saturday. All other meals are on your own. Make checks payable to Aglow, International and send your registration to: Esther Roberts, 1643 Adview Rd SE, Palm Bay, FL. 32909. Questions may be addressed to either Jan Fredrick at (321) 722-1341 or by email jjjoyrain@aol.com or to Esther Roberts: (321)725-5161 or by email esthervroberts@gmail.com. Registration begins at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 17; worship begins at 7:00 p.m. Conf ends Sat afternoon.

THE MERRITT ISLAND AGLOW BOARD HOPES TO SEE YOU THERE!

Prayer Meeting

You are invited to attend a prayer meeting with Aglow women. We meet Thursday, March 12, 2009 from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. where our Aglow Meetings are held – the Torah Class site in Merritt Island. We pray for our Aglow meetings, for our nation and also for any personal needs present.