The Fragrance of Our Lives

Psalms 37:37 says Observe the honest, mark the upright; those at peace with God have a future.

That word future means posterity – something passed on to your descendants…I thought about what has been passed on to me both through my Grandmother and my mother… as it says in Timothy …a living faith.

In my Grandmother I received her passionate love and trust in God. She suffered from migraines all her life so she would sit at her kitchen table and pray for 5 hours every morning until the headaches subsided. She was a woman who prayed and loved God and I know I am who I am because of those prayers.

In my Mom I received many things but two stand out the most and these two items left in her room are evidence of these gifts…A hug would make my day magnet…My mother loved people and saw every person as a future friend. Although she was confined to a wheelchair the last ten years of her life, she reached out to everyone and did not wait for them to come to her. She called them to her and hugged them, which immediately said “I want you to be close” “You are important!”

Second this little guy (a laughing Santa)….She gave me the gift of laughter. When my father passed away leaving her with two young children she would always say “if we don’t laugh we will cry” so she found ways all the time to bring laughter into our lives in every way she could. Many nights we would go to bed listening to her giggle as she watched a TV show or found something else funny in her world. What a legacy she left because the fragrance of her life still lingering in mine.

Each of us by how we live…leaves a fragrance lingering, something that is passed on to those around you.  If we chose to live honestly and upright before God have an eternal, life-giving effect on the lives of those around us

We can celebrate the lives of those who gave us life and  remember that our lives can have eternal impact to the lives of those around us and that we each leave a fragrance.

2 Cor 2:14 Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. THE MESSAGE

2 Cor 2:14  Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. NKJV

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So Thrilled to Announce the Sessions for UNMASKED Conference in Long Beach

Rahab – Redeemed and Reborn    Christina Williams                                                                              The Story of Rahab should encourage us all and is the overall theme for this weekend. Here is a woman with a devastating past and a truly redeemed future.  She not only grasps onto full redemption for herself an d her family, but she finds herself in a community that encourages her toward a new life. Find out how you can not only find a new life for yourself but how you can participate in helping others towards redemption and a new life in Christ!

Listening to the Red Flags – Christina Williams                                                                              As Rahab hung a red cord in her window it put  her in the vulnerable position to wait on God as the walls crumbled  around her believing that she would be protected, because she was a woman who had learned to act on the red flags of caution. We will explore the ways God seeks to protect us today by giving each person an ability to hear or feel a red flag. What do we do with those small voices of caution? By the end of your time at Unmasked you will learn to find protection in listening to the Red Flags.

Becoming a Safe Place – Shirley Bridwell                                                                                                       What does it mean to be ‘a safe place’  for others? And how do I grow and develop into that safe place where others can find in me a refuge from the storms of life? We will discuss the answers to these questions and share Biblical and practical principles that will help each of us develop into that “safe place” so desperately needed in today’s society!

There Has To Be More!  Patti Helzer                                                                                                                   Are you surrounded by walls? Fortified walls – armed with fear; armed by lies, unforgiveness – walls that are keeping you in bondage to your past? Have you wondered if you could be free from  the painful things of your past? If you have had that same heart cry, “There has to be more to my life than pain, suffering, fear and sorrow.”, than please come join us and discover your path to freedom!

How to Rebuild Your Life When You Have Lost Everything   Sandra Bond                              What have you lost? Have you lost a husband, a child, a close relationship?  Have you been abandoned, lost your home or your job?  Have you been abused in any way (verbally, sexually, physically)? Most of us would have to admit that we spend our lives doing everything we can to avoid suffering and/or loss in today’s modern world.  The truth is we cannot live without loss.  If you’ve suffered loss of any kind, join me as I share with you the steps God gave me to rebuild my life starting with NOTHING . . . after I had lost EVERYTHING! Learn how to overcome and be victorious!

Forbidden Fruit     Judi Mack                                                                                                                                Have you ever wanted something that was not yours to have?  Went after something that you knew was not right and yet still went down that road? Have you ever found youself in a place that made you ask ‘how in the world did I get here? How do I get out? How do I not go there again?’  Find the answers you are looking for and more as we explore the tranforming of your mind and the renewing of your life. Looking at a journey of God’s redemptive work from walking deceit to living in truth.

Through It All   Shiloah Stone                                                                                                                                      Through life, we all go through some real issues, that bring real hurt…and also leave us with some real questions: Why is life so hard? When is this trial going to end? When am I going to have answers? Why would God allow me to go through this?…Regardless of the season or trial that we are going through, we can be confident in our Lord to carry us through. From start to finish, beginning to end, our God will carry us through it all!!!

Redeemed Destiny  Cherie Francis-Boegeman                                                                                            Sometimes we lose our way in life……… Sometimes we lose our way in an effort to alleviate pain……..When we come to our senses, we realize there was such a different life we could have had……..We may feel disqualified by others or even by ourselves due to shame.  In this session you will be inspired to recall how God made you unique,  what were some of your God given childhood dreams and   where did you go astray.  You will begin the process of identifying how specifically do you walk back to the path of your God given destiny.

Is There A Target On My Back?  Jolene Belsbey                                                                                                Do you ever feel like you have been targeted for the tough times in life? Everyone goes through hard times, some more than others, but God can use these times to produce great things in us. When Rahab was a child do you think she dreamed of being a prostitute? Do you think she looked forward to being used and looked down upon? Life situations and decisions led her there but one day she made a decision that would change her life. She put her trust and faith in God. Join me as we look at what times of trial produce in us. Discover what stormy times reveal about your inner self.