our Monthly meeting North Side Baptist Church 910 N. Main Street,, Weatherford, TX 76086

Transcription

1 A Hole in My Heart turning Moments into Memories after the loss of your child We serve an awesome God Join us for a Special evening at a our Monthly meeting North Side Baptist Church 910 N. Main Street,, Weatherford, TX Room #107 On The 2 nd Thursday of every month 7:00 9:00 PM Let us praise God for all the good works He is doing within our Ministry Contact: ~ Where your hearts always feel blessed~ Meeting Dates and News... Wow The Holidays are such a beautiful time of the year, but it can also be bitter sweet for us Moms. We are wishing you all a peace filled New Year. If you are in need of a weekend away, our Healing Journey Retreat is next month & we still have a few openings if you are interested, so please contact us ASAP if you want to go More info will follow below on page 10 Upcoming Meeting Dates: January 12 th, February 9 th & March 8 th Light refreshments will be served. We look forward to seeing you For more information call: Looking forward to seeing you there ~ Blessings from ~ The Board ~ Autumn, Melinda, Tiffany, Scharlyn & Alma ~ 1 Important Information Bring your suggestions to share Listen to some great music And spend time with the other moms as we fellowship together, sharing our Special memories ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PURCHASE YOUR MEMORY BRICK TO BE DISPLAYED AT THE FOUNTAIN OF TEARS FOR MAIL-IN ORDER FORMS: PLEASE CONTACT And YES~ You can still order a brick to be placed on the Prayer Walk Visit the Fountain of Tears at Praise Pavilion Click here for Information & Directions: ~You will be so amazed at its beauty~ Special Music Performances, Movies, and more

2 The Cord We are connected, my child and I, By an invisible cord, not seen by the eye. It s not like the cord, that connects us til birth This cord can t be seen, by any on earth. This cord does it s work, right from the start, It binds us together, attached to my heart. I know that it s there, though no one can see, The invisible cord from my child to me. The strength of this cord, it s hard to describe, It can t be destroyed, it can t be denied. It s stronger than any cord, man could create, It withstands the test, can hold any weight. And though you are gone, though you re not here with me, The cord is still there, but no one can see. It pulls at my heart, I am bruised.i am sore, But this cord is my lifeline, as never before. I am thankful that God, connects us this way, A mother and child, Death can t take that away ~Anonymous~ A Hole in My Heart Ministry, Inc. * P.O. Box 711 * Weatherford * Texas * ~ A Hole In My Heart Ministry, Inc. is a 501 (C )(3) non profit organization dedicated to serving bereaved mothers ~ **If at any time you no longer wish to receive this newsletter** Please contact ater@att.net or call

3 DAILY SCRIPTURE "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." (1 Peter 3:3-4 NIV) DAILY PRAYER Heavenly Father, thank You for seeing and loving the real me. The me that many others don't often see or take the time to get to know. Amen DAILY THOUGHT "Even if others don't know that God sees the real you - the beauty that is on the inside." The Whisper Of God Thought for the Day ~ Brought to you by: ~ 3

4 Prayer that Pleases Him Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 John 5:14 Nothing lies outside of the reach of prayer except that which is outside of the will of God. God answers the requests that He inspires. Thus, we need a good working knowledge of Scripture. So when I pray for provision, I might say, "Lord, You have told us in Your Word that You will supply all of our needs according to Your riches and glory in Christ Jesus...." (see Philippians 4:19.) Am I saying this to educate God, as though He would say, "Well, I didn't know that That is good stuff"? No. I am reminding myself of what the Bible says. And I am basing my prayer request on a promise of Scripture. It also bolsters my faith, because I am asking God to answer a prayer in which I have quoted Scripture. The apostles quoted Scripture when they prayed: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: 'Why did the nations rage, and the people plot vain things?...' " (Acts 4:25 26). Jesus said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you" (John 15:7). Another way to translate this would be, "If you maintain a living communion with Me, and My words are at home in you, you shall ask at once for yourself whatever your heart desires, and it will be yours." God is not a genie who will answer every request we make. But God will answer our prayers if we are maintaining a living communion with Him and His Word is at home in us because we will be asking what He wants us to ask for. 4

5 5 th th Annual Holiday Memorial Candle Lighting Event WOW.what an evening with so many in attendance of a blessed evening There was great food and fellowship and lets not forget the amazing Christmas Carolers and our dear friends of Forever His with their amazing performance. A big thanks goes out to our wonderful special guests, sponsors and volunteers, and ALL the wonderful families who attended our event. It was most certainly a huge success and a beautiful evening * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Fountain of Tears & Prayer Walk Our beautiful Fountain with Statue of Mary and Jesus & Prayer Walk Our fountain continues to be a blessing to all who visit and see the wonders of a gift from God upon Mary s face. The prayer walk that leads to her is magnificent. Please visit Praise Pavilion to see our wonderful fountain at for more information & directions. If you haven t ordered your memory brick for the Prayer Walk,, don t be sad as you may continue to do so indefinitely. We will add your brick as we receive the orders. Mary is so appropriate for our Fountain, not only is she the mother of Jesus, but she too is a bereaved mother. We are blessed to have her represent us~ And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great Luke 1:

6 UipvhiutgspnuifCpbse/// GspnBvuvno The 3 C's of life: Choices, Chances and Changes ~ You must make a choice to take a chance or your life will never change ~ (Quote of Unknown Origin) Trust that he is moving you toward a hopeful future (Jeremiah 29:11) May this New Year give you an abundance of His Blessings Love & Hugs, Autumn GspnNfmjoeb Nfmjoeb Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 All of you precious moms have a story and your story is your testament and witness. Despite the pain and sorrow you feel regarding your child(ren) going on before you, your walk and your light will give many people hope and will glorify God Love and Hugs, Melinda 6

7 GspnUjggboz "Words of encouragement and wisdom" sent with Love by Tiffany~ God has a reason for allowing things to happen. We may never understand His wisdom, but we simply have to trust His will. ~Unknown Every experience God gives us, every person He puts into our lives, is the perfect preparation for a future only He can see. ~ Corrie ten Boom The soul would have no rainbow, had the eyes no tears ~ John Vance Cheney GspnTdibsmzo dibsmzo How quickly another year has passed and I am so very blessed to have been a part of this wonderful ministry. You ladies are so special to me and I am so glad to have many new friends What an inspiration you are to me. I wanted to share this quote that I found (I don t know who the author is) as it speaks to one of the many reasons why A Hole in My Heart is not only a place for sharing but of a place for healing: Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief. Happy New Year and see you at the Retreat in February. GspnBmn Bmnb My Comfort in my sufferings is this: Your promise preserves my life, O Lord Psalm 119:50 Blessings to you, Alma 7

8 The Secret of Discipline By Mary Southerland of Girlfriends in God Today's Truth Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit (Proverbs 25:28, NAS) Friend to Friend Discipline is obedience, a lifetime process that brings us to a state of order by training and controlling our behavior. Discipline is focusing and eliminating, zeroing in on what is important in every area of life. Discipline not only leads to right thinking, pleasing behavior and balanced emotions, but also produces a purpose driven life based on right goals and priorities. And that brings us to the discipline of our time - a dreaded and often ignored spiritual discipline for many of us. We have either forgotten or failed to realize the truth that our minutes, hours and days are precious commodities - gifts from God that can be unwrapped only once. Time is wasted unless it is invested in goals and priorities that are rooted in God s plan. A busy life is not necessarily a productive life, girlfriends. Oh, I can hear it now Mary, it s true that I am very busy, but I am busy doing good things. Those words were the cry of my heart just before I crashed and burned and landed in a pit of clinical depression. The problem with my list of good things was that it was just that my list - the wrong list for my life. The result was exhaustion, burnout and disobedience. One of the most important lessons of my pit experience was that my perspective of time was skewed. I had poured years into making my plan successful only to discover that God resources and empowers His plan alone. Outlook determines outcome. It was painfully obvious I needed an outlook adjustment, an eternal perspective. I needed to understand the truth that my time is not really mine to do with as I please. It is a resource on loan to me from God. As a result, every plan, priority and goal should be held against the backdrop of eternity because it is from that backdrop that our priorities are validated, our calling confirmed and our time best invested. Let s face it. If we don t set priorities - others will. Time thieves will steal our time as we allow them to impose their plans and standards on us. While it is true that different women have different priorities and different seasons of life, it is also true that one priority remains steadfast. Seek ye first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). Once that priority is firmly established and adhered to, the rest of life will surely fall into place. Learning how to discipline time is a challenge for us all so try some of these suggestions: Tithe your time, Get organized, Keep a Calendar, Plan ahead of time, Simplify & Eliminate, Tackle the dreaded task first, Stop activity when it becomes unproductive, Begin a new task, even if you won t have time to complete it, Delegate, Leave margins in your schedule and Yield to the season of life. This is being disciplined and obedient. Discipline builds upon discipline, each success encouraging another. Make the commitment to cultivate the disciplines of a godly woman, then pick a corner of your life and begin. Discipline does not come naturally or easily. We will fail. But we can always begin again. Lets join together today in a new commitment to godly discipline. 8

9 CpplSftpvsdfDfoufs Here you will find some wonderful reading material. Please make suggestions if you have read a great book so we can share it with the group Triumph Over Tragedy by Melanie Davis Finding Your Way After Your Child Dies, by Phyllis Vos & Kenneth Wezeman Does God Give Us More Than We Can Bear? by Jerry Smith God is Not Through with Me Yet, by Thelma Wells Grieving Forward: Embracing Life Beyond Loss, by Susan Duke Thrive Don t Simply Survive by Karol Ladd A Journey With God Beyond Grief by Dr. Criswell Freeman, PsyD Hearing Jesus Speak into Your Sorrow by Nancy Guthrie To Have But Not To Hold by Linda Schafran Hope for Hurting Hearts by Greg Laurie Angel Kisses. A book of Comfort & Joy... by Lisa Jane Angel Song by Sheila Walsh & Kathryn Cushman Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo Seeing Yourself Through God s Eyes by June Hunt Angels Unaware by Dale Evans Escaping the Stress Trap by Mary Southerland Highlighted book is the Book of the Month Recommendation Proverbs 2: 1-5 Good friend, take to heart what I m telling you; Tune your ears to the world of Wisdom; set your heart on a life of Understanding. That s right if you make Insight your priority, and won t take no for an answer, Searching for it like a prospector panning for gold, like an adventurer on a treasure hunt, Believe me, before you know it Fear-of-God will be yours; you ll have come upon the Knowledge of God. Solomon (the wisest of all men) said the person following this advice would develop reverence for God and end up knowing God. When we read this passage, we think about the traits a person has to have in order to do what Solomon instructed. Great biblical lesson 9

10 SPECIAL NEWS UPDATE S S Our 3rd Annual A Healing Journey Retreat is scheduled for February th, We have limited spaces left so if you are interested in attending, please contact us as soon as possible to make final arrangements. Located at Inn on the River B&B in Glenrose, Texas, we are looking forward to the wonderful companionship of a heart felt group of women, and a healing filled weekend with His presence and arms of love engulfing us This is a must go to experience.see our Website for additional information. We are currently working on a new fundraiser a Spaghetti Dinner for March or April. More details to follow as we prepare for a great evening with delicious foods and live entertainment. If you would like you child or children s photo, DOB, DOD and Cause of Death on our Memorial Link, please your jpg photo or mail to us with a letter of information and we will include it on the website. Elaina has added many to date and will continue to do so. It is in memory of our Special Angel s. There is NO CHARGE to submit your photo and information. Please visit: to read about the details of Autumn s personal upcoming book, In God s Special Place. It has been a serious work in progress, and she is now working with renowned Author and Founder Mary Southerland of Christian Publishing University. Praying to see it published very soon Editing going into process within the next few months ~ Stay tuned for more info on its Arrival Date ~ ** Visit A Hole in My Heart Ministry on Facebook, Join our group & share with other Mom s ** Newsletters are now Quarterly and will be out the first of every October, January, April & July. As you know, we put a lot of time, energy and finances into planning all the wonderful things we do for you all, from meetings, guest speakers, events and maintenance upkeep on the Website and Fountain of Tears, plus so much more and we humbly ask that if God so puts in on your heart to help financially support this ministry, that you be in prayer about doing so. Any love offering donation or tithe you give is 100% tax deductible, so just let us know if you need a letter when making your donation. We thank you for your generous support and mostly your prayers God Bless You All. Humbly, The Board of A Hole in My Heart Ministry Autumn, Melinda, Tiffany, Scharlyn & Alma 10