Celebrating
God's Faithfulness

You are invited to remember with us. God  commands us to not forget the things that He has done, but to repeat, rehearse, and remember. This is what gives us the courage to face the hardships that lie ahead. We will gather to remember and celebrate by telling our stories over dinner.

Our intention is not to throw you to the wolves! Your story will only be shared with the other five women at your dinner table. Additionally, we have tips on how to craft and tell your story.

Prepare Your Story:
  • Think about what you've seen God doing. I do my best thinking in the shower.
  • Don't stress! This can be as short as 30 seconds, it doesn't have to be poetic or award-winning. We just want to hear what's on your heart.
  • What is God telling you through the stories of those around you?
  • Be concise, a story over 5 minutes is a long story. Examine the details carefully and discern what is important to the story and what is not.
  • Take a deep breath before sharing. This isn't a performance, it's a testimony of the person and work of the most holy God. It's a good story no matter how you spin it! But it helps if you speak slowly and clearly.
  • It's ok to be vulnerable. This is a safe place; share what you are thinking and feeling.
  • Focus on God. He is the main character in your God story so don't skimp on the details of how He is working. Emphasize this.
  • Pray. What story would God have you tell? Ask Him for help in crafting your story and for opportunities to share it.
  • Ask God to reveal Himself to you in the day to day, in circumstances that you haven't noticed Him working. It's easy to overlook what God is doing.

Use these examples of real stories that happened to real people to help you craft your story.

Cori's Story:
"Ok God, we can't stay here. Where do you want us to go?" That's a really hard, humbling question to ask. Especially with kids. "The doors that kept us here are closing. Where are we going next?" Four years ago, it became clear to my husband and I that we had to move. We loved our city, we loved our church, we loved our chosen family. But we simply couldn't afford to exist there any more. In the 12 years we'd lived in Portland, rent had increased 300%. We'd also had 2 kids, and both worked for nonprofits (not known for being super lucrative). We are very good at living within our means, but it was simply no longer possible. So we had to go - but where?

Adam had already been job hunting and was working with recruiting firms, networking, applying anywhere that made sense. If you've been in a career hunt, you know that this is a long and emotionally draining process. But eventually he felt led to apply for an opening at CFC, was asked to interview (multiple times) online, and then we were invited to come visit in person.
 
We had no idea what to expect from Evansville, CFC, or the people here. We just knew that God seemed to be making things fall into place. He knew that we were worried about finding therapy for our kids. He knew that we needed good Chinese, Thai, and sushi restaurants. He knew that I can't live without Costco. He provided it all. He also blessed us with a church family that welcomed us with open arms. He gave my daughter a best friend. He helped my son to learn to stand on his own apart from his sister. He gave my husband so many opportunities to be challenged, affirmed, and valued in his role. He made my work flourish and grow, even though I'm now remote from halfway across the country.

Our Creator has been faithful.  He is. He will be.


Emily's Story:
I’ve never been an anxious person. In fact, I was pretty well known for my laugh back in the day. It was loud and it was frequent. I loved to laugh! Then I got older and life got more serious and eventually I started a family. My first son was born in March of 2020 and between the massive life change, COVID, and the election, I broke. Seriously, something inside me broke. For almost an entire year, I lived in fear and I actually thought God was trying to kill me. I know that’s crazy. I know that… now. When you are in the midst of crisis and anxiety, up becomes down, left becomes right, and everything you have repeated and rehearsed your whole life is foggy and unclear. After some counsel, doctor visits, and lots of praying, the fog started to clear in January of 2021. I recognize now the major toll hormones took on me, I know that the enemy took advantage of a bad situation and fed me lies about God. But I never fully returned to my normal self.

Fast forward to just 4 months ago. Since 2021, my anxiety was completely manageable. I set my boundaries and learned to remind myself who God is frequently. But one unassuming day in November, I was blindsided by an anxiety attack that took me three days to recover from. I was shook. “Never mind, just an isolated incident.”
 
Well five weeks later, it happened again. And a month later, again! For Christmas someone gave me a wall decoration that says “She is clothed in strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future” Prov 30:25. I saw that and said… this doesn’t describe me at all! After the third attack, I thought, I can’t do this. I can’t go there again. And I told God that, “Please don’t let me go back there!” So I told everyone what was going on and I asked them to please pray for me. I told my mentor, I told friends, I told my teams at work, I told anyone I met in the hall that week, I told women that I know pray frequently and fervently. I needed help and I needed it now! I started examining my life for unrepented sin, I started intentionally reminding myself that the world is evil and I can’t resolve that (but there is a Stronger Man!) And I started praying not just on defense… but on the offense.

God doesn’t just take us from bad to neutral, He transforms us and renews us and He makes us like Him. He wants me to be the creation He made me to be, and that means not just not scared, but filled with joy! “Lord, help me to have fun again. Help me to laugh without fear of the future. I’m too serious and too scared."

If your tracking, that was one attack a month in November, December, and January. It’s February and so far there has been no anxiety attack (Praise God!) and the Lord was so kind to bring me visitors this month that made me laugh until tears were streaming down my face! The Lord is so kind. The Lord sees and the Lord hears. I know this. I don’t know if the attacks are over but I know that the Lord has not turned away from me, just as He didn’t turn away from me in 2020. He will deliver me. But in the meantime, I going to look for the lesson, His Word in the Wilderness. And I will trust that regardless of my strongest feelings and fears, He is so much stronger.



Margot's Story:
I am not good with change and big decisions as an adult because I feel like there is no rule book for what is “the right path” in adulthood. It can feel like there is so much pressure trying to discover what the Lord's will is for my life. I have struggled with insomnia that is sometimes triggered by the stress of making these decisions and questioning “is this what’s right for us?” Through those struggles I have learned to lean on my faith. For me, one of these decisions was whether we should add another child to our family. There are a lot of families that have 4 or more children, but for me this feels like a great adventure and uncharted territory. I hoped that it would just happen and I’d have a surprise baby so the pressure would be off. We prayed and prayed and felt there was really no definitive answer. Should we foster, should we adopt, should we have another child of our own? We got involved in a care community to open that door but didn’t necessarily feel called to any specific decision. Then we just decided after consulting with other Christian couples that we just make some effort to have another child and see how it goes. The Lord answered with pregnancy. I still felt afraid as a mom of 3 - do I truly have the capacity to raise my children up in the Lord? Will I be able to give them the attention they each require?

Luckily, I've learned that I don’t have to or even want to trust in myself to get me from point A to point B on a daily basis. My hope isn’t in myself or my ability - raising kids is no different. My hope comes from the Lord. He is my helper. He has unlimited capacity, unlimited ability, and unlimited power. I’m in a place of sanctification. Struggle is certain, but what a blessing it is to be in a position in which I must trust in the Lord's provision. When my son really wants something, he will put his hands together making a cute little bowl. It is the picture of where I want to be daily in my faith walk. Palms up, "Lord, what do you have for me today? I know you will give me enough to do what you will have me do today." So when people ask me if I’m nervous, I say "no, I’m not" and this is true. I know I don’t have the capacity in my own strength to perfectly parent four children but the Lord (the creator of the universe) does have the capacity and I look forward to partnering with Him daily, needing Him daily, and allowing Him to work in my life daily. The Lord is truly the love of my life and being in a position to rely on Him is the best feeling because He shows up in the most unexpected ways. I don’t trust for things to be easy, but I do trust that I will need to rely on Him more, that it will be for His glory, that our relationship will surely flourish, and that brings me unexplainable joy.



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