FUTURE

“Shepherd of my soul, I praise You because You have created me and have a perfect plan for my life. I thank You for Your desire to prosper me, not to harm me, to give me hope and a future. You have started this good work in me and I ask that You will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Even though I don’t understand why I  have to go through these fertility challenges, I believe that You are a God who’s in control. I rest in the fact You hold my future and You are working all things together for my good. Thank You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28, Philippians 1:6

FUNDRAISER today!

If you live in Houston, would you consider dropping into Fuddrucker’s today and purchasing a meal? A percentage of your purchase will be donated back to Dancing Upon Barren Land ~ Spiritual Nourishment for the Infertility Road.

Here’s the scoop! The fundraiser is only good for today at location listed below. You must tell them, “Please add a portion of my purchase for Dancing Upon Barren Land.” (it is not necessary you have the ticket above).

Fuddrucker’s
3929 Southwest Freeway, Houston
Across from Lakewood Church
Event is good for all day, Monday the 20th

Thanks so much for your support! Dancing Upon Barren Land is a non-profit 501c3 organization and is sustained by generous donors like you! If you cannot attend today’s events, but would still like to donate, just click the donate tab on any one of the pages on the website.

Your spiritual and financial support means much to me!

Thank you!

Lesli

Vitamins & Fertility

Women: Vitamin C and Infertility – a deficiency in Vitamin C during the period of conception and early pregnancy can result in early miscarriage.

Men: Vitamin E and Infertility – A January 2011 study in the “interntional Journal of General Medicine” found semen quality imporved and sperm motility improved if the infertile men took 400 IU of Vitamin E and 200 mcg of Selenium daily for at least 3 months.

*Please check with your personal physician before taking any medication or vitamins. This information provided by www.naturalwomenscare.com

Walk of HOPE

This Saturday May 18th
Registration at 8 a.m., Walk begins at 9 a.m. in Houston at the Bayou City Event Ctr. off of 610 Loop and Hwy. 288

Dancing Upon Barren Land ministry is joining Sparkles of Life for RESOVLE’S inaugural Walk of Hope here in Houston. RESOVLE is the National Infertility Association. The funds raised will support local programming, public awareness initiative, and advocacy efforts to endure that all family building options are available.

Go to Resolve website – Walk of HOPE – Houston. Make sure and sign up to join Sparkles of Life, Inc. team (Houston Fertility Institute is company name).

Join the team!
www.Resolve.org

I wish I has some deeply encouraging devotional…

I wish I had a magic wand to take the pain away…

I wish I had creative powers to give you the baby you so want…

I wish I had lots of money to give to you, so you could pursue the long awaited fertility treatment…or adopt.

But I do not have any of the things listed above.

What I do have is a heart of compassion and a  voice to say, “You are loved in the midst of the pain. You can be comforted by the great Comforter, the Holy Spirit. You have a Creator that can do the impossible. You have a Provider, the King of all Kings with riches untold for the giving.”

Let’s trust the One who IS everything.

I just wanted you to know I’m thinking of you today and I love you with the love of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

~Lesli

Baby Related Holidays

For those who live in the United States, Mother’s day is right around the corner. I know how hard it can be. What is one of the most celebrated holidays can be one of the most difficult too. I do know too, that the only way to get through this upcoming celebrated weekend is through Jesus and His Word. My hope is you’ll take this prayer and make it your own. Pray in a way that is comfortable to you. Take the time to meditate or perhaps even memorize some of the scripture provide.

You can and you will make it through this week! I’m praying for you. Hang in there!

Love y’all!

Lesli

______

“Almighty God, it seems as if every time I turn around I am faced with a celebration involving a baby. In my heart, I don’t want to be jealous, angry, or envious, but it is hard to face these days. You said in Your Word You would go before me and be with me. You have not forsake me and you are with me at each celebration. I ask for my focus to be outward toward others rather than inward toward myself. I pray for blessings on the new life being welcomed into this world with gifts and words and blessings. I thank you for all the mothers and fathers who are being celebrated on these special days. As I feel compelled to attend the event out of duty, I ask You to dissolve away my heaviness and strengthen me according to Your Word. Most of all, I thank You in advance for the day I will celebrate the blessing of my own children. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you, he will never leav you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.
Deuteronomy 31:8

My life dissolves and weeps itself away for heaviness; raise me up and strengthen me according to [the promises of] Your word.
Psalm 119:28

Rejoice with those who rejoice.
Romans 12:15

Give thanks in all circumstances, for tis is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18

Just a reminder about this week’s HOPE Infertility Support Group at Lakewood Church! I can’t believe it’s already May!

Lakewood Church
Thursday, May 2, 2013
3700 Southwest Frwy., Houston, Texas
7:00 p.m., Rm. 4025, 4th Floor
hope@lakewood.cc

*****

Hi everyone. It’s Hannah here today sharing a word of encouragement with you. Every month I attend the HOPE Infertility Support meeting at Lakewood Church and I follow up with a short synopsis of what was missed at each meeting. Rather than simply take the meeting’s “minutes” (flashback to my student council days), my goal is to let everyone know what we talked about but to do it in an encouraging, devotional-type manner. I want to share my writing with you in hopes that it might encourage someone out there and to maybe encourage someone who might be interested in attending – to come.

Before our meeting began in this month of April, five of the HOPE volunteers gathered in the hallway to pray over each woman who would walk into our meeting. We entered the Throne Room, and petitioned God to heal the grief of every woman who would set foot into the HOPE support group. We wanted every woman who walked out of our meeting feel a fresh healing through Jesus. Our past two meetings, there has been a special anointing over the group – sweet Holy Spirit led meetings. And through the grief we see hope start to rise in the women attending. There are great things in store for HOPE and great things in store for the women who come, holding onto their precious promise of motherhood.

Our fearless HOPE leader, Lesli, has just released her new book, Dancing Upon Barren Land – Prayer, Scripture Reflections, and Hope for Infertility, and each month we have been diving into each chapter of her book.

In chapter 2 Lesli tells us, “The key to surrender is not giving up on life or the desire to become a parent but instead giving up anguish to the one who is able, Jesus Christ.” She immediately addressed the need for salvation through Jesus. She did this within the first fifteen pages of her book. Not the last sentence of the book. Girlfriend tackles it at the beginning! She recognized the need for the sweet, savory dessert before we ever touch the meat of the main course. Because when all is said and done, we need to point to Jesus as the lover of our soul, the mender of our hearts, and allow him to be the Savior we run to when we are drudging through the battle of life. So after giving her beautiful testimony of how she came to know Christ, Lesli invited the room to do the same.

Recognizing that we should point to Jesus as our hope through infertility, we also focused on the “Prayer and Scripture Reflections” section of the book. To give you an idea, She alphabetically lists the different situations and emotions we go through during the infertility journey and for each topic, she writes a prayer prompt for us to pray over these situations and gives us what God speaks over the situation in His Word. The Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit. As a matter of fact, 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us that the tools that God has given us through His Word have the ability to demolish strongholds. The different emotions we face through infertility that Lesli has written prayers and scriptures for in her book – anger, anxiousness, broken hearts, disappointments, fear, grief, and shame, to name a few – these aspects of infertility are strongholds. Through prayer and scripture reflections we are able to combat these negative emotions.

There is nothing more powerful than the Word of God and speaking it over our lives. Praying God’s word is a catalyst for God to move on our behalf. This is why it’s so important to cast and write down the vision for our lives and for our families. Habakuk 2:2-3 encourages us to be visionaries for our future:

“Write my answer plainly on tablets,

    so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.

This vision is for a future time.

    It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled.

If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,

    for it will surely take place.

    It will not be delayed.”

We write down these promises and visions so we can get a clear, tangible picture of the promises God has given us and then use His Word to remind him of those promises. Jeremiah 1:12 says “I am ready to perform my word” which means God is ready and willing when we activate God’s Word by praying it, believing it, and speaking it forth.

Mediate on the word because when we meditate our head knowledge becomes heart knowledge and burrows deep down into our spirit. Using the Word of God as the Sword of the Spirit, will ultimately grow our faith and hope in Jesus as we wait for the desires of our heart.

So formulate a vision for your life and write it down! Use the prayers and scriptures that Lesli has prompted in her book to fight down all of the negative emotions. And dive into God’s word, study, and research to corroborate your promises with what he has given you in his word. It won’t return void; Isaiah 55:11 says so…

It is the same with my word.

    I send it out, and it always produces fruit.

It will accomplish all I want it to,

    and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

Anger

“Heavenly Father, I feel so angry and frustrated about my fertility challenges. I ask for Your divine love to flow through me, for Your love is patient and kind, and not easily angered. Help me to be slow in my speech and slow in anger when it comes to dealing with my family members, friends or doctor. Help me not to be angry with you God, for all I am going through and with all that I don’t understand. Most of all, keep me from sinning against You or any one else in my anger. Thank you, Father for the release from anger within my heartIn Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Proverbs 15:18 NAS, I Corinthians 13:4-7, Ephesians 4:26, James 1:19-20

There’s a book giveaway over at Pearl Girls today!
Click link below, look for The Perfect Window blog post and enter to win!

Pearl Girls

Today, I have the privilege to have a guest post, The Perfect Window at Pearl Girls. Pearl Girls-Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace is a passion and project of the heart from founder, Margaret McSweeney. The mission is connecting Hearts and Souls to Impact the World. Margaret says, ”You probably know the story of the oyster which got a piece of grit stuck inside its shell until nacre coats it and turns it into a pearl. Like the oyster, women get grit stuck inside our lives, too. Right? sometimes that grit can be a small irritant, but other times it feels like a boulder! Yet God’s nacre of love and grace covers our pain and turns us into Pearl Girls.”

Be sure to explore Margaret’s website and sign up for her newsletter. Oh! don’t forget to enter the book giveaway too!

]]> http://dancinguponbarrenland.com/2013/04/book-giveaway/feed/ 0 http://dancinguponbarrenland.com/2013/04/on-a-mission/ http://dancinguponbarrenland.com/2013/04/on-a-mission/#comments Sat, 13 Apr 2013 15:00:27 +0000 Lesli Westfall http://dancinguponbarrenland.com/?p=2101

On a Mission!

Howdy all!

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the weekend. It is beautiful here in southeast Texas. However, I’m stuck inside at work, but I’ve been able to get out and work in my garden, and enjoy it a bit. Thanks so much for subscribing to the Dancing Upon Barren Land posts. I pray they are informative and an inspiration to you.

I’m sure you might be wondering about the picture. This is my sweet mother-in-law, Joyce. She’s a jewel of a woman! Kind, loving and godly. This is one of my favorite pictures of us (even though I look like the cartoon character, Casper – The Friendly Ghost). A few years back we had the privilege of visiting friends in Scotland. As we were scurrying through the train station going from Glasgow to Edinburgh I noticed the architecture of the station. I had someone take a quick snap shot.

For many years Joyce and I would travel together, taking short trips or hanging out their cabin. Lately, we haven’t spent much time together. So I’ve invited her along to be my traveling companion. I’m looking forward to spending good quality time together.

The reason for this post is not my mother-in-law and I, but prayer…

We are  embarking on a mission for  TV and radio interview in Illinois and Indiana this coming week. (Chicago and South Bend respectively). As most of you may know I recently published the book, Dancing Upon Barren Land – Prayer, Scripture Reflections, and Hope for Infertility. I’ve had the privilege to participate in a small public relations campaign and the TV and radio interview are part of the process. As much as the promotion of book is important, my mission is to reach those hurting through infertility with the comfort and hope of Jesus Christ.

So, would you pray for us?

- Safety and protection during our travels
- Favor with TV and Radio Hosts. Harvest TV Show and Moody Radio.
- Interviews will take place on Tuesday, April 16th.
- No technical difficulties
- For me to speak clearly with eloquence, wisdom and compassion. Ephesians 4:29
- Influence. With the syndicated TV and radio program’s there’s potential to reach over 70 million homes.
- Increase book sales. That would be nice! Like a cherry on top of an ice cream sundae!

Thank you. It means much to me personally to have your support.

Love y’all!

Lesli

_____

Tune in:

TV Interview:
Direct TV – Harvest Show
The Harvest TV Show
Watch Tuesday, April 16 th, 9 a.m. CST
Check www.directv.com. Input your local zip code and country to locate channel. (Channel 367 for Houston area.)

Radio Interview:
Moody Broadcasting, listen online at:
In the Market with Janet Parshall
Tuesday, April 16th at 5 p.m. CST

JEALOUSY and ENVY

“Loving Father, your word tells me how to love. I know being jealous and envious is not part of Your divine love. Father, I am struggling with envy and jealousy as I see pregnant women and hear of the birth of a new baby. Help me not to deny Your goodness and Your prefect plan for others as You bless them with children. Teach me not to compare my life with others, to take every negative, envious and jealous thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Replace jealousy with genuine joy and envy with sincere gratitude. I ask Your help to rejoice in the truth with others as I hear of pregnancy or birth. Thank You for teaching me Your way to love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

This prayer is an excerpt from the book, Dancing Upon Barren Land  - Prayer, Scripture Reflection and Hope for Infertility. Available for purchase, www.DancingUponBarrenLand.com/products-page/