We had just brought my daughter home from the hospital after back surgery. It was a horrible experience. She was in such excruciating pain.  I just didn’t know how we were ever going to even get her into the vehicle, let alone drive the ½ hour home and then get her into the basement. She nearly passed out in therapy just trying to do three steps. But somehow by the grace of God we got her home. But it was an experience I never want to have to repeat in my life time. I was sitting down in my daughter’s apartment in our basement, waiting to assist her in any way that I was needed. She couldn’t even get out of bed, turn over, or do anything for herself at this point. I was emotionally, physically and spiritually drained, but I knew that this term for H2H was right around the bend and I needed to get God’s heart for what He wanted to do in and through us.
 
 I sat there and cried out for my own need of personal strength and the direction I needed to lead God’s girls. Once the tears dried, I opened my Bible and began to read. I was reading in the Epistles, and it hit me how practical these letters to the early church were. How practical they are for us today. I thought, “You know, if women actually lived this stuff, we could change our world.” It was then that I knew that’s what God wanted. He wanted to remind us exactly how we are suppose to be living our lives in accordance with His Word. I think there’s often a disconnect when we read God’s word. We’re so busy looking for help for that day, for strength and direction, that somehow we overlook some very clear instructions for how we’re supposed to live our lives.

My desire for beginning Heart to Heart was to help women like you see yourself as God sees you; complete in Him, valuable to Him, adored by Him. I’ve often dreamed of what could be accomplished by women who really know who they are, women who accept their purpose, and rest in God’s love. It would be amazing.  As we receive an understanding of how deeply, and passionately God loves us and how valuable we are to Him, that love will be so big, so wonderful that it will overflow from our heart to others. That’s it. Love from God’s heart, to our hearts to others. 
 
 You’ve heard me say all of this before. But it was in that basement apartment that I realized I had missed a critical element. Once we embrace God’s love, we must also embrace God’s Word. If we are truly going to change our world for Christ, then we are going to need to live our lives in accordance with His Word. It probably doesn’t sound like much of a revelation, but it rocked me that afternoon. In all of my trying to help women know they are loved and valued by God, I’d failed to add the P.S. 
 
P.S. Receiving God’s love is the first step, receiving God’s instructions for daily living is the next.
 
In the past our lessons were filled with stories from God’s word, fairy tales and my own fertile imagination. This term there will be no stories except from personal experience. Instead, we are going to focus our attention on the Word itself, often going verse by verse or quality by quality. But it’s not going to be dry or boring. I hate boring, don’t you? The Word of God is alive, powerful and sharper than any two edged sword, so it’s not going to be boring…just different.
 
 But some things are going to stay the same. We’ll still have “Little Hearts”, small groups for children with lessons that correlate with ours. This term it’s called, “Xtreme Kids.” They should have a blast. We are still going to begin with a time of pampering, food, fellowship and worship. After the Bible lesson, we’ll continue to break into small groups to discuss how we can apply the Word to our lives, and also for a time of sharing and prayer. We still have a vibrant small group for Hispanics. And we will still have a warm and welcoming environment in which all of this happens. Meetings this term will be on Wednesday evenings, March 11th, 18th, 25th, April 1st, 8th, 15th. Our schedule:
 
6:30 – 7:00: Set Up

7:00 – 7:15: Time of prayer & encouragement for Leaders

7:15 – 7:30: pampering, food and fellowship

7:30 – 7:40: Praise & Prayer

7:40 – 8:15: Teaching

8:15 – 8:50: Small Group Discussion

8:50 – 9:00 Children pick up and prayer in the multipurpose room

9:00 – Fellowship as long as you like but your children must stay with you in the 
              multipurpose room after 8:50

But it is not stopping with our small groups. Heart to Heart has created a website to help women with issues that touch their hearts. <http://www.h2hworldwide.com/> . There are articles about everything from simple home maintenance to parenting. Whatever topic interests you is just a click away. There are devotions, a creative corner, a place to submit prayer requests and a site just for pastor’s wives.
 
 The website is just beginning of our vision to touch women’s hearts world wide. The small group curriculum has already been translated into Spanish and is presently being translated into French. Our goal is to translate the curriculum into many of the languages of the underserved nations of the world. There has been so little information available to Christian women in some of these countries in the past. If you know someone who is able and willing to translate the curriculum into another language, please contact me at pastorc@clctoday.org. We are also sponsoring Heart to Heart Conferences in different nations. Just as Heart to Heart was a fresh approach for women’s ministry here in the states, we plan to make these conferences unique to the nation they are serving. 
 
Our annual retreat will be April 23rd – 25th . Last year was AWESOME, and we are expecting a wonderful time again this year with the theme, “Handcrafted.” See fliers for information.
 
Lastly, our vision is to support organizations that minister to women in need in our region. We want to provide hurting women with spiritual support through our small groups, education, fellowship, Christian counseling and possibly extend housing beyond the emergency shelter status. We want to help inform and educate the Christian community regarding women’s issues including domestic violence, abuse, marriage, parenting and leadership. Phew…all that, and more. 

But even with such lofty goals and visions, we don’t want to forget you. This all started because of you and you will continue to be our focus. You are the reason for H2H…and the reason why we are now a non-profit organization. If there is a better way that we can help you understand how deeply you are loved and valued by God, please don’t hesitate to tell us. 
 
All my love,
 
Pastor Chris McQuay

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