When I was a teenager he and I would load our gear, the dog, and Gram into a rusty Jeep Wagoneer almost every weekend in the summer and head to the Potomac River. Gram would sit in the Jeep and read or sew while we jumped in a little boat and headed up the river looking for a good fishing spot.

Pooka mostly brought home catfish, bottom feeders that are easy to catch. Then one day the line twitched, a manly fight ensued, and he reeled in a huge brown trout. He had finally achieved angler superstar status.  He reeked with pride.

Pooka stated it was time for Gram to memorialize the event with a picture of him and the trout on his  line. If he had not been senseless with excitement, he would have recalled Gram’s photography reputation.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t focus a picture; it was that she had a sort of framing-ADD (attention deficit disorder). It always seemed to possess her in that nanosecond before she snapped the picture. As her finger lowered on the button she would see a tree, rock, or flower that HAD to be in the photo.

That’s what happened with the trout. As her finger lowered on the button, she saw a tree and shifted the camera slightly left. If you are 29 like me (ahem), you recall that back in the late ‘60’s, when you took a photo you had to wait until the entire roll was shot before you could mail it off to be developed.  Then you had to wait several weeks for the results.  By the time you got to examine the picture, the moment was past and you could not retake the photo.

When Gram’s roll of film came back, Pooka was anxious to see and show his superstar status. He had told everyone about that huge brown trout. Gram shuffled through the stack. There was the beautiful tree, there stood Pooka, a proud smile on his face, there was his stretched out arm, and there was … no hand, no line, and no fish. Gram had cut off Pooka’s hand and fish for the sake of a tree.   Then Gram pointed out that you can see could see the shadow of the fish on the ground!  You could see how big the fish was by his shadow!  Pooka, who was born on Groundhog’s day was not impressed by this shadow. He looked at Gram, shook his head and walked out of the room.

Pooka wasn’t a superstar in fishing, but he was in my life and the lives of his family.  He was not perfect but he loved his family and he loved God.  He died young, age 64, a month before my sister’s first child was born.  And yet my three nephews all talk about Pooka as if they knew him and he is a part of their lives, as he has continues to be a part of mine.

What made Pooka a superstar in life?  My grandfather did not know a stranger, he always had a kind word for others, he grew up in a time of racial injustice and yet he did not see color, he was an imposing man and yet I often saw him brought to tears reading in the papers about the passing of a friend, he often told a little fat girl that she was pretty, he trusted and loved his Savior above all else, he knew that he was fallible and that God was not, and he trusted and leaned on God’s grace.   My Pooka loved God and he loved his neighbor as himself.  I pray that I can leave that kind of superstar legacy.

Remember to enter the contest for an expense paid weekend to the Raeford Conference (and other prizes).

Karen Sleeth

Karen Sleeth has lived in North Carolina for 26 years. She shares her home with two kitties who cause her to laugh every day. She firmly believes that a merry heart does good like a medicine and some days overdoses.

I found that the really distressing part of an ER visit is not just your concern for the person you are with but also observing the human suffering that parades itself before you.  Heartbreaking ailments and injuries, people in pain and despair.  The thought that came to me as I observed was that Father God  never intended for us to suffer in our bodies and minds in this way.  His plan for mankind was so far removed from this picture I saw before me.  I began to feel some of His sadness for these precious ones whose bodies were undergoing the degenerative death process that was initiated by the curse after the fall of man.

I began to pray, silently, for those I saw, asking Father to help them, heal them, and save them.

Oh, the redeeming blood of Jesus!  The love and concern for us, that He would send His precious Son to pay the price for us!  That we would be with Him, forever in Paradise, redeemed from the curse and living the life He had always intended for us to have.  No pain, sorrow, sickness, tears or death, living in a glorified  body untouched by the curse of death.  Living forever with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit!

…endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
~Rom. 5:3b-5

We are a people of Hope.  He did not leave us hopeless nor helpless. In the time we must live upon this earth, He has given us His very presence in the form of the Holy Spirit to live in us, comfort us, teach us, guide us into all truth and to help us in our weaknesses.   He gives us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
~ Gal. 5:22

How could we not love and trust a God who has so lavishly bestowed upon us and in us this marvelous part of Himself?  As precious and unique as the Holy Spirit is to each one of us individually, we also have the wonderful opportunity to share in Him with each other, corporately, at the next Wellspring conference in RockFish.

Please come and be a part of what He is doing in each of our lives. The Lord will meet you there in glorious music and praise, and in a special word He will have for each of us through His servant, Gloria Cotten; in prophecy and personal ministry; in fellowship and love and surely in ways we have not yet expected!  Remember to enter the contest for an expense paid weekend to the Raeford Conference (and other prizes).

Saundra Littleton

Saundra Littleton is in charge of hospitality for Wellspring, which is appropriate since she has a gift for hospitality. If Saundra could give one piece of advice, it would be to put Jesus first in everything you do! Submit yourself to Him wholly. Delight in Him, your Savior, your friend, the Lover of your soul, your Priest and Intercessor, your King, and out of this will come blessing, strength, health, love, peace, endurance, wisdom, discernment, everything you could ever want or need to walk through this life in victory and glorifying God.

• Conference registration (which includes dinner Saturday night)
• One night lodging at an area hotel
• $50 (can be used to cover meals not provided)

If you don’t win the G  R A N D    P R I Z E, you could win one of the many other prizes.

So how do you enter?  Visit our Contest page, read the rules and enter the contest.

The regional events have been an incredible blessing to many women.  Many women whom I know personally have had their lives transformed by the hand of God.  Won’t you consider coming to Raeford and letting God transform your life?  If you cannot come to Raeford, please follow our prayer Tweets (on the bottom right side of the blog pages or subscribe to wwprayertweets) and pray with us for the next conference.

Registration Desk, 2010 Weldon

The 2nd 2010 Regional Wellspring Womens’ Conference was held in Weldon at Valley Community Church this past weekend.

Gloria Cotten continued the theme of the Presence of God with three new and exciting messages.  The message on Sunday evening was particularly powerful to me.

If you look back over the past month’s posts to this blog you will notice that many of them have been about turning our situations over to God and  trusting Him.  I don’t know about you, but I have always had the resolution  that if you just try harder, you can do it and if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

A merry heart...

God gives us talents and gifts to operate and use for His glory.  However, we sometimes go too far by using these gifts without Him.  As Gloria explained God created us for dependence upon Him.  God wants us to depend upon Him, to be in fellowship with Him, to come to Him.

On the way home from the conference I had not one, but two flat tires.  God put the opportunity before my friend and myself through these flat tires to depend on Him in areas where He had been speaking to us during the conference.  I can report to you that God is faithful and when you call on Him, He answers.

In the past when I have tried harder, I end up walking down that same street and falling in the same hole.   When you depend on God and you happen to walk down the same street, God can keep you from falling in the hole.  If you depend on him sooner, He can keep you from choosing that street.  As Gloria says, He likes it when we depend on Him.  I’m learning to depend.

…………..

There is one more regional conference in 2010.  I have been to both and I encourage you to attend.  I have gotten something new from each one.

The next conference will be held at Rockfish Church in Raeford on October 8,9.   To kick off the final regional conference of the year, we are holding a contest with fabulous prizes.  See our contest page for information on the grand prize, contest dates, and rules.  Check the page often for updates to the prize list.

For more pictures from Weldon, go here.

Karen Sleeth

Karen Sleeth has lived in North Carolina for 26 years and in her house for nine years. She shares her yard with a herd of about fourteen deer, a raccoon, a family of possum, a hawk and her young, a wise old owl, many birds, snakes, and a bunny she has seen only once. “I assume it took the warning I gave ‘Run for your life!’” This is Karen’s first year attempting to convince the deer that the yard is not their salad bar. Karen is a member of Christian Assembly Church in Durham.

Speaking of the signs of the end of the age , Matthew 24:10-12,says: “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.  Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

I cannot say, without a doubt, that we are living in the end times. However, we know for sure that we are closer to it than we have ever been before in history.  I also think we can point to many things happening in the world and even in the places where we live that make us think that the end times are near, if not right upon us.

As I watch people I know and love fulfill Matthew 24:10-12, I wonder how could such things happen to people who profess, love, and serve Jesus Christ?  I am reminded that none of us is exempt from falling.  We must choose everyday to “continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.” Philippians 2:27a.

In I Peter 3 it talks about the Day of the Lord and verse 11 says, “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?  You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.”

We must guard our hearts and minds from every evil thought and intent.  We must not allow ourselves the slightest bit of room to harbor offense, unforgiveness, self-pity, pride, judgment, slander, false accusation, condemnation, discontent, ungratefulness, fear, sexual immorality, or any sort of malice.  We must give no place to the devil.

My husband uses a product called Great Stuff to plug holes and cracks around pipes and other places in and under the house where water or critters could enter.  It is liquid so when you spray it so it goes thoroughly and easily into the tiniest crack. Then it quickly expands and hardens into a Styrofoam type substance completely closing the opening.  It really is “great stuff” for the problem at hand.

I was reminded of this product as I was thinking about how we allow even the tiniest crack of sin or evil into our souls, the enemy is like that “great stuff.”  He slides in quickly and easily, filling that space with “not so great stuff” and the longer it stays the harder and bigger it gets until it blocks the truth and flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  We become blind and hardened to the Truth.  We are deceived.

“Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith . . .”  I Peter 5:8-9.

“Be very careful, then, how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making every opportunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”  Ephesians 5:15-17.

Keep very short accounts with the Lord, my sisters, lest any cracks or crevices appear in your soul and get filled with the “not so great stuff.”

We must always encourage one another and build each other up in the faith.  Staying in fellowship, immersing ourselves in the Word and going about doing good.  Praising and thanking God for His mercy and goodness toward us and choosing to live holy and godly lives.  Thereby, we remain in His Glorious Presence and whatever fine lines of sin appear in our souls, they are quickly sealed by His Redeeming Blood, the really “Great Stuff!”

There is such a wonderful opportunity to participate in all of the above at the next Wellspring Ladies Conference being held at Valley Community Church in Weldon, NC, on August 6-7.  Come and share in the Glory of the Lord!  We are so excited about seeing you there!

Saundra Littleton

Saundra Littleton is in charge of hospitality for Wellspring, which is appropriate since she has a gift for hospitality. If Saundra could give one piece of advice, it would be to put Jesus first in everything you do! Submit yourself to Him wholly. Delight in Him, your Saviour, your friend, the Lover of your soul, your Priest and Intercessor, your King, and out of this will come blessing, strength, health, love, peace, endurance, wisdom, discernment, everything you could ever want or need to walk through this life in victory and glorifying God.

My mother was in our small kitchen ironing. Our windows had pull shades on them, which Momma always pulled down in the evenings. As I was playing and talking to Momma, I heard a set of rapid taps on the window. I was a very trusting little soul with curiosity and daring mixed in. So, with wide eyed amazement, I went to the window where the sound of the rapid tapping was coming from behind the window shade. In a quiet, warning tone my mother told me not to open the shade.

Before I could really commit myself to that warning, my hand was on the shade pull. Well if you know anything about shades, they sometimes snap and roll up sharply. Imagine my surprise and fright when, as I pulled the shade, it snapped up loudly and about 5 masked boys, all different heights and bunched together stood outside that window. It was obviously Halloween night; and I remember nothing following that moment of sheer fright.

I did learn a valuable lesson that night from my momma. Trust and Obey. I learned to heed my momma’s warnings and listen to her teachings.

That is what our Heavenly Father is trying to instill in us. God is, and always has been, a God of relationship. He wants us to have a personal relationship with Him and to trust and obey His Word. Everything else we experience in life is much better handled if we lean on God and His understanding, not our own.

Wow! What a simple but seemingly tough thing to do. That is why learning all about Him is the most important focus we should have as Christians. In His Word, he teaches us how to have a relationship with Him; and we learn how to trust and obey. Another great source of training and teaching is the different opportunities church offers – church services, bible studies, home groups and meetings, socials, and specialized gatherings like conferences (where the focus is most often on spiritual growth). My life has changed dramatically through all these sources, and I value each. But, I am especially fond of the source of strength that comes from sharing with other women who understand my faults, fears, frailties, and failures. Women of faith who share God’s love through service have been a powerful tool of ministry in my life. Give God his due – trust and obey. You will be amazed at Him, His love for you, and the strength He gives to live this life.

NOTE: One great source of training, teaching, and developing relationships is the upcoming regional Wellspring Womens Conferences.  The next one is at Valley Community Church in Weldon, NC on August 6 and 7. Consider joining us for a great time of fellowship, fun, inspiration, and direction from God.

Janet Arrington

Janet Arrington is the grandmother to nine grandchildren. She says that her husband, four children (and their spouses), and nine grandchildren are the most important focus of her heart; although she is sure they don’t feel that way. Janet says that if you strip her of everything except her family, she would still be the richest woman in the world. She is so proud of all of them. God in her life and has been the only reason she has made it to 61. Janet has a lifetime of stories. She has been working for a living for around 40 some years and says, “boy, am I tired. LOL”

Christina Reed, a most welcoming face!

last weekend in Kernersville! (Eph. 3:20) It’s even difficult to put into words the awesomeness of His Presence that was manifested at the Wellspring Women’s Regional event. One attendee, who received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit Saturday night, said on her blog,

“In that moment it was like everything clicked. God was not calling me to be perfect but obedient. I had been obedient to my fear, not God. I was at peace, true peace . . .”

God knows each of our hearts and is able to touch us in the very spot where we are hurting. He knows how to draw us to Himself, how to communicate with us, how to heal us.

Kris also said, “I wanted every person in that room to feel as I was feeling. I felt like I had been in a fog until that moment. Everything seemed so much brighter . . .” Isn’t that just the way it is with all of us? God touches

us and immediately we want to share it with someone else! Which brings me to the reason I am writing this blog post: I really want all of you who are reading this to experience this Presence of God at the coming Wellspring Regional events. The next one will be August 6-7 at Valley Community Church in Weldon, NC.

Miss Vikki Faircloth, the queen of fellowship!

Then there will be a third event October 8-9 in Raeford, NC at Rockfish Church. God always shows up. How about you?

One woman who had never been to a women’s event before told me that she had given a false email address on her registration form because she didn’t want us bombarding her with literature afterwards. (Don’t you just love the way God works? She actually accepted Jesus over the weekend!) She was now laughing at how fearful she had been and what a good time she was having and was giving everyone her true email address to make sure she was informed about future events!

I’m going to be there! Why don’t you pray about joining me.

Gloria Cotten

Gloria Cotten (aka Mamma G) is Wellspring’s President. Gloria is the author of In the Beginning and she hopes to write two or three more books in the future. Gloria loves the Lord because He Alone has the words of life. If she could give one piece of advice, it would be to let Jesus love you.

Mom was drinking Pepsi from the bottle, so I waited for her to hand me a cup of milk. My sister and I were not allowed Pepsi. But instead of a cup of milk, she handed me a Pepsi bottle…filled with chocolate milk! I was so excited – even if, as the mature adult I had become, I couldn’t act like it. I remember taking a swallow from the bottle, sitting it aside, smiling at Mom, looking up at the underside of the trees, drumming my fingers on my leg, and waiting for a torturous few seconds to pass until I could take the next swallow. I can only image how hard it must have been for Mom to keep from laughing.
Looking up into an oak tree propels me to that moment of PRE-maturity with all its love and warmth, even today. What about these few moments in my life made it so impactful? Was it drinking out of a Pepsi bottle? Was it pretending with Mom for a moment that I was an adult? I don’t think so. I believe it was the fact that I felt important to Mom, that she was (dare I say it) present.

Read what John Donne, the late 16th and early 17th century poet said about his struggle to be present with God.

I throw myself down in my chamber, and I call in and invite God and his angels thither, and when they are there, I neglect God and his angels, for the noise of a fly, for the rattling of a coach, for the whining of a door.

I don’t know about you, but I can relate to John Donne. I want to be as present with God as my Mom was with me that day. I don’t want to be distracted from Him by any random thought or noise, and yet I struggle.

If you haven’t already, sign up for the Wellspring Women’s Regional Conferences. Gloria Cotten will be bringing us messages on this topic. I’m excited to hear what God has to say to me about presence, aren’t you? There’s still room at the Kernersville Conference, this week (May 21 &22). I’ll be there. Maybe we can sit down together, chat, and split a bottle of chocolate milk.

Karen Sleeth

Karen Sleeth has lived in North Carolina for 26 years and in her house for nine years. She shares her yard with a herd of about fourteen deer, a raccoon, a family of possum, a hawk and her young, a wise old owl, many birds, snakes, and a bunny she has seen only once. “I assume it took the warning I gave ‘Run for your life!’” This is Karen’s first year attempting to convince the deer that the yard is not their salad bar. Karen is a member of Christian Assembly Church in Durham.

Companion, confidant, lover and friend;
The mother of all living, both now and then.

In her heart were many treasures placed there by God;
Beautiful, precious, designed to bring Him glory as she traveled this sod.

Just stay in His Presence, love Him and obey;
That’s all He asks of us, even today.

But the struggle remains, it was at the first;
Our enemy, Satan, brings lies, pain and hurt.

His deception’s strong, we cannot deny;
But our Savior, Jesus, He came to die.

We are His daughters, beloved and approved;
He has equipped and enabled us not to be moved.

We need each other and His Word that is true;
Sisters overcoming, as our minds are renewed.

God ordained Wellspring  a few years ago;
A ministry teaching women to grow.

Becoming tools of the Lord to set women free;
From deception and bondage some couldn’t see.

To walk in His Presence, love Him and obey;
That our lives, would bring glory to Him every day.

There’s a Wellspring conference coming up quick!
Planned to cultivate you as righteous chicks.

Kernersville CC- the happening place;
May 21, hurry, reserve your space.

To God be the Glory, now and evermore;
Together, excited for what’s in store!

Saundra Littleton

Saundra Littleton is in charge of hospitality for Wellspring, which is appropriate since she has a gift for hospitality. If Saundra could give one piece of advice, it would be to put Jesus first in everything you do! Submit yourself to Him wholly. Delight in Him, your Saviour, your friend, the Lover of your soul, your Priest and Intercessor, your King, and out of this will come blessing, strength, health, love, peace, endurance, wisdom, discernment, everything you could ever want or need to walk through this life in victory and glorifying God.

So when she was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, it came as a blow.  I needed to talk to a friend, but when I tried, she interrupted and took the conversation elsewhere, never letting me open my heart.  I wanted to grab her face, lock her eyes to mine and yell,

“Listen to me!  I need you to hear me. I need you to care.”

I know we have all felt that way.  We have all, at one time or another, intentionally or unintentionally railroaded a conversation away from what we didn’t want to or were unable to hear regardless of what our friend needed.

I wonder how many times a day I do the very same thing to God?  He wants to talk to me about something and I interrupt and take the conversation elsewhere, undoubtedly asking him for something.  Wow, that sounds incredibly immature when I visualize it.  It reminds me of a parent with children in a grocery store.

One of the words Gloria has asked us to focus on for the Wellspring Women’s Conferences is PRESENCE.  In telecommunications and computer networks, presence information indicates the participants ability and willingness to communicate.  The Bible states God’s presence information in Matthew 18:20

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Does that mean physical presence or REAL presence? I would guess that since those two or three are gathered “in my name” they are listening and concentrating on Christ.

What is your presence information?  Are you hijacking the conversation to ask God for another thing?  Or are you ready, willing, and able to hear what God wants to say to you?  My presence indicator is ready and I am in communication mode…how about you?

Karen Sleeth

Karen Sleeth has lived in North Carolina for 26 years and in her house for nine years. She shares her yard with a herd of about fourteen deer, a raccoon, a family of possum, a hawk and her young, a wise old owl, many birds, snakes, and a bunny she has seen only once. “I assume it took the warning I gave ‘Run for your life!’” This is Karen’s first year attempting to convince the deer that the yard is not their salad bar. Karen is a member of Christian Assembly Church in Durham.