A Colorful Flag of Faith “But you have raised a banner for those who fear you—a rallying point in the face of attack.”

—Psalm 60:4 Colorful flags were first used, not to symbolize a country or a cause, but to identify the position of the commander in the midst of a battle. From a distance, soldiers had no other way of knowing the position of their leader, so the colors had to be bold, the design unmistakable. They followed the flag in the chaos of the fight; and if the flag were to ever fall, they knew the battle was lost. There are times in life when we feel we are amid the chaos of a battle. Tests, challenges, and pressures can come at us from all sides. Surrender and retreat may feel imminent. Like soldiers, we need a flag to follow—a symbol of the presence of our divine leader unfurled and raised high above our battlefield. It’s the one flag that gives us courage. The one flag that inspires hope. The one flag that never falls. The one flag that beckons us to fight for our healing, our deliverance, our victory in Christ. This flag of God is firmly planted in our lives where we can see it. Emblazoned with the cross of Christ and displaying every color of God’s beauty and majesty, this banner of love leads us forward through the battles of life. As we keep our eyes fixed and follow our leader, the colors of our own faith are developed. Our own colorful flag of faith is created, which we then display to the world. Perhaps some yellow for new-found joy, purple for accepting our worthiness through Jesus, or red for offering forgiveness. Our faith colors are the same bright and bold colors of God, our commander, and can also beckon others to join us in following him. Take a moment today and think about it…what are the colors of your flag of faith?

Gracepoint  Gospel  Fellowship  Women’s  Ministry  Newsletter  

 TH E WO R D

“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”

—James 1:2-4 (The Message)

Think About It  

What are the colors of your faith?

Blue = ____________________

Red = ____________________

Yellow = __________________

Green = __________________

June 2013  

 

 

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Think Pink Pink is the chosen color for breast cancer awareness, and June is a wonderful time to break out everything pink in honor of the women in your life who have survived or been recently diagnosed with breast cancer. June 2, 2013 is the official National Breast Cancer Survivors Day, but any day is a good day to celebrate with survivors or offer support to those in the midst of treatment.

Love on these special women by hosting a “Think Pink” or “Tickled Pink” get-together. Dress in pink, put on rose-colored glasses, sip pink lemonade, and celebrate the healing power of living a “pink life”—the beauty of shared friendships, faith, laughter, and God’s love.

Time for a Color Makeover? Why would a jail cell be painted pink? Hospital walls blue or green? Beauty spas the colors of sand and sea?

Psychologists believe that colors can affect our emotional state and sometimes even our behavior, blood pressure, and metabolism. Businesses that want us to feel a certain way often study color response carefully before painting their walls. Think about it—how many bright red hospital walls have you seen?

This response to colors can be very subjective, but colors are typically identified as either being warm or cool. Red, orange, and yellow are warm colors, while blue, purple, and green are considered cool colors. In general, it’s thought that cool colors tend to evoke calm and warm colors can be either comforting or motivating—depending on the person or situation. Despite these generalizations, your response to colors is really about you—your experiences, culture, values, and personality.

Take a minute to consider your favorite colors. What’s the most prevalent color in your wardrobe? What colors are the walls in your home? Your towels, your curtains, your car? Do they inspire the emotional responses you want?

If not, maybe it’s time for a color makeover in your life! ☺

Design Your Own Flag

Creating your own personal or family flag is a great way to identify and visibly communicate the values, important relationships, and concepts (like courage, hope, and faith) that represent and inspire you. To get started:

• Identify four words that best describe you or your family.

• Identify four values or concept words that inspire you.

• Identify four symbols or pictures that best represent the meanings of these words.

• Identify four colors that communicate the identity and emotion of your words and symbols.

Using the lists of four you just made as inspiration, create a flag from your favorite creative materials or make a computer-generated flag using the design software on your computer. You can even create a flag online at photo editing sites like PicMonkey or design and order a real flag at sites like www.buildasign.com/flags.

 

 

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Media Morsels

Book Review

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption Author: Laura Hillenbrand Publisher: Random House

This book presents the powerful and inspiring story of the legendary Louis Zamperini, who first gained fame as a record-setting American Olympic runner who competed in the 1936 Berlin games. He went on to serve as a bombardier in World War II. After his plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean, he survived 47 days adrift at sea—then survived more than two years as a prisoner of war in Japan.

After the war, Zamperini attended a Billy Graham crusade and found healing and restoration in a relationship with Christ. His story has inspired many—not only through this book, but also through his autobiographical books and his career as an inspirational speaker. His life is a celebration of resilience, based not just in his character, but in his relationship with Jesus. Curl up with this number one New York Times Best Seller and find some inspiration of your own.

Music Review

Jesus at the Center Artist: Israel Houghton and New Breed Release Date: August 2012

This album is the most recent live recording from Grammy Award winner Israel Houghton and his well-traveled worship team. Houghton is a worship leader at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, the largest church in the United States. He sings and leads with contagious energy.

This two-disc album is another collection of the jazz- and rock-infused gospel music Houghton is known for, and it will get you on your feet and keep you dancing through all 20 songs. This would be a fitting collection to use in a time of group worship, perhaps for a small group or women’s ministry event. Or use its upbeat sound as a worshipful backdrop to energize your workout and keep you focused on God.

This page is designed to inform and educate you and is not an endorsement. Our prayer is that you will make informed decisions on what you see, read, and listen to.

 

Design and base content © 2013 Group Publishing, Inc., Loveland, CO, group.com/women. Permission to photocopy granted for local church use only.

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Women of the

Word 9:30 am Arise Prayer

7:00 pm Membership

Class 9:00 am

CCS Tag Sale

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Women of the

Word 9:30 am Membership

Class 9:00 am

Marriage Class 10:00 am

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Father’s Day Arise Prayer

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23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Awakening

Night of Worship 7:15 pm

30 CONNECT,  GROW,  SERVE  Gracepoint  Gospel  Fellowship  Women’s  Ministry  exists  to  minister  to  the  “total  

woman”  in  her  various  life  stages  by  providing  encouraging  and  supportive  fellowship  opportunities,  sharing  God’s  truth  to  liberate  and  bring  about  spiritual  maturity,  and  

serving  the  church  body  and  community  in  Christ’s  name.    Contact Women’s Ministry: 845-634-7828 x322 | women@gracepointgospel.org

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Save  the  date:    July  20  at  Picnic  at  Haverstraw  Bay  Park  9:00  am  –  12:00  pm  |  Bring  the  kids  and  a  dish  to  share  

June A Taste of What’s Happening for Women