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popular saying going around youth nowadays. It’s phrased, “no regrets.” That is not the reality each of us needs to live in. I regret many things: drinking and partying it up in college, not saving myself for my dear husband, disrespecting my parents, and disregarding the Lord’s instructions. However, just like my mother did, the Lord shines that undeserved forgiveness called grace upon us. He continues to speak to each of us, we just have to listen. Those dreams we have might not be dreams at all, they just may be an instruction from the Lord. That vision you’ve had: a glimpse of something to come. Believe that with God, the Creator of all things, the one whom even the wind obeys, anything is possible. If He wills it, and you seek Him, it will come to pass! When self-doubt or the peanut gallery kicks in, fix your eyes upon Jesus. “Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). God understood that the things of this world would grab our attention, but the Bible says that, “Since you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:1-3). God made a way through Christ to give us life, and through Him we can have life to the fullest. We once were blind, but now we see! So where will your focus be? We have the choice to fix our eyes upon the things above, and we can choose to fix our ears upon the Lord and His instruction. We can choose to trust that God is in control, “(because) we know that all things work for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). “Amazing grace how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I’m found. Was blind but now I see. ‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear And grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed. When we’ve been there ten thousand years Bright shining as the sun We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise Then when we first begun. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found. Was blind, but now I see” Hymn by John Newton Marching to Zion Sarah Terry It was underneath the juniper tree that I died to self. I walked out from under the tree, I shook off the sand, and I headed to the mountaintop...a city on a hill. I missed my mountaintop in the city. I missed being an administrator and teacher at the Christian academy at our church. I missed coordinating the children’s ministry and serving alongside my husband. I missed the hugs of the children and the friendships I had made over the years. They were my family. I missed everything about this city. I felt all alone. It was on this mountaintop in the city, I was born and raised. It was there my home church was founded. It was there I gave my life to Jesus. It was there I surrendered to full time ministry. It was there God blessed me with a sister. It was there I met and married my husband. It was there I dedicated all four of my children to the Lord. It was there betrayal 21
entered my marriage. It was there I was knocked off the mountaintop. It was there I fled to the country to wander. God, why did you bring me to the wilderness? That’s what I would ask God over and over under my juniper tree. I was broken. Alone. I wanted to die. All I could do was cry and blame God for bringing me here. I had nothing to do but mow several acres shaded by trees, so that’s what I did until there was no more grass to mow. God, what am I supposed to do now? Buy some chicks...buy some what? Yep, He told me to buy some chicks. We had no chicken coop, but I went to the feed store anyways. I went with the intention of buying 5 and came home with 30. I spent my winter raising chicks in my living room. It wasn’t until I caught the flu that my husband saw his window of opportunity to move them to the garage. A place where women could come and find healing. And, it would all be free. Who comes home with 30 chicks and no coop... AND no money to buy or make a coop? Me and my husband. Before we know it, God is providing everything we need to build the coop. I think when it was all said and done we spent less than a $100. The next thing I knew we had a chicken mansion. You read that right...it’s not a coop but a mansion! Now what, God? Plant a garden...plant a what? This girl couldn’t keep a house plant alive in the city and now God is telling me to plant a garden. Okay, Lord. A friend from church bought us some seeds, my dad tilled the ground, and me and the kids sowed the seeds. Day after day, I’d work in my garden. AND day after day, God would meet me there. I remember the first time He spoke to me...”this is where life begins.” Where life begins. He reminded me that life begins with Him. I continued to work in my garden and care for my chickens while I sought God in my farm house kitchen. I began to hear God speak more clearly. In the spring, God woke me up in the middle of the night. He began to talk and I could see my future. I would now minister to women. I would host a free retreat for women come October. I remember God telling me that these women will come broken but they will leave restored. That same night He promised me that He was going to give me land. A place where women could come and find healing. And, it would all be free. Okay, Lord, I’m listening. Share my love through your garden...but how? That summer I had summer nights on my front porch. God brought women to help my heart heal. They would pick from the garden with their children, and we would share some tang. I also hosted three ‘Big’ Backyard Bible Clubs. Women in my community joined me in helping teach God’s children about Him and His creation. Everything seemed right. By the end of summer, I was finding myself getting out from under my juniper tree. October 2015 came. Over fifty women attended my first retreat. I was so nervous. I had no money, yet here I was hosting a FREE retreat. There was one lady, Lisa, who donated a $100. She was a woman I had just met through another friend, Julie. So many men and women in the community provided food... but there was one person that stood out to me that weekend. My neighbor, Harold. He gave me money. I tried to give it back, but he insisted. He said he loved what I was doing here on the farm. I remember it like yesterday...”I have a camp on my property if you ever need to use it,” he said. Come winter, God told me to write a devotional book, Seasons of My Heart. As I began to read my past blogs and prayer entries, I could see God’s divine hand over me. I could see the bigger picture. In 1996 I began to earnestly seek God’s purpose and calling for my life. I honestly thought my mountaintop in the city was it...but, no. He was only preparing me for what was to come. Prayer after prayer in my book has been or is being answered. 22
Page 1 and 2: Issue 01 Fall 2016 Women of Light A
Page 3 and 4: It was underneath the juniper tree
Page 5 and 6: Table Talk Contents Radical........
Page 7 and 8: He wants you at His feet. He wants
Page 9 and 10: making. I am eagerly, painstakingly
Page 11 and 12: With Each Step Kaci Nicole When we
Page 13 and 14: I wanted people to know the Jesus I
Page 15 and 16: of ALL of my hopes and dreams for K
Page 17 and 18: ... But it was clear to me in this
Page 19 and 20: Dolta Jo Morgan and The Buffalo Tre
Page 21 and 22: My brother Ryan….Ryan was special
Page 23 and 24: God allowed me to teach Pre-K where
Page 25: I now like to refer to as Holy Days
Page 29 and 30: church. It was filled with men, wom
Page 31 and 32: Remember me not with mourning but w
Page 33 and 34: Kaci Nicole About Kaci: I’m a twe
Page 35 and 36: Glenda Pyzer Glenda lives with her
Page 37 and 38: Women of Light Seeking God Prayer J
Page 39: Seeking God: God, you are... Script

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