Sunrise Community Church Women's Ministry

Come shop local on April 13th. There will be a ton of great vendors there as well as some fun for the kids. Spread the word to friends and family!

Check out our current list of vendors:

Young Living
Color Street
Hazel Bagel's Bracelets
Sincerely, Paige Bakery
North Fork Mercantile
Fancy Fridays
Fore Real Estate Group
Caprine Cosmetics
James Grace Shop
BizzyBinky, LLC
Busy B's Baking
Mary Colleen Designs
Refuge & Strength
Lo**ta V. Clay Jewelry
Handiworks by Kathy
Institute for Children's Aid
Kelly's Crochet
Mary Kay
Grace-n-garden
Pearson Part of 7
Smedley Medicare Services
PRC Medicare Specialist
LaylaStar Boutique
Time for Jewels
LifeVantage
Christina Kimble
Snuggle Bug Crochet and Maragao Jewelry
Stone Hill Designs
Arbonne
Stormy Dawn Candle Co
Adriana Ramos - Adriana's Creations
Appaloosa Spice - Nicole Reece
Devil Cactus Trinkets

THE MOTHERHOOD VOW
ADAPTED FROM A DEVOTIONAL BY RACHAEL ELMORE

As a mom, I feel like I’m always getting it wrong.

I used a laundry detergent that gave my kid a rash. I paid my kids for their good grades. I give them too many chores. I enroll them in too many sports and not enough extracurriculars. I work too much. I yell too much. I should be doing so much more. The list goes on.

And in these moments, I feel defeated.

I’ve spent the last decade trying to understand how to be a good mother. But I’m a bit embarrassed to admit it was only recently that I asked God for His opinion on the matter.

His answer was really simple and surprising: 1 Corinthians 13.

Mothers should be patient.
Mothers should be kind.
Mothers should not harbor envy.
Mothers should not boast.
Mothers should not be proud.
Mothers should not dishonor others.
Mothers should not be self-seeking.
Mothers should not be easily angered.
Mothers should keep no records of wrongs.
Mothers should not delight in evil but rejoice in the truth.
Mothers should protect, trust, hope and persevere.
Mothers should never fail.

In our humanity, we are absolutely promised that we will fail. I have failed. But when we fail, we can have so much hope. God’s perfect grace is the foundation that keeps us standing firm as mothers.

The Motherhood Vow:
God, I, [your name], take [your child’s name] as my son/daughter. I promise to learn to be patient, kind and slow to anger. I promise to work not to be jealous, proud or self-seeking. I will work to bring honor to my family. I will not keep a record of my child’s wrongdoings. I will seek to delight in the truth. I promise You I will do everything I can to protect him/her. God, I know I will fail my child. But when I want to give up or give in, I promise I won’t. I promise to persevere to be the mom that You want me to be.

TRUSTING GO WITH THE OUTCOME
ADAPTED FROM A DEVOTIONAL BY TARA SUN

I was 14 when a doctor diagnosed me with fibromyalgia, a debilitating chronic illness that usually affects women in their later years.

Up until this moment, life had been relatively easy. Smooth sailing. Not too many bumps in the road or deviations from the plans that I had for my life — until that harrowing diagnosis.

Suddenly, life took a completely different path than I ever expected. Through that diagnosis, God showed me how I was holding on to my plans and my story, however well-intended, with a white-knuckled death grip instead of trusting Him to direct my paths.

You see, the world preaches a seductive message of manifestation, girl-bossing and the power of positive thinking. It’s flashy and enticing at first glance. I mean, it doesn’t sound half bad — the idea of focusing on the positive and going after what we want in life.

But here’s the catch, my friend: Planning, dreaming and living responsibly in light of what God has given us is one thing. But holding on to our plans so tightly that we are not willing to surrender to God’s sovereign hand and plan? That’s another thing.

King David instructs us in Psalm 37:5 to give our plans to the Lord: “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.” This commitment is a trust in Yahweh — not ourselves — to produce the outcome. We provide a surrendered heart, and God provides the outcome of our stories.

Because God created us and loves us, we can trust that He has a better outcome for our lives than we could ever imagine. Because God knows all and sees all, we can trust that even if our stories don’t turn out the way we originally thought, He is a redeemer who works all for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28).

When we offer our lives as living sacrifices in surrender to God, we can rest assured that God will act in accordance with the goodness of His heart and the promises in His Word. We are safe in surrender. We are free not to have it all under control because we serve a God who does.

IF YOU FEEL OVERLOOKED OR UNDERAPPRECIATED
ADAPTED FROM A DEVOTIONAL BY LYSA TERKEURST

Sometimes I wake up in the morning feeling a little grumpy. Time to do it all again. Is there more to all this than just doing the tasks of everyday life?

One day, before I jumped into the normal routine, I sat with Jesus. And I found some big truths as I read my Bible and took a little glance into David’s life. Despite his tendency to sin and his low position in his own family, and despite how others viewed him, David had the sweet reassurance of God. And that was enough.

Overlooked by everyone else. Hand-picked by God.

To his older brothers, David was young — possibly even a pest. To his father, Jesse, he was just another son. To onlookers, he was a mere shepherd boy. But to God, David was the one destined to be king of Israel. And not just any king. His was the bloodline from which Jesus would come.

Think of the list of qualifications that must have run through Samuel's mind for such a position: tall, smart, articulate, brave, well-groomed, well-mannered, a natural-born leader.

Samuel had Jesse line up all of his sons. All of them were to be considered. Yet Jesse didn’t call David in from tending sheep. Was this an oversight? An assumption? A judgment call? A deliberate choice?

As soon as Samuel saw David, he knew he’d found the one. David was anointed to become king (1 Samuel 16:12-13). But he was not immediately ushered to the throne. It would be many years before David was recognized by the world. So where did he go after being anointed? To a refining school? A government academy? Military training?

Nope.

He went back out to the fields and continued to shepherd his flock. A king-to-be was doing lowly tasks. A future king's character was refined in the fields of everyday life to prepare him for his calling.

Do you ever feel overlooked by the world? Take heart — we are hand-picked by God.

TRUSTING GOD OR GETTING ANTSY?
ADAPTED FROM A DEVOTIONAL BY LISA ROETTGER

It was a dark, moonless night in southern Sudan. I was walking from the house to our sleeping hut, trusting that my bush lamp, a small kerosene lantern, would light my way.

But the puddle of light before me was only enough to illuminate the next few steps. Starting to feel a little anxious, I thought, Where is the hut? Shouldn’t I be there by now? Am I even on the right path?

I needed more light. Stopping, I held up my lamp, stretching my arm out as far as I could. But I’d picked the wrong spot to stop and question the way — right in the middle of a trail of army ants. Under their none-too-gentle prodding, I took off again, choosing the only option left: keeping to the bit of path I could see, trusting it would take me to my destination. Thankfully, it did.

After arriving and removing all the ants, I had a chance to think and was reminded of our key verse. Like the oil lamps of Old Testament times, and like my bush lamp, God’s Word may light only a few feet of path, illuminating the next few steps He wants me to take. Yet often in life, I find myself demanding to see the final destination. Where are You taking me, Lord? I ask. I want a spotlight, not this feeble bush lamp!

What options do we have when we want to see farther than God reveals? We can stop in our tracks, refusing to go another step more until God shows us His entire plan. We can struggle to illuminate the path ourselves, trying to figure out the final destination and the best way there on our own.

Or we can trust God and His Word. God often lights just enough of the path for us to take the next few steps. We may not like it. We may want to know more. We may want to know all. But God wants us to trust Him and His Word. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV). When we, in faith, take those first steps, the light will move forward with us, and we’ll be able to see the next bit of path God wants us to follow.

We don’t have to get antsy after all. We can choose to trust the Lord instead.

BURNED OUT? OUR HOPE IS THE OXYGEN YOUR SOUL NEEDS
ADAPTED FROM A DEVOTIONAL BY BONNIE GRAY

Are you also feeling weary? Are you in the middle of a hard season you thought was temporary, only to discover you’re stretched so thin that you’re burned out, losing your joy and hope? We often don’t know we’re stressed until our body sends us signals. Our hair starts falling out. Fibromyalgia worsens. We might get migraines, eye twitching or insomnia.

But God cares about you. It breaks His heart seeing you, His little girl, running ragged.

There’s a story of a little girl in the Bible who everyone thought was gone forever as she lay on her bed without breath. Everyone had lost hope, just like I had. But when Jesus came to sit next to her bed and gently hold her hand, His loving touch brought her back to life. Guess what Jesus said first?

“… Give her something to eat.” (Mark 5:43b, CEV)

Jesus didn’t tell her to go greet the crowd gathered outside. Jesus didn’t tell her to go do her chores. Instead, Jesus lovingly focused on her well-being. It’s important to God that we nourish our bodies with rest and take time to feel His loving touch revive us through His Word.

I realized God wanted me to believe I was worthy of care and take action in the midst of my hard, messy moment. Use this breath prayer from Lamentations 3:21-23: “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Inhale: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.
Exhale: Your mercies are new every morning.

To hope again is to believe God will help you. Hope gives you permission to do things differently and to believe God will be faithful. His love fuels your hope, and hope is the oxygen your soul breathes.


God can renew your hope. Jesus tenderly folds your hand in His, loving you unconditionally.

THE SURPRISING BENEFIT OF GETTING RUTHLESSLY HONEST WITH GOD
ADAPTED FROM A DEVOTIONAL BY JENNIFER DUKES LEE

For years, I quietly struggled with a long list of questions. It was as if the answers were hidden in locked rooms with missing keys. They were questions about my past, my purpose, pain in the world, and even the existence of God. I thought God would be offended by my doubting heart.

Even when it came to asking Him for help with some of the hardest things in my life, I avoided it because I was afraid of what His answer — or lack thereof — would be.

While growing up, I learned of “Doubting Thomas,” who refused to believe in Jesus' resurrection until he touched Jesus' scarred hands. (John 20:24-25) The nickname drips with accusation of faulty thinking. So I stuffed down my unbelief and fears, thinking all doubt was shameful and disrespectful.

But then I opened up my Bible and found this sentence in the study notes about Thomas: “Silent doubts rarely find answers.” In that moment, it was clear to me that Jesus doesn’t reject people for expressing their doubts honestly.

I met David in the psalms. When you read David’s words, it’s like you’re reading a private journal. The psalms have blessed the lives of countless millions, giving us language for our deepest anguish, but when David wrote them, he was simply crying out to God with an honest heart:

How long, O Lord? (Psalm 6:3; Psalm 35:17)
Where are You? (Psalm 13:1)
Why have You forsaken me? (Psalm 22:1)

We learn from both David and Thomas that it’s better to express feelings with brutal honesty than to doubt God in deafening silence. And the same is true for us. Life will never make sense until we get curious enough to ask honest questions.

What questions do you have for God today? What breaks your heart? What makes you so angry you could scream?
Tell your stuff to God. He can take it.

Be encouraged in this, friend. You can learn a great deal about God — and about yourself — by paying attention to whatever comes after the beautiful curve of a question mark.

THE GRACE-FILLED GIFT OF A DO-OVER
ADAPTED FROM A DEVOTIONAL BY AMY WHITE

I messed up. Quick, thoughtless words flew out of my mouth and hurt my daughter.

I could see it written all over her face. Her shoulders sagged, her face grew long, and her eyes filled with tears. I cringed inside and sighed, feeling disappointed in myself. My daughter was hurt, and I felt like a failure as a mom.

I began to condemn myself … but then I remembered Jesus handling a similar situation. The end of Mark 10 tells the story of Bartimaeus, who was blind and sat by the roadside asking for support from passersby. Jesus was walking on the road with a crowd of people when Bartimaeus heard Jesus was passing by.

Bartimaeus cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47, NIV).

The crowd of people with Jesus reacted by shushing Bartimaeus, sternly telling him to be quiet! But Jesus stopped walking. He heard the commotion, heard Bartimaeus’ cries for mercy, and also heard the nasty response of the crowd.

It is Jesus’ response to the unkind crowd that moves me: Jesus said to them, “Call him” (Mark 10:49).

With two words, Jesus offered grace. Jesus could have walked over to Bartimaeus or reprimanded the crowd for their pitiless response to someone in need. Instead, Jesus, in His wisdom and love, didn’t scold them but gave them what they needed most: an experience of grace rather than condemnation, a chance to try again to show love to their neighbor. With these simple words, Jesus offered the grace-filled gift of a do-over.

I knew instantly that my words to my daughter were unkind and uncaring. So I accepted Jesus’ grace-filled gift of a do-over. I went to my daughter and apologized for what I had said. I told her what I should have said instead, words to care for her heart, build her up and show her love.

A do-over is a grace-filled gift from Jesus.

HUMBLED SUCCESS
ADAPTED FROM A DEVOTIONAL BY HEATHER MACFADYEN

I sat in our first apartment, overlooking downtown Wheaton, Illinois. Here I was, alone in a new town.

I wondered if I’d made a mistake by graduating a semester early and moving up our wedding from June to March. And my husband, whom I couldn’t wait to be with, traveled for work three weeks out of the month.

My biology/pre-medicine degree went unused as I lived the unemployed life instead of attending medical school. Without a place to perform or relationships to feed off of, what value did I have? Was this what being humbled felt like? If so, it was for the birds.

Over and over in the Old Testament, God shares how He cares for the humble. He guides the anav, as our key verse says: “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way” (Psalm 25:9). He crowns the anav with victory. (Psalm 149:4) He encourages the anav. (Psalm 34:2) The reward? The anav inherit the land. (Psalm 37:11)

Pastor Dave Adamson writes, “The Hebrew word ‘avanah’ is translated as ‘humility.’ But an expanded translation would be to occupy our God-given space.”

I humbly looked at the space God gave me, and I chose to fill it. The first step involved taking a job as a teacher’s assistant in West Chicago. Part of my job was to accompany Andrew, a student, to his speech-language pathology sessions. Each week, I asked the speech-language pathologist (SLP) more questions about her job. More and more, I realized how perfectly the career aligned with my skills and dreams. Around the same time that I felt a pull to pursue further training to become an SLP, my husband’s job moved us to San Francisco.

I decided to volunteer at a hospital down the street in the speech-language pathology department. And on my first day volunteering, the managing SLP offered me a job as an SLP assistant. Once again, God taught me how what seemed like a step backward was actually a step into the purpose He had planned for me.

When the assigned space feels too large and we feel too small, we are forgetting that the Creator God assigned us there. No space is too large for Him, and no assignment is too hard.

HOW TO EMBRACE AND OVERCOME ADVERSITY
ADAPTED FROM A DEVOTIONAL BY REBEKAH LYONS

My daughter, Joy, is an overcomer of adversity. She was born with Down syndrome in a country that doesn’t deal well with differences. She was dropped off at the doorstep of a police station. She was moved from orphanage to orphanage. Though we know we made the right decision, her adoption into our family meant she had to learn a new country and language. She has shown incredible resilience in the few short years she’s been with our family.

Since bringing Joy home, I’ve contemplated the words in today's key verse, trying to understand what they mean for me in my own quest to cultivate resilience in the midst of chaos.

I’ve discovered that the Bible doesn’t promise we’ll have easy, carefree lives if we follow Jesus. In fact, it teaches quite the opposite. As believers in Christ, we’re bound to suffer even more adversity as we live countercultural lives in a world antagonistic to our faith. We will be afflicted, perplexed, persecuted and struck down. Still, Paul promised that if we face inevitable adversity head-on with the power of the gospel and we practice inner renewal day by day, we can cultivate a life of resilience.

And when we face adversity, our bodies freak out. Our anxiety spikes in difficult times, our tempers shorten, and our instinct is to reach for coping mechanisms.

The good news is that we are not locked into our current fears, anxieties or ways of thinking. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind …” (ESV). We renew our minds by doing what Colossians 3:2 says: “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (ESV).

We can invite God into our struggle and share our overwhelm, asking Him to reveal what He wants to gift us in this season. Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (ESV).

Adversity will try to take you out. But if you allow God to lead you in and through adversity, you can emerge a more resilient person.

LONELY HURTS, BUT GOD CAN REDEEM IT
ADAPTED FROM A DEVOTIONAL BY JESSICA MANFRE

Can I make a confession? In my mind, I’m not supposed to feel lonely or struggle with mental health issues. As a therapist, I have helpful knowledge and tools swirling inside my brain, ready to be utilized. How dare I submit to something I know how to combat! But loneliness, and the basket of negative symptoms it brings, has reared its ugly head and held on to me with a fierceness I wasn’t prepared for.

The book of Ruth was the light in the dark, the scripture I desperately needed to break the grip of loneliness. Though I've always loved the rich narration of the story, reading it during a desperately lonely season of my life was revolutionary. I saw myself in both Ruth and Naomi in so many ways as a military spouse … leaving home for a foreign land with no support, experiencing what felt like continual loss, and finding myself questioning my faith.

God doesn’t always prevent us from experiencing life stressors and working through the very real emotions that accompany them. But when we feel lonely, God is standing ready to love us through it while His Word gently reminds us that we’re never truly alone.

With God, our trials, hurts and lonely seasons can be used for good. There’s such a redemptive blessing in sharing your deepest struggles out loud. Not only does it remove them from the box you’re so frantically trying to hide them in, but I promise your pain is a shared one. Lean into your Bible, community, family and friends. We have a tendency to act like bitter Naomi in Ruth 1:20-21, pushing away support as we navigate the waves of the bad things drowning us.

I like to believe I hear God whispering this when I feel lonely: Where you go, I go. But it isn’t only imagined — He is always with us. We just have to be ready and willing to hear Him.

OUR FATHER INVITES US TO ASK AUDACIOUSLY
ADAPTED FROM A DEVOTIONAL BY BECKY HARLING

Many years ago, after a long day at Disney World, our four kids were exhausted. As parents, we were ready to crash and head to bed, knowing that we would start the long drive home in the morning.

But as we tucked our 6-year-old daughter, Stefanie, into bed, the tears and pleading began.

Earlier that day, we had bought our 4-year-old daughter a stuffed Baby Minnie Mouse. We had repeatedly asked Stefanie if she wanted one. She had said, categorically, no. She was too mature for Baby Minnie. However, in that moment before bed, she changed her mind. Her weeping grew in volume as her pleading continued. Finally, my husband, Steve, got her to sleep.

Then at 9:30 p.m., Steve grabbed his keys and headed out of our hotel. That night he went to three different Disney stores and at approximately 11 p.m. walked back into our hotel triumphantly with a stuffed Baby Minnie Mouse. The next morning when he gave the toy to Stefanie, he won her heart forever.

Honestly, parenting experts might have told us to handle the meltdown differently. I get it. But here’s the thing: Steve didn’t just give Stef a stuffed toy. He gave her the most beautiful picture of our Father in heaven. To this day, she remembers.

Our Father in heaven delights in hearing our requests. He doesn’t become frustrated with our persistence or annoyed with our audacious asking. He enjoys hearing our prayers and giving us good gifts.

Jesus shows us the heart of our Father. When Jesus taught us to pray, He invited us to ask audaciously.

Does this mean everything we ask for in prayer, Jesus is going to give? No. However, we can rest assured our persistence doesn’t annoy or frustrate Him. He invites us to continue to ask and gives us what is good.

Maybe for you, daily bread is financial provision or wisdom to raise your child. Maybe it’s the courage to face a daunting health diagnosis. Whatever it is, Jesus invites you to come and ask audaciously, believing that He will listen and give you what’s best.