2019 is almost at an end and Christmas is just around the corner. May we take this opportunity to wish you all a blessed and Happy Christmas as you celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. A time for families to be together, children to have a break from school and for us to remember the fulfilment of God’s amazing promise. Immanuel, God with us and so He was born.
From the website it looks as if Love Renewed has been quiet , very quiet, but in reality so much has been going on. Several courses have been run this year, many have not been advertised and some we have only heard about by chance. I think that is perhaps the nature of this ministry. It is often held in small groups at someone’s home where women meet in an informal manner rather than in a church, using these lessons to learn, encourage one another while building great support groups and real friendships. These times of good fellowship overflow into home life leading to strong family foundations and Godly marriages. Many courses have been done “one on one” turning lives around. We have heard some very encouraging testimonies but have also realised that so often these wonderful experiences are very personal and, wisely, woman are careful about sharing too much “out there” on any kind of social media. They have however shared with friends and so the ministry has been strengthened by word of mouth.
Several courses have just started out as a coffee morning. Coming together when possible and covering as much as wanted each time. The lesson topics have certainly stirred conversation.
In the New Year we are planning to have the lessons available in a format that can be downloaded directly from the website and played on a laptop, iPad or even a smart phone without having to rely on the postal service when sending off CDs. Many people don’t even have a CD player anymore. We hope this will be helpful and make it that much more accessible.
We also plan to add extra material to the lesson on parenting. There is so much discussion taking place re “Child Sex Education courses” at school that we believe there is a need for practical, common sense advice for parents on how best to help their children navigate their way through the confusing information that is often being made available to them at school. Although we hope the curriculum will be modified, it seems sensible to find ways of dealing with information that may be unhelpful and even destructive to our children’s healthy view of sex, should these courses go ahead as planned. The most important place for a child to learn about natural sex, normal intimacy, God and Godliness, is at home. Schools are secular and therefore cannot be relied on or expected to teach from God’s word. The more prepared we are, the better equipped we are to help our children.
We look forward to the New Year and would like to wish you a very blessed and prosperous one. We also look forward to Love Renewed growing and young women coming on board to spread these vital principles. The world is changing at a very rapid pace but the essential foundations to a happy marriage and a stable home remain the same. The challenges do not diminish just as the need for stability increases. May we encourage you to consider being part of this ministry.
God Bless,
Jane and the Love Renewed Ministry Team.