March 2016

God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.
Ps 46:1
Mark your calendars for these upcoming events:
Weekend Retreat May 19th-21st.
Leadership Conference August 7th13th

Faith vs Fear

To find out more information, call our office. 772-770-4424

17th Annual Physicians

Symposium and Luncheon
Reserve your place today for our premier
fundraising event of the year!
Noon Friday, March 4th at the beautiful
Quail Valley River Club
This informative luncheon features a
panel of respected physicians from our
community who share the latest
innovations in their fields.
To reserve your table today please
call our office today at 772-770-4424.
Cost is $120 per person or $925 for a table of 8.
For more information, visit
www.womensrefugevb.org

Gabriella
completed the 9 month
program
My goals:

To step into my role as an

adult.

To trust in God.

To take responsibility for

myself.

Oak Harbor - 4755 S. Harbor Drive

Vero Beach, FL 32967

9:00 AM Registration

(Limited Seating)

9:30 AM Play Bridge

BRIDGE TOURNAMENT
Womens Refuge 10th Annual Charity
Duplicate Bridge Tournament & Luncheon

12:30 PM Luncheon
1:15 PM Prizes & Master points Awarded

When Ted and I were on our honeymoon making

our way from Hungary to Romania, we managed to
get onto the wrong train. My immediate reaction
was to place the burden of responsibility onto my
new husband by asking him, What are we going
to do now? He said, Well pray, wait until the
train stops, and then know what to do. That calm
answer was not the one I wanted to hear for our
predicament, and I was further vexed when Ted
proceeded to take a restful nap, while I remained
in a constant dither, pacing the aisle to ask if anyone spoke English. Recalling that day of 20 years
ago, I can only imagine how ridiculous and
panicked I looked to them. More importantly, I
remember how little faith I was using when my
new husband gently asked, Where is your faith?
Clearly, Ted was speaking Christs wisdom into my
anxious life. He was exemplifying Christ, who, saying those very words, called people to greater
faith, like when He said to His disciples on a boat
in the middle of a great storm, "You of little faith,
why are you so afraid? (Matthew 8:26) and to
Peter when he started sinking in the waves, You
of little faith, why did you doubt? (Matthew
14:31); and again, when the disciples voiced their
concern over not having any food, You of little
faith, why are you talking among yourselves about
having no bread? (Matt. 16:8). All of these statements of Jesus were directed at people being
afraid like I was on that train in Hungary. Fear is a
powerful emotion that can rob people of what little
faith they have, especially when we give in to the
feeling of losing control. But make no mistake,
feelings dont simply appear out of nowhere-- they
are generated by what we are thinking and believing about something. In my case, I was gloomily
convinced that we were in trouble, being on the
wrong train. But when we later disembarked at our
wrong station, the very people we were supposed to have met at our original destination were
standing on the platform, shocked to see us there!
They had had no way to contact us to tell us they
needed to meet us at this different station instead!
God worked it out for our good, and my meager
faith was increased that day, in spite of myself!

And in the process, our brand-new marriage was

deepened as I saw how God worked through Ted.
Each person who comes to the Refuge brings a
certain amount of faith, hoping that God will meet
her or him and give them the answers of what to
do. The faith we are given is a gift from the Lord
through which we can respond in trust to Him. He
asks us to take that faith, be it ever so small, and
to use it in a Godward direction of believing His

love and care for us. Jesus said that if God so

clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive
and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not
much more clothe you, O you of little of
faith?" (Matthew 6:30). Jesus is conveying a beautiful secret for peace in our lives: the root of any
anxiety we latch onto in our present day is inadequate faith in our Father's future grace (see John
Pipers Future Grace). As unbelief gets the upper
hand in our hearts, one of the inevitable bad fruits
is anxiety. The root cause of anxiety is failure to
trust all that God has promised to be for us in
Jesus.
We continue to see people set free from paralyzing
fears to vibrant faith in Gods acceptance.
~Donna

Jennifers 3 Month Graduation

I came to the
Refuge after finishing
19 months at House
of Hope in South GA.
I hope to continue
in more emotional,
mental and spiritual
healing. I received
from Jesus through
my counseling more understanding of my feelings,
what they look like and how to
change my thinking so my feelings dont run my life. Learning
how to lean on Gods word and
His truth is no easy mission so Im
very thankful that God has placed
me here. March 26th makes two
years Ive been sober and walking
with the Lord. He is so amazing. I
plan on staying at the Refuge for
the nine month program and will continue to seek the
Lord as to what He wants next for me. Thank you, God.
I love You! ~ Jennifer

Jennifer is now working at our Resale store on 10th Ave.

To come to faith on the basis of experience

alone is unwise, though not so foolish as to reject
faith altogether because of lack of experience ...
the quality of a Christian's experience depends
on the quality of his faith, just as the quality of
his faith depends in turn on the quality of his
understanding of God's truth.
Os Guinness, In Two Minds

Diana with her husband and son

I came to the Refuge very depressed with a lot of resentment, bitterness & unforgiveness with my family and
myself. I was pleasing others and doing as much as I could
to get Gods love, approval, acceptance and value. But the
truth of Gods word set me free. I forgave myself, my
family, and people who hurt me. I started to understand
that Jesus my Savior did everything for me, so I can live in
Gods will and not in my past. I need and want to forgive
because He has forgiven me first. He wants a continuous
and intimate relationship with me. ~ Diana

Ana came from Miami for 2 weeks

The Arithmetic of Worry

We worry when we add unnecessary pressure to
an already full plate.
We worry when we subtract God's presence from
our crises.
We worry when we multiply our problems by
inserting our solutions prematurely.
We worry when we divide life into the secular and
the sacred.

I was in a depression when I came to the Womens Refuge. I was

walking with God but had a lack of identity in Him and feeling unloved.
When I got here I asked God to let me experience Him in a deeper
way, I really wanted to feel the love of the Father. In my short time
here, I am so amazed! I have been able to forgive and open my eyes
to the lies of the enemy. I felt like I came with full luggage and now
its empty. I feel really free and have the tools to keep fighting and
receive the love of God. I feel extremely confident that I have the Holy
Spirit to guide me and even in my moments of pain and suffering I will
be led by Him and accept that it is okay to feel pain. However, I know
that I have been broken in this moment of my life to be transformed
into something better and with His joy. I am thankful to God and the
Womens Refuge for being an instrument for change, healing and hope
in my life. God can do so much when we are willing. ~ Ana

from Chuck Swindoll's Getting Through the Tough Stuff

Cristy came from Georgia for 2 weeks

Ways You Can HELP!

Pray...

For the women coming to the Refuge

The Board & Staff to have wisdom to

lead others to the throne of Grace
A new Managing Director

Volunteer

Donate
In addition to a financial gift, you may also want to consider the
following options:

Lateral credenza locking file

New computer

Portable CD players

In the office

Earbuds

At the Resale store

HP #21 ink for printer

For the monthly mailing

Counter top for laundry room

During Fundraisers

Work day events

Jewelry, and other Properties: You can help change lives by

donating unneeded assets of value that are now
gathering dust. We can sell them and help more people in
need.

I realized there were many areas in my life

that I had not surrendered to Christ. Little
by little I started giving
Him my valued possessions and He filled me
with peace as I felt closer
to Him. I pray that God
gives me the strength to
continue applying what I
have learned. He is good
and I know His plans will
bless my life. Cristy
Cristy valued the structure of the program,
learning how to study and meditate daily on
the Word of God and depend on Him for her
satisfaction.