Coming into Focus

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’” (Matthew 16:24)

Wow! Now that the year 2020 is here and I’ve started seeing the number, I can’t help but think about an eye examination. I’ve had my eyes examined many times, all in pursuit of 20/20 vision. As the doctor pulls the instrument over my eyes and makes adjustments, I begin to see the chart on the wall come into focus.  

What will your focus be in 2020? Family, friends, how we spend our money and time …. None of these things are bad, but they can easily distract us from asking Christ daily to help keep up focused on the things that are important to Him. We must allow the Holy Spirit to be the instrument that helps us focus on the right things in the areas above. He is the only one that can help keep our eyes on loving and helping others, not just ourselves. Let’s be honest: We struggle everyday with not making today about “me.”

My 2020 goal has its roots in, of all places, a Hallmark movie! One of the characters in the movie mentioned “doing the most good.” The more I thought about it, the more I realized that my goal for the coming year will be to ask Christ to help me with “doing the most good.”

I know it has to be intentional. We have to genuinely care about those whom God puts in our path. (As Kevin Harney mentions in “Organic Outreach,” our efforts to do good can be counterproductive if they aren’t motivated by love.)

Jesus says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). Because we were created in His image, there is a need in each one of us to help those around us. My prayer is that I look more like Christ this coming year than I did last year. As 2020 comes into focus, consider and be challenged by the following prayer:

“It is a challenge to keep my focus and attention on You, Lord. The desires of the flesh constantly pull me toward the world. Lord, help me shun the things of this world. Help me focus my attention on the things above where Christ, my Savior, dwells. Revive my heart and renew my love for You, Your word, and Your people. With your help, I want to focus fully on Christ; to commit my body, soul, and spirit to Him and to be transformed into His image. Amen.”

And finally, if you’re looking for even more encouragement for the new year, join me at the next Women’s Ministry event (link bolded words to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2020-new-year-new-vision-an-evening-with-chrystal-evans-hurst-tickets-79168315563) on Sunday, January 26 at 6:30pm. We’ll welcome author, speaker and podcaster Chrystal Evans Hurst as she shares her Christ-centered vision for 2020.

Kim Edde

Footer: Interested in becoming a Women’s Ministry blog contributor? Contact Jenn Dennard (  ) for details.

Interested in joining the Women’s Ministry team? Visit our Teams page to discover our various committees and which one might be the best fit for you.

In need of prayer or a fellow woman in Christ to chat with? The Women’s Ministry team would love to be there for you. Email Kim Edde (  ) to connect with one of our team members.

Connect with the Women's Ministry via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/bhbcsistersoftheheart) or Instagram (bhbc_women)

Building Oneness in Christ

“I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4: 1-3)

Welcome to our new blog! I am very excited about this new Women’s Ministry resource. We hope it will become a great way to hear from the women of our church throughout the year. (Email Jenn Dennard – - for details about becoming a contributor.)

Just a little bit about me: I was recently asked to step into the position of leader of the Women’s Ministry team. With much prayer, I felt Christ was leading me to accept. I have three grown children and one grandson. I love to snow ski and play tennis, plus interior design and family time. My passion is building relationships between women.

Retreating in the New Year

The WM leadership team kicked off the year with a short retreat focused on the fruits of the spirit. It was a time of bonding, hearing one another’s faith story, and focusing on each fruit through mini devotionals given by each team member. This devotional time was a reminder that in order to have the attitude of Christ, we must choose to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit as His words instruct us. (Check out “Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit” by Christopher J.H. Wright if you’d like to better understand Galatians 5:22-23.)

Another theme that kept coming up during our time together was the desire to help the women of our church develop relationships with each other. Whether you’re new to BHBC or have been a member since the “hardware store” days, getting “plugged in” and making new friends can be hard in a church of our size. And so we are in the midst of planning to have several different locations around Cobb and Paulding where women can drop in to hang out, meet one another, and become familiar with the Women’s Ministry team and Life Group leaders that correspond to different seasons of life. More details coming soon!

As you may have realized by now, we will not host a churchwide Women’s Ministry retreat this year. With much prayer and discussion, the planning committee felt that God wanted them to take a break, regroup, and wait for His direction regarding an event in 2020. We will host a Retreat Forum at BHBC on Monday, April 22 at 7pm to gather ideas and suggestions about next year’s retreat. See details about that below. We are positive that God will do something amazing in 2020!

Other upcoming Women’s Ministry activities include:

March 9: MUST Ministries Serve Day from 10-12pm at the MUST warehouse at 1280 Field Parkway, Marietta, GA 30066. Contact Donna Redner to RSVP .

April 22: Retreat Forum at 7pm. Location at BHBC TBD. Join us as we gather ideas and suggestions for the 2020 Women’s Retreat. Plan to come and share your ideas.

April 25: A Night of Cake, Coffee, and Comedy with Kerri Pomarolli, author of the “Mom’s Night Out” devotional and movie screenplay. Free admission. We’ll be collecting full-sized hygiene items for women as part of our missions outreach that night.

Let’s Get Started

My heart for the women’s ministry is that we will all feel we are one in Christ and “walk across the room” to meet each other. My prayer is that God will help us build each other up. Recognizing the value of every person. Focusing on what’s important. Living by faith.

Continue to be faithful to our loving Father!

Kim Edde

Interested in becoming a Women’s Ministry blog contributor?   

Contact Jenn Dennard ( ) for details.

Interested in joining the Women’s Ministry team? Visit our Teams page to discover our various committees and which one might be the best fit for you.

In need of prayer or a fellow woman in Christ to chat with? The Women’s Ministry team would love to be there for you. Email Kim Edde ( ) to connect with one of our team members.

Stay up to date with Women’s Ministry events here, and missions opportunities here.

Connect with Women's Ministry via Facebook and/or Instagram @bhbc_women