Shannon’s SCW Blog

posted by Terrica

For those of you who prayed with us concerning our recent event in El Paso, TX–we’re thrilled to report it was a tremendous success!

With over 2000, primarily Spanish-speaking women from all over the U.S. and Mexico in attendance, we were a bit nervous the message might literally be ‘lost in translation’.  However, even a language barrier couldn’t prevent the truth of God’s transformative, redemptive nature from penetrating hearts!  The women responded spectacularly.  Sitting in our hotel room following the event, Shannon and I were astonished to find that we sold almost 1000 books (aka 1000 sown seeds!) at the book table over the course of a few hours.  Humbled, we thanked God for the privilege of speaking and sowing into lives and hearts on His behalf, and prayed each seed might impact marriages and families for generations to come.

A HUGE thank you to Pastors Chris and Haydee Richards of Vino Nuevo for hosting us!  It was such an honor.  http://www.vinonuevoelpaso.com/

We were so thankful for Haydee, who also served as Shannon’s translator.

A powerful close to the weekend–the ladies waving white (tissue) flags of surrender to the Lord!

Don’t miss Shannon this weekend at Vino Nuevo in El Paso, Texas!  She’ll be speaking at their annual women’s conference–open to the public.  If you’re in the area we’d love to connect with you!  For more info please see:

http://demujeramujer.tv/general-en.htm

We had an awesome “Girls Reflecting Glory” Conference in Sugarland, Texas this past weekend!  My daughter amazed me as she confidently took the microphone and shared some great nuggets of wisdom with the hundreds of 12-18 year old girls.  Made this Mama oh so proud!

Then our trip to Sugarland was made even sweeter when we had the opportunity meet author Stanley Leffew (www.notjustanight.com) and his lovely wife, Jessica at a local Starbuck’s for three hours of “God-gushing” (gushing over the great things God has done in our lives, marriages, and ministries).  In case his name sounds familiar, I’ve shared some excerpts from his “Sugar for My Coffee” e-newsletters before, which I enjoy so much, and I asked if I could please, please, please share his most recent one with you as well.  I didn’t have to twist his arm very hard before he relented.  (Thanks, Stanley!)

Enjoy…

Where Are All the REAL Gentlemen’s Clubs?

“Hey Stan, me and some of the other guys are going to a Gentlemen’s Club and want you to come along. Just note, saying no is not an acceptable response.”

Such were the ramblings of a young man who thought I, like a lot of other men around us on that same work project, would jump at the chance for this kind of night out with the boys.

Knowing he wasn’t familiar with my message that teaches all about being a man in a playboy world, I just laughed at him, said no thanks, and then politely directed him to my website. Although he never asked again, I couldn’t just let his question go.

So I went there!

No, not the Gentlemen’s Club!

I went to that place in my mind that attempts to make sense of a commonly accepted term that has no rational explanation for why it is so commonly accepted.

Gentlemen’s Club!

When I think of the word “gentlemen”, I never associate it with a smoke-filled room full of men drowning in a sea of flesh, being enticed to accept a cheap imitation for the gift of human sexuality.

The word GENTLEMEN to me is a word about being noble and respectful. It speaks of one who gives honor and bears the trademark of not demeaning in value the worth of another.

“Where are the REAL Gentlemen’s Clubs,” I asked myself!

Wouldn’t it be great to have a club where REAL men go to:

• Encourage each other to see women as more than full-of-brandy-eye-candy and toys-for-boys
• Inspire one another to be men of commitment and live out their sexuality for LEG-A-CY, not how much LEG-I-SEE
• Better follow the longing of the heart to be wanted for a lifetime of nights and not just a night of a lifetime
• Remind one another that sex is LESS ABOUT RELEASE and MORE ABOUT EMBRACE
• Help each other remember that SMUT spelled backwards is TUMS
• Grow in understanding that it is called PLAYBOY because it appeals to men who still play BOY with adolescent attitudes about women as sex objects
• Challenge each other with the reality that we are DESIGNED FOR DESIRE, but we also DESIRE FOR DESIGN
• Help each other see that humanity’s greatest needs are relational and spiritual – NOT SEXUAL
• Instruct one another in the truth about how 90% of couple-relating takes place OUTSIDE THE BEDROOM
• Remind one another that the emptiest people are those living their lives for the moment and missing the lifetime

Now, that’s the type of Gentlemen’s Club this loving husband and father would be most happy to go to with the guys. I think guys could learn a lot about being a man in this type of environment. How about it men, care to come along?

©Copyright advice-for-lifetime-relationships
by Stanley J. Leffew
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED!

www.notjustanight.com

It’s always interesting to see which information “sticks” with me after a conference. Just like anyone else, some nuggets of wisdom sink to the bottom of my brain, and others float to the top to guide my future thoughts.

As I continue reflecting on the amazing EveryWoman Conference at C3 Church in Sydney last weekend, the theme that continues to resonate with me most is something Pastor Chris Pringle shared in her message:

Mother Theresa was a great example of this. When she was invited to participate in an anti-war demonstration, she declined saying, “I don’t care to be in an anti-war march. But if you do a peace march, let me know.” She didn’t want to be known as a rebel of war. She wanted to be known as a revolutionary of peace.

When I first started speaking in 1996, I was definitely a rebel with a cause. “Abstinence until marriage” was my #1 theme. I wanted to save young people from themselves and their run-away sex drives. I laugh hysterically at that now. It’s not that I don’t still hope that single people save sex until marriage, for that is truly God’s best plan for our lives. But I’ve come to understand that there’s a much bigger picture to the ministry God has called me to.

It’s not just about saying “no” to pre-marital sex, unplanned pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, promiscuity, broken hearts, etc. etc. It’s really about saying “yes” to a lifestyle of sexual integrity, sexual intimacy in marriage, and intimacy with God. It’s about fully becoming the glorious women (and men) God designed us to be. It’s about embracing our sexuality as a blessing rather than a burden, and being a good steward of it rather than squandering it or being afraid of it.

I don’t want to go down in history as a rebel. I want to be known as a revolutionary – a revolutionary for healthy sexuality and spirituality!

What about you? What part of the world are you called to revolutionize? Your church? Your children’s school? Your office environment? Your home?

Is your approach a negative one that leaves others feeling attacked or judged? If so, you may be seen by others as a rebel, and that’s most likely not the most effective approach. Try looking through a positive lens at how you can improve the situation. Pray about how you can equip and empower others to change for the better, and be a revolutionary that truly impacts the world for good!

Monday, November 2, 1 p.m.

I’m sitting in the San Francisco Airport, remembering why I find international travel such a challenge! We just got off of a grueling 14-hour flight with screaming babies who didn’t have a clue how annoying they were being, a loud hateful woman who surely had a clue how annoying she was being (but obviously didn’t care), and the most fierce turbulence I’ve ever experienced on a plane. I actually grabbed my 17-year old daughter’s hand (who was turning green from the mid-air roller coaster ride) and said, “Let’s pray!” What I really meant was, “Oh my gosh, this might be our last prayer ever so let’s make it a good one!” We wanted to kiss the ground when we landed. And here we sit, exhausted, emotionally fragile, and have another 4-hour flight to look forward to before seeing our special guys at DFW Airport — husband Greg, son Matthew, & boyfriend Brian (obviously Erin’s boyfriend, not mine!)

I’ve occasionally wondered if the intense international flight experiences are really worth all the effort & energy required. But once I arrive at my destination and God begins working in us and through us, I’m reminded why I love what I do.

Some of the highlights from Sydney include seeing hundreds of new bras hanging on a clothesline in front of Christian City Church in “support” of their African women’s mission: Operation Uplift (clever, huh?) and watching over 1,500 women of all ages wave white flags (Kleenex) in surrender of all of their sexual and emotional baggage – Wow!

Yeah, it’s worth having the 300 lb. man in front of me press his seat firmly into my kneecaps for hours at a time when I eventually get to see hundreds of women fall to their kneecaps in worship of the God I so love to talk about from stage. The multiple hours of sleeplessness are a small price to pay to see women inspired to go home and make love to their husbands with reckless abandon. And the bland airplane cuisine is a frequent reminder of what Jesus said: “I have food that no one knows about – doing my Father’s will!” (SEV – Shannon Ethridge version)

Am I satisfied with the traveler’s life? You bet. What a posh calling compared to some pastors & missionaries! I may be miserable in the moment, sitting here in the airport, but once I have a steamy shower… and a homemade meal… and a nice long nap to relieve the jet lag, I’ll be ready to go again, ready for the privilege of wearing God’s nametag once again.

Next stop? Sugarland (Houston), Texas for the Girls Reflecting Glory Conference Nov. 13th and 14th — which thankfully will NOT require an international flight!

Pressing on with gratitude,
Shannon

No, it’s Sydney!

Good Day, Mates! I can’t even begin to tell you of the amazing blessings and favor we’ve experienced on our “Land Down Under” trip so far, and the conference I came to speak at doesn’t even officially start until tomorrow! God’s presence is so overwhelming here in Sydney that I feel like this is as close to Heaven as anyone can get in a lifetime!

Our 29-hour journey was surprisingly smooth, and we arrived to an incredibly posh ocean-view hotel room filled with huge bouquets of fragrant flowers, gourmet chocolate, and some of Pastors Phil & Chris Pringle’s awesome books, DVDs, etc. Check out his AMAZING biblical artwork at www.philpringle.com.

Coming back here to Christian City Church (C3) has been like “coming home,” even though I’ve only been here one other time. But that one time was all it took to fall in love with the people and the spirit of ministry and excellence on this campus. My daughter, Erin, fell so in love with it last time that she’s been planning to move here and attend their School of Creative Arts next February.

I should be overwhelmingly sad that my baby girl will be moving half-way around the world in 120 days, but I’m too excited for her to be sad just yet. We had told God on the way here that we didn’t just want to pound the pavement and go from landlord to landlord until we found something tolerable, but that we wanted HIM to open a door wide and make it incredibly clear that this potential living arrangement was a divine appointment. It happened exactly that way!!! We were approached by the admissions director saying that there is a wonderful lady who works here at the church who’d be willing to rent Erin a room during her 11-month stay – and she is also an artist with a garage-studio who’s been through the exact visual arts program that Erin will be going through. We couldn’t ask for a better match!

We had an amazing evening last night at a mother/daughter banquet – eating Thai food and speaking TOGETHER for the first time! I’ve been trying to convince Erin for at least 5 years that she should prayerfully consider speaking with me because she’s so mature and wise. She finally consented, and she took the microphone and ran with it like a pro last night, encouraging the girls to guard their hearts and invest in healthy relationships with girlfriends, guy friends, God, and especially with their moms (or “mums” as they’re called here) during this pivotal season of their lives.

The EveryWoman Conference starts tomorrow night, so please pray for the 1,600+ ladies who’ll be traveling here from all over Australia – that the Lord would totally touch their lives, marriages, and families in incredibly deep, transforming ways!

Many thanks for listening to me gush and for lifting us up in prayer,
Shannon

I just returned from speaking at the Freshwind 2009 Conference in Alberta, Canada, and it’s safe to say I’ll be on an adrenaline rush for a while! What an amazing experience!

Imagine 500+ women of all ages, from all walks of life, gathered together with a common purpose: To get “Up Close” with God and with Others (the theme of the weekend). Some of the highlights were:

• Watching the international dance team “Epo” perform moves I didn’t know the human body was capable of!
• Being led in worship by Melanie Melo. If you haven’t heard of her yet, you will someday. She introduced us to a song called “More Than Ashes” by Merchant Band (available on iTunes), with a chorus that goes: “There’s gonna be a wedding – it’s the reason that I’m living – to marry the Lamb!” SO powerful!
• Watching as women reached out and ministered to one another in such tender ways during Saturday night’s altar call. I kept thinking, “Surely God is delighted… Surely Satan is NOT!”
• Discovering that the entire book table had completely sold out after the second speaking session! Praise God I didn’t have to lug any back to the U.S., and that every “seed” I took into Canada has been “planted!”
• Listening in amazement during the open-microphone Q&A time, where women unashamedly verbalized the kinds of questions about female sexuality that neither their mothers nor their churches had ever addressed. Hallelujah that “church ladies” and “good girls” are finally able to talk openly about God’s gift of S-E-X!
• Watching Canadians Carolyn Carleton & Deanna Sudom (two of my online B.L.A.S.T. participants) boldly seize the opportunity to share brief testimonies about how God is leading them to work toward becoming more effective writers & speakers. They both made this mama proud!
• Fellowshipping with the phenomenal leaders of P.A.O.C. (Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada) — FreshWind’s sponsoring organization. I’m so honored to have been invited, and look so forward to partnering in ministry with them again!

Quite honestly, I always feel like I receive so much more than I give when I speak. Women flock around expressing their gratitude for writing books and delivering messages that have touched them deeply, but they don’t realize that I’m just as deeply touched by the fact that they are willing to read those books, or sit and listen to me tell my stories about how God has rocked my world! It wouldn’t be very much fun telling those stories over and over to empty chairs.

So now I get to unpack my suitcase, do laundry, and prepare to head out again this weekend. Please pray for my daughter and I as we fly to Sydney, Australia for the EveryWoman 2009 Conference at Christian City Church of Oxford Falls!

Blessed and oh, so grateful that this is how I get to spend my time on earth!
Shannon

It’s Wednesday after my weekend in Oshawa, Ontario (Canada) at the “Beyond Beautiful” Conference, and my head is still spinning over the fact that I get to do this for a living.  Really.  I enjoy it so much, I feel as if I should be paying them to let me come!  I get to speak several times on my favorite topics – God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the ways I pinch myself every day over the incredible miracles they’ve done in my life & marriage.  Then I get to stand at a table and autograph my books for audience members, listening to any tidbit of their life that they take time to share.  And I get tons of hugs – not just “pat on the back” or “neck hugs,” but really tight ones, like sisters who haven’t seen each other in a long, long time and who may never see each other again this side of Heaven.  These hugs often make me cry, but I’ve come to accept the fact that “leaking” is just one of my spiritual gifts.  And then I get to board yet another airplane with Terrica, my events manager who travels with me, and share stories with each other about the amazing women we each had the chance to meet.  I get home exhausted, but overjoyed, like a marathon runner who just finished the race and is completely wiped out, but too high on adrenaline to rest just yet.

And after I crash and burn for a couple of days and laugh with my family about how giddy AND brain-dead I appear to be, I begin unpacking my suitcases.  That was last night.  And the three things that I unpacked from my Oshawa experience that made me cry all over again were:

• A stack of prayer request cards a mile high, with secrets scrawled on the back that some have never told a soul.  I’m so honored to have them “entrusted” to our awesome ministry prayer team of a dozen ladies, who will most certainly storm the gates of heaven with these petitions!
• The most stylish pair of black high heels you could imagine.  I sat next to a stunningly beautiful woman in the front row of the auditorium, and couldn’t help but notice them on her cute little feet.  When I complimented them, she responded, “They may be yours before the weekend is over.  They’re really too big for me.”  The next day, she gave them to me in a gift bag, which yes, made me cry, and they fit me perfectly.  Now I get to “walk in Wendy’s shoes.”  What a privilege.
• At the last session, the conference leadership team presented me with a gift that almost made me bawl like a baby, especially in light of its’ meaning.  The theme for the weekend was how we are called to be a “warrior bride,” submitting to Christ as a holy helpmate and embracing our feminine side, but also accepting our call to wage spiritual warfare against Satan’s schemes.  The speaker’s room was adorned with a beautiful bridal gown cascading across the floor, with a mighty sword laid across the hem of the garment.  When no one was there, I mustered the courage to pick up the sword and declare, “I’m going to slice you and dice you tonight, Satan!  I’m going to chop off your head… and scramble your guts… and castrate you!”  This wild display of fury was to remain a secret between me & Jesus.  But when the leadership team presented me with a REAL SWORD on stage to express their appreciation for what I’d shared all weekend, I confessed my actions, which elicited much laughter and many cheers (which sounded like a high-pitched “battle cry” coming from this group of 400 ladies).  Hopefully every woman present will continue fighting her own spiritual battles with her “sword of truth” – the Word of God.  Of course, getting that sword past the customs agents and on to the plane was quite the interesting experience in and of itself!  Thank you, Lord, for favor!  Now I’ve spend the last two days watching my 14-year old son sword-fight with imaginary demons in our back yard.  What a joy to pass on this spiritual heritage to him!

And I get to spend the rest of my life doing this – speaking about, writing about, and publicly proclaiming the good news of God’s grace, mercy, and lavish love!  Listening to, hugging, encouraging, and praying for others who are passionately pursuing a more intimate love affair with the Lord.  Dang.  I feel like the luckiest woman on the planet.

And tomorrow I get to pack my bags for yet another airplane ride – this time to Overland Park, Kansas with my husband to lead a marriage retreat.  I’ll be encountering a whole new set of strangers Friday afternoon that no doubt will become friends by Sunday, and I’ll come back with a new set of prayer requests to lift up to my Heavenly Father, and new memories to cherish in my heart.  Thank you, Lord God, for allowing me to serve you in this way!  It’s been a difficult road at times, but oh, how I’m enjoying the divine destinations!