From Pastor Lynette:

Connie Maxwell has been part of our N3C Family for many years. She was an active part of ministry in our church. Connie has a beautiful way of loving on God’s women and telling the truth with power. She now lives in Ohio with her family and we will all be looking forward to seeing her in November at Arise.

ARISE AND BE CONNECTED

There was a time in my life when I really disliked women. I had a few friends that I would hang out with from time to time, but I never let them into my life more than just the surface. I had tall, thick walls built around my heart from many years of hurt and disappointment by so-called “friends,” and I wasn’t going to allow anyone to hurt me again.

Shortly after we started attending Northern Colorado Cowboy church, they announced that there was going to be a women’s conference in Houston that the ladies of our church that had been invited. I decided I wanted to go, but I was anxious about spending the weekend with women that I didn’t know. My walls were still up and I was the new girl, so I figured I’d be on the outside looking in the whole weekend.

PRAISE GOD, I WAS WRONG.

Throughout the weekend, the women of N3C took me under their wings and made sure I felt like part of the group. By Sunday, I had met all of the women at the conference that were from our church and several from the other churches that attended. All of them were gracious, kind, and loving.

A FEW BRICKS HAD BEEN REMOVED FROM MY WALLS.

Over the next several years, I returned to the Houston conference with the women from N3C, and I also went to the soaking retreats that were held in Allen’s Park. Pastor Lynette started a women’s group, “Pro 31,” and I went to that as well. The more I got to know these women, the more my walls crumbled; and the more my walls crumbled, the more I experienced God.

Today, I count many of these women among my best friends. We have laughed and cried together, celebrated and grieved together, and shared meals and life together. They have shown me who Jesus is through their love and grace for me. I moved away from Colorado in 2017, and I miss these beautiful women more than I miss anything else.

Arise is a time for us to separate ourselves from the world so that we can see God clearly. We will see the beauty of His creation not only in the mountains around us, but in our sisters beside us. I pray for those of you who are hesitant or afraid because you’ve been hurt in the past and have walls around your heart. I pray that you will be bold and Arise into the connections that God is offering you. I pray that your walls will fall so that you can experience God on a deeper level and that you will connect with women in a new way. Will you be bold? Will you come to Arise and be connected?

I PROMISE, YOU WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.