- CH Women's Events

- Encourage Corner

- Special Thanks

- New From Shannon

- Upcoming Events

- Testimonies

- Books For Zimbabwe

- Prayer Update

Issue 24 - September 2007
Greetings From
Shannon Ethridge Ministries!

Only DAYS left to register for our Completely His Women’s Event
Dallas, TX – October 12-13, 2007 - Crowne Plaza Hotel, Galleria
Registration Deadline: October 8, 2007

Are you looking for a unique women’s retreat? One that will provide an extraordinary experience for women of all ages? One that will drive home the encouraging principles presented in the Loving Jesus Without Limits series about how we can fully embrace our role as the beloved bride of Christ?

Consider attending our Completely His Women’s Event so that you can experience the joy of committing your “bridal love” to Jesus Christ, your heavenly Bridegroom. Because a bride doesn’t feel like a bride until she walks down the aisle wearing white, this event resembles a wedding ceremony in many ways… a wedding unlike any other you’ve ever attended… a wedding that will provide a sweet foretaste of the great wedding supper of the Lamb that is yet to come someday!

Other Completely His Women’s Event Host Churches
Using our newly released Completely His DVDs and ancillary products, churches everywhere can host their own Completely His Women’s Event! Or, if you’d like to consider hosting an event at your own church, go to www.shannonethridge.com to download more information on how you can do just that!

Grove City , Ohio – October 14, 2007 - Grove City First Church of the Nazarene, 4770 Hoover Road. Contact Carrie Wisehart at carrielane@yahoo.com for more information about how you can attend this event as well!

Blue Springs , Mississippi – November 10, 2007 – Blue Springs Baptist Church, 1053 CR 198. Contact Melinda Hill at hilldouglas4@aol.com for more information.

Encouragement Corner - “Redefining Sexual Purity”
We often hear that Christians should remain sexually pure until marriage, but what about sexual purity within marriage? As a result of the True Love Waits movement and various other teachings, we usually associate “purity” with “abstinence.” Does this mean that a married, sexually-active man or woman is no longer pure? Absolutely not. According to Hebrews 13:4 (NIV), “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure…” (emphasis mine). Perhaps it’s simply time to redefine purity, broadening its definition to include all that God intends for our marriage beds.

I believe God designed sex within marriage to be the avenue through which we experience two very important things—physical pleasure and genuine intimacy. Marriage is the ordained relationship where men and women can be vulnerable with one another about their own unique needs and desires, and find unconditional acceptance at the same time. Purity in marriage, therefore, consists of two people who live an open-book life with one another, both physically and spiritually. No secret sins to mask. Nothing to hide from one another. Nothing to fear. It’s the ultimate “you show me yours, and I’ll show you mine” experience, involving complete trust and vulnerability.

If you desire for your marriage bed to be exciting and fulfilling, yet pure at the same time, begin by getting spiritually naked. How? Try these three ways…

• Personal Reconciliation . If there are wounds between the two of you, talk those things through, working toward forgiveness rather than letting issues pile up. Such issues can become walls that separate you, but through open communication and reconciliation they can become bridges that reconnect you as a couple.
  
  
• Prayer. Begin your lovemaking by praying together and inviting God into your bedroom. Don’t pray at your spouse, hurling vertical pleas for God to change your partner. Rather, pray with your spouse, exhibiting acceptance and unconditional love through the words you choose.
  
  
• Private Worship . Play your favorite worship CD in the privacy of your bedroom and bask in the presence of God together. As your spirits draw closer to one another, allow your bodies to do the same. View sex not as a worldly act, but as a sacred act of worship of the God who gave us such a beautiful way of expressing our love and commitment to one another in marriage.

Sharing a strong sexual and spiritual connection stirs the soul of both men and women like nothing else we’ll ever experience on this side of Heaven. After all, isn’t that what God intended for husbands and wives from the beginning? For us to live pure, uninhibited, open-book lives – both with one another and with Him?

For more encouraging ways to foster intimacy and discover
fulfillment in your relationship with your spouse, consider reading
Every Woman’s Marriage: Igniting the Joy and Passion You Both Desire

Special Thanks

• All of the individuals, churches, and businesses that helped support the BEST SEX Youth Conference at Van Jr. High on September 15. With 123 teens attending from all around the east Texas area, we couldn’t have done it without your help!
• Hillside Community Church for hosting an amazing Mother/Daughter “Passion and Purity” Conference! What a delight to speak into the lives of such beautiful women!

Now Available - The Loving Jesus Without Limits Series
The Loving Jesus Without Limits Series: Helping Women Embrace Their Role as the Bride of Christ! Click here to watch an 8-minute video message from Shannon explaining how and why this series was created and what it can do for you!

Mark Your Calendars - Shannon Is Coming To...
Garden Valley, TX – October 5, 2007 – Shannon speaks to youth pastors and volunteer youth leaders at Teen Mania’s 2007 Emerging Leaders’ Summit. For more information, contact Jodi Dickens at jodi.dickens@teenmania.org.

Dallas, Texas – October 12-13, 2007 – You, your friends, and your ladies’ church group are invited to attend our first Completely His Women’s Event, held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, near the Galleria Mall. For registration information, go to www.shannonethridge.com/completelyhis.shtml.

John Maxwell / INJOY’s THRiVE! Women’s Conference – November 3, 2007 – offered via satellite at churches across the nation! If you’re in the Fayetteville, NC area, please join us LIVE at Northwood Temple, 4250 Ramsey Street.

Atlanta, GA – January 3-5, 2008 – Shannon speaks multiple times at the Church of Christ’s National Conference for Youth Ministries. For more information, contact Melissa Kitchens at mkitchens@cablelynx.com.

Collierville, TN – February 1-2, 2008 – Women’s Retreat for Central Church of Collierville. Contact Carol Anderson for more information at carolanderson@centralchurch.com.

Tyler, TX – February 29 – March 2, 2008 – Completely His Women’s Event at Pine Cove Christian Camp, Tyler, TX. More information to come soon!

Langley, British Columbia – March 10-11, 2008 – Shannon addresses the student body of Trinity Western University at their chapel services.

Waterloo, Ontario, Canada – May 2-3, 2008 – Girls’ Heart Point Ministry Conference at the University of Waterloo, 7-10 p.m. Friday, 9 am – 4 pm Saturday. For more information, contact Mike Mitchell at ghp@girlsheartpoint.ca

Colorado Springs, CO – May 16-18, 2008 - Join Shannon and husband, Greg, for their “Taking Your Marriage Over the Top” conference at the magnificent Gleneyrie Conference Center. For more information, contact Hannah Larson at hannah.larson@navigators.com.

Big Bear, CA – May 30 – June 1, 2008 - Shannon will be speaking at a Ladies’ Retreat at Pine Summit Christian Conference Center for the Church at Rocky Peak Women’s Group. For more information visit www.rockypeak.org.

“Land Down Under” Speaking Tour – August 1 – 15, 2008 - Shannon and family will be touring the Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast area on a mission to impact Australian teens and adults! If you are interested in having her speak at your church or school, please contact John & Judy Bradford at jjbradford@westnet.com.au.

Testimonies Of Praise
“I just read Every Young Woman's Battle. I didn't realize being pure meant so much more than just not being a skank. It's everything we do, everything we wear, everything we say and think. It's EVERYTHING. Everything I do and say can get a guy excited. Why do that unless he's my husband? Why rob him of that? This book made me weep when I realized just how much God is in love with me. He doesn't just love me like a daughter, a friend etc. But he loves me like his bride. That is pretty much what I have been craving for as long as I can remember - someone to love me for who I am. I have always wanted to be someone's. To be owned by someone, not really like a toy but to be the focus of someone. It sounds so selfish but I now know that every single girl experiences this same desire. Oh my goodness, emotional craving hurts. When I realized that God was IN LOVE WITH ME, I started to weep. He doesn't just love me like a daughter. He doesn't just love me. But he is IN LOVE with me. IN love. This just changed everything.” - P.

“I am 29 and a mother of a 10-year old. We are currently reading Preparing Your Daughter for Every Young Woman’s Battle and I really love it! It’s been a great conversation (and confession) starter. It has helped me deal with my past sexual abuse, giving me understanding of the things I was still bringing into my relationship with my husband. I feel like I’ve been freed and empowered. I have the tools to guide my daughter and other young women. I recently heard your testimony on Family Life Today and I appreciate the honesty with which you talk about your past. It reminds me of how God restores our lives so that we can glorify Him and at the same time help restore other lives. I am praying that God shows me how to use my experiences to build others up the way you have.” - R.M.

"Books For Zimbabwe" Program Update - Only 3 Months Left!

We continue to experience a tremendous burden for the youth of Zimbabwe after our two-week mission trip this past September. At the invitation of Youth for Christ, we traveled to 16 different high schools, churches, and orphanages and spoke to over 6,000 teen girls and boys. Many approached with tears in their eyes saying, “Both my parents have already died of AIDS, and I assumed my life would end the same way. But you gave me hope that I can choose not to get this disease by saving sex for marriage!” (for our complete update, click here).

Unfortunately, we were only able to get 120 books into the country, but we hope to send hundreds or even thousands more in the coming year. Thanks to the generosity of those who’ve responded to our “matching funds” offer, yet another small shipment of books is already on its way, but would you please pray about helping us send more soon? We will continue to match your donations dollar-for-dollar throughout 2007. Please click here to donate online.

How Can We Pray For You?
We are so blessed to have a group of prayer warriors who read every request submitted and personally respond via email to those seeking the Lord’s guidance for their unique situations. If you have a prayer request we can lift to God on your behalf, please let us know by clicking here.

You can also click here to post prayer requests or connect with other readers on the Every Woman’s Battle Message Board.

We appreciate your prayers and encouraging support
for the staff and volunteers of Shannon Ethridge Ministries!