Join us at Sharing the Journey!

April 4th, 5th, 2014

9:00 am - 4:30 pm

Hosted at Forest Grove Community Church www.forestgrovecommunitychurch.com

Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ! Restoring women by calling leaders, speakers, and women with a passion to serve! We invite you to come along with us on a faith adventure!

 

Registration | Speakers | Friday Schedule | Saturday Schedule

 

Registration

$40 Saturday Main Event (9:00am - 4:30pm)

$50 Friday Leaders/Speakers Intensive Workshop (9:00am - 4:30pm)

$80 for Both Friday & Saturday Events

Includes lunch and a binder with notes from all sessions! Speakers include our WJOF  recommended speakers from across Canada, plus members of our ministry team! The Saturday event is open to all women of faith who want to join us on the journey of restoration! We all have gifts to share, a destiny to discover and an adventure to embark on with Jesus. OurSharing the Journey seminar is designed to equip you in your call to take the next step on your journey of faith to make a greater impact in your home, church, community and world! (The optional Friday intensive seminar is in addition to ourSharing the Journey weekend, offering sessions for speaker development, testimony training and leadership development.) Limited registration for both events - we will post online when we have reached capacity and have closed the registration. *Tickets are also available at Scott's Parable in Saskatoon!

Speakers include:

Jodi Kozan Visit Website Read Bio >	Maureen Brown Visit Website Read Bio >	Wilna Van Beek Visit Website Read Bio >
Malynda Zacharias Visit Website Read Bio >	Donna Carter Visit Website Read Bio >	Donna Mitchell Visit Website Read Bio >
Lorie Hartshorn Visit Website Read Bio >	Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson Visit Website Read Bio >	Yvonne StGermaine Visit Website Read Bio >

If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. - 1 Peter 4:11

Schedule:

Friday, April 4th 2014 Intensive Speaker Seminar

8:30am	Registration & Coffee
9:00am	-Welcome: "The Call" - Jodi Kozan -WJOF Speaker Introductions -Speaking/Leading out of a Place of Rest -Putting Together Your Message: Panel discussion -Break
11:00am	-Mess/Message, Test/Testimony -Homiletics 101
12:30pm	Lunch
1:30pm	-Non-verbal communication -Rapport/Connecting With Your Audience -Vocal Variety -*Small Groups: 3-5 minute devotionals -Extending an Offer, Too Good to Refuse -Group feedback Q&A
4:30pm	Closing

 

Saturday, April 5th 2014 Sharing the Journey Seminar

8:30am	Registration; Coffee
9:00am	Welcome; Worship by the Faith Alive band
9:15am	Sharing the Journey- Meet the Speakers!
9:45am	Keynote: LOGOS...Restored to Flourish
10:20am	Break
10:45am	Breakout Session 1 -Jodi Kozan: Launching your Ministry Dream -Yvonne St Germaine: Reaching Out -Donna Carter: Beyond Facebook: Creating the 'Profile' of a True Friend -Laura Lynn: Publish His works! -Malynda Z: My Family, My First Ministry -Donna Mitchell: Discovering the Upside Down Elements of Kingdom Leadership
11:40am	Keynote address: Lorie Hartshorn
12:45pm	LUNCH (a lunch will be provided along with "Lunch & Learn" opportunities)
1:30pm	Breakout Session 2 -Donna Carter: Outreach Coaching -Maureen Brown: Life Coaching -Lorie Hartshorn: Leadership coaching #1 Way to Kill Your Leadership -Wilna Van Beek: Spiritual Disciplines- Abiding in the Vine -Malynda Zacharias: Tribal Stories - passing our faith to the next generation -Yvonne St. Germaine: TBA -TBA
2:30pm	Breakout Session 3 -Lorie Hartshorn: Life Giving Mentorship -Maureen Brown: Restoring Balance -Donna Mitchell: Isaiah 58 Following Jesus in a hurting World -Joyelle Gagnon: WJOF Faith Stories -Donna Mithchell: Reaching Post-Modern Ryan and Rachel -Lisa Braun: Compassion Child Sponsorship/Tours -Wilna Van Beek: Dressed for Success: Full armor of God -TBA
3:15pm	BREAK
3:30pm	Closing Keynote: Laura Lynn Tyler Thompson
4:30-5pm	Seminar Close

Loving One Another: A Journey Through 1 John 4:7-21

Loving One Another: A  Prayerful Journey Through 1 John 4: 7-21

 "Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love."

          Dear Heavenly Father, bring on the love...

"God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins."

 Thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins- Woo Hoo! What love, what sacrifice...

 "Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us."

   For many who profess Your name , we have a long way to go to truly walk this out fully in our homes, marriages, parenting, in ministries, at work, our own backyard, across the nations... Thank you for your patience God. You took care of the 'sin issue' at the cross Jesus, help us to walk out your grace in every way- every day. Help us to learn to BE the church not simply go to one!

"And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world. All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.  We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love."

 Jesus asked Peter, "Who do you say that I am"? (Mathew 16:15).  I know that you are real as I've hid Your word in my heart, and profoundly experienced Your presence in my life...Jesus is the Son of God! Bring on the testimonies!

"God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world."

Thank you God for teaching me what it means to be "in Christ". Profound! The challenge for us is to stay firmly in Him on our journey and not stray! Be my strength, be my guide!

"Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.  We love each other because he loved us first."

It's all about his love. God's radical, life transforming grace giving sacrificial love found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Incredible- Fear vs Faith? I choose Faith in JC! I've come to know that perfect love and continually come back to that 'first love' to guide me:)

 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?  And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters."  1 John 4:7-21 AMEN!  

Now this is where we are tested hey friends? This is where my heart beats to the sound of a my Heavenly Father's heartbeat for his children to walk in love, unity and honour. I ache for the church, the body of Christ to truly get into alignment and stop the ridiculous sibling rivalry game and behave, serve, radiate and impart God's love as the family of believers was created to be! Sure- we see pockets of beautiful unity all around, but I declare we were created for so much MORE!  As a non-denominational ministry to all women, that's one of our passions here at Women's Journey of Faith- One of our 'key principles' to restoration- our vision... It starts and ends in love Our God has given us the ministry of Reconciliation!

  This Valentine's, let's put more focus on the love of God and HIS perfect unfailing love. Romantic love is lovely, but God's redeeming life giving love is relentless.  We all need to get over ourselves and  confess our pride in order to fill and refill ourselves up with Christ's abounding love-truth and grace. Then, only then- can we love others as He first loved us.

Jodi Kozan is the founder, President of Women's Journey of Faith. She is the momma to four daughters, married to Tim since 1990 and has been leading WJOF since it's inception in 1999.  Passionate about their vision "The Restoration of Women", she has come to know deeply that restoration begins in the heart, extends to the family which seeks to infiltrate the world! To express this passion, she enjoys how the ministry has expanded in various forms over the years to include our annual conference (This year's "Flourish" event is Nov 7-8) and our spring Sharing the Journey seminar is coming up on April 4-5 in Saskatoon, SK Canada. Visit our website to learn more about WJOF and other awesome opportunities to engage like our tour to Israel in March 2015, reading women's faith stories and other aspects of encouragement for your journey:)  To read more about Jodi's story, her testimony and speaking topics, visit her blog "Jodi's Journey" or on her personal website.

TW101 Week 5 "Battle of the Sexes"

"It may seem like the battle of the sexes has escalated over the past few decades, but conflict between men and women goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. After completing week five in True Woman 101, watch this twenty-minute conversation between authors Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Mary Kassian, and their friends as they delve into the battle of the sexes in our homes and lives and point us to the One who can reconcile those relationships." TW101 




Key Verses: Genesis 3:11-13, Genesis 3:14-15, Psalm 130:7-8, Genesis 3:16-17, Revelation 21:4,  Genesis 3:17-19, Romans 3:10-18, Isaiah 45:10-12, Genesis 3:20-23,

A note from Jodi: "This chapter sheds so much light on why we are facing the dysfunction between men and women throughout the nations. Sure there have been healthy strides in some arenas, but we are far from what Jesus died on the cross for. He came to give us life and to the full. Unless men and women lay down their pride and come together as one with Christ and each other, we are going to continue to feel sins sting and painful aftermath of the consequences. When we looked at chapters 1-4 on the original intent of gender and why God created men MEN and why He created women WOMEN and how sin destroys our call to be "one", the battle of the sexes is inevitable. Looking at Genesis 1:27 again and knowing we were BOTH created to bear God's glory, character and image is a call worth answering. Where there was complete unity, beautiful harmony and mutuality, Adam and Eve had dominion over the earth. When sin entered the garden and into their hearts, dominion turned into domination and manipulation. Whether this concept is new to you or not, I encourage you to watch the videos, look up the key verses highlighted in this study and search out truth for yourself on this transformational teaching.  To get more out of this, we suggest going through this 8 week study by purchasing Mary Kassian and Nancy Leigh DeMoss's workbook (and discussing with a group, pastor or prayer partner) is key.  WJOF is all about "The Restoration of Women", and studies like this help us wrestle with concepts, ache for healing and pray for revival in our midst. This year at our 14th annual conference, Mary Kassian is our keynote speaker (Author of "Girls Gone Wise") will be joining us of at our Wisdom conference!  Our theme is from Ephesians 5:15 "Be very careful then how you live, not as unwise but as wise." We are on a journey towards wisdom in all areas of restoration, including our call to be the women he created us to be! Will you stand with us?"

Highlights from this week's study:

• United We Fall: The entire human race fell through Adam's sin, but in Christ, the "Last Adam," there is plentiful redemption
• Gender Bender: Sin affects us sex-specifically, It messes up manhood, womanhood, and male-female relationships.
• Right Where it Hurts: Sin causes pain. It damages woman's inherent softness and also damages man's inherent strength.
• A Tragic Her-Story: Women suffer pain at the hands of men, but men aren't the real enemy- sin is.
• Women's Lib: The women's movement fought for change, but failed to take God's design or His solution into account.

Visit the TW101 website for other resources like videos related to this week's study "Sin Causes the 

Pain", "Submission and the Gospel", and "The Culture's View on Men"

***What do you think? Love to engage with you on the discussion q's from this week's focus or hear your thoughts on this topic: "The Battle of the Sexes". Connect with us on Facebook or comment on this blog below!

TW101 Week 3 "Sugar and Spice"

 "What does it mean to be a woman? The current cultural ideal for womanhood encourages women to be strident, overly sexual, self-centred,  extremely independent (or Codependent) -- but above all -- powerful and in control. Sadly, this model of womanhood hasn't delivered the happiness and fulfillment it promised. The Bible teaches that it's not up to us to decide what womanhood is all about. God created male and female for a very specific purpose. His design isn't arbitrary or unimportant. It is very intentional and He wants women to discover, embrace, and delight in the beauty of His design." 

-Moody Publishers

     Being the mom of four daughters has heightened my awareness of the upside and downside of female thinking and behaviour. Yes, there is a lot of estrogen in the Kozan home, but my husband has learned to navigate and lead well amidst it all. Not without our share of trials and drama, but does anything eternally worthwhile ever come without challenges? :)

     Celebrating my daughter's High School graduation recently brings this mother to another level of reflection on my faith journey. Have I taught her to seek out and follow truth? Do I model biblical womanhood to Jess and her sisters on a consistent basis? Going through this study, the Spirit of the living God reminds me of times where I did impart God's Word through mentoring, mothering and modelling the principles. At the same time, I am gently reminded of those times where I didn't and my heart breaks for the lies I bought into of a counterfeit restoration!  Some of which were lies I inadvertently bought into through media and cultural influences where I aligned and defined myself throughout my formative years. Ideologies rooted in the "Wonder Woman" mindset of the 70's-80's, I was swept up into a whirlind of deception which carried over into my marriage, parenting and identity without realizing it at the time.  (We will look at that later on in week 6 "Hear me Roar") I cannot erase time or mistakes I've made as a wife, a mother, a woman... but I can receive God's restoring grace to redeem those times of waywardness.  Although I had a radical transformation with giving my life fully to Christ in 1996 receiving such grace, I have been unfolding His truth and life each passing day since.

             Restoration begins in the heart, extends to the family and seeks to infiltrate the world! 

     I believe Tim and I have been given the gift of raising confident daughters, yet God asks us to parent them to be soft in their strength.  We pray that they know their true strength lies with their identity in Christ and God's plan for them  rather than the worlds view on their identity.  Deep down inside, we ache to be loved, accepted, secure and significant and ultimately to make a difference. My girls are no exception as they too want to be world changers!  I remind them often- it is not through "Girl Power", but through the power of God at work within:

"May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." Ephesians 3:19

   How about you? Do you ache to see God's Kingdom come and His will be done?  As the Founder of Women's Journey of Faith and in leadership since 1999, my involvement has catapulted my interest in learning more about why God created us as women over the years.  This study has grabbed my heart like no other because of it's foundational teaching, hence calling it "True Woman 101"... Brilliant Mary and Nancy! (Co-authors of this study) Hats off to them and Moody Publishers for putting together a fantastic study that is so needed in our ever changing, fast paced, love starved, media frenzied, celebrity chasing world. One that more often than not seeks to confuse, distract and lure us all to distort gender and God's "divine Design" through oppression, neutralization or seeking an extremist feminist agenda like no other time in history.

“Sugar and spice and everything nice, that’s what little girls are made of.” The message of this nursery rhyme is one that many women today would rather not embrace. After completing week three in your True Woman 101 book, watch this twenty-minute conversation between authors Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Mary Kassian, and their friends as they discuss how our culture has changed the idea of womanhood and then point us to core qualities of a true woman of God."- TW101  
TrueWoman 101 - Week 3 Table Talk from TrueWoman 101 on Vimeo.
Chapter 3 Focus verses: 1 Peter 4:7, Genesis 2:18-20, 1 Corinthians 11:8-9, Psalm 42:1-2, Genesis 2:22-23, Genesis 3:20, 1 Peter 3-4, 2 Timothy 3:6-7, Titus 2:4-5, 1 Timothy 5:14, Proverbs 31:27, Genesis 2:18, 

On page 84 of the TW101 workbook, Mary and Nancy confirm four core strengths and attributes of women as a whole: 

• Softness
• Having a welcoming responsive spirit
• Forming deep relational bonds
• Creating a place to beget and nurture life.

Gender Matters. True we are imperfect creatures living in a fallen world, but Jesus came to restore all that was lost in the fall of mankind! This includes restoring women to our original intent and empowering us with the Spirit of God to make it possible to live out those strengths and influence rightly in a world aching for answers.

Do you agree? Check out the discussion guide below and visit TW101 website for other helpful videos on this topic including "Softness and Strength",  "Bent Towards Relationships", and the "Challenges of Womanhood"  We'd love to hear from you on any of the points in this study. What does it mean to be a woman? As we open God's word together, we will all be blown away by His divine design:)

TW101 Week 2 "Snips and Snails"

     Week 1 proved to set the tone for this WJOF Summer Study adventure through God's word, and we pray you are all excited to venture with us in reviewing "Divine Design, an 8 week study on Biblical Womanhood!" Simple, yet profound foundational truths we are diving into this year as we gear up for the "Wisdom" conference November 1-2 at TCU Place Saskatoon, SK with keynote speaker Mary Kassian (one of the co-authors of this study)...
   
     This week's focus is on men.  Depending on the woman, you may be saying... "ahhh... what does a chapter on MEN have to do with ME?" or some may be curious, excited to study further... Wherever you are at, I pray you are open to God speaking to you through this focus before we journey further into other chapters.

     Pastor John Piper is quoted as saying: "The depreciation of male and female personhood is a great loss. It is taking a tremendous toll on generations of young men and women who do not know what it means to be a man or a woman." Our vision is the Restoration of Women here at WJOF and we know that the restoration of both genders go hand in hand and it is crucial we know what Jesus came to restore men to...

   One of my favourite photos and summertime memories is when my husband Tim and I went ziptrecking in the mountains of Whistler B.C.  He always encourages me to go out of my comfort zone when on holidays or at conferences and I am so glad he does!  I am a "strong woman", yet he cares for my safety and protection and I like having him take the lead in many instances (including going first down the zip line!) With our helmets in place and our gear all strapped on, I felt safe and secure as we rode the lines together with our crew. Reminds me of the security we have in Christ when we follow His design for protection and provision. Tim and I are both created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), we both have unique gifts as husband and wife, man and woman- and yet there are distinct differences and strengths/ weaknesses we "bring to the table." I know deeply that women and men are pretty confused with their roles and relationships, churches and marriages are suffering as a result across the nations. Jesus came to restore us all spiritually, emotionally, relationally and physically...  As I journey along in my imperfections yet seeking to live by faith, I see God restoring me and my husband as we seek His will for our relationship and not our own selfish independent ways...

"But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand." Isaiah 64:8

      Not only is this week's lesson helpful for marriage relationships, but also for the way we engage in other relationships as father/daughter, sister/brother, pastors/friends/coworkers...  Why all the pain in the world? Men (or women) are NOT our enemy... Satan is our enemy and he wants to destroy God's plans for restoration and is working overtime doing just that in our world. The more we realize that ALL have sinned and that we've ALL fall short of the glory of God the better. Sadly, there is so much discord in male/ female relationships, we tend to play the blame game. We blame God, we blame each other and then the true enemy of our souls has us just where he wants us... (more on that in upcoming lessons "Snake in my Garden and Battle of the Sexes",... I appreciate this week's teaching- I pray you do to! It's balanced and filled with God's transformational truth to help us understand more fully why God made men- Men! That way, we can pray, encourage, (have boundaries when needed) and trust Christ to do the restoration work in their lives as we too find grace for the journey!

"We know little boys aren’t really made of “snips and snails and puppy dog tails,” but what are guys really made of? After completing week two in your True Woman 101 book, watch this twenty-minute conversation between authors Nancy Leigh De Moss, Mary Kassian, and their friends as they discuss that if we want to understand what God has in mind for us as women, we need to first take a look at what He has in mind for men." -True Woman 101 

Here is Mary and Nancy on their "Table Talk" with their crew as they discuss this lesson: "Snips and Snails"- Enjoy:)

Key verses in this week's study: Genesis 2:7-8, Isaiah 64:8, Psalm 139:14-16, Genesis 2:15, Ephesians 5:28-29, Genesis 2:16-17, Genesis 2:20-22, 1 Corinthians 11:8-10,  Ephesians 5:23-25, Mark 10:42-45,

Here's a link to the Discussion questions from Week 2 on Snips and Snails! You can use this as a place to ponder the concepts in the study if you are simply watching the video solo this summer or going deeper in this study with the workbook! 

Here is yet another fabulous teaching from Mary Kassian, our keynote speaker for Wisdom who talks about the "Genesis of Gender" from a previous conference:


*What do you think? Do you think God's design for men benefits or harms women? Where are you seeing the dire need for men to "man up" in your world? As we know we can't change people, only God can! But what then is our role as we seek God's heart for restoring men? We'd love to hear from you!

"God created men to image the relationship of Christ to the church and this has significant implications for male-female relationships." -TW101