In This Issue:
- What Comes First? The Praise or the Blessing?
- Tabletop Discussion August 23rd
- God at Work on Campus!
- Who Will Reach Them?
- Nurse Groups -- Safe Spaces, Honest Conversations
- Add NCF to Your Resume
- Prayer Opportunities
- Access Your Great Member Benefits
What Comes First? The Praise or the Blessing?
Karen Schmidt, BA, RN • Contributing Editor, JCN
This summer, the typically green and flourishing Pacific Northwest is progressively drier and dustier. Brown, burned leaves droop from flowering plants after a sizzling heat wave. Trees are already dropping yellow withered leaves. And it’s not just the landscape that’s shriveled.
Dryness has brittled and dehydrated my spirit, too. Prayer and worship are kind of parched. “God, what is wrong with me?”
Gratefully, the Psalms are an oasis of cool springs for dehydrated souls. Psalm 65’s word pictures promise blessings, satisfaction, joy. And this psalm asks me: Is this joy--a rejoicing spirit and willingness to praise God--the result of appreciating what he’s showering down on creation and on his people? Or is my willingness to praise God despite a wilted spirit what produces the downpour of his goodness.
In this dry season of summer and my soul, these verses from Psalm 65 have tutored me:
The pastures of the wilderness drip,
And the hills gird themselves with rejoicing.
The meadows are clothed with flocks,
And the valleys are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, yes, they sing.
God’s generosity and lovingkindness toward us is never dessicated or sparse. That’s the very reason for praising him and singing with joy. Our praise should precede his blessings as well as emerge in response to him.
Tabletop Discussion August 23rd
What great news to know the Father cares about us in every season of life -- during the good, the bad, and the ugly times. He understands and knows what we’re thinking and feeling. He’s the keeper of our souls. In this Tabletop Discussion, When the Journey Is Too Much For You, we’ll discuss places of pain and how to sustain our souls in healthy ways. Our key Scriptures will be Psalm 121:7 and Psalm 73:24-28. Objectives are to:
- Identify places of pain in our lives that may be hidden.
- Develop a greater understanding of God's care in weariness.
- Increase openness and honesty before God.
- Apply Scripture to places of pain.
- Determine when to ask for accompaniment on the journey.
Join the community on Monday, August 23 at 8 pm Eastern / 7 pm Central / 6 pm Mountain / 5 pm Pacific for this important conversation. Register here. NOTE: No NCPD (CE) will be offered.
God at Work on Campus!
Katharine Provost, BS, MA • NCF National Campus Staff Minister
I love connecting with NCF student and faculty leaders around the country and asking them, “Tell me your story” or “How have you seen God at work on your campus?” Two stories are never alike and the stories never get old. But sometimes I hear a story like Celine’s. She told me how she’d been using Instagram to double her chapter and said that sometimes she didn’t know where people heard about NCF.
One day after a class, another student she’d never met asked her how he could learn more about Jesus. After a short conversation, she invited him to the next NCF Zoom meeting. Not only did he come and ask plenty of questions, he continued attending meetings regularly for the last two months of school! It was amazing to celebrate with Celine, pray with her that God continues to grow her chapter, and resource her to reach new students this fall.
We pray that the fall is full of stories like this: times where we can clearly see the Holy Spirit has been at work ahead of us and we’re grateful to be part of what God is doing on campuses, as Ephesians 3:20 describes: “immeasurably more than we can hope or imagine.” New Student Outreach is a critical time to reach students, when they’re hungry for community before school ramps up. We’re ready with posters, invites, and swag as well as food and fun. But it’s all empty without the movement of God that draws people to Him. Pray with us that God uses New Student Outreach materials and NCF leaders to touch many in ways beyond what we can imagine. To God be the glory!
Who Will Reach Them?
This month, an estimated 400,000 plus new nursing students will enter nursing school. Imagine the impact of influencing these future nurses to know and follow Jesus? You can help reach nursing students! How? Pray for Spirit-led and empowered campus outreach. Then give special and ongoing financial gifts for NCF Student Ministry.
How will your gift be used?
- Prepare and fund new NCF Campus Staff Ministers.
- Sponsor Student Chapters to receive NCF memberships and resources for their leadership teams.
- Pay for NCF In A Bag -- a ministry tool kit for chapter outreach on campus.
- Develop additional Bible Studies, coaching and mentoring resources.
Nurse Groups -- Safe Spaces, Honest Conversations
Christy Secor, DNP, RN, CDWF • NCF Professional Ministries Director
How do NCF’s professional nurse groups get started? Each group’s story is unique. Sometimes it begins with seeing a need among nurses in your workplace. Sometimes it’s a sense of wanting to give back to the profession and support nurses. Each of our groups recognizes the value of connection. Our professional nurse groups are safe places where nurses can have honest conversations about the challenges they face, personally and professionally.
One nurse group leader recently shared how the members of her group are connecting as family. Personal prayer needs are regularly circulated by email. Relationships are being built with nursing students and with nurses enrolled as grad students. Life change is taking place.
NCF is unique in deepening the faith and relationships of nursing students and nurses alike. As a professional nursing organization, we serve students, educators, and nurses throughout their professional careers and into retirement.
Now is a great time to join one of our 40+ professional nurse groups meeting across the country -- some in person and others virtually. Find a group or learn more about starting a group. Reach out to ncf@intervarsity.org to let us know how we can connect and support you.
Add NCF to Your Resume
Don’t forget to put Nurses Christian Fellowship on your resume or faculty listing for your school. You can help share our professional and ministry organization with others. Do you have NCF at your nursing school? Be sure to list NCF as a student group on your campus!
Prayer Opportunities
NCF offers many opportunities to join together in fellowship and prayer. Check out these possibilities below:
Access Your Great Member Benefits
Quickly access all of your member benefits through the Member Benefits Page, such as instant access to Journal of Christian Nursing online, past Journal Clubs with NCPD, and more. You’ll need your member number or the email you used to sign up for membership to get into the individual membership pages.
