Tested by Fire

Kelley Latta, Heather Budwell, and Juliet Sharrow

 

Tonight I had the best night! It was a God night. Ever have one of those? A time when you know without a shadow of a doubt that God ordained every detail of the event? Well, my God moment started a few months ago when I received a message via Facebook from an old high school friend whom I haven’t seen in over twenty years. I attended high school in Pennsylvania and haven’t returned since graduating in 1991. Thanks to social media I have had the opportunity to re-connect with several people from the past that I have not had the opportunity to see in many, many years.

My girlfriend, Juliet Sharrow, messaged me and excitedly informed me that she and her friend would be traveling to Saint Louis this summer to attend a conference downtown and wanted to know if I lived close enough to the city to have a reunion. I was ecstatic to think of seeing my friend again and yet fearful at the same time that it probably wouldn’t work out due to the busyness of life and schedules not coordinating and…well…kids! The months passed, the day arrived, and the schedules coordinated; the husband arrived home on time from work to watch the kids, and the reunion commenced! It was a wonderful evening of indulging on delicious gourmet tapas, fine wine and great conversation.

My girlfriend and her friend were in town attending the International Christian Retail Show. Juliet’s friend, Kelley Latta, is a dynamic Christian speaker, author and motivator to women all over the world (thanks to the Internet). I never knew Kelley during high school because she is from New Hampshire, but I did know her husband, Steve, and felt an instant connection to her as soon as I met her.

After sharing the stories of our lives and families, I realized they would make a great team to interview for RUBY! Here is what I discovered about their ministry and want to share with you.

Juliet Sharrow and Kelley Latta

 

Tell me about yourself, Kelley, and your ministry.

• I live in Hanover, PA, with my husband, Steve, and our two teenage sons. My husband owns the local Ford dealership, and I was a stay-at-home soccer mom until I followed the Lord into ministry. I grew up in a Christian home and asked Jesus to be my Savior around the age of six. I had a very loving family who loved the Lord and each other, but I grew up frustrated in my Christianity, wondering why I didn’t experience any of the promises I heard about in God’s Word. After my husband and I had our first child, I was participating in a small group Bible study where God posed a question through the author, “Do you love Jesus?” I started to answer, “Yes,” without even thinking. I knew the right answer: of course! But at that moment the conviction of the Holy Spirit fell over me, and I saw what He saw. I didn’t love Him. I had been a pretender, living a lie. Through my entire life, I had not really known the Lord at all. I had Him in my head, but not in my heart. I could recite many bible verses, had the best church answer to any question, could hold my own in a religious debate, but I had never really encountered the Son of God. With a trembling hand, I confessed to the Lord, “No, I do not love you…but I want to.” Then I discovered the truth of John 5:39-40: “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”

As I pursued Jesus through His Word, Scripture began to come alive, and I began to change. I finally experienced the promises of Scripture coming forth in my life, and God began to stir a passion in my heart for His church. I remember returning to church and looking at the all people in the pews around me, and my heart broke for them to the point of tears thinking that they may be in the same boat I had been. Were they, too, missing the most precious relationship created because they were striving so hard to participate in religion? Were they as lost as I had been? I had been guilty of Matthew 15:8, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me,” and I was fearful they were living the same way. It is my passion to encourage people to press in for God’s best. Don’t settle for allowing Jesus to remain a distant God who deserves worship, but is not known. Knowing Him is EVERYTHING.

• How did your ministry develop?

My family attends Hanover First Church of God where my husband and I are both in leadership roles. I began by leading a Bible study in my home, and then I started helping out in women’s ministry. Soon I was teaching a ladies’ Sunday school class and speaking at some retreats and events. Through a God appointment, I was asked to speak at a new Christian woman’s conference in Florida. I had written a Bible study for our woman’s ministry team to go through together that was intended to deepen our faith individually and as a team and lead us into God’s plan. I felt God leading me to print the study to take to the conference to offer the attendees as a follow-up to what they learned that would keep them in the Word. That is where my book, Tested by Fire, was first released. It was God ordained and appointed. It was not my intention for this Bible study to go beyond our ministry team, but God had other plans.

• What is your vision for the future of your ministry?

God has proven to go beyond our wildest dreams with this ministry. At this point, we are self-published. I guess the next step is to see if it is God’s will for the book to be picked up by a publisher. That is one of the main reasons we have traveled to Saint Louis to this convention. We are getting great exposure to many publishers and distributors. The feedback from our booth and book has been fantastic. We are just waiting on the Lord for our next step.

• What is your role in the ministry, Juliet?

My role is to be Kelley’s right-hand woman and her traveling companion. I attend all her speaking engagements and help set up the booth, sell books, help with the ministry blog, bookkeep, and set speaking appointments. We are a great team. I have a story of God’s grace and redemption over my life as well and God has opened the doors for me to share my story at a woman’s conference where Kelley was speaking this past year. I know this is God’s plan for my life, and I look forward to seeing where He is taking us and the lives that will be changed for His glory though this ministry.

• How can we learn more about your ministry?

You can visit our website  Kelley Latta Ministries for information on speaking topics and events. There you can also receive weekly encouragement from my teaching blog, Kelley’s Word on Wednesday, or purchase the Bible study, Tested by Fire, and our prayer journal/devotional book, Conversations with God, from our on-line store. You can also enter your email address to receive updates directly from our ministry. We will soon be launching a free online Bible study of Tested by Fire, and you can register to participate there as well. We believe God is calling us to bring His people back to Him. It is our prayer that you all would join us in this calling though participating in the Bible study and joining us in prayer.

 

Heather Budwell

Missing Dad on Mother's Day

Being Mother's Day, I was given autonomous control over the day's schedule.  Sweeet!  When my girls were both under the age of two, I dreamt of an ideal Mother's Day lying in bed for the entirety of the day.  If I needed anything to eat or drink, I would simply ring a bedside bell.  If a need to visit the ladies room was calling, I thought a bedpan, ideally, might just do the trick.  Rest, rest, and more rest was what I yearned for.  No, this dream never came to fruition.
Today with my girls being five and seven, more independent, rest is no longer a priority.  Thus, my family and I began the day with church this Sunday morning in an attempt to serve others by assisting with the passing out of carnations and RUBY Magazines to the ladies of the congregation.  Able to squeeze on several of the women blessings in attendance today, I was a happy camper.
From there, we headed to an all-you-can-eat buffet in Highland which appealed to every one of our hunger pains and then some.  A leisurely drive home then called for a nappy on the couch while my husband and squirts ran errands.  I awoke to a bowl of Hershey's Kisses from my youngest;  this day kept improving with each passing hour.
Ready to burn the too-numerous calories (did I mention the homemade macaroni and cheese?) consumed at lunch, we all piled into the van and headed to the batting cages for a visit down memory lane.  These batting cages in question are the same batting cages my dad and I used to frequent on many a weekend when I was an adolescent.  I would be swing-away Merrill while Dad was critiquing, "Choke up on the bat," "Raise your right shoulder," "Level swing," and so on.  He dropped the tokens into the machine, and I kept my eye on the balls.  Frustrated with my foul tips or what seemed to be the incessant drone of his voice, I would snip, "Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay," with as much insolence as possible.  What was welcome, though, was our enduring agreement to always end on a "good hit," one in which we both agreed upon.  Depending on the day, a "good hit" may have come at the first sign of fatigue while other days a "good hit" seemed to be that ominous needle hidden in a haystack.  Nonetheless, the finale was a positive regardless of the amount of time it took us to reach it.  With a delighted heart, I can see this ritual continuing with my own girls as my oldest declared,  "Stop talking!" while my hub and I offered our two cents worth and my youngest asked, "When can we come back?"

During the course of my lifetime, my relationship with my father experienced many foul tips, ground outs, pop flys, and some glorious out-of-the-ballpark home runs.  During the last eleven months of his life, I was no longer teaching due to a high-risk pregnancy, so I was able to spend a great deal of time with him.  When the end of his life was imminent, I was allowed some alone time with my dad.  He could no longer respond, but I knew he heard and understood.  Our connection was and always had been sports since my first t-ball game, so I thought no need to change this now.  Sitting as close to him on the bed as possible, I stroked his thick grey hair while whispering into his ear, "Dad, you did good.  We'll see each other again, and this time we'll have someone to shag our balls (my newly-born first child) while we're playing softball in the sky.  I love you always."  With this, I kissed him good-bye and waved him Home.

Courtney Winkler

Connect with Lisa Powell

RUBY: Share your testimony with us.

I grew up in the Lutheran church. My parents were both believers, and we went to church every Sunday, read the Bible at home, prayed, etc. But, as was the story with many of my friends at church, when I grew up I realized that my faith was not so much my own as it was my parents’. It wasn’t personal to me. I graduated high school and spent the next few months really struggling with some hard issues in my life. I lived at home through college, so there were some really difficult months between myself and my parents, all due to my own rebellion and bad choices. I was lost. I met my husband Josh the spring of my first year in college. He was from a Christ-following family, and he knew his Bible forwards and backwards. I knew he prayed, and I knew he read his Bible often, and I was drawn to that. I started going to church with him at his family’s church, and saw how people there seemed to really have a relationship with Jesus, which was new to me. I always knew who Jesus was and knew that He loved me, but this felt different. Shortly after meeting Josh, I rededicated my life to Jesus. I wanted to have a relationship with Him and live my life in a manner that was pleasing to Him. Throughout the past 18 years since then, I feel like I have grown stronger in my relationship with the Lord. He is everything to me. He has been with me through many difficult times in my life where I felt like I had no one, and felt hopeless. But then, I am reminded in His word about how I have hope in Him. That He loves me and wants what is best for me more than anyone else. He is my strength, my joy, my hope, my peace, my comfort, my provider, my healer and my GOD.

RUBY: Share a favorite Bible verse and/or inspirational song, and why

this is a favorite.

Hmmm…this is a hard one to narrow down!

Probably my favorite verse is Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” I draw strength in this verse on an almost daily basis as I am reminded that I don’t have to do everything on my own. God is always there, wanting me to put it all in His hands and rest on Him.

As far as songs, I love music! God speaks so much to me through songs. There are hundreds of songs that I can say have changed my life or lifted me up when I needed it. But there are two songs that immediately came to mind when I saw this question.

1. Great is Thy Faithfulness: When my daughter was first diagnosed with hearing loss and had to be fitted with hearing aids, this mama struggled with feelings of “why God?” I was at Bible study one night during this time, and we sang that song all together and it was like God spoke the words straight into my heart. No matter what the circumstances of my life are, great is His faithfulness. He sees the whole plan for our lives before we are even born. He is always in control, and His ways are always best for us. An overwhelming sense of peace came over me as I chose that moment to praise God in the midst of my struggles.

2. Stand in the Rain by Superchick: This song came on the radio during a very dark time in my life. The beginning lyrics are: 

 

She never slows down. She doesn't know why but she knows that when she's all alone, feels like it’s all coming down. She won't turn around the shadows are long and she fears if she cries that first tear, the tears will not stop raining down. So stand in the rain. Stand your ground. Stand up when it's all crashing down. You stand through the pain. You won't drown. And one day, what’s lost can be found.
You stand in the rain. 

This song was a reminder to me that even though what I was going through was the hardest thing I’ve ever faced, if I just continue to stand with God through it, I would make it through the rain and He would restore what was lost. Every time I hear it to this day, it still brings back those feelings I felt that day, and I remember what God has brought me through.

RUBY: I was so thrilled when you agreed to be a part of RUBY Magazine. Tell us about your involvement with RUBY Magazine.

 

Ha! I’m sure a lot of people are wondering who is this person! Courtney Winkler has been one of my best friends for many years now! Our husbands went to the University of Illinois together, and we became fast friends! In the many times we have visited Chad and Courtney, we have had the pleasure of meeting some of their friends from church. When Courtney asked me to contribute to RUBY Magazine I was thrilled to be a part of such a wonderful community of believers!

RUBY: Tell us about your family.

My husband Josh and I have been married 15 years this year. We live in the country a few miles northeast of Champaign, IL. We have three beautiful daughters, Olivia just turned 10, Addison will be 6 in a couple of weeks, and Charlotte just turned 3. We have a very close family. Josh’s parents live just a few miles down the road, and my parents live less than 2 miles down our road! Our siblings are all close too! It’s great to have all of our family so close.

We attend Christian Life Church in Rantoul, IL. Josh plays guitar in our worship band, and I teach kindergarten on Sundays.

Josh is a Senior Research Engineer at Creative Thermal Solutions in Urbana, IL. He has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and is way smarter than I could ever dream of being! He has worked at CTS for 6 years.

I have a degree in Elementary Education, and I taught at a Christian school in Champaign, IL for 5 years before I had our first daughter Olivia. She was born with hearing loss in both ears and was fitted with hearing aids before her 2^nd birthday. When she was 4, I decided to homeschool her for Kindergarten and have been homeschooling ever since! Olivia is very smart and very active. She loves being outside. She plays basketball and softball. She is also in 4-H learning about cooking, cake decorating and horses.

Addison is also very smart. She is our little goofball! She is always making people laugh and saying funny things! She LOVES making people happy! I call her my little lovebug because she is always hugging people. She brings smiles to many people’s faces. She is starting t-ball this summer and loves to do crafts and read.

Charlotte is quite the little whippersnapper. She is very outgoing, very talkative, and very cute! She thinks she’s 6, even though she just turned 3. She loves being a big girl and doing big girl things.

We have a very active chocolate lab and 3 lazy cats. We love living out in the country, going for family bike rides and walks, and being outdoors as a family.

RUBY: You used to teach in a classroom and now you homeschool your three beautiful girls. What do you consider to be the best aspect about teaching?

I did. I taught 2^nd grade and 4^th grade. Being a classroom teacher and now a homeschool teacher, I think the best aspect of teaching BY FAR is seeing that light bulb go on above a child’s head when they really truly understand something for the first time. I love it. When I taught 2^nd grade, a lot of the students were already reading, but there were always a few that really struggled. To see them struggle for so long and then one day something clicks in their brain and they are so excited! That’s the best! And now to be homeschooling my own children and to see that moment happen for them is awesome! My middle child, Addison, knew her phonics families forwards and backwards and was reading small words and stories. But whenever someone would ask her to read something to them, she would get really frustrated and tell them she couldn’t. One night my husband Josh and I were sitting together after dinner, and she came running up to us with a book shouting the title “SHARK IN THE PARK!! IT SAYS SHARK IN THE PARK!!” She all of a sudden realized that she could read books!! And she’s been reading everything she can get her hands on since then!

RUBY: Tell us about one of your favorite field trips you and the girls have taken.

One of my favorite field trips we have done is to go to this park that has many different kinds of trees. We spent the morning doing bark rubbings, collecting leaves and seeds, and identifying the trees. Then we had lunch and spent the afternoon playing at the park. It was not what I had planned for that day, but it was so fun to just relax with the girls all day. They all had a blast gathering leaves and seeds and trying to find tree types that we had not found yet. It was a beautiful day, and it was nice getting away from our regular routine for a day. 

 

RUBY: Are there any websites/sources you would suggest to other homeschooling parents?

We use Bob Jones University for our curriculum. I love it because scripture is infused into every subject. The website for that is www.bjupresshomeschool.com. I also get most of my teaching ideas from Pinterest. If I’m looking for a idea for how to make learning about clouds, for instance, more fun, I go to Pinterest. It’s like having hundreds of websites all linked together. I love it. Other than that, something really important I would tell homeschooling parents is try never to buy anything new. I get almost all of our curriculum on ebay used and pay a fraction of the retail price. I get as much as I can used and then buy new only what I cannot find used. It saves a TON of money. We also belong to a homeschool group that meets weekly for fun classes. It is a great way to connect with other homeschool families and allow the girls time with other homeschool kids their ages. The website for our group is www.chc1.net. Most areas have a homeschool group similar to this. You would just have to do a google search for one in your area.

RUBY: I've been to your house, and you are extremely organized. Share some of your organizational strategies.

Ha! I laugh at this question because my house looks like a tornado hit it right now. I can’t stand clutter. So I try to declutter my house as much as possible. For instance, I sort my mail every day standing by the garbage can. It either goes in the trash, or it goes in my bills & important papers basket. Also, baskets hide a multitude of sins. I like to put everything in baskets or containers of some sort. It gives everything a neat and clean look, even if what is in them might not be the same. I will also take a day every now and then to go through all baskets and drawers and dump them all out and sort them into the places where the items should actually be. In addition to that, I also have a basket that is reserved for quick pick ups when company is coming over, especially last minute. I put everything in the basket that I do not have time to put away and then clean it out after the company has left. I try to teach the girls how to keep things picked up too. We have a 5 minute clean up time every night before bedtime so that we aren’t waking up to a messy house to start our day. In terms of organization, I try and put kid stuff at kid level so that they are responsible for putting their things away. For instance, I have the girls put away their own clothes from the time they are old enough to recognize a picture of clothing. I make labels for their dressers that say their name and have a picture of what kind of clothing goes in that drawer. Charlotte, my youngest, does not have a dresser, but I got her those 3 drawer plastic storage units. They are low to the ground and perfect for her to do herself. And she LOVES putting away her clothes because she feels like a big girl because she’s doing it herself.

RUBY: How may we contact you in order to make a further connection?

My email is mrspow@gmail.com. You can find me on Facebook at Lisa Maxwell Powell. My twitter name is MamaOf3Gs.