When I think of the trials and tribulations of my life, I think of how God, better known as the ‘Lily of the Valley’, brought me through them. He is my everything and I will always thank Him and give Him praise. I am asking anyone who reads this article to get to know God and cultivate a close relationship with Him.
“This is My Father’s World” Women’s Conference will be held Saturday, Jan. 25 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Gardner’s Methodist Church.
“I have had this vision for about ten years now,” said Sandra Holland, Family Life Ministry’s care person at Gardner’s Methodist Church. “I attended a women’s conference at one of the churches in Aberdeen and I was so impressed with it and wanted to bring it back to our women here in Fayetteville.”
Holland added, “I am now getting the opportunity to do that and we are very excited about the women that we have coming that will be speaking.”
What resonated so deeply with Holland about the conference were the speakers, discussion groups, how the women opened their hearts and how they were transparent about their feelings.
“We told each other our hopes, dreams, fears and how we coped with things,” said Holland. “I became very emotional because I felt the presence of the Lord in that place.”
The name, “This is My Father’s World,” was chosen because the speakers are going to take each participant from ant hills to hummingbirds and to bees as they tell their stories from the heart. The day-long agenda entails registration, a continental breakfast and lunch, a welcome and worship service, speakers, a discussion group, sharing time and more.
The keynote speaker of the event is Marianne Liscio. She is a certified speaker for Fayetteville’s Women Connection.
“She is such a commanding and charismatic speaker that will have you laughing one minute and crying the next,” said Holland. “One of the stories that she is going to share is when her father died and how the hummingbird came and brought her healing from that.”
She added, “Marianne has a lot of wonderful things planned for our women’s conference.”
Amy Sparks will be speaking about “From Tragedy to Triumph: A Story of Hope.”
“She will speak about her son’s death, his autism, how she coped and how hope was brought back into her life,” said Holland.
Susan Wilson is from Page Memorial United Methodist Church in Aberdeen and she will speak about “Living The Joy of Divine Healing.”
“She will be speaking about healing from losing a job, losing a life partner and how she has brought healing into the community,” said Holland. “She has started a ministry in Southern Pines for the homeless and she goes out on the street to minister to the homeless.”
Holland added that this conference is going to be from Healing to Hope for 2025.
Developing an intimate relationship with God empowers us through the Holy Spirit.
“My family and I have always been Christians, and we have always gone to church,” said Holland. “I remember a revival that we had at our church when I was 12-years-old and the visiting speaker had dinner with us and talked with me.”
She added, “The next night he asked for people to come to the altar that wanted to give their life to fulltime Christian service. I felt myself standing in the aisle walking down to the altar. When I got to the altar he said, ‘I have been waiting on you.’”
He prophesized to Holland in a profound letter that she would one day become a teacher in a Christian school.
“I am retired now, but I have spent 29 years of my life teaching in the church,” said Holland. “I know it was God’s plan and he has had a plan for my life for 80 years now.”
Women’s conferences are a great opportunity for Biblical fellowship, sharing wisdom to navigate life’s journey and building a sisterhood within a spiritual connection.
“It is important in this day, time and our world to have this kind of conference because people are broken and looking for hope and that is only going to be found in the Lord,” said Holland. “We, as Christians, are going to have to step up and say what we need to say because we have stood in the background too long and let evil take over our world.”
She added, “One of my daughters told me that God let us go through a dark time and now he is letting us have this spark of hope in this new year. This is our time to come back to the Lord and say what we need to say and do what we need to do to be Christians.”
“We welcome everybody and want this conference to be a joyful and spiritual day that we can all join together and worship the one God that we love,” said Holland. “None of us know how long we have on this Earth and it is important for us as Christians to try to reach everyone that we can.”
Registration is $25 per person. All women are welcome. Gardner’s Methodist Church is located at 4555 Rosehill Road. For more information call 910-309-7799.