Wells in the Wilderness
Bookings close on Wednesday 21 April 2021
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:18–19 (NIV)
| Title | Wells in the Wilderness |
| Organiser | BRF |
| Description | Bookings close on Wednesday 21 April 2021 For the first time ever, our annual women’s conference will take place online this spring – and you’re invited! This year we’ll be exploring how God provides for us in the wilderness and the desert, drawing from a whole host of wells, waters, and springs… Join us for a day of thought-provoking speakers, heartfelt worship and opportunities to connect with women of all ages across the country. Learn more about our speakers and their sessions below. Tickets are inclusive of a £7.50 voucher to spend on a book of your choice at brfonline.org.uk*. *Purchase a ticket to Wells in the wilderness and receive a discount code for £7.50 off your order at brfonline.org.uk. Standard P&P charges apply. A minimum spend of £7.50 applies. Vouchers will be sent to customers in April 2021. |
| Details |
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Bookings close on Wednesday 21 April 2021
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:18–19 (NIV)
For the first time ever, our annual women’s conference will take place online this spring – and you’re invited! This year we’ll be exploring how God provides for us in the wilderness and the desert, drawing from a whole host of wells, waters, and springs…
Join us for a day of thought-provoking speakers, heartfelt worship and opportunities to connect with women of all ages across the country. Learn more about our speakers and their sessions below.
Tickets are inclusive of a £7.50 voucher to spend on a book of your choice at brfonline.org.uk*.
*Purchase a ticket to Wells in the wilderness and receive a discount code for £7.50 off your order at brfonline.org.uk. Standard P&P charges apply. A minimum spend of £7.50 applies. Vouchers will be sent to customers in April 2021.
A biblical reflection on Isaiah 43
What hope did God give his people in the time of Isaiah when they faced exile and hardship? What hope does God extend to us now? We’ll delve into the riches of part of Isaiah’s prophecy to see how God promises to provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, not only for his people thousands of years ago, but also today.
Amy Boucher Pye will be our host for the day. Amy is an author, speaker and retreat leader who writes Bible reading notes for Day by Day with God, among others, and runs the Woman Alive book club. She has two books being released in the autumn, 7 Ways to Pray (SPCK) and Celebrating Christmas (BRF). Find her at amyboucherpye.com.
Wilderness words: The language of lament
Where do we go with the aching disappointments, the frustrations, the anger, the sadness and all the other emotions that may have been stirred up in us through the ‘wilderness’ experience of these past months? Where do we go with our bewilderment when our trust-filled declaration that God is kind and good and close to the brokenhearted doesn’t correspond with our lived reality? The prayer language of lament offers us a Biblical way to bring our struggles and complaints and questions directly to God. Many of us, however, feel uncomfortable about expressing such strong emotions to God - anxious perhaps, of offending or disrespecting God. Yet so many of our Biblical heroes, from Job to Jesus, spoke this language fluently and fearlessly. In our session together we will explore this ancient prayer language for ourselves and, bringing together the pattern we find in the psalms of lament and words from our own experiences over these past months, we will craft our own personalised psalm of lament to bring to God.
Mags Duggan is passionate about helping others to know and experience the love of God and the indwelling life of Jesus as a transforming reality in their lives. This passion fuelled her many years as a missionary in Asia and more recently, her years of teaching Spiritual Formation and Soul Care at Redcliffe College in Gloucester. It’s a passion which continues to shape her ministry today as a spiritual director, retreat leader, Bible teacher and writer.
Don't look back: Recognising the difficulties of letting go
In Isaiah 43:18 God says: ‘‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” There are definitely things from the past year that we’d like to forget, but also memories and people that we will never want to forget – as well as lessons learned that we shouldn’t forget. There is a big difference between remembering (which is an important spiritual discipline) and dwelling, which we will unpack together, before then looking at some of the reasons that we find it difficult to let go, such as fear and control. These actually block the fresh wellsprings of life God has for us so, drawing on biblical examples and stories from her own life, Claire Musters will show us how God gently encourages us to trust him for our futures by helping us to recognise and remove them.
Claire Musters is an author, speaker and editor who has written many books including Taking Off the Mask and the 30-day devotional Every Day Insights: Disappointment and Loss. Her latest book, written with her husband, is called Grace-filled Marriage, and will be published on 7 May. For more information please visit clairemusters.com
Wellsprings: Embracing God's new opportunities
How can we combat fear, discover hope and release joy when faced with new opportunities? The way we approach the inevitable changes in our lives depends in part on our personalities. But we can be confident that God has plans for our wellbeing in every area of life. In this session we will look at some practical steps we can each take to embrace change and uncork the springs of living water Jesus promises us.
Catherine Butcher is a prolific author – hundreds of thousands of the publications she has written as HOPE Together’s communications director, are used by churches to make Jesus known. A reader in her local Anglican church, she coordinates the Alpha courses and loves to see people finding faith for the first time.
The glorious now
Rachel will be talking about the power and grace and significance of women right now... we don’t have to wait to the future to experience what God has for us or who we have been made to be. Our today is beautiful and significant.
Rachel Turner is an author, speaker and the Parenting for Faith Pioneer for BRF. She presents the Parenting for Faith course, a free video-based resource for church groups and individuals.