Blogroll

YadaFactor coaches are volunteers who make this ministry possible! This month we are spotlighting Beverly. Fun fact about Beverly…she was the first person God called to volunteer with YadaFactor back in 2018. We are excited to share more about her!

What drew you to YadaFactor?

Years ago God had prepared me and given me a desire to work in a discipleship counseling ministry with women who were struggling with life issues. Years later a move to Florida made it impractical to continue ministering to these women so I began petitioning the Lord to direct and show me how I could continue to serve women in some capacity. I became acquainted with YadaFactor during that time of seeking the Lord’s will through a “Taste of YadaFactor” workshop and it was then that I heard and felt God’s call to become a part of this ministry. The thought of teaching women to hear the voice of God was so exciting to me that I never hesitated and immediately responded to God’s call that very night.

What do you like about coaching?

My heart’s desire has always been to serve the Lord by ministering to women and encouraging them to grow in their faith walk with the Lord. Coaching at YadaFactor has availed me of that opportunity while being personally gratifying as I get to hear and experience what God is doing in the lives of the women I coach. Sometimes I get to share the gospel with an unbeliever which brings incredible joy as another person becomes a part of the Kingdom of God.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I love to read non fiction books in my spare time and have fun with my 10 grandchildren. Summers are a special time when the grandchildren all attend “Nanny Summer Camp” with the older ones becoming CITs, Counselors In Training.

What one word would you use to describe Yada?

Miraculous

Is there something special you’d like to share with other coaches in the YF community or those considering becoming a coach?

As a YadaFactor coach, I believe we not only have the privilege of teaching women to hear the voice of God but that we also have the joyful responsibility of intentionally teaching them to hear God’s voice and to grow in an intimate dynamic relationship with their Creator. No one can touch God and not be changed and as coaches we are often blessed by seeing lives of women transformed.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Yes, next to spending time with God and serving Him, I’m joyfully committed to engaging our grandchildren and impacting their lives by imparting a Christian world view and cultivating a heart of gratitude so they will be prepared to navigate the waters of our culture that are ubiquitously filled with unbiblical ideas. This past summer I was so delighted to celebrate the baptism through immersion of five of our grandchildren. My soul rejoiced and I praised God for their witness and commitment to follow Jesus.

Blog by Christine Davis

My husband and I moved from the coast of Massachusetts to the Berkshire Mountains in western Massachusetts a little more than a year ago.  Since living here, I am just loving the tremendous variety of beautiful trees all around us.  We have a cluster of black cherry trees overhanging our deck, and a stand of white birch very nearby.  As the little black cherries ripen, I observe the tree offering its fruit to birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and bears. I study the birch bark and am intrigued by its texture and beauty.  The clean white bark with its black markings stands out beautifully against the blue sky.  I have collected birch bark and displayed it in bowls and baskets around my house.  I have attempted watercolor paintings of the beautiful bark.  We recently trimmed some branches from the black cherry, and I harvested a few cups of berries and created some tasty jam.

I read in Genesis that, after God created the mass of the earth, then the light, the sky, the land, and the water… then He created the plants and trees.  Trees are the ancient ones, the first living things, before animals.  Just trees, no mammals, no fish, no insects.   Trees came even before the sun and moon, living in God’s pure light.  Trees were here, bearing fruit for no one to eat.  These ancient ones witnessed the creation long before the fall. To God, a day is like a thousand years. (2 Peter 3;8) Who knows how long trees and plants enjoyed this planet in its pristine state?  Is it any wonder that “the trees of the field will clap their hands” (Isa, 55:12) when the Lord’s kingdom fully comes?

Trees played a huge part in the story of the Fall, where one tree bore fruit that imparted eternal life, and another tree’s fruit gave the knowledge of good and evil.  In Revelation, we learn that there will be trees in the new heaven and new earth, whose leaves will bring healing to the nations.  (Rev. 22:2)

Clearly, there is so much more to know about trees than we can ever discover through science.

It was a very cool Godwink when I read Debbie’s recent blog, “W-rest-ling to Listen,” and especially the poem, “Between Two Trees.” Using the process of YadaFactor helps me experience God, connecting dots like this, which confirm His presence in whispers. I quoted the poem below for your reference.

Between Two Trees

by Debbie Csutoros

The rope falls perfectly

Forming a swing for the body.

One leg at a time gently crawls into

its natural sway.

The whole body lays back in rest

between two trees.

How would this be if not for love?

Love sacrificed between two trees, that

we might rest in Thee.

Are you resting?

Are you swaying in the comfort of His rest?

Choose this day

to rest…between two trees.

I love this idea of resting between two trees.  Three crosses, Jesus in the middle, and me resting in the hammock of his love.  Trees are old, steady, and reliable.  They receive from God and give to His creation.  I just love them. How tragic that the Lord of Life was crucified on a tree.  So wrong… and yet exactly right.

Watercolor birch trees ( I’m a beginner )

What do you do with rest? 

Does it make you anxious? 

Do you go into “Martha Mode” and make yourself busy to avoid it?

Are you so tired that all you want is sleep when your world becomes silent? 

Honestly, I’ve experienced all of these scenarios (on multiple occasions). 

For a decade I served as Founder and Director of a faith-based nonprofit helping teenage girls recover from sex trafficking. Over 350+ girls and young women received residential care, education, job skills training, counseling, Christian mentors and hope to dream again. Launching a ministry was exciting, but at the same time, it was scary and exhausting. Countless hours were poured into developing, growing and sustaining the ministry from week to week, month to month. Rest did not come easy. In fact, I often wondered if it were even possible?! In 2017, I made the decision to resign. My children were approaching their teenage years and quite frankly, I was pretty fried! Anxiety, depression and restlessness had become a way of life for me.

After resigning, I escaped Charlotte, NC to the beautiful mountains of Montana where I stayed for four months with my family. It was there, in the cold of winter on Flathead Lake, I had to learn how to rest.  I would sit by the fire, open the Bible to wherever my fingers took me, ask the Lord to speak and I would write. I journaled like a crazy woman with many tear soaked papers. Leaving the ministry was like a funeral for me. I didn’t see it then, but oh how I see it now! Many things had to die, in and around me, so that I could enter into true rest. The kind of rest Jesus promises us when He says “my yoke is easy and my burden is light” in Matthew 11:28. The kind of rest that you CAN experience, even in the midst of a busy work season, a tragedy, or stressful season in life.

How?

One word…remain. 

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” –  John 15:7

For the past several years I have been leading a business I founded called Flagship. We coach faith-based nonprofits on fundraising and development. My coaching services led me to connect with YadaFactor in 2018. I was blown away to learn that a ministry like this existed! Bringing people back to God’s word, teaching them how to hear God’s voice while using the Bible as their only curriculum, journaling and sharing in an intimate group of three sounded like something I could really get behind.

Since connecting with YadaFactor, I have been blessed to play a very small role in helping to expand their ministry. I believe wholeheartedly in their vision. I have witnessed the power of their simple, yet deeply rich ministry model, at work in the lives of many…. including myself.  The leadership team has been a great source of encouragement to me and has always provided a trusted place to be transparent.

This summer, Debbie has been challenging us with the theme of rest. A few days ago I skipped out of work and took a day of silence and solitude. I was up against some work deadlines, but I felt God saying come…trust me with those deadlines.

Here I am kicking my feet up, reading, journaling and praying in Lake Lure, NC.

Guess what?

The deadlines were still here waiting for me the next day and everything worked out just fine. 🙂

Join me in praying to remain. It’s a battle we all face from time to time.

Emily Fitchpatrick

As an early riser, who also loves to journal, I strongly connect with Psalm 119:147, which says, “I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Your words.”  Reading my journal is much like riding a roller coaster with life’s ups and downs, fast starts and slow ends.  Even so, there is peace between the pages as I wait to hear the voice of God.

I first discovered YADA when I met Debbie Csutoros during her visit to my hometown, Asheville, NC.  To say I was intrigued was an understatement! Besides that, it gave me a reason to buy a new journal with clean pages and “fresh book” smell.   As I set off to write my thoughts, fears and desires, I had every hope that God would speak to me.  Speak, He did!  Through every stroke of the pen and every bowed head, I felt my relationship with my Savior grow stronger.

Four years later, I still cherish the early morning hours when I purposely PAUSE to make that special connection with God.