Dear Precious Ladies

We thank God for His love, grace and mercy towards us. He has allowed us to see a new month, we will rejoice and be glad in it.

We have just returned from an amazing time in His presence at our Rejuvenate retreat based on Psalm 23:3 “He restores my soul…” To restore means to put back to former state, to give back, to bring back to original, to return to life and to re-establish. Some of the synonyms of the word restore are rejuvenate, rebuild, reignite, refurbish, refresh, reform, renew and revamp.

The prefix ‘re’ means to do something again or an action that has been repeated. With this in mind, we learnt that it is necessary for us to have a healthy soul because the quality of our relationships is greatly impacted (positively or negatively) by the condition of our soul. Our perspectives and attitudes in life are also affected or enhanced by the condition of our soul. This can also affect the most important relationship in our lives, which is our relationship with God and how we worship and serve Him.

We looked at some of the antonyms of the word rejuvenate, which include: quench, extinguish, devalue, damage, weaken, side-line, kill, rob, annihilate, unconcerned and suppress. We saw the importance of how we handle negative circumstances in our lives as this could lead to the damaging and weakening our souls. Reacting negatively to challenging circumstances can cause us to end up with bitterness, worry, fear, poor self-image, unforgiveness, resentment, insecurities, jealousy, strife, envy and pride. We learnt that we should respond to challenging situations using the word of God, prayer, being led by the Spirit, applying godly principles and we should also seek counsel if necessary. Rejuvenation comes from the presence of the Lord so we ought to continue to pursue His presence and to daily empty the contents of our hearts before Him. We also had a wonderful time as we fellowshipped and built new relationships with one another.

Sisters, as we proceed with this month of August, I pray that the Lord may refresh you, refurbish you and renew your strength so that you may accomplish all that He has planned for you this month. If there were any things that dampened or weakened your soul in the past month, it is my prayer that you will find the courage to let go and let God minister to your soul. The condition of your soul matters to God and to all those in your sphere of influence, starting from your home to the uttermost parts of the world. May the Lord who rejuvenated us at the retreat, rejuvenate you too.

I will be travelling to South Africa for the Daughter Arise conference taking place from the 12th - 14th August. Please pray for me and also for the team that will be going with me. Our desire is to empower our sisters and bring them the message of hope through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Much love to you all,
Pastor Fatima

p.s. Here are some photos from our Rejuvenate retreat.