WELCOME TO OUR FIRST NEWSLETTER September 2013
Welcome to our first official newsletter for
Women Ablaze International Ministries! We have plenty
of goodies in store for you each month that you will
only be able to find exclusively in OUR newsletter! God
has blessed our ministry in so many beautiful, wonderful,
AMAZING ways that only HE can and each month we
will let each of you into our hearts as we share the
journey ahead of us!
Every month you will find a woman who has
inspired us and is BLAZING FOR THE LORD! We
will share her testimony and story with you as well as let
you in on what she’s doing that has inspired us so
deeply.
We will share inspirational stories, poems,
songs, quotes, Bible verses, photographs and videos and
if you have something you’d like to submit for
consideration, you can send it over to
[email protected] ! Please include your full
name and contact information.
We will also have a DIY corner where we will
find some great do it yourself tips, tricks and crafts that
you can enjoy in the comfort of your own home.
For those of you who love to try new, easy and
healthy recipes there will be something there for you
also! We will feature a recipe of the month where you’ll
find something absolutely delicious to try that is family
friendly.
And, as always, you will find the most up to
date information about Women Ablaze International
Ministries as well as announcements on upcoming
seminars, meetings, get-togethers, conferences as well as
a review of the previous events we have held.
Thank you for all of your prayers, love and support in
our ministry!
Women Ablaze International Ministries September 2013 [Edition 1, Volume 1]
John 8:12 | Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not
walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life."
SEPTEMBER D.I.Y | STAINED GLASS HANGERS What you’ll need: Scissors, Sharpie Pens, Plastic Food Wrap, Paper Plates, Tape, String. Cut a shape out in
the center of your paper plate. Tape a piece of plastic food wrap to the back of your paper plate. Using your
sharpie pens, draw a design on the back of your plastic food wrap. Allow it to dry for 2-3 hours. Using your
scissors, punch a hole in the plate at the rim and fish the string through. Hang plate by a window and enjoy!
– To add an extra special touch, you can decorate and color the plate before attaching your plastic wrap!
WHAT IS WOMEN ABLAZE INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES? And what do we stand for?
Pictured Above | Bianca Thomas Founder of Women Ablaze
Changing Lives, Restoring Hope and healing to the
hearts of Women Founded Oct 2011, By Minister Bianca Thomas, Women Ablaze International Ministries is a Non Denominational Christian Women’s Ministry composed of a Network of Christians from different denominations and backgrounds with like minds, hearts and purpose which is to Love, lead and empower women propelling them towards greatness through Jesus Christ. WAIM is committed to helping women from all walks of life, experience the love, healing and delivering power of God. As a team, we are devoted to create a Christian Network of Sisterhood; providing resources to positively influence the women we come in contact with throughout our lives. We are currently working on acquiring our 501c3 and our website that will have inspirational stories, video interviews, products and teaching materials to assist in living a healthy, successful and productive Christian life. God has given us a great opportunity to expose women to a supportive community with an abundance of love, opportunities and knowledge to assist, inspire and encourage them to walk in faith and confidence, experiencing the Greatness of God through our lives, worship and service. We are committed to encourage personal and spiritual development by working with other organizations as well as creating a loving and welcoming atmosphere in our conferences, workshops outreach and social events, so that women will experience the life changing power and presence of a Faithful and loving God! We truly believe our efforts will Empower women to have healthier family relationships, utilize their gifts and talents for the Kingdom of God, serve in their churches, Impact their communities and that woman of all walks of life will be able to proclaim boldly,” I am A Women Of God……, I am Loved, I am Beautiful,….. I am Powerful, I am Destined for Greatness …………………………, I am Blazing for Lord!!! “
For more information on how you may support or
be a part of this life changing ministry, please contact:
Bianca Thomas 804-536-5678 [email protected]
PHOTOGRAPHING BEAUTY Turning Weakness into Strength
Some of you may know the face behind Vision of Rose
Photography but not many know the story. What drives
Rosey and how the road has led her to do the work that
she is doing.
This is her story: “Hello, many of you know me by
Rosey or Rose and a select few call me by my whole
name, Rosemary. I could talk about the many events in
my life that has led me down the paths I have chosen
but what is important to me is the one that I walked
AWAY from. You see, photography wasn’t always my
passion and my desire. I can’t lie to you and say that my
heart has always been in it. What I can say to you is that
I’ve never in my life felt like I was doing EXACTLY
what God wanted me to do until recently.
Some of you know that I opened Vision of Rose
Photography in the past and as some things do, it just
didn’t work out. My HEART wasn’t there. I wasn’t in
the right place within my heart and I definitely wasn’t in
the right place with God. It took me failing at what I
was doing to realize that I just flat wasn’t doing it right.
Some of us are so scared to fail at something and I was
one of those people. Admitting defeat is honestly
something that I’ve never been good at. I always had to
be the best at what I do. The most successful; the
hardest worker. But it wasn’t until everything changed
on the outside when I realized what I needed to change
was on the inside.
I could go into details about the negative things that
have happened in my life and how they’ve affected me
in both good and bad ways. I could tell you in detail the
many nights I sat up begging God to take me away. I
could tell you the many scars I have on my body from
self-inflicted wounds and why I put them there. I could
tell you the many times I’ve been abused by those who I
thought loved me. I could tell you how many times I’ve
failed before getting it right. I could even tell you the
many struggles I’ve faced. But the truth is, I’d rather tell
you who I am today.
I’d rather tell you that you’re stronger than the situations
you face. No matter what they are. But I’d also rather
tell you that NOTHING is possible without trusting
God. One of the best quotes I’ve ever heard in my
entire life was told to me by a dear friend; “let GO and
let GOD.” To be honest, when she told me that, I
thought she was crazy. HOW can I let go of the pain?
HOW can I let go of the anger? HOW can I let go of
the victim mentality that I had? The “why me” mentality.
How do I even begin to let that go?
If you would’ve visited me a couple of years before now,
I wouldn’t be able to answer those questions. I would
still be lost and wandering about without a purpose in
life. Honestly, it wasn’t until I held my daughter for the
first time on March 8, 2011, that I realized where I
needed to go in my life.
You see, when I held her, my world came crashing
down around me… but only in the best way possible. I
could see her whole life flash before me. Her first tooth,
her first steps, her first day of school, graduation,
college, getting married, a life of her own, children of
her own. But what broke my heart was the pain I could
see in her eyes. My pain.
It wasn’t until that very moment that I realized she will
carry my burdens. She will respect herself the way that I
respect myself. She will love herself the way that I love
myself. And at that time, I didn’t respect nor love myself
the way that I should have. In that moment, I decided to
devote my life to making sure she would know that
she’s loved, she’s beautiful, she’s welcome to be herself
and that no matter what, God loves her and is
ALWAYS by her side. Even on the darkest of nights,
the coldest of days. He’s there.
I also set out on a journey of my own in that moment. I
unpacked my camera that I had put into my hospital bag
and I began photographing her features. Her tiny toes,
her long fingers, her rosy red cheeks and light pink lips.
All of those little things that I never want to forget.
Those little features that I want her to someday love
about her.
Fast forward to December 2012, I received a call from a
young lady by the name of Emily who was interested in
my work. Mind you, my photography page only had
images of my beautiful Zophelia and my handsome
Zayne on there. No professional work at all! She was
looking for a photographer who would take her senior
portraits and she heard that I was the woman for the job.
She said she had visited my page and liked what she saw.
From there, we set up a date and shot her images.
A few weeks later, another call came in. Then another,
and another, and another. This went on for months.
People were calling me to have me photograph them. I
would pray and I would thank God for the people He
was sending my way but I knew that there was a reason.
There was something MORE He wanted me to do.
One afternoon, I got extremely drowsy all of a sudden
which is out of the normal for me. I didn’t know what
was wrong so I lay down and decided to take a nap.
When I awoke from my nap, I had a clear vision of
where I was meant to go with my photography. In my
vision, I saw an older woman, whose body was covered
in wrinkles, standing in a white summer dress with a veil
draped over her head. She was standing in the middle of
a field of big, beautiful roses.
I felt as if I knew this woman; as if we were connected
in some way, even though I’ve never seen her before. I
walked up to her and placed my hand gently on her
shoulder. As I did, she turned to look at me and I
noticed her hands were cupped around something. She
opened her hands and there, sitting perfectly in her
hands was a dead, wilted rose. For some reason, I felt
sadness in that moment but I loved that rose. It was still
beautiful and even though some may have tossed it out,
I wanted it more than anything.
She grabbed my hands and placed the rose in them then
closed my hands around it. I looked down at my hands
and opened them slowly. As I did, I saw the most
beautiful yellow rose I’ve ever seen. There were no
imperfections on it anywhere. The color was the most
pure, stunning yellow I’ve ever seen. When I looked up
to thank her for the gift, only a veil blowing in the wind
remained.
So you see, because I loved that imperfect, beat up, old,
dead rose, it came back to life. And from that vision, I
thought, “what if I can heal the insecurity that women
deal with? What if I could make them see how beautiful
they are and how beautiful the world sees them?” I
began working on a project called “The Beautiful
Release” from that vision and it has been a great success.
It’s a network of women showing other women how
beautiful they are, how loved they are, how the road
they’ve followed doesn’t make them into the person
they wish to be. It’s the road you choose to get off of.
It’s the path with the bumps, the twists and the turns
that will mold you and shape you into whom you are.
Just as I too, was once a dead wilted rose, God took me
into the palm of His hands and He loved me for who I
am. He cared for me. He showered me with love and I
grew into the person I am today. With this gift He has
given me, I have been able to help women see the
beautiful person God created them to be. My greatest
weakness was always my insecurities, my scars, my
weight, my height, my hair, my teeth and whatever other
part of my body was lucky enough to be hated for the
day.
Like every other woman, I am guilty of not loving how I
look in the mirror but truth is, I don’t HAVE to always
love what’s on the outside because I will ALWAYS love
what’s on the inside. And I know that God made me the
way that He did so I can understand women’s
insecurities. So I can understand how a curvy woman
feels out of place in front of the camera. So I can
understand the woman who comes in frustrated because
nothing fits the way she wants. So I can tell you that
YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL just the way you are.
God created you for a purpose. He knows exactly what
He is doing long before He even does it. The trick is to
find your weakness, embrace it, love it and then flip it.
Ask yourself this question: “How can MY weakness
help someone else?” That’s the place to begin. Once
you do that, it’s a whole new world. Life just instantly
becomes beautiful.”
To participate in Vision of Rose Photography’s “The Beautiful Release”, you can visit her website here:
www.visionofrosephotography.com or visit on Facebook at www.facebook.com/vorphoto
BREAK FREE 2013 Women Ablaze International Ministries | Conference Review
On Saturday, August 24th we came together in the
presence of God and celebrated breaking FREE of the
chains that hold us back!
The evening was so anointed and full of women who
were experiencing God’s work first-hand. The evening
was hosted by Bianca Thomas of Women Ablaze
International Ministries.
We were blessed with performances from singers,
dancers, poem readings, inspirational messages,
learned how to defend ourselves and so much more.
A video recapping the night is coming soon on our
brand new website that is currently in the works. A
launch date will be announced very soon!
For now, you can view the images from the evening at:
http://visionofrosephotography.pass.us/wabfc2013/
Also, t-shirts and bands are still available from the
conference if you’d like to purchase one in support of
our ministry you can contact Bianca at: 804.536.5678
DESTINED FOR GREATNESS Declare and Decree!
"I PRAY THAT THE PERCEPTION OF YOUR MIND MAY BE ENLIGHTENED SO YOU MAY
KNOW WHAT IS THE HOPE OF HIS CALLING, WHAT ARE THE GLORIOUS RICHES OF HIS
INHERITANCE AMONG THE SAINTS, AND WHAT IS THE IMMEASURABLE GREATNESS OF
HIS POWER TO US WHO BELIEVE, ACCORDING TO THE WORKING OF HIS VAST
STRENGTH" (EPHESIANS 1:18-19)
SEPTEMBER ’S DINING IN RECIPE Hearty Beef Stew
School is coming up and for the working mom; it can
be difficult to make sure a warm meal is prepared
every night. But children’s nutrition is essential and
there is nothing like enjoying a dinner together, as a
family at the dinner table. There isn’t a night that goes
by that our family doesn’t come together at the table,
say a prayer over our food and then enjoy a warm
meal. This was always a necessity in my home when I
was growing up and it was a tradition that I surely
wasn’t ready to let go of when I had children of my
own.
One of the greatest benefits of this stew is it freezes
and lasts well so you can make it ahead of time, freeze
it and then slowly cook it out in the crockpot for 1-2
hours and you have a hearty meal that will fill you up!
You can also substitute the beef out for more veggies
and instead of using Beef Stock, use Vegetable Stock
for a hearty vegetable stew!
Pictured Above | Hearty Beef Stew
Hearty Beef Stew
3lbs Chuck Beef (cut into chunks)
3tbsp Olive Oil
2 Cups Baby Carrots
4-5 Large Potatoes (quartered)
2 Medium Onions (quartered)
1 Head of Garlic (chopped)
3tbsp Tomato Paste
1/3 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
3 Cups Beef Broth
2tbsp Dried Thyme
2tbsp Dried Rosemary
2tbsp Dried Basil
2 Cups Water
In a large stew pot, pour in your oil and heat to medium-high.
Once oil is hot, pour in your beef and add a sear to all sides
but do not cook all the way through. Pour the meat into a
bowl and set aside. In the same pot (do not wash) toss in
your onions, potatoes, carrots, garlic, tomato paste and
balsamic vinegar. Cook until almost all of the liquid has
steamed out (make sure you stir this so the vegetables do not
stick!) Put your vegetables into the same bowl as your meat
and set aside. Using your beef stock, pour it into the hot pan
to deglaze. Using a spoon, lightly scrape up all of the bits
from the bottom of your pot and stir them around to mix the
flavors. Toss in your thyme, rosemary and basil. Slowly pour
in your vegetable and beef mixture. Add 2 cups of water. Stir
around in your pot to mix well. You can either choose to
simmer your soup on low on the stove-top for 3-4 hours or
place it in a crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours. If you
choose to cook it stove-top, make sure every so often, you go
in and stir the stew so that it does not stick then immediately
replace the lid to your pot. If you choose to cook it in the
crockpot, you just set it and do not remove the lid until it's
done!
TO SUGGEST AN ARTICLE OR TOPIC, EMAIL [email protected]