Faith · Speaker

Leaning into Promise

It’s still cold here in Chicago. The promise of Spring is slow in coming, and teases us with random days of warmth, going from 65 degrees one day to 35 the next. The upcoming week predicts rain every day, making it difficult to imagine that new growth and brighter days are ahead.

How many of us have been there in our lives? Wondering when the clouds would part and the sun would break through?

As women of faith we cling to the hope that the Lord is our shield and our deliverer. We trust that he will rescue us when the storms threaten to overwhelm us.

We rely on the promises of God given to us through the living Word.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

At Deeply Rooted in May we will be focusing on God’s unconditional, trustworthy promises to us, his daughters. So many of us need more truth poured into us. All of us have experienced the desert, wandering around needy in the wilderness, fashioning gods with our own hands like the Israelites. God’s promises to them are the same promises for us:

Psalm 81:6–10

“I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
your hands were freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I delivered you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
There shall be no strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
I am the LORD your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. (ESV)

All we have to do is open our mouths wide and he will fill them with deliverance, healing, wisdom, and comfort. Open your mouth with us on May 18th!!!

Our May gathering features spoken-word poetry, worship, a speaker, and homemade desserts:)

Meet our Speakers

We want to gather talent locally, diligently searching for women who are furthering the kingdom with their words, their art, their very presence.

Ciera Smith was so good in November 2017 that we invited her back!!

Ciera Smith at Deeply Rooted in Chicago

Ciera, a Chicago transplant from Philadelphia, has lived on the West Side for the last 5 years. She is currently working as an Academic Coordinator at Breakthrough Urban Ministries in the East Garfield Park neighborhood where she facilitates the literacy curriculum for the K-3rd grade classes and trains teachers on best teaching practices. It is there at Breakthrough where she fell in love with working with youth and investing deeply in the lives of the students.
Having received her first masters in Urban Studies and Youth Development at Eastern University in Mary 2018, Ciera is now pursuing her second masters at DePaul University in Education and School Counseling. Ciera has a firm belief that students whose mental and social emotional health is not taken care of, students will not be able to thrive in the classroom in academics. Ciera finds joy in writing, cooking, checking out new coffee shops and restaurants in the city, and spending time with friends.

Aubrey Sampson had a previous engagement she was not aware of and had to cancel, BUT we now have Catherine McNiel joining us!

Catherine Carlson McNeil

 

Catherine is a writer and speaker who seeks to open eyes to God’s creative, redemptive work in each day. Catherine is the author of All Shall Be Well: Awakening to God’s Presence in His Messy, Abundant World coming out in August and Long Days of Small Things: Motherhood as a Spiritual Discipline, which was an ECPA finalist for New Author. She’s on the lookout for wisdom, beauty, and iced coffee.
If you subscribe to her blog at Everyday Epiphanies, she will send you a free gift: a booklet called Be Still: An At-Home Meditation Guide, guided meditations and reflections ranging from 10 minutes to 30 minutes, or 90 minutes if you use them all back to back. You can even use it to do a simple at-home retreat!