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| If I … I Will Book |
Shelly and I were invited to be a stop on a Blog Tour in support of a new Christian book, If I … I Will about the suffering woman in Mark 5 whom Jesus healed. Through personal experiences, the author, Debbie Sutton Covington, does a good job exploring the story and suffering of this woman in Mark 5 to help the reader step past our own suffering and reach for Jesus’ hand to be healed.
As part of the Blog Tour, I had the opportunity to interview the author, Debbie Sutton Covington, via email.
What inspired you to write about this topic?
The word “if” jumped out at me one day in study and The Spirit spoke to me about how you have to be willing to take a step and that is the “if.” You will receive healing, but it is an “if” until you do something. The Spirit prompted me to share with others about taking “the step” – The Step of Faith by writing this story.
What drew you personally to the story of the suffering woman in Mark 5?
Mark 5:25-34 speaks to women. She suffered, She grew worse, she heard, She thought, She felt all emotions that every woman walking and most men have felt at some point in our life! We have all felt every one of the emotions at some point in our journey and will feel them again. If it helps others to share a little bit of my story about those times in my own journey then why not help another? The suffering woman helped others by stepping out and reaching for Jesus and she drew me to Jesus and hopefully I will do the same.
What inspired you to start a new women’s ministry, Journey of Sisters Ministry?
I had been serving in the local church in the role of program director and women’s ministry leader when I began to have that uneasy feeling that The Lord was moving me out once again of that “safe place.” He was starting something new and I wasn’t exactly sure what it was until it had been happening for over a year that the scripture from Joshua 1:9 kept coming to me at events, study, and worship. One day while pumping gas a beautiful African American woman approached me and asked if she could share scripture with me and she began quoting Joshua 1:9. I knew I was suppose to step out in faith, but I wasn’t sure how and where. So I went in and stepped down from the role I was playing and waited. Still I had no peace until one day I realized I was to bring ALL women together to worship Him. It seemed I was being led to break down barriers that we humans have built by our economic levels, skin color, ages, denominations and the list could go on and on about how we built walls, but that we are to bring them down to worship Him. The Kingdom is about Him, and we get in the way. So I felt very strongly the Spirit leading me to host events where He is always our focus and the other stuff is to get out of the way.
What services do you offer in this ministry?
We host community wide events with well-known leaders in worship where we come together to worship God. We always provide tickets for women that are unable to afford the tickets. Our ministry is supported by fifteen local churches and growing daily with the support of the local pastors that see we are truly about Kingdom building ~ God’s Kingdom!
Also, our events always have a mission focus. We raise money for our women’s shelters, after school programs, young women having babies, the homeless and we serve in these settings teaching and loving on these women. We share ourselves and the “light” with women that just need to know that God sees them and perhaps He uses us to let them know that very thing. We are His arms and Legs to love on others in this hard world we live in today.
What advice do you have for women who want to love the idea of your Journey of Sisters Ministry but don’t have something similar available to them at their church?
The advice that I have for women is to listen to the Spirit and step out in Faith. God will hold your hand and provide what He wants the ministry to look like and to be. You just have to be willing to take the step! I always tell women to take the step, because the dance is absolutely unbelievable. I am going to insert our dancing girl which is truly the vision of the way life has been since I took the step God called me to take and follow. So, take the step. It is the dance of a lifetime!
About Debbie
Debbie Sutton Covington writes and speaks on women in the church. She is also the founder of Journey of Sisters, a ministry that encourages women in their walk in faith through weekly devotionals, monthly newsletters, and fellowship opportunities. Debbie and her husband Kenny and their dogs live in Shreveport, Louisiana.
You can purchase If I … I Will through Amazon at http://amzn.to/ifiiwill.
The If I … I Will Blog Tour, hosted by Red Couch PR, is November 1st through 5th. Follow along and read a different post about the book and author each day.
