Tuesday’s Trench Truth

Tuesday’s Trench Truth

When I say “elephant in the room,” what’s your first thought?

This phrase originated in the early ‘50s and is a metaphor for an obvious truth that is either being ignored or going unaddressed. This expression also applies to an obvious problem or risk no one wants to discuss.

All kidding aside, life wasn’t meant to be walking around elephants in the room!

I hope you’ll join us in one of our locations

Love,

Kim-Evinda

Thursday’s Trench Truth

Letting others know you’re not okay is not a reflection of your faith! Could this be why we hide what we’re really feeling?

Join us to learn how to live transparently, fueled by hope to love healthier…coming to a trench near you!

Monday mornings: Yucaipa

Monday evenings: Beaumont; Yucaipa

Wednesday evenings: Redlands/Loma Linda

Thursday evenings: Redlands, San Bernardino

Click on the picture below for more information

Looking forward to meeting you

Kim-Evinda

Active listening is authentically listening! MP

 Faith-Filled Friday

My Mother instructed me to always make eye contact with my teachers so they would think I was interested in what they were saying …

Welcome to Coffee Hour at Chicklit Power and Faith-Filled Friday with Trench Classes United & Megan Pilarik.

My Mother was a teacher, so undoubtedly she knew what it took to make a teacher feel valued. Making eye contact is an important component of active listening, but active listening is not the art of making others think you are interested in what they have to say. Active listening is the ability to be authentically interested in what someone is communicating to you.

My husband and I attended a family wedding this weekend. I thought this would be a good opportunity to practice active listening skills. I should have known better. My novice listening skills and I failed miserably. I was constantly distracted. Being a good listener takes a lot of commitment and focus! The only thing I accomplished was recognizing I was not being a very good listener.

Jesus listened. He was fully present with everyone He encountered. He gave people His full attention and permitted them to tell their story. He first listened - and then ministered to their needs.

The Christ-centered, Christian care Stephen Ministry teaches its caregivers the importance of listening before responding. People going through sickness, grief, and hard times need someone to share it with. Being heard helps them feel valued and understood.

God works through our listening to accomplish healing. God works through our listening to inspire others to do what they know they must do. 

James 1:19 (NKJV) “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”

                                                                                                                                

Be swift to listen … it just may be your greatest gift.

Your comments are always most welcome.

Lovingly in Christ,

Megan

Perseverance changes lives…yours and those whom you’re preserving for and with. EL

Wednesday’s Word

Do you ever feel uncomfortable sharing your faith with someone you fear won’t be as receptive as you’d like them to be? Do you feel reluctant to even approach the subject sometimes? I know I do. Thank the good Lord for those who don’t!

This is a reposting of a blog by Megan, one of our Coffee Hour writers. This blog though written last year is so relevant today and a truth that never gets old. I am confident you will agree.

Welcome to Coffee Hour at Chicklit Power and Wednesday’s Word with Trench Classes United.

Some time ago, I volunteered for the Women’s Bible Study sign-up table at church. As I assisted with registration, I could not help but overhear the conversation a woman was having with another volunteer at the table. She was lamenting how, once again, she had asked her friend to attend the bible study – and how, once again, her friend had declined.

I remember attending my first Bible Study. I did not know the first thing about the Word of God. Over the period of three years, a faithful Christian friend called me every time her Bible Study group started a new study, and every time I answered with a “No.” Even though I believed in God, I felt nothing I did was good enough for Him. I felt all of my failures were indicative of my unworthiness of Him. I definitely had a tumultuous relationship with God, and the point at which my life began to mirror my relationship with Him, I despairingly responded with a “Yes!”

When I told my husband I was going to attend a Bible Study, he asked, “What made you change your mind?” I told him I needed to find out why God did not love me.

I attended my first Bible Study because I believed God did not love me. Why was I convinced He did not love me? Because, I did not know the first thing about the Word of God! By the end of the first month, I knew how wrong I had been.

I momentarily stopped filling out a registration form and shared this story with the disheartened woman whose friend, once again, had turned down her invitation to Bible Study. I encouraged her to please...

DON’T STOP ASKING!

Perseverance like my friend’s, changes lives.

I know - it changed mine.

Your comments are always most welcome.

Lovingly in Christ,

Megan

Happy 8th Birthday

​8 years ago God begin the wildest roller coaster ride I've ever been on! I wouldn't trade it for the world and I'm still seat-belted in looking forward to many more years of serving him and others that they may thrive in life and love.
Love,
Kim-Evinda

Thursday’s Trench Truth

Knowledge unlocks the door to the mysteries of our mistakes; wisdom guides us away from repeating them. ^el

Join us for more encouragement in the journey at www.facebook.com/trenchclassesunited 

Click Me to Buy Tickets

Looking for a fun filled night full of laughter and GOOD times? Come and join us as we laugh the night away
Doors open at 7 PM, check in by 7:40 PM. Show Starts at 8 PM. 
Food available for Purchase.

When problems are minimized, not maximized, faith is exercised! el

Wednesday’s Word

Proverbs26:20 Where there is no wood, the fire goes out;

And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.

Have you ever said you’ve forgiven someone for an offense only to find that the next time that anything that even remotely reminds you of it, resentment re-ignites the flame of un-forgiveness? Thanks for joining me today for Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power and Wednesday’s Word with Trench Classes United.

If there’s one lesson I seem to be forgetting more than I’m getting, especially lately, is that the more I talk about a problem, the bigger it gets and before you know it, I’ve overwhelmed myself! Or what about when someone offends us; do you ever notice that the more you talk about it the more resentful you are? Oh, but this truth reveals the need for some scriptural sanitization of the mind!

Look at the words in this verse. They are certainly more quiet and gentle than my resentments that can build as fast as a freight train headed to its destination!

What a beautiful way of saying let go, let God, and of gently but quite firmly reminding me that I don’t need to keep adding wood to my tough circumstances by talking about them – in the name of venting – and I definitely don’t need to participate in a disagreement by continuing to disagree! That only makes resentment rise and our spirits fall.

Let’s have some fun with the NIV version of this verse:

Without wood a fire goes out – think about it; can a fire burn without wood? Of course not! This part of this instruction is telling me to minimize what I tend to maximize, and it can be applied to relationships and circumstances!

Let’s look at the second part of the verse: without a gossip a quarrel dies down. Ah, can a person fight all by themselves? What a funny picture, right, to leave a person standing there arguing by themselves because we refuse to participate. J J  But this verse is also telling me that many disagreements happen because of un-truths, aka, gossip! If you can’t say it to the person, you shouldn’t say it about the person! OUCH!

Maybe it’s time to minimize what I maximize, and let Him make it go away!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve tied me a few knots to remind me of these truths in the journey! I pray you’ve been able to do the same!
Much love,

Kim-Evinda

Tuesday’s Trench Truth

Faith is not a denial of painful circumstances; it’s the ability to trust Him to work in and through them ^EL

Join us for more encouragement at www.facebook.com/trenchclassesunited

Click Me to Buy Tickets  

Looking for a fun filled night full of laughter and GOOD times? Come and join us as we laugh the night away
Doors open at 7 PM, check in by 7:40 PM. Show Starts at 8 PM. 
Food available for Purchase.

Faith Filled Friday

Psalm 37:5 ⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this

 Thanks for joining me today for Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Faith-Filled Friday with Trench Classes United.

Growing up I took care of my siblings. Maybe that’s why others often encouraged me to take child development classes in High School, which I thrived in. Children are God’s gift to me. I love working with them. I always dreamed of being a teacher and/or a daycare provider. God answered, my prayer two years ago, and I have been enjoying running my own in-home daycare. I was content; my prayers prayed since I was nineteen had been answered. WOW! I am so thankful and overjoyed.

So why rock the boat, right? But I find that oftentimes when you are content and thankful, God opens another door, and at first sight, it may look like walking through that door will pull us out of the place of contentment. Let me share what I mean: Just recently I was meeting with my son’s Independent study teacher, and again, for the fifth year, she told me that I needed to go back to school to become a teacher. Each year I would consider it but felt it wasn’t the right time; I didn’t feel like I could take on the extra load.

Well, friends, this time, I felt a stirring in my spirit, and I have been proactive about getting the process started. I feel confident that I can do it! What is ironic about this stirring is that at this time of my life, I am in a very busy season, yet, I feel like now is the time.

I am excited for this new season of my life; I am also terrified.

This is where I will stand in faith and trust and know that God will lead me down this narrow path. God placed the stirring in my spirit, and the abundance of confidence I have in myself to conquer this mountain.  

Of course, this new faith adventure comes with the attacks of the enemy, who is doing his best to detour me from God’s plan, using things like finances, time, knowledge, telling me I am lacking in each of these. I combat these attacks by speaking God’s truths over me. The verse that God has tucked deep in my heart is Philippians 4:8 New Living Translation (NLT) ^8 “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

This instruction weeds out all of the enemy’s lies.

Has God called you to take a step of faith, a new career, a new school, a move, et cetera?

Despite how scary it may look or feel, don’t ignore the stirring in your spirit, for God calls us to great and scary adventures not to harm us but to better us, challenge us, and to make us more in His image. As we embark on our new journeys, we will have to lean ever so deeply into His strength and wisdom to get through the narrow and steep climb He’s called us to.

Take courage, He has a great purpose for you and me.

Love,

Ashley

A personal mission statement can be your Google! EL

 Wednesday’s Word

In a world of Google, Siri, Alexa, GPS and any other techno guide, how is it we still can get so lost? Thanks for joining Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Wednesday’s Word with Trench Classes United.

A mission statement gives a business, a ministry a purpose, a direction to head and hopefully a destination to reach. Our Board of Directors has been meeting for several months now to refine and align our organization’s mission statement. That got me thinking about my personal mission statement and what our worlds would look like if we each had a personal mission statement as believers and followers of our Loving Father.

If it is developed and created with the same three principles followed for a business, a non-profit organization, including a ministry like ours, it would include what you or I wish to focus on, what we wish to accomplish and what we’d like to achieve or become as a result of that focus.

A personal mission statement reveals where our energy is focused, helps determine our actions, our choices and behaviors. In other words, our personal mission statement reveals a lot about what is most important to us.

Wouldn’t it be fun to begin reading His promises and principles in search of your own personal mission statement? What is it that you would like to achieve in this life to prepare you for the next? What is nearest and dearest to your heart?

I’ll share one of mine with you and by all means, in the Christian economy, I wouldn’t be the least bit offended if you adopted it as your own! After all, these words are directly from Christ Himself, for me and for you!
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven”!

And might I add that you won’t always receive a “like” or a “share” or a “re-tweet”! But that’s okay because He sees it and likes it and multiplies it!

On a mission,

Kim-Evinda

Praise changes our internal perspective & gives us an eternal focus! EL

Faith Filled Friday

I come to you this Friday, with a heart of praise. Today, I want to just give thanks for all God has done and is doing in my life. Day after day there is a new hurdle to jump over, a new stress, anxiety, and exhaustion. The list can go on and on. Thanks for joining me for Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Faith-Filled Friday with Trench Classes United.

I want to stop today, and not so much look at the list of chaos that is constant among us, but give thanks for our Mighty God who brings up and over every hurtle that come across our path.

I am so thankful that when we pray, God bends down and listens and He doesn’t just listen but He guides, shields, and protects us…from the enemy and from ourselves. We are so weak, but He is so strong, and He is able and happy to carry us through our days, and /or weeks and months. He never tires of carrying us through our messes.  

Psalm 55:22 New King James Version (NKJV)

²² Cast your burden on the Lord,
And He shall sustain you;
He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

I give Him thanks during my time of waiting on prayers to be answered, and as I praise Him I am thankful for Him going before me and working out all the details that I can’t even begin to comprehend. There are times when we might think He is slow to answer us, but I am learning over and over again that we just can’t see as He does; therefore, we must wait with great expectations. This is to trust that He has our very best in mind and wants the very best for us always. God knows what’s the very best for us, so we must keep our eyes fixed on Gods will and not our own!

Jeremiah 29:11 New King James Version (NKJV)

¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Oh beloveds, give Him all your praise! Lift up His name in Praise and count your blessings one by one. Oh, the joy and peace that will come over you is indescribable. He loves to spend time with us, He longs for us to sit at His feet and soak in His glory. Our victory and honor come from God alone, not from others! Thank Him for that today! Thank Him for all He has done and for all He is going to do for you! He loves us with an everlasting love, a love that no one can ever give us here on this earth. Praise Him today with me!

Ashley

What you do to be heard & understood determines how well you will be heard and understood. EL

Invitation Thursday:

Have you ever felt misunderstood by friends you deemed close? What do you do to right the wrong? Do you write them off or work through it? Learning to communicate through misunderstandings can be difficult at best. Join us tonight at 5:45 for a little friendship test to determine your strength of friendships at www.facebook.com/trenchclassesunited  and plan on joining us for a life-changing relationship workshop with best-selling authors, Milan & Kay Yerkovich (authors of How we Love) THIS Saturday from 9-3. Tickets are still available.

Looking forward to seeing you on F.B. live tonight at 5:45

 See you there

Love,

Kim-Evinda

P.S. Don’t forget to join me tonight on Facebook Live at 5:45 @ www.facebook.com/trenchclassesunited

When we are able to correct with love we will connect in love! EL

Invitation Tuesday

Are you the fun parent or the disciplinary parent? Would you like a better connection with your child or children?

Join us tomorrow night for our Facebook live at 5:45 @ www.facebook.com/trenchclassesunited  to gain some insight into your parenting style and THIS Saturday, for our powerful, life-changing relationship seminar with best-selling authors of the book How We Love. Tickets still available

See you there,

Kim-Evinda

P.S. Don’t forget to join me live at 5:45 tomorrow night @ www.facebook.com/trenchclassesunited

Faith-Filled Friday

The week started off great, and then out of nowhere, anxiety hit me like a ton of bricks. The lies screaming so fiercely in my face made it nearly impossible to hear the small whisper of God’s words speaking truth to me.  Welcome to Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Faith-Filled Friday with Trench Classes United.

Have you ever experienced that, panic like a wave of the ocean threatening to overwhelming you?

I fought against it with all my strength and with the strength of the Lord, I decided, to praise God for all He had done for me and continues to do for me. it sounds easy to do, but during this time it took all of me to see any good. Obedience slowly calmed the storm, and then another crashing wave of lies would take me deep beneath the seas. As I cried out in desperation, I was reminded of where my help comes from; it comes from the Lord! As I was trembling, the emotion and lies were almost too much to bear and God showed up in an unsuspecting place: Facebook! God put in my line of sight a song I never heard before. Let me share a bit of it with you.

“Jesus, Jesus you make the darkness tremble! Jesus, Jesus you silence fear.”

Oh how these words resonated in my soul. I sang this with all my heart and declared Gods Amazing truth over me! Jesus, knew I needed this song right then and there, and I could feel the sea parting, and that I could once again breath, and I could clearly hear the whisper of Gods voice. He never left me, I know he sent His heavenly host to fight this battle for me.

I am learning that the enemy is threatened by us. He desperately wants to keep us distracted and unfocused,  so we are no longer focused on our one true love at these times.

Beloveds, can you relate or is this something you are experiencing now? Please open your Bibles or reach out to prayer partners; rebuke the lies of the enemy and reassure yourself that they don’t belong with you. God is our helper, protector, and truth speaker. We are never alone! Hallelujah! I pray this scripture resonates deeply in your hearts and encourages you as it did me. Speak this Psalm of truth over you today:  Psalm 121

¹ I look up to the mountains—
    does my help come from there?
² My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth!

³ He will not let you stumble;
    the one who watches over you will not slumber.
⁴ Indeed, he who watches over Israel
    never slumbers or sleeps.

⁵ The Lord himself watches over you!
    The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
⁶ The sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon at night.

⁷ The Lord keeps you from all harm
    and watches over your life.
⁸ The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
    both now and forever.

Love,

Ashley

In the journey of loving and being loved, who is your Tour Guide?

Invitation Thursday

Have you heard the exciting news? Milan & Kay Yerkovich, Best-Selling Authors of the book How We Love will be joining us as our guest speakers in our How to Love Who You Love workshop May 12^th.  Take this quick little quiz and if you answer yes to any of these questions, please accept this invitation to join us and learn why you love who you love the way that you love!

1.   Do you have a hard time becoming vulnerable and asking for help or even just a hug?

2.   Do you keep score on your own mistakes and those of others especially those that affect you? 

3.     Do you have a hard time delaying gratification and waiting for something you want?

Plan on joining us to see how these questions relate to relationships!

Looking forward to seeing you

Kim-Evinda

Expressing love instead of an opinion will change an opinion every time! EL

Wednesday’s Word

Has someone ever offered you their opinion without you asking for it? It can be unnerving at times, can’t it?

Welcome to Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Wednesday’s Word with Trench Classes United. I’m so happy you joined me for some heart to heart time.

So I’m just going to get right to it, what’s in my heart that is, so come on in for a sneak peek at my journal and a personal struggle.

Journal entry: “Lord, I’m really struggling to not stay in my head about people who profess to have accepted you, to love you, and yet…don’t necessarily live for you. At least that’s my opinion.”

What came out of my pen rendered me humbled, and I know it was Him, because Coffee Hour Friend, I know firsthand that He speaks to us in ways unique to us and since I was writing to Him He wrote through me!

Daughter, I’m not asking for your opinion; I’m merely asking you to love them!

Talk about a sweet piece of humble pie!

And then I flipped the pages back in a study I’m doing about being thankful…and I came across this answer to the question: what has been your response to new life in Jesus and in what ways is death still to come, meaning in what ways do I still need to die so I can grow?

My answer: New life has taken time. It’s been a process of dying; some things slower to die than others, and still some things just needing that one little cut to be dead that I would continue to rise in Christ.”

Conclusion: My opinion of someone else’s relationship with Christ can actually interfere with my own relationship with Christ and is of no significance compared to how I love them.  Can I encourage you, Coffee Hour friend as it says in 1stPeter 4:8: Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Love,

Kim-Evinda

Join us to learn how to free yourself from the need to defend yourself…in relationships!

Invitation Tuesday

Have you ever received a tongue-lasing from someone you love or care deeply about…unexpectedly? The shock value is often what escalates that not-so-kind verbal blast into an all-out disagreement and before you know it, two people who care about each other are on opposite sides of life.

Welcome to Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Invitation Tuesdays with Trench Classes United.

What would it look like if after the unexpected tongue lashing, we stepped back, sort of bent down emotionally, in other words, humbled ourselves and tried to sort through our own emotions of it, and then look for clues as to why they felt the need to spill like a volcano all over you?

It’s not easy but possible and powerful for it frees you to really listen without agreeing and it frees you from that need to defend yourself.

Join us to learn how to work through those waves of internal emotions and lessen that tendency to defend yourself.

Looking forward to meeting you

Kim-Evinda

Sometimes we are moving so fast in life we forget how to be alive!

Thursday’s Trench Truth

Do you ever find yourself overcommitted and overwhelmed? Welcome to Thursday’s Trench Truth with Trench Classes United.

Sometimes it is not until we are having a meltdown that we push back and are able to experience a comeback. Most of the time, this is as a result of not knowing how to say no!

Learning to say no to others is saying yes to you!

The next time you’re asked to do something, before saying no, step back…then proceed forward.

Truthfully,

Kim-Evinda

Why do we wait until things are bad to try & make them better?

“I didn’t know that things were so bad that we had to take a class,” she repeated for me. I sat and listened as she recounted the rest of her reasons for not returning to our current class, seriously wanting to scream with exasperation…but I didn’t. J

Welcome to Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Invitation Thursday with Trench Classes United.

What came out of my mouth was the cry of my heart: Why do we think we have to wait until things are really bad to try and make them better?

The truth is we can never over-understand the ones we love, and there’s always someone in our world needing a little bit more of our understanding. There’s no such thing as a “perfect” relationship, but there are tools to use to get you closer.

Join us for a eye-opening, heartwarming, life-changing relationship event:

Faith Filled Friday

Hello and welcome back to another Faith Filled Friday! 

Tonight I found myself wrapping up some paperwork for work and decided to start wrapping the presents. I was so tired and stressed from constantly playing catch-up, so it felt good to shift my remaining energy toward the gift-wrapping.

While I was sitting there I noticed I had no stimuli to help create a better evening. I didn't want to switch on the television and get lost in all of the bad news, so I decided to turn on the stereo. As I glided through my old CD collection, I came across an old band I had not listened to in so many years so I put that one in. About four or five songs played and I realized it was soothing my soul, making my evening and wrapping (which I may add I am really terrible at) much better.

And then a song came on that made me stop what I was doing. The memories the song brought hit me pretty hard. Music has always had a profound impact upon me; it is a way to my soul. It has a way of taking us back, doesn’t it?

This particular song lifted me back to a different time of life and it was almost as if I felt a different part of me, like a previous chapter of myself. It was almost spiritual in its own way. 

I couldn't help but feel tears well up from deep within me. There was a lot of sadness in that chapter of life, but I can tell you there was more a prevalent happiness and warmth from it as well. I won't go into the details but I will say this: I am a true believer that there are memories and emotions within us all that we don't sit down and cherish enough. Sometimes something like a song comes along and releases them when we least expect it.

There are a thousand and one reasons in which we don't take the time to harness out and relish our memories, but shouldn't life not only be about reflecting, but also taking the time to just play a good song, sit down in peace and quiet and absorb the moment of a great memory or even the present moment itself? Tonight I felt a peace despite some of the pain in it.

I love the thought that it could very well have been God sent. Perhaps not even by playing it by chance, but more that God inspired a group of people who wrote the song, only to sit on a shelf for years and released at a perfect time 20 years later. I told a friend about it and he said "Chance!" At this stage in my life I think I have come to believe that "Chance" itself can very well be God sent as well. 

For me it's a good night, as I hope it is for all of you. Don't we all deserve such a thing? Much love everyone and remember to keep a part of yourself reserved for when these precious memories come along and you can reflect, absorb all while letting a great song spark it off.

John