Jan Hicks

Living life without regret was what Jan Hicks talked about at the Women's Weekly Prayer Breakfast on August 9, 2018. She grabbed us all by the soul as she shared her awesome transformation “in the Lord”. Jan gave her life to Jesus at the age of 42 and today Jan lives a life free of regret. Her book “Crossing2Freedom” has been a life changer for thousands, including me. Consider just how far is the distance from the East to the West. If you begin traveling East to arrive at the West you will never arrive --- as the distance is eternal, it is incalculable. So when God says that He forgave our sins and will remember them know more, and “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12 ---- when we embrace this FACT as our truth, we can be FREE to love ourselves, and our neighbors as He loves us. God's unconditional Love continues to accomplish in us and through us. As we accept His forgiveness, we can then forgive ourselves as God already has. Hallelujah ! We can now live without regret for what we may have done…or may not have done! Therefore let us celebrate this day that the Lord has made, and let us rejoice and be glad in it! God promised that he would restore what was lost to us in our wild days! “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten…” Joel 2:25 Let us praise God in all things, the good, the bad and the ugly! “Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.” Psalm 71:20 - Oh Lord Jesus, 

Today I want to extend love and light, I want to be more of what you created me to be. Lord, show me how I can issue more love and light into the world around me. Oh Lord thank You for Thy kingdom come unto me, this day, as it is in heaven! “Lord, by such things people live; and my spirit finds life in them too. You restored me to health and let me live. Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love You kept me from the pit of destruction; You have put all my sins behind Your back.” Isaiah 38:16-17  Jan Hicks comes to Lakesie as a friend and teacher at the Wellspring conference at Jucum.  Get to know ALL that the Lord has restored for His purpose.  Be entirely inspired by what our God can do for you. Jan's Amazing Testimony

Dawn Armstrong

Dawn is a precious Japanese flower that was transplanted from Hawaii to Mexico! Her dazzling soul touches many! She is also known for those hurricane force hugs that squeeze the joy right out of you!  She is another Preacher's wife at Lakeside. Dawn was born in Honolulu in 1959.  She has one older brother who lives in Utah, and a younger sister that lives in Hawaii. With a wide smile Dawn shared "God blessed me with awesome parents!  Growing up in Hawaii was more magical than the popular show 'Leave it to Beaver!'  My mother came from Okinawa at the age of 4 to Hawaii. I am so proud of my mom, she studied hard and worked as a nurse for many years. My grandparents on mom's side were exposed to Christianity by a neighbor who took the family to a Salvation Army church. It was astonishing for me to learn that my grandparents deviated from the common Buddhist practices of their culture to a faith in Jesus."  Dawn accepted Jesus as her Savior when she was just 15. "The Truth showed me that my thoughts were not His. Right after I got saved I foolishly dreamed 'I am a Christian now and life will be so easy!' Life took a few hard turns before I obtained my degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Hawaii." For 20 years Dawn blessed many children with her teaching and example of God's mercy and love!  After college Dawn chose to get married.  In 1989 she gave birth to her daughter Kelli , then in 1992 her son Todd was born. Soon after her son was born, Dawn chose to re-dedicate her life to Christ. After seven years of marriage, Dawn and her first husband divorced. For the next four years, this single mom continued to work as the Director of a church Preschool. God had His plans for Dawn and while still living in Hawaii, Dawn met Ken, her current husband.

"Ken was the CEO of Habitat for Humanity and his office space was provided by the church I was working in. In December of 1998 I took my kids around the offices to sing Christmas carols.  I knocked on Ken's office door and when he opened it... I thought 'who was this man?'.  My kids and I sang a few songs and that very night is when our romance began." Ken and Dawn got married in April 2000.  While the family took their time to adjust, in 2001 this newlywed couple moved to Grants Pass, Oregon. Blending her kids with Ken's daughter was difficult as Amanda lived in California. "I had lost my passion for teaching kids and agreed to look after our pastor's mother-in-law.  Well I loved it! For the next 14 years, while living in Oregon, I was fulfilled by a career in Elder Care. Ken became the Associate Pastor in two Oregon congregations and we also conducted a "home church".  In 2005 Ken and Dawn were led to open a coffee house which they named the 'Wildfire Christian Fellowship'. God provided all that was needed, but He was not done with His greater plans for this obedient couple. In 2009 Dawn's dad lost his battle with cancer, but before he went home to Jesus, it was his wish that the family reconcile their differences. "My dad's personal relationship and trust in Jesus gave him peace. John 14: 1-4 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am." In March of 2016 Ken interviewed to fill a pulpit position in Oregon.  Ken put the word out that he was available for a few months before his new position began. A dear friend from Mexico suggested that Ken fly to Lakeside and preach for 5 weeks.  Ken accepted the invite and flew to Guadalajara by himself.

On the phone with Dawn in Oregon, Ken shared that he felt the call to move and serve in Mexico. "Ken and I had colorful phone discussions and I was absolutely opposed at first! Then against my will, God gave me His peace over the move.  I flew to Mexico for Ken's 5th week of preaching at Little Chapel.  We visited a few small fishing villages and I fell in love with the people and the culture! I found myself saying 'Let's do this!' Ken and Dawn packed 6 giant tubs and their wonder dog Duke into their car and on October 1, 2016 they drove to Mexico.' We make our plans, and the Lord changes them!  What we thought we would be doing has changed many times since we moved to Lakeside." On Mother's Day 2018 Pastor Ken and his beautiful bride Dawn established a nondenominational Christian congregation, "The Lord's Church" which is located in San Antonio, across the street from Panino's.  Dawn has held tightly to the Truth of Jeremiah 29:11. Ever positive, she encourages everyone to "Trust in God, and in His plans.  He never changes, but His plans for us may take us in surprising directions. Our Father shows us a few steps ahead, never all the bumps, twists and turns.  That is where our 'FAITH' comes in.  Today I can honestly say that I have no regrets. My life has been filled with delightful surprises! Two grandchildren and a wonderful, faithful husband who encourages me to be all that God has designed me to be!" Living in Mexico is a new exciting chapter for Ken and Dawn, and while they still maintain a strong connection to their Oregon church "family", they praise God for their new family at Lakeside. The above cutie picture is of Dawn's grand kiddos taken in Sept 2018. A happy Pickles is holding her new baby brother Kolten. "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wing. Psalm 17:8" For certain, with good reason, Dawn is the apple of Ken's eye!  Lord thank You for giving us Dawn to cherish, we see Your reflection of love in her eyes! Dawn and her husband Ken moved back to the USA in May of 2019. We pray for Ken Armstrong as he was called to run for the President of the USA on the Libertarian ticket.

Barbara Hoyle Yada Yada

I am Barbara,  that shameless woman who is always fascinated to listen and marvel about what God has done in the lives of others.  My passion for non-fiction books is second to writing and listening to a good story.  The truth remains, I have yet to hear a life story which did not involve a few unforseen tragedies. In 1951 my mother (an immigrant from Germany) gave birth to her final child. Little Barbie was almost born in the back of a police car in Modesto, California.  My sister Mary and I are only 10 months apart an our older brother Ben was our childhood hero. For my first three years we lived on a chicken ranch, then we moved briefly to San Francisco, and ended up in Stockton where I graduated from Amos Alonzo Stagg Senior High School in 1969.  I have been a gypsy when it comes to moving about the planet.  I married my high school sweetheart in 1970 and our only son Jason was born in 1971. After three years of a rocky marriage, a divorce was filed and my son and I moved to Sacramento.  Looking back,  I lived on the run...in Santa Cruz, Diamond Bar, Manteca, Humble and Corpus Christi, Tx,  New Iberia, Louisiana, Galt and I retired in Mexico.   My lifelong personal quest to get to know Jesus more deeply, more closely, more intimately, is now possible, as I can "be still" at Lakeside.

Praise God, for all things! As I reflect back I recognize the steady holy presence of God. Ever present, always guiding, loving, protecting while teaching me His great ways. In 2019 my understanding blossomed more fully! In January of 2019 a group of 20 wildly diverse women began meeting up for the first ever BSF at a local church in Riberas! It was time to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and what the Holy Spirit revealed was captured in a book entitled  Behind the Curtain. Born and raised Catholic, church was in Latin. At seven years of age, the Spirit led me to sit in the back of a few area churches, alone, to see if God loved the Methodists, Protestants, or Pentecostals. My full testimony is on a link below, but the short version is that God confirmed that He loves all seekers of the Truth. Since moving to Lakeside in 2014, I found it somewhat difficult to connect with people at a soul level, even in the various churches I have attended. We have all boldly moved to a foreign land and we have all left behind close relations. ❤ As women of the living Word, we fully trust that God will replenish all we need to grow "in Him".  Through this Women of Value blog, my prayers have been answered. A fresh bouquet of passionate, adventurous women have transparently and boldly opened up their hearts.. My short life has been an amazing search and rescue mission for Jesus, AMEN! Ask me about the time the FBI was called upon to keep me safe from Jimmy Hoffa and his dangerous thugs!  Or the time I flat lined during surgery and God raised me back to life.  As a young girl I was trained to keep family secrets. I worked hard to present myself as normal and acceptable. One very painful secret was that at the age of 15 my mother ushered me into a private hospital to give birth to a daughter I have named Andrea Marie. The entire outside-of-marriage-pregnancy-and-birth was covered up with trips to a convent for counseling. The nurse put a blanket over my eyes and my first born child was removed from my body never to be seen by me. My mother admonished "we will never speak of this again."  Hushed into secrecy, guilt consumed my soul. Tearful torments filled my nights as I longed to know what family adopted Andrea. As a group leader for a Christian based recovery program, I have learned that very few have escaped childhood without a scar. My mother

concocted the lie that I was to tell. "I had enough credits so I opted to skip the first half of my senior year so I would not miss out on all the fun senior activities." Truth is I was tutored at home during my shame filled pregnancy. With my secret secure, right out of high school I worked for JC Penny, then I served the public as a teller for a bank. I married the father of my first born when I was 19. Our second child was named Jason.  There are too many short stints and twists in my journey to itemize, but looking back, I SEE Jesus ever with me and  I would not change a thing!  My college education was obtained through a series of life and work related hard lessons.  2006 was a hard year while I recovered from a brain anyuresm, my father and ex husband died.  After fallung to the floor at work temporarily paralyzed, I bled internally from a VAD and was rushed to UC Davis Hospital. The medical community reported I should be dead or paralyzed. My heavenly Father had other plans for me. There are more marvelous blessings than tragedies!  I participated in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea as an Ambassador of Goodwill for the USA. By the grace of God  I thrived as a divorced woman for over 30 years until I met Mike, a retired pastor. After six months of dating,  we bravely tied the knot! Obediently, I surrendered my plans to move to Mexico alone and volunteer to  marry Michael Hoyle on November 17, 2012.

Then, as it happens, in March of 2016 my mom died, and in April 2016 my only son Jason died. Hope for other mom's Grieving a child   God has His plan for all of us and He never gives us more than we can handle ALONE.  God knows our past, present and future. I praise God for His ways, and His perfect timing! My heavenly Father knows best and I  needed a man of faith to lean on after I retired in December 2014. My job working for the police department was extremely stressful.  I love living in Mexico and through this blog I hope to connect deeply with Women of Faith.  Words cannot contain my gratitude for all that God has done in me and for me. My full disclosure testimony is on this post written right after retiring.   Denial and Surrender to Jesus.  My hard learned life lesson is that when I face hard situations, that I seek my Father's counsel and trust Him. Historically I can see countless times that I would have been way better off had I sought the counsel of God first before jumping out on a whim!  My prayer: “Lord, help me with how to respond to the person you lead me to talk to this day. Help me to observe You in every situation and give me words to speak, or just poke me in my spirit when I am to just listen and say nothing. Holy Spirit, I proclaim You as my most reliable and loving counselor.  Help me hear Your voice, and embrace Your comfort whenever in need.  I trust You as the Driver and it is my privilege to allow You to lead me.  My miserable failures and goofy choices continue to humble me as experience reminds me to trust God and seek His counsel first. God has placed a few awesome friends in my life who are bold enough to speak the truth in love.  No advice will ever compare, however, to the Spirit of God speaking directly to me. This is why Jesus told His disciples that it was better that He go away to make way for the one coming after Him (John 16:7). In our moments of desperation, He is with us, but He will only come when He is called upon.  He will speak when we are willing to listen and obey His direction." To God be ALL the GLORY for the massive amount of unwasted grace He poured into me. God bless all who have contributed by their brave willingness to be interviewed. YOU ARE APPRECIATED!!!! and VALUED!!!!