Youre Invited! Please Join Us!

Dear Friends,
If you are like me, Christmas letters can often seem outdated and simply a competition to keep up with the neighbors. But this Christmas letter written by my husband is so much more. Please be patient and consider his words…then a surprise awaits you at the end. It’s a gift that we both pray will make this Christmas the best ever as you share our gift to you with family and friends!
With Much Love, Linda

“Lord, please help me get one more!”

This simple prayer was the heart cry of Desmond Doss (featured in the movie Hacksaw Ridge), a devout Christian and conscientious objector who served as an unarmed medic with front line combat troops on Okinawa. In an unimaginable feat of heroism and faith, he single-handedly saved over seventy-five men–lowering each wounded soldier four hundred feet to safety with a single rope (and becoming the only conscientious objector in WWII to win the Medal of Honor)!

While not in armed conflict, we are in a war waged by unseen principalities and forces. There is a war for the very soul of America and Linda and I both feel the fervency of this prayer to “save one more.” For our entire 18+ year marriage, sharing spiritual truths, helping others grow in their faith, and explaining to many how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the focus of our life, marriage, career, and ministry. In 2013, Linda launched Your Refreshed Life……

One especially meaningful quote to me (Reen) is by George Eliot , “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” While many of you are aware of my thirty-year career in real estate (much of it with my family’s real estate business), what most don’t know is that since I was in my early teens I wanted to be in ministry. Raised a Catholic, I was deeply impacted by Father Kevin McMahon who poured his life into helping others. Since I couldn’t be a priest and marry, I moved to other directions. While involved in marketplace ministry all these years, my desire to be in full-time ministry never faded.

In 1990, I discovered Christianity was not a religion but instead the opportunity to experience a personal relationship with Jesus Christ- God’s desire for every person- and I accepted His invitation while attending Bay Area Community Church (non-denominational) in Annapolis. Then in 2002, I earned my master’s degree in Christian Counseling so I could minister to those who crossed my path.

In 2020, just before the pandemic struck, I was hired as a small groups and counseling pastor at a small church on the Eastern Shore. But with the pandemic, after six months, my position was eliminated. After this happened, I told Linda, “No more ministry attempts for me.” But, with a knowing smile, she quoted Romans 11:28- “The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.”

So, as you are reading this letter, we are excited to share that we are now full-time staff members with The Navigators (www.navigators.org). Over these years, I was interested in several ministry positions but when it got to the subject of raising our own salary from a personal support base of donors, my interest waned.
Realizing the state of our nation and the need for helping others solidify their faith and learn how to reach others, I finally decided to stop resisting God’s will and instead embrace it. We are now raising our personal support. As with most vocational ministries, we are in fact missionaries and must raise 100% of our monthly financial support from people who believe in us and our mission to help others.

Our ministry focus within the Navigators is twofold. As we continue Your Refreshed Life, Linda is also passionate about creating effective curriculum to help women grown in their faith. With the resources from the Navigators, as we both work together to continue producing all the elements of Your Refreshed Life (radio programs, podcasts, newsletters, blogs, etc.), she is creating a virtual course to instruct women entitled, “Demystifying Disciplemaking.” Jesus tells us to “Go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19) but what does that really mean? How can we do it? What is involved? Linda will be exploring this concept of helping others grow in their faith while coming alongside them to equip them to do the same. The Navigators goal is to equip one million more disciplemakers to impact our world by 2030—these are everyday people like you and me impacting their communities for Christ. We are excited to be a part of this vision.

My central focus is working with churches to help develop men’s outdoor ministry events and then engaging men in a deeper walk with Jesus Christ. The George Barna group conducted a study in 2020 and of all church attendees, only 39% were men. So, my passion is to help churches use outdoor events (bonfires, cookouts, fishing retreats, etc.) as magnets to attract guys. From these outreach events, men can develop relationships leading them to faith and involvement in church as well as helping other guys grow in their faith.

So many of you shared over the years how much the Your Refreshed Life ministry means to you. We are so grateful! Linda continues to enjoy this ministry and prays for and cares about each of you deeply. We would like to invite you to give back as well and join us in this ministry? We’d love for you to partner with us. Our goal is to be fully funded by the end of January so we can launch full-time into ministry.

If you would like to learn more, I would love to schedule a call or Zoom meeting to discuss this further. You can reach me at (410)708-9957 or reen.waterman@navigators.org. All donations come to us through the Navigators, which is a 501-C-3 organization so all donations are 100% tax deductible. You can make a one-time gift, become a regular monthly supporter, or make an end of year gift. To give online, please visit navstaff.org/give/23837959.

If you would like Linda or me to speak at your upcoming retreat, conference or seminar, we would love to discuss this with you. Linda can be reached at (410) 708-0234 or linda@yourrefreshedlife.com.

Blessings,

P.S. As a thank you gift for taking the time to read this letter and prayerfully consider supporting us in ministry, we would like to give you the complete “25 Carols ‘til Christmas” Advent Devotion, a $19.95 value free of charge. After these years of Pandemic isolation, let’s share this season together by celebrating the greatest story ever told through the music and message of Christmas! Blessings from us both! We love and appreciate you!