February 15 Newsletter and Extended Learning

February 15 Newsletter and Extended Learning
Saturday, February 15, 2025 by Cindy K. Sproles

YEP! It’s a big photo...but the prince and I took a drive over the mountain a few weeks ago. We had a couple of reasons for doing it. We took Chase, our son, and it was a quiet family time. However, we needed to see. We needed to be reminded through all our area has faced these last five months, God is still mighty.

We stopped at the top of Roan Mountain and simply gazed across the region. As far as we could see, the mountains stretched majestically, one over the top of another. The essence that the pines, sycamores, and tulip poplars release into the atmosphere causes that blue haze that you see over the mountain tops (hence the name Blue Ridge Mountains), and the white fog that rises between the valleys inspired the Cherokee nation to call these mountains, the Smokey Mountains. One range, the Smokies, floods into the next, the Blue Ridge Mountains, all forming the Appalachian Mountain Range.

I needed to stand as close to heaven as possible, take a deep breath, and abide in Him. This is where you are coming next week. I wanted you to see what our region is. I wanted you to have a picture of the world we live in and not have the only picture that you see be devastation.

As you travel to Asheville, depending on the route you will use, you may or may not see the devastation of Helene. Let me say just because you don't see it from the interstate does not mean that a mile away, it looks like a bomb exploded. But as you pass through our mountains to Asheville, pray. Please pray. Where my family suffers from survivor's guilt, others of our faculty (yes, our faculty) suffer loss and financial ruin thanks to Helene. Yet, here we are, stepping out of the mud and onto the work of the Kingdom with a smile on our faces. We ask for your prayers to strengthen us. For God's provision. For healing in the midst of all this...muck. And that through this disaster we have survived, that we may be the hands and feet of the Master.

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This may or may not be your last newsletter. The conference is next week. Terri and I have been on the phone almost daily. Sometimes more than once making sure we have everything in place. Though this conference is a well-oiled wheel, it is still massive work. So, you will need to continue to check the CONFERENCE UPDATE PAGE.

All of your check-in information is there. BUT YOU DO ACTUALLY HAVE TO READ IT. I don't mind answering your questions via email, but I do ask that you check that Conference Update page before you fire me a question. I am getting hundreds of emails at this point. If you can find the answer on the update page. You help me so much.

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PAID RECEIPTS - a couple of you have asked me for paid receipts. I can get those, but to tell the truth, I forgot! I'm in the middle of a lot right now, but I AM MORE THAN HAPPY to get that for you if you remind me today. I'll set down this evening and send you a copy of your receipt. I didn't intentionally forget. I'm getting old (hoping that excuse still flies), and there's just so much up in the air that if I miss a spinning plate, they may all crash to the ground. So please, PLEASE, remind me. I apologize in advance for forgetting to do this when the three of you asked me. AGAIN, THOSE THREE PEOPLE who asked for a PAID RECEIPT, please send me a reminder to [email protected].

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The weather is up for nice during the days, 40s-high 50s, but it will be cold at night. (teens-high 20's). I will tell you that chilly in the mountains is not just chilly. It's a damp chilly, and you will feel it. So, bring yourself a warm sweater. You'll only be outside to walk a few feet from our hotel to the training center, but...cold is cold. Dress comfortably and modestly, and wear socks (for folks who don't think your toes will get cold, think again). Wear socks, tennis shoes or comfortable boots, and sweaters. I'd rather be sweating than to be freezing -- trust me, warm is better. Then I'd ask that your prayers contain a PS for the Lord to give us good weather. We've had rain the last week, which should end today, so hopefully, spring sun will start to peek through.

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Your travel routes: Since so many are coming from many different areas, I can share this about the roads near Asheville. Interstate 40 coming FROM KNOXVILLE north/northeast is open. However, a small section between Tennessee and North Carolina is now only a small two-lane passage. It is my understanding that traffic is passing well, but it is slow. Depending on your patience, you may want to look as some of the smaller roads around that area. Those are open. One alternative coming from the Nashville area is I-75 to I-40 (Knoxville) and then continue to I-81 toward Bristol (Kingsport), then I-26 to Asheville. This will take you about an hour longer, but if you worry about I-40 between Knoxville and Asheville, hit 81. I might just wave at you as you pass by my house. Coming from Charlotte, 77 is open and clear into Asheville, and of course, I-81 to I-26 into Asheville. Coming from South Carolina, I-26 to I-40 on the eastern side of Asheville is good. Just good old road construction that has been going on for the last 5 years. Check your map (You remember what that is, right...a map?) Or look at alternative routes, but traffic is moving from every direction into Asheville.

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PRINT BEFORE YOU COME - If you have things you want to print, please do that at home and bring it with you. We DO NOT have printers and the Cove's printers are for their use. Print before you come, please.

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We will have a printed schedule for you that you will receive when you pick up your badge, but continue to check the schedule on the site for classes and the times. You do not sign up for classes. We are small, and you are able to simply move from auditorium A or B. Just move quietly. Faculty members are accustomed to conferees going to appointments. It doesn't bother them. Just leave and return quietly. You don't have to raise your hand and ask permission. :) snicker. Just do it.

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Be kind with the time - Our appointments, mentoring, and critique appointments are very rigid on time. If you are waiting for your appointment, it's fine for you to step behind the seated conferee so that your faculty member recognizes you are present. This helps them stay on track but also, helps them move you on through. Be mindful of 15 min, 30, min or 1 hour, and when your time is up, be gracious and move on. Catch up to that faculty member during a meal and chat.

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Visit our bookstore. Since we are small, we only have space for our faculty books. We pay them in peanuts, so they actually get cash when you purchase a book! You can also visit the Cove's bookstore on the first floor, but please do visit our bookstore just as you get off the elevators on the 3rd floor. Our bookstore will not open for sales until Friday night.

Remember to purchase your MP3s of the conference so you have all the classes forever. Wise investment.

You can reserve a spot for on-campus housing by paying $25 at our bookstore. You will be contacted in August or September to confirm your desire to attend. If we cannot reach you by a certain date that slot is opened, and your $25 goes into our scholarship fund. If you do come, we will subtract that $25 off your final cost of the conference.

Consider giving back. Our Bob Box is on the table at our Bookstore. Every dollar you add, Christian Devotions Ministries matches. Then Bob's son's employer doubles that. You can help others by giving to the Bob Box (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation).

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Once you are on campus, unless you are an off-campus conferee, we ask you not to leave the campus. If you need to leave, please let one of our Bookstore staff, Terri, or me know in the event of an emergency.

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We are giving you a heads-up that our conference is blessed this year with a WORKING DOG. Her name is LuLu, and she is just a doll baby. However, we do ask that you not distract LuLu from her duties. She is just a bundle of hugs, the cutest little cocker you've ever seen, but she has a job to do. So, we ask that you smile at Lulu and leave her to her work. Before you disturb her attention to detail, just ask Zena's permission and let Lulu off the hook by getting permission to squeeze on her.

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Emergency email and numbers. We ask that you are respectful of our phone numbers and not call us just for the sake of chatting. We're giving you these numbers in case of emergency.

[email protected] Cindy Sproles 423-384-4821

[email protected] Terri Kelly 828-290-3149

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AND FINALLY...

Peace Be With You

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. (2 Thessalonians 3:16 NIV)

Paul was so good at blessings! And of all the greetings and salutations he gave, his blessing of peace to the Thessalonians is one of my favorites.

So many of you have been especially sweet in sending me notes after you receive these newsletters to thank me for my efforts and kindness. I can't tell you what that means to me because I'm no different than you. When I begin to work for the Kingdom, Satan sees me as a chocolate bonbon. Stuff happens. It never fails.

Terri and I have laughed this past week. It seems we are a mirror image of one another. My elderly momma. Her elderly daddy. I had shingles on my eye. Terri had an infection in her eye. We've just been mirror images - both facing the same "stuff" as this week of conference approaches.

Having a moment of "peace" means something. Receiving a note of support means something. Hearing you pray for us--means something.

This week, I was chatting with one of our counselors at church during the staff meeting. We joked and laughed a bit. He asked about my husband's upcoming surgery and the conference. It was just general conversation, but my sweet momma called while we were standing in the hall talking. As I hung up to zip over to her at the assisted living, my friend, Stan, looked at me and said, "Cindy, may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way." It took me back. I stood staring at him like a deer in headlights. He touched my arm, smiled, and said, "You got a lot on your plate this week. I pray for peace."

It was such a moment for me because I took a deep breath at that time and rested in my Father.

We get overwhelmed by life, deadlines, and duties, but our Father is always right by us. His peace is...well...peaceful.

As you prepare for the conference this week, repeat this scripture. Take in the peace of Christ. Accept it. Breathe. Above all else you do this week, look to Him first.

We will see you on Friday.

Much love,

Cindy