Welcome to our first EVER Shaken & Stirred Blog post! What is Shaken & Stirred, you say? Well, I think before I can adequately explain what Shaken & Stirred is, I first must tell you who I am.
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My name is Mary Swafford. I am a wife. A mother. A sister. A friend. A daughter. A previous Payroll Manager. A new coffee shop Manager. A women's ministry Director. A child of God.
I grew up attending church in Sand Springs. At the age of 6, I decided that I wanted to be baptized. I had heard all the stories about Jesus, and I could answer all the questions Brother Hoyt asked of me and so, I was baptized.
For the preacher to baptize me, I had to stand on top of a milk crate that sat at the bottom of the baptismal. He dunked me so far under the water that my feet flew up to the top and I inhaled the "holy water" as I attempted to cry out for help. I coughed up that blessed water for what seemed like hours, but I was so proud of myself for being big enough to be baptized. Truthfully, I didn't really know what it meant.
After I got a couple of more years under my belt, I was attending a Vacation Bible School at my church. I don't remember the message that day, but I remember the alter call. As the music played, "Just as I am…", my heart began to race and pound so hard that I thought it might jump out of my chest. I knew I had to go to that alter and kneel, pray, and surrender my life to Jesus. I sobbed and cried out to him and committed to serve him all of my life.
I understood, somehow, that He is the God of the universe. That He created me for His purpose and that He loved me enough to die on a cross and save me from my sin. That encounter with God shook me. It changed me and I was never the same.
Fast forward 37 years and I have experienced a lot in my life: deaths, births, marriage, divorce, rebellion, restoration, heart ache, and joy. A lot of things have changed throughout the years, but God has ALWAYS been a constant. Even in my seasons of rebellion, He never left me. He was consistently whispering in my ear. Calling me to Him. Drawing me to a life of service to Him and to those around me.
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My story is not unique. Names have not been changed to protect the innocent. You could replace my name with yours if you have ever had an encounter with Jesus. If you have, then you know that He shakes you from the inside out and that you too, are never the same.
In Acts 4:31, the Bible says,
After they had prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke God's word without fear.
Shaken & Stirred is the new Women's Ministry of Church That Matters. It is a place where you can encounter Jesus, be shaken, be stirred to pray, read God's word, and be inspired to tell others about Him. This is a place where a hunger will stir up within you for more of Christ and for those you encounter, but you will never be the same.
Shaken & Stirred is my testimony. I pray that it will be yours too.
Mary Swafford is the founder of Shaken & Stirred, Meals that Matter, Coffee Talk, and a Co-Owner of Boulder Coffee in downtown Sand Springs. She is a wife, a mother of 3 beautiful children, but most importantly a daughter of the most high God. You are likely to find her chugging or serving coffee, sitting in a tattooist’s chair, or making friends out of strangers.