Welcome, fellow WAVES, to the fall issue of the newsletter!

This time, we happily bring you many wonderful and moving sharings from WAVES who attended the Gathering in Sacramento, which took place the last weekend of July. Reading through each heartfelt telling, one can tangibly feel the deep love, joy, and, most of all, gratitude we all share for what Betty has passed on to us and the world through her books.

Whether it was the sharing, the music, the fellowship, the teaching, or the beautiful resort-like atmosphere, we all came away with a sense of having had our hearts stretched by love for one another.

Donna Fairbanks, sharing in “Like a Moth to the Flame”, summarizes it best when she says, “I learned that it’s all about light…the kind of light that is powerful enough to penetrate the deepest and darkest depression. It’s divine light—the light of God’s love... It’s all about light.”

We experienced this wonderful heavenly light as we gathered together, a light that we carried home with us. In fact, it was several weeks later that I realized that the full import of it all was still working its way deep into my soul. It’s as if the big garden of WAVES came together and blessed each other with the wonderful variety, hue, and God-given beauty of each of our blooms, only to discover after returning home that we had each been deeply watered and fertilized for future growth, in preparation for being used by God in ways we can only imagine.

We’ve also included an article on disaster preparedness, something Betty addressed in Sacramento and which proved to be more timely than any of us knew at the time. And, as we continue to pray for those valiant souls affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we offer a list of agencies and contacts for those who wish to offer help or assistance or for those needing information.

And finally, we are thrilled to announce that the next WAVES Gathering destination will be Boston, Massachusetts, and is tentatively scheduled for July 2006. Start saving those pennies, and plan to join us as you are able for a weekend of wonderful love, fellowship, and teaching. Be sure to watch future issues of the Newsletter, as well as the WAVES board, for more details as they become available. We hope to see you there!

In the meantime, I encourage you to spend some time with this issue, letting each article soak into your soul so that you, too, can experience the deep nourishment that was Sacramento 2005. And as we raise our faces to His light and allow beauty and love to bloom in our lives, I pray we are able to stand tall for all the world to see. For if ever the world needed the garden of Love that is all of us WAVES, it is now.

Deep peace and joy,
Jim

P.S. As always, we love to hear from you. Email us at wavesnewsletter@embracedbythelight.com.