Holiday Extravaganza

Last week we celebrated together at Holiday Extravaganza!  This is always such a fun way to get ready for the upcoming holidays.  Above is the team that puts everything together! 

 We had many of the same vendors there.  The Kitchen Store from downtown came and had a fun display!

 The theme was Christmas in the Garden and the stage was decorated so nice!  I loved the falling snow on the screens.  We also had beautiful music provided by Carol Dick on the harp and Roxanne Fetterhoff on the flute. 

 Maralee and Donna did a wonderful job announcing the program and planning this fabulous event!

At the end of the program there was a flash mob which was so fun!  The Holiday Extravaganza Team stormed the stage and began dancing and singing!

The tables were fabulous and so creative!  

There were over 1,000 women that attended and it was a truly a wonderful evening!

More Pictures from Women's Day Away

Women's Day Away was such a wonderful day with so many memories!

Women's Day Away

Women's Day Away 2013 was a wonderful day filled with so many special memories for hundreds of women!  Nancy Stafford was a great speaker and everyone loved the message she shared on beauty.  Above you can see the greeting team getting their smiles ready to welcome people. 

The sanctuary was packed full!  And the decorations were so cute and fun!

We of course love Donna and Karen!  Thanks for another great day!

Nancy Stafford was great!  Nicole did a great job helping lead worship too!

The mini break out sessions were also fun and exciting this year.  There were lots of great ideas and wonderful speakers!

Sandy Carr did makeovers!  She did such a great job!  Have you seen Mary Misner?  She looks beautiful!  Hopefully you enjoyed your day too at Women's Day Away!

We Are Getting Ready....

 Next Saturday is Women's Day Away and we are almost ready!  

We had a big work day where volunteers helped get all the bags ready for ladies!

Ladies volunteered their time to help with decorations, name tags and bags!

 We appreciate their help so much!

 Of course their was some chocolate and special treats to munch on as we worked!

Please pray for the Women's Day Away team this week as their prepare for hundreds of women to attend Saturday.  Pray for the women attending the big event that their hearts would be ready and open to what God is going to teach them.  Finally, pray for our speaker Nancy Stafford as she prepares to teach us about what God says about our beauty.  Can't wait for this exciting day! 

Beth Moore Study Starting Soon!

Happiness

I found this list of 10 Ways to be a Happier Mom and I thought there were so many great reminders.  

1. Life is not an emergency. 
Life is a gift.
Just. Slow. Down.

2. Now is not a forever grace but amazing grace. 
Do whatever it takes to wake to wonder right here.

3. Sometimes the slowest way is the fastest way to joy. 
Make time today, even a moment, to read Scripture and memorize it.
Without the lens of His Word, the world warps.

4. Laughter is the cheapest, holiest medicine. 
Preschoolers laugh 300 times a day. Aim for double that. Tickle someone, (yourself!), if necessary. This is good!

5. Motherhood is a hallowed place because children aren’t commonplace. 
Co-laboring over the sculpting of souls is a sacred vocation, a humbling privilege.
Never forget.

6. Homemaking is about making a home, not about making perfection. 
A perfect home is an authentic, creative, animated space where Peace and Christ and Beauty are embraced.

7. A pail with a pinhole loses as much as the pail pushed right over. 
A minute dawdled here, a minute scrolling here — they can add up to your life.  Write down your intentions for the day and prayerfully live the intentions and spend your life well by paying attention to the moments — which pays thanks to God.

8. Believe it: I have all I need for today.  
The needs of our day are great but our God is greater and we call Him Providence because we believe: He is the One who always provides.
{And when God provides, He should be praised, and if God provides, shouldn't praise always be on the lips?)


9. Slow. Children at play. 
The hurry hurts the kids.
Time's this priceless currency and only the slow spend it wise enough to be rich.
If we had to actually buy our time, would we spend it more wisely — spend it more slowly?
{God’s Word never says Hurry Up. God words only whisper: Wake Up.}

10. Love is patient. 
Parenting’s this gentle way of bending over in humility to help the scraped child up because we intimately know it takes a lifetime to learn how to walk with Him.
Love always begins with patience and patience is a willingness to suffer.

What is your plan to be a happier mom (happier person!) this fall? Let’s be a community and resource to cheer each other on to happier living (parenting!) this fall! 

This list was found at the following website:

http://www.incourage.me/2013/08/10-ways-to-be-a-happier-mom.html

Women's Day Away

Women's Day Away is just around the corner! A lot of planning and preparation has already started as we prepare for the big day on Saturday September 28th.  Get your tickets today!  There are only 100 tickets left. 

Nancy Stafford is our featured speaker for the day.   She is the author of Beauty by the Book:  Seeing Yourself as God Sees You Where she shares her story of God's healing and transformation in her live from insecurities and unworthiness to wholeness and acceptance.

An actress for twenty-five years, Nancy has starred in numerous movies and TV series, including five years as Andy Griffith's law partner, Michelle on "Matlock" and three years on the Emmy-award winning "St Elsewhere".  She stared in the ABC series "Sidekicks", and began her television actings career as a regular in a dual role on the NBC daytime drama "The Doctors".

We are very excited to hear her speak.  Hope that you will be attending Women's Day Away!

Unspeakable Joy

Earlier this fall I met Kimberly and Brooks Miller through our Grace Group.  It became very apparent how God was using them and all that He had been teaching them.  There story is incredible.  I hope you enjoy reading Kimberly's blog post and reading about their little miracle Bronson!

My husband Brooks & I were married May 23rd, 2009. Soon after, we were excited about starting a family and were ready for the next chapter in our lives to begin--with children! Sadly, our journey to parenthood was not an easy one. Over the last four years, I endured numerous fertility treatments, surgeries, and miscarriage. During this process, we lost 4 babies- one singleton, and 3 identical triplet girls. We finally made the decision to try In Vitro fertilization with a wonderful surrogate (gestational carrier) and on the 4th try it was successful! On April 28, 2013, Bronson Wyatt Miller was born. He was a healthy 8lb2oz, 19.5in baby boy, with a good set of lungs! We chose the middle name ‘Wyatt’ because it means "Little Warrior", as we see him as this strong little guy, our only baby who has survived and made it into our arms! Infertility is very difficult, emotionally, physically, financially, spiritually and affects so many couples, who often suffer in silence. But throughout it all, we have trusted God and knew He had a perfect plan for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11) ...we just never dreamed it would be THIS perfect! Bronson is almost 3 months old now, and we feel joy everyday taking care of this beautiful baby boy sent to us by God. People ask me all the time if parenthood is what I expected…and all I can say is that it’s MORE than I ever dreamed of. Of course there are those nights where you get little or no sleep and you feel so very tired- but it is in those times that I turn my thoughts to God and say with a grateful heart, “Thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus, you heard my cries numerous times at 3am, heartbroken over my babies that never made it into my arms…and now I am holding Bronson with tears of joy at 3am” as I’m feeding him, rocking him, holding him close cheek to cheek. God has allowed Bronson to heal part of my heart that was broken over our losses, and for that I am so grateful. I am also so thankful that God gave us a son, as it gave me a new understanding of the love of our Heavenly Father, and how much he loved HIS Son, and to sacrifice Him for us is truly the greatest love of all!
We thank God every day for Bronson and will never take for granted the true miracle & blessing that he is!!! Our little Prince Charming sent to us by the King...Jesus!
“For this child I have prayed and the Lord has granted the desires of my heart”. ~I Samuel 1:27

Remind Me Who I Am

I have really enjoyed this song by Jason Gray and wanted to share this video of his song with you!  It is such a great reminder of God's grace and His love for us and that we belong to Him!  Hopefully this encourages you this week....

Beauty

I have just had a really amazing month with traveling.  At times it was fun to just sit back and enjoy the beauty of it all. 

I went with the High School Ministries team to Chicago where we were able to reach out to a community there and help with several different organizations in and near the city.  

 

Can you see the window washers?  I like heights but not sure I would love hanging clear up there!

What a pretty view of the city along the lake.  

Such tall, unique buildings.  Chicago was such a great experience and I am so glad I went.  It was wonderful to watch students minister to others and grow in their faith.

Next, I headed to Colorado to see a friend.  They were staying in Fort Collins for some ministry training and we were able to travel to Estes Park.  Wow!  Talk about God's beauty!  His work was on display for us!

The clouds were just beautiful and the blue sky

 

Even with the light sprinkle of rain, it was beautiful.  I tried to just take it all in and enjoy the beautiful picture all around me.  All the while wondering how anyone could possibly see scenery like this and think there is not a perfect, powerful God.

It was a great month of traveling and now I am ready to do some things around the house and stay in one place for awhile.  Hopefully you are having a wonderful summer and enjoying God's BEAUTY as well! 

One Thousand Gifts

Recently my friend sent me this book as an encouragement.  I have heard so many great comments about this author and how this book has taught them to truly look for ALL of the wonderful gifts The Lord gives us each day.   Even the cover draws me to reading it "A Dare to LIVE FULLY Right Where You Are".  I love that!   So many times I want to forget the now and look forward to whats ahead when really I should be enjoying my time now and praising Him for the many blessings in my life at that moment. 

If you have not read this book, I encourage you to do so and be challenged to write out 1,000 gifts you feel that The Lord has blessed you with.  Make sure to also check out Ann Voskamp's website and blog.  Her blog is called A Holy Experience and she again writes about so many ways Our Father blesses us each day.  Enjoy the following You Tube Video.

Summer Bucketlist

It is almost summer time!  Kids are finishing school, teachers are packing up their rooms and it continues to get warmer outside.  I have started planning a summer of fun and I have been trying to think of a few things that I really want to do this summer!

1.  Read a good novel or a few good novels.

2. Try some new recipes on the grill.  Any ideas?

3.  Do some sewing projects and possibly learn how to piece a quilt together.

4.  Visit friends and have some quality girlfriend time.

5.  Learn how to make salsa and can or freeze our vegetables from the garden.

I have a few here....do you have any other "MUST DO'S" for the summer?  Try leaving a comment and let us know what you would like to try and do this summer!   Hope you have a wonderful summer! 

A Story

Romans 5:3-5 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. 

We all have a story and they all differ. Some go untold while others are shared willing or at times, unwillingly. We all have "A Story." Mine is different than yours, and it is ongoing. My story is my life. It shares my successes, celebrations, and joys along with my hardships, my disappointments, my sufferings. You see, everyone has a story.

The verses above speak to me because they are such a reminder of what hope does for us. There are some many people with their own trials and sufferings. Maybe you are experiencing those right now as well. Whether it be a battle with health, a battle with depression/anxiety, an unbelievable feeling of hurt and loss, stresses at home or work, God gives us hope. Through this suffering, perseverance can prevail building character and character, hope. I know it's hard to sometimes see it when you are living in the hardship, but know that God has poured out His love to us. He brings us hope, and we can bring hope to others by sharing our stories and/or comforting those in need.

This week I encourage us to be mindful of each other's story. Let us remember to be that ray of sunshine, that beacon of light for those who are going through a difficult chapter of their life right now. May we always be able to know in our hearts that God is our hope whatever life throws our way.

Beauty

Beauty is something that every women desires.  We want to be beautiful.  Hopefully you were able to watch the video I posted.  I found this video to be so interesting and I believe it can be true that we as women see ourselves with wrinkles.  We view so easily the things that are negative about our appearance.  We tend to point out all of our flaws and insecurities.  This experiment was so interesting to me because of how these strangers saw these women differently.  The strangers view was much more accurate than their own view. 

I also began to think about my inner beauty and have begun to question how strangers see me.  Am I beautiful on the inside?  Does my attitude each day look beautiful? 

Have you told someone lately that they are beautiful?  Women enjoying hearing it!  Tell a friend that she is beautiful this week and maybe even encourage someone by also telling them that their inner beauty is even more gorgeous! 

Psalm 139:13-14  You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex.  Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it. 

Beth Moore James Bible Study - Community Service Project

In our James Bible Study we talked a lot about a serving heart and reaching out to people in need.  Last week we completed the study with a community service night.  There were two ladies that visited the elderly, three women that helped spring clean the Pregnancy Care Center and several others that provided for the Sowing Hope Family Night.  We had five women serve the food to the families at Sowing Hope.  It was a wonderful evening for the families. 

  Tuesday night was a great success and we thank the women who were willing to " live out God's Word."  We pray that it will continue and that God will use all of us in a mighty way as a result of our study in James.  

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up." (James 4:10)