Maybe you need to encourage your Pastor's wife today! As you head off to church ask God how you can be a blessing to your Pastor's family(ies) today! You may be surprised what comes to mind or how God chooses to use you!
Soooo. . . I'm a pastor's wife, right? And pastor's wives are asked to do a variety of things that otherwise they wouldn't be asked to do. I was asked by an area church to speak at their Mother Daughter Banquet last night and I was completely honored to do that. I had done it before but only to ladies that already knew me. I only knew ONE person in this audience. But I have to say, I had a BLAST! It was so much fun to do and I was very excited to do it. But let me tell you, I do not envy my hubby having to get up and speak three sometimes even four times a week. It's exhausting!!!
In the past I've spoken for various ladies events and youth activities and for my Women's Ministry classes in college and I am SOOOO thankful for those classes and the experience that they gave me. BUT I did NOT have three kids to care for during preparation for my devotionals at that time! Soooo what used to take me a couple of hours or so to pull together now takes more like 5 DAYS to do! Thankfully my hubbie kidnapped two of the three kiddos and that helped me prepare a TON! I love doing it but for more than one reason, I'm glad I'm not the one up there every Sunday speaking like my hubbie!
I'm trying to come up with a name for our women's ministry group. I want a name that MEANS something. But I also want something catchy and easy to remember. Picture telling someone "I'm off to my ____ Meeting!" I prefer a one word acronym or just a couple of words. Like I said EASY to remember.
I'm starting this women's ministries group for the purpose of bringing the ladies in our church together for fellowship and growing closer to God together but with the added bonus of providing an outlet for our ladies to invite their friends with no pressure!
Unfortunately the internet isn't helping me and my hubbie keeps coming up with hilarious ideas but not at all what I was looking for! Typical if you know my hubbie AT ALL! So here are some of my ideas . . .
C.O.N.N.E.C.T - I don't know why I like this one so much - I just haven't figured out what it STANDS for!! It could be an acronym or it could come with a slogan or something. . . CONveying the NEed for Christ Together? hmmm. . .
S.S.S - Sweet Smelling Savor - I like this too but I'm not sure if it's catchy enough but it's from Ephesians 5:2 which is kinda neat.
I also like maybe something about HEM referring to the woman who touched the hem of Jesus garment.
Anyway . . . that's where my brain is today! PUH - LEASE comment if you have ANY ideas at all! My brain is slowly turning to MUSH! ha ha.
Update: One of the ladies in my church came up with this idea! JUMP - Jesus Use Me Please - I really like this one! Haven't decided yet but we'll see!
NOTICE - this post and the video attached is NOT appropriate for children!
I'm a little upset tonight. I have heard about this situation with the worker at Planned Parenthood and it broke my heart. But when I watched this video I became livid. I was shocked and amazed at the disregard of the law that could have cost lives. Just so you know, I DO NOT normally post things on my blog about things like this. But this is a little too close to my heart for me to ignore.
About 6 months after I was married I was privileged to work as a Client Services Manager at a Pregnancy Resource Center. I LOVED it! I developed more of a passion for women and their needs than I had ever experienced before. I have always stood firmly against abortion and for a biblical understanding of life and God's plan for life. I discovered however, that the main purpose of a pregnancy center is NOT to save babies. That is a goal, definitely! But at least at the center where I worked we were more about the women and caring for them and their needs and their hearts. We completely understood that yes, an abortion kills a baby, but we also understood the far-reaching affects of those left behind. You see, when a baby is aborted, that baby is ushered directly into the arms of God. That is pure joy and mercy and that baby will never know the pains and struggles of this world. But the mommy is still here. The mommy will feel the pain and the absence of that child. While it may not happen right away, someday her heart will break for the little one she chose to lose.
What I saw in this video was evidence of many women potentially being hurt, damaged, and completely disregarded because of an agenda. This scares me at what may be out there. I understand this was one woman who was acting illegally but what if the people had been real? What if the young women really were going to be brought in en mass for treatment from this place?
I don't want to get up on a soapbox here, because the video pretty much speaks for itself but it definitely proves to me that we need to PRAY for women that are walking into these places seeking answers and hope. They need God in their lives - that is the hope they are unknowingly seeking. So while you might respond to Planned Parenthood with anger and bitterness, the real issue is that these people are lost without hope and think they are providing "the answer" to these searching, lost women.
If you never have been able to volunteer at a Pregnancy Center, may I encourage you to seek one out? Even if you only take the training, so if you ever run into a woman who is seeking hope when it comes to her unborn child, DO IT! You will never regret it and it just might change your life. I know it did mine.
Please don't allow children to watch this video! Thank you!
Our church has decided to reach out to our community by giving a plate of cookies to every household in our little town. SOOOO since our church is just a little church plant, I was responsible for 30 dozen cookies. Another lady in our church and my little brother came over and we baked all morning! Here's our end result!
We made:
Nutmeg Logs
Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Rice Krispies with Christmasy sprinkles
Fudge
Peanut Butter Fudge
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Amish Ginger Cookies
Covered Pretzels
I'm pooped!! But here's a recipe that I've always really enjoyed and it's EASY! Can't beat that!
Peanut Butter Fudge
2/3 Cup Butter
2/3 Cup Peanut Butter
6 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/3 Cup Milk
1 Tbls Vanilla
Melt butter and peanut butter in microwave. Add the other ingredients and mix (with a mixer preferably) until smooth. Pour into a microwavable dish and microwave for one minute - stir and microwave for one more minute. Stir and smooth in dish and refrigerate for at least one hour. Set out for an hour or so then cut into squares and store in the fridge. Yummo!
I actually had a lot of trouble finding this recipe so I ended up combining and altering 5 different recipes!
Here's what I came up with!
1 1/2 packages of Oreos (Oreos are best - the other ones get soggy easier)
8 oz. Cream Cheese
1 cup sugar
1/2 stick of butter
2 boxes of Chocolate pudding mix
4 cups of milk
1 container of Cool Whip
Crush all of the Oreos and set them aside. Mix cream cheese, sugar and butter together. Set aside. Mix pudding mix and milk together as it says to do on the box. Fold in Cool Whip, and fold in the Cream cheese mixture. Add 2/3 of the crushed Oreos. Mix well and chill until just before you want to use it. Pour in your special container. I used a dump truck for my son's birthday but I've also made it for Ladies Spring Banquets by putting it in flower pots with fake flowers stuck in them. Or if you have a ton of people - fill up a new flower box and add a row of flowers! I've also made these and put them in clear individual cups for each person and added gummy worms for an extra little treat! Regardless of how you make it, it's uber YUMMY!!! Unlike the real stuff! :-)
