A Godly Woman is....doing service projects!

Since this month was a little bit more labor intensive and more hands on, we did not do a devotional last night so that we could focus on the families that God brought into RHC. We truly did serve those who came.

Let me recap....
Monday night a group of us met at the church to set up backdrops for the photos, put together goodie bags for the families, and make sure the church was presentable for our guests. We had a good time laughing at our inability to put Christmas tree stands together, posing for numerous pictures to see if the backdrop would work, and just being together. Thank you to Tina, Felicia, Rene', Heather R, Jenna, and Karen who all came to work. It made Tuesday night a whole lot easier because you gave up your time! Because my camera was set up to take portraits, I did not take any candid pictures on Tuesday. All the pictures are from Monday night. Setting up the trees that had been in the attic for a couple of years!
Karen and Aaron posing!
What a dangerous job that Felicia had!
Backdrop #1. Rene' working on the spotlights.

Say "Cheese" for the hundredth time! Even after all that work, we ended up changing this backdrop!

Rene' being a good sport and posing once again!

The set up crew!

Tuesday night we arrived a little before 6 to finish setting up and preparing for the families! There was a craft to set up....hand print flower bouquets (they were adorable), refreshments to arrange, and the photographer to set up. Kaci, the photographer from Simply Stated also helped us and she will be printing the photos for the families. Julie M., Heather, Tina, Rhonda, Felicia, & I might have been a little anxious and excited when the first family showed up at 6PM and they were not scheduled until 6:30! I think we were excited about the potential that could come through the door! The first two families did their craft while we all finished setting up and then they had their pictures taken. The next family came a little bit later and did the same. There were three families that came through the church door who had never been there before. There were three families that were loved on and showed that God loves them! There were three families that will now have a family photo...maybe something that had never had or had not done in a long time. There were three families that left the church with goodie bags, (thank you to all who baked cookies, decorated hot chocolate bags, brought candy, or gave money) a devotional book, and a BIBLE! I know one lady thanked Tina for the Bible! What an awesome opportunity that we had! There were 7 families that had signed up, but why only 3...only God knows! Please be praying for those three families!

Let me just share a little about these families.....they were precious! The first family was of 4 little girls and their mom. Three of the girls had the tightest curls I think I have ever seen and some very pretty dresses. They wore precious smiles! The next family had 3 little girls and a boy! Two of the girls had on party dresses...one red and the other white with green. They were sweet. The other little girl had on a jean jacket with the collar flipped up...too cute! In this family, the grandmother came too to be in the picture with her grandchildren, son, & daughter-in-law! Three generations in one picture....priceless! The last family was another single mom who had two little girls and a son a little over a year. The mom mentioned that she didn't have any pictures with her in them since way before the boy had been born. What a nice thing for her to have now. All of these families were unique and all special!

We had originally told the families that they would be given a free 8x10, but because of the money we had already collected, we asked Kaci if we could go ahead and surprise them with more photos so that they can give them to family and friends! Thanks so much to everyone who helped set up, who provided goodies, who gave money, and who prayed for this night! Thank you especially to Heather R. who organized the whole event! I was overwhelmed with the thought of it, but Heather remained cool, exited and in charge!

We will have our 2009 Kickoff January 25 at 3:00PM! I was so blessed by this past year! It is our prayer that you were too and that God was glorified throughout the whole year! If you haven't had the opportunity to join in, please come! It is good for us to fellowship as believers! You have so much to give...all of us can learn from each other! I was blessed, and I am so EXCITED to see what God has in store for PEARLS this next year! We discovered that we are TREASURES....what next?

**** The extra goodie bags will be given to the college students on Sunday!

Discovering Treasures...A Godly woman is Loving!

Tonight we gathered at Leta and Lori's home to fellowship and discuss how to be a loving mother and wife. We started with an ice breaker prepared by Felicia that reminded us how much we have to be thankful for in our life. She had written scripture verses of thanksgiving on leaves, we were to read one and then give a physical thanks and a spiritual thanks. My verse was...1 Thessalonians 5:18, "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." What would be your spiritual and physical thanksgiving praises be?
We then were led by Sue through a devotional of being a loving mother and a submissive wife. The verses she focused on were Proverbs 31:28 & 29, "Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." In this passage, the Godly woman's children honor her and her husband pays a tribute to her. So often we might feel that motherhood is a thankless job and sometimes even a "your a great wife" is hard to come by, but that is not why we love and submit. We do it because we are commanded to love our children, husbands, friends, neighbors, and even enemies, and we are to do even if they don't notice. There is an even greater reward than "thank you" coming someday!!!! Won't that be a great reward! To have our children arise and call us blessed and to hear our husbands say that we surpass others is wonderful, but God will give us a great tribute someday when He says, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
We then spent some time in prayer, praying for our country, our future president, and for us as Christians to be bold in our faith! Please continue to pray for our nation!
Finally, we wrapped up the evening with great pies (pumpkin and pecan apple)!


Picking up our leaves of thanksgiving!


Being thankful for yummy pies!



Sharing and fellowship!

Our last PEARLS for 2008 will be held Tuesday, December 2 at the church! This will be a service project led by Heather R. We will be offering a "Family Picture" Night where underprivileged families in our community can come, get their picture taken, enjoy some goodies, and receive a family picture all for free. The details are still in the making and I will get them to you as soon as they are finalized. There will be lots to do from baking goodies, taking pictures, interacting with the families, setting up and tearing down. This is a great way to get people into our church and a great way to love on them! I'll send out details soon!

Treasure Quest

Our 2008 PEARLS retreat was held at beautiful Bethel Horizons in their Barn Retreat Center. It was a spacious building that could hold up to 25 people and it was nice to know that we almost outgrew it! 19 ladies from RHC attended the retreat along with our speaker Fran. The setting was nice and quiet and the scenery was beautiful!

L: The Barn Retreat where we ate, slept, and grew in wisdom.
R: This was the view Saturday morning...the air was cool and crisp, but the sight was breathtaking!

This year we went on a Treasure Quest to continue to help us discover the treasures that God has for us as women. Our verse was Proverbs 31:26 "Out of her mouth comes wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue."

We began the evening with a delicious meal of stuffed shells, salad, bread, and a "Treasure Quest" retreat would not be complete without a "Treasure Chest" cake! It was delicious and the cupcakes had yummy "treasures" inside of them! Thanks, Julie, for your creativity and effort!


We then had a time of praise and worship followed by Fran sharing her testimony. Fran was asked to be our speaker because of her testimony as a Godly woman, her years of growth and wisdom, and her involvement in mentoring younger women. She shared with us about her family, marriage, acceptance of Christ, growth as a Christian, and how God worked in various areas of her life. She also shared marriage and parenting insights that were very interesting and helpful.



After this time of sharing, we had a Treasure Hunt! The ladies were divided up into three groups and given scripture verses to look up to lead them to their next clue or verse. For example....Proverbs 21:9 "It is better to live on the corner of the roof than in a house with a quarrelsome wife." This clue led them to the rooftop where there might be this clue..."Deuteronomy 23:12 "Designate a place outside the camp where you can go and relieve yourself." This led them to the bathroom. Finally, after some funny moments one group found the treasure!

L: Felica and Rene working on their "chicken" signal so that they could locate each other when searching for clues!
R: Stephanie and Rhonda heading to their next clue.

L:Julie looks like she can't find the clue...it would help if the right verse was written down:)
R: Fran, Karen, & Aaron enjoy some fellowship time.

So...how many women can you fit in a bathroom at one time?

Friday evening ended with yummy snacks and great fellowship! There were lots of late night conversations and friendships being made!

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Saturday morning dawned bright and cold! We took from 7:30 to 9:00 (even though some were up a long time before 7) to have some quiet time with God and enjoy the scenery surrounding us!

Juanita enjoying the beautiful morning and God's word!

Then we started the morning off by singing some beautiful songs written to glorify God. Julie led us in our praise time and then we were taught some more truth by Fran.


Fran started by reaffirming that the most important wisdom is from the Bible. The definition of wisdom is the understanding of what is true, right, & lasting...which the only thing that is all of those is God! There is worldly wisdom which exalts self and not the Creator and then there is Godly wisdom which is pure, peace loving, and willing to yield to others. Fran shared quite a few scriptures that discuss wisdom from God. She focused on the Proverbs 31 passage and shared an interesting tidbit about that passage. It was probably memorized by most if not all Jewish women and then recited on the eve of every Sabbath. That passage of truth is very important in the life of women!
Fran then went on to share that she is a seamstress, and so she used the analogy of making a garment. She called it "Garment of Marriage". It takes a lifetime to construct and you have to make adjustments to make it a perfect fit. You need a pattern...friend, lover, giver and then you need to piece it together using God as the underlying that will sustain the garment.
Another great analogy that Fran used was in relationships think of the cross. God is the vertical beam of the cross. He is what holds everything up and together. The horizontal beam is your relationship with others. Without the vertical, the horizontal will not stand.
Fran finished up by talking about time. We need to make time for God, self, husband, and others. Time is so hard to come by and most of us feel like we need more of it in a day, but it is so important in relationships to take the time to listen, care, and learn.
I'm sure there is more that Fran shared that I am forgetting, but feel free to talk to any lady that attended to hear what they took home from Fran's words of wisdom!

Fran's talk was then wrapped up with prayer time in small groups! Everyone in the group took time to share requests and then pray for one another. One group really had the Spirit working since they almost prayed all the way through brunch! The rest of us were enjoying devouring the delicious food that had been prepared! Thank you to everyone who brought food and shared some great recipes with us.


L: Heather, Rhonda, & Shelia.
R: Karen (holding Aaron), Juanita, Mary, & Stephanie.

Lori, Rene, Angie, Felicia, & Felica.

After brunch, Fran spent some time sharing with us her mentoring experiences, including both being a mentor and a mentee. She talked about how one-on-one time is very important, but that at least connecting in someway, whether phone, email, or briefly in person, should happen every week if at all possible. She shared with us about how other women had encouraged her and mentored her in the Word and in life circumstances. In return, she has had the opportunity to be a part of numerous college girls' lives and other younger women.

We then had Felica share about what it has been like for her to be mentored for two years, and Tina shared what it is like to be a mentor. Our String of PEARLS program is set up so that an older woman gets the opportunity to share in a younger woman's life for a year! It is based off of Titus 2 where the older women are instructed to teach the younger women to love their husbands and take care of their children, and most importantly to love God. If you are interested in being mentored, then see Felicia.

Our retreat went really fast, but I believe each lady took home a "treasure" from this "quest". It was a great time of sharing, encouragement, and growth! We look forward to another retreat next year!


Front Row: Fran, Shelia, Juanita, Heather, Angie, Lori
Second Row: Rene, Julie, Karen, Rebecca, Felica, Kim, Linda, Tina, Mary
Top Row: Stephanie, Rhonda, Felicia
Not pictured: JeriAnn

Our next PEARLS is Tuesday, November 4th (Don't forget to vote before coming to PEARLS!) at Leta & Lori's home! Hope to see you there!

Discovering Treasures...A Godly Woman is Creative

Our God is the most creative being ever! He created the moon, stars, sun, plants, animals, us! He paints beautiful sunsets every day! He shaped the mountains to stick out in the sky! He creates new hearts in us...sinners! He is definitely creative! Heather S. led our devotional tonight and reminded us that God is the original masterpiece of everything! He gave us Jesus, yet Jesus was before even the created. God is AWESOME!

Proverbs 31:24 "She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes." This woman was creative. She used the creativity that God gave her to benefit her family. God has made all of us creative as well. Tonight, we spent some time using that creativity by creating scrapbook pages. Felica helped us bring out that creativity by sharing her supplies, ideas, and techniques with us! If any of you are interested in scrapbooking...see Felica!

We started the night by sharing why we chose the pictures we did to scrapbook. Can you figure out who brought pictures of their kids???? Can you guess who brought engagement pictures to put in their scrapbook????? Can you figure out who brought vacation pictures???

It was a fun night that gave us an opportunity to see how we can book together memories in a unique way. Maybe scrapbooking is not your thing, but God did make you creative, so ask Him to show you your creativeness and use it to glorify Him!


Felica showing Felicia how to layout her pictures!
All of us working diligently to show off our creativity!

Discovering Treasures...A Godly Woman is Elegant

What a beautiful blessing of a night! God was so go to us to give us the beautiful evening to fellowship! Twenty-Four of us gathered tonight to learn that a Godly woman is Elegant! Yes, we made the evening elegant and dressed up, but that is not what makes us elegant Godly woman! Proverbs 31:22, "She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple." Felicia led the devotional and pointed out that the excellent woman was elegant in her home and in her person. Felicia read a story that told about visiting someone's home and God being in everything in that home, whether it was the color of the wall, the decorations, the people. The presence of God was there. That is how we make our homes elegant...not by the materialistic things that are in them, but God who is in them. Also, our appearance should be elegant. Not all the time. The Proverbs 31 woman spent her day being busy...she bought a field, planted a vineyard, helped the poor, sewed, made meals, etc...not every minute was she dressed elegantly, but when the time came, her appearance reflected elegance...fine linen and purple. Felicia reminded us that we don't have to be perfect...wear the right things or have a home made for HGTV, but we do need to have God written on every aspect of our life!

For those who could not make it, we missed you! It was an awesome time to get to know some new ladies, fellowship with old friends, and be in God's beauty. We started the evening by finding someone who had the same as you....Did you know that both Rhonda and Leta get up at 3:3o am!!!!! Did you know that Juanita & JeriAnn (that's me:) do not have middle names. Did you know that Julie and Sue are the same age. Did you know that Heather and Leanne have the same number in their family (yes, they are in the same family:). After the devotional from Felicia, we then had some great food! Thanks to those who brought food...Hannah, Glenda, Rhonda, Julie & Felicia. Special thanks to Julie H. and Amber who did an awesome job decorating their tables. It was so much fun to be dressed up and to sit down to fine china! What an awesome night! Glad you could make it!!! Thanks to those who cleaned up! That, too, was a blessing!

What a beautiful group of women!!!!

Everyone enjoying the beautiful evening!

Yes, those bouquets are corn tassels:)



"Tea time" table arranged Julie H.
"Paris" Table set up by Amber!

Our next PEARLS is Tuesday, September 2! Be watching for details!!!!!

Discovering Treasures...A Godly Woman is Kind

Tonight was a night full of laughter & learning. It was a great night, but unfortunately, I forgot the camera. Oops!
We began the night with an ice breaker from Felicia that questioned our ability to accomplish tasks. She asked us things like...
1. Have you ever locked yourself out of your house?
2. Have you ever gone to the store and did not have any money with you?
3. Have you ever left the iron on?
4. Have you ever fallen up the stairs?

There were a lot more, but if I start giving all the details of PEARLS in this blog then there would be no need to come to PEARLS, and we WANT everyone there!!!!! Anyway, it was pretty fun to see who struggles with remembering things and who doesn't. We determined that the younger ones had a much better memory or just had not experienced all of life's blunders, yet!

Amber led the devotional & practical lesson for the night. She shared about Proverbs 31:20, " She opens her hand to the poor and extends her hands to the needy." It is easy to use one hand to get money out to share with the poor or even to use one hand to pull food out of the cupboard, but it takes two hands to show kindness when dealing with children, loved ones, and those hurting. It is important to show both kind of kindness, but when you use two hands then you are really focused on being kind to the person you are helping. Some days it is hard to be kind...what are some ways that you can show kindness to others today? Galatians 5:22 says, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, & self-control."

Amber then talked about being kind to yourself by taking care of your body. She gave us a health quiz to see how much we knew and then gave us some pointers in how to take care of our bodies.

Did you know that the leading cause of death in women over 40 is heart disease? Did you know that some of the signs of a heart attack are different in women. Women tend to have a pain in their back or stomach...like indigestion. They also could have shortness of breath, sweating, & tingling. Did you know the three biggest cancers in women are breast, lung & colon. If you have had a family member with breast cancer, smoke, or are over the age of 40 then you are at a great risk for breast cancer. Did you know that you should do a self-breast exam every month. If you are premenopausal then it should be done about a week after the start of your cycle. If you are post menopausal then pick a day (5) and do it the same day every month. You self exam should take about 5 minutes and should be done in the shower. It is important to take care of yourself and the body that God gave you! Know the facts and stay healthy. If you have any questions, I'm sure Amber would be willing to answer them.

Our next PEARLS is going to be August 5 and it will be about a Godly woman being Elegant.
We are going to have a Garden Party!!! More details to come! Save the date!

Also, the PEARLS annual retreat is set for Friday, October 3 & Saturday, October 4! Mark those dates on your calendar!!!!

Discovering Treasure! A Godly Woman is...Persistent

What a great night! We gathered tonight to put together care packages for the missionaries that we support! These people have so little and we have so much! Thank you, ladies, for giving of your selves, your time, and your resources to bless those who are doing God's work.

We started the night by pulling something out of Felicia's grab bag! In this bag, she had items from different countries. Each lady was to say what she thought the item was and how it was used to serve God. Some of the items were money, candlesticks, chopsticks, dolls, shawls, bowls, and a musical instrument made from some type of hoof (we debated if they were sheep hooves, or deer or pig...either way it was quite interesting). How these items were used to serve God ranged from hospitality to buying bibles to making music.

We then had a devotional on being persistent. The question was asked...what are some of the activities that you do at night? Are you using your time wisely? Elizabeth George defines being persistent as being able to discover & use more hours in our day by utilizing the hours of our night to benefit more people. Some definitions given by our ladies included "being on a mission", "working hard", "being determined". The Proverbs 31 woman was persistent. She planted a vineyard, made clothing, cooked meals, cared for children...the list goes on and on. She was not idle and what she did blessed others. Another definitions of persistence is "having the same goal over and over". Our goal is to share Christ! No matter how you use your time, it should be to glorify God! We should be persistent in sharing His love and blessing others!

That was our goal for the night...to bless those who are serving Him! We took time to talk about and pray for the following missionaries.

James ~ Gospel Harvesters ~ India
James was just here visiting. He helps to run an orphanage, a Bible College for men wanting to become Pastors, and he arranges the meetings when groups come over to minister to the people. Please pray for endurance for James as he travels a lot. Pray for the Bible College especially for books for their library, and pray for the children who have lost their parents. We were able to box up 2 boxes of clothes and blankets to send to India! http://www.gospelharvint.org/



The Wild Family ~ New Tribes Mission ~ Papua
The Wild Family (they have 4 young boys) minister to the Wano tribe. Where they live, everything must be flown in by helicopter. It is very primitive...in the jungle! Their mission is to translate the Bible into the Wano language. Pray for their safety, pray that the Wano people will be open to the gospel, and pray for the boys as they live and learn over there. They did not desire much...just chocolate, seasoning packets, and Jeff's sermons (I think to scare off the snakes:)!!!!! Their parents will be visiting this summer, so they will deliver the box! http://www.ntm.org/pray/




Jamie ~ Lakeshore
Jamie headed to Lakeshore 2 years ago and has not returned! She loves it down there and loves the people! She is in charge of the volunteers that come through to help rebuild Lakeshore! Summer is especially busy for her! She will have contact with hundreds of volunteers! This is an awesome opportunity for the church to reach their community! Pray that the people's hearts will be open. Pray that Jamie will have strength for the long hours. Also pray for the completion of her house (is it really big enough to call a house?). We sent Jamie some homemade goodies, chocolate, and soup mixes. She might have more needs when her house is finished.


Brad & Joy ~ Church! ~ Brooklyn
Brad & Joy and their girls moved to Brooklyn to start a church! New York is full of people especially people who do not know Christ! Church! and its coffee shop, Postmark, has a desire to reach people for Christ! They want to love their neighbors just like Christ commanded! They have numerous opportunities to do that....through the regulars at the coffee shop, through ministering at street fairs, through kids clubs and camps, and through just loving the person who lives right next door! Pray for opportunities to share Christ's love, pray for the hearts of the people to be broken & open for Christ, pray for strength & endurance as they attempt to reach people through their activities. We were able to send homemade goodies for their fellowship time and stickers for the story time that they host at Postmark. http://www.churchofparkslope.org/




Finally, we wrote encouragement notes to all the missionaries!

Thank you to all who contributed your time, effort, and supplies! My prayer is that you were blessed as you blessed others! These people gave up their nice homes to live in smaller quarters, luxuries like restaurants, and just being close to family. We have so much...you don't have to be a missionary in another country....use what God has given you and reach others for Him in your own backyard!

Our next gathering is Tuesday, July 1! More details will follow!

Discovering Treasures...A Godly woman is Thrifty

What a beautiful day God gave us! The temperature was great, the day was sunny and the breeze was nice! Isn't spring wonderful! It is a time of new life and growth! Maybe the Proverbs 31 woman was enjoying the same type of day when she purchased a field and planted a vineyard!
Proverbs 31:16 was our verse for yesterday's PEARLS. "She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard." This woman was thrifty. She thought about her purchase and then she used what she made to plant a vineyard to either provide for her family or to make more income.
We spent a great couple hours in Mary's beautiful home (thanks so much Mary for going out of your comfort zone to have us!) having great fellowship and being encouraged by Tina who led the devotional and gave tips on how to be thrifty. We began the evening with a game of "Who is thrifty". The idea was to have the most pennies when the game was over. You received a penny if you were thrifty, but had to give one up if you were not thrifty. There were questions asked like...
1. Do you reuse cool whip or sour cream type containers.
2. Do you hang clothes out on the line.
3. Do you pick up pennies off of the ground.
4. Do you wash your clothes in cold water.

Mary ended up with the most pennies and Tina was the second Thriftiest person! It was fun, but it also was a good reminder of ways that we can be thrifty in a day in age when everything is costing more!

Tina then led us in a devotional about how being thrifty is one way that God prunes us. One of the scriptures that she used was John 15:1-12. Since the Proverbs woman was thrifty and planted a vineyard, this passage was appropriate because it talks about Jesus being the vine and we are the branches who need to bear fruit for Him. As we bear fruit, we still need to be pruned in order to bear much fruit. Struggles and circumstances in our life will prune us. Learning how to be a godly woman who is thrifty is one way that God might prune us. As good stewards of what God has blessed us with, we should be thrifty.
Tina shared the story of Charles Spurgeon's wife. She was pruned by God when she came down with a serious illness. No longer able to really leave her home, she still was determined to be used by God no matter what her circumstance. She had been saving money here and there and was able to purchase 100 copies of her husband's book and place it in the hands of pastors who could not afford it and therefore they were able to better serve God through Spurgeon's teaching. Each time she saved, it wasn't much, but it added up to a lot in the end...100 books and probably a lot of lost souls being saved more than you could count.
So the true lesson of the night was that it is important to be thrifty, but it is more important to use the circumstances that God puts us through (learning to live on a budget) to be pruned and used by Him.
Tina did a great job sharing and I'm sure I still left out some key points that she made. Feel free to ask her about what she shared.

After the devotional, Tina shared some tips of how she is learning to be thrifty and led us in discussing how the rest of us are thrifty. Here are a few of the tips that were mentioned.

1. Buy in bulk. Ex. Tina buys a bag of wheat and then grinds her own to make all of her baked goods from scratch. This is much cheaper and healthier. (she did add that true junk food like brownies should not be healthy!)

2. Shop thrift stores or garage sales.

3. When you want something new...repaint it! Bev has repainted her canisters 3 or 4 times. She also repaints lamps. This way she gets something new without it costing a lot of money.

4. Garden to have your own vegetables.

5. Buy clothes at the end of the season for the next year.

6. Once a month grocery shop and meal plan.

7. Keep track of your expenses.

8. Wash plastic Ziploc bags and reuse them.

9. Buy generic diapers (Csilla said that target brand are great!)

10. Use old Christmas cards as the name tags on the next year's presents.

There were many more ideas. As prices start to soar, it is really important to count every penny and do the best you can to make ends meet. Being thrifty is just one way to help your family do a better job of being good stewards of what God has given you.


Our next gathering is June 3 and will be held at the church. We will be doing a service project and reaching out to the missionaries that our church supports. Please be looking for more information! I'll let you know the details as soon as they are all worked out!