Packaging Freshwater

Obedience: The Acid Test of Love
John 14:15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."

We had a great night putting together care packages for our troops in Afghanistan. We will never be able to do enough to thank them for serving our country.

Our night started off by writing down one interesting thing about yourself. Then the cards were passed around the room and if that statement also applied to you, then you initialed it (we didn't know that until after we had written our statement). Rhonda and myself had the most initials. Sorry Rhonda, but I can't remember your statement. Mine was I love chocolate! Great one to put in a room full of women. Felicia awarded us with these beautiful petunias. Thanks, Felicia!
Next, Sue led us in a devotional on Obedience. There was a story in the book that talked about a business man learning God's obedience. In a couple of cases, he was challenged to do the right thing even though the wrong thing was not looked down upon in his business. He said, "When the choice between right and wrong is obvious, I have to obey God and do the right thing." Jesus told the parable about the "Wise man and the Foolish man". He begins each description by saying, "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock....And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand." (Matthew 7:24-27) We have to obey God and do the right thing unlike Saul who disobeyed God as told in 1 Samuel 15:1-3. "Thus says the Lord of hosts...Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel, and donkey." Saul disobeyed and took the king alive and spared the best of the livestock. God was unhappy with Saul's disobedience and He rejected him as king.
One of the questions that Sue asked was what blessings or consequences have you personally reaped from some act of obedience or disobedience in your life? We all need to do the right thing and obey God's words.
Sue was triple stacked...she hosted, she led the devotional, and she was in charge of the service project. Thanks Sue, for all of your hard work!

Sue was in contact with a man who will send our boxes to a chaplain in Afghanistan. He requested certain items that the troops needed or would help encourage them, so that was our goal. We boxed up 8 boxes of toiletries, snack foods, coffee, and a whole bunch of other things and then we wrote notes of encouragement to put in the boxes. We prayed for the troops, their families, and the members of the military that are involved in our church. Our prayer is that these boxes will encourage those overseas and show them the love of Christ. We also made up a few backpacks that will be given to military children. These included a throw away camera, journal, and a few toys to help their time pass quickly while mom or dad was gone.

Thank you to all who helped by packaging or sending needed items. Please continue to pray for all of our military and their families.

Our next PEARLS is Tuesday, August 4 and will be our GARDEN PARTY.

Herbal Essence

Holiness: A Heart Like His
Hebrews 12:14 "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord."

WOW! What a great night if you left empty in anyway then you weren't there! It was a great time of food, fellowship, & Freshwater! A very special thank you to Issa, Mary, Heidi, & Hannah for opening their home, fixing great food, and cleaning up the huge mess we left you. It was a wonderful time!

The evening started with an ice breaker led by Mary H. She quickly discovered that we know very little (ok really nothing) about Herbs let alone cooking with them. She had 12 different herbs for us to smell and touch to try to figure out what they were. There were 16 of us there and Felicia scored the highest with FOUR CORRECT! We have A LOT to learn!
Heidi and Mary realizing that we know nothing.
Abbie trying to determine what the Herb is.
Juanita "tasting" ginger.

Gail and Amy using their sense of smell.
Our winner, Felicia trying to figure this one out...I think she put down the same herb 3 or 4 times:)

We were then led in a devotional by Tina on Holiness. She began by asking us wedding preparation questions. As women, we all know how important the BIG DAY is and there is a lot of planning that goes into it. Well, as Christians we have a wedding day approaching...we are the BRIDE OF CHRIST...shouldn't there be a lot more preparation that goes into that day than anything else we do? She asked three questions in regard to "getting ready for the Wedding"...
1. Are you preoccupied with life here and and not spending time becoming holy or getting ready to meet Christ?
2. Do you give it some thought and effort, but often find yourself distracted and consumed with things on earth?
3. Do you love Jesus and are excited about His return and are actively seeking to "get ready for the Wedding"?

Ask yourself those questions...where do you fit?

Tina also challenged us to not only "put off" anything and everything that is part of our old, corrupt flesh, but to "put on" those qualities of the Life of Christ. Don't live like the pharisees...live like Christ.

Since this was Tina's last PEARLS with us before she moves, we were led in a time of prayer and blessing for her as she begins a new chapter in her life. Thanks Tina for leading one more time. Your wisdom and encouragement will be missed.


Next, we headed upstairs to Issa's kitchen (at least for the night). Pastor Jeff had come along for some manly encouragement for Issa...I guess there were too many women:) I am in no way going to be able to fully share what we were taught, but I will do my best. Here are some of the highlights/tips that I remember.

1. Only keep spices in your cupboard for 6 months and then THROW THEM OUT!
2. When cooking with herbs, add them to your food in the last few minutes of cooking to keep their flavor.
3. At the end of summer, cut up any remaining herbs, put them in ice cube trays, add some water and freeze. Pull out and use when needed.
4. Find the right combination of herbs...sometimes combinations make a bad flavor.
5. Crushed pepper and "store bought" pepper do not have the same smell or flavor.

It has been too long since Tuesday night and I am not doing this justice. If anyone remembers anything else, please comment at the bottom of this post or email me and I will add the comments. There was so much information to take in for a non-herb cook like myself, that I didn't retain it all. So, please help me out!

Our herb guide for the night who made us excellent chicken, shrimp, dip, and tea all with herbs! The food was delicious! I think Pastor Jeff really just came along to eat:)
This is Saffron (I'm clueless about this one). I guess it is a really, really expensive herb that Issa bought especially just for us to see. If I remember correctly it costs about $3000 a pound!

Here Issa is explaining all the herbs that he uses and grows.
Stephanie, Felica, and Heather are discussing....what are they discussing?

Gail and Lori smelling crushed pepper...I think.

Issa then took us out to see all the different herbs he grows. He has an herb garden, but a lot of his herbs are part of his landscaping. He grows sage, oregano. rosemary, basil, spearmint, chives, and many more. It was extremely interesting to see and to hear how easy it is to grow herbs. Once again, a big thank you to Issa and Mary for the wonderful evening.





I'm sure I left a lot out...to truly experience it you needed to be there. So, don't miss out! Join us for the next PEARLS on Tuesday, July 7 at 6:30PM! Our theme is Packaging Freshwater and we will be making up care packages for our troops. A list of items should come via email shortly.

Blooming in God's Garden of Grace

Grace: God's Provision For Every Need
Hebrews 4:16 "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Tuesday was a beautiful day and a very fun night at PEARLS! 19 ladies came to learn, grow, and laugh together! Felicia started our evening out with an ice breaker. We each had a bag of seeds and we were to use only words from the package to describe our self. Joy was a "dwarf". Tina was "packed for 2009", Pat was a "perennial". There was a lot of laughter as we each picked description.

Then Joy led us in a devotional on grace. She first reviewed what we have studied so far...Revival, Humility, Honesty, and Repentance. Then she defined Grace: act of showing favor; the love of God toward man; divine influence operating in man. She used a story from our book "Seeking Him". It is as follows and gives a great analogy of God's grace!

If a young man is killed through some random act of violence and his father tracks down the guilty person and kills him, we would call that vengeance. If, however, the father calls the police and the murderer is arrested, tried, convicted, and executed, we'd call that justice. If, at the trial, the father pleads for the guilty man's life to be spared and the judge and jury consent, we'd call that mercy. Now imagine this: in addition to pleading for the guilty one to be spared, the father actually appeals to the judge to release the offender into his custody and care. Miraculously gaining approval, the father takes the young man into his heart and home, adopts him, and raises him and loves him as his own son...that would be grace!

Mercy is not getting what we deserve...Grace (God's Riches At Christ's Expense) is getting what we don't deserve. God's grace is what saves us, sanctifies us and carries us through suffering. It is undeserved, But it is conditional.

We had a guest speaker tonight...Josie, Tina's Mom. Josie came to give us some tips on floral arrangements. The biggest tip of the night was that you can spray hairspray on your fake flowers and plants and it will eat the dust!!!!!! I thought that was an AWESOME tip! She worked with artificial flowers, but also gave some real flower tips as well.

1. The materials are rather inexpensive...the arrangement she made was about $4 in cost.

2. Buy a variety of colors and types...a yellow mixed with purples and pinks really allows the arrangement to "POP".

3. When using artificial flowers, use hot glue gun to glue stems into the floral foam. It helps it to stay if the arrangement gets picked up.

4. In any kind of arrangement, start from the middle as your focal point and work out. Ending with the fake grass to set the arrangement off.

5. When making corsages or boutonnieres with roses, wrap a water dipped cotton ball around the stem and then the floral tape. This will allow the rose to stay fresh longer.

These are just a few of the tips that Josie gave us. Thank you to Josie who gave her time to share with us.

We finished up with some yummy desserts and great fellowship. Thanks to Hannah C for opening up her home to us!

What's happening next: Herbal Essence on Tuesday, June 2 at Mary H's home.

Clean Sweep

Repentance: The Big Turn-Around.

Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."

This month we did a "Clean Sweep" of our hearts and our church. Heather H. led us in a devotional on Repentance. Repentance involves returning to the Lord, forsaking sin, and obeying God. In Matthew 3:2 & 4:17 Jesus says "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near." Repentance must happen in order to draw close to God. Paul reinforces what Christ teaches with what he says in 2 Corinthians 7:10, "For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death." Repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of behavior. When we repent, we not only say "sorry", but we change the direction we were heading and head toward God without any regret and with great joy. Repentance involves taking action...God is waiting.

After the devotional, we starting right in with scrubbing the church! Thank you to Rhonda for organizing the cleaning. Many hands make the work light and that is what happened. There were so many busy hands, that I lost count, but I believe at least 16 ladies worked hard and quickly to accomplish a huge task. The lights were cleaned, the woodwork scrubbed, the landscaping cleaned out, the bathrooms now sparkle, the toys were cleaned, everything was dusted, and even the fridge was cleaned out! To top it off, we were eating snacks and enjoying fellowship by 7:45! That was some fast cleaning! Thank you to all who came and helped to make the church beautiful for Easter Sunday and any guests who may come! Your hard work is greatly appreciated!

Linda cleaning the woodwork while Rene' keeps her safe!

Heather showing the dirty duster and dust cloth!

Joy SCRUBBED the fridge!

Gail cleaning the pews.

Linda and Pat making the woodwork shine!

Becka pulled every weed and grass coming through the ramp.

Lori and Chani cleaning up the landscaping.

Felica cleaning the windows.

Rhonda and Julie had a great job...holding down the ladder while Abbie cleaned the fan and lights!

Juanita made sure the bathrooms sparkled!

Tina and Stephanie did a great job cleaning the nursery, but I didn't have the camera out when they had all the toys drying on a towel on the floor. There are a lot of toys in the nursery! I know there were others there who somehow hid from the camera...thanks again for everyone's hard work!

What's happening next: Blooming in God's Garden of Grace!

Tuesday, May 5 at 6:30 PM at Hannah C's home.

What a Tangled Web We Weave!

Honesty: Silence is not always golden.
Proverbs 28:13 "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy."

What a tangled web we can weave when we are not honest to others and especially to God. In order to experience true revival, we MUST be honest with God and others about our true spiritual condition!

We began the evening with each of us introducing ourselves and telling 1 truth about our life and 1 lie. Can you figure out if Heather H. loves to read or loves to clean? What about Abby...is she one of 22 siblings or is her middle name Christine? Then there was Joy who has either lived in more than 25 houses or visited all but 1 of the seven continents! Lies... what a tangled web we can weave (and during an ice breaker what laughter it brings!)

Julie M. then led us in a devotion about being honest with God. She had us dig into the Word where we are told of situations that people were not honest with God. Genesis 3:6-13 is the discussion between God, Adam & Eve after Adam & Eve ate the forbidden fruit. Acts 5:1-11 is the story of Annanias & Sapphira who knowingly kept part of the profit from a field that they sold and then lied about it! Death immediately found them! God already knows everything about us...be honest with Him, you can't hide it anyway! Another passage that Julie shared with us was 1 John 1:5-9. This passage talks about God being light! If we walk in the light as He is in the light then we have fellowship with Him and Jesus' blood cleanses us from all sin! John reminds us that when we cover up or refuse to acknowledge sin then we deceive ourselves and can't enjoy true fellowship with God. Remember...no matter what you have done, you can still experience God's love & His amazing grace!

Pat then took over and attempted to teach us (some got it and some had two left hands) how to knit! Boy was this a riot! There were some natural knitters and then there were those of us who just couldn't get anything but a tangled web!!!! Pat is an EXPERT knitter! She brought samples of Christmas stockings she has made (over 40) and each one has a different pattern! She really knows what she is talking about! She taught us about the needles and the yarn! I didn't know there could be so many different sizes of needles! She then patiently showed us the four steps of knitting. 1. Casting On, 2. Knitting, 3. Purling, & 4. Casting Off. I am not even going to begin to try to tell you how to knit! See Pat if you want to know how! I can show you how to knit a knot:)
Pat has offered to give a second class if anyone is interested! She really knows what she is doing! Please let us know!

It was a great time together! There was lots of laughter! Thanks so much to Gail for hosting! We finished up our evening with delicious snacks that she provided!

Our next gathering will be Tuesday, April 7 at 6:30! We will meet at the church for a CLEAN SWEEP! Where comfortable clothes and be prepared to serve by cleaning!

Becka understood that you needed to start with a really long piece of yarn!

Becka getting help from Pat! I really think sticking the tongue out helps with knitting:)





Finally! Becka really caught on! She will be an expert knitter in no time! Maybe she'll be wearing her sweater at church! Ok, so let the truth be known (since we are talking about honesty), Pat really knitted, but Becka wishes she had:)

Here is Rhonda's creation (he he)!

Heather is concentrating really hard! I think I can! I think I can!

Joy claims she hasn't knitted in years, but it sure did come back to her quickly! Fast enough that she even taught Juanita how to do it!

That's a look of determination to learn!

Pat showing Abby the four steps!

Gail was enjoying trying to knit!

Wow! So this is what it is supposed to look like! I'm sure we will have an afghan in no time!