Just returned home from the WMU Missions Celebration in New England. What a grand weekend! I now have new friends in six different states! The conference theme was “Energize” and I had the privilege to sharing ideas to energize the women’s ministry programs in churches.

It was such a delight to meet so many Christian sisters who serve in churches across the Baptist Convention of New England — New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut.  Such a gorgeous part of our country, and such a great mission field. I was amazed to see how God is moving and working there. Thanks, new friends, for a wonderful weekend.

Here’s a fun idea they used: DEAP.  Several times during the conference, a big bell would ring, and everyone would DEAP (that’s Drop Everything And Pray).  Each conference attender’s name badge had the name of an SBC missionary on the reverse side, and she was assigned to pray for that missionary, whose birthday was that day. It was short, but very effective. 

Our Indiana Baptist ladies retreat is this weekend, and 800+ ladies will be coming to Indianapolis for a wonderful, inspiring weekend. It’s always a big highlight of the year. Will you pray for safe travel as they travel across our state? Snow is predicted!  

My breakout class:  The topic for my breakout class this year is “Terrycloth Christianity.” It’s a class for Christian leaders about Jesus’ style of leadership: servant leadership.  It begins with a fun “towel” fashion show. 

Ministers’ Wives Breakfast: One highlight of the retreat is a breakfast especially designed for pastor wives in our state. I’m delighted that we have one hundred pastors wives registered for our Ministers Wives Breakfast this Saturday! Pray for these important leaders who will attend–that God will use the event to encourage them, help them find new friendships, and inspire them.  I’ll get to recognize ten church planters’ wives, too.  Can’t wait! 

Steve and I will be leading the Kentucky Baptist Convention’s statewide retreat for their pastors, deacons and  wives in January.  Pray with us that it will be a great time of refreshment and encouragement for those important leaders. We’re so looking forward to it!

And if you know a pastor or a deacon in Kentucky, be sure they know about it!  Here’s the link for registration:  Kentucky Pastor-Deacon-Spouse-Retreat

ROCKING INDIANA FOR CHRIST!

“Praise the Lord who is my rock!” Psalm 114:1a

Looking for a good retreat theme? I thought you might like this one:

“Rocking [your town's name] for Christ.” 

I’d planned a brief program for the spouses of our Baptist state convention’s executive board yesterday, and it was such fun. It could easily be expanded to plan a retreat for a church group. Here’s what we did. Take the topics, tweak them to your event, and you’ve got a memorable retreat.

Introducing “rock stars” – Just intro game preceeded by Scriptures about Jesus as our Rock + how we must shine for Him = rock stars

“Rock” music – Jesus is the Rock; Rock of Ages; Ain’t No Rock; Praise songs with the word “rock

• Prayer Rocking – Used the porch rocking chairs for meaningful prayer time

  

• Rock Hound Adventure – a photo scavenger hunt around the retreat center

Rocking Tea Time

• Prayer to the Rock of our Salvation
• Rock Solid Testimonies – each person used a different Scripture containing the word “rock” to illustrate how God has been the rock in their life.
• Rock Formation – a simple rock craft project and devotional

Challenge to “rock Indiana for Christ” – closing devotional.

If you missed my “occasional” newsletter this month, click below:

May 2009 Update Newsletter

Don’t you just love a ladies’ tea?

I drove to Hobart this weekend — it’s right up there near Lake Michigan — for a mother-daughter ladies’ tea. The photo above shows me with the church’s wonderful pastor’s wife, Debbie Whidden.

There was a huge crowd, and what great Christian fellowship!  I thought you might enjoy hearing their decoration idea:

In the center of each table was a couple of layers of brightly colored paper (you could use fabric.) They chose to use a brown base color with hot pink top, and it was elegant and eye-catching. A nest of whole, loose coffee beans created the base of the center piece, and atop that was a couple of tea cups. They were a random assortment–some contemporary, some china, a variety of colors. Some cups were placed on their sides; some sat on a saucer. Some were accompanied by a matching teapot.  Other splashes of hot pink and brown, along with flowers and mother’s day balloons, completed the simple–yet gorgeous–decor. Coffee beans were sprinkled around the serving tables, inside the cups, and around the coffee and tea serving pots. Really cute. You can do that!

Here’s the way God works: my talk was about “little things” — things we can do to improve our relationships and influence with our moms and daughters and Christian sisters. So those “little” coffee beans were a perfect little illustration to go with the themed topic.  Little things do make a difference!

I’m thanking God for MY mother this weekend.

What a great weekend I had with Friendship Baptist (Franklin IN) ladies’ retreat! The theme was SISTERS! Here’s an idea you might enjoy doing after your next ladies’ retreat. 

The retreat planners purchased a really pretty journal. In  the front of it, they placed a list of all the ladies who attended the retreat and a note, asking each person to write a journal entry and then pass it on to the next person. They could write prayer requests, testimonies, Scriptures, etc.  As the speaker, I had the privilege of writing the first entry, then passed it on to the next person on the list. Hopefully, by next year’s retreat, they’ll have a journal full of blessings and praises, and can begin a new one. 

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Journal?

What a weekend!  My daughter, Autumn, came up from Texas, and we had the privilege of “tag-teaming” to lead our state mom/teen daughter event called Metamorphosis.

What a fabulous group of young women and moms! God truly blessed me as I observed those growing relationships and their sincere commitment to shine for Christ.

You should’ve seen all the special ways the host church, Calvary Baptist in Greenwood,  enhanced the event. They had gigantic, gorgeous butterflies everywhere, a coffee-house, video games, frame-making, butterfly cookies….

The fashion show was  fabulous, the laughter was loud, and moms and teens were from every end of Indiana. 

Autumn’s back in Texas; the girls and moms are back home, and I’m totally exhausted…just enjoying reflecting on a well-spent weekend with some of God’s precious daughters.

I thought you might like to see the brochure for Metamorphosis–the mom & teen daughter event where my daughter, Autumn, and I will be speaking in May. I can’t seem to copy it correctly, so check it out at

http://www.scbi.org/images/events/downloads/metamorphosisbrochure

or just go to www.scbi.org and see the details.

Pray that God will use this fun weekend to encourage His daughters.

Oh, and here’s another photo of Autumn and me — I think it was a year or two ago…

Just returned from a wonderful weekend at Tennessee’s state-wide Missions Get-Together. What a treat! 2500 women met in this gorgeous setting, with an amazing, inspiring speaker (Page Hughes) and the cutest  humorists you’ve ever seen (Berniece & Bertha).

I had the privilege of leading several breakout conferences about women’s ministry topics, and also the conference for Tennessee pastors’ wives. Such fun!Those Tennessee ladies really know how to inspire and excite Christian women about serving Him and supporting missions.

The drive was spectacular. So here I am, driving along these curved roads across the Cumberland Gap. I can hardly stay between the highway lines because I’m gandering off at the spectacular landscape.  As I get near a place called Lake City, I spotted a Sonic Drive-In, so–of course–I pull off for my diet limeaid with extra ice.

There at the turnoff was a sign. It read, “Scenic route,” and had an arrow pointing to the right.  I wasn’t even on the scenic route????It was almost as if it said, “Girl, you ain’t seen nothing yet!” Ha!

I think we sometimes get so busy enjoying the view of God’s blessings along our life path, that we forget that He’s not finished with us yet. All the joyful days, challenging times and scenic views ahead of us in life are still yet to come. We ain’t seen nothing yet!

Still love that Jeremiah 29:11 verse:

For I know the plans I have for you”—[this is] the LORD’s declaration—”plans for [your] welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Yes, it was a lo-o-o-ong trip…but plenty of time to reflect on God’s blessings.