6 am on Saturday morning

I don't think I have been up this early on a Saturday for a while (maybe out of bed to let the dog out and then crawl back between the sheets for an hour or two).

Today is Titus 2 day - ladies at the church had signed up for Titus 2 groups in January. The groups meet once a month and when we signed up all we knew was what day and time the meetings were. The 'Deborah' group is on the second Saturday of each month at 7 am. I missed the February meeting because I was out of town.

We meet to get to know each other better, pray for each other and encourage each other. I am looking forward to getting to know some of the ladies better. In our church family (300+ people) there always seems to be a new face and just putting names to faces take concentrated effort.

7 am did not sound nearly as early when I signed up but with the daylight savings time change it is still dark and with the neighborhood so quiet and no one else up in the house - it seems really early. Of course, during the week we are already out the door by 7 am so it really is not that bad.

DD19 is home for spring break - so next week will be busy with getting her car in for some preventive maintenance and other appointments that she can't do on her weekend trips home. She and I are taking a short trip the end of the week to visit a new baby in the family. I am looking forward to having some time with her (5 hour car ride each way) although I know she will read, sleep and listen to her IPOD :-) While riding in the car, both DDs always opened up to me when they were younger so it is a sort of habit they have developed. Maybe just because they don't have all the distractions and no one (DAD or sister) can overhear and join in the conversation.

Missions Conference and a treat for me

This week is our Mission Conference at church and last night was seminar night. We had 15 different speakers who talked about their 'missions' or opportunities for us to serve. It was very interesting. The sessions are divided into 5 categories (3 each) such as Global Missions, Local Missions, Evangelism, (don't know what all 5 were). Then they are set up in 5 rooms and 3 time slots. Each person can choose which session they want to attend in each time slot - attending 3 sessions in the evening.

Going into the evening I was only interested in the College Ministry session - mostly because I have daughters that fall into that category and can see there is a need for something to help them stay connected to the church family. Our church is also located within 3 miles of a state university. The church in the past has tried several different ministries reaching out to the students there but nothing has lasted long term. Usually the leaders moved on to somewhere else and the ministry fell to the wayside. The session is wanting to come up with something that the church can sustain. It was a good session and there were several recent college grads who had a lot to input into the discussion. DD19 and her boyfriend attended with me and they had some input - mostly "FOOD" - if you offer home cooked meals you will get them to come :-)

Since DD17 was working in the nursery, I had to stay for the whole evening so I chose the Bethany Christian Services for my second session. It was good - but she should have handed out tissues at the door as we came in. She showed a short video (Everything to Me) to a song written by a man to his birth mother thanking her for making the sacrifice to give him a better life. The video showed a young lady who was pregnant, went into labor, delivered and gave her baby up for adoption. The man's story followed in a second video (Story behind Everything to Me) One of the young ladies in our church within the last month had delivered a beautiful baby that she dearly loved and wanted to keep - but knowing she could not do so financially (unemployed and a student) she gave it to a family through Bethany. So the video really hit home to many of us in the room who have struggled with this young lady in her decision.
The speaker was very interesting, telling about domestic, global and embryo adoptions. They will not consider a couple for adoption unless they are actively involved in a church so that is a comfort to the birth mothers who use their service. Most adoptions today are open adoptions with the birth mother choosing the parents and allowed to see the child at least once a year. The young lady in our church chose a family who will allow her to see the baby 4 times a year and live about 3 hours away.
This morning I found the lyrics to Everything to Me. I love the song!


The third and final session is where I was given a 'treat'. I planned to go to the session on the Chippewa mission trip that the church is planning for this summer. For many years the church has gone to the Lummi Reservation in Washington. The past couple years entire families have gone and it is quite expensive to fly a family of four - so the church has been looking for something within a reasonable driving distance and with a more flexible time frame. So I was just curious about the new location and people. But when I got to that room it was already packed with pre-teens - so I went to my second choice - The Gideons.

One of the men in our church is a member of The Gideons. They are an international group of men who promote God's Word in many ways. He showed slides and videos of a trip he made with the Gideons to Thailand. Very interesting and a beautiful country. They handed out Bibles in the Thai language to students, hospital patients and even to the Buddhist monks who are everywhere on the streets. He told many stories of God's providence and protection while they were in Thailand. And in case you are curious - the Gideons pay all their own travel expenses. Any money donated to The Gideons goes 100% to buying Bibles and New Testatments.

As he closed the program he passed out greeting cards that individuals can use to purchase Bibles for The Gideons to distribute (they are responsible for the Bibles in hotel rooms in the US). He wanted to show us how easy it was to honor someone by donating a Bible in their name. Glancing at me, he pulled out a little well-worn notebook and started flipping through the pages. He said he makes notes of things to do and some time ago he had made a note and had never followed up on it but was going to take care of that right now. He stood next to where I was seated and leaned down so I could see the pages as he was flipping - he had many items crossed off and finally came to a page that wasn't - there is said "Thank You to Mary C and Pastor - Marriage Retreat"

So he took a "Thinking of You" card and filled in the form on the inside saying 5 bibles were being donated in honor or Mary C. He added a line saying, "Thank you for your service". Then on the other side of the card he wrote something like "Thank you for all the work on the marriage retreat." Placing the card in the envelope, he handed it to me. Then he took the smaller envelope that was in the card and filled out that he was paying for 5 Bibles ($25) and that a card had already been sent to the honoree. It was that easy - and it made me feel very honored and appreciated. To think that someone who works hard for his money was willing to give up $25 because he appreciated what I had done. It did not matter that I did not receive the money - I felt blessed to be the 'reason' he was making the donation. I felt like I have received a special unexpected gift. It certainly make me want to do the same when I want to show someone I appreciate them. So I took a box of 10 cards to have on hand for just such an occassion :-)

I can see how God uses everyday things like a man's lack of follow up on his note made the end of January, and a room full of pre-teens to glorify Him. Isn't He wonderful!?!?!?!?

Titus 2

The church is also starting a Titus 2 program. In this the women meet in small groups with a 'leader' and share their concerns, prayer requests and just get to know each other better. This is based on Titus 2:3-5
Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior,not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
(Okay- I know we hate the 'submissive' part but that is a word that has been distorted by the World and meant to mean something bad rather than the God-honoring act of respecting and honoring the husband who is the head of the home - doesn't mean he is a 'dictator')

Anyway, the Titus 2 program is meant to develop deeper relationships between women within the church community and help us help each other. There is always someone who is more mature in their faith that we can learn from and someone who is less mature who we can teach.

The women are also planning some Titus 2 group fellowship activities throughout the year like Knitting and Crocheting (getting together to knit or crochet blankets and hats for the Mosaic pregnancy center), Pie baking or Cardmaking. We could even just have a recipe swap or something - anything that gets women together with others so they get to know them.
Our church has about 300 who attend regularly and some have been there since the beginning when there were 30-50 while others have just joined recently (since we joined 2 years ago we have grown from 250 to 300) so there always seem to be a new face on Sunday morning.

I have made the effort to get together with women more - especially those that I don't see during Sunday School or other activities. It has been a great way to share my faith and my experiences - sometimes encouraging the other women in her walk and sometimes strengthening my walk by reminding me of the way God has been faithful through a variety of struggles. One thing I have learned over the years is that everyone has struggles - no matter how collected and perfect they may look on Sunday morning, they are either in going into a struggle, in the midst of a struggle or coming out of a struggle. And some are in struggles that will never end on this side of Heaven.

As I am getting older, I find I am bolder and more direct in talking to others when they are suffering - not beating around the bush or just saying "I'll pray for you." or "Call me if I can do anything." Most likely they won't call so I often suggest some ways they can let me help. Sometimes they take me up on it and sometimes they don't - but I know it encourages them to know I am willing. (Been in similar situations and some of the most encouraging times were when someone would offer to do something even if I did not take them up on it - it just made me feel better knowing that they were offering.)

Our Titus 2 group met last Saturday when I was in Chicago - we will meet once a month. I was sorry to miss it but I made the other plans before the date was set. I will have to mark my calendar for the rest of the year so I don't miss again unless it is unavoidable.

Books

I love to read - especially fiction with a little romance and suspense. I think that is how I 'escape' sometimes and live vicariously through the characters. Some of my favorite authors right now are Debbie Macomber (I'm reading her Cedar Cape series), Maggie Sefton and Cleo Coyle. It is very interesting to me to notice the new genre of books - stories of multiple characters all revolving around a common theme like a hobby or locale.

The Debbie Macomber series is about a town in Washington and you meet several characters in the first book that continue throughout the series. Each book revolves around the one main story (based on the family who lives at the address in the title) but also has the other story lines flowing parallel in the book. In the second book, she added a few new characters and briefly mentioned some that were more prominent in the first book. Reading them makes me feel like part of the homey community and I want to read the next one just to find out how everyone is doing :-)




I just finished her second book, 204 Rosewood Lane. These are books that once I start, all I want to do is read. In this one she resolves the 'missing spouse' from the first book and adds some romantic twists and a couple pregnancies to keep the reader waiting for the next book.











Currently I am reading Needled to Death by Maggie Sefton. In her first book the main character has to deal with the death of her aunt, the last of her family (she thinks :-) which was the result of a vagrant trying to rob her in her home (or so the officials think). Of course it couldn't be that easy or there wouldn't be much to write about.
She quickly becomes friends with the staff and clientele at the yarn shop/coffee house next door and even takes up knitting. Of course, the main character is instrumental in solving the mystery of her aunt's death and thus begins the series.
In this second book, one of the suppliers to the yarn shop is found murdered by the main character - so here we go again. It also is an easy read with a core group of characters that continue from book to book.
I did learn a few helpful knitting tips and how alpaca farms operate. Each book has a pattern and recipe so that is also a plus.



All my reading is not just fluffy romantic mysteries though. I read The True Woman by Susan Hunt as part of a ladies Bible study this fall and winter. It was a good book and created a lot of really good discussion and sharing. Each chapter begins with a real life story of a woman and her struggle (many really hit home!). It helped me to see how God has given women a special place in His plan and that we have a great responsibility to our husband and children - but also that He has given us each other for encouragement and support. We need to be developing relationships with other women within our church family - not just the 'Hello, How are you?" on Sunday morning but really getting to know them.
Our church is starting a "Spritual Sister" program which grew out of Secret Sisters that we have done for several years. Women who wish to participate are matched up by a drawing of names and they are to touch base every week with prayer requests and accountability for their walk with God. My spiritual sister is a vibrant young mother of 3 (early teen and preteens) and very active with her children. I'm excited about getting to know her better and developing a God-honoring prayer partnership.
Last quarter, I attended a women-only Sunday School class which studied a book by Susan Hunt called By Design. It also was a good reminder of our special purpose in God's plan and ways that we minister to His people. There are some new things happening in our church community because of that.

One of the ladies is going through a divorce and her wedding anniversary is 1/29. She will be home alone that night as her ex-husband will have their daughter so some of us have invited her to go out to eat and have our own little 'encouragement party'. She was so happy to have something to do that night! And we all have an excuse for a night out :-)