Women's Ministry at Chestertown Baptist Church

THE BENEFITS OF GOD

2011-10-15T20:44:00.000-04:00

Last week we studied the four kings taken from the book of 2nd Chronicles and we discussed the weaknesses that held them in captivity and influenced their decisions.

The weaknesses that held them captive are the same ones that hold us captive and influence our decisions.

When we are angry or hurt, anxious, perhaps jealous or prejudiced against someone we are apt to make decisions based on our feelings. These decisions will most likely be wrong ones.

Christ came to bring to us salvation and he also came to bring to us an abundant life. The benefits of an abundant life include:

To Know God and Believe Him.

“You are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen so that you know and believe me and understand that I am he” Isaiah 43:10

To have the abundant life God wants us to have we must be able to believe that God is who He says He is. It is important for each believer to get to know God in a personal way so that we will have a close relationship with him. We must see Him as “the Holy One of Israel,” The Almighty God who was and is and is to come. We must know Him as the, “Creator of all things. We must know Him as our Savior. Knowing God and believing Him is the foundation of our journey as a believer.

2. To Glorify God

“Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” Isaiah 43:7

We are created for His glory and as we grow in our love for Him and begin to understand that God is who He says He is, then our delight will be in Him and we will naturally glorify Him by our obedience, our joy, our love for others. We will give Him the glory by taking what He has given to us and letting it touch the lives of others.

To Find Satisfactory in God.

“Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, Listen to me and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.” Isaiah 55:2

Are you satisfied with Christ? Do you spend money on things that will never satisfy or that satisfies for only a little while. Our need for satisfaction can only be filled through Christ. He is the only one that can bring true satisfaction.

4. To Experience God`s Peace

“If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” Isaiah 48:11

Peace is something that God has already given to us the problem is we have to learn to activate it.-2nd Thes. 3:16 Peace should be an on-going part of our lives, but until we understand and know the God who gives us peace and learn to trust Him we will live in turmoil. The key to peace is allowing Him to be our authority. I think peace must be one of the hardest things to find when things start to unravel, but each time we need it the peace that passes all understanding will naturally be there for us, we just have to reach out in faith and take.

5. To Enjoy His Presence

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, you God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

There is nothing like enjoying God`s presence. To feel excited about meeting with God each day is a special blessing that takes time to cultivate. Spending time with God gives us more of an understanding of who God is and His love for us.

2011-10-14T20:23:00.001-04:00

Breaking Free is the study that changed my life, not all at once, but little by little as I realized that I was being held captive by more than one bondage. I honestly never thought that I could be in bondage to anything. I knew I had weaknesses and like everyone else I went through each day trying to compensate for them. I did not realize that my weaknesses were influencing me in the choices that I made everyday. Wrong choices that held me in chains because of my lack of understanding of God, who He is and His love for me.

For a moment let`s take bondage to the extreme, like an addiction. An addiction can take you to the height of wrong choices. Most addicts think of nothing else except how to get the next fix and where to get the money for it. A wrong choice may include stealing just to buy something that will make them feel good for a few hours. An addiction robs you of contentment, joy and peace let alone your freedom.

In the next few weeks we will learn that the bondage of addiction is not the only thing that will keep us from living in freedom.

We will began our study in Isaiah discussing four kings that Isaiah writes about.

Even though these kings reigned a long time ago, we will learn from them about how bondages influence our choices.

1. Uzziah--2nd Chronicles 26:16. Uzziah was only 16 when anointed King over the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Ar that time Israel had slit into two separate kingdoms, Judah being one and the Northern Kingdom continued as Israel. Isaiah was just a boy when Uzziah became king and must have thought the king a hero because of all God allowed him to accomplish during his reign. As long as Uzziah walked with God he was powerful. Judah, where the city of Jerusalem was had once again had a powerful army to defend the country and the city of Jerusalem was once again fortified and protected from the enemy. In the midst of all these accomplishments, however, the enemy was attacking his weakness of pride and soon Uzziah was taking credit for the things that God had given him the ability to do. Uzziah felt that he had the right to do whatever he wanted in his kingdom. His pride finally got the best of him when he decided he would go into the temple and burn incense on the altar which was a transgression against the Lord.

2 Chronicles 26:5,15 tells us, as long as he sought the Lord he was prosperous, but as he stood in the Temple of God he was afflicted with Leprosy, sad isn`t it?

Uzziah`s bondage was pride and because of that pride he was led to disobey God.

Isaiah6:1 Jotham was the next King and he also walked with God and became very powerful. Jotham continued to be faithful while most of his people worshipped idols and lived corrupt lives. Jotham didn`t seem to even notice or care because he didn`t remove their idols and his people continued in their sinful ways. Sometimes even though we are walking close to the Lord, we still fall short. Why did Jotham fail to take down the High Places? I don`t know, but many of us do the same thing. We may follow God closely and obediently except for that one little thing that we let slide. It`s a high place that should have been dealt with, but wasn`t....................What dangerous things to leave behind, the high places could affect the people of Israel for ages to come.

What high places (places to worship idols) have we left behind? What things do we worship in place of God? What things should we have torn down? Our hurts, our attitudes, prejudices, anger etc. can influence our children and put them into the same bondage we are in.

2 Chronicles 28:4 Ahaz, Jotham`s son was the next King, but unlike his father and grandfather Ahaz was an evil man from the beginning. You see to him, God wasn`t important. He was the grandchild of a man who ended his reign being punished by God because of disobedience and the son of a man who walked with God, but allowed the people around him to live in sin.

Ahaz made cast idols, he sacrificed his sons and he burned incense in the High Places. Ahaz was disobedient to God perhaps because he had been influenced by the high places left by his father Jotham. He may have been a participant or just watched the corruption from afar and he must have thought his father Jotham a hypocrite. Ahaz was in bondage to pride and to his past.

Ahaz had been influenced by his father`s failure to take the idols down. How many idols do we need before we are satisfied?

Hezekiah, Ahaz`s son Hezekiah walked with God and he went a bit further then Jotham because he took down the high places, then he restored the Levites to their rightful position as Priests and brought back the celebration of passover. He must have hung out with his grandfather Jotham or perhaps he was disgusted with the things he had seen growing up under his father and turned to God.

Hezekiah became very sick and was going to die. He was very fearful and begged God to heal him. God heard his cry and gave him 15 more years, but Hezekiah failed to give God the glory for his healing, but instead he enjoyed the approval of the godless and instead of praising God he showed the Babylonian King his treasurers because he wanted to show off his wealth. Bad decision....Isaiah 39:5-6 Isaiah goes to Hezekiah and tells him that the day was coming when all of the treasure in his house would be carried off to Babylon. Pride was his bondage and so was fear.

Are we showy with God`s gifts to us and forget to give the praise to Him. Do we use what He has given us for His glory or do we flaunt it for the approval of others.

These four kings have disobeyed God and disappointed us with the choices they have made which makes it even more important for us make Christ our stronghold.--Is.61:1 He was sent to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. He brings the good news of salvation and he also brings Freedom.

The book of Isaiah records many amazing prophecies about Christ.

EXTREME COUPONING

2011-10-02T23:50:00.000-04:00

EXTREME COUPONING

A SEMINAR BY MAGGIE MILLER

OCTOBER 27TH--6:30PM DOORS OPEN AT 6:00PM

WHERE--SCHOOL CAFETERIA

COST $15.00

JOIN US TO LEARN HOW TO SAVE MONEY WHILE YOU SHOP

http://familyfrugalfun.com

2011-09-20T15:54:00.002-04:00

Ladies, we had an amazing time at the September Women of Faith event in Philadelphia. You don`t want to miss the next one. We have reserved 30 seats for the 2012 event. If you are interested please sign up in the Welcome Center starting this coming Sunday or email me at carole.turner9@gmail.com $10.00 down will reserve your seat and set up a payment program for this event. The total cost is $99.00/ticket. Hotel reservations will be made after we determine the number of ladies going. The cost of the hotel for you will be determined on the number of people in your room, 1-4 people may room together. I will need to have your name and deposit by Nov. in order to reserve your seat. Please let me know asap.

June 2011---Beach Party Fellowship

2011-09-17T07:38:00.000-04:00

Some pictures posted here of our last fellowship, remember, it rained :(, but get a bunch of women together with good food and we will have a good time. The most disappointing moment was when we realized we were`t going to be able to have a fire and smores.

MOTHER/DAUGHTER PICNIC

2011-05-12T00:05:00.000-04:00

mother/daughter picnic

Saturday may 21st

11:00am until 2:00pm

come and join us for a time

of fun and fellowship.

JONAH

2011-02-07T16:16:00.000-05:00

JONAH

BIBLE STUDY STARTS TUESDAY, MARCH 22ND

FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE WE HAVE A

MORNING SESSION WITH CHILDCARE 9-11:30AM

AND AN EVENING SESSION 6-8PM

Come and join us for this interactive study of Jonah

2011-02-06T22:30:00.002-05:00

OCTOBER CRAFT NIGHT--2010

2010-11-05T12:31:00.002-04:00

September Fellowship--2010

2010-11-05T12:29:00.000-04:00

BEACH PARTY

2010-11-05T12:26:00.002-04:00

2010-11-05T12:13:00.003-04:00

LFM--CRAFT NIGHT

2010-10-13T23:26:00.004-04:00

CRAFT NIGHT

OCTOBER 21ST AT 6:00PM

crafts are $5.00 with a

discount on more than one.

come and join us in the

school cafeteria.
crafts on display

in welcome center.

Fall Bible Study

2010-10-02T21:28:00.000-04:00

FALL BIBLE STUDY

"LIVING BEYOND YOURSELF"

A STUDY OF THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT.....by Beth Moore

OCT. 5TH---MORNINGS---9-11:30...with childcare

and EVENING---6-8

STUDY BOOKS $16.00

God`s Unfailing Love

2010-08-24T17:30:00.002-04:00

"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed; says the Lord, who has compassion on you." Isaiah 54:10

This week we are studying the love of God and why it is so hard for us to believe that he loves us unconditionally. One of the reasons we have such a hard time believing God loves us is because we know who we are and we know what we`ve done, and we wonder, "Could God really love me?" Well, yes, he can. His Word is filled with passages telling us about God`s love. Psalm 136; "His love endures forever." 1 John 4:18; perfect love drives out fear. Nothing can separates us from the love of God. Romans 8:38-39.
Believing that God loves you gives you freedom; freedom of security, confidence, humility, healing, hope, the freedom to forgive and to love. God does not want us to live in captivity; Jesus came to set the captives free. Isaiah 61:1 Free to turn to someone and say, "did you know that God loves you" And free to add, "God loves me too"

We sing, "Jesus loves me this I know." Do you truly believe that? Please help my unbelief.

2010-08-24T15:33:00.001-04:00

Isaiah 61:1-4

2010-08-04T10:13:00.000-04:00

Isaiah 61: 1-4

The Year of the LORD's Favor

¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
       because the LORD has anointed me
       to preach good news to the poor.
       He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
       to proclaim freedom for the captives
       and release from darkness for the prisoners, ^[a] ² to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
       and the day of vengeance of our God,
       to comfort all who mourn,
³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
       to bestow on them a crown of beauty
       instead of ashes,
       the oil of gladness
       instead of mourning,
       and a garment of praise
       instead of a spirit of despair.
       They will be called oaks of righteousness,
       a planting of the LORD
       for the display of his splendor.
⁴ They will rebuild the ancient ruins
       and restore the places long devastated;
       they will renew the ruined cities
       that have been devastated for generations.

BIBLE STUDY

2010-06-17T13:23:00.000-04:00

LADIES SUMMER BIBLE STUDY
Tuesdays 9am and 6pm Starting June 29th
Books $16.00--
childcare in am/teens (please be prepared to tip these girls)

"BREAKING FREE" by Beth Moore
If you think that only the unsaved are captives.
If you think Christians cannot be in bondage.
If you think you are not in bondage.

You may be wrong, how sad it would be to live your
life in a bondage of fear, hurt, unforgiveness, pride, anger
and on and on when you could learn to be free through the word of God.

Read Gal. 5:1 which is directed to the church.
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free; Stand firm,
then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by
a yoke of slavery"

"A Christian is held captive by anything that hinders the
abundant and effective spirit-filled life God planned for Her." Beth Moore

Think about this, are you living the abundant life that Christ gave up His life for you to have?

ARE YOU?

Join us for an amazing study that will change your life.

Sign up in the Welcome Center or email me back at:

carole.turner9@gmail.com

SHOWER FOR LACY

2010-06-07T07:56:00.000-04:00

WEDDING SHOWER

FOR LACY SCOTT

WHEN-----JUNE 14TH @6PM

WHERE-----HOME-EC ROOM----in the high school.

THE SHOWER WILL BE A PAMPERED CHEF & TUPPERWARE PARTY

GIVEN BY-----MARYANN LOCKERMAN & DONNA SCOTT

This is a fun shower because you get to come and look through the books
and buy something for yourself. How does that help Lacy? At the end of the night
the percentage that would normally go to the hostess will go to Lacy and she gets to
pick out what she wants. The best part is we get to fellowship while shopping and then we
even get to eat. Please come and help make this a special night for Lacy.

MOTHER/DAUGHTER PICNIC

2010-05-01T12:58:00.002-04:00

MOTHER/DAUGHTER PICNIC

MAY 15th

COST: $5.00/ADULTS--$3.00/5 Y/O AND UNDER.

COME AND JOIN US

PONY CART RIDES

TRAIN RIDES

GAMES AND MORE

SIGN UP IN THE WELCOME CENTER

A NEW MONTH---A NEW BEGINNING

2010-05-01T09:10:00.000-04:00

Are you ever glad that a month has finally ended. Perhaps it was busy with a heavy work schedule or deadlines to meet or maybe a month filled with excitement that just became overwhelming. Whatever the reason, a new day, new week, month or year invites us to evaluate where we are and where we are going. Sometimes we wait for that start of a new week or month to begin what we should have been doing all along, but there is something about waiting until the first day of a new week, month or year to start; a diet, exercising, praying everyday, that plan to read the bible through.
Let`s admit it, however, most of the time we miss the starting point and find ourselves waiting for the next one and the next one until we decide we are losers. Oops, our thought closets that we just emptied out in the past six weeks has a negative thought in it that will grow if we let it.
Journey with me into the month of May with a heart filled with a desire for God to fill us with the truth of His word so we may live in victory. Praise God that new beginnings are whenever we are willing to humble ourselves before Him, cry out for mercy and have a heart that trusts in Him. Psalm 28:6-7.

Take the shackles off my heart and let me leap for joy.

ME, MYSELF AND LIES----week four

2010-04-02T10:08:00.000-04:00

Remembering All His Benefits

I chose to write on day two basically because it touched my heart and made me extremely sad to think of all the benefits that I wish I had journaled over the years. Remembering the past is sometimes painful especially the times when you thought that God had abandoned you. Jennifer describes our memories like library books that have been put on our mind`s shelf. Some of the titles may be pleasant and you have open that memory book and enjoyed the contents and even shared some of the fun or funny times with friends and family, but others are too painful to share and you are glad that finally the cobwebs have blurred the titles so much that you can hardly remember the situation.
Certainly none of us like the pain that comes from a situation that happened in our life, but what about the benefits. What about the things that you learned because of that accident or breakup or the death of a loved one, or the abuse from childhood? If you have gone through a situation and have not seen the benefits God provided, then how can you learn from them, enjoy them, tell others about them or praise God for them? The only way we can profit from our memories, painful or joyful, is to learn what benefits God gave us from that incident. Jennifer tells us that our memories can be friend or foe depending on what we remember about the benefits from God.
Does God really expect us to remember all of his benefits? Yes, he does, he told the Israelites not to forget what he had done for them and in fact told them use stones to prompt their memory. Stones were used to write the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, the law of God was written on stone, they were used as an altar to remember a certain place so they could tell their children what God had done for them. God actually got upset because the children of Israel didn`t remember all he had done for them. Do you think it is any different for us?
Do you ever want to remind someone of all the things you have done for them, maybe your kids when they seem ungrateful for the benefits you have provided for them over the years. God`s benefits are much greater and more important then anything we could give or do for another person and he has the right to expect us to remember them.
Psalm 77:6,11,12--Asaph writes five things he will remember.
God has given me so many benefits from past situations, some I remember well and some I have forgotten. Come with me this week, grab a memory book, open it and remember the benefits God gave you because of that situation, praise him for each one and enjoy his presence.

Psalm 103:2 Praise the Lord, O my soul; and forget not all his benefits.

ME, MYSELF AND LIES----WEEK FOUR

2010-03-25T09:17:00.002-04:00

Some of the content of the lesson from week four is about the Holy Spirit and some of the attributes of the third person of the trinity. When Jesus left earth to return to His Father He left us with a comforter that is from God.
Those that had known Jesus personally must have wondered if they could go on without Him, would they continue to feel close to Him, could they effectively witness about a man who had just, "risen from the dead."
Life had not been the same for the disciples since being called by Jesus to follow Him only three years before and now He was gone and an unseen "comforter" would take over. It must not have seemed the same at first after being able to hear Jesus teach, touch His arm as they walked, watch Him perform miracles, put children on His lap, walk on water, look at Him strangely when He said He felt the power leave Him as the women gently touched His robe. The exchange of money to the enemy in the garden by their very own and then Peter`s denial had surely been a topic of conversation between them for weeks to come. And now after the cross and His reappearance they were left with the comforter. If , however, you remember anything about the disciples then you know that they were empowered with the Holy Spirit, they were able to do amazing things, more then when Jesus was with them because of course the gift was still unwrapped and waiting for the moment.
This study gave me a new awareness of the third person of the trinity, something I guess I knew, but didn`t always embrace. He was given to us by the very one who loves us, forgave us, died for us and He is part of God. Jesus did not give us the Holy Spirit to just dwell in us and sleep. He is there because Jesus knew we would need him every day, every minute of our life. In order to be free of all the baggage we must reach for the many gifts of the Holy Spirit. When you feel sad, upset, angry, hurt, bitter, unhappy, lonely reach for Him. Is your marriage a mess, your children a mess, are you a mess, reach for Him. Reach for Him in the joyful, happy times and He will celebrate with you.
I had to wonder, "What did I do with the gift Jesus gave me?" Oh it`s with me, ready to guide me through my journey, but does my gift, your gift still have the bow on it, waiting for you, for me to pull that piece of the ribbon that will open the box and let out the most wonderful gift ever because it is from the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Come on, pull, He will take the shackles off our feet, get rid of the baggage and we will be free, yes free indeed, to dance.

ME, MYSELF AND LIES----week three

2010-03-17T23:31:00.001-04:00

This past Tuesday was the third week of our study, "Me, Myself, and Lies". This third week, which is only the second week of the actual study, started out discussing labels.
What labels do we or others place on us that become our personal baggage that we pull behind us for years? Labels can be hurtful and destructive or make you feel angry and discouraged. All of these emotions are because of the label that becomes, not just a label, but truth to us because of the lies we tell ourselves. Confusing? It does sound a little confusing, but if you think about it long enough it makes sense. The important thing is that labels are in conflict with God because we focus more on the labels and are so pre-occupied with destructive thinking that thoughts about God have no room in our thought closet. 2nd Corinthians 10: 4-5 tells us that we are to demolish the things that are against the knowledge of God and to take captive every thought to make them obedient to God.
Some of our labels, however, may be a fact---Naomi`s label was a fact, she was a widow. She had become so bitter that she actually wanted to change her name to Mara meaning bitter. Naomi felt that God was to blame for her bitterness because he had taken her husband. Naomi fed herself lies and made bitterness her fate. She had convinced herself that God had dealt bitterly with her when he had actually shown her great favor.
We should not let our thought closets become cluttered with untruthful statements from our self talk. Our minds and our thinking should be like Christ. When we have the mind of Christ we will be forgiving, kind, patient, loving, merciful, giving, humble, compassionate and on and on. We don`t want our thoughts to get so out of control that we make unwise decisions. Since our thinking eventually affects our actions, we need to keep our minds renewed and our thoughts in line with the scripture.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, Oh Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14

ME MYSELF AND LIES

2010-03-04T12:50:00.002-05:00

Ladies, our study started this past Tuesday. We had a good attendance for both sessions considering all the other things going on in our church on the 2nd. Two new ladies have joined the morning session and three for the evening session. It is so exciting to see the interest growing in this ministry.
This study, ME, MYSELF, AND LIES is a bit different then we are used too, but having done the first lessons, I think it is going to be challenging as well as a blessing to each of us in a different way. I don`t think we realize how our thinking and self-talk really controls our feelings about our-selves and in turn our actions. Take Moses for example, (this example is one used by the author), he had a speech problem and had apparently been embarrassed by it all of his life and mostly because of all the lies he had told himself. God had been preparing him for a great mission since he had been born and went to Moses with His plan. God wanted Moses to speak to the Pharaoh about letting the people of Israel go. When God mentioned speaking, Moses went on an excuse trip about why he could not do what God wanted. No matter what God said to convince him that He (God) would be with him, Moses whined like a baby.
You see, Moses had told himself so many lies about his speaking problem that he was too fearful to believe God.
How many blessings have we missed out on because of the things we have told our-selves we cannot do. It is time to, as Jennifer says, clean out our thought closets. Are you ready to open the door to that closet ladies? I am, I have been cleaning out my real closets for the past several weeks now and I know what getting rid of junk has done for my closets. I can actually see the important stuff now and it is more accessible to me because it is not hiding in the junk.
Wow!!! can you imagine what this means for our thought closets???

RETREAT AT SANDY COVE

2010-02-22T21:36:00.002-05:00

COME AND JOIN US FOR A
GIRLS NIGHT OUT

March 11th-12th
Come for the evening---dinner and program--$30.00
Stay overnight---2 meals and program
Room Rates
$142--Single--$82--Double--$70--Triple--$64--Quad

BIBLE STUDY

2010-01-16T10:14:00.002-05:00

Mark you calendars for March 2nd

join us for a study of "Me, Myself, and Lies" by Jennifer Rothschild

This is a video driven study with group interaction/study books.

Tuesday mornings 9-11:30--Tuesday evenings 6-8:30

childcare provided for morning study only

Study Books--$14.00--due Sunday, February 14th

sign-up in welcome center or email me at:

carole.turner9@gmail.com

LFM COMBINED THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION

2009-12-14T09:52:00.001-05:00

BIBLE STUDY

2009-11-28T23:42:00.002-05:00

Tuesday, December 1st is our last day for the study of Esther.

Hope to see you there

9 to 11:30 am and 6 to 8:30 pm

TRUNK OR TREAT

2009-11-23T15:22:00.001-05:00

LFM BEACH PARTY

2009-10-19T20:30:00.001-04:00

BEACH PARTY

2009-09-13T23:28:00.002-04:00

LFM BEACH PARTY

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 24TH
6PM untill 8:30pm

There is a screened in area to eat
a beautiful beach to walk on

Come and join us for a great time of fellowship
including Hamburgers, Hot dogs, salads etc.,
testimonies, games, a bond fire,
smores, praise and worship.

Directions to picnic........go to Betterton and turn left at the fire house and keep on that road until you come to a farm lane.......there will be a sign announcing the picnic.......follow that road until you see a road to the right going down to the beach.

About The Event

2009-08-31T10:36:00.003-04:00

Just interested in what really touched your heart about the event. Leave a comment, I will start by leaving the first comment.

The Beth Moore Event

2009-08-30T16:42:00.006-04:00

These are the Ladies that attended the Beth Moore Event that we were able to grab for a picture.
Ones not pictured are Linda Elburn and two friends, Lisa and Kathy, Susan Frances, Ann Smith, Dianne Cymba,
Mrs Wilhoit and Kelli Truax,Vickie Rhoades` sister. There were 25 ladies there from our church or friends that they brought with them.

LFM FALL BIBLE STUDY

2009-08-10T22:21:00.002-04:00

FALL BIBLE STUDY
sign up in welcome center

Bible Study "Esther"
Starts Sept. 22nd
Morning Session 9-11:30am
childcare with morning session

Evening Session 6-8:30pm

Mom`s Day Out--We Kept The Kids

2009-07-28T08:31:00.002-04:00

MOTHER DAUGHTER PICNIC

2009-05-28T19:18:00.006-04:00

2009-04-25T10:29:00.002-04:00

MOTHER DAUGHTER PICNIC

2009-04-25T10:08:00.003-04:00

IT IS TIME TO SIGN UP FOR OUR ANNUAL
MOTHER/DAUGHTER PICNIC
DATE: MAY 16TH TIME: 11:00am-2:00pm
GET YOUR TICKETS STARTING THIS SUNDAY IN THE
WELCOME CENTER
ADULTS $5.00 CHILDREN 10 AND UNDER $3.00
RIDES, GAMES, FUN AND FELLOWSHIP
ALONG WITH A GREAT PICNIC
AND YOU DON`T HAVE TO DO A THING
JUST COME AND RELAX AND JOIN IN THE FUN

LFM FELLOWSHIP NIGHT

2009-04-12T23:16:00.003-04:00

LFM FELLOWSHIP NIGHT
RETREAT RAP-UP
THURSDAY THE 16TH
STARTING 7PM IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
COME AND FELLOWSHIP WITH US
WE WILL HAVE TESTIMONIES FROM SOME
OF THE LADIES WHO WENT TO THE RETREAT.
RETREAT SLIDES
PICTURES FOR YOU TO SCRAP FOR OUR NEW
LFM SCRAPBOOK, THE BEST PAGES WIN A PRIZE.
WE WILL CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF
Braden Nicholas Stoltzfus
with a baby tree
All materials for scrapbook pages will be supplied

BIBLE STUDY

2009-04-07T23:45:00.002-04:00

About our spring bible study,

I am so excited about the study we are beginning together on Tuesday. To you that have been with me since the beginning of our bible studies, I know, will rejoice with me that we have 46 ladies signed up. This study is a little different from our past ones as we will be listening to three speakers, Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore and Kay Arthur. I listened to Priscilla today and you will really like her, she is funny and down to earth and off course, we all know and love Beth. Kay Arthur, is an amazing bible teacher and you will know you have been in your bible when she is finished.

If you have started the study you know that it is about the life of David. If you remember, the first study we did was, "A Heart Like His". David revealed to us in many different ways what it means to have a close relationship with God. As a young shepherd boy, David spent many hours alone while tending sheep and he spent a lot of those hours talking and singing praises to God. He learned at an early age that God had to be the center of his life. David had a passionate heart, an obedient walk, he was a great warrior, a poet, an anointed king and yes, a sinner and I believe it was those years as a young shepherd boy that finally brought him to his knees for mercy after he had sinned and why God said David is "A Man After My Own Heart"

I am praying that through this journey with David we will seek spiritual insight into a deeper love relationship with God and that we learn to make Him our priority, the focus of our life and the passion of our heart.

Retreat 2009

2009-04-07T16:10:00.002-04:00

More Retreat Pics.

2009-04-07T16:06:00.002-04:00

LFM FELLOWSHIP NIGHT

2009-03-31T09:34:00.004-04:00

Ladies Fellowship
Thursday, April 16th
Come and Join us for a
time of Fellowship and Fun
Retreat Testimonies
and a Contest (details will follow)

Retreat 2009

2009-03-31T08:50:00.002-04:00

Retreat 2009

2009-03-31T08:41:00.001-04:00

Ladies Retreat

2009-03-25T10:11:00.003-04:00

I hope everyone is as excited as I am about our retreat. We have been praying and planning for this for months and following a few ups and downs it is finally here. I think we are going to really enjoy the sweet blessings that God has for us during this time together. I pray our study, along with all the other things we have planned for you will be a blessing.
Last year we had so much fun playing games that we decided this year we are going to have teams and will be competing each year for a trophy. Next year the team that loses will hand the trophy over to the winning team.
Our skit team has prepared some funny and serious skits for us along with some fun icebreakers. Worship through singing is a special time to sing praises to our God who loves us with a measureless love.
The sweetest part of a retreat, however, is the fellowship with each other in an environment richly blessed of God. It is a time set apart for each of us to grow in our relationship with Christ, a time to discover something new and wonderful about our God who has a love for us that we cannot understand.
I pray that each of us will come away from this retreat with a new and exciting
story to tell about the blessings we received from this time of fellowship with God and each other.

BIBLE STUDY

2009-03-05T18:23:00.002-05:00

LADIES BIBLE STUDY

Ladies Spring Bible Study

Anointed
Transformed
Redeemed

Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer and Kay Arthur

Sign Up Today by:
1. replying back to me (please give your money to Barb or Pam)
2. sign up in welcome center (please pay for your book when you sign up)

Cost of the book is $15.00 (which covers S&H)

The books will be ordered the end of March

The study will be 6 weeks and will start
Tuesday, April 7th----May 12th
9-11:30am with nursery & 6-8:00pm, nursery only when needed

Ladies you do not want to miss this study.
I have heard that it is amazing
and it will also give us a chance to hear several speakers.

2009 RETREAT

2009-02-13T12:58:00.002-05:00

Women`s Retreat
at
Sandy Cove

March 26th,27th,28th

There is still time to sign up

Call Jeannette or Pam
or sign up in the

Welcome Center

Evening Bible Study

2009-01-26T12:11:00.002-05:00

Tuesday Evening Bible Study
will be canceled if the weather
report continues to include ice
and snow. Check back later for
updates.

LFM FELLOWSHIP NIGHT

2009-01-21T16:43:00.003-05:00

Sunday School Christmas Party

2009-01-21T12:00:00.005-05:00

Our Sunday School Class had a Christmas Party
with each lady bringing in a favorite breakfast dish. We also brought a gift and played a gift exchange game.

Our Sunday School Class is for women of all ages. Come and join us for Bible Lessons that are applicable for everyday life.

Below, Jeannette opens gifts from her class.

LFM Celebrating The Holidays and a baby shower for Lis

2009-01-12T00:21:00.005-05:00

2009-01-11T23:28:00.005-05:00

In Oct. more then 20 of us went to the Beth Moore tour.

New Additions To Our Church Family

2009-01-08T10:13:00.000-05:00

Christian Turner Banks and
David James Brindley

Don`t they look innocent?

More Pictures of Fellowship

2008-06-27T17:04:00.000-04:00

June LFM

2008-06-27T16:03:00.000-04:00

Here are the pictures from our last LFM, June 19th at Marian Quick`s beautifull home. The evening was perfect, just the right temperature, no rain, no bugs. and to me that makes for a perfect evening. After we ate we had a special time when each one had a chance to tell about a blessing from God. Pam and Kelley gave their testimony, we played a show & tell game where several people were chosen to tell about a toy. Pearl came in first and Debbie second for being the most excited and dramatic. We also toasted marshmallows and enjoyed making smores and of course eating them.

Our evening ended with singing praises to God around the pool. We each held a candle and the effect was beautiful as the lights lit up the darkness around us and also reflected in the pool.

Here are a few LO`s of pictures of the Fellowship. I took pictures around the pool, but I didn`t get any really good clear ones.

"The Lord Is My Shepherd"

2008-04-16T19:58:00.000-04:00

“The Lord is My Shepherd,
I Shall Not Want”

I love thinking of the Lord as my shepherd and because of my personality I can see myself wandering off somewhere, getting lost and Jesus having to look for me.

In our lesson this week we have seen God as our protector, our shelter, our hiding place and our watchman. He is Christ Jesus the perfect Shepherd and we can call out to him at any time.

“Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar!” Ps. 120:5 NIV.
Do you ever feel that you live in Meshech in the tents of Kedar, where no one seems to want to live in peace? The news is filled with crime that is beyond our comprehension. We read or hear about the sin that a friend or co-worker has fallen into or a storm that has devastated an area leaving people homeless. Our politicians are out of touch with reality and one of them actually voted against the ban on partial birth abortion. God is not a priority in most homes in America. The average American lives a discontented stress filled lifestyle. The speaker at a recent Gideon rally said, “Everyday we see the same people running around hitting their head against the same wall.” Is that not good?

I just finished day five and I teared up when I read, “Our feet are standing within your gates, Jerusalem.” Can you imagine the excitement? I can`t help but think that most of them fell face down before God; they had finally come to their Jerusalem. The city’s name means “City of Peace” It is the same Jerusalem that Jesus addresses when he says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who killed the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” Matt. 23:37 NIV.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; May those who love you prosper.” Ps. 122:6 HCSB. Like the Jewish families that started the journey to reach the Temple in Jerusalem, let us continue our spiritual journey together until; One day our feet will be safely inside the gates of the “New Jerusalem.”

I pray as we continue this journey together that we will not miss the blessings along the way.

Carole

The Newest Additions To Our Church Family

2008-04-09T14:21:00.000-04:00

Meet beautiful Aurora and Genevieve Baughman. (I don`t know the order of the names)

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

2008-04-03T09:15:00.000-04:00

Mark Your Calendar

for these up-coming LFM events

LFM FELLOWSHIP

Movie Night

Thursday the 17th

The show starts at 7pm

Mother`s Day Out

May 1st 9-1pm

Sign up at welcome center

Mother Daughter Picnic

Saturday May 17th

11-2pm

Sign up at welcome center by, May 4th

$5.00/person

Loving Well Even When You Lose

2008-04-03T08:42:00.000-04:00

In the game of Taboo team A seemed to get all the advantages and team B was getting a little frustrated. The determined looks on the faces of Beth and Lauren and then the look of defeat on Lauren`s face is priceless. The last picture is of Team B watching Team A win the game. Look at the smiles on the faces of the winning team, now is that "Loving Well ?" Click on all pictures to enlarge them.

More Retreat Pictures

2008-04-03T08:37:00.000-04:00

Some Retreat Pictures

2008-04-02T11:22:00.001-04:00

Here are some of the pictures from Friday's Fellowship time. Barb, Fiona and Susan in the first picture helped with registration (Barb & Fiona) and music and video (Susan). In second Picture Pearl is trying to get her team to guess a word. They won, but we think they "cheated."

The third picture is of Tory, Kelley, Beth and Lis as they introduced the different personalities that our study was about. In the same layout Jamie & Lis do a comedy skit.

Loving Well Retreat

2008-04-01T14:01:00.000-04:00

Our retreat was amazing. Sandy Cove is a beautiful place and the our coordinator, Sherina Hopes was so patient and pleasant to work with. Our conference room was on the same floor as our rooms which made it very convenient for everyone. The registration table was skirted and ready for us when we arrived. Fiona and Barb handed out every ones keys and Barb had made folders and copies of the events and put them in the folders. Each person was given a pretty box with candy, a journal, pen and some other things. Our first session was at 3:45p, Kelley had a game to help us get acquainted and then the skit team, (Beth, Tory, Lis & Kelley,) introduced the four personality types Beth Moore would discuss. They were Joy, Testy, Foe and Far. We had Praise and Worship and then the video. Each session pretty much followed the same routine.

Dinner was at 6:00pm and we were all amazed at the size of the dining room and the amt. of people there. Each group had it`s own color assigned tables. We had four or five tables together in a group. After dinner we had our second session which ended with a skit by Jamie and Lis. Then the fun began with games. food and fellowship. We had cereal snacks prepared by Ruth and Helen, sweet & salty snacks, fruit, candy made by Ruth. My favorite was the caramel popcorn. :)

The next morning we all confessed at breakfast that we had stayed up too late, "Thank you God for coffee".
We had our 3rd session with a skit and singing and after lunch we concluded our 4th session with groups of 10 to discuss what we had learned, testimonies and singing.

The retreat ended with some worship songs and tears. I think that each of us can say that we left there with a blessing. My prayer is that each of us continue on this journey of "Loving Well," remembering that we can access His perfect love anytime and anyplace.

NEW BIBLE STUDY FOR LADIES

2008-03-25T08:24:00.000-04:00

New Bible Study for ladies that cannot make the Tuesday morning study.

Tuesday Evenings---6:30 to 8:30 pm in the Gold Auditorium

Books are $14.00 and will be ordered on the 31st.

We will be doing the same study as the morning study

"Stepping Up", by Beth Moore

Special LFM Craft Night

2008-03-03T10:36:00.000-05:00

LFM CRAFT NIGHT

Tuesday, March 11th

6:30pm in school cafeteria

bring a craft or needlework to work on or just come and relax

we will provide:

coffee, tea, sodas

coffee cake and cookies

"Who Do You Say That I Am"

2008-03-03T09:08:00.000-05:00

In Matt. 16:15 Jesus is asking Peter, who do you think I am? Peter answers, "You are the Christ, the son of the living God". In our last two bible studies one of the benefits that we talked about was, "To know and believe God". It was important for Peter and the other disciples to know and believe God so they could spread the truth about him because they were surrounded by people who had no idea who this Jesus was.

We must also know and believe who God is so that when we talk to others about him we are sure that we are telling them the truth. We can know God through reading the scriptures. We can find out that his love is unfailing, no matter what is going on around us. We learn from scripture that we are his glory, how awesome is that? If I was created for his glory then I want to make sure I glorify him in what I say and do. To you he may be something different, but to me he is my all in all, my comforter, my peace, my hope, my abba father and I love him so much and I love spending time in his presence.

How would you answer this question?

"Who do you say that I am?"

In His Presence

2008-02-21T16:49:00.000-05:00

I absolutely love week six of this study and I hope that each of you will enjoy it also.

As day one begins Beth tells us we will not always feel God`s presence in our lives, but he is always there. God tells us in his word that He will never leave us or forsake us. Many times as I walk and pray, I feel his presence. It is easy to feel his presence when walking in and around his creations, listening to worship music and praying, when all is calm and wonderful. While out west this past year, we camped in mountains that were amazingly beautiful. In one particular campsite that we stayed I found a lovely place near a lake where the trees were reflected in the water they surrounded, it was so peaceful and I knew immediately that I was in the presence of God. It was a place to read, pray, journal some thoughts and just enjoy being alone with God.

As we Go through the storms of life, however, it is not always easy to feel his presence. In Matt. 14: 25-32 when Jesus came to his disciples in the midst of a storm, walking on the water he said to his disciples, who were afraid, “Take courage! It is I, Don`t be afraid”. Beth is saying that many circumstances in this life will make us afraid and fearful and it is then that we must remember that Jesus is calling to us through the storm.

Walk with me for a moment through a personal experience. I dialed 911 at approximately 1am and tried to calmly tell the person on the other end that I thought my husband was having a heart attack. I go back to him hoping the pain is somehow miraculously gone, but it was worse. He took my hand and said, “Honey just in case I don`t make it remember I love you, I have always loved you and tell the kids that I love them”. I cried and told him I loved him too, but to please not talk like that, dumb right, because later on if he had gone to be with the Lord, I would have been thankful for those words and that time together. He asked me not to be upset, he said, ”I`m not afraid, I feel calm and at peace.” I knew that he wanted me to be calm too, but I don`t do calm well.

I drove behind the ambulance, trying to see the road through tears thinking, "my husband had said he felt calm, he wasn`t afraid." His faith had always been solid, steadfast; he simply believed God and trusted him. I had always had to dig my way through doubts and fears and obsessive thinking and ADD just to function. In the last five years, however, I had grown tremendously in my relationship with God. I believed that he loved me unconditionally, I had broken free of many bondages, I worshipped him, I trusted him, believed him, I loved singing praises to him and I desired to glorify him, but driving closely behind that ambulance I began to wonder, “ Why do I feel so alone/and afraid?” I knew better then to let the enemy get control of my thinking. “Where are you God?” “Here I am, don`t be afraid." He was there waiting for me to recognize his presence in the storm. “I will never leave you”, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you."

As in the story from Matt. 14:25-32, Jesus comes to us in the midst of a storm and says, “Take courage! It is I. Don`t be afraid.” "It is I" listen for those words the next time you are in a storm, "don`t be afraid, It is I."

Come All Of You Who Are Thirsty

2008-02-10T18:05:00.000-05:00

It is already week four in our study of Living Free. This week`s lesson, “To Find Satisfaction In God” is the third benefit of the five that God has for us as his children and I think it is probably one of the most thought provoking. Being satisfied with anything for very long is not something any of us do easily. Many times we grab at anything that relieves us of that terrible feeling of emptiness. The problem is it only brings satisfaction for awhile and then we grab at something else, again and again and all the while God is saying to us:

“Come, all of you who are thirsty,
Come to the waters
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without cost,
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good
And your soul will delight in the richest of fare”

If we are not careful we will fall into the bondage of allowing something or someone else to be our satisfaction even though it is never lasting. We might seek a career, money, control, reputation, success etc. to try to find the one thing that will bring satisfaction. God`s word tells us in Psalms that God opens his hand and satisfies the desires of every living thing. He fulfills our desires, he watches over us, he is righteous and loving and hears our cries.

“Let every creature praise his holy name
Forever and ever”

taken from Ps.145:16-21.

Pride Is Our Enemy

2008-02-04T10:26:00.000-05:00

In the Bible, God has a lot to say about Pride. In Prov. 8:13 God says “I hate Pride” which is a pretty clear statement wouldn`t you say?

If God hates pride then we should too. In our study of “Living Free”, by Beth Moore, we are learning how destructive pride can be. Obadiah 1:3 tells us. “The pride of your heart has deceived you.” God said, Though you may dwell in the “clefts of the rocks” and “say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down’………….’from there I will bring you down declares the Lord’ “ (Obad. 1:3-4).

Daniel 4:37
“Those who walk in pride He is able to humble”

Beth writes, “I look at it this way I`d rather humble myself then force
God to humble me. Let`s allow the circumstances, weaknesses, and any thorns
in the flesh God has chosen to leave to do the job they were sent to do---provoke
humility. Not so we can be flattened under God`s doormat, but so He can
Joyfully lift us up.

I Am In Awe

2008-02-02T20:54:00.000-05:00

I am in awe of this weeks study. First, the verses are amazing and have often led me to praise God for revealing to me “his glory.” The idea that God has created me for his glory takes on a sweeter meaning after his glory reveals to me who he is, for it is then that I realize how unworthy I am and I am humbled before him. As I see his glory unfold through the scriptures, I feel his strength and I feel his love, I feel satisfied, at peace in his presence and I know that I am special to God, and I remember that I am created for his glory.
"Everyone who is called
by my name, whom I
Created for my glory,
Whom I formed and made”
(Isa. 43:7)
John 1:14b tells us that “We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 2:11 tells us that when Jesus revealed his glory to his disciples, they put their faith in him.

The desire of our heart should be to glorify him in everything we do and say.
“Your name and renown are the desire of our heart” Isa. 26:8b

“The Heavens are full of his glory,” “God`s glory fills the temple.”

We are surrounded with the glory of God

I pray that God is also making himself known to you through his glory.

MOTHERS` WITH TODDLERS

2008-01-28T22:54:00.000-05:00

Our Next Play Date – (with the kids )

Thursday, Feb 28

We are thinking a trip to Chuck E Cheese

More details to come.

I Want To Be Blessed

2008-01-28T11:59:00.000-05:00

What could possibly be more valuable to us then spending time alone with God?
This morning as I studied day three of lesson two, I was drawn to stop and journal a few things about an intimate relationship with Christ. I remembered how excited I had been when I first received Christ, I was on a “Charismatic” high for months, but I think that many times our close- up personal relationship starts and stops with salvation. Learning to know God and to believe God through prayer and scripture is only attainable if we spend “quality” time with him. We also have to take time to think about what we are reading. Many times, because we live in such a busy world, we do not totally comprehend what God is telling us.

“The word of the Lord is right and true;
He is faithful in all he does.”
Ps. 33:4

If we take that verse and just read it, we don`t really hear what it is saying to us. This verse is teaching us something about God. It is telling us first of all that we can depend on God and believe what he says in his word. We should be thankful that no matter what, God is always right and truthful; the world around us lies to us all the time through the media, internet, friends, not to mention the many lies that Satan tells us as he tries to entice us into sin, but God cannot lie, he is FAITHFUL in ALL HE does. Do we truly believe that? In order to benefit from it we must believe it. Here is another verse to pray about and dwell on, “Blessed are the pure in heart” (Matt 5:8a) I`m going to ask God to show me how to have a pure heart, why? Because it says "Blessed are they that have a pure heart" I want to be BLESSED, I want all God has for me, don`t you?

Pictures Of Some Of The Ladies In Our Study

2008-01-23T14:15:00.000-05:00

We have fun food and fellowship

but we also have great lessons

that we can apply to every day situations.

Come And Join Us

2008-01-23T14:10:00.000-05:00

On 01/15/08 the LFM started our third bible study, "Living Free". It is really exciting to see the interest and commitment of these ladies to our studies. We use a study book that usually costs between $10.00 and $17.00 depending on the length of the study. Most studies usually include a speaker/dvd. The study is from 9am-11:30am and a nursery is provided. If interested in applicable bible lessons come and join us. Our next study will be posted here, announced at church and on the women`s ministry board at the welcome center.

The materials we use are from:

LifewayPress/Beth Moore Ministries.

Living Free Bible Study

2008-01-23T10:17:00.000-05:00

I just finished day 1 of week 2 and I could not help but get excited about what we are learning through this study. As I read over Isa. 43, I found myself praising God in parts of it and in tears when I thought of my unfaithfulness and His Mercy.
Day 1 is short so I pray that each one of you and me too will take time to really think about the statements on page 28:
1. What would your life be like if you totally believed God?
2. How would your life be different if your greatest desire became to glorify God?
3. What would it mean to you to find satisfaction in God?
4. Describe your life if God`s peace wrapped around you and protected you even in the midst of the greatest possible turmoil.
5. What difference would it make in your life if you could enjoy God`s presence with nothing to come between you and Him?
Think about Isa. 48:18. “If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” Do you remember what we studied about the possible reasons why God used the river to represent peace? It was something like this, no matter what flows into it`s waters from the many tributaries along the way, or how big the pebbles or stones get that it rushes over. No matter how the wind and the rain make the waters rough and turbulent, it continues on, carrying with it broken limbs, leaves, dirt and garbage from the world, to its final destination.
Duet. 7:9 “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.”

Psalm 68

2008-01-17T11:49:00.000-05:00

I picked up my husband`s KJV this morning and was reading Ps. 68 and I must admit, even though I love many of the other versions, there are just some verses in the KJV that declares God`s Majesty like no other version. Following are verses 1 through 4. and then verse 19.

1. Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
2. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
3. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.
4. Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.
19. Blessed be the Lord, who daily loaded us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
What an amazing God we have, we should be exceedingly joyful. To me exceedingly means to exceed (more then) the normal. What is our normal, what is your normal, what is my normal? Let us exceed our normal as we rejoice before God today. Verse 25 says they sang and played instruments before him.
Carole
My Blog

LFM cancelled for 1/17/08

2008-01-17T10:01:00.000-05:00

Because pf the possibility of icy weather conditions this evening we have cancelled tonight`s (1/17/08) fellowship.

A Good Review

2008-01-16T00:44:00.000-05:00

Today we had day one of our new Tuesday morning Bible study. We have 20 (22 with Barb and me)women that have signed up for this Beth Moore follow-up study of "Breaking Free".

We started out with coffee, tea and several different kinds of danishes. This was to be a relaxed review of "Breaking Free" so we had some time to fellowship with each other. We were also excited to have 3 new ladies sign up for the study, Joni, Sara and Linda.

The 2 groups joined together for the discussion/review of "Breaking Free" and it was encouraging to hear the ladies` testimonies about some victories in their life and a closer walk with God because of their commitment to this study.One of the things we reviewed was the 5 benefits of the abundant life and the obstacles that hinder us from the life that God planned for us and also the importance of removing the high places.

"Living Free", our next study, will begin on Tuesday the 22nd and we will study how we can please God, how to overcome patterns of sin in our life and how to become less self-centered and more God-centered. We are on our way to being "displays of His splendor", how amazing is that?

Focus on the King

2008-01-02T16:35:00.000-05:00

I want to share a part of my devotional for today with you.. It is a story from a missionary in South Africa. She tells about a drive that she and her family were on through Lake Nah-KOO-roo National Park, a place where wildlife is plentiful.
“As we drove, we scrutinized the savanna for a rare creature. The barking call of a baboon was heard as we spotted a group of animals, alert and intent upon whatever the baboon was announcing. They weren`t the least bit distracted by us. Their attention was fixed on something more important. With curiosity, we inched toward the hailing sentinel who directed all creatures in one direction. What could command such esteem?
Suddenly in a bushy tree nearby, I noticed a huge, male lion in his secret hideaway. That explained it all! The focus was on the “King of the jungle”!
The humans in a white truck didn`t distract the animals. Their focus was on the king, and nothing would change that. Their focus even drew us to him.
The lion of Judah commands and deserves the same kind of focus from us. We must stay so intently focused on the King of kings that when distractions come, we are not moved! For when our eyes are fixed on Him, we exalt Him, and others are drawn to Him…just as the animals of Nakuru drew us to the king of the jungle.”
Tears came to my eyes when I read this, what a wonderful illustration of our need to daily focus on the “Lion of Judah” and how our focus will also draw others attention to Him.
Carole

January 2008 Events

2007-12-27T17:19:00.000-05:00

Ministry Events in January

A Birthday Bash For The New Year
Monthly Fellowship
January 17th 2008
Begins at 7pm

Bible Study
Living Free by Beth Moore
A six week study starting
January 15th 2008
Tuesday mornings 9 to 11:30am

Sunday School Christmas Party

2007-12-27T15:50:00.000-05:00

Yes, another Sunday School Christmas Party. This one is a breakfast on Sunday morning the 23rd. We had fruit, several different egg dishes, danishes, sweet buns, on and on including great fellowship.

This past year we have been studying, "Facing Life`s Problems", taken from the book of Nehemiah, by Martha Tyler. These lessons have been very applicable to every day situations.

Nehemiah faced many problems after he heard the news about Jerusalem`s devastation and knew that God wanted him to go and help them rebuild the walls around the city. We learned that the problems he faced where much like our own: finances, people that treat you wrong, arguements, taunting enemies, fear, everything going wrong, difference in ideas etc. Nehemiah knew God and depended on him for the solutions to these problems. The most important thing for us to see is that 1.Nehemiah knew God and believed him, 2.he was obedient to God and 3.he stayed foccused on the task.

Have a Blessed New Year

From Captivity to Freedom

2007-12-18T14:19:00.000-05:00

We ended our Bible Study "Breaking Free" today. This study has made each of us realize the unfailing love of God. We also learned that God wants us to live an abundant life that begins with what we believe and know about God. There are five benefits that come from living the abundant life:
1. To know and believe God.
2. To glorify God.
3. To find satisfaction in God.
4. To experience God`s peace.
5. To enjoy God`s presence.
There are five obstacles that interfere with these benefits.
1. Unbelief
2. Pride
3. Idolatry
4. Prayerlessness
5. Legalism
Isa. 61:1-4 is the theme passage.
Just as the children of Israel were held captive by the Babylonians, we can also be held captive to the things in our life that we make bigger then Christ, these things are called strongholds. These strongholds hinder the "abundant and effective Spirit-filled life God planned for him or her". Breaking free from these strongholds is an ongoing challenge for each of us as we work toward freedom in Christ. Christ came to set the captive free, he came to bind up the broken- hearted and he came to open the eyes of the blind. The only way we can walk into freedom is by closely following Christ to victory. From captivity to freedom,"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning".

The Tuesday Morning Ladies Bible Study will start another study the 2nd week in January.

This study will be a six week study called "Living Free" and is a follow-up of "Breaking Free".

Come and join us in the Gold Auditorium

9:00-11:30am

Nursery available

We Are HIS GLORY

2007-12-13T22:34:00.000-05:00

They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. (Isa. 61:3)
Love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30)
Beth reminds us that this study has focused on love, our love for God and His unfailing love for us. It is only when we love Him completely, with all that we have that we can claim freedom from our bondage. Christ came to set the captives free so they could be called “a planting of the Lord/for the display of his splendor.” Isn`t that amazing, I want to cry and dance at the same time. “Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance, I just want to praise him, I just want to praise him.” You are the display of his splendor; I am the display of his splendor, ladies, don`t just sit there get up and praise him, for we are HIS GLORY!!!!!
Carole

Our Mind Is A Battlefield

2007-12-08T15:20:00.000-05:00

In Isa.26:3 it says, "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you". Want perfect peace? Keep your mind steadfast, stayed and focused on Him. We need to learn all that we can about the steadfast mind; embrace the concept, pray for a steadfast mind and seek understanding through God`s word.
Let us take seriously the role that Satan plays when it comes to how we think. Many Christians feel safe from Satan and many don`t really believe that Satan is alive and well and actively leading the spiritual warfare against us. The battlefield is our mind and our only defense is to surround our minds with the word of God. We are absolutely defenseless against the attacks of Satan. The way Beth explains how the mind works was truly an eye-opener for me. Two people see the same event, then Beth writes, “They put the event in different frames and act accordingly. Our reaction depends on how we have framed the event”. Think about this, how many times do we overreact to what we have framed (ideas, opinions, etc) in our own thinking?
Satan can`t make us overreact, but he knows what we are in bondage too. Let`s say your weakness is low self esteem and you see some ladies talking together in a corner of a room, one may glance at you not even seeing you, they may laugh, or seem secretive and you wonder what they are talking about. Believe me, Satan will come in and give you a few suggestions and if you dwell on it long enough you will be framing an idea in your mind that may end up devastating you. BUT, what if several months before at a “Breaking Free Bible Study” you were set free from the bondage of “low self esteem”? Satan may still come after you because he thinks you are not strong enough to be completely free from anything and he wants to convince you of that. Praise God, you prayed early in the morning for God to continue to protect you and to satisfy your every need. You have focused your thinking on God`s word and you are leaning on the truth to get you through the temptation of “wrong thinking”, you, have been set free.

Scrapbooking

2007-12-06T09:04:00.000-05:00

Scrapbooking Night At Church

Dec. 17th 6:30--9:30

For details call

410-778-0040---Carole

410-778-4141---Pam

LADIES SUNDAY SCHOOL CHRISTMAS PARTY

2007-12-05T13:54:00.000-05:00

Last Evening, December 4th

we had our Ladies SS Christmas Party at Olive Garden

We had a great time of fellowship, a delicious dinner

and gift exchange. Afterwards many of us

went to the Mall to do some Christmas shopping.

LADIES SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS

9:45--10:45

WE MEET IN THE ROOM NEXT TO THE HIGH SCHOOL OFFICE

COME AND JOIN US FOR A TIME OF FELLOWSHIP

AN APPPLICABLE BIBLE LESSON

AND OF COURSE COFFEE AND SNACKS.

MOTHERS` WITH TODDLERS

2007-12-03T10:52:00.000-05:00

JANUARY MOTHER`S DAY OUT

date and details later

NEXT LFM

2007-12-03T10:47:00.000-05:00

NEXT LFM

JANUARY 17th 2008

More details later

Fill My Empty Places

2007-12-03T10:33:00.000-05:00

“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”Ps.:14
In order to be filled with the fullness of God so that we may sing His praises and be glad throughout the day, we must go to Him in the morning. If we wait until the afternoon or evening then we could be running on empty. Certainly this is not necessary, but I like to meet with God at about the same time and the same place everyday. It`s like meeting a friend for coffee in the morning. There is just something about the consistency of that meeting; you begin to look forward to it and soon you miss it when something comes up and you can`t make it and you think God has probably downed His cup and started on yours. Ok sorry, that was corny as my kids would say. Please don`t think you have to do what I do; you might have another way of meeting with God. The important thing is we need to be filled up everyday in order to have an abundant life in Christ. It only takes a few minutes for God to activate His love to the empty places and then you are equipped to fight the enemy and be satisfied with Him who blesses your day. Satisfy me Lord, satisfy me with your love, fill up every empty place within me so I can sing for joy and be satisfied with you

LFM Celebrates Christmas

2007-12-01T13:55:00.000-05:00

Everyone really seemed to enjoy our fellowship on Thursday evening. The chili was sooo good and the cheesecake must have been made in Heaven. :-) The games were fun even though some cheated :-). Some of the ladies enjoyed the card making, others the tree decoration craft and some just enjoyed relaxing and talking with others.

I want to thank all of you for your support and encouragement of our LFM. The next one will be in January. Check back for more details.

Don`t forget to sign up for the retreat in March. A sign-up sheet will be in the welcome center at church and at our Tuesday morning Bible Study.

Keep up with what is going on in our different ministries through this blog and church announcements.

THE LFM CELEBRATES CHRISTMAS

2007-12-01T13:53:00.001-05:00

Women`s Retreat

2007-11-28T12:17:00.000-05:00

LFM RETREAT

SANDY COVE

MARCH 28th-29th

We have reserved 10 rooms and with 3 to a room, the cost will be $80.00/person.

This price includes:
3 meals beginning with dinner Friday evening. We will have a speaker/DVD on Friday evening. Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon. You will also have time for games, reading, crafts etc.

Bible Study

2007-11-23T13:29:00.000-05:00

We are currently in the middle of our fall bible study, Breaking Free by, Beth Moore. Our next study will start in the spring. watch for details on this blog and in church.