For Thought

From The Valley of Vision--a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions:

Great God,
In public and private, in sanctuary and home, may my life be steeped in prayer,
filled with the spirit of grace and supplication,
each prayer perfumed with the incense of atoning blood.
Help me, defend me, until from praying ground
I pass to the realm of unceasing praise.
Urged by my need,
Invited by thy promises,
Called by thy Spirit,
I enter thy presence, worshiping thee with godly fear,
awed by thy majesty, greatness, glory,
but encouraged by thy love.
I am all poverty as well as all guilt,
having nothing of my own with which to repay thee,
But I bring Jesus to thee in the arms of faith,
pleading His righteousness to offset my iniquities,
rejoicing that he will weigh down the scales for me, and satisfy thy justice.
I bless thee that great sin draws out great grace,
that although the least sin deserves infinite punishment
because done against an infinite God,
yet there is mercy for me,
for where guilt is most terrible,
there thy mercy in Christ is most free and deep.
Bless me by revealing to me more of his saving merits,
by causing thy goodness to pass before me,
by speaking peace to my contrite heart;
Strengthen me to give thee no rest
until Christ shall reign supreme within me,
in every thought, word, and deed,
in a faith that purifies the heart,
overcomes the world, works by love,
fastens me to thee, and ever clings to the cross.

It's Almost Time!

It's almost time for ladies of Warrior PresWIC to come together for the annual spring meeting.

Make plans to attend!

Add to the Mix...of Ministry Ideas

Sharing Session
April 17, 2010
Aliceville, FPC

Workshops Include:

Stitchin' With A Purpose...Prayer Shawl Ministry
(wrap in love, cover in prayer...maybe learn a stitch or two)

Living for Less...Lessons in Frugal Living

How the Church Can Minister to Widows (session 1)

How Widows Can Minister to the Church (session 2)

Does Christianity Squash Women? A book review (and discussion)

You may choose 2 workshops. Lunch is provided.

Service Project: Please bring canned goods to be donated to Aliceville Food Bank.

A Letter From Elaine

This was from Elaine and there was much in here that I just decided to include it all! Be aware that the recordings of Leadership Training are (for a limited time) available for $35. Also, Warrior PresWIC has a Facebook group. Just do a search for Warrior PresWIC and become a member!

The email below is from our Southeastern WASC representative. There is GREAT information below, even if you didn’t get to go to the leadership training this year. I was very sad that I didn’t get to go b/c it was the same weekend as our Mission’s Conference – tough decision but I felt it best to stay with our local church event –in a small church every hand on deck is a necessity and a good thing!!). Please read the information and be looking forward to more information coming in April (17^th to be exact) at the Warrior Pres-Wic Sharing Session!

Consider buying the set of CD’s she mentions from the conference for your ladies Bible Study group or church library. One year, when I was just a young bride (my that was MANY years ago), I purchased a set of CASSETTE tapes (does that tell you exactly how LONG ago that was?) from a PCA conference with talks by women like Susan Hunt, Elizabeth Elliott, and Edith Schaeffer. I listened to them, then shared them with some of the older ladies in our congregation (they were probably about the age I am now). They were so moved by the tapes that we had a Stitch and Sew Lunch Bunch that met once a week all summer long that year. We would spend the first hour doing our favorite hand crafts while listening to a particular tape, and then we would eat a sack lunch while listening to hour 2…that was a great time in the Lord! Sometimes we would hang around after hour 2 to just talk about what we had heard and learned. Life’s a little faster now, however time spent listening to God’s men share God’s truths is not a bad way to spend some time with your sisters in the Lord. Consider finding some creative way(s) to hear these nuggets of truth and wisdom.

In case you are wondering about the reference to the Administrative Committee, our region has been asked to pray for that particular committee and their many ministries for this upcoming year. We have ordered laminated versions of the attached prayer card and.more information will follow but in the meantime you can go to www.pcanet.org and click on the Administrative committee button and see what kinds of things they do for our denomination at large! That will make you better informed as to how to pray and I hope you will begin now to include the Administrative Committee in your personal, family, and corporate prayer lives. All of the committees of the PCA have deeply felt the financial crunch of this recent recession.

I am looking forward to seeing all of you in April. Don’t forget to remind your ladies of our service project and that they need to bring at least one canned item when they come……..

Blessings!

Elaine

STEWARDSHIP

What a privilege it was to be taught by Jerram Barrs from Ruth. He showed us how Boaz' example stands as a miniature depicting God's missionary calling in front of the backdrop of lawlessness and rebellion in Israel (similar to the times we live in). He gave us a metaphor (actually, Gordon Wenham's metaphor) for obedience: the commandments are "the floor of the law", which is to be filled up with the treasures of good works in which we fulfill the intent of the law by imitating God's character. Behind the law of God stands the character of God. Were you totally blessed by this? I was.

We also benefited from the workshops we attended. The Lord sovereignly appointed that time to equip you in some way for kingdom work. Our regional times allowed us to process together the things we learned and to share with each other the blessings and challenges of our own local women's ministries.

The good gifts you were given at LT require your good stewardship. Strategically share the recordings of the teaching with your women and girls. Go back through your notes and the spiral-bound notebook as you prepare to debrief with your leadership team or PresWIC council. Pray that the Holy Spirit would help you and your team bear fruit for the gospel as a result of your attendance at LT.

RESOURCES

Speaking of recordings, you can order all of them for $45 (free shipping). Jerram Barrs' teaching alone is a bargain at $45. But you're getting ALL 14 workshops as well! CEP has divided up portions of the recordings into smaller groups available for $12 each.



CONNECTIONS

Begin praying now about next year's LT in Atlanta - for CEP and the WASC in the planning process, for provision for those who will attend, that the Kingdom of Jesus Christ would be extended through our women's ministries.

Closer on the horizon is General Assembly, which will be in Nashville this year. I had the pleasure of sitting next to Diane Filson at dinner on Friday night at LT. She is the event planner responsible for much of the detail work with regard to venues, hotels, and travel (and a pastor's wife!). Pray for her and the Nashville Presbytery Host Committee as they make the final preparations for our annual "family reunion"!

Last, but not least, remember to pray for the Administrative Committee (AC)! They are fully engaged with GA preparations now. But we are going to be praying for them all year. You can use the prayer guide (attached in case you need it) in your Bible studies, prayer meetings, ministry team meetings, devotions - just be intentional with this part of your ministry.

If you're on Facebook, you can request to join our group (it is kept private). It's called "Southeast Region Women's Ministry - PCA". Here's a link: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=73426581046&ref=nf

Pastors' Wives Luncheon

The annual Pastors' Wives Luncheon (PWL) was held on March 27, 2010 at First Presbyterian, Demopolis. The PresWIC council sets aside this time each year to minister to and show appreciation to the wives of the pastors.

This year, 12 pastors' wives (out of 23) attended. They were treated to a spring tea party of sorts. Tables were beautifully decorated with 4 different patterns of china. Each place setting had a ceramic Easter egg (complete with candy) favor.

The ladies enjoyed a delicious lunch (recipes included), a time of fellowship, and a time of sharing. Peggy Perry moderated the sharing time. Thank you for doing such a great job!

Here are the recipes:

Chicken Spectacular

3 cups cooked, diced chicken

1 pkg Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice, cooked

1 can cream celery soup

1 small jar sliced pimento

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 can French-style green beans, drained

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup sour cream

1 can water chestnuts, diced

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together then pour into buttered 3 quart casserole. Bake 25-30 minutes. Serves 8-10

Mandarin Orange Fluff

16 oz cool whip

16 oz sour cream

1 tall can crushed pineapple (drained)

2 cans mandarin oranges (drained)

1 cup chopped pecans

1 lg box orange jello or 2 small boxes (dry)

Mix all ingredients together and chill.

(Can make with sugar-free/fat-free brands for a diabetic friendly version)

Broccoli Salad

1 lg bunch broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 med onion, diced

6-12 slices bacon, fried and crumbled

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup golden raisins

Dressing:

1 cup Miracle whip salad dressing

1/c cup sugar

2 tbsp vinegar

Combine broccoli, onion, bacon, sunflower seeds and raisins. Mix dressing ingredients and pour over salad, tossing gently until completely mixed.

Refrigerate.

*We are working on getting photos from this and other events on the blog.*

Church Ministries

The new issue of Riverwood Presbyterian's Salt and Light (a monthly publication) is available here.
Back issues are also available for download. Visit the entire site for sermon downloads, the blog, and other information.

Riverwood Classical School is also accepting applications for the 2010-2011 school year. For more information regarding classes, check here. The school will be hosting an informational meeting regarding a 6th/7th grade class soon. Click on the contact link to request more information about this.

First Presbyterian Demopolis held their annual Missions Conference in February. Take a moment to look through their missions page! Be sure to look through their entire website.

Trinity Presbyterian has a very informative website as well. Be sure to check out the blog, the calendar, and the WIC section.

If your church has an upcoming event, please share it with us! Also, consider writing a brief "report" of a past event! Just email any submissions to warriorpreswic@gmail.com.

Some Links to Click!

There are some power point presentations and handouts from the Leadership Conference available
here.

Information (including a video) on the 2010 Love Gift is available here.

Susan Hunt has developed a 3 year discipleship curriculum for girls. This begins with pre-teens and goes through the teen years. What a wonderful resource for girls' Bible studies, Sunday School classes, discipleship groups, homeschoolers--check it out here.

A great article on intergenerational relationships among women.

Grab a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy a few minutes clicking!

Council Meetings

The Executive Council meets 4 times a year. The people of Greensboro Presbyterian Church are gracious enough to allow those meetings to take place in their beautiful building. This is so very appreciated!


Council meetings consist of prayer, planning for upcoming meetings, working on budget issues, securing speakers, and...
some fun and fellowship as well!
Council members for 2010 are: Elaine Carr, President; Dale Glover, Vice President (who was missed at this meeting!); Karen Lashley, Secretary; Kim Leard, Treasurer; Gail Rankin, Historian; Vicky Clemmons, Spiritual Growth Chairwoman; Judy Pratt, MNA/MTW Chairwoman; and Dana Miller, President-Elect.
Please be in prayer for each of these ladies as they seek to glorify God and serve Warrior PresWIC in these roles.

Again, many thanks to the people of Greensboro Presbyterian Church for hosting these meetings. Greensboro will also be hosting the Spiritual Retreat coming September 18. Mark your calendars!