Monday, April 30, 2012 WOW-Zine

Happy last day of April, ladies! Tomorrow is May Day. Do you know what that is? No, not a desperate plea for help from a sinking ship, but a chance to do an unexpected gesture of kindness for a neighbor or friend. Traditionally, you pick a handful of flowers (or if you want to get extra fancy, buy a bouquet at the store), place it on a neighbor's porch without them seeing you do so, and ring the doorbell before you scamper off to hide from their view. I remember doing this as a child, hiding behind a bush to observe the neighbor reaching down to pick up the flowers, then look around trying to figure out who had left them. As I hunkered down, I suddenly noticed that I was still wearing the bottoms of my babydoll pajamas, and was dreadfully embarrassed! My dad, who is nearly 84, still does the May Day tradition for my mother every year, but I believe he leaves her one dandelion. So sweet!

Speaking of sweet, take a look at this picture. 

 Remember the bracelets we made at the retreat? For those of you who weren't there, we did a service project of making special beaded bracelets for young women facing difficult circumstances in life. Women were able to design the bracelet however they wished, (each color represented certain things) and all included a little charm that says "You Are Loved". Then the ladies wrote a little note to the unknown woman who would receive the bracelet--things like "You are a beloved child of God. He loves you and you are worthy of His love", or "I hope this bracelet makes you smile! You are so special in our Lord's sight! Also in mine." Before each bracelet was collected, the women prayed for the woman who would eventually be the recipient of this little gift. I will be taking a lot of them to the Pregnancy Resource Center in McMinnville for them to give out as thoughts of encouragement to their clients. But the other day I took a dozen of them to St. Child, a Christian home in Hillsboro for unwed mothers. Three of the girls were home at the time, and had great joy choosing a wrapped bracelet with its special message. That's my granddaughter in the picture above, modeling her bracelet as she cuddles my great granddaughter, five-month-old Madison. Cassie's favorite verse has always been Jeremiah 29:11, and she was thrilled to find a note that had that written on it. The girls from there said to give you all a great big thank you!

This Wednesday at 6:30 is our final Bad Girls of the Bible study for Common Grounds. Our Bible passage is John 8:1-12--the woman taken in adultery. I was talking to a young woman today who was telling me how much she has enjoyed this study. "It's amazing how real these women have become, and how much like them we are!" Next Thursday, the 10th, The Thursday Perk will study this same passage at 9:30 AM.
Just because this woman is our final study, doesn't mean we'll quit meeting. Oh, no, we can't let that happen! On May 16th we'll have our Common Grounds potluck to officially end this year's study, and the following week, May 24th, will be our Thursday Perk brunch. At that time, I'll let you know about studies and activities planned for the summer.

Just a heads-up for next year--both Common Grounds and The Thursday Perk will meet weekly. This should help everyone get into a routine of knowing, "Oh, it's Wednesday, I've got Bible study." (Or Thursday if you attend the morning one.) It should be much less confusing as to whether we meet that week or not, which should aid you in making appointments. I realize not everyone will be able to meet every week, but having both studies available each week should help all of us in our spiritual growth and our relationships with each other. I'm excited about it!

Don't forget our Feminini-Tea THIS Saturday morning at 10 AM. You should all have been contacted either through bulletin inserts, an evite, or through these last several WOW-Zines. Thanks for the great response--we have about 60 women and girls signed up! But we still have room for more, so continue to invite your friends. Please let me know by Thursday if you're planning on coming. And if you signed up, please make every effort to attend. Bring a generous plate of tea-type goodies to share. To those of you who agreed to host a table, I will be sending out a separate letter to let you know specifically what you need to do. Thanks for being so willing to make this special for our ladies! I could use one or two more ladies to host a rectangular table to seat 8. Please let me know if you can help out! I also have service for 6 at a round table that I can bring and set up, but because I'll be emceeing the event, I would love to have someone else be the hostess at that table, in my place. I think many of you will want to buy a copy of one of Barb's books as a Mother's Day gift, so bring along your cash or checkbook and do a little shopping while you're there. We're going to have a great time!

 Lastly, Zumba meets every Monday and Wednesday at the church at 4:15 PM. We'll probably be changing that time during the summer months, so keep an eye out for that announcement! 

Sherrie Ashcraft, Women's Ministry Director
sherrieashcraft@yahoo.com   971-285-6699