Women of Wapato WOW-Zine, May 29, 2012

Happy Tuesday, ladies! Since yesterday was a holiday, I decided to treat it like one. I slept in until my maid awoke me to say the masseuse was here. After getting an hour-long massage I was served fresh strawberries and cream, followed by peeled grapes. Then my private jet picked me up and whisked me away to my Florida yacht for the afternoon. John and I enjoyed a beautiful sunset in the Florida Keys before jetting back to Ashberry Lane to sleep in our own bed. So ... what was your day like??

Thursday night, 7 o'clock, is the WOW Movie Night at Ashberry Lane (my house). It's hard to get you ladies to suggest what movie you'd like to watch, so let's do it like this: if you have a movie you'd like us to see, bring it along with you and we can select which one we'd like to view. Also bring some snackies to share. 

Our summer Bible teaching schedule begins on Wednesday, June 13th, as Common Grounds begins our study of Your Strong Suit, (about the spiritual armor God has provided for us) followed by The Thursday Perk the next morning. Several of you have ordered the $10 workbook that is available for this study, but only women from the Perk have actually paid me for it. So I need the money (checks can be made out to me) from the rest of you! I'll be placing the order this Friday, so you still have time to order. If you come to the Movie Night you could just pay me then. Remember, you don't have to have the workbook to get stuff out of the study, but it will deepen your experience. 

 SUMMER SCHEDULE FOR WOW 

June
Wednesday, 13th—Common Grounds, Lesson 1
Thursday, 14th—The Thursday Perk, Lesson 1
Wednesday, 20th—Common Grounds, Lesson 2
Thursday, 21st—The Thursday Perk, Lesson 2
Wednesday, 27th—HOT TUB PARTY, ASHBERRY LANE 7 PM

July
Thursday, 5th—PICNIC AT THE TILLAMOOK FORESTRY
                 CENTER. Kids are invited
Wednesday, 11th—Common Grounds, Lesson 3
Thursday, 12th—The Thursday Perk, Lesson 3
Wednesday, 18th—Common Ground, Lesson 4
Thursday, 19th—The Thursday Perk, Lesson 4
Wednesday, 25th, Common Grounds, Lesson 5
Thursday, 26th, The Thursday Perk, Lesson 5


August
Wednesday, 1st—Common Grounds, Lesson 6
Thursday, 2nd—The Thursday Perk, Lesson 6
Wednesday, 8th—Common Grounds, Lesson 7
Thursday, 9th—The Thursday Perk, Lesson 7
Wednesday, 15th—Common Grounds, Lesson 8
Thursday, 16th—The Thursday Perk, Lesson 8
Thursday, 30th—BEACH TRIP. Kids are invited


Both studies will resume in June. The first one, on Wednesday the 13th, will meet at Ashberry Lane instead of the church, as the 8th Grade graduation party is happening at church that evening. We don't meet during the final week of June due to VBS. (Talk to Janet if you'd like to help with that!) But most of the time both the morning group and evening group will be meeting each week. 


Let me leave you with this story that I'm sure we can all identify with!

Doorposts of Your House - Musings on a Cat Mess

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Musings on a Cat Mess

Posted: 29 May 2012 01:00 AM PDT

I didn’t step in it – this time. But my husband did, in the dark as he left for work early in the morning. Then he walked through our room, back out, and through the entire house to the back door.

I know, because his footprint was in the mess our cat had very rudely deposited on the floor during the night. The trail went from one end of the house to the other.

By the time I discovered it, all but the original pile had thoroughly dried and cemented itself to the floor – the floor I had just mopped the previous day. So I had a lot of time to think while I cleaned up the mess.

A verse came to mind as I bent this way and that to detect the stuff from different angles. “If we confess our sins, he is  faithful and just to forgive us our sins and  to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). I first thought of the verse because I had some sinful attitudes to confess and repent of while scrubbing up that mess.

Then, with cleaning on my mind, I thought about how God cleanses us from our sins when we confess them. The best way to deal with a yucky mess on the floor is to clean it up right away. It may be unpleasant, but it saves a whole lot more mess. Leave it, and it’s bound to get stepped in. Ignore it and it dries and becomes much harder to clean up.

The same is true of sin. My ingratitude, anger, impatience, and self-pity are like that big, wet, icky pile in the middle of the floor. If I don’t see my sin, if I don’t acknowledge it and confess and repent of it, it is sure to get “stepped in.” Someone comes along, picks up on my sinful attitude or reacts with their own sinful attitude, and pretty soon that sin is tracked “all over the house”. My sin contributes to the sins of others.

If I choose to ignore my sin, if I just leave it, it becomes more and more difficult to repent of. In the meantime, I walk back and forth through the house, tracking it everywhere I go, and teaching my children to sin in the same ways. Then, because they are simply imitating me, I find it harder to correct my children for those same sins. The mess just keeps getting bigger.

How much simpler to repent quickly. God promises, when we confess our sins, to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The mess is gone. Erased. Forgotten. No more stinking pile in the middle of the floor. No more tracking it all over the house. I am forgiven, and I’m no longer infecting others with my sin.

Here's to us all keeping our feet clean!

Sherrie Ashcraft, Women's Ministry Director

sherrieashcraft@yahoo.com   971-285-6699 

Monday, May 21, 2012 WOW-Zine

Good morning, ladies! I always look forward to sitting down on Monday mornings and having a little chat with you--what a nice way to start my week! Our usual WOW schedule for the school year is nearly over, but we've got a lot planned for the summer. 

Before we get to summer, however, we've got a couple things on the horizon. This Thursday at 9:30 AM is The Thursday Perk brunch.  Maybe you don't usually come to Bible study on Thursdays, but you missed the Wednesday night Common Grounds last week. Or perhaps you've been thinking about coming, but have never made it. Well, just come jump in this week! Bring a brunchy-type food to share with the rest of us, and experience some good friendships and lots of laughs as we celebrate the end of our study for this year. 

A WOW Movie Night is headed your way on Thursday, May 31st  at Ashberry Lane.  What are you in the mood for? Courageous? Or perhaps Father of the Bride 2? Or something else? Let me know what you're thinking. We'll meet here at 7 PM and start the movie by 7:20, so it shouldn't be too late of a night for you. You know the routine--bring snackies to share. 

ZUMBA continues to meet at the church on Mondays and Wednesdays at 4:15 PM. There will be no class next Monday, due to the Memorial Day holiday.

And now, for what's coming up this summer! The Common Grounds ladies heard about this last week, and you Perk-ie ladies will get more details on Thursday, but it's time to share this with everyone so you can start to plan your schedules. Beginning the middle-ish  of June I will be leading a study called Your Strong Suit, which is a practical look at our spiritual armor. I don't know about you, but sometimes I forget all about the incredible protection God provides for me, and I try to oppose the enemy in my own strength. When I do that, I end up with a big L in the middle of my forehead! This study has a DVD teaching segment that we will watch together, plus an optional workbook you can buy for $10. Several of you have told me you'd like to have some homework to do during the week. Well, this will provide you with that. For those of you who don't want to do the workbook, you can certainly still come to the classes and take notes and get a lot from the study. I'll be putting an order in the end of this month, so please let me know if you'd like to order the book. Several of the Common Grounds ladies signed up for it, and I'll have it with me at The Perk so you ladies can look at it and decide what you'd like to do. It is an 8-week study and something that I know will benefit all of us. Class times will be 6:30 PM on Wednesdays, and 9:30 AM on Thursdays.

 SUMMER SCHEDULE FOR WOW 

June
Wednesday, 13th—Common Grounds, Lesson 1
Thursday, 14th—The Thursday Perk, Lesson 1
Wednesday, 20th—Common Grounds, Lesson 2
Thursday, 21st—The Thursday Perk, Lesson 2
Wednesday, 27th—Hot Tub Party, Ashberry Lane, 7 PM

July
Thursday, 5th—PICNIC AT THE TILLAMOOK FORESTRY
                 CENTER. Kids are invited
Wednesday, 11th—Common Grounds, Lesson 3
Thursday, 12th—The Thursday Perk, Lesson 3
Wednesday, 18th—Common Ground, Lesson 4
Thursday, 19th—The Thursday Perk, Lesson 4
Wednesday, 25th, Common Grounds, Lesson 5
Thursday, 26th, The Thursday Perk, Lesson 5


August
Wednesday, 1st—Common Grounds, Lesson 6
Thursday, 2nd—The Thursday Perk, Lesson 6
Wednesday, 8th—Common Grounds, Lesson 7
Thursday, 9th—The Thursday Perk, Lesson 7
Wednesday, 15th—Common Grounds, Lesson 8
Thursday, 16th—The Thursday Perk, Lesson 8
Thursday, 30th—BEACH TRIP. Kids are invited


So to sum it up, after this week we won't meet until the Movie Night the end of the month. Then both studies will resume in June. The first one, on Wednesday the 13th, will meet at Ashberry Lane instead of the church, as the 8th Grade graduation party is happening at church that evening. We don't meet during the final week of June due to VBS. (Talk to Janet if you'd like to help with that!) But most of the time both the morning group and evening group will be meeting each week. 

Let me leave you with this thought:

Heart to Heart with Holley Gerth: Things Our Hearts Forget: You're Loved

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Things Our Hearts Forget: You're Loved Posted: 21 May 2012 07:06 AM PDT   Hello, You... The one beginning your week, maybe thinking about your hurts, hoping no one will notice until you are better. Lean in close, You are already good enough. You don't have to be better. Not because you're perfect (because none of us are) but because you're loved by a God who is committed to "completing the good work He started in you." You have grace enough for this day. You have something to give. You are created with care and placed in this world with a plan, His plan. No one can take your place. Whatever this week will hold for you, let Him be the One to hold your heart, the One will never stop telling you all the ways you're loved. Have a great week, ladies! Sherrie Ashcraft, Women's Ministry Director sherrieashcraft@yahoo.com   971-285-6699

 

Monday, May 14, 2012 WOW-Zine

Hello, ladies! We don't have a whole lot going on this week, but next week I'll be announcing our summer schedule, so you won't want to miss that.

This week is the finale of our Common Grounds study of The Bad Girls of the Bible. We won't be having any lesson, but will have a great time as we gather together on Wednesday at 6 PM for our potluck. Bring any type of food you'd like. We're going to have a fun time as we eat, visit, and enjoy some video clips. And be thinking of some lessons you've learned as a result of our study this year, as I'd love to have you share those with the rest of us. I'll also give you a sneak peek of what's happenin' this summer. Good times ... yeah, good times!

Next week, The Thursday Perk will meet for brunch at 9:30, and get to share in all the same stuff that is happening at Common Grounds. It will be a great way to start off your day!

Zumba meets at 4:15 PM on Monday and Wednesday this week.  

I know not all of you are mothers, but many of you are. If so, maybe you'll find this encouraging. Just remember that mobs come in all different sizes! 

Mothering a MobPosted Wednesday, May 9, 2012 by Sandi Patty Share this on: You've given me a staggering task, ruling this mob of people. Yes, give me wisdom and knowledge as I come and go among this people—for who on his own is capable of leading these, your glorious people? —2 Chronicles 1:9–10 MSG I can empathize with King Solomon as he looked out over his "mob of people" and considered the "staggering task" he'd been given. As the mother of a blended family of eight children, there were times when the task of parenting our "mob" of kids seemed absolutely overwhelming. No matter how many children you have, parenting can be exhausting. Years ago, I heard an expert on Oprah say that raising two children and being a stay–at–home mom is equivalent to three full–time jobs. In bigger families, we parents don't get a lot of "my time" when we can relax and recoup our strength for the next go–round. Someone's always intruding into those precious moments with a runny nose, a forgotten backpack, or a need to talk. But there's a lot of fun to be had in our families, large or small, even in our exhaustion. To find that fun, we need to ask God for "wisdom and knowledge," as King Solomon did, and we need to keep a positive perspective. Our home is a crazy place, but I love being there. My big, blended family is exhausting, but it's exhilarating, too. Somehow I actually seem to thrive amid this strange chaos. Actually, it doesn't happen "somehow." It happens because I've chosen to find the joy in the midst of mayhem. Excerpted from Daily Gifts of Grace. Copyright ©2012 by Thomas Nelson. Published by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Monday, May 7, 2012 WOW-Zine

What a gorgeous day we're experiencing! And it looks like the weather will be decent all week, though it will be cooling off a bit. But then it's supposed to be really nice for Mother's Day, so maybe you can get your family to plan something outdoors after church on Sunday.

We had a great indoor event this past Saturday as we enjoyed our second annual Feminini-Tea. Guest speaker Barb Boswell reminded us of the importance of our words and what a gift they can be in someone's life. This was the largest women's event we've ever had, with 70 women and girls present to enjoy tea and goodies. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so if that's true, this will be a very long WOW-Zine as I have quite a few pictures to include. But I must admit that it's going to be a thousand words shorter than it should be, as somehow, I managed to take pictures of only ten of the eleven tables! To those of you who were at the neglected table, my sincere apologies. I'll do better next year, I promise!

Before I post the pictures, let me remind you of a couple of things.

ZUMBA Monday and Wednesday at 4:15. There will be no session on Memorial Day, the 28th. 

THE THURSDAY PERK--this week at 9:30 AM. We'll be concluding our study of The Bad Girls of the Bible by looking at the woman taken in adultery in John 8:1-12. We had a great time discussing that passage last week in Common Grounds. (By the way, who is bringing goodies to the Perk this week? And do you want to do Zumba again right after the class?)

COMMON GROUNDS WRAP-UP is next Wednesday, the 16th at 6 PM. (Please notice the change from our usual time.) This will be a potluck, and you know how good those always are! We'll have a relaxed, casual evening together, and I'll also let you know at that time about our summer Bible study and event schedule. 

And now, without further ado ... pictures from the tea.