This is the final week of Common Grounds and The Perk until we resume the second week of September. We had a really good at our studies last week, and I'm happy so many of you are making sure you're around to finish up our study in Luke. This week we'll look in depth at Luke 24:13-53. It has become tradition to finish our study for the year with a potluck-ish type get together on the last day. So Wednesday night at 6:30, or Thursday morning at 9:30, bring a little snack to share with the other ladies. It's just a fun way to end our time together.
Our Rockin' Rockaway Beach Party is Tuesday, August 20th. Remember to invite your friends and their children to come with you. Everyone provides their own lunch and drinks, and maybe some spending money for ice cream at the Tillamook Cheese Factory on the way home. We'll meet around 11 AM at Rockaway.
I still have several spaces open for Women of Faith, October 4th and 5th at the Rose Garden. Tickets are $81. You can make a check out to Wapato Valley Church and hand it to me to reserve your spot. We'll carpool there, and then spend the night at a motel on Friday, and have a nice dinner out on the way home late Saturday afternoon. (Not included in the $81). Tickets are available for as long as they last!
Have you been feeling the need to get a bit more involved in women's ministry? I have two openings on the Women's Ministry Team (WMT) for this year, as a couple of ladies have had to step down due to changes in their lives. If you are committed to being part of a team that provides meaningful connection to our women throughout the year, you may want to sign up! There are a few expectations that come along with the job, such as attending planning meetings on the first Monday of each month (in the evening), being a regular participant in one of the weekly Bible studies for women, and helping with our annual retreat. Please let me know if you're interested, and we can talk about it!
I'm going to close with an article I wrote for the recent Wapato newsletter. I have the feeling that a lot of people don't take the time to read the monthly newsletter, but it's always full of good information. Maybe you'll find you can identify with what I shared:
When Life is Hard
“What you intended for evil, God meant for good.” Genesis 50:20
I looked around, trying to figure out the cause of my problem. And you know what I found? Nothing! Anyone looking at me would think my life was very good. I had a husband who loved me. A fulfilling job. Grown children who had blessed me with grand children. We owned our own house. Money, though not in abundance, was certainly sufficient. No health problems. Involvement in the church my husband pastored. Obviously, I had nothing to complain about. My circumstances left nothing to be desired, yet the sense of despair only got worse.
Have you ever been there? If so, you know what doesn’t work. No husband telling you to “just decide to be happy” can change the feeling. No friends bringing by plates of cookies, hoping to cheer you up. (Chocolate really can’t fix everything!) Not even people saying, “Oh, I’ll pray for you.” No, when depression hits, the solution isn’t easy to find.
The dark days, though the sky was often sunny, continued. I experienced a profound sense of loss—loss of joy, loss of purpose, loss of feelings, loss of humor, loss of reasons to continue with life. Even the seeming loss of my relationship with the Lord. I didn’t have a definite plan, but suicide began to sound like an option. I knew I would never be happy again and I had no desire to continue with life the way it was.
Thankfully, I was open to Christian counseling. Having an unbiased person listen to me, ask me questions, and challenge me to a lot of soul-searching and self-evaluation proved to be my answer. It certainly wasn’t an overnight change, but I gradually began the long journey back to “normal.” I discovered I’d inadvertently bought into the idea that I had to jump through hoops to please God, and I was tired of jumping! This journey became a spiritual rebirth for me (though I had accepted Christ when I was five years old) and my walk with the Lord became based on grace rather than on performance.
That was about fifteen years ago, and it’s an experience I’ll never forget. I know that Satan wanted to sift me like wheat (Luke 22:31) to show I was only full of impurities and worthless to God. But the Lord allowed that sifting to show that yes, there were attitudes that needed removed from my life, but it was in order to take me to a deeper level in my Christian walk and for Him to use me more in the lives of others. Because of my journey through depression, I’ve been able to relate to a lot of women who struggle with that issue themselves. As I freely share about what it was like, women lose their fear of admitting they have this problem. Not only have I used it one-on-one with women, but I was also able to draw on my experience when I wrote my recently released novel, On the Threshold. One of the issues covered in the story is a woman who deals with life-threatening depression. The feelings she goes through in the book are based not on “I wonder what it would be like?” but are the nitty-gritty authenticity of one who has been there, done that, and lived to tell about it! God has been able to use one of the hardest times of my life to change me, and in turn, encourage others.
I don’t know what difficulty God is allowing in your life right now, but rest assured that it’s not by chance or happenstance. There is a purpose behind the pain, and the Lord is in the business of taking what was meant for evil, and changing into something for His good.
Sherrie Ashcraft, Women's Ministry Director
sherrieashcraft@gmail.com 971-285-6699
