Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Welcome to the last week of November! I know we're all very busy preparing for Thanksgiving, so this WOW-Zine will be a short one. But please take time to read it so you'll know what's going on (or NOT going on!)

Neither Common Grounds or The Perk will be meeting this week, but will resume next week.

This Saturday at 10 AM you're invited to help decorate the church for Christmas. Pick up your favorite hot drink to warm you from the inside, and come spend about 1-1/2 hours setting the mood for our church family to enjoy during the holiday season. 

WOW's Sparkly Sweet and Savory Christmas Party

Saturday, December 14th

6 PM

At Amy Rusaw's

Wear some sparkly bling!

Bring a sweet or savory dish to share for dinner, along with a wrapped sweet or savory item for our gift exchange. Use your imagination!

Until next week,
Sherrie Ashcraft, Women's Ministry Director
sherrieashcraft@gmail.com     971-285-6699

Tuesday, November 19, 2013 WOW-Zine

Happy Tuesday, ladies! We've got quite a bit going on, so I'll just get to it. For a neat little thought about loneliness, make sure to read to the very end.

Thanks to Shellee for leading a group of women to successfully make a pillowcase at our very first Sew 'n Sew last Saturday.



 If you're sorry you missed out on this one, there will be another chance to wind your bobbins on Saturday, January 18th. I've heard talk they're going to make cozy pajama bottoms to keep you warm during the cold winter months. 

Both our Bible studies will meet this week as usual, but we'll take next week off because of Thanksgiving. Common Grounds meets Wednesday at 6:30 PM, and The Perk on Thursday at 9:30 AM. This week we'll be discussing James 2:20-26 and watching part of a Beth Moore video. Kristin L., you're signed up for treats on Wednesday, and Heidi H., you've got snacks for Thursday and Carol G. will be the MIC taking care of the children.

Because I've only had one person respond to the announcement last week about having a get-together brunch on Saturday, December 7th about dealing with depression, that event is being cancelled. It obviously isn't working into people's schedules at this particular time. If any of you ever want to get together over coffee and just talk and pray together, I can certainly make that happen. 

I hope you've already put the date of the WOW Christmas Party on your calendar--Saturday, December 14, at 6 PM. We'll be gathering at Amy Rusaw's for a Sparkly Sweet and Savory Christmas! In order for us not to be overloaded on the sweet side for dinner, I'll have a sign-up sheet available for what you'd like to contribute to our meal. Along with a dinner item, also bring a wrapped sweet or savory item for our gift exchange. (You can spend between $4-$8 and be creative. One woman's sweet is another woman's savory!) Those of us in the Gaston area will meet behind the church at 5:30 that evening in order to carpool. 

The church will be donning its annual Christmas finery when we decorate on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Pick up a hot drink and join us at 10 AM on the 30th to help make our worship area reflect the joy of the season.

I promised you a writing about loneliness. This is by Holley Gerth, who has such a great gift stringing words together in a meaningful way. In the busyness of all that is involved preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmas, some people can feel a bit lonely. Here's what she has to say about that.

When You Feel a Bit LonelyHolley, 2013-11-13 13:00 Can we just get honest about something today? We all have moments when we feel a bit lonely. It’s part of being human. We go through different seasons, transitions, moves, changes. When you find loneliness sneaking up on you, first say this: “Hello, Loneliness. I know you’re here to try to convince me that something is wrong with me and that I’m the only one who hangs out with you. But I’ve figured out your tricks and I know that’s not true. So thanks for stopping by but I’ve got better things to do than listen to you.” Then pick up the phone, send an email, go to a coffee shop, invite a friend to lunch, hug your kids, sign up for a committee, text someone–whatever you need to do to connect with one other person. Because chances are, loneliness has tried to visit them too. When we listen to what loneliness tries to tell us, we withdraw when what we really need to do is reach out. The surest way to keep from feeling left out is to let people in. You may be lonely right now. But you’re not alone. Who can you love on today? Until next week, Sherrie Ashcraft, Women's Ministry Director sherrieashcraft@gmail.com    971-285-6699

Tuesday, November 12, 2013 WOW-Zine

Good morning, Women of Wapato!  I hope you're ready for a great week filled with the blessings of God. 

Both Common Grounds and The Perk will meet this week and next as usual, but we won't be meeting during Thanksgiving week. This week, as we continue in our study of James, we'll be discussing James 2:8-19. No one signed up to bring snacks this week for Common Grounds (Wednesday, 6:30 PM), but Karen is providing them for The Perk (Thursday, 9:30 AM) and Amy will be the MIC.

This Saturday, November 16th, is our Sew 'n Sew class at 10 AM in the annex. (The building across the street behind the church.) It's not too late to sign up to attend and learn how to make pillowcases. In last week's WOW-Zine I gave you the information regarding how much material you need to bring, depending upon the size of the pillowcases you wish to make. Be sure to wash and iron your material before you come. And if you signed up to provide a machine, don't forget to bring it!

If you love to decorate for Christmas, please join us the Saturday after Thanksgiving at 10 AM to deck the church out in its holiday finery. Pick up a hot drink on your way, and help us prepare our building for the Christmas season. 

To those of you who attended Hope Floats last month, remember the team saying we'd like to provide a little bit of follow-up help? Some of you signed a card indicating you'd like to be part of a support-type group during the next few months. We're going to meet on Saturday morning, December 7th, at 10:30. Show up at Kathy Fordyce's and bring a brunch item along with you. (Even if you didn't sign up, but wish you had, you're certainly welcome to join us.) Please let me know if you're coming. This is not a therapy session--just an informal time to share life with each other over some good food. We plan to be finished around noon.

WOW is hosting our annual Christmas party on Saturday, December 14th at Amy Rusaw's. Our theme this year is A Sparkly, Sweet and Savory Christmas. Add a bit of sparkle to whatever you wear. We'll begin with dinner at 6 PM, so bring a sweet or savory food to share. (I'll have sign-up sheets available so that we'd don't have an overload of sweets.) We're going to do a gift exchange like we did last year, where you can steal items from each other. Please bring a wrapped item that costs between $4 -$8 and is sweet or savory. 

So, does all that give you plenty to do? From weekly Bible studies, to sewing projects, to decorating, to celebrating together, this group is a lot of fun. Please join us whenever you can!

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

Tuesday, November 5, 2013 WOW-Zine

Hello, ladies! Welcome to this week's edition of the WOW-Zine. This is your place to come to find out what's going on in the life of the Women Of Wapato. 

UPCOMING EVENTS:
This Friday is our Wild Game Night, 7 PM at the church. Wear comfy it's-the-end-of-the-week-and-I-want-to-relax clothes, bring a snack to share, and a game. To help get you in the mood of having a wild time, I'll be sharing the DVD of when our family was on the game show, Family Feud. You don't want to miss that! 

Saturday, November 16th at 10 AM in the annex is our first-ever Sew 'n Sew event. This one is being led by Shellee Baidenmann , who will be teaching us how to sew pillowcases. These would even make great Christmas gifts for someone in your family. Please let me know if you plan on attending. Details as to how much fabric to bring and how to prepare it can be found at the end of this WOW-Zine.

Do you know that we offer two Women's Bible Studies throughout the week? One in the evening and one in the morning, so you can choose which one works best for your schedule. Common Grounds meets Wednesdays at 6:30 PM and The Perk is at 9:30 AM on Thursdays. If you're new to Wapato and looking for a way to connect with other women, this is it! Deep friendships and support are forged as we spend time together in God's Word each week. We are in the midst of Beth Moore's study on the Book of James, entitled Mercy Triumphs. We have a lot of discussion and practical application each week, and some weeks (including this one) we watch her video presentation, which is always great. The section of Scripture we'll be studying this week is James 2: 1-7. And don't worry, you never have homework.

The woman who signed up for snacks for Wednesday night is not going to be able to come this week, so is there someone who can fill in for her? All my contact info is always found at the end of this, so just shoot me a text or email and let me know you can provide a little sumpin'-sumpin' for us to munch on at the study tomorrow night. As for The Perk, Nicole P. is our MIC, and Amy, you're on for snacks. Thanks ladies!

And now, for those of you buying material for the Sew 'n Sew, here's the info you need:

Fabric needed based on 44-45" material (This makes one case, so double for two pillowcases)

Standard Sized Pillow
7/8 yard main body fabric, 1/3 yard cuff fabric, 1/8 yard insert fabric
Queen
7/8 yard body fabric, 3/8 yard cuff, 1/8 yard insert fabric
King
1 yard body fabric, 3/8 yard cuff, 1/8 yard insert fabric
Body Pillow
Measure the length of your pillow and double it for the body fabric requirement. The other measurements are the same as above.

Wash and iron your fabric before bringing it to the event.

DISCLAIMER--Sewing is not my thing, so I don't really know what I'm talking about here! I'm just repeating the information Shellee gave me. If you have questions, please call her at 503-985-9577 or email her at shelleerb@yahoo.com.

Until next week,
Sherrie Ashcraft, Women's Ministry Director
sherrieashcraft@gmail.com     971-285-6699