Tuesday, September 8, 2015 WOW-Zine

Hello, ladies! A lot of you are in the throes of getting kids off to school in the morning and finding a new schedule for your own life. Please consider this a personal invitation from me to you to meet with us at one of our women's Bible studies this year. If you join us at your earliest opportunity, it will be that much easier to consistently put it on your calendar and simply know that every Thursday you're taking some Me Time to learn more about God and how to apply His Word to your everyday life and challenges. And a wonderful side benefit is that you will develop deep friendships with women who really do care about you and who will help share the burdens you're dealing with. 

This is the week that our studies resume after taking a bit of a break during the summer. Remember, everything is happening on Thursdays now! The Perk will meet at the church at 9:30 AM. We start with snacks (any volunteer to bring something tasty this week?) and childcare for young children is usually available. Bring along a couple of dollars to help pay for a sitter, please. We finish right around 11 AM. Common Grounds will meet at 6:30 in the evenings and run until around 8 PM. (I'm looking for a snack volunteer for this week--any takers?) There is no childcare provided for the evening session. We'll be starting off our new year by studying the book of Colossians--one of my favorites! There's no homework and no book to buy. You can jump in the study at any time. Just bring a notebook and your Bible and you'll be good to go!

The Women's Ministry Team will be meeting tomorrow night to start planning activities we'll offer you during this year. If you have any ideas of things you'd like to see included, shoot me a text or email. (My contact info is always at the end of the WOW-Zine.)

The monthly Craft Time is scheduled for Monday, September 21st, from 3-5 PM at the home of Carol Gross. (40080 SW Nelson Drive in Gaston. Out by Lauralwood.) Bring any craft project you're working on and enjoy a relaxing time with each other.

I was talking earlier about one of the perks of attending Bible study is the formation of deep friendships and people to stand beside you though the hard times we all face. When you know people who have to deal with the garbage of life, how do you react? Sometimes we have no idea what to do or say, and sometimes we err the opposite way and think we know exactly what they're going through and how they should fix it. Here's some good advice from our blogger friend, Holley Gerth.

Helping Someone When You’ve Never Been in Their Situation Holley, 05 Aug 10:30 AM I often get notes from people saying something like, “My friend/family member is going through a hard time but I don’t feel like I can help because I haven’t been through the same thing.” Here’s my response:“You don’t have to experience the same storm to know what it’s like to get wet.” I’m certain you know what it’s like to feel soaked to the bone by discouragement, have fear thundering above you or watch a dream wash away. Don’t we all? It’s not our ability to duplicate details but to relate on a heart level that lets us have empathy and be able to encourage. I once wrote a card for DaySpring that says: I wish I had a big, yellow umbrella that would keep all the rain out of your life. I would hold it over your head and the drops would splash, splash and you would never even feel it. But I don’t have a big yellow umbrella, so I’ll walk through the rain with you. When it comes to living that out, here are three ways you can walk through the rain with someone no matter what storm they’re facing: 1) Simply listen. When I did grief support groups I heard people say over and over again, “It was so comforting when someone just let me talk and cried with me.” When we’re hurting, what we need most isn’t answers; it’s to know we’re not alone. 2) Be a safe place. When someone shares their struggles with us, we’re to treat them with care like precious treasures. After all, it seems that’s what God does. “Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?” {Ps. 56:8}. These three C’s can help us remember how to do so: Nevercriticize or condemn. Always keep it confidential. 3) Don’t try to fix it. When I got a masters degree in counseling we were told over and over, avoid giving advice. We empower people most when we trust them to figure out their own lives with God’s help. We are simply there to be an encouragement and sounding board. Ironically, the need to prove we’re useful can push us to talk too much and try too hard. When we feel that pressure, we can take a deep breath and remember we don’t have to be anyone’s God, Jesus or Holy Spirit. It’s not within our power to resolve the problem, change the circumstance or even make the pain go away. In other words, we can’t make the sun come out again. That reality doesn’t mean we’re a failure. It simply means we’re not God. So what is success when it comes to helping others in our lives? After hearing from thousands of hurting people I’ve come to believe it’s simply this: Having the courage to step into the rain–even if it’s not our storm.

So ladies, here's to a year of taking turns holding umbrellas for each other!

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