Passing on a Missions Heritage

Thanks to Shari Edwards for her program about passing on a missions heritage. We were all inspired to teach others who are coming along behind us about the joy of missions. Shari shared the following principles during the program:

1st Principle of Passing on a Missions Heritage:
*Understanding what a missions heritage is-being aware of missions education opportunities-unique to Southern Baptist life.

2nd Principle of Passing on a Missions Heritage:
*Exposing your children to mission opportunites for them
*Encouraging their participation in these opportunities-no options!

3rd Principle of Passing on a Missions Heritage:
*Model the importance of missions in your personal life-show that investing in missions is important. Be "sold out" to share the gospel-your kids will "catch" your passion.

4th Principle of Passing on a Missions Heritage:
*Be creative in living a missional lifestyle. The more you do missions, the more you can't "not" do missions. It gets in your blood.
*Be aware of missions needs around you, and be proactive in challenging your kids. Encourage your kids to recognize the creative ways God has designed them to be used in His Kingdom growth to bring Him glory.

Parties with a Purpose

You will find in this post the ideas that Linda Myles gave us for having Parties with a Purpose at our last meeting. Feel free to comment and share ideas that you have as well.

World Crafts Party

This is a simple but fun way to make a difference in the lives of people all over the world. World Crafts is a project of WMU that allows artisans in other countries to make crafts to sell to people in the US. By hosting a World Crafts party, you are able to help these people make a living from the crafts they sell. Also, this opens doors for missionaries to go in an tell these people about Jesus. The Arkansas Baptist State Convention has a kit you can check out if you are interested in holding a World Crafts party.

Hurricane Party

This is a great ministry party when hurricanes or other natural disasters occur. Invite your friends over and ask them to bring items that those who are affected by these disasters may need such as bottled water, canned food, peanut butter crackers, and lanterns. Party food could consist of lemonade or bottled water, peanut butter crackers, cheese crackers and vegetable soup.

Celebrate Your Friends Party

This party is a great idea that Linda does for her friends. She invites them over around Christmas so she can tell them why she considers them such good friends. The food for this party is Mashed Potato Sundaes. Fill cute glasses with mashed potatoes and then have all the fixings you would have for a baked potato. You could even include chicken strips and gravy. Linda made homemade desserts for her friends and put them on plates and dishes she found at flea markets and antique stores. I encourage you to celebrate your friends sometime during the year and let them know how special they are to you.

Harvest Party

Linda read us the book "The Pumpkin Patch Parable" for the Harvest Party. This party is a great evangelistic party if you use the book. Obviously, you just need fall decorations and can have pumpkin dip, ginger snaps, and other fall themed snacks. Invite people over who may not have a personal relationship with Jesus. You can read the book and maybe open the door for discussion. This is a great way to celebrate fall.

September Meeting

Don't forget about the September Connections meeting. It's TOMORROW, September 9th at 6:30 p.m. (A204). Linda Myles will be presenting Parties with a Purpose. Hope to see you there!

May Meeting

I encourage you to join us at our meeting on Tuesday, May 13 at 6:30pm in A204. We will be hearing from our new pastor's wife, Judy Shaddox. I look forward to seeing you all there. I hope you will bring a friend to share in the blessing of this meeting.

Celebrate the Call

I enjoyed a great weekend at the Annual Meeting for Arkansas WMU. The theme this year was Celebrate the Call. I was so inspired and amazed by the missionaries that spoke. To hear of their call and being sold out completely to God to do His work is really humbling. I mean, what do I do that is so important for Him and His kingdom? It really has made me start thinking about what God wants from me. One thing I know He wants is for me to love like He does. In 2008-2010, the WMU emphasis is Called to Love. For the next two years we will be challenged as believers to love like God has called us to. He really reinforced this concept to me when I got home from the Annual Meeting. My 5 year old daughter, Elizabeth was in the kitchen when I got home. I was not home more than 5 minutes when she told me she wanted to make cards for the nursing home (or nursery home as she called it). She started to draw pictures of money inside of the card because she thought they were poor and needed money. She was about to write "I will give you money" until I explained that they were not poor, they just needed someone to take care of them all the time. So she wrote " I will give you" and then she sat there awhile and thought about what she could give them. Then she said "I know, I will give you love". About that time I was looking over the new WMU material and noticed the theme Called to Love. I thought, she's got it! I didn't even have to tell her. Oh, the faith of a child! That's all God asks is for us to have a childlike faith to follow Him. This is one example I will never forget.

Promise House Shower Picture

Mary Lou Heard and Dona Boone

Promise House Shower

Thanks to all of you who came to the last Connections meeting and brought items for the Promise House. I think we all learned a lot about the needs of the Promise House. I think we also learned how blessed our lives are right now even if we are going through difficult times. Thanks to Dona Boone and Mary Lou Heard for sharing with us. We ended up with a table overflowing with gifts. We have one more meeting before summer, and it will be on May 13. We will be hearing from our new pastor's wife, Judy Shaddox. Come prepared to be blessed and inspired. Also, check back soon for a link to the blog for the house parents at Promise House.

April Meeting

Tuesday, April 8 is our next meeting. I look forward to seeing all of you there at 6:30 pm in A204. We will have a baby shower for the Promise House. Don't forget to bring bras and panties in all sizes or baby items such as outfits or diapers. We will hear more about this ministry and how we can help them further. If you need childcare, don't forget to call Mary at 753-3413 to make reservations.

Have a great weekend!

Today is the day!

I've had a comment from a friend who sent me a devotional thought about how we as women tend to put off things we can do today until tomorrow. It got me thinking about how there are so many things we procrastinate about for whatever reason whether it is thinking it's too hard, we don't have enough time, or we just don't want to do it. Some of the things that the devotional listed we're putting off were weight loss, organizing our home, calling a friend, spending time with loved ones, and reading the Bible. We think we'll do it tomorrow, but as we all know, we never know what tomorrow will bring. This all ties in with doing what God wants us to do. When we know God is calling us to do something we should do what we can today and not wait until tomorrow. Sometimes God calls us to do things that can only be done today. And, if we don't do those things, we are disobeying God and we are missing out on the blessings He has for us. I challenge you to seek God and see what He is calling you to do. Maybe today is the day to reconnect with an old friend or a loved one who has hurt you. Maybe today is the day to start that weight loss program and get your body in shape so you'll be able to serve God without ill physical effects. Or, maybe today is the day God is calling you to do something huge for Him that you can only do through His power. I challenge you to seek the Lord and find out what He wants you to do for Him today, not tomorrow!

Spring is just around the corner!

As I'm sitting here at my computer, I am looking out the window into my backyard and noticing all of the plants and trees that are beginning to bloom. I don't know about you, but I am so ready for spring weather. Not too hot, but not too cold. Isn't God awesome that He allows us to see His hand in nature with the new growth that is sprouting out everywhere? A lot of us think about this time of year as a time to do spring cleaning in our homes. We take time to brush the cobwebs off the porch, clean out our closets and give our homes a feeling of spring freshness. I like to think that God wants us to do the same with our spiritual lives. Does your life need a little spring cleaning? Do you need to brush off the cobwebs of your Bible or devotional book? Do you need to clean out your mind of thoughts and attitudes that are not pleasing to God? Does your life reflect a Spring freshness because you are in contact daily with God? I challenge you to look at your life as spring approaches and ask God what He would want you to do to freshen up your relationship with Him.

March Meeting

Thanks to all of you who came last night to our March meeting. I'm so encouraged by your attendance and the diversity of our group. I'm looking forward to seeing how God is going to use this group to draw women together to be friends who may never have been friends under different circumstances. I encourage you to read the comments on the March 4 posting. Monica has some awesome insights on spiritual gifts. Her words are very wise, so I hope you will read her comments and use them as you are exploring your spiritual gifts. I am looking forward to next month's baby shower. I will be posting more info on that in the coming weeks. Pass this website on to your friends and invite a friend to come with you next month. Look for additions to this blog each week. Thanks again for all of your support with this group!

Welcome to Connections

Welcome to the Connections blog! If this is your first time here, take a look around to see what is offered on this blog. It is my intention to keep this updated with the latest topics we've talked about in our meetings and also have upcoming events. Please feel free to post your comments and thoughts as you feel led. After we all get the hang of this, I hope this will continue on as a way to develop the relationships we are building through Connections.