women.northmonroe.com

If you are like me and have survived motherhood in one piece, I bet you have some stories to tell!  I hope those memories of the “diaper days” include an older friend whose support and advice helped you navigate your way through some hectic days.

MOPS (the organization – not the cleaner!) has a place for you and your vast knowledge of mothering tips and techniques.  These y0ung mothers of preschoolers meet twice a month from 9 – 11 in the chapel at North Monroe for Bible study, fellowship,and support.  They would love to hear from those of us who can assure them that they will survive motherhood.   They are searching for Godly wisdom in childrearing from women who have walked that way before.

Please pray about mentoring these young moms in our church.  You can volunteer 3 ways:  contact Meredith Bufkin, email the group at northmonroe.mops@gmail.com, or find them on facebook at MOPS at NMBC.

This Sunday, August 15th, will be the last day to sign up for our fall potluck supper.  Please find sign-up sheets in the fellowship mall and in your Life Groups, or you can email me!

Please don’t miss this evening of fun and worship with your friends at North Monroe!

On August 19th at 6:30, we will begin a new year of opportunities for the ladies of North Monroe with 2 very special guests.  Patti McDonald Cato and Pat Reeves, the daughter and sister of Jan McDonald, will be leading us in praise and worship.  Patti used to be in the youth choir here at North Monroe and she also sang in Generation Span.  Pat has an amazing testimony of what God has been doing in her life.  You will not want to miss this!

Look for sign up sheets in the fellowship mall and in Life Group boxes beginning this Sunday.  You can sign up to bring soup, salad, or dessert. 

That night we will introduce this year’s council, unveil all the activites we have planned for the 2010-2011 year, and give you the opportunity to register for Circle of Friends.

We hope to see you there!

Our first year as women’s council is drawing to a close.  Thanks to Sharon Bridges, Sharon Sisson, Nancy Dillingham, Nancy Epperson, Ginger Heard, Ashley Davis, Evelyn Zagone, Lou Howington, and Lee Ainsworth for their commitment and their fun, creative ideas.  It was a privilege and a pleasure to work with them.

If you would like to impact women’s ministry here at North Monroe, please prayerfully consider becoming a part of women’s council for 2010-2011. We meet once a month.  You can email me (jwalters@opsb.net) or just leave a comment here if you have questions about becoming a part of our gang.

Also, as we begin planning for this year, we would love to hear your ideas.  If there are places you want to go, people you want to hear, mission opportunities you want us to do, we need to know.  Once again, you can comment here or talk to anyone on the council.  This year’s council will be introduced on August 19th when we unwrap our plans for this year.

Most importantly, please pray for God’s leadership as we seek to praise and worship Him through ladies’ events.  We don’t want to take any steps not directed by God.  We want His blessing on everything we say and do.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about choices and how they affect my life.  For example, even though I lost some weight, a few pounds (okay, maybe more than a few) have stealthily crept back on, and I am faced with the challenge of how to maintain a healthy body weight.  Now, I have read books on nutrition and exercise. I watch The Biggest Loser faithfully, and I try to find encouragement in the Bible (Romans 12:1 and 1 Cor. 3:16).  All of this is good, but reading books and watching TV is not makng those pounds disappear.  In my mind I understand that I need to put down the bowl of icecream and pick up my weights.  I need to put down the book and put on my walking shoes.  And, I remember from past experience just how good it feels when I finish exercising.  So, for me it’s time to make a choice:  Do I whine and complain about my size and my health, or do I commit to a healthier way of life?

The same thing applies to my relationship with God and with Jesus Christ.  I know as a child of God that I am sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of Promise (Eph 1:13)  I can happily coast along attending church and life groups and Bible studies – even working in areas of missions, or I can make the choice to more fully know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe (Eph 1: 18-19).

Henry David Thoreau stated in his writng that he went to the woods to live life deliberately – that when he came to the end of his life, he did not want to discover that he had not lived life completely.  Our relationship to Jesus should be like that.  We should deliberately seek His face.  He has promised that we will find Him if we seek Him (Jer 29:13).  I don’t want to reach heaven and have to attend the “getting to know you class”.  When I walk into heaven, I want to be greeted as a dear frend by my best friend, Jesus.  I don’t want to sit and listen to all the great experiences everyone else had when I had settled for a mediocre life. 

I am becoming more and more convinced that we have only scratched the surface of who God is and just how powerful and mighty He is.  Maybe I don’t see His power very often because I have become conditioned not to look for it. 

So, how do we find the kind of relationship that God intended for us to have with Him?  There are many excellent books written by a host of authors who all basically make the same point:  to know God, we need to spend time with Him.  We need to find time every day to read His word, time to spend bringing our praise, our need for forgiveness, and our requests to God, and time listening for God to speak to us. 

For today, this day, I am choosing to fish and not cut bait. I am choosing to eat healthy and exercise.  And, today I choose to find a quiet place and time to spend with God.  I hope you will, too.

Pack your bags!  The ladies of North Monroe are headed to Birmingham, Alabama to attend the Deeper Still Event with Kay Arthur, Beth Moore, and Priscilla Shirer leading Bible study and Travis Cottrell leading Praise and Worship.

This event takes place on Dec 3rd-4th at the Jefferson Convention Complex, but the event tickets always sell out early, so we are going to purchase tickets at the end of June.  To be included, bring or send a check for $89 to NMBC by June 27th.  There will be special envelopes in your Life Groups, or you can find someone on the Women’s Ministry council to hand your check to.

As soon as we know how many tickets to purchase, we will reserve hotel rooms in Birmingham.  We will need to decide if we are staying one or two nights.  And, if we have enough ladies going, we can look at chartering a bus.

     Thanks for checking out our blog!  There are so many of us ladies here at North Monroe that it is hard to get to know everyone.  So, let’s start here.  Let us get to know you by telling us where to find you on Sunday mornings and then share your favorite verse (make sure to explain why it is your favorite verse!)

For example, you can find me in the soprano section of the sanctuary choir in the 8:30 worship service and in Pam Plummer’s Life Group. 

My favorite verse is Isaiah 43:1, which says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you.  I have called you by name, and you are mine.”   I love knowing that I belong to someone who cared enough about me to “knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139: 13-15)and is still today crazy enough about me to think that I am beautiful (Psalm 45:11).  I love the security of knowing that I am engraved in the palm of His hand (Isaiah 49:16), and that He has promised that nothing can separate me from Him (Romans 8:38-39)!  And when Brian Adams sings about dying for me, it’s just words, but my Jesus did just that!

So, where can I find you, and what verse makes your day?

Jackie Walters