Be Our Guest! - 17th Annual QMCC Ladies Fall Retreat 2016

What a wonderful weekend we had for the 27th Annual QMCC (Quartz Mountain Christian Camp) Ladies' Fall Retreat!  The theme was, "Be Our Guest".  The theme scripture was Hebrews 13:2, along with the popular pineapple quote of "Be A Pineapple".

The speaker had great lessons and devotional for our time together.  She was an inspiration to all who were there, telling about her life experiences and sharing God's Word. 

My friends and I were in charge of crafts and activities. We had wooden pineapple shapes for people to paint, do nail art, or decorate. Ladies were so creative in so many different ways!

I love putting craft supplies out and just seeing what people come up with because everyone always has such unique ideas!

The t-shirt was super cute!!  Love the design!

Look at that shading on the top of the pineapple!

My friends helped the ladies make a pineapple scrub from coconut oil, crushed pineapple, and sugar.  It smells wonderful and good enough to eat - which you actually could eat (if you wanted to...)!

Some glued burlap pineapple shapes on top of their wooden pineapple and also used paper.  So unique and pretty!

A simple paper bag journal with added scrapbooking paper and supplies made quick little gifts for friends.

The table decor was beautiful!

Simple framed art just made from computer printouts.  So smart!

For one activity we made "Blessing Bags". These bags are to be given to those in need. I'm going to keep some of mine in the car for out of town trips to the "big city".  I always encounter people there and wish I had some made up.

A few congregations gathered items for the bags which included mini soaps, lotions, shampoos, conditioners, Bibles, toothbrushes, toothpaste, gum, disposable water bottles, etc.  It was a great activity that will be a blessing to others.

It's a blessing to come together for times like this.  I know I needed it, and perhaps others did, too.  It's always good to be renewed and recharged - ready to get back to the Lord's work, but as the speaker reminded us, it's also good to be still - and enjoy the pleasure of God's company.  We need to be HIS guest....and just sit with Him.

Pitch Your Tent

Yesterday I was in Hobby Lobby.  I kept noticing the tee pee/tents, arrows, warrior themed decor, which is popular right now. My mind was on an up-coming ladies' retreat and craft supplies for the event, so I began thinking about that tent/arrow theme.

There are many "tent" stories in the Bible, but the one that came to me was from Genesis 13 (click to read) when Abraham (then called Abram) and Lot split up.   They surveyed the land around them and Abram told Lot to choose and he would take the other.  One went to the left and one went to the right.  Lot chose the plain of Jordan and pitched his tent towards Sodom.  Abram pitched his tent in the land of Canaan.  One chose right. One chose wrong.  One choice was wise.  One chose was unwise.  If you don't know the "rest of the story", look up Sodom.  What looked to be a good choice from afar, soon became a big problem for Lot and his family.

I love the idea of "Pitch Your Tent" for a ladies' day or ladies' retreat theme.  We all must choose where we are going to 'pitch our tent' in our walk of life.  We'll either pitch it towards what is good and right or we will pitch it towards what is bad and wrong.  Sometimes we start out one way then go to the other, which is great if we were pitching towards the wrong, then come to the right.  That's getting back on track.

Not only could the ladies' day theme be with the tents, but also the arrows that are popular now and were used so much in scripture, not always in a good sense, but in how damaging and hurtful they can be.  Our words are like arrows Who have sharpened their tongue like a sword (They aimed bitter speech as their arrow...Psalm 64:3 NASV), so the arrow would be a reminder to not be careless with our words.  Arrows or darts are also used when referring to Satan, so they would be a huge reminder of how arrows can be thrown at us and how to be prepared to extinguish them.  (I don't care for the idea of using them for event decor if going in that direction.  Personally I don't want to make something "pretty/cute" that's ugly sin. You probably don't, either!) "...in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Ephesians 6:16.

One scripture passage refers to children, so it would especially be beneficial for a younger mom's lesson or class.

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed When they speak with their enemies in the gate. Psalm 127:3-5

Where are you pitching your tent today?  Choose the good.  Choose well.

Ladies' Day in El Reno

One of my favorite lessons that I'm asked to do for Ladies' Day events is called, "If Teacups Could Talk". It's the one that many have asked me to do, probably because it's about sisters in Christ and their friendships, so relatable to all, but also because it's an easy and fun decorating theme.

The ladies of the London & Macomb church in El Reno, OK, did a wonderful job decorating and planning for their ladies' day!  Lots of hard work went into the event, as you can tell!  I loved the teacups in the flower bed!

One lady has a lot of the blue and white tea cups and saucers and other items, so the blue/white was the predominate theme color.  So pretty!

A quick breakfast was served as ladies registered.

The registration table was beautiful.  And the little blue and white purse on the back left corner was later used to draw out names to win door prizes.  The prizes were books about tea and friendships. (I can't remember the name right now, but it actually may be "If Teacups Could Talk", just like my lesson!)

There was enough food for us, plus they had a dinner yesterday after worship! I'm sure there was still food left! It was delicious!

One lady made all of these little teacup and teapot candies.  So cute!

And she made this cake, which was beautiful, but also delicious!

A beautiful tiered tray with more desserts....

More pretty blue/white dishes for decorations....

And each table setting had an adorable teacup sugar cookie and the silverware wrapped with the pretty theme-inspired napkin ring.

The fellowship building, just up the street a few feet from the church building, is an old house.  I loved it! It reminded me of a house my husband and I lived in and where we lived when our first three children were born (except it was at least double the size!).

The kitchen was so cute. I loved the shelves and all of the antique decor that members have probably donated to the building/house.

I could imagine wedding showers and baby showers being so intimate in this place!!

This was my favorite room. Love those windows and lace curtains!

Homey.  That's what it was.  A wonderful day!

Sharing God's Word with ladies is my passion.  I think that ladies' day events are some of the most important things we can do, because it's great for women to get together and worship, sing, pray, and laugh.  It's good for us to get to know one another better.  

Thank you to the ladies from the L and M congregation for inviting me to be with you.  I pray that you were encouraged and uplifted by being there.  Most of all, I pray that God was glorified by all that was said and done.  To Him be all of the glory!

QMCC Ladies' Fall Retreat 2015

One of the highlights of fall each year is getting to go to the QMCC Ladies' Fall Retreat. This year was no exception.

I was trying to figure out how many years I've attended the retreat, and think this was probably the 15th year....maybe even the 17th or 18th. A long time!  It's been going for 32 years, but I didn't even know about it until that first time I went.  I'm thankful I found out about this wonderful retreat at the camp that's very close to my heart!

Two sisters-in-law and a niece attended the retreat, so that was special to get to be together a little while.

This year the Elm and Hudson church ladies from Altus hosted the event and did a wonderful job.  Name tags hung from a brach as you registered, which also had number on the back to be used for door prizes later on.

The ladies had pooled together their fall decor to make beautiful table arrangements for the tables.

Since fall is my favorite season, I loved the decor!

I love the colors of fall. They are my happy colors!

For a snack, the ladies had a popcorn bar. There was a caramel popcorn, a pumpkin spice popcorn, plus a few other varieties, and candy corn, chocolate and peanuts.  They had little brown paper sacks to put the snacks in. Very cute!

 Craft time was fun. They had stations to make fabric pumpkins, pumpkin magnets from jar lids, cinnamon/orange simmering project (in the jar above) and a pumpkin made from canning jar rings.

This is a favorite time for everyone!  Ladies, even those who claim not to be "crafty", seem to enjoy making something! 

Thank you to the E & H ladies for a spiritually uplifting time at the retreat.  Studying God's Word together, singing together, praying, laughing, sharing together....it's all a part of what makes this retreat so special.  Looking forward to next year already :).

Women of the Word Conference - Stillwater, OK

My daughter and I had the opportunity to speak at an inaugural event hosted by the ladies of the Stillwater church of Christ.  We were blessed to be a part of the day and pray that those who attended were blessed, encouraged, and uplifted by the messages they heard from us, as well as from the other speakers.

The photo prop spot was a lot of fun!  I'm hoping that we will see some of the "regular" pictures of she and I together that were taken because I failed to get even ONE!  That's kind of sad!!

The elders of the congregation served breakfast and set up the catered lunch. They refilled tea, water, and lemonade as we ate, plus cleaned up the kitchen and decorated areas afterwards. I thought that was one of the neatest things I had seen done at a ladies' event!  They seemed happy to be doing it, too! Thank you to these men!

The decor was a nautical theme of red, white, and blue.  I haven't ever decorated in this style, but have some things coming up that we may be using this theme. So cute!

The addition of sand and seashells was perfect!

The ticking overlays were just to the edge of the table, so that was different, but I really liked it! The big candle represented God and we lit the little ones to symbolize each of our lives.  I liked that!

My daughter did two lessons and did a great job! With a few power point slides and just the lesson in her head, she knew exactly what she wanted to say! Being younger and without as much experience as the rest of us, she did great! I have to write out my whole thing and would never be able to speak for 30 minutes without notes!

Her second lesson was a "Disney Princess Qualities" theme. She used scriptures along with it. I got the idea for her from a friend I met through Facebook.  Lauren's experience as a Disney Cast Member gave this an even more special presentation.  The young moms in the audience can now use her thoughts to go along with the movies when they watch them with their children.

This was a little bead bracelet craft kit that everyone was given. My daughter put hers together, but I didn't have time right before my last lesson.  Maybe she'll do it for me. :)

These were my two lessons.  I love using power point (Keynote) slides and love making them.  It is a great way to study because you visually have to think about the lesson making sense and flowing, but it also allows me to be creative and make it pretty. Those that know me know I like things to go together, so my two lessons had to "match".  I love themes like this!

I want to thank the ladies of the Stillwater church for their planning, prayer, and purpose for this conference.  It was great to be able to be a part of the event.  Thanks to all who attended!