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!

Ladies' Salad Supper 2015

A few weeks ago it dawned on me that I hadn't had my annual ladies' salad supper for 2015, so as soon as I found an open night, I snatched it for the event.  

One of my favorite things about this event is the stories that are shared by the ladies.  I mentioned those stories in a post recently, and how I wish we had some videoed in the past.  This time we videoed and few of the ladies.  Raenell has some funny stories and always has a smile.  

Verna is just hilarious.  I gave out some folded questions and everyone got two or three.  One of hers was, "Who makes you laugh?".  Her niece-in-law answered for her as she sat next to her, "Me, myself, and I"!  That's so true!  She has really funny stories and interesting stories, such as graduating from business college at 17 years of age.  Thankfully, I got her stories on video, as well!

 If you haven't seen the Thanksgiving plates at Hobby Lobby, you should!

 This is my favorite one....the leaves and woodsy looking on.  I especially liked the small napkins that said, "I'm Thankful for YOU".  I thought they would go great for the salad supper because I am truly thankful for each of these ladies.

 (No, it's not fall, yet, but it went with the decor! The tablecloth doesn't, but I didn't want to go to the shed to get the burlap ones :).  It worked, I suppose.)

 The wood look on the napkins was going to be my inspiration for doing stick/wood centerpieces, but I decided to just go with what I had around the house, without making up anything new.  I like the big wood slice and had more....but they were in that shed I didn't want to go to!

 Some of the questions were: What was your favorite childhood memory? What did you want to do when you grew up? Is there anything in life you haven't done that you wanted to do?

 Did you and your spouse fall in love quickly or did it grow in time?  What was your neighborhood like where you grew up?

What was your favorite job? What was your least favorite job?  And lots more.

I'm thankful for these ladies who took the time to join us last night.  I pray that it was uplifting and encouraging to them, just as it was to me.  Thank you for sharing your stories.  That's how we get to know one another better. I'm thankful for the bond we have as sisters in Christ.  

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!

"If Teacups Could Talk" Ladies Day Theme

Back in the fall, I was invited to speak for a ladies day in Enid (Garriott Rd. congregation) for this April.  They asked for some topics, and I gave them my favorite ones, but am always open to whatever anyone wants me to speak about.

One I gave the ladies was this one: "If Teacups Could Talk".  They decided to go with it, and I'm so glad that they did!

I love seeing how women use a theme to come up with decorations, food, programs, etc., to enhance the intended theme.

The Garriott Road ladies did a great job, as you can see!

The teacups and teapots were beautiful!

I couldn't help taking pictures of all of them!

But even more beautiful than the teapots and teacups was the voices of around 90 women singing, the fellowship together between sisters in Christ, and the time spent dwelling on God's Word and specifically our friendship between Christian sisters.

That is what this ladies' day, as well as any other ladies day, is all about: Growing closer in our relationships with one another because of the bond we have as sisters in Christ.

It was truly a joy to get to see "old" friends and meet new ones.  I only wish that I had taken pictures of the people, not just the decor....

...but since I was speaking, I didn't think about that until right now :).

My mind was on what it should have been on....the lesson and glorifying God in the words that I spoke.

Besides spiritual food, there was plenty of physical food!  We began with bagels, cream cheese, and fruit...

...then ended with quiche, salads, and desserts.  It was delicious!

The stage area was cute.

I especially liked the way this old window was done, with backing and dried flowers.

The keynote presentation that took me three days to get done (computer problems) worked out wonderfully on the wall.  It was my second time at doing a presentation...the first success. The last time was a struggle!  I was thankful this one worked out well, without any trouble.  That's only because the youth minister, Matthew, set it all up for me! :)

The food line....

....everything was marked so we knew what we were eating!

The little desserts were so cute - and delicious!  I got the chocolate and peanut butter one, totally forgetting my "no flour" diet for the day.

It was worth it.  I ate it all, BUT look at all that green on my plate! :)

Thank you to the Garriott Road ladies for asking me to be a part of your special day! It was a blessing to me, and I pray that it was to each of you!