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!  

"What is Your Shape?" QMCC 2014

This year's teen session of camp, I served as "nurse" and "craft lady". As far as experience goes, I have more experience as craft lady, but my seven years of working for an ophthalmologist did teach me a lot about the medical field! We had no ER visits (thankfully) and not much blood (yay!). :)

One neat thing that introduced into this year's session was, "Why Can't We Be Friends?"  Each morning, for about 30 minutes, a teen would have to meet someone new and talk to them. It was fun watching them visit and play together.  Many of them enjoyed this "new" thing! Of course, there were a few shy ones who didn't! But maybe they found a new friend during that week, anyway.

The theme for the year was, "What is Your Shape?". Games were brought in to go with the theme. Our daughter served as counselor and is playing "Plinko" to choose what her Family group will clean up after lunch! That was fun!

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law made this big Sequence board, which was a lot of fun to play during free time!

I had a man make these letters and shapes, then we lit them up to go with the theme. It was neat, except a few of them kept falling down in the wind...busting the lights! Oh, well! It still looked good.

 "Warm Fuzzy" bags are designed by each camper and serve as a way for campers to communicate with each other and send one another "warm fuzzes".

 One of our sons got to play, "Win, Lose, or Draw" and show his drawing skills!

 This answer was "Pie in the Sky"! Good job, Jacob!

 BIG things was key with the afternoon activities.  These soft blocks were fun - even for teens!

The BIG foam dice made for a fun game of "Farkle". I would have liked to be able to play!

 Our niece got in on the "Minute to Win It" cup-stacking game. She was the most successful at it, but they tumbled down at the last few seconds!

This was by far the best moment of the camp week - when she gave her life to Christ and put Him on in baptism. Being baptized by her dad was an extra bonus!  Just as the gospel of Jesus is His death, burial, and resurrection, MaKenna was buried an unforgiven sinner, was buried in baptism, and raised to a new life, born again...forgiven!

"Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his." Romans 6:3-5
                                                   
 For the last evening meal, I decorated the tables in Family Groups. Everyone got a HUGE card for a placemat, and the teens thought of a great idea: They had campers sign their cards as a fun memento for this year's session!  Brilliant!

For centerpieces we made "shape" guys from cardboard shapes and the foam blocks. (Robin, notice YOUR styrofoam circles for the bases?? Thanks!)

 Later on that last evening, the directors had some of the teens from each Family play "The Price is Right". Of course, there were some who didn't know what was going on, but for many of us "TPIR" fans, it was great!  I would have liked to play this, too!! Ha ha!

 Another highlight from camp was our oldest being awarded with the male "Christian Leadership Award".  He's such a good kid, even though he's my son! See his humble attitude break a little smile?

And then as his uncle talked about his humble spirit and deserving this award, he did a big smile....bug with his head down :).  Love that boy!  I'll save my other "thoughts" about him for later in the month. He's turning 18!!

It was a GREAT WEEK at QMCC!