Rest, recharge and create "True Sisterhood"

Image from official True Sisterhood website.

"True sisterhood began with "four fearless yet fragile women tackling the issues of life and relationship from a distinctively Christian perspective. Hosted by Constance Rhodes w/ Margot Starbuck, Sharon Hersh, and Paige Armstrong." says the official web page for True sisterhood.

Over this summer a group of Jamestown women began getting to know a little about this group of ladies and if all things work out well, our stated small but not so small group of over forty women interested in growing in faith, confidence and purpose might become and official chapter /partner with this greater organization of "True sisterhood and Finding balance." We hope to find out in the next month or so if an official partnership with this "big sister" organization will be possible.

Years ago, I was incredibly influenced by the author Madeline L'Engle and never wrote to tell her. Madeline passed away in 2007, and when she was gone I realized what an opportunity I'd missed in trying to correspond with her. After that, and with the accessibility of email and social networking sources; I've since tried to let painters, musicians and writers know when something they've given had connected with me. For the most part, this has been an enriching experience and in a few cases has led to meeting and organizing a public event for a few favorite authors. About a year ago, I came across Margot Starbuck's book, "The girl in the orange dress" and was so encouraged by it that I decided to send an email to the author.

Margot was incredibly gracious when I emailed her and generously sent me a copy of her then newly released copy of "Unsqueezed". One thing led to another after reading Margot's second book. This summer I worked with volunteers from my church to host a summer women's book club with this text as a springboard for our meetings. It turned out to be a great group of 41 women and I'm hoping to keep stirring up the energy started in the group by hosting a women's day retreat the weekend of October 14.

It's through the partnership with Margot and her involvement with "True Sisterhood" that our group is getting their feet on the ground. Along with Margot, there are some other wonderful ladies that have been supportive and helping to build the structure of this fellowship. Rebecca Hart, a pastor from Columbus Ohio and teacher for the Princeton Theological Seminary's Youth Ministry Forums is working to develop this retreat to be held on October. Enuma Okoro, speaker - writer - and my mentor through the Princeton Program is assisting with development of the overall ministry plan and Lynn Farrow has been helping me to develop projects to help women participating in the workshops to express themselves through creative means.

With all this support, planning and a home team ready and willing to help - we are planning a Friday night and Saturday morning retreat on October 14 and 15, 2011. If you would like to attend this event, please let me know in the comments. The general description of the event can be found below.

Isn't it amazing how God works when we function as the sisters and brothers we've been created to be?

"Join us for a Friday night and Saturday morning day retreat to recharge your batteries, enjoy the fellowship of others, work on creative projects, laugh and learn with Becky Hart - pastor and presenter for Princeton's Youth Ministry Forums and Tara Eastman Director of youth and family ministry @ First Lutheran Church of Jamestown. (Cost is $25.00 - includes Friday night snacks, craft and art supplies, two sessions with Becky/Tara and Saturday morning continental breakfast and closing session. Friday 6-10pm and Saturday 9-noon. This is not a sleep-over retreat, accommodations will have to be arranged for out of town travelers."

To RSVP on the Facebook event page go to this link: True Sisterhood Retreat.

Sunny and rainy day friends

There are two kinds of friends in the world: Sunny day friends and rainy day friends. This is a statement that my Mom used to remind me of when I was in the midst of drama or conflict with one school friend of another. There are lots of people that we define as friends, but they are really acquaintances. Two men were out hunting in the northern U.S. Suddenly one yelled and the other looked up to see a grizzly charging them. The first started to frantically put on his tennis shoes and his friend anxiously asked, "What are you doing? Don't you know you can't outrun a grizzly bear?" "I don't have to outrun a grizzly. I just have to outrun you!" This story is funny, but it does help define the distinct difference between a rainy day friend and a sunny day friend. The sunny-day-friend is more concerned with watching out for their own health and wellness, than their friends' wellbeing. On the other hand, a rainy day friend is willing to take risks, work fo

FCE - Dog stroke in spine

Kahlúa is our 15 year old dog that we adopted from the Humane Society when she was four. She joined our family and has been with us for eleven years so far. This morning we found her laying on the carpet in the dining room and was unable to get up and go outside. After letting her rest for a few hours, I gave her some bread to eat and she got up. She was wobbly so I scooped her up and took her outside to go to the bathroom. She managed to remain standing for a few minutes, but was back down quickly. Her back legs did not want to support her even though she was trying to walk. By this point, she had begin to cry so I called the vet and they said to bring her in for an evaluation. My kids and I tearfully wrapped her up in a blanket and drove to the vet. It seemed as if we were sitting in the waiting room forever. The vet told me that her heart, eye function, and lungs were great - also taking into consideration her age of 15! The problem seemed to be FCE - firocartilanginous embolism: w

Gifts we have to give

So often people will think of the areas of life that they fall short or what may need some improvement. I think there is some wisdom in knowing where we need some work as humans, but I also feel it is equally important to learn, foster and use the gifts each one of us are instilled with. So here is the challenge or question that I'd like to present: "What gift(s) has God given to you that can be used in the care and ministry of loving others?" How have you seen that gift used in the past? How would you like to use it? If you dream big and I dream big together - how could God work in that big pool of gifts in the lives of others??? Let's share our gifts today and dream of what they can accomplish for God's purpose! 1 Peter 4:8-10 (New International Version) 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others,

Uphill idealist

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