Fruitful Words

Mug & Muffin Saturday: 9-10 a.m. - Rudat Hall

Speakers: Elise, Lorna & Barbie will share an…

Honest Talk About Prayer

Come join us for a mug of coffee, a delicious muffin, & fellowship with other ladies.

There’s No Cost. Bring yourself & a friend!

RSVP to Church Office or Sarah.

Bible study, M&M Saturdays, Secret Sisters, and Retreat. These are some of the ways that CNC women can be involved with one another. These are safe places where we can share the story of our lives with another on a consistent basis.

“Stories create community. It is in sharing experiences that we write history with another person. It is in the telling of those shared experiences that we develop commonalities and friendships. We create emotional ties, we deepen relationships. We look for common experiences and relate on those levels.”  Beverly Hislop, Shepherding a Woman’s Heart, p. 113-114

That’s true for me. I recently went on a retreat with another church (to Santa Cruz). I asked a friend to come along with me. We had fun all week end with one another - well the intestinal issues weren’t so fun. But we did write a history together that weekend. That history, including the intestinal one, deepened our commonalities and friendship.

It was my first road-trip (albeit a pretty safe one) with a girlfriend since I was a young unmarried thing. My friend was a great navigator and didn’t yell or even sigh when I almost hit a car or got lost. She showed compassion and brought me the trash can (quick!) when I didn’t feel well. I showed her the same compassion when she didn’t feel well. We laughed a lot and talked even more.

We wrote history together. We are (emotionally) closer than before.

And you know, it was hard to take that time away. To make that time. For our friendship.

Ladies, when was the last time you made time for a friend?

When you wrote some history together?

Get your calendar and phone a friend for a history-making date.

Let’s hear it now!  Pick up, Fill Out and Turn In!

One more time: Pick up, Fill Out and Turn In!

“What am I to Pick up, Fill Out and Turn In?” you ask.

“Retreat 2008 Registration Forms,” I say.

The forms are avaialbale at the Secret Sister bookcase or I can email you one.

“What’s it all about?” you ask. (more…)

Sunday nights I attend a hospitality group with (9-1 adults and scads of kids. This 4 week small group, led by John & Shula, will help us to understand and then to better implement hospiality in our own spheres of influence.

We start out with a potluck dinner and lots of talking.

• John then leads in a lecture/discussion on some aspect of hospitality.
• The evening progresses to dessert, coffee, and more talk.
• Sometimes we have homework assignments to fulfill during the week.
• When we get to the lecture/discussion portion of the evening, the kiddos and a babysitter go to another room and have some fun more suited to their ages.

I am attending this group for 4 reasons . . .

1.  To get me back into the entertaining/hospitality mode . . . .  In July of 2006 I felt like hospitality had taken a backseat far too long. Read here for more. Despite some valiant attempts (here, here and here) I didn’t get past the writing stage. John & Shula are great examples of showing hospitality. Nothing like learning this from the “masters.”
2. To eat a meal with people . . . .  As a single I eat most of my meals alone. The exceptions are my evening seminary classes and when my nieces/sista invite me over.
3. To get to know others better .. . . You can’t get to know others on Sunday mornings at church  - too much going on.
4. To observe group communication for a paper I have to write . . . . This observation has made me sensitive to what is working well in this group. And there is plenty.

Eventual Outcome of Group

The typical Dinners for 6 has been suggested. But an even better idea was suggested.

Form a Sunday hospitality group - Couples, singles and families would sign up (maybe once a quarter) to invite others to share the Sunday afternoon meal with them after Church. This could be at a restaurant, park or at the host’s home. Really the ideas are endless.

We are just at the beginning stages of brainstorming and it is exciting. It is also exciting to “work” with John, Shula and their kids in this hospitality experiment at CNC.

 What do you think? Any ideas? Suggestions? What’s worked at your church?

When: Saturday, December 1, 2007
Time: 6 pm
Where: Rudat Hall
Bring: 1 dozen appetizers & 1 White Elephant gift

The Holiday season will start off with our annual Ladies Christmas party.

As usual it is a white elephant swap.

Need some ideas for your “gift” to bring?

• Select something from the unwanted or no longer use stash in your home.
• It could be an unopend bottle of lotion, a baking tin,  or even a hubcap (I’d fight you for that one).
• Anything that you no longer want/need. Start looking with the kiddos and working your way up to the grandparents stash. 
• Please do NOT buy anything.

Wrap it up nicely and bring it to the party with a friend and a dozen appetizers.

Come join the fun. It’s always a lot of laughs.

. . . June 6-8, 2008.

Yep, that’s the weekend for the next ladies’ retreat in South Lake Tahoe.

More details will be in future CrossRoads and future bulletins.

Wouldn’t you?

Ladies, CNC’c women’s ministry has some to offer. The next M&M Saturday will be led by a panel of mature women who will share their insights. Be thinking about what you’d like to know. Give your questions to me by email (Susan@cnchurch.org) or on a piece of paper by September 9th.

M&M Saturday is September 15th, 9-10:30 a.m. in Rudat Hall.

Childcare will be provided only by advance sign-up. RSVP by September 2nd.
Watch the bulletin for details on the small groups. Sign up in the foyer. Contact me if you are interested in becoming a small group leader.

Question: What one thing is experienced by 100% of all people?

Answer: Conflict!

Conflict is something that everyone has in common. We all get stressed from it. We all, at times, handle it badly. Sometimes we are the receivers. Sometimes we are the initiators. What can we do about the conflicts we all experience?

Pastor Mike has an answer. Starting September 23rd he is guiding the church through a new series on peacemaking. This eight week series will present the tools needed to handle conflict in a way that is satisfying, helpful and biblical.

Small Groups will also be going through the same information. That way we can practice using these tools. “We grow through copying deeds, not just listening to words, through examples as well as precept, through habit and not just insight and information” (Os Guinness).

Watch the bulletin for details on the small groups. Sign up in the foyer. Contact me if you are interested in becoming a small group leader.

55 women ended up going to Retreat. 2 stayed behind at the last minute because of the potential for health problems from smoke from the Angora Fires.

Smart decision they made. While the air was clear, I could smell the smoke Friday. I think it was the smoke that gave me a headache from Friday to Saturday afternoon. I am allergic to wood smoke. Someone also suggested that it took a few days for the smoke to “leave” our rooms.

Some one counted and said as many as 20 women were up front sometime during the weekend. And the success of the weekend can be traced back to each woman’s purposeful involvement.

It can also be traced back to the involvement of those not in “leadership.” You all pitched in to help, to visit with newbies, and to you opening your hearts to God.

Here are some representative comments about what the women liked most about our Retreat.

• I enjoyed meeting new people. Getting to know all the women! The time to spend with women for an entire weekend.

• Easy drive.

• Common area.

• Quiet time.

• Ample free time Saturday night.

• The speakers were awesome.

• The dramatizations were powerful – and the fleshed out accounts. Jesus is more wonderful with each word portrait of Him I see.

• The beautiful setting.

• The fellowship overall, but specifically the silly songs.

• The unity of women. The beauty of the loving, open hearts and arms of the group.

I will treasure what I personally “caught” from God and from each of you dear women. The silliness, the Scripture, the prayers, the care, the questioning, the teaching, the rest, both physical and spiritual, impacted me. Now I want this impact to go into my day-by-day life.

Sisters, thank you for daring to admit your thirsts and for daring to grow. Now accept who you are in Christ and live well.

Remember there are a bunch of women (54) who are willing and wanting to help you with your day-by-day life. Call when you need/want help.

I’m ready to talk to you and pray with you.

The fire is now 70% contained.

“The California Air Resources Board Emergency Response Coordinator has allowed El Dorado County health officials to lift their recommendation that outdoor gatherings and sporting events be cancelled in and around South Lake Tahoe because of smoke from the Angora fire.”

• Non-essential businesses in areas of the city closest to the fire are also no longer being asked to suspend operations, but a health advisory remains in effect in case conditions change.
• “Particulate levels recorded overnight in populated areas close to the fire were significantly lower than earlier in the week,” said Dr. Jason Eberhart-Phillips, County Health Officer.
• “With ongoing containment of the fire and favorable weather conditions, visibility is excellent today and particulate levels should remain within a healthy range for the next several days.”
• He warned that isolated pockets of smoke could persist, and that shifting winds could result in changeable smoke conditions until the fire is fully contained.
• People with underlying lung and heart conditions  should be especially careful and remain inside if smoky conditions return, he added.
• For the most current health advisory information, please contact the El Dorado County Public Health Hotline – (530) 621-6140 or visit www.co.el-dorado.ca.us .

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