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5 Ways to Bless Your Retreat Speaker

Posted by Debby on November 11, 2014

Are you bringing in a guest speaker? Honorariums are necessary and important. That cost should be an non-negotiable item on your event budget. Many speakers depend on them for their livelihood. But today I want to consider additional ways that you can show your appreciation and bless your speaker, over and above any cash payment:

Communicate with your guest speaker so that there are as few as possible “surprises” awaiting her. She should know as much as you can tell her about the event theme, the schedule for the event and time frame for her speaking, suggested dress for the event, available technology, who will meet her and get her to the venue and any overnight accommodations. If she has hand-outs, get them ahead of time so that they are copied and ready for her.
Have a welcome basket in the speaker’s room awaiting her arrival. This welcome basket could include: bottles of water or her special drink, healthy snacks, mints, throat lozenges, small plaque with theme verse and even a small gift. (Keep in mind that if the speaker is traveling by airplane, any gifts should be small and transportable.)
Assign a “hostess” to the speaker who will sit by her and be available to her during the entire event to help with anything she may need. This could range from working with the hotel if her room is not satisfactory, to bringing her water, or a sweater or anything else she might find herself needing.
Different speakers will have different levels of expertise with microphones and other technology. As much as possible, make sure that your speaker is comfortable with the set up prior to your event. Do the microphone test prior to the start of the event and make sure she is comfortable with it and any other technology she may want to use (overheads, timer, etc.).
Provide cards (even index cards) that your women may use to write a “thank you” note expressing how the speaker’s ministry has blessed them. These can be put in a basket or collected at the end of the retreat and included with the speaker’s honorarium.

Can you add to this list?? How have you blessed your guest speaker?

Posted in: Money-Saving Tips, News & Information, Retreat and Event Planning, Your Guest Speaker

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Leaving the Light On

Posted by Debby on November 4, 2014

A famous hotel chain used the advertising slogan “We’ll leave the lights on for you,” meaning that they would be open for business, ready to serve their customers day and night.

That reminds me of one of the descriptions of the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31. Look at verse 18b: “Her lamp does not go out by night.” The Amplified Version says this: “Her lamp goes not out, but it burns on continually through the night [of trouble, privation, or sorrow, warning away fear, doubt, and distrust]. I would paraphrase that verse to say that “her light is always on; she’s available 24/7.”

Hmm…I would like to say I’m available 8 to 5; don’t bother me in the evening–I need some “ME” time. God’s calling to women’s ministry is not an 8-to-5 calling.

I also love how this verse talks about “her lamp.” Does it possibly have a double meaning–physical availability, as well as the spiritual readiness to be a light in another’s darkness? Matt. 5:16 says “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your God in heaven.” Let’s shine 24/7!

Posted in: News & Information, Retreat and Event Planning

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The Importance of a Name

Posted by Debby on October 28, 2014

I was planning to write a blog concerning specific ways we can show our women that we care about them. I still may do that. But I heard this song (from a 1980’s sitcom) again this week, and I think the lyrics hit the nail on the head as far as “step one” in caring for our women.

You may recognize these familiar lyrics:

Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name…

And they’re always glad you came…

You wanna be where you can see your troubles are all the same…

You wanna be where everybody knows your name.”

I think that song writer was onto something! Maybe the very first way that we can show our women that we care is by learning their name….and letting them know that we are glad they came…and being open and honest so they know that they are not alone in their struggles.

How can we create that caring atmosphere in our women’s ministries? I know we all want it–we want everyone to feel welcomed and comfortable in a safe environment that encourages open sharing. I think it has to start in our leadership and trickle down from there. We as leaders need to do what it takes to learn names and go out of our way to welcome people. We need to be open and honest about our daily walk and daily struggles and temptations so that we can all come to the foot of the cross together in weakness and humility.

Posted in: Developing Leadership, Inspirations, Little Things Make a Big Difference!, News & Information

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It’s a “Props” Time of Year

Posted by Debby on October 21, 2014

October is coming to a close. I would be remiss if I didn’t remind you that this is prime time for finding those skit props that you need. When it comes to skits for women’s retreats and events, I am a minimalist. I’m not big on elaborate costumes, sets and props. As I’ve said before, one of my favorite props is the simple hat, which can define your character without major make-up or costuming.

That said, with all the party stores stocked to the brim for Halloween, this could be a great time for you to grab a few hats or props that could be useful in the future. And don’t forget those after-holiday sales!

Remember, you want your props to be larger than life so that your audience can see them from a distance. Some examples of things to have on hand are:

Oversized money, glasses or sunglasses
Various hats (captain hat, safari hat, cowboy hat, straw hat, sailor hat, hard hat, etc.)
Simple props like a judge’s gavel, large magnifying glass, etc.

Our next skit has just been written for our upcoming retreat (theme: “Hidden Riches”). This skit will revolve around miners, and we just found plastic “hard hats” for our miners. We will be looking for large “gem stones” this week, too.

Posted in: News & Information, Skits

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The Skit Read-Through

Posted by Debby on October 14, 2014

The skit is written for our upcoming women’s retreat. This weekend we met for our skit read-through. This is a valuable process, which takes you from “draft” to “final” format. The earlier you can cast your skit and get everyone together for the first read-through, the better. Everyone was given the skit draft to read ahead of time.

Who was invited:

All ladies who had agreed to be a character in the skit
A friend I know to be gifted in visualizing a set and coming up with props
The “director” (that was me!)
Any understudy for leading parts (we don’t have any this time)

What we did:

We prayed – for ourselves, for the skit, for creativity in planning and revision, and for the retreat itself
We read through the skit, with everyone in character. Everyone was free to give input at this point on their character and dialogue. We especially pay attention to any inconsistencies or unrealistic dialogue and make corrections.
We keep careful track of any changes, of props that are needed, etc.
After reading through it, we discuss options for props and settings. Since we have no budget for our skits, we have to keep costumes, sets and props simple and inexpensive; often one of us has something at home that will work.

Finally, I made changes in the draft, marked it as “final” and sent it to everyone.

I will be talking more about how we make this work in later blogs as we get closer to the retreat!

Posted in: Retreat and Event Planning

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