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Author Archive

Working with People

Posted by Debby on October 29, 2010

Thomas ‘a Kempis said this in his writing The Imitation of Christ:

“There is no great reliance to be placed in a frail and mortal man, though he may be helpful and dear to us; neither should we be much grieved, if at times he should be against us and contradict us. Those who are with you today may be against you tomorrow and the opposite may be the case, for men often change like the wind. Place your whole trust in the Lord: let Him alone be your fear and your love. He Himself will answer for you and will do what is best for you.”

Obviously, he experienced the same pressures of ministry that we face today. While it is so easy to find yourself depending on people, it is true that people are not totally dependable.

Posted in: Inspirations, Realities of Ministry

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Operating from the Eye of the Hurricane

Posted by Debby on October 20, 2010

In the review of Gail MacDonald’s book High Call High Privilege, one of her illustrations really spoke to me. She compares life in the ministry to being inside a hurricane, surrounded by the stresses and trials of our own lives, as well as the hurricane-like winds of needy people. It would be easy to get consumed and worn down by the difficulties people face. The needs around us can be overwhelming. Yet, as Ms. MacDonald says, “We cannot resent the spiritual struggles that people face just as a physician must not resent the sickness his patients bring to him for diagnosis and treatment.”

The key to living in the hurricane of human events is to operate from the eye of the hurricane. The eye is the center of the hurricane, a place of peace and a type of normalcy. How do we stay in the eye of the storm? Jesus gave us the example. He paid attention to His inner spirit’s need for restoration and filling. In scripture, we often see Christ retreating from the crowds and his disciples to spend time in prayer. While His life was surrounded by hurricane-like forces, He was not distracted from His priorities or calling.

Posted in: Inspirations

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Registration at the Retreat

Posted by Debby on October 18, 2010

The registration table at the retreat is where the women come, just prior to the first session, to check in and to pick up their name tags and booklets. In past years, room keys were also picked up at this time. Because we are in a hotel, we have found that allowing each woman to check into the hotel individually is much less hassle.

To prepare for registration at the retreat, nametags are matched with retreat booklets, and arranged alphabetically on the tables. This can be set up early; however, we don’t allow women to pick up their nametags/booklets until registration has officially begun. So after setting up the registration table, we cover it until the scheduled time for registration–normally an hour to an hour and a half from when the first session begins.

As women pick up their packets, their name is checked off a master alphabetical list of those attending. Discrepancies are then noted immediately. The most common problem we encounter is when a group substitutes a new woman (who has not officially registered) for one who cancelled at the last minute. To be prepared for this, we have blank name tags and extra booklets on hand. Also, the hotel must be kept informed of any changes to rooming that are made at the last minute. If your group is larger, you can have different tables sections of the alphabet (A-L register here, M-Z register here).

Posted in: Ministry at the Retreat, Registration, Retreat and Event Planning, Rooming Issues

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Teen Rooms

Posted by Debby on October 15, 2010

Our women’s retreats are open for teenaged girls 7th grade and above. Our pastor’s wife, Denise, believes that it is good for teen girls to participate in women’s retreats and that it helps them cross the bridge from youth to young women. Both her daughter, and later my daughter attended many of our women’s retreats as young teens and now as young adults. Speaking as a mom, I highly recommend it! She was involved in youth activities at church. However, the women’s retreats gave her an opportunity to see Jesus working in women’s lives, and hear from women other than her mother. And of course, any opportunity to instill God’s Word into a young life is a good thing!

Sometimes the teens will attend the retreat and room with their moms. However, every year we offer a “teen room” option, where the teens can be together in a room with a chaperone (or two chaperones, depending on the number of teens). While we know the girls profit from the main sessions during the retreat, being together with those their own age gives them the option of sharing with other teens and participating in more teen activities. Often, we will provide a workshop specifically for the teens. If possible, we plan free time activities specifically geared to them.

We would offer a few guidelines as you open your retreat to teens:

Of course, a parental permission slip is required for girls attending the retreat when their mother is not in attendance. If a teen attends without her mother, another woman who is attending must be designated as the responsible adult, and this is noted on the parental permission form (this could be the chaperone);
Teens need to stay with their moms, or be with the teen group at all times;
The teen chaparone(s) are not allowed to take the girls off the retreat property (i.e. going away for lunch or shopping during free time);
We ask chaperones to ensure that teens are in attendance at all main sessions (usually three main teachings and the ending session with communion).

Posted in: Retreat and Event Planning, Rooming Issues

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Journey to Retreat 2010 – October

Posted by Debby on October 8, 2010

Our October leaders’ meeting took place this week. We are about 6 weeks out from the retreat. Registration is in full swing and the excitement is building. Additionally, our fall women’s Bible study has just begun, we have a Christmas dessert in the preliminary planning stages, and the women’s ministry is sponsoring a booth at the church’s annual Hallelujah party on Oct. 31. So we had a lot to discuss, but our major topic of discussion was the women’s retreat.

Registration is going well, and will continue for about 2-1/2 more weeks.
We have a new leader in charge of registration at the retreat, and she has been trained.
Books for the book table have been ordered, and will hopefully be in the hands of the reviewers in the next week.
Skit(s) are being fine-tuned, and final scripts will be ready this week. Those who have volunteered to help with production (behind the scenes and on stage) will be contacted with times for a read-through and practice.
Name tags have been designed.
We were hoping to find a suitable charm to use as a remembrance gift. However, we have run into a snag in that area, and time is getting short.
Still in progress: our schedule and program booklet, the quiet time study, decorations, name tags and remembrance gifts.
A work party (for any woman who wants to help) has been schedule for the end of October. At this work party, we may work on name tags, remembrance gifts, decorations…anything that needs helping hands.
A couple of leaders will be going out to the hotel to finalize how/where/when we will be able to set up our sound system, staging, etc.

Since our next meeting is about ten days prior to the retreat, a lot things will have happened before that meeting.

Registration will have ended, and the rooming list and BEO’s (Banquet Event Orders) will have been sent to the hotel.
Skit practices will have taken place.
Book table will be ready.
Name tags, booklets and remembrance gifts, if not completed, will be in process.
We will be prepared for the Prayer Meeting for the Women’s Retreat on November 7.
Items to be taken to the retreat will be accumulating as they are readied.

This is a busy time for all of our women’s leaders, and more than ever we need to cover all that we do with prayer. We want God to work in the lives of women at our retreat!

Posted in: Journey to Retreat 2010

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