TODAY
Today I choose…
What do you choose today? I was a little overwhelmed during our church service yesterday morning as I heard many wonderful testimonies of God’s grace, mercy & goodness! Our God is a good God isn’t He?! In response to those who were baptized yesterday, we sang the song “Today” by Brian Doerksen. What powerful words! It emphasized to me that following God is not a one time decision – it’s something we need to choose to do daily (& sometimes moment by moment). May you choose to follow Him today & give Him your everything in your day!
“Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” “
Luke 9:23 (NLT)
Today
by Brian Doerksen
Today I choose to follow You
Today I choose to give my ‘yes’ to You
Today I choose to hear Your voice and live
Today I choose to follow You
As for me and my house
We will serve You
As for me and my house
We will spend our lives on You
Today
Wonderful Counsellor, Everlasting Father
Eternal King, Lord of hosts
Willingly we follow
Today I choose to follow You
Today I choose to give my ‘yes’ to you
Today I choose to hear Your voice and live
Today I choose to follow You
Val
A Challenge to “Hear”
What an amazing women’s wknd retreat we had! Carol Letkeman led us in a wonderful weekend of listening & discerning the voice of God. It was so exhilarating to hear how God was/is speaking; especially when two or more people would “hear” the same thing. WOW! It gave me goosebumps on more than one occasion!
I wanted to share with you a powerful passage that kept coming up throughout the wknd from Ephesians:
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
(Ephesians 3:16-19)
My prayer for you is that you would seek to hear & discern God’s voice, for yourself, for others & for our church & community. And may we take up Carol’s challenge to come together as women (in our church foyer) to pray together, encourage one another, commission one another & spur one another on (EVERY SUNDAY)! Not only is it our calling, it is our responsibility!
Val
The Open Table
A new & exciting way to worship is beginning next Sunday evening at Fort Garry MB! Click on the following link for a look at the brochure for all your info!
Val
An Invitation to Retreat
A reminder that this coming Sunday (October 9th) is your last chance to register for the Women’s Fall Wknd Retreat @ Camp Cedarwood. If you are away this Sunday but are still planning to come, please email Stacey at vsboschman@mac.com. If you have any questions call Laurel @ 284-0707 or Val @ 275-0830.
Join us as we dig deep into God’s Word, discerning His voice & seeking encouragement from Him & others. Our God, who loves us & pursues us, desires intimacy with us. Won’t you accept this invitation to a weekend of listening & learning.
Here is a quick peek at the Wknd Schedule:
Friday, Oct. 21st
7pm Arrival & Registration
8pm Worship Session #1
Saturday, Oct. 22nd
8:30am Breakfast
10am Worship Session #2
12pm Lunch
Afternoon – “Free Time” (some options: ”Amazing Race”, hiking/walk, nap, games…)
5:30pm Supper
7pm Worship Session #3
Sunday, Oct 23rd
9am Breakfast
10:30am Worship Session #4
12:30pm Lunch
1:30pm Departure
Please note that you will be contacted with car pool arrangements once we have them figured out.
I am eagerly looking forward to this Retreat and I know you won’t want to miss it either!
Val
On My Watch
What will I allow to happen (or not happen) on MY WATCH?! This was one of the challenges that grabbed my attention during the past two days at the Global Leadership Summit. The Summit was completely inspiring & challenging! WOW! I have so much to process that I don’t know where to begin but it excites me!
Here’s a peak at some of the highlights from the Summit:
Highlights fr. the Global Leadership Summit 2011
Val
Poetry to Ponder
Here are a couple more haiku’s for you to enjoy & ponder from Helen Lepp Friesen.
secretive calyx
waits to be broken to release
treasures hiding inside
shadows of yesterday’s picnics
fade beyond the horizon
with the setting sun
Val
Simply Delish!
What a fabulous evening we had last night at the Salad Potluck! The food was divine, the fellowship around the tables & in the room – warm & welcoming and the laughter – heavenly.
A few of you asked for the recipe for the Thai Salad I brought, so I thought I’d just post it here.
1/3 cup soya sauce
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 to 3 Tbsp chili sauce
2 Tbsp white sugar
2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 inch freshly grated ginger (approx)
4 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp chili flakes
Ground pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Vermicelli noodles, cooked
Grated Carrot
Green onion, chopped
Mix 1st ten ingredients together to make dressing. This can be made a day in advance. Pour over cooked noodles & top with grated carrot & green onions.
Note: I found it made a lot of dressing & so didn’t end up using it all. I also added some chopped honey roasted peanuts with the carrot & green onions.
For those of you who missed last evening & for those of you who came – I hope to see you next year (as I think we may have to keep up this tradition)!
Val
And the Winner Is…
A big thank you to all of you who stopped by our Women’s Ministry Table at the Ministry Fair on Sunday, Sept 11th. We drew the lucky winner of our draw for a FREE retreat registration for our upcoming Wknd Retreat @ Camp Cedarwood yesterday & our lucky recipient is:
KATHY McCAMIS
Brochures & Registration Cards can be found in your church mailbox, at the Church Life Centre and at the Registration Table in the West Wing for the next couple of Sundays. Please note that the deadline for registrations is Sunday, October 9th so make sure to get them in sooner than later!
Our guest speaker, Carol Letkeman, will lead us on the theme of:
LISTENING
Intimacy * Discerning * Encouraging
For more details, check out the Ministry Info/Calendar page or by picking up a brochure. You won’t want to miss out on this amazing weekend!
Val
Current Events
Just wanted to remind you of two upcoming “events”. First of all, our Ladies Prayer Time will begin again this Sunday, Sept 18th @ 11am in the “Youth Room” (across from the nursery). This is a special time for women to get together & pray for one another & for our greater church family.
Secondly, who doesn’t love a smorgasbord of delicious salads & desserts?! We are holding our “annual” Salad Potluck on Monday, Sept 19th in the Heritage Room at Church from 6-8pm. This is a fabulous time to enjoy great fellowship, yummy food & making connections with other women. Sign up at the Church Life Centre on Sunday, Sept 18th (so we know how many to plan for) to bring either a salad or dessert.
And while I’m thinking of it, make sure to check your church mailboxes this coming Sunday for your Weekend Fall Retreat Brochure & Registration Form! This is going to be a wknd you won’t want to miss so make sure to get your registration in! We will be accepting registrations this Sunday in the West Foyer (Registration Deadline is Sunday, Oct 9th)!
Hope to see you at at least one if not all of these wonderful events!
Val
Autumn
I love fall! In fact, you may have heard me say that it is my favourite season. The beauty of the fall colors, the crispness in the air… Helen Lepp Friesen wrote a beautiful autumn haiku as our summer is coming to an end. Enjoy!
leaves in fiery blaze
before final journey
in graceful pirouette
Val
