DYS Mother Daughter Dinner

What's DYS? Decorate Your Space! This was a wonderful dinner for high school senior girls and their mothers. There was lots of fun, fellowship and encouragement for these young ladies who will be graduating high school and entering this Babylonian world in which we live. Dawn Inglett shared some wonderful ideas regarding decorating and organizing their personal spaces whether it be a dorm room or their bedrooms. Then, we were blessed with Danielle Smith sharing the "10 Things I Learned in College". And finally, the evening was closed with a prayer of encouragement, blessing and protection over the young ladies and their mothers. Just to share a little of the evening, we are including the "10 Things" from Danielle's message:

1) My parents really are wise and I really do like my siblings. Exodus 20:12

2) God cares about my grades. Mark 12:30

3) God cares about my health. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

4) Get plugged into on campus ministries AND a local church. Hebrews 10:25

5) I am not in college to find a husband. Proverbs 4:23

6) Make time alone with God a priority in your day. John 6:66-68

7) Make wise choices. God will bless you when you do. When you don't make wise choices, there will be consequences to follow. James 1:22

8) Know what you believe and stand up for it! 1 Peter 3:15-16

9) Choose your friends wisely. Ecclesiastes 4:10

10) Find a mentor AND an accountability partner!

Beth Moore - Live in Atlanta . . . "So long, Insecurity!"

For those who missed this wonderful conference, I wanted to post comments from some of the attendees . . .

"Saturday morning when my alarm went off, my first thoughts were about sleeping in. Even as I was getting ready that morning, I was weighing more sleep over the $60 ticket price. I just kept telling myself that was just Satan trying to keep me from where God wanted me to be that day. I arrived at the church, got on the bus and was overcome with new fears. Will anyone sit with me? Am I going to have anyone to pal around with or talk to today? There were only a handful of people that I kinda' knew going and only one or two that I knew well. So I sat by myself. On the ride to Woodstock, I opened the envelope with my ticket and was reminded of the topic of the day, So Long, Insecurities . . . Hmm, seemed fitting for today. There was chitchat on the ride and a few introductions, but the fear of spending the day alone still remained. One of the first things that Beth Moore said was something along the lines of, Insecurity is not a weakness, it is lack of faith. Do I lack faith? No. Am I feeling insecure? Yes. Why? Why, why am I letting these trivial things cloud my mind? I let them go, and just soaked up everything that Beth had to say. The day was AMAZING! I met some new people, conquered some of my own fears. I even passed one of the ladies Sunday morning and she chatted with me like she had known me forever. God is Good!"

-Kimberly Fernau



"The Beth Moore Conference at Woodstock was awesome, it is hard to imagine 9,000 women, much less 300,000 women worshiping together in one accord. It was so awesome! You could feel God's presence!"

-Gloria Ambrose



"Saturday was awesome! It was wonderful to be with so many women who were intentionally there to praise God and love on each other. It was a very special day where the truth of Christ, of His love and security were shared with literally over 300,000 women nation wide. What an amazing wonder that only God can stitch together."

-Cheryl Lindsey



"Hearing Beth speak is such a blessing. I don't ever want to miss an opportunity to hear her. Seeing her in person allows you to see that she is authentically passionate about our Savior and humbly give Him all the glory and shows that she has a real love for women. Beth is such a dear and close friend to me (even though she doesn't even know it . . . but maybe I'll get to meet her to tell her one day). The recent conference in Atlanta came at just the right time. I had many "ah-ha" moments, because she just gets it. When you can't put your finger on it, she does. I'm thankful she is so in tune to what God presses on her heart then courageously shares with us. She has a way of making you feel that she's talking directly to you . . . even if you are one of 300,000 in the room."

-Sharon Griffin



". . . Beth just has a way of explaining things in such a clear and relevant way. She also does not beat around the bush on our responsibility to make choices in our lives. . ."

-Leianne Penn

"Decorate Your Space" Mother - Daughter Dinner

We are excited to be hosting our first "Decorate Your Space" Mother & Daughter Dinner for high school senior girls and their mothers. This is a great time to celebrate the completion of this chapter in their lives and the beginning of the next. The evening will include a catered dinner for everyone with economical decorating tips for creating an organized, yet personal and stylish space of their own. Then, the girls will be encouraged and challenged regarding maintaining their Christian values and purity while stepping out into this "Babylonian" world in which we live. Finally, our sweet pastor's wife will share words of encouragement for the mothers and a special prayer over everyone for the adventure in which they are about to embark.

If you have a high school senior girl, we hope you will include this as part of your graduation festivities. For additional information or to RSVP, please contact Ann Bertschin at salem.girls@gmail.com

Arming God's Vessel for Holy Purposes

Daniel 5:3-4
So they brought in the gold goblets that had been TAKEN FROM THE TEMPLE OF GOD in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. As they drank the wine, they PRAISED THE GODS (LITTLE "G") OF GOLD AND SILVER, OF BRONZE, IRON, WOOD AND STONE.

When reading Daniel 5 and the story of King Belshazzar, Daniel and "the handwriting on the wall", we can easily say "how dare King Belshazzar to not only use items taken from God's temple, but to use them for his own purposes . . . for ignoble reasons . . . to worship other gods?" But how often do we do that in our daily lives. In II Corinthians 6:16, we are told " . . . we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.' " Once we have accepted the gift of God's salvation, our bodies become His temple, a holy vessel. We can never be snatched away from God's hand, but we can be used by Satan for unholy purposes. In our present day, what do the unholy purposes surface as?

Complaining . . . Do we remind our husband what he didn't do? Do we complain that we didn't like the way something was handled at church, work, school? Have you ever noticed when you complain to one, then it catches on like wildfire which leads to dissension.

Gossiping . . . Do we share something under the title "prayer request"? Do we tell someone something with the preface to protect ourselves, our children, our family or others, but truly it does nothing but tear someone else down?

Pride . . . Do we look at Sunday services as a fashion show, ignoring the true reason for attendance? Do we want to show off our new car, purse, jewelry or some other material item? Do we like to brag on Facebook about how wonderful our life is or what wonderful thing someone did for us?

Judging . . . Do we judge others by their dress, the way they manage their children, the car they drive, their participation or lack there of?


If you notice all of these things start in the heart and mind, so we must renew our minds and arm ourselves DAILY through prayer and Bible study, filling our hearts and minds with things eternal.


My prayer for you is that you will make daily time for God filling your heart and mind with things of eternal significance.

Fall Retreat Planning Meeting

I'm excited to say we had a great representation of the women of Salem at our planning meeting for the Fall Women's Retreat. Go ahead and be planning to join us for an exciting weekend October 29th-30th at the Charlie Elliott Conference Center in Mansfield, Georgia. The registration fee will be $99/person which includes retreat materials, lodging and food. This will be a time of fellowship, friendship, relationship and fun! We will be offering a ONE TIME ONLY Early Bird Registration at the "Get Acquainted" Social on March 25th. If you register and submit a $25 deposit at the social, your registration fee will only be $75 . . . a $24 savings!

The Nativity

With this being our "Little Missy's" first Christmas, there were lots of new things to discover and find. One of her favorites was our manger scene located on the entry way piece at our front door. Every morning as she awoke from her sleep, she would motion over to the nativity and want to go over to hold Mary and Baby Jesus, Joseph, one of the wisemen and the camel. Then, at different times, she would want to hold different pieces, but always Mary and Baby Jesus. While she was napping on New Year's Day, I took advantage of that time by removing and storing the majority of our Christmas decorations. To her disappointment when she awoke, Baby Jesus was no longer on the entry way piece, but rather a boring lamp and our family picture. As the week has progressed, several times she has pointed in that direction and with a puzzled look on her face, she can't find Baby Jesus. So today, I am putting our manger scene back on our entry way piece and maybe it will become a permanent, rather than holiday, fixture in our home. Though she has a very simple, 9 month old's mind, she is very much correct - we should celebrate Jesus' birth and seek Him everyday, not just on Christmas Day!



God Bless!

Reckless Abandonment

As I was attempting to update our blog, the Facebook group and all the many forms of communication that we use, I had this precious little person wearing a big smile and chanting little words, that only God can understand, rapidly approach me from behind. Yes, over the course of the holiday, "Little Missy" has mastered the art of crawling, and rapidly at that! But as I watch her approaching me, then moving over to her high chair to attempt to stand (and keep in mind - the high chair is mobile, she has on a footed outfit and she is on hardwood floors - recipe for disaster if not handled properly) I recognize that is EXACTLY how our Heavenly Father wants us to be - approach Him with excitement, then serve with reckless abandonment - not worry about falling down, but counting on Him to dust us off when we do. If you are like me and grew up in the church, you have heard numerous times we are to have the faith of little children . . . so why don't we? Why do we worry about the "what ifs" and falling down, why don't we go about our day with excitement, anticipation and "reckless abandonment", knowing all the while He is there to catch us when we fall.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of our precious "Little Missy" and remember when you see a child learning to crawl or walk with Mom or Dad behind them, that is how God wants us to be - never fearing, just proceeding and trusting Him. Psalm 27:1