"Strength to Stand"

I had the priviledge to chaperone our students to their recent youth conference.  WOW!  If you want to get fired up about Christ, hang out with our students for a while . . . they are so passionate about Him!  This was a phenomenal conference coupled with a great group.  Salem is truly blessed with youth who have a desire to have an ongoing relationship with Christ and share their faith with others.  Next time you see a youth member, ask them to share their testimony with you . . . It's very eye opening and humbling!

"O Holy Night"

What better way to escort in the celebration of our Savior's birth than through an evening or morning with sister believers sharing in the praising and worshiping of our heavenly Father and His precious Son at our women's ministry Christmas Dinner and Brunch.  That is truly what Christmas is all about . . . the birth of the precious, holy and pure Son, The Son of God.  Though I have heard the nativity story numerous times, this year God showed me the sacrifice Christ made for me through the eyes of Mary, the mother of the precious baby who went to a cross with the same innocence of a newborn.  This Christmas meditate on the sacrifice that was made to cover your and my sins so that we can experience eternal life with our perfect Father and His precious Son.




"Sweet Life Cafe" - Women's Retreat

What a beautiful group of sisters! And what a wonderful weekend . . . We had a wonderful weekend at "Sweet Life Cafe", but "what happens at retreat, stays at retreat" except sharing the Gospel!  Hope you enjoy these few pictures.

16 Days and Counting . . .

We are getting closer and closer to our "Sweet Life Cafe" Women's Retreat.   Whether you will be attending or not, I hope you are praying over those who will be.

Today, my special request for prayer is that each woman who attends, like Mary Magdelen at the tomb (John 20), will encounter Jesus in a very real and personal way.  I hope that you will lift up all of our women and pray this prayer for them.

God bless,
Ann

WOW! What an "Ingathering" of Believers . . .

Coming off the heels of Ingathering, I'm what the Akins Family sang "Good Tired".  This week was physically and emotionally exhausting, but WOW was it spiritually uplifting and energizing!  I am almost in a state of depression today considering I have to wait another two years for Ingathering again.

In Pastor Rick's challenge last night, he asked who would take the gospel to a lost and dying world?  Now, my question to you is are you sharing the gospel with a lost and dying world?  From his challenge, I have determined that I MUST pray to my Abba Father daily to provide me with opportunities to share; eyes to recognize them and the Holy Spirit's courage and clarity of words to present the gospel in a loving way to the lost and dying world. 

So how will you share?

29 Days and Counting . . .

Yes, it's just 29 days until the "Sweet Life Cafe'" Women's Retreat.  I hope you are getting as excited as I am. 

I wanted to post a prayer request for today . . . I ask that you will pray over the retreat in your daily quiet times and include our specific requests.  For today, I ask that you pray specifically for our session leaders Patsy Cook, Christy Cook and Donna Drake - pray for God's guidance and direction; that only words from His heart will proceed from their mouths; and that He will use them as an instrument for His purposes and not their own.

"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year . . ."

Do those words make you think of snow, crackling fires, the smell of evergreens and a precious little baby in a manger?

I can hear you now . . . "What?  Christmas?  It isn't even Thanksgiving yet!"  But it is time to start planning towards our annual Christmas Dinner and our new Christmas Brunch!  This year's theme will be "O Holy Night".  The dates are December 7th for the dinner and December 11th for the brunch.  Tickets will go on sale in November for $15/person for one event.  But for those of you with a love for decorating and hosting, now is the time to start planning your table.  If you are interested in hosting a table, please contact Beverly Pittman at bevpittman@charter.net or Leianne Penn at leianne1972@yahoo.com.  We hope you will put this exciting tradition on your calendar and plan to join us!