"Eyeballs." "Click." You just had to be there.

Shannon and Leila - Eden's Rain - at the overnight retreat

Leila

It is hard to believe – the overnight retreat has come and gone.  And what a retreat it was!!  If you missed it, well . . . you really missed something special.  I don’t even know how to begin to describe Eden’s Rain and how wonderful they were.  Their music was amazing.  You know, they really wanted us to sing along, but we just wanted to listen to their beautiful voices and experience some awesome worship through their songs.  

There were a few minor glitches. There were toilets to unstop in the middle of the night.  The PowerPoint was uncooperative.  It was a mess, actually.  First nothing would open.  Then it would open ONLY if you did it a certain crazy way that only Melody could understand.  By the time we had it figured out, we didn’t need it any more that night.  On Saturday morning, the PowerPoint opened fine.  The projector, however, was not on speaking terms with the laptop.  End result – no PowerPoint.  And we didn’t even miss it or need it!  We just had the pure pleasure of listening and enjoying Eden’s Rain.

Shannon

Leila and Shannon are beautiful – inside and out.  They look like princesses who stepped out of a story book, but their stories are just like yours and mine.  As they shared and worshiped with us, we learned that they have experienced heartbreak and healing. They know pain and gain.  They have had highs and lows and everything in between.  Like I said – they’re a lot like you and me.  And those two ladies love the Lord.  It shows.  I believe, believe, believe that God has a wonderful ministry in store for these ladies.  (Just so you know, I told Leila that they need to write a book.  Everyone wants to know their stories and how they became Eden’s Rain. )

Whether or not you made it to the retreat, if you EVER have a chance to see these ladies in person, just do it.  You won’t be sorry.  Their music is wonderful and their testimonies will touch your heart in a special way.  These are real people that you can relate to.  (Oh, boy.  I just ended that sentence with a preposition.  Please, Martha Johnson, pretend that I didn’t.  You know that I know better.)

What more can I say?  The time was too short.  The food was (almost) too good.  (I mean, did you eat those chocolate/oatmeal/peanut butter cookie things?  Or that chocolate cake?  Or those cinnamon almonds?  Or the pralines?  Or the chocolate peanut cluster things?  Or – well, the list just goes on and on!  Good grief – I ate some of lot of it.  And a lot of some of it!  Then I had an apple.  To make up for the other stuff.)  

Hearts Under Construction - our interpretation

Now, if you didn’t get to go to the retreat, you can still get to know Eden’s Rain by clicking here.  It will take you to their website and you can meet them and hear some of their music.  Hey – you can even buy some of their music!

And, finally, here we are -  the Micah 5:1 troop from the retreat. 
Hint:  Picture too small to see?  Click on it and it should get larger.

Dear Jonah

One Sunday morning, our lesson for the 5^th grade Sunday school class was about Jonah.  We covered Jonah’s story pretty well – all the way from God letting Jonah know what He wanted him to do and continuing right through Jonah finally heading to Ninevah and not being happy with the result.  Never mind that it was God’s plan and what He wanted.  Jonah was still mad.  It didn’t fit with what Jonah wanted for those awful, undeserving, rebellious Ninevites.   (Wait . . . oh no, that sounds a lot like me!  It just occurred to me that I could be Jonah or I could be a Nivevite.  I have been known to act like each on various occasions.  Not proud of it.  Just saying . . .)  So, after the story was told, I asked the group a question:  “What do you think Jonah could have done differently?”  The immediate and obvious answer came from a child – “He should have just done what God told him to do.  It would have been a lot easier on him.”  Ain’t it the truth.    So here I am.  I have heard Jonah’s story all my life.  I have had this wonderful example available to me and you would think that I would have learned something.   But, like Jonah, there are too many times when I still insist on my way instead of God’s way.  Why in the world do I do that to myself?  Not one time has God ever said, “You know, you were right about that.  Let’s do it your way.” 

I’m doing the Bible study on Jonah (Jonah – Navigating a Life Interrupted) and I just finished the first week of homework.  Oh boy.    What an eye opener.  For starters, I actually realized that those annoying/frustrating/frightening interruptions weren’t really just interruptions.  They were Divine Interventions orchestrated by the One who always has a perfect view of the big picture and was still willing to let me have a part in it.  That is scary and wonderful all at the same time.  I wish I could write a short note to Jonah:

Dear Jonah,

I understand.  You were scared, angry, and upset.  So, you ran away.  I do that, too.  I am trying to learn from your example.  It is a gift.  Thank you.  It is just what I wanted and needed. 

Love,

Susan

Join us for Bible study.  We would love to have you there.  Maybe this is one of those things He is asking you to do and you keep resisting.  Learn something from Jonah and make it easier on yourself.  The study I do is on Tuesday night, but there are others available mornings and afternoons.  Click on the link

 http://www.ehbconline.com/womens_ministry.asp and you can see the current schedule. 

By the way – can anyone help me with the Navigation Tools part at the end of the homework?  I might be truly stuck or I might be overthinking it.  Either way, I think I did it wrong.

The Big Bad Wolf vs. Jonah

Here comes another true story from a Sunday school experience. My son was four years old. He had wonderful Sunday school teachers – Carol and Jimmy Handey – and he loved going to their class each week. Every Sunday, as we were fixing lunch, Matthew and I would talk about what he had learned in Sunday school. One Sunday, he said, “Today we learned about Jonah.” So, I prodded – “What did you learn about Jonah?” Here’s the story as told by a four-year-old: “Well, God wanted Jonah to do something, but Jonah didn’t want to, so he got in a boat and ran away. But when he got in the middle of the water, the Big Bad Wolf came. He huffed and he puffed and he blew him into the water and a big fish swallowed him! When Jonah got out of that fish, he did what God told him to.” Oh-kaaaay. And there you have the story of Jonah according to a pre-schooler.

So, you should know that I like Jonah a lot. It may just be that I identify with Jonah. More often than I would like to admit, my first response has been, “I don’t really like where this is heading and I think this would be a really good time to turn around and run the other way.” And, there are times when, like Jonah, it takes something pretty drastic to fully get my attention. I can be such a good listener when I don’t have any other choice.

Jonah’s life got disrupted in a major way. Yours probably has, too, at one time or another. Or maybe you’re like me and it happens a lot. Tonight is the first night of our Bible study – Jonah – Navigating a Life Interrupted. We will meet each Tuesday night for six more weeks in Room 139. If you can’t make it tonight, don’t worry. It is just the first session, so you aren’t behind. Join us next week and as often as you can. I’m thinking that we are going to learn that those interruptions in our lives might just be opportunities, but if you always see them as interruptions, you are going to miss the part that is the opportunity!

Maybe Matthew had it kind of right in his version of the story. The Big Bad Wolf is always going to be there – huffing and puffing away in your life, trying to blow your house down. Listen to God. Be obedient. Even when it is difficult and scary and makes you a little bit mad. Even when you get swallowed by a fish. See you at Bible study!


He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."   Psalm 91:1-2

Hearts Under Construction - Overnight Retreat

The time is fast approaching for the annual overnight retreat for ladies.  The event is so close at hand that it is already time to register!  Once again, the retreat will be held at Shocco Springs.  The cost is $30.00 per person.  If you want one of the super-cute retreat t-shirts, then you will need to add $10.00.  And you probably do want one of the shirts.  They’re good. 

So, this year’s retreat will feature Eden’s Rain.  That’s Eden’s Rain in the picture to the right of this post.  They are talented.  They are real live beauty queens – seriously!  And – best of all – they love the Lord and have such a heart for women’s ministry and sharing.  You will be blessed by this experience. 

Okay - true confession time.  I tell ladies every year that they should attend the retreat.  I tell them they will enjoy it.  I tell them that they will have fun and get to know some really awesome ladies.  I tell them that they can pick their roommates and don’t have to worry about getting put in a room with a stranger.  I tell them that they will be so very glad they took the time and went.  I tell them all of those things because I believe they are all true.  But – me – well, I have never been to the overnight retreat.  Not ever.  Not. For. A. Minute.  But that is about to change.  Because, this year – I AM GOING!  I’ve registered.  And paid.  And bought the t-shirt.  You can register through January 23rd.   See you there.   I mean it this time.