Summer Line UP

Ladies,

I was good to see you this past Tuesday for Glow but I am super excited about the line-up for summer so we hope to see you all there as well as bring a friend here is our great schedule:

June 22: Brush Arbor Revival:
This will begin at 6:30pm with a box meal auction Please bring a box meal from a lunchable to whatever just be creative and we will hear from the Gospel Group Good News as well as some local favorites. The money raised from our box dinner auction will be given to the metro south crisis preganacy center. LOCATION: Cunningham Compound

July 27: Hawaiian Paradise: We will begin at the pool at the Cunningham Compoud at 7pm for a Polynesian Dinner and Fellowship we will be hosting Terri Koonce who will be sharing an incredible testimony about her journey to love the people of Africa.

Aug 24: Princess Tea Party: 7pm at the Church please come dressed in your dress up finest from cheap pearls to feather boas. We are having a princess tea party complete with favors and everything you could dream of from when you wished you could be a princess and have the white horse and handsome prince. The study will be God's Princesses: How to love ourselves as Christ loved us...a message on self esteem.

Please be in prayer for the summer line-up and we so hope to see you there

Daily-ness

The Dailyness

Ariel Allison Lawhon, She Reads Co-Director



"Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway." Proverbs 8:34 (NIV)



Devotion:

Life wouldn't be so hard if it wasn't so daily. As I sit here surrounded by laundry and dishes piled high in the sink, I see more than ever how life wears us down one day at a time.



Crumbs litter the floor and dirty smudges cover the windows. And I have yet to discover where that smell is coming from. For this mother of four, a simple trip to the grocery store requires an act of God and Congress - attempted only when we are down to powdered milk and Ramen noodles. Not thirty minutes ago a little one-year-old boy clung to my legs, belting out that scream - you know the one, bats can hear it. And I felt my coping skills slipping away. Not because he was crying but because he cries every day.

The daily-ness.



The job of motherhood feels so vast, and frightening, and unending. I am called to raise these children in the fear and admonition of the Lord and yet there are days that I can't seem to get out of my pajamas much less lead them in a time of prayer. I think anyone could endure the temper tantrums of a small child or the rebellion of a teenager or the constant needs of another if they lasted just one day. But the truth is that these things are the stuff of daily life. And when I am honest with myself, they grind down the rough edges of this woman. Because parenting can not be all about me when diapers must be changed, noses wiped and beds made.

In those moments I force myself to take a deep breath and thank God for this season of life. These children. The privilege of wiping noses and bottoms and countertops. A privilege many women would love to have, but don't. I remind myself that the days are long but the years are short. And one day I will look in the rear-view mirror and see empty seats. The cup that is overflowing right now will slowly drain. The stretch marks will fade. And I will find that a new set of daily struggles has overtaken me. When that day comes I will find the strength to face them as well because God gives the grace, daily.

The daily-ness.

As C.S. Lewis once said, "The thing is to rely on God... Meanwhile, the trouble is that relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing has yet been done."



Your daily-ness is probably different than mine, but it is nonetheless God-ordained. It is exactly what we need to live dependent on His grace instead of our own strength. The One who knows us best, who knit us together in our mother's womb, has allotted these days that are equal parts trial and triumph. And He knows that we will see Him most clearly from a place of dependence.

So today I embrace the normal things. The daily things. Another round of laundry. The ring in my toilet. The dust on my dresser so thick a child could write his name. But even more than that I want to celebrate the important things. A child slowly learning to read. A husband that finds his comfort in my arms. A baby who learns to walk and talk. Because all these are the things of life: some mundane and some holy. And all of them must be received daily.



Dear Lord, sometimes daily life is just hard. And we're tired. And overwhelmed. But You promised to be our strength and our hope and our comfort. So today we look to You for what we need. Would You meet us in this, our daily-ness, and help us receive Your grace? In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Happy Mothers Day

I published this yesterday but it didn't go through...Happy Mothers's Day to all of you . Many Blessings

Bread Recipe

Several of you have asked for my bread recipe and here it is it is very easy we use it for our bread at our house so it is much cheaper

3 packages (1.4 oz) active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter melted
2 eggs beaten
71/2-8 1/4 cups bread flour

In a large mixing bowl dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, butter, salt, eggs,and 4 cups flour beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in greased bowl turn once to grease top. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 45 min.

Punch dough down, turn onto a heavily floured surface, divide into thirds. Shape each portion into a loaf, place in greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 min.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown remove from pans to wire racks and rub tops with butter.

Hope you try it let me know if you have any questions

MAy Meeting

Ladies we will meet at 7pm on the 25 of MAy Our topic will be our Memories in Christ...Please bring 3-5 photos to scrapbook. We look forward to having you and look forward to our fun summer schedule.

Blessings
AJ

The Intentional Home

First of all let me say I am so sorry for not doing better updating the blog for that I truly apologize. Let me also say that I am glad April will be on the Intentional Home (looks like I need it I can’t get everything done) in a season of life that is extremely busy I find days running by before I seem to get out of bed. Sometimes I wonder if it is possible to get everything done. Do you ever feel that way? On Aril 27th we will meet at 7pm and our study will be on the Intentional Home and then we will be doing couponing etc….We hope to see you there!

Anyway, as I run from chore to chore, meal to meal, and ballet to gymnastics with a very fussy 15 month old in tow I look through my to do list with amazement of so many things to “work” on and I don’t even work. I always told Derek that when I became a stay at home mom I would be so organized and life would be “perfect” he always said he couldn’t wait. Well to be honest that just isn’t how most of my days are. I am not at the door to meet him with a kiss and a perfect dinner. I am at the door ready for him to take the kids and me to have 5 min. to go to the bathroom. I truly am sharing this with you and asking that as I study the intentional home that I will learn even more how to run my house as God intended. I was studying last night and God just really lay on my heart…Are you being intentional for me???? Wow, am I doing things each day that are intentional to my family’s well being spiritually? Am I reaching out to those around me? Is everything intentional for the sake and cause of Christ? The answer to that was no… but Lord I try to get me house cleaned and cook nutritious food for my family and and…..How convicting. I ask you over the next couple of weeks to think about how you want to make your home intentional! Whether we are Stay at home mom’s, retired, working or whatever our life’s role is we are the God given homemakers to our home and family. Are we creating an environment of refuge from the storm of life? Are we setting our home up to be open to show the Love of Christ? I ask you to ponder these thought as we prepare and study them on April 27th. And for those type A personalities we will also be sharing practical things of how to accomplish the intentional home. God bless each of you are in my thought and prayers often. Women’s Ministry is truly a passion of mine and if there is any thoughts or suggestions on how I can better serve and minister to you please share with me.

Love
Amanda

History of Easter Eggs

Ladies I am so looking forward to our Sader and make sure to invite someone as well as be praying up for this experience. Enjouy this FYI on easter eggs

Easter eggs are specially decorated eggs given out to celebrate the Easter holiday or springtime.

It is the influence of the traditional spring rites that made Easter so egg-special. And myths coming down to us from an incredibly distant past have shown man's relationship with the egg to be very deep seated one. This is caught in old Latin proverb: "Omne vivum ex ovo". This means "all life comes from an egg". Not just the Latin saying, eggs are just laid well over all corners of the world. From ancient India to Polynesia, from Iran, Greece, and Phonecia to Latvia, Estonia, and Finland, from Central America to the west coast of South America, there are reports of myths of the whole universe created out of an egg. Thus, it is not unusual that in almost all ancient cultures eggs had been held as an emblem of life. The concept of all living beings born from an egg is also a foundational concept of modern biology.

But how did eggs come to be associated with Easter?

Despite claims being made that Easter Eggs were originally pagan symbols, there is no solid evidence for this. It was not until the 18th Century that Jakob Grimm theorised a putative pagan connection to Easter Eggs with a goddess of his own whom he named Ostara, a suggested German version of Eostre.

At the Passover Seder, a hard-boiled egg dipped in salt water symbolizes both new life and the Passover sacrifice offered at the Temple in Jerusalem. The ancient Persians painted eggs for Nowrooz, their New Year celebration falling on the Spring Equinox. This tradition has continued every year on Nowrooz since ancient times.

In Christian times, the egg was a symbol of new life just as a chick might hatch from the egg. The Easter egg tradition may have celebrated the end of the privations of Lent. In the Medieval Europe, eggs were forbidden during Lent as well as other traditional fast days. During the strict Lenten fast of forty days no eggs were eaten. It was traditional to use up all of the household's eggs before Lent began, which established the tradition of Pancake Day. This was because, in Christian times, the egg was a symbol of new life just as a chick might hatch from the egg. Eggs were viewed as symbols of new life and fertility through the ages. It is believed that for this reason many ancient cultures, including the Ancient Egyptians, Persians, and Romans, used eggs during their spring festivals. In Eastern Christianity, both meat and dairy are still prohibited during the fast, and eggs are seen as "dairy" (a foodstuff that could be taken from an animal without shedding its blood). That is the reason why eggs laid during that time were often boiled or otherwise preserved.

It was during Easter that the consumption of eggs resumed after the strict Lenten fast. Eggs were thus a mainstay of Easter meals, and a prized Easter gift for children and servants. And this is probably the reason why eggs came to be associated with Easter.

Many traditions and practices have formed around Easter eggs. In Europe an egg was hung on New Year trees, on Maypoles, and on St. John's trees in midsummer. Indeed, all were of one accord in using the egg as a symbol of the regenerative forces of nature. Later during the Christian period, it was believed that eggs laid on Good Friday, if kept for a hundred years, would have their yolks turn to diamond. If Good Friday eggs were cooked on Easter they would promote the fertility of the trees and crops and protect against sudden deaths. And, if you would find two yolks in an Easter egg, be sure, you're going to be rich soon. That's what they believed!

An Orthodox tradition related with Easter celebrations is the presenting of red colored eggs to friends while giving Easter greetings. According to a History channel documentary about Mary Magdalene and her role in Christianity, the custom derives from a biblical event. After the Ascension of Christ, Mary supposedly went to the Emperor of Rome and greeted him with "Christ is risen", whereupon he stated, "Christ has not risen no more than that egg is red" (pointing to an egg on his table). After making this statement it is said the egg immediately turned blood red.[citation needed] She then began preaching Christianity to him. The egg is symbolic of the grave and life renewed by breaking out of it. The red symbolizes the blood of Christ redeeming the world, represented by the egg, and our regeneration through the bloodshed for us by Christ. The egg itself is a symbol of the Resurrection while being dormant it contains a new life sealed within it.

The coloring of eggs is a established art, and eggs are often dyed, painted, and otherwise decorated. Eggs were also used in various holiday games: parents would hide eggs for children to find, and children would roll eggs down hills. These practices live on in Easter egg hunts and egg rolls. The most famous egg roll takes place on the White House lawn every year.The oldest tradition is to use dyed and painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as jellybeans. Candy Easter eggs can be any form of confectionery such as hollow chocolate eggs wrapped in brightly-colored foil. Some are delicately constructed of spun sugar and pastry decoration techniques. The ubiquitous jelly egg or jellybean is made from sugar-coated pectin candy. These are often hidden, supposedly by the Easter Bunny, for children to find on Easter morning.

The Spanish dish hornazo (traditionally eaten on and around Easter) contains hard-boiled eggs as a primary ingredient. In the North of England, at Eastertime, a traditional game is played where hard boiled pace eggs are distributed and each player hits the other players egg with their own. This is known as "egg dumping" or "egg jarping". The winner is the holder of the last intact egg. The losers get to eat their eggs. It is also practiced in Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, the Republic of Srpska and other countries. They call it tucanje. In parts of Bavaria, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland it is called Ostereiertitschen. In South Louisiana this practice is called Pocking Eggs and is slightly different. The Cajuns hold that the winner eats the eggs of the losers in each round.

There are many other decorating techniques and numerous traditions of giving them as a token of friendship, love or good wishes. A tradition exists in some parts of the United Kingdom (such as Scotland and North East England) of rolling painted eggs down steep hills on Easter Sunday. In the U.S., such an Easter egg roll (unrelated to an eggroll) is often done on flat ground, pushed along with a spoon; the Easter Egg Roll has become a much-loved annual event on the White House lawn. An Easter egg hunt is a common festive activity, where eggs are hidden outdoors (or indoors if in bad weather) for children to run around and find. This may also be a contest to see who can collect the most eggs.

Hanácké kraslice, Easter eggs from the Haná region, the Czech Republic, decorated with strawEaster eggs are a widely popular symbol of new life in Ukraine and other Slavic countries' folk traditions. A batik-like decorating process known as pysanka produces intricate, brilliantly-colored eggs. The celebrated Fabergé workshops created exquisite jewelled Easter eggs for the Russian Imperial Court. A 27-foot (9 m) sculpture of a pysanka stands in Vegreville, Alberta.

When boiling hard-cooked eggs for Easter, a popular tan colour can be achieved by boiling the eggs with onion skin. In the North of England these are called pace-eggs or paste-eggs. They were usually eaten after an egg-jarping (egg-tapping) competition.

Deep-fried chocolate Easter eggs are sold around Easter time in Scottish fish and chips shops. The idea was invented in a northeastern Scottish takeaway as a sequel to the extremely popular deep fried Mars Bar.