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Issue #12 |
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Women's Ministry e-Newsletter ...your source for women's ministry news, events, resources and people Issue #12 Friday, April 2, 1999 http://www.womensministry.net ideas@womensministry.net fax: 417-888-2095 IN THIS ISSUE 1. From the Publisher 2. wmThemes: From my Watering Can 3. wmTip: Presence Killers 4. wmUpdate: Searchable Events Now Online 5. New Column: What Works 6. Upcoming wmEvents: 12 Events in April 7. wmQ&A: Banner Ministry 8. Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information 1. FROM THE PUBLISHER As I held my three month old baby boy today, I cradled him in my arms. His sweet eyes gazed lovingly into mine as if I were a precious treasure of great worth. I could hear him breathe as his little head was nestled in the bend of my arm. He would reach up and grasp toward my face all the while, smiling and cooing. What struck me was the universality of the experience of motherhood. My mind raced toward Kosovo. There must be thousands of ethnic Albanian mothers clutching their babies in their arms, whispering prayers of gratitude as they hear them breathe. Whispering prayers of desperation for their safety as their little one’s hands reach upward. To God, those children are precious treasures of great worth. Each one valuable and loved by God. May what is valuable to God be valuable and precious to us also. As you gather with women this week, pray for those suffering in Kosovo. Jennifer Rothschild, Publisher, http://www.womensministry.net/JR publisher@womensministry.net ******************AD********************** You can let the world of women's ministry know about your ministry, events, services, or products by advertising here. For more information, visit http://www.womensministry.net/Advertising ****************************************** 2.wmTHEMES: FROM MY WATERING CAN Greetings to my Womens Ministry friends online! I will pour out the theme ideas we have used in our past meetings. They worked well, and we hope you can use them with your ladies. One year our theme was “Pleasing God” taken from the Scripture 2 Cor. 5:9..."whether we are at home or away, our aim is to PLEASE THE LORD." September....PLEASING GOD INVOLVES USING OUR TIME WISELY....Eph. 5:15-16 A mother of three who is very organized shared her tips on using our time to God's glory. Menu-sack supper Decorations-Clocks, calendars, flowers November-PLEASING GOD INVOLVES ASKING FOR AND TRUSTING GOD FOR GUIDANCE... Prov. 3:5-6 and Psalm 25:4a (LB). Our worship leader's wife spoke to us about answered prayers from her life. It was so exciting to see how the Lord had led them from faith to faith with clear direction! Menu-Salad supper Decorations-Pumpkins/turkeys December-PLEASING GOD INVOLVES LISTENING TO HIM Philippians 3:11. Our speaker teaches a ladies class at our church and is very mature spiritually....she taught us how to live with "fresh awareness of Jesus moment by moment" (the Spirit-filled way of life), which results in abundant living and pleasing God! We left very challenged and encouraged. Menu-Spaghetti supper Decorations-Christmas decorations from decorators homes (committee combine what they have) we try to save money by using what we have. Enjoy these ideas and add yours to them as you pray and seek Him who gave them to us. Gripped by Him whom we want to please, Carol Cutler, carol_cutler@email.msn.com *************ADD GOOD STUFF************** If you have a job announcement or ministry opportunity you want to share with women across the county register it at http://www.womensministry.net/jobs ******************************************** 3. wm Tip: PRESENCE KILLERS Unfortunately, the accelerated pace of life leaves too many people feeling frustrated and devalued following interactions with others. Too many of us appear distracted, if not downright unavailable. Conversations seem rushed and fragmentary. Though you may not be able to control the quantity of time you have available to interact with others, you can control the quality of that time. By avoiding these five common "presence killers", you can improve your ability to be "present" with others, and thereby increase the levels of trust and partnership in your women's ministry. "Presence Killers: Avoid Five Common Mistakes and Communicate a New Level of Engagement 1. ASSUMING THE EXIT POSITION Too many people assume a body position that communicates the desire to exit the conversation as soon as possible. They hang at the threshold of someone’s office, with one hand on the door, as though poised to flee at the first sound of footsteps. Remedy: Take a seat. Even if you have just two minutes to talk, sitting down to do so signals a commitment to this moment with this person, however short the moment may be. 2. OFFERING "ONLY" TIME When a request to speak with someone is met by the response "OK, but I only have five minutes," the qualifier "only" too often damages the spirit of the interaction, indicating that the conversation will likely be squeezed and incomplete. Remedy: Remove the word "only" from your vocabulary. Try "I have five minutes to speak with you. Is that sufficient?" 3. TWO-TIMING Where face-to-face interactions are concerned, multi-tasking isn’t a valuable skill; it’s a form of cheating. Rearranging papers, reading emails, typing and other busy work accomplished while conversing with others -- all such divisions of our attention cheat others out of receiving our full presence. They are noticeable to others and harmful to relationships. Remedy: Resist the temptation to tinker with other work while talking with people. 4. THE DEMOCRACY OF INTERRUPTIONS Treating all interruptions as deserving of our full attention is surrendering to the democracy of interruptions. Serious matters that must be immediately addressed occasionally intrude on our conversational space. But all interruptions should not get equal weight. Remedy: As Max DuPree has written, "learn to discern the unworthy pressures." Use your voicemail or email. Communicate clear standards around what merits interrupting a closed-door conversation. 5. PSEUDO-PRESENCE Mimicking the outward signs of an active listener without a true internal commitment to being attentive to the other person results in a kind of pseudo-presence. While we can occasionally rise to the acting task, at other times, our successions of nods, quick "uh huhs" and other gimmicks are unconvincing, detectable signs of our lack of true attention. Remedy: Forego the gimmicks and concentrate on hearing the words and the feelings beneath the words. Be willing to disclose your difficulty in staying attentive. Ask the person to repeat a point that you may not have fully heard. Conclusion Truly being present to others is a life-long discipline. Yet we have seen the payoff leaders receive in terms of enhanced understanding, increased learning, and improved relations when they make the commitment to simple practices – like those noted above – that communicate a new level of engagement with others. About the author: Jim Laughlin heads Linkage’s Coaching Services, which include executive coaching, coaching and mentoring workshops, coaching tools and assessment instruments, and the design of coaching and mentoring systems. jlaughlin@linkage-inc.com http://www.linkageinc.com 4. wmUpdate: NEW SEARCHABLE EVENT CALENDAR Our new and improved women's ministry EventCalendar is now online. You can now search for women's ministry events by state, or by special guest speaker(s) or musician(s). Just go to www.womensministry.net/Events to view or submit new events. We recommend reading the READ THIS FIRST link. Tell us what you think. Comments@womensministry.net ***************************************** Send us your Press Releases, News, and Ideas Web forms located at: http://www.womensministry.net/InputForms.htm E-mail: ideas@womensministry.net Fax: (405) 273-9336 ***************************************** MISS AN ISSUE? If you miss an issue just visit http://www.womensministry.net/Newsletter/Archives.htm or http://www.egroups.com/list/womensministry-news/ 5. NEW COLUMN: WHAT WORKS! Below is an example of a new column we want you to participate in. It doesn't take much. Just tell us what worked at your recent women's event and/or leadership meeting. WHAT WORKS When we put on a women's retreat, we ask all of our speakers and workshop leaders to write a 250 word devotional thought, with a few questions and scripture for the reader to ponder. We then compile the devotions into a little booklet (size: 8.5"x11"folded) and print them for our participants. This gives our participants an opportunity to know the heart of some of our speakers, and it gives them a keepsake from the conference. Submitted by Katherine, Indiana, comments@womensministry.net. Submit your "What Works" to ideas@womensministry.net 6. UPCOMING WOMENS MINISTRY EVENTS (April) ~Wed, Apr 07, 1999 - Sat, Apr 10, 1999 Rhonda Kelley / Bayne Pounds New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA ~Sat, Apr 10, 1999 Kay Arthur / Shirley Dobson / Kim Hill Focus on the Family, Minneapolis, MN ~Thu, Apr 15, 1999 - Sat, Apr 17, 1999 Millicent Thompson Holiday Inn Rosslyn Westpark , Arlington, VA ~Fri, Apr 16, 1999 Johnnie Haines/ Shirley Berry Tishomingo Baptist Church, MS ~Fri, Apr 16, 1999 - Sat, Apr 17, 1999 Iris Blue / Sherry Daniel Great Hills Retreat Ministry , Tulsa, OK ~Sat, Apr 17, 1999 Susan Gaddis Atascadero Foursquare Church , Atascadero, CA ~Tue, Apr 20, 1999 - Thu, Apr 22, 1999 Florence Littauer Florence Littauer , New Orleans, LA ~Thu, Apr 22, 1999 Florence Littauer Leavell Chapel of the New Orlean Baptist Theological Seminary , New Orleans, LA ~Fri, Apr 23, 1999 - Sat, Apr 24, 1999 Nancy Leigh DeMoss / John G. Elliot First Southern Baptist Church , Del City, OK ~Fri, Apr 23- Sat, Apr 24, 1999 Debra Berry/ Rose Zamora/ Joyce Pittman/ Ann Lawrence Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, PA ~Sat, Apr 24, 1999 Susan Kimes / Jodi Gilkey Our Lord's Community Church Women's Connection , Oklahoma City, OK ~Fri, Apr 30, 1999 - Sun, May 02, 1999 Bunny Wilson / Tammy Tkach/Sheila Graham Worldwide Church of God, Covina, CA For more information on each event, or to submit your Event information, go to http://www.womensministry.net/Events 7. wm Q&A: BANNER MINISTRY When you have a question that relates to women's ministry, send it to us. We'll post it in our newsletter and then share the responses in the next issue. One subscriber asks: Do you have any information about women who have done decorative banners for their churches? I am working on ideas for seasonal banners for my church and am looking for some ideas and information. Janice Respond to comments@womensministry.net. NEXT ISSUE More news and leading resources for leading women 8. SUBSCRIBE AND UNSUBSCRIBE INFORMATION To SUBSCRIBE to this FREE weekly e-mail newsletter, please go to http://www.womensministry.net/Newsletter or e-mail us your email address to subscribe@womensministry.net If you prefer NOT to receive this free weekly newsletter, please UNSUBSCRIBE by sending an e-mail to womensministry-news-unsubscribe@egroups.com Your friends at the Womens Ministry Network ~the premiere site for womens ministry events, ideas, people, and resources Visit: www.WomensMinistry.Net E-mail: ideas@womensministry.net Fax: 417-888-2095 P.S. If you haven't done so already, please email a friend about the WomensMinistry.Net |
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