I have a dear friend who once was an Atheist and now she is... Anonymous!

I bet that aroused your curiosity! “Who does Jennifer hang out with anyway?!”

The former atheist of whom I am speaking is Alicia Chole. She has recently authored a beautiful, thought provoking book entitled ”Anonymous!"

I first got to know Alicia over a steamy cup of tea at our local coffee shop. My introduction to my new friend's personality was in the tea she ordered...brown rice tea, buck wheat tea, roasted barley tea.

“Yuck!” I thought, “Was that her grocery list or a list of beverages?”

She recited them all as she tried to decide between the three. “Darjeeling,” was my order, with lots of honey!

When she finally settled on the roasted barley, she didn’t even add sweetener to hide the taste!

Beginning our friendship with the awareness that we were polar opposites, was like beginning a trek up Everest without a map! She likes herbal, I like caffeine... and lots of it! She has sworn off sugar, I load my cup up with it! She is tall, I am short! She is peaceful, I am talkative. She only reads dead authors, I read anything I can get my hands on! She grew up an atheist, I grew up in the church. She loves Jesus with all her heart, and so do I; and the latter became all that mattered. A friendship was born. Now we had a map for that mountain!

Over many months, we exchanged book ideas, discussed Scripture, shopped, and went out to dinner (her taste in food was much like her taste in drinks, obscure and adventurous!). We cried together, laughed a lot, contemplated, and grew. And now, as her proud friend and a grateful sister in Christ, I have the privilege to share with you how God can take an atheist and teach her the phenomenal power that can emerge from the "anonymous" years in our lives.

Because you are most likely involved in women’s ministry of some sort, you know what it feels like to be unnoticed at times. You know how it feels to go from, as Alicia puts it, “sought out to left out, consulted to unconsidered, celebrated to celebrating others.” You don’t have to be in ministry though, to know how it feels to be hidden - we all feel that way from time to time. Just like a tree in the desolateness of winter looks bare and unproductive, our lives too go through seasons where our fruitfulness is not obvious. Alicia puts it this way:

“Hidden hopes. Hidden dreams. Hidden gifts. All of us are acquainted with chapters in life when our fullness is thinned, previously praiseworthy fruit becomes dormant, and our abilities are unnoticed by the watching world. Like a flower whose budding glory is covered up by wet leaves, we sense the weight of hidden-ness in our hearts and whisper, “I have so much more to give and be. But there is One who can see the beauty of that covered, smothered flower: God Himself. And, mysteriously, His delight in that beauty is not diminished by its leafy camouflage. Neither would His pleasure be amplified by the flower’s visibility. Good news indeed for the hidden."

I am so grateful to my friend for putting into words that which our hearts know well. Hidden-ness can hurt, but it can also be used to heal. If you find yourself in a place in life or ministry where your gifts are uncelebrated or your labor is unsuccessful or unseen, don’t be discouraged.

“When previous successes fade and current efforts falter, we can easily mistake the fruitlessness for failure. But such is the rhythm of spiritual life: new growth, fruitfulness, transition, rest... new growth, fruitfulness, transition, rest. Abundance may make us feel more productive, but perhaps emptiness has greater power to strengthen our souls."

Oh my friend, let God do His perfect work during this season of your life! There is hope in hidden-ness.

And, just as an aside, if you are ever having tea with someone who orders what sounds like a multi-grain cereal and smells like your backyard... remember, it might just be the beginning of a mountain of a friendship!

It is He (God) who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him.
Daniel 2:22

Blessings and Joy,
Jennifer Rothschild
Author of Lessons I Learned in the Dark,
and Founder of WomensMinistry.NET
http://www.jenniferrothschild.com
email me: JR@jenniferrothschild.com

For women and girls of all ages.

What we do: It is very simple... We go to different parks and hike or walk for a specified period of time and then share a devotion together.

It is important for women to also have quite time with God and away from all our daily stresses so I encourage women to find a special spot, rock, overlook, etc... to spend some time in prayer and reflection. I have even made up square cards that fit in the palm of your hand with a prayer guide. All they need to do is glance down to stay on track.

Physical fitness is very important and God calls us to take care of our bodies. What a wonderful event to take of not only our physical needs but spiritual as well.

We publicize the event in our church bulletin and newsletter, but most of the participation comes from women telling others about it.

The only expense we incur is the gas for the van, which we all pitch in to cover. For women on a budget this activity is great!

Submitted by: Emily Thompson
Email: emmyshell@yahoo.com
Church: Fifth Avenue Church of Christ, Lancaster, OH
Church size: Below 250

This is a great small group "get acquainted" activity with a fun twist.

Objectives: To get to know one another and share a little laughter.

Materials: Cards made up with the following headings and a pen or marker for each participant. We recommend cards big enough for everyone to see. If your group is small, use 5"x7" cards, if your group is larger, use 8 1/2"x11" card stock.

Card 1: Write the name of a song or book that best describes you.

Card 2: Draw a picture of your family

Card 3: Answer the following:
How long have you been a member of our church?
What is your favorite food?
What is your favorite hobby?

Card 4: Draw a picture of what you plan on doing when you retire.

Procedure: Distribute the card and allow five-ten minutes to answer the questions. After the time is up, go around the room/group one by one and have each person share about what they wrote and drew on the cards.

Submitted by: Chris Hinton - Twin Falls, Idaho
Email: chrish@mvrmc.org

Have You Organized a Prayer Garden

Here is a questions we recently received from a women's ministry leader:

I am on the Leadership Team of our Women's Ministry and wondered if you have any resources for setting up a 'Prayer Garden' for a retreat. Our Leadership Team will be having a prayer retreat this summer and I need some ideas for setting one up.

So ladies, if you have set up a prayer garden for your ministry or retreat, we would love to hear how you did it, what resources you used or recommend and how it functions.

Send your ideas to robyne@womensministry.net We will post your answers next week.

In Him... Robyne Beaubien, Editor

Someone Has to Win! Why Not You!

When you visit our Featured Sponsor link, you will automatically be entered to win a free book, cd, or other resource from WomensMinistry.NET.

 

And the winner is... KAY @mbcommunitychurch.org
 

This week's winner was was drawn from those who clicked last week's Featured Sponsor link.

KAY please email us your address... You win the book:
Anonymous, by Alicia Chole

reaching more than 20,000 influential women's ministry leaders across the world. Click here for Advertising Rates

Here's what some of our recent Ad Sponsors are saying:

"We have never been disappointed in how advertising in the WomensMinistry.NET newsletter has put us in touch with women of prayer all across the world. Thank you, Phil and Jennifer, for this AWESOME newsletter. The MDOP ministry will be forever blessed because of it." Kathy Coleman, Founder, Mom's Days of Prayer

Here's how it works... send us your great ideas and if we use them in a newsletter you will be automatically entered to win the book bundle for the quarter. The more great ideas you submit, the more chances to win. At the end of the quarter we will announce the winner and the books she has won!

Our popular WomensMinistry.NET Directory of Speaker, Authors, and other Gifted Communicators is now accepting renewals and new listings for 2006. Silver and Gold Listings receive special pricing on eNewsletter Sponsor Ads.

Just click on the link below to update your personal information today.