Over 1500 years ago, a young man named Maewyn Succat lived in Wales, with his Anglo- Roman family. When he was only 16 years old, he was captured by an Irish pagan warlord known as Niall of the Nine Hostages. Maewyn was carried away against his will to Ireland, separated from his family and forced into slavery for 6 long years.

I wonder what that must have been like? Lonely? Confusing? Did that time of harsh slavery make him question the God in whom he had believed? Did the internment lead him to detest the country in which he found himself?

By the time he was about 23, he was able to escape. Evidently his time in Ireland didn't pull him from his God, but drew him to God because he became a priest and changed his name to Patricius, or Patrick, which comes from the Latin word meaning "father- figure" or "patrician, patron." Rather than ignoring the horrors of slavery or forgetting his wretched experiences in Ireland, he willingly went back to the country where he had been enslaved.

He spent his later years preaching Christianity to the Irish and telling them about the Savior who had been with him during his six years of slavery. He introduced the eager Irish to the triune God using the Shamrock. He used this three-leafed grass to help put in plain words the Trinity; how God could be Three in One (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit).

Well, at this point, I know you know of whom I write... we know him now as St. Patrick! St Patrick is believed to have died in 493 AD and his remains are assumed to be buried in a grave at Down Cathedral in Downpatrick.

His legacy has much more impact than clovers and Irish nationalism though. He has left footprints of faith in which we should follow. He understood that Christ was with him, no matter where "he" was. He saw his Risen Lord in everything and everyone around him. He allowed his slavery to be redeemed for the good and salvation of the Irish people and today we are still inspired by his faithful expression of trust in God. Some poignant words he wrote still remain. May they be a blessing to you today. (BTW, click here if you would like to see my precious Connor, 8 years old, singing this with me recently)

A Hymn by St Patrick

I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One, and One in Three.

I bind this day to me for ever,
By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan river;
His death on cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spiced tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom:
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the star-lit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, his might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need,
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, his shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One, and One in Three
Of whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word,
Praise to the Lord of my salvation:
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

Blessings and Joy,
Jennifer Rothschild
Author of Lessons I Learned in the Dark (and Light), and Founder of WomensMinistry.NET

This idea was originally published in September of 2005 and was submitted by Brenda Yarema.

This was a fun idea for a new women's Bible study at our church.

Our basis for the study was our belief that there was no one better to share how to cope with real life situations then women who have lived through these situation.

At a women's gathering, we listed issues that impact today's woman. I then asked the group if any woman had ever experienced any of these issues (personally, of course). All women responded yes. I explained that our next ten week Bible study session was approaching and I needed ten women to personally share a situation in their life and how God helped them through that situation. I sent a sign up sheet around the gathering of about 40 women for women to sign up if they felt lead to share their life experience. I relayed this would be a great help to the women of our church to discuss life's issues as well as to each individual woman who would share as this experience would allow them to step out of their comfort zone and help them to develop into class facilitators.

When the sign up sheet returned to me at the end of the event, do you know how many women had signed up? (Remember, this was a ten week Bible study). You guessed right, ten women were willing to share how God has worked in their lives.

Having a standard format for the Bible study, the ten women worked to gather resources and materials and finally the first night of our study had arrived. How many women of our church were interested in our Extreme Makeover sessions? 50! Each week brought a different group of women depending of the title for the week. We published our weekly topics in our Sunday bulletin as many women cannot commit to ten weeks of study due to their busy schedules. Our attendance stayed steady at about 50 women.

Our only problem... the women of our church want to do it all over again. Well, back to the planning team. We are always trying to meet the current needs of the women of our church. This study did exactly that.

Girlville Getaway Cruise - January 14-19, 2008, 5 days Western Caribbean departing Tampa, FL Fabulous National Authors, Speakers, Artists, Awesome Worship. Prices starting at $569.00 Unbelievable offer to Women's Directors, call for details. Grab your girlfriends and get onboard. 615- 591-8845 or tony@girlvillegetawaycruise.com

Take a minute to visit this recent sponsor...

• Bridget Taylor Ministries
• Jennifer on Life Today

Objectives: Getting ladies to introduce themselves & discover interesting things about each other. These "discoveries" can be useful tools when ministering to one another.

Prepare several different lists of questions/statements that the ladies must find women who "fit" the statements. It is good to mix these up so that the women are not all looking for the same people. Put directions on the top of the paper and challenge the women to fill in as many of the blanks as they can in 10 minutes.

You can offer a small prize to the woman who collects the most names, be sure to have a couple extra prizes just in case you have more than one winner.

Here are some ideas for your list.
Obtain the
name of a lady who:

• Has a green kitchen
• Lives in a two story house
• Has at least four children
• Whose favorite color is red
• Has a 4-wheel-drive vehicle
• Takes care of their elderly parents
• Drives a standard-shift vehicle
• Is a teacher
• Sings or plays an instrument
• Is a full-time SAHM
• Has a yellow house
• Does not have cable or satellite service
• Homeschools her children
• Remembers the great Depression
• Has been to a tent revival
• Was baptized in a lake, river, or pond
• Has been on a mission trip
• Doesn't like chocolate
• Likes to swim
• Would like to go on a mission trip
• Makes some of her own clothes
• Is an artist.
• Has an unusual pet (eg: not a cat, dog, fish, or bird)
• Owns a business
• Is married to a preacher & is NOT the pastor's wife
• Enjoys horseback riding
• Has been to Europe
• Has been married for at least thirty years
• Has never given birth
• Is new to the area
• Had braces on their teeth as a teen
• Actually uses their cloth napkins
• Can change a tire
• Is adopted
• Is a doctor or nurse
• Whose college degree is pretty much unrelated to their career
• Has been married 2 years or less

That should get you going! Consider continuing the "getting to know you" theme with several women sharing their testimonies.

Java with Jennifer is an informal monthly ministry update specifically for friends who want to keep up-to-date on what is happening with Jennifer Rothschild's ministry of writing, speaking, and singing.

Obviously, because you are receiving this eNewsletter, you are signed up for the Jennifer's "weekly" WomensMinistry.NET eNewsletter. However, if you want to get up close, and personal with Jennifer, just click on the Update Profile link at the bottom of this email, and select the Java with Jennifer interest group when asked to update your profile.

Still not sure?

See the Latest Issue here.

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.

 

We randomly select the winner from those that click through the featured sponsor links in last week's issue.
This week's winner is...vernonas@wor...
 

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 where Women's Ministry leaders and event planners find great speakers for their events. Also, Silver and Gold Listings receive special pricing on eNewsletter Sponsor Ads.

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