It's Time To Get Strong!

Just when you thought there were no more ways to show you my grandchildren...I have found another. We have a pull up bar in our house that is a part of our regular home decor. It hangs prominently in the doorway between the kitchen and the Dining room. I used to think (to myself of course)...I wonder how much longer that's going to hang there before they get tired of it. As you might have guessed, in a house with quite a few men passing through, they are not tired of it yet. It has been interesting to watch however, to see how long it takes a new person visiting to try it out. It's kind of like they can hear that bar saying..."show me what you got!"...and the next thing I hear from them is "let me at that thing". They have to try it and (as my sister Mary wanted to prove with her try) see if they can still do what they did in high school. Now some of the people that are regularly at our house...have been out of high school for several years but for some of the rest of us...it has been several decades. The "let me at that thing" feeling can happen at any age as you can see form the picture of my 10 month old grandson J. Harrison. But while the desire is the same at any age I will have to say that the results are not the same. 

Well I use that pull up bar in my house as a reminder that it's time to get strong. When you watch people like my son Garrett use it every time he goes by, you realize its value. Doing something regularly and often builds you up. Doing it just once in a while makes you sore...for days. As I think about my spiritual goals I realize they are much like my physical goals. We all want to get strong in the Lord. The funny thing is that strength only happen when we are built up daily by the things that make us grow. So it's time...time to get regular with my own study in the word. Time to get back with the people I can learn from as we study together.

I love this time of year. A time when so many of us feel the pull to get things ordered in our life again. It's almost like you can feel it in the air...the let's get going feeling. I was even excited to be back in my office again.  J. Harrison was with me there doing some Hebrew studies. Did I mention he is a remarkable child? Advanced in every way. We were reading the Bible and discussing the use of the Shofar in the Old Testament (the long Ram's horn) and he was a great student, interested in everything. I saw again with fresh eyes why the Lord tells us to come to Him as a child. Ladies I pray for that for each of us. That we come ready to learn and truly interested in everything He wants to teach us. We have so many great opportunities for Bible Study this Fall I hope you are in one.

Thanks for the inspiration this week J. Harrison! To think that there is coming a day when the only thing he wants to learn is how to drive.

Sarah Huxford, SCC Women's Pastor,
Thursday Thought...

God Sized Beauty

We are thrilled to be back. There is no place like home and Savannah Christian Church. The pictures for this blog could get a little boring however because the only subjects to photograph here some days are Cam and I drinking our coffee and having calendar time. But hopefully we won't have to resort to that this week. We have seen some amazing God size sights this last month. I will have to admit, my husband was right, they do look better from the back seat of a Harley. As we rode through the giant redwoods my neck got so tired trying to look from the bottom of the tree to the top because you can't take in the entire tree at once. So I took advantage of not having a roof over my head...laid back on our pack and just stared straight up at those magnificent trees. When we stopped I just had to hug one. Yes that's me in my motorcycle helmet becoming a tree hugger. I do love those trees.

On the northern California coast I saw God sized cliffs hanging over the ocean as it sparkling hundreds of feet below.  (At one point my husband said it had to be a 1000 feet down.) The ocean was shining with the most beautiful shades of glowing blue I had ever seen. I didn't know we could be that high above the ocean and still be on land. Next time I hope to see all of it with my eyes open. However from what I did see...I was overwhelmed with the creative mind of our God. Just when you think you've seen the most beautiful view there is, another one comes around the next hairpin curve and takes your breath away. (...or maybe it was the curve...but I know I wasn't breathing.)

We also saw some amazing sights that show clearly man's ingenuity and creativity. When we crossed the Golden Gate bridge we were in the clouds part of the ride. It is fortunate that someone decided to paint it orange when it was constructed. Out of all of the colors I think orange shows up best in the fog and clouds. I loved it's graceful inverted arches shooting into the clouds. But the memorable thing for me was the vantage point we had of the surrounding area. I realized without this bridge only the birds would have this chance. After the cliffs and this bridge it became normal to be looking down on birds in flight. I was definitely seeing the world from a new angle.

I think we look most like our God when we create something new. When we can get what's in our mind and heart out there to share with other people we see just a glimmer of His heart. The Bible tells us we were created in His image and so there is a part of us that longs to create. I love that everything God created...He wanted to share with us. That's why He made it!

Getting Closer to God

Ladies, Its been a long hot summer and I don't know about you but I am ready for cooler weather. I am also ready to to get back to connecting and serving with my Sisters in Christ. I would like to take a moment and speak to our sisters at SCC who have not connected with our Women's Ministry. It could be that you are new or it could be that you have been coming for a while and do not know how to get connected.

I would like to tell you about two ladies and what they did to get involved with our Women's ministry.

Delynn Daniels came to our church about 4 years ago from Florida. She knew no one. She said she was lonely and needed girlfriends (she had left 3 best friends in Orlando). She read that our Women's Ministry Bible Studies would be starting up and she decided to join one. The best decision ever. Not only did she grow deeper with her Lord but she made friends. These new girlfriends helped her get plugged into all the activities we have in our Women's Ministry. Delynn is now one of the leaders of this ministry and works part time at SCC. Needless to say Delynn is not lonely anymore.

Maureen Smith came to our church just recently but connected so fast it seems she has been a part of our family for 20 years. Her husband is in the military. We love taking care of our military sisters !!! Maureen like Delynn joined a Women's Bible Study. OMGoodness!!! She will forever have lifelong girlfriends here because of the bond she has made with these ladies. She has gotten plugged into our Ministry big time! Maureen and her husband are being transferred in a few short weeks and we are going to miss her very much.

I know personally I love our Bible studies and all that we learn in them. I love studying Gods Word and connecting with Him along with getting connecting with other ladies. Ladies who understand life from (as Sarah Huxford always says) my side of the breakfast table.

All this to say, our society is more and more driven to social media, texting, and emailing to stay connected. We cannot overlook the importance of physical face to face connecting! I want to encourage you to go to our web site and or watch for our blog about the upcoming Bible Studies . They will be posted around the 20th of August. Lets do this life together Sweet Sisters. I look forward to it! 

 

Love you all, Irene Christian

To See Clearly We May Need New Light

I have the most amazing young women raising my grandchildren! I know that is a strange way to tell you that news. It's just that I have recently seen them in a new and different light. They have both agreed to work with me on projects this summer and it's like I got to view them from a different angle.

So allow me to restate than my daughters-in-law look amazing from any angle. First of all how brave do you have to be to work with your Mother-in-law! Secondly I've got to admit that I've been more creative and more productive than ever before. When my eyes were opened to this "new light" I got excited because this just what we believe God has called us to in REAL Women ministries.

We have always believed that we are to take seriously Titus 2 and that means our ministry must be inter-generational. I have once again seen that God has a great plan for us as women when we are willing to learn from each other. This is a great time of year ro step out and make those inter-generational connections. Over these next few days you will be hearing from some REAL Women leaders (on this blog) about opportunities to connect with other women that will help you grow and see things in a "new light". I hope you will find what I have found...that there is still a lot to learn.

I think our families are just like God's family...it works well when there are strong ties from generation to generation. Each holding to His truth for the generation that is yet to come. So as I watch my daughters-in-law (from any angle or in any light) I see the next generation in good hands. It brings such joy to see my grand children being raised by these amazing women!

Sarah Huxford

SCC Women's Ministry