A Little Wardrobe Malfunction...

Yes, that's our story and we are sticking to it!  This post was supposed be the introduction to our first ever "Girl's Just Want To Have Fun" event, but unfortunately, it's not gonna happen.

Instead, we want to pick your brains a little.  When you think about getting together with your girlfriends and having fun, what comes to mind?  We (the leadership team) are looking for all the ways you think fun happens.  Are you game?

Please leave your very clever and creative ideas in a comment box below for a chance to win lunch for yourself and two friends at ZOE'S.  There will be a random drawing for the prize on Friday, August 31, at 12:00 noon.

We are looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks for stopping by,
Suzanne

Tap, tap, tap, is this thing on?

Hello Ladies!  This is a test.

If you receive an e-mail notice for this post, PLEASE click on the blog title (somewhere in your e-mail will be the word Connecting highlighted in some way.  Mine is in blue, below the content of the e-mail) in order to go to the blog site.

Click on comments, (at the end of the post), and write something in the box.  Anything will do.  I just need to know that you are actually receiving your notifications.

After you write the comment, you may remain anonymous, or in the box designated comment as: type in your name, and forget about the URL. Close the box and...

 PUBLISH YOUR COMMENT by clicking on the publish button.  Do not close the blog window until you see your comment appear in the comment list or it will vanish forever.

I think that's everything you need to know to successfully leave a comment.  If it really works, there will be another post coming your way.

Thanks for your help!
Suzanne

A Book, A Card, A Little Inspiration

Hi Ladies,  happy weekend.

I hope that many of you have re-subscribed by e-mail now that our "technical difficulties" seem to be resolved.  Check out the Blog Archives column on the right.  There have been several posts since the "welcome".  You may have missed the further introductions of the leadership team for Women's Ministry here at LVCC during the time that the subscription service was not working.  Please give Meagan Krone a big thank you the next time you see her for getting us up and running again.  I think Meagan is the one woman IT team for Lake Valley!

Did you know that there is a women's book club going on at Lake Valley?  Yeah, they meet once a month on Wednesdays after the bible study (currently a Beth Moore study of Daniel, open to anyone who would like to come).  Actually Judy Ellis is the contact person so I asked her to tell you about it:

The Women's Book Club decided to read the Book by Eric Blehm... Fearless-The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy Seal Team Six Operation Adam Brown.  This is a book about a young man from Hot Springs named Adam Brown.  Fearless is the story of a man of extremes whose courage and determination was fueled by faith, family and the love of a woman. He gave the ultimate sacrifice. We would like to invite any and all of the women of Lake Valley to join us. Just read the book and on September 12th at noon, we will meet at church to discuss the book. Please bring your lunch and join with us in discussing this book and how it has impacted our lives.  

The Book Club is a small group of women who enjoy reading and want the fellowship of other women.  We enjoy reading, eating lunch together, watching movies but most of all we carry the love of God in our hearts for each other.  God has blessed us with new caring friends.

Thanks Judy.  You can contact Judy for more information by phone, 520-0456, or e-mail, sunny07man@yahoo.com

If this isn't a time or day that works for you, maybe you would like to start another book club.  There are probably others who might have the same needs as you.  You are welcome to use the comment box below to get that rolling.  I will help in any way I can.  

Did you by any chance notice the words on Judy's t-shirt in the picture above?  It says, "Daily Dreamer".  It says some other things too, but this really caught my eye and it is a natural segue into the next subject I wanted share with you tonight-my card!

(you can click on this picture for a closer look)

Some of you already know that I LOVE paper craft.  I usually make cards, but occasionally I try other projects as well.  This hobby started about three years ago and I have found it to be a creative adventure.  I have learned not only a lot about the art itself, but have met a lot of people on line who inspire me daily.  Many of the paper crafters are very open about their faith.  The entire community, which is world wide, is consistently encouraging and uplifting.  I have joined a local group of other card-makers for a monthly stamp club.  Perhaps the most surprising benefit of all is the increased knowledge of computer usage.  I am light years beyond where I was three years ago.  I have recently celebrated my first year anniversary for my personal blog, Beauty and Blessings.

All of this to say, it was about three years ago that I asked God to give me a dream.  I wanted a way to experience Him and connect with other people in a creative way.  I don't think I articulated that exactly, but now I see very clearly that God showed me a way of expressing His Character, through His Spirit in me.  I have always known that Beauty is important to me, but it took a long time to figure out that it is important because Beauty is a characteristic of God.  One that He expresses in a unique way through women.  I know this is not fine art.  But it is the way a Creative, omniscient God chose to speak to me about Himself and His character.  Pretty cool, huh?  It is to me.

Are you daring to dream?  Please do.  Then watch what happens!

Have you joined Pinterest yet?  I know a lot of you have because I follow you or you follow me.  According to Wikipedia, Pinterest is a pinboard-style social photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests...etc.

You will need an invitation to use Pinterest, but it's not as exclusive as that may sound.  Let me know if you want an invitation and I will get you in!

This poster is one of the reasons I like Pinterest so much.

 I want to be a strong woman.  I want to hang out with other strong women.  I bet you do too.

In closing, we have a lot of hurting people in our Lake Valley family right now.  Pray for those you know about.  Love them as if you were Jesus with skin on.

Thanks for stopping by,
Suzanne

Meet Karen Wright!

Hello again, and welcome back to Connecting.  Today, we have the introduction of the final leadership team member, Karen Wright.  I know you will be glad to hear from her.

My name is Karen Wright.  My husband Mika and I have been married for 29 years.  Robert is the older of our two sons and is married to Kayla. They have two children (our two grandchildren); Rylee is three years old and Mason is 2 months old.  Our youngest son, Andrew, is a senior at UCA and is headed to Washington D.C. in a few weeks to participate in an internship (probably as a US Marshall).  I am a Licensed Associate Counselor and have a private practice at the Rix Professional Building. In that role, I have the privilege of providing gentle restoration to hurting fellow sojourners.  I also provide trauma focused counseling three days a week for the children and parents at the Cooper Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center.

 

Mika and I stumbled into Lake Valley eleven years ago; broken hearted, disillusioned, depressed and separated (on the verge of divorce).  God loved us and did some Holy transformation in our lives during that very difficult time (I hope I get to share that part of my journey with you sometime, but that’ll have to do for now).  I will tell you this, eleven months after our separation began, we were healed enough to courageously merge our lives back together again under the same roof filled with a renewed sense of God, hope and purpose.

As we move forward, it is my desire to stand shoulder to shoulder with women who are seeking a deeper experience with God; A Sisterhood of Faith.   I wish for a time and place for each woman at Lake Valley to explore further her own story.  I long for us to recognize more clearly God’s Presence weaved throughout History (HisStory) playing out in our personal lives.   I yearn for all women to recognize in a fresh and new way their God-given value and purpose and to identify both her unique position and specific role in His Kingdom.  I am thrilled that God knitted our lives together; and am passionate as we move along in His Great Adventure together.

Thank you, Karen!  

Well, that concludes the introductions of the leadership team for Ministry to Women at Lake Valley.  I hope you have a better idea of who we are as well as faces to match up with the names.  In case you missed any of the other introductions, please check the archives in the right column under our pictures for previous posts.

NOTE:  Technical difficulties have prevented notifications for those of you who subscribed by e-mail but I expect that the problem will be fixed as early as tomorrow.  (Monday 8/6/12).  There will be a post later in the week, so hopefully you'll know when it goes up.  Please feel free to let me know (via my e-mail, suzannebrussell@gmail.com) of any problems you are having or if you need a little tutorial on how to use this site.

I and the other three leaders are praying for you.  Have a great week!

Thanks for stopping by,

Suzanne

Meet Dian Glover!

Good morning, Ladies!

I'm back again today with another leadership team introduction.  Take it away, Dian!

My name is Dian Glover.  Thomas and I have been married for 33 years.  We have 2 sons and a daughter-in-love.  We have lived in Hot Springs since 1983 and owned Glover Bible Bookstore for 17 years.  We joined Lake Valley in 1996.  I taught school at Cutter Morning Star Elementary for 7 years.  I am now the Elementary Children’s Coordinator at Lake Valley.  I enjoy singing, playing the piano, organizing and decorating, reading and traveling.  I am even a part of a band that sings around town!

God began a work on my heart for women after hearing a lady talk about the mentoring program at Fellowship Bible Church in Northwest Arkansas.  After hearing, I began praying for the women of Lake Valley to catch the vision of Titus 2.  As I prayed for a mentor for my daughter-in-love, God’s still small voice reminded me I, too, could do that for someone else.  Last year we began our mentoring ministry at Lake Valley!  I am also very passionate about encouraging women in their connections with God and with other women; recognizing the value they have in Christ and their influence in the lives of their children and husband, which can produce satisfying joy.

I am so excited about the “fresh & new” adventure I feel God is preparing for us as women!  We need each other for support and encouragement as we seek to follow Christ each day.  We need to lend our strengths to each other as we seek to build His kingdom.   My prayer it that God will unify us as sisters in Him!  I’m ready for where He leads.  I’m sure it will be amazing!!

Thanks, Dian.  I expect that you will be getting a few responses about the mentoring program, what that means and how they can plug in as a mentor or a mentee.

Well, Ladies, I hope you are getting the sense that something good is brewing for the women of Lake Valley Church.  Lest you are thinking we are all talk and no action, let me assure you that over the next five months a great deal of preparation will be taking place.  By December, you will get to hear what that means and how you can be part of the plan.  In the meantime, may I ask you to pray for us as we explore the "Fresh and New" opportunities?

Have a great weekend!

Thanks for stopping by,

Suzanne  

Meet Karen Stuckey!

Hi Ladies!  The introduction of the other members of the leadership team continues.  Most of you have met or at least seen Karen in the lobby on Sunday mornings.  I have asked her to answer a few questions about herself and those answers are in the paragraphs below.

My name is Karen Stuckey.  My husband Bill and I have been married for 32 years and have two adult children, a married daughter Laura and a son Bennett, a senior in college.  I have been a stay-at-home wife and mom for most of our married life.  I enjoy tennis, walking, and boat rides with Bill.  (We usually have room for more!)

We found our way to Lake Valley in the spring of 2002 and it didn't take attending more than about two services to realize I had found my church home.  I have been active in Women's Ministry under some gifted leadership through the years.  I help the LVCC office with the administrative duties of organizing Home Groups and serve as the coordinator for First Touch ministry (greeters).  Bill and I have been home group pastors for a number of years.

I am energized by being a part of a team where each member uncovers their passion and gets to use it for the benefit of those we are serving.  I love to spend time with women mentoring or coaching.  I am at the stage of life where I need to be looking over my shoulder at the generation of wives and mothers coming up behind me and be willing to follow the exhortation in Titus 2.  I love to listen to women's hearts, share mine when asked, hopefully pointing women to the One who created them.  I want to remind them of His life-changing love for them and help them discover the beauty and gifting He placed in them.  I believe our lives are a journey with a purpose, a plan, and a destiny ordained by God. I hope to help create opportunities for women to discover who they are as they courageously move toward theirs.

Thank, Karen for giving us a glimpse of your heart.

I am delighted to be on this leadership team with her as well as Karen Wright and Dian Glover.  You will be hearing more from each of them soon!

Are you ready to start getting to know each other a little better?  


Please leave a comment today telling us a little about yourself, your interests, and your family.  How long have you been at Lake Valley?  Do you have any hobbies?  Would you like to recommend a book  you enjoyed reading recently?  We want to hear from you!

Thanks for stopping by,

Suzanne