October Meeting

So, I really enjoyed our last book we read, Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson. SO good! And I hope everyone at the meeting enjoyed the little game we played to help impliment some of the lessons we learned on how to unconditionally respect our husbands... always a task requiring God's patience! :o)

OUR NEXT MEETING:
Thursday, October 9th at 7pm in Room 235 at Bay Area Community Church
EMAIL ME if you want to join us!

Onward, to our next book, Oceans Apart, By Karen Kingsbury. Just so you know, this book is on audio CD so you can read/listen to it on your ipod everywhere you go for those busy women out there.... i.e. ME!

Ocean's Apart, by Karen KingsburyIt's not easy being a single mom, but Kiahna has a wonderful 7-year-old son named Max, a good job as a flight attendant, and a relationship with Christ. When the plane she's on crashes into the ocean, she prays that the Lord will bring Max and his dad together. Will God grant her this one miracle? 352 pages, softcover from Zondervan.

The recipe we had last month was a dessert called a Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Ball.

God Bless!

Book Selections for the Fall

We had a wonderful dinner on the 12th and enjoyed a wide selection of Salads as well. Here are some of the recipes if you missed them:
Next meeting is to discuss Love & Respect on Thursday, September 4th, at Bay Area Community Church at 7pm.

We have also picked the books to read! Please invite friends and family to join and enjoy a good read, discuss it with a Godly mindset and of course, sample a new recipe!

September Book: Ocean's Apart, by Karen Kingsbury
It's not easy being a single mom, but Kiahna has a wonderful 7-year-old son named Max, a good job as a flight attendant, and a relationship with Christ. When the plane she's on crashes into the ocean, she prays that the Lord will bring Max and his dad together. Will God grant her this one miracle? 352 pages, softcover from Zondervan.

October Book:

In A Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, by Mark Batterson

Ever been in the wrong place at the wrong time...several times? These memories leave you with an ill taste in your mouth, and nothing good seems to come from them. But what if the seemingly messy pieces of your life were actually strategically positioned by God? What if you've actually been in the right place at the right time every time? In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day will help you make sense of your past. You'll begin to connect the dots to see clearly how God has been preparing you for future opportunities. With a God's-eye perspective, you'll soon be thanking Him - even for lions, pits, and snowy days.

November Book:

Screwtape Letters, by CS Lewis

Wormwood, a demon apprentice, has been given his first earthly assignment---secure the damnation of a young man who's just become a Christian. He seeks the advice of an experienced devil---his uncle Screwtape. Their correspondence discloses the psychology of temptation from the other side. Invaluable insights on temptation, pride, the power of prayer, and the ultimate victory of faith over the forces evil.

December: OFF

Fall Here We Come!

As we're finishing up the interesting account of Jesus's Life in "The Fisherman's Testament," by Cesar Vidal, I'm looking forward to our themed party evening on August 12th. If you are just joining us, we are meeting at my house (please email me if you need directions) for a pot luck dinner!

For the summer months we have decided to expand from the "one recipe to share" method we have been doing since March and done a potluck dinner where everyone gets to bring a dish to share for a meal! June was a general themed dinner where we got to try all sorts of recipes from all different types of kitchens! July's potluck dinner theme was a Mexican meal! For our last month of potlucks (maybe), the dinner theme is "Salads!"

Our book for next month, August reading, will be "Love and Respect," by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

Discover the secret that cracks the communication code between husbands and wives and reap the benefits of marriage as God intended. Citing extensive biblical and psychological research, Eggerichs shows that harmony and happiness in relationships is not achieved by love alone, but by building on both parts of the Ephesians 5:33 equation: love and respect.

I'm looking forward to growing in faith and love with all of you on Tuesday, August 12th. Not to mention indulging in some new salad recipes! Joy & Blessings to All!

May Book Meeting

After a great, but short dicussion of "The Oath," we began the next book adventure for May which was Pilgrim's Progress in Modern English. I hope everyone was as enlightened and challenged as much as I was. I kept thinking,... which of the characters that Christian runs into, am I?? Who are you most like in the book?

The next order of business is to select the books for the summer. I choose to select 3 months in advance so everyone can order 3 books at once and get a shipping discount! So here are the picks:

June - Prisoners of Hope (non-fiction)
July - The Fisherman's Testament (fiction)
August - Love & Respect (non-fiction)
September - One more Sunrise (fiction)

The two fiction books for July and September are still being finalized but I will update this blog next week when the final say is in!

Also, stay tuned for some great study guide questions to go along with your non-fiction and fiction reading that we'll discuss in our meetings. I hope to deepen our spiritual growth through reading and digging into more meaning is a great way to do it! I'll post those discussion questions as soon as I'm finished with them.

The next meeting will be at my house for a pot luck dinner! We'll be starting at 6:30pm and everyone is bringing a dish! We'll have a full meal! I'll email out directions and get a list of the menu too! I can't wait to celebrate a little bit of summer with everyone!

We Finally Picked a Book for April,... and May!

The book we choose for April is called "The Oath" by Frank Peretti.

A wildlife biologist named Steve Benson has come to the remote mountain town of Hyde River to investigate the gruesome death of his brother. Benson tracks down and kills a grizzly, but then more people are killed and the bears are exonerated. Benson begins to listen with seriousness to the ravings of an old hermit who says that there's a dragon who lives in Saddlehorse Mountain and who lives on sin. It seems that in the 1880s, when Hyde River was a booming mining town, a fire-and-brimstone preacher was hanged, and the perpetrators then signed an oath embracing Reason as their god. In more than 100 years, their sins have grown into a monster. Steve tracks the chimerical dragon, which toys with him and lets him go. Steve is the embodiment of reason but feels the weight of sin when he begins an affair with a married woman, a local deputy named Tracy. A red mark appears over his heart, and gradually it begins to ooze black slime. Judgment Day arrives, and the dragon comes to claim its own. Steve, at last a believer, stands alone to do battle, rather like Bilbo Baggins of The Hobbit, except that Peretti writes with a grim fervor rather than playfulness.

Buy it at Amazon.com

The Book selected for May is Pilgrim's Progress in Modern English. I'll give more details closer to May. Have a great month!

April 3rd Meeting Recap

Well, it was a rainy night last Thursday, but I must admit, God rained his blessing on us by reading the book, "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World." I must say we got such a heart warming discussion out of everyone there! And the best part was this book touched everyone in a completely different way! There was a 12 week bible study in the back of the book to go with each chapter which would have been nice to go through but I suggest that be another task in another club.

A few key points taken away from this book:

-God only wants us to do the simple one (maybe more) things he asks of us and leave the other many tasks you take on to someone else. By trying to do all the church, school or work activities ourselves, we are taking away from letting someone else shine for God's glory.

-Our daily (should be daily) quite times with God should be regular and God has promised us that He will always be there for that meeting request! Picture Him in the chair in the living room waiting for you to come join him like you said you'd "try" to do every day. God keeps ALL of his promises, do you?
-In the bible story of Mary and Martha, when God invites Martha to slow down and not worry about the household chores but to come at his feet and learn, there is no ending to it! We don't know if Martha choose to listen and put aside the early work and focus on the spiritual work God had in store for her. The book said, that it is our chance to decide for ourselves how we would react to Jesus rebuking us for all the household worries of this world and come enjoy the peace and spiritual fruit he has to offer us.

-The classic verse, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." - John 15:5 Doing tons of volunteer work in this world to help others is good, but if it is so much that you are no longer joyful in your tasks, most likely you've left God behind in the first and only task he even requested of you! You will bare much fruit "tons and tons of zucchini!" (from the book) if you remain on the path He has chosen for you. Not the path you think He would like. Everything that is of God will give you peace and joy within your heart. Seek First the Kingdom of God, then set your table for the 7 course meal you've prepared for the whole church!

There are many more, but as of now those are what has been on my heart! If you are just joining this blog I recommend you read this book and may it grow and challenge you as it has me and this group.

THANK YOU, LESLIE for your delicious Raspberry Lime Bites! Here is the recipe if anyone missed it.

April Showers brings May Flowers!

I hope everyone has been enjoying the March book selection "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha's World" by Joanne Weaver. I must say it has challenged me in my growth just this past week!

The one story, in chapter 4 I believe, talks about God giving a man a task to do for him. He must take 3 little stones in the cart up to the top of the mountain and leave it there. The load was light and the man gladly took the job with a cheerful heart to bless God. But along the way, he ran into people who also wanted him to take their rocks to the top of the mountain as well some were small and some were big but his cart kept filling up. He thought God would be proud of him for doing a "Christian neighborly" thing for these other people. But before he got to the top, he broke down and starting resenting God for giving him such an impossible task. The cart load was too heavy and he couldn't pull it at all. God came to his side and slowly unloaded all of the extra burdens he had taken on thinking it was the "good" thing to do for others. But God removed his burden that God did NOT intend on this man to carry. Although he was being kind to others, it took away from his focus to excel with a happy heart with the small task God had intended just for him.

Boy, I thought about the bible studies and the child care and the favors I do for others and when we do that, I feel a lot of the time that that peace and joy of serving God I once had,... is gone. Serving God and doing the things he intended us to do with the gifts he gave us is what brings so much joy to his heart and we grow spiritually and can help others with a fresh and joyful spirit but not feel like we need to help the world. That IS, unquestionably, God's job, to help and save the world.

So think about how you can best serve cheerfully what God has already put in your life before you start saying "yes" to everyone who requests something of you. Be that Godly, happy mom who spends lots of time with her children, be the career women who does her work with honesty and integrity because she is refreshed with God's spirit daily and not bogged down but life outside of work. God wants you to feel His peace and joy when you live every aspect of your life... do you feel it in every activity of your day?

I can't wait to hear some of your thoughts on Thursday! I hope to see you then!

April Book Selection

For the month of April the book genre will be FICTION. There have been 4 book suggestions from women in the group. Please send me an email with your pick and I will let you know the final book selection on Wednesday (4/2).

Women’s Christian Book Club
Meeting: Thursday, April 3rd, 2008 at 7pm
April’s Book Genre is FICTION

1. The Oath, Frank Peretti
www.christianbook.com - $11.99
www.amazon.com -$8.50+
Something sinister is at work in Hyde River, an isolated old mining town in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Something evil. Under the cover of darkness, it strikes without warning, taking life in the most chilling and savage fashion. The latest victim, nature photographer Cliff Benson, was brutally killed while camping in the mountains. The harder townsfolk are pressed for information, the more they close ranks, as if sworn to secrecy. The discovery of the old letters and diaries of the town's forefathers begin to peel away the layers of mystery surrounding Hyde River. What is discovered is a predator more terrifying than anything they had imagined and a town in the grip of unspeakable evil.

2. The Pilgrim's Progress in Modern English, John Bunyan
www.christianbook.com - $10.99
www.amazon.com -$10.39
At last---an unabridged contemporary English translation of Bunyan's enduring classic! Children will be swept away by Pilgrim's adventures, while mature believers can savor the gems of wisdom hidden in every chapter---from Christian's flight from the City of Destruction to his homecoming in the Celestial City. Features a helpful index and over 50 illustrations. 450 pages, soft cover from Bridge.

3. Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, Anne Rice
www.christianbook.com - $18.99
www.amazon.com -$10.20
Based on a thorough familiarity with New Testament scholarship, the noted novelist gives us a stunning fictional re-creation of the life of Jesus. She vividly paints in the first-century milieu, showing how Christ's unique presence affected all around him. Causes one to furiously rethink one's assumptions.

4. Blue Heart Blessed, Susan Meissner
www.christianbook.com - $9.99
www.amazon.com -$10.39
In this sweet contemporary romance, Meissner (A Window to the World) explores one woman’s response to rejection and hurt. When a man she’d trusted jilts Daisy Murien almost at the altar, bitterness colors every aspect of her world. Admirably, she parlays her betrayal into opening a secondhand bridal gown store, Something Blue, where each gown has a story and a tiny blue heart is sewn into the seams and blessed by Daisy’s friend and mentor, the elderly Father Laurent. When the kindly priest is felled by a heart attack, a new romantic interest (predictably) enters Daisy’s life. Lurking on the sidelines is a high school friend who may have feelings for Daisy, and a wealthy single Christian man who can’t seem to make the sparks fly. Meissner tells her story well, and her Christian themes are interwoven throughout with a deft touch. Readers will appreciate some fresh elements: an Ecuadorian couple that cooks for the apartment dwellers every Sunday, and the one gown in Daisy’s inventory she does not want to sell. The ending is well told if conventional, with all the loose ends neatly tied up, which should please fans of “happily ever after” romance novels. (Feb.)

March Book Selection

February is almost over and our next meeting will be on March 6th at 7pm in the Fireside room at BACC. The book selection for March was sent out last week. There were 3 book choices that were sent out to everyone:

1. He Choose Nails, Max Lucado
2. Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, Joanne Weaver
3. A Beautiful Fight, Gary Thomas

The vote was almost annyonomous for "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World," by Joanne Weaver. This book can be purchased at any Christian book store and most likely in Wal-mart or Target too. Amazon.com has the best price for you internet savey individuals out there. Here is a breif description for the up coming March book selection.

The life of a woman today isn't really all that different from that of Mary and Martha in the New Testament. Like Mary, you long to sit at the Lord's feet...but the daily demands of a busy world just won't leave you alone. Like Martha, you love Jesus and really want to serve him...yet you struggle with weariness, resentment, and feelings of inadequacy. Then comes Jesus, right into the midst of your busy Mary/Martha life---and he extends the same invitation he issued long ago to the two sisters of Bethany. Tenderly he invites you to choose "the better part"---a joyful life of "living-room" intimacy with him that flows naturally into "kitchen service" for him.

So I hope you can grab a copy and join us for a breif discussion of our February book (yes, it was a beast of a book,...) and some fellowship time to kick off our next book and enjoy a new recipe!

Februrary's Meeting Recap

Our first meeting went well! We had about 7 women show up and enjoy some new recipes and we selected our first book.

Recipes were:
-Bacon Wrapped Shrimp dipped in Chutney
-Triple Chocolate Cake

You can get recipes for these at our next meeting if you missed it the first time.

For our March meeting we will have a new recipe to sample so please come to find out!

The book selected is called "When Heaven Weeps," by Ted Dekker.
Synopsis:
In a small Balkan village near the end of World War II, a band of soldiers play a cruel game of ultimate stakes with a priest and his flock. Jan Jovic reluctantly participates. But he's prepared for neither the incredible demonstration of love nor the terrible events that follow. Now, many years later, that same game will spring to life in Jan's own heart. He will fall madly in love with the wrong woman. Her name is Helen, Now it's Jan's turn to play the game. But there is a price. Dive into a romantic thriller like none you've ever read. Drink deeply of a love that will bring a tremor to your bones. Go ahead, it's your turn to play the game. But remember...there is a price. And no one could possibly prepare you for that price.

I will be posting the book selection for March's book in the next week so please check back! I look forward to seeing you on March 6th for our second meeting at Bay Area Church in the Fireside room!

God Bless!

First Meeting

Our first meeting will be:

Time: This Thursday at at 7pm.
Where: Bay Area Community Church in the Fireside Room
Please come in the side door by all the offices (not through the bay cafe side).
What: I will have some info on two book selections and we will decide which book to begin reading for next month. I will also be bringing two recipes to try and sample with recipe cards for you to take home.

Our first meeting should not take longer then an hour since we're not discussing any book this time. I look forward to meeting everyone and spending some fellowship time as well!

See you then!