Saying Goodbye

Today we said goodbye to my mother, as we celebrated her 97 years of life on this earth. She had such a great life, nothing fantastic or dramatic, just a simple life devoted to family, with a wonderful attitude and a quick smile. She loved people, and lived life with zest and enthusaism.
Two weeks ago, mother had a stroke, and steadily declined since then, until, on Friday, July 19, she just peacefully slipped away.
Today, the family she loved so much gathered to celebrate her life. My son in law, Doug, lead the service and shared so sweetly about her heart and her life. Mother commited to make the best of any situation. A few weeks ago, after talking about her desire to just get a little apartment with one bedroom, and a kitchen so that she could cook, she finally turned to me and said, "I'm not going to leave this place, am I?" I said, "No, mother, your not going to leave." She replied, "Well, I'll just make the best of it then."  That was her attitude the last year as she lived in the nursing home, surrounded by strangers, with no independence. One day last year, as I was leaving, I asked if she wanted me to leave her in the living area, or take her back to her room. She said, "Take me back to my room and I will pretend to be happy." She really tried to be happy and postive while her situation was difficult and her body grew weaker. Although she badly wanted to leave the nursing home, she also never wanted us to feel quilty about her having to be there. She cared about our feelings more than her own.

My mother did not try to teach me anything, but she influenced my life in huge ways, and I am very grateful. Today, Doug said that her influence lives on through her daughters, her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and many others. I agree.
Here are a few pictures of my mother from the last few years.

  

My mother maintained a postivie attitude. She did get mad, dissappointed, frustrated, and upset about things. But she refused to stay there. She chose to be happy and postive. She understood what few people do, that happiness is a choice that we make. Contentment is a discipline. Joy does not depend on our cirucmstances, but is a decisioin.
As I end the day of my mothers funeral, and end this post that is a tribute to her life, I will close the way she ended almost every phone call or visit, Mom, "We'll see you when we see you."

Gospel Balloons

At our recent Women's Ministry Leadership retreat, God gave us a new idea for outreach, to attach notes to balloons, fill them with helium, and let them go. Very simple, very inexpensive. We made plans to do this Wednesday, at a preplanned church picnic at the lake. We had rain in our area Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, so the picnic was changed to the fellowship hall at Cottonwood.
As the church gathered for food and fellowship, a group of women and teenagers gathered around a helium tank, filling balloons, and tying ribbon to them, with cards attached.

The message was very simple
The Front:

Jesus loved you so much that He died for you.

We want the chance to love you too!

Come and visit with us at Cottonwood,

 any Sunday at 10:45.

Join us at 9:15 for small group Bible studies

and children’s classes.

Cottonwood Church; on Hwy 6,

 3 miles East of Dublin, towards Hico.

 For information, call 254-445-2929

(Bring this card with you when you come,

for a free drink at our coffee shop.)

And the back: 

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.

Hebrews 9:27-28

They took the balloons outside and passed them out to whoever wanted to help release them, then they let them go, with a lot of prayer that God would take the messages to those who really needed it.

I was not able to be at this event, although I really wanted to. I heard from many sources that it was a wonderful event, that we must do it again, with more balloons. A friend sent me this video. I hope you can watch it, and hear all the hooping and hollering that went on when the balloons went up. 

Today, I drove from Stephenville, through Dublin, through DeLeon, to Beaty, back through Dublin to Stephenville, thinking about those 100 balloon messages and praying that some hearts have been touched by those simple words. 

Big Plans

One of the cheif joys of the ministry I am in, is the honor of serving with wonderful women who love the Lord passionately, are zealous to serve Him, truly and sincerely love His people, and have great love for those who don't know Him. How about THAT for amazing??!!! What a joy to serve with these women.
We have a Leadership Retreat every June, where we gather to celebrate what God has done during the past year, enjoy being together, pray for each other and for the ministry, and make plans for the following year. Really, we have a BLAST. We love each other, truly enjoy being together, and take great joy in hearing from God about what He wants in Women's Ministry.
I want to share with you what we feel God led us to plan for the following year, beginning with right now.
This is just the start, I am sure we will add to the calendar as events come to mind.

• Monthly Fellowship lunches continue; 2^nd Monday of every month, at Belinda Koestle’s
• Monthly meetings of Band of Mothers, a support group for mothers of young children
• July 13  Ladies day at the lake; at Possum Kingdom State Park
• July 17 Balloon Release with gospel message, blessing at Cottonwood Family Night at Lake Proct We are always praying for creative ways to reach the unchurched in our community, and we are very   excited about this simple outreach that God spoke to us.                                                                                                             
• August 25 Single Mom’s Spa Day: This will be about our tenth year to have this special event for the single moms of our area. We provide professional haircuts, manicures, pedicures, facials; just a full day of pampering, as well as activites for the children. We need lots of help for this; publicity, refreshments, child care, manicure, pedicure, facial, any other services anyone may want to provide.
• September 6-7 Young Women’s Retreat. For women 18-31, hopefully at Possum Kingdom Lake ministry center. 
• September 9 Fall Kick-off; our annual event to gather together for fun, fellowship, and to share what is coming up for the year; 6:30, supper, Fellowship hall
• September 16 Bible Studies start;   Monday Nights; 2 in Stephenville, Deleon;  Tuesday mornings in Dublin…not sure of day in Comanche and Hamilton. Details for the Bible studies will be worked out soon.                                              
• September 22 Ladies dinner; Young women serve women over 30, provide an evening of fun and fellowship, with worship and sharing.
• September 26-30 Ladies Mission Trip to New Orleans where we will serve with a ministry that reaches out to women working in the sex industry there. 
• October  12 Hike at Possum Kingdom State Park
• October 26 Spanish Speaking Women’s Conference; fellowship hall; need help with child care, serving lunch  they are providing
• Early December  (during finals) give out gospel, blessing cookies at Tarleton
• December 8 Ladies Christmas Party, fellowship hall; an eveing of celebration, of games, of worship. 
• Spring Retreat February 28-March 1. 

Our desire and vision is to provide something that will reach every woman, every age, every interest, to encourage to pursue a growing and passionate relationship with Jesus Christ. Every event has that goal. 

Hey, if you have an interest that is not included, let me know. In the past we have had book clubs, sewing lessions, cooking demonstrations, health teachings, campouts, craft fairs... 

I just want to provide avenues that will open doors for the gospel and  build relationships that will help women grow in faith and live the abundant, free life that Jesus promised.  

Lake Day Saturday, July 13

Join Cottonwood women at the lake THIS Saturday, July 13, at Possum Kingdom State Park. 
We will meet in Stephenville, at the Big Lots Parking lot at 9am, to drive to the lake. Park entrance cost  is $6 per person, children under 13 are free. Bring lots of water, a lunch, and floats and toys for a day of fun.