Water into Wine=Living Water

        In a recent study of the Gospel of John, I enjoyed some new insight into chapter 2, which tells the story of the very first miracle of Jesus. He went to a wedding where the hosts ran out of wine. An embarrassing situation, and socially unacceptable for the time, but really, hard to see as life threatening. Jesus did a lot of really big, amazing miracles; healing lepers, giving sight to the blind, even raising the dead! His first miracle was a social rescue.

        Jesus obliged them by turning water into wine. In fact, Jesus had the servants fill six large jars with water, a total of about 150 gallons, which he then turned into wine. The normal, natural water, which may not have even been healthy to drink, he took and turned into wine that was refreshing, exhilarating, even intoxicating. The host even said that this wine was the best.

When we looked at this chapter, we had just had a good discussion of John 1, where Jesus is revealed as the true life which is the light of men, and as the source of grace and truth. John 1:16 “ For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”  Jesus is full of grace, and he has poured that grace upon us and into us. We have received all that He is, abundantly; grace upon grace, overflowing, lavish grace. 

         After a great introduction of Jesus in chapter one, John tells this simple story of Jesus turning water into wine. Why? Maybe Jesus is illustrating what John 1 means. He comes to us, normal, natural human beings, like the normal water in the vessels. He comes to us and fills us. He is refreshing, exhilarating, even intoxicating.

          As I went on reading John, I could see this theme continued. John 3 tells the story of Jesus encounter with Nicodemus, where he tells of the need to be born again, to be born of the Spirit, to be made into a new person.  Then, in John 4, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman he met at a well that He would give all who believe a new kind of water, living water that would always refresh, never run out, and never be old; water that would well up to eternal life.

         For the last week, I have meditated on and relished this thought, that the plain, old, stagnant water of my life became refreshing, exhilarating, intoxicating wine in my spirit by the grace and power of the life of Jesus.

Spa Day-Over and Above kind of volunteers

One of the amazing things about our Single Mom's Spa Day is our volunteers who work so hard to make it a special days for the moms. I wish I could name every single helper. They work so hard with so much love, and the number increases every year. At the end of the day, after working for 6 hours or more, everyone is exhausted, and saying, "next year, we can..." That blows me away. No one says, "Don't count on me for next year, this is too hard." NO, they are already talking about how we can make it better next year.

Two years ago, at the end of a Spa Day, Cathy Burke, a retired teacher who was new to Cottonwood, a first time helper who had worked with the children came to me and said something like, "The children's area was chaos. We need to minister to the kids while we minister to their moms. They need to have a craft, a story, and some organized games, and I will do it."
That's the kind of "complainer" I like, a person who sees a need and is willing to do something about it.
So, last year Cathy organized the ministry to the children, and she took care of it again this year. Here are a few pictures that show what a great day it was for the kids. 
 

About three years ago, the men of the church decided to get involved, and volunteered to wash the cars for the moms.  See how hard they work on those cars! 

This dear man, Charles Grimsley, checked the oil on every car, and left notes for the mom's if the oil was low. So, next year, we will have oil on hand to add if it's needed. 

We have already had several discussions about how to make Spa Day better next year!

Single Mom's Spa Day 2015

Yesterday we held our 11th annual Spa Day for single Moms.  We offer free hair-cuts, manicures, pedicures, facials, make-overs, plus special refreshments for single mothers who are caring for minor children. While the moms are being pampered, we have another crew taking care of all of the children, and our men and children was their cars. We also provide school supplies for any of the children who need them, and a selection of gently used clothing. 

We do this because we want to reach out to these women in our community who may not have the opportunity to spend a day being loved on and pampered.  

One thing that I so appreciate is the many, MANY volunteers who make this day so very special. I can't even begin to name all the helpers, over 100 of them, raging in age from 7 to 87, literally. What a blessing to serve with people who love the Lord and love to serve. 

This was posted on facebook by one of the moms who came. 

" This morning the service at my church was about making people feel wanted and welcomed. How to do just that in the work for the Lord and bring people to Christ. Right after service we headed to Cottonwood Church in Dublin for the Single Mom's Spa Day. Let me just say - they did just what was preached this morning. My car was parked for me, the men of the church cleaned and washed the inside and outside of my car (it has never looked cleaner!), I got a hair cut, make-up, a facial, a pedicure, a manicure, and my photos taken. They fed me and my child. They also watched my child so I can have a baby free relaxing day. They gave clothes and school supplies, talked to me, loved on me, and made me feel special. That is the way you treat guests. Thank you Cottonwood Church for making my daughter and I feel like our own church family does. It was a excellent day and a much needed mommy break."

 That explains the day pretty well, so instead of writing more, I will let some pictures speak. 

We begin with a great greeting. 

The women go through the different stations, loved on by a lot of different women. 

Professional hair dressers give their time. They treat each woman just like a paying customer, taking all the time needed to give the cut and style each one wants. 

We always do make-up, but this year we had a professional make-up artist use her air brush equipment! What a special treat. 

Who doesn't love the luxury of a pedicure? 

These two girls have been painting toe nails almost since the beginning of our spa days. 

The manicure room was always full. 

This was our facial crew...no clients at the time!

 The food is always AMAZING. We didn't get any pictures in the kitchen. Those ladies work incredibly hard to make the refreshments a very special treat, and beautifully presented.

 

 

 MORE TOMORROW...kids and cars... while the mom's are being treated.