Advent Brunch Recap

Advent Brunch was a wonderful event this year.  Such a great way to start the Christmas season.  We started with live violin music thanks to Kelly!  

The decorations were gorgeous!  They were a hot commodity after the brunch as well as the beautiful hand painted ornaments below!

 The food was amazing!  In fact many of you have asked for recipes for the cheesecake sopapillas, corn tortilla casserole, and the black bean and pineapple salad.  The links to the sopapillas and the casserole are on the left side of the blog.  The black bean and pineapple salad is from a Costco cookbook and we cannot post that recipe due to the copyright.  We hope you enjoy the recipes!

Women got the opportunity to get to know others better during the yummy breakfast.

Then Glory and Kaela blessed us with their special music!

During our program we had the opportunity to hear poems, testimonies, scripture and funny stories from many different women!

Prayer with our speakers (before the event):

 Debbie and Cheryl led us in learning about the "12 Days of Christmas" and the meaning behind that song!  What an amazing lesson!  We were blessed by each of the speakers that shared their testimonies!  They had us laughing and tearing up at times.  

Debbie with her "cartridge in a pair tree" & Cheryl leads us in "The Twelve Days of Christmas"

Everyone (whether they liked it or not!) had a role in the morning.  Each table was a different day of Christmas!  Our men that were serving even got into their "Lords of Leaping" role. 

The hand motions for "Five Golden Rings" 

 Enjoying the program!

 Our program ended with Julie leading us in "Silent Night."  It's always so awesome to hear 175 women sing together!

Thank you to all the women who bought center pieces and the beautiful ornaments to help the scholarship fund for Triennial!  I am hoping to have 10 women from our church go this year!  If you want to know more about Triennial and why you should go or if you have a desire to go or want to be considered for a scholarship read HERE.  

Our wonderful team of men who serve the women year after year at Advent Brunch.  THANK YOU!  Love the uniforms =-)

A special thanks to the Women Ministries team and the countless other women who played a role in making the program happen!  We appreciate you!

If you missed it, you will have to mark your calendar for December 7th, 2013!

Soup and Serve

Soup and Serve was a unique and different experience for our women.  It did focus on fellowship or teaching.  It focused on putting faith into action.  Micah 6:8 says "...And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God."  That verse puts the focus on not just walking with God but acting justly and loving mercy.  We got to put that verse in action.

Women got the opportunity to shop at a marketplace that featured organizations that support getting women out of poverty, trafficking, and providing aftercare for trafficking.  There were so many cool things there made by women around the world!  If you would like to read more about these organizations you can check out Restore Innocence, Mavuno Market, Women at Risk, Women's Bean Project, and ALC Crafts.  

Our lunch consisted of several soups, fruits, veggies, pumpkin muffins and many tasty desserts.  The table favors had a wooden spoon with a few of the soup recipes!   While we finished our lunch we got the opportunity to hear briefly about the organizations in the marketplace.  There are so many more things to know about them.  Yet, we tried to be as nonspecific as possible to respect the young ears in our audience.  Please take time to check those links out if you want more information.

Just a few of the many people who helped with the food!

We then split up to do service projects and a seminar on fair trade.

Jill did a great job leading a seminar.  Next time we need to allow more time for her to talk!  It was such a broad topic and there were so many questions.  Jill did a great job at presenting research yet conveying we all need grace on this issue.  Unfortunately, not all the companies and corporations in this world follow the heart of Jesus.  We live in a world full of imperfect people, including ourselves.  Jill presented companies that do a great job in ethical business practices and some who do not.  We all shop at the companies and may work at them.  Remember that these companies do employ a lot of great people - many of whom are in our own congregation.  The problem is not with them but we can be informed consumers and pray that the corporations change their business practices.    

It takes a lot of research to find why corporations may get "bad grades."  It may have to do with human trafficking and slavery which is what we in Women Ministries are passionate about.  But there are other factors that we need to take into account.  The grades are also based on how companies treat animals and the environment.  The bottom line is that we need to be informed.  We need to listen to the specific convictions God gives each of us and do our best to follow the convictions God has placed on our hearts.  

We are never going to be perfect consumers.  I have to admit that there are some things that I plan on changing but there are other things that I may decide not to change at the moment.  It is a journey for all of us!  For those of you that attended - thanks for being so active and engaged in the conversation!  Seek God and pray for wisdom in this manner!

The service project went well!  We had 38 blankets made for the foster kids that will go up to Royal Family Kids Camp.  Many of our women also wrote encouraging letters.  One such letter from a middle school girl conveyed that she would be praying that as they are wrapped up in this blanket that they would remember how much Jesus loves them!

It was a great event and we were thrilled so many of you were able to put your faith in action!

Triennial – Change a life and Change the World

I have been to two Triennial conferences and at each conference God changed the course of my life.  In 2004, my first Triennial, I was 21 years old and had been battling anorexia for 8 years. It was there where I truly knew that God wanted a better life for me than the chains of an eating disorder.  He changed my heart and began my healing.

     In 2010, I was not ready to be a parent.  I had my life planned out and kids weren’t in the picture…yet.  I like to be in control of my life.  I can think of a handful of times where I have known I clearly heard God’s voice.  During worship one night, that still, small voice told me that it was time to start a family.  After watching several close girl-fiends struggle with infertility, I figured I had time to ease into starting a family. Essentially I thought I could “obey” God yet not worry about a life change. However, 10 months later, Vivian was born.  It is a mystery to me why God let me conceive so quickly, but I suspect it might have something to do with limiting my time to change my mind and showing me how to surrender my plans to Him.  This was the 2^nd Triennial where God taught me to give control over to Him and trust Him completely. 

     Triennial also changed my heart as a leader in Women Ministries.  I grew up going to Arvada Covenant Church (since I was 14) but never really understood the value of connecting in a denomination. 

     After seeing over 1000 women from Covenant Churches across the world come together for the purpose of glorifying God, I saw that denominations can unite people.  We all serve the same God.  I got to see the missionaries our church supports.  I got to hear about ministries within the Covenant Church like Covenant World Relief, Advocates for Victims of Abuse, and Break the Chains (to stop human trafficking). 

     We as women were united in the cause of helping other women around the world, especially in the issues that matter most to women!  I began to realize that our denomination brings together women around the world to combine their resources and talents in order to make an incredible difference. It showed me why I want to continue to be a Woman of the Covenant. 

     I can list all the “things” of Triennial but the real story, the story that matters, is how my life was changed because of how God moves when a thousand women unite to change the lives of other women.  I brought back the transformation of Christ within me and a vision to keep women in the Covenant Church united in Christ to impact our world.  If you want to be a part of women in motion for Christ at Triennial, I hope you will join me next August.  I believe that if God is calling you to go he will help you with the costs.  Please send me an email! I would love to dream with you.

Kinsey Ringenberg – Women Ministries Chair – kringenberg@gmail.com

Cozy Mountain Lodge - Recap!

Fall Retreat - Cozy Mountain Lodge

We had another beautiful retreat at Covenant Heights with the gals from our church and other Covenant churches around the state.  

We learned about the foundation we have in Christ and the different "rooms" of our heart.   We also got the opportunity to put together soup bags for victims of the fire in Colorado Springs:

                                                                                                 Service Project:

My Log Cabin:

I have never had bad weather at Fall Retreat and this weekend didn't disappoint.  The fall colors were perfect!  We even got the chance to hike and take pics: 

  

I got to meet new women and deepen my current friendships.  I am always encouraged by the women who come along with me to retreat!  We had a great group of women.  We laughed, we played, we worshiped, we reflected.  God is good!

Our Group from ACC:

Don't take my word for it!  Read the beautiful reflection of one of the women at the retreat: 

The beautiful changing aspen leaves provided a perfect setting for the retreat to Covenant Heights. I went to sit outside by a small lake on the last morning. The wooden bench creaked while I breathed some cool mountain air. My eyes wandered over the water, pines, aspen and sculpted edges of Long’s Peak…

I’d been struggling to understand my place in the world. I wondered what significance my life carries and why my roommates seemed to leave me behind so frequently. They were supposed to be my closest friends and that is what made the loneliness of the past 8 months so poignant. I was living with them, but I might as well have been living 50 miles away and alone.

A few months ago, I decided enough was enough. “I’m going to church,” I thought. Bible studies on my own were great and I felt very connected to God. I was able to hear His voice clearer than ever. But that did not curb the loneliness that gnawed on me. I kept asking God to change them or me or both.

Soon after those prayers, I read a passage that described how God is capable of turning rocks to water (Psalm 114: 7-8). I thought it was beautiful and made me think about the difference between a heart of stone and one like water. But how do you love others when your heart feels more like a pile of abandoned ashes?

Retreating for some “rest and comfort” with God, Scripture and fellowship sounded like a good start.

As I sat on the bench after a full and wonderful weekend, I admired the colorful trees whose leaves shivered in the air and the stoic mountain sides. I realized that everything was here because of God; from the lines cut into the sky by the mountains to the tiny veins in an aspen leaf, everything was made with perfect attention to detail. The complexity of God and Creation washed over me and I relaxed in awe. If he is aware of every detail in nature then He is definitely aware of me – aware of teaching me how to be like Him. He’s performing some miracle alchemy that turns ash or stone to water, to something beautiful.

I left Covenant Heights feeling as though I had gained a foothold in a great community, feeling accepted and hopeful, rested and comforted. Praise God.

What a thoughtful reflection! This was a much needed break for me and I got to spend it with a great group of women!  

~Kinsey Ringenberg~

Women Ministries Chair

Summer Study Week 13

Week 13

Reflection:  

I'm a little late on this post.  Our computer crashed and we had to pay to get all our documents recovered =-(.  I now have all the work I saved on this study!!  Thankfully it wasn't lost.  Here's my thoughts on the last week of the study.  What a great journey this summer has been for me.  This is the most consistent I have been with a Bible Study for a long time!  I have learned a lot from the Proverbs 31 women and I hope you have too.  This same blog is gearing up to do a study on Colossians in September.  I am planning to do that with them!  Maybe I'll blog about too... who knows.  If you want to join me you can go to http://www.goodmorninggirls.org/2012/08/fall-session-sign-ups-start-today/ 

Looking forward to it!!  

Monday’s Read: Prov. 31:31

S--‐ Write out the scripture passage for the day.

Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

O--‐Write down 1 or 2 observations from the passage.

I have studied this Proverbs 31 woman for 13 weeks now.  It feels impossible to measure up and it didn’t seem like there was any reward for her.  But in the past couple of verses we see what she has “earned.”  The Good Morning Girls Ebook points out that she doesn’t get a spa day or a Disney vacation… I was really hoping for that!  But look at what she does earn – She is respected by her husband, loved by her children, and praised at the city gate.  In the end, this is the best kind of reward.  It shows that she has poured herself into the lives of others and she is very much appreciated for that. 

A--‐ Write down 1--‐2 applications from the passage.

In the end the Proverbs 31 woman is praised.  I have been waiting for this!  She has worked so tirelessly for those around her.  It’s not that I should expect praise from others because in the end I am working to the glory of God and not men.  But the natural reward to pouring yourself into the lives of others is their appreciation!

P--‐ Pray over what you learned from today’s passage.

Lord – Thank you that this woman gets the best kind of reward.  You are pleased with her and the people she serves love and respect her.  I pray that I would live a life worthy of pleasing you first and then a life that pours into others. 

Tuesday’s Read: Prov. 14:23, 27:18

S--‐ Write out the scripture passage for the day.

All hard work brings a profit,
but mere talk leads only to poverty.

The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and whoever protects their master will be honored.

O--‐Write down 1 or 2 observations from the passage.

Talk without action is meaningless. 

When you do the work you will profit.

A--‐ Write down 1--‐2 applications from the passage.

I can say that I want to be a Proverbs 31 women but that will never happen unless I take steps towards seeking God’s help in that area.  If I don’t work on the action part it will never happen. 

P--‐ Pray over what you learned from today’s passage.

Lord – help me to put actions behind my words.  I am never going to be the woman you want me to be unless I take action.  Please give me the motivation and the strength. 

Wednesday’s Read: Acts 13:22

S--‐ Write out the scripture passage for the day.

After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’

O--‐Write down 1 or 2 observations from the passage.

I’m not sure if this verse is a mistake or not =-)  But I’ll go with it.  God is seeking people that are after his own heart.  When you seek God with your whole heart, he can use you in incredible ways.

A--‐ Write down 1--‐2 applications from the passage.

For me, seeking God right now is to be consistent in quiet times.  I need to continue to do that because when I see God consistently, changes happen!

P--‐ Pray over what you learned from today’s passage.

Lord – Thank you that you use broken people.  You just require that we seek you.  Show me how I can seek you better!

Thursday’s Read: Prov. 27:2

S--‐ Write out the scripture passage for the day.

Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.

O--‐Write down 1 or 2 observations from the passage.

Don’t praise your own work.  Let your actions speak for you.

A--‐ Write down 1--‐2 applications from the passage.

It’s easy to “toot my own horn” especially around my household.  I want my husband to know every little thing I do so he can really appreciate what I bring to the table.  But this verse says I need to be quiet about that.  I need to let my actions be what causes others to praise me. 

P--‐ Pray over what you learned from today’s passage.

Lord – I struggle with letting others know what I do for them.  I like to feel recognized and appreciated.  Help me to realize that I am doing things for your glory and that is what counts.