Good Saturday Morning Friends! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend so far. As I write this, it is only 6:30 a.m., so I guess it's still too soon to tell how "wonderful" the weekend will be...but I anticipate it being terrific...no matter what comes my way! So There! Take That! Praise God!
(I think I'm feeling better!! And yes, that is true...so Praise God, indeed! Prayers are being answered! Thank you for praying, and thank YOU, Jesus, for answering!!
So, moving right along...I totally missed yesterday being Friday Foto Friends...but I was busy ALL day, and it was a happy busy.
Our women's group at our church sponsored a "May Fellowship Day" for all ladies in our church and community. We invited women from other churches to join us for a morning of fellowship and good food and inspiration. The theme for the event was:
Everyone was given one of these nice bags, and it had a few little goodies inside.
One thing I thought was extremely clever was this "foldable hand fan"
It came in this tiny little package:
And when you pull it out of the pouch it opens up into this wonderful fan:
What a great idea! And then you just scrunch it back up and put it back in the pouch and you can carry it in your purse very easily so you have it ready for whenever you might need a fan in a hurry to get rid of those hot flashes!! And I LOVE the verse on it too. What a wonderful reminder wherever we go!
Our guest speaker was a pastor's wife from one of our area churches, and she shared her own personal testimony of living in fear and darkness as a child and young adult because of the abuse she had suffered as a child. It took her many years, even after becoming a Pastor's wife, to totally let go of the fear and darkness and learn to walk "in the light" of Jesus Christ...by totally giving each new day to God and allowing His Light to shine in her and starting out fresh every new day. It was a powerful testimony of God's love and grace, and we were all touched and blessed by the message.
She also shared this song with us and gave us each a copy of the lyrics
rolled up like a scroll or a diploma, as a way of reminding each of us that we don't have to live in darkness or fear. When we allow Christ's light to illuminate the darkness in our hearts we are set free from the fear and anxiety, and can walk in freedom and peace.
It's a powerful message, and so I've shared the song with you here below, along with the words so you can sing along:
Let The Light In by Joshua Micah
I've been living inside this house
The walls I built myself
With all these different thoughts running through my mind
You've been knocking at the door again
It's been a while since I've opened it
And all You really want is this heart of mine
So why am I hesitating?
What am I trying to hide?
And why do I keep on waiting
When I know what's on the other side?
It's time to let the light in, let the light in
Why don't we break the silence, break the silence
'Cause I've been one foot out, one foot in
I think it's time, I think it's time to let the light in
Open my heart to feel
The only love I know that's real
I want Your voice of truth to be the loudest sound
Thought I was safe here in the dark
But now I know I can trust Your heart
Lord, all I really want is Your presence now (ooh)
It's time to let the light in, let the light in
Why don't we break the silence, break the silence
'Cause I've been one foot out, one foot in
I think it's time, I think it's time to let the light in
Let the light in
Shine on the darkest parts
Illuminate my heart
Freedom is where You are
Let the light in
You've been knocking at the door again
It's been a while since I've opened it
And all you really want is this heart of mine (heart of mine)
It's time to let the light in, let the light in
Gotta let the light in then break the silence, break the silence
'Cause I've been one foot out, one foot in (I'll never be the same, oh yeah)
I think it's time, I think it's time to (Lord, open my heart and)
Let the light in
Shine on the darkest parts
Illuminate my heart
Freedom is where You are
Lord, open my heart and let the light in
Shine on the darkest parts
Illuminate my heart
Freedom is where You are
Lord, open my heart and let the light in
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Adam Young / Bryan Fowler / Joshua Orbea / Micah Kuiper
Let The Light In lyrics © Essential Music Publishing
After her powerful message we shared some other things, like this fun little poem that I think we can all identify with:
And then it was time to eat! And you know how ladies and their luncheons are...always too much to eat and yet so much deliciousness you can't pass up a single thing:
This was the dessert table, but I took this picture actually before all the goodies were there...by the time we sat down to eat, it was filled with even MORE good stuff!
I assure you no one went home hungry!
And everything looked so lovely...these are a few pictures taken while we were still gathering before the program started...
Ladies visiting and enjoying some sweet fellowship...
A few of my favorite people...
This is one of my dearest friends and her daughter:
And our sweet Pastor's Wife and Music/worship leader...
And our lovely organist/pianist and dear friend whom Lily calls "Auntie Opal":
And below on the right is my sweet daughter in law Rose (with her back to us). I was SO happy she was free from work and able to join me for the day. It wasn't really a "Mother-Daughter" event per se', but it's always so nice when you can have a 'daughter' be with you for such an event. That is a gift I've not been able to enjoy before, being the mother of three sons and no daughters, but Rose is like the daughter I never had, and so now God has blessed me with her and I am so thankful.
Somehow I didn't get myself in any pictures this time, which is just fine with me. But I wanted to share with you what I wore to this event:
That skirt...not the hat, although I would love to have worn a hat such as that, but I would have been the only one there with a hat, and that would be just too conspicuous for even me...just wearing this flowered flouncy skirt was daring enough...
I've had this skirt for over 2 years, and I've only worn it once to a private little tea party with a friend. I LOVE the skirt, but I tend to be a conservative traditional dresser...I find I wear too much black (slacks) with solid color tops or muted designs...I'm afraid of drawing too much attention to myself because of what I am wearing...and yet inside of me is this person who longs to wear colorful, comfortable, flowing summery dresses with wide brimmed flowered hats...to be that old fashioned and yet free spirit...
I think it comes from my many years of being a Pastor's Wife and being super self-conscious of the image I must project all the time and not allowing myself to be "me". Now there is good wisdom in being conscientious and conservative, especially if you are in a position of influence in a conservative environment where your every movement, thought, and emotion is scrupulously monitored by others, who by the way, are free to be themselves, but they just dare you or your children to act like they do or to be anything other than what they perceive your position dictates that you should be in their minds...
It's a tough position to be in, trust me. That's why so many preacher's kids go astray...the pressure is just too much.
But even like the message of the song above,
"I've been living inside this house
The walls I built myself
With all these different thoughts running through my mind
You've been knocking at the door again
It's been a while since I've opened it
And all You really want is this heart of mine
So why am I hesitating?
What am I trying to hide?
And why do I keep on waiting
When I know what's on the other side?...
It's time to let the light in, let the light in
Gotta let the light in then break the silence, break the silence
'Cause I've been one foot out, one foot in (I'll never be the same, oh yeah)
I think it's time, I think it's time to (Lord, open my heart and)
Let the light in
Shine on the darkest parts
Illuminate my heart
Freedom is where You are
Lord, open my heart and let the light in"
How did I get to that last paragraph from talking about what skirt I wore to the luncheon? Well, I don't know, but it's something that's going on inside of me. I will tell you this, I felt freer in my spirit yesterday than I had for a long time. And I felt better physically and mentally than I have for a long time as well, praise God! And, well, maybe something is being set free in me...more than just being afraid to wear my flowered flouncy skirt in public...maybe it's being set free to let my light shine...to "be the light" in the darkness...to spread the light to others...Yeah, just maybe that's it...
Okay, friends...that's all for today. I need to get dressed in something simple to go out and run some errands and enjoy this day with my hubby...and maybe spread some more light around...
Have a blessed and beautiful Mother's Day weekend...even if motherhood is not something you have particularly enjoyed or had the blessing of...share the light of Christ with others...spread some joy wherever you go...be the light in the darkness of someone else's day today. Put on your flowered skirt and/or hat and enjoy this day that God has made!!
