June 2013

Go Girls!

A Colorful Flag of Faith

But you have raised a banner for those who fear youa rallying point in the face of attack.
Psalm 60:4 Colorful flags were first used, not to symbolize a country or a cause, but to identify the position of the commander in the midst of a battle. From a distance, soldiers had no other way of knowing the position of their leader, so the colors had to be bold, the design unmistakable. They followed the flag in the chaos of the fight; and if the flag were to ever fall, they knew the battle was lost. There are times in life when we feel we are amid the chaos of a battle. Tests, challenges, and pressures can come at us from all sides. Surrender and retreat may feel imminent. Like soldiers, we need a flag to followa symbol of the presence of our divine leader unfurled and raised high above our battlefield. Its the one flag that gives us courage. The one flag that inspires hope. The one flag that never falls. The one flag that beckons us to fight for our healing, our deliverance, our victory in Christ. This flag of God is firmly planted in our lives where we can see it. Emblazoned with the cross of Christ and displaying every color of Gods beauty and majesty, this banner of love leads us forward through the battles of life. As we keep our eyes fixed and follow our leader, the colors of our own faith are developed. Our own colorful flag of faith is created, which we then display to the world. Perhaps some yellow for new-found joy, purple for accepting our worthiness through Jesus, or red for offering forgiveness. Our faith colors are the same bright and bold colors of God, our commander, and can also beckon others to join us in following him. Take a moment today and think about itwhat are the colors of your flag of faith?

A ministry of: FUMC Berkeley Springs

49 South Green St. Berkeley Springs, WV 25411 304.258.2766 | gofirst.org Pastor Andrew Cooney

THE WORD
Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So dont try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
James 1:2-4 (The Message)

Think About It
What are the colors of your faith? Blue = ____________________ Red = ____________________ Yellow = __________________ Green = __________________

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Picnic-Perfect Salad
The summer picnic season kicks off this month as we honor our nations heroes on Memorial Day. This delicious and easy salad pairs fruit with the perfect foodbaconmaking it the perfect side for any grilled dish! 8 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled 2 bananas, cut into slices 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1 cantaloupe, cut into bite-size pieces 1 cup seedless grapes cup poppy seed dressing (regular or fat-free) 3 tablespoons chopped green onions Toss the bananas with lemon juice in a large bowl. Add the cantaloupe and grapes, and toss with the poppy seed dressing. Just before serving, top with bacon and green onions, and enjoy!

FUMC Womens Ministry

Team Member Profiles

Heres your chance to get the FUMC Womens Ministry Leadership Team a little better.
Name: Linda Romano Spouse: Richard (Dick) Romano Kids/Grandkids: Three adult children: Mistie, Jennifer and Terry Lee. 11 grandkids together, ages 2-21, and 1 great-grandchild age 2 Job: Retired RN Hometown: Born in Berkeley Springs, left area for 40 years, then returned to retire here. Became a Christian: Accepted Christ at age 12, recommitted at age 38 with a more faithful walk with Christ. Favorite Bible verse: The Golden Rule, Matthew 7:12, "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." This is the verse mother taught me to live by. Most people don't know: I'm a great-grandmother. Favorite pastimes: Grand-parenting, entertaining, cooking, reading, knitting, cross stitch. Issues most passionate about: Teaching grandchildren about Christian principles and having Jesus as their friend and Savior. Living God's purpose for me every day; sharing knowledge and experiences if they will be helpful to others Women's ministry to me means: Sharing opportunities to grow deeper in my Christian walk, becoming more Christ-like in everyday life. Having and being support to other women in our daily walk as servants of Christ.

Design Your Own Flag

Creating your own personal or family flag is a great way to identify and visibly communicate the values, important relationships, and concepts (like courage, hope, and faith) that represent and inspire you. To get started: Identify four words that best describe you or your family. Identify four values or concept words that inspire you. Identify four symbols or pictures that best represent the meanings of these words. Identify four colors that communicate the identity and emotion of your words and symbols. Using the lists of four you just made as inspiration, create a flag from your favorite creative materials or make a computer-generated flag using the design software on your computer. You can even create a flag online at photo editing sites like PicMonkey or design and order a real flag at sites like www.buildasign.com/flags.

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Life Quilts and Gods Borders by Bonnie Weber

I will establish your borders. Boundaries: Used for protection, to focus on whats important, to rest, to set limits.
Exodus 23:31
For those of you who quilt, have you ever noticed the life lessons in each of the elements of quilting? Ones choice of fabric, colors and prints, threads, patterns and designs, plus borders. One year, I constructed a quilt and upon its completion was sorry I hadnt made it larger. It was so pretty but I couldnt do much with it that size. This made me think of how similar it is to life if we stop with a smaller design, thinking its pretty now, why take a chance on making it worse, till one day we sit back and say, Why didnt I make it bigger? With a quilt you start with a pattern and assemble one block, then keep adding to it with either the same pattern or additional ones. Life is like that, we start out with one block designed by God, say me, Bonnie, the youngest of eight, living in North Dakota on a ranch far away from Berkeley Springs, then God mixes in more patterns and blocks to my story, my life quilt. My childhood definitely added new colors and shapes, difficulties and frequent moves were thrown in. Not all of them were pleasant or harmonious. Then the teen years came and oh my, my quilt now had some sharp edges, more color and confusing patterns. By the time I reached adulthood, I thought my life was set, what a surprise God had for me. He added marriage, children and moving across country to a new land. Suddenly my quilt has expanded and its looking a little off center with many more curves, sharp angles and colors. After trying to make my own life quilt and not achieving much to look at, just a random design, I pleaded to God to give me people who would help me. He sent me friends who walked along side of me to give me truth, encouragement, honesty, and love. What my life quilt needed was borders and each person became one of those borders. Now my quilt started making sense, I could see a pretty design taking shape. My trust border anchored the quilt. The love borders toned down the craziness. My Friendship borders brought happy movement. My honesty borders were calming colors. My encouragement borders brought strength to the design that made my eyes focus back to the original square designed by God. My quilt isnt finished; God is still sending me borders, helping me to remain focused on His original pattern. All of my lifes trials and joys have added flavor, texture and patterns to my quilt, but the borders that God added, settled me and allowed me to reflect on His creation, ME, uniquely ME. Life will add much to your quilt, but Let God mold you as your design takes shape. Look for the borders He sends your way, watch for them. Appreciate the events and people he has placed in your life to expand and to bring your eye back to His original design of YOU. When your life is over, you wont have to regret that you didnt make it bigger.
This page is designed to inform and educate you and is not an endorsement. Our prayer is that you will make informed decisions on what you see, read, and listen to.

A Taste of Whats Happening for Women

June
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UPCOMING:
October 25 to 27: Fall Womens Retreat 2 3 4

BOOK for June: The Light Between Oceans: A Novel by M.L. Stedman You wont want to miss this page -turner, which begs the question, Would you do it ? 5 6 7 8

10 11 12 Please let me know if you are not coming and if you want to cancel July and August and resume in September. Bonnie Weber 304-258-5989 |Text 540-877-8424 |bwweber@frontier.com 17 18 19

13 14 9-11:30pm 6-8:30pm Stitches n Hooks Stitches n Hooks Social Hall Social Hall
Please bring crochet hooks to share. Please bring crochet hooks to share.

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24 6:30p Book Club Isabellas House

See selection above.

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Womens Ministry Leadership Team Sarah Fisher, Womens Ministry Coordinator: sfisher@gofirst.org | 304.258.2766 Denise Bergen Cindi Close Gretchen Close Linda Romano Bonnie Weber Isabella Yosuico

Newsletter questions or comments? Contact isabellayosuico@gmail.com.

Design and base content 2013 Group Publishing, Inc., Loveland, CO, group.com/women. Permission to photocopy granted for local church use only.