women connected

TtHhEe WwOoMmEeNnSs MmIiNnIiSsTtRrIiEeSs NnEeWwSsLlEeTtTtEeRr AaTt PpEeNnDdEeRr UuMmCc Volume: 4 Issue Number: 9 Date: December 2012 Why Jesus is Better Than Santa Claus?
From: www.powertochange.com
o o o o o Santa lives at the North PoleJESUS is everywhere. Santa rides in a sleighJESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water. Santa comes but once a yearJESUS is an ever present help. Santa fills your stockings with goodiesJESUS supplies all your needs. Santa comes down your chimney uninvitedJESUS stands at your door and knocks, and then enters your heart when invited. You have to wait in line to see SantaJESUS is as close as the mention of His name. Santa lets you sit on his lapJESUS lets you rest in His arms. Santa doesnt know your name, all he can say is Hi little boy or girl, whats your name?JESUS knew our name before we were born. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads. Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jellyJESUS has a heart full of love All Santa can offer is HO HO HOJESUS offers health, help and hope. Santa says You better not cryJESUS says Cast all your cares on me for I care for you. Santas little helpers make toysJESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions. Santa may make you chuckle butJESUS gives you joy that is your strength. While Santa puts gifts under your treeJESUS became our gift and died on a treethe cross.

UMW Executive Board Meeting

Our next Executive Board Meeting will be held on Thursday, Jan. 3rd at 1:30pm in room 200. All are welcome to attend as we discuss our upcoming events.

Womens Circle Meetings

Bessie Gooding Circle All are welcome to see what
the Lord has in store for them as part of a circle of ladies who love the Lord. Come to visit or come to stay. We would love to have you! For information, please contact Kay Creel at KFinlawCreel@verizon.net.

Mary Martha Circle Our Circle enjoyed our

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Christmas meeting this past Monday evening at the home of Charmaine Bainum, and we are looking forward to another year of sharing with each other through our devotionals, our God Moments, special blessings, prayers and concerns. In the New Year, we will continue to support the educational needs of two young girls who need our help one in Paraguay and one in Ecuador. We also hope to have the pleasure of welcoming some new members to our Circle as our New Year progresses. Please feel free to contact Carol Wilson for more details at carolorguyw@cox.net.

Ruth Circle Ruth Circle meets on the second

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Wednesday of the month at 9:15am in the church room across the hall from the kitchen. We are planning our homemade jewelry sale. We also plan to support a needy family for Thanksgiving and Christmas as well as doing Samaritan's Purse and supporting the Christmas cookie sale. We welcome those who are interested in attending and look forward to sharing our blessings with others. For more information, please contact Roberta Pont at jimandrobertapont@gmail.com

Susanna Circle has been once again hosting our

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We need to put Christ back in CHRISTmas; Jesus is still the reason for the season. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Susanna Super Simple Suppers one Thursday a month. For January, we will take a break from eating the meal and instead prepare a meal for the guests of Penders Hypothermia Unit on Thursday, January 17th. We would love to have your help! Feel free to contact Jami Flemmons at jamiflemmons@verizon.net if you have any questions or would like to be involved .We welcome new members!

Dont forget to stop by the Welcome Center to purchase CDs by our very own Sean Niehoff and JC Reins!

Current Bible Studies

The Women's Tuesday Morning Bible Study is
finishing up their series on Adam Hamiltons book The Journey: Walking the Road to Bethlehem. Check the bulletin for information about January studies or email Cheryl Moxley at cheryl@moxley.com to be put on the email information list.

directly to Joyce at joyce.m@penderumc.org. All nominations need to be turned in by December 31st. Thank you so much for your input in awarding this special honor!

Sing-n-Celebrate Jan. 6th at 7pm

We will begin our 17 year of Sing N Celebrate with an opportunity to look back, as Christians, at our personal relationships with our Lord in 2012 hoping that a fresh focus on strengthening these relationships will be realized and maintained during the New Year. Join us as we challenge ourselves, as the Body of Christ, to keep this hope alive with our heartfelt determination.
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Pastor Kennys Tuesday Bible Studies

Pastor Kenny's Tuesday studies meet at 2pm and 7pm. A new study on 2 Corinthians will begin on January 8th, 2013. Please contact him for more information.

Twenty Somethings Bible Study

This Bible study will now be meeting Monday nights at 7:30pm. If you would like more information, please contact Tim Lyberger at tim.l@penderumc.org

Family and Childrens Events

Family Epiphany Lunch
Join us for a first ever Pender event an Epiphany Lunch! Mark your calendars for Sunday, January 6th at noon. We will have many fun activities for everyone including trivia, a sing-along, and hopefully some camel races. Not to mention great Mediterranean fare for lunch! Please take a moment to sign up in the narthex so that we know how many people to expect! If you have any questions, please contact Jami Flemmons at jamiflemmons@verizon.net.

Wednesday Womens Bible Study

The Joyful in Jesus Bible Study and Small Group for women, meets at Pender on Wednesday evenings from 7:30-9:30 p.m. In January, we will begin the ABCs of Caregiving. Please contact Mary Wetzler at bigdubbs4@verizon.net with questions or to register. Registration may also be done through the Pender website Small groups.

Dec 19th Blue Christmas - 7:30pm Dec 23rd Live Nativity (Outside) from 7 7:30 pm Dec 24th Christmas Eve Services 5:30, 7:30 & 11:00pm Live Nativity in the Common Ground Worship center following the 7:30pm service st Last day to submit Woman of the Year Dec 31 nominations to Joyce Munt Jan 6th Epiphany Lunch 12:00pm Jan 13th Hypothermia Unit Week starts Jan 20th Woman and Man of the Year Announcements at 11:00 service Feb 1st Movie Night Race to Nowhere Time TBD Feb 3rd Woman of the Year Luncheon 12:15pm Nominations for Woman of the Year Its that time of year againwe are accepting nominations for UMWs Woman of the Year! Please take a moment to nominate a woman or multiple women who you feel have done exemplary work for our church and/or community in 2012. Please note that past recipients are not eligible to receive this award a second time. A list of previous recipients can be found in the back of the UMW Directory. Nomination forms can be picked up from the UMW mailbox by the elevators and completed forms can be handed to Joyce Munt or you can email your nominations

Mark Your Calendar!

JLU Upcoming Events

Jesus Loves You (JLU) Pender's Junior Youth Group for grades 4 - 6 meets second Sunday of every month in the Cornerstone Room from 5:00 - 7:00pm. Last month we had a lot of fun making Christmas cookies. In January we will be working a service project for the hyperthermia center and continuing our series on bible verses in Christian Rock songs.

TURNING POINT Penders Youth Group

We are excited to once again be doing the Live Nativity at Pender. We will be outside on December 23rd from 7:00-7:30pm. Then on Christmas Eve you can come and see the live nativity inside the Common Ground worship center following the 7:30pm service. If you have any questions, check out our website at www.penderumc.org or email Tim at tim.l@penderumc.org.

Youth Room Hours will be changing!!! Please note

that beginning in January, the youth room will be home from 2:30-5:30 every Monday through Thursday as a time to fellowship and bond over homework. The youth had so much fun doing this during the Pumpkin Patch that Tim decided to try to make it a regular routine. We have a God who delights in impossibilities. Billy Sunday

Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can, with all the zeal you can, as long as ever you can. -John Wesley

Ways to Connect & Serve

Ham and Lima Bean Casserole

www.myrecipes.com This is a great recipe and was requested twice in one week in the Flemmons house. 1 1/2 cups water 1 1/2 cups frozen baby lima beans, thawed 3/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper 1/3 cup chopped onion 1 1/4 cups chopped extra-lean ham (about 6 ounces) 1 cup (4 oz) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 (14 3/4-ounce) can no-salt-added cream-style corn Vegetable cooking spray 6 tablespoons skim milk 2 tablespoons chopped green onions 3/4 cup low-fat biscuit and baking mix 1. Preheat oven to 400. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add lima beans, bell pepper, and onion; cover and cook 5 minutes. Drain. Combine lima bean mixture, ham, cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and corn in a bowl; stir well. Spoon into a 2-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Cover and bake at 400 for 20 minutes. 2. Combine milk and green onions in a bowl, and stir in baking mix. Drop batter by spoonfuls onto ham mixture to form 6 biscuits. Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes or until biscuits are golden. 3. Note: You can also assemble the casserole ahead of time, omitting the biscuit topping; cover and chill in refrigerator or freeze (thaw the frozen casserole overnight in the refrigerator). Let the casserole stand at room temperature 30 minutes; add the biscuit topping, and bake as directed. Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them - every day begin the task anew. Francis de Sales

Pender ReGift Thrift

There is an immediate opening for a backup Assistant Director, at the Pender ReGift Thrift Store. We will train you on the cash register software and store procedures. Duties include: cover the store when Maryann Weber is not available, help customers, answer the phone and be a witness to those we help with this important ministry. To volunteer, email Maryann at regiftthrift@penderumc.org. Tell your friends about our Pender ReGift Thrift Store ministry! Please lend an hour or two of your time sorting, organizing, arranging, or moving items around the warehouse and thrift store. Hours: 11-7 Mon, Tue, Thur and 10-6 Fri & Sat.

The Hypothermia Unit The Hypothermia Center is January 13-20th this year. The signup is online at http://www.SignUpGenius.com/go/5080C4CACAB 2A1-pender2. We're looking for groups or individuals to lead dinner coordination efforts, to lead nightly activities to fellowship with and engage our guests, and those to assist as well. The tag line should be to continue the great tradition of helping Pender be a warm, Christian home to our homeless guests. Casting God's Love Ministry has been busy this past year. Many prayer shawls and lapghans were given to those in need of prayer, comfort and healing. We were able to donate chemo caps and hats to the local Chemo Center. We participated in both the spring and fall boutique and filled our tables with different handmade items. We also created the crosses given at the Healing Services. We were able to donate to the Hurricane Sandy relief truck 18 baby blankets and 4 scarves all handmade by our ministry ladies. Casting God's Love Ministry is open to all of Pender's family. If you know how or want to learn to crochet or knit, please join us as we have ongoing classes and fellowship Thursday evenings at 6:30p in room 200. Please note that we will not be meeting Dec 20 and Dec 27. We will resume on Jan 3, 2013.
The remarkable thing is, we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. Chuck Swindoll

Daily Walking Close To Thee

Julia Bettencourt
"Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah." Psalm 68:19

It's the start of a New Year so we all begin thinking towards those resolutions. Actually I am not a big fan of them. I think that we generally don't follow them anyway. When we really resolve to do something to

change our lives, it is usually at a time in our life when we are to the point that we see the need for change. Of course if a resolution works for you, then great! A resolution usually means that we want to resolve to improve or better ourselves and that's always good, especially in the spiritual areas of our lives. I'm always for anything to improve our lives and relationships with our Lord. When it boils down to it, bettering ourselves as Christians involves bettering our relationships with God. We have to draw closer to Him before we can improve our Christian lives. Sure we can make a New Year's resolution to do that but I think just resolving, day by day, gets the job done in a better way. Do you remember the old hymn? "Just a Closer Walk With Thee." I can remember that playing off a record when I was little. Okay, some of you don't know what those are? Round things us ancient people used to play on machines that went round and round called record players an old form of a CD. We had a record in our family, I think by Tennessee Ernie Ford with that old song on it and I can remember learning the words when I was quite young. I am weak but Thou art strong, Jesus keep me from all wrong; I'll be satisfied as long, As I walk let me walk close to Thee! Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be dear Lord, Let it be. Whenever I think of that song it always turns my thoughts toward David. You all know how I just love Biblical characters as we can learn so much from them and David is among my favorites. There are several passages in Scripture where we can see that David lived the day-by-day way to be closer to God. Yes, he was human and had his faults but he had some good practices in his life. First of all David prayed daily. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice." Psalm 55:17 Secondly, David realized the benefit of God's daily blessings. "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah." Psalm 68:19 Thirdly, He praised God daily. "And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised." Psalm 72:15 The second verse of "Just a Closer Walk" is as follows:

Thru this world of toil and snares, If I falter, Lord, who cares? Who with me my burden shares? None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee. Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it Jesus is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be. Fourthly, David learned that he needed to rely on God daily. David sure went through some "snares" in his life and he too knew that when all else went out the window the only one left who cared was God. "None but Thee as in the song. "Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me." Psalm 56:1-4 In conclusion, the last verse of the song talks about when this day by day life is over. When my feeble life is o'er, Time for me will be no more; Guide me gently, safely o'er, To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore. Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it Jesus is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be. Conclusion: We've all got to live the Christian life just one day at a time. That in turn will cause us to have that improvement in our Christian life that we all so greatly need. Just resolve to live better for God, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment and that will add up to our best for Him not only for this New Year but for our entire lives as well. So, how close have you walked with the Lord today?
Copyright 2001-2010 Julia Bettencourt Scripture References are from the King James Version. www.juliabettencourt.com