~ There's JOY in the Kitchen ~
~When we realize that ~
There Is Wealth We
Have Yet To Discover
When We Reach Beyond Ourselves
WHAT SARAH'S TENT HAS DONE FOR ME. . .
It's hard to believe that it has already been a whole
year since God began to
raise up Sarah's Tent. There simply not enough words
to describe what this
first year has meant, not only to myself, but to so
many others as well.
This time last year, I was crushed, broken, and felt
horribly betrayed by
those I considered my dearest of friends. Trials,
heartache and grief do funny
things to people when we least expect it. My husband
Dewayne and myself had
taken a church in crisis as Senior Pastors while wet
behind the ears. We
later learned that the terms for pastors who step into
this role is "AFTER
PASTORS". We praise God for other pastors who came
along side of us and
explained the phenomynom of turmoil we were
experiencing in our wounded
church. (But that is another story!)
What came out of our ashes of grief was a glorious
ministry full of love,
support, prayer and laughter called Sarah's Tent. As
God taught me to reach
out beyond myself and help others who were in the
midst of what I had just
gone through, I began to receive healing myself. Just
as the pastors who
shared their story and lives with us and our few
remaining congregational
members brought understanding and healing into our
lives, so has Sarah's Tent
done the same for countless others.
One of the most surprising and rewarding
experiences I have had has been not
only the testimonies that come our way, but also the
wonderful friendships I
have gained online. As many of you know, the pressure
of trials and pain can
take a terrible toll on your marriage and your outlook
on life. God has
brought to me dear friends that bring with them the
priceless gift of laughter
and hope. A wonderful side benefit of this has been
that the laughter has
spilled into our family life and marriage - making a
richer fuller covenant
relationship with those I love dearest. I praise God
for all that He has
brought our way - and the great vision that He has
given to us, as we seek to
walk out His heart of compassion for other sisters and
brothers in the
ministry who need a helping hand, and a laugh along
the way!
Thank you to all of you who have made Sarah's Tent
Possible!!!
Love,
Shannon (aka JoyfulArt)
Prov 27:9
Ointment and perfume delight the heart,
and the sweetness of a man's friend
gives delight by hearty counsel.
If asked what has Sarah's Tent done for me... I
would probably have to ask you
if you have a few hours to chat... but since this is a
letter I shall try to
do it a different way... so here goes.. the readers
digest condensed version.
I joined on to aol in February of '97 .. I came on in
hopes of finding
something to help get rid of the feelings of
depression, frustration,
loneliness, and all the various other feelings that I
had been experiencing
due to the fact that our church was going through a
trying time. I did not
know how but I just thought why not give this a
shot... it might give me the
opportunity to find resources to encourage me. I
discovered a Christian chat
room and tried it just to see what it was all about.
It was there that I met
Shannon.
She spoke to me of a heart desire she had to join
other pastors wives
together.. I thought that it was a wonderful idea...
Little did I know that
this was the beginning of a new direction for my
life.. From the beginning I
saw that God could use this as a wonderful outreach to
others... (even though
at the beginning it was only Shannon and I in the
kitchen to chat... course I
loved those times of just her and I discussing the
various ways of eating
slug delicacies hahahha) ... it didnt take long before
more came in..
As the weeks went on I began to see that I had a
common bond with all these
wonderful women.. that I was not alone in my
struggle.. I found that I could
talk openly about the struggles I have had with
people, church, and even my
dear husband... but there was a difference... When I
talked with these women I
felt love not judgement... I felt understanding .. not
redicule.. It didnt
matter that we had some differences in beliefs.. we
shared a common bond.
Through these chats and e-mails I found counsel..
wisdom... suggestions.. and
mainly love...My heart began to change.
I found a desire to know God more.. to spend more time
with Him ... My prayer
life grew by leaps and bounds. My ability to handle
difficult situations
changed.. Instead of trying to solve the problem on my
own.. I turned to God
first.
When things at church and my own health came under
attack.. I found that I had
an army of women praying for me and supporting me like
never before. I have a
special folder at my house filled with encouraging
letters I received while
going through this difficult time. They hold a special
place in my heart.
Well to try to keep this condensed I will close by
sharing a change that
Sarah's Tent helped me to accomplish through the love
of God. God took my
broken, wounded heart, He changed it, mended it, and
helped it to grow more
than it ever had. He gave me a love and desire to pray
like I never had
before. Most importantly He used it to show me how
much He really loves me
and desired for me to be in the position that I am in.
Oh how I wish that I
could show you all where I have had been and how God
took all that and
lovingly showed me that I was worthy of the call of
being a pastors wife.. I
will forever be grateful for what Sarahs Tent showed
me; for the things I
have learned from it; and for the love I have felt in
it.
Christina
Prov 27:6
Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
When I joined Sarah’s Tent in July I was really
desiring a mentor
relationship with a pw that had "been there, done
that, and bought the T-
shirt" so to speak. Someone who could help me to
realize what my role of a
minister’s wife was really supposed to be like. We all
have our mental images
of what a pastor’s wife is, but when it came to being
one, I didn’t have a
clue. Everything was a lot different than I had
thought. Off came the rose
colored glasses, and reality came knocking at my door.
When I joined the group, I immediately began to meet
pw’s that were "real
people". They had bad hair days, runs in their
stockings, and some that even
felt like they weren’t prepared or well-versed enough
in the Bible for the
task. I knew I was at home when one even shared that
"If someone asks you for
the chapter and verse of something that you don’t
know…drop your Bible and say
you lost your place!" Just kidding!
It really put me more at ease.
I found the place where I could come online anytime I
had a question,
just needed come encouragement, whatever and there was
at least one other pw
on that I could talk to. They were also there to call
me to task, though when
I needed it. "Don’t let the computer take the place of
God of the Word."
Ouch!!!
To sum it all up, it has been a great blessing to me
and many others. I
am thankful for Shannon and Dewayne’s vision. And I am
thankful to the Lord
for always providing for me, even the little things
like a couple of hundred
mentors.
Thanks for the laughs and love.
God Bless,
Kellie
Prov 22:11
He who loves purity of heart and has grace on his
lips,
the king will be his friend.
As I sit and watch my sixteen-month-old trying to
feed herself, I
inwardly groan. "So much is going on her and not into
her," I think as I
contemplate her messy face and hands.
Then I am reminded of the ministry newsletter title:
"There's Joy in the
Kitchen." In spite of the mess, I am really happy with
being a pastor's wife
and a mom and a teacher. Sometimes I wonder if I could
even function without
all this stress! As I sit in my own "joyful kitchen,"
I also am reminded how
our Lord must feel as He watches some of us try to
feed ourselves. "What a
mess," He must think.
That is why we are sent to encourage one another and
to build each other
up, as the Bible commands us. Ultimately, that is what
Sarah's Tent has been
for me. Feeding. Encouragement. Gentle chastisement,
at times. Growth. I
am ever grateful that the Lord led me to this ministry
so early in its
existence, so that I could be a part of this
much-needed and much-blessed
ministry to ministry wives.
Happy Birthday, Sarah's Tent and Joy in the Kitchen!
With much love to
all of you,
Pattie
Prov 18:24
A man who has friends must himself be friendly,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a
brother.
LETTERS PENNED FROM FAR AWAY
Perhaps you may not know that there are several
Pastors Wives and Missionaries
(or Foreign Ambassadors) connected with Sarah's Tent.
We have sisters in
Albania, Indonesia, and Africa. All too often it is
easy to forget to pray,
or support in other ways our fellow Ambassadors who
give up all to go out on
the foreign mission field.
This portion of the Joy In The Kitchen newsletter is
reserved for letters from
our sisters on the mission field. I encourage you, if
you are one of these
faithful few, to please write and let us know about
your country and all that
you desire to share about your life there.
Drop them a line and let them know they are not
forgotten.
>From AFRICA, Dacia and Dalton write in
regards to their ministry to the deaf:
Greetings to you who are across the wide ocean.
Life in Ghana continues to be an adventure! We are
writing quickly now as we
have power. The Volta Lake, where the electric
generators for the country
are, has gotten seriously low. (Also three of the
seven turbines are not
working) Thus the Ghana Electric Association has
announced that there is not
enough power for the country. In some areas they are
doing 12 hours on and 12
hours off for electricity. Here in Kumasi they are
doing 24 hours on and 24
hours off. The first few time it took some getting
used to, but now we are
adjusting fine.
This means we cannot keep much in our refrigerator as
it does not keep it cool
during the 24 hours off. The first day we had to eat
the meat from our little
freezer so it would not spoil. We also moved some to
the Mission House close
to us as they have a generator and use that every few
hours to keep things
cool and to do a little work. (Most generators here
only have enough fuel for
four to five hours, so they cannot be run
continuously) We also need to watch
the water as when the power is off at the pumping
station, there is no water pressure. So we try to keep
our tank as full as
possible.
Other challenges that have come up with the power
rationing are:
communication - hard to call someone if either you or
they do not have
electricity, thus email and faxes are equally hard;
shopping must be some each
day or every other day so the food does not spoil, not
much for leftovers;
having our meetings and Bible Classes with the
Evangelists has been a
challenge, we have had many by candlelight and
kerosene lantern; we have
borrowed a gas burner (just like camping out) as our
stove is electric- really
surprised us when it would not work with the power off
HAHA. With a few
adjustments to work around the power, things continue
to move along.
We are continuing the training with the Evangelists.
We have slowed down a
little to work through the course on Lutheran
Confessions using the Book of
Concord. With the varying work schedules of the
evangelists I have meetings
almost every morning and most evenings during the week
and on Saturdays.
Monday is usually the day I prepare the lessons and
work ahead. We have also
started to do goal setting to move ahead with ideas
for the ministry in
Kumasi.
In the village of Adomrobe we recently saw the story
of the rich man and
Lazarus from the Bible (Luke 16). An older deaf man in
the village died,
buried the next day, short funeral time. He did not
have much money. But he
was baptized, one wife, and attending our services
regularly. An older man
from the village also died. He was an important man in
the area, lots of
money, three wives, a big idol worshipper. They froze
his body to keep for
four week so that the funeral could be arranged. They
had music and dancing
all day and night before the burial (almost like a
wedding in the states). We
were allowed to greet the chiefs gathered for the
funeral and see the body of
the man. He was covered in Kente cloth, gold rings on
his fingers, and gold
dust sprinkled on his face. Now you know the story
-which one do you think is
in Heaven?
We see many things everyday that remind us how God has
blessed us. And we
thank Him for this opportunity to come here and be a
part of this ministry and
spread the Gospel. We want to thank all of you who are
praying for us and
supporting us - we very much appreciate it! We enjoy
the letters and email
you send, thank you. It really brightens our day to
receive things in the
mail. Please continue to pray for us and keep in
contact.
God bless you and keep you. In His care - the Reinke's
------------------------------------------------------------------
Dalton J. Noack
mailto:djnoack@africaonline.com.gh
------------------------------------------------------------------
MAKE PLANS NOW TO ATTEND!!
Sarah's Tent FIRST Annual PW Retreat
Only $125 for two nights, three days
Vintage Resort in the mountains of WinterPark, CO
Thursday through Saturday
April 30 - May 2
Check for terrific air fares NOW!!!
(Ladies, watch your e-mail for further information and
pre-registration form)
If you are interested in helping to sponsor a pastors
wife to one of our
retreats, please contact us at SarahsTent@aol.com. You
will not only be
sowing into a faithful warrior in the Kingdom - you
will be sowing into a
whole congregation!
* * *
New Screen Name for Sarah's Tent
All mail that is pertaining to Sarah's Tent now needs
to be sent to:
SarahsTent@aol.com
TWELVE STEP Chat
Eastern Time = 10:00 pm
Central Time = 9:00 pm
Mountain Time = 8:00 pm
Pacific Time = 7:00 pm
Chat will be held in the private room below:
Where We LIVE
Please click and save this hyper-link for future use.
This will be an open meeting with protocol guidelines,
which means it will be
structured, orderly sharing, opening & closing prayer.
Designs
for Grace
"Pam is a gifted communicator, an experienced workshop
leader, and
veteran of 12-step programs. She founded a parachurch
agency in 1991
and has a heart for helping pastors, counselors, and
group leaders
create "safe places" for hurting people."
This chat will also be advertised in the addiction &
recovery community
meetings - so, we could see a mix of christians &
survivors - much like we
would in real life.
Prov 17:17
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for
adversity.
Prov 27:17
As iron sharpens iron,
so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
POT LUCK!
APPLE PIE WITHOUT SUGAR
Helen Hulcy
1 can frozen concentrate apple juice
apples, enough to fill crust
Uncooked pie crust
Place apples in pan on top of bottom crust. Pour juice
over apples and add
second crust. Cook until done. (Apples can be cooked
in apple juice until
thick and put in crust, then cover with top crust as
well.)
For even MORE recipes, click on these!!
More
Recipe and
Once-a-Month Cooking (OAMC)
John 15:15
"No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does
not know what his master
is doing; but I have called you friends, for all
things that I heard from My
Father I have made known to you."
CHUCKLES
When God passed out brains,
I thought he said trains
And I missed mine.
When God passed out looks,
I thought he said books
and didn't want any.
When God passed out ears,
I thought he said beers,
And asked for two long ones.
When God passed out legs,
I thought he said kegs
and asked for two fat ones.
When God passed out noses,
I thought he said roses
and asked for a big red one.
When God passed out heads,
I thought he said beds
and asked for a big soft one.
When God passed out hips,
I thought he said lips,
And asked for two large round ones.
God am I a mess.
Author Unknown
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