Prayer Shawl Ministry Update

Good morning to all.  Just a quick note to remind you that this coming weekend is communion.  As always, we are putting our prayer shawls out for the congregation to pray over and take as needed.  If you have any items which need to be prayed over, please bring them to the meeting on Wednesday or contact me by tomorrow for pick up as needed.  I will not be at the meeting on Wednesday eve as I will be chaperoning 20 high school students in Savannah for All State Chorus.  Beverly will be helping me get these items ready for Sunday.  I will be back in town late Saturday night.  Can anyone help us put out the shawls at 740AM, 900AM, 1045AM and put them away at noon?  We could use the extra help at all these times.  I find it difficult to get names for our book, put items out, and talk to people in need at the same time, so if you can at all spare just a few moments on Sunday, let me or Beverly know. 

March madness is coming soon, and that will mean…more fun!  Details to follow, but be on the lookout for spring activities.  If you know of a friend who is interested in joining our ministry, please let us know.  The need is great and our fingers can only work so hard before we need to go on to other activities.  We would love to have new friends! 

Have a great day and hope to hear from you soon.

In Christ,

Dana

Prayer Shawl Ministry Update

Good evening to all.  We had a wonderful meeting again this week.  Wish you all could be there.  We need to set up our lap tops and do a “Skype” session.  If teens can talk face to face only through computer monitors, well, we can have a satellite campus running out of your own home as well!  Would that be progressive or what?

We added about 8 new items to the finished closet this week after distributing some right fresh off the prayer line.  Thanks to all who contributed and thanks to all who are praying.  Keep thinking of creative ways to invite friends to join us in our mission to place God’s comfort on the shoulders of all those in need, with unconditional love and limitless prayer. 

For those who are computer wise, and have lots of change just lying around…. I have taken to putting all my spare change daily in a jar and rolling it up weekly.  Well, it used to be earmarked for general spending money, then it was for youth activities at church.  Now, I gather up under $2 in change in less than a week, go to Michael’s or Joann’s with their 40 or 50% off coupons and buy one skein of yarn.  I love that because it is not a very big drain on my budget, yet it helps the ministry.  So, get out the piggy banks, mason jars, coke bottles, or whatever the spare change goes into and make something beautiful out of something small and seemingly unimportant.  Whereas one penny seems a small amount of funds not useful for any purpose, a week’s worth of daily pennies is enough to pay the tax on a skein of yarn.  If you decide not to do that permanently, try doing it for lent.  I try taking on a new habit in addition to breaking from something that is important to me.  Let’s make that our group challenge activity for the lent season.  God will take old, dirty, beat up pennies and make beautiful shawls out of them.  YEA!!! 

Have a great evening.  I hope to see you all very soon.  Feel free to email back just to catch up if we have not seen or heard from you in a while.  You will continue to be one of us no matter where you are. 

In Christ,

Dana

Quote for the day: Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.  Wisdom is not putting it in fruit salad.

Prayer Shawl Ministry Update

Good Tuesday morning to all of you.  I hope you are enjoying the sunshine out there.  We have had the craziest weather this season.  More reasons to keep crocheting and knitting!!! 

I want to continue with a quick math refresher course.  It goes like this.  0 items left on the altar last weekend plus three requests equals -3 items in the closet. Next…  -3 items plus many prayers = 13 more in closet on Wednesday eve.  Next, 13 shawls minus the ones given to those in need plus several crisis calls on Thursday eve equals enough shawls to cover all the shoulders in need of a prayer shawl, plus 12 more in the closet.  If that sounds like the kind of math you were taught in school, then maybe you went to a faith based school!!!  God has been so very good to us.  Now, my father was an accountant and he was a very good accountant in his time.  His boasting included keeping several active Mafia members in NY out of prison without doing one illegal thing in the process. (can’t tell you the names since dad used code names for them!) BUT… my Heavenly Father is the greatest math major, accountant, and provider ever.  He makes things possible using Love instead of Law, Faith instead of Fact.  Here is where we have an exercise.

I say:  God is good

You say: All the time

I say: All the time

You say: God is good

And we all say AMEN!!!!

· Traveling mercies at all times for our team of faithful deliverers.  It is an honor to do so and I appreciate your help.  Travel safely on these crazy Gwinnett roads.

· Blessings to all those preparing items to share with those in need.  Prayers for God to guide your hands and find time to crochet or knit while still getting everything else done.

· Thanks to God for His provisions of funds for this ministry, materials to prepare items, and His love to keep us all sane!!

If you have a name of someone who either needs a shawl, cap, or square cloth, or someone who may have received one but is not listed for prayers, please let me know.  The items given come with the promises that someone is praying for them.  Don’t take that entire responsibility on yourself.  Let us help you with this.  We are all one family and pray for each other whether we know the people or not.  God expects no less from us and has equipped us for this service. 

Love you all dearly whether you are next door or next state over.  Be well, keep up the fabulous work and look for info soon on a new video driven lesson session coming to a PSM meeting soon.

Dana