A prayer I read recently is one I now pray often. It comes from the heart and through the pen of C.S. Lewis.

His words capture so eloquently my passionate plea. His words were surely uttered to God throughout his own lifetime and God's gracious answer to his prayer was also evident in Lewis' life.

The poem is titled, "The Apologist's Evening Prayer."

My friends, it's been a busy week and I've barely been able to sit and write but, I've been too busy "not" to pray! So, this week, I am sharing with you this prayer. I will not comment, for it needs none. I will simply ask you to read it and then go back through it's labyrinth of words, and attach your heart in prayer to the plea Lewis made of God. May God grant each of us in ministry the wisdom to pray wisely.

"From all my lame defeats and oh! much more
From all the victories that I seemed to score;
From cleverness shot forth on Thy behalf
at which, while angels weep, the audience laugh;
From all my proofs of Thy divinity,
Thou, who wouldst give no sign, deliver me.

Thoughts are but coins. Let me not trust, instead
of Thee, their thin-worn image of Thy head.
From all my thoughts, even from my thoughts of Thee,
O thou fair Silence, fall, and set me free.
Lord of the narrow gate and the needle's eye,
Take from me all my trumpery lest I die."

~ C.S. Lewis, Poems (New York: Harcourt, 1992, 131.)

With you, my Sisters, I say "Amen!"

"For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst." Matthew 18:20

Blessings and Joy,
Jennifer Rothschild
Author of Self Talk, Soul Talk: What to Say When You Talk to Yourself, and Founder of WomensMinistry.NET

This week's question.
I'm concerned that my negative attitude could be affecting my kids. Is this possible?

View Jennifer's Video Answer

Last week's question.
Nobody in my family seems to understand that I need time for myself. How can I get them to understand how important it is for me to spend time alone?

View Jennifer's Video Answer

The best information we receive about the nuts and bolts of Women's Ministry is when we hear what you all are doing "in the trenches." Our weekly poll is your opportunity to share your expertise and knowledge with all of our subscribers!

Each week we ask a question, and share a link for you to post your answers. The following week we provide a link where you can see the results of the question, along with a new question. It takes just a minute, and your input is immediately added.

Here is this week's question:

Please rate how helpful the following networking opportunities would be to you.

Answer the question HERE.

Here are the results from recent polls.

Each week you give us such helpful insights when you respond to our poll question. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on ministry with us so we can share them with women's ministry leaders around the globe.

Last week we asked, "Which of the following will you do this summer?" Here's what you said in response:

• Develop a planning calendar for the rest of the year - 40%
• Set goals with my leaders - 39%
• Meet with church leadership to communicate goals, objectives and needs - 35%
• Go to the beach and forget everything for a little while!!! - 34%
• Attend a conference for my own personal enrichment - 34%
• Produce promotional ideas for fall studies, events, etc. - 31%
• Take a break from ministry to refresh myself - 30%
• Review Bible studies for spring 2009 - 25%
• Book a speaker for a spring 2009 event - 19%
• Determine a theme for fall 2008 - 18%
• Determine a theme for spring 2009 - 17%
• Book a speaker for a fall 2008 event - 17%
• Go on a mission trip - 10%

If you host a regularly scheduled special event, how often does it take place?

• Annually - 78%
• Quarterly - 11%
• Bi-annually - 8%
• Semi-Annually - 3%

I've planned those events too, and I can see that it takes most of us a while to recuperate! Really, the planning and hard work that go into our events are well worth all of the resources they require. Some of you are likely in the middle of planning a spring event while others are looking toward the fall. No matter what stage of planning you are in, we encourage you to proceed prayerfully and hope your next event offers a good dose of refreshment and inspiration to your women.

How do you determine which Bible studies you will offer at a given time?

• Bible study leaders propose what they would like to lead 44%
• The women's ministry leader decides 31%
• A team reviews and makes selections 22%
• The pastor makes the decision 3%

Interesting Finding: Looks like the Bible study leaders are doing what leaders do, casting a vision and then doing what it takes to carry out that vision by taking an integral role in evaluating and selecting studies that will best serve their group of women. In your comments, we saw two recurring and refreshing themes. Prayer and teamwork. Both are essential to developing a strong Bible study ministry that focuses on God's leadership in the places He's given you to serve. Keep praying, keep leading and keep up the good work.

If you missed Jennifer Rothschild on Good Morning America earlier this week, you can view the video at www.javawithjennifer.com!

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Self Talk, Soul Talk Blog

This idea was sent to us by Linda in Missouri. She attended a church that looked at different summer programs and decided to create their own women's summer fun program which went over extremely well.

We offered five different groups that met monthly. Each group had one woman who coordinated the group. All of the publicity and dates were well publicized, and the response was tremendous. Here are the groups we offered:

Dinner and a Movie Group - each month the group would meet at someone's house, We used Group Publishing's "Chick Flicks" curriculum. Each month we would fix dinner (each woman brought ingredients--assigned ahead of time), watch a movie and have a devotion. The women loved it so much, they try to do it quarterly now.

Hiking/Biking Group - This group of active women went to area parks and hiked, biked and did rock climbing. This group was especially popular with the younger women.

Scrapbooking Group - Some of the women in this group scrapbooked frequently, and other were new to the craft.

Arts Group - This group went to the Fox Theater for a behind-the-scenes look and Kimmswick (an arts & crafts town located on the Mississippi River).

Museum Group - This group visited local museums including the Dog Museum, and the History Museum. They also went on an overnight trip to Abraham Lincoln's Museum.

This ministry was a lot of fun, and built some great relationships amongst the women. Also, women who didn't want to commit to a year-long program enjoyed this opportunity to participate as they were able.

Java with Jennifer is an informal monthly ministry update specifically for friends who want to keep up-to-date on what is happening with Jennifer Rothschild's ministry of writing, speaking, and singing.

Obviously, because you are receiving this eNewsletter, you are signed up for the Jennifer's "weekly" WomensMinistry.NET eNewsletter. However, if you want to get up close, and personal with Jennifer, just click on the Update Profile link at the bottom of this email, and select the Java with Jennifer interest group when asked to update your profile.

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See the Latest Issue here.

This week we received a question from a Women's Ministry leader who is really struggling with "what to do" in a specific situation.

Here is the question:

Have you ever had to tell a woman she could not attend a retreat because she is bossy, disruptive and manipulative (expecting the other women to wait on her because she has poor health)? My Pastor has told me that I may have to tell her she is not welcome because of complaints after the last retreat. I understand the reasons behind the complaints, but have very mixed feelings about telling her she cannot attend.

Wow... what a tough situation. Of course, we would recommend that this situation be bathed in prayer, but would love to know if anyone has faced a similar situation, and ask how you handled it.

Email Robyne with your answers.

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From one tool to another, I thank you from the very depths of my heart for your wonderful article, "Tool Talk." It was amazing timing on God's part as I am sitting in a hotel room right this very minute. This weekend, I am one of two speakers at a conference in North Carolina. By the way, they found me through womensministry.net and flew me in from California. May God continue to use and bless your fabulous ministry! ~ Dori Drabek

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