Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Heather Mangum's Band ROCKS!

If you missed last night, you missed a treat! Heather and her band are awesome and then some!
They were so gracious to offer themselves as a gift to the Atlanta Encounter, so I hope you'll check out their website and invite them to your next event or to your church. You can find them at www.HeatherMangum.com
This is Heather and her band warming up before all the ladies arrived...We also found out their good news. Heather and her hubby, Matt (on the white guitar behind her), are expecting a little girl in a few months. Congratulations Heather and Matt! We hope you'll bring your little "chick" to the Atlanta Encounter Spring 09 so we can meet her.
ALSO: Chicks--don't forget about this week's Homework. The assignment is posted by Shelley in the comments section, so make sure to leave your answers before week's end if possible. (Even if you're not involved in the Atlanta Encounter, please feel free to join us for this week's assignment...we'd love to hear from you!)
See you at Atlanta's Best Kept Secret on September 30th when we'll hear from our own worship leader and band and teaching from Shelley Hendrix.
Don't miss it!

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey Chicks!

Here is your assigment, should you choose to accept it:

between now & Friday, September 25 (if possible).
We will post these questions on the Blog and we ask that you take some time to answer them in the “comment” section. You can do this anonymously if you prefer—no problem.

1. What is the first thing you notice about other women? (Please be honest--you won't be named!)

2. What makes a woman beautiful?

3. What do you think is most beautiful about you?

4. What would you change about yourself if you could?

5. How has your definition of beauty changed since you were a child or young adult?

6. What does “brokenness” mean to you? (How would you define it?)

7. After tonight’s study, which of the descriptions do you most relate to at present? (Cynic, Critic, Competitor, or Cheerleader?)

Check the blog often to see what others are saying! I hope we’ll have 100% participation!

Thank you for your participation in helping us all walk more authentically with our Savior and with our sisters in Christ!

Make sure to invite someone to join you at The Atlanta Encounter next Tuesday!

Anonymous said...

1. Their appearance - outfit, hairstyle, outward beauty

2. Depends on the source. You'll get a totally different answer from the Bible then you would from "Cosmo". According to God's word, true beauty comes from the heart, not the outward appearance.

3. I don't think of myself as beautiful.

4. Lots of things - both outward and inward things - too many to list here. I could write a book!

5. I now see people the way God sees them. Some people who are beautiful on the outside become not as attractive when you get to know them. Others who are not attractive on the outside become some of the most beautiful people you'll ever meet when you get to know their heart.

6. Brokenness - not put together, useless on your own, a desperate need to be "fixed"

7. I can be critical at times and tend to compare myself to others making me like the competitor.

Anonymous said...

I found this story online, and I thought it went along great with the upcoming topic. (author unknown)

Treasure in Clay Balls

This simple short story helps us to remember we are God's treasure in clay. Too often we act as though people are nothing more than clay balls.

2 Corinthians 4:7 "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."

A man was exploring caves by the Seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled the clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him.

As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could. He thought little about it, until he dropped and it cracked open on a rock . Inside was a beautiful, precious stone - treasure in clay!

Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so balls he had left.

Then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the balls with their hidden treasure in the clay into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he had just thrown it away!

It's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it.

We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have not taken the time to find the treasure in clay - hidden inside that person.

There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.

May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them.

Anonymous said...

1. Physical appearance (the way she dresses, how well she is kept up)

2. I still tend to look at outward appearances first, even though it doesn't matter physically if I will become friends with them or not.

3. I do not think of myself as beautiful.

4. Lots of things.

5. Now I tend to look more internally for the "glow" I believe we all have a good in us, some of it is just harder to see.

6. Brokenness means to me that you are broken hearted, have been hurt in one way or another in your past.

7. I relate more to a cynic, I had a mother growing up always telling me I couldn't do something. So I tend to still hear it in my ear.

Anonymous said...

I am her newest fan They were awesome!

Anonymous said...

1. the first thing I notice about other women is their posture.
2. Holiness makes a woman beautiful. Holiness is the essence of beauty. When a woman spends time with the Lord & in His word,his beauty & holiness somehow come through.
3. Physically, I think my eyes are the most beautiful thing about me.
4.I would change lots of things but for starters one thing I would change is that would no longer be cynical & critical of other people.Even though I rarely if ever outwardly critize people, I think it. The thing I would change about myself is to become one who genuinely encourages other people in their walk with the Lord & in life in general.
5.When I was young always thought beauty was only outward. Since I've gotten older, I realize that even some "old" women are still very beautiful. I believe it is the Lord shining through them. When my mom died at 83, she was still the most beautiful woman I've ever known.
6. I believe that there can be several definitions of brokenness.Brokenness to me means a shattered soul, caused by being sinned against & by sinning myself, which has devastating ,life consuming consequences. Humility is vital to realizing that such brokenness can be fixed,restored and redeemed by God alone.
7. At present, I am ashamed to admit that I am a Cynic & Critic, & because I always compare myself to other women to see if I "measure up" , I'm also a competitor. GOD HELP ME!

Anonymous said...

1. Depends on my own insecurities at the moment. If I feel chubby, I notice weight. If I am having a bad hair/good hair day, I notice that in others.
2. What makes a woman beautiful is who she is--not what she looks like--but why is it so stinking hard to accept this about myself and offer that grace to others? (grr) ;-)
3. I've consistently been told it's my eyes.
4. I'd be in better shape with a ton more will power in the exercise/diet dept.
5. My definition has changed along with the cultures to some extent--as a child, a woman with curves was what was considered attractive and it's since become the tiny/no curves look. I'm also becoming more aware that beauty really is only skin deep.
6. A humble awareness of my own inadequacies, shortcomings, sin, failures, etc. That I've only found comes through deeply felt pain.
7. Competitor--but I so desire to be a cheerleader!

Tabitha said...

1. The first thing I notice about other women is their hair, clothes and makeup.

2. A beautiful spirit.

3. I'm not sure what is beautiful about me.

4. My job.

5. I think I see that a persons attitude can make them pretty or ugly.

6. Brokenness to me means the bad parts of your life, my flaws.

7. I most relate to the Critic.