Hello! I'm new!

[Lynn Bell]

Hello New Friends!

I live in Charlottesville, Va., and worship with Maple Grove Christian Church, where I am currently serving in women's ministry. I've been married to my high school sweetheart Randy for nearly 30 years. We have two precious daughters in college. During business hours, I work at the University of Virginia as a communications director for the Curry School of Education Foundation.

For the past few years I have been captivated by the stories of Jesus and women in the Gospels. I am so amazed at how kind and compassionate he was to every type of woman he met. Yet, he also seemed to respect their intellectual capabilities, and he obviously welcomed their service in his ministry. I am very excited to dialog more on that topic and would welcome my sisters' thoughts about it!

[Lynn Bell]

So sorry! I see now that my URL shouldn't be in my signature, but I don't know how to get it out of my signature! Please help.

[seeking1]

Hi Lynn! Glad to meet you. I'm new here as well. Looking forward to getting to know you.

[Lynn Bell]

Hello to you! How long have you lived in Nebraska? That's a state I've never visited!

[seeking1]

I've lived here my whole life. It's a great place to live except for the extremes in weather we can have : ) When we got up this AM it was 11 degrees but it warmed up to 55. We have a saying here, "If you don't like the weather, wait awhile, it will change."

[Lynn Bell]

Ha! We warmed up to 55 today, but we started out in the low 30s. Do you have an active women's ministry at the church where you worship? We used to, but lost a couple of key leaders a few years back. I guess I'm feeling the call to begin stepping more into that role to help support women spiritually. It's a little scary though.

[seeking1]

I have tried several times to respond but for some reason got a message that said I was not logged in but I was. Oh, well, I'll try again. No, we don't have an active women's ministry at my church right now. But we are trying to get something going. Right now there are two camps: one that wants it to be strictly a serving type group that decorates the church, raises money and collects goods for missions, etc. ; the other that wants to minister to the spiritual, emotional, physical needs of the ladies of the church and community. I'm hoping it will be a combination of the two. What kind of ministry do you see yourself leading? Has the Lord given you an understanding of what He wants you to do?

[Lynn Bell]

I haven't been on the site for several days, so it was nice to see your message tonight! Regarding women's ministry, I'm definitely more led to address spiritual and emotional needs. I understand that the other things are important too, but this is just where my heart is. I have been leading a Sunday morning ladies class for the past couple of months and have really enjoyed the close group that has formed. They really bless me with their openness and honesty.

Are you home for Thanksgiving or traveling? We are staying home, but my husband's brother and family are joining us. Hope you have a lovely holiday!

[Jacquie]

Welcome, Lynn! We're so glad you found us! And I really appreciated your blog entry! Make yourself at home! I hope you find much blessing here and thanks for blessing us already!

[sophiaruth]

Welcome to the site lynn. You'll find so many wonderful women here and their writings are inspiring and lifegiving. Enjoy.