-:¦:- Shine -:¦:-

Today we had our Women's "Shine" conference, And we sure had a wonderful time!

It started with some of our worship team singing a song they'd adapted from the movie/play "Hairspray" called Good morning Blayney. They done an excellent job too!
Christy then sang a song that she'd written for the conference. She's defiantly got talent there, that girl!

Jenny lead us through each stage of the conference.

Our first guest speaker was long time Friend of Merrilyns, Beth Volkofsky. [She also spoke later in the day] and she had a marvelous message for us.

Then we had morning tea, some foot/hand massages and some time to mingle.

After that we had another guest speaker, Carol Godden. She bought us a lovely, animated message as well!

Then we had a great fashion parade. Our models wore Ideals clothing, sporting the new season collection And everyone really got into it!
:Undiscovered Supermodels:

There were two other lovely models, but the photos didn't turn out :o(

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After all that fun, we had lunch.

[Sorry Heather. I tried to warn you lol]

And more foot/hand massaging

Then we were given a very moving talk on the Compassion children's ministry. Such a worthwhile cause!

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After that we had afternoon tea, before having another talk from Beth Volkofsky, on self worth.

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When the conference was over, 3 big bags of balloons were released from the ceiling, and the worship team sung Good Morning Blayney again...in the afternoon. [Good arvo Blayney?]

It was an awesome day, and I'm sure everyone was glad they came.

Thank you to all the wonderful people who made the day possible!

I can't wait for next years conference all ready :o)

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But one last thing.

I said i was going to do this, so i have to stay true to my word.

Sorry Catherine [not really lol]

-:¦:-CF-:¦:-

God's Love, 2econdChances and other stuff

I never cease to be amazed at the depth of God's love shown to us through His Son, Jesus Christ and by the companionship we enjoy as we walk with our Lord. It only takes a few moments of soul searching for any christian to realise that we are never deserving of His grace. All humanity can take comfort from the fact the God's love to us is a free gift and all that is needed is for us to step into it by receiving Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. God is truly the God of the 2econdChance.

As we experience His unconditional love, we are urged to 'pass it on'. It's easy to love the loveable (or at least those who seem loveable to us), however God wants us to love our enemies and everyone in between. If you are having difficulty loving these people, ask God to implant that love in to you.

So, 2econdChance, this is name of the youth band at Abundant Life Church and we chose the name as it signifies all that God has done for us. On November 24, 2007, ALC is hosting 2econdChance07 - our first major youth event. This will be an amazing day of incredible blessing for every young person who attends. Much is planned and the youth of this region will not want to miss out.

The registration cost is $22 on the day, or $20 prior to the event. For more info email colin@abundantlife.net.au

God Bless, Col

Lots Of Bits!

This week we had a new worship leader, A new music instrument, and a new painting. Intrigued? read on....

*Sarah Jayne created a nice new painting on Sunday...

This is how she explained it, " On the way to church today, My son, Morgan [8yrs] asked me to paint his new Lego truck, that he and his daddy had made the night before.

It made me think about the gifts God has given us, his children.

This painting is a gift for Morgan. It represents the gifts God has given us. All the small blessings he gives every day.

My son is precious to me. I want to give him good things. I made him this painting of his Lego truck. It was an easy gift to give. God is the same to us, His children.

He wants to give us good gifts too."

*Very nice :o)

*We had a new worship leader this week - Don! That's him with the nice big pink arrow over his head...

He did really well, He was fun and animated. Generally, really fun to sing with!

We also had the pleasure of listening to Colin [B] playing the saxamaphone for the first time. Where were you hiding that talent Colin??

So there you go. That was our Sunday.

Don't forget to register for the "Shine" women's conference this coming Saturday [Register at the His Place bookshop]. It's something special that you REALLY don't want to miss out on, Ladies!!!

-:¦:-CF-:¦:-

Creating Worship

Anyone who was in church this weekend gone, would have noticed Sarah Jayne painting on the stage, while worship was happening.

For anyone who wasn't there,[Why not? lol] This is what it looked like...

This is how Sarah Jayne explained the painting,

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"This painting represents an individuals life. The black charcoal line is the journey they take, the colours represent the people they see/interact with along the way.Some we see more often, others are just happenstance, and we see them only once. We leave an imprint on all of them though, ie: a nice colour, or a not so nice colour. I see this picture as representing an individuals love and compassion towards others. Love and compassion rubs off onto the people we meet as we meander through life. We can make a difference in a positive way, or a negative way."

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Sarah Jayne will be doing a new painting each Sunday morning during the service, for a few weeks to come.
It'll be interesting to see what the next one will be :o)

Coffee Shop Grand Opening

Tonight at 7:30pm, we had the grand opening of the Abundant Life Church coffee shop. And it was a great success!

Everyone behind the counter done a wonderful job, making perfect coffees and hot chocolates.

There weren't enough tables to sit everyone. It was pretty much standing room only.

The kids had a good time too. There was lots of cake and slices to go with their hot coffees.

People came from everywhere. Both church goers and non church goers [for now] alike.
Here's Papa bear and Mother hen, Aka Paster Graeme & his lovely wife, Jenny :o)

The night went really well. And I'm sure it was the beginning of something special in our little town.

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Here's a joke i couldn't resist adding....