BABY SHOWER
La Iglesia Bautista de Northside held its first baby shower last week. The Lord brought a young mother to our ministry who has been separated from her husband and in need of care and support. We were thrilled to embrace her and welcome her new little one into the world with a "lluvia de regalos" (rain of gifts).
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The invitation was a simple quarter sheet of blue cardstock. I glued small foam animals in the center, and a knot of ribbon at the top.
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For favors, I stuck a magnet on the back of some little wooden animals I purchased from Michael's. They were already painted, and I just had to write the theme verse on them with a white paint-pen. Not super-original idea, but it worked and it was quick!=
For the table, I used a light blue plastic table cloth and brown package wrap for runner. The leftover ribbon from the invitations ran down the center of the table to "tie it all together". I placed the favors down the center of the table (yeah-- double duty!). I originally planned to use a big foam animal footprint (like the Clemson claw) and stamp that on the brown paper, but I couldn't find one and I didn't have the time to "whip one up". That was a little disappointing since the theme was more on animal footprints (more on that to come) than on the actual animals. BUT-- you do what you can, and I think it came together nicely!
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The refreshments were SIMPLE, which for those who know me might find that a little suprising :) I love to go for it when it comes to event food, but I didn't want to be frazzled for the night and making a really great spread stresses me out!
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Menu
TAQUITOS,
HOMEMADE SALSA that turned out a little on the hot side-- tricky jalepenos
ECLAIRS from the frozen food section at Wal-Mart
HOT HAM AND CHEESE CROISSANTS
LEMON BUNDT CAKE filled with cream and fresh strawberries.
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The theme "Walk in Love" (as illustrated by the animal footprints) was taken from Ephesians 5:1-2. I wrote a devotional for the ladies, and my husband kindly translated it for me so that I could give it in Spanish. The challenge that evening was to consistently give of ourselves for those around us as Christ gave Himself for us. This is a great passage for a shower that may be attended by some unsaved ladies, since the Gospel can be clearly presented. In fact, another young woman who is expecting approached me after the shower and told me that a lot of her friends are unsaved and that she would like the same devotional for her shower :)
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So why was this shower such a big deal to me? It marked a significant victory in my life. It isn't about the decorations, the favors, or the carefully crafted theme. This shower was about showing the love of Christ to a young mom in need.
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I'll be very honest with you. I can plan an event like this in my sleep. I am even one of the .0001% of the population who actually feels completely at ease speaking in front of a thousand million people. That's just how God made and gifted me. So what was the big victory? The entire shower was in Spanish, and my hunk of a Spanish-speaking husband was out of the picture for the evening. I am in the process of learning Spanish, and I have shed many tears over this place of weakness in my ministry.
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One thing that God is teaching me during this season of life is to EMBRACE the STRUGGLE. Don't run in fear. Don't avoid the discomfort. Don't grasp for relief. At the end of the struggle is blessing. Acts 20:24 has been a verse that challenges me in this area.
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"But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God."
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I guess that a good rule in life is to not take yourself, and in this day and age, your BLOG too seriously. I blog to keep up with friends and give grandma her fix of kiddo updates and pictures, but I did want to invest a little more time in this post because I know that I'm probably not the only young woman out there who battles with fear while trying to fulfill her responsibilities.
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I've thrown a shower or two, but this was the first time I waved goodbye to the last guest, closed the door, bowed my head, and thanked God for being all my ability in my inability. How kind He is to strip me of those things I would naturally glory in or be motivated by, so that all I am left with is "Lord, I want to do this because I love you and I want to be obedient to you".
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EMBRACE the STRUGGLE
ENJOY your SERVICE
11 comments:
Leah, my friend!!! First of all, this brings back floods of happy "project/decorating" memories!!! (by the way, where's the tuille??)
Second, you are such an encouragement!!! I am so proud of you in throwing your heart into this and stretching your boundary outside your comfort zone! I love your little saying at the end of your blog, also! I am writing that one down!!! Thank you for sharing your heart!!!
Your ideas are so cute! I never know what to do with those foam cut outs! They look SO CUTE on a card! And the brown paper runner...def. going to keep that in mind! Love the ribbon that ties it all together!
It was good to talk to you today. Sorry I made you miss your exit! Are you SURE you don't want to venture up here with Steph...??? Wish you could...
Maybe next summer we'll meet in SC!
Thanks Leah...I can totally relate to that. That was super encouraging to me. So excited to see all that God is teaching you there in Charleston.
You taught me so much when we were roommates and the funny thing is that you continue to teach me through your blog!!!
Thanks so much!!!
Leah,
God has given you a huge helping of creativity! And you use it to your best ability. The party invitations and decorations are so adorable and such a great idea. But your heart throughout the whole event is what shows your love for the Lord and for the people you minister to. Thank you for sharing your heart with us blog readers too! You were always an inspiration in college, and haven't stopped since. Thank you.
Janelle (Benson) Miller
"Embrace the struggle. Enjoy your service." Very interesting -- we have just started taking French classes, and I am so frustrated with the language. I had two years of Spanish in high school and three in college, and I enjoyed it so much. I loved the sound of it, and while I wasn't fluent, I had a good foundation in it.
But God called us to a French speaking country, and He is teaching me lessons already through the process of learning from the beginning. French is not coming easily to me, and I sigh because I greatly desire to communicate with the people in Cameroon as soon as possible after we get there. God doesn't want us to serve Him only in our strengths - that would cause a struggle in me too about my motivation and who I was giving glory too. "Embrace the struggle. Enjoy your service." I need to remember that.
Thanks for sharing.
Janelle-- Do you have a blog? Thanks for saying hello! I'd love to see what you are up to these days :)
Karis- we will have to keep in touch! Sometimes the language barrier feels like a little bump in the road, and sometimes it feels like an unsurmountable mountain. One thing that helped me a lot was taking a conversational spanish class in addition to the actual grammar classes. Press on my friend!
A message from a woman with a truly meek and quiet spirit! Thank you, my friend. And, for the record, you are incredibly gifted in the art of creativity and planning AS WELL AS public speaking and spiritual mentoring!
Yes, I do have a blog. janellemiller@blogspot.com
I've been keeping up with you for a while, but I thought I had commented earlier. Maybe not. Anyway, your kids are just adorable and I just love reading about your ministry and daily joys and struggles. You didn't know you were so encouraging even to your blog readers did you?!!! Hope you have a wonderful day!
wonderful. i wish we could have travelled together. i often feel that way about the many PT members that went before and after me. and you are no exception.
thanks for the lesson. and the heart behind it.
i stink at decorating, so this is beyond impressive to me. i will pass this on to my shower organizer person in the church.
Leah,
I am HIGHLY considering evoking the scrambler thing! I cannot tell you HOW MANY TIMES I have gotten that thing wrong also. I was beginning to think there was something wrong with me! I want to be sure I don't get any "weird" commenters, ie. computers designed to hack into stuff like this to leave weird & obtrusive comments. Have you had any problems???
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