Be Kind In All Circumstances

"Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone." Colossians 2:6

Whoa! If we let that one sink in, it can hit us right where we live! As believers and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are to emulate him in every aspect of our lives. This means in our daily conversations and correspondence with others. What we say and do speaks volumes about who we are and who we belong to.

Many years ago, when I was a young mom, I had invited my mother up from Knoxville to go to a Christian Women's luncheon to hear Kay Arthur. We entered the banquet hall, which was abuzz with the chattering of several hundred women. We were looking for a place to sit. We started to sit down at a table when one of the women loudly and rudely declared that she was saving those places for her friends. She was not nice about it at all. Her behavior made me question if she was even a Christian.  Not long after that, my husband and I were looking for a church home. This lady was one of the first people I saw when I entered the church. Needless to say, I didn't have a warm, fuzzy feeling about it. Although she was very nice to me then, and I'm sure she did not remember the experience, I never had any respect for her or her Christian walk.

I wonder how many times my careless words and foolish acts have caused someone to question my walk with the Lord? Even though I may have asked forgiveness for them, have I been branded like I branded the woman who treated me poorly? I don't want that to ever be the case. I believe that we need to be very careful about our words. I know it can be frustrating to wait for a long time on a meal in a restaurant, or easy to get annoyed with a slow cashier at the store, but heaven forbid that we cut that person with our tongues. It makes me shudder when I hear that restaurant workers dread Sundays, because they say the rudest people are the ones who just got out of church. That is very sad!

Let's be an encouragement to others with our words. Be kind to one another. Let's have the right response for everyone, so that we honor our Savior.

Pam Archer, Director
Women's Ministry

Define Beautiful

Mother Teresa

When you think of someone who is beautiful, what comes to mind? What is it about her that makes her beautiful? Is she tall, skinny, has perfect teeth and hair? Is there beauty in age, or is it reserved for the young? We all have pre-conceived ideas about what beauty is. Some of these ideas are drilled into our heads by the media, and by society. We think we have to be a certain size to be pretty. We think that a few wrinkles and scars ruin us forever. This is a lie straight from the pit!

I sometimes turn my Monday blog space over to someone else. Please do yourself a favor and read Beth Wayland's post today about Beauty. The post is beautiful and she defines beauty in a new and different light. I think it will cause you to think, and appreciate the beauty you have.

Click The Melodrama of Beth  to read it.

Have a beautiful and blessed week!

Pam Archer, Director
Women's Ministry  

ISBC WOW! ~ Woman of the Week October 26 ~ Pam Archer

 

 

 Hello! I am Pam Archer. I have been a member of ISBC since 1978. I remember when high attendance day at ISBC was 300, so it has been a blessing to see the changes and growth over the years. I love my Lord, family, and church! Currently, I am serving as the Director of Women’s Ministry. I have a heart for ministry to women, and a team that serves alongside of me who loves Jesus and are eager to share that love with others.

 

I was born in Knoxville, TN to a Baptist minister. I am the 5^th of six children. We learned about Jesus from the time we were born. I have been in church since before I was born, but my first official visit was when I was three weeks old. That was a very long time ago! I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior when I was 8. It has been a journey, for sure. My mother told me that Jesus is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. That is so true. He has been my best friend for 54 years! Never once has he let me down, even when I let him down.

 

My three daughters grew up in ISBC; Maria Wayland Labarbera, Beth Wayland, and Abby Simmons Weaver. I am so thankful for a church that helped me to teach them the Word and nurture them throughout their young lives. All three went through the youth group and youth choir under the instruction of Mike Morgan. I am proud to say they are all three serving the Lord, largely due to the influence of the leadership at ISBC.

 

Charles, (Chuck), and I will celebrate 20 years of marriage this December. God has been so good to us! He is the ISBC men’s softball coach. He is the funniest man I know and he makes me laugh every day.

I’ve spent most of my adult life as a fitness educator, personal trainer, and group fitness instructor. I was fortunate to have had many opportunities in the fitness industry, which I viewed as my ministry. I did 30 TV shows and 2 videos for Jenny Craig, Int’l, which aired on Fox Sports Net and the Health Network for two years. I have also produced and been in numerous other exercise videos, the latest being Body Gospel, by Beachbody Fitness. I wrote a fitness column for the Times News for 11 years. All of this was under my company, Archer Fitness Consultants, Inc.

 

I recently closed Pamela’s Exclusive Floral and Event Design http://www.pamelaseventdesign.com, after twelve years of doing wedding and event design. My family worked with me in that business. I know that God has something new for me to do, so I am praying about what that is and looking for opportunities. He moves us where he wants us. We just need to be willing to go where he sends us. I look forward to the new adventures he has in store for me. He has always been faithful to me!

 

I have several life verses, but my favorite is Jeremiah 29:11 –“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”


~ Submitted by Kathy Neal
ISBC Women's Ministry
Communications Coordinator

Cluttered Brain Syndrome

I'm a little late writing my post today. It has been a Monday all day. My intentions to write early this morning were good, but Charles was making a rare appearance at lunch and I wanted to have a good lunch prepared, so I cooked and cleaned house this morning, then I was distracted by e-mails, Holiday Dinner preparation, phone calls, and the tri-billion leaves that were piled up on our lower lot. By the time I had cluttered my brain with all of that, I had forgotten about the blog. 

How easy it is to become distracted by everything around us, and to lose focus. Today, I focused on family, and that isn't a bad thing. It was overdue. However, there are many more times that I let busyness steal my time, and before I know it it's bedtime and I haven't had any alone time with God. And the thing is, I can't hear from him if I'm not listening.

I've been praying a lot about various things and had three big breakthroughs before noon today. For that I am grateful and rejoicing! A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you that my wedding business had closed. At the time I didn't know what I was going to do, or what God had in store for me. Tomorrow I start my first day back in my dream job! I will be back working at the Greater Kingsport Family YMCA! I am excited! Fitness has been my passion since I was a child. The wedding work was a hobby that became a business. I am thrilled to be going home, so-to-speak. Throughout the years I have thought that God was finished with me in the fitness field, but he keeps taking me back to it, so evidently he isn't.

Don't you find it encouraging to know that God cares about the details of our lives? He will use us when we are willing to be obedient.  I can't wait to see what he has for me in this new old venture. I wonder who I will meet, and who I can help. (and how much weight I will lose HA!)

He cares about you, too.  Whatever your struggle is, whatever your needs are, he cares. You can make all the plans you want, but if you let him do all the planning and you do all the doing, you will be a whole lot happier, because he knows what is best for you.

The words to this old song are true:

Many things about tomorrow, I don't seem to understand,
But I know who holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand.

Pam Archer, Director
ISBC Women's Ministry