DO WHAT MAKES YOU STRONG

 On Wednesday. September 25th UMW hosted the People of Faith Gathering. The guest speaker was Charlene Costanzo.

 Carolyn welcomed everyone. There was about 100 people present, from about 10 churches in the area.

 Pastor Dawn opened the gathering with a prayer.

 Celeste, Clermont's UMW President, read from scripture.

 Charlene talked about finding our inner gifts. She told about three wake up calls she had. In 1987 her children were in high school and she wish she had been a perfect mom. In a dream she thought of the 12 things she should have said to them. When she woke she wrote her dream down and made it into a book. She tried to get it published but she only got rejections. In 1997 her mother was dying and she realized what you do with your time and talent is critically important. So she and her husband quite their jobs, sold their home, bought an RV and traveled around the country sharing her book.

 She read to us her book The 12 Gifts at Birth. The twelve gifts are strength, beauty,courage,compassion,hope, talent,joy,imagination,reverence,wisdom,love, and faith.

 Her third wake up call was when she was diagnosed with cancer. She faced this challenge by using the 12 gifts. She thought of things that brought her joy, comfort and compassion. Simple things like smelling Coppertone and blowing bubbles.  She used her imagination and visualization. She saw herself healthy and today she is.

Now it was our turn to think of what makes us strong. On  each table was a box.

This saying was on the lid.

 Inside the box was a small bag for each person.

 In the bag was a box of raisins. We took a raisin and ate it like we had never tasted a raisin before.

 Next in the box were many items. We were instructed to choose a few that would make us strong, give us joy or  pleasant memories.

 We then went around the table and shared why we choose the item we had.

 We enjoyed the sharing.

 A simple item can bring us joy and beautiful memories.

 Sharing our life stories.

Charlene drew a few names of the people in attendance to receive one of her books or a gift card to a local store.

 Karen  told the group about the new Days for Girls chapter that has started at the church.

 The kit enables girls to go to school when they have their periods. Women will meet tomorrow to start making kits. all are welcomed to join.

 Jan shared about the Holiday Bazaar on November 2nd. The quilt for the opportunity drawing was on display and tickets were available.

 We lined up for lunch.

It was a salad bar with lots of things to put on the salad. A delicious ending to a very  enjoyable presentation.