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By
Kim Adams
“Finding Balance,” was the theme for this year’s annual
women’s event. Over 150 women from all walks of life came to
take part in this yearly extravaganza. The stage depicted two
women, one single professional and one mom greeting her child at the
end of the day. Surrounding the two women were the building blocks of
life, each displaying a different piece of the balancing act; romance,
joy, happiness, laundry, dishes, aging parents, and grieving to name a
few. The stage decorations reminded us why life can be so
unbalanced.
The night began with the
song, “No More Drama” -
featuring lead vocals by Jennifer Fontanez, and backup singers
Pamela Dinger, Juanita Jansen, Megan Cooney, Sarah Quintard, Juliet
Coveney and Denise Hawk. The
words of the song reminded us
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of the
unnecessary drama that reigns in our lives when we don’t rely on God.
 Jeannie
Shaw and her daughter Melissa Miller delivered the keynote speech on
finding balance. Jeannie
shared powerfully about the big storms we face in life - the
“Nor’easters”. She has
personally gone through extremely challenging times over the last year as
she and her husband both lost a parent.
Melissa shared about the daily storms or the squalls that can also
swamp our lives with chaos. As
each woman shared their personal struggles we were encouraged to keep our
focus on Jesus. Jesus is the
only one who lived a perfectly balanced life.
With Jesus as our focal point we can walk the tightrope of life.
Dr. Sue-Ellen
Franklyn followed up the lesson by sharing about how God has helped her to
live a balanced life. As a
busy professional woman Sue-Ellen strives to begin with the end in mind.
Living on
Staten Island
during the September 11 attacks, she was reminded powerfully of what is
most important in life, her faith, family and friends.
Credentials, accomplishments, health and even our loved ones can
all be taken away. Sue-Ellen
encouraged us to remember that in the end only our faith will get us
through life successfully.
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The
second song of the evening, “I Just Can’t Give Up Now,”
encouraged us to continue our pursuit of God.
The words massaged our hearts and prepared each table to have
a time of lively discussion and interaction with one another.
Following the discussion groups was a basket raffle of
incredible baskets put together by the women of the congregation.
To end the night we were thrilled to hear an encore
presentation of “No More Drama.”
As each woman stepped out into the cool night air we left
encouraged and inspired to have Jesus as our focal point.
To Him be the glory. |
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