Interview with Jamie Thorn

This week I had a quick phone conversation with Jamie Thorn who is busy planning the Women's Retreat next weekend. I caught her while she was picking up her kids, and she was kind enough to answer my questions.

Ginger Myers: Do you have a title? 

Jamie Thorn: “The Chair” is what they said. I’m heading it up, but I’m not doing near the work that everybody else is. 

GM: So who do you have on your team? 

JT: Amy Minchin, Publications

Kirsten Wert, Registration

Miley Gowing

Jeanna Lankford

(Long pause and the sound of a baby making noise. You know how they do when their mommy is on the phone.)

Pat Ford is programming, making sure that everything that the speaker is not doing gets done. From music to drama

Christy Roth is doing decorations

Karen Brantley is doing the food.

Karen Shell is prayer.

Linda Hinson is the overseer. Is that ten?

GM: Yes it’s ten, including you.

JT: Yes, that’s it.

GM: Tell me how it has been working with the Hampton Inn on Pensacola Beach.

JT: The really nice thing about doing it local is we have the flexibility for everyone to come to this, from the ladies who don't drive anymore to the new mom nursing a baby. It is a lot easier to get there. Anybody can come.   

GM: So, I am hearing a lot about this year’s speaker. Have you read her book? 

JT: I have not read it, but many of the team members have, and everyone that I have spoken to has said that they could not put it down. 

GM: How did you decide on this year’s theme?

JT: Just a minute ...

(Pause while Jamie tries sweetly to quiet the baby. He’s not buying it, and continues to make noise.) 

JT: We really felt like most of the previous retreats were based on how to be a good friend, and how to be a good mom, and more enrichment for ourselves. This one is we feel more like stepping beyond ourselves and doing the work that the Lord has for us to do.  

GM: Jamie, thanks for your time. Sounds like you need to go.

JT: Have you got what you need? 

GM: Yep! 

JT: Okay, thank you! 

Friends, think for a minute that ten of your sister churchwomen, despite the regular course of their usual responsibilities, have also made the sacrifice of time and effort to plan a place for you to get before the Lord. Do you feel blessed? I do. Were you planning your own time before the Lord? I wasn’t. They have enhanced our lives this day, and I am so grateful. 

Quick Cold-Weather Tip

Hello, Friends! 


I just got back from the grocery store. Walking into the building in the freezing cold with the wind whipping my hair into my mouth, yuck, reminded me of a cold-weather tip I can share with you. 


Did you know I used to live in Michigan? I sure did. We spent two long years in the grayest, coldest place on earth where mammals still survive. Perhaps the ice caps are melting now, but in 2002 and 2003 Michigan was still frozen solid. They have no preschool in Michigan. Did you know that? It's just one of the reasons that no one there is friendly. My attitude gave new definition to the words "bitter cold." However, I learned something during that time that gave me great encouragement in my day-to-day that I thought we might all be able to use in the current cold snap. 


Here's the tip: You can leave your groceries in your car while you run other errands!!! Isn't that exciting? Haven't we all had a list of things to accomplish before winding up at the grocery store? Because you can't keep your milk and frozen pizza in the hot car while you return things at Dillard's and mail a package to your nephew for his birthday. But then you get stuck in the drive-through line at the bank or the roll of paper in the cash register runs out, and there you are. Standing still. The clock ticks, and the paper won't roll like it's supposed to, and your mental grocery list gets shorter and shorter. Poof! It's gone. No time for grocery shopping. Time to whip a meal out of thin air using your last half-apple and that stupid box of teeny Saltines that you can't remember why you bought. 


Well, while the weather is this cold, fear not! Get your groceries and then go run all those errands! Your milk stays cold. Your chicken nuggets stay hard (not that it matters with all their preservatives anyway). Park your car in the garage with the groceries in it, and go put that baby down for his nap. Check your email. You've got lots of time. 


So there you go! I hope I have saved you some time and groceries today. Or perhaps you are encouraged just knowing that you were never so pathetic as to be excited about something like this. Either way I hope your weekend goes smoothly, that you stay warm, and that your meals are satisfying no matter where they come from. Give thanks for them. And I do for you. 


See you Sunday!
Ginger

More About Names

Hi there!

My Bible study lesson was about names today. All this week actually. The names of God. I think that is just so interesting because I am still pondering a name for you, the readers of our First Baptist Women's Ministries blog. But since I haven't come up with anything yet, let's talk about God's names, okay?

I think I told you already I'm doing Experiencing God on Sunday nights. Our exercise today was to think about how we experience God and give Him a name based on that experience. The example was given that when God sent a husband for a young woman, to her He became "The One Who Provides Partners." This kind of exercise is fun to me because it's tangible, and it makes me feel Biblical. How often really can you repeat the actions of Abraham? When a time comes along, I always try to take advantage. You just never know.

The very first one I thought of was "God: The Shifter of My Focus." I thought this might need explaining. I tend to get obsessive about certain thoughts, and once I get started it's hard to stop. I can remember doing this from a very early age. It's kind of like being stuck on a song. As I got older it became more controllable, but it can still be distracting. Only recently, during the last decade, did it occur to me that perhaps God has a hand in these opportunities to change the subject. And once I started thinking about it that way, I feel His presence so strongly that it gives me goosebumps sometimes. Especially when I am being terribly selfish or bitter. Sometimes, it's for all the world like He shoves me into the door frame. Seriously, I think in prayer "Ouch--you're right. Sorry!!"

It's silly, I guess, but Beth Moore does stuff like this all the time. Not to repeat myself, but when a Godly person does something, no matter how cheese-y, if you get the chance to do it too, there's just not a lot to lose by giving it a try. Here are my other names:

The One Who Calms My Fears

The Great Unexplainable

I guess those are easy enough to figure out. What are yours?