12400 Interstate 30 Little Rock, AR 72210 501.455.3474 www.gsfbc.org

Senior Pastor: Jeff Williams Director of Women’s Ministry: Lynn McCarley

lmccarley@gsfbc.org

Lynn McCarley

Director of Women’s Ministry

Summer 2012

Ladies, If you were at Geyer Springs for our Holiday Brunch several years ago, you remember our speaker, Darla Baerg. I asked Darla for permission to reprint her article about submission inside this newsletter. I think it is one of the best explanations of Biblical submission I’ve ever seen. I hope we will all read this and consider what God may want to teach us about being the kind of wife God calls us to be. I was truly challenged in my own life! Also in this newsletter, we have included information about our upcoming Women’s Ministry event: Beauty by the Book. Laurie Cole is the author of our recent Bible study, There is a Season, and now has come out with a version of Beauty by the Book for teens as well as for women! Last time we gathered with Laurie, we were in Branson enjoying the cool spring air as she taught us about the various seasons in a woman’s life. This year, Laurie will come to Little Rock to challenge us about what true Biblical beauty looks like! We will have lots of fun, too, with style shows, great food, and fantastic give-aways...including a $500 shopping spree trip! You will not want to miss this great event! Invite your friends and neighbors! We truly hope this becomes a community-wide event for women and girls of ALL ages...from 10—110 years old! Enjoy this wonderful season of summer! I’m praying for you! Lynn

*The Event on August 25th at GSFBC.

Style show, giveaways, plus Laurie will share her heart with us about “True Beauty” Help us reach all generations of girls & women

with God’s truth about beauty from the book of

Proverbs. Ages 10-110 are invited to come to

the one day event from 10:00AM-5:30PM. Ticket prices: $20 per adult $10 per girl $40 family max *The Bible Study begins Sept 23rd

Women’s classes will be offered on Sunday

evenings, Tuesday mornings, and Wednesday

evenings. Youth classes will be offered

Wednesday evenings. Register for women’s

classes online or with a registration form.

Contact Lynn at lmccarley@gsfbc.org.

Continued...

The reward came right before sunset. We had climbed hill after hill to reach the bridge and when we finally crossed it, it was the most amazingly beautiful

scene I could have imagined. Out of nowhere it seemed, the fog lifted, the winds died down and the view was spectacular. The sun was sparkling off the water,

ships were coasting out to sea and small boats were coming in for the night. It was even more beautiful than the postcards in the hotel gift shop. I was enjoying

every minute of our ride and soaking in the breathtaking scenery. I yelled to Bill (it was quite loud with cars zooming by) “isn’t this great!” to

which he replied “I don’t know…I’m just trying to get across.” And get across we did. We took lots of pictures on the other side, enjoyed the beauty of God’s world

and the pleasure of accomplishing our goal, before we headed back to return our bikes.

It got dark while we were gone and on the trip back, somehow, we hit a large cement block. Bill literally flew off the bike, rolled on the ground but amaz-

ingly landed on two feet. He was a little scraped up and maybe more than a little

shook up, but I was still sitting on the back of the bike. He asked how I stayed on the bike and I said (as sweetly as I could) “baby, I’m letting you take the

falls…I’m just enjoying the view.” I was really starting to like this! When we returned the bike the owner looked at me and said “did you let

him take the lead?” When I responded affirmatively he said “and you really en-joyed it didn’t you?”

I knew right then and there God was saying to me, “baby girl, here is your lesson on submission.”

After the ride, we celebrated by going to Ghirardelli Square for a giant hot fudge sundae. While Bill was ordering I scribbled on a napkin the lesson I knew

God had given me. I keep that napkin in my Bible as a constant reminder that submission isn’t a bad or oppressive thing. In fact, the original Greek word for

submission, hupataso, means to come under as if to protect. I no longer view submission as some outdated, subservient idea…although that is how I think Sa-

tan would like me to view it, but rather I prefer to think of submission as God’s

way of letting my husband take the hits and do the work and letting me enjoy the view.

As I learned, it’s not as easy as it looks. If I try to get ahead of my husband I lit-erally knock his feet out from under him. Although I couldn’t see what was up

ahead, Bill could. He took the wind, a bad fall, and pulled the bike up a lot of hills, but working together and letting him take the lead, actually made the ride

easier on both of us. And I’m telling you, the view from the back of the bike is great!!

Women On Mission Women on Mission is a missions organization for women who pray for and give to missions, participate in missions, learn about missions, and grow spiritually toward a missions lifestyle. At Geyer Springs the WOM seeks to help women find the right place for them to serve by offering mission activities and meetings throughout the year. Join us as we discuss upcoming mission events and opportunities. For more information, contact Mary Katherine Webster at bmkwebster@sbcglobal.net.

Sewing the Seed ministry will meet from 9:30AM-noon on Saturday, July 28th; September 22nd. This group

of ladies spend their time making various items for children in orphanages, hospitals, and foster care. For additional information contact Ellen Cortez at thecortezfamily@att.net.

Ribbon of Hope is a cancer support group for women to receive support, encouragement, and friendship from other women who have been affected by any type of cancer. These ladies meet the 3rd Tuesday of each month in the Bride’s Room/150 from 6-7:30PM. For more information, contact Brenda Ball at brenda.ball@yahoo.com.

Upcoming dates: July 17, August 21, and September 18

Women Encouraging Women…For I am longing to see you so that I may

share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. Romans 1:11-12

Promise House This ministry mentors and develops relationships with unwed pregnant teenagers while living at the Promise House. If you are interested in mentoring please contact Jennifer Ferguson at jenferguson2@gmail.com. A weekly commitment is needed for this ministry to either, write, call or visit the girls at the house.

The View from the Back

God’s lesson to me on submission

Darla Baerg

A few years ago I was asked to teach a marriage seminar at my church. I quick-ly compiled 5 of the 6 weeks of material, but for some reason, I kept postponing the

writing of the lesson on submission. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe in submission or know that it was a biblical principle laid out in God’s word; it was just that it was never

a topic about which I could get excited about studying or writing. Over and over I read the text in 1 Peter 3:1 where Peter instructed “wives, in

the same way be submissive to your husbands” or even more convicting, Colossians 3:18, “wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.” I consider myself a

modern woman, able to think for myself and capable of taking care of myself. I think

there was just something about the word submission that well, quite frankly, it rubbed me the wrong way.

The week before I was to teach the lesson, I traveled with my husband to cele-brate our 15th wedding anniversary in San Francisco. It was a trip we had anticipated

for quite some time and we loved exploring and enjoying the charm and beauty of the city. All week, in the back of my mind I kept thinking…I really need to write that les-

son. The day before we were to leave, (and two days before I was to teach this lesson that I wasn’t so sure I understood myself); I told the Lord he was going to have to

give me the lesson. And give it to me He did. After a tour of Alcatraz on a very windy and overcast day, my husband Bill and I

saw a sign advertising bike rides across the Golden Gate Bridge. “Let’s do it!” we de-cided even though from where we stood there was too much fog to even see the

bridge. As we went to pay, we saw a tandem bike and decided that surely that would

make our trip twice as fun (honestly I really thought we would look cute on a bicycle

built for two!). The owner of the bike shop was happy to rent the tandem bike to us, but not without some warnings and a “test drive” around the parking lot.

He began by saying…”Riding a two seater bike is a lot harder than it looks. You’ll have a lot of fun but you really have to work at it.” (Is that a great metaphor for mar-

riage or what?) His next warning was…”Let your husband do the work. He’ll keep the wind off

you and protect you on the ride…you just enjoy the view.” So off we went. I was fully preparing to enjoy the view when I realized that the per-

son sitting on the back of the bike (the stoker they are called) has no brakes. It is a strange and scary feeling to know you have absolutely no control of the bike. We

were facing a four hour bike ride where I was going to have to trust Bill completely (another great marriage lesson!).

As we were biking, several times I started to pedal faster than Bill. It wasn’t that I meant to or was unhappy with our pace; I just got ahead of him. And literally

every time I did this, Bill’s feet flew right off his pedals. We’d have to take a second to

regroup, at which time he would remind me that I was supposed to be letting him do the work. (I really was trying – but remember, it’s harder than it looks!)

Continued on Back