Ready to take a little fall foliage trip? Great, because in this issue of You Glo Girl!, you’ll  head North to Alaska  with Laurie and the Priority staff, discover fresh and easy fall ideas to help you decorate your home (plus, two yummy recipes) from Jan, and get all the latest news about Priority. Fall is finally here! Celebrate the season with us as we glo – glorify God – in this issue of You Glo Girl!

Abel, Enoch, and Noah. Abraham, Sarah, and Moses. Add your name to this amazing list of adventure-embracing patriarchs by releasing your fears and believing your God by faith!

Decorate your home or office with our beautiful – and absolutely FREE – Priority Scripture Art! Just click on the verse below – or on any of the Scripture Art in the right-hand sidebar – to download and print this month’s featured scripture. Then post it to your refrigerator or workspace, OR trim and frame it for yourself or a friend (it makes a perfect gift). What a pretty and practical reminder to give God priority!

This past month, Laurie travelled to Arlington , Texas where she joined Kendra Hopkins (Retreat Coordinator) and the women of Tate Springs Baptist Church to speak at their annual women’s retreat.  Then Laurie, Shanda, and I journeyed far north to the Great State of Alaska to spend a few days with Leslie Daniel, her women’s ministry from Kenai Christian Church, Kenai , Alaska , and women from several other churches and cities throughout Alaska during the first weekend in October.  Read on to see the sights we saw AND meet some of our amazing, new friends.

We three proud Texans acquired a wonderful new perspective on a few concepts like Magnificent and Exquisite, Profound and Serene… and Virtuous and Feisty, too. You thought I was describing Alaska , didn’t you?  Well, we found that Alaskan women and the spectacular landscapes in their backyards are equally remarkable and refined, fashioned by the same Loving Hands! We fell in love with the women of Alaska , and they taught us a thing or two about Loving God Most, Seeking Him First, and Refreshing our Spirits in Style!

This was KCC’s  30^th Annual Women’s Retreat, all of which have been at the Solid Rock Bible Camp in Soldotna, a comfy lodge in a wooded setting, beautifully decorated by the ladies with all the fluffy comforts of home. The retreat theme, There is a Season, refreshed us on two levels. Laurie’s messages encouraged us from Ecclesiastes to “rejoice in every season of life, to see good and do good…how? by fearing God, that is respecting and obeying Him.” And Friday evening’s hilarious Olympic competition was a lively drama of how we are to “be ready in season and out of season…to finish the course and keep the faith”. 

Here are a few pictures of Leslie and the delightful ladies from the Alaska Kenai Peninsula .

Laurie and Leslie Daniel (the Women’s Ministry Director and Retreat Coordinator for Kenai Christian Church).	Laurie teaching at Solid Rock Bible Camp in Soldotna, AK
Alaskan beauties “running the race” in style	Laurie, Pam, & Shanda enjoyed the beauty of Alaska

Last month, Laurie also travelled to Arlington , Texas where she joined Kendra Hopkins (Retreat Coordinator) and the women of Tate Springs Baptist Church to speak at their annual women’s retreat.  This retreat is a “must” for the women of their church each year – and if you’d been there, you’d know why. The weekend was the perfect blend of fantastic fellowship, loads of laughter, and God’s glorious Word.

As you can see in the following pictures, the Tate Springs retreat also was a beautiful blend of women from all ages and stages of life. Thank you, Tate Springs gals, for inviting Laurie to your retreat and for welcoming her as one of your own throughout the weekend!

Laurie and Katie Wright (a nurse AND mom of 5) enjoyed some sweet fellowship together at the retreat.	How fantastic it was to see and meet so many young women and young moms that weekend!
Here’s Laurie with Kendra Hopkins, Tate Springs Retreat Coordinator.

Thank You, Priority Partners! Priority Partners prayerfully and financially support the mission of Priority Ministries. Their gifts enable us to produce, print, and distribute Beauty by The Book (our most recent Bible study) to women all over the country. And this month, we’re thrilled to report that some very special girls are doing Beauty by The Book, too!

Wanda Schellenbarger and Pam Melton (Women’s Ministry Trainers for the Missouri Baptist Convention) are using Beauty by The Book to lead Girl’s Conferences in several of the Missouri Baptist Children’s Homes. God is blessing their efforts big time as they teach these young women the life-changing principles of biblical beauty. In fact, the Missouri Baptist Convention state newspaper ran a story about Wanda, Pam, and the Beauty by The Book Girl’s Conferences recently. We hope you’ll be as blessed as we were as you read it.

Thank you, thank you, Priority Partners! God is multiplying your generous gifts in glorious ways to reach women and girls for His glory! And thank you, Wanda and Pam, for your hearts to serve, mentor, and teach God’s Word to these precious, young women in Missouri.

Find out how you can become a Priority Partner now! 

by Nancy Campbell, Prayer Director We are overjoyed to report that God is answering your prayers!  Bless you for interceding on our behalf! As we share the following praise reports with you, we invite you to rejoice in the Lord with us – and, of course, to continue to pray:

1. We praise the Lord that Bill Todd (whose wife, Debbie, is Priority’s Director of Stewardship and Support) was approved to participate in a new clinical trial for pancreatic cancer at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center . He is also receiving a weekly chemo infusion. Please pray that God will encourage and strengthen both Bill and Debbie daily, and that He will bring supernatural healing to Bill’s body.
   
   
2. Janet Valentine (Priority’s Director of Events & Marketing) continues to receive treatment for a rare form of leukemia at M.D. Anderson here in Houston . Her white blood count has remained high enough for her to participate in a promising Phase 2 clinical trial which is a huge answer to prayer. Please keep Janet and her husband, Lee, in your prayers, and specifically pray that God will protect Janet from the flu and other infections that are so prevalent this time of the year.
   
   
3. Sometimes God answers prayer by closing doors, and this month two of Laurie’s speaking engagements were unexpectedly cancelled. However, “all things (truly do) work together for good” (Rom. 8:28 ), and we are praising God because these cancellations will allow Laurie more time to concentrate on writing a new Bible study. Your continued prayers for her as she writes are greatly, greatly appreciated.

So, how can we pray for you? Please let us know by emailing your prayer request to Nancy Campbell, Priority’s Prayer Director. We promise to pray for you faithfully, specifically, and confidentially. What a privilege it is to co-labor with you in prayer!

Email your request to Nancy.

Glo-ing at Home
by Jan Hart, Administrative Support

Ladies, I hope you are getting excited about the transition from summer to fall.  What a wonderful time of year – cooler temperatures, beautiful fall colors, and upcoming holidays. I have been researching many sources for fall decorating and the one thing that stands out in all of them – simplicity.  If you like the centerpieces pictured below, I’ve got instructions for creating them plus several other beautiful fall ideas. And as always, I’ve got two recipes for you this month that are absolutely perfect for fall.

Tabletop "Mumkins"	Leafy Centerpiece

Find out how to make both of these beautiful centerpieces by visiting Better Homes & Gardens online.

I love the many ways standard home accessories can be used to give your home a lovely fall look.  For instance, the large-size hurricane globes that are used from Christmas through the summer can be filled with smaller gourds, squash or mini pumpkins for a quick and easy table scape.  Add a beautiful piece of fabric, scatter some silk fall leaves over the cloth, place the globe on the fabric, and you are set to go!

Grapevine wreaths also make a wonderful showing at autumn.  Choose the appropriate size wreath for your table, add fall leaves and/or vegetables, sprigs of berries, then set a candle of your favorite fall fragrance in the middle of the wreath.  Simple – but it makes a wonderful statement for the season.

This month’s recipes take us to that wonderful Thanksgiving meal – I can hardly wait!  I know we have our favorite, traditional side dishes but I think the zucchini dish will be a wonderful addition and a hit.  The Fresh Apple Cake will be pleasing to all ages.  AND what could be better mid-afternoon than a wonderful cup of hot coffee and another slice of this delicious cake?! Enjoy!

We gotta glo for now, but we hope this issue of You Glo Girl! has encouraged and inspired you to glorify God as you prepare for one of the busiest seasons of all: the holiday season!

Before your Thanksgiving preparations begin. Before your Christmas shopping starts. Use this far-too-brief season to glorify God for every glorious display of His handiwork you see. As the autumn leaves show off and blow off, you glo, girl!