Good morning Ladies

Our Friends Needing Friends sister group in New Jersey have their meetings the 4th Monday of every month.  This past Monday they had a great time celebrating  St. Patrick’s day and singing old Irish songs.

From the photos below, it looks like they had a fun time. It is so good to see these lovely ladies. It is so wonderful that we have our two sister groups growing in love and faith in our widowhood., where friendships are formed and nourished.

Now, let’s introduce a couple of the ladies from this group.

***

This is Donna, she is the director of the deaf department. She is teaching the ladies about the St. Patrick's day celebration. Thank you Donna.

Here we have Mary Lou, the director for our northern branch of Friends Needing Friends. God bless you Mary Lou for the work you do for your ladies in New Jersey.

Let’s continue to pray for each other and to thank God for His many blessings in our lives.

***

Thank you Dotti for starting Friends Needing Friends over 25 years ago and for all of the hard work that you do for our ladies.  We love you

Love, hugs and prayers ~ Rainey

Bible verse for the day

 

Strength and honor are her clothing;

and she shall rejoice in time to come.

Pro 31:25 

***********

This verse came to my attention today and I thought it a good one for we widows.

God gives us our strength and honor, He leads us to rejoicing.

Each day is a gift from Him, let us rejoice and be glad in each one.  God knows the hurdles we will have, the roadblocks set in our path and as our Shepherd and Savior, He gently guides, walks beside and sometimes carries us in this journey that we are on.

With strength and honor, we will be a light to others.

Ye are the light of the world. ~ Mat 5:14 

We will be salt, 

Ye are the salt of the earth ~ Mat 5:13 

to a world that needs to ‘taste and see that the Lord is good’.

O taste and see that the LORD is good:

blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

Psa 34:8 

 

May God’s Light and Love shine forth

through each and every one of us

as we go about our daily lives,

clothed in strength and honor.

 

Love, hugs and prayers ~ Rainey

 

17 Feb 2014- Our Second Anniversary Meeting

 

Hello Ladies ~ It was good to see all of you again. Our group was down this week as at least 6 were sick and couldn’t make it.

In spite of some delays yesterday morning, and my camera batteries being dead, (I had a back up camera), and extra noise distractions, we had a lovely, fun meeting.

What a lovely display for our Jesus Cares bear ministry and of our Friends Needing Friends wonderfully framed group photo.

Let’s continue to pray for each other and if you have any prayer requests you’d like us to pray for, please let us know. Remember Betty Spinelli tomorrow as she has surgery.

I will close with the following from a book I am reading, “Seeing God ~ Meet God in the Unexpected” by David Roper.

“Infinite love and wisdom lie behind every circumstance. If we only had eyes to see it, we would discover a loving and powerful Savior at work in every moment of our history and in every experience of our life – even in our sleep, our idle moments, and our play – turning us into glorious, winsome daughters that He will enjoy forever.”

Romans 8:28 says – “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

 

~ Let us remember to  ~ 

“Cast all our cares upon him;

for he careth for us”. 1Pe 5:7

 

Love, hugs and prayers ~ Rainey

Happy 2nd Anniversary ~ Friends Needing Friends

 

This month celebrates the 2nd anniversary of our Friends Needing Friends group here in south Florida. Our next meeting will be a celebration of that anniversary and we hope you will come to celebrate with us and bring a friend.

Our sister Shari, from our up north group, who has worked with our founder Dotti for 25 years wrote a lovely piece for this celebration.

***********************

Happy 2nd Anniversary

Friends Needing Friends of Florida

 

How pleased I am to be able to join with others in wishing you a most 'happy 2nd anniversary'.

If I may be honest with you, I just admit that I never thought this day would come to pass. Why? You ask.  Well, when Dotti Ackerman, the founder of Friends Needing Friends and your director, first moved to Florida I was concerned whether she would actually stay after living her whole life in New Jersey. "Can she really make this move stick?" I wondered.  Then I questioned whether she would be able to "sell" this ministry to another church leader, find women interested in such a ministry, and have the strength and fortitude to establish a chapter in Florida with all new gals.

Well, here we are two years later and you are a vibrant, gorgeous, courageous group of women who meet monthly in a lovely country club setting and are a testament to the grace of God and the leadership capabilities of Dotti. 

God and Dotti make quite a team!  I have known and worked with Dotti for 25 years, and her stamina and creativity, coupled with her resoluteness, make her a formidable leader.  I pray God's continued blessings on each of you as you come together each month to support one another and Dotti. She speaks so highly of each of you and what you mean to her.

In John 15:12 (among others) we are admonished to love one another.  You demonstrate Godly love by your words and actions, going beyond your group to help meet the needs of others including babies and single mothers in need.

Carry on and may God grant you His strength and comfort in the coming year.  I close with these words from 1 Thessalonians 3:12 " May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and everyone else, just as ours does for you."

Shari Hervold

*****************

See you next Monday.

Please come a little early so that we can get started on time.

I am looking forward to seeing all of you again

and having a wonderful, fun and uplifting meeting.

Love & hugs,

Rainey

 

New Jersey ‘Friends Needing Friends’ 01-28-14 Meeting

 

Good morning Ladies,

Dotti received photos from our sister group in NJ. What a large group they have. Of course, they have a head start on us, their group was started over 25 years ago and we will be just celebrating our 2nd year anniversary this month.

Dotti wrote the following:

Even with all the snow, many of the ladies attended the meeting in January 2014.

There are many ladies that are on the staff at New Jersey ‘Friends Needing Friends’ chapter.
 
The music is excellent each month by these two talented ladies.

The ladies at the welcome tables have been faithfully serving the Lord at ‘Friends Needing Friends’ for over 20 years.

Great precious memories seeing these beautiful faces.

******

Thank you Dotti for starting this group up all those years ago when you saw a need for widows.

It is a blessing to all there, and your new group in southeast Florida is a blessing as well.

Thank you for your dedication, love, time, prayers and encouragement that go into making

“Friends Needing Friends”.

****

Thank you all for your prayers for dear Dotti. She is doing really well, and is being released by all of her doctors this week. Let us all thank God for His tender love and mercies.

 

Have a lovely week.

Continue to pray for each other.

Thank God for the gift of each new day.

Let others know they are loved.

Rainey