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by Lt. Catherine Boyd –
Becoming a woman of excellence is a journey of laughter and tears, of falling down and getting up again–a process of seeking God’s face and will for our lives–of becoming real in an artificial world.
This is the essence of what the women of the Northwest Division discovered as they met together for the 1998 Women’s Ministries Rallies under the leadership of Lt. Colonel Janice Buchanan, director of Women’s Organizations, and Major Ruth Sundin, divisional Women’s Ministries secretary.
Those attending the three rallies, held at Camp Arnold; Spokane, Wash.; and Great Falls, Mont., were challenged by Colonel Esther Sather, territorial Women’s Ministries secretary, to make a commitment to living a life of excellence. Excellence, she shared, is not about living up to the world’s false standard of perfection, but is found in living each day fully aware of the work of grace God is completing in our lives. “Living a life of excellence is not in ‘doing,’ it is in ‘being’.” The altars were lined in all three venues with women committing themselves to living a life of excellence in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The day was full of fun and inspiration, beginning with Major Carol Madsen’s (R) portrayal as “Lydia,” a woman of excellence from the New Testament. “Lydia” served as a gracious guide throughout the day’s activities. A skit showcasing a real live “Barbie” (Major Betsy Kyle) striving to maintain a false standard of excellence thought the use of “perfect pills” was a comic counterpoint to the poignant testimonies of real women of excellence who told moving stories of overcoming immeasurable hardships through the grace of God.
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