Ladies Day Apart with Lysa TerKeurst, Part I

Decorating Restrooms for a Women's Event (or Wedding)

Most of the time I blog in real time, but back in April I wasn't blogging much.  So today I'm sharing a post from a yearly event we host at my church, Calvary Bible Church in Derry, NH.  We call it "Ladies Day Apart" and it is an one-day event (you attend either Friday or Saturday) held over 2 days.  I think we had 1,600-1,700  women attend this year - a huge number for a Christian Women's event in New England.  

This year's speaker was Lysa TerKeurst from Proverbs 31 Ministries (this was the sign on the door for her private space). 

This is a day we ladies look forward to every year.  It is filled with encouragement and blessings, a time to catch up with old friends and meet some new ones, and to celebrate the joy we have in Jesus!

This year, I was on two committees.  The first was "restroom decorating", and we take this job very seriously.

(yes, this is a urinal, but more on that later)

(also, I can't take credit for this masterpiece, this wasn't my bathroom)

We use 5 or 6 bathrooms, including the men's rooms, and every year we can't wait to see what someone does with the urinals.  No men attend this event, but there are many men from our church who help out in many different ways (so we do set one bathroom apart for them). 

One of the men's favorite things to do at Ladies Day Apart (LDA), (and my husband's) is parking lot duty.  They love sharing stories of some of the crazy ladies and their driving skills.

This year, my daughter Megan and I were assigned a women's room.  It had five stalls, and we had a blast decorating it.  I started crafting for the event weeks before the actual decorating. 

Since we have no budget for decorating the bathrooms, we try to use inexpensive items or make or borrow items and use what we already have.  Many of us to to yard sales and Goodwill all year with LDA in mind.

The theme this year for LDA was a colorful one, but the bathrooms do not follow the theme.  So of course, I went with neutrals, since that's all I have at home.

First, I made a bunch of these coffee filter wreaths for the stall doors.

This is me, starting to bring things in on Thursday afternoon.

Shabby chic bathroom:

I searched for lace curtains for a couple of months and could not find anything affordable.  I decided to go with burlap and was ready to purchase some at Hobby Lobby when I received an email a week before the event.

"Someone has donated a box of lace curtains.  Can anyone use them to decorate their bathroom?"

YES!!!

The box contained the exact number of panels I desired to decorate the bathroom. 

I was in awe of how God provided.

There was also a valance that I used in this window along with some items I brought from home.

There were two shorter panels I was able to wrap around the sinks.

The pictures are from Dollar Tree.

The wreaths are from my house.

I made the bird garland.

The hats are also from Dollar Tree.

(they are in the sinks because we encourage women to use hand sanitizer instead of water.  We run out of water almost every year due to the high volume of use it gets.  Because of this we rent about 10 portable toilets for the 2 days as well).

I brought my stereo from home, and had an instrumental worship CD playing. I made a card that I set in front of the stereo that said "please push play", and the women kept it playing all day. 

The ladder, bench, rugs and accessories are all from my home.

Megan hung each one of these letters with sticky tack.  They are still up, and so far, no one has complained, so there they stay for now.

The bird didn't make it.

My favorite quote about the bathroom -

"I could have my wedding in here!"

Here are some of the other very creative bathrooms.

Garden theme:

Fishing theme:

The following photos were all taken on Thursday evening, after setting up all day on Thursday and into the evening"

Getting the registration tables ready.

Coffee pots are ready to go.

This is where we make the coffee, not where we serve it.

Here's the coffee room:

The bookstore:

The worship center ready for breakfast in the morning:

This is beside the stage where Lysa will sign books:

The main stage:

(the worship team is practicing for the event)

Some of the many rooms set up for lunch:

It takes a lot to make this day happen.  There are dozens of people who work behind the scenes for months leading up the the event.  

The Sunday before LDA, we get together for a whole-church cleaning.  This is just the crew who cleaned the 2 rooms we worked on.  

(that's me, in the purple shirt)

Ladies Day Apart is a wonderful, encouraging event for women, held every year in April in Derry, NH.  If you are in New England, I would encourage you to attend.  Tickets sell out every year, so you MUST get your tickets early for next year's event.  Visit the church website for details:

http://cbcderry.org/get-connected/womens-ministries/  

Here is the post on our church Women's Ministries page a few weeks before the event took place this year:

Women’s Ministries

The purpose of Women’s Ministries is to be sensitive to and meet the needs of the women in our own church body and to establish and maintain teaching and encouragement ministries for the women.  We also have a burden to reach out to the community around us and believe several of our activities will promote that goal.  

BOTH DAYS ARE NOW FULL!!!

LADIES DAY APART

WITH

LYSA TERKEURST

Lysa is a New York Times bestselling author and speaker who helps everyday women live an adventure of faith through following Jesus Christ. As president of Proverbs 31 Ministries, Lysa has led thousands to make their walk with God an invigorating journey.  Lysa’s topic, which is also the title of her new book, is

“THE BEST YES!”

Three Sessions with Lysa…

Session 1: One Wise Woman!

Session 2:  What to do when you don’t know what to do                                                        

Session 3:  Your Reaction determines your Reach

…

This is a ONE-day event held on TWO consecutive days in order to accommodate as many ladies as possible.

FRIDAY, APRIL 17th

OR

SATURDAY, APRIL 18^th

BOTH DAYS ARE NOW FULL!!!

Any questions, please contact Linda Illian, 603-437-5652 ~ momillian@comcast.net

Part II will show the day of LDA.

Linking up:
http://ichoosejoy.org
http://www.hopeineveryseason.com
http://www.over50feeling40.com
http://thethriftycouple.com/2015/07/30/thrifty-thursday-link-party-60/
http://chiconashoestringdecorating.blogspot.com
http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/2015/07/frugal-friday_30.html#more
http://tidymom.net/2015/crafty-creations/
http://romantichome.blogspot.com
http://www.frenchcountrycottage.net