Developing a Theme

 Decorations

Small clay pots can be used for place markers on each table. The pots could be taken home as a reminder to the ladies to be moldable. This could also be done with a broken piece of clay and then sent home with the ladies, with their names written on them as a reminder to either “not harden” or to be “broken for Him.”

• Use a large clay pot as a punch bowl – you’d have to place a regular punch bowl inside of it.

• A small tabletop fountain would be a nice addition (molding clay cannot be done without water).

• Use earth tones to complement the idea of clay.

• A backdrop of earth-toned sheets with a fountain in front would be dramatic. Ladies could pick up their nametags there, or sign in.

• Potted plants make nice centerpieces that could also be used for game prizes or giveaways.

Refreshments

Use a basic drink like unsweetened tea with assorted things to add to it such as honey, sugar, Splenda, lemon, or berries. The ladies would then make their drink according to their liking . . . as God wants to make us to His liking. You could do this with an hors d’oeuvre too—building their appetizer to their liking—by using crackers, cheese, sausages, creams, etc. Pizza would be another meal you can make according to your liking.

Other ideas include:

• Chocolate cake baked in a pot . . . we’ve all seen the dirt cakes! This could be a reminder that what is inside the pot is what counts. The dirt can bring forth flowers, all stemming from the pot itself.

• Serve pot pies or dessert pies that were baked in clay pots (lined with foil).

• After the meal or refreshments, ladies could empty leftover food from pot and add dirt to emptied pot. Then they insert a plant to take home as an inexpensive memento.

Games/Activities

“Pass the Clay,” which is similar to the telephone game. You have teams of at least 4 (3 molders, 1 guesser). Person One is told an object to form and has 30 seconds to do so and then must pass it to Person Two who will continue to improve what she thinks it is. After 30 seconds (time could vary), ring a bell and pass the object down to Person Three. At the end of the line, the clay is passed back to Person One who can get things back on track, if need be. The first team whose guesser yells out the correct object wins.

Playdough Pictionary rendition for larger group participation: Break the group into 2 teams (5-7 each). Each team gets a container of Playdough. Each team will be making an object. In the spirit of Pictionary, 1 person from each team comes to the leader for the name of the object she is supposed to form with the Playdough (it helps to narrow down the categories—books, movies, animals, etc.). The teams rotate from who is shaping the clay to who is guessing. After each team has successfully completed 7 objects (more or less depending on time), they are declared the winners. Objects to sculpt can be written on pieces of paper that they draw out of a clay pot.

Playdough Olympics could also be a themed game activity with timed clay events. Tallest Structure—teams of 2, with a given amount of clay, to see which team can make the tallest structure (could give 1 bamboo skewer or popsicle stick to help, if desired). Longest Rope—Teams of 4, to make the longest rope (could each roll a piece and stick together, but judge by holding the rope up—whatever falls off doesn’t count). Clay Ring Toss—Teams form their own ring and toss it over a “stick.” (Old-style toilet plunger works well because it will stand upright on any flat surface.) Teams can throw as many rings as they can make with the amount given.

Devotional

Meditate on this thought as you prepare for a devotional for this theme—water is necessary in molding clay. When we do a theme such as this, it is easy for us to emphasize being soft and moldable for Christ, and rightfully so. But have you ever thought what makes clay soft? It is the water. God compares the cleansing power of the Bible to water (Psalm 119:9-11; John 15:3; Ephesians 5:26; 1 Peter 1:22). If we are to stay moldable, we must stay in the Word. The Bible is what keeps us soft and moldable. Phillip Keller has a powerful section in his book on how a potter molds clay. The 2-3 pages of Keller’s firsthand experience with a potter and how he compares this to the Heavenly Potter is one of the most stirring comparisons I have read. You will find yourself reading it a couple of times, and it would be an excellent addition as a reading at your ladies’ event.