February is the "Love" month and as believers we should example the love of Jesus to our world. A great example of this is illustrated in this story of loving God through loving others. This is from writer Saul Bellow's collection of traditional Jewish tales comes this story:
In a small Jewish town in Russia, there is a rabbi who disappears each Friday morning for several hours. His devoted disciples boast that during those hours their rabbi goes up to heaven and talks to God.
A stranger moves into town, and he's skeptical about all this, so he decides to check things out. He hides and watches. The rabbi gets up in the morning, says his prayers, and then dresses in peasant clothes. He grabs an axe, goes off into the woods, and cuts some firewood, which he then hauls to a shack on the outskirts of the village. There an old woman and her sick son live. He leaves them the wood, enough for a week, and then sneaks back home.
Having observed the rabbi's actions, the newcomer stays on in the village and becomes his disciple. And whenever he hears one of the villagers say, "On Friday morning our rabbi ascends all the way to heaven," the newcomer quietly adds, "If not higher."
As we have learned in God's Word, we are to love God with all of our heart, mind, and soul. We also show God our love for Him when we show love for others. How can we as individuals, and as a ministry, show our love for others. I would love to hear your ideas and thoughts on this.
See you in church..
Family Ministry: Cow Lessons:
So the other day I was thinking about some of the cows we used to have on our dairy. Cows are just like us; they each have their own personalities and quirks. Did you know that you can learn a lot from a cow?
We had a cow named Trixie. She was the sweetest, nicest cow you could ever have. She was the one that we would bring out for the kids to pet, sit on and try to milk on field trip days. As for looks, she was shorter than most of our cows, she had a nice frame and a real nice udder (dairy farmer talk). I guess you would say she was an average cow. Everyone liked Trixie.
Then there was Twila. She was my dad's favorite cow and my least favorite. She was big and beautiful and won all kinds of awards. When we took her to the fair people would talk about how nice she was. We kept all of her calves including the bulls to raise and use on our dairy. She was the queen. Why didn't I like her? She had an awful personality. You never knew when she would kick you at milking time. Speaking of milk, she really didn't give a whole bunch, just average. I had to keep my mouth shut about my feelings about her (which was hard for me to do!) because my dad put her on a pedestal.
Lolly was one of my cows. I got her when she was born when I was 12 years old. Boy did I love that calf! She was the first calf I ever owned. I remember hanging upside down in her pen and she would suck on my chin and hair (it's what farm kids do for entertainment). Lolly did have one flaw, she was stubborn! Trying to train her so that I could show her was very hard. I would get so angry at her. As far as her looks went she was a little better than average and she did win some awards. As she got older her looks faded and she was prone to gaining weight (her udder didn't hold up either). That didn't stop me from lying beside her and telling her all of my problems.
So which cow would I rather have now? All of them. You see even though none of them were perfect they were unique in their own ways.
That is how God looks at us. None of us are perfect. All of us have our quirks and flaws but God would not throw any of us out. He wants all of us in His family. Just as a herd of cows would be boring if they were all perfect and the same, a perfect family of God would be just as boring!
Just something to think about!
Debbie
Eternity's Echo Youth Ministry
The past month has gone extremely well. We have had a wonderful transition from The Rock to the church. We are so happy to be back. Thank you to the teens and adults alike who helped with the preparations in the fellowship hall. The final touches are now in place with the projector being hung and the espresso machine, which is now hooked up. The food service is also still going strong. If you have not heard, if you would like to help on a rotation, please contact us or if you like to be taken off the rotation, please contact us. We are so grateful to everyone who has contributed. It is such an important ministry for the youth group. The New Year's bash was a huge success. We had a total of 50 people throughout the night. It was a great time of fellowship. Continue to look for teens involvement in different church events. There will be a teen bulletin board coming soon with a calendar and other announcements. On a side note if you need to contact Jon by email, he has a new email which is jonblock2425@hotmail.com. Again thank you for all your prayers and support.
~ Pastors Jon and Sabrina Block
Volunteer Opportunities
We would like to say THANK YOU to our wonderful volunteers and recognize our new volunteers.
Shirley Loomer: Thank you for washing bedding for Noah's Ark Early Learning Center each week.
Vivien Harvey: Thank you for washing the kitchen towels for the church and Noah's Ark each week.
Tanya Leo and the Hyde family: Thank you for teaching Children's Church.
There are numerous volunteer opportunities available for people of all ages at our church. Here are a few of the volunteer opportunities available at this time and the points of contact for each ministry.
Children's Church is in need of 2 teachers to teach once every 6 weeks
(Pastor Debbie Hensley)
Youth Group meal preparation for Wednesday evening youth activities
(Pastors Jon and Sabrina Block))
Women's Ministry
We had a great time at our "PINHEADS" day (January 23rd). There were many different
projects, such as knitting, crocheting, ribbon embroidery, regular hand embroidery, crewel work, as well as some quilting and hand tying, all going on at the same time. We had a new gal come and join us and she learned how to knit a pot holder. Then, of course, we had great conversations and laughs and a tasty lunch to share. Our next gathering will be on February 27th from 10:00am - 3:00pm. Come and join us maybe learn a new craft.
There are pictures on the Women's bulletin board in the hallway.
Coming up is our DISTRICT WOMEN'S RETREAT at Pinelow. The date of the camp is May 14-17, but we have to have our money and registration in by mid March. All the info is on the Women's bulletin board. Check it out and get signed up as soon as possible. We always have a great time of fun, inspiration and deep devotion, great speakers and music. It is well worth the money. All meals and lodging are included in this fee as well.
Keep an eye on the bulletin boards because there will be info posted on the next WOMEN OF FAITH conference and the BETH MOORE conference as well.
We are again starting up the MOVIE NIGHT on the last Friday of each month through
September. The movies are free. The teens will have concessions available for any donation. And we always set up the comfy chairs so you don't have to sit on the metal ones.
We are looking for ladies to join us on our council as well as some ladies that would like to head up some activities. You would not have to do anything on your own. There could be a group of ladies that would like to share some of the responsibilities for a project or event making it much easier for everyone, besides meeting and getting to know each other, it is a great way to share your gifts without feeling pressure. You'll soon realize that when you share your gifts that God has given you, He blesses you even more. After all, the gifts which He has blessed you are for glorifying Him in the first place. So think about what
talents or gifts that you have (I know that you have something to share) and come and join us to see how God can use them. We are open to all your ideas so come and share. Our next council meeting is February 16th at 6:30pm. (probably in the fellowship hall). Hope to see you there.
God bless,
Vicki
Mission Moments
Haiti Update - It has now been three weeks since the earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Haiti on 12 January 2010. According to the Associated Press, the death toll is currently estimated at over 150,000. The tragedy I Haiti has certainly been on our hearts and minds as we have prayed and given to help Haiti. At the time of this writing the Global Nazarene Church has given $1.1 million dollars for relief. There are 555 churches of the Nazarene in Haiti with nearly 120,000 members. Many churches had been destroyed. The seminary is standing and is now being used by two medical teams. In the coming months we will hear more of how we can help in the rebuilding of Haiti. Continue to pray for the safety of the Haiti people and the aid workers there that God will give them strength for the task at hand.
Alabaster Offering - Our Alabaster offering will be taken on February 14th. One hundred percent of this offering goes to buy land and provide building supplies for hospitals, schools and churches world wide. Haiti will have tremendous needs in the future for rebuilding in the future. Please give generously.
Faith Promise - We will have Faith Promise Sunday on February 28th. District Superintendent Randy Craker will be our speaker. We will take pledges for the World Evangelism Fund. All the money collected for Faith Promise goes to support the mission work of the Church of the Nazarene. We will have a potluck after the morning service.
Work and Witness to Honduras Summer 2010: Ten teens and adults are signed up for the W & W trip in July but more are needed. Please pray that God will call the team members. Pray for those that have committed to going that God will provide the finances.
Library Ministry
UNDER THE CAJUN MOON by Mindy Starns Clark. This is another good mystery by one of my favorite authors. This one takes place in the "Big Easy", New Orleans. Chloe Ledet, international business etiquette expert, moved away years ago. She races back home when she hears that her father has been shot. A handsome Cajun stranger that Chloe dated back in high school remembers everything about her, but she's completely put him out of her mind. With her father in a coma, Chloe must depend on this mysterious man to find out who shot her father and follow the clues in a poem leading her on a cat and mouse chase into the heart of the Cajun country. UNDER THE CAJUN MOON is Mindy's eleventh novel. We have most of the novels in the series in our church library. I hop you enjoy her books as much as I have.
Here are some other books to consider reading this month:
WILD AT HEART (Discovering the secret of a man's soul) by John Elredge
was written for men, however it read it and found it to be a great book for women too.
DELICACY by Clint Kelly, a restaurant called Taste of Success is a training program that teaches the homeless the culinary arts and helps them find a better life. There are some good insights into the lives of homeless people.
SPLIT ENDS by Kristin Billerbeck was a fun read about a small town hairstylist that goes to work in an exclusive Beverly Hills salon. Can she make it in the big time? You'll have to read the book to find out.
After talking to people from several other churches, I'm more convinced than ever that we have a great church library. I wan to thank Pastor Ken for supporting this ministry. I hope you are enjoying the library too.
