Good Moanin' Springfieldians,

True story.

It was a cold November day (kind of like today) but the coldness didn't compare with the coldness Sandra was feeling inside herself. Her life had been so easy up to this point, like a spring breeze, but all that changed when in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor car accident killed her unborn child, and hurled her into the worst storm of her life.

It was Thanksgiving week, and it would have been the week she delivered her son she had so longed for, and she was grieving. If that wasn't enough, her husband's company was talking about transferring him. And then her sister, whose holiday visit she coveted, had just called to say she wasn't going to be able to make it. And then to top it off, Sandra's friend had infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer.

"Had she lost a child? No. She has no idea what I'm feeling." Sandra thought to herself.

"Thanksgiving? Thankful for what? For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag that saved her life, but took that of her child?"

As she walked into the flower shop to get a Thanksgiving arrangement, she was lost in her grief and felt anything but thankful. When the clerk asked her if she was looking for something that conveyed gratitude  she really didn't intend to say it but it just came out.

"No! Not exactly, in the last five months everything that could go wrong has. I don't feel so grateful." And the tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Sandra was surprised when Jenny, the clerk, smiled and simply said, "I have the perfect arrangement for you."

Right at that moment another customer walked in and Jenny excused herself and greeted the customer by name and said, "Hi Barbara, let me get your order." She went into the workroom and quickly emerged carrying a massive arrangement of greenery, bows and long-stemmed thorny roses. Except, there were no flowers, they had all been neatly snipped off.

Sandra watched the customer's response and wondered if this was a joke. Who would want rose stems and no roses? She waited for laughter, but there was none. She thought surely she would say something about the absence of the flowers, but she didn't. In fact, she said, "They are exquisite. You'd think after three years of getting the special, I'd not be moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here. My family will love them. Thanks."

Sandra just stared. As the woman left, she finally said, "You didn't give her any flowers."

"Right, I cut them off."

"Why?"

"Oh, that's the special. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorn Bouquet."

"I can't believe anyone would pay for that."

"Well, you want to know why?"

"Absolutely!"

"Three years ago Barbara came into my shop feeling very much the way you feel today. She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to cancer, the family business was failing, her son was into drugs, and she was facing major surgery."

"That same year I had lost my husband. I assumed full responsibility for the shop, and for the first time spent the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too great a debt to let me travel."

And so I chose, I learned, to be thankful for thorns. You see, I'm a Christian and I had always thanked God for the good things in life and I never thought to ask Him why good things happened to me, but when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask! It took time to learn, to believe, that dark times are important. I had always enjoyed the "flowers" of life, but it took thorns to show me the beauty of God's comfort, and love and help.

Sandra then quietly said, "I guess the truth is I don't want comfort. I've lost my baby and I'm angry at God."

Right then another customer came in, and wouldn't you know it, he announced he was there for his twelve long stemmed thorns. As they were handed to him, he smiled a huge smile and said, "Beautiful, my wife will love them."

Sandra couldn't resist asking, and so to a total stranger, she said, "These are for your wife? Why thorns?"

This customer said, "I'm glad you asked. Four years ago my wife and I nearly divorced. After 40 years we were in a real mess, but with the Lord's guidance, we slogged through problem after rotten problem. He rescued our marriage, our love. Last year, at Thanksgiving, I stopped in here for flowers. I must have mentioned surviving the tough process, because Jenny told me that for a long time kept a vase of rose stems  stems - as a reminder of what she had learned from thorny times. That was good enough for me. I took home stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific thorny situation and give thanks for what the problem taught us."

He paid for the thorns and as he walked out he said to Sandra, "I highly recommend the special."

Sandra then said to Jenny, "I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life, they're still too fresh."

And gently Jenny said, "My experience says that thorns make roses more precious. We treasure what God does for us during times of trouble more than any other time."

The tears began to roll again down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident she began to loosen her grip on the resentment and anger. Through her tears she said, "I think I'll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please."

"I hoped you would. I'll have them ready in a minute."

As her thorns were handed to her, she thanked Jenny and gave what she owed.

She said, "Oh, the first year is always on me, just let the Lord heal your heart."

Some of you have been pricked by a thorn in this last year, some of you by many; why not begin to let the Lord heal the hurt? Let Him walk beside you?

Did You Know?????????????????

Bible Trivia: Connect the Three: lost donkeys, a tall man, anointing oil (See answer at the end of e-mail)

The Coffeehouse House Comedy was a great success, as over 350 people attended the two performances. Thank you! Thank you! To all the actors, dessert makers, setter uppers and taker downers and all those who invited friends and family. Who knows how God will use a fun evening like that to draw someone to Himself.

There will be a C.E. Board meeting November 12th at 5:30 in room #106. Grab some dinner and join us.

We will begin receiving our Thanksgiving Offering on Sunday November 23rd. This goes to support our mission and world evangelism efforts around the world. The challenge is once again that each family prayerfully consider a sacrificial offering of $300 for this most important offering.

Prime Time Holiday Dinner is tonight, Tuesday, November 11, at 6:00 p.m. in room #106. The dinner will be catered by Secret Recipes; cost is $10 per person. Music will be provided by Monica Hay. You can reserve your place by contacting Abby Heppe (498-9394) or Delta Harrison (529-2623) or Tricia Hofman (496-2000)

If you want to have your hand in publishing a new Bible  America's New International Version  the first NIV Bible ever written "one verse, one person" at a time, then go to the Family Christian Store between 1 and 7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 12. This nationwide tour will have more than 31,000 Americans writing the verses out by hand and will then be published by Zondervan. The original will be bound and offered to the Smithsonian Institute.

This Wednesdays' Prayer Gatherings are at 6:15 p.m. Caravan will still be meeting for our children but all other teens and adults will meet in the sanctuary for a time of prayer. Let's become the house of prayer God has called us to be.

Breadline Sunday will be November 23rd. St. John's Breadline feeds thousands of people every year. We have an opportunity to help. This is their only annual fundraiser. There will be loaves of bread available for purchase at $3 per loaf on that Sunday, or you can just contribute to help this important ministry.

Usher and Momentum Security Training will be held on Saturday, November 15, 9:00 a.m. in room #105 and the racquetball court. Contact Tom Hiatt (483-5269) for more information.

Spiritual Leadership for Men- All men are invited to be a part of a Small Group meeting on Thursday evenings from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Wednesday Night Connection. This week's dinner menu is: Pizza Bread, Tossed Salad, Buttered Corn, and Apple Crisp.

The Annual Turkey Bowl, Saturday November 22. The big football game, for all teens and adults, will begin at 11:00 a.m. There is a list of grocery items in the foyer for our community Thanksgiving Outreach as we make baskets for the less fortunate. My team is winning! Yahoo!

Kidz Express on Wednesday evenings from 6:00  6:15 p.m. will be a time of games and activities before the start of Caravan. Gloria Sanguedolce is planning great times for the kids.

We are in need of some more volunteers to help staff the nursery both on Sundays and especially on Wednesdays. It may come to the place where we can not offer this important ministry to families if there are not some more volunteers.

This coming Sunday, November 19, our wonderful nursery volunteers are: Suzie Jaynes with the infants; Andy/Kelly Peterson and Anna Hiatt with the toddlers, and Katie Azzo as the floater. This Wednesday the nursery will be staffed by Mindy Palmer and Heidi Hochstetler. Thank you!

Upcoming Events:
November 19  Wednesday - All-Church Thanksgiving Dinner
November 22  Saturday  Turkey Bowl 11:00 a.m.
November 23  Thanksgiving Offering Breadline Sunday

Keep using GoodSearch.com, we've earned $29.88 for the year 2008. Remember this is a search engine very similar to Google. You just type in goodsearch.com, then put in First Church of the Nazarene, Springfield (Springfield, IL ) where you list the your charity of choice, and then you are able to use it as you would Google or other search engines.

KUDOS AND THANK YOU'S RECEIVED

ADULT MINISTRIES

CHILDREN MINISTRIES

You can still see Rob Young (652-9870) if you're interested in your child being a part of the Upward basketball program. Cost is $60. Practices will begin the week of December 1st and games will begin on Saturday, January 10, 2009.

Children's Christmas Program will be December 14th. Practices will be held during the Children's Church Hour on Sundays November 16, 23 and December 7th. Dress rehearsal will be held December 13th from 9:30-11:00 a.m. in the sanctuary.

TEEN MINISTRY

This coming Friday, November 14th Momentum is on.

Teen Girls' Bible Study  meets on Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m., at Sue Bagley's home (327 Osteen, Chatham). All teen girls are invited for the fellowship and Bible study.

Answer to Bible Trivia: King Saul  I Samuel 9:3; I Samuel 10:21-23; I Samuel 10:1, 20-24

PRAYER REQUESTS...............

Those listed in Sunday's bulletin

Joe and Julie Maltas family  uncle's funeral today

Diana MacGregor having surgery today

Scott Matheis' upcoming surgery

Lynette Heppe

Renee Gallaher's mother

Ty Miller (Nancy Prillaman's grandson)

Elia Krell  Jim& Kathi's granddaughter

Good Moanin' Springfieldians,

Think it over:

Aren't you glad somebody has always believed in the significance of one?

Like back in 

• 1645...when one vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England.
• 1776...when one gave America the English language instead of German.
• 1845...when one vote brought the state of Texas into the union.
• 1868...when one vote saved President Andrew Johnson from impeachment.
• 1875...when one vote changed France from a monarchy to a republic.
• 1941...when one vote saved the Selective Service System just twelve weeks before Pearl Harbor was attacked.
• And did you know that in 1923, one vote gave Adolph Hitler control of the Nazi Party?

Ah, the power of one! Never underestimate it.

You, alone, can make a difference!

That's important today especially when we consider whether we're going to take the time to vote. (Teri and I have already voted and we saw Brad Adams in line in front of us. Pastor Gregg and Pastor Jay have also already voted and they saw Steve Krampitz and Zach Roberts working at election judges, they also saw Gerry Becker and the Maltas in line.) Jean Pickett was the first to vote in her precinct, and of course, instructed the judges to remind the voters to turn their ballot over to finish voting! It really is important for all of us to realize the significance of our vote and make it a priority.

But also consider that one person who has really made a difference in your life. Aren't you glad somebody has always believed in the significance of one? Maybe it was that teacher that believed in you; or that Sunday school teacher or youth pastor or pastor that didn't ever give up on you; maybe it was that family that took you in when you felt like you had no where to go; or that boss that gave you a second chance after you had messed up big time; perhaps it was that friend who didn't think you had done a permanent job when you made a fool of yourself. There is at least one person, who didn't have to, had no reason to, but they went out of their way, they sacrificed, and they have significantly impacted your life for the good. Why not send a note, or e-mail, make a phone call and let them know how much you appreciate the difference they have made in your life.

But also consider: who is the one person that you could impact for good and for God if you went out of your way and sacrificed for that person? Whose life may make a dramatic turn for the good if they just knew one person believed in them?

Maybe it's a single mom who is just overwhelmed by all of the responsibilities of being mom and dad and never getting a day off. Maybe it's a teen at Momentum, who from all outward appearances doesn't want to be approached. Maybe it's that co-worker who's going through the divorce and they sure can act like it doesn't bother them. Maybe it's the alcoholic who thinks there's no escape. Or that one needs to be forgiven.

The list is endless....

The power of one! Never underestimate it! You can make a difference. Don't focus on changing the world, simply ask God who is the one that He wants you to reach out to and then follow through. Who knows what might happen if we really believed in the power of one, and reached out to that one that God lays on our heart.

Did You Know?????????????????

Bible Trivia: Connect the Three: What do these three have in common? Elisha, the vulture, and forbidden for priests: (See answer at the end of e-mail)

Janet Glisson's father, Gene Baker, passed away early Saturday morning. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. at Kirlin-Egan and Butler Funeral Home on 6th Street, Tuesday evening; also from 9:30-10:15 a.m. at Third Presbyterian Church on Wednesday morning, with the funeral following at 10:30 a.m.

Mary Alice Hunt had a successful visit to the neurologist in St. Louis, and right now doctors will be treating her Parkinson's with a new medication.

Layne Harris is back in California after a very dangerous tour of duty in Afghanistan. PTL!

Church Board Prayer Meeting tonight at 7:00 p.m., meet in the sanctuary.

Prime Time Holiday Dinner is next Tuesday November 11 at 6:00 p.m. in room #106. The dinner will be catered by Secret Recipes; cost is $10 per person. Music will be provided by Monica Hay. You can reserve your place by contacting Abby Heppe (498-9394) or Delta Harrison (529-2623) or Tricia Hofman (496-2000)

The Coffeehouse Comedy is this weekend. Saturday November 8 and Sunday November 9. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Child care is available for those under 12 years old and younger. This is a great night of fun and opportunity to invite your friends for a fun night with exquisite desserts, coffee, and teas.

This Wednesdays' Prayer Gatherings are at 6:15 p.m. Caravan will still be meeting for our children but all other teens and adults will meet in the sanctuary for a time of prayer. Let's become the house of prayer God has called us to be.

Breadline Sunday will be November 23rd. St. John's Breadline feeds thousands of people every year. We have an opportunity to help. This is their only annual fundraiser. There will be loaves of bread available for purchase at $3 per loaf on that Sunday, or you can just contribute to help this important ministry.

Spiritual Leadership for Men- All men are invited to be a part of a Small Group meeting on Thursday evenings from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Wednesday Night Connection. This week's dinner menu is: Beef and Noodles, Bread and Butter, Tossed Salad, Ice Cream.

The Annual Turkey Bowl, Saturday November 22. The big football game, for all teens and adults, will begin at 11:00 a.m. There will be a list of grocery items for our community Thanksgiving Outreach as we make baskets for the less fortunate.

Kidz Express on Wednesday evenings from 6:00  6:15 p.m. will be a time of games and activities before the start of Caravan. Gloria Sanguedolce is planning great times for the kids.

We are in need of some more volunteers to help staff the nursery both on Sundays and especially on Wednesdays. It may come to the place where we can not offer this important ministry to families if there are not some more volunteers.

This coming Sunday, November 9, our wonderful nursery volunteers are: Bonnie Patterson with the infants; Chris Bott and Elena Sanguedolce with the toddlers, and Brytani Young as the floater. This Wednesday the nursery will be staffed by Mindy Palmer and Pat Fowler. Thank you!

Upcoming Events:

• November 8-9 Coffeehouse Comedy
• November 19  Wednesday - All-Church Thanksgiving Dinner
• November 22  Saturday  Turkey Bowl 11:00 a.m.
• November 23  Breadline Sunday

Keep using GoodSearch.com, we've earned $29.60 for the year 2008. Remember this is a search engine very similar to Google. You just type in goodsearch.com, then put in First Church of the Nazarene, Springfield (Springfield, IL ) where you list the your charity of choice, and then you are able to use it as you would Google or other search engines.

KUDOS AND THANK YOU'S RECEIVED

From Brian, Heather, Hadley and Brooke Tweryon: Our family would like to thank you for your very generous gift. We are overwhelmed by your willingness to help our family when we really need it. This donation is gre4atly appreciated and will be used for medical expenses for our little girl Brooke. She is home now and doing well. We are so happy to have our family together...it's been a long six months. We hope you all really understand just how much this means to us. Thank you again.

ADULT MINISTRIES

CHILDREN MINISTRIES

You can still see Rob Young if your interested in your child being a part of the Upward basketball program. Cost is $60. Practices will begin the week of December 1st and games will begin on Saturday, January 10, 2009.

Children's Christmas Program will be December 14th. Practices will be held during the Children's Church Hour on Sundays November 9, 16, 23 and December 7th. Dress rehearsal will be held December 13th from 9:30-11:00 a.m. in the sanctuary.

Children's Quiz in Pana, this Saturday, leaving our parking lot at 8:15 a.m. Everyone is invited to watch our kids compete.

TEEN MINISTRY

This coming Friday, November 7th Momentum is on.

District Teen Spiritual Life Retreat is November 7-9.

Teen Girls' Bible Study  will meet on Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m., at Sue Bagley's home (327 Osteen, Chatham) All teen girls are invited for the fellowship and Bible study.

Answer to Bible Trivia: Baldness (see 2 Kings 2:23; Micah 1:16; Leviticus 21:5)

PRAYER REQUESTS..........

• Those listed in Sunday's bulletin
• Mary Alice Hunt
• Janet Glisson
• Joann Singh  upcoming surgery
• Scott Matheis upcoming surgery
• Lynette Heppe
• Renee Gallaher's mother
• Ty Miller (Nancy Prillaman's grandson)

Good Moanin' Springfieldians,

I don't know if you ever heard the story of Gary Klahr and Steven Barbin. They act like brothers. The two Fairfield, Connecticut, residents look alike, finish each other sentences, and speak with the same inflections. Gary served as Steve's best man at his wedding. Steve supported Gary through his father's death. They've been inseparable for 25 years.

On December 30, 1998, their friendship made sense. A caseworker called Gary with some personal questions. He thought she wanted to know if he was interested in adoption. He was partially correct. Her call concerned adoption  his own.

The news came as a bolt from the blue. For 51 years he had assumed he was Benjamin and Marjorie Klahr's biological son. Surprise! And that discovery was just the beginning.

Gary happened to mention that his best friend, Steve Barbin, was also adopted. The caseworker showed and instant interest and phoned Steve. "Are you sitting down?...You have a brother," she informed him. "Your friend Gary Klahr, is your brother."

Not just buddies, but brothers! Not just friends, but family! How do you imagine those two men felt?

I'm not sure exactly how they felt, but maybe I got a hint of it Sunday evening when you showed your appreciation to the church staff and our families. We could tell by kind words said, the laughter, the great food brought in, and by the many, many cards and gifts that we really sense we're not simply pastors and congregation, but we are family.

Jay, Gregg, and I are so deeply appreciative that God has called us here to serve as your pastors. It's not simply because of what took place on Sunday evening, but because every day you make us feel like we're part of the greatest family around. To be able to call you our brothers and sisters is such an honor for us. To really know, that even with all our quirks and weirdness, you love us. That is astounding to us. To know there's a family that prays for us is such a source of incredible strength.

Thank you for being our friends, or as Teri says, our peeps. Thank you for being our family. You put up with us, you laugh at us and with us, and you allow us to serve you as pastors. We are so appreciative.

Teri and I were at Olivet Nazarene University's Homecoming this past weekend. We celebrated our 30th anniversary of graduating from ONU. We were able to see many old friends, and by old I mean old! I can't believe how all those people had aged. What happened to them? Teri was still the best looking one there.

Some of those people I had not seen in 30 years, and yet the friendships were still alive and well. We caught up with each other. We laughed. We showed pictures and bragged about our kids. We shared stories of triumph and tragedy and somehow the bond that was formed in 1974 when we began our first semester at Olivet was still present.

I started thinking about what heaven is going to be like. What a great homecoming that's going to be! Just think about all those that we've loved over the years that we are going to get to see and laugh together with again. Think about the stories we'll share.

I say it often, "Heaven is a real place, for real people!" Now, that's a Homecoming I don't want to miss. Remember the old song, "What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see, And I look upon His face  the One who saved me by His grace. When He takes me by the hand and leads me through the promised land, what a day, glorious day that will be."

I hope you're looking forward to that Homecoming as much as I am. What a great family reunion that will be!

Did You Know?????????????????

Don't forget this Saturday is when your set your clocks BACK (Jean, please take note  you fall back in the fall). If you forget to change your clock you'll be an hour early for church and Sunday School. Oh....please disregard this announcement. Show up early for church.

The Coffeehouse Comedy is right around the corner. Saturday November 8 and Sunday November 9. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Child care is available for those under 12 years old and younger. This is a great night of fun and opportunity to invite your friends for a fun night with exquisite desserts, coffee, and teas.

This Wednesday, October 29, like tomorrow, at 6:15 p.m. is the start of six weeks of special prayer gatherings. Caravan will still be meeting for our children but all other teens and adults will meet in the sanctuary for a time of prayer. Let's become the house of prayer God has called us to be.

You can still see Rob Young if you're interested in your child being a part of the Upward basketball program. Cost is $60. Practices will begin the week of December 1st and games will begin on Saturday, January 10, 2009.

Ladies Craft Connection  Saturday, November 1 from 5:00 -11:00 p.m. Bring your crafts, a snack to share, a friend and stop in anytime for great fellowship with other ladies. This gives you a night out without the kids and great fun to boot.

Spiritual Leadership for Men - All men are invited to be a part of a Small Group meeting on Thursday evenings from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in room #105.

Wednesday Night Connection. This week's dinner menu is: Pasta Alfredo with Chicken, Mixed Vegetables, Tossed Salad and Assorted Desserts.

The Annual Turkey Bowl, Saturday November 22. The big football game, for all teens and adults, will begin at 11:00 a.m. on the grounds. This Sunday in the bulletin, there will be a list of grocery items for our community Thanksgiving Outreach as we make baskets for the less fortunate. Baskets for those donations will be in the foyer as well. We will have 4 football teams this year. Teams are assigned according to birthdates. Team 1: January  March; Team 2: April  June; Team 3: July  September; Team 4: October  December. Each donated item that is listed will have points that will be added to your team's score from the game to see who really will win the football games!

Our Karate Club has been invited by the Urban League to present a demonstration at Union Baptist Church, Tuesday, November 18th. This will open doors of ministry. Recently Kayla Sharpe and Zach Barrington were recognized for their skills in a competition. Way to go Karate Club!

Kidz Express on Wednesday evenings from 6:00  6:15 p.m. will be a time of games and activities before the start of Caravan. Gloria Sanguedolce is planning great times for the kids.

We are in need of some more volunteers to help staff the nursery both on Sundays and especially on Wednesdays. It may come to the place where we can not offer this important ministry to families if there are not some more volunteers.

Upcoming Events: November 2 - Daylight Savings Time Ends  and extra hour of sleep! Yahoo!

November 8-9 Coffeehouse Comedy, 6:30 both nights

November 19  Wednesday - All-Church Thanksgiving Dinner

November 22  Saturday  Turkey Bowl, 11:00 a.m.

November 23  Breadline Sunday

Keep using GoodSearch.com, we've earned $29.03 for the year 2008. Remember this is a search engine very similar to Google. You just type in goodsearch.com and then you are able to use it as you would Google or other search engines.

CHILDREN MINISTRIES

Invitational Children's Quiz in Pana the morning of November 8th.

TEEN MINISTRY

This coming Friday, October 31st it's OFF night for Momentum.

Teen Girls' Bible Study  meets on Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m., at Sue Bagley's home (327 Osteen, Chatham). All teen girls are invited for the fellowship and Bible study.

PRAYER REQUESTS.........

Those listed in Sunday's bulletin

Lynette Heppe

Renee Gallaher's mother

Ty Miller (Nancy Prillaman's grandson)

Good Moanin' Springfieldians,

Did you agree with this statement from the sermon Sunday, "Faith (trust) is better than certainty."? I told how I'd rather trust Teri than have absolute certainty that she was always faithful. Even if Gregg was able to invent a Teri-Cam that kept her under surveillance 24 hours every day, I would rather trust her than absolute knowledge of her faithfulness. Our relationship is deeper, more profound because I trust her.

The same is true in our relationship with God. It is better to have faith, trust Him; trust His Word, trust that He will do what He has said He will do  than to have to see and know the results before we act. Remember the Hebrew preacher said, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 10:1)

Did you hear the one about the three guys in a plane: the pilot, a Boy Scout, and the world's smartest man? The engine fails, the plane is going down, and there are only two parachutes. The smartest man in the world quickly grabs one and says, "I'm sorry about this, but I'm the smartest man in the world; I have a responsibility to the planet," and he jumps out of the plane. The pilot turns to the Boy Scout and speaks about how he has already lived a long, full life and how the Boy Scout has his whole life in front of him; and how he might just make a real difference in the world  so he tells the Boy Scout to take the last parachute and live. The Boy Scout responds by saying, "Relax, Captain, the smartest man in the world just jumped out of the plane with my backpack."

Our world is full of smart people jumping out of planes with backpacks. One of the paradoxes of faith and doubt is that it is the ultimate intellectual challenge, yet simple uneducated people may live with great wisdom and PhDs may choose folly.

One thing is for sure: sooner or later the plane is going down. We are all on the same plane. Smart guys and Boy Scouts alike; and everybody has to jump. Everybody has to choose a parachute. No one will know who will chose wisely until after they jump.

But let me tell you, you will not be disappointed by that leap of faith.

That's why we're going to have these six weeks of prayer gatherings on Wednesdays, because we believe without always seeing, that God works when His people gather together to pray. We believe without always seeing that "God works for the good of those that love Him and are called according to His purpose."

Let me really encourage you to be a part of these gatherings. Is there something going on in your life and family where you need God to give wisdom, intervene, or work in a redemptive way? Let's pray together about it. Is there someone you know that desperately needs the Lord? Let's pray together. Are you desiring to see God use us as a church in a greater way? Let's pray together. Do you believe our nation is in need of revival? Let's pray together.

This Wednesday, that would be tomorrow, October 22, I've asked Pastor Jay to share his story and how God worked in his life in amazing ways as he was growing up  and it can all be traced back to a grandmother than never quit praying for her grandson. Last season at Momentum, PJ shared his story with the students and many turned to Christ that evening. It didn't happen simply because he told them a story, but because he, our teens, and others had been praying specifically for that Halftime.

God has called us to be a House of Prayer this Season of Celebration Gathering and then the six Wednesday prayer gatherings that follow are a part of us becoming what God has called us to. Will you be apart of those times of prayer?

Are you willing to take the leap of faith?

Did You Know?????????????????

Season of Celebration Gathering  This Wednesday, October 22, like tomorrow, at 6:15 p.m.

Upward Evaluations and Sign up this Saturday, October 25th. Girls and boys 1st-6th grades are invited to be a part of the Upward Basketball program. The time is 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. You can drop in any time during that time frame. Your child will not only learn and improve their basketball skills, but will experience good sportsmanship and make new friends as well. Cost is $50 per child, $60 after October 25th. Practices will begin the week of December 1st and games will begin on Saturday, January 10, 2009.

Spiritual Leadership for Men- All men are invited to be apart of a Small Group meeting on Thursday evenings, beginning October 23rd, from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

There will be an All-Church Pastors Appreciation Reception on this Sunday evening, October 26th , at 6:00 p.m.

The next Blood Drive is tomorrow, Wednesday, October 22. Call Pat Fowler at 529-9597 for an appointment, and avoid having to wait in line. They are so appreciative of you being willing to give what's in your heart.

Wednesday Night Connection. This week's dinner menu is: Ham or Hamburger Horseshoe, Tossed Salad, Assorted cookies.

Kidz Express on Wednesday evenings from 6:00  6:15 p.m. will be a time of games and activities before the start of Caravan. Gloria Sanguedolce is planning great times for the kids.

We are in need of some more volunteers to help staff the nursery both on Sundays and especially on Wednesdays. It may come to the place where we can not offer this important ministry to families if there are not some more volunteers.

This coming Sunday, October 26, our wonderful nursery volunteers are: Kathleen Hochstetler with the infants; and Deb Bowman and Breanna Cambre with the toddlers, and Cassie Bott as the floater. This Wednesday there will be no nursery so the entire church family can be a part of the Season Celebration Gathering. Thank you!

Upcoming Events:

November 2 - Daylight Savings Time Ends  and an extra hour of sleep! Yahoo!

November 7-9  Teen Spiritual Life Retreat

November 8-9 Coffeehouse Comedy

November 22, 11:00 a.m. Turkey Bowl on the grounds

November 23  Breadline Sunday

Keep using GoodSearch.com, we've earned $28.57 for the year 2008. Remember this is a search engine very similar to Google. You just type in goodsearch.com and then you are able to use it as you would Google or other search engines.

CHILDREN MINISTRIES

Upward Basketball sign-up will be on Saturday, October 25.

TEEN MINISTRY

This coming Friday, October 24th, Momentum is on. Friday, October 31st it's OFF.

Teen Girls' Bible Study  will meet on Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m., at Sue Bagley's home (327 Osteen, Chatham) All teen girls are invited for the fellowship and Bible study.

PRAYER REQUESTS........

Those listed in Sunday's bulletin

Lynette Heppe

Renee Gallaher's mother

Ty Miller (Nancy Prillaman's grandson)

Jamie Scott's father passed away Saturday

Richard Morgan

Tom and Pam Marsh - Tom's father, Glenn Meeker, passed away. The visitation will be Tuesday from 4-7 PM, and the funeral service will be Wednesday at noon at Staab Funeral Home.

Jeff Gemar's niece passed away

October 14, 2008

Good Moanin' Springfieldians,

Recently, at the urging of Teri and a few other people, I decided to put together a collection of my stories and submit them as a devotional book, which I entitled "Good Moanin'. Imagine that? I knew I enjoyed telling the stories, and others have told me the have enjoyed listening to them or reading them, so I thought, "Why not, what's to lose?"

I submitted them to one publishing house and I received a very polite rejection letter, but the editor said that while she enjoyed my stories they did not really fit into the categories of the books they publish. She then suggested that I submit them to a service call The Writers' Edge.

She informed me that most Christian publishers no longer accept unsolicited manuscripts but they work through this service. This is a group of editors and former editors who evaluate whether they believe your book is publishable and if there's a market for it. They give encouragement and constructive criticism. If they believe that your book has potential they will then present a short synopsis to about 90 different Christian publishers, with your contact information. If any of those publishers are interested they will contact you and ask to see your work. It cost around $100 to have them do this evaluation.

So, swimming hard against the stream of cheapness which courses through me, I wrote the check and submitted my "Good Moanin'" stories. What do you know, I received a letter back from Reviewer #7, who told me he or she liked my work, that he/she had laughed out loud a number of times and I had a good style and tone to my writing; and that "Good Moanin'" would be included in their list, which they would send out in October to the different publishers.

I tell you all of that to tell you what happened yesterday. Mondays are my day off, and usually they are filled with chores from my honey-do list. And depending on the Monday, and whether there is sunshine in my soul or dark clouds rolling in, I may or may not check my e-mail. There are some Mondays when I just don't want to have to deal with anything that might come through my e-mail, so I take a day off from even looking at them. If you don't see them, they can't cause your stomach to churn.

Yesterday was not one of those days. In the midst of my activities I took a few seconds to check my e-mail. I read Ray Hofman's devotional, which is always a great way to start my day. I deleted a few junk e-mails. I read a not-so-funny-joke which comes from one of those joke-of-the-day places. I scanned through the list of other e-mails waiting to be opened.

One in particular caught my eye. In fact, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. You see, I hadn't really thought there would be much interest in stories about a guy and his family, who no one knows, and the weird things they go through. So, I really wasn't expecting to hear from any publisher. But as my eyes went down the list of those unopened e-mails there was one that caught my attention. It was from Cross House Publishing. It didn't matter to me that I had never heard of them. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing.

I thought, "Could it be? Could it possibly be? Is someone really interested in reading my stories?" There was a very pregnant pause before I opened the e-mail. In fact, I allowed the dream machine in my mind to kick into high gear. In the nation of imagination I could just see my book being published and hundreds, maybe thousands, shoot the dream machine was in high gear, maybe millions would read all those weird little stories.

My heart was beating faster. I was really getting excited. Should I open the e-mail? Should I wait until Teri came home, so we could share the joy to together? Should I plan a celebration dinner? I don't like to admit this, but I even let out a joyous shout of "Yes!! Whoo!! Whoo!!" I decided I couldn't wait for Teri; I just had to open it and see what kind of publishing deal they were going to offer the next Max Lucado.

I opened the e-mail, and much to my chagrin and my embarrassment, it was simply an advertisement from Cross House Publishing, which they had sent out as a mass e-mail promoting themselves and their products. Talk about the air being let out of your balloon.

Oh well, It was fun to dream.

But I got to thinking, how do we handle real disappointments that come our way? I've heard way too many people with a weariness in their voice talk about what they almost did, almost accomplished, or almost completed.

"I almost made the big leagues."

"I almost got that dream job."

"I almost started my own business."

It's as if they have never moved forward from that moment of almost, and the almost is still controlling them. And I've heard others with a great sadness talk about others, using that ugly six letter word.

"He almost got it together."

"They almost worked it out."

"She/He almost decided not to leave and almost decided to give it another shot."

"He almost became a Christian."

We're told about one guy in Scripture that used that nasty little word in Scripture. (Well, he used it if he was speaking in King James Version language.) Paul was standing trial before King Agrippa. Paul told his own story of meeting Jesus. He told of how Jesus was the promised Messiah and how Jesus was resurrected from the dead. He challenged King Agrippa by asking, "King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do." (Acts 26:27)

And then the king responded by saying, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." (Acts 26:28 KJV)

If you've ever been disappointed in life; if you've disappointed yourself, or have been disappointed by another; if the job didn't come through or the promise was broken  don't be like Agrippa and say, "I almost came to Jesus." If the disappointment has caused a great weariness to settle in on you, realize you don't have to get stuck at the point of almost. Remember Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

Don't ever let it be said about you, "You almost came to Jesus."

Did You Know???

The Prime Time Dinner is tonight, Tuesday, October 14th. A Weiner Roast is the order of the night. It will be held at the Rochester Community Park. Hot Dogs, buns, condiments, drinks marshmallows and table service will all be provided. Bring a side dish or dessert, you lawn chair, a hot dog stick, and a friend. Here are the directions: Go east on Stevenson Drive over the dam and follow the road until you get to the sign to "Rochester" (Old Rochester Road) and turn left (east). Just follow that road (go through the stop light) and you will see the sign for the park on the left side of the road just past an old stone building and before the cemetary. It is very easy to find. If you get to Rochester you have gone too far.

The October church board meeting was changed to this Thursday, October 16, at 7:00 p.m. The Finance Committee will meet ahead of the board meeting at 6:00 p.m. in the pastor's office.

A very special thank you to Gloria Sanguedolce and all of her crew for making the Pumpkin Fest such a smashing success. We had more people than ever before and more new people joined in the fun. What a fun way to introduce people to our church! Thank you to Ivan Fink's cousin who donated all of those great pumpkins. There are a few pumpkins left that anyone can have for any amount donation to Children's Ministry. See Gloria Sanguedolce if you're interested in picking up an extra pumpkin.

Congratulations to Kim Barrington and the Karate Class. This marks their five year anniversary of ministry at our church. Last Saturday Trish Barrington and Sheila Leggett earned the rank of Black Belt, and Zach Barrington and Deb Crawford earned their Brown Belts. Way to go!!

Season of Celebration Gathering  Next Wednesday October 22, at 6:15 p.m. Pastor Jay will be sharing his story of rescue and redemption from a tough home situation. This is for the entire church: kids, teens and adults. We want everyone to attend. The following six weeks will be special prayer gatherings on Wednesday evening as we pray for others to be redeemed and rescued. This will be for all teens and adults. Caravan, for our kids, will continue for these six weeks.

Spiritual Leadership for Men- All men are invited to be a part of a Small Group meeting on Thursday evenings, beginning October 23rd, from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

There will be an All-Church Pastor Appreciation Reception on Sunday evening October 26th at 6:00 p.m. in the gym. You are asked to bring a plate of sandwiches, salad or dessert to share.

The next Blood Drive is October 22, call Pat Fowler at 529-9597 for an appointment, and avoid having to wait in line. They are so appreciative of you being willing to give what's in your heart.

Karen Rheude has a brown lift chair/recliner she would be happy to donate to whoever might need it. You can contact her at church or at rheudek@earthlink.net.

Wednesday Night Connection classes which meets at 6:15 p.m. right after our family dinner. This week's dinner menu is: Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Salad, Garlic Bread, Mixed Fruit.

Kidz Express on Wednesday evenings from 6:00  6:15 p.m. will be a time of games and activities before the start of Caravan. Gloria Sanguedolce is planning great times for the kids.

We are in need of some more volunteers to help staff the nursery both on Sundays and especially on Wednesdays. It may come to the place where we can not offer this important ministry to families if there are not some more volunteers.

This coming Sunday, October 19, our wonderful nursery volunteers are: Susie Jaynes with the infants; and Robin Buchanan and Nikki Leggett with the toddlers, and Zachary Shepherdson as the floater. This Wednesday, October 8, the nursery will be staffed by Mindy Palmer and Brytani Young. Thank you!

Keep using GoodSearch.com, we've earned $27.67 for the year 2008. Remember this is a search engine very similar to Google. You just type in goodsearch.com and then you are able to use it as you would Google or other search engines.

ADULT MINISTRIES

The next Prime Time Dinner is tonight at 6:00 p.m. in the large pavilion at Rochester Community Park on Old Rochester Road.

Coffeehouse Comedy will be held on November 8th and 9th, 6:30 p.m. both nights. Be sure and invite your friends as this is always a great night to enjoy wonderful desserts and delicious coffees and teas.

CHILDREN MINISTRIES

Upward Basketball sign-up will be on Saturday, October 25 from 7:30 a.m.  12:30 p.m. Referees and coaches are needed for this season. Contact Rob Young to help out.

TEEN MINISTRY

Momentum this Friday, 7  11 PM! We had about 228 teens last Friday. If you missed it, make sure you come this Friday!

Teen Girls' Bible Study  will meet on Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m., at Sue Bagley's home (327 Osteen, Chatham) All teen girls are invited for the fellowship and Bible study.

PRAYER REQUESTS....

Those listed in Sunday's bulletin

Lynette Heppe

Renee Gallaher's mother  begins radiation treatments this week

Ty Miller (Nancy Prillaman's grandson)

Good Moanin' Springfieldians,

Think back 100 years ago.

Well, unless you're Wilbur Hunt, you can't remember that long ago. Not our Wilbur Hunt mind you, but another Wilbur Hunt who lives in Springfield. A few months ago when our Wilbur was in the hospital I went up to visit him, stopped at the desk to get his room number, and when I asked for Wilbur Hunt's room number, the person manning the station said, "Which one?" I said, "You mean there's more than one Wilbur Hunt?" There was, and the other one, not ours, was 106 years old. Just the thought of two Wilbur Hunts have given me nightmares ever since. (Only kidding Wilbur, even though I know you're praying that your "Fighting Illini" whips the mighty Maize and Blue this Saturday. But I digress.)

Think back 100 years ago.

Here are some of the people who were born in that year: Alistair Cooke, Amy Vanderbilt, Bette Davis, Claude Levi-Strauss, Edward R. Murrow, Estee Lauder, Henry Blackmun (the Supreme Court Justice who wrote the majority opinion in the Roe vs. Wade case, allowing for abortions), Jimmy Stewart, Lawrence Welk, Louis L'Amour, Lyndon B. Johnson, Milton Berle, Thurgood Marshall.

Think of how different our world would have been without these men and women. We would have laughed less, not smelled quite as good, wouldn't have worn our Levis, had seen less good movies, wouldn't know what good manners really are, would have had less bubbles, and would have been less informed.

Here are a few events that took place that year:

• Henry Ford introduced the Model T at the cost of $850.
• William Durant founded General Motors.
• The Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox to win the American League pennant, but lost to the Chicago Cubs in the World Series. Only 6,120 fans showed up for the last game. And the Cubbies haven't won the World Series since then.
• William Howard Taft was elected president of the United States.
• The first Gideon Bible was placed in a hotel room. Since that day they have distributed 1.4 billions Bibles.
• The first electric toaster was introduced, as well as the first electric typewriter. (Today our kids have no clue what a typewriter even is.)
• The F.B.I was formed.
• J.C. Penney began. (The store, not the man.)
• The Ex-Lax Company was started. (I'm told it was a very moving experience.)

Here's a few other interesting facts from 1908:

• There was a race riot in our fair city, from which we're still healing.
• Petroleum production started in the Middle East.
• The cost of a stamp was 2 cents.
• Federal spending was .66 billion dollars. (100 years later they want to spend 700 billions of a bail out program? Wow!)
• 90% of farmers' horse power was provided by horses.
• Half of the U.S. population lived on farms or in towns smaller than 2500.
• A chemist, Jacque Bradenberger, received a patent on cellophane.
• An earthquake in Messina, Italy killed over 80,000 people.
• The first credit union in the U.S. was formed.

A few more interesting events took place in the year 1908.

• The first time the ball signifying the New Year was dropped in Times Square.
• General Baden-Powell started the Boy Scouts.
• Star #46 was added to the flag for Oklahoma. (And no, they didn't have the nation's best football team that year, too.)
• Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Murdock were the first to travel cross country in a car. It took them 32 days, 5 hours, and 25 minutes to complete their journey.
• The very first Mother's Day was observed.
• You'll love this one: Cincinnati Mayor Mark Breith stood before the city council and announced that, "Women are not physically fit to operate automobiles."

In all of my research and in the discovery of these interesting facts, none of the web sites I traveled to even mentioned that in 1908 in the small town of Pilot Point, Texas, a small group of people from all over the United States came together and began the Church of the Nazarene. And now, today, there are 1.5 million Nazarenes, in over 150 world areas who are trying to impact our communities and our world for Jesus Christ. But that's exactly what happened.

God raised up a people, who were still living in the wake of the Civil War, to come together from the East, South, North, and West to form another branch of His church. He gave us a passion for preaching holiness, for missions, for reaching the underprivileged, and for Christian higher education.

This Sunday we will celebrate our 100th Anniversary by receiving communion together, along with Nazarenes from all around the globe, by glancing back, and by looking toward the future and what God wants to do with these people called "Nazarenes."

Let's have a great celebration!

Did You Know?????????????????

Ivan Fink has been released from the hospital today! He sure appreciates all the attention he's been receiving from his church family and small group. It's almost like we like Ivan, or something.

Craft Connection  is a great night for all the ladies to get a sitter, bring a craft, a snack to share, a friend and coming ready to laugh and enjoy a night out with "the girls." Saturday, October 4th is the day, the gym is the place, and the time is 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Come and stay as long as you can. And enjoy the fun.

The next Blood Drive is October 22nd. Call Pat Fowler at 529-9597 for an appointment, and avoid having to wait in line. They are so appreciative of you being willing to give what's in your heart.

Did you see the Pumpkin Fest commercial Sunday, starring "Pumpkin Man"? If not you can go to Youtube and see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdK_q0kilBw Mark your calendars for the Annual Pumpkin Fest October 11th, from 4:00  7:30 p.m. at the church. This is a great time to pick up your pumpkins and baked goods. There will be games and rides for the kids and more fun than they can imagine.

Springfield Zone Mission Rally will take place Thursday, October 9 at 7:00 p.m at the Taylorville Church of the Nazarene. Brian and Lynne Utter, missionaries to South America, will be speaking. They are originally from our District, so it will be a great opportunity to support them in their important ministry. All are invited.

Saturday, October 4th, all ushers and Momentum security personnel are asked to attend a training session. Saturday's class will be from 9:00-10:00 a.m. Training is be facilitated by Tom Hiatt and Kim Barrington. It is suggested that you wear comfortable clothing for this training.

Momentum Volunteer Training, Saturday October 4th. Pastor Jay is conducting a Momentum Volunteer Training session for all who volunteer at Momentum, from 11:00-2:00 p.m. on Saturday. If you'd like to become a volunteer for Friday evenings, once a month or more, contact Pastor Jay. There is a need for more volunteers. Kick off is Friday, October 10th and is for all 6th through 12th graders.

Sunday, October 5th, we will be joining with 1.5 million Nazarenes (not the 1.5 Nazarenes reported last week) around the world celebrating our 100th Anniversary!

If you did not have the opportunity to sign up to be a part of a Small Group contact Pastor Gregg. There are openings in existing groups and new groups will be forming.

You can still join the Wednesday Night Connection classes which meet at 6:15 p.m. right after our family dinner. This week's dinner menu is: Chicken Enchiladas, Tossed Salad, Corn Chips, and Ice Cream.

Kidz Express on Wednesday evenings from 6:00  6:15 p.m. will be a time of games and activities before the start of Caravan. Gloria Sanguedolce is planning great times for the kids.

We are in need of some more volunteers to help staff the nursery both on Sundays and especially on Wednesdays. It may come to the place where we can not offer this important ministry to families if there are not some more volunteers.

Upcoming Events:

• Coffeehouse Comedy, Nov. 8 & 9
• Centennial Service  October 5th - Church of the Nazarene's 100th Anniversary

A bulletin board has been put together to help us remember those from the church or family members who are serving in the military. If you'd like to include someone on this board contact Debi Adams for the info you will need to supply. You can see the bulletin board above the drinking fountain in the hallway by the pastoral offices.

Keep using GoodSearch.com, we've earned $26.96 for the year 2008. Remember this is a search engine very similar to Google. You just type in goodsearch.com and then you are able to use it as you would Google or other search engines.

ADULT MINISTRIES

The next Prime Time Fellowship (Weiner Roast) is next Tuesday, October 14th, at 6:00 p.m. in the large pavilion at the Rochester Community Park. Hot dogs, buns, drinks, marshmallows and table service provided. Bring a covered dish or dessert, hot dog sticks, and a lawn chair to enjoy a fall weiner roast. Bring a friend! For directions to the park, call JoAnn Randle at 523-9356.

CHILDREN MINISTRIES

Upward Basketball sign-up will be on Saturday, October 25.

TEEN MINISTRY

October 10th Momentum kicks off!

Teen Girls' Bible Study  will meet on Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m., at Sue Bagley's home (327 Osteen, Chatham). All teen girls are invited for the fellowship and Bible study.

PRAYER REQUESTS..

• Those listed in Sunday's bulletin
• Jim Fleming  Trudy Tucker's father has had a heart attack and is hospitalized
• Lynette Heppe
• Renee Gallaher's mother  recently diagnosed with colon cancer
• Tim Gallaher's mother  health concerns

Good Moanin' Springfieldians,

Well, I went and did it, but I'm not sure why. I joined Facebook. But as of yet, I don't really do Facebook.

I'm not against it, you understand, it's just the older I get the harder it is to keep up with all the changes taking place in technology. Everyday there's something new, and one of the biggest "somethings" new in recent years is the whole Internet world of social networking. I'm thinking specifically of these "things" called Facebook and MySpace.

I'm told that there are 53 million subscribers to Facebook. Can you imagine that that, 53,000,000!! (Someone else told me it was over 100 million world-wide.) It was launched on February 4, 2004. It works like this  a user establishes a personal profile page on Facebook and then builds a network of "friends." One can also establish or join existing like-minded groups, such as "Cub Fans" or "Olivet Students." (After this year I don't think there are "Tiger Fans," "Wolverine Fans," and definitely no "Lion Fans" groups.)

The idea is that you can keep in touch and communicate easily with these friends whenever and wherever they are. You might think this is just a "teen thing," it isn't.

While I signed up, I'm still not sure it's for me. I know that part of this is generational (I hate that!); social networking to me is a Coke with some friends, or meeting at Starbucks, or having someone over to our home  more face-to-face rather than face-to-wall.

You can put pictures on your wall (I'm starting to get a little bit of the lingo down) so old and new friends can see what you look like now. I haven't done that yet. On my wall there's just a silhouette of a man. I kind of like him in my place, he's thinner, and he doesn't have any gray hair.

And I have heard from a couple of friends from college. (Well, I didn't hear from them, I read what they put on my wall.) Both my sisters are a part of it; my brother is a part of it. They all seem to have the knack for this thing. Of course my kids are a part of it. Lauren is on it for hours a day it seems, and Nathan is very rarely, if ever, on it, (I don't know what that says about him) and Ashley falls some place in between. There are many, many from the church that are part of the revolution of networking. Steve Krampitz, I think might win the contest for having the most pictures on his wall. You can play games like Scrabble with each other. I've been invited to play some games, but haven't accepted any invitations yet because I don't think I could figure out how to play.

And then just as I was trying to sort out all this Facebook stuff I read something Dr. John Bowling, president of Olivet Nazarene University, wrote about this subject and he quoted an article he had read. This is the quote:

"Technology has created a magnificent new world, bursting with opportunity. It has opened up a global, knowledge base economy and unchained people from their desks. We are all in its debt  and we are never going back. But we cannot move forward successfully without preserving the human moment...The human moment provides the zest and color in the painting of our daily lives; it restores us, strengthen us, and makes us whole."

The more I've thought about this phenomenon, and how quickly it grew so large, the more I realize there is this tremendous need in our lives to be connected with each other. I need to be connected with family and old friends. I needed to be connected with new friends. There's a reason the Bible tells us we are like a body and every part is important, and the foot can't say to the hand I don't need you. In fact, listen to what it says, "But in fact God has arranged all the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them." (I Corinthians 12:18)

If that's really true, and it is, then I need to stay connected. I need more face-to-face encounters and I need more face-to-wall encounters. And the real question is: What am I writing on their walls? Am I being an encourager? Am I showing them Jesus? Am I reaching out?

Maybe I'll keep trying this Facebook thing and see if I get the hang of it and then stay a little better connected.

I still like the looks of the silhouette though.

Did You Know?

Did you see the Pumpkin Fest commercial Sunday, starring "Pumpkin Man"? If not you can go to Youtube and see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdK_q0kilBw You might want to copy this site and paste it in your web browser to watch it.

Oh, by the way, I am now officially the father of a lawyer. Nathan received word yesterday he passed the bar exam.

Tom and Kathy Hedden are new grandparents again. Saturday a grandson, Grant Isaac, made his grand entrance into this world. Mom, baby, and dad are doing great. Grandparents are doing even better.

It was great to have Matt McFee in the worship gathering Sunday. He's a recent graduate of Marine boot camp. He'll be home for a few days and then back to California for advanced training.

This Sunday, September 28th, we will receive our Alabaster Offering. This is a special offering of love that we receive twice a year and it 100% for the purchasing of property and the constructing of buildings on the mission field. Like the woman in scripture who broke open her alabaster jar of perfume to wash the feet of Jesus, this is an offering just because we love Jesus.

Springfield Zone Mission Rally will take place Thursday, October 9 at 7:00 p.m. at the Taylorville Church of the Nazarene. Brian and Lynne Utter, missionaries to South America, will be speaking. They are originally from our District, so it will be a great opportunity to support them in their important ministry. All are invited.

Wednesday, September 24th and Saturday, October 4th, all ushers and Momentum security personnel are asked to attend a training sessions. Wednesday's class will be from 7:00-8:00 p.m. and Saturday's class will be from 9:00-10:00 a.m. Training is be facilitated by Tom Hiatt and Kim Barrington. It is suggested that you wear comfortable clothing for this training.

Momentum Volunteer Training, Saturday October 4th. Pastor Jay is conducting a Momentum Volunteer Training session for all who volunteer at Momentum, from 11:00-2:00 p.m. on Saturday. If you'd like to become a volunteer for Friday evenings, once a month or more, contact Pastor Jay. There is a need for more volunteers. Kick off is Friday, October 10th and is for all 6th graders through 12th grade.

Sunday, October 5th, we will be joining with 1.5 Nazarenes around the world celebrating our 100th Anniversary!

If you did not have the opportunity to sign up to be a part of a Small Group, contact Pastor Gregg. There are openings in existing groups and new groups will be forming.

Diana McGregor is still in Texas volunteering with the Red Cross to help those are dealing with the devastation from hurricane Ike. Keep her in your prayers.

There will be a Christian Education Board meeting, this Wednesday, September 24th at 5:30 p.m. for all ministry leaders. Meet in room #106 and have dinner together as you meet.

Marketing Committee will meet Wednesday, Sept. 24, at 5:15 p.m. in #105. Grab a plate of food and enjoy a meal as you meet.

Mark your calendars for the Annual Pumpkin Fest October 11th, from 4:00  7:30 p.m. at the church. This is a great time to pick up your pumpkins and baked goods. There will be games and rides for the kids and more fun than they can imagine.

You can still join the Wednesday Night Connection classes which meet at 6:15 p.m. right after our family dinner. This week's dinner menu is: Turkey Salad Sandwiches, Potato Chips, Pasta Salad, and Cookies.

The Answers for Life class led by Andy Peterson is a great way to prepare to meet Pastor Jay's challenge of witnessing and leading people to the Lord. If you're not already obligated elsewhere on Wednesday night, invite a non-churched or non-Christian friend and attend this class with them as we seek to "worship Christ as Lord of [our] lives. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it." 1 Peter 3:15 NLT

Kidz Express on Wednesday evenings from 6:00  6:15 p.m. will be a time of games and activities before the start of Caravan. Gloria Sanguedolce is planning great times for the kids.

We are in need of some more volunteers to help staff the nursery both on Sundays and especially on Wednesdays. It may come to the place where we can not offer this important ministry to families if there are not some more volunteers.

This coming Sunday, September 28, our wonderful nursery volunteers are: Kathleen Hochstetler with the infants; and Chris Bott and Katie Azzo with the toddlers, and Anna Hiatt as the floater. This Wednesday, September 24th, the nursery will be staffed by Lisa Willoughby and Patric Crawford. Thank you!

Upcoming Events: Coffeehouse Comedy - Nov. 8 & 9

Centennial Service  October 5th we will celebrate the Church of the Nazarene's 100th Anniversary

Pumpkin Fest - October 11, 4:00 - 7:30 (volunteers needed)

The Garrison Family of Greenfield just lost everything in a fire this last Friday and needs clothing and all household items. The boys are 5 and 6 years old and they wear about a 6-7. The dad is a 42x32 jeans size and 2x  3x shirts. Mom is a 14 in jeans and large or xlarge in women's shirts. There is a trust fund at UCB in Greenfield. If you have extras, now is the time to help someone in need. Bring your items to the church and Teri Prince will see that the family gets your donations. Thanks in advance for your kindness to this family.

A bulletin board has been put together to help us remember those from the church or family members who are serving in the military. If you'd like to include someone on this board contact Debi Adams for the info you will need to supply. You can see the bulletin board above the drinking fountain in the hallway going towards the Family Life Center.

Keep using GoodSearch.com, we've earned $26.40 for the year 2008. Remember this is a search engine very similar to Google. You just type in goodsearch.com and then you are able to use it as you would Google or other search engines.

ADULT MINISTRIES

The next Prime Time Dinner is next Tuesday, October 14th, at 6:00 p.m. in room #106.

CHILDREN MINISTRIES

Upward Basketball sign-up will be on Saturday, October 25.

Caravan, a Christian based scouting program, is still going on. Cost is $10 per child. Caravan meets every Wednesday beginning September 10 from 6:15-7:15 p.m. See Director Janice Young for more information.

Kidz Expressway has begun collecting Culver Restaurant "Team Scoopie Points" from children's meals (on the side of the bag). The children would like to earn enough points to acquire several pieces of equipment. You can give your points to Gloria Sanguedolce, drop them at the office, or leave them at the Kidz Check-In area. The children appreciate your efforts to help with their projects. You can also continue to bring in those "Cans for Kids."

TEEN MINISTRY

October 10th Momentum kicks off!

Teen Girls' Bible Study  will meet on Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m., at Sue Bagley's home (327 Osteen, Chatham). All teen girls are invited for the fellowship and Bible study.

PRAYER REQUESTS...

Those listed in Sunday's bulletin

Jim Fleming  Trudy Tucker's father has had a heart attack and is hospitalized

Lynette Heppe

Renee Gallaher's mother  recently diagnosed with colon cancer

Tim Gallaher's mother  health concerns

Good Moanin' Springfieldians,

She stood at her post until she could no longer stand.

Last evening, around 8:30 p.m., Alleta Britton went to be with her Lord, whom she loved and served faithfully. 87 years young Alleta was the picture of faithfulness to her Lord. She preferred being in the background and never craved the limelight, but she made such a great impact for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. She went about doing what she could for the church and didn't even begin to realize her influence. When she went into the hospital about three weeks ago, there was a steady stream of her church family visiting her. She told me she didn't know that many people even knew who she was.

But every Sunday she stood at her post greeting people and handing out bulletins. Every time communion was served she arrived very early on Sunday mornings to prepare the elements for communion. It had to be done right, and Alleta knew what "right was, and so out of a great sense of honor she would prepare those elements that represented the body and blood of her Savior. When health problems kept people from attending church, Alleta would take a Sunday school paper and a bulletin over to their home, so her friends wouldn't miss out on knowing they were still a part of the church, even if they could no longer attend. When funeral dinners were prepared you'd always find Alleta in the kitchen helping out. Every month she would send out birthday cards and anniversary cards, so her church family knew they were loved.

She stood at her post until she could no longer stand.

She was faithful in attending her church, every time the doors were open. She was always one of the first ones here. It didn't matter if it was a worship gathering, a Wednesday Connection class, Sunday School, a prayer meeting, a Prime Time dinner, or a Coffeehouse Comedy  Alleta was here. I don't know if she realized it, but we were a better church because of her faithful attendance. I will never forget last winter when we went through a terrible ice storm and we had to cancel our Sunday worship gathering. I called Alleta personally to let her know we wouldn't be having church that morning, and she was so disappointed. At 86 she sure wasn't going to let a little ice stop her from coming to church, only a call from her pastor stopped her from venturing out.

She stood at her post until she could no longer stand.

She faithfully supported her church financially. Her willingness to sacrifice for her church should be a model for every believer. She loved her many pastors over the years. And she was known to make a mean rhubarb pie for us once in a while, simply because she knew it was my favorite.

She stood at her post until she could no longer stand.

She loved God's Word and every day would spend time with the Lord in prayer and reading her devotional, "Come Ye Apart"; it hasn't been called that for a number of years, but that's what Alleta still called her devotional book put out by the Church of the Nazarene. She came to every class she was a part of prepared. She had studied God's Word, she had read the lesson, she had filled in the work sheets, she had prayed for her teacher.

She stood at her post until she could no longer stand.

And when she could no longer stay, after a short stay in the hospital, she heard those words about 8:30 last night she had longed to hear. "Enter in my good and faithful servant...Come and share in your Master's happiness." And today she is experiencing what she had sung about so often:

"What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see. And I look upon His face  the One who saved me by His grace. When He takes me by the hand and leads me thro' the promised land, What a day, glorious day that will be."

We will miss Alleta standing at her post. We celebrate that she has received the "crown of righteousness," and is rejoicing in heaven. But let us be even more committed to fall into the footsteps of a faithful woman. May it be said of us also, "We stood at our post until we could no longer stand."

When the arrangements are made for the Home Going Celebration service we will let you know the details. Right now it looks like visitation will be Thursday from 5:00  7:00 p.m. at the church, with the service immediately following. There will be a graveside service in southern Illinois on Friday morning. Please remember Alleta's family as you pray. And thank you for being the church and visiting Alleta in the hospital these last few weeks.

Did You Know?????????????????

Jeff Gemar's (our new keyboardist) mother passed away Sunday. She was from South Dakota and Jeff and Mary were able to be there with her. Remember this family, also, as you pray.

Did you see today's paper, Tuesday? Jim and Kathi Krell's picture was in the paper. They are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. They were here Sunday back from an Alaskan cruise. Now that sounds cool!

A very special thank you to every one who came out to the church on work day. Much was accomplished. Even Ivan Fink, broken leg and all, was here. In fact, Ivan volunteered to go up on the roof. He said there's no point in risking someone else breaking a leg. We didn't let him go up there, but we appreciated his sense of humor and him being here and helping others with tasks.

If you did not have the opportunity to stay for the fellowship time after Worship last Sunday and you would like to join a small group contact Pastor Gregg. There are openings in existing groups and new groups will be forming.

Diana McGregor is in Texas volunteering with the Red Cross to help those are dealing with the devastation from hurricane Ike. I don't like Ike!

There will be a Christian Education Board meeting, Wednesday, September 24th at 5:30 p.m. for all ministry leaders. Meet in room #106 and have dinner together as you meet.

Momentum starts Friday, October 10th for all 6th through 12th grade teens. Momentum Version III will have new upgrades that our teens will love. See Pastor Jay for some flyers to give to the teens you know.

Mark your calendars for the Annual Pumpkin Fest October 11th, from 4:00  7:30 p.m. at the church. This is a great time to pick up your pumpkins and baked goods. There will be games and rides for the kids and more fun than they can imagine.

You can still join the Wednesday Night Connection classes which meet at 6:15 p.m. right after our family dinner. This week's dinner menu is: Baked Ham, au gratin Potatoes, Coleslaw, Green Beans, and Apple Pie.

The Answers for Life class led by Andy Peterson is a great way to prepare to meet Pastor Jay's challenge of witnessing and leading people to the Lord. If you're not already obligated elsewhere on Wednesday night, invite a non-churched or non-Christian friend and attend this class with them as we seek to "worship Christ as Lord of [our] lives. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it." 1 Peter 3:15 NLT

Kidz Express on Wednesday evenings from 6:00  6:15 p.m. will be a time of games and activities before the start of Caravan. Gloria Sanguedolce is planning great times for the kids.

We are in need of some more volunteers to help staff the nursery both on Sundays and especially on Wednesdays. It may come to the place where we can not offer this important ministry to families if there are not some more volunteers.

This coming Sunday, September 21, our wonderful nursery volunteers are: Tracey Burger with the infants; and Chris Bott and Cassie Bott with the toddlers, and Breanna Cambre as the floater. This Wednesday, September 17th, the nursery will be staffed by Lisa Willoughby and Patric Crawford. Thank you!

Upcoming Events: Coffeehouse Comedy, Nov. 8 & 9, 6:30 p.m. Centennial Service  October 5th we will celebrate the Church of the Nazarene's 100th Anniversary

A bulletin board is being put together to help us remember those from the church or family members who are serving in the military. If you'd like to include someone on this board contact Debi Adams for the info you will need to supply. You can see the bulletin board above the drinking fountain in the hallway going towards the Family Life Center.

Keep using GoodSearch.com, we've earned $26.01 for the year 2008. Remember this is a search engine very similar to Google. You just type in goodsearch.com and then you are able to use it as you would Google or other search engines.

ADULT MINISTRIES

The next Prime Time Dinner is next Tuesday, October 14th, at 6:00 p.m. in room #106.

CHILDREN MINISTRIES

Upward Basketball sign-up will be on Saturday, October 25.

Caravan, a Christian based scouting program, is still going on. Cost is $10 per child. Caravan meets every Wednesday from 6:15-7:15 p.m. See Director Janice Young for more information.

Kidz Expressway has begun collecting Culver Restaurant "Team Scoopie Points" from children's meals (on the side of the bag). The children would like to earn enough points to acquire several pieces of equipment. You can give your points to Gloria Sanguedolce, drop them at the office, or leave them at the Kidz Check-In area. The children appreciate your efforts to help with their projects. You can also continue to bring in those "Cans for Kids."

PRAYER REQUESTS...

Those listed in Sunday's bulletin

Alleta Britton's family

Lynette Heppe

Jeff and Mary Gemar and family

Renee Gallaher's mother  recently diagnosed with colon cancer

Tim Gallaher's mother  health concerns

Tripp Robson, Janet Glisson's baby grandson

Good Moanin' Springfieldians,

It's a fairy tale of sorts, and then again, it's too close to reality to simply be a fairy tale.

It's the story of the prince and his peasant bride. A more intriguing romance had never occurred. His attraction to her was baffling, to say the least. He, the stately prince. She, the common peasant. He, peerless. She, plain. Not ugly, mind you, but she could be. And often was. She tended to be sullen and sour, even cranky. Not the kind of person you'd want to live with.

But according to the prince, she was the soul he couldn't live without. And so he courted her and finally one day, on the dusty floor of her peasant cottage, he got down on one knee, took her hand tenderly, and asked her to be his bride. Even the angels bent forward to hear her whisper, "Yes."

He promised, "I will return to you soon."

She pledged, "I will be waiting."

No one thought it was odd that the prince would leave. He was, after all, the son of the King. Surely, he had some kingdom work to do, and things to arrange. What was odd was not his departure, but her behavior during his absence. It was like she forgot she was engaged.

You would think that the wedding would be ever on her mind, but it wasn't. You would have thought that coming day would be on the tip of her tongue. But it wasn't. In fact, some of her friends had never even heard speak of that day  the wedding, the plans, or even the prince. Days passed, even weeks, and his return was never mentioned. Why, there had even been times when, unbelievably, she was seen cavorting with some of the men of the village. Flirting. Whispering...in the middle of the day, where all could see. A person could only imagine what she did in the darkness of night, when others couldn't see.

Was she rebellious? Maybe. But mostly, it seemed, she was just forgetful. She kept forgetting she was engaged. That's no excuse you say. Why, his return should be in her every thought! How could a peasant forget her prince? How could a bride forget her groom?

How could we be so forgetful? Who me?

God said of us, His people, "I will make you a promised bride forever." (Hosea 2:19 NCV) And Paul reminded the Corinthian church, and the church today, that we have been set apart "as a pure bride to one husband." (II Corinthians 11:2 NCV)

We are engaged to our Maker! We the peasants have heard the promise of the Prince. He entered into our village, courted us, took our hand, and stole our hearts. Why, even the angles rejoiced when we whispered "yes" to him. (Luke 15:7)

And those same angels must be puzzled at the behavior of some; at those who don't always act as if they're engaged. Days will pass, even weeks  and they'll say nothing about their wedding or their Prince. In fact, some that know them best, don't even know that the Prince is coming, they've never heard His name mentioned. Some have even been seen cavorting around.

What's wrong? Are they rebellious? To a degree. Do they think the Prince won't keep His promise and won't come back? I don't think that's it. I think mostly they're forgetful. I think mostly, they look at other things; they think about other things; they look at today and forget about tomorrow.

Why not take the time to read what Paul reminded the bride, the church, about what it would be like just before the return of the Prince. Take a look at II Timothy 3:1-7.

Do you think the Prince might be on His way?

This Sunday we'll continue looking at the church and Paul's letters to Timothy. He gives some great principles on how a good church can become a great church. That's what we desire. Remember to take the time to "fan in the flame the gift of God."

Did You Know?

The Prime Time Dinner scheduled for tonight, has been re-scheduled for October 14.

We received $1300 for the family that has the baby in the St. Louis hospital. Thank you for your generosity. Thank you for being the church. Your "Father" must be awfully proud of His kids.

All Church Fellowship right after the morning Worship Gathering next Sunday, September 14th. Light snacks will be served and is being sponsored by Small Group Ministries. Plan on staying for a few minutes for good conversation; who knows you might start a new friendship.

The Christian Education Board meeting is cancelled for Sept. 17th, and will be rescheduled for a later date. We'll let you know.

Alleta Britton, at this time, is still in St. John's Hospital. Her son, Tim, appreciates all those who have visited and sent cards, remember short visits are best, but Alleta loves to see her friends. Alletta will soon be moved into hospice at St. John's and visitors are welcomed there also.

All Church Workday  Saturday, September 13. Meet at the church at 9:00 a.m. and help spruce up, make small repairs, and clean up the building and grounds. Lunch provided. For more info contact Andy Wubker or Dave Buchanan.

Mark your calendars for the Annual Pumpkin Fest October 10th, from 4:00  7:30 p.m. at the church. This is a great time to pick up your pumpkins and baked goods. There will be games and rides for the kids and more fun than they can imagine. Be sure and invite your friends and neighbors.

Kidz Express on Wednesday evenings from 6:00  6:15 p.m. will be a time of games and activities before the start of Caravan. Gloria Sanguedolce is planning great times for the kids.

The Wednesday Night Connection Classes will kick off tomorrow, Wednesday, September 10. Caravan and Velocity for our kid s and teens will begin, and for adults we have a great selection of 6 week classes to choose from. Dinner is from 5:00  6:30 p.m. And it is our Walleye Fish Fry night! Yahoo!

The Pastors' Prayer Team facilitated by Joan Small. A group of people who are committed to praying for the pastors of the church and the needs in their lives and for our church. Starting September 10 they will meet from 5:45-6:15 p.m. on Wednesdays.

A Parents Forum facilitated by Kathy Hedden  this group will look at the central focus of parenting  the Gospel. We need to direct, not simply the behavior of our children, but also the attitudes of their hearts. They will look at some simple parenting strategies that any parent can carry out. They will also spend a significant amount of time in prayer for their children, and learn how to turn to the Father and place every detail of our child's life in His loving and capable hands.

A Ministry of Encouragement facilitated by Mike and Julie Duncan. This is a ministry that writes notes and contacts new people to our church, those who have been missing church, and those going through difficult periods of time in their life

Financial Sense Class  (10 weeks) facilitated by certified trainers, Tom Hedden, Geoff Sarginson, Larry Hochstetler, or Bob McIntyre. Using the Bible as a guide this class' focus is learning how to handle our finances God's way. Cost is $45 per person, $55 per couple (this covers the cost of the curriculum).

Where is God When... facilitated by Fred Prince. We will explore ways to find God in difficult times. Cost of the book is $8.00.

Self-Defense Class facilitated by Kim Barrington. Basic self-defense techniques will be taught to beginners and more advanced students alike.

"Putting the Pieces Together - Developing a Fully Integrated Biblical Worldview." Facilitated by Andy Peterson. This would be a great class for new Christian, or the person that has questions about Christianity and why and why we believe what we believe.

Men's Bible Study facilitated by George Bagley and Jerry Stone. A time of looking at God's Word together, discussion, and the practical application of becoming the men God designed for them to be.

We are in need of some more volunteers to help staff the nursery both on Sundays and especially on Wednesdays. It may come to the place where we can not offer this important ministry to families if there are not some more volunteers.

This coming Sunday, September 14, our wonderful nursery volunteers are: Bonnie Patterson with the infants; and Chris Bott and Elena Sanguedolce with the toddlers, and Zack Shepherdson as the floater. This Wednesday, September 10th, the nursery will be staffed by Mindy Palmer and Lachelle Pittman. Thank you!

Upcoming Events:

Centennial Service, October 5

Coffeehouse Comedy, November 8 & 9

A bulletin board is being put together to help us remember those from the church or family members who are serving in the military. If you'd like to include someone on this board contact Debi Adams for the info you will need to supply. You can see the bulletin board above the drinking fountain in the hallway going towards the Family Life Center.

Keep using GoodSearch.com, we've earned $25.67 for the year 2008. Remember this is a search engine very similar to Google. You just type in goodsearch.com and then you are able to use as you would Google or other search engines.

ADULT MINISTRIES

The next Prime Time Dinner is Tuesday, October 14, at 6:00 p.m. in room #106.

CHILDREN MINISTRIES

Upward Basketball sign-up will be on Saturday, October 25.

Caravan for children ages 4 through sixth grade are invited to this Christian based scouting program. Cost is $10 per child. Caravan meets every Wednesday beginning September 10 from 6:15-7"15 p.m. See Director Janice Young for more information.

Kidz Expressway has begun collecting Culver Restaurant "Team Scoopie Points" from children's meals (on the side of the bag). The children would like to earn enough points to acquire several pieces of equipment. You can give your points to Gloria Sanguedolce, drop them at the office, or leave them at the Kidz Check-In area. The children appreciate your efforts to help with their projects. You can also continue to bring in those "Cans for Kids."

TEEN MINISTRY

Velocity will kick off on September 10th.

PRAYER REQUESTS...

Those listed in Sunday's bulletin

Ivan Fink

Alleta Britton

Lynette Heppe

Jeff Gemar's mother- Doris

Good Moanin' Springfieldians,

Why doesn't it ever happen to me?

I'm the guy that gets the only pit in the cherry pie. I'm the one who will find the only bone in the chicken soup. One time (true story) I bit into a Burger King hamburger and cracked a tooth in half because I had bitten down on a piece of bone. I sold a car but was given a counterfeit certified bank check. The insurance company was going to pay off as a stolen car, but the police recovered the car week before pay off day; but only after it had been in a police chase and the thief crashed it. The insurance company fixed it, but I couldn't drive it because it had been titled in the thief's name, he jumped bail and no one bothered to look for him, and so for a year I couldn't drive my car. All of those things are just the normal, every day happenings when you're a "fred."

My question is, why couldn't this happen to me? Did you see it in the paper a while ago? Craig Randall works as a garbage truck driver in Peabody, Massachusetts. He has been known to bring his work home with him on occasion. One time he found an old sewing machine which he was able to salvage. There have been books he's lifted from the trash. He's always on the lookout for the next treasure.

One time as he threw someone's garbage into the truck, he spotted a Wendy's cup that still had the sticker on it from their latest give away. He peeled the sticker off and won himself a chicken sandwich. So, a couple weeks later when he spotted another Wendy's cup with its sticker still untouched, quickly he picked it up and peeled off the sticker. It said, "Congratulations! You have just won $200,000 toward a new home!"

At first he thought it must be a mistake, but at the insistence of his fiancée, he mailed it in, found out it was legitimate, and the week the story was in the paper he had gone down and picked up his check for $200,000.

Why doesn't that ever happen to me?

And then in a moment of great insight I realized why. Never once have I picked though the garbage looking for a cup with a sticker on it. (Though I have been known to make an extra and unnecessary trip to Mickey D's to try to win at Monopoly.) So, I shouldn't expect to find the winning sticker.

I will never win the lottery because I never play the lottery.

I will never win the Publishing House Sweepstakes, because I never mail back the envelop assuring me I could be the next millionaire.

I'll never win a bowling tournament, because I'll never enter a tournament.

I'll never have the ex-Prime Minister from Nigeria wire $10,000,000 to my bank account because I never answer the e-mails assuring me that the e-mail is legitimate and the money is to be used for God's work.

Also I don't think I've missed out on the blessing of God, even though all of those blasted e-mails tell me I'm going to miss out, if I don't forward the e-mail to ten people in the next 10 minutes.

It's the simplest of principles; you can't accomplish what you don't try. We all understand the principle.

But too often, we don't apply what we know to be true, when it comes to our own spiritual life. If we want to know the blessings of God; if we want to know the secret of being content in every situation whether well fed or hungry, living in plenty or in want; if we want to experience the joy of being in a dynamic, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ; if we want to see God working in our families  then we must be in the place it can happen. Or better yet, He must be in the place it can happen. You won't accomplish what you don't ever try.

Try putting Christ in the center of your life and see if the circumference won't take care of itself.

Did You Know?

Did you see Sunday's newspaper? Patti Young received the Administrative Award of Excellence at the American Heart Association Midwest Affiliate All Staff-Conference. Patti was recognized for her performance, which stood out as exemplary among all 11 states of the AHA Midwest Affiliate. We all knew how special our own Patti Young is; now others know it and recognize it. Way to go Patti!

I received this e-mail from Andy Peterson: Hi P. Fred, (I hope that isn't like P Diddy, you don't want to hear me try to rap anything.)
Hey, we're having a garage sale next Saturday, and anything we don't sell, we're giving to Salvation Army. So, anyone can come by at Noon and take whatever hasn't sold. We're talking kids' toys, kids' clothes, a baker's rack, TV, luggage, furniture (chair w/ ottoman) and a lot of various stuff, so if you want to mention that in your G Mornin Email, have at it!
Andy

Church Board Meeting tonight at 7:00 p.m. Meet in the sanctuary for prayer.

Alleta Britton, at this time, is still in St. John's Hospital. Her son, Tim, appreciates all those who have visited and sent cards, (remember short visits are best) but Alleta loves to see her friends. Alleta will soon be moved into hospice at St. John's and visitors are welcomed there also.

At our last Blood Drive we donated 38 units. That is fantastic!

Kidz Express on Wednesday evenings from 6:00  6:15 will be a time of games and activities before the start of Caravan. Gloria Sanguedolce is planning great times for the kids.

The next Season of Celebration gathering will be tomorrow, Wednesday, September 3rd. Dinner will be from 5:00  6:00 p.m. the menu is Mostaccioli and Garlic Bread, Tossed Salad, and Cake. And then we will have a great time of praise beginning at 6:15 p.m.

Ladies Craft Connection  this Saturday, September 6th. Bring a craft, a snack to share, and a friend; come to the gym for a girl's night out without kids. (Yahoo!) Come any time between 5:00  11:00 p.m.

Teen Car Wash  Saturday, September 6, at One Stop Auto Shop in Chatham. This is a fund raiser to help support our teen ministries.

All Church Workday  Saturday, September 13. Meet at the church at 9:00 a.m. and help spruce up, make small repairs, and clean up the building and grounds. Lu