Service Projects - Tuesday April 7th

Tuesday was another day to serve the Lord in our community instead of building homes in Tecate, Mexico. Axel and I were the leaders again and the service project for Tuesday was to help out a senior member of our church (Bernie) with some chores around his house. We met at the church around 9:30 and to our surprise more students showed up to serve than we had expected, this was great because we really wanted to help Bernie out for the more work we could get done around his house the less he would have to worry about.

After missing a couple turns and stopping at the wrong house (I was driving the lead vehicle...mistake) we arrived at Bernie's house. Bernie came out to meet us in his wheelchair and he was so excited to see the number of volunteers that had come out to help him. After introducing Bernie to everyone Mitch and Carmen led us in prayer before we got started for the day.

Bernie was prepared for us, he had made out his to do list with 11 items on the list, everyone jumped in and started work on his to do list, one group started washing windows inside and out, another group started spreading bark for ground cover, there were weeds to pull, rocks to move, plants to fertilize, and walkways to sweep.

Within 5 hours all of Bernie's to do list was complete, he was so pleased and impressed with the group of young men and women, he complemented them on their efforts, and told them all that he had been concerned about his ability to stay in his home without some help with the upkeep of his home and property, but after their effort he felt confident he was okay for another year.

The kids were able to spend some time visiting with Bernie and getting to know him better, we hated to leave but Axel and I wanted to get everyone some lunch and then back to the church on time. We had to say goodbye to Bernie but not before everyone shared some hugs with him.

Sounds like we need to head back to Bernie's next year at this time.

Life Happens when we all pitch in and help out.

Service Projects - Monday April 6th

Since the decision was made to cancel the High School Mission Trip to Tecate Mexico over Spring Break this year, alternative plans were made to give the students an opportunity to still serve the Lord but on U.S. soil. While Matt and Heather (my amazing Son in Law and incredible Daughter) took some 30 High School Seniors to New Orleans for the week, those High Schools students who stayed behind in El Dorado Hills were given an opportunity to perform service projects in the community every day.

On Monday Axel (one of the other leaders) and I took two small groups and performed some maintenance on two elementary schools in North Highlands. Once the maintenance was complete we decided to make sack lunches (Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches - aka: Lunch in Mexico) which we wanted to give to the homeless in Sacramento. Axel had the forsight to purchase the fixings for the sandwiches and someone had donated chips and snack bars.

When we finished making the sack lunches we realized we only had enough lunches for about 16 people, then one of the students who was with us (Mitch) had a great idea, he suggeted we should stop by McDonald's and pick up a bunch of hamburgers and hand them out to the homeless also.

We headed to McDonald's, purchased about 30 hamburgers, and then headed out to serve the homeless. The students spent the next hour or so handing out sack lunches, hamburgers, bottled water, and snack bars to almost 50 homeless people living on the streets in Sacramento.

What a blessing it was to be able to help out on the service project Monday, the students were great and the people we were able to serve were very thankful for our presence.

The Best Christmas Gift

The best gifts are ones that reflect the loving heart of God!

The Christmas gift I received from my son and daughter is just one of those gifts. Matt and Heather made me part of something very special this last year, this Life-Changing gift, given in my name, will now bring joy to a corner of our world that desperately needs to know that others care.

So what is this gift......One Chicken. Now you say how can One Chicken be a Life-Changing gift, well let me explain:

Matt and Heather made a donation in my name to World Vision, World Vision has in turn provided a Chicken to a family in need which will provide this family with a lasting source of nutrition and income. Fresh eggs raise the levels of protein and other nutrients in the family's diet, and the sale of extra eggs provides money for other household needs.

I would encourage everyone who reads this Blog to support the efforts of World Vision which is a Christian Organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide. What a wonderful way to demonstrate God's love for all people.

Thank you Matt and Heather for making me part of something very special!

Now Life Happens for another family.

Wait, Wait, Wait

Why is it so hard for us to wait on the Lord, I have seen recently in some individuals who are going through divorce and some of those who have been divorced for a while that they want to rush entering into a new relationship instead of taking time to seek that which God wants in their lives.

I was listening to Matt’s message on Sunday and it hit me how much this message has to do with every aspect of our lives and I couldn’t help but think about all of those who are going through separation and divorce right now and how this applies to it.

Isaiah 9: 6 foretells the coming of Jesus and describing him as Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace…I decided to look up the word “Counselor” and “Counsel” in the dictionary, these words are defined best as “advisor” and “guidance from a knowledgeable person”.

Wow who could be more knowledgeable that our Lord and Savior, and if this is the case why would we want to do anything in our lives without first seeking HIS counsel and advise.

Philippians 4:6 tells us “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

We need to take this time of singleness in our lives and seek God and turn everything over to Him and wait on Him. For when we seek that which is His purpose for our lives then “Life Happens”.

Financial Security

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength" Philippians 4 : 11 - 13

This last week we watched a video about Financial Security, and every time we talk about this subject it brings me back to the verse above where Paul was writing to church in Philippi. Paul is trying to teach people that they can rejoice in the Lord and that they can be content, whatever the circumstances. I know as we go through separation and divorce it may not always seem possible to rejoice in our situation, but as Matt mentioned in his sermon today "all things are possible for God" (Mark 10:27) but it is up to us to pray to God and we need to believe in His power.

I am so encouraged by all of you and how you step out on Tuesday night and join us in the Divorce Care Ministry, all of us as leaders know what you are going through and we know how difficult it can be sometimes to take that step and get out on Tuesday night and how easy it could be to just want to stay at home and not join the group. But you need to be there on Tuesday nights so you can start the healing process and look forward to the future to see what God has in store for you.

There is Hope

Working with the Divorce Care group we see quite a few people who are going through separaton and divorce and when they first come to the ministry some are feeling very hopeless, when I hear how hopeless some are it takes me back to a time when we were just kids back in the 70’s.

A group of friends and I decided to do some exploring of a train tunnel in Southern California. There was a sign to the entrance of the tunnel that noted the length of the tunnel to be over 5000 feet in length and at the time it did not register to any of us that this tunnel was around a mile long. Being adventurous we all decided to walk through the tunnel to of course see what was on the other side. We figured we were about half way through the tunnel when we saw a light and of course we were all excited, hey look one of the group said there is the light at the end of the tunnel. But after a few seconds we noticed that the light at the end of the tunnel seemed to be getting brighter a lot quicker than at the pace that we were walking. Then we realized it the light at the end of the tunnel was a train. There was nowhere to hide the walls of the tunnel were maybe six feet from the tracks so of course we decided to try and out run the train and get out of the tunnel from the direction we came from. After another few seconds we realized that there was no way we were going to outrun this train, so we all decided to get together as a group, interlock our arms, and get as close to the wall as possible and hang on for dear life.

This was probably one of the longest few seconds of all of our young lives we could feel the pull of the train as it rumbled by, we could feel pebbles hitting our bodies that were being picked up by the train as it passed. But the train did pass and once the train was gone we got up as a group and got out of that tunnel as quick as possible. As a group we had our own I can’t wait which was for the train to pass and I can’t wait to get out of this tunnel. Okay so sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is a train but we all had hope and that hope was in each other that we all would hold on to each other and not let go until the train had passed.

The Divorce Care Ministy is a great group of people who you can hold onto during this time and through this group we know that you will learn that there is hope in Jesus Christ!

I Can't Wait

I speak with people all the time who feel as if they have no hope in their life. Life is so full of trouble and upheaval that they struggle making it through today let alone looking for tomorrow. This reminds me of the saying you can’t see the forest because of the trees. People get so caught up in the problems and issue of today that they have no hope for tomorrow or next week or next month. People are so caught up in the problems of today that they do not take the time to find something positive in their life to look forward to. I believe in taking the lessons that I learned yesterday and today and applying them to the future, I do not dwell on them I learn from them and move on.
God has a game plan for my life and I strongly believe that everyone needs to seek God and find out what that game plan is. What is the goal you are trying to achieve in your life, what are the steps that need to be taken to get you there, what is your game plan? Now do not say that your plan is to win the lottery or marry into money, even though those things can happen, everyone needs to lay out a realistic plan for their life, pray about the plan, and then you can have your “I can’t wait”.My Mom has a wonderful way of looking at life that she has passed on to me, she says that in life you need to have an “I can’t wait”. Now this is not a statement dealing with a lack of patience but it has everything to do with how you look at tomorrow. Life is always going to be full of challenges, ups and downs, success and failures, but how we approach everyday will make or break us.
In 1981 my father died, mom and dad had been married for 32 years and of course mom was devastated with loss of her life mate. But even though she was grieving she had such a positive attitude about life. She would tell me I can’t wait for the weekend when she knew I would come into town and spend a couple days with her. Eventually she got to the point where her “I can’t wait” was to see what God had in store for her with regards to another man in her life. She got her “I can’t wait” about a year later and they will be married 26 years this year.