Marysville Christian Fellowship

This Week's WOW 10/20

2011-10-20T11:44:00.000-07:00

Here is a brief story to bless and challenge you this week.

Pastor Rick

During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one; “What is the name of the women who cleans the school?”

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning women several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her late 50s, but how would I know her name?

I handed in the paper, leaving the last question blank. Before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. Absolutely, said the professor. “In your careers you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello.”

I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

This Week's WOW 10/13

2011-10-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

Are We There Yet?

By Pastor Donnie

Any parent or youth worker who has taken a road trip has heard the question, “Are we there yet?” It can be a ten minute drive or a ten hour drive but the question always seems to come. The answer seems pretty simple – “No” The reasoning is pretty iron clad – if you are still moving in the vehicle then you obliviously haven’t arrived at your destination. It’s a pretty silly question that is answered the first time asked, laughed at the second time, and scolded the third, fourth, and fifth time. We laugh at it but we often ask our heavenly Father the same question about life – “Are we there yet?” Have we finished our mission in life yet? Have we finished Your will for our life? Here’s a quote that has a pretty simple answer:

"Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished. If you're alive, it isn't."
-- Richard Bach

If you’re alive, God still has a job for you to do so don’t just sit around waiting for God to come by and tell you “Job Well Done.” We are put on this earth for a purpose and it doesn’t matter what age you are – God is wanting to work in and through you.

This Week's WOW 9/29

2011-09-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

I recently read a book called, This I Believe—the Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women. The following is an excerpt from one of the chapters. I have highlighted the paragraph that really gave me a lot to think about. I hope it does the same for you. – Sheri

Always Go to the Funeral

By Deirdre Sullivan

I believe in always going to the funeral. My father taught me that.

The first time he said it directly to me, I was sixteen and trying to get out of going to calling hours for Miss Everson, my old fifth-grade math teacher. I did not want to go. My father was unequivocal. “Dee,” he said,”you’re going. Always go to the funeral. Do it for the family.”

So my dad waited outside while I went in. It was worse than I thought it would be: I was the only kid there. When the condolence line deposited me in from of Miss Emerson’s shell-shocked parents, I stammered out, “Sorry about all this,” and stalked away. But, for that deeply weird expression of sympathy delivered twenty years ago, Miss Emerson’s mother still remembers my name and always says hello with tearing eyes.

That was the first time I went unchaperoned, but my parents had been taking us kids to funerals and calling hours as a matter of course for years. By the time I was sixteen, I had been to five or six funerals. I remember two things from the funeral circuit: bottomless dishes of free mints, and my father saying on the ride home, “You can’t come in without going out, kids. Always go to the funeral.”

Sounds simple—when someone dies, get in your car and go to calling hours or the funeral. That, I can do. But I think a personal philosophy of going to funerals means more than that.

“Always go to the funeral” means that I have to do the right thing when I really, really don’t feel like it. I have to remind myself of it when I could make some small gesture, but I don’t really have to and I definitely don’t want to. I’m talking about those things that represent only inconvenience to me, but the world to the other guy….In my humdrum life, the daily battle hasn’t been good versus evil. It’s hardly so epic. Most days, my real battle is doing good versus doing nothing.

In going to funerals, I’ve come to believe that while I wait to make a grand heroic gesture, I should just stick to the small inconveniences that let me share in life’s inevitable, occasional calamity.

On a cold April night three years ago, my father died a quiet death from cancer. His funeral was on a Wednesday, middle of the workweek. I had been numb for days when, for some reason during the funeral, I turned and looked back at the folks in the church. The memory of it still takes my breath away. The most human, powerful, and humbling thing I’ve ever seen was a church at 3:00 on a Wednesday full of inconvenienced people who believe in going to the funeral.

This Week's WOW 9/23

2011-09-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

I hope you enjoy this devotional by Jim Kraus that I recently read. It certainly gave me something to think about! ~~ Sheri

There’s something living under my front porch. Or at least, I think so. Maybe. My dog, Rufus, thinks so for sure. I should back up a bit. When spring ended this year, I noticed some loose dirt at the corner of our concrete front stoop. We’ve had chipmunks living there in the past. Maybe they had invited friends. The dog would stare out the front door, his head cocked one way or another, as if listening to a private conversation. He would bark occasionally—at nothing, as far as I could see.

I decided to trust him. I purchased a humane animal trap—one that catches the critters alive. I debated: Do I get the squirrel-size trap or move up to the raccoon/possum size apparatus? I opted to go big. I baited the trap with Cheez-It crackers. It was late, and I didn’t want to prepare the apple/peanut butter mix recommended by the trap maker.

That night, Rufus started barking. A lot. We had hit pay dirt. Inside the trap, calm as anything, was a chunky raccoon. I called my son. After tossing an old blanket over the cage, we carried it to the back of the car and headed to a forest preserve several miles away. (If accused of breaking a law for doing this, I will deny any involvement.) The raccoon scurried away as soon as the door was opened.

I think that solved the problem.

But the dog wasn’t in on it. I had decided not to drag the captured animal in front of Rufus—no need to frighten either animal more than necessary. So every night since, the dog still examines that corner of the step, sniffing loudly and carefully. (There still may be some wild beast down there. At the end of summer, I’ll fill the hole with cement. If there are babies down there, I want them to be grown up and gone before I do that.)

So, what’s the moral? Getting rid of the problem sometimes doesn’t get rid of the problem. To the dog, something smelled odd, out of place. I’m pretty sure the varmint is gone, but good dog Rufus remembers. He can still smell something. We can get rid of things, make them vanish—but the aura, the odor may remain. We can get rid of a sin or an attitude or a callous outlook—and claim victory. But to some, the scent of the sin remains. I don’t think this truth can be altered: it takes time for people to accept change in a person—especially if that person is going from bad to good. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try—but remember, changing perceptions, like getting rid of varmints, takes time.

This Week's WOW 9/15

2011-09-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

I want to pass something on to you I read recently. It was written by Patti Ann Thompson -- Pastor Rick

Something’s Bugging Me

“Search me, O God . . . See if there is any offensive way in me.” (Psalm 139:23,24). While I was reading a biblical devotion online one day, a message popped up from my computer antivirus program: “Warning, your virus protection is out of date. Click here to upgrade.” Most of us who own computers have an antivirus program. It protects our computers from harmful viruses. Sometimes we fail to update the program and a virus infects our computer.

Like my computer, I am virus prone, too. I still make mistakes and download the wrong things. God knows we are human and that our hearts are prone to infection by spiritual bugs – pride, unforgiveness, anger, gossip, and selfishness. How many times have I allowed chronic discontentment or an addiction to worldly lifestyles enter my life and bug me? Sometimes I dismiss the warning by clicking on “remind me again later”. I convince myself I will handle it later. When our hearts get infected, our sensitivity to love and serve others is blocked.

Like the antivirus program that detects and fixes the threats to my computer, God’s Spirit has the power to search my heart and cleanse it from the threats to my spiritual health and service. We need to constantly ask the Holy Spirit to search our hearts, minds, and actions. Then, with God’s help, we can change what needs to be changed and reflect the example of Christ in our life and ministry.

This Week's WOW 9/7

2011-09-07T14:17:00.001-07:00

Push 1, 2, 3

By Pastor Donnie

A few months ago my wife Lauren gave birth to our beautiful baby boy Obadiah. Through the labor process, the nurse allowed me to participate in helping Lauren. Unfortunately, there came a point where I think that Lauren and I both questioned the nurse’s wisdom in allowing me to help. When Lauren reached the pushing stage, I had the task of counting. It seemed simple enough. How hard could it be to count to number 10? However, about the 15th time of counting from 1 to 10, I started to question whether I knew how to count at all! “Ok Lauren, push! 1, 2, 3, 6, 7...no no...I skipped something...3, 4, 5,....wait I think I already counted number 3.” Needless to say, my wife was not too happy with me!

Often we get so busy and stressed out in life doing things - work, eat, church, kid’s practice, TV show, etc., that we forget how to do the simple spiritual things – pray, read the Bible, commune with God.

In all of life’s hustle and bustle, we need to take time to slow down and remember the important things for our spiritual well-being. Take time this week to get alone with God and allow Him to refresh and re-energize you so that you can accomplish life’s everyday tasks with excellence.

This Week's WOW 9/1

2011-09-01T14:22:00.000-07:00

Tips for Inviting Someone to Church

According to Barna Research Group, one out of four unchurched people would attend church if a friend invited them. So what stops us from extending an invitation? Perhaps we feel awkward at times. Here are five helpful tips from Dianne E. Butts of Pueblo, Colorado for inviting people to church.

1. Earn the right to invite. Sometimes spur-of-the-moment invitations work, but other times blurting out, “Wanna go to church?” when you first meet someone gives the impression you only care about attendance goals. Taking the time to build a friendship communicates you want to share an important part of your life.

2. Instead of asking, “Do you want to go?”, invite her to come with you. If she feels you are only going to church to take her, she will likely say no. Saying, “Want to come with me?” communicates you are going whether she comes or not.

3. Give guests an idea of what to expect. Will the service be formal or informal? Loud or low-key?

4. Give your guests an idea of what to wear. It is embarrassing to stand out in a crowd, so tell him what you will wear and how most other people at your church dress.

5. Arrange to find each other. Offer to pick up your friend at home, meet for coffee or breakfast before the service, or plan to meet in the parking lot so you can enter the church together.

Remember, inviting others to church is important because it is one step toward inviting them to meet Jesus or redevelop a relationship with Him.

This Week's WOW 8/25

2011-08-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

The Great Illusion

By Pastor Donnie

I really like illusionists (magicians). I think their sleight of hand and attention to detail is fascinating. No matter how focused I am when watching the illusion, I am always surprised at how they pulled it off. It might be that I’m gullible or that I don’t have a trained eye, but no matter what it is – I always end up amazed. Illusions seem so simple and yet the magician has spent countless hours perfecting the illusion so that it is easy to believe. I came across a quote this week that made me think of some other illusions that we easily believe:

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place."
-- George Bernard Shaw

It’s easy to think that we communicated our desires to our spouse, children, or co-worker but very often we are merely believing in an illusion. Unfortunately, some of us are Master Illusionists in the sense that we don’t give a second thought to what we just said and believe that we communicated clearly. We wonder why the results we get are often so far from what we wanted. This week, try to stop buying into the illusion that correct communication has taken place in your conversations – it takes a little more work than you think.

This Week's WOW 7/28

2011-07-28T13:54:00.000-07:00

Parental Blind Spots

Every parent has blind spots. Here are a few blind spots I have seen in myself or in other parents.

1. We want to be liked more than we want to parent: This does not mean being a jerk. It means we parent and make decisions led by the Holy Spirit even when they are not popular with our children. It means our children may not understand or like every decision that we need to make, but we are still willing to do what is best for them and for the family in spite of not being popular.

2. We do not see potential problems quickly: Many of us end up in a jam and solving a problem that could have been avoided. Molehills can turn into mountains if left unchecked. Often times we think the problems will just disappear on their own, so we choose to ignore the problems and the potential confrontation with our children. If you want to waste a lot of time, constantly let potential problems turn into big problems by doing nothing.

3. We do not parent strong on the front end: If as a parent I am weak in my parenting on the front end (especially when my children are young), there is always a mess to clean up on the back end. I have learned that I would rather start a little more firm and loosen up later on rather than starting loose and then have to get tough later on. With most children, if you give them an inch, they will take mile, and then we have a dilemma on our hands.

This article was adapted from an article “Leadership Blind Spots” by Herbert Cooper lead pastor of People’s Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

This Week's WOW 7/15

2011-07-15T15:29:00.000-07:00

Stop Praying
by Pastor Donnie

I recently finished a book entitled "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. Here is an excerpt:

"What if I said, "Stop Praying"? What if I told you to stop talking at God for a while, but instead take a long hard look at Him before you speak another word. Solomon warned us not to rush into God's presence with words.."

What caught me was the phrase "talking at God." So often when we pray we merely talk at God which means that we could hold the same dialogue with a brick wall and walk away feeling just as good. We need to be in communication with God. We need to stand in awe of who He really is in our lives and realize that when He speaks into our lives we need to be listening because His words are power!

This Week's WOW 7/7

2011-07-07T13:52:00.000-07:00

“God’s power flows primarily to people who pray.”

The scriptures are riddled with passages teaching that our almighty, omnipotent God is ready, willing and able to answer the prayers of his followers. . . . God’s power can change circumstances and relationships. It can help us face life’s daily struggles. It can heal psychological and physical problems, remove marriage obstructions, meet financial needs—in fact, it can handle any kind of difficulty, dilemma or discouragement.

Someone has said that when we work, we work; but when we pray, God works. His supernatural strength is available to praying people who are convinced to the core of their being that he can make a difference. Skeptics may argue that answered prayers are only coincidences, but as an English archbishop once observed, “It’s amazing how many coincidences occur when one begins to pray.”

From “Too Busy Not to Pray” by Bill Hybels pg 10-11

This Week's WOW 6/16

2011-06-16T11:19:00.000-07:00

The Perfect Game (almost)

I read this story a couple of weeks ago and thought you might enjoy it too.

On June 2, 2010, Detroit Tiger Armando Galarraga had pitched a perfect game – for eight and two-thirds innings. Twenty-six batters up, 26 batters out. His own catcher did not even realize what was happening until the seventh inning, but the head umpire, Jim Joyce, had been aware of the historical implications since inning five. With two outs in the ninth, and a 3—1 count, the fans held their collective breath as the 27^th batter was thrown out at first. Then the unthinkable happened. Head umpire, Joyce, called him safe, and perfection vanished.

The outrage reached epic proportions, earning public proclamations from state lawmakers and even a joking reference in the White House Press Room. But in baseball, there is no “undo” button. Joyce, watching the replay after the game, admitted his error. It tore him up. Angry fans, and even some of Galarraga’s teammates, called for action. Everyone seemed to have a vested interest in the situation, everyone except for Galarraga.

The next day he was sitting in front of his locker, completely calm. One of his teammates said, “I don’t think he really understands what a perfect game is.” But Galarraga understood. He had been playing professionally for a decade. He had bounced between teams and from minor to major leagues, and 28 years old or not, immigrant or not, he understood his own sport.

His response? “Nobody is perfect,” Galarraga said. “Inside of my heart, I don’t have a problem.”

What a perfect way to describe the condition God desires for all of us. What if we could all respond that way when people make mistakes that negatively impact us? That’s one of the benefits of living in forgiveness. Inside of our own hearts we have calm and peace and release. Even when something has been lost because of someone else’s mistake or oversight, inside of our hearts we don’t have a problem.

This Week's WOW 6/2

2011-06-02T17:18:00.000-07:00

Here’s a story for you.

A turkey was chatting with a bull. “I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree,” sighed the turkey, “but I haven’t got the energy.”

“Well,” replied the bull, “why don’t you nibble on some of my droppings? They’re packed with nutrients.”

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. But he was promptly spotted by a hunter, who shot him down out of the tree.

The moral of the story: BS might get you to the top, but it won’t keep you there.

This story may not be very inspirational, but it’s funny and all too often true. Have a great week.

Pastor Rick

This Week's WOW 5/20

2011-05-20T13:53:00.000-07:00

Here are some inspirational thoughts on this graduation weekend.

Pastor Rick

Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.

George Edward Woodberry

A good reputation is more valuable than money.

Publilius Syrus

When you are laboring for others let it be with the same zeal as if it were for yourself.

unknown

This Week's WOW 5/5

2011-05-05T12:22:00.000-07:00

Today’s WOW is mostly for women, although men will benefit from reading it too. It is a recent article from Mark Gungor (Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage). Below are a couple of paragraphs. If you want to read more click on the link or paste it into your browser to go to his web site. Blessings.

Pastor Rick

Don’t Change The Guy

Way too many women are dating guys thinking they can change or morph them into the man they want him to be. It would be far better to just find a guy that is more of what you want. If he’s a frog, you aren’t going to turn him into prince charming. You need to move on. I don’t know what it is in the female psyche that makes women think that the bum will be different when they are married.

If you don’t like the fact that he isn’t a devoted follower of Jesus, or that he smokes or is a slob, or whatever—you fill in the blank—but think by some “magical cosmic force” he’ll be different once you are married, you are fooling yourself. Women will say they want a solid Christian man, someone with a good job and a wonderful mother but date a guy who stays in bed and watches TV rather than going to church, can’t hold a steady job and whose mother is a banshee. Then they think these things will go away, won’t matter or that they can change him. These ladies are in for a ton of misery.

Follow this link for the rest of the article:

http://www.laughyourway.com/blog/cannot-change-the-guy/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=MarksBlog&utm_campaign=20110224

This Week's WOW 4/20/11

2011-04-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

A MODERN PARABLE

By Pastor Carol

The infamous “tax day” has just passed, and with that I am reprinting a “confession” written by an Internal Revenue Service agent.

“The other day I checked a queer return. Some guy with an income under $15,000 claimed he gave $1872 to some church. Sure, he was within the 20% limit, but it looked mighty suspicious to me. So I dropped in on the guy and asked him about his return. I thought he’d become nervous like most of them do, but not this guy.

“Have you a receipt from the church?” I asked, figuring that would make him squirm. “Sure,” he replied, “I always drop them in the drawer.” And off he went to get his checks and receipts.

Well, he had me. One look and I knew he was on the level. I apologized for bothering him, explaining that I have to check on deductions that seem unusually high. As I was leaving he invited me to attend his church. “Thanks,” I said, “but I belong to a church myself.” “Excuse me,” he replied, “that possibility never occurred to me.”

As I drove home I kept wondering what he meant by that last remark. It wasn’t until Sunday morning when I put my usual dollar in the offering plate that I understood.”

~+~+~+~

Like it or not, when Jesus was asked about paying taxes, he said

“Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

ODE TO UNCLE SAM

Paying income taxes

I always get annoyed.

But then I think

Things could be worse –

I could be

UNEMPLOYED!

~+~+~

This Week's WOW 4/13/11

2011-04-13T12:06:00.000-07:00

Your Character Matters

By Pastor Donnie

In a discussion I had with someone recently about how to really live a life of integrity and actually step up to being a Christian man, we started to discuss the importance of accountability. We started developing questions based out of a book titled Character Counts by Rod Hanley. These questions we developed were personalized ones that would help us stay accountable to one another. Often we believe that we can do this Christian walk alone – “It’s just Jesus and me” we tell ourselves but we were not meant to do this life alone. We need others to sharpen us and to help us develop because we are not called to be mediocre Christians but rather we are supposed to be people of excellence in all that we do. Here are a few of the questions that we developed that would help us live lives of excellence in every aspect of our lives, not just the “spiritual” ones. They are simple questions but if they are followed, they can yield some amazing results in our lives. I encourage you to talk to someone this week about holding you accountable. –

Are you setting aside time for God? What did you get out of your time?

Have you done 100% at work?

Have you taken care of your body – exercise, eat right, sleep enough?

Has pride stopped you from succeeding this week?

Last week my pain was when _________

My growth from last week was __________

Growth I desire for next week is _____________

This Week's WOW 4/6/11

2011-04-06T06:54:00.000-07:00

Friendship Power

by Pastor Rick

Here are a couple of thoughts on the subject of friendship and its power that I have had in my files for a long time.

"Life is to be fortified by many friendships. To love, and be loved, is the greatest happiness of existence." Sydney Smith

"Friendship is the springboard to every other love. Friendships spill over onto the other important relationships of life. People with no friends usually have a diminished capacity for sustaining any kind of love. They tend to go through a succession of marriages, be estranged from various family members, and have trouble getting along at work. On the other hand, those who learn how to love their friends tend to make long and fulfilling marriages, get along well with the people at work, and enjoy their children." Alan Loy McGinnis The Friendship Factor

This Week's WOW 3/30

2011-03-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

CAPABLE HANDS

By Pastor Carol

“Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” ~~Jesus

I had a unique experience a few weeks ago. I was on the platform preparing to lead the pastoral prayer when the eyes of my heart saw a people with care-worn faces and sagging, drooping shoulders. It wasn’t just a few sprinkled here and there, but from side to side, front to back, almost without exception. My spirit clearly realized that so many of you are carrying burdens on your shoulders from your own personal world that are heavily weighing you down, be they financial, health, relational, family, the uncertainty in the world, on and on the list could go.

It’s easy to “put on a good face.” I can do it myself at times. But underneath the facade is a tug of war going on. We attempt releasing our burden to God, He reaches out to take it, we pull it back. He is tugging on it because we asked Him to take it, but we tug harder and eventually we win, putting it back on our shoulders to carry and continue our worry.

I’ve used the following verse before in a WOW, I believe it bears repeating:

As children bring their broken toy with tears for us to mend,

I brought my broken dreams to God because He was my friend.

But then, instead of leaving Him in peace to work alone,

I hung around and tried to help with ways that were my own.

At last, I snatched them back and cried, “How can you be so slow?”

“My child,” He said, “what could I do?

You never did let go.”

May I encourage you to just release those peace-robbing issues to God. Allow Him to work in His own way and time, knowing He can be trusted! I’ve learned that God is never late, but He is seldom early. In the meantime, let Him fill you with peace and rest, which will result in joy-filled faces and straight, square shoulders again. There is no safer place for our cares than in His capable hands.

~+~+~+~+~+~

WOW 3/16/11

2011-03-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of paragraphs from one of my favorite authors about success and fulfillment. Enjoy!

Pastor Rick

“To reach a dream – and to be fulfilled in the process – one needs to be proactive, in bad times as well as good. One of the things I’ve observed about successful people over the years is that they do what is right no matter how they feel, and by doing right, they feel good. On the other hand, unsuccessful people wait to feel good before they do what is right. As a result, they neither do what’s right nor feel good.

“When you are traveling . . . toward your dream, the majority of the time you will not feel like doing the right thing to enable your dream to come true. You’ll need to do it anyway. . . . If you can always do the right thing – despite how you feel, despite the circumstances, despite what others might say or do in response – you will be satisfied with yourself. And that, at the end of the day, will do a lot to determine whether you feel fulfilled.”

John Maxwell

WOW 3/9/11

2011-03-09T11:19:00.000-08:00

LIVE vs. DEAD

By Pastor Carol

The following article, author unknown, has been in my file for many years, coming originally from a Lutheran Church newsletter. I have found it to be an interesting comparison, as well as a challenging barometer. How many of these categories does our Church fit in?

~+~+~+~+~

LIVE churches have space problems – parking, classrooms, etc.

DEAD churches have no worries about space.

LIVE churches are always changing things;

DEAD churches don’t have to – everything just stays the same.

LIVE churches have noisy children and young people;

DEAD churches are fairly quiet and serene.

LIVE churches have a shortage of staff;

DEAD churches usually have a surplus.

LIVE churches are always overspending their budget;

DEAD churches maintain large bank accounts.

LIVE churches struggle to remember new names;

DEAD churches – everybody knows everybody – for years!

LIVE churches have a challenge developing new leaders;

DEAD churches don’t – they just use the same ones over and over and over.

LIVE churches spend much on “missions”;

DEAD churches keep it all “at home”.

LIVE churches are filled with givers;

DEAD churches are filled with tippers.

LIVE churches operate primarily on faith;

DEAD churches operate totally on sight.

LIVE churches strain to learn and serve;

DEAD churches seek rest and comfort.

LIVE churches evangelize;

DEAD churches fossilize!

~+~+~+~+~

Wow 3/2/11

2011-03-02T13:17:00.000-08:00

Pull Up A Chair

By Pastor Donnie

I came across this article this week and it was a reminder to make sure that prayer is a top priority in my day to day living.

When Brent, a beloved longtime youth leader, became terminally ill, countless teenagers and church members visited him at home. They all noticed that Brent mysteriously insisted on keeping an antique chair near his bedside. One night, a church elder dropped by. Brent was clearly struggling, with the empty chair right beside him.

“I guess you were expecting me,” the elder said.

“No, not really,” Brent replied with embarrassment.

“When I saw the empty chair,” the elder quickly responded, “I figured you knew I was coming to visit.”

“There’s a story behind that old chair, but I’ve kept it pretty private,” Brent said. “Sit down, and I’ll tell you why it means so much to me.”

Puzzled, the elder complied and began listening.

“As a youth leader, I knew I was supposed to be a man of prayer. But for years, it felt like my prayers weren’t getting anywhere. So eventually, except for when I occasionally prayed with a teenager, I just stopped. I never shared this because I thought spiritual leaders were supposed to know how to pray. But then a close friend told me, ‘You’re making this prayer thing too tough. Prayer is just like talking to me. Sit down and put an empty chair in front of you. Picture Jesus sitting there, and then start talking to him – just like you talk to me. Prayer is nothing more complicated than having an honest conversation with Jesus. So I tried it,” Brent continued. “As cheesy as it sounds, it worked. I haven’t told many people because I didn’t think Christians were supposed to stuggle with this stuff. But it’s really helped me. Now I sometimes talk to Jesus in that chair for a couple of hours a day.”

That encounter challenged the elder in his own prayer life. Two nights later, a friend informed him that Brent had slipped into eternity.

“Did he seem to die in peace?” the elder asked.

“Yes,” the friend said. “But there was something strange. Apparently, just before Brent died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside his bed. Crazy, isn’t it? He

had a strange attraction to that old chair.”

As Christians we often do the “churchy” things but forget to just simply sit down and spend time with our Savior. We often forget to make prayer a priority. Why not pull up a chair and start the conversation? It’s as simple as that.

WOW for 2/23

2011-02-25T08:34:00.001-08:00

WOW for 2/23

by Pastor Rick

Here are a couple of paragraphs from one of my favorite authors about success and fulfillment. Enjoy!

John Maxwell

This Week's WOW 2/18

2011-02-18T08:13:00.000-08:00

From His Rib

by Pastor Carol

During this month of hearts 'n flowers, I have selected a favorite bit of wisdom penned by a seventeenth century lawyer-turned-theologian, for your reading pleasure. I have loved these words for years and hope you will also.

"Woman was taken out of man;

not out of his head to top him,

nor out of his feet to be trampled underfoot,

But out of his side to be equal with him,

under his arm to be protected,

and near to his heart to be loved."

Matthew Henry 1662-1714

He who began a good work in you - Steve Green (With Lyrics) Philippians 1:6

2011-02-18T07:48:00.000-08:00

Happiness Question 2

2011-02-11T08:44:00.000-08:00

You have a friend that has not been happy in their marriage for a long time (years). What would you advise them to do? Why?

WOW 2/11/11

2011-02-11T08:11:00.000-08:00

Macho Macho Man!

By Pastor Donnie

In some of my recent study I have come across a book titled Forgotten God by Francis Chan. The back of the book started to stir up some things in me in terms of how I live day to day.

“Powerful. When is the last time someone used that word to describe you? It doesn’t make sense that Almighty God would have children characterized by fear and insecurity. He put His Spirit in us so we could be known for our power (Acts 1:8; 2 Tim 1:7). Sadly, most believers and churches are known for talent or intellect rather than supernatural power. What’s worse is that we’re okay with it.”

It really got me thinking about how often we allow ourselves miss out on what God has for us each day because we don’t tap into the power source. We say that we believe that the Holy Spirit can do mighty things through us but we often don’t live that way. This week try and be more aware of the Holy Spirit’s work in your life and try to listen to His voice. Let’s be people that are truly filled with power and have our actions reflect that power!

Happiness Question #1

2011-02-04T06:04:00.000-08:00

God's will is for me to always be happy - yes, no, maybe - WHY?