Fall Back on Sat. Evening
Remember to turn your clocks back on Saturday evening before you go to bed. To remind yourself put reminder notes on all of your clocks in your home. (ha)
Tag Archive > Friends
To The Depths….SOLD OUT!
Really the event isn’t sold out… we gave away all the tickets for the event.
That means we are at capacity for the Multi-Purpose Facility. You, the families of FBCSmyrna, have really done a great job of partnering with the staff to invite your friends to this I2I event. We want to make it as smooth as possible.
Here are a couple of very important things to remember about the event;
Remember this is time change weekend…fall back and hour. This could affect us in the second hour programming (10:45 am) if we forget to set our clocks back.
Please attend the time on your ticket…both hours are full.
Remember to bring your ticket with you. One ticket per family and those with tickets are allowed in first. After families with tickets are seated others will be allowed into the Multi-Purpose facility.
If you have a family coming that you invited by all means sit with that family, you are the link to the church.
Be prepared to be flexible. This is one of our Core Values as a church. If we are in need of seats so a guest can be seated please be flexible enough to offer your seat so someone who is not apart of our fellowship can take part in the event. Our church body exhibits this value wonderfully. We need to be mindful of this on Sunday.
There will not be an overflow area for this event, but we will try to create an area for Standing Room Only.
We will offer Kid’s Club for children and Creation Celebration for Preschool children whose parents are on campus for 2 (two) hours on Sunday. Invite the families that are attending for the first time to go and view the Preschool and Children’s area so they will feel comfortable with where their child is on Sundays.
Help us spread the word about Sunday and how we can make it a positive experience for everyone.
If you have questions about Sunday and the To The Depths event please call the office (615-459-3311) and speak with Allen, Brittany, or Dana.
FBCSmyrna is a wonderful place to serve and I am looking forward to what God has in store for Sunday.
Past Influences
The conference today was a little more difficult for me to follow. First, the time change is catching up to me. Secondly, the material is very rich and each session is very long. The mind can only absorbed what the butt can endure.
John Piper has hit a home run on in each session he has spoken (another). His material is full of scripture and theological sound. Yesterday, I had the unique privilege to see two young adults who were in the student ministry I lead at First Baptist Church of Sugar Land. The church is now named The Bridge Fellowship. Matt Willert is the Pastor of Community at The Sanctuary in Richmond, Texas. Sheridan Henson (formerly Saylor) is the wife of Chris Henson who is the Minister to Students at Travis Oaks Baptist Church in Lago Vista, Tx.
It was extremely humbling to see students that I had invested in and know they are giving their lives to serve Christ. As we talked about former students they began to tell me of other former students who are now serving God around the world in church leadership. I began to well up with tears as I thanked God for the opportunity to have been a part of their lives.
What an awesome blessing to to re-unite with these folks and see how God is using them. I am so glad that God has allowed me the privilege to walk with people and be an instrument He uses to disciple others. Lord, keep me faithful, keep me clean and close.
Taste of West Africa
Gone to Another Place
While you are reading this I am traveling toward W. Africa on a mission trip with six (6) other people from our church. This is a vision trip to see how our people might be able to minister to an unreached people group named the Maninka (Monica).
Please pray for us right now. Please pray for our team as you think of us over the next ten (10) days.
Prayer Request:
God to receive Glory, That we would honor Him in our actions and speech, Safety, Health, Families left behind, finding a person of peace, the missionaries we meet will be refreshed, and that we will have eyes to see what God is doing in that area of the world.
We will return Jan. 27th. So, I will not be on-line until I return. I hope to type about the trip when I get back.
Go Packers.
Tears
If I Could Make It Snow
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr3h8nrjWHo]
I know the guy who wrote this song (Mark Thomas). Very moving, Grab a Kleenex!
Girls Leading Out
Jordan Leading w/Group
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJjzWR6K8sw]
Jordan, Taylor, Sarah, and Rachel leading in worship services in Brazil.
I Caught a Virus
I hate getting sick! There is nothing worse than catching something from a person and not knowing they had “it” in the first place.
Well, over the past few days I have caught something and I had to check it out.
Viral marketing is a fairly new concept that is an effective way of getting a message out to as many people possible through other people. The concept is similar to “word of mouth” marketing. The concept is pretty simple, you have a message you want someone else to know so you pass along the info to as many people as possible in your network at one time. The recipients of the message or idea then pass the new info on to their networks and so on and so on. You get the picture (or should I say the virus).
This happened to me this week as I was reading a blog and came across a picture that I really didn’t understand. I tried to follow up but found dead ends. I ran across another blog recently that began to talk about an upcoming movie that is being “dissed” by Hollywood with a link to the movie trailer.
WOW! Marketing folks have taken spreading so-called “good news” to a new level. Maybe we should try to start “spreading the good news” (gospel) we have in a similar way. Let’s “infect” as many people as we possibly can in our own networks.
Garden Update
A few months back I wrote about a “community garden” I was planting as an outreach to my neighborhood community. Well, I thought I would update you as to the progress. We are beginning to see some growth on the plants and in my life as well.
This has taught me a some patience and the need to let go of some control. I cannot make these things grow, I help set the environment (soil and weed control) and then let the sun, rain and the Lord do the rest. I hate the waiting part. I have even tried to speed things up by planting early (frost killed everything), and extra fertilizer. It still only grows at the rate the Lord has set forth. My kids have had a pretty good time helping with the “community garden”. We have been learning to watch for the weeds daily and pick rocks and sticks from the little garden so the roots can be unobstructed in growth. We have begun to talk about and pray for who we are going to give the “first fruits” of the planter to in honor of the Lord’s goodness.
I’m hoping that bugs and other forms of “pestilence” don’t destroy the plants! Who knows there may be a scarecrow in the near future.
A Great View
Yesterday, there were approximately 20 people in our membership class, Connecting with Membership. The class is required for membership purposes and it is offered the first Sunday of each month in the World Missions Room just off the World Cup Cafe. There are always some great folks there finding out about the mission and motivation of the church. If you haven’t been through this class make sure you stop by and see what is happening.
The small group I am a part of hosted a “neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt.” It was located in the Adelaide Park subdivision across from the church. This neighborhood is very new to Smyrna, only two years old. There are around 10 -15 families from the church who live in the subdivision right now and there are under 100 homes. I think the developers are going to top it out around 120-130 homes, so there could be an even greater impact by our church in that community as more members move into the neighborhood. One our small group members has been trying to start a neighborhood small group there in his neighborhood, so he decide to offer the egg hunt as a way to get to know his neighbors.
He and his family planned and invited people from the neighborhood who are also members of the church to help organize and rally people from the neighborhood to be involved in the hosting, planning, and promo process. Our small group helped purchase eggs and do whatever was needed to help. At 3 pm there were probably 75-100 kids who lined up to go through 2 cul-de-sacs where 800 eggs had been hidden.
The hunt hours was scheduled 3-5 pm. In actuality the hunt lasted for about 8 minutes. But what happened in the next 1 hour and 45 minutes was worth all the preparation, as families gathered in the streets and neighbors spent time meeting neighbors. The hunt was over the connecting was just beginning. Following the hunt, there were bar-b-ques, kids playing, folks “investing” in their neighbors. It was an incredible time watching FBCSmyrna folks get involved in connecting with their neighbors.
I know that there will be people who eventually find their way over to FBCSmyrna because of the efforts of some sold out, dedicated people who want to reach their neighbors for the sake of the gospel. I am so glad to be in a church that is willing to do whatever it takes to reach “as many as possible.”