Join us on Saturday morning for the 4th of July parade.  The Servant Evangelism team will be sponsoring a church float from which we will throw peanuts (better for you and the environment) and our green and white “Growing in Grace” tote bags.   Meet us at the church parking lot at 8 a.m. Saturday to do a little decorating and then have donuts and coffee/juice before we leave for the assembly location.  Wear a church t-shirt if you have one and red, white, and blue if you don’t.  This will be a great way to start your holiday weekend!

I ran across this today via email and thought you all might get a kick out of it. Enjoy!

Jesus and Satan were having an ongoing argument about who was better on
the computer.  They had been going at it for days, and frankly God was
tired of hearing all the bickering.  Finally fed up, God said, “THAT’S
IT!  I have had enough. I am going to set up a test that will run for
two hours, and from those results, I will judge who does the better
job.”

God just shrugged and said, “JESUS SAVES”

Have you ever met an atheist? I am sure you have. Most won’t admit it once they know I am a preacher so I haven’t had a conversation with one in years. However, more and more people are admitting to being one, although for the life of me I can’t figure out why.

Often they will try a point out the wrongs of religion and faith particularly when they come to the issue of war. What they like to argue is that because of religions, look at all the wars fought over the years and especially when we look at some of the treatments of people that religions call pagans or even savages. To that extent, we are guilty.

Now, let’s begin the case as to why one shouldn’t be an atheist or a secular humanist for that matter. Since you and I believe in God, I am not going to take time to argue  that  issue although I could since ultimately we have the strongest case. Consider the following:

1. The two experiments in humanism and atheism resulted in the nazies and communism. 6 million Jews and 20 million Russians not counting the countless millions of men and women who fought to free people from atheistic humanist terror testify to the reality that atheism and humanism in just 80 years killed and destroyed more people than probably all the wars fought in God’s name since the beginning of time.

2. For the most part the hospital systems, the educational systems (including public education), the orphanages, homes for unwed mothers, charities like Red Cross, The Salvation Army, Goodwill and much more were all started by Christians. And that’s only a part of the list.

3. Individual churches run day care programs, food banks, shelters for the home less, soup kitchens, clothing stores, counseling centers and donate millions to people who walk in off the street. God help the poor if not for the churches.

I think you’re getting the point. You see, to have a humane society you can hardly leave it up to those who don’t believe in God. If you want civilization where humanity can reach our greatest destiny, I would hardly leave it up to non-believers. With our faults, give me people of faith any old day.

Peace and grace. Reed

Three thoughts that may or may not tie together. Well, I suppose that as a preacher and writer, I should be able to tie a monkey with a watermelon and declare some sort of theological idea but truthfully, some ideas just don’t fit into a neat little ball.  So here are the three ideas.

First, a personal note. We have experienced the joy of having another grandson born into the Justus tribe. After the four girls for daughters, we now have 4 boys. God, it seems does have a strange sense of balance and humor. After all, as a parent, if you withstood the raising of daughters, you know the joys (and let’s just leave it at that) of guiding them through into womanhood. Now it seems that God intended to balance out the family with boys.  So far it seems that girls are easier!  Second, that is also the humor part. God almost seems to say, “Now let’s send boys!” followed by snorts of heavenly laughter.

Second thought. I want to thank those who worked at the recent Faith Builders work day. Next time around, be sure to join us. Even more importantly, if you or someone you know needs help any time, contact us. We will help out. Remember, this is not just for church members. It is for anyone who needs help. The main person to contact would be Henry Moore.

Third thought. We have embarked on the Servant Mission projects in a fine fashion. In fact, the Faith Builders in just one such mission. The next is this week. We are going to pass out cookies to the public servants on Father’s Day. We need cookies and volunteers. IF you are interested, let us know. We will put you to work. If not this time, the next. In fact, the next mission time will be at the 4th. of July Parade.  More to come.

Been a long couple of weeks. I have more thoughts but that’s enough  for now. Until next week,

 Peace and Grace. Reed

Faith Builders got underway today with work being done at the homes of Geraldine Wilbourn, Sue Hale, Dorthy Wieseman, and Seri Riverie.  For those who missed out, it was a great time together (although a bit hot - especially on the roofs).  As Lee Auvenshine put it, "It was fun in a weird kinda way…"  But don’t despair, there will be another Faith Builders workday in the fall.  So plan to be part of all the fun next time.

Lunch was graciously served by Cathy Justus and Cathy Williams at the Justus’ home.  Many thanks to both of them for keeping us nourished and fit for the job.

Enjoy the pictures of the day’s activities.

We have less than 100 bags for sale. The bags can be used to shop with, carry books to the library or put flowers in and decorate a table.  There are no end to the uses. Plus they’re good on the environment. In our case they will fund out evangelism program SERVANT WITNESS. We will be handing out to people who might visit the church 150 of them.

If you want to help with evangelism, help with the environment, have a really useful bag or LOOK REALLY STYLISH contact the church office and get one.

Greetings from the floor of the Central Texas Annual Conference. I am actually writing this while attending the meetings. Since I am male, I can’t multitask so I hope nothing important happens until I am finished. I don’t want to talk about the business of the conference but instead I want to talk about what I am doing in relation to our faith.

 I find it amazing that I can do what I am doing. Just think about it. I am pressing little keys while tiny little people are inside the computer are painting this so I can read it. Then somehow little invisible carrier pigeons are going out to your computer and little people are painting it on your screen.

Now this is not the explanation that most will tell you accept but it makes just a much sense as we have a machine that can only count to one is connected through a radio signal to a satellite system that allows this to go out to the entire world the instant I hit the publish button.  However that is what will happen.

Still, as amazing as that is, it still is not all that impressive. All that stems from the imagination of mankind and our ability to do almost all we desire.  We cure illnesses and disease with the aid of these some computers and technology. Imagine that.  And still this is not all that impressive.

What is impressive is that the same God who unites us into the church of Jesus Christ, the same God that gives us the ability to imagine and create and make, the some God that allows us to instantly talk, write and communicate in this way is by far the One who able to do far more abundantly more than we can dream. We get too wrapped up in our own achievements and our own pride. The truth is that all that we do comes from Him.

We can stand in awe of what we do and be amazed in all we achieve. However let us all remember we must glorify the One who gives us the ability to do what we do.

Now, if I can only get all the white off of the computer….

Peace and Grace. Reed.

P.s. Hello from Stubby, Cathy, David, and Brenda.

Last Friday was the last day of school and the KUC kids went on an afternoon outing to celebrate Pentecost and just have fun.

To celebrate Pentecost, the kids (see pictures below) gathered wheat and made a symbolic “trek” up to Jerusalem to offer the first fruits of the wheat harvest.  Then we all “threshed” and “winnowed” the wheat and made some “fine” flower to make the two bread loafs for the wave offering for Pentecost.

The children learned how God instituted the Feast of Pentecost so the Hebrews would always know and remember that God is the source of everything and everything belongs to Him.  In making the first fruit offering, we are dedicating the first fruits of the harvest to Him, letting Him know that He is the source and sustainer of life – both physically and spiritually.  The kids where just really fascinated with the “fine” flour after it had gone thru the mill.

Next, we “shucked” Popcorn from popcorn cobs and had fresh popcorn and watermelon as a mid-afternoon snack.  Yum! Yum!

Then it was time for the hayride from the Smalley ranch to the Smith property.  Once at the Smith’s, fishing and horseback riding was the order of the day.  It was very interesting to see the kid’s reaction to the horses and catching fish.  I believe Miss Misty Auvenshine was the most relaxed around the horses.  She is a real horse/animal lover – and it shows.

To finish off the afternoon, everyone had hotdogs, juice/punch, apples, and grapes.

What an afternoon…

Happiness is hard to achieve and even harder to describe.  After all, what is happiness?  Most of us tend to describe happiness in terms of earthly achievement.

 Happiness is wealth.

Happiness is power.

 Happiness is having more toys than the other guy.

The list can go on and on.

Let me suggest three things that will make you happy.

First and foremost, happiness is when you put God first, last and foremost in your life. In other words, be a part of something that you are not in charge of, responsible for and greater than your daily life.

Second, Be content with yourself. It does not mean you settle and do not strive to become better and greater and it doesn’t mean you don’t attempt to improve. What is  does mean is that for the most part you are content. No one else and nothing else can make you happy unless you first be happy with who your are and what you do. In other words, be comfortable in your own skin.

Third, surround yourself with little pleasures. Yes, milk and cookies (especially if you dunk them) can give you that feeling of contentment and happiness. A puppy or a kitten (even when they grow up) can bring you smiles and laughter. Tell a joke, listen to a joke. Laugh at yourself. Remember how good a real sneeze feels. Little things should be celebrated and enjoyed. They will add to you sense of being happy.

You see, it really isn’t all that hard. God first, yourself second, the world around you third. What more do you need? Yes I know we can add to the list. What about family? What about work? What about giving? All these and more. But the gist of the list is in the proper order. Anything else fits into one of the three.

Anyway, Peace and Grace and HAPPINESS.  Reed

This is going to be a stranger request than David asking for toilets, but the Kids Under Construction program is in need of your old throw pillows.  The kids use these to lie on or sit on when watching movies.  We could also use an old trunk or chest to store them in when they are not in use.  If you have any to donate, please contact Nanette at the church office.  Thanks for all of your help and support to this vital ministry of our church!