Are we Thankful?
Yes, it’s that time of year again. Can you believe that the holiday season is already at our doorstep? This is my favorite time of the year. Of course you already know from last month’s devotion that fall is my favorite season and now that fall is fully in swing we begin to plan for our big Thanksgiving Day celebration. Sometimes though, we can get lost in all of our preparation. We make lists, go shopping for food and decorations, we bring out the little pilgrims standing beside a turkey and place them on our coffee tables, and hang a festive wreath on our door. We look up new recipes to dazzle our guests as well as those traditional ones passed down through the generations. We clean our houses, invite over friends and family, and we even enjoy the atmosphere at our places of work because most people are sharing the same excitement and anticipation for the holiday as you are. But do you ever find yourself a little too stressed out to enjoy the day? As our day of giving thanks approaches you find yourself with the huge grocery bill, endless food to prepare, house to clean and decorate, and relatives to worry about. All this can make for a pretty big to-do list. And when you add that on top of your already busy schedule sometimes I myself begin to feel like I have missed something. So what’s this Thanksgiving Holiday all about? Is it about the perfect turkey, the five different kinds of pie, or the decorations in your house? Or is the reason for the season something we should find in our hearts and not so much in the things we do. It is so easy to get lost within our own family traditions that our focus shifts from being thankful for God’s blessings upon us to getting all wrapped up in the wrong things. Now don’t get me wrong, I love all of those traditional things that you do. But, without the thankful heart behind them they really are just things we do year after year without understanding why! 1 John 3:1 says, “How great is the love the Father has lavished upon us, that we should be called the children of God!” As Christians this verse should be the basis for our thanksgiving. However, if we don’t seek to understand this truth then we forget what it means that we were orphans, sentenced to a life of death and an eternity of fire! So I ask you, this Thanksgiving, do you really know why you are thankful? Does your heart beat for joy because you were lost and now are found, you were blind but now you can see, and you were dead but have now been granted life through the blood of Jesus Christ? My prayer for you this Thanksgiving is that you rediscover what it means to be truly thankful. -Pastor Nathan
In Loving Memory Our most sincere sympathy surrounds Kenneth Holveck, whose beloved wife, Bess Holveck, died October 21st. Funeral services were held on Tuesday, October 26th at Bangor Liberty with burial in the Bangor Friends Cemetery with Pastor Nathan officiating. Bess’ love of teaching was shared with many students throughout the years, in public schools, Bangor Liberty Sunday School, and in private tutoring of students. She was an active member of BLFC until giving up her driver’s license at the age of 90, and remained a faithful witness at The Embers where she shared her caring spirit with others. We extend our sympathy to her sons, Jack and Bob, their wives and families. We also extend our sympathy to Kristy and Andi Albright and the rest of their family following the death of Kristy’s husband, Tim, following a yearlong fight with brain cancer. Tim died on Tuesday, October 26th at the Hospice House in Marshalltown. Following cremation a memorial service was held at Washington, Iowa on Saturday, November 6th.
BLFC Annual Thank Offering Service
Bangor Liberty’s annual Thank Offering Service will be held Sunday, November 21st at 10:30 a.m. with a potluck meal afterwards. The Missions Committee has chosen the following projects and asks us to prayerfully consider how blessed we are and how we can share with these mission areas or with other work that we may feel called to support.
-Kaimosi Hospital, Kenya East Africa; for Adopt-a-Nurse salaries and facility updates. -Salaries for Sam & Becky Barber, Directors at Friends School in Belize. -Scholarships for Bangor Liberty kids to attend Quaker Heights summer camps. -An income-generating loan project through Right Sharing of World Resources for a women’s group in Africa to make a living for their families through the sale of firewood, millet and sorghum.
Social Committee #4 will be in charge of setting up and cleaning up after the potluck meal.
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-Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace, and your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of it.
-The best way to keep sin at a distance is to make sure Jesus stands between you and temptation.
Thank You! You gave generously to the House of Compassion Supply Closet during October. The people who came to the window will appreciate each donation. 573 family units were helped during September. Thanks for helping to ease their burdens.
*A Funny Story A children’s church leader stopped her class one morning--right in the middle of a hymn they were singing. “What words did you just sing?” she asked. “Something doesn’t sound quite right.” A young girl, the group’s loudest vocalist, shot her hand into the air. “We’re singing, ‘Oh, the constipated, cross-eyed bear!” The leader shook her head and went to the white board, where she wrote the correct title of the song for her class: “Oh, the Consecrated Cross I Bear.”
*Curious recent headlines in several newspapers: “Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers.” “Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead.”
*Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong; rather it is telling the difference between right and almost right.
Thanksgiving Thoughts Our forefathers were not so much thankful for something as they were thankful in something. In bounty or in famine they were thankful. In joy or in misery they were thankful. There is a big difference between being thankful for things and being thankful in all things.” —Brett Blair
“Hugely important is the way a person expresses thanks for being alive. The person who does so through service will possess a great comfort throughout life.” —Patch Adams, M.D.
“Why is it that so many of us persist in thinking that autumn is a sad season? Nature has merely fallen asleep and her dreams must be beautiful if we are to judge by her countenance.” —Samuel Taylor Coleridge All taken from the Joyful Noiseletter
Christmas Adopt-A-Family Many families and individuals in the Marshalltown area will not have Christmas gifts this year without our help. You do not have to be wealthy to assist a family in need. Together our $$ add up and make a big difference in the lives of others. The House of Compassion recommends 3 gifts be given to each person. $20 could buy toys for a child or a gift for a senior citizen; $30 could provide clothing for a child; $40 could provide a meal for a family of 3-4; $50 could buy gifts for a teen; $75 could provide gifts and a meal for a senior and $250 could provide Christmas for a family of 4-5. If you would like to adopt an individual or a family, tell Betty or Margaret the number of people you wish to help by November 14*. After you are given your family, please call and let them know they have been adopted. Then purchase gifts and a food basket for their holiday meal and deliver these by December 20th. There will be a family chosen for our church to share. Let us know if you would like to help by buying just 1 or 2 gifts or providing food for that family. If you are unable, or prefer not to do the shopping, you may give funds to Margaret who will shop for you.
*If you want a family or individual to shop for yourself, that might still be arranged. Talk with Margaret. A little help from many can make a big difference!
Do You Like to Tutor?The Quakerdale Promise Academy in New Providence is in need of some tutoring help two or three times a week in the evenings or during the day. Our students have come to us with a desire to learn, but their academics are such that this dream cannot be a reality for them as yet. We are working with them to help them improve their academic focus to be able to handle college courses, but they need some assistance. These young men spend their days in a classroom and work from on-line courses. All of them are used to having a teacher in front of a class and readily available to answer questions, but even that traditional education has left them needing more success educationally.
We are wondering if there is anyone who might be interested in volunteering a little of their time to tutor in especially sociology, psychology and business? You don’t need as much specialized skill in the areas mentioned as you can learn the information with the student and help them be successful. You will also have the blessing of getting to know some very special kids and making a difference in their lives!
If you feel called to help, please contact Laura Isenhower at lisenhower@quakerdale.org as she will coordinate. Thank you. Also check out the following website for a listing of the Quakerdale basketball team’s schedule of games in November. www.quakerdaleathletics.org
BLFC Youth NewsThe Youth Group has received numerous donations of gifts for their Operation Christmas Child Shoebox project and thanks everyone who helped by donating gifts and funds. Fifteen shoeboxes were prepared and delivered to the Cornerstone Church of Zearing where they will be shipped on to a regional distribution center and then on to locations throughout the world.
Children’s Church The children and Margaret will meet in the fellowship hall after the Children’s Message on November 7th and 28th. Service projects will be to create Christmas cards to encourage our mission workers and to give thank you’s to our Sunday School and Wednesday night teachers and Youth Group leaders. Lessons will be about conviction and determination. Children, ages 4 - 4th grade are welcome to participate.
Specials & Blessings If you have a special you’d like to share during Sunday Morning Worship, contact Kay Feltz during November or Lucas and Kari McCracken during December to arrange dates. They are also open to suggestions of someone you might know who would share a special.
Bangor USFWThe November meeting will be a workday on the 16th. Members will meet at Peggy’s to make pillowcases and cloth diapers. Lunch will be provided by Neil and Peggy and Shirley will bring the program. Members are reminded to bring their Christmas offering which will be sent to FUM for the salaries of Sam and Becky Barber in Belize. Dues and Keys to the Kingdom totaling $15 can be paid anytime before January.
Liberty USFWLiberty USFW ladies will meet in the church fellowship hall on Thursday, November 18th for a work night beginning at 6:30 p.m. After a quick supper, several projects will be worked on throughout the evening. Please bring any Box Tops for Education and the bar codes from Campbell Soup labels and other items you have been saving for our local label lady.
Remember In Prayer~The Bess Holveck and Tim Albright Families following their recent deaths. ~Sam & Becky Barber & family, for their ministry in Belize, their finances, the children at the Friends School, the new worship group, the people of Belize rebuilding their lives after Hurricane Richard. ~Morgan Martin at Coe College ~Our college youth ~Our Prayer Partners ~Friends who have lost loved ones over this past year and face the holidays without them.
October HOC Meal Report Twenty-three volunteers from BL helped to provide generous servings of ham-potato chowder with corn, carrots and butter beans, cornbread and honey, mixed fruit, chocolate cupcakes, blueberry dump cakes and walnut cookies which were served to 53 guests. All the soup was used and well liked. Thanks to all of our volunteers who provided funds or food, helped with the meal or cleaned up afterwards. Our next opportunity will be on Tuesday, November 30th, a change from our usual day because of Thanksgiving.
Library Ledge: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel…” Mark 13:15. The books on the library ledge this month will challenge you to reach out to tell others the Good News about Jesus and His love. 101 Ways Your Church can Change the World gives simple, practical and effective ideas to help Christians reach out to a hurting world, as Jesus did. No matter who your neighbors, co-workers or relatives are, Lifestyle Evangelism can help you establish common ground and build relationships that can be powerfully used by God. Quaker Peacemakers, Bold as a Lamb and Out of the Jaws of the Lion will give you a taste of the real life heroes of faith who have gone out before us. These and more can be found on the library ledge…you’ll find growth there.
Helping Hands A year ago BLFC began the ministry of Helping Hands. This program has been used successfully numerous times over the past year. We have a group of able volunteers who are ready to help when anyone calls with a need. Whether your need is changing a flat tire, giving someone a ride, or baby sitting in the event of a family emergency, there is someone waiting to help. |