Turning up the Heat

Hello! I don't know about the rest of you, but I am sure you would agree.........it has been mighty hot lately. And the next few days are going to be even more hot! I am thankful for the rain (even the smallest amount) that we get. We certainly need it.

I hope your week has started off on the right track. Have had a few bumps in the road in my direction, but what doesn't kill us, makes us stronger!

I just wanted to take a few minutes to update you on some happenings in our church:

The youth have completed their 30 hour famine for world hunger. I don't have all the details as of this moment, but will post more once I have them.

There will be a Children's and Youth committee meeting this Sunday, August 6th. The children's committee meeting will begin at 4pm. The youth committee will meet at 4:30pm.

The deacons of our church are scheduled to have a meeting this Sunday, August 6th. The meeting will begin at 8pm.

If you are participating in First Place, remember to mark it on your calendar. Weigh-in starts at 6:30 and the meeting begins at 7pm.

The children will be having a back to school movie day this Saturday, August 5th. Speaking of which, it won't be long before our students and teachers will be heading back to school. It seems as though the summer gets shorter and shorter each year. All good things must come to an end! North Elementary and high schools are to begin the new year on Monday, August 14th. So, soak up all the "fun-in-the-sun" while you can. It will soon be back to business!

Secret Power for teen girls starts Sunday, August 13th. For more details, please see our children's and youth leader.

Many thanks to those that help keep the prayer list current. Please contact the church office to add or remove someone. If noone is available, please leave a message. Your help is greatly appreciated!

I hope the rest of your week goes smoothly. Keep on standing on the promises of God!

Love in Christ,

Tina :-)

30 Hour Famine

Hello! I wanted to remind everyone of the upcoming event the youth will be participating in this weekend. They are preparing for their 30-hours of fasting for world hunger. This is a huge task they will be undertaking. I encourage everyone to remember them in your thoughts and prayers. Below are some events that will be taking place during those 30 hours:

Youth will meet at the church at 4:30am Saturday morning for a trip to IHOP. The 30 hours will begin at 6am Saturday, July 29th. The fast will end Sunday, July 30th at noon. During the hours of 10am-12noon on Saturday, the youth will be hosting a "Long-Drive" out behind St. Mark's United Methodist Church. Bring your own equipment. Cost to participate is $3.00 per ball (you may purchase as many as you like). First, second and third place prizes will be scrumptous cakes baked by some of the ladies of FBC. YUMMY!! All proceeds will go to the 30 hour famine for world hunger.

I am proud of our youth for taking on this important task. I am sure as time draws closer to this event, the more nervous they become. All things are possible through Christ who strengthens me. You are sure to blessed!

Please remember to keep them in your prayers and let them know how proud we are of them for being a part of this! Take care and hope to see you Sunday!

Love in Christ,

Tina :-)

New Link

Hello to each of you! Hope you are having a great week. Just wanted to update you on a new website our church has. It is for the youth. Check it out when you have time. It is www.northfbcyouth.blogspot.com. I took a look at it today and I have to say it is very awesome and encouraging. I hope I can keep up! :-) Tis never a competition when it is for the Lord! Amen! Things only get better.

We are fortunate to have such talented folks in our church. We have so much to be thankful for. I was just watching a program on TV and the host had several different reporters on there today. They were discussing some of the interviews/stories they have covered over the years. Some of them are pretty terrifying. We must realize as a nation and as Christians the amount of tragedy that is in the world. Satan works his power in ways that only he can. He tests us and it is ultimately up to us as to whether we follow his tauntings.

America as a whole is very lucky. We do forget the men and women who have fought for our freedom and that we will have to answer to God one day for the things we have done. Life is so very short and we must be prepared for when that final day comes. We will all stand in front of our judge and jury and we will be held accountable. Let us take advantage of the opportunities that He places in front of us.

I hear some people say that it isn't up to us to win people to Christ. That upsets me. How else do they hear about Jesus? It is up to us as Christians to spread the good news. The final decision is up to the person we might be witnessing to, but it is our job as Christians to tell others of the loving Savior who died on the cross to save us from our sins. We can either sit back and look the other way, or we can take a moment to show the benefits of living a life for Jesus. Not everyone is as fortunate as most of us have been to be raised in a Christian atmosphere. We are blessed for having the opportunity.

I am thankful each and every day for the loving family I have (both at home and at church) as well as the wonderful friends I have been blessed with. We should grab onto the moments we have in life to let others know how much we care about them. When we criticize others, not only are we hurting ourselves, but we are also taking away from God. Each and everyone holds a special place with God and noone is beneath him.

When we do find ourselves passing judgement, we should remember the passage of scripture that tells not to judge and not to forget about the plank in our own eye. I have had some things laid upon my heart this week and they are causing me to reflect on the Christian that I am. I want to continue growing in Christ and improving in ways that only He can make happen. We have to meet God in the middle. We shouldn't expect Him to do all the work. He allows us to make the choices we make in order to draw us closer to Him.

I encourage us all to remember to take the time to smile or say a kind word to someone. We never know what kind of day someone may be having. The kind word we speak or the door we hold open for someone may just be the thing that brightens that person's day and leads him or her to Christ.

I hope and pray that the rest of your week is truly blessed.

Love in Christ,

Tina :-)

The Long Drive

As we are all aware, the youth of our church will be participating in a 30 hour famine this Saturday, July 29th-30th. They will be fasting for 30 hours in order to raise money for world hunger. As part of this event, they will be holding a Long Drive Contest (golf) from 10am-12noon on Saturday, July 29th. This will take place behing St. Mark's United Methodist Church on the outskirts of North heading toward Orangeburg. You must bring your own equipment. Cost to participate is $3.00 per ball and you may purchase as many as you would like. Prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place will be cakes donated by ladies of FBC. Trust me, they will be scrumptous!!! All proceeds will go to the 30 hour famine for world hunger. Remember to keep our youth in your prayers as they draw closer to the time of this event. World hunger is a serious problem and I am proud that they will be participating in such an important mission.

**The youth are asking for donations of popsicles with fruit juice in them, orange juice or fruit juices to help keep them hydrated during the 30 hour famine. Am sure water and Gatorade would be appreciated as well! They are also asking that if you wish to donate any of these items, please bring them to the fellowship hall this Wednesday evening (July 26th).**

We had a wonderful time at our covered dish and pounding for our new pastor and his wife today. The food was delicious as always, but the fellowship was even better. I enjoyed every moment of it and I hope you did too! The message this morning was on unity. We, as Christians, should and need to be united. When we aren't, it allows Satan to stand even taller and be even bolder to his bidding. If he finds any way to gain entrance, he will take full advantage of that opportunity. When we as Christians say negative things about other people (and we are ALL guilty of this at some point), it only allows Satan to be stronger.

I am finding that along with the messages we have been hearing in church lately, along with the reading of "The Purpose Driven Life" and even some comments made to me by some very dear friends of mine, I really have some issues in my life I need to work on. I know it will be hard, and I know with God's guidance I can do this. As I said, it will be hard. Old habits are hard to break!

I hope each of you will have a blessed Sunday! Take care and until next time, God bless!

Love in Christ,

Tina :-)

Good Saturday afternoon to each of you. I hope that your week went well. Tomorrow will be the first day for our new pastor. We will have a pounding and covered dish lunch immediately following the morning service. I encourage each you to come out and enjoy us in this time of food, fellowship and join us in welcoming our new pastor and his family. Hope to see you there!

The youth are preparing for their 30 hour famine on July 29-30. They will start at 6am on the 29th after a trip to IHOP that morning. There will be some events going on that weekend for the church. I will post them here once I have all the details. Please remember to keep all the youth in your prayers as they close in on this coming weekend. This is an important step in their Christian walk and I know they will be blessed.

Secret Power seminar will be held Monday, July 24th through Wednesday, July 26th. Please see our youth and children's leader for more details.

First Place is being held on Monday nights. Weigh-in is at 6:30pm and the meeting starts at 7pm.

Please remember to contact the church office when name(s) need to be added or removed from the church prayer list. Your help is greatly appreciated in keeping this information as current as possible. If no one answers, please leave a message!

Also, let's continue to remember those that are in our military, serving in positions of leadership in our country and those that are in need right here in our own community in our prayers. God does answer prayer!

I hope your Saturday is as wonderful as can be and I hope to see you tomorrow at church!

Love in Christ,

Tina :-)

P.S. As always, if there is something you would like to have posted on the blog to share with others, please let me know. Am always glad to do so! :-)

Happenings..........

Hello and good Wednesday to each of you. I hope your week is going well. I have just a few things I wanted to mention to you today.

First, we will be welcoming our new pastor and his family this Sunday, July 23rd. Let's remember to keep them in our prayers as they begin their new lives here in North and as they are traveling here Thursday. I pray that God will keep his hand upon them and grant them traveling mercies. There will be a covered dish lunch immediately following the morning service. Remember to bring your best dish or dishes and come and join in the fellowship!

First Place has resumed its normal meeting time on Mondays. Weigh-in begins at 6:30 and the sessions start at 7pm. The first session was on Monday, July 17th.

The Secret Power seminar for our youth girls is scheduled for Monday, July 24th through Wednesday, July 26th. For more information, please see our youth and children's leader.

Men: don't forget about Men's Prayer time each Friday morning in the Prayer Garden at 7am. If the weather is rainy, etc. then the prayer group moves inside the church sanctuary. Come and join your brothers in Christ for a time of prayer and fellowship.

I am thankful for the number of folks who were in attendance Sunday night. I know that our former pastor and his wife are appreciative as well. Let's also remember to keep them in our prayers as they begin a new life in their new home. They will forever be in our hearts. We have been blessed to have had them with us for the past 12 years.

That covers all that I have for now. I encourage each of you to be in attendance Sunday to help welcome our new pastor and his family. Come out and bring a friend. Have a great week. See you Sunday!

Love in Christ,

Tina :-)

Also, let me share this with you. It was given to me by a beloved friend and sister in Christ.

They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-two students filing into the already crowded auditorium with rich maroon gowns flowing and the traditional caps, they looked almost as grown up as they felt.

Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and Moms freely brushed away tears.

This class would not pray during the commencements---not by choice, but because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it.

The principal and several students were careful to stay within the guidelines allowed by the ruling. They gave inspirational and challenging speeches, but no one mentioned divine guidance and no one asked for blessings on the graduates or their families.

The speeches were nice, but they were routine---until the final speech received a standing ovation.

A solitary student walked proudly to the microphone. He stood still and silent for just a moment, and then, it happened. All 92 students, every single one of them, suddenly SNEEZED!!!

The student on stage simply looked at the audience and said, "GOD BLESS YOU, each and every one of you!" And he walked off stage...

The audience exploded into applause. The graduating class found a unique way to invoke God's blessing on their future with or without the court's approval.

GOD BLESS YOU!!!

In God We Trust, United We Stand.

This is a true story; happened at the University of Maryland. It's inspiring.

(God always finds a way to make Himself known. He shouldn't be hidden under a barrel or anything else. We should allow His light to shine. He doesn't have anything to be ashamed of. We do! He came and died for our sins that we might be free and have everlasting life in Him. For that, we should praise Him!)

Friends

Happy Friday to each of you. I trust that everyone had a good week! My week was ok. I went back to work after being on vacation last week. It's always hard to go back when you've had time off. I am thankful that I have a job to go back to! The week was eventful so say the least. My second day back at work, I slipped down the ramp at my Mom's house (what fun!) and apparently felt the need to spill my drink twice in one day! Then I dropped the beeper that we have at work in water the night I was on call with one of the doctors. I am happy to say that it finally dried out enough to work again! Those are just some highlights of the fun week I have had. Could have been worse though!

In keeping with the happenings around our church, I am sad to say that this Sunday will be our beloved pastor's last Sunday with us. He and his wife will be greatly missed by everyone. They have come to mean so much to each of us. I know that God will continue to bless them in their journey and I trust that each of us will continue to remember them in thought and prayer. I noticed that the title of this Sunday evening's service is "Friends are Friends Forever" and it made me remember this song.

"Friends" - Michael W Smith
Packing up the dreams God planted
In the fertile soil of you
Can't believe the hopes He's granted
Means a chapter in your life is through

But we'll keep you close as always
It won't even seem you've gone
'Cause our hearts in big and small ways
Will keep the love that keeps us strong

And friends are friends forever
If the Lord's the Lord of them
And a friend will not say "never"
'Cause the welcome will not end
Though it's hard to let you go
In the Father's hands we know
That a lifetime's not too long to live as friends

With the faith and love God's given
Springing from the hope we know
We will pray the joy you'll live in
Is the strength that now you show

But we'll keep you close as always
It won't even seem you've gone
'Cause our hearts in big and small ways
Will keep the love that keeps us strong

This song has many meanings for me. It is a treasured one for me and many of my close, personal friends and I feel it appropriate to share at this chapter of life as well.

I encourage and remind the men of the church to be in attendance this Sunday for Men's breakfast. I am sure it will be one that won't quickly be forgotten. Breakfast is served at 8am. Please make plans to be in attendance!

The deadline for next month's newsletter is Tuesday, July 18th at 9am. If you have any items you wish to have included, please remember to have them at the church office in time!

Secret Power Seminar for youth girls will be held July 24-26. For more information regarding this event, please see our youth and children's leader!

That about covers all I have for this time. I would like to say a special thank you to the pastor and his family for a terrific job over the years and many thanks for everything you have done! You will not be forgotten! And truly, a friend's a friend forever, if the Lord's the Lord of them! Amen!!

Love in Christ,

Tina :-)

Happenings for this week.........

Good Wednesday evening to each of you. I hope everyone had a safe and blessed 4th. Here are some current happenings for our church:


Men: Don't forget about Men's Prayer Time each Friday morning at 7am.

Children & Youth: Children's Day Camp will be held Monday, July 10th through Thursday, July 13th.

Youth girls: The Secret Power seminar that had been rescheduled will be held Mondah, July 24th through Wednesday, July 26th. Make plans to be there. If you haven't already signed up, please be sure to see our Youth and Children's leader.

First Place will resume sessions on Monday, July 17th. Weigh-in begins at 6:30 and the meeting will start at 7pm. If you are interested, please be sure to sign up soon!

There will also be a Deacon's meeting this Sunday, July 9th at 8am. A quarterly church conference is scheduled for this Sunday immediately following the morning service. I encourage everyone to be in attendance to participate in the business of the church.

Our Sunday School class is holding a social this Saturday. We hope to get some folks that have been missing out on the time of learning and fellowship to join us there and have them become a part of our class. We want to keep growing for God's kingdom! I am looking forward to the wonderful time of food and fellowship.

That about covers all I have for now. Also, don't forget that the choir won't be having practice after the evening service during the month of July. We will resume normal practice time again in August. If you are interested in joining, please do so. We are very glad to have you there!

I hope the rest of your week is great. Take care and will see you Sunday!

Love in Christ,

Tina :-)

Happy Fourth of July!

This year sure is flying by. It's hard to believe we are already in the month of July! Our children made it back safe and sound from their weekend at White Oak. Last night they presented us with some of the songs they learned, some of the experiences they had while they were there as well as a slide show of some of the activities they participated in. They also shared some of the craft work they did while at camp. May I say that we have some talented young people in our midst! Canoeing took first place with all of the young people. Seems they had a blast doing that! I always enjoyed the times our youth group went to places like that. It allowed us experience a lot of different things and grow in ways that we will never forget! Lots of fun.

We are celebrating our independence tomorrow. Many thanks to those men and women who have served and are still serving in the armed forces. We will never be able to show our gratitude for the things you have done and the sacrifices you have made. We also thank the family members of each of you for allowing you to hold such an important position and for the continued support that they show you! Please know you are greatly appreciated and loved!! May God continue to bless each of you in a mighty and powerful way, as only He can! Praise God for you and keep up the good work.

I hope each of you reading this blog will have a safe and blessed 4th. Until next time, take care and God bless!

Love in Christ,

Tina :-)