Colder Weather is Coming!

Hello and good Thursday evening to each of you! I trust that you all had a blessed Christmas and your new year has started off on a good note. Things are about to get colder with temperatures dropping well below freezing. Remember to provide warm shelter for your outdoor pets, wrap your outside spigots, make sure your antifreeze is ready in your vehicles (and keep it away from pets!!), and you have some basic necessities such as water, milk, bread, eggs, canned goods and other items that can aid in keeping the house running smoothly through the cold weather. Hopefully there won't be any power outages or sleet, hail or snow. And remember to say a prayer for those who aren't as fortunate as we are to have a warm house to come home to and a cozy bed to sleep in and electricity to keep the heat going.

I also wanted to take a few minutes to remind you of some things taking place in our church this month. Sunday, Jan. 18th is Baptist Men's Day. This is always a blessing for our church. I thoroughly enjoy the service on Baptist Men's Day. The men come together for a good time of sharing their testimony, singing and just being together. Always a good time! Men's breakfast will also be this Sunday in the fellowship hall at 8am.

Women on Mission will be meeting on Wed., Jan. 21st immediately following Wed. night supper. The evening meal this week will consist of spaghetti with garlic bread. Sounds yummy!

UPWARD is a children's sports ministry for ages K-5 through 5th grade. It is for boys and girls and includes a time of hearing the gospel. One of many aspects of this program is prayer. The basketball season beings on March 7th and runs through April 25th. Let's be in prayer for this ministry and for those participating.

The youth will be heading for a winter retreat at Lake Junaluska Friday, Jan. 16th through Sunday, Jan. 18th. Let's be in prayer for them so they will have a safe trip there and back and that God will keep them all nice and warm!

WinterJam at the Colonial Center will be on Friday, Feb. 20th. Tickets are $10.00 at the door. For more information about this upcoming event, please see our Minister of Students.

The children will be having a special even on Sat., Jan. 24th. Be on the lookout for more details!

There will be a Women's Retreat at our church (the first one ever) Friday, Feb. 27th and Sat., Feb. 28th. The Friday evening meeting will begin with registration from 6-6:30pm followed by a praise & worship time from 6:30-7pm followed by bible study with guest speaker Becky Moss. The Sat. meeting will begin with a continental breakfast from 8:30-9am, then a praise & worship time from 9-9:30am followed by bible study from 9:30-10:45. We will then break from 10:45-11am and bible study will resume at 11am. Lunch will be served at 12:30. I have already invited several of my friends to join me in this event. I am excited about it and look forward to it! I attended a Beth Moore seminar last year at Cornerstone in Orangeburg and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Invite some of your friends and relatives to join you as well. Cost is $15.00 per person and the deadline to sign up is Feb. 15th. If you wish to check out more information on Mrs. Moss, go to www.lifeandgodliness.com. Contact the church office should you need more information or a registration form.

I am sure many of you heard about the plane crash in New York earlier today. It occurred around 3:30pm. The plane took off from Laguardia airport in New York and was heading to Charlotte, NC. The pilot did an excellent job of manuevering the plane into the Hudson River. All 150 souls on board were rescued from the plane. Fire departments, emergency personnel, police and FBI were on the scene within minutes of the plane going down. The plane suffered two bird hits (messed up the engines). God was with those people in that plane!! Praise Him for He is good! I know they were all very thankful!

I wish more news of a positive nature was reported on our televisions, radios and newspapers. It seems like only the bad is what gets noticed. But it was wonderful to watch everyone pulling together and doing what needed to be done in a time like that. The pilot only had like a 30 second time frame to plot his descent. Excellent job in a short period of time!

I hope your Friday goes well and you stay nice and warm over the next few days. Oh, and don't forget to protect your outdoor plants from the cold as well!

Take care and God bless!

In Christian Love,

Tina :-)