A HUGE THANKS to all of you in the Saturday Life Group who helped throw the Harvest Party for the church last weekend. I was unable to attend, but have heard a lot of good things being said about it. I know it's a ton of work to set up, host, and tear down, and you all did it with grace and made everyone feel welcomed.
This week, as we continue to study God Is Just Not Fair, we'll be looking at how we can learn to be grateful even when things aren't going the way we think they should. Common Grounds meets Wednesday evenings at 6:30. Rita is providing treats for us this week. I'll teach the same lesson again at The Perk on Thursday morning at 9:30. Carol R. is bringing goodies for us to munch on, and childcare will be provided by our lovely Danielle and Keisha.
Your Women's Ministry Team will be meeting tonight, so be watching for upcoming events. We've got a good year ahead of us!
I came across a new resource the other day. FaithHappenings.com is a great place to find out about Christian events in our local area, as well as encouraging words for the day. Here's an apt devotion from a few days ago, by Patricia Lee--
Finding God in the Seasons of Our Lives
When the weatherman forecast rain just days before the autumnal equinox in September, I admit I was delighted. Oregon summers are fairly mild—temperatures rarely edge about ninety degrees and the humidity is low.
I’ve several acquaintances from other parts of the country who came as students and elected to stay for the wonderful summers. Not so this year. We experienced a record number of days climbing above ninety degrees, beginning in July and stretching through September. I wondered if those friends I mentioned were now disillusioned and seeking greener pastures.
Even though a native Oregonian, I confess considering some other place to live. But autumn did arrive and with it a prediction of rain. I wandered outside to water the remaining handful of summer plants, checking for precipitation. My street was dry, but I could smell the rain in the air, as intoxicating as walking by a bakery after the bread comes out of the oven.
I think God gave us seasons to teach us about life. Most of us miss the spring of our lives because we are busy being children and discovering the world around us.
Summer follows and we fall in love, have our own offspring, and decide what we plan to pursue in life.
Fall arrives—that season in our lives where our pursuits begin to reap dividends and we can see the fruits of our labors.
Then, after the harvest is complete, we settle in for winter.
Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 (NIV): “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time for love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.”
May you find joy in this season of your life.
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