Tuesday, November 4, 2014 WOW-Zine

Election Day! I know we're all anxious for the political ads to stop showing up on our televisions, air waves, and mail boxes. It's such an honor to have the opportunity to vote, and I hope you've made good use of it. And it got me to thinking about how important elections are to God. There are several verses in the Bible that refer to believers as being God's elect, or elected ones. I love the word picture there--God going into a polling booth, seeing each of our names on the ballot, and putting a big fat X (well, I guess it's really poking out a chad) in front of each of our names. Though in Oregon, with vote by mail, I think a more accurate picture would be Him sitting in the comfort of heaven and using a blue or black ink pen to color in the box in front of our names. Either way, isn't it cool to think that God has chosen each one of us for eternal life with Him? He just goes down the list and says, "I choose you, and you, and you, and ..."

At both our Bible studies last week, we discussed God's sovereignty and of how He has the right to do whatever He wants to do in our lives. We can fight it, or we can submit--the choice is ours. We can question God all we want, but sometimes we end up bringing more grief on ourselves by asking the wrong questions. Instead of asking "why" questions, a better route to go is to ask "how" questions. Those present wanted me to send out those questions, so the rest of you are getting them here too! When going through life's challenges and trials, instead of getting bogged down in the whys, let's ask the hows.

• How will God use this preemptively in my life?
• How will He use this loss for my gain?
• How can I cooperate with my loving God's master plan through this current suffering? 
• How can this possibly help me grow or change?

Remember, the why of our suffering may never be answered, but to ask the how of suffering allows us to begin to see the redemption that can come out of it.

This Friday night is the David Crowder concert at Rolling Hills. If you're going and have room to take one woman along with you, would you please let me know and I'll get the two of you together? You can buy tickets at http://lmgconcerts.4dtixx.com/ordertickets.asp?p=213

Amy's Christmas Card Party is coming up Saturday, November 15th, from 10-2 at her house. Please let her know by this weekend if you are planning to attend, as she needs to be sure she has enough stuff on hand. For $20, paid directly to her, you'll leave with ten beautiful homemade Christmas cards for the special people in your life. Your daughters are also invited to come if they are at least fifteen years old. Bring snacks and a salad to share during lunch. 

A couple other holiday events to add to your calendar?

• Saturday, November 29th, 9:30 AM--Deck the Sanctuary!  Janet will have her famous cinnamon rolls there, and you can grab a special coffee from Scoggins to go along with it. We'll have Christmas songs going in the background, and lots of laughter as we decorate the church for Christmas.
• Saturday, December 13th, our annual WOW Christmas Party at Amy's, 6 PM. I'll have all the details for you in next week's WOW-Zine so you can start planning ahead. We always have a potluck dinner and a White Elephant Gift Exchange, so I can tell you that much right now. Be watching for the theme!

This week at Common Grounds (6:30 PM Wednesday) Christine is bringing something yummy for us. For The Perk (9:30 AM Thursday) Amy R. is providing something delicious. I hope you're able to join us for either of these. It doesn't matter whether you've attended before or not--we'd love to see you!

Until next week,

Sherrie Ashcraft, Women's Ministry Director

sherrieashcraft@gmail.com      971-285-6699