Gathering @ The Movies

Every year we have to decide how to deal with Halloween. In the past we have hosted dinners and fall activities. This year we have decided to just do something else and we wanted to invite you to join us.

We will be going to the movies on Friday night to see "High School Musical 3." Obviously, this movie isn't for everyone, but our kids like it and its rated "G". You may want to just come and go to a different movie. We will meet at the Three Star Cinema around 6:45. We will not be doing anything on Sat. night this week, but we are getting excited about the Thankgiving and Christmas season and how we can Gather and celebrate it in different ways together.

If you haven't researched Halloween, it's origins, and a Christians response, I would encourage you to do so. There are lots of websites that talk about it. Weigh them out and decide where you stand.
We are all in the same boat, in striving to be "in the world, but not of it." We are thankful for a group of people like you to share life and the journey with.

We'd love to see you friday night or just stop by some time,
Have a great weekend,

Matt and Myra Jackson
MMerge

Still Here

Reading through the Psalms. I'm stuck in the 50's with the Psalms and not movin' very fast but gleaning some things. This is what struck me today....
Psalm 56 verses 3-4
When I am afraid(or hurt, disappointed, uncertain, fearful, threatened, add your own struggle here)
I will trust in YOU. In God, whose word I praise, in God I TRUST; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?
Verses 12-13
I am under vows to YOU, O God; I will present my thank offerings to you.
For YOU have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

My personal prayer:
Lord, I will trust in you. I have trusted in you. My trust in you has saved me. Help me to hang onto and TRUST YOU more. Help me PRIZE your word more and turn to it more instead of turning to others in my times of need. I feel as though I am under vows to so many but only ONE is most important...my vows to you. I am also under vows to my husband, children, family, friends and work responsibilities. How do these play out, where do they lie in the line of my priorities and where should they be? In all or some of these at certain times I must confess I feel "prone to wander, prone to leave the God and things I love. Take my heart Lord, take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above."

The Gathering - Oct. 25

GAME NIGHT!

Come and get your game on and enjoy some chili too.

• Date: October 25th, 2008
  Time: 5:30 PM
• Place: Will and Allison Terry's 109 Rebel Hill Street
  

This week "THE GATHERING" will be a game night at the Terry's House. Bring your favorite game or just come and join the fun. Some will be large group games for whoever wants to play and others may want to play in small groups or just hang around.

We have two people making chili already. If you want to bring Chili let us know, if not bring a side for the chili such as fritos, cheese, sour cream, etc., and/or dessert. Drinks and the rest are taken care of.

CALL or EMAIL for more info - Bring a friend. Bring your family!

If you are not on the mailing list for THE GATHERING and would like to keep up with where, what and when each week, click the link on the side to sign up and you will get an email.

And the Winner IS......

Matthew Woodard!!
This is a type of Assassin Bug called a Wheel Bug.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_bug

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassin_bug

October 21, 2008 12:36 PM

Anne, you called right after him but did post first, however, I think he wins the Bug Prize and you win the Chigger prize...stayed tuned for details of the prizes and when you should expect it. THANKS for playing and now we have a science lesson for this afternoon :)

Prize for figuring out what kind of bug this is!!

We found this bug outside today. We are not sure what kind of bug it is and need some help. We tried quickly looking it up in our Peterson's First Guide to Insects but couldn't find it. If you can figure it out, we'll come up with a prize.

Rob Bell Interview at RelevantMagazine.com

This is just a clip from an interview that Relevant Magazine did with Rob Bell about his new book "Jesus wants to save Christians." - Looks like a good book, but you can't be afraid to think out of the religous box the church seems to be stuck in. Check it out

As the title of the book suggests, Jesus Wants To Save Christians. In your opinion, what are the biggest things we need saving from?

Boredom. Which is really despair in its non-caffeinated form. And boxes. Where we live in fear and where we put those who unsettle us.

You describe the plan of God for the church to be a gift to the world. Many people today would say that the church is anything but. What are some crucial changes that our churches need to make to become a Eucharist that is broken and poured out for the world?

1. Master the art of doubt. Faith needs it to survive.

2. Surrender the compulsive need to constantly remind people that according to your worldview you're going to heaven forever when you die and they're going to burn in hell forever.

3. Celebrate the good and the true and the beautiful wherever and whenever you find it regardless of the label it wears or the person it comes from or the place you found it. All things are yours.

4. Remember that the tax collectors and prostitutes loved to feast with Jesus and the religious establishment gossiped about him and dissected his teachings and questioned his commitment to orthodoxy and eventually had him killed. There's a lesson for us there.

Camping Pics

We had a good, quick, cold, bonding, tiring, camping trip this weekend. Here's a few pics.

It was cold this morning.
The boys had a blast. Yea, that's our big ol' tent in the background.
Horseshoe bend is right at the end of Center hill lake. it was foggy this morning, then it cleared and the water was steaming. Beautiful place and day. Thank You God!

Josiah trying to get some more heat out of the fire.

Gathering - CAMP OUT!

The Gathering - CAMP OUT! October 18th, 2008

WE ARE GOING CAMPING THIS WEEK! Come join us at Horseshoe bend (Directions and info) in Rock Island. We will be going out Saturday evening (eating around 6pm) and coming back sometime Sunday. I need to reserve campsites so please let me know if you are coming. You could also just come for the evening. Each family will be responsible for their own tents, sleeping bags, etc. If we can all bring some snacks and sides to share, we will get burgers and dogs and the "fixins". On Sunday morning we will have a small worship gathering for those interested or you could pack up and make it back to your regular fellowship.

If you would like to get our "Gathering" emails click the sign-up for our newsletters link at the side or email me. Some of you may be getting it, but it's not getting through, so check your spam folder for mail from us.


FamilyTimes - In our desire to strengthen our family we have been having a family worship time either on Wed. or Sunday or both. We are using the Familytimes packs that we used at CFC. You can subscribe if you would like to do the same at www.familytimes.org. If a few of us start using the same material, we could also use it as a focus sometimes for our weekly gathering. For example, the theme for the month of November is Gratitude. In each pack you get a listening CD with stuff for kids and parents. You get a weekly bible story and a weekly discussion guide. It is a great way to grow together as a family. This past year we also made calendars at Christmas for the next year with birthdays for family and friends included. We used the Familytimes theme virtue and verse on each month. If you would like us to make these for you, please let us know. Obviously there is a small cost for paper, ink and supplies. These might be a great gift for your family and friends and a good way to get them thinking about incorporating virtue and character into their family lives too.

This camping trip is a big adventure for us. We have never camped as a whole family and it promises to be full of new experiences and fun. If you have extra camping gear or need camping gear let us know and we will see if we can get more people to go.

Where I've Been and Where I'm Still At

I've been stuck on Psalm 51 for awhile now, like 3 weeks if not more. For some reason I just can't move from there. Guess there's a message for me in there somewhere. Funny thing is I've gotten several messages from it in the weeks I've been there and continue to get them. Guess I'll just stay here til I feel like I can move on to the next Psalm. Anyway, there was also this reading that went along with it that I thought I would post. Hope it speaks to someone else as powerfully as it has spoken to me. (Underlining, bold and italics are mine as well as the questions for reflection).


Losing The Way

From top to bottom, our society is success oriented, however one may define that in terms of one's own goals. Christians are not immune; "Everything comes out okay for christians," and "The King's kids are always winners", these are misleading slogans to live by. We develop unrealistic expectations of the Christian life and of ourselves; and then when our wings get broken, we think failure ends our usefulness.
For those of use who know too well the salt taste of failure, it helps to remember that even the great ones of the faith failed, yet God continued to use them, often in a deeper ways after their fall.

Some of David's greatest writings came after his greatest mistakess. God called him "a man after his own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14). Abraham lied, perhaps to save his skin, yet he is the towering example of faith for 3 major religions and is called "God's friends" (James 2:23).

It is those who have plumbed the depths of failure to whom God invariably gives the call to shepherd others. This is not a call given only to the gifted, the highly trained, or the polished as such. Without a bitter experience of their own inadequacy and poverty, they are quite unfitted to bear the burden of spiritual ministry. It takes a person who has discovered something of the measure of his own weakness to be patient with the foibles of others.

Too often we live in a quid-pro-quo relationship with God: "I've been faithful to you, I've worked hard, so please give me this or that." Or, "I've failed again; I can't expect any blessings." We forget that the WHOLE of our life is GRACE.

Too many sincere Christians, facing their failures, berate themselves unmercifully and keep asking God for forgiveness. Each of us should memorize, hang on our mirror, and make forever our own the ringing truth: "There is now no (repeat NO) condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).

Not only does he not condemn us; he even brings blessings from the ashes of our failures.
author: Gini Andrews

Questions for reflection:
1. What do you consider some of your greatest failures or what comes to mind when you think of how you have failed (jot these down)?

2. When you have failed, do you feel as though people have encouraged you and helped to lift you up OR judged, condemned and punished you? (often times we will translate how people have treated ius into the thinking of ,that is how God is or would treat us and often times, most times, that couldn't be farther from the truth)

3. Do you tend to want to redeem your mistakes or quit and do something else?

4. Is it "ok" to lie if you are saving your own skin or someone elses?

5. Is honesty (complete honesty) always "the best policy"?

6. Do you have a healthy understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses inorder for both of those to be used for your good and the good of others?

7. If a quid-pro-quo relationship is not the way, then how do we attain a life well lived and a life flowing with blessings recieved and blessings given away?

8. WOW! What do you think about the statement "....the whole of our life is grace."?

9. Do you berate yourself unmercifully and keep asking for forgiveness? Is that necessary? Healthy? And would God speak to you like you speak to yourself in that way?

*remember these important points.....there is no condemnation! AND he not only condemns us, he even brings blessings from the ashes of our failures! Cool!

Have a BLessed Day and Rest of the Week,
myra

The Gathering

The GatheringOctober 11th, 2008

We had a great time getting together this past week and we want to keep "The Gathering" going. We hope this becomes a special time for families and friends to get together for food, fun times, and growing relationships. A few details may change every week. We will keep you posted via email and post it on the blog. Though the place or focus may change, the purpose remains the same - to integrate families into everyday life.

When: THIS SATURDAY - Oct 11th @ 5pm

WHERE: Our house (138 Club Dr)

MENU: Lasagna, Salad, Sides, and Dessert

FOCUS: The Heart of the Family

Right now we have three families making (or buying) Lasgna to bring. We would like one or two more otherwise just bring sides and/or desserts.
Feel free to bring family or friends.

Have a great week and we hope to see ya Saturday.

"Quote"

What are your thoughts on T.O. 's statement today,"God used me for His glory today and that's all there is to it, Reality is where Glory resides"?

give your feedback....

What a Word- Determination!

October Theme: DETERMINATION
Deciding it's Worth IT to Finish What You've Started
2 Corinthians 8:11 Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.

I am so excited, blessed and encouraged by this new month, new theme, new meaning and new verse. This theme couldn't have come at a better time for us. It's only Oct. 1st and I'm already inspired!

I love determination, I love the word, the meaning, the spelling of it, I just love everything about it and I can't wait to learn more as we study it ALL month!! I know I will grow as I study, read, learn, meditate and am open to what God has to say to me this month, not just regarding this new word, theme and verse but about our lives in general and I hope you'll come along and GROW with us!

Be Determined!

myra

A Banquet of Praise

How important are our sacrifices anyway and what are they? What do we say we "sacrifice" for Him or in His name only to be made to feel good that we are "sacrificing". Does God accept that or even want that for that matter?

See Ps. 50 for what He really wants from us and what he doesn't. Hint: I had to read the Message version to understand

Your comments after you read are requested :)

Have a blessed day and remember, read your stress-less checklist :)

A New Washer and A New Outlook on Life

This is the second time I have gotten a new washer(it's the same washer twice) and have had a new lease on life. Ok, is that possible??? That a new washer(and honestly a lot of other things my sister gave me today) can change a girls world and redeem a very desperate situation/person? I'm sick ya'll. Good night, I'm tired too...HA ! sick and tired! It's no lie and if I don't get more sleep I'm going to be sicker and tireder(b/ Iknow that is not correct grammer, Imeant to do that).

I've got to go print out and ask myself the stress questions of which I know I've already got to say NO to several, especially the sleep one and saying No to things I need to say No to, like blogging and facebooking all night long, that is NOT healthy but I already confessed I was sick and tired, and I've also already confessed I DO NOT like rules or conformity so I can't keep that list to a T or that would be conformity :) Doesn't confession count for something and turn a bunch of my No's to Yes's on the checklist....I think so but what do I know I didn't make up the list and can't ask the lady that did. I need to go to bed so I can check yes on that one tomorrow. Goodnight