New Service Opportunity

I know we have a few service projects coming up (Memorial Garden this Saturday, sprucing up the outside of the church on May 17, helping with the Father's Day pancake breakfast on June 20) but if you can't make one of those days, or if you just want to do more (yeah!!) then check this out. 

Geneva's Second Saturday Service on May 9 is a great opportunity to help our servicewomen and servicemen overseas. Check it out here: Second Saturday Service.

Preparing for a Retreat

I've been on a few retreats in my life, but I haven't ever had to lead one before. There sure is a lot of planning and preparation involved. First, you have to  find a weekend when people can go and think about where you want to go (I wasn't really in on that part of the planning process...) Then you have to figure out what the theme or goal should be (choices, choices, choices....) Next, you have to figure out what the schedule will be (enough time for prayer, reflection, learning, eating, playing games and free time...) And finally, you have to figure out how everyone is going to get there (how many kids can we squeeze in my Toyota?...)

Now that all that planning is finished, I can really start to prepare for the retreat this weekend. I can prepare my heart and mind. I am praying that each one of you who is able to come on the retreat can get a meaningful experience from it.  I am praying that our hearts can be open to hearing God this weekend and experiencing the love He has for us. I am praying that we can feel God's Spirit working through us. I am praying that things will run fairly smoothly, and that when they don't everyone will have patience.

If you aren't able to come on the retreat with us this weekend, you can still pray for us. You are an important part of our Mid High Ministries  community. 

I'm really looking forward to this weekend (even though I don't like not sleeping in my own bed...) 

Thanks!

Easter!

Ok, So I'm really tired right now. I've been up since about 5:00 (darn cats! didn't they know my alarm was going to go off at 5:30 this morning?) spent a little over 6 hours at church today, had my family over for the rest of the day, and can barely move a muscle. However, I had a great day! 

First, I love the Easter morning sunrise service. I know it means getting up extra early on a day I could normally sleep in. But watching the sun rise (and it did beautifully this morning, not a cloud in the sky), singing praises to God and hearing about that day when they found the empty tomb somehow touches me very deeply. It reminds me that it's not just the start to a new day, but a start to my new life in Christ. I'm reminded that Christ not only died but rose from the dead for ME. What an awesome feeling.  (And thanks to The Grays who sat in front of us and shielded us from the intense morning sunlight!)

Second, I love doing service with the youth at church. It keeps me humble when I see so many kids getting up early, pitching in to help, doing whatever is asked of them and more often than not doing things without even being asked! Helping at the pancake breakfast on Easter Sunday is loads of fun even though it can be hard work. Trying to do the dishes as quietly as I possibly can during the 11:00 service is always a challenge... 

Third, I love when my family can get together. Both my sisters and their families were at my house today. Ian was home, my dad stopped by for a visit and my father-in-law was also over for dinner. The only person missing was my nephew, who is at school in Chicago. We had a great time sharing laughs, food, and games. (I got to play my favorite game - Liebrary - with my brilliant children and then watching my sister hula hooping with the Wii Fit was hilarious!) We don't all get together often enough and it made the day really special. 

I hope you all had a meaningful Easter. Remember that although we celebrate Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday, we should remember that the meaning of the celebration of Easter should be an ongoing thing. I'm reminded of a song we've sung at Geneva:

Every morning is Easter morning from now on

Every day is resurrection day, the past is over and gone.

Goodbye guilt, goodbye fear, good riddance, hello Lord, hello sun

I am one of the Easter people, my new life has begun

Every morning is Easter morning from now on

Every day is resurrection day, the past is over and gone.

Daily news is so bad it seems the Good News seldom get heard

Get it straight from the Easter people, God's in charge! spread the word

Every morning is Easter morning from now on

Every day is resurrection day, the past is over and gone

Yesterday I was bored and lonely, but today look and see

I belong to the Easter people, life's exciting to me!

Every morning is Easter morning from now on

Everyday is resurrection day, the past is over and gone

I hope you can be one of the Easter People. Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!

Trivia Videos

In case you missed the fundraising dinner, you can look at the trivia videos made by the mid-highs and senior highs here. 

Wisconsin Trivia

Pennsylvania Trivia

Pictures!

I was way too busy to think about taking pictures on Friday night. (I think I need to assign someone to be our official photographer at Mid-High events). As usual, Breana and Brendan's mom was on top of things and took some awesome pics. You can see them here.

Thanks, Diana!

A Group Effort

I'm still on a high from last night's fundraising event. What a terrific night it was. I heard so many compliments in the short  time I had to talk with people before I started scrubbing pots in the kitchen. I was getting anxious during the week for everything to go smoothly. I had to remind myself and internalize Phillipians 4:6 (look it up.....). However, on Friday morning I woke up and started to get super-excited about the night and knew everything was going to turn out just fine. I think it was more than fine. It was outstanding. 

What I was most impressed about, though, was not the food or the entertainment (both of which were awesome!) but by how much everyone worked together to produce the event. None of it could have been done alone. I was reminded of 1 Corinthians Chapter 12 where it speaks of spiritual gifts and also parts of the body.  Each one of you who helped yesterday was essential: if we didn't have people who ironed, the tables would have looked bad; if we didn't have people who put out the table settings, people would have had to eat with their fingers; if we didn't have people working in the kitchen, people would have been hungry; if we did't have people serving the food, people would have had to get their own; if we didn't have people working the sound booth, people wouldn't have been able to hear what was going on on the stage; if we didn't have people singing, and dancing, and acting, I would have had to perform for an hour and people would have run away screaming!!; if we didn't have people helping to clean up, I would have been there all night...... You get my meaning, right? EVERYONE was useful. EVERY part of what you did was valuable. EVERY bit of service was needed. We ALL worked together to form one outstanding body last night. I appreciate each and every one of you.... 

Our Daily Bread

In the Lord's Prayer, we say, "give us this day our daily bread." (Matthew 6:11) Personally, I love bread. Bagels and cream cheese, toast with peanut butter and english muffins are often what I eat for breakfast. However, while Jesus may have been referring to the physical act of eating, I believe He was really saying we should understand that God provides what we need for our daily living. But what is that? I don't believe it's just food, water and shelter. I believe we need the Word of God, the Spirit of God and the Grace of God in our daily lives. 

I mentioned in my post at the beginning of Lent that I am working on spending more time with God each day. One of the ways I'm doing this is by reading "Our Daily Bread." "Our Daily Bread" is a monthly booklet of devotionals. For each day there is a scripture passage and a short thoughtful story.  While a lot of the stories are geared toward adult readers, you might want to give it a try. 

You don't even have to pick up a book. They have all the devotionals on their website here. You can go back and look at previous dates or look ahead to future dates (find the one for your birthday!) Try this resource to help you grow closer to God and strengthen your faith. Let me know what you think.