Milestone for Keith Jones

This September marks the 30th year working full time for the Woodsfield  Church of Christ. Many roles have taken  place since I was employed by this family.  Elder, Deacon, Youth Ministry, Golden  60’s Minister, Joy Bus Minister (Tina and I were some of the first workers on th Bible School on Wheels), weddings,  funerals, Family Life Minister, Bible Class  teacher, Bible hour, Puppet Ministry and  the list goes on. God has Blessed Tina & I  with a super church family and my prayer is  that God will continue to give me wisdom  and good health to serve this family. The  family at Woodsfield is one of the best and  everyone’s love and compassion to win  souls and help the church grow is very  much appreciated

We thank the Woodsfield Church of Christ  for all your love and support. May God  open opportunities for us to grow and may  we use those opportunities and give our  talents, time and support to win souls.

World Bible School

We all want to share the Good News of Jesus.  World Bible School has simple, effective tools that let everyday Christian's share Jesus with real people who want to learn.  You can be an online friend for people who have enrolled on their own to study the Bible.  Anyone can do it -- youth, singles, families and seniors.  Right now, WBS students are waiting for someone to hlp them.  You can become a WBS study helper today at worldbibleschool.net/teach.

Rest

This week as you’re reading this, Abby and I are wrapping up our vacation with my family in Chincoteague, VA.  Chincoteague is an island near the ocean that my family has been going to since I was a little boy.  Each year in August, my parents and grandparents would load up the vehicles and we would spend a week together in Chincoteague swimming, fishing, eating, and relaxing.  It was (and still is) one of the highlights of my year.

Vacation is such a highlight for me probably because I’ve always struggled to rest.  Abby regularly accuses me (and rightly so) of not taking enough time to slow down.  If I’m not doing something ministry-related, I usually have a long list of school, vehicle, or house projects I need to work on that consume my time.  I share this because I’m probably not that much different from many of you.  Many of you probably can relate to the difficulty of taking time to rest.  There always seems like there’s something else that needs done.

In Gen. 1 and 2, God creates the world in six days.  On the seventh day, the Bible tells us that God rests, which is funny because an all-powerful God doesn’t get tired.  God rested after creating to make a point to His creation—rest is important.  God wanted to send a very clear message to us that it’s essential for us to slow down and take time to re-energize.  He did this with the Israelites by establishing a pattern of weekly Sabbath and yearly feasts that would allow the people to stop working and enjoy time recharging.

In our culture, work is prized and celebrated and, rightly so.  God prizes, celebrates, and even commands work.  But, He also commands rest.  How good are you at getting regular periods of rest?  It could be a hobby, something you enjoy doing.  It doesn’t have to be kicking back in a chair and doing nothing, but it should be something that energizes you.  I would also go so far as to say this should be a weekly thing.  A few generations ago, this was always on Sunday.  Many can remember the days when stores were closed on Sundays and people didn’t go anywhere or do anything.  Those days are gone, but that doesn’t mean we need to stop creating our own periods of weekly rest.  Whether it’s a Friday night date with your spouse, or designating Saturday as a family day, pick a spot in your week that you don’t do anything work related.  You may find that you’re actually more productive throughout the week with an expected rest period at the end.  Rest is a healthy thing.

~Scott

Helping Our Neighbors

Our thanks to the family at Woodsfield for their prayers and financial suppor to the flood victims in Hundred, Pine Grove, Mannington, etc.  Out neighbors across the Ohio River needed help and the family at Woodsfield thanks God that we were able to help.  Continue to pray for these families as they struggle to get back on their feet.  Losing everything you own can be a horrible thing, but God can and will see you through the darkest storms if you trust and believe in him.  Thank you family for your help in providing aid to sister congregations.

“God Speak to Me”

The man whispered, “God speak to me,” and a wild bird sang. But the man did not hear.

So the man yelled, “God speak to me!,” and the thunder rolled across the sky. But the man did not listen.

Next, the man looked around and said, “God, let me see you,” and a star shone brightly. But the man did not notice.

Then the man shouted, “God show me a miracle,” and a life was born. But the man did not know.

Finally the man cried out in despair “God touch me and let me know that you are here.” Whereupon God reached down and touched the man. But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.

Please don ‘t miss out on a blessing just because it isn’t packaged the way you expect it to be.

New Directory

It's time to start thinking about that smile!!  If you were not in the 2011 directory, have not filled out an information card from Merna, or been personally hounded by her by phone, then please fill out the new directory card today.  We don't want to miss a single person!!!  Thank you a get ready to smile!

2017 Bus Inspection

A special thanks to Lester, Brock & Tina  Jones for helping with inspection this year  and a special thanks to Carla Rose, Dan  Christman, Dan Watkins, Jeff Bettinger and  Ronnie Beardmore for coming to the rescue  of preparing the buses for inspection.  Buses can fail inspection if they are dirty.  The State Highway Inspector looked at our  Bible school on wheels and said that they  were so clean you could eat off the floor!

Bible Bowl Winner

Congratulations to Rachel Platz (3rd from left) for winning the 2017 Bible Bowl at the Woodsfield Church of Christ.  All children who participated were winners in the eyes of God.  Special thanks to all the parents who helped their children prepare for the event.

Stepping Stones Update

The Monroe/Noble Stepping Stones chapter would like to THANK YOU for your most recent support of our fundraiser.  The total collected for the calendars was $2560 from area churches  (including you) and churches and individuals all  across the United States.  All of this money goes directly to OVU to support Christian education.  Thank you for your generous support!

We will be electing new officers at our next meeting, having a bake sale ( yum yum) in Caldwell on Friday, April the 14th, and attending the conference at OVU on April 22nd.  If you would like more information about any of these events, please ask Merna ☺

The theme for the conference this year is “Give Me Five.”  The chapter hosting the conference this year is attempting to get our all time giving total from $4,938,360.42 to reach a grand total of  $5,000,000.  Now that’s a lot of bake sales!!  In working toward this goal containers have been placed in the foyer for $5 donations toward the $5,000,000 goal.  So if your heart is inclined – won’t you “Give Us Five”?  Remember, not all students that attend OVU are Christians , thus by supporting efforts like this you are not only supporting Christian       Education ,but also helping spread the very word of God.  

Angry Words

How does the song go? ---“Angry words, O let them never from my tongi  unbridled slip.” Angry words, for many of us, are a part of our daily struggle to understand and properly express our emotions. A couple of interesting facts about anger...  

---Did you know that in the two hours after an angry outburst, the chance of  having a heart attack doubles?

---Repressed anger (expressing your anger indirectly or going to great  lengths trying to reign it in) is linked to heart disease.

---One study found that in the two hours after an angry outburst, there was  a three times greater chance of having a stroke from a blood clot 0r  bleeding within the brain. For people with an aneurysm in a brain artery  the chances of rupturing this aneurysm was six times higher.*

Any way you look at it, anger is dangerous---if you express it  inappropriately, it’s harmful, but if you don’t express it at all, it’s harmful  too. What do we do with anger? It’s not a sin in and of itself---Paul tells  the Ephesians “be angry and do not sin...” (4:26). Jesus was angry. God  gets angry often with the Israelites. It’s not the anger that’s the problem---it’s why we’re angry, how we handle it, and what it can lead to that  becomes the problem. This morning, we’ll talk about a few facets of  unhealthy anger, and what Jesus says about anger in the Sermon on the Mount.  Facts on anger taken from:  everydayhealth.com/news/ways-anger-ruining-your-health