What Kind of Trails Do You Leave?

Whether you know it or not, someone, somewhere is watching how you handle your life. It could be a member of your family, a business associate, a casual acquaintance, or perhaps someone you don’t even know.  That being the case, are you leaving trails that you’re not ashamed of?  Every person has the power to make others happy. Some do it by simply entering a room; others, by leaving the room.

Some people have a friend who leaves a trail of great enthusiasm. Hours after a phone call from them we still feel great.   Another friend leaves a trail of optimism.  After only a brief conversation with them, we feel better. They always make our day.

One friend enriches our day by always leaving a trail of kindness. Cheerful smiles are their trademark.  Some individuals leave trails of gloom. Others leave trails of joy.  Some leave trails of hate and bitterness. Others leave trails of love and harmony.  Some leave trails of cynicism and pessimism.  Others leave trails of faith and optimism. Some leave trails of criticism and resignation. Others leave trails of gratitude and hope.

What kind of trails do you leave?

Five Things You Can Do To Make This A Better Congregation

1.  Contact someone in the congregation who may need encouragement and invite them into your home or drop by to pay them a visit. Go out of your way to express words of concern to- those who may be struggling through trials or who need to be more faithful.
2. Visit or call one or more of our shut-ins or members who are presently ill.
3. Take some tracts to distribute to those with whom you work or come in contact on a regular basis. This can be a good way to bring up a discussion of salvation, invite someone to worship services offer to study the Bible with someone.
4.  Pray for the congregation; petition the Heavenly Father on behalf of the preachers, elders, deacons and members of the body, that we might all grow and be faithful in all things. Pray that you might be able to contribute more to the work of the church here.
5. Make it a point to attend every assembly of the church you possibly can.

Fishers Of Men

God Blessed us with great weather last Sunday. The children enjoyed Brent and Dusty’s roasted hot dogs, and the fishing was great. Many of the children caught fish, which brought a smile to their face.  Who would've thought that God’s plan on the fifth day would bring so much happiness to a child’s life.

A big thank you to the ones who mow and trim the pond, cooked the food, served and cleaned up after the event, helped watch the safety of all the children as they went fishing, taught the Word of God and drove them safely home. Many volunteers in the church family got this event done. It’s great to be a part of a family that cares for the souls of children and adults.

This time of the year God starts painting the trees and  filling the air with the smell of autumn. We have so many things to thank God for and one of those is the changing seasons.  We thank Sue and Dawn for the beautiful decorations in the building and to Martha Lee Ault for letting us use the pond again so the children could fish. Little Jesse Johnson caught the biggest fish, reaching a total length of 7 inches. Congratulations Jesse.

Fellowship is important to family and God surely is touched when he sees family showing love to little children by using a fishing day. Thanks church and keep up the good work.

We offered some awards for the day:

Biggest Fish - Jesse Johnson
Biggest Bass - Heather Platz
Most Fish Caught (3) - Leah Johnson, Brandon Clark, Brandon Longwell

Members:  View the photo book here.

What Is Success?

lf success means having lots of money, would we consider Jesus ‘a success? At the end of his short life all he had were the clothes on his back -  and those were taken by his enemies.

lf success means having a family (children and a spouse), where would be the apostle Paul?  1 Corinthians 9:5 indicates that Paul gave up his right to marry for the sake of preaching the gospel.

If success means having a good reputation where would the prophet Jeremiah be?  HIe was arrested, left to die in a pit of rnire, taken off in captivity.  He spent his entire life preaching and very seldom did he ever convince anyone to do what was right.

And yet, in the eyes of the Christian religion, these three men are considered successes.  But more important than that... they are considered successes by God!

The real definition of success is to fulfill God’s will for your life!

"He who does the will of God abides forever" (1 John-2:17b).

Larry Fitzgerald
Cisco, Texas

Mission To Ghana, Africa

Our Sister Leah Bettinger recently traveled to Ghana, Africa.  See more information about the trip and a slide show here.

Update: New Church Building in India

Brother Chester Ault will be leaving for India on September 29 and returning home November 11.  Let's all pray for his safety and health.  May God use this trip to win souls and strengthen spiritual souls.

The work continues on the new church building in Purnea, Bihar, India.  Follow the progress journal here.

Why the Teaching of Jesus Was So Effective

1. He treated people with respect.  (Mark 10:46-52)
2. He spoke plainly. (John 3:1-3, Matthew 13, Matthew 4:19, John 4:1-4)
3. He spoke sympathetically. (Mark 8:2, Luke 13:34)
4. He showed no partiality. (Matthew 8:2-3, Matthew 19:14, Mark 10:21)
5. He appealed to the deepest human needs. (John 9:1-38)
6. He spoke as One having authority. (Matthew 7:28-29, 4:4-10)
7. His own life was in perfect accord with his teaching. (Isaiah 53:9, Hebrews 4:15 and 7:26, John 8:29, John 8:46, 1 Peter 1:19)

Something To Think About

“The growth of wisdom may be gauged accurately by the decline of ill-temper,"

"Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you."

"One thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning."

"You don't set a fox to watching the chickens just because he has a lot of experience in the hen house."

"Jesus is a friend who knows all of your faults and loves you anyway."

Prayer

2 Chronicles 7:14

We need to pray for our Nation everyday.  Prayer is our connection to God and his blessings.  Pray for our president, Vice President, Congress, Justice System, Armed Forces, Candidates for Public Office, State Leaders, Churches and Christians.

We Christians should make others thirsty for the Gospel.  Our brightness should illuminate the community and world.  We should leave a positive influence on our communities.  Let Jesus shine through you.  Prayer does make a difference and we need to pray for our Nation and its people.

School is starting and we need to pray for teachers, staff members, coaches, students, bus drivers, parents, cooks, janitors and consolers.  Prayer is awesome so lets use it and Glorify God with prayers.

~Keith Jones
Family Life Minister

Result of the Flip-Flop Drive

Back in June, we had put the donation tree in the foyer and asked you to purchase 2 pairs of flip-flops for each person. The drive was to help the orphans and widows at the Mission Vision Orphanage.  Mission Vision is the orphanage that Chester helps in India.  See the results of our drive.  Thanks to everyone who contributed.