By Pastor Craig
I want to give a special “thank you” to everyone who came out for the work-day last month. The kitchen sparkles, the conduit will be going into the trench soon, the shrubs are trimmed and the trees are pruned. The saying “many hands make light work” was on full display that day. The Lord provided us with great weather in spite of the forecast and He kept us all safe as we worked.
Seeing load after load of tree branches being carried to the trailer, my mind began to think of trees in the Bible, particularly the Tree of Life. We read about the Tree of Life being placed in the Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve being kept from it after the fall. But we also read that the tree will stand in the New Jerusalem in Revelation 22. That raises a question about both the first and last mention of this tree. Why was the tree available to Adam and Eve before they sinned and were in no danger from death? And why is the tree in the New Jerusalem when the inhabitants have already received eternal life? Or could there be some connection between the tree and people living forever? I guess we’ll have to wait to find out.
And while it doesn’t necessarily lead to us living eternally, there is a fruit that we can all partake of that will make our life here on earth more pleasant. That is the fruit of thanksgiving. By choosing to be thankful we focus on all that we have been blessed with rather than the things we are lacking. By doing so regularly we train ourselves to more quickly identify and thank God for the good things in life and that in turn leads to a much more positive outlook on our situation. Thanksgiving is a key ingredient in a joyful life and a joyful life here on earth will provide us with a taste of what’s in store for us in a world to come where the Tree of Life is available to us all.
All-Church Work Day
By Roney Rustia
Pictures capture the spirit of the day at our work day.
As a servant of God, we often are called to do things that aren’t our strength or necessarily our desire, but we act out of faith to help others or meet a need. The All Church Work Day can be this opportunity. Individuals sacrificed time and effort to give back to the body. I want to thank all of those who volunteered their time, equipment, and physical effort for the church work day. Your hard work and sacrifice of your valuable weekend time was very much appreciated and needed to keep our church looking good in our community.
The call for thirty people was exceeded with forty-three volunteers to complete three main projects within four hours. The large turnout for the Work Day was such a big boost to the leadership of the church, seeing everyone coming together, laughing, working hard and presenting an appealing community to our neighbors. In addition, by doing the work ourselves benefited our financial bottom-line, so funds saved can be used for God’s ministry elsewhere.
The three projects completed:
The kitchen cleaning of the stoves, convention oven, refrigerator, cabinet panels and resupplying of consumables,
The pruning of the 28 large trees and shrubs,
The trenching for the electrical conduit for our new parking lot gate.
Like most of you, your time is valuable and the decision how to spread every hour in a day between family, friends, occupation, ministry, church, and sometimes self can be difficult to manage. I appreciate everyone that came out to work and those who expressed their desire to come, but weren’t able due to important family commitments. Thank you all for your commitment and allowing me to serve with you.
Shirley, Goodness and Mercy
– An Ohana Care Thanksgiving Story
By Lisa Brouwer
“O Lord , you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord. You hem me in- behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.” -Psalm 139:1-6
This past August a birthday party was held at The Kenney assisted living home in West Seattle. It marked more than just the passing of another year. It was a celebration of Thanksgiving to God for the events of this past year that resulted in us even being together for that party. Let me take you on a little trip in time and space for a minute to explain. You may have noticed that a pew seat has been empty this past year, third row from the back, left side. That was Shirley Hall’s seat.
Follow me as we zoom our camera out from that seat. I want to show you something. There is the congregation worshiping together and now the whole church. Keep going. Seattle’s getting smaller. We can see the shape of the U.S. and all the continents. There goes the earth. We’re moving outward faster and faster, through the solar system and now we’re aware of the whole galaxy. Look around and you can see more galaxies as far as you can perceive. This is God’s universe. The largest star ever discovered would be about the size of Mt. Everest if earth was the size of a golf ball. That’s vast. And that’s just one star. God created all this. He’s huge, beyond our understanding. And yet He came down to our little golf ball earth and created each one of us and puts us right in the exact place he wants each of us to occupy.
Take that empty pew seat, for instance. God cares about each one of us more than we could ever know, and He will never let an empty pew seat go unnoticed. When Shirley vacated that seat a little over a year ago, He had already put in place a plan so amazing and magnificent we could never have imagined what was to unfold over the course of the next year. Our little rag tag Ohana Care group had the adventure of a life time and the privilege of witnessing the power of God to transform a life.
When Shirley became very ill last August, an “angel” came along to take her in and care for her until further plans could be made. When it became clear that she could not return to her own apartment, no one really had a clue what to do. Then God’s plan began to unfold. Here is the short list of His miracles:
A returned phone call from a local representative of an agency that I had crossed off the list and who couldn’t have known that I had inquired. She was the “angel” who found a place for Shirley.
An assisted living home taking her in with 1 day notice in an emergency- this never happens.
Summiting the Mt. Everest of applications to be accepted at the facility she had her heart set on.
Provision of a full moving service to move her things from her old apartment.
When she had a fall breaking her hip, she was where she could get help, not by herself.
On discharge from the hospital, a rehab facility was available with connections to FBC and people she knew.
So many times people just “happening” to be in the right place at the right time, issues being taken care of without any planning on our parts and “angels” appearing to handle insurmountable tasks.
The list could go on for pages but you get the idea. Many of these things happened while were still wondering what to do. This gives new meaning to Matthew 6:8, “… for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”
So now we’ve come full circle back to Shirley’s joyous birthday party. What we saw that day was not the frail, frightened woman of a year ago but a wholesome, joyful woman of God, loving and trusting Him for her future.
Shirley’s favorite website, CaringBridge, relates the story of a family with a very ill son and of their journey of faith and trust and of all the people who gathered around them to help carry them through their most difficult times. God uses His people in this way in the lives of others to carry out His plans for His glory. Shirley has seen this first hand. Her pew seat may still be empty but her life is full of the goodness and mercy of her huge God.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.” -Psalm 23:6 KJV
College/Young Career Ministry
By John Tsuji
We are starting the fourth year with the new College Ministry and we praise God for the work He is doing. Actually, we should call ourselves, the College/Young Career Ministry as we happily have gotten to the point where we now have graduates who are starting out on new paths and are still connected to the group and offer leadership and support.
If you are attending on Sundays, you may have noticed several of the pews being filled up with young people. This past summer, while many students re-turned home, the Lord brought three Amazon interns from California and one medical student interning at Harborview from Hawaii to FBC. It was such a blessing to get to know them and meet many of their friends whom they invited to FBC when they came up to visit, too.
With God multiplying the group, our Sunday School class now meets in the fellowship hall. It’s a joy to see these young people wake up early and commit to attending, learning, worshiping and serving the Lord. The size creates many challenges, but it is an even bigger blessing to see God providing in so many ways from space to rides to food and more. We have also been challenged with how to keep the group feeling small and intimate while the size of the group grows. With that in mind and with input from some of the students, we have incorporated more small-group discussion within the Sunday School time. We have also started something called “The Well,” in which 1 day a month we meet at the UW and another day at SU. It is a time where students can come to ask for prayer, share about things that are going on, or just talk about life in general. It has been encouraging seeing the number of students showing up.
For our kickoff fellowship meeting for this new school year, we met at the Tsuji’s home for a time of food, fellowship, learning and sharing. The whole night was an example of God’s provisions. From providing rides for almost 50 students, to providing food and space to even providing the topic for our learning and sharing time. Mr. & Mrs. Spray gave us a video to watch by Louie Giglio on how great our God is, as they thought it would be good for the college students to watch. After previewing it, we agreed and showed the video at the fellowship meeting and then had a great time of sharing about it afterward.
As we learn in Sunday School about Experiencing God, we are seeing first-hand the many ways God is working all around us and providing. He is doing a work amongst college students all around the Seattle area. We are seeing it in the local college campuses, and we are seeing it here at Faith Bible Church. We are also seeing how God allows those that are willing to be a part of His work, and we are seeing that in so many who are supporting this ministry. Thank you so very much for all of you who have been praying for us, helping with rides, providing food, donating money, and taking the time to meet and get to know the students. Some have even provided support anonymously, but God knows who you are, and we thank God for you all and for the support and encouragement you have been to the College/Young Career Ministry. As we start this new school year, we are excited to see what God has planned for these young people and this ministry.
Career Ministry
By Hannah Esposito
Definition:
An awesome opportunity for people who are single or married without children to connect, do fun things around the Pacific Northwest, fellowship and eat.
Update:
The Career Ministry group began meeting officially in September, with a focus on providing ways for people in the same stage of life to connect and share life. The group started with weekly fellowship lunches after church service and a group calendar for activities going on throughout the month that people can participate in. There is a monthly potluck fellowship game evening planned for the first Saturday of every month, but anyone in the group can add other activities for people to join in.
The lunches have rotated through local restaurants. The group has been trying new places and different cuisines each week, and usually between four and ten people come together to get to know each other, welcome new people to the church, or just hang out with friends. The group calendar has already featured a whole host of activities, from hikes to game nights, corn mazes to bike rides, with many more activities coming up. The first game night had a small group of people, who discussed what kind of focus they would like the monthly meetings to have. The decision was for fun, social meetings with occasional service projects together after which the group spent time getting to know each other and playing party games.
Opportunity:
If you would like to join Career Ministry activities or know someone who would enjoy being included, contact Jed or Hannah Esposito to find out what will be happening soon and how to get updates. There is also the possibility of a Career Ministry Sunday School class. Contact Gifford Cheung for details.
Bill’s Book Blurbs
By Bill Hamasaki
Seven Women, by Eric Metaxas
I’ve heard it said on several occasions that our society is in desperate need of positive role models and heroes. Once in a while, we hear of a person who is doing great things but their stories very seldom make the evening news or the headlines of the newspaper. In some cases, persons we thought were positive role models disappointed us with personal revelations that disqualified them from that honored position.
In this book, the author (highly regarded author of Bonhoeffer, Amazing Grace, and Seven Men) has written short biographies about seven women “and the secret of their greatness.” He “reveals how the extraordinary women profiled here achieved their greatness, inspiring readers to lives guided by a call beyond themselves.” The seven women included in this volume: Joan of Arc, Susanna Wesley, Hannah More, Saint Maria of Paris, Corrie ten Boom, Rosa Parks, and Mother Teresa. Most on this list are fairly well known while others may be less familiar to us.
The author writes of these seven women, “When I consider the seven women I chose, I see that most of them were great for reasons that derive precisely from their being women, not in spite of it; and what made them great has nothing to do with their being measured against or competing with men. In other words, their accomplishments are not gender-neutral but are rooted in their singularity as women. All of them existed and thrived as women and stand quite apart from anything touching the kind of thinking I encountered.” He continues, “It is all the more noteworthy that the great women in this volume stood on their own as women, but not in a defiant stance that pitted them against men. On the contrary, they were large-hearted enough and secure enough in who they were to show remarkable magnanimity toward men, with whom they had notably warm relationships.”
I like what John Stonestreet (speaker and fellow, Colson Center for Christian Worldview) says of this book, “I was one those who hoped Eric would write Seven Women, not only because I loved Seven Men but because I knew it would be a book I would want my daughters to read. It is. Eric celebrates these women not only as remarkable people who happened to be women, but as remarkable because they were women. I can’t wait to read this with my girls.”
