“But you shall receive power
when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the end of the earth.”
~Acts 1:8~
Aura asked me to forward her note. Please be in prayer for her and the staff in the Mobilization Office at California Baptist University. Pray also for Aura as she takes seminary classes at Golden Gate Seminary.
Thank you!
Melinda
Greetings from California! It has been almost three months since I returned to the States and so much has happened during that time! I have gone back to school and am working on two master’s programs and that has proved to be quite the challenge! I am learning to balance work and being a full time student in 2 grad programs and it’s hard and sometimes impossible.
I started working in the Mobilization Office at California Baptist University. I have been blessed greatly thorugh this opportunity! I primarily work with the International Service Projects(ISP) and we are prayerfully hoping to send out 40 teams of 10 during the summer of 2009. We are also looking at sending 9 teams in the United States this year. Right now we are in the middle of a HUGE mobilization effort. October 1st is the deadline for all who want to be involved in leading a team in the US or abroad(students and staff) and it is also the United States Projects(USP) deadline for students interested in participating. The Lord has been good to us and brought along many wonderful people who will be a great addition to the team, but we still have a great need, especially for leaders! We do a lot of training for leaders and students from January to May, so it is a pretty big time commitment, as well as a financial commitment because leaders have to raise support as well. Please pray that the Lord will send workers…leaders and students who want to go! We have 304 students in the application process right now, but would like to have at least 300 more because we realize from past experiences that not all the students who have started the process will complete it. Pray for those who the Lord is calling, but who are letting the distractions of this world keep them from fullfilling that call!
Pray for our staff. We are under a lot of pressure! Ask that He would give us the wisdom to know who needs to go and who needs to stay. There are students in the process who will clearly be staying behind for now, ask that He will give us discernment! November 1st is the ISP deadline.
We also see the economic state we are in as a nation right now, but know He has called us to this regardless of the state of the economy, so please also pray that our supporters will continue to give. Ask that He will help us to keep our eyes on Him and trust that He is more powerful than we can possibly ever imagine. Ask that He will do great things in order to bring glory to His name! We all feel so blessed to have this amazing privilege of joining Him in this work and want nothing more than to bring glory to His name through the work He has called us to do!Thank you so much for your prayers!
Be blessed,
aura
A J Hart
(March 24, 1956 – September 25, 2008)
Mr. A J Hart was born March 24, 1956 and passed away at 12:17PM on Thursday, September 25, 2008 at the North Oaks Medical Center, Hammond. He was 52, a native of New Orleans and a resident of Independence. A J was the son of Mrs. Helen Johnson & late Ernest Hart of Independence. He is also survived by 3 sons, Brad Hart, Scotty Hart, & Jason Hart of Brookhaven, MS; 3 sisters, Frances Failla, Independence, Geraldine Howell, Loranger & Mary Hart, Hammond; a brother, Willie Hart, Independence; 2 grandchildren, & numerous nieces & nephews.
Preceded in death also by his 2 sisters, Peggy Hart & Sandra Sue Hart.
Visitation will be at the McKneely & Vaughn Funeral Home, Amite, on Saturday, September 27, 2008 from 6:00PM until 9:00PM and on Sunday, September 28, 2008 at the Little River United Pentecostal Church, Tickfaw, from 1:00 PM until Religious Services at 2:00PM with Rev. Adriene Spikes, officiating. Interment in the Church Cemetery.
An on-line Guestbook is available at http://www.mckneelyvaughnfh.com
McKneely & Vaughn Funeral Home, Amite is located at I-55N & Hwy 16W behind Coggins-Gentry Ford.
Pauline Marie Genco Schittone
Pauline Marie Genco Schittone died Friday, Sept. 26, 2008, at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. She was 83, a native of Amite, and a resident of Baton Rouge. Visiting at Rabenhorst Funeral Home East, 11000 Florida Blvd., on Sunday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. with recitation of the rosary at 6:30 p.m. Visiting continues at St. Thomas More Catholic Church on Monday, Sept. 29, from 10 a.m. until Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. Entombment in Resthaven Gardens of Memory Mausoleum. She is survived by her husband of 63 years, Joseph A. “Joe” Schittone Sr.; a son, Joe “Joey” Schittone, of Washington, D.C.; a daughter, Debby Lane and husband Bill, of Watson; three stepgrandchildren, Chad Lane and wife Donna, Candace Lane and Kyle Lane and wife Crystal; four stepgreat-grandchildren, Taylor, Chase, Kyleigh and Kade Lane; and a brother, Paul Genco, of Amite. She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Pauline Genco; sisters, Catherine “Katie” Cuti and Mary Cefalu; and a brother, Sam Genco. Pallbearers will be Chad and Kyle Lane, Charles “Hoyt” Cuti, Greg Genco, Joe Eddie Schittone and Donnie Schittone. Honorary pallbearers are Dominick Cuti, Jack Datz and Carlos Saladras. Special thanks to Dr. Moraes, Dr. Froelich, Dr. Oubre, and the critical care physicians and nurses of the MSCC unit.
On Mission in Kentwood yesterday involved twenty-gout (24) volunteers. It was a very productive cay. Each one of the volunteers made a difference! Thank-you to all who participated.
Women on Mission (WMU) will meet at 4:00 today in the Heritage Room. You are invited to attend.
Cottages prayer meetings will be this week for the fall revival which begins next Sunday. There will be two cottage prayer meeting each night Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. You may choose which one you wish to attend.
BECOMING
The famous actor Gregory Peck was once standing in line with a friend, waiting for a table in a crowded Los Angeles restaurant. They had been waiting for some time, the diners seemed to be taking their time eating and new tables weren’t opening up very fast. They weren’t even that close to the front of the line. Peck’s friend became impatient, and he said to Gregory Peck, “Why don’t you tell the maitre d’ who you are?”
Gregory Peck responded, “No, if you have to tell them who you are, then you aren’t.”
There’s a great deal of wisdom in that statement. There’s a big difference in who we think we are, who others think we are, and who we really are. Someone has well said that, “Reputation is who others think we are. Character is who we really are.” As Christians, we ought to be more concerned with character than with reputation. Christianity is more than just knowing the right facts. It’s more than going through the right motions. It begins in the heart; it’s who we are.
There is a continual process of growing and adding Christ-like virtues to our lives. Peter wrote, “Add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.” (2 Peter 1:5-8). We never stop “becoming”; it’s an ongoing process. There’s always something positive to add to our lives, always something negative to try to get rid of.
We have different ways of measuring growth. When Sueanne and I would take our children to see the pediatrician, the nurse would always check their height and weight. Then that information was written onto a chart that gave us a picture of how they were growing. When we get to be adults, we measure our growth by whether or not we can fit into last year’s pants.
But how does a person measure his growth in Christianity? In Ephesians 4:15-16, Paul says, “…but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into him who is the head — Christ — from whom the whole body…causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” Paul says that it’s time for us to grow up, it’s time for us to mature. But what is the goal of our growth? Jesus Christ is!
My favorite picture of the growth of Christianity is found in 2 Corinthians 3:18: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” Paul says it’s as if we’re holding a mirror in our left hand, and a picture of Christ in our right hand. Now when we look in the mirror and see our reflection, and we then we look at Christ, they don’t look much alike. But every day as we mature, we grow up, we become more like Christ, striving for the day when we look in the mirror and see the reflection of Jesus Christ.
Knowledge, conduct, and character must always go together. We learn God’s will so that we might obey it; and in obeying it, we serve him and grow in Christian character. While none of us is perfectly balanced in these three areas, we ought to strive for that balance.
May God bless you as you seek to “know” His will better, “do” more in service to Him, and “become” more like Jesus Christ!
Alan Smith
Helen Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Have a great day of Bible study, worship, and service this Lord’s Day!
Anna Lee
The Prayer Link 