Are you Jesus?

A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago . They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding. ALL BUT ONE !!! He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned. He told his buddies to go on without
him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor. He was glad he did. The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight. The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.
When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, "Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you okay?" She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, "I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly." As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, "Mister...." He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, "Are you Jesus?"
He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?"
Do people mistake you for Jesus? That's our destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace. If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would.
Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It's actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day.
You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.
Let us live like we are worth the price He paid!!!!! Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
Author Unkown
Have a blessed weekend!
Laura S.

Good Point

Remember...Just "going" to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.
Have a great weekend!
Laura S.

How Time Flies

It doesn't seem possible that Celebrate Recovery has been going for 4 years now. Looking back, over those 4 years, it's incredible what God has done in so many lives. So many that have come in thinking their was no hope left, and now they have a spring in their step as God has not only given them hope, but undescribable joy. The encounters with God that has changed lives forever. To hear those that came in so broken and hurting, shouting praises to God and sharing their stories with others, makes us look forward to more wonderful years ahead. To God be the glory for all he has done, and continues to do, in each of our lives.
God Bless You,
Laura S.

Upcoming Women's Step Study

Our most recent Women's Step Study group has now closed. We have a new Step Study Sign Up sheet filling up for our next group. The potential start date will be Wed, November 5th. Of course, we must have at least 5 ladies to begin the group. We just put out the new sheet Tuesday, and already have 4 signed up, so it's looking good! The group I'm currently leading will be completed the end of this month.
Our Men's Step Study group is still open for any of you men that would like to take this awesome spiritual adventure!
God Bless,
Laura S.

Taking Notes.....

Do you take notes during church? As different scriptures are being used, are you jotting those down? What do you do with them? Do they just stay in a notebook waiting for next week, or maybe, you wrote on your bulletin and they were tossed into the trash? Why do you take notes?
I'm one that takes notes during a sermon. I began taking notes to increase my knowledge of the bible. When I started going to church, I knew very little of the bible, and understood even less. As the pastor was speaking, most of the time I had no clue what he was referencing. Sometimes, it wasn't scripture I was jotting down. Sometimes, it was little sayings that I did not understand, so I would jot them down to ask someone what it meant. Other times I would hear him say "You know this verse, you've read it a hundred times". My thought to that was 'if they have read it a hundred times, I probably need to know what it says!"
The reason I was taking notes was for later use. I would go back to my notes and look them up. If I had a couple of verses, I would read the whole chapter to see what it was talking about. Then I would cross-reference the verses to see what else the Bible said about it. It was my way of applying the sermon to my life and learning what the Bible said. I didn't know how to study the bible, so this was the method I started out with.
I also took notes so I could try to relay the sermon to my husband when he got off work later that day.(Sometimes, that was pretty humerous!)
When I very first started attending church, it was impressed on me, that every sermon held something for me. I wanted to know what that was. Sometimes, it was very obvious, others it wasn't as clear.
So, what 'do' you do with the notes you take?
Have a blessed week!
Laura S.