New Life News – May 2008

(A monthly publication of the New Life Emmaus Community)

 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT : Please forward items that you feel might be appropriate for this section to Rakbuck@flash.net .  This month’s Food for Thought was sent in by Neil Bys and is entitled “What Happens In Heaven”

 

WHAT HAPPENS IN HEAVEN

 

I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels. My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, 'This is the Receiving Section.  Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received.'

I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.

Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.

The angel then said to me, 'This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them.' I noticed again how busy it was there.  There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing.  'This is the Acknowledgment Section,' my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed 'How is it that there is no work going on here?' I asked.

'So sad,' the angel sighed. 'After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments.'

'How does one acknowledge God's blessings?' I asked.

'Simple,' the angel answered.  Just say, 'Thank you, Lord.'

'What blessings should they acknowledge?' I asked.

'If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.'

'And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity.'

'If you woke up this morning with more health than illness ... you are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day.'

'If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... you are ahead of 700 million people in the world.'

'If you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death, you are envied by and more blessed than three billion people in the world.'

'If your parents are still alive and still married ...you are very rare.'

'If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you're unique to all those in doubt and despair.'

Have a good day, count your blessings, and if you care to, pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are.

 

 

NEXT GATHERING : The May gathering will take place at 7:00 pm this coming Tuesday, May 20th at 1st UMC New Braunfels.  Directions: Take I-35 north and get off at Walnut St exit 186.  Go to Walnut and take a left. You will pass the HEB on the right.  Go straight through the light at Business 35.  Go about 6 or 7 streets to San Antonio Street.  Turn right on San Antonio Street.  The church will be on your left a few blocks down.  Join us as we consecrate the team for Walk 1445 to be held in July. 

 

 

NEW LIFE TO HOST NEXT JOINT GATHERING :  New Life will host the San Antonio Area Joint Gathering on July 15, 2008.  The host church will be Northern Hills UMC. The board chose this church in an attempt to promote convenience and to increase attendance for this gathering.  Babysitting is being scheduled and we will need lots of food for after the worship service.  We are asking that all New Life members bring a dish to share.  Please set this date aside on your calendars and plan to attend.  We will start at 7:00 PM as always. Please feel free to promote attendance, and invite as many people as you can.  
 
Jim Talbott, Lay Director

 

 

2008 GATHERING SCHEDULE :

 

May 20            New Braunfels 1st UMC, 572 W San Antonio St, New Braunfels, TX 78130 830-625-4513

June 17            Alamo UMC, 4071 Foster, SA, TX 78244 210-661-6265

July 15             Joint Gathering: Northern Hills UMC

August 19       Schertz UMC 3460 Roy Richard Dr (3009), Schertz, TX 78154  

September 16  New Hope UMC, 10155 Old Cimarron Tr, Converse, TX 78109 210-658-1220

October 21      Bethany UMC, 4102 Eisenhauer, SA, TX 78218 210-655-5473

November 18 TBA

December        (no gathering scheduled) 

 

If your church/community is interested in joining the New Life Emmaus community for Northeast San Antonio, please contact the Lay Leaders to be added to the 2008 listing. 

 

 

LOCAL CHURCH GATHERINGS :

 

We are posting the day & date of local church gatherings in the newsletter to invite others to come.  Please update this information by replying to this newsletter if your church changes/cancels your meeting. 

Local Gatherings scheduled:


Alamo UMC: 2nd Sunday of every month, 12:15 pm, pot luck.
First UMC New Braunfels: 4th Tuesday of every month, 7 pm. 
Northern Hills UMC: Last Monday of every month, 7 pm. 
Schertz UMC: 1st Tuesday of every month, 7 pm. 
St Andrew's UMC: Fridays, quarterly.

Universal City UMC: 1st Sunday, every even month 7 pm – Next Gathering will be in June. 

 

2008 WALK SCHEDULE :

 

Walk#              Dates                           Lay Director                Site 

 

1445W            Jul 10 – Jul 13             Mary Robertson          Mt Wesley

1468M             Oct 16 – 19                 Rick Bernhardt           Mt Wesley

 

 

WALK 1445 : We had our last team meeting on May 9th, and team consecration will be next Tuesday at First UMC New Braunfels.

 

We have 12 pilgrims!  Please help spread the word about women's walk #1445 July 10-13, 2008 at Mount Wesley.  We ask for prayers for each of the pilgrims.

 

Lay Director Mary Robertson will offer assistance to any pilgrims or sponsors in the processing of applications, please contact her at:   mrobertson004@satx.rr.com 830-609-7665.

 

WALK 1468 :  Team selection for Walk 1468 took place in April and we have a team of truly inspired servants ready to do God’s work.  Our team meetings will take place on the first Saturdays in August, September, and October at Northern Hills UMC.  Please be in prayer for the pilgrims that God will supply for this Walk.   We currently have one pilgrim signed up for the Walk but know that God has great plans for this Walk. 

 

Rick Bernhardt, Email fcbernhardt@earthlink.net

 

 

BOY’S CRYSALIS FLIGHT 298 :  Boy’s Chrysalis Flight 298 will be held at Bulverde UMC from 11-14 June.  We currently have 8 butterflies confirmed.  We need a minimum of 12 to make the flight.  If you know of any boys ages 15-18 that may be interested please prayerfully consider sponsoring them and have them complete the attached Chrysalis application.  Cost is $100 and scholarships are available if needed.  Please contact Charlie Farrell at sweetspot@earthlink.net if you have any questions.

 

 

KAIROS SPECIAL REQUEST :  Rev. Ken Sellers and  Rev. Judith Sellers are both hoping and planning to serve on a Kairos Prison Ministry team in Nicaragua this June (2008).  They are in need of our prayers and our financial support for the trip and the ministry.  This request is forwarded for your prayerful consideration. Contact information is cited below.  IHS, Bill Wooley

This invitation is an opportunity to allow Ken to reach others.  He will be going to Nicaragua in June to be on a team for Kairos #2 in that country.  He needs financial help to cover the cost of airfare and accommodations there.  If you can help Ken please send it to the following address.

Ken Sellers
P.O. Box 384
McDade, TX 78650

Ken has a website at http://www.bro-kenministries.jesusanswers.com

 

 

EVERYDAY-USE TIP OF THE MONTH : 

 

I wonder how many people know about this? A 36-year-old female had an accident several weeks ago and totaled her car. A resident of Kilgore, Texas she was traveling between Gladewater & Kilgore. It was raining, though not excessively, when her car suddenly began to hydroplane and literally flew through the air. She was not seriously injured but very stunned at the sudden occurrence!  When she explained to the highway patrolman what had happened he told her something that every driver should know - NEVER DRIVE IN THE RAIN WITH YOUR CRUISE CONTROL ON.  She thought she was being cautious by setting the cruise control and maintaining a safe consistent speed in the rain.  But the highway patrolman told her that if the cruise control is on when your car begins to hydroplane and your tires lose contact with the pavement, your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed making you take off like an airplane. She told the patrolman that was exactly what had occurred.

 

The patrolman said this warning should be listed, on the driver's seat sun-visor - NEVER USE THE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE PAVEMENT IS WET OR ICY, along with the airbag warning. We tell our teenagers to set the cruise control and drive a safe speed - but we don't tell them to use the cruise control only when the pavement is dry.  The only person the accident victim found, who knew this (besides the patrolman), was a man who had had a similar accident, totaled his car and sustained severe injuries. 

 

 

PUN OF THE MONTHJJJ :   Courtesy of Neil Bys 

 

A jumper cable walks into a bar.  The bartender says, "I'll serve you, but don't start anything."
 

 

PRAYER REQUESTS : In order to provide timely response in this area, we request that you forward any prayer requests that you have by “reply” to this letter.  Those requests will be sent out VIA immediate distribution to all members of the New Life e-mail chain. Please be in prayer for Bill McGuire and family of  1st UMC New Braunfels in the passing of Bill’s father.  Visitation will take place at Porter Loring (downtown) Sunday evening from 5 till 7.  The funeral will be at St. Andrews Methodist Church, 722 Robin Hood Place, in San Antonio at 11am on Monday.

 

PRAYER VIGILS : If you are a Prayer Vigil coordinator for your local church, don’t hesitate to reply to this email if you are having trouble filling your requests.  We’ll put out an e-mail alert and get them filled ASAP.  If you have questions contact Joanne Lawrence at Granny9001@hotmail.com .

 

 

NEW LIFE WEB SITE : Check it out at http://www.gbgm-umc.org/newlife-sanantonio . 

 

 

CLOSING THOUGHTS :  A Prayer

 

Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

 

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

 

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.

 

Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.  Working for God on earth doesn't pay much, but His retirement plan is out of this world!