New Life News – April 2009

(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 Jim Gerhard and is entitled:

 

“THE MASTER IS WATCHING”


Several years ago, a preacher from out-of-state accepted a call to a church in Houston, Texas. Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change.  As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, 'You'd better give the quarter back.

It would be wrong to keep it.' Then he thought, Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter.  Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it.  Accept it as a 'gift from God' and keep quiet.'

When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, and then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, 'Here, you gave me too much change.'

The driver, with a smile, replied, 'Aren't you the new preacher in town?' 'Yes' he replied.

'Well, I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship.  I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change.  I'll see you at church on Sunday.'

When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said, 'Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter.'

Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read. This is a really scary example of how much people watch us as Christians, and will put us to the test! Always be on guard – and remember -- You carry the name of Christ on your shoulders when you call yourself 'Christian.'

Watch your thoughts; they become words.

Watch your words; they become actions.

Watch your actions; they become habits.

Watch your habits; they become character.

Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

 

 

THIS MONTH’S GATHERING : The April Gathering will take place at 7:00 pm this coming Tuesday, April 21st at Universal City UMC. Join us for an evening of fun and worship.  Directions: Take the Pat Booker Road Exit off I-35 and proceed south toward the Randolph AFB Main Gate.  Turn left on Villa Dr.  Go one block and turn right on North Blvd.  Proceed east on North Blvd to the corner of North Blvd and Winn Ave.

 

 

 

2009 GATHERING SCHEDULE :

 

April 21                       Universal City UMC, 90 Winn, Universal City, TX 78148 210-659-5555

May 19                        New Braunfels 1st UMC, 572 W San Ant St, New Braunfels, TX 78130 830-625-4513

June 16                        Alamo UMC, 4071 Foster, SA, TX 78244 210-661-6265

July                              Joint Gathering: TBA

August 18                   Schertz UMC 3460 Roy Richard Dr (3009), Schertz, TX 78154  

September 15              New Hope UMC, 10155 Old Cimarron Tr, Converse, TX 78109 210-658-1220

October 20                  Bethany UMC, 4102 Eisenhauer, SA, TX 78218 210-655-5473

November 17              St Andrew's UMC, 7222 Robinhood, S.A., TX 78209 210-824-2465

December                    (no gathering scheduled) 

January 19, 2010         Rolling Oaks Christian DOC, 7150 Stahl Rd, SA, TX 78247 210-654-1744 

 

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 2009 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 (except Dec) 7 pm – Next Gathering will be in June. 

 

2009 WALK SCHEDULE :

 

Walk#              Dates                           Lay Director                Site 

 

1503                June 11 – 14                Chivi Dagg                  Concept Therapy Center

1524                October 8 – 11                        Seth Walters                TBD

 

 

NEW LIFE BOARD REP NEWS :

The next, and nearest Emmaus Leadership Training will be held Saturday, May 16th at LaVernia UMC. Register through the Conference at  www.umcswtxprograms.org/emmaus/ 

Barbara Becker, Board Rep

 

 

FROM THE SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR :
 Notes from an Emmaus Journey

 

Care-full

 

“You’re blessed when you care.  At the moment of being ‘care-full’, you’ll find yourselves cared for.”  (Jesus, in Matthew 5:7, The Message Version)

 

“God blesses those people who are merciful.  They will be treated with mercy.”  (Jesus, in Matthew 5:7, Contemporary English Version)

 

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”  (Jesus, in Matthew 5:7, New Revised Standard Version)

 

Picture this scene I recently witnessed in a local store:

 

“Don’t do that!  Be nice to your brother! (exasperated mom, pushing cart with little boy inside)

“Why not?”  (big sister, walking along side cart)

“You’ll see.”

“But I don’t wanna be nice!”

“I don’t care what you want. Be nice anyway.”

“Why?  If I’m nice, can I have some candy?”

“We’ll see.” (mom sighs)

(mere seconds pass)

“I’m being nice.  Can I have some candy now?”

“Not yet.”

“But you promised! (on the edge of wailing) How long do I have to be nice?”

“Till we get to the check-out.”

“That’s where the candy is!”

“Yes, it is.”

“If I’m nice, can I have candy then?”

(A look of extreme exasperation crosses mom’s face.)  “OK, yes, if you’re nice.”

(They pull into the checkout line, and big sister reaches for the candy.)

“Get one for your brother too.”

“That’s not fair!  He didn’t have to do anything to get his!”

“Be nice.”

“Why?”

 

Sound familiar?  Many times we read these ‘blessings’, or ‘Beatitudes’ as they’re often called, exactly the way this big sister in the grocery store thought about being nice:

         Be nice – and people will be nice to you.

         Be good – and you’ll get good things.

The problem is – that’s not always the way life turns out in this world.

 

Many times, OK, most times, our character is defined by our behavior in the face of adversity – when things are not going ‘our way’, no matter how ‘nice’ we are.

 

You see, these ‘blessings’ are not a ‘be nice = get nice’ kind of thing.  What they are is a guide to growing closer and deeper in our relationship with God.  Let’s take a look:

         5:3 – depend on God, especially when we’re at the ‘end of our rope’

         5:4 – when we lose what’s most important, we’ll be comforted

         5:5 – be humble, content with who and what we are

         5:6 – have a good appetite for knowing God

         5:7 – be mercy-full, care-full

 

Did you ever notice that the more time we spend with our friends, the closer our relationship with them gets and the more we find we have in common?  Well, the more time we spend with God in prayer-conversation, meditation-listening, and Scripture-reading, the closer and deeper our relationship with God will be, AND we’ll find we have more and more in common with God’s ideal vision for our lives.  Remember, we ARE made in God’s own image!  A God who:

         …cares enough for us to be present with us all the time, especially when we’re ‘at the end of our rope’ (5:3)

 

         …mourns with us (5:4)

 

         …is humble in great power (think what it must take for God to watch us exercise our God-given free will! (5:5)

 

         …has a love appetite for creation – Who is always with us, seeking an ever closer relationship       with us (5:6)

 

         …is eternally merciful and care-full (5:7)

 

So YES, at those moments in our lives when we are care-full (full of caring) – no matter the obstacles or adversity – we find ourselves living as the images of God we were created to be.  It’s at those times we feel most strongly our connection to the eternal, bone-deep, soul-wide, care-full God who created us.

 

We don’t have to wait for the ‘checkout’!  Aren’t you glad God’s loving care lasts longer than candy – and goes so much deeper than ‘nice’?

 

Spend time with God this week.  Read.  Pray.  Listen.  Just….be.
-and live in God’s care-full blessing!

 

De Colores!

 

Rev. Al Adams

 

 

EVERYDAY-USE TIP OF THE MONTH :  Homemade Solutions

 

To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to  a boil on stove top.

 

Spray your TUPPERWARE with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in  tomato based sauces and there won't be any stains.

 

Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.

 

When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn's natural sweetness

 

 

PUN OF THE MONTHJJJ :   Courtesy of Neil Bys 

 

 
Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before. 
 
 
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.

 

 

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 :  Anonymous author sent in by Judee McAden

 

“There Is A God In the Post Office”

 

Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey.. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

 

Dear God,

 

Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven.  I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.  I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

 

Love,

 

Meredith.

 

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven.  We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven.  That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

 

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, `To Meredith,' in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies.' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

 

Dear Meredith,

 

Abbey arrived safely in heaven.  Having the picture was a big help.  I recognized Abbey right away.  Abbey isn't sick anymore.  Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart.  Abbey loved being your dog.  Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.  Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me.  What a wonderful mother you have.  I picked her especially for you.  I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.  By the way, I'm easy to find; I am wherever there is love.

 

Love,

 

God