New
Life News – March 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 Jeff Holbrook and is entitled:
“Excuse me, 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, he 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 up you and me on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.
THIS
MONTH’S GATHERING : The
March gathering will take place at 7:00 pm Tuesday, March 17th at Northern
Hills UMC. Directions: Take Loop 1604 and exit at
the Bulverde Rd Exit. Go west on the
access road. The church will be about
one mile down on the right. Please join
us as we welcome the new community members from Walk 1380.
2009 GATHERING SCHEDULE :
March 17 Northern Hills UMC,
3703 N Loop 1604, SA TX
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 .
2009
WALK SCHEDULE :
Walk# Dates Lay
Director Site
1503 June 11 –
14 Chivi Dagg Concept Therapy Center
1524 October
8 – 11 Seth Walters
TBD
WALK
UPDATES :
Walk 1503 – We
had our first team meeting on February 28, where we had the opportunity to meet
one other, many for the first time, shared in communion, previewed three
awesome talks, shared a delicious lunch and then had more training. I,
for one, felt God’s presence. We have
members on this team from diverse church groups, and even different Fourth Day
Groups! Please continue to be in prayer for the pilgrims (we currently
have three signed up) God has planned for us, and for our team as we will
continue to grow together as the Body of Christ, united in this one purpose.
Pray for us to keep God in the center of everything we do. Our
second team meeting will be March 28! Excitement on my part is definitely
going on the upscale. If you have any
questions, please do not hesitate to call (210-945-0055) or email chividagg@hotmail.com .
DeColores,
Chivi Dagg, Lay Director
Women’s Walk 1503
Walk 1524 – If you would like to serve on the team for Walk 1524 please complete a team service form and get a copy to me at your earliest convenience. Team selection will take place in late April to early May. Email alamosound@satx.rr.com
DeColores,
Seth Walters, Lay Director, Walk 1524
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
“You’re
blessed when you’re content with just who you are – no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud
owners of everything that can’t be bought.”
-
Jesus, Matthew 5:5 (The Message Version)
“Blessed
are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
- Jesus,
Matthew 5:5 (New Revised Standard Version)
“God
blesses those people who are humble. The
Earth will belong to them!”
- Jesus, Matthew 5:5 (Contemporary English
Version)
I
used to have this button that hung on my name-tag lanyard. It said, “The best things in life aren’t
things.” I have to say I wore it more
for myself than for other people. Yes, I
do like ‘things’, it reminded me, but just how important are ‘things’ in the
wholeness of life?
What
is it that makes me content, really content, deep down, through and through?
Is
our mind content when we read a good book?
Enjoy good conversation? When it
drifts in the beauty of nature on a drive through the mountains? How complete is that contentedness – really?
And
what about our spirits? “My soul is
restless until it rests in You, O God” – assaying of a faithful church leader
of long ago – resounds in my head as I ask myself: “How complete is your
spiritual contentedness, Al?”
Listen
to the voice of 7-year old Anna as we were discussing how God talks to us
through our bodies, minds, and spirits.
I was running the puppet theater and she came up to talk to ‘Story Bear’
right after puppet time. To the best of
my recollection, here’s what she said:
“My
spirit’s like my underwear. It’s under
everything. When it feels good,
everything’s good.”
Or
how about Jeff (not his real name), who had won $21 million in the lottery a
year or so before. He came to talk to me
one Sunday afternoon a few years ago:
“Yeah,
I got all the stuff I always said I’d get if I ever won a bunch of money. I got the cool car, the look – y’know what I
mean now – and I got the ladies. I got
me the mansion-house, the boat. I got it
all. But I got nothin’. Nothin’ that matters. My brother died, and all that stuff couldn’t
save him. Not one bit of it. I know.
I tried. Then I cried. Then I got down on my knees. And then – then God let me know what
matters. All that stuff, it’s just a
tool. Just God an’ me. Together.
So preacher, I wanna know: How
can my stuff serve God? Yeah, I know, it
can’t, not by itself. But I can. And I will.
And that’ll be everything ‘cause that’ll be a God-thing. Yeah, I reckon it will.”
With
that, he thanked me, left, and I never saw him again. But I will never forget the beautiful radiant
smile that lit him up. I could just see
it and feel it – God at work through him, the Holy Spirit shining in his eyes!
Anna
would (I’m sure of it) say that Jeff ‘found his underwear’. I hope that wherever she is, she’s never lost
her sense of what’s ‘under everything’.
I hope that light I saw shining in Jeff is still bright with the Holy
Spirit.
So
how about it: how’s the state of your
spirit? Deep down, bone-and-spirit deep
- content? The truth is that our souls
ARE restless until they rest in God! We
have the choice – God has given it to us.
So
I ask you (and myself): How content are
you? How close is your God-and-spirit
connection? What are you doing about
that? Spend some time this week with
God. You’ll feel it. You’ll know it. True and deep contentedness. Everything that can’t be bought; underneath
it all, that’s what really matters – our spiritual underwear!
De
Colores!,
Rev
Al Adams, New Life Co-Spiritual Director
EVERYDAY-USE TIP OF THE
MONTH : Homemade Solutions
Spray a bit of perfume on the light bulb in any room to create a lovely light scent in each room when the light is turned on.
Place fabric softener sheets in dresser drawers and your clothes will smell freshly washed for weeks to come. You can also do this with towels and linen.
Candles will last a lot longer if placed in the freezer for at least 3 hours prior to burning.
To clean artificial flowers, pour some salt into a paper bag and add the flowers. Shake vigorously as the salt will absorb all the dust and dirt and leave your artificial flowers looking like new! Works like a charm!
PUN OF THE MONTHJJJ :
Courtesy of Neil Bys
An invisible man marries an invisible woman. The kids were nothing to look at either.
PET HEALTH ALERT : Poisonous Mulch... Deadly to dogs.
Please tell every dog or cat owner you know. Even if you don't have a pet, please pass this to those who do.
Recently the doting owner of two young lab mixes purchased Cocoa Mulch from Target to use in their garden. They loved the way it smelled and it was advertised to keep cats away from their garden. Their dog Calypso decided that the mulch smelled good enough to eat and devoured a large helping. She vomited a few times which was typical when she eats something new but wasn't acting lethargic in any way. The next day, Mom woke up and took Calypso out for her morning walk . Half way through the walk, she had a seizure and died instantly.
Although the mulch had NO warnings printed on the label, upon further investigation on the company's website, this product is HIGHLY toxic to dogs and cats.
Cocoa Mulch is manufactured by Hershey's, and they claim that 'It is true that studies have shown that 50% of the dogs that eat Cocoa Mulch can suffer physical harm to a variety of degrees (depending on each individual dog). However, 98% of all dogs won't eat it.'
The Snopes site gives the following information: http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp
Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Foreman's Garden Supply and other Garden supply stores, contains a lethal ingredient called ' Theobromine'. It is lethal to dogs and cats. It smells like chocolate and it really attracts dogs. They will ingest this stuff and die. Several deaths already occurred in the last 2-3 weeks. Theobromine is in all chocolate, especially dark or baker's chocolate which is toxic to dogs. Cocoa bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of th eobromine, a xanthine compound similar in effects to caffeine and theophylline. A dog that ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cacao bean shells developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of the stomach contents and the ingested cacao bean shells revealed the presence of lethal amounts of theobromine.
PLEASE GIVE THIS THE WIDEST DISTRIBUTION!!!
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. Jeff Messenger, Gruene UMC, has suffered a
heart attack. He had surgery last week and is in the VA hospital in San
Antonio. Please keep him in your prayers.
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 : Sent in by Bill Bennett
I Believe
I Believe - A birth certificate shows that we were born; a death certificate shows that we died;
pictures show that we lived!
I believe - That just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just
because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.
I believe - That we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.
I believe - That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while
and you must forgive them for that.
I believe - That true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true
love.
I believe - That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.
I believe - That it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
I believe - That you should always leave loved one with loving words. It may be the last time you see
them.
I believe - That you can keep going long after you think you can't.
I believe - That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
I believe - That either you control your attitude or it controls you.
I believe - That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the
consequences.
I believe - That money is a lousy way of keeping score.
I believe - That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you
get back up.
I believe - That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right
to be cruel.
I believe - That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've
learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.
I believe - That it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive
Yourself.
I believe - That no matter how bad your heart is broken, the world doesn't stop for your grief.
I believe - That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
I believe - Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different
I believe - That your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.
I believe - That even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you - you will
find the strength to help.
I believe - That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
I believe - That the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.
I believe - That you should send this to all of the people that you believe in. I just did.
I believe - The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of
everything they have.