Rekindle the Joy!

Sometimes we forget how privileged we are until we see others celebrate with pure joy what we have taken for granted! 

Join in the celebration, like these brothers and sisters in the faith!

Nsenga Celebration

(Please click the above link to watch video)

The Nsenga people never had the Word of God to read and study in their own language until this day. Then, after much preparation, the whole village turned out in their Sunday finest and received God via his New Testament Word with a multi-hour  reception fit for the King! They sang and danced in front of the cart carrying the precious Word just as King David jubilantly danced when finally bringing the Ark of God to Zion to dwell among them (2 Samuel 6:14).

Such joy over the precious Word of God! And immediate fellowship and reading!

Wandering through our homes, how likely is it we'd find multiple copies of this precious gift lying about, dusty, unused or  tucked in cases, pristine,  perfect spines, unopened? Why? What fear holds us back from the unmatched joy of having God himself speak to us through His Word?

Well fear not! Join in the GSL celebration of God's Word, like the Nsenga, this Sunday, August 19! We celebrate our opportunity to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest this gift. Celebrate like a child and with our children as we anticipate with great joy and renewed focus on the study of God's Word through our Sunday offerings for them and all our GSL adults. The stronger we are in the Word, the stronger and healthier we are as a church family.

Come! Celebrate! Join in Sunday Study alongside our children! Our adults will be blessed by the study of Timothy and Titus beginning August 26.  

Rekindle the Joy! 

Education and Youth News

 ·Rally Sunday is August 19, 2018.


·      Meeting with parents of Sunday school students on Rally Day at 9:45-10:40.

·      Youth annual canoe trip will be August 18th, cost is 16.00/person.  We will be doing an 8-mile trek.  We will be meeting at church at 9:00, and getting back roughly around 5:30.  You need to bring a packed lunch to take on the canoe, a change of clothes, and money for supper.  If you do not want to join us for supper you can always drive separately.  A sign-up sheet is above the water fountain.  I need to contact them by August 14th with a head count. The congregation is invited to join us for this youth event.

·      Florence Freedom night of worship is August 26th.  We have reserved 32 tickets for this event.  The cost is $14.00 per ticket.  The game is at 2:35 followed by a concert by Sidewalk Prophets.  This is open to anyone who wants to attend.  Deadline to register is August 17th.  The sign-up sheet is above the water fountain.

·      Any questions on the above please see Becky Aragon at 859-750-2618

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Leadership Corner July 2018

 

Leadership Corner - Immeasurably More

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work in us, Ephesians 3:20

Immeasurably More was the theme of the Ohio District Convention. Let me confess here and now, I look through dubious-gray colored glasses when I try to match the theme to the reality in the District. I am always reminded, however, that I "see now through a glass dimly" and definitely not with God's big picture perspective.

Therefore, and most important, we need to take stock of the immeasurably more that He is able to do within our collective view and giftedness. Hence the following.

New Challenge #1

The new Council leaders reviewed job descriptions and discovered references to newsletter submissions. Rather than accept that we don't do that anymore, I've challenged our leaders (and myself) to look for ways to inform by making their periodic reports more broadly informative.

Some of you may recall completing the Communication Survey last fall. One of the main points learned was that, after the Voice, we generally appreciate news electronically via email and a majority preferred a formatted newsletter. We're going to try a new twist on the concept and see if we can't keep folks immeasurably more informed electronically using both email and our website. Immeasurably more to come. Patience required.

New Challenge #2

Think bigger - immeasurably bigger. The leadership team has been challenged to look outside the normal stuff we assume to do and pick one thing to focus/enlarge on; collaborating with other boards to leverage all the resources we have. They will be asking their boards and I am asking you, GSL, is there something you are passionate about? Something we've thought too big for us to accomplish? Something we do now, but could do so much more with? Is there a member out there who's always wanted to try _____________ (fill in the blank for yourself). Then let's hear it!

Garth Brooks happens to be one of my fave country singers and he's got a line that goes "failure isn't failure if a lesson from it's learned". I love that line. Doesn't matter if we fail to reach the expectation, we've worked and learned. What we learn is that if the thing wasn't on God's spec sheet, it will be a rough road with hard lessons. And if it is - just wait for the "Wow"! But nothing is accomplished, let alone immeasurable, if we don't seek and ask and try! Put your thinking and courageous-doing caps on!

New Challenge #3 - The lesson of the tap root.

Have you ever seen a tap root? I'd always heard about the tap root of the oak tree, how it burrows deep and you have to get the whole thing when uprooting and transplanting, but I'd never seen one until the other day.

The little oak was only 8 inches tall, one of the almost annual sprouts beneath the Rose of Sharon courtesy of my persistent little chipmunks. My plan was to try and save it by moving it to a perfect spot in my yard where the rabbits had already created a nice burrow, now abandoned.

I started digging. The oak was wedged between two stout roots of the Rose of Sharon. It would not have survived being pinched between them. It was frustrating, requiring a trowel not a shovel. The ground was hard. There was no way to get all the way down, so I did the stubborn German thing, and started pulling. It had a 'Y' shaped root stem. One side broke away and then, after a bit more yanking, out came the main, tab root and all.

White, no hairy little side roots, smooth, sleek, for the singular purpose of burrowing deep, undistracted; anchoring that little oak and providing the moisture and nutrients it found deep down in the earth.

I moved the little oak to the new hole, not nearly deep enough. The tap root had to be coiled. It lasted only a couple days before succumbing.

So what's the lesson besides I shouldn't mess with little oaks? It's this.... How many of us have a healthy tap root? One that burrows deep, undistracted, with singular purpose to get the living water and nutrients deep down in the earth that is God's word, Scripture? How many of us have yanked up and moved our tap root to a new, shallower hole to which we've succumbed? Easier, but not life sustaining?

I challenge all of Good Shepherd to take a long hard look at the health of their individual tap roots. Are you fully, deeply connected? Are your children? Are you getting the rich food and drink you can only get from God's Word? Are you Reading, Marking and most important, Inwardly Digesting?

When the roots are strong and deep, the little oak becomes the mighty oak, unmovable, unshakeable, unbeatable.

Come. God's word awaits you in worship, in bible studies, in Sunday School. Taste and See what's on Tap! Immeasurably More than you could have ever dreamed!

Looking eagerly forward to Tapping in Deep with you all.

Marlis

#GAFASA*

*any guesses?

City BBQ Women's Retreat Fundraiser

On Thursday, July 26, 2018 the Women's Retreat Committee is holding a fundraiser to help subsidize the cost of the upcoming retreat to be held in October. The fundraiser will be held at City BBQ between 10:30 AM and 10:00 PM. City BBQ will donate 25% of any purchases made between these times. Click on the link below to print out the flyer that must be presented at the time of purchase. See you there!

 

Click here for the flyer to present.

VBS 2018

We had a great week of Vacation Bible School this year! Thank you to everyone who made it a success by donating time, talent, and supplies! A big thank you to all the wonderful kids that came as well. Hope you all had as much fun as we did. Click through the photos below!