To The Elders And Their Special Mothers : Analysis

First off, I am very greatful for your email. It helps to know that you are willing to help, and I really appreciate that. I had spoken with Elder Whittle this Thursday while on exchanges. We talked a lot and it gave me a bit of a different perspective. Though he wasn't sure what exactly to do. I will talk with both Elder Wiliams and Elder Whittle today during zone sports. I realize the need for companionship unity and to be submissive and humble in each relationship. I will continue to strive to do what the Lord asks of me, for I love Him with all my heart. I seek to do His will over my own. I only have a

While walking out of the building, I found myself walking the same path as a classmate who was also leaving. “What did you think of that, Taryn?” With a smile upon her face, she looked up and said, “I just love how great it is to have that time to fellowship and have with God during a stressful week.” Her answer summed up my feelings perfectly. “Have you joined?” Not

On a particular Sunday, several months ago, I was making my anxious rounds through the sanctuary, checking on the two thousand minuet details that go unnoticed by everyone but the Pastor and a few influential widows. There I introduced myself to an obvious visitor, a professional looking women in her mid 50’s. I asked if she was visiting, knowing the answer, and was pleasantly surprised to learn she was a Truett Professor doing what she described as a field trip, observing churches her students attend. As I walked her to a seat that hadn’t belonged to an elderly member for five decades, I went back to my duty, working the room and politicking the old crowd.

The lessons I’ve received from transitioning through the church as a child, youth, and adult member have taught me a number of lessons; patience, reverence, and empathy are all traits I’ve strengthened, and they have undoubtably helped me through my high school career. Taught how to ask thoughtful questions, I’m unashamed of my curiosity. Our faith is not always one of direct answers— even our most devoted

Thank you for your kind words. We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful staff and board.

As we did the intake questions, Meagan and I discovered that C.M.’s mother recently passed away. When I say recently, I mean like a couple of months ago. I kept thinking about C.M. and what she could possibly be thinking and feeling. I thought about how young she is to be making decisions about wanting to be a girl even though she has a boy body. I thought a lot about what I even think about the whole situation and what I thought Jesus would do in this situation. Looking back now, something Bob Goff says a lot comes to mind which is, “Bring them close.” He spoke in chapel the other week and talked about bringing people close when you do not agree with them or when they are struggling or having a hard time. He urged all of us to, “Love everyone always.” This is what Jesus has called me too. I did my best that night to love C.M. and care for her as best I could.

There truly is something special about being with senior individuals of my community. I was able to realize this from my service project with Mrs. Dollie, an elder at my church. Mrs. Dollie is currently 73 years old; she’s been attending my church for many years and has been a faithful servant of the Lord for decades. Sadly, Mrs. Dollie has a handicap husband and she’s his primary caretaker, and at that, she’s only 4 foot 9. These few factors, in particular, allowed me to move in being a servant to Mrs. Dollie. Overall, my experience was great, Mrs. Dollie was welcoming and courtesy, along with that she didn’t make me do any extraneous task. Lastly, the one thing I loved about Mrs. Dollie the most was how willing she was to give me spiritual

I’m really excited that you are taking over as service chair in the Fall! I truly think that you will do an exceptional job because I know how much you care about service. I know that you know this, but service is one of the more difficult positions one can take on. That is why I believe there should be two service chairs as opposed to one. This is a very serious job and at first glance seems like you can breeze right through it. When I first started this position I was extremely excited, which I’m sure you are now. I wanted to do the best job that I possibly could and most definitely took the advice Caroline passed onto me. She mentioned that I should announce the dates of all BGC parties at the start of the semester. This was truly a blessing

Let us pray…Dear Lord we come before you today to request your blessings upon us as two great leaders and their families prepare to take on the many challenges that come with a new assignment. We understand that through you all things are possible, and that you have the power to give, and to take away. We thank you for continuously providing us with highly qualified leaders who have the knowledge and skills needed to lead the charge.

I’m in the middle of a journey in my life with choosing to return to school after being downsized from a job of more than 12 years. These past few weeks have been exceptionally difficult with taking multiple classes, homework, looking for a job, running a house and my husband getting sick. This was the main thing that just took me over especially since he’s usually healthy and rarely ever gets so much as a cold. We’ve been together since high school so together longer than we’ve been apart. We’ve been back and forth to the hospital and to a specialist all in the past few weeks. The devotional contains so many scriptures that sent me the messages I truly need to hear as I was feeling overwhelms and tired. But the following is the one that hits home for me:

Over the past year I have learned so much and have improved immensely in my leadership abilities. Your guidance and never ending encouragement was crucial to not only my success but the entirety of the LC's. I can't believe how fast 2015 went by! I will miss all of the responsibilities that come the position. It's a little bittersweet to hand everything down to the 2016 LC. Before winter break, we held Officer Transitions, and I believe it went very well.

Before going to Mishawaka Marian, my local Catholic high school, church and God seemed more like a chore than anything. But through those four years, I know that by going through Marian I’ve gained a much deeper knowledge of Christ and how to see him working in my life daily. I’ve had several deep and personal encounters with God and it is through those encounters that I was brought closer to Him and the Christian faith. The most important event that solidified my faith happened first semester of my junior year, when my family got a call from our local hospital saying my grandma was struck by a car and on her way to the emergency room. My whole family’s life was turned upside down by one phone call and things are forever different because of it. Several broken ribs, a broken hip, a major concussion, endless doctors’ appointments and hospital visits later, my grandma was finally back home. We slowly and thankfully began to put the event behind us, but the effect it left on my family will never be able to be put away. Throughout this seemingly endless incident, I learned how important family truly is. I learned great responsibility, how to give and receive help, and not to take a single thing for granted because it could all be gone in just one second. I also felt myself grow nearer to God through this stressful and tragic experience. When you feel like you are alone and have no one to turn to, turn to God. Through Him I am courageously finding my path because I know and trust that God will never leave my side. Through all of these life experiences and memories along the way, I’ve learned so much about myself, how the world works, how God works in my life and where I can begin to see myself fitting into it. It is important to realize that it is through the bad times that we learn the most and

In his mercy God has cast out every lesser god; yet still requires his people to agonize over the pain and suffering of others first and foremost in Christian worship. Pastors are obliged, therefore, to doggedly resolve difficult issues that pertain to worship without acquiescing to the congregational sensitivity. God requires assemblies to serve the disenfranchised optimally in the worship space first, and for this reason, assemblies need to hear teaching homilies concerning how to perform the demands of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their ritual lives. Such teaching, in turn, clearly reveals how the Praxis of worship extends to private

I would like to thank the leaders and saints of Mt Zion for their faithfulness; many of you ear may hats but do not complain and you serve with excellence. We have been putting this theme into action and reaping the benefits also. I would also like to thank Elder Craven who now have joined this humble group as well as those

Nevertheless, I do not take it for granted nor lightly dealing with the many diversities of people’s life experiences and knowing how this magazine will draw us together by acknowledging the qualities and concerns we all share, through Christ and the profound impact the Gospel has on our lives. I thank you for joining us at PARADISE CHRISTIAN LIVING MAGAZINE, my staff and I want to make every effort to give you the quality and the expertise that a publication of this kind should offer, and to make an impact with great significance on you, the community, neighborhoods and your churches. We cannot afford to let our light and the love of God diminish in society these days so easily, without using our talents, skills, and knowledge that God has given us to use by going into the highways and byways, teaching and preaching the Gospel. Amen!