Ready for another year!

We had a great time in our first anniversary service. The presence of the Lord was so energizing... we're ready for another year!

We received a bouquet of flowers from New Life UPC of Austin. A big thanks to our mother church— it was so nice!

It was special having Bro. and Sis. Bernard in service and his preaching was right on time. We heard from God that we must "seize our opportunity."

We had 53 in attendance with a new family in attendance! We had testimonies throughout the service. They included Sis. Faye who was here when we came and Bro. David who, along with his wife Barbara, is our newest addition. The ensemble sang "In the Presence of a Holy God" right after Bro. David talked about the first time they came and finally felt His presence. It was moving.

The altar time was a time of victory and also seeking for the Holy Ghost. What a perfect service for our first year celebration. Thanks to all of you who let us know that you were praying for our service tonight. Also, I don't want to forget to say "Thank You!" to Life Tabernacle Wichita Falls for your continued monthly support. There are no words to describe all that you mean to us and we know that this year would not have been possible without your unselfish giving. All of the support is so appreciated!

After service, everybody enjoyed visiting!

Lindsey Bernard and Cameron

The Holley's! It was great to have Mom and Dad with us again. We were especially thankful that they made it safe and sound after having a blowout today on the trip down to Austin.

Of course, after service we spent a time of fellowship together at Posado's.

Karla and Sis. Bernard

Bro. Bernard talks

Bro. Reddy (Cedar Park daughterwork) and Dad

Mom and Sis. Reddy

Church Anniversary Service

We are getting excited about this special service on Friday night! Our ensemble is learning a new song tonight and I am putting together a photo montage from the past year to show during service. A great time to celebrate!

Guestbook

Just FYI - We now have a guestbook on our church website. It is in the lower right hand corner of the home page. If you would like to leave an encouraging message (LOL!) to our church family, please feel free to do so. You can also always read our latest Week at a Glance church bulletin that is linked in the upper right hand corner. I know you have so much time to spend doing this, but just thought you might want to know.

The next step...

I am glad to have my wife back home! We missed her in the weekend services, but were so glad that she could be a part of Uncle C.W.'s 70th birthday party in California. Our service was really good and enjoyed the spirit of victory! We had two first time guests and 44 in service.

I have been sitting here putting pictures together for a photo montage that we will use in our Anniversary Service this Friday night. Bro. David Bernard will be speaking and we are looking forward to it. It is so amazing to see where New Life has come since a year ago. God has truly brought some great people into our life and many of them in just the last 6 months! It is almost like they have been with us forever.

I think the most daunting weight in my mind at all times is THE NEXT STEP. What are we supposed to do next? There is not a moment to spare in complacency! When a church is being raised from the ground, it is constantly in a state of change. I like that. It is also a weight. What is the most important thing to do next? What will take us to the next level? What ministry is important right now and what can wait?

Our church members are praying individually right now to be directed to the ministry God wants to use them in. We are in need of a nursery now. (A couple Sundays ago, two children wandered the aisles during service! Their parents unsure of what to do with them.) That is a great problem because that shows that there are new families! It also creates a dilemma. We only have one room to share for Sunday School and a Nursery!?! I just learned this weekend that one of the ladies who moved in from Nebraska was over the Nursery in her church and knows how to organize it....looks like an answer to prayer.

What about our youth class that is around 12-15 students who have been meeting in the foyer? Where are we going to grow with them? We are praying for God's will in bringing in a Student Ministry couple. We are in need of an ushering staff for visitors who come in late and to also wait upon another section of chairs. We have one gentleman who handles it now.

Our land deal seems to keep slipping a little further ahead. It is right at the tip of our grasp and then... Just about all the land in Pflugerville is $4-5 a square foot, even on the backside of nowhere! Land has to be a next step, so I believe that God is working even now.

All of this is a weight, but it is also a thrill just knowing that God will take care of it! We will celebrate Friday night our first year anniversary and the series of "next steps" still to come.

Let's see, what do I do next?

Uncle C.W., California, & Family

I am in California having a wonderful time!! My Uncle C.W. turned 70 this week, so Linda & I flew out and met Ronda to surprise him at his party. It was so much fun to walk in without him knowing we were anywhere near Rialto. They said he had tears in his eyes. Of course, we got to see alot of family - cousins I haven't seen in YEARS and extended family I barely know. It's just been an enjoyable time. And OF COURSE - Linda, Ronda and I have laughed from the time we got here!! I've included a few pictures - hope you enjoy.







(Pictures: 1 - Ronda, Uncle C.W., me & Linda; 2 - Uncle C.W. with Bro. & Sis. Booker - pastor in Rialto, CA; 3 - Uncle C.W. as we sang "Happy Birthday" - he was so happy!; 4 - my cousin, Chad (yes - that's who my Chad is named for) and his daughter, Katie; 5 - Uncle C.W. & Aunt Gloria; 6 - Aunt Gloria w/Donnie's daughter, Courtney; 7 - Valere, me and Chad)

Can you believe?

People have tried all kinds of things to rid themselves of embarrassing flakes! What did this electric brush actually do? Made your scalp oily?! I came across this picture and could not believe it. Listerine in your hair? Here's another ad from Listerine.

“Not until the last vestige of dandruff is gone, can you be considered a fastidious person, acceptable socially.” Apparently, the threat of “non-fastidiousness” was sufficient to drive even the most callous dandruff sufferer to try virtually ANY product to rid them themselves of those unsightly flakes. One has to wonder if this advertising approach was dropped once the marketers of Listerine realized they could boost sales just as well by scaring people with the threat of bad breath.

So, what you once put in your hair, you now rinse your mouth out with! Nothing spiritual here... just craziness.

NAYC-our first youth trip

We left on Tuesday morning at 9am in a rented 15 passenger van with 6 miles on it from Capps Van Rental. It was brand new! We drove until 1am (2am their time) in the morning to Atlanta, Georgia. We drove through Louisiana...

Mississippi...

Alabama (you can tell when people are sleeping!)....

Georgia (and when no one wants to get out of the van!)....

We left Atlanta, Georgia at around 11am on Wednesday morning and drove through South Carolina...

and into the state of our destination...North Carolina.

We had service Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights (everything held in the Charlotte Bobcats Arena) and sessions during the day. Each session was designed to minister to the youth and they did a great job getting the point across. We heard that there were over 17,000 in attendance on Friday. It was HUGE.

We took pictures and you can tell that the guys were sick of taking pictures! (above)
We ate. (below)

We went to church.

The presence of the Lord came into the service so strong on Thursday and Friday nights. Thursday night, I felt God speaking to me so strong during worship. The worship team stopped and just worshipped for the longest. Friday night we ended up on the floor kneeling before the Lord all over the whole arena. It was awesome!

We left at 5am on Saturday morning and drove straight through to Pflugerville, arriving at 1am on Sunday morning. We felt that we needed to be back for service on Sunday as we had all the musicians and all the singers except one with us on the trip. The youth were so willing to make this sacrifice - thank the Lord.

Sunday was a great time in service. Bro. Phillip McClain preached and we enjoyed Mom and Dad being in service again with us. They stayed in our house during the week to watch our dog and then headed home on Sunday afternoon. Thanks Mom and Dad for everything! Our new VBS mom was back in service even though her kids were out of town. We had a new guy visiting as well.

Thanks to all of you who sponsored our kids to able to attend. We really appreciate your love and support. Now - we have to catch up on some sleep.....

NAYC Update

HELLO! We made it safe into Charlotte, NC yesterday around 4:00pm— just in time to get dressed and head to church. It was great! The music and the Word was outstanding. We heard today that there are over 13,000 young people registered. It is amazing and youth are everywhere - filling EVERY restaurant!

We are on a break right now following day sessions. It is 104º here in Charlotte! It matches the ALL-TIME RECORD for the city. The record was set in the 1800's! Why does HOT weather follow us everywhere? Oh, well, we are here for stuff that is mainly held indoors. Thank the Lord for a safe trip of 1200 miles. Have to get ready for church......

Miracles at Midnight

It always seems that our miracles come at midnight. Of course, there would be no miracle is there was no dire need. So, we often find we need a supernatural intervention when we walk in darkness. Paul and Silas used praise in Acts 16, the Apostles obeyed God rather than men in Acts 5 and Peter's church family prayed in Acts 12. In each case, they were miraculously set free from prison —in the night. Whatever prison you are in, our God can set you free through your praise, your obedience to Him, and the prayers of His people!

This is what I preached about today. We had a great altar service.

One person in the altar was the mother of our VBS boys. She was weeping and seeking God. She repented and came close to receiving the Holy Ghost. This story is a miracle in itself. Sis. McClain saw two boys playing in a yard on her way to VBS a couple of weeks ago. She had not been able to get any of her neighbors to attend, so she stopped at these boys house. They said they would like to come and the mother let them! They came every night. The whole family came for the VBS presentation and the boys have been to Sunday School each week. The mother returned today and God is working in her life! This is someone none of us knew four weeks ago, but evidently God saw a midnight that needed a miracle.

It was one year ago today that we moved to Pflugerville - that is unbelievable! God has blessed and continues to lead. It was good to have Mom and Dad in service today and to meet James, Carmen and Jeremy for lunch on their way back home.

Our NAYC trip is this week, so say a prayer for our safety. Oh, I passed my Principles II class this past week and it is on to Law of Contracts (correspondence).

Happy Birthday, Mom!

It is great to be able to wish my Mom a great big Happy Birthday! It is also great to know that she and Dad will arrive here today so that we can celebrate together. (They are also coming to doggysit Cookie while we take our youth to North American Youth Congress next week.)

Mom has always been such a great example of a Christian lady. She has shown me what a Christian should do in difficult situations throughout my life. I never knew that my grandfather (her dad) had ever done anything wrong to her because we always treated him like a Christian should. Come to find out when I was an adult—he had left my grandmother and their children to marry another lady. My mom had let the past go and forgiven him, taking care of him in his old age. You taught me that we can show love in spite of all the wrongs done to us.

We were often at the church making peanut brittle, attending ladies prayer and decorating the Sunday School room. I don't remember any grumbling about "having" to do all this. She just got me involved and made it fun. I sold a lot of peanut brittle outside of KMart in my time! You have taught me the importance of working in God's Kingdom and putting Him first.

She has always supported me and my family when it even caused her to sacrifice. Nothing brings a smile on her face any quicker than being able to give something to one of us. We are thankful for everything that has ever been done and we do not expect it. You have taught me that sharing is a beautiful gift - especially for the giver.

She has been willing to laugh at herself, the funny things of life and at others when they hurt themselves! She knows how to drive and she will tell you how it should be done— huh, Dad? LOL! She knows the fastest way to get across town and the cheapest gas to be found.
You have taught me that life is fun and I should enjoy it to the fullest.

I love you, Mom! My family loves you more than you know.
We wish you the best birthday possible.
Thanks for all you have given and taught through your life.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, may your greatest wish come true.