Feats of February 4: Brainiacs

FEB 28 - MAR 6 2010 — FOF 4: BRAINIACS — ISSUE 143

Last week was all about spontaneous serving of others via scraping and shoveling snow. God blessed the idea with a few thousand gallons of it. (Thanks, God) Then at Bible Talk the opening thought was to have everyone there tell about a time when a person did something completely unexpected and very encouraging for them. Some really cool stories were given, but for me, the coolest part came later that night. When I got home there was a package from the post office in front of my door. I was quite surprised since I hadn't given out my address to too many people, and this person was not one of those few. Her daughter, however, had requested the information and now I have to call her to address her deceptive reasons given. (Perhaps I should have called her before writing this. Now she probably won't answer her phone...)

After taking the box inside, I opened it as quick as I could with my car keys and wished I'd unpacked a knife instead of useless things like socks and toothpaste. Inside I found a note, offering the contents as a housewarming gift. Below it, encased in a shell of bubble wrap and preserved perfectly by the 24˚ weather, was a container of homemade chocolate chip cookies. Before I could smile my hand had already reached in and the next thing I knew I'd eaten half a dozen of them. Since then I've shared one with another person which means I can eat the other 30 with a clear conscience.

The moral of the story is to make friends with amazing people like Kathie and then move often to get cookies. So thank you, Kathie, your kindness has inspired my heart, mind, (and stomach), and brightened my last few days.

PSALM 119:65-69 - NIV (click here to read)

The last three weeks have been all about little things we can do to on a regular basis to stay invigorated for God and to display that love He wants us to share with the world. This week is a little different, but is one I find to be very helpful for our confidence and beneficial in our dealings with others.

Knowledge is a great asset in fighting the good fight, and one thing I like to do is learn about my God, about traditions in the church, and about other religious groups so I am better prepared to answer those "why do we/they do that?" questions. This week, take your quiet times and look into something we do that you've never explored the reasons behind. (Weekly Communion, meeting on Sundays, why we use minster or evangelist and other churches use pastor, etc...) Or look into other sects of Christianity like Calvinists, Baptists, Episcopalians, Seventh Day Adventists, Pentecostals, Methodists, etc...) The study will strengthen your faith in the church, probably baffle you as to how some of these groups stretched so far from God's Word, and give you confidence the next time you're addressing one of these issues.

Go. Read. Learn. Teach.

THINGS TO NOTE: God Works Serving // Married's Night out // Talo's Music Video Shoot

THIS WEEK:

Monday - God's Works Serving @ 5:00 (Little late on that notice, sorry)

Tuesday- Pick a topic and get learning

Wednesday – Normal 7:00 Midweek at the FQ

Thursday – Pray for those in Chile

Friday- Married's Night Out // Talo video shoot Day 1

Saturday – Talo video shoot Day 2

Sunday - Normal 10:00 Sunday Service at the MSC

Brett "If you help me move every month I'll cut you in on some of those cookies" Hibbler

Feats of February 3: Samaritans Of Snow

FEB 21 - FEB 27 2010 — FOF 3: SAMARITANS OF SNOW — ISSUE 142

I've discovered why I always root for the snow when I learn it may come our way. All my life I've heard people talk about the "blizzard of (enter some year before I was born here)." And even though I've been through some pretty crazy snow storms, (I drove through the worst one I've ever seen a few years back), I've never been in an actual blizzard. Weathermen have called some of our storms blizzards, but I've never been in one that would go down in the record books, last for days on end, drop snow so heavy it can't be cleared for a week, pile it so high I can't open my door, and result in a total city shutdown, stranding me wherever I am when it gets too thick to move. That's the kind of blizzard I want to be a part of. I want a war story to tell my kids about how I had to build a car out of snow and drive it into town to rescue small children who were stuck at a dentist's office with no food and only boring grown-up magazines to entertain them. Once that's off my list, I'll retire my snow dancing shoes once and for all. For now, though, I'm still wearing those shoes and tonight you can bet I'll be doing another jig as I crawl into bed.

Snow is the topic of this weeks challenge, and you'll thank me for that extra two-step I did last night so you can take part in it. One thing I love to do in winter that can lead to all kinds of conversations and happy recipients is simply be chivalrous when I'm leaving home, work, or any other place that requires me to get into my car. After I start mine to let the engine warm and kick on the defroster to start the thawing process, I then head over to a coworker's car (or neighbor, or person parked next to me at store, etc.) and help them scrape off theirs. Some times I'll help multiple people, and sometimes I can even get it done before they come out of work, allowing me to take off and leave them with a gift that will hopefully put a smile on their face as they drive home without them knowing who did it. For strangers, this act can lead to some easy church conversations as they often thank you for helping, thus giving you an opening to explain about your lifestyle.

This week, when the snows piling up and you know you'll be doing some scraping, don't get stressed, feel blessed. Then bundle up and thank God for all the opportunities to serve.

MARK 12:28-31 - NIV (click to read)

THINGS TO NOTE: Men's Devotional and Sister's D-group on Saturday Morning // Serving Breakfast at MSC on Sunday

THIS WEEK:

Monday - wonders if it can turn in early for the night

Tuesday- go scrape them cars and shovel them sidewalks

Wednesday – Normal 7:00 Midweek at the FQ

Thursday – Pray for our sister's strength, recovery, and spiritual foundation.

Friday- Normal 7:30 Bible Talk at Biggby's

Saturday – Men's Morning Devotional, details TBA // Sister's 9:00 D-group at Young's // Thanks to everyone who came out to serve at St. Vincent DePaul's. It was really encouraging to see so many down there.

Sunday - Serving Breakfast, Please let Justin know what you're bringing- // Normal 10:00 Sunday Service at the MSC

Brett "My snow car would be comfy, quick and very eco-friendly, as long as no one touched the heater" Hibbler

Feats of February 2: Love Letter

FEB 14 - FEB 20 2010 — FOF 2: LOVE LETTER — ISSUE 141

Valentine's Day: some people love it, some people hate it, and some people won't even realize they missed it. For me the holiday once more brought a tradition I find quite amusing, but am still slightly baffled about. Every year on Valentine's Day couples come into Target and do their wedding registry. I haven't decided if this is planned by a guy who is thoughtful and this is his post "will you marry me?" present, if she was so excited that she canceled his elaborate date plans to get to work fulfilling her wedding dreams she's held since she was 3 months old, or if he's simply run out of ideas on what to do on Valentine's day and this is his clever way of getting out of spending a bunch of money on a fancy date. Regardless, the sight of a happy couple zipping through our store with their little red scanner, trying to milk their friend's for all their worth, has become a staple in my Valentine's Day experience.

As you know from last week, for the month of February I'm going through little challenges I do to push myself and grow in my walk and asking you to join me each week. This week, to coincide with the holiday, the challenge is quite simple, but one I find very encouraging for everyone involved. Pick one person you prayed for last week, and send them a letter. Detail what you love about them, what you prayed about for them, and anything else you want to include to encourage them. (Scriptures, inspirational stories, details about your current happenings, cooking recipes you hope they'll make you in response to your letter, coupons you have that you'll never use and would otherwise consider junk-mail but have now turned into encouragement gifts, old bubble gum you found while cleaning out your baseball card collection last week; you know, real inspirational stuff.)

There are a couple of rules, though. 1) It has to be via snail mail. Emails are great, but there's something about getting a letter in the mail that isn't junk or a bill that's very exciting. Even if it just says "hey", the recipient is likely to be seen jumping through their house and crying tears of joy before hanging the letter on their fridge and then skipping to work. That means you'll have to dig out your buried box of envelopes and probably add a couple 1 cent stamps to yours since the price of stamps goes up about once a week. (I think it's like 35 dollars now, right?) And 2) You have to mail it, not drop it off. Even though it may be cheaper with stamp prices so high to just drive it there yourself, mailing it means more and adds to the surprise of finding that gem amongst the dribble we call mail.

So go on, get writing. Dig deep and pick a person you may not normally contact. And if you find you like it, send off a few more. Everyone loves encouragement.

2 PETER 3:1-2 - NIV (click to read)

THINGS TO NOTE: ???? (Do to the move I don't have my Church calendar accessable, so I'm not sure what's going on this week. Here's my best guess!

THIS WEEK:

Monday - never saw me dancing on Saturday. AND NEITHER DID YOU. Capeesh?

Tuesday- Write those letters! Remember to stretch them fingers if you haven't done any old fashioned writing in a while. Texting and typing use different muscles, so be sure to warm up.

Wednesday – Normal 7:00 Midweek at the FQ (I think?)

Thursday – Pray, pray, pray.

Friday- Activity: TBA

Saturday – is supposedly a day off. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight...

Sunday - Normal 10:00 Sunday Service at the MSC

Brett "For another piece of Daine's cake I'd go dancing again. But it'd have to be a piece the size of a small child" Hibbler

Feats of February 1: Phonebook Phrenzy

FEB 7 - FEB 13 2010 — FOF 1: PHONEBOOK PHRENZY — ISSUE 140

Has anyone seen my driveway? I seem to have misplaced it under about a foot of snow. I love snow, don't get me wrong, but wouldn't it be great if it only snowed on our yards and not in the road? (Only my shoveling-addicted mother will disagree with that statement). Speaking of snow, or lack there of...

At the retreat I was given a challenge to share more about my spiritual walk; to open up about things I do that I don't always make public knowledge. I believe strongly that we are to follow Christ's teaching to do much good in secret and stick to the "not letting your right hand know what your left hand is doing" strategy as much as possible, (Mat 6), to keep my motives pure and ego-inflation rate at an acceptable level. (Then again, my ego's gravitational pull keeps the world in orbit, so really you should thank me for being this awesome.) But I also realize the power of example, of hearing and seeing what real, tangible actions are being achieved by people we know. There's tremendous inspiration that can come from that, and so for the next month, I'm going to share a few things I do to stay strong in my walk. These won't be huge, mind blowing things, but instead very simple, practical choices we can all make, and ones God has moved powerfully through in my life.

I don't want to just tell about them, though, I want to challenge you do do the same. For each week there will be a different challenge, and it would be inspiring to hear about how you're doing with it. I want to know about your FEATS OF FEBRUARY. In fact, you could take that a step further and post it here to encourage and inspire your brothers and sisters. (Yes, that's a shameless plug for my site, but don't blame me, I have a huge ego and stuff like that is to be expected.)

This week's challenge is two fold. First, pray through the entire Church Phone book, one person at time. (Not by family, or group, but by individual people) And for each person, don't pray a generic prayer, pray for specific needs/struggles/goals/strengths in their life. You will undoubtedly come across a person or two who you don't know much about, or anything current enough to pray hard for; that's where part two comes in. Don't just pass this person up or skimp on them in your prayers, seek them out and ask them for specific things to pray about. It will be great for your relationships, and for uplifting your brethren.

I will warn you, this is not really a challenge you can do in one day if you're praying deeply for each person. (Especially since you may have to contact some of them before you can pray) I found doing a column a day worked well, but I'd love to hear what's working for you. May God grant you a great prayer life this week, may He bless our petitions for our brothers and sisters, and I thank you in advance for any prayers offered up for me.

1 CORINTHIANS 12:25-27 - NIV (Click to read)

THINGS TO NOTE: Family Group Bible Talks // Valentine Date

THIS WEEK:

Monday - liked the Super Bowl and thinks we should have it more often

Tuesday- Continue to be in prayer for the Young's and their family, and thanks a ton for everyone's support

Wednesday – Family Group Bible Talk - We will be meeting at the Franklyn Park Mall at 7:00 in the food court by the fire place to reach out - Be praying for open people

Thursday – Keep praying through those books!

Friday- Normal 7:30 Bible Talk at Biggby's

Saturday – Valentine Date.

Sunday - Normal 10:00 Sunday Service at the MSC

Brett "Your ego thinks my ego is magnificent and mine agrees" Hibbler