Howdy! 

Let’s pray: God, we love you and praise you. Thank you for all you’ve done for me. I’m grateful for your love and presence in my life. Every single time I’ve made my way back home, I’ve ever reached the gate, before you come running to me. Amen. 

November 16th was Forrest’s birthday. He’s 3 now. Gotta say… the terrible two’s were not that bad. He’s an amazing little boy. Kendra and I are constantly surprised by how intelligent he is. We are so proud of him… if you can’t tell. 

He’s learning more and more every day. And his communication skills are improving faster than we can follow. The two main part of communicating are speaking and listening. To be a good communicator you must be fluent in both. 

How goes your communication with Jesus? Here are some inventory questions to take into account when answering this questions. 

• Do you speak fluently and regularly with Jesus?
• Do you listen fluently and regularly with Jesus?
• Do you listen with a posture that I always understand correctly?
• Do you listen with a posture that understands I am not a perfect listener and may interpret something incorrectly? 
• Have you compartmentalized your conversation (listening and speaking) with Jesus?
• Do your thoughts linger on the Lord?
• Does your mind wander into wondering about Jesus?

I believe the first step towards God is done with honesty. The first time I ever took my prayer life seriously and began to pray honestly, I said something along the lines of:

“God, I don’t know how to pray…”

Do you not have something on your heart in which you are earnestly in prayer about? 

• Be honest with God, and tell him, “God, I don’t know why you haven’t put something my heart.”

Have you been prayer for days, weeks, years, decades…. And feel as if God isn’t even listening?

• Be honest with God, and tell him, “God, I feel as if you aren’t even listen…”

This might come across as somewhat… bold of us to speak to God like this. When I read Psalms I see King David saying these types of things and he was a man after God’s own heart (1Samuel 13). I want to have a heart like that… So I want to pray like David prays.

And honestly, is not being honest bold anyway? So be bold. Tell God what’s going through your mind. Be bold! 

There’s nothing you can say that’s going to frighten God, scare him, intimidate him, make him question his love for you, or any foolishness of the sort. He wants you to be honest. 

When you step forward in honest prayer, long before you ever get to where you're going, Jesus is going to meet you there in that place. And he’s going to love. 

Homework: Speak words of honesty to God that you’ve not said before. 

Have a good week! 

- Pastor Spencer Thomas

Angel Tree - December 4, 2022 during the morning in Fellowship Hall and Welcome Center

Charge Conference - December 4, 2022 @ 6 PM in Sanctuary

Parents Shopping Day - December 10, 2022 from 9AM-3PM

Christmas Cantata - December 11, 2022 in Sanctuary during 8:15 and 10:45 services

Blue Christmas - December 18, 2022 @ 4PM in Sanctuary

Trivia Night - December 18, 2022@ 6 PM in Fellowship Hall

Christmas at the Callioux - December 22, 2022 (Thursday evening - TBA) at the Callioux Center

Christmas Eve Services - 4 PM, 5 PM, 6:30 PM, 8PM (LOTH), 11 PM

Christmas Day Service - Only one service at 10:45 AM in Sanctuary

New Years Day Service - Only one service at 10:45 AM in Sanctuary

Forge Family Pie Fest

For all youth and their families

November 20

5:30-7:30 pm at the Youth Activities Center

Bring a baked pie and be ready to eat, judge and eat some more!

Family Life Ministry January Event

Unfortunately, there are no easy New Year’s resolutions that help you break all those bad habits. It takes work, a vision, a plan, and a good support team.

And what better support team than your own church family?

While personal goals are important for achieving your own dreams, family goals are important, too.

Why We Should Set Family Goals for 2023

Setting family goals creates a sense of unity through shared victories and challenges. It also teaches our kids the goal setting process, which will give them a head start in learning not only how to dream big, but how to put those dreams into action. Setting goals together also reminds us of and our families what really matters. As we all share our visions with each other, it paints a picture of our common hopes and values. Perhaps one of the most important factors of goal setting is that it works! According to a psychology study, people who wrote down their goals were 33% more likely to achieve them than people who kept their goals stored away in their head.

How to Follow Through on Family Goals for the New Year?

Setting family goals is one thing, but following through on them takes strategy and maintenance. A fun, tactile way to set family goals is to create a family vision board.

Your family vision board will be uniquely yours and can serve as a daily reminder of the solidarity you have with each other and the big things ahead for the year.

Join us January 6^th in the Fellowship Hall from 5:00-7:00 pm for our first Family Life Ministry Event 2023! Bring a themed Charcuterie Board to share. We will also have board games available to play, along with all the materials you will need to create your Family Vision Boards!

Nursery care will be provided.

RSVP [email protected]

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