I Love Tech Support by Joyce Schafer

I have a “love-hate” relationship with computers. I love them when they are working right. I love being able to keep in contact with friends and family using email. Writing on a computer is wonderful because I can go back, read what I have written and delete what does not make any sense and redo over and over again. Spell check is another amazing tool that I am very thankful to have. Yes, I really love my computer -sometimes. Now the hate part comes in when it is not working right. That is what happened to me, my computer died…..I wish I could say that it lived to a ripe old age and it was time to replace it but that was not the case. It was still young and should have had several productive years ahead of it. Since owning a computer has gone from being a luxury to being a necessity for us, we had to replace it.

I was feeling pretty good when I was actually able to get most things hooked up on my computer by myself and they actually worked, but I could not get my email to cooperate. After spending hours trying to figure it out, I finally gave up and called tech assistance. Now, this was the coolest thing. This guy could control my mouse and do what needed to be done and had me up and going in minutes. The whole situation was humbling to me but I also saw a similarity to my relationship with my Supreme Tech support guy-God. How many times in my life have I worried and tried to fix a problem on my own instead of just giving him complete control over the situation? As I start this New Year, I pray that I remember to give God control of my life because then 2011 will be the best year yet!

Women in the Bible by Theresa Zuber

I am so thankful for the women in the Bible! I read passages that help me to understand that not only am I a helpmate to my husband, but that God can use me as His servant in many ways.

Esther chapter 4 shows us that God positioned Esther so that she would have favor with the king in saving the Jewish people. Her uncle encouraged her by asking her “ And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Another passage tells us about Deborah a prophetess who was the leader of Israel. Read about her in Judges 4 and how God used her in a mighty way. Luke 24 (and the other gospels) recounts the women finding the tomb empty. Women were the first to discover this and were given the ominous task of spreading the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection to the disciples.

Acts 2: 17" 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.” Thank you Lord for Galatians 3 that declares “ 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Heavenly Father – author of my existence – help me to always be mindful of my place in your world. Help me to submit, to assist, to lead, to be still, to be bold – all as you have ordained for me. Mostly – give me the wisdom I need to follow YOUR lead so that all I do and say (and write!) is in accordance with Your will.

1 Peter 4:¹⁰Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. ¹¹If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Women in the Bible by Theresa Zuber

I am so thankful for the women in the Bible! I read passages that help me to understand that not only am I a helpmate to my husband, but that God can use me as His servant in many ways.

Esther chapter 4 shows us that God positioned Esther so that she would have favor with the king in saving the Jewish people. Her uncle encouraged her by asking her “ And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Another passage tells us about Deborah a prophetess who was the leader of Israel. Read about her in Judges 4 and how God used her in a mighty way. Luke 24 (and the other gospels) recounts the women finding the tomb empty. Women were the first to discover this and were given the ominous task of spreading the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection to the disciples.

Acts 2: 17" 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.” Thank you Lord for Galatians 3 that declares “ 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Heavenly Father – author of my existence – help me to always be mindful of my place in your world. Help me to submit, to assist, to lead, to be still, to be bold – all as you have ordained for me. Mostly – give me the wisdom I need to follow YOUR lead so that all I do and say (and write!) is in accordance with Your will.

1 Peter 4:¹⁰Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. ¹¹If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

The Unknown by Vaneta Andrews

The fear of the unknown grips me to the point of tears. Those tears usually come when I am broken by God’s calling. It’s as if He is saying, “Why are you worrying about this? Haven’t I proven myself time and time again?” Yes He has so why do I find myself worrying about something I have absolutely no control over?

When I started this writing on 5/1/2010 we didn’t have any answers about Tim’s health. Even though the answers and the end result was not what we wanted God saw us through every step of the way!

Now as a new year rolls in I find myself fearful yet again! The fear is still that of the unknown … what is my/our “new normal”? what will this New Year hold for us? and the list goes on and on! BUT when fear gets the best of me I am reminded that …

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1

I hope that you (& I) will be able to rest in the shadow of the Almighty in 2011!

A Time by Donna (Ensign) Woods

TIME.......Too much of it, we become bored and restless

Not enough....We panic and stress.

There is a TIME to be born...a TIME to die

As we live and laugh and cry.

A TIME to plant and to pull up

As God refills our empty cup.

A TIME to kill and to heal

In the arms of God we know and feel.

A TIME to tear down and to re-build

...Trusting what God had willed.

A TIME for weeping and for laughter

Knowing what we are searching after.

A TIME to mourn and A TIME for dancing

Creating memories and romancing.

A TIME to scatter

And then to gather.

A TIME to embrace and refrain

Finding joy amidst the pain.

A TIME to search....and never give up

To move forward...or to back up

A TIME to keep pieces of the past

...Or trade them in for something to last.

A TIME to tear or to mend

There is no TIME to pretend

A TIME to be silent and still

As God teaches us to climb each hill.

A TIME to speak

...And encourage the weak.

A TIME to love.....

Being blessed from above.

A TIME to hate....

Making crooked way straight.

A TIME for peace...and for war,

As we journey through each new door.

Trusting God, each moment of our day

....Guiding our hearts along the way.

Supervise by Joyce Schafer

My granddaughter, Keely, and I were playing outside when she decided that she needed a drink. After naming off the different drink choices she decided on chocolate milk. As she was going into the house she turned to me and said “Grandma, you might want to come in and supervise.”

My relationship with God is a lot like that. Even though there are many times in my life when I can do things on my own, it always goes a lot smoother if I ask God to “supervise.” I did not need to supervise Keely preparing her drink. She did a perfect job of getting a glass, pouring her milk, adding the chocolate syrup [ok, maybe I did tell her when it was enough] and stirring it up. She did not make a mess but it was comforting to her to know that I was there in case she did make a mess to help clean it up.

I am thankful for many things---my family, my friends, my job, my church and especially for a God who continues to love and “supervise” me.

Mr. Basketball and Me by Susan Shull

Excitement and anticipation begins to build at our house around the end of October, and it has nothing to do with Halloween. We get fired up when the official opening day of college basketball practice arrives. Our family loves Fighting Illini basketball!

When the boys were growing up, game days were almost like holidays. We arranged our schedules around the basketball schedule, and we tried to watch every game together. When they were small, Brady, Brandon, and Brock would put on their jerseys, grab their nerf basketballs and the laundry baskets, and they would play up a storm while watching their favorite players on TV. After the games, if it wasn’t too cold, they would run to the machine shed and shoot hoops, practicing the moves that they just saw Kendall Gill or Dee Brown execute. As the boys left home to attend college, we watched the games with our phones beside us, calling to talk about fabulous plays and last second shots.

Game Day has calmed down considerably now. Brad and I don’t put on our jerseys or shoot hoops during the game, but we still love our team. There is one well-known announcer though who tends to get my blood pressure up. If you are also a college basketball nut, you may know who I am talking about. In the past, it didn’t matter who our team was playing, the only thing this guy wanted to talk about was his favorite team, the Duke Blue Devils or North Carolina. Do you know who I’m referring to “BABYEEEE!” ?

This season he has aggravated me for a different reason. Instead of Duke, North Carolina or another team, it seems to be every sentence he utters begins with “I”. He only wants to talk about himself! I was griping about it to Brad one night during a game, when God used Dick Vitale to convict ME! How many times do my sentences start with “I”? How many times do others wish I would quit talking about what I want, what I think, what I want to do? How many times do I make every situation all about me?

Some of the ladies at our church have just begun a new Bible study on the book of Esther. Wouldn’t you know it, I’ve been convicted again! This time by King Xerxes, an ego-maniac showoff who passed an edict affecting all the women of his kingdom just because he was embarrassed by his wife. Everything revolved around him.

Conviction from our Heavenly Father can sometimes come from the strangest and most unexpected places, can’t it? When God “speaks” to me, I try to listen even though I hate that awful feeling of disappointment and shame. And once again, I am so thankful for grace, forgiveness, compassion, and the love of my Savior as he continues to do a work in me.

Holy Spirit - Lead us! by Theresa Zuber

I must confess. I have been looking forward to the day when we are able to hire a music minister. I love what I do and will continue to “work” in worship ministry but I am often frustrated when I visit larger churches and see how their worship blends so seamlessly with the pastor’s theme. How the meditations and specials and just everything flow together when there is a full-time staff person working on such things. We have the talent in our midst (praise God!) and given the time to coordinate that pool of talent – I am excited to see what God can do at Scott Avenue when that day arrives.

However, God convicted me this weekend that I am being discontent with where we are NOW. You see when we are Spirit-led, God can coordinate things in a way that no human can. He can see across time and lay groundwork that we are unable to predict there is a need for.

Take this Sunday for instance. I planned the song service as usual with the sermon in mind as well as the flow of the songs. A year ago I had introduced a song to the praise team called “Enough”; however, we did not learn it until this sermon series. Sunday morning I received a call to let me know that we would not be having the skit that was planned for that day – some of the participants were sick. I had a free video “Life is temporary” that I had Aaron Kurtz download at least 6 months ago but wasn’t sure when we would use it. It fit perfectly with Mark’s sermon on being content. The prayer I prayed between songs coordinated with a scripture that Mark would use in his sermon -unbeknownst to me. Jeff Ford’s communion meditation focused on the busyness of our lives and spending time having a personal relationship with God. This also coordinated perfectly with the “surprise” video. Jeff and I had not talked about his topic or our “theme” for the day. As I pondered how God had pulled all of this together Chad Marshall played “Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus” while communion was passed. I smiled. While I had been busy putting pieces together here and there – God had been busy, too; prompting thoughts and actions in others. It is sweet when we trust in Him to take control!

Then Mark began his sermon talking about “cooperating with the Holy Spirit”- working our part under His leading. Hmm. Okay, God, I get it. I’ll work on being content and allow you to use me – allow you to coordinate my efforts with those of others as we allow your Spirit to lead us where you WILL.

“Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him! How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus – oh for grace to trust him more.”