03-2009 online

Volume 13, Issue 3 March, 2009

Pastor’s Column 2

PULSE Student Ministries 4

Hearts Apart 6

Senior Adult Ministries 8

IMPACT Kids Ministries 9

Inside this issue:

A m o n t h l y c o m m u n i q u é o f

C h r i s t i a n L i f e F e l l o w s h i p

One Church ��

Two Locations

ON LINE

Every year around this time we face the chal-lenge of holding on till spring arrives. We have felt enough of the bitter sting of the winter wind. We have shoveled enough snow to last the proverbial lifetime. We have slipped on enough patches of ice, putting our lives in mortal danger. We have watched enough blizzards blow in and dump their white covering over everything, including the walks we just shoveled a couple days ago. We have crawled into enough freezing cold cars (unless you are one of the lucky ones to have a remote start!). We are just tired of the cold and wet and white stuff, and we find our-selves wondering if spring will arrive soon enough.

Well, the good news is that spring will arrive in time, and the winter blues will vanish as the sun warms up the air around us, and the first flowers of the year begin peaking out of the newly warmed soil. We are all going to survive!

There is a spiritual picture in all of this. We all like the times of our lives when everything is going great. But inevitably there comes into our lives those harsh and bleak times, a spiritual winter, so to speak. And truthfully, spiritual winter, like the harsh blizzards of nature, can destroy and kill---freezing families, chilling churches, and cracking communi-ties.

So how do we cope when the howling winds of discouragement and adversity blow? How do we survive until the warmth of spring is experienced once again. Let me give you four suggestions.

First of all, determine to have a right attitude. You see, winter is not an enemy. Psalm 74:17 tells us that God made winter. The snowpack He sends in the winter months waters the valleys during the hot summer months. The cold weather kills all those pesky bugs. Many of the perennial flowers that we enjoy and that God designed demand a winter, or they refuse to bloom again.

However, like southbound snowbirds we tend to shun winter, to avoid the difficult. But hard is not bad. It is just hard. Like the months of cold, our spiritual wintertime is not our enemy. Choose to receive the season. Let it kill off the character “bugs” that pester us. Let it bring out the best blooms in your spiritual garden.

Secondly, choose to wear the right clothes. It is said of the amazing woman of Proverbs 31, “When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all

of them are clothed in scarlet.” Much like this virtuous woman, God pro-vides us protection from spiritual frost-bite so we can walk through winter with-out fear. And what does the winter wardrobe that He offers us look like? It is that blood-red robe

of righteousness that He surrounds us with, that lets us know that we are protected. No man can pluck us out of His hand, so we are in a secure place.

Thirdly, don’t be quick to move in winter. The temptation to “go south” will always be there. We like the idea of fleeing when adversity blows, be-cause we are sure that life will be better somewhere else, if we can just escape these “gusts of God.” But we better wait until spring to decide if God really wants us to head for another place. Paul urged Timothy, “Do your best to get here before winter.” Paul’s famous shipwreck in Acts 27 occurred be-cause people insisted on traveling too close to the stormy season of winter. So when we find ourselves in a spiritual winter, don’t be quick to move. A change in spouse, or church, or address won’t cure you. You need to stay put, pray it through, and wait for spring. Moving in winter is too dangerous.

Lastly, put your stock in what you know to be true. Winter is not endless. God’s promise way backin Noah’s time was this, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, sum-mer and winter, day and night will never

BLUES WINTER BEATING�THE��

Senior Pastor’s Column

VOLUME 13, ISSUE 3

Leadership

Development As disciples of Christ. we are called to impact the world around us – leadership is not op-

tional! We will meet to read and discuss Lead

Like Jesus by Ken Blanchard on six Sunday mornings at

CLF from 9:00-10:30 beginning, Sunday March 15th. We will meet on March 15, 22, 29 & April 5, (Break for Easter) and

then April 19 & 26. PLEASE NOTE DATE CHANGE.

Secrets�of�the��Vine�

Book�Exchange�

Here’s�your�opportu�nity�to�share�some�of�those�books�that�are�piling�up�around�the�house!��Bring�your�gently�used�books�

(Christian�novels,�Bi�ble�Studies,�historical�novels,�Biographies,�etc.)�to�the�Women’s�Event�on�March�7th.��Tables�will�provide�for�you�to�deposit�your�books.��See�a�

book�you�want?...it’s�yours!��You�don’t�

have�to�bring�a�book�to�take�a�book�,�nor�

do�you�have�to�take�a�book�to�bring�a�book!�

cease.”(Genesis 8:22) The promise of God is that spring will arrive, and that ultimately it will lead to those wonderful warm days and experiences of sum-mer.

So, if you find yourself in a spiritual winter, don’t give up or run away. Hang in there, for spring is on the way, and with it will come a new perspective on life. One day soon you will be able to look out the window of your soul and sing with Solomon, “My lover said to me, ‘Rise up, my beloved, my fair one, and come away. For the winter is past, and the rain is over and gone. The flowers are springing up, and the time of singing birds has come, even the cooing of turtle-doves. The fig trees are budding, and the grapevines are in blossom. How delicious they smell! Yes, spring is here! Arise, my beloved, my fair one, and come away.’” (Song of Songs 2:10-13, NLT)

Here’s to a spring that will wash away all those wintertime blues,

Fine�Arts�Festival�is�a�discipleship�tool�of�national�youth�ministries�designed�to�"help�students�dis�cover,�develop�and�deploy�their�ministry�gifts."�

Junior�and�senior�high�school�students�may�enter�as�many�as�35�of�the�52�categories�offered�in�7�main�divisions:�Art,�Communication,�Drama,�Ex�hibition,�Instrumental,�Vocal,�and�Writing.��

Our�District�Fine�Arts�event�takes�place�in�Wau�paca�on�May�9th,�2009.��For�more�information�and�registration�forms,�check�it�out�on�the�web�at�www.pulse�ministries.org�and�click�on�the�link�on�the�bottom�of�the�page.��If�you�have�any�ques�tions�contact��Tricia,�572�1335.�

ON LINE

PULSE�STUDENT�MINISTRIES�

Fine Arts

VOLUME 13, ISSUE 3

ON LINE

What are you Reading? by Pastor Julie

The cold winter has afforded me time to do some reading. I enjoy reading books that others have recommended, especially when they are really sold on a book. Take a look and see if these might be of interest to you.

Disappointment with God by Philip Yancey. Is God unfair? Is He silent? Is He hidden? These are the questions addressed in this book. Yancey is pointing me beyond life’s questions and disappointments to a stronger, wiser faith, to know God beyond what He gives to know who He really is. This book is easy to read and understand. The hard part comes in understanding it as a lifestyle.

Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson. This book encouraged me to be passionate about my pursuit of a Godly life and the role that faith plays in pleasing God. The author uses personal stories to make the material inter-esting to read and applicable to everyday life. Pastor Jeff O’Connor rec-ommended this book.

The Bait of Satan by John Bevere. What is your response when you are offended? Are you compelled to tell “your side” of the story? Do you fight thoughts of suspicion or distrust? Do you rehearse past hurts? The author categorizes this as the “trap of offense”, a snare that Satan uses to trap us and make us ineffective. The book is filled with scripture and gives no excuses for remaining offended. It was a very challenging book recom-mended by Sue Peschke.

For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn. Every married woman or mother of a son would benefit from reading this book. I have read it twice before and recently purchased a new copy (mine was loaned out) and read it cover to cover. Through a national survey and per-sonal interviews of over one thousand men the author shares meaningful information about understanding men. I was ignorant of a great deal of this information and am thankful to have heard about this book on Focus on the Family Radio Broadcast.

So… what are you reading? Would you be willing to share it with others in this column? I would enjoy hearing from you on your reading: classic, fiction, personal growth, etc. Email me at [email protected] Check out the CLF Library for these and other titles.

VOLUME 13, ISSUE 3

Men's Breakfast every 3rd Saturday of the Month

Mark Your Calendars with these upcoming dates!!

March 21st-”Blood, Guts, Glory and Beans” With Pastor Jeff

& April 18th-topic-TBA “The�Men's�Breakfast�from�the�moment�I�entered�the�fel�lowship�hall,�was�a�high�energy�of�men,�seriously�seeking�friendship�and�relationship�with�each�other,�but�most�of�all�with�God.�It�was�so�great�to�see�the�amount�of�men�that�were�in�attendance.�To�see�the�younger�generation,�the�high�school�aged�sons�there,�showing�their�support�by�doing�cof�fee�runs�and�cleaning,�was�also�a�sign�that�this�will�leave�a�lasting�imprint�on�their�lives�as�well.�The�breakfast�food�alone�should�have�brought�in�the�hungriest�of�man.�It�was�fantastic!�

Being�this,�the�first�gathering,�it�was�great�getting�to�know�our�Men's�Breakfast�leaders,�Doug�and�Jeff.�Those�guys�are�offering�their�support�for�each�of�us�as�well�as�each�other,�that�is�what�it's�all�about.�

But,�my�very�most�favorite�part�of�the�Men's�Breakfast.....�

was�the�worshiping�of�the�Lord.�To�hear�a�group�of�men's�voices�singing�to�God�made�me�have�to�stop�singing�just�to�listen.�Amazing!�The�Holy�Spirit�was�present�and�I�know�that�God�was�very�pleased.�I�strongly�recommend�all�men�attend�the�con�tinued�gatherings�and�to�invite�someone�that�they�know,�so�they�can�experience�the�amazing�thing�God�is�doing�

in�our�lives.” Jim�

�

“The�men's�breakfast�which�I�attended�last�month�meant�so�much�to�me�because�of�the�"hope"�it�gives�me�knowing�that�men�in�Wisconsin�are�ready�for�God�to�re�mold�their�lives�into�the�men�He�desires�us�to�become.�The�power�of�"Iron�sharpen�

ing�Iron"�has�arrived�in�our�community�and�I�look�for�ward�to�the�"reconstruction"�our�Father�has�in�store�not�only�for�me�but�for�the�men�whom�are�impacted�by�Men�In�Action�at�CLF!�I�challenge�every�man�to�stand�up,�speak�out�in�faith�and�to�pull�himself�out�of�the�box�which�society�has��placed�"us"�into�while�be�ing�transformed�into�the�men,�husbands�and�fathers�God�has�instructed�us�to�become.��Oh,�the�power�of�Christ!”��Jeff�Peters�

ON LINE

VOLUME 13, ISSUE 3

The purpose of Impact Kids Ministries is to support the family in laying a spiritual foun-dation for their children that will lead them to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and to grow in their understanding and practice of living the Christian life….

I would like to introduce you to two new children that are very special to our

Impact Kids.

This is Sandra. Sandra lives in El Salva-dor, her birthday is 2/21/97. She is in 5th grade attend-ing El Tinteral school. Sandra lives with her mother and father and has 2 brothers and 3 sisters.

And this is Genesis. Genesis lives in Ecuador, her birthday is 10/3/98. She is in the 4th grade attending Liceo Chris-tiano do Guayaquil school. Genesis lives with her mother and has 2 broth-ers and 1 sister.

Both of these girls live in very poor coun-tries, where most chil-dren do not have the op-portunity to attend school or church and are very needy spiritually. These girls are fortunate in that they are part of the sponsorship program through Latin American ChildCare.

At the beginning of the year in Impact church we looked at the subject of tithing, and where our tithing goes that we give in Impact church. 100% of the kids offering goes to BGMC ~ Boys and Girls Missionary Challenge. Which is a wonderful program that helps furnish missionaries with needed literature for the mission field and whatever else they need to help spread the gospel.

Our Impact kids decided that they were not content with just giving their tithe and wanted to take on the challenge of excelling in their giving. Giving just what God is asking of them did not seem enough to them. God gives us all that we have and only asks that we give Him back 10% to help build His kingdom. The kids went home and prayed about it and came back seeing just how blessed they really are and de-cided that God had challenged them to do more than just 10%. So after much talk and discussion it was decided that in addition to their normal offering they would start bringing in extra offering each week. That money is put in a special offering container and goes to sponsor Sandra and Genesis, so that they are able to attend school, have a hot meal and learn about how much Jesus loves them; all things that our kids realize they take for granted. Since taking this challenge, the kids have come up with some really creative ways to raise money for this special offering. One young man stopped asking for a pack of gum each week and uses that money for his extra offering. One of the kids has started folding the clothes for her mom to get extra allowance which she gives for her extra of-fering. They are an encour-agement in that they have taken on this challenge and found that when you are as blessed as they are already it is easy to excel in your giving. Please pray with us that as a group our sponsorship will be a blessing to both Sandra and Genesis and that through it our kids will learn the true joy of giving.

They�(the�IMPACT�kids)�are�an�encour�

agement�in�that�they�have�taken�on�this�

challenge�and�found�that�when�you�are�as�

blessed�as�they�are�already�it�is�easy�to�excel�in�your�giving.

600

7th S

treet

, PO

Box 4

0

Port

Edwa

rds,

WI 5

4469

Ph

one:

715

-887

-356

5 Fa

x: 71

5-88

7-35

75

NO

N—

PRO

FIT

O

RG

AN

IZA

TIO

N

U

.S. P

OST

AG

E PA

ID

PER

MIT

#14

PO

RT

EDW

AR

DS,

W

ISC

ON

SIN

, 544

69

RET

UR

N S

ERV

ICE

REQ

UES

TED

Upcoming Events MOPS ................................March 5

Women’s Event ...................March 7

Adult Dinner Theater .. March 12-13

Youth Winter Blitz ....... March 13-15

MOPS ..............................March 19

Community Care Day .......March 21

Easter Weekend Services Saturday, April 11,6pm

Sunday, April 12, 8:30 & 10:30am Port Campus

Sunday, April, 12, 10am Rapids Campus (Grove School)