Elevation North has News for YOU!

HERE WE STAND! Better yet … here we bow down. Here we stand …right at the edge of the threshold of a brand new year with all its fresh, clean pages and all its unknowns. And here … we bow down in wonder and gratitude for another year, another 365 days of experiencing God’s faithfulness, day after day after day. What more could we ask for? He has blessed us with the gift of His Son, Jesus, who came to earth to connect with ordinary people in divine ways. He adopted us as His children when we said “yes” to His invitation to be a part of the family of God! And, just like He said, He has never, ever left us – not even when the going got tough. He was especially close in those moments when it felt like everyone else walked away. When the knot at the end of the rope tauntingly acted as if it would let loose, He was there … and He is here. Here we stand, proof positive that God IS Emmanuel – that He IS with us! And so we bow down, in pure adoration and hearts overflowing with childlike wonder at His works done on our behalf. He has, after what seemed like an unending search, brought us to a new place to worship where we can expand our fellowship and outreach and make a greater impact for eternity. We stood in the gap … and waited and prayed. And waited some more - and claimed His best. Now on bended knee … we bow before Him, ready to do whatever He calls us to do in this place, that He might be lifted up and people changed by His Spirit. Father God, You are SO good! Each day you bring an awareness of Your presence, and then on top of that, You bring to us Your good and perfect gifts (James 1:17). Just a week ago, we were standing at the door and anticipating the arrival of our youngest son, his wife, and their three little boys, ages six, three, and one. Before they came, I had prayed that we would somehow be able to bless them and that God’s favor would rest upon our time shared together. (In my lack, I always find it appropriate to ask Jesus to help me be like Him, so that in everything I do I will look like Him and act like Him and even “smell” like Him - that is, carrying the fragrance of Christ.) Finally after they had driven all through the night, they appeared on our doorstep and we flung the door open wide! What a precious sight they were! And for the next several days, pre-Christmas and post-Christmas … we loved having them “home” with us! Just being together, whether at home – or out and about, was most important to us. When you get to see your family only a few days out of the year, your heart is filled to the brim just looking around and seeing them close by – seeing their smiles, hearing their voices, and getting hugs and kisses! I think that must be how God feels about us; He just wants us to be close by Him – expressing our love to Him! How we loved celebrating Jesus’ birth in church together on Christmas Eve, and what fun to see those little boys’ eyes dance in excitement over their wrapped packages here at Grampa’s and Gramma’s house! Plus, we even had the joy of having our son and littlest grandson here right after their birthdays! Meals together, Christmas goodies, laughter and teasing, having fun and playing with those sweet little boys, looking through old photos, talks into the wee hours of the morning, and sharing about Jesus … all that and more made this Christmas visit so very special! We bow down … with thanks to God for joyful memories of family time! Thanks for coming and blessing us, Dustin, Becky, Isaiah, Miles, and Luke! Now with the last few days and hours of 2011 slipping quickly through the hourglass of time, here we stand. We know we are facing challenges and opportunities. We understand there will be sadness as well as joys unspeakable. Without a doubt there will be circumstances that could break us – unless we allow those times to make us more than we already are. Walking into the brand new year of 2012 is like peering into the unforeseeable future, a part of us wanting to know what is to come … yet trusting God with each tick of the clock, with each step we take, and each plan we make. It’s really about living the gift of another year to the fullest … entrusting our very lives and every part of our future to the God who created us and who created time. He, after all, does all things well! And He has our best interests at heart! I’m excited that we can be a part of what God is up to in this new year! And I’m excited that we can stand strong in Him … and bow down before Him! Two stances – will you decide to position yourself in both ways as you cross over into 2012? I hope so! Brothers and sisters in Christ, “Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us (a fortress and a high tower). Selah (pause, and calmly think of that)!” Psalm 62:8, (The Amplified Bible)

IN A NUTSHELL . . .
- CHRISTMAS WOULD NOT BE CHRISTMAS without celebrating Jesus! And because Christ was the center of all of our celebrations, we were truly blessed as a church family! We worshipped together, we gave Jesus His birthday gift - sharing with a young family in need, we sang the message of His coming to earth to those who are shut-in, and we were blessed! We pray that others were, too, as well as each of you at Elevation North!
- A SPECIAL WELCOME to Scott and to Gypsy who joined us in worship for the first time on Christmas Sunday! We pray that you experienced a warm welcome and the presence of Christ in our midst!

- LOOKING AHEAD . . .
- THIS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31ST: 8 P.M. to Midnight – NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY for the entire church family, with movies, games, and all kinds of munchies! Invite a friend or two, bring your favorites games and snacks, and plan to have a great time of fun, fellowship, and relaxing! There will be a short devotional with prayer as the clock counts down to the New Year!
- RE: FUEL YOUTH OVERNIGHTER – staying from midnight on New Year’s Eve all through the night until morning and time for church! Bring your electronic games and some extra snacks! Come and hang out with Pastor Doug!
- THIS SUNDAY, JANUARY 1ST: A HAPPY & BLESSED NEW YEAR TO ALL!
- 10:00 A.M. – PRAISE & WORSHIP, with the conclusion of “The Mysteries of Christmas” series, focusing on the Wisemen, who came to see Baby Jesus. Bring your Bible and follow along in the book of Matthew.
- 11:15 A.M. – KINGDOM CONNECTION time to fellowship with your church family!
- NEXT SUNDAY, JANUARY 8TH: 10:00 A.M. – PRAISE & WORSHIP with a “State of the Church” message to set out challenges for the new year at Elevation North! We are anticipating great things from God!
- 11:15 A.M. – KINGDOM CONNECTION - Sunday School classes for the entire family! Don’t miss out!!!
- JANUARY 11 – 31: FASTING & PRAYER … what better way to seek God’s face and deepen our relationship with Him? You’ll be hearing more about this powerful time in the life of our church!
- COMING UP: WOMEN OF FAITH planning meeting with Debbie and Sonya; date to be announced!
- STARTING SOON: MID-WEEK BIBLE STUDY on Wednesday evenings at the church; details to come!
- CHURCH VISIONARY ANNUAL MEETING at the end of the month – date & time to be posted next week!

- PRAYER CAN CHANGE OUR WORLD! Starting with us, the effects of prayer can ripple through our homes, our churches, our jobs, and everywhere we are at! This week, please hold up Gerard who has cancer surgery, for Elsie’s stroke recovery, for the Lundstrom family, for Josh, Sarah, and family, for Johnny & Cherry, for Shirley, for Justin, for Cierra. Great is our God!!! Hallelujah!

- REMEMBER . . . “There is a past which is gone forever, but there is a future which is still our own.”
~ F.W. Robertson


Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Pastor Doug and Debbie

Elevation North has News for YOU!

TIME IS RUNNING OUT! That’s most likely the clarion call of throngs of people this Christmas season as they hurry and scurry about in what seems like a futile attempt to get everything ready for celebrations with family and friends. The clock seems to have sped up and no matter how we try, we cannot slow down those hands as they go around and around. Countdown is imminent and before we know it, ready or not, THE MOMENT arrives! Those moments of having “the house all sparkling and clean” … “the perfect gifts under the tree” … “the Christmas dinner ready” … and “the fun activities planned for making memories” … like sand in the hourglass, have run out! Even with precision planning and over-the-top organization … add in the mix of anything unexpected – and the idea that everything can get done on time goes “poof” in a split-second! We were in the Mall of America the other day to meet our oldest son and “daughter” so we could watch our grand-daughter do her practice ice-skating routine at the arena, which by the way was such a fun blessing! And she did great! How do our grandchildren grow up so fast? While entering the Mall, we were amazed by the largest Christmas trees we had ever seen! A pair of them drew everyone’s immediate attention to the central display where live music was being played on the stage between those grand Christmas beacons. Standing there gazing up at them and listening to the beautiful music, suddenly our son and his wife appeared! He had sent us to this place to meet, and because it was the central focus of everything, there was no difficulty in finding each other. Lindsay was off exploring the Mall with her team-mates and chaperone … so we embarked on our own set of adventures with our son and daughter. Walking here and walking there, we saw hundreds and hundreds of people just milling around the Mall. Very few looked as if they were out for a relaxed stroll – and many others looked a lot lost – plus seeming like they were at a loss for what gifts they should buy. And then it was, “can we afford this”? Others seemed to just settle for whatever gift they could lay their hands on … because after all, Christmas is almost here – and time is running out! I kept thinking to myself, “How many of you people know that it’s Jesus’ Birthday we are celebrating on Christmas Day?” Sometimes it takes the shock of something to bring us back to reality … to remind us of what’s really important. Like just one week ago today, we received the phone call telling us that our friend, Connie, had gone to be with Jesus. Though we knew she was battling cancer and dealing with extreme pain, we also knew she had thousands of people praying for her healing! Well, God healed her the way He chose! While we would have loved to have kept her here and to see her healed on this earth, God wanted even more to have her come and live with Him. And He gets first choice! Thrilled for her, yet we are saddened by the loss of such a special lady who touched so many lives for eternity. That first day, I just kept saying, “Wow, Connie, you’re with Jesus! What is it like, Connie?” It hardly seemed true that first day – and now a week later, it still hardly seems true. But the realization of our mere morality slaps us directly across the face, and gives us a lashing of the heart, chiding us for not always doing what is most important. One of the first things I chided myself for was not posting a short message in response to what she had just written the day before on Facebook. The hour was getting so late, I still had so much to do, and though I had prayed for Connie and held her in my heart, I made the decision to go to bed and get a little rest – I would post a message for her the next time. But, alas, time was running out for Connie, and little did I know that God was sending His angels for her the very next morning! No more chances for me to do what I could have done the evening before! Oh, I know she would understand. It’s just that I knew I had missed an opportunity to encourage her! Time had run out. Now, another choice. This past weekend because I chose to do what I knew was most important – investing in the life of our granddaughter… time ran out for something else. But, without question, we made the right choice. We came home late Saturday evening and still had several ministry items to complete before worship the next morning. We did everything and then … the church blog still awaited its creation. Time was running out. By this time, it was midnight, and to accomplish the writing, the publishing, and the sending of the blog, I would still be up another almost three hours. I knew that our family who watches the “hour” that the blog gets posted would be concerned that I was up into the wee hours of the morning. And my husband, though I was so saddened at the possibility of not getting to do the blog, simply and sternly said, “Deb, you are not doing that blog at this hour – you are going to bed!” Not having ever missed writing a weekly update for the church blog before, I wanted so much to still write. But in my heart, I just knew he was right. When you’ve done all you know how to do … you leave it in God’s hands ~ and life goes on. There would be another week, and another blog. And if not, being Home with Jesus would be all that would matter, right?! A very long time ago, because God didn’t want Time to run out on us, He sent His Son as a Baby in the manger – so that we would have the opportunity – right now, today - to choose Him so that we can live forever! Time IS running out … who can we tell about Jesus and the real reason we celebrate Christmas? Let’s answer that before it’s too late!

IN A NUTSHELL . . .

- BLESSINGS, BLESSINGS were ours these past few weeks! Our people were blessed and encouraged by the ministry of Wayne and Verla, and how we thank them for their gift of time and travel and talents! May God’s favor be yours, we pray! Our church has also been blessed with the anonymous gift of a new sound system (new to us!), complete with mixer and capability for four microphones! May God bless this family who has given from their hearts to enhance the ministry of Elevation North for the glory of God!
- OUR SPECIAL WELCOME to Karrie, Leah, and Isaac, who worshipped with us for the first time in these past few weeks! What a joy to have you join us in worship and fellowship! We pray you were blessed!
- THANKS to everyone who participated in the caroling ministry to our community of seniors in four different facilities this past Sunday! God gifted us with great weather, happy recipients of our singing, and a great time around the tables as we enjoyed bowls of hot chili and cups of hot chocolate – plus all those Christmas goodies!
- BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS go out to Joel, Corie, and Andrew! May each of you experience God’s love & peace!
- LOVING BIRTHDAY WISHES are sent to our youngest son, Dustin, who celebrates on December 21st! Our prayer is that your life and year to come will be showered with God’s favor above all else! We love you, son!

- LOOKING AHEAD . . .

- DECEMBER 24TH: 6:00 P.M. - CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLELIGHT COMMUNION SERVICE; bring the family!
- BRING YOUR GIFTS for the family we want to bless this evening; it’s our Birthday Gift to Jesus!!!
- DECEMBER 25TH: 10:00 a.m. – CHRISTMAS SUNDAY WORSHIP CELEBRATION / JESUS’ BIRTHDAY!
- DECEMBER 31ST: 8:00 P.M. – NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY for all ages w/movies, games, and snacks! Come and get to know your church family better as we spend a relaxing, fun evening together! Bring your favorite snack!
- JANUARY 1ST: 10:00 A.M. – NEW YEAR’S DAY PRAISE & WORSHIP focusing on the opportunities and visions for the new year as together we serve the Lord and continue reaching out beyond the walls of our church!

- GOD INVITES US TO ASK! So today, we are asking for God’s special touch of healing for Gerard, Elsie, Bryan, Kay, and others; we are claiming divine protection for Justin and all of those serving our country; we are seeking miracles for Johnny and Cherry; for leading for Cierra; we are praising God for great results for Verla; and together, we are trusting God for every need each one of us has! To God be the glory!

- REMEMBER . . . “Christmas is the day that holds all time together.” ~ Alexander Smith (“For unto us a child is born, to us a Son is given …” Isaiah 9:6)


Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

Elevation North has News for YOU!

HOMELESS. It’s Christmas-time, and whether we want to look - or not, there are homeless people all around us. Checking in really quickly to see the latest posts on Facebook from our family and friends, there was a post with a “you-tube” video clip of a homeless young man who was competing in a talent search in Korea. Our friend had a friendly warning that watching this would make you cry. But I wasn’t ready for the emotions that poured from me as I viewed it. He was being interviewed before he sang for the judges and the audience, and a simple question was posed to him: “I see on your form you didn’t fill in any information about your family,” the young female judge said. The young twenty-something contestant replied, “That’s because when I was three years old, I was left in an orphanage and was beaten. I ran away at age five.” Another lady judge asked him how he lived after that. He said, “I sold energy drinks and gum in the streets for ten years. I slept on stairs and in public toilets.” He said he had even been “sold sometimes – somewhere.” His voice trailed off. By this time, the entire audience – as well as the judges - were held captive by his story. The first judge asked him why he liked to sing. He said he wasn’t very good, but he loved singing. It made him feel like a different person, he stated. He shared that he had listened sometimes to a singer who sang with such sincerity at a night-club that it made him want to sing. As he listened to the singer, he drank it all in and just taught himself by what he heard. At this point, the young lady judge simply said, “Sing for us.” The music started and he opened his mouth before the microphone. An incredible full, rich-sounding, almost operatic voice burst forth! He closed his eyes and sang with his heart. Instantaneously, as the camera panned over the audience, people were at first just stunned. Then they began crying. The judges were wiping tears from their cheeks. Then everyone broke out in wild applause! Later in a back-stage room, the judges pondered the homeless young man’s performance. One of them said, “Regardless of his hard life, he runs passionately towards what he wants.” The closing moments of the clip show him walking off stage and he is being affirmed by some stage-hands telling him that he will be cheered on by millions of Koreans in the next round of competition, and if he tries really hard, maybe by the whole world! Then he walks down the long hall back-stage towards the exit. I don’t know the rest of the story … but how I love that God gifts so amazingly those who are looked upon as the down-and-out. He has put within so many of them a hidden treasure that often is not discovered until much later. But in many cases, that special gift has been their refuge, their comfort, their hope. And most likely, because of this young man’s beautiful voice, he will never be homeless again! What’s it like to be homeless? I am sure he will never, ever forget. Only minutes after recovering from the emotion of this gripping story, I remembered how we were homeless once. Yes, my husband and I. Once, after our three sons were grown and on their own, and we found ourselves on a long journey between churches. We had always lived in parsonages (homes owned by the churches we pastored). So because in God’s time-line for us, we had a gap between ministries … we found ourselves homeless, with no place to go. All of our belongings were on a moving truck being stored for us, and we kept only enough with us to fit into a few suitcases. That’s how we lived – for fourteen months. But God, who was WITH us in that gap of time and WITH us on that journey, provided at each turn in the road, a home for us to live in. First with friends out in the country … then with friends in town … and then with our second son and his wife and our grandchildren – until God told us “this journey was over!” We will forever be grateful to all of them! Our dream and passion to return to ministry never dimmed – and never died. We would sit in a pew in the church wherever we were at for that season, and tears would drop off our cheeks to our lap. We longed so much to be in the pulpit and at the piano again. That had been our life for such a long time. But God was preparing to take us into an expanded version of ministry that we could not have ever dreamed of. He was moving us into the marketplace. And that’s another story – for another time, which many of you already know. We are still there, in fact … but He has given us Elevation North to love and to serve and nurture. And now He is expanding that! How will this story turn out? Will we ever be homeless again? Only God knows those answers. A long time ago, Jesus experienced the same homeless feeling that the young Korean man did … and the same way we did. In Matthew 8:20, Jesus said, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” This verse was recorded in the context of the cost of following Jesus. In His ministry on earth doing what the Father asked Him to do, Jesus really had no place to call His own. Homeless, yet He brought Hope to those around Him. And somehow, in this Christmas season, for those of us who are not homeless, I think God would have us be His hands and His heart to those all around us who are less fortunate. I have a feeling we won’t have to look far!

IN A NUTSHELL . . .

- WHAT A JOY to lift our voices in singing those beautiful Christmas carols on Sunday morning! The message is so precious … wouldn’t we love to sing them all year long? Being in church and worshipping together makes the celebration of Christ’s birth even more special!
- WE SHARE A WARM WELCOME with Nicole, Beth, Diane, and Karla … who all came to worship with us this past Sunday for the first time! We are so glad you came, and we pray that you sensed God’s presence!
- BELATED THANKS to Hazel for her generous donation of table décor for our Thanksgiving church luncheon a few weeks ago … it was lovely and provided such a great atmosphere for our church family to enjoy!
- A VERY SPECIAL HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY to our youngest grandchild, Luke Michael, on this Sunday, December 11th! Wow … you’ve blessed us for a whole year now – and we pray that Jesus’ love & blessings will rest upon you always! And the very same day, our LOVING CONGRATULATIONS are sent to our son and his wife, DJ and Melissa, on their 12th Anniversary; we celebrate your love and God’s goodness in your lives! SPECIAL 16TH BIRTHDAY WISHES are sent to our grandson, Dylan, as we join him in celebrating this milestone birthday on December 15th; may God’s blessings and favor be yours all year long! We love all of you more than we can say!
- SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS to Cierra who graduated from the University of Minnesota in Mankato on Saturday, December 10th … we are so proud of you, and pray with you for God’s plans to be clearly shown!

- LOOKING AHEAD . . .

- THIS SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11TH: 10:00 A.M. – PRAISE & WORSHIP with our special guests, Wayne & Verla, who have come all the way from Nebraska to be with us! Join all of us for this anointed time – and be blessed! Don’t miss this extra-special service; invite a friend ~ or several! It’s the perfect time of year to do so!
- 11:15 A.M. – KINGDOM CONNECTION – A time of fellowship is planned with the Bucholz family! We welcome them back and thank them for their continued faithful support! May God bless all of you!
- NEXT SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18TH: 10:00 A.M. – PRAISE & WORSHIP with a host of Christmas music and Pastor Doug’s third message in the series, “The Mysteries of Christmas,” from the book of Matthew.

- FOLLOWING WORSHIP: AFTERNOON CAROLING with CHILI & HOT CHOCOLATE; sign-up today! Let’s brighten the lives of those who are shut-in around our community – with some Christmas joy!
- DECEMBER 24TH: 6:00 P.M. – CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLELIGHT COMMUNION SERVICE! Don’t miss this!!!
- DECEMBER 25TH: 10:00 A.M. – CHRISTMAS SUNDAY WORSHIP CELEBRATION / JESUS’ BIRTHDAY!
- 2011 CHRISTMAS PROJECT – see the poster and choose a gift or two to help bless a family in need!

- PRAYER IS ONE OF GOD’S MOST SPECIAL GIFTS TO US … use it wisely this week to bless others! Let’s remember those in need of healing, provision, joy, deliverance, protection, and God-appointments!

- REMEMBER . . . “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are – no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.” ~ Matthew 5:5

Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

Elevation North has News for YOU!

WHEN HAS IT EVER BEEN CONVENIENT? To serve God, that is! I was thinking this morning about our Sunday School class study called, “Fan or Follower” – as it relates to our relationship with God. It’s been a real eye-opener so far, and you kind of come to the conclusion that while many of us think of ourselves as followers, in the true sense of the word we are probably only fans more often than we would care to admit. It’s easy to be a fan of something! There really is no real effort or depth on our part – other than making a lot of noise! We think a band is cool – or a sports team is awesome. We clap and we yell, we cheer and we scream out our accolades and affirmations. The closest we get to being “followers” is following them from venue to venue – or from game to game. But, to be a true follower of someone, we need to really know them, and that requires spending lots of time with them. It requires devoted study and committing that knowledge to memory. It is proved out in following faithfully without wavering, through the thick and the thin – and through the good times and bad times. It is more than being a devoted fan – until our band or team lets us down … and we just switch to some other band who is more popular and successful, or to some other team who is having a better winning streak. There’s the “fan” status for you. We start all over again, and we don’t know the new band or team any better than we knew the previous one. We just want to be on board with something that is easy and feels good. Convenient. Who needs to be a follower, anyway, if you put it in those terms? I guess it depends how much you believe in something or someone, and how much you are willing to give and sacrifice to be close to them and really know them. I guess it depends on how much you want that project or person to understand and see the level of your commitment and devotion. That becomes the dividing factor between fan and follower. All that I’ve just said got me to thinking about “when” has it ever been convenient to follow God? Was it easy for Abel, who chose to give God his very best sacrifice? His jealous brother killed him. Was it easy for Noah who chose obedience over people’s acceptance when he built the ark as God told him to? They thought he was crazy and made it their top priority to ridicule him. Abraham, with all the faith he could muster, just about took the life of his beloved son because God had asked him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. How convenient was that? Jacob followed God to a far-off land in search of livelihood and a wife. It took him fourteen long years to earn the right to call Rachel his own. Was that easy? Was it easy for Elijah when he put up His God against the followers of Baal at the altar? Or when he went running toward the sea to look for any sign of a rain-cloud after all those years of drought? He put his faith on the line and could have looked like a fool and a liar. What about Esther, who stood before the king without permission granted in an attempt to save her people from being wiped out. Was it easy, risking her very life to save God’s people? Look at Job … one moment, the most godly, influential man in the land – the next, a pauper scraping his sores with broken pottery amongst ashes. His family and wealth and belongings slipped away faster than the Dow and Jones on any given day. How convenient was it to serve a God that would allow that to happen, or better yet, actually give permission for it to happen? Was it easy for a young teenage girl who had kept herself pure to willingly offer her body to become the vessel for the human birth of the Son of God? She almost lost the man she was about to marry – and family and friends acted as if she had disgraced them all. How convenient was it for Joseph to learn of Mary’s pregnancy and try to wrap his human mind around such divine, supernatural news? Now he was looked upon with the same kind of disdain and disgust. Was it easy for Jesus to leave the glories of Heaven to be confined to a tiny womb and then be born in a stable? What a far cry from streets of gold was that musty manger with prickly straw as He was placed there in front of the warm breath of – animals! Son of God? Most people would never have guessed that, looking at Him now. Tiny and wrinkled and in the humblest of surroundings. Let’s call for a replay of all these people that I’ve mentioned. Ordinary people, all of them – with the exception of Jesus. He just looked ordinary as a Baby, but of course, He wasn’t. Placed in unusually tough circumstances, they all became extraordinary followers of Jesus Christ. What they endured took them way beyond the status of only being a fan of Jesus. There’s something about going through the fire, about being called to endure greater things, that raises our level of devotion to God and our longing for deeper intimacy. Easy? No! Convenient? Never! Is it worth it? Yes, a million times, yes! Look at how each of these people impacted the Kingdom of God – then AND now. And we all know that we will never, ever be the same because Jesus came as a Babe in the manger so long ago to begin His journey to the Cross, that we might live with Him forever! Easy? No! Convenient? Never! Was it worth it? He would say “yes” … “for you, a million times, yes”! From this day forward, whatever it takes … may we all choose to be followers of Christ, in the truest sense of the word. Our God deserves nothing less!

IN A NUTSHELL . . .

- GOD’S FAITHFULNESS shows forth every Sunday as we gather together in His presence! Our prayer is that each week as we come, this place will be a safe haven where you experience God’s love and ours … where you find hope anew and strength to go on! We love how we can minister to each other in the body of Christ!
- A SPECIAL WELCOME to Corey, who has worshipped with us these past few weeks! We are so glad to have you with us, and we pray God’s blessings upon you!
- A SPECIAL THANKS to Mary for donating the Christmas tree for the sanctuary, and to the Graff family for decorating the trees at church! We appreciate all your time and talents and generosity!

- LOOKING AHEAD . . .

- THIS SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4TH: 10:00 A.M. – PRAISE & WORSHIP centering around our Lord’s birth, as we celebrate with Pastor’s second message in the series, “The Mysteries of Christmas!” Be ready to sing the beautiful Christmas songs and to dig into the scriptures in the book of Micah. Bring someone with you!
- 11:15 a.m. – KINGDOM CONNECTION - Sunday School classes for all ages, including our puppet ministry!
- 12:00 noon – RE: FUEL YOUTH EVENT/pizza, games, devotions, and a fun-filled afternoon at church!!!
- NEXT SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11TH: 10:00 A.M. – PRAISE & WORSHIP with special guests, Wayne and Verla! Don’t miss this awesome time in the House of the Lord! Clint and Kristina and family will be visiting us, as well!
- SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18TH: 10:00 A.M. – PRAISE & WORSHIP with more Christmas music and Pastor Doug’s third message on “The Mysteries of Christmas” – this time from the book of Matthew! Bring your Bibles!
- CHRISTMAS CAROLING w/ CHILI & HOT CHOCOLATE after! Following worship, we will carpool to bring Christmas joy to those who are shut-in! Please join us – this is what Christmas is really about! Be sure to sign up for what you are planning to bring … chili, soup, Christmas goodies and treats, and hot chocolate!!! Stay and fellowship!
- DECEMBER 24TH: 6:00 P.M. – CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLELIGHT COMMUNION SERVICE; bring the entire family to begin your Christmas celebration in church celebrating the birth of Jesus!
- DECEMBER 25TH: 10:00 A.M. - CHRISTMAS SUNDAY WORSHIP CELEBRATION honoring Jesus on His birthday! Start out your day in God’s House and then share the rest of His day with your family!
- 2011 CHRISTMAS PROJECT – see the poster for gift ideas with sizes, etc. to bless this family in need!

- PRAYING BIRTHS JOY! We share our hearts with God, He listens, He answers, and we are filled with joy at His work in us and in the lives of others! Please remember those on our prayer list, trusting God for His best!

- REMEMBER . . . “In all of your Christmas celebrations … JESUS is the REASON for the SEASON!”


Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

Elevation North has News for YOU!

SEEP INTO EVERY SECTOR OF OUR LIVES, LORD!!! I heard that phrase last evening, and something in my heart leaped in such a way that I knew it would be the springboard for my message this week! A CBN reporter named Wendy Griffith has written a book titled, “Praying the News”. We all know how upsetting, frustrating, and even traumatizing the daily newscasts can be at times. And what do we do about it? We vent, we complain, we worry, we wring our hands, and we blame others. How often do we ever pray about the news that disturbs us so? Do we ever stop and pray about a topic that made the headlines, other than tragic weather events? You’re probably thinking … “that’s just one more thing to add to my already overly busy life; how do I stretch myself any further?” I can empathize. I really can, believe me! But what I propose today is that we don’t add this one more thing to our lives – how about we just replace what we are already doing with something better? We are already getting stressed over the news and we expend all kinds of energy to make our opinions known. So what if we just give that up and every time we hear the news and feel like blowing a cork, how about we just turn that negative energy into a focused, powerful prayer on behalf of the news situation? I have not yet read the book I mentioned, but I have a strong sense that we could effect huge changes in our nation if we responded to the news with prayer each time, rather than how most of us have responded all of our lives. Just imagine America being a nation who prayed her news, rather than being reactionary in ways that drain our hopes and our dreams. The fact is: we can STILL become a nation that prays the news. What would happen if I would start … and YOU would start … and OTHERS would start? We could be the tiny spark that ignites a nation of people who PRAYS THE NEWS – rather than fears it or hates it! Wouldn’t God just love an ever-increasing nucleus of people whose prayers turned the tide of the news stories? The author, Wendy, mentioned three things that are crucial to seeing our nation changed: humility, unity, and faith. I agree, and I am sure you do, too! Back to the first word I spoke in this message: seep! The dictionary states that seep means “ooze” or “pass gradually”. When I equate that meaning into inviting God into every sector of our lives, I think of asking Him to pour Himself into every part of how we live. When something oozes, it runs into every available spot and fills it in. That’s how much a part of our lives I think God wants to be! I don’t think He wants to just be a part of our homes or our families or our jobs … I think He wants to be a part of everything that happens 24-7. That takes some seeping, some oozing – that is, if we’ll let Him be that much a part of our lives. If we will let Him come in at that level, we’ll begin to see some amazing changes in us, personally, and we’ll start to see a noticeable ripple effect. We will look different. We’ll sound different. So will our families. Our churches. Our workplaces. Our towns. And ultimately, our nation. Yes, even our news! Why? Because we’ve been praying not only our news, but every happening in our life. For every struggle, we name it and pray it. For every blessing, we name it and thank God for it. That’s a prayer, you know! When we start taking the blinders off and seeing our world as it really is, I think that in itself should be enough to shock us into wanting to do something about it. After all, we have to live in it. And if we don’t like very much about it, then we should see ourselves as a catalyst that will help swing it back to God and to the values that really matter! News is important, you know. It can sway public and personal opinion. It can set the mood of the entire country – or even the world. It speaks loudly and carries much weight. It should always be only truth. So often it contains little truth or slanted truth, at best. Yet people believe it. It is the basis for much decision making. Wouldn’t you love to turn on the news and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it could be counted on as pure truth? Wouldn’t you love to check out the news and hear something positive and uplifting as the headline story? Long ago, God gave us such news when He sent out the heavenly news anchors from HOPE.3.16 – and they broadcast live on the hillsides of Judea to the waiting world. Get this … the first words out of the angels’ mouths were: “Do not be afraid …”. Have you ever heard that when you turned on any of the news channels? And then they went on to say, “ … for behold I bring you good news …”. How we’d love to hear THAT each night! But that wasn’t all – they went on, “ … of a great joy which will come to all the people.” Not everyone understood. But for generations they had prayed for the Messiah to come. “For unto you is born this day in the town of David a Savior, Who is Christ (the Messiah) the Lord!” (Luke 2:10-12) What great news they heard that night! Yet, sadly, not all of them received it. This new Christmas season, may we all hear and receive the Good News of Jesus’ birth! And then … may we become news pray-ers and news bearers as we allow God to seep into every nook and cranny of our entire being!

IN A NUTSHELL . . .

- BOUNTIFULLY BLESSED! That’s what we were this past Sunday! We were blessed with a great message on gratitude; with great worship and fellowship amongst God’s people; and great food as we celebrated around the tables with each other! And above all, we were blessed with the Spirit of God as His presence filled His House and our hearts!
- A SPECIAL WELCOME to David’s family members who came to worship with us for the first time! We loved having each of you come to share with us; how you blessed us! May God bless you abundantly!
- BIRTHDAY WISHES are being sent out to Sierra on November 27th, and to Deondre on November 28th! May your celebrations and the year to come be blessed in every way!
- OUR THANKS & APPRECIATION to all of our families who provided such an abundance of delicious foods for our Thanksgiving luncheon this past Sunday! We heard so many comments of how enjoyable it was!

- LOOKING AHEAD . . .

- THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27TH: 10:00 A.M. – PRAISE & WORSHIP beginning our new series of messages called “The Mysteries of Christmas” with Pastor Doug sharing from scriptures in the Old and the New Testaments. This week we will take a look at scriptures in the book of Isaiah. Don’t miss the wonder of this incredible season – and bring someone with you to celebrate the Reason for the Season!
- 11:15 A.M. – KINGDOM CONNECTION – Sunday School Classes for all ages; including puppet ministry for the little ones and younger children!
- NEXT SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4TH: 10:00 A.M. – PRAISE & WORSHIP / AFTERNOON YOUTH EVENT!
- CHRISTMAS CAROLING out in our Community - w/Chili and Soup Luncheon to follow! Watch for date & full details!!! Be sure to sign up if you are going caroling with us; and add your name to the Chili/Soup list!!!
- DECEMBER 24TH: 6:00 P.M. - CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLELIGHT COMMUNION SERVICE; bring your entire family to celebrate Jesus’ birth in this very special gathering!
- DECEMBER 25TH: 10:00 A.M. – CHRISTMAS SUNDAY CELEBRATION in honor of Jesus’ birthday!
- WATCH FOR A FULL LIST OF CHRISTMAS MINISTRIES in next week’s church blog, including our special 2011 Christmas Project to bless a family in need of our generosity!

- PRAYER BRINGS HOPE! And there’s nothing more that our sponsored children, Tarike and Daouda, need than the hope that answered prayer brings! Remember them each day, as well as our own church families and others from near and far that we are praying for! There is such an attack on believers as well as on those in ministries, whether here in America or abroad – we really need to pray for each other! Let’s also lift up those who give so much to protect us and preserve our freedom! Let’s be on bended knee!!!

- REMEMBER . . . “May God’s very character seep into every part of your character … until you act like Him, look like Him, and carry the very aroma of Christ!”

Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

Elevation North has News for YOU!

SOMETIMES I HAVE THESE THOUGHTS … like, I wonder if God is peeking down upon us and seeing us as grateful children. Or does He shake His head at the spoiled brats we can be sometimes? Maybe He thinks we’ll never stop complaining! With Thanksgiving just around the corner, our thoughts should turn – more than ever - to having thankful hearts and expressing our gratitude – and showing appreciation. Actually, living in a spirit of thankfulness should be our way of life, right? After all, we are children of the living God, and for that reason alone, we have so much to be thankful for that we could write until we ran out of paper and our pens went dry. We should be able to make the Guinness Book of World Records for how long we could keep our list going! Sadly, in the world we live in today, showing gratitude is practiced less and less. How about for this Thanksgiving … and in all the days to come thereafter, we make a new commitment to keep “thanks – giving” on the tip of our tongues. Just how many things can we find to be thankful for in a day’s time? Start checking on yourself – beginning today! And when you start to complain or whine – stop yourself dead in your tracks. Rewind to a place of thanking God for something …in every circumstance! Voice it, express it, don’t miss the opportunity! You’ll be surprised how others start responding to you when you take the time and effort to thank them for something, even if it is just something small. And smile when you show your gratitude. Hearts will be warmed, and soon changed. Giving out thanks only returns in positive ways! It automatically pays extra dividends, and soon it multiplies, and then the ripple-effect begins. When you show gratitude, it starts to rub off on others. It’s just like your attitude – after all, I believe that gratitude IS an attitude! It is contagious! Which scenario makes you want to do more for someone? When you share or give or do something out of the goodness of your heart – and not even a simple “thank you” is expressed? Your feel a little taken for granted, right? Or when you do the littlest thing for someone – and they thank you over and over and are so appreciative? That just spurs you on to do something even more the next time, right? Let’s face it. While we should never do things for the thanks … it’s just nice to be appreciated! And I believe God’s Word gives us such great examples of showing gratitude. Let’s check out a few! I absolutely LOVE this one: “Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart.” Philippians 1:3-4, (The Message Bible) And Colossians 1:3, expresses gratitude this way: “Our prayers for you are always spilling over into thanksgivings. We can’t quit thanking God our Father and Jesus our Messiah for you!” In I Thessalonians, chapter 1 and verse 2, Paul writes, “Every time we think of you, we thank God for you.” How would that make you feel if someone told you that the next time they see you? And how could you make someone else feel if the next time you saw them, you genuinely told them, “Every time I see you, I thank God for you!” It would probably bring tears to their eyes. And they would never forget it. I remember being told that Mary Kay Ash once said, “Look at others as if they have a sign hung around their neck that says, ‘Make me feel important.’” You see, we all have a need, a deep longing to be cared about. And part of that need is fulfilled when others show gratitude to us. And that gratitude can come in any size, shape, or style! The possibilities are endless! Try being creative with how you show others that you are thankful for them. And of course, we shouldn’t make it just about others. Even more importantly, let’s tell the Lord Jesus Christ just how thankful we are for Him coming to the earth – for us! Let’s let Him know how it makes us feel that if we were the only person on this earth – He would have still gone to the Cross for us so that we could have the opportunity to live with Him forever! Unworthy … that’s us, but ever so grateful!!! We should consider ourselves on “special assignment” to thank God in ways that touch His heart. And those ways, whatever they might be, should be as unique as we are. God never gets stuck in a rut. We do. He loves the simple expressions. The honest ones. The ones from way deep down in our heart. While we can never surprise Him – He loves our efforts to make Him feel loved and appreciated! After all, we’re His kids … and what parent doesn’t love to have their children say, “Thank you, Mom! Thank you, Dad!” So, Father God, Poppa, Daddy … in our simplistic, but heartfelt way, we want to tell you that we love You more than we can put into words. Our thankful hearts are nearly bursting with appreciation for all You’ve done for us – yesterday, today, and what You will continue to do for us in all our tomorrows! Who could have chosen a more incredible Father for us than YOU?! We are blessed, indeed, for God our Savior, and for a million other blessings besides!!!

IN A NUTSHELL . . .

- IT’S AWAYS AMAZING … that no matter what kind of a week we’ve had – when we choose to walk into God’s House and gather with His people in worship and praise, because our focus is on the Lord God of Israel – who is also the Lord God of US … we discover that peace that defies description! It’s a peace like no other! We were challenged by Pastor D’s message, “Growing Your Faith” to step out and walk into the places God has called us to – even when we cannot see what is ahead! God will always empower us to do what He’s called us to do!
- A SPECIAL WELCOME to Corey who came to worship with us Sunday for the first time; we hope you felt the love of Jesus and ours, too! May each of your days be blessed, Corey!
- THIS WEEK IS FILLED with lots of birthday celebrations: Belated wishes for Spencer on the 17th, Mary on the 21st, Tina on the 23rd, Connie on the 24th, and Christian on the 25th! May each of you experience rich blessings all year long from Your Father above! We appreciate all of you!
- A GREAT BIG THANKS to EVERYONE who helped in any way with the “Giant Sale” of everything from A to Z this weekend! We appreciate all of the many donations of items, and as always … the monetary donations that come in will allow Elevation North to further its ministry and outreach in this community!

- - LOOKING AHEAD . . .

- THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20TH: 10:00 A.M. – SPECIAL THANKSGIVING PRAISE & WORSHIP WITH COMMUNION in our new location at 217 North Main in Medford! Come and join us as our praises ring out in song – and come and drink in from Pastor Doug’s message straight from God’s Word about “Gratitude is Greatly Under-rated!” Let’s see how important God’s Word says it is!
- 12:00 NOON – THANKSGIVING LUNCHEON at the church following worship – for our entire church family and every visitor who joins us today! It’s not too late to plan to bring something! The table service will be provided. So come and eat and fellowship and be blessed! We’ll have a great time as we show our appreciation for each other in the body of Christ!
- ARE YOU PRAYING for Tarike and Daouda every day? They are our sponsored children from Ethiopia and Senegal … and they are counting on us, someone they’ve never seen, to bring them hope through our support each month. Just drop your offerings in the container at the Welcome Center ... it only takes ALL of us giving $35 a month to help make a huge difference in their lives! Take time to write them a note, too!

- WHAT A GREAT GOD WE SERVE! Did you know that He’s bigger than all our problems? Well, He IS! He is big enough to take care of Julia’s son-in-law, Kevin; of Shirley, Tina, Gerard, Jimmy, Elsie; of Johnny & Cherry, each of our young people, our evangelists & missionaries, our families, our military and our leaders. Let’s pray!

- REMEMBER . . . “One simple concept can get us through the most stressful times. It’s called gratitude. We learn to say “thank you” for the way things are.” ~ Melodie Beattie


Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

Elevation North has News for YOU!

SOMETIMES LIFE IS LIKE A SEE-SAW! Or a merry-go-round! Or a slide! Don’t we all just love the times in our lives when we feel like we’re sitting on top of the slide looking down – anticipating that fun, fast swoosh to the bottom?! But … most of our downward swooshes are not fun or even very pleasant at all. All we can concentrate on are the abrupt, hard landings at the bottom – and we lie there with the wind knocked out of us! Sometimes we feel like we’ve been thrust into one sand-pile after another. We even feel like we’ve been hurled at top-notch speed and then flung out onto the rocks. Right? Now if we focused only on being at the bottom and fighting to catch our breath so we can get back up again – we wouldn’t feel very hopeful, would we? What can we tell ourselves when we’re lying in a heap at the bottom? And does it even make any difference what’s going through our minds at those miserable moments? Yup, you guessed right, it does! It’s called “the power of the spoken word”! Especially the power of the spoken Word! We can just lie there flat on our backs in the dirt and sand and tell ourselves, “Well, that’s it … I’m all done for! I just can’t go on anymore – it’s too hard to do this over and over!” Those words are powerful. What we say we usually believe. And what we believe usually takes shape in our actions. So there we sit. Unless … we decide to unleash the power of Christ within us and speak His Words back to Him! “Lord God, Your Word says You are Faithful and True. It’s says You are All-Knowing. Your Word says You are Love and that You will always be with us! It’s like this past Sunday at Elevation North. We had planned for this Sunday to be overflowing in celebration as we were introduced to the surrounding communities in a more public way. One local newspaper printed an outstanding article about who Elevation North is and what we are all about. Another one – well, somehow what was supposed to run on Saturday – never even made it to publication. And so, our attendance was not at all what we were expecting for such a special day. We felt ourselves slipping down the slide. But … God in His amazing ways drew a young lady to church with her small children. They walked through the doors – even though she had never entered them before. Her husband had, though, a few weeks earlier along with their young sons. He had told us that she said she was going to come, too. But … we erroneously assumed she would wait to come with him after he returned from a three week job commitment out of state. After all, she would not know a soul. Were we wrong! She came on her own with her children, and she entered right in. We welcomed her with open arms – and we hope she saw the love of Jesus in us. She said she’d be back! As we had spoken His Word and offered Him praise and worship, He proved that He is indeed, faithful! Then, another surprise! We crossed paths at lunch-time with this young lady and her children and were blessed with the opportunity to meet her mom, who is deaf. She said her mom is looking for a church closer to where she lives, and she could come next Sunday. She would interpret the service for her mom with sign language, since she grew up doing that to communicate with her. We were so excited! Doug’s brother and wife had traveled from out of state to attend this special service, and they were with us for lunch when we met the young lady’s mother. Then they really got excited, because our sister-in-law also knows sign language, having grown up with a deaf and blind brother. Now who could orchestrate such a “coming together” of hearts – except for God Himself? Like our family said, “Who knows but that God is planning an extension of our ministry at Elevation North to include the deaf in our surrounding communities?!” And they want to be a part of that! They can hardly wait for their house to sell so they can move here and begin ministering with us. I believe God is revealing more of His plan as the weeks and months unfold! You see, what God put in our hearts last Sunday afternoon, is that the special celebration was never about being in our new location … but the celebration is what God is putting together – in us and through us! For today, tomorrow, and all the days to come! After all, the church is US! Elevation North is US! The church is US being used by God … His power within us UNLEASHED in the world around us!!! The celebration is that God is opening doors for us to minister not as much within the walls of the church – as outside of it! Like in that restaurant when we saw those two little boys and had to search out their mommy and little sister. And out of that came the introduction to the grandmother who we will be privileged to minister to in days to come! You see, that’s what it’s all about … getting to the bottom of the slide and being able to look up and see miracles all around us! They are there for the asking … for the taking … for the increase of God’s Kingdom! Lord, continue to give us great rebounds when we swoosh into some rough landings now and then. May we always choose to pick ourselves up and “see” what incredible gifts are awaiting us just around the corner! And may we always point the glory to YOU!

IN A NUTSHELL . . .

- WHAT A JOY it was to drink in the presence of Christ throughout the entire morning as we celebrated the Lord Jesus Christ! Pastor Doug shared a powerful message on the two choices the church has … “Fight or Fish”. We have decided at Elevation North that we will fish continually for souls to be brought into God’s Kingdom! That is much more exciting and productive than fighting, wouldn’t you agree?!
- A SPECIAL WELOME to Kayla and Sky who came to worship with us for the first time this past Sunday! We pray God’s wondrous blessings upon you and your entire family! We look forward to seeing you again!
- OUR SPECIAL THANKS to: everyone who helped with the senior citizen yard project, to Wayne and Verla for donated items for our church, to each of our supporters and each of our church families! How very grateful we are for your gifts of time, work, supplies, & finances to advance our ministry outreach!
- BIRTHDAY WISHES are being sent to Ernie on the 13th and Laura on the 17th … may this be a truly blessed year for both of you!
- CONGRATS to Dani Haley on her incredible awards and achievements in her college volleyball career at Augustana – especially this past weekend! We are so proud of you, Dani!

- LOOKING AHEAD . . .

- THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH: 10:00 A.M. – WORSHIP & PRAISE in our new location at 217 N. Main Street in Medford! You will want to join us for Pastor Doug’s exciting message on “Growing Your Faith” from James chapter 1. Let’s get really excited about our faith as we seek to expand it more and more!!!
- 11:15 A.M. – KINGDOM CONNECTION SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASSES for everyone! Kids, you’ll the Puppet Ministry with Marty & Kelly ~ and teens and adults, check out how to be “not a fan – but a follower” of Jesus!
- WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH: 6:30 P.M. – FELLOWSHIP & FUN WORK-NIGHT at the church … come help us out and get to know others better in the process!
- NEXT SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20TH: 10:00 A.M. – SPECIAL THANKSGIVING SERVICE centered on “Gratitude” based on God’s Word! Let’s offer thanksgiving and appreciation for all our blessings!
- 12:00 NOON – THANKSGIVING LUNCHEON at church following worship – for EVERYONE! Please take time to add your name to the sign-up sheet and indicate what yummy food dishes you will be sharing for the meal!
- LET’S ADD “GIVING” to our “Thanksgiving” – and remember our sponsored children, Tarike and Daouda with an offering to help bring them some hope in their hopeless situations! Let’s make a difference in their lives!!!

- OUR PRAYERS CHANGE THINGS … because our Lord hears and answers prayer! We cannot begin to tell you how much your prayers mean to those who need them, like: Shirley, Elsie, Gerard, Jimmy, Johnny & Cherry, Larry & Gloria, Lowell & Connie, Josh, Sarah, & sons, our church family, our military, our leaders, & our nation!

- REMEMBER . . . “We have instant access to our God – anytime of the day or night! He’s available and waiting to hear from us!” ~ Debbie Jones

Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

Elevation North has News for YOU!

WELCOME TO ELEVATION NORTH! If you are planning to walk through the doors of this place on Sunday … our prayer is that you will find a warm welcome as you are greeted with open arms! Since the birthing of this church, our vision has been to be a church that embraces people right where they are at. We are all at different places in our relationship with Christ … and wherever that is at – He longs to have us approach Him and draw ever closer. He never asks us to become perfect before we come to Him, because He knows that at our best, we can never attain perfection! He created us to be human, and He desires fellowship with us. It’s incredible, even hard to fathom, that at the very moment we invite Him into our heart to be our Savior, He calls us sons and daughters! None of us here are perfect … we all have a past. Everyone on the face of this earth does. But we also have a present and a future, and we are so excited about sharing your present and your future as together we embrace God’s Kingdom work in this place that God has brought us to! Did you know that together we can do mighty things for God - with His help? Things that before we perhaps never even saw ourselves doing? Things that we thought were way beyond the capability of our new, small church? (It is growing and expanding and multiplying – have you noticed?!) There’s a reason for that … God has more for us to accomplish! And how privileged we are to get to be a part of what He has planned for us … for us: Elevation North! That’s all of us together … yes! We, of course, do not know what lies ahead … what victories and challenges are in store – but what we DO know is that God gets the glory and honor in it all! What we DO know is that this ministry is built on the Solid Rock – our Lord Jesus Christ! We recognize that He is our very foundation! We tell Him over and over that Elevation North is ALL about Him … not any of us. Not even one of us! We desire for every part of it to point to our God, our King! When He is our basis for everything in the church, then people do not have to be disappointed because of us – because our God never disappoints! When we look to His Word for direction, when we seek Him for wisdom, when we pursue Him with passion, when we worship Him in humility and purity, when we trust Him with every part of our lives, when we obey Him in full surrender, when we faithfully follow – whatever the cost … then I think He knows He has a church who is devoted - in action, as well as in words. Lord, we implore You to help us be that church. You, O Lord our God, are invited to every gathering we hold. We gather in Your Name. We invite You to be present with us. We invite You to walk the aisles of Elevation North. We invite You to stop and touch each of us … this one – then that one, by Your Spirit and Your power. Deliver us, purge us, clean us up. Fill us with joy that knows no bounds. Take our little bit of faith and magnify it a thousand times over. Heal us and renew us and fix us. Where we are broken, make us whole. Where our own strong will reigns, melt it down to reflect Your will instead. May our demeanor point directly to You, so that people will recognize that “we’ve been with Jesus”! May our attitudes and our genuineness be like an appetizer for something better to come … so that after a taste of us, they will want what we have – which is Jesus! Yes, feasting on Jesus and His words and His ways – it’s the only thing that will satisfy our souls. Have you ever wondered why people have a hole in their heart? Why they search and search for satisfaction – but nothing is ever lasting? Why they feel empty and alone and abandoned? Well, we know why … it’s because Jesus is missing from their lives! And we want people like that to be able to find Jesus and the satisfaction He brings when they enter the doors of Elevation North! We want them to find Him in our open arms, in the message and the music, in our faces and fellowship, and in all kinds of opportunities to be like Him as we give and share and serve. We want them to find Jesus as we reach out to them, as we show we care, as they see that we are real. We want them to find freedom in expressing their worship and praise in ways that show God their depth of gratitude for what He’s done for them! This may be the month that we celebrate Thanksgiving, but we want every day to be a day of grateful celebration for our salvation and every good gift that comes from the Father above. (James 1:17) And for everyone that God has brought to our midst already, we are so thankful for YOU! Your lives bring a richness to us as a family in Christ that would not be complete without YOU! You are important and special, not just to us but to the living God, who loves you more than you can know! Always remember that as we continue to walk forward on this journey God has us on! We have much to do … He is coming soon!

- IN A NUTSHELL . . .

- JOYFUL, JOYFUL, WE ADORE THEE … that’s how we feel as we come together to worship our Lord! What a joy it was to look around and see happy, joyful faces singing praises and glad to be in God’s House! What’s so exciting is that when we enter those doors … God loves us just the way we are – but TOO much to leave us that way! Each day we are a work in progress in the hands of God!
- SPECIAL THANKS to Matthias for taking the youth on a Paintball Adventure out in the country last Sunday!
- BIRTHDAY WISHES are sent out to Harold who will be celebrating on November 9th! May God bless you with an incredible year filled with His good gifts and loving favor!
- A SPECIAL WELCOME to Wayne and Verla from Nebraska, who will be worshipping with us this Sunday! We are so very grateful to them and all of our other supporters who are helping move forward the ministry and outreach of Elevation North! May God bless you abundantly, is our prayer!

- LOOKING AHEAD . . .

- THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH: 10:00 A.M. – WORSHIP & PRAISE in our new location: 217 N. Main in Medford! We are here, world … ready to proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ wherever He places us! Let’s continue to impact our communities with the love of Jesus! Be sure to invite some friends to come with you this Sunday – you won’t want to miss Pastor Doug’s message, “The Choice is YOURS!”
- 11:15 A.M. – KINGDOM CONNECTION SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASSES for all ages! Exciting topics from God’s Word for adults and teens … to Puppet Ministry with Marty and Kelly for the younger ones … even staffed nursery for our tiny ones – it’s all in place to minister to you and your family!
- WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH: 6:00 P.M. – FELLOWSHIP & WORK-NIGHT at the church, with lots of fun projects underway – so the more, the merrier! Come expecting a great time with your church friends!
- VETERAN’S DAY, NOVEMBER 11TH: May God bless all of our veterans for their great service to our nation! You are loved and appreciated, and we thank you for sacrifices made for our freedom!
- NEXT SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH: 10:00 A.M. – WORSHIP & PRAISE / 11:15 A.M. – SUNDAY SCHOOL
- SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20TH: 12:00 NOON - SPECIAL THANKSGIVING LUNCHEON at church following worship & praise! Check out the sign-up sheet and let us know what you will be bringing!
- CHANGE A LIFE CHILD SPONSORSHIP – Together Elevation North and Pastor Doug and Debbie have sponsored two children through World Vision … the monthly cost is $35 per child. Please pray for Tarike (a 7-year old girl in Ethiopia) and for Daouda (who is an 8 year old boy from Senegal). Let’s bring hope and love and provision to their lives! We want to share Jesus with them! We can send them notes and photos so they can get to know who we are – so feel free to bring them to the church and we will send them a packet each month!

- WHAT A PRIVILEGE it is to bring others to the Lord in prayer! This week we have the opportunity to thank God for so many answered prayers! Let’s lift up Shirley, Gerard, Jimmy, Elsie, Julia’s brother, Pam’s dad, Kay, Johnny & Cherry, Larry & Gloria, Lowell & Connie, Josh, Sarah, & boys, our veterans, and our church family!

- REMEMBER . . . “There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.” ~ C.S. Lewis


Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

Elevation North has News for YOU!

THERE’S LOTS OF EXCITEMENT going on these days at Elevation North! And we cannot thank God enough for leading us to this place and time in the life of our church! What an amazing God we serve ~ don’t you agree?! God has led us, carried us, walked with us, pushed us – and even given us a few challenging shoves along the way! But here we are … moving into the site of our new “home”! We have dreamed of this day, prayed for it, and now with God’s incredible help, we have walked into it! We are so excited about having a place that is “ours” for worship and praise and fellowship and study! We are CELEBRATING, to say the least! What is really unique is that the building we have moved into has been known as “Celebrations”! Doesn’t God have an awesome sense of having a little fun with us and letting us know that we can ”keep on celebrating” ~ by the previous name on the door? And celebrate … we will! For the past few years, each Saturday night or early Sunday morning, we have filled our vehicle to the brim with a variety of things needed to make our rented town hall location look as much like a church as possible! And off we’d go – ready to unload it all and start setting things up. Things like the sound system, the keyboard, the laptop computer and projector for PowerPoint, all the electrical cords, the weekly literature, the Communion trays, and anything else we happened to need on that particular Sunday. Then I would walk around our home and grab this floral basket and that garland of greenery, this cross to hang on the wall, and that banner to go with the cross … until I was satisfied that we had everything we wanted for the weekly transformation! Eventually, we were able to store some of our larger items there, like the stands and speakers, the small tables we used for this and that, and totes filled with lots of toys and fun things for the little ones in the nursery. There was a tote filled with a coffeemaker and all the fixings to make coffee with. We had a tote filled with kitchen paper supplies. And on and on and on! On the weeks that we enjoyed a special church meal, we even packed dishes and tablecloths and food and beverage coolers. Each week as we drove our overflowing Pilot to church, we held hands and prayed that the Lord God Almighty would anoint and bless and meet us as we gathered together. Then we thanked Him …and trusted. Arriving, with arms loaded down, we’d make as many trips into the town hall as needed – and things began to take shape. Chairs were set up, and everything we had hauled out there was put into place … and suddenly, Elevation North took form! It was amazing how even in the setting up, we sensed God’s presence in that place! People began to enter the doors … but in earlier days, some Sundays there were not many who came. And to be honest there were just a few times that we actually wondered what we were doing! But deep inside, the answer echoed resoundingly from our hearts! We knew! The clear calling to birth the church never dimmed, and when the way seemed slow, God seemed to be telling us to just hang on and be faithful – and He would do the rest. So we did … and He did! Week after week, month after month. In the heat of the summer – and in the freezing cold of the winter. But it was always so worth any extra time or effort that it took! For God met us! He had been there before we carried everything in … and now He stayed with us the entire time we worshipped Him and He so graciously received our worship. He walked in our midst and touched so many of us with special needs. We were healed, provided for, freed, changed … and you name it – He did it! How we have loved asking, claiming, and receiving from our Father in Heaven! Following the final “Amen” … the packing up process began so we could take it all home again – just to bring it back again the next week. Everyone pitched in and helped tear down and load our Pilot to the brim again! If ever all of that got tiring – and sometimes it did … we would just remind ourselves that we were doing it all for Jesus … and that always made everything alright! There were times in our search for a building that we began to wonder “where in the world” was the place that God had planned for us? It seemed to evade us time and time again. But God’s timing is always impeccable! And this summer, Elevation North began to blossom and flourish. God was preparing us for a new season … for the next chapter in His Kingdom work. Then, He opened the doors for us to obtain the rental lease for the building called “Celebrations” … and we all jumped in to begin the cleaning and painting and rearranging. It just needs some tender, loving care – and in time, it will only faintly resemble what it once was. Like the building, we likewise, are getting new life breathed into us, and we can hardly wait to see what God is up to! We are totally excited and thrilled that we get to experience God at work amongst us as we passionately reach out beyond the walls of our new site! And we are so blessed to have each of you on this amazing journey with us! Thanks be to our Lord God, who reigns Supreme! Let’s CELEBRATE, dear people of God!

IN A NUTSHELL . . .

- HOW WE LOVE coming together each Sunday as a family of God, believing His Word and making ourselves available for His work in this world! Of all the days of the week, the Lord’s Day is our most anticipated and celebrated! A special thanks to our women who shared their testimonies from Women of Faith last Sunday!

- LOOKING AHEAD ...

- THIS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30TH: 10:00 A.M. – WORSHIP & PRAISE at our NEW LOCATION: 217 Main Street in Medford! And what a special time this promises to be as Pastor Doug will be speaking on the topic, “Victory or Defeat: My Choice”! So what does God’s Word have to say about choosing “victory”? Let’s discover the truths He has for us in this area of our lives! Think of someone you can call to come along with you!
- FOLLOWING WORSHIP, our youth will be heading out with Matthias to go PAINT-BALLING out in the country! Bring money for your lunch and for the $5 cost! Plan on a great time out in the fresh air!
- WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND, 6:00 P.M. – FELLOWSHIP & WORK-NIGHT at the church! Come and get to know your church family better while helping with the projects at the new location! The sooner we accomplish some of this work, the sooner we can implement our Sunday School ministry, as well as others that are pending.
We appreciate everyone’s help, both time-wise and for items and supplies needed! We’re making it fun!!!
- SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5TH, 10:30 A.M. – ‘’ACTS OF KINDNESS” PROJECT – we will be cleaning yards for senior citizens in the Medford area. An early lunch will be provided for us at the UCC Church in town before we start working. Our youth would love to have as many additional helpers as possible – so let Pastor Doug know if you are planning to join us for a few hours!
- CHANGE YOUR CLOCKS back one hour when you go to bed on Saturday evening, as the time change begins early on Sunday morning, November 6th!
- NEXT SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH: 10:00 A.M. – WORSHIP & PRAISE/SPECIAL CELEBRATION as we make our presence known in our new community! Everyone is encouraged to invite those you know who do not have a church home! Pastor Doug will be preaching an exciting message titled, “I’m Going Fishing”, taken from the Gospels.

- PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES . . .

- SEEING GOD AT WORK goes hand in hand with the time we spend in prayer! How we love getting on board with what God promises He will do if we seek His face and take Him at His Word! This week, let’s be in special prayer for God’s healing touch for Jimmy, Gerard, Elsie, Kay, Pam’s dad, Larry & Gloria, Lowell & Connie, and others. Let’s lift up Johnny & Cherry, Josh & Sarah, our children and youth, our families, those who serve our churches, our country, and our government. Remember, our God is on the Throne; He is never-failing!

- REMEMBER . . . A good motto to live by: “We ought to see the face of God every morning before we see the face of man.” ~ D.L. Moody

Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

Elevation North has News for YOU!

WHERE, OH WHERE, DO I START? Having arrived home this evening from the Women of Faith Conference with our church ladies and other gals from the community – I feel like I’ve been “feasting” at a most incredible buffet of “food” all weekend! My spiritual taste buds were blessed with an array of messages, music, drama, and more! We just kept filling our “plates” because we didn’t want to miss even one serving – it was all so amazing! The worship team led us to the feet of Jesus in beautiful worship at the beginning of each session, and our hearts (and lips!) sang along with them! Oh, and yes … our toes tapped along as our hands clapped in rhythm! There’s nothing like worship that exalts the King of kings and Lord of lords! What I love so much is how God prepares the messages in each of the speaker’s hearts so that each one of us will be personally ministered to! We find ourselves laughing, then crying, and then laughing again! The laughter and the tears blend to become a healing balm from the hand of God as we find ourselves being restored, renewed, and reactivated to a new place in Christ. Sheila Walsh reminded us that “God’s Word makes us more beautiful than any Botox treatments – and did we know that there are over 3000 promises in His Word? Finding it sometimes difficult to rest in God’s promises, we can alleviate that by striving to live in a relationship with God that is based on nothing that we’ve brought to the table – but based only on HIS love! No woman in the crowd who feels overlooked or unclean or inadequate is ever missed by God. He knows our entire story – but He loves to hear it anyway. He listens and then with that limitless love showing from those kind eyes, Jesus says, “Daughter, go in peace!” That’s us … US! “And He’s got us covered”, she told us in another message later in the conference. “According to Psalm 91, God will cover us with His feathers!” She went on to share some of her gripping personal testimony, sharing how during one of her lowest times, an angel appeared to her and told her, “The Shepherd knows where to find you!” “So,” she related, “no matter if you are the good sheep, the black sheep, or the ‘bummer’ sheep, it’s not up to us to get home on our own … He will get us home!” And just like Sheila had a story that kept us on the edge of our seats, so in that arena of thousands of women were there countless stories that could have been told, by each one of us – one at a time. But remember, “the Shepherd knows where to find us ~ and He never takes His eyes off of us!” Another delightful, intriguing woman whose adventures make us crack up is none other than Luci Swindoll. And in her celebration of 79 years of living, she stood on that platform speaking to us as one who now can look at life from a certain vantage point that most of us have not arrived at yet. With her years of wisdom wrapped in a zest for living, Luci passionately spoke these words: “Live every moment to the fullest! That’s how to not miss life by wishing for something else. Learn to be happy where you are! Only you can determine that happiness. What feeds your soul?” She then challenged us to make a list of things that make our soul come alive with joy! Her mom once told her, “A day is wasted without you falling on the ground in a heap of laughter!” And Luci conveyed a quote from someone else, “My dilemma in the morning when I awaken: to improve the day or enjoy the day?” Luci’s answer was perfectly wonderful and poignant: “Enjoy the day – and you’ll improve the world!” I agree wholeheartedly! We could have sat and listened to her share stories for hours … her love for God just oozed out of her! She related the story of a lady who invited her to jump in her car and go with her for a treasure hunt to get a nativity set for her church. Luci assumed they were going to a discount store. The wild little adventure ended up with them stopping at a trash dumpster and the two of them pulling and tugging at several large pieces of cardboard which ultimately rode home strapped to the top of the lady’s little car called “The Green Bean”! When Luci asked what she was going to do with the cardboard, the lady answered, “That’s the nativity set!” Luci, with a confused look, questioned, “Where?” The lady pointed to her head and said, “In here!” Some hours and a few days later, an entire nativity set had been created and was ready for the children at the church. In amazement, Luci said breathlessly, “How did you do that?” The lady simply replied, “Because nobody told me I couldn’t!” Before exiting the stage, Luci reiterated for us that “every day on a full sea of opportunity, there’s an occasion to take a risk to do something difficult … giving your life away … being fully alive.” She urged the women in the arena, “Don’t wait! This is it! This is great! This is life!” So she said, “Live it … love it … give it … don’t miss it! We’ve been given that choice ~ and we can do anything with the Savior!” Great words, Luci! Here at Elevation North, we will take them to heart!

- IN A NUTSHELL . . .

- GOD KEEPS MOVING US FORWARD, one step at a time! He’s moving us toward Himself, changing us in our worship of Him each week as we gather with one undivided focus: to lift Him up and glorify His Name!
- A SPECIAL WELCOME to Denny, Jr. and his three young sons who all came to worship with us this past Sunday; we were so blessed to have you in our midst! May God’s best be experienced in your lives this week!
- THIS WEEKEND WAS FILLED with an overflow of God’s generous blessings upon our women as we attended the Women of Faith Conference in St. Paul! We were blessed beyond words and came home impacted greatly by the anointing of God upon His servants who poured their lives into ours! A special thanks to Sonya, our group leader, and to Mary and Tina for driving; you are appreciated!
- ASK THE GUYS about their “abundant steak portions” at the Steak Fry this weekend … and the great fellowship they shared together as they gave input for future plans for Elevation North!

- LOOKING AHEAD . . .

- THIS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23RD: 10:00 A.M. – WORSHIP & PRAISE with Pastor Doug preaching from God’s Word on the topic, “A Nation in the Hands of an Angry God.” Come and see what God’s Word reveals about God’s plan to keep His people on track with Him!
- NEXT SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30TH: 10:00 A.M. – WORSHIP & PRAISE – check on our location! The new sermon series will build on a call to spiritual action that can change our homes and our community in ways we can only now imagine – with God’s help!
- LOTS OF NEW MINISTRY PLANS are on the horizon and about to be announced – be watching!

- PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES . . .

- THE POWER OF PRAYER TODAY is as great as it was in the days when Jesus walked on earth … because He still walks on earth – in us! Please join us in special prayer for Jimmy, Gerard, Elsie, Pam’s dad, Lynn, Larry and Gloria, Lowell and Connie, Josh and Sarah, Cherry and Johnny, our young people, our servicemen and women, and others! Our praise to God – from whom all blessings flow!

- REMEMBER . . . The Apostle Paul tells us in I Timothy 6:17 “ … to put our hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”




Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

Elevation North has News for YOU!

RENEWAL WITHIN REST … just what the “Doctor” ordered! And that’s exactly what we are experiencing this week! The human body is an amazing, wondrous creation … but even at its best it still has its limits! And when its “energizer batteries” begin to run out – it’s time for a full recharge! So having put plans in place to take a trip to see our son and family in Michigan, we excitedly counted down the days until we would see Dana and Stacey and Whitney and Dylan! Just how can there be such a seemingly endless barrage of things demanding your attention when you go away?! The list only seems to grow! You remind yourself … one thing at a time … and doing that, you finally find yourself actually – in the car – on the road – breathing easy – and excited to be on the way!!! What all will the week hold? We haven’t a clue … oh yes, we do have just a few fun clues, that’s right! But we pray as we begin the journey that we will bless our family each day we are together! Our entire ministry, we’ve always realized that our first priority after God – was our family! We knew that if we saved/rescued everyone else and lost our own children, that definitely would not be a very great testimony to our calling from God. And so here we are … with our kids and grandkids … to soak in as much family time, renewal, and rest as we possibly can! Fast forward to the weekend – and we’ve filled the days and the nights to the max with a blend of a lot of fun – and a little work! The seasonal colors were splashed still generously for us to enjoy … and the weather was hand-picked by our Father in heaven. And just as the leaves were beginning to fall, so have the childish ways of our now teen and young adult grandchildren fallen by the wayside. That was so evident as we spent time with them in their school settings at the high school and at the cosmetology college. Where have those little chubby-faced tykes gone? We drove to the away football game and sat in the visitor’s section on the bleachers, snapping pictures like crazy as Dylan shot across the field in his uniform and cleats, first positioning himself to do the kick-off and then tackling every opposing player that another linebacker missed. Then, sitting in Whitney’s salon chair, I found myself amazed, though not surprised, at her adeptness in every facet of cutting, coloring, styling, products, etc. From the little girl who used to love doing all kinds of creative things with her own hair, now here I sat in her chair, perfectly comfortable with the outcome all in her hands! And by the way, she did a great job! And Dana and Stacey blessed us over and over throughout our stay, even as God has blessed them! Most of all, their smiles and laughter and assurance of continued prayers touched our hearts and lifted our spirits! And here … we had come desiring to minister to them! I couldn’t help but remember the long list of God’s faithfulness in their lives down through the years: a fire in the apartment that destroyed most all their things in their first year of marriage, a fire in their car soon after, at five weeks old Dylan’s life hung in the balance with pneumonia and respiratory syndrome virus, a kidney condition in Whitney in her teen years, Dana surviving the bombing in the military towers during his overseas tour of duty in Saudi Arabia – but none of us knowing for nearly eight hours if he was dead or alive, Stacey walking through ovarian cancer with her mom and seeing her survive, and recently, Dana nearly severing his thumb and three fingers on his right hand in a power saw accident. But thanks be to God, our family has been so tremendously blessed with miracle after miracle! Dylan not only survived; he’s now a strapping young man over six foot tall … oozing with health and strength! Whitney’s kidney condition has cleared and she maximizes her living every waking moment with a zest for life that’s hard to beat! Dana and Stacey’s material losses have been restored a hundred-fold and more, and they find great joy in blessing others with what Gpectod has blessed them with! Stacey’s mom has received a new lease on life and cancer is no longer a part of her life! Dana not only survived the enemy’s horrific bombing, but has found God’s place for him that allows him to effect change in the lives of so many others. And, Dana’s thumb and fingers were miraculously reattached and they healed wonderfully, though not without extreme pain in the process. Why do I share all these personal things with you? Only to encourage you to take a close look at your family through the years – and see what God has done! Not always can we match the level of trauma that someone else has gone through, or perhaps yours is even greater … but it comes down to one thing. Our God is an awesome God! And in the midst of our ongoing transitions, God is bringing sweet renewal within the rest we are finding in Him. Outside of that place, it is easy to lose sight of our goal: to run the race and finish well! In that place, we find all we need from Him – with the bonus of a loving family of three sons and their families who each lift us up before the Throne and stand strong with us on this earthly journey! He will do the same for you, dear ones!

IN A NUTSHELL . . .

- THIS PAST SUNDAY reminded us that no matter where we worship, God is right in the midst of us! What a powerful time of being in the presence of the living God – and learning more about the prophecies that have been fulfilled – and those we see coming to pass right in front of our eyes!
- BELATED BIRTHDAY WISHES go out to Chuck who celebrated on October 12th … may your entire year be blessed in awesome ways, Chuck, as you continue to serve the Lord and others around you! We appreciate you!

- LOOKING AHEAD . . .

- THIS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16TH: 10:00 A.M. – WORSHIP & PRAISE, with the conclusion of the sermon series on “Looking at Signs of the End Times.” Be sure to bring your Bibles and be an active participant in this exciting topic in God’s Word! Come ready to worship with joy – let’s bring honor to our Lord God!
- IT’S HERE!!! THIS FRIDAY/SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21/22 … WOMEN OF FAITH CONFERENCE at the Xcel Energy Center with two days of worship/praise/incredible speakers/musical artists/resources to help you in your walk with God/and much more! We have a great group attending from our church and community this year! If you are still trying to decide about this “Over The Top” experience, see Debbie for last minute details! Tickets are still available! See print-outs!
- MEN’S STEAK-FRY on this Friday evening at 6:00 P.M. – Come expecting a time of fantastic food and fellowship! This is your time, guys – it’s all about YOU! Feel free to invite guests, as well! There will be a short meeting with Pastor Doug following worship this Sunday for final details! If you miss the meeting, be sure to call Pastor!
- NEXT SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23RD: 10:00 A.M. – WORSHIP & PRAISE, with the beginning of a new series of messages that will stir your heart and motivate you to spiritual action! Start now to invite your friends!
- WATCH FOR A NEW CALENDAR OF EVENTS to come in the life of our church!

- PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES . . .

- WHAT A JOY and privilege it is to mention the names of others before the Throne of God! This week, let it be our privilege to pray for all the women attending the Women of Faith Conference, for our faithful ministry supporters, for Jimmy as he recovers from surgery, Gerard as he awaits upcoming cancer surgery, for Pam’s dad for an upcoming kidney transplant, for Cherry and Johnny, Elsie, Kay, for Larry and Gloria, and for Josh and Sarah and sons. We have a prayer-answering, miracle-working God!!!

- REMEMBER . . . “God walks with us … He scoops us up in His arms or simply sits with us in silent strength until we cannot avoid the awesome recognition that yes, even now, He is there.” ~ Gloria Gaither



Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

Elevation North has News for YOU!

STORY-WRITER! That’s what He is … yes! He’s writing in a daily journal for each of us. But – unlike me, who pens words that describe our days or events or occasions, and sometimes my deepest heart thoughts on this life-long journey with God – He’s writing down my tomorrows before they ever happen. Before we ever breathed a breath on this earth, He wrote about each breath we’d ever take. Oh, He knows us so well! And all His plans for us, well He gets so excited about them, because He loves writing stories that someday we’ll tell to our children and grandchildren! Some of them are “hang-on-to-your-seat” stories … and when we look back and read them, it about takes our breath away! We remember gripping the steering wheel on those rides, but it didn’t do any good – because we weren’t driving. We had given God the wheel. And we were on the ride of our lives!!! And when we get to the last page and remember how it all ends, just like little children, we beg, “Read it again, God … read it again!” There’s nothing like living the story-line from the very beginning – to the very last words on the final page! Some of His stories we have practically memorized – we’ve read them so many times, or just sat back and closed our eyes as He read them to us with animated voice! Actually, He never, ever had to read the stories to us. He seemed to have photographic memory … or … oh yes, God knows everything! He just tells us the stories like He knows them to be. And we are always a captivated audience. Captivated by the wonder of His story-writing and story-telling ability. There’s nothing like a true story, you know. They’re the best ones, actually. We love the gusto of His laugh as He throws His head back when He is caught up in the moment of seeing us glued to the edges of our seats as we wonder what’s coming next! Sometimes WE don’t think it’s so funny, though. But that’s because we cannot see how the story ends – yet. He knows. He wrote the ending. And He’s laughing in pure joy over what He knows is coming. He sees the finish line at the end of this race, and He already knows we will cross it amidst cheers and applause. Even if there is no one else there to see us cross the line, the cheers and applause will be His. Those nail-scarred hands pat us on the back for running a good race. He’s a great illustrator of stories, too. We see ourselves digging in through the toughest parts of the race – He’s drawn that well. We see ourselves sending a prayer heavenward for needed strength and endurance – He’s sketched us looking up. We see ourselves stopping along the way to take time out of the craziness of this world to touch a life – and He’s painted Himself in the background looking at us with that “pleased Papa” look on His face. The story gets more interesting with each chapter. There are twists and turns and many mysteries. And there is only one place to solve them … and that’s on our knees. Right now, God is writing in our book at break-neck speed. Even speed-reading, we can barely keep up! There are changes appearing on almost every horizon of our lives. The new church location is being painted like a roller-coaster ride and while we love the view from the top, the drops suck the air out of us for a moment or two! We’re looking forward to having the ride slow down just a bit so we can move into the ministry curve around the next bend! With a few strokes of His brush, our work-hours are happily diminishing in unexpected ways that will allow us to catch our breath again and discover more of the hilarity and relaxation that have seemed to be oh, so distant for such a long time. At the same moment, He is penning the words in bold, bold print … TRUST ME! Because with diminished hours comes diminished paychecks. But the most beautiful entry in the book is flourishes of peace and rest and provision – and they are illustrated in ways that we could not have even pictured no matter how big our imagination was! Because God’s ways are beyond ours. All we know is that whatever He writes on the pages of our lives in the days ahead, the end of the storybook is going to turn out just as He planned … and that will be GOOD! And the really great thing is that hopefully whoever gets to read our story will see plainly without a shadow of a doubt, that our God is faithful! Through the ups and the downs, the questions and the answers, you can see Him on every page. Through the joys and the tears, He shows up. Through the excitement and the let-downs, He is there just the same. While our changes are painted all over the book, He always looks the same – we see no changes in Him! That’s so reassuring! And we think it’s an honor to have our “book” authored by none other than the God who knows our lives from the beginning to the end – and everything in between! I won’t be surprised if it makes the best-seller list! Come along and turn the pages with us!!

IN A NUTSHELL . . .

- THERE’S NOTHING BETTER than celebrating God together … and celebrate we did this past Sunday! God is writing the next chapter in Elevation North’s book, too, and we are all praising Him for miracles already done! Our special thanks to James for assisting with the Spaghetti Luncheon afterward, and to their family for the fresh flowers on the lunch tables! We appreciated everyone’s help on both Saturday and Sunday! You are all the best! And a special thanks to Matthias for taking the youth on the paint-ball expedition in the afternoon; everyone had a great time!
- A WARM WELCOME to Theo and his nephews, and also to Xavier who came to worship with us this past Sunday; thank you for blessing us with your presence! We hope you will all join us again soon!
- CONGRATULATIONS to Matthias and Liz and girls on the birth of Emilyn Olivia who arrived on October 6th, weighing 8 lb. 5 oz., and was 21” long! May God’s blessing rest upon your family!
- LOVING BIRTHDAY WISHES are sent to our son, DJ, who writes on our heart with his love and prayers in so many ways, as he celebrates his birthday this week on October 14th. May God’s blessings and favor be upon you in all you do – that He might be lifted up! We love you!
- BIRTHDAY WISHES go out to Lyndell who will be celebrating on October 12th! May God bless you with your best year ever!
- WE SAY FAREWELL to Ernie and Audry who moved to Texas this past week. You will be missed and we pray for God’s abundant blessings to be yours in your new location!
- CONGRATS to Sharon, whose softball team won first place in the regional Special Olympics tournament! We are proud of you and your accomplishment, Sharon!

- LOOKING AHEAD . . .

- THIS SUNDAY & NEXT, OCTOBER 9/16TH:: 10:00 A.M. – WORSHIP & PRAISE, continuing in our series on “Looking at Signs of the End Times.” Be sure to be a part of these timely messages from God’s Word as we see prophecy being fulfilled all around us!
- COMING UP SOON … Women of Faith Conference at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on October 21-22! Come along with us for this outstanding time in the presence of the Lord with an arena full of women worshipping the Lord! Be sure to turn in your $89 ticket money this week so we can pass it on to Sonya. We still have tickets available … so keep inviting friends and family! See Debbie for more information!
- MEN’S STEAK FRY … Friday, October 21st at 6 p.m. … this promises to be a great guy’s night out! Don’t miss it!

- PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES . . .

- OUR LIST OF NEEDS is always long – but God’s ability to answer is even more amazing! He reaches us wherever we are at! That goes for Jimmy, Kay, Roger, Elsie, Wayne, Eva, Cherry and Johnny, Gerard, the Lundstroms, the Seykoras, our military personnel, our students, our government, our families & our churches! May God be lifted up!

- REMEMBER . . . What are YOU writing? “Live for something … Write your name in kindness, love, and mercy on the hearts of thousands you come in contact with … you will never be forgotten.” ~ Thomas Chalmers

Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie