Wednesday, November 21, 2012

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

 
GOD, YOU MUST HAVE HAD A DREAM ONE TIME … what was it?  Was it to have a Son that would be the apple of Your eye … the delight of Your heart?  Was it to wrap Divinity in humanity and then plan such a simply stellar entrance to earth that while simple in some ways, it could not be denied in other ways?  Was it to strategize such a priceless ransom for the sins of mankind, that it demanded payment – not the kind that costs a little, but the very lifeblood of Your one and only precious Son in exchange for our freedom?  Was it to effect such a distinct change in this fallen world You had created perfect, that You would pull out all stops because You were not giving up on Your dream for us?  Were WE part of Your dream one time long ago?  And were our dreams that You would place in our hearts - a part of Your much bigger dream?  God-given dreams are powerful, after all!  Much more powerful than we even realize.  Borrowing a line from a gal named Lisa Diane, I want you to know that “dreams have NO expiration date”!  Your dreams should not diminish or die.  If God indeed birthed the dreams you have inside you – and you have spent time fleshing them out and growing them, they should not just disappear or evaporate into thin air – or just end.  Lisa Diane has an incredible story to tell: once the little girl of a daddy who was a teacher and a preacher, who along with her mom worked harder than hard and sacrificed more than she would ever know, just so the children could have what they had.  And that wasn’t much.  So she dreamed.  She dreamed she had more.  She imagined herself living in an out-of-this-world house on a peninsula overlooking the water in a gated area with a guard.  She would go there after school every day as a teenager, and sit … and look … and dream.  Fast forward twenty years.  By this time she had already started her little home business and ended up making enough money to live in some pretty fantastic homes – some were even on the water – like she had imagined.  But in time she was looking for a new place to live, and her own house had already been sold.  She had searched and searched until she almost wore out her realtor looking for just the right place to call home!  Someone gave her a tip about a home he thought would be just perfect for her, but she laughed, thinking she had already seen them all, but said she’d go check it out.  He gave her the address, which was the name of that development she had dreamed about years ago – but things had changed and now there were many houses in a nearby community.  Finally, asking a mailman about the address she was looking for, he explained that it was not here – but in a big-gated community out on the peninsula.  She said she could feel the hair standing up on the back of her neck.  Approaching the gate, she gave the guard her info – and he directed her down the street to an amazing home right there on the water.  She said she walked in the doors and she KNEW she was home.  It was HER HOUSE … the one she had been waiting for since she was sixteen years old – just as she had imagined, views and all!  She moved into that house 10 days later.  So the point of this story is – dreams don’t have expiration dates!  Like Lisa said, some dreams take a matter of minutes … some take months … some take twenty years (like her house), but they are all possible.  We’ve been dreaming and searching and waiting for what seems like a long time now for God’s home for Elevation North.  We have gone there and dreamed ... sat there and looked.  It has seemed beyond us, yet we have felt led to check it out and pursue it.  From the moment of being birthed, Elevation North has always been a part of powerful dreams that God has given us.  In some of our toughest struggles to survive, without being prompted or asked, people from the outside have searched us out, called us, wrote or e-mailed us, and sent us sizable love gifts that have always come at just the right time and kept our dreams alive to cultivate God’s Kingdom work on this earth – in this place.  People, we are now 10 days out from our first rent check being due in this place we’ve dreamed of.  We need a miracle for this dream to become a reality, but we dare not give up on our dreams, Elevation North family.  We feel this dream deep inside our spirit ... it’s a story just waiting to be told!  Our dream is to lead as many people to the Pearly Gates as possible, with God’s help.  God’s Word is filled with stories of dreams He gave to His people down through the ages, and now the Dream-giver that He is … He is writing out OUR story.  Let’s keep the faith!


IN A NUTSHELL . . .

 
BIRTHDAY WISHES go out to Christian on November 25th and to Deondre on the 28th!  May God bless and guide you both!

A SPECIAL WELCOME to Dana & Stacey, Whitney, Matt, Emma, and Dylan who are worshipping with us today!!!


SUN, NOV 25:  10:00 A.M. – PRAISE & WORSHIP/Kick-off Message for the Christmas series, “THE AMAZING EMMANUEL!”

SUN, NOV 25:  10:30 A.M. – KIDZONE CHILDREN’S CHURCH with Verla & Kelly, who will bless your children as they learn!
WED, NOV 28:   7:00 P.M. – MID-WEEK BIBLE STUDY in the book of James at 905 El Dorado Street SE in Owatonna!
THU, NOV 29:    7:00 P.M. – MID-WEEK BIBLE STUDY in the book of James at 165 24th Place NW in Owatonna!
SUN, DEC 02:   10:00 A.M. – PRAISE & WORSHIP/Message – Part 2 in the Christmas series, “THE AMAZING EMMANUEL!”
 
PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES . . . Tina, Isaac, several unspoken needs, reaching the lost, our nation & leaders, our missionaries
 
REMEMBER . . . “Father God, pour out Your Spirit, that we might see visions and dream dreams, that many might be saved!"



Joyfully Serving Christ . . .


Pastor Doug and Debbie
 

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