Elevation North has News for YOU!

I’M NOT RUSHING, LORD! (Well, not like I used to!) I told You, Lord, that I would try my best NOT to rush through 2012 – like You asked me to!) And just so You know, it is SO much better this way! I kind of feel like I’ve gotten my life back – and that’s a really great feeling! And … if hearing from You wasn’t enough, every day at my new job in memory care is an acute reminder to enjoy today – the day that You have gifted me with. Because … I am able to! I see and hear the residents living in their yesterdays, and in those moments they experience both the joys and sorrows that years gone by have brought to them. And because I want them to understand that I care, I live their yesterdays right along with them. Having someone share their yesterdays ~ makes their todays just a little bit better! After all, the “real them” is in there somewhere – and we dare never forget the sometimes- hidden-person that’s been taken into exile to another time and another place. But, after their dinner hour, I bid them good-night, and I return to living in the present – a gift from You, God, that I shall never take for granted. You’ve made me ever more aware that living in the here-and-now is a choice for those of us who still have that capability. Being fully engaged in living in the present makes our time extremely valuable – or we can disengage and waste away the days that we’ve been given. Thank You for reminding me of what’s written in Your Word: “Teach me to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12) That word, “gain” actually means “harvest” – so we’re sowing when we are aware of how few and fleeting our days on this earth really are. Understanding the reality of how swiftly a lifetime passes by brings to us the harvest of making wise choices with our heart all the days of our lives. Lord, Your Word makes such good sense – if we’ll just take the time to search out the practical treasures You’ve put there for us! What else have You tucked in there about our days? Well, let’s see, in Exodus 20:8, You instructed us to “remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” Your warning to Joshua is great advice for us today, “not to let Your Word depart from our mouth, but to meditate on it day and night, so that we may be careful to do everything written in it.” (Joshua 1:8) You tell us, “Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim His salvation day after day.” (I Chronicles 16:23) Not just one day – or a few, or just on good days … but day after day! Doing that will make our days good – I get it, Lord! In Psalm 84:10, You remind us that “Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere.” Interestingly enough, David the Psalmist, a songwriter himself, wrote words that a modern-day songwriter has put to music… and I love singing that song to You, my God! Another Psalm in chapter 118, verse 24 has been put to joyous chorus: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Recognizing that it is You who makes each of our new days, should definitely cause us to find joy in living! You caution us in Proverbs 27:1 “not to boast about tomorrow, for you know not what a day may bring forth.” Not knowing, I guess, should thrust us at Your feet, trusting in faith that You will carry us through. Through, to THAT DAY, that is mentioned so many times throughout the Old and New Testament … “for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” (I Thessalonians 5:2) That’s Your ultimate warning for us to be ready – for Your coming! In the meantime, You promise to “give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11); and You encourage us that “we are being renewed day by day.” (II Corinthians 4:16b) Someday … we will see You face to face ~ perhaps sooner than we think! And what a day that will be … we can only imagine!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY WISHES go out to Sean who will be celebrating on February 9th … God bless you, Sean!

SUN, FEB 05: 10:00 A.M. – PRAISE & WORSHIP / Message – “Serving versus Service!”
SUN, FEB 05: 11:30 A.M. - ANNUAL VISIONARY MEETING with lunch to follow – come and participate!
SUN, FEB 12: 10:00 A.M. – PRAISE & WORSHIP / Message – “Dynamics of Worship – part 1”/ Communion
SUN, FEB 12: 11:15 A.M. – KINGDOM CONNECTION / Sunday School Classes & Puppet Ministry!
SUN, FEB 19: SPECIAL FUNDRAISER for a little girl suffering from leukemia … see the poster at church!

PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES . . . Nadia, Tina, Gerard, Cathy, Amy, Cherry & Johnny, our missionaries, & our church

REMEMBER . . . “We may not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future!” ~ E. Stanley Jones


Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie