Friday, February 8, 2013

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

 
WINTER STORM WARNING!  Is there really a severe storm on the way?  I am not sure … and if there is one in the works, I am not sure just where it will strike.  I’ve not heard any weather forecasts, so I am rather at a disadvantage.  Some people are hoping for a three-day weekend – but I don’t think that’s slated for here.  So for us?  I still do not know, but I will search out some answers, and eventually, time will reveal what will take place.  We’ll get to experience it live!  It’s kind of like our real lives.  People talk about “what could happen” and they get all freaked out about the “what ifs” of life – so much so that they miss out on the richness of spending their lives as if they were a priceless treasure!  (Which they truly are!)  We spend our split-seconds, our moments, our minutes.  We spend our hours, our weeks, our months.  Soon all that “spending” turns into years … and as if in a flash, the days in the hourglass of our lives have just about run out.  Where has all that time gone?  Last week I shared a love story early for Valentine’s Day … this week I want to share a personal story about the incredible gift that our lives are and that it really does matter how we “spend” them and invest them in the lives of others!  You see, while God gifts us with our very lives, we are not given the winter storm warning that tells us when our last day or last breath on this earth will be.  We do not have access to forecasts like that.  Last week our second son, Dana, went with twenty-five or thirty guys on the snowmobiling trip that the company gifts to their management team annually.  They all headed northward to the upper peninsula of Michigan for a week of fun in the snow!  The first few days there was not even enough snow to rent snowmobiles, so they rented four-wheelers with the option to trade them in for the snowmobiles later if the forecast for several inches of snowfall came true. Well, it did – and soon they were out enjoying the snow-covered trails!  Thursday afternoon came and it was time to stop for a late lunch at a place in the wintery woods.  The guys strolled in to hear a question asked of them, “There’s just been an accident on a trail not too far from here.  Was it one of your guys?”  They all shook their heads and replied, “No!  We’ve all been together all day!”  Looking around, they soon discovered that one of them was missing, but knew he was right on their tail, so they hung around a few more minutes, waiting for him to pull up and join them.  More minutes passed, and finally one of the guys said, “I’ll back-track just to make sure,” – and it wasn’t long before they heard his somber voice on the phone, “You better come; it’s Jay, and it’s not good!”  Jay had missed an “s” curve and went airborne, hitting a tree.   Now, here they are … rushing back to Jay and realizing that his life is ebbing away.  One of Dana’s employees gave CPR for twenty minutes – to no avail.  At first Jay could not feel his legs, and soon he said, “I can’t breathe!  I can’t breathe!”  And then … he was gone.  Fifty-four years old, a successful, wealthy leader in corporate America, happy family man, new grampa … with much of his future still ahead of him – his life ended suddenly without warning.  Our son was crushed.  Since joining this company, Dana has talked with Jay on a near-daily basis as his direct contact.  He has been his mentor and coach, and our son has spoken about how highly he respects this man because of his integrity and how he lives his life.  We did not know Jay, but felt the impact of such a great loss for his family – and for our son.  He had lived his life full-speed ahead and impacted people far beyond the scope of his own understanding, I’m sure.  Our son said the afternoon/evening of the visitation, over two thousand people greeted Jay’s family and shared how much he had meant to them.  Yes, Jay’s life on this earth is over, but the legacy he left to his family and all who knew him in his corporate circles will live on.  No forecast, no prediction.  A life well-lived, a death so unexpected.  Only God knew the complete set of dates for Jay:  his birthdate and his date of death.  It was Jay’s choices in life that made his fifty-four short years on this earth so full and impacting to so many others.  We get the same choices between our beginning and ending dates.  What kind of living will we do between the two? Lord, help us “spend” our days wisely, making You our #1 choice!  There is no greater choice we can make, and making God #1 in our lives will allow us to impact others for His glory for as long as we live!
 
 
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
 
SUN, FEB 10TH:                                    
10:00 A.M. – PRAISE & WORSHIP                      
10:30 A.M. – KIDZONE CHURCH                        
WED, FEB 13TH:                                     
7:00 P.M. – ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE         
SAT, FEB 16TH:                                       
5:00 P.M. – “A SWEET NIGHT OUT”                    
at The Timberlodge & dessert by Hazel              
at the church following w/fun fellowship   
 
ELEVATION NORTH SPOTLIGHT!
We invite you to take time out of your mid-week schedule to attend the Ash Wednedsay Service at church at 7:00 p.m.  This is a time to focus closely on all that Jesus experienced in the days preceding His complete sacrifice for us on the Cross.  Come and honor and worship our Lord; come and sing praises; come and let God's Word change you; come and take heart as you remember all that Jesus has done for us as we partake of Communion.  Think of someone you can invite that may not have attended an Ash Wednesday service before so they can experience God's amazing love!            
 
REMEMBER . . . “Don’t be anxious for tomorrow.  God will take care of your tomorrow too.  Live one day at a time.” ~ Matthew 6:34 / “I will not forget you.  See, I have inscribed you on the palm of My hands.” ~ Isaiah 49:15-16
 
 
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
 
 
Pastor Doug and Debbie
 
 
 
 
 

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