Sharing with Steve
This article is for parents and grandparents and is written after spending a week at church camp with one hundred 4th – 6th graders. It was reinforced again to me how important parental figures are in the life of a child. This has always been the case since the beginning of mankind, but the dynamics have changed over the years. When I was growing up just about every child lived in a traditional family unit with a father and mother under the same roof. How things have changed. There are still traditional families, but now there are single parent families. This is often due to divorce. We have step-families where kids are trying to get used to a new parent and siblings. More and more grandparents have entered again into the parenting field. They are raising their grandchildren. These different scenarios have a huge impact on the life of the child. The influence that these “parents” have on the children is great when it comes to their spiritual lives. Let me give you some examples.
There were sisters at camp. The older sister told some of the staff that her grandmother had passed and then told her younger sister. The younger sister was devastated. We checked and verified and found out the grandmother had surgery, but was very much alive and recovering. Apparently the girl just wanted some attention. One of the boys was just hard. He admitted to me that he was a bully. He had become a bully because he had been bullied. He did not care what you did to him. He would just stare at you. Understanding started to come when I found out that his dad is in prison and his mother is an addict. He lives with his grandparents, and they do not go to church. A friend of his grandmother encourages him to come to church camp.
We have just one week to make a difference in the life of these kids. We tell them about Jesus and try to model Jesus anyway that we can. We encourage them in their daily walk, but we know that we only have one week. We cannot undue what is emphasized for the fifty-one other weeks. That is why raising your children in the Lord is so important. It gives them a Biblical foundation upon which their whole life will be built. They may choose to go a different way, but they will still have the foundation. Please remember the Lord’s directions in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 “Listen, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.
We are taking a two-week break from our year-long series, The Real God. Sunday, August 4th, will be our Sunday in the park. Sunday, August 11, will be a free Sunday. Sunday, August 18, we will start the four-week session on the Justice of God. We will have a children’s story and teaching video on the 18th. We will have sermon from the Old Testament on the 25th and then from the New Testament on September 1. We will conclude this session on Sunday, September 8. Including this session, we have three sessions left. Continue to pray that God open our minds so that we can understand Him better and see who He really is.
LAWN MOWING
The lawn mowing season continues. Warm weather, rain, and growing grass seem to go hand in hand. We are thankful to our mowing teams and the good work that they do. Here is the schedule for the month of August:
Week of August 4th – The Blue Team
Week of August 11 – The Green Team
Week of August 18 – The Red Team
Week of August 25 – The Orange Team
Annual Church Picnic and Outdoor Church Service
It’s picnic time! Our annual church picnic will be held on Sunday, August 4, at the Auburn Hills Civic Center Park; maps to the park will be located on the foyer table. For everyone’s convenience, a shuttle service will be available from the park’s parking lot to the shelter area. Please see the sign-up sheets that are posted on the bulletin board in the foyer indicating what food you would like to bring. Meat and drinks will be supplied by the church. Activities at the picnic include volleyball, horseshoes, bean bag toss, and ladder toss. The picnic this year is hosted by the Friday night LIFE Group, and questions may be directed to Brenda Cox, Phyllis Martin or Lynn Ross.
Last year’s picnic began with our worship service at the park, instead of at the church building, and will be taking place at the park again this year. The service starts at 10:45 a.m. and Sunday School is dismissed that morning. Please bring lawn chairs to sit on for both the service and the meal. In case of rain the service and the picnic will be held at our building.
The Sisters in Service annual garage sale is scheduled for August 22, 23 & 24 at Dan & Elaine Bright’s home, 2136 Oklahoma, Rochester Hills.
Attention Men of Meadowbrook: we would like more tools, hunting and fishing gear, sports equipment and outdoor equipment, ie, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, weed whips, etc. Check your garages, sheds, basements.
Any donation can be brought to the Bright’s starting Sunday, August 18th.
A big reminder that all proceeds go to support the agenda of Sisters-in-Service. Everyone is welcome to bring their “treasures”. No clothes and no large furniture.
Sisters in Service Makes Pillows for Youth
Sisters in Service is busy making pillows for youth between the ages of 3 and 18 at “Sandcastles”, a camp sponsored by the Henry Ford Health System for youth who have experienced the death of someone close. The pillows provide badly needed comfort at a sad time for young people. The delightful pillows are displayed at the church in the hallway on the first floor.
Jeremiah Cox – August 4
Steve & Phyllis Martin (Ann.) – August 5
Mike & Cindy Gerstenlauer (Ann.) – August 6
Lynn Ross – August 13
Elaine Bright – August 14
Phyllis Martin – August 14
June Thomas – August 19
Brad & Mary Koster (Ann.) – August 24
Ron Murphy – August 30
Bonnie Iseman – August 30
