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May 2012
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Office: 509.332.8612
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Contents:
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May 2012 Calendar
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May 5 WSU Graduation
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May 17 Church Council Mtng 6pm
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May 20 Leadership Forum 6:00
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No Ladies Dinner this month
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Out of the Habit
By Jamie Pagels
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As most of you know I took a break from my Masters
Degree program this semester. I’ve really enjoyed this break; however I
have noticed a slight drawback. Masters Programs require much intentional
and disciplined thinking, listening and writing time. With the constraints
of school removed from me, these disciplines have slipped considerably.
Writing a creative article such as this while in school required little
time; thoughts and ideas were readily at hand. But, without the discipline
of regular writing practice, of thinking and listening, these short
writings have caused considerable stress – what do I write about? Where do
I start?
It
occurred to me this morning, as I was struggling with what to write, that
the same is true in our spiritual lives as well. The less we discipline
ourselves to do those things which lead us to become more and more like
Jesus, the more difficult it is to engage in them.
Think
about it. The less we spend time reading God’s word, the more difficult it
is to find time to do it. The less we pray, the harder it is to focus our
attention on God and have an honest conversation with him. When we fail to
obey God and give of our finances, we find that we have less and less from
which to give and in the end money rules us instead of God.
Dallas
Willard defines a discipline as, "any activity within our power that
we engage in to enable us to do what we cannot do by direct effort."
Hearing from God, being generous with our finances, being a blessing to
others – these are not things that we can do well of our own ability. God
must work in us “to will and to act according to his good purposes” (Phil.
2:13.) The task for us, then, is to cultivate our daily lives into fertile
ground in which God can bring growth and change. This is what the spiritual
disciplines are all about.
If our life-as-usual has
not been fertile ground in which God can bring change, then, as Dallas
Willard writes, "life-as-usual must go." Our
practice of spiritual disciplines, like going back to school, will require
an alteration of life-as-usual.
I like questions – they
lead me to honestly examine my life and move me toward change. Let me
leave you with two questions that can help you develop a spiritually
disciplined life…
What
am I currently not doing that, if I was doing, would open myself up more to
God's work of grace in my life?
What am I currently doing that,
if eliminated, would open myself up more to God's work of grace in my life?
Blessings
as you ask the hard questions.
Pastor Jamie
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Prayer
by Angie Feuerstein
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MISSION
POSSIBLE
Late in the afternoon
the twelve disciples came to him and said, "Send the crowds away to
the nearby villages and farms, so they can find food and lodging for the
night. There is nothing to eat here in this deserted place." But Jesus
said, "You feed them." "Impossible!" They protested.
"We have only five loaves and two fish. Or are you expecting us to go
and buy enough food for this whole crowd?" Luke 9:12-13
DEAR LORD, this task (or situation) looks
impossible. Yet you said that with you, that nothing is impossible if we
believe. Strengthen my trust in your ability and your resources. I want to
be your vessel and to be used by you. I give you myself----my heart, my
time, my gifts---and ask you to multiply them for your purposes. May you be
glorified in my life.
GOD
CALLS US TO LIVE A LIFE WE CANNOT LIVE, SO THAT WE MUST DEPEND ON HIM FOR
SUPERNATURAL ABILITY. WE ARE CALLED TO DO THE IMPOSSIBLE, TO LIVE BEYOND
OUR NATURAL ABILITY.
quote
by Erwin W Lutzer (b. 1941)
Taken
from The One Year Book of Praying through the Bible by Cheri Fuller.
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Leadership Forum
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Are you
a PFC leader? Do you want to be a leader? Maybe you want to know what the
leaders are up to. If so you will want to come to the next Leadership forum
on Sunday, May 20th, 5:00 pm at The Cordova. The meal and child
care will be provided, however we are asking for donations to cover the
cost.
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Women’s Encounter
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April 20th-22nd was the PFC
Women's Encounter retreat. Thirteen women enjoyed intimate times with
God, friendship, games and puzzles, beautiful outdoor time and yummy food,
all in a positively DELIGHTFUL setting at Jeff and Angie Feuerstein cabin
on the southern end of Lake
Coeur d'Alene.
Eliza Teague prepared the food, and each meal had a different international
theme, from Swedish pancakes and fruit to Thai shrimp soup for
dinner. Laurie Heimbigner, Angela Nelson, and Janice Busboom shared
about "Seasons and Cycles," about walking in faith and hope, and
about persevering and pressing on in our walk with Christ. The sweet
voice of Erin O'Neill led us in songs and worship. It was a smaller
group than usual with a different, less formal "feel", but there
was a feeling that God truly orchestrated and planned the weekend. Thanks
to Jesus for a blessed time together to be refreshed in Him!
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UPCOMING SUMMER FUN FOR PFC KIDS!
Summer (and hopefully, warmer weather!) is just around the corner, and the Children's
Team has been busy planning fun activities for our kids! The heart
behind these events is to see our kids rooted in God's love and personal
calling to them, and to disciple them in an intentional way.
TIMEQUEST BIBLE CLUB:
We'll be going through a really fun looking vbs curriculum called TIMEQUEST, with videos, games, snacks
and crafts, but as several churches in the area do large vbs weeks, we're
going to spread out the fun and do a weekly club instead! The
curriculum is published by the same lady who does our Sunday School and
Missions curriculum, and we can't wait to see it! In this club, our
kids will become cub investigative reporters, in order to find out the real
historical truth about Jesus. This will be a great opportunity for
kids to bring friends and neighbors. Details are still being ironed
out, but it will probably be Wednesday afternoons from mid-July through
August. The actual club is for 5 weeks. We'll wrap it up with a PARTY
at the end!
DISCIPLESHIP CAMP FOR THE OLDER CLASS:
For our older class (3rd through 5th graders), Janie Salvadalena is putting
together a 2 or 3 day overnight Discipleship camp. The kids will be
going through an "encounter" type booklet just for them,
interspersed with activities, food and fun! We've got lots of adult
helpers and creative ideas involved in this. A trip to the Moscow Water Park
will be included. Keep your eyes and ears open for dates and times to
be announced!
ICE CREAM OUTREACH:
Being that there are Creative Outreach funds available, we have just come
up with the idea for an ice cream cone giveaway outreach at Reany
park! We haven't discussed exactly when yet, but watch for more info
soon!
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Group News
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If you are starting a group, finishing a group, closing or
opening a group, we want to include that information here to keep everybody
informed. Please email the church
office with any changes being made to your group. Below are a couple of
the newer groups on our roster.
Creative Prayer-8am-noon, 1st Saturday
of the month. Cordova/Pullman Foursquare
This
is an appointment with God to use your creative gift. We meet
together and have corporate prayer. Directly afterward we split into
whatever our creative assignment involves; be it painting, drawing,
composing, choreography, writing or another expression of your
gifting. Explorers are welcome and there will be some extra art
supplies available. Light breakfast is served.
Creative Fellowship-9-noon, the 3rd
Saturday of the month, Eliza Teague’s house.
This is a time to bring your creative tasks and be
in fellowship with other’s in the body. Be it mending, crocheting,
designing something, or if you just want to come and fellowship; do
it! Light refreshments will be served and we will pray about the
things that come up in the morning before people leave.
For a full listing of PFC life groups
click here
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Are you recording stories of
your BELLS experiences at http://cainaaronp.dyndns.org/bells Let’s share what God
is doing for us and through us.
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If you would like to UNSUBSCRIBE, please reply to this
email or contact us at 4square@pullmanfoursquare.org.
Please include the words UNSUBSCRIBE and the email address you wish to have
removed. Thanks!
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