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Family Bible Church FamilyGram Page
in this ISSUE
Birthdays and Anniversaries
page 9
Getting Ready - Part 9 page 1
Global Partners—DeNeuis
Page 8
Emily Black’s Short Term Mission
page 4
Halvorson News page 5
OneCry Prayer Mtg page 11
Pastor Ron Page 3
Silver Eagles page 7
Youth Calendar page 6
Women’s Retreat Page 1
Worship page 10
FamilyGram A Publication of Family Bible Church
May 2016 Volume 2016 Issue No. 5
M y brother in the Lord knocked on our back door
and actually waited for me to open it this time. We both knew that this was going to be our last visit and, as he came in, his face seemed to show it. He
didn’t say anything for a while and looked a little sad so I jumped right in, “Well, look at you… all ready for your move? Is Jan all packed?” He replied, “Yes, as ready as we’re going to be I guess.
But it’s going to be hard leaving Whidbey.” He told me more about his new job as
I poured him a cup of coffee and got out the now famous cookie tin. “Well, my friend, let’s see if we can do a little wrap-up about per-sonal and family preparedness.” I
said this partly to get his mind off their leaving.
“As followers of Jesus we have a much
(Ready—Continued on page 2)
GETTING READY - PART 9
by Dick Haines
John 16:33
Some Concluding Thoughts on Preparedness
H ey Husbands! Give your W ife a
Special Mother’s Day Gift! Send her
to the Women’s Retreat!
WHEN: Fri., May 20 – Sun., May 22
WHERE: Beautiful lush grounds of Ce-
dar Springs Christian Retreat
Center in Sumas, WA
(cedarspringscrc.org)
COST: $190.00, (a non-refundable
deposit of $75.00 is due at reg-
istration).
REGISTRATION: You can register each
Wednesday at WOW or in the foyer after
each service on Sundays. Watch the
church bulletin and our Facebook page
(Women’s Ministry of Family Bible
Church) for further details.
Last day to register is
Sunday, May 8th! THEME: "For Such a Time as This!" A
retreat built on themes of revival and re-
newal.
(Note: This is the final article in a series of special interest stories about help-ing you and your family prepare for coping more effectively with vari-ous emergency situations.)
"And who knows but that you have come
to your royal position for such a time as
this?" Esther 4:14
Anxiety and fear are on the rise in Ameri-
ca. But God is calling for revival and re-
newed courage for the glory of His name.
The best way to conquer fear and anxiety is
to unleash the power of praise! It’s time for
the church to rise up with praise and speak
the name of Jesus to a broken and hurting
world. Are you ready? It’s time!
ABOUT OUR SPECIAL SPEAKER: Becky
Harling, Speaker and Author
Authentic. Passionate. Funny. Inspiration-
(Retreat—Continued on page 4)
Page 2 Family Bible Church FamilyGram
larger agenda than the rest of the world has during and after a disas-ter strikes don’t we? And you won’t read about it in the newspapers or see it on TV today.” I began. Keith nodded and said, “Yeh, I’m begin-ning to see that.” I went on, “As a Christian preparedness website re-cently put it, this means that no matter what level of preparedness we and our family have decided to get ready for, we followers of Jesus should be prepared also by knowing what God’s Word says.” Keith thought for a moment and then broke in, “So having a Christian-based maturity really is the best preparation for what may be com-ing.” Wow, was I pleased to hear him say these words! He was grow-ing really fast in his new faith and I realized that he and Jan and the kids had a much better chance of weathering whatever might come.
I replied, “Yes, it really is a matter of our faith and trust in the Lord conquering our fears isn’t it? No matter how many canned goods or gallons of water or cash or gold or guns and ammo we may have stored away, the only way to be truly pre-pared as Christ would have us be is to be willing to help our neighbors – this is really just the Golden Rule isn’t it? We also have to allow the Lord to strengthen us to grow to become more like Jesus. All the preparations we may make and all the good intentions we hold will matter nothing if our faith is little more than a wisp that allows the quick reentry of selfishness, greed and fear at the expense of our appli-cation of Godly principles.”
The look on Keith’s face told me that he didn’t quite understand so I went back, “What I mean is that God wants us to let Him strengthen us to be more and more willing and able to do His work in this world. He does most of this strengthening, not us. But He also knows that we’ve got to survive in order to do this. So you see, He is setting us apart for accomplishing both His work and our own. This doesn’t mean we don’t need to take active
(Ready—Continued from page 1) steps to be better prepared. We’re expected to use our God-given brains and common sense.”
“Oh, I think I see,” he replied. “It’s a matter of knowing what God’s pri-orities are and not just my own.” “Yup, that’s pretty much it. And it also means becoming more resilient to what may come.” I said with a big grin.
After listening for a while he said, “Well, Dick, you’re making heaven sound better and better. I’m com-ing to realize that it’s not easy to prep by faith and not also by worry and fear at the same time particu-larly if I spend much time on inter-net prep sites. And if the disaster we’ve been talking about is a really gigantic one our Christian faith and service is going to be all the more essential won’t it?” I nodded with an even wider smile as he went on, “… but at least now Jan and I are doing more than just talking about getting ready. We’re together on it. We’re coming to real-ize that whatever may happen God’s Spirit is with us as our Comfort-er.”
“But Keith, before you go let’s briefly review some key things we’ve talked about over these past months,” I began, “like first of all getting over one’s normalcy bias that tries to convince us that be-cause we’ve never had a really ma-jor disaster here we never will. Next, we all need to face facts while acknowledging our own limits, in other words, to know ourselves as much as possible. Then we can get started prepping where we are - with what we already have. We should build our fresh water and food cupboards up a little at a time…remember, at least a gallon of pure drinking water per day and 2,000 calories of nutritious food per adult. After that we’ll probably need shelter, warmth and electricity to protect our health. We didn’t even talk about the economic impact of many disasters; if possible we all should try to set aside at least a
month’s worth of extra emergency cash.” He interjected, “Yeh, and what about sharing our Christian faith with others so they can come to know and love Jesus, just like you did with me. Man, that’s real prepping. But I noticed that you didn’t mention hardly anything about self-defense or buying silver or gold… the internet is really crammed with those subjects.”
We both knew that we wouldn’t be having any more of these meetings and the realization cast a kind of shadow over our discussions. I said, “Well, if you weren’t leaving we could have talked about all kinds of other stuff. You’ll have to do your own prep work on them from here on out.”
“I’ll really miss our coffee and cook-ie meetings,” I said. “After you get
settled in I hope we can stay in touch. I also hope you’ll try to meet with other guys back there to share your faith and how it trans-lates into getting pre-pared. You know, watching the evening news makes it clear that there are a lot of people who need to
prepare by finding the source of inner peace in Jesus that we’ve found.” He gave me a confirming smile and replied, “You know, when we first moved here I used to won-der why here but now I think I know. One reason for sure was so we could meet. God sure knows what’s best for us doesn’t He?” I nodded as he went on. “One more thing before I have to go. I want you to know that while I prep I promise to pray for Carol and you, for your health and safety and for your mar-riage and family.” “I really appreci-ate that Keith, and I’ll do the same for you and Jan and the kids.”
We hugged and even shed some tears as he left for the last time with two cookies clutched in his hand. I called out, “faith – not – fear, bud-dy!” He stopped, turned, and said, “And the same to you, brother.”
“It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me,
it is the parts that I do understand.” - Mark Twain
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marktwain153875.html
Family Bible Church FamilyGram Page 3
X
There
Here
I think the best practical defini-
tion of leadership I have ever
heard was given by Bill Hybels at
the Global Leadership Summit
(which we will again host at FBC
via satellite this Aug. – pardon the
shameless promotion). Hybels
explained,
“Leadership is
moving people
from here to there.”
You connect with people
where they are and work
to move them to where
they should be. As I thought
about it, that definition works
very well for Discipleship. We
take people from where they are
and seek to lead them to where
they should be. It is quite simple,
right? Well, yes and no. Yes it is
very simple, in that where ever
they are is the starting point. Peo-
ple don’t need to achieve a certain
level before we will invest in
them. We simply go to where they
are and bring them toward where
they should be.
At FBC we have defined the four
marks of discipleship, so we have
a good idea of the general direc-
tion and steps that need to be tak-
en to get people from “here to
there.” The four marks help us
know that we have made a disci-
ple. The four marks are communi-
cated by the acronym GROW.
If they understand salvation is by
grace (Grow) alone, through faith
alone, in Christ alone, we have
started moving them along the
road of discipleship. If we help
them get into relationships
(gRow) with other people we will
have planted them in the atmos-
phere where they will grow as dis-
ciples. The loci of relationships is
corporate worship (Hebrews
10:25) and small groups. Moving
along the discipleship continuum
we challenge them to have an atti-
tude of obedience (grOw) toward
God. There are certain things
we do and don’t do as follow-
ers (disciples) of Christ. And
finally we equip and challenge
them to witness (groW). What
could be simpler than finding
people where they are and help-
ing them along the discipleship
path of Grace, Relationship, Obe-
dience, and Witness (GROW)?
As stated previously, “yes, it is
very simple” to lead them from
where they are to where they
should be. Unless we find their
starting place offensive. The chal-
lenge comes when one is not
comfortable with the “here” in
which we initially find people. In
evangelism, most of us are com-
fortable with almost any “here” in
which we find people. But what
about in discipleship?
There are often unconscious ex-
pectations we have for those who
profess to already know Christ.
We find someone who professes
to have experienced the saving
grace of God, but there is some
particular choice they have made
in their life which we find repre-
hensible. It is noteworthy that
most of the behaviors we find of-
fensive are the behaviors we don’t
struggle with. For instance, those
who don’t struggle with lust find
the struggle of those who do of-
fensive. I’m not talking about ap-
proving of behaviors, I’m talking
about being “put off” by them. If
you had a battle to control sub-
stance abuse, you will most likely
be quite patient with those
trapped in substance abuse. If
you never struggled with a judg-
mental spirit and temper issues,
then you will most likely find
those who do as particularly dis-
turbing.
Let me be careful to reemphasize
that I am NOT talking about ap-
proving certain behaviors, atti-
tudes, and/or philosophies. I am
talking about being able to come along
side someone who professes to know
Christ and has deeply embedded in
their life an attitude about something
we believe is clearly not biblical and
then patiently, perhaps over a long
time period with little or no marked
improvement in the offensive area,
working with them to take them along
the path of discipleship. You probably
are thinking, “Sure I can.” But what if
they held tightly to some behavior
and/or philosophy that you are con-
vinced is clearly unbiblical, would you
still be able to patiently help them
move ahead in each of the other areas
that you can impact? What if they
stringently cling to that philosophy or
behavior as being OK when you are
convinced the behavior or attitude is
wrong, would you stick with them?
Would you genuinely love them from
where they are to where they should
be? Or do we only disciple people who
have already achieved certain levels of
maturity? Do we only invest in people
who grow at a certain rate?
Jude addressed this very uncomforta-
ble struggle with the following words,
“Be merciful to those who doubt; save
others by snatching them from the
fire: to others show mercy, mixed with
fear – hating even the clothing stained
by corrupted flesh.” (Jude 22-23 NIV)
Do we really love all God’s children or
do we only love those who have
achieved a certain level of spiritual
maturity?
a message
from
From Here to There
Page 4 Family Bible Church FamilyGram
al. Becky Harling is an energetic
and motivational speaker inspiring
audiences to overcome their great-
est life challenges and reach their
full God-given potential.
Becky’s life experience as a Pastor’s
wife, Women’s Ministries Director,
survivor of breast
cancer and child-
hood sexual abuse,
all bring depth and
realism to her mes-
sage.
A certified leadership coach, speak-
er and trainer with the John Max-
well Team, Becky is a frequent
speaker at conferences, retreats,
and leadership training events. She
brings messages of hope and inspi-
ration to audiences.
(Retreat—Continued from page 1)
T hank you so much for support-
ing my mission trip to Nicara-
gua, it was a wonderfully learning
experience for me in so many
ways. Going into the first
few minutes of being
there, groups of people
were already playing soc-
cer and we were drawing
with kids in the school.
In many ways, the first
day at the village was my
favorite and I had some of my
most memorable experiences.
One of these moments was when we
got to read with the kids. They got
so excited when we brought the
books out and they were so eager to
read to us. I loved seeing their ex-
citement and it was such a pleasure
to listen to them read. Afterwards,
we got to play duck, duck, goose,
and other games that the children
enjoyed. Interacting with the kids
and learning more about their cul-
ture was definitely one of my favor-
ite parts.
That being said, I faced some diffi-
culties on the trip as well. The big-
gest issue I had was the language
barrier. I had a hard time com-
municating with the oth-
ers because of it, and at
times, it made me feel
inadequate. Howev-
er, my biggest mis-
take was assuming
that I wasn’t making
much of a change and
feeling too weak and
confused as to my pur-
pose there. Though it leads
me to realize some important
things. First, that change is not im-
mediate be it in the village or in my-
self, but that God has his own tim-
ing for everything. But I think the
best thing I learned was the im-
portance of relationships. We
learned that poverty is a social
problem on the trip and I think it
completely changed my view on
mission trips. It’s awesome to build
things for a community, but the
value of being present and building
relationships with others can bring
so much hap-
piness and
hope. I found out
that even though I
can’t change the world in
nine days, I can be a part of a pro-
cess that can benefit many in the
long run and that even a smile can
be extremely valuable.
Ultimately, the purpose in going to
Nicaragua was for our group to be
present and supportive of the mis-
sionaries at CEPAD and recognize
the efforts of the village. We stayed
in their homes and received a better
cultural understanding of the coun-
try and learned to appreciate the
hard work they do every day to
achieve things we have machines
for. It was an amazing trip and I
can’t even fit in all the details in one
letter. Feel free to contact me at
[email protected] if you
want to learn more about my trip
and experience for it was wonder-
ful!
Sincerely, Emily Black
Emily Black’s Report from Her Short Term Mission
Recently, Becky has teamed up with
her daughters to present Moms’
Unleashed. This mini-conference
teaches Moms of all ages to unleash
the power of praising God in their
parenting role. Every message in-
cludes hope, humor and inspiration
from God’s word.
Becky is the author of several books
including, Re-
writing Your
Emotional
Script, Free-
dom From
Performing,
The 30 Day
Praise Challenge and The 30 Day
Praise Challenge For Parents. She’s
been a featured guest on the Day-
star Television Network, the Har-
vest TV Show, Moody’s Midday
Connection, Dr. Dobson’s Family
Talk and many other top-rated
shows.
Becky and her husband, Steve, have
been married for 36 years. Together
they have four adult kids and nine
grandchildren.
Please note: Each year w e of-
fer several scholarships for women
to attend the retreat. If you are in-
terested in contributing towards our
scholarship fund or may need a
scholarship for yourself, please con-
tact Carolynn Kaetterhenry at
or 360-320-1663.
Family Bible Church FamilyGram Page 5
G od is advancing His King-
dom and He allows us to be
a part of His wonderful work. As
Revelation 7:9 tells us, He is
calling people from every tribe,
tongue, and nation. Amazingly,
as disciples of Christ, we get to
be a part of sharing the Good
News with the peoples of the
world, whether it is at the local
coffee shop or the remote re-
gions of the world. Thank you,
FBC Brothers and Sisters in
Christ for sharing the Gospel
locally, throughout the island
and for acting globally with the
great commission. You may not
have even heard of the Lopit
Mountains of South Sudan, but
on a recent flight, you helped
bring a team of Bible
translators to those
beautiful mountains.
Dan flew in a team of
translators who are
working diligently to
translate the New Tes-
tament into the Lopit
language. The Wyc-
liffe Associates have
much work to do, but
they are hungry to
complete this transla-
tion so that people
from the Lopit Tribe can hear the
Word of God and read it in their
own tongue. Thank you, FBC fami-
ly, for being a part of this wonderful
Kingdom building work, as you sup-
port the Halvorson Family in Kenya.
Halvorson News From Nairobi
South Sudanese Lopit with Wycliffe Associates Bible
Translators and FBC Missionary Dan Halvorson.
T here are those who say that this is ordinary. But
don’t let that fool you. “Mother” will always be the bravest, least ordinary, most difficult and utter-ly challenging career that any-one ever hopes to lay claim to.
While others might hear, “diaper-changer, food-maker, car-pooler, bottle-washer, laundry-doer, sweat pants-wearer, life-on-hold” wanna be doing anything else woman, the Truth, whether it feels like it some days or not, is that you are in fact a shelter from the storm.
You are a Cape of Good Hope.
You are a warrior who will bat-tle for your children’s hearts, souls, attention, innocence, education and memories.
Go to battle my friends. This is your time.
We will hold strong on either side of you. We will pray over those bottles, through the dark watches of the night, when doubt comes and children break, when adults fail them, when they push and push as hard against us as that day we deliv-ered them into the world we. will. not.
be broken.
We may ache and see cracks tear through our hearts, but we
You Are Mighty Because You Mother in CHEERING FOR YOU, MOTHERHOOD, RABID FEAR OF PARENTING by Lisa-Jo Baker
will get up again tomorrow and load the clothes and the words that need to be said. Again and again and again.
And when the world tries to claw at them, to break them, to smash the beauty in them, may our walls hold true. May the les-sons we’ve told, the truths we’ve lived, the life we’ve spoken into them come back easily, predict-ably, with wash and repeat ease.
Kingdom business. Jesus work. This shaping of souls. This raising tiny humans.
There are those that say that this is ordinary. Don’t buy that for a second.
Mighty. You are mighty, because you mother.
http://lisajobaker.com/2013/10/you-are-
mighty-because-you-mother/
Page 6 Family Bible Church FamilyGram
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31
9:50 am Sunday School
Jr./Sr. High starts in C6—Topic: John
9:50 am Sunday School
Jr./Sr. High starts in C6—Topic: John
Mother’s Day!
9:50 am Sunday School
Jr./Sr. High starts in C6—Topic: John
9:50 am Sunday School
Jr./Sr. High starts in C6—Topic: John
Youth Calendar for May 2016
Some Thoughts on Motherhood...
Youth Dinner @ 6:30
Sr. High Jr. High
Jr. Hi: 7-8:45 C-3 Topic: Bible 201
Sr. High 7-8:45 C-6 Big Group—Community I
Sr. High 7-8:45 C-6 Small Group—Community II
Jr. Hi: 7-8:45 C-3 Paint Your World
Adventure $10
Jr. Hi: 7-8:45 C-3 Topic: Bible 201
Sr. High 7-8:45 C-6 Small Group - God and Me
Jr. Hi: 7-8:45 C-3 Topic: Bible 201
Sr. High 7-8:45 C-6 Worship II
No Sunday School
Youth Dinner @ 6:30
Youth Dinner @ 6:30
Youth Dinner @ 6:30
All Youth
Retreat! - Island Lake
Memorial Day
* Jr. High Paint Ball & Bon-
fire @ Jones’ house! $5
If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands? - Milton Berle
The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.
—Theodore Hesburgh
“Women’s Liberation is just a lot
of foolishness. It’s the men who
are discriminated against. They
can’t bear children. And no
one’s likely to do anything about
that.” ~Golda Meir Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ~Elizabeth Stone
Family Bible Church FamilyGram Page 7
THE SILVER EAGLES WILL MEET May 20th at 11:30
At 270 SE Pioneer Way
The PBY flew from here
To the Aleutians in 1943
“IT FINALLY CAME HOME”
Created by WWII vets who flew the “PBY-5A” Catalina amphibious patrol bomber, to honor the history of all the Navy & Marine Aviators who served our country from NAS and all of those who flew the Catalina.
After the tour we will go to San Remo’s Restaurant at 421 Midway Blvd
for an early dinner.
Please contact Marjorie Kott – 360-675-3146 or [email protected] for reservations for
both the museum & the restaurant. $6.00 fee for the museum.
D ear Mama,
You’re hoping to be Queen for a Day.
You’re hoping your labor of love and daily sacrifices and long hours and sleepless service and hard, hard work might be acknowledged in a way that will make your mama-heart go flutter, flutter, flutter, I. Am. Seen.
And I hope that for you too.
Your love runs deep. Your reach stretch-es far. Your presence breathes safe. Your work speaks holy… and so you deserve to be honored, oh Mama-Queen for a Day.
But this year, as you prepare for the day that’s all about you…
R emember her who has no babies to embrace.
R emember her who has experienced loss in the womb or loss in her arms.
R emember her who reluctantly en-trusted her heart-in-the-shape-of-a
-child to someone else’s care because, at the time, it was the highest form of love.
R emember her who is separated through deployment or assignment
or illness or disease.
R emember her who aches in her soul while her baby is in prison.
R emember her who has waited and counted and worn her knees ragged
praying for the day when those two lines would appear.
R emember her who loves our babies because she’s not yet found a man
to give her some of her own.
R emember her who burns with regret for letting go when there seemed no
other way.
R emember her who parents alone, with those sweet littles still too
young to form the words “I love you” on their lips.
R emember her who waits in agony for applications to be approved and
a judge’s ruling telling her what she al-ready knows. (That she, too, is a moth-er.)
R emember her who’s broken-hearted from being pushed away by a way-
ward teenager.
R emember her who lacks access to the kind of medical care we take for
granted and instead waits in fear of her birthing day.
R emember her—in a far off land—who pushed to her death, while de-
(Remember—Continued on page 11)
SILVER EAGLES TO VISIT
PBY & NAVAL AIR MUSEUM
Page 8 Family Bible Church FamilyGram
A Baptism Story
On March 20, 2016, Sandra was
baptized. Her testimony of a life
radically changed and saved
brought tears to many eyes that
day. We wanted to share her words
with you and she has given us per-
mission. Her story is one of re-
demption and hope. We have para-
phrased it here.
Sandra's Story:
"As a child, I suffered from feelings
of profound sadness. I believed
that no one loved me and I contem-
plated suicide. I was shy and intro-
verted, and yet aggressive and
moody. As a young girl I began
cutting myself, and this became an
even bigger problem later. To this
day I carry the scars. As an adoles-
cent, I hung out with very bad com-
pany and did just about anything.
"One of my aunts went to church.
At 19, I began to go with her, alt-
hough I understood very little.
Then I began to have health prob-
lems. When I was 22, my father,
who meant everything to me, died.
"At the age of 23, I lived with a vio-
lent man, who lived off of me, while
having relationships with other
women. This was my descent into
hell, and it lasted for 6 years. Then
at 29, I found
the courage
to leave him,
for another
man. This
relationship
was also un-
healthy. I left
him 2 years
ago.
"Over 8 years ago, I left the church
I had attended, and no longer be-
lieved in God. Years of suffering
followed. I was in depression, like
a vegetable. I found my refuge in
food and sleep. I got very involved
in yoga and allowed people to prac-
tice hypnosis, magnetism and oc-
cultism on me.
"A year ago I moved back in with
my mother due to my health prob-
lems. She had become a Christian
after my father passed away. She
was having a prayer meeting at her
house and I came downstairs and
joined them and prayed. My moth-
er cried tears of joy, and invited me
to come to a Christian concert the
next day. I was a bit skeptical but
went. At the concert I spoke to
some members of the choral who
invited me to church the next day.
I went and loved it and decided I
would keep going to this church.
But my car then broke down. One
of the people from the choir knew a
pastor of a church in Saint-Louis,
where I lived. I didn’t need a car to
get there. That’s when I first start-
ed coming to La Bonne Nouvelle.
"That is where my adventure be-
gan. I attended a home group and
church services. The Holy Spirit
began to touch my heart. I found
the answers to my questions in
God’s Word. One morning, I tried
to sing a worship song, but could-
n’t. I was so moved, and asked God
then and there to forgive my sins.
"I understood that I was lost with-
out God. I accepted Jesus as my
Savior, because God sent his be-
loved Son to earth as a sacrifice, to
die in my place on the cross, for my
sins. Just like Jesus, who rose
again and is now with His Father, I
will also have eternal life.
"After that, God began to change
my life. I got rid of anything that
had to do with yoga and my old life.
God even helped me to forgive the
violent man in my life who had
done me so much harm. I want to
learn more about God and read His
word. He has a plan for my life. I
want to please Him with all of my
heart.
"I have gone through all kinds of
other struggles and more will come.
But at 40, I am finally living. This
is truly a new
birth. Thank
you Lord.
Sandra's
Testimony
Her Baptism
Our mailing address is:
18 rue des Chevreuils
68870 Bartenheim-la-chaussée
France
Copyright © DeNeui, All rights re-
served.
Sandra
The DeNeui’s in France
Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong.
- James Bryce
Family Bible Church FamilyGram Page 9
Jane & Dennis Behrman Dianne & Jack Granade
Heather & Connor Bettis Jan & Andy (A.J.) Markley
Susan & Reynaldo Delmundo Mercy & Kerry Speth
Caryn & Gregory Eggett Bonnie & Montee Walters
Taylor Berthiaume, 20th Geyer, Wendy 15
th Pearcy, Kelsey 13
th
Kylin Black, 05th Lynne Giammarinaro, 27
th Matthew Pearcy, 07
th
Jonathon Bright, 16th Dick Haines, 19
th Shirly Pedersen, 17
th
Bonnie Buxton, 21st Bud Hansen, 05
th Gregory Peele, 05
th
Mike Buxton, 15th Tordie Hayden, 27
th Patricia Ransford, 11
th
Christine Christopherson, 05th Ashley Jones, 08
th Andrea Roberts, 19
th
Jon Anders, 15th Joel Christopherson, 12
th Avery Jones, 14
th Brennan Schell, 31
st
Carol Anderson, 02nd
Kit Christopherson, 07th Antonio Lazada, 11
th Dorothy Schulz, 26
th
Danielle Arnett, 11th
Bryce Daigle, 08th Svenja Marshall, 14
th Kevin Turner, 17
th
Landon Arnett, 15th Reynaldo Delmundo, 16
th Kai Medina, 24
th Matthew Turner, 06
th
Lacy Baldwin, 19th Debbie Dyche, 16
th Kathrine Medina, 23
rd Billy Weaver, 23
rd
Robert Bell, 15th Dan Edwards, 29
th Bob Mitchell, 11
th Susan Wells, 03
rd
Madelyn Berthiaume, 31st Mary Erickson, 13
th Tammy Ostermann, 17
th Caleb Zarraonandia, 16
th
It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so
rare.
— Mark Twain
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marktwain104717.html
Page 10 Family Bible Church FamilyGram
My Story by Jason
Ingram & Michael
Weaver
We just started singing
this song at Family
Bible Church (FBC) in
April. It started with a
conversation with
someone on worship team who had
asked to sing this song. However, when
we introduce a new song at FBC it is
important that it be accessible to the
congregation – in terms of melody and
rhythm – but that it more importantly
speak biblical truth. So I began listen-
ing to the song, hearing it on the radio
and then took the time to read through
the lyrics.
Taking their cue from the refrain of
“Blessed Assurance”, Jason Ingram and
Michael Weaver begin to piece together
a story of what life in Christ looks like.
What has Christ done with the stories of
these two men?
“If I told you my story, you would
hear hope that wouldn’t let go.
If I told you my story, you would
hear that never gave up.
If I told you my story, you would
hear life, but it wasn’t mine.
If I should speak, then let it be of
the grace that is greater than all
my sin,
Of when justice was served and
when mercy wins,
Of the kindness of Jesus that
draws me in.
Oh, to tell you my story is to tell
of Him.”
From the Worship Desk
Can you hear the testimony of
these two men being sung through
these lyrics? The story of men
whose lives are radically different
because of the hope, love, and life
of Christ that saturates each lyric
of this song. The hope of Christ
that doesn’t let go, the love that
never gives up, and the life that we
have because of what Christ has
accomplished. And when we have
the opportunity to talk about this
life that we have let us then take
the opportunity to speak about
Christ; His grace, justice and mer-
cy.
Lyrics like these ones begin a pro-
cess of thinking that ought to make
us ask, “What about my story tells
of Christ?” What about my story
shares the hope, love, and
life of Christ when I get the
opportunity to share with
people about Christ?
While visiting friends in
D.C. in April we were hav-
ing a discussion about the
Holy Spirit and personality
traits. It was said to me, “If
you [Brian] didn’t have the Holy
Spirit I could see how you might be
downcast.” Mind you, these are
good friend who know me beyond
Sunday morning and know my in-
troverted tendencies and so it was
not a negative comment, however
it made me grateful for the work of
God in my life. It made me grate-
ful that through the work of the
Holy Spirit I have joy, peace, hope
and love that are beyond myself
and not a part of my personality
make up. In fact, my tendencies
are more toward worry, melan-
choly, and self-centeredness. So, if
I told you my story, would you hear
joy, peace, hope and love? If I told
you my story would you hear about
Christ?
When we introduce songs at FBC it
isn’t just because we like them. In
fact, there are a lot of songs that we
like that simply just don’t make the
cut because they are either not
congregationally accessible or they
have something in them that ques-
tions a core tenant of our faith.
But, when we introduce a song it is
to either help us as a congregation
engage with that Sunday’s theme,
or it is to encourage us as a congre-
gation in an area of our theology,
or it is to make us think about our
story in Christ and how we might
be sharing that story with others
around us.
There is so much in a
song! Each song carries
its own personal story
from the writer(s) but it
also engages the people
of Christ in the story of
His Bride, the Church.
And finally, a song
might help to engage the listener
with their own story. A lyric can
bring back a distant memory, a
melody could trigger an emotion,
and a song might
help put together
a thought about
theology. So,
when we sing
these songs, I
hope that you
find yourself en-
gaged not only in
the
What’s in a Song? Part 3
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. - Maya Angelou
Family Bible Church FamilyGram Page 11
O ur OneCry prayer group will not meet in May, but we encourage folks to attend the: National Day of Prayer on May 5, Thursday,
at the Gazebo in City Beach at 5:15 PM.
Looking Ahead... OneCry prayer group is making plans to attend the Decision America Prayer rally in Olym pia, on June 29. Info is shown below. Folks who want to sign up to go, can contact me at [email protected] or leave a message at 360-675-0244.
America’s spiritual and moral foundation is crumbling. What can we as followers of Jesus Christ do? We must pray, seek God’s face, and stand firm on His Word.
That’s why we’re bringing the Decision America Tour to each of the 50 states. I’m going to pro-claim the Gospel and challenge Christians to pray fervently and boldly live out their faith in Jesus Christ—at home, in public, and at the ballot box.
Will you join us in this effort?
HERE’S HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED:
today, where you can:
PRAY
Sign up for your state’s prayer team and ask God to bring revival to your state and our nation. Pray for your commu-nity, our nation, the tour, and opportunities to reach the lost with the Gospel.
Consider gathering a group to pray with you.
SIGN THE PLEDGE
Join thousands of others and
commit to take a stand for Je-
sus Christ.
MAKE PLANS TO ATTEND
Bring your friends and join Franklin Graham at the prayer rally in your state capital.
Join us as we travel to Olym-
pia on June 29 to take part in the
Decision America Prayer Rally.
Contact Ruth at: [email protected]
or leave a message at 360-675-0244 to sign up to go.
For more information go to
DecisionAmericaTour.com
livering life into the arms of the world as she said hello-goodbye.
And you, dear Mama-friend…
Your surrender is noble and your service is seen in the heavenly places.
You—who are so like God Himself in your creating and nurturing and laboring and the handing over of your very glory to another—will you remember how precious the privilege of doing what He does?
Will you remember that your chil-dren, your role, your name—Mama—is not something you’re entitled to, but some-thing released to you as a gift?
Your gift—the one you give and the one you receive—is far sweeter than any that could be packaged up and wrapped with a bow this Mothers Day.
Happy Mothers Day to you, Mama.
May you be celebrated, esteemed, and affirmed in your joy. May you wake up that sweet Sunday morn-ing to receive your beloved hand-drawn cards.
And as you do, may you remem-ber her, and whisper a prayer for her too – the one who is unable to share in your joy.
And may you also receive your breakfast in bed and a tidy house as you undoubtedly deserve. And flowers, many flowers!
Love, Another Mama Trying to Remember
(Remember—Continued from page 7)
Page 12 Family Bible Church FamilyGram
Upcoming EVENTS
Every Tuesday 6:00 PM The Pier—College & Career
Every Wednesday 6:30 PM Prayer & Praise—Library
WOW Bible Studies
9:15 AM Wed Mornings 6:30 PM Thu Evenings
National Day of Prayer 5:15 PM Thursday May 5
At the Gazebo in City Beach
Men’s Mission Trip to Mexico’
May 12-16
Women’s Retreat at Cedar Springs
Friday-Sunday, May 20 –22
Silver Eagles 12:00—2:00 PM Friday, May 20th
Youth Retreat to Island Lake May 28-30
LOOKING AHEAD VBS July 18-22
What Always Comes Right Before a Miracle by Holley Gerth
She wears white and floats down the aisle. My oldest niece is getting married and
she’s gorgeous.
She stands, whole future ahead of her, next to the one who will share it.
The pastor talks of the wedding where Jesus turns water into wine. He says, “Jesus’
mother told the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ ” He encourages the couple in
front of him to do the same. Those words grab hold of my heart. They won’t let go
through the reception line, as my fork slices into cake, as the last cheers go up when
the hand-holding pair rushes out the door into their new life together.
Because I realize, for the first time, those are the words that always come just before
a miracle.
Not “Do whatever you want”
Not “Do what you feel.”
Not “Do what makes you happy.”
Do whatever He tells you.
That’s what invites the impossible into the everyday.
That’s what can alter everything for all of us.
My niece said “I do” and her whole future changed.
When we say “I will do” it does the same for us.
“I will do whatever you tell me.”
Say those words and watch for water to turn into wine.
Family Bible Church is a non-denominational church. We are located at 2760 N. Heller Road, Oak Harbor. Our Sunday service times are 8:30, 9:50 and 11:20 AM with Sunday
School running concurrently during 9:50 & 11:20 services. Nursery is available for 9:50 and 11:20 services.
Church office hours are 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM, Monday - Thursday. You can contact us by calling 679-1585. Our FAX # is 679-6144.
Email address: [email protected]. Web location: www.oakharborfamilybible.org.
f Follow us on Facebook at Family-Bible-Church-Oak-Harbor-Washington Articles for this publication may be submitted to [email protected].
Follow Holley at http://holleygerth.com