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A Note from the Desk of Janae… Updates, Encouragements and Fun Facts!

Happy First Day back to all our Golden Mules!! What a beautiful weekend to wrap up this summer vacation. I’m sure we’ll enjoy some summer-like days for a bit, but lately it’s felt like fall! As always, I’m sad to see summer go. But the end of this special season means…

Fair time!! I am looking forward to a week where my office looks less like my computer screen and more like seeing all of you exhibit your hard work and serve our community! It will be here before we know it! Thanks to the handful of you who have said yes to volunteer in the new Journey to the Nativity parade float! As in many years before, we’ll need all other hands on deck to help in the milkshake stand on Wednesday of the fair! The sign-ups are in the Gathering Area, stop by and drop your name! I know many of you will faithfully just “show up,” and that is appreciated, but so is the peace of mind knowing that we have people committed on the sign-up sheet. We have a good time, come and join us!

Before we can kick at the fair, we’ll be launching our first ever Men’s Discipleship Event - Next Man Up! This event is for guys only (ages 1st grade to 100 years old!) It will take place outside, weather permitting, on Saturday, September 6th from 3-6pm. Men come for great speakers, good fun and fun outdoor target practice activities! As a wrap up to Pastor Kevin’s sermon series on the life of David, guest speakers Devin Smith of Freedom Church in Rising Sun and Dustin Metzler of Providence Church will be sharing two different messages. Guys, sign-up online or in the Gathering Area! Girls, make sure your guys sign up!

We prayed over the Bibles we gave to those who are entering Preschool, Kindergarten, Third, Sixth and Ninth grade yesterday. But we also prayed over all of our Roots Kids headed back to school! If you missed them, in the midst of all the wonderful celebrations yesterday, I made bookmarks with the names and grades of all our Roots Kids as a reminder for you to pray over them this upcoming school year. There’s lots of bookmarks left in the Gathering Area! Help yourself! 

Just a reminder, that even though school has started and fall is coming, we’re continuing our combined worship schedule through the month of September! Lil’ Roots and Youth Roots regular Sunday School will reconvene on Sunday, September 7th, meeting at 10:30am in their respective wings and classrooms. On Sunday, October 6th, we move back to our 9:30am Sunday School hour and regular classes will reunite. Who can you spend some time inviting to Sunday School over the next few weeks?

No email from me next week, I’m headed to a quick trip to Florida with my sister next week. I’m looking forward to some time away, oceanside with a book! I will miss Scott, but he’s not much of a beach dude so he is kindly letting me get some time away! Until then I’ll be thinking of all of our friends getting reacclimated to new routines with school back in session! Have a great week!

 

What WE’RE Learning This Week: A nugget of what our Lil’, Youth and Adults Roots heard this week

Our Family Theme: Faith Guides Our Conduct

Our Root Text: Faith Guides Our Conduct

Verse of the Month: James 1:22

How Every Generation Lives This Out: Discuss allowing God’s wisdom, priorities, and perspectives to guide our conduct.

 

What I’M Learning This Week: Sharing what I’m reading and listening to lately

I finished reading the book of Jeremiah this week in my Bible reading plan. What a journey for the prophet Jeremiah! What a hard job; a tough crowd, too! As I finished the book, I’m still hanging on to chapter 29, which is a letter that Jeremiah wrote to the exiles, landing smack in the middle of a book prophesying all that was to come leading up to, in and after God’s people would be in exile. 

Go check out this chapter for yourself, but the message from the Lord that Jeremiah is passing along is this call for his people to make the most of where they are - even in exile. He tells them to build houses, marry, have children, seek peace and prosperity, don’t listen to false teachers. He says “bless the people who brought you into exile.” In other words, love your enemies. 

Make the most of your time in exile; of your time in waiting, in pressure, in insecurity and unknowns. 

What a challenge. A challenge that’s followed by a really special promise. Verse 10 says “when seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.”  We all know verse 11 quite well… “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” 

He does not leave us in exile, or in waiting or in pressure. He comes back. He brings us home. But while we wait, we make the most of our time in that place. We let “suffering produce perseverance and perseverance, character and character hope” (Romans 5:3).

 

Make Every Week Count: Parenting, Grandparenting & Spiritual Mentoring Resources

Something to Read: I love a good kids book, here’s another one for our shelves! Angels on Your Side: When You're Feeling Scared

Something to Listen to: Oh man, this was a great podcast about heaven. She actually references Jeremiah 29, fun!

Something to Follow: Don’t forget about RightNow Media as your resetting some of your routines coming into the fall! Max Lucado released a new study called Tame Your Thoughts, you may enjoy it!

 

How Can You Pray? Prayer Requests and Praises from Roots Ministries

PRAY for all of our Roots Kids and COM Kids who started a new school year today!

PRAISE for a wonderful morning of worship and fellowship at our annual Southern End Celebration!