C o m i n g To g e t h e r - t o b e Tr a n s f o r m e d - b y C h r i s t ’ s L o v e !
November 2010
This is a special time in the life of our Meadowlake Family, and in the lives of each of us - A time of Giving for God on Consecration Sunday, a time of gratitude to God at Thanksgiving; a time of reconnecting with God through Advent. All of these are offered through this special Family of Faith. And we are blessed by Susan Cook offering her heart-felt thankfulness for what our Family has meant and means to her life. Read what Susan shares with us - and reflect on what your Meadowlake Family means to you…. Fred For over a year now I have been trying to find the words to tell everyone at Meadowlake how thankful I am for them. Truly, I cannot begin to relate my gratefulness to so many people, but with thought of Thanksgiving coming, I would like to take a few minutes to express my thoughts. At our Bible Study Group last week, we were discussing the seven letters to the churches in Revelation. With Ruth Sample’s guidance and a room of wonderful ladies joining in the discussion, we began comparing parts of the letters to the history of Meadowlake. The conversation evolved around to the point where we were being specific about our church. We discussed how Meadowlake is a “family” – how we are a “nurturing” church and especially how we are a “praying” church. When you get to the subject of Meadowlake’s praying, you are speaking right to my heart. I was raised in the Presbyterian Church and have always believed in the power of prayer, but over the past months I have learned what it feels like to be “lifted up” in prayer. Thanks to our wonderful church members and friends, I have first-hand knowledge of how prayer can change your life. I will never know how many people have prayed for me, but I do know that God has heard those prayers and answered with His healing hands. Never before had I “felt” the uplifting from prayer, but thanks to our church, I can now share with you that you do indeed feel lifted in prayer. It is an awesome feeling! Maybe I am the last to experience this, I don’t know, but if you have not yet, know that I pray for all of our members to be lifted up in prayer. I also give thanks daily for our family here at Meadowlake. If you were blessed enough to be in church on October 31, you had a true picture of what a strong family we are. It was heartwarming to have the opportunity to have so much to be thankful for. Where in some churches you are offered a dry “stewardship” message, Jim Taylor shared how our stewardship messages last year welcomed him to Meadowlake. His “Giving- God’s Blessing!” message reminded me again to be thankful that our family here makes people feel welcome. Pastor Fred and his own personal “Vanna White” taught the little ones about sharing, then John Colberg did a wonderful job of explaining to us all how to get our priorities in order, small print disclaimer and all! “Giving – What’s in it for Me?” was a great message that we all need to hear on a daily basis! We have so much to be thankful for!
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