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THE CHOICE TO BE GLAD by Cathe Laurie “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Phil. 4:4) Maybe it was the heavy fog that settled in overnight. Maybe it was the supermoon’s effect on my sleep. Maybe it was that only a few people showed up for my small group. Or maybe it was the never-ending barrage of political forecasts and subsequent conversations that made our future as a country seem as gloomy as the weather. Whatever it was … something made me feel weary and sad. Breaking Down Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Phil. 4:4) This verse is a real all-timer, one that gets quoted in a multitude of situations. I’ve highlighted and underlined it in my Bible. I’ve read it a thousand times, memorized it long ago, and even quoted it more times than I can count. But I really needed to hear it again. You see, it wasn’t only that the Philippians were having a bad day; that would be one thing. But the situation Paul was facing when he wrote this was full of mess. It would be hard for one of us to even pinpoint a positive part of his life at that point. As he writes to the church in Philippi, he’s sitting in chains in a Roman prison, condemned to death, and nothing he can say will change that. Even the generous donation the Philippians sent him won’t mitigate his sentence. But Paul says again: Rejoice. The cheap version of this is to pretend it’s all fine: I’ve got Jesus, so nothing hurts. But Paul is living out almost the opposite: Everything hurts, but I’ve got Jesus. Paul provides a list of some excellent things to rejoice in: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of commendable … think about these things” (Phil. 4:8) The verb at the end of the verse changes throughout the translations, but the original Greek word logizesthai means to think continually, to contemplate, and to implant them in your heart. One of my favorite translations of the word is “dwell.” Paul is telling the Philippians to count their blessings and live in that space of gratitude and praise. To dwell in the promises of the Lord and His great love for us. The Choice We Make Friends, our minds will find something to focus on. Either we can be consumed by the evil, the anxiety, the mess of it all, or we can rejoice in what is positive and what God has promised to us. So, on those days when we feel the aches and hurts deeply, we must focus our hearts on things and see how beautiful they’re supposed to be. How beautiful they will be, one day. God knows evil is real enough—so real you can stew in it if you choose, fondling your hurts and wallowing in misery. That void will suck you in deep if you let it. OR you can take hold of your mind, turning it instead to the goodness of God. Will you dwell on the darkness you see, or will you choose to think continually on good and establish your heart firmly in the Lord?  Thank you to everyone who contributed to our Thanksgiving baskets! November 22 Blessing Thank you for all your service. Our country is a better place because of you. As many of us enjoy a day off on November 11, let us remember the reason. We will never forget your bravery, honor, and courage!  Harvest Festival was wet but still fun! We thank God for the rain. HELP BLESS OUR NEIGHBORS THIS THANKSGIVING!MUSTARD SEED THANKSGIVING FOOD BASKETS · Canned Sweet Potatoes · Stovetop Stuffing · Gravy Mix Packet · Canned Corn · Canned Green Beans · Canned Cranberry Sauce You may drop off items on Sunday mornings at KFUMC in the narthex.  Come one and all! Invite your family, friends and neighbors to join us at this free community wide event! Enjoy the live music of Tim Porter and Gary Hatch! Take part in hay rides for all ages, a petting zoo, bounce houses, face painting and games for all the kiddos! If you would like more information or if you would like to volunteer, contact Beth Palmer at [email protected] or (830) 459-5847.  HELP BLESS OUR NEIGHBORS THIS THANKSGIVING! MUSTARD SEED THANKSGIVING FOOD BASKETS · Canned Sweet Potatoes · Stovetop Stuffing · Gravy Mix Packet · Canned Corn · Canned Green Beans · Canned Cranberry Sauce You may drop off items on Sunday mornings at KFUMC in the narthex. Emmaus November  TOGETHER The world is watching. The way Christians talk about their church has great impact, and the way we speak of other local congregations, pastors and the church around the world speaks volumes. Is the body of Jesus Christ united in love and mission, or are we divided? How does the world see us? Are we living as examples of grace, love, and unity? Here are some ways to be a witness in how we think about, speak of and interact with other faith communities. My prayer is that we step into some of these practices and become a witness in our community of what the family of God is supposed to look like. Speak well of other churches and pastors and pray for them. Every chance we have, speak words of blessing and affirmation over faith communities in our area. These are family members. Share words of blessing. Be kind. Pray for our faith communities and their leaders. Partner with other churches. Sometimes churches feel the need to do everything on their own, even when another church in the area is doing the same thing wonderfully. But we want to join together and let our community see churches that partner and work together. We are blessed to work with other faith communities with food relief efforts and through Habitat for Humanity, to just mention a few of the ways we partner. The world is watching. Let’s give witness to our unity. We are the family of God. Let’s shine the light of Jesus through our example. Rejoice where God is working. Celebrate where the kingdom of God is expanding. Let the world see that we are united, partners, family and one. Volunteer Opportunities We could use extra hands, please join us Monday!  Join us to help out at 9:45AM, October 29th. Other EventsChurch Picnic at Camp Mystic, Oct 27th  We need your participation to help us provide a safe, fun event for lots of children! Please bring your vehicle and park in the back parking lot of the church no later than 5:15pm. You can decorate your trunk or dress in costume (please nothing too scary) or just come as you are. We are providing candy but we need you to help us hand it out! Come join us for lots of fun! Trunk or Treat at KFUMC will be on Wednesday, October 30, from 5:30-6:30pm!  We need your participation to help us provide a safe, fun event for lots of children! Please bring your vehicle and park in the back parking lot of the church no later than 5:15pm. You can decorate your trunk or dress in costume (please nothing too scary) or just come as you are. We are providing candy but we need you to help us hand it out! Come join us for lots of fun! Come join us on Saturday, November 2, at Light on the Hill for The Harvest Festival! Come one and all! Invite your family, friends and neighbors to join us at this free community wide event! Enjoy the live music of Tim Porter and Gary Hatch! Take part in hay rides for all ages, a petting zoo, bounce houses, face painting and games for all the kiddos!
If you would like more information or if you would like to volunteer, contact Beth Palmer at [email protected] or (830) 459-5847.  As the humanitarian relief and development arm of The United Methodist Church, the United Methodist Committee on Relief – UMCOR –assists United Methodists and churches to become involved globally in direct ministry to persons in need. UMCOR comes alongside those who suffer from natural or human-caused disasters – famine, hurricane, war, flood, fire or other events—to alleviate suffering and serve as a source of help and hope for the vulnerable. UMCOR provides relief, response and long-term recovery grants when events overwhelm a community’s ability to recover on their own. UMCOR also provides technical support and training for partners to address emerging and ongoing issues related to disaster relief, recovery, and long-term health and development.  Are you interested in learning more about how our local church can help in a disaster? Contact Beth Palmer [email protected] (830)459-5847     Times are A-Changin’ When it Comes to Discipleship! With no experience, you can jump in with both feet and be a disciple! Call them small groups, life groups, or Covenant Discipleship Groups. It does not matter. We are just people who “disciple” together. What does it look like to “disciple” together at KFUMC? Maybe you are interested in our various food ministries. Maybe you enjoy making hospital visits. Maybe you are interested in delivering flowers to homebound members. Maybe you would like to offer communion to those in nursing facilities. Maybe you love to sing, but cannot, so you are thinking about joining Haley Montoya’s Sing-a-Long group. Maybe you are good at home repairs. Maybe you love to read to others. Maybe you are a genius when it comes to second-grade math and can offer your skills as a tutor. Maybe you like to fold and sort clothes at Mustard Seed. On September 4th, KFUMC has a new group starting. This will be our 7th group in three short years! We are making a difference in our community, one group at a time!!! If you are interested in meeting some new people, forming new friendships, and “discipling” together, please come to our first meeting to learn more. I will be in room 203, on the second floor of the education building. You do not have to commit yet. Just come and check it out. See you on Sept. 4 at 5:30 PM! Blessings, Rev. Monica O’Donnell  Mega Food PantryWe are so thankful for the San Antonio Food Bank and Amazing Unpaid Servants! Mustard SeedWe love our neighbors!  This week I am having the privilege of sharing with Camp Wesley Campers about all of the wonderful ways that Mustard Seed Ministries serves our community! They are learning about the history of Mustard Seed and about all of YOU! Without your support, Mustard Seed wouldn’t have the impact in our community that it does. Thank you for your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service and your witness! Small things, great love! If you would like to know how you can get involved in our food relief efforts, please reach out to Beth Palmer beth.palmer@kfumc or Tina Box [email protected] and we can get you plugged in! We currently need more people to add to our home delivery team. Let us know if we can give you more information. Thank you!     Joy filled the Mega Pantry this week because of all of the amazing unpaid servants, the wonderful food that was delivered by the San Antonio Food Bank, and our awesome neighbors that we had the privilege to share with! And thanks to the the super Girl Scout Troop #672 helping at Mega! Get ready for our BACK TO SCHOOL free event coming this August!  Nurse Theresa and Community worker, Emily, shared information about our Back to School Bash at the Glory Community Garden’s “Burgers in the Garden” event!        I was privileged to attend the Rio Texas Annual Conference last week in Corpus Christi, Texas. I had the honor of sharing about the good works that have been done by so many of you at Light on the Hill at Mount Wesley. It was wonderful to be able to celebrate how God continues to use this treasured place to share the love of Christ with so many! Thank you for your continued support!   Our Back to School Bash will be Saturday, August 3 at Light on the Hill! If you have gently used clothes that your child has outgrown, we would love for you to consider sharing them.     Our Back to School Bash will be Saturday, August 3 at Light on the Hill! If you have gently used clothes that your child has outgrown, we would love for you to consider sharing them.  Hill Country Emmaus Gathering is Monday, June 3 at Light on the Hill at 6pm.  |
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Light on the Hill at Mount Wesley is a Texas nonprofit corporation recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (Federal Tax ID: 83-3263624).
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