February 2018

Pleasant Grove UnitedMethodist Church400 Pleasant Grove RoadZanesville, Ohio 43701 

Phone: 740-453-2627Church: pgumceoc@yahoo.comWebsite: pleasantgroveumchurch.com Sunday School 9:45amWorship: 10:45 am

Office Hours: Monday-Friday 9:00 am-12:00 pm

 Jesus is calling us to love God, loveothers, serve in the world, and share the Good News of Jesus Christ!

  Church Staff:

Rev. Gordon Ferguson, Pastor Jill Jones, Secretary Ernie Boggs, Interim Custodian  

 SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR PLEASANT VIEWS IS NOON THE 15th OF EACH MONTH ~ You can submit items via mail, drop off at the church office OR by email.

Attitude Determines OutcomeOur attitude goes a long way in determining who we

are and how we live day to day. All one has to do is turn on a TV or surf the internet and they will be bombarded with negative, pessimistic attitudes.

Dr. Viktor Frankl was an Austrian psychiatrist who was a prisoner of war for a long period of time in a Nazi concentration camp. During his imprisonment, he noticed something that intrigued him. He observed that some of the prisoners who looked physically strong and robust were actually weak because of their poor attitudes, whereas some others, who outwardly appeared to be frail and feeble, were amazingly strong because of their positive attitudes.

In Paul's letter to the Romans he is saying- "Let serving God and trusting God be the attitude of your life"- he reminds us that we do not have to be imprisoned by our circumstances; instead, we can do God's will with confidence, trusting God to "bring it out right."

You know what Paul is saying in Romans 12:1-2 is that your attitude is your paintbrush...it colors every situation. In short, if you want your situation to change, then change your attitude.

Be Blessed,Pastor Gordon

David Wolfe 2-7Melissa Dingey 2-9Joanne Pollock 2-12Casey Ford 2-14Joan Hatfield 2-14Marlene Harper 2-15Karen Jones 2-17Jack McDonald 2-22Robin Powell 2-23Shiloh Jones 2-26Justin Dilley 2-27Melissa Iser 2-28

Ronald & Carol Rollins2-9-64

Revs. Al & Jean Teter2-19-77

Terry & Chris Clark2-28-70

Greeters: Ann Moorehead, Pat Wheeler, Mike & Sue Taylor

Ushers: Mike Taylor & Sonny Quimby

Special dates• African-American History Month • Transfiguration of Our Lord, February 11, 2018 • Ash Wednesday, February 14, 2018 • Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2018 • First Sunday in Lent, February 18, 2018 • Presidents Day, February 19, 2018 • Second Sunday in Lent, February 25, 2018

“What Do I Have?”

What do I have, Lord, that you would need me as a servant?

Eyes, he said, to see the beauty in all that I’ve made —

and my children as they travel life’s highway.

Hands, he said, to reach out and touch hurting souls,

to give a hug or encouraging pat on the back.

Feet, he said, to lead my children through this world of strife and to help them run from sin and follow me.

Mouth, he said, to lift up your voice and sing praises to me so others may hear the joy in your heart.

Ears, he said, to listen to my still, small voice of love

and to hear my children when they cry for help.

Heart, he said, so you may know the full love of my Spirit and love my children as I have loved you.

—Thomas Butler

February 2018 Recent Prayer Requests

The family of Walter ThompsonThe family of Delmar FergusonThe family of Glenna HeskettThe family of Louise Lisenby

Amanda Stafford Wendy HunterSusan Nichols

Cathy KanschatKelsey ShirerTerry Clark

Bev HarkinsJon Sheppard

Greg FordNancy Bracken

Everett LeedomAndy Rollins

Vic MyersPeggy Riley

Rick RidenourLew George

Wren and Whitney AbbotJane Richardson

For the Church and Community For those who are homebound or in nursing homesLoved Ones who are unsaved Mary Batteiger Ann Burkhart Martha VogelHeartbeats Pregnancy Center Terry Clark Calvin Lay Jean Myers Dr. Sharon Graves ECMI in Spain Violet McConnell Robert & Dolly McClellandTransition of PG Pastoral Leadership Pastor Gordon & Ann Ferguson

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^We want to thank you and we greatly appreciate everything that you have done for us this year and for the holidays. From our family, The Gonzalezs.

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Pleasant Grove Church,Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness, the beautiful flowers and providing a warm hot meal during the most difficult time. Our family greatly appreciates your kindness and support during this difficult time.

Sincerely,The Delmas Jones Family

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^A very warm thank you for the surprise Christmas bonus as well as all the encouraging words since I joined the staff here at Pleasant Grove UMC. This is truly a church focused on God, family and sharing the love. I am blessed to be here. May God continue to bless each of you daily, I pray you are continuously surrounded by His love and grace.

Jill Jones

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Thank you so much for my Christmas bonus!  I really appreciate your generosity and thoughtfulness.

Congratulations to everyone in the choir for their fine performance on Christmas Eve!  We've experienced several illnesses and absences lately, but, I'm very grateful to all of the choir members for their time and dedication throughout the year.  Hopefully we can all get healthy and continue to do our best as we praise God through song!

May God bless you all!Melody Kunkel

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Dear Pleasant Grove Church,

In Matt. 25 God tells us that you will be blessed by our heavenly Father. Why? Because when you saw someone hungry, you fed him. When you saw someone naked, you clothed him. When you saw someone lonely or in need, you helped them. As you reached out to over 550 children and over 200 families, you touched them with the unconditional love of Jesus.

What a blessing you are when you let God use you to help with this great outreach. I commend the businesses, churches, friends and community for a fantastic job supporting the Love Fund.

The Lions Club, Ruritan Club, New Concord Fire Department, Dollar General and many churches, and school groups donated over a truck load of things to be used for extra even up gifts. Everything was wrapped and organized in a few hours.

Thanks to CBA for letting us have the Chandlersville Community Building again this year. It is so nice to have the room to bring everything together and get it ready. Thanks to Tim and George Shegog and the new owners for donating the storage building. Thanks to Conn's Potato Chip Co. and Pine Street U-Haul for providing the trucks for our pickups and deliveries. Cambridge Packaging was so generous to provide all the boxes for the food. This year we prepared over 200 food boxes for our families.

I can't thank everyone enough. Because you cared, a baby had a warm bed to sleep in. A toddler's eyes lite up to find a baby doll under the tree. A little boy is riding his new bike and a teenager is proud to wear a new coat and nice name brand shoes back to school. A single mom has tears of joy because she was able to give her kids gifts this Christmas. You will never know how much your love and kindness means to these families.

Thank you for your donations. Thanks for shopping, wrapping, sorting, writing notes, fixing bikes, driving and loading and unloading the trucks and delivering and witnessing to our families. Thank you for praying for them and the Love Fund. You have

touched these kids with the Love of Jesus. The tears of Jesus fell and the Joy of God was felt because of you.

Your Friends in Christ,

Anna & Kathy

The Love Fund

The "7 Ups"of Winter

1. Wake Up!!Decide to have a good day. 'This is the day the Lord hath made; let usrejoice and be glad in it.' -Psalms 118:24

2. Dress Up!!The best way to dress up is to put on a smile. A smile is an inexpensive wayto improve your looks. 'The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.Man looks at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'-1Samuel 16:7

3. Shut Up!!Say nice things and learn to listen. God gave us two ears and one mouth, soHe must have meant for us to do twice as much listening as talking. 'He whoguards hip lips guards his soul.' -Proverbs 13:3

4. Stand Up!!..for what you believe in. Stand for something or you will fall for anything.'Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time, we will reap aharvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us dogood....' -Galatians 6:9-10

5. Look Up!!..to the Lord. 'I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me.'Philippians 4:13

6. Reach Up!!..for something higher. 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean notunto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and Hewill direct your path.' -Proverbs 3:5-6

7. Lift Up!!..your prayers. 'Do not worry about anything; instead PRAY ABOUTEVERYTHING.' -Philippians 4:6

Ann and I would like to thank each of you for the welcome and help when we moved to Pleasant Grove. The Lord has blessed us greatly with this charge filled with faithful, loving people. We truly appreciate the remembrances during the holidays and the outpouring of support during the passing of our fathers. We were not expecting any of what we've been shown or given, thank you for being servants of the Lord, heeding the call to minister and showing love.

May God bless each of you richly,Pastor Gordon Ferguson