The Thankfulness Project

Every November as the thought of the holidays come to mind, I think about how important my atti-tude is and how my attitude is directly correlated to the level of joy and happiness I experience. For example, Thanksgiving is a national holiday recognized and celebrated by Americans of all religious beliefs. It seems that being grateful is an all American characteristic. That being said, we all have much to be grateful for. As Christians we have an added layer of cele-bration at Thanksgiving. We are grateful first for life and acknowledge that God is both our creator and our sustainer. We are grateful for our individual families, our friends, and for our church family. We are grateful for all the opportunities, which we have to love and support each other and to repre-sent Jesus Christ in our ministry in the local community and the world. There are so many things that we take for granted that we really should be grateful for but we are not always mindful of our blessings. A few years ago, the blower motor that clears the windshield of my car broke. We ordered a new one at Auto Zone but when it came in two weeks later it was the wrong part. They had to reorder it. Meanwhile I was driving my car in the cold dead of winter with no way to keep my windshield clear. It’s only two and a half miles from the parsonage to the church but I had to stop twice on the way here to get out of the car and clean off the windshield so that I could see. Before that experience I had never once felt gratitude for having a car blower motor. I was not ungrateful, I was not mindful. Another example of being unmindful is the situation with the Grace Church sanctuary trusses. Be-fore I came into the sanctuary in August 2015 and found ceiling tiles lying on the floor of the sanctu-ary I had never given the trusses in the sanctuary ceiling a single thought. When I got my blower motor fixed I was grateful for the ability to keep the windshield clear. When we get back in our sanc-tuary I will be very grateful for the new steel trusses and steel roof. While I’m counting my blessings, I count the generosity of church members, family, and friends, be-cause it is the faithfulness of all that has brought us to this next step in our three year roof saga.

This Thanksgiving look around the table and thank God for all the people we have to love. Thank God for your warm home and for the good food you will be eating. I pray that God will bless us, each one, with a spirit of deep thankfulness this Thanksgiving and every day the whole year through.

Love in Christ, Pastor Vicki

GRACE NEWS

Grace United Methodist Church

1401 West Main Street, Springfield, Ohio 45504

“Growing in Grace, Serving in faith,

Reaching out with God’s Love to Bring All to Christ”

Volume XXIII, Issue 11 Published Monthly November 2018

GRACE NEWS

Grace United Methodist Church

1401 West Main Street, Springfield, Ohio 45504

“Growing in Grace, Serving in faith,

Reaching out with God’s Love to Bring All to Christ”

Volume XXIII, Issue 11 Published Monthly November 2018

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Daily

Scripture

for

NOVEMBER

Nov 1 1 Corinthians 6:19

Nov 2 Romans 5:5

Nov 3 John 14:16, 17

Nov 4 Acts 4:31

Nov 5 Ephesians 5:18

Nov 6 Acts 8:14-17

Nov 7 Acts 10:44-46a

Nov 8 Acts 19:2-6

Nov 9 Psalm 119:65

Nov 10 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Nov 11 Isaiah 54:9, 10

Nov 12 Genesis 9:16

Nov 13 Genesis 28:15

Nov 14 Deuteronomy 7:8, 9

Nov 15 Joshua 23:14

Nov 16 1 Timothy 4:4

Nov 17 Psalm 62:8

Nov 18 Psalm 30:12

Nov 19 1 Corinthians 15:57

Nov 20 Psalm 107:1-2

Nov 21 Hebrews 12:28, 29

Nov 22 Isaiah 55:12

Nov 23 Colossians 2:6, 7

Nov 24 Psalm 7:17

Nov 25 Psalm 145:13-15

Nov 26 Philippians 4:6

Nov 27 Daniel 2:23

Nov 28 2 Samuel 22:2, 3

Nov 29 Exodus 20:6

Nov 30 Colossians 3:17

Prayer Needed

Joy Draime Phyllis Garber

Paul Luttrull Sue Short

Kim Stehle

**************************************************

Helen Barnhill Don Blackburn Ernie Covington

Jim & Tammy Bobb Tim Parshall & Workers

“Shower of Blessings”

Recipients for November are

Margie Rumery

(3926 Cabot Dr., Apt B, 45503) &

Charyl Ryman

(3979 Covington Dr., 45503)

*************************************************************

November Homebound

Birthday’s

Cathie McCreary

(6591 Mechanicsburg Rd., 45502)

David Pierce

(451 Selma Rd., 45505)

Grace Church extends our

deepest sympathy to the

Family & Friends of

Nancy Twaits

on her death on

September 9, 2018.

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Trustee Request

The Trustees are looking for people who would be willing to examine ideas for the sanctuary. The scope of work will be researching the following items: 1) Flooring 2) Seating 3) Lighting 4) Possibly installing a multi purpose stage across the north wall. 5) We need to be looking at ideas of how our sanctuary can be used to increase our membership, be a growing out reach to our community, bring in more youth. This will require some thinking out-side the box.

The Trustees believe that our sanctuary should be used more than just two hours a week. Times have changed and people are looking for the Church to meet their needs in a different manner. In order to fulfill the five scope of work items, the trustees believe that sought-after members of this team should visit Church's in the area and see how they have successfully succeeded in reaching their goals & what they have found to be a failure in reaching their goals.

The members of this team will also be responsible for communicating with the membership at Grace, through a series of Church wide meetings to insure that every member of Grace has input on the rebirth of our sanctuary. To become a member of this team, please submit your name in writing to Belinda Montgomery. Thank you, Trustee Team

Dear Grace Church

Family,

I want to thank every-

one for all of the cards

and prayers that

helped me to recover

from my knee replacement surgery. I really ap-

preciated the love and support.

Thank you to Pastor Vicki for coming to the

hospital to pray with us and being with Tom dur-

ing the surgery.

Thanks, Marilyn Martin

Special dates

• All Saints’ Day, November 1, 2018 • Daylight-Saving Time ends, November 4, 2018 • Veterans Day, November 11, 2018

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Reminders

Thur. Nov. 1 - Advent Bible Study @ Love Classroom, 10:00 AM Sun. Nov. 4 - Daylight Saving Time ends Charge Conference, following 10:45 AM service Thur. Nov. 8 - Creamed Chicken 'n' Biscuit Supper Sun. Nov. 11 - Newsletter Deadline Veterans Day Mon. Nov. 12 Veterans Day Observed - Bank Closed Thur. Nov. 15 - Advent Bible Study @ Love Classroom, 10:00 AM Miriam Circle @ Masonic Home Dining Room, 12:00 PM Mon. Nov. 19 - Soap Making for Free Store Tue. Nov. 20 - Clergy Cluster @ Love Classroom, 10:00 AM Thur. Nov. 22 - Thanksgiving Day Tue. Nov. 27 - Free Store Board Meeting @ 6:30 PM Nov. 23 - Dec. 1 - Pastor Vicki & Dan on vacation

Little word, big difference

God says to give thanks in everything. That doesn’t mean you need to give thanks for everything. You don’t need to give thanks for that bad day. Or for that bad relationship. Or being passed over at work. Financial hardship. Whatever it is — you are not to give thanks for the difficulties but rather in the difficulties. That is a very important distinction, and one I think we often miss. Giving thanks in everything shows a heart of faith that God is bigger than the difficulties and that he can use them, if you ap-proach him with the right heart and spirit, for your good and his glory. - Tony Evans

Grace Church had six people who became members on Sunday, October 14, 2018.

They are Ken & Deb Cooke, Sue Fischer, Juanita Juergins, Pam Smith, and Becky Young.

Welcome to the Grace United Methodist Church Family!

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After Cain killed Abel, their parents, Adam and Eve, had another son.

What did they name the baby?

A. Seth B. Enoch

C. Shem D. Lamech

Answer: See Genesis 4:25