Being from Montana, I had many memorable

stories of driving through snow conditions that put my guardian angels on full alert. One specific road trip, as I was driv-ing through a blinding snow storm in the middle of the night I could see nothing in front of me. I strained to keep my little Ford Escort on the road as the snow blanketed my windshield. The only way I made it through it was to follow a large semi truck

as it plowed a pathway ahead of me. While cer-tainly, I appreciated the truck’s assistance; however, I found that whenever I needed to depart from its direction, these ruts made it nearly impossible to get away from. I was literally stuck in a rut.

Have you ever been stuck in a rut with your walk with God? I’m sure all of us have one time or another. In Romans 12:11, Paul warns us to never be

lacking in zeal, but for us to keep our spiritual fer-vor. While being stuck in a rut can be common, it is still something that we need to desperately guard against. I believe these ruts are caused by the constant focus on our own needs and concerns. In fact, Paul’s remedy for us to keep a spiritual fervor is by caring for others as he says to share with the Lord’s people in need and to practice hospitality. My prayer for us is to be less

continued on page 1

Staying Out of the Ruts by Cary Fisher

Carve Your Name on Hearts

A good character is the best tomb-stone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remem-ber you when the forget-me-nots are withered. Carve your name on hearts, and not on marble.

—Charles H. Spurgeon

INSIDE

For You or Me? page 3

Dear Ol’ Dad page 4

Taste & Inspiration on page 5

What’s happening? see pages 6 & 9

Our Church Family page 7

Kid’s Page on page 9

For the members, family and friends of the Downey Adventist Church

Pathfinder Sabbath

We are blessed to have an active Pathfinder

Club here at Downey Church. The leaders put in a lot of time and effort to help ‘train the children in the way they should go.’ And the students put in a lot of effort learning the material, earning the hon-ors and in growing up to be honorable men and women of God.

On June 28th, we will have Pathfinder Sabbath. The Pathfinders will be leading out in the worship service. This is a great opportunity for them to learn service and for us to show support for our young people.

Please plan to be there to show your support on June 28th! =

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concerned about ourselves and more concerned about the people around us and maybe, we can maintain a zeal for the Lord that is life changing.

May’s Sermon Calendar

June 7th - Who Are We #5: “Law” - We are continu-ing our “Who Are We?” sermon series, and this week, we will focus on our belief in the law of God. The law gives us a clear understanding of God’s character and it shows us his expectations of us as his children. We also believe that knowing his ways are a joy as the

Bible writes, “This is love for God; to keep his com-mands, and his commands are not burdensome” (1

John 5:3). When following the law, we also see how deficient we are and how desperately we need God’s grace in our lives.

June 14th - Who Are We #6: “Sabbath” - In the sixth sermon of this series, I am going to preach on

how important the Sabbath is as it relates to our iden-tity as children of God. The Bible says, “Keep my

Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God” (Ezekiel 20:20). Our identity is revealed as it shows us how we are created. The Sabbath also shows how God values us

by having a day of rest which gives us health and peace, but most important-ly, God shows his desire to be with us by giving us this moment to spend with him every week.

June 21st - Who Are We #7: “Jesus” - At the center of our faith, we believe that Jesus is the Son of God. In fact, our belief in Jesus supersedes all of our other beliefs. The Bible writes, “we know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true, and we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ; He is the true God and eternal life” (I John 5:20). Jesus came as God with us to full his plan to restore humanity from sin. He is continually working in our

behalf and fulfilling his promise that someday he will come again.

June 28th - Pathfinder Investiture Service - At the Downey Seventh-day Adventist Church, we are blessed to have a won-derful Pathfinder’s club, and we will be blessed as they provide this special program for our worship service.

See you when the church gathers. =

WE

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ID

IT

The Latest Word V 26 N 06

BILL AUMACKresponsible for this

LINDA AUMACKcopy editor

LAURA LUNApaper distribution

CARY FISHERpastor

address mail to: Downey Seventh-day Adventist Church9820 Lakewood Blvd.Downey, CA 90240office: 562.869.6013fax: 562.622.1691 downeychurch@gmail.comwww.downeychurch.com

distributed monthlyissue date: Jun. 2014 copyright 1992-2014

I believe these ruts are caused by the constant focus on our own needs

and concerns

“

”

Staying Out of the Ruts (cont. from page 1)

June 2014

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decorating the table. I say “daunting,” because deco-rating is not exactly my cup of tea (pun intended!). Remembering the beautiful tables from last year, I was a little stressed. I had pret-ty teacups loaned to me by a friend, but I tried to think of something unique to add to the table. Eventually I had this thought. Why not have a welcome card for each person which would contain a Bible promise. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the greatest idea ever, but it made me happy to think that I would have something different than last year. And maybe, just maybe, when the prom-ise was read, it might hit home and be just the word a person needed to hear. Know what I mean?

Well, I had been extremely busy the week

before the tea. So, day after day, the cards sat on my table waiting for me. When did I finally find the time to write out the cards? The morning of the Tea, of course. I thought it was going to be a quick task, but let me tell you what happened. As I started looking up scriptures to use in my cards, I real-

ized that this was the first really quiet moment I had had in several days. I used Google and searched for “Bible promises.” Wow! I found many websites containing list after list of promises from God’s Word. I found people who shared their favorite promises and others who gave lists of promises according to each need or prayer. As you might imagine, I found and read many more than the eight promises I needed for the table. And in reading all these web pages and writ-ing out the cards for my table, my tired, stressed out heart found rest, com-fort, strength and encour-

agement. I thought I was searching for just the right promise for someone else, but it turns out, the prom-ises hit home with me and were just what I needed to hear.

I was seeking to bless others, but I was sur-prised, because it turned out to be a blessing for

me. I know what you’re thinking. You’re wonder-ing why I was surprised, aren’t you? You’re saying to me, “Isn’t that what the Bible teaches?” I like the way Proverbs 11:25 reads in The Message: “The one who blesses oth-ers is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.” Even Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you” (Luke 6:38). While the context of that state-ment is in the area of judg-ing and forgiving others, it seems to be a principle in every area. Whatever you give to others, you may receive the same yourself. That’s something to think about over a cup of tea! =

June 7Cary FisherWho Are We #5

Law

June 14

Cary FisherWho Are We #6

Sabbath

June 21Cary FisherWho Are We #7

Jesus

June 28Bill Aumack

Pathfinder Sabbath

Worship Schedule

The Word & You

by Linda Bewley For Me or You?

God’s word says, “The world of the

generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.” (Proverbs 11:24-25, The Message.)

Recently I made a deci-sion to do something that I thought would be a bless-ing for someone else. But the fact is, what I found was that it blessed me instead. Let me explain. Last week, our Pathfinder Club held a Victorian Tea. This was the second time I would host a table which includes providing tea (of course!), teacups and the daunting task of

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June is the month where we take one day to cel-

ebrate Dads. It seems that we are quite a bit harder on fathers on their day than we are on moms on their day. Mom is univer-sally loved and praised. But dad, we can be pretty tough on them. We tell them all the things they are doing wrong and how they need to improve. I read a story about a man who was convinced to go to a Father’s day worship service (mostly against his will). The pas-tor at that service was typical of many pastors on Father’s day and kind of laid into the men about how they should be more godly, better fathers, more expressive husbands, etc. At the end of the service the father remarked that calling that day “Father’s Day” was a bit like calling the first day in duck hunt-ing season “Duck Day.” When people are gunning for you, it’s not really your day.

Another issue that affects our view of fathers is the media. How many times do you see the father portrayed as an idiot? He can’t do anything. He can’t take care of the kids. He can’t cook. He can’t clean the house correctly. Sometimes even the kids don’t have to listen to him. Really, think about some fathers on TV. Homer

Simpson, and nearly all other animated fathers, King of Hill, etc. They are the butt of the joke. Bart doesn’t listen to his dad, he just makes fun of him. Remember Al Bundy from a few years back? Dan Arnold anyone? George Jefferson. Archie Bunker. Even the loveable Bill Cosby. He couldn’t do anything right. He meant well. He tried. But it never worked out right. Mom always had to save the day. Our commer-cials are no better. They cast the father as the village idiot. Remember the one where the man has to lis-ten to his wife for a full 5 seconds, because that’s all the more that can be expected of him? I think the last time we had a good father figure on TV might have been “Father Knows Best” way back in the 50s.

There’s a great book called Tender Warrior by Stu Weber (available on Amazon). I can’t cover all the great stuff in the book in this article. But if you’re a man who is look-ing to be a better father, I recommend this book.

Men do have a unique

role to play in the fam-ily. Men and women are created equal. But equal doesn’t mean they are the same. Women have a unique role and so do the men. We operate best when we have each other and complete the family in the way God intended.

God has a special pur-pose for fathers and I want to encourage the men.

Men be a leader in your family, especially in the area of spiritual-ity. Numerous studies show that the example men set in this area is how the whole family goes. Also, men, be a

teacher and mentor to your family. Show the children the way they should go, don’t just expect them to find it on their own. And lastly show some com-passion. Many of us had fathers who could be pret-ty tough and rigid. There is value in that and there is a time and place for that. But don’t be afraid to be compassionate and loving too. You probably won’t match your wife’s level of compassion, and that’s ok. But don’t be afraid to a friend to your children and wife as well.

Are you the best father you can be? That’s worth pondering about... =

by Bill Aumack Dear Ol’ Dad

Men and women are created equal. But equal doesn’t mean they are the same.

Men, be a teacher and mentor to your family

June 2014

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Last month we came to the conclusion in our

6 week small group study of God’s 8 principles for living life to the fullest. C.R.E.A.T.I.O.N. Health. For those of you that par-ticipated in a small group, this will be a refresher we hope you will welcome, benefit from and enjoy. For those that didn’t, we found it exciting, informa-tive, and beneficial enough to share it with you now. I hope that you may find or learn something in it that might impact your perspective of food. How you choose the food you eat as well as how the food you eat can and does affect your health AND quite possibly sustain a few years to your life.

CREATION is an acronym for Choice, Rest, Environment, Activity, Trust, Interpersonal Relationships, Outlook & Nutrition.

If you’ve ever read the “Taste & Inspiration” col-umn of this Newsletter in the past 13 or 14 months, you know we’re going to focus on the Nutrition aspect of this acronym. There was way too much information on this subject to be able to share with you in one article so we’re choosing to break it up into 3 maybe 4 different parts.

“God gave us a vege-tarian diet in the beginning because He wants what’s best for us. He gave us a diet that helps us live life to the fullest. This diet energizes us and prevents disease while creating and maintaining our best health. The original diet we find in Eden had a ratio of 60% carbohydrates to 14% protein. Some of the benefits of this diet is that it’s high in fiber”. One of the tastiest high fiber foods is apples.

Being a chef, and espe-cially since I’ve become Christian, I’ve often won-dered what kind of apple it was, in the beginning, that the serpent tempted Eve into eating in the Garden Of Eden, then sharing with her husband Adam after being specifi-cally and strictly forbidden by God to eat it. Was it a Delicious? A Macintosh? A Gala? Granny Smith? Pippin? Maybe it was a Fuji. This is the type we’ll focus on this month. Fuji.

A very good and simple choice we can make for healthy living is to eat a Fuji apple or two daily. These apples reduce cancer risk, heart disease, asthma and Type 2 dia-betes. They increase lung function and weight loss. The pectin found in their skin grabs toxins like lead

and mercury and flushes them out of the body. They also help protect us from UVB rays. Fuji apples have the highest total fla-vonoid values as well as giving us 20% of our vita-min C intake.

How does THAT not help reinforce the fact that God designed our bodies like fine tuned machines? Like a very expensive Maserati, Lamborghini or Ferrari sports car!! He also created AND put at our disposal all the necessary fuels for our body to main-tain them with maximum efficiency as well as pro-tect them from the harm-ful elements and disease. We encourage everyone to fuel their “Ferrari” with the fuels that God created specifically to utilize and maximize our strength and longevity.

We continue to pro-mote healthy and God inspired choices in our diet that you, our church family, will be interested, excited and motivated to practice for a long and

healthy life. God bless you!!

Here’s a great, tasty and healthy topping for tacos, burritos or enchila-das,

2 cups small diced & seed-ed Fuji apple

1/2 cup small diced red bell pepper

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup small diced red onion

1/4 cup finely diced fresh cilantro

1 Tbls. honey

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 jalapeno pepper seeded & minced

Combine all ingredients & mix well.

Enjoy! =

Fuji Apple Salsa

Taste & Inspiration

Pilar & Phillip

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8:05 pm sunset

8:07 pm sunset

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9:30 am S.S.

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9:30 am S.S.10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary3 pm Pathfinders

9:30 am S.S.10:50 am Worship Pathfinder Sabbath

Visit www.downeychurch.orgS.S. – Sabbath School

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10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary

3 pm Pathfinders/AdventuresAdventurer Lockin

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7 pm Band Practice

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Downey Adventist Church

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group

7 pm Band Practice

8:02 pm sunset

9 am Pathfinders/Adventures

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group

7 pm Band Practice

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group

7 pm Band Practice

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group

7 pm Church Board Meeting

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June Birthdays Margarette Toban – 3 Rane Concha – 4 Albert Jackson – 8 Eduardo Aponte – 12Marley Rayas – 13 Ginny Williams – 20 Adan Ramirez – 22 Sarah Luna – 23 Ernesto Rojas – 24 Minerva Racho – 26 Johnny Macias – 28Divine Munguia – 30 Judy Beal – 30

If your birthday is left out in the monthly newsletter, please contact the church office so we can put it in.

Upcoming EventsThursdays - 7:00 p.m. Women’s Prayer GroupFridays - 7:00 p.m. Band Practice

Jun. 1 - Yard SaleJun. 7 - Pathfinders / Adventurers @ 3pmJun. 7 - Adventurers LockinJun. 8 - Pathfinders / Adventurers @ 9amJun. 15 - Father’s DayJun. 21 - Pathfinders @ 3pmJun. 29 - Beach Party at Huntington Beach

The Latest Word deadline is the 5th of the month.

Coming Soon

July 21-25 - Vacation Bible SchoolAugust 11-18 - Pathfinder CamporeeSept 6 - Parking Lot Party

Be sure to keep up with the latest news by signing up for the Wednesday email. You can sign up here www.downey-church.org/Signups.html or send us an email at DowneyChurch at gmail dot com and we’ll add you.

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The Latest About

Our Church Family Congratulations to our graduates: Kindergarten

• Ella Fisher - Field Elementary

• Catherine Cortez - Creative Beginnings

8th Grade

• Elissa Luna - Rancho Starbuck Middle School

• Nadia Aponte - Griffiths Middle School

High School

• Ernesto Rojas - Warren High School

• Sara Guerrero - Whittier High School

College

• Evan Aumack - La Sierra University - BS Computer Science

• Ricky Gonzalez - Cal State Dominguez Hills - BS Public Administration

If you have any Church Family news, please contact the church office so we can get it into the newsletter. =

Beach Party @ Huntington Beach

Thank you to everyone who has been saving Box Tops for Education. That is greatly appreciated.

For the Box Tops for Education, please save the Box Tops coupon.

Please give your labels to Linda Aumack. Thank you for your support! =

Sunday, June 29th we are having a Beach Party at

Huntington Beach. We’ll plan on meeting down at the beach around 10 or 11ish. We’ll share some lunch together and have some fun playing some games and hanging out at the beach.

The church will bring some hot dogs and water melon. There will be sign up sheets in the foyer for other lunch items we can

have at the beach.

Come on out and join us for some fellowship, volleyball, sand castles and food. =

When you are in the final days of your life, what will you want? Will

you hug that college degree in the walnut frame? Will you ask to be carried to the garage so you can sit in your car? Will you find comfort in rereading your finan-cial statement? Of course not. What will matter then will be people. If relationships will matter most then, shouldn’t they mat-ter most now?

—Max Lucado, A Love Worth Giving

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What Matters Most

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June 2014

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Downey-Florence Seventh-day Adventist Church9820 Lakewood Blvd., Downey CA 90240

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Ponder This...

= “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” —Robert Louis Stevenson

= “A God wise enough to create me and the world I live in is wise enough to watch out for me.” —Philip Yancey

= “When a father gives to his son, both laugh; when a son gives to his father, both cry.” —William Shakespeare