Shepherd’s Corner

Attitude

David Slimpin This is a little different than previous Shepherd's Corners. It's a story someone sent me. I don't know who sent it to me but I hope it speaks to you as it did me. Mike was always in a good mood and positive. When asked how he was, he would reply, "If I were any better, I'd be twins!" If an employee was having a bad day, Mike was there encouraging them to look on the positive side. One day I asked him, "How do you do it?" He replied, "Every morning I remind myself that I have two choices today. I can choose a good mood or I can choose a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn. Every time someone complains, I can choose to accept it or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive. "It's not that easy", I protested. "Yes it is", Mike said, "When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You

choose to be in a good mood or bad. It's your choice how you live." Several years later, Mike fell 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Mike was released from the hospital with rods in his back. I saw him six months after the fall. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I asked him what had gone through his mind after he fell. "The well-being of my yet-to-be-born daughter", he replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose life or I could choose to die. I chose to live." "Weren't you scared?", I asked. Mike continued, "... the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I had to do something fast. There was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me. She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes', I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped and waited. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity!' Over their laughter I told them, ‘I'm choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.’” Mike did live, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. Attitude, after all, is the only thing we can control. Satan will give us plenty of opportunities to turn our eyes away from Jesus and onto our circumstances. The recent passing of our brother, Andrew McDonald, reminded me again how contagious we can be if we get our attention

Vol. 11, No. 8 – August 2016

off ourselves and onto Jesus and others. Choose life. Choose to witness. Choose to be contagious for Jesus. After all, our attitude is what makes people want what we have. Make them thirsty. Jesus told his followers, "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34 (NASB}

SpecialAnnouncementsAn update from Nabil & Mindy Aramouni with GoYe Ministries: We are very thankful for all the prayers and financial support from our church family. A special thanks for the anonymous gift that our family received recently; it is much appreciated. May God bless you all abundantly. As you know, Nabil had surgery the first week of June due to a cancerous nodule that was found in the left thyroid. Both thyroids were removed and the recovery went well. Please pray for the radiation treatment on the second week of August after returning from a family reunion event in Atlanta, GA. Miriam was back safely in mid-July from her mission trip to Haiti. Andrew is leaving for Moody Bible Institute on the second week of August, and Alex is enjoying his Home Middle School years with his Mom. Please continue praying for our family. "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." Eph 2:8 -----------------------------------------------------------

The Green’s Summer Good News Club meets in the home of David and Connie Green every Tuesday until August 16, 9:30-11:30. Ladies: We have a new twist on Interface this year targeting mothers who home school. Our classes will meet on Wednesdays from 3:00-5:00 p.m. at the church. Since Wednesday is AWANA night, many mothers will want to have a potluck dinner, a picnic or go out together. During the class we will have electives for your school age children: “God and Me” for ages 3-5 and Nursery for the little ones. We hope to offer some of the following electives: Spanish, P.E., Art and/or Crafts, Choir and Bible. We will still offer a class on Tuesday nights at the church from 6:30-8:30 p.m. We need some who would be interested in teaching art and/or crafts or any subject that is on your heart. We also need help in the nursery each Wednesday. If you have any questions, suggestions, or are offering your help, please contact Lois Nebergall at (830) 832-6462. Sign-ups for Interface will begin in late July and early August. Note of Thanks: We would like to thank everyone, who celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary with us, and those who encouraged us with their cards and comments. We were very blessed! We praise God for the work He has done in our lives to make our marriage work, and we pray that it serves as an encouragement to others to make Jesus the center of their marriage. Dave and Martha Burleson Below is the schedule for Sunday services for August:

Morning Service August 7 Dave Burleson August 14 Lynn Thompson August 21 Pastor Biddison August 28 Pastor Biddison September 4 Pastor Elliott

Evening Service

August 7 Andrew Aramouni August 14 Jack Noethlich August 21 Gary Penshorn August 28 Joey Johansen September 4 Pastor Elliott

Bible Quiz Question of the Month (As the day approaches when one of the Presidential candidates will assume the mantle of our nation’s highest office, it is especially good to remember that God is in ultimate control of all history, and once used a ruler who, the Bible specifically says more than once, “did not acknowledge God.” Of this man the Lord said, “He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please.”) And now the question: who was this man? Answer to July Quiz At the time of Moses’ census, the tribe of Manasseh was the smallest of the twelve tribes.

Words Worth Considering “Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an

appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees.” ~ Corrie Ten Boom

The Library Corner All the books reviewed in the Oracle are found in our church library. If you would like to review a book for publication in the Oracle, just let Chuck Davis know.

Why Won’t They Listen?

by Ken Ham This book on the power of creation evangelism exposes a change in our culture similar to what the Apostle Paul encountered when he preached on Mars Hill. In his day, the Jewish audience was familiar with the Scriptures, the commandments, and sacrifices for sin. The Athenians had a different culture and Paul had to build a foundation before he could present the gospel. He had to introduce the Creator God. In the founding of our country, in its schools Scripture was important; however, with the teaching of evolution things changed. Scripture, Bible stories, and prayer were no longer welcome in our schools and gradually the foundation for presenting the gospel needed to change. The audience today is more like that of the Greeks that Paul encountered. We need to build a creation foundation for the gospel, or our audience is out the door. If a person came to think that because of evolution he was not created in the image of God, then he could not see himself as a sinner. Ken Ham has traveled the world and gives examples of how a person’s culture needs to be taken into account, or the gospel story will not make sense. For example, the blood of Jesus

washing a dirty person white as snow will not make sense to a black African. His skin, if white, may be covered with ashes or thick dust and therefore is not clean, so in his mind the blood of Jesus, if making him white, is making him dirty. Ken Ham is the founder and president of Answers in Genesis, a ministry dedicated to teaching the importance of creationism. There are many videos and books available by Ken that would help your friend who believes in evolution come to our Creator God. Another resource is his web site. (www. AnswersInGenesis.org)

[Reviewed by Barbara Davis] -----------------------------------------------------------

Facts and Figures Missions Giving Month of June 18,976 Calendar Year 2016 117,747 Building Fund Balance $ 27,524 -----------------------------------------------------------

Service Times and Church Activities Sundays Sunday School 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. Regular Sunday Worship 10:45 a.m. Evening Worship 6:00 p.m. During the Week Prayer/Bible Studies Wed. 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Men’s Bible Study Saturday 8:00 a.m. Determining God's Will