Monday, June 27, 2011

eScrip Sign-ups for Harmony Church Youth

For those of you that don't know, our youth group is enrolled in the eScrip program to provide fundraising support for our youth events and activities. eScrip is most notably linked to Vons/Safeway stores, but they are continually adding new merchants to their group of supporters. If you are willing to register your Vons/Safeway card, the store will donate 1-2% of what you spend to our group. Our summer goal is to sign up 4,000 new supporters to help keep our ministry funded. It only takes 5 minutes to register your card, so please help us by signing up! Thank you and God bless!

Go to https://secure.escrip.com/jsp/supporter/registration/step1.jsp and follow the instructions. Our group ID is 7430647. Again, thank you for your willingness to support Harmony Youth Ministries!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

And Now Batting Fourth

I'm a HUGE Giants baseball fan, and like many others, my spirits were crushed when Buster Posey was taken out of the game. I immediately began thinking that there was NO WAY that the Giants could recover after he was taken out for the season. But, something else struck my mind: the spirit of the Giants took a big hit. A quiet and unassuming man, Posey commanded the game, without even realizing that He was doing it. It was as natural to him as eating is to me. And with that thought, I began to realize just how clutch Posey has been in his first two seasons with the Giants.

With that said, I feel compelled to relate an incident that happened in my life, and how I was able to draw back to that experience of watching Giants baseball...

I took my car into the shop, because the check engine light had been on (for awhile, but I won't say how long...). When I arrived, the mechanic said that it was only by the grace of God that I was able to drive it in to the shop. My car shouldn't have been running, nor should I have been able to drive it for as long as I did. My first thought went to the expenses. But after I considered what was really happening, I had to stop and tell God that He had just pulled a Buster Posey. He was clutch and I could barely believe that He had taken care of me YET AGAIN. Although I was prepared for the worst, but the price came in under my original assessment. I drove my car into the ground, and yet God kept me safe for that long. How is it that God has such an unassuming ability to protect me and care for me and I treat Him as just another "player" in my life - as if I can live life without Him!

Looking back, I realize that God has done season after season in my life and yet I don't recognize Him for the amazing work that He has done. He has been clutch, and yet I still worry about whether or not He is going to come through for me. With as many times as it has happened, you'd think that I would allow Him to hit clean up ALL of the time, but sometimes I'm slow on the uptake.

I encourage you to take a moment and recognize God's presence in your life. How has He been clutch for you? What can you do to praise Him for the blessings in your life? I hope that you are able to give Him credit where it is due!