Donuts & Faith - by Suzie Unruh

My sister, Cathy, and her family live out of state in Springfield, Missouri. The other day she was telling me about this donut shop, which opened a little over a year ago, called Hurts Donuts. Since opening they have sold 52,523 of their Maple Bacon Bar donuts, (side note: this is just one of their donuts, I can’t even image what their total is for all donuts sold). During our phone conversation she went on to tell me about the wonderful fundraisers and community events they have contributed to, how much they have given back to the community in just a little over a year and all the fun things they do. Now, if you were to look them up on Facebook you would realize this just isn’t any donut shop – besides the 2 pound donut, fun flavors and cake like decorations they also have an ambulance that they have turned into a delivery truck. During Christmas break (or any day for that matter) you can text them and while they are out and about they will deliver donuts right to your house or business. All of this aside, the thing that amazed me the most was their back story on how they started the business. The couple that opened Hurts Donuts had no prior background experience in making donuts; they learned how to make donuts on youtube, and the first donut they EVER MADE was 13 hours before opening the doors for business. WOW!!! This just amazed me… the amount of trust, faith and passion they had and how they turned this business into a huge success in a little over a year. It reminded me of the mustard seed and how in Matthew 17:20 Jesus said”… “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” It makes me wonder if everyone had this much passion and this much faith in the Lord and put 100% trust in Him where the world would be today (even our little town of DeWitt, Michigan), how different things would look and what a huge success we would see. I know for me it’s a struggle to give 100% trust, to wait for the Lord’s timing. But I have faith and I know God has a plan for me, I can’t watch a youtube video like this couple did, but I know if I keep my trust and faith in the Lord my year will be a great success also!!

Commitment - by Jack Hanneman

As National Signing Day draws near, our DeWitt High School athletes prepare to make decisions that will affect them for the rest of their lives. Colleges and universities will make offers to these young athletes and try to persuade them to sign a Letter of Intent. These young men and women, most 18 years old or younger will need to, seek guidance from family, friends and coaches in the effort to make the wisest choices for their future.

Just like these young athletes, making their commitments and singing their Letters of Intent, I ask you as we enter this Lenten season have you signed your Letter of Intent by renewing your commitment and faith to our Heavenly Father?

By making these commitments, we prepare to examine our hearts, serve our Lord and connect people with the love and life of Jesus Christ.

 

Start Lent by attending Ash Wednesday Service on February 18^th  at 7:00pm here at Redeemer Church.  

A Challenge for the Season of Lent - by Susan Jensen

In less than two weeks… it’s Fat Tuesday!!! Paczki for everyone!

Food lovers pick this day to enjoy these round, sugar-coated, fruit-filled Polish pre-Lenten pastries, pronounced “poonch-kee,” available in bakeries nationwide. Paczki Day coincides with Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. It is the last day before the penitential season of Lent, during which many Christians “give up” something for the 40 observable days of Lent.

I pose a challenge for us here in DeWitt. What if we focus on gaining something rather than giving up something? Earlier this week, I ran across a free downloadable Kindle book “The Prayer Dare” by Ron Kincaid.  In the forward, the author talks about his personal prayer life and he refers to a prayer journal he has kept for over 30 years. In the Prayer Dare, Kinkaid leads us through 40 short prayer exercises, some from his personal journal, that are sure to enhance our prayer life and that in turn can only strengthen our personal relationship with God.

In another book I have also just begun, “The Jesus Model” by Joy Dawson, Joy says: “Multitudes of Christians have a huge boulder of unbelief in their hearts that needs to be removed through repentance. It is the boulder of unbelief that we can live like Jesus.” Jesus came to earth for several reasons and one reason was to live as a real-world model for us to follow, but we believe we can never be like Jesus…our unbelief boulder. Conversely, God would never ask us to do something He wasn’t willing to equip us for through the Holy Spirit. Jesus lived His earthly life in constant prayer, and that is the same kind of life God wants for us. God never wants to set us up for failure; all we have to do is ask Him to equip us to live in constant communication with Him, fully engaged and relying on Him for all of life.

How wonderful if Redeemer UMC became a more engaged community of pray-ers living more engaged and in tune to God. I invite you to join me in this 40 day “Prayer Dare” this Lenten season.

Winter Emergencies - by Sandy Hrostowski

Our weather is now well into the winter months.  If you’ve lived in Michigan for any period of time, you know the weather can be very unpredictable.  The possibility of an emergency while driving on our snow covered roadways is something we must be prepared for. 

During one winter a few years back, all I wanted to do was get home!  The roads were solid ice, and traffic was moving at a snail’s pace.  A semi passed me a little too close, which caused me to go into a full circle spin.  Not one spin, but three.  As I headed into the middle median, all I could see were trees.  I thought I was going to crash; instead I stopped just a few feet from the tree line.  It quickly became apparent to me that I was stuck.

Suddenly, there was a man and woman at my car window.  They told me they would help me, and to follow their directions.  They pushed me back up the hill and onto the road.  I can truly say I was visited by angels that day. 

For traveling any great distance by car, packing an emergency kit may make the difference between getting back on the road soon, and being stuck where you are for some time.

Same is true in our Christian life, be sure to pack your emergency kit every day to keep you on the right track … don’t get stuck - fuel your soul by spending daily time with the Lord. If you need a good Christian book to help you or a daily devotional, there is a great selection right here at DeWitt Redeemer Church in the bookstore.

Read the Manual - by Ben Barnes

Over the next month or two, the sound system at Redeemer will be getting a major facelift. We're having a new sound board installed that can do pretty much anything we ask of it... Except maybe taxes! I've read and researched and observed sound boards for close to a year and after all of that, I feel like the board we've ordered is the best option for Redeemer. Now the monumental task is to read (and understand) the 500+ page user manual full of diagrams, stories and examples that explain how and when to use each knob, button and flashing light on the new board.

When I made a new commitment to Christ in high school, I knew that it was for the best and I was really excited to live it out. However, I had no idea how to do that. I remember feeling overwhelmed by not knowing where to start with the task of living out the commitment I had just made. The beauty of the Christian life is that we have a manual.  The Bible is our instruction manual. There are stories, examples and instructions (and even maps if you have a high end model). As this year starts, keep in mind that we have help in the Bible. God's Word is there to help us figure out how to live our Christian lives while we're here. The task is to read it.

Things I Learn on Sunday Mornings – by Sue Campbell

Getting back after 2 weeks of not having Kingdom Kids or Kingdom Quest reminded me of some things (not in any particular order)---

• Kids are wonderfully concrete thinkers as shown in a recent discussion at the nursery snack table:

One child:  “Sometimes I get scared at night, but God is with me”

   Another child:  “God’s always with us”

   The 3^rd child:  “Yep, God’s always with us!”

I didn’t need to say a word – there were no but’s,
maybe’s, doubts or exceptions, that was that!

• Sharing food nourishes the soul as much as the tummy --- many of the best God-moments are during snack time
• No matter how prepared I think I am – there’s always something that comes up that makes me so grateful for our team and their grace!
• I need to worship – I start the morning by going to the 8:15 service to make sure I’m putting God first before I jump into the rest of the morning
• I need to learn – every Sunday I make new faith connections from listening to Pastor Rod’s message and spending time with the kids
• I need to serve – it fills my bucket to be a part of God’s plan here at DeWitt Redeemer
• God is good!  No but’s, maybe’s or exceptions!

Becoming a CnE - by Debby Kloosterman

Sometimes we just need to think differently about things…  It’s easy for me, even as a Christian, to judge others too quickly. Perhaps I speak with disdain or even a little superiority about those individuals who only come to church on Christmas and Easter.  (You know those “CNE” people.)

Maybe I don’t understand how just two times a year is sufficient time to worship a big God. 

I am designing a new campaign for myself called “Take Back the Cross”. It’s modeled after the “Take Back the Night” movement. TBTN is a non-profit organization with the mission of ending sexual violence. The idea is that no woman should fear the night because she is vulnerable to predatory attack.  This involves reframing the status of victim to the status of survivor.

My campaign involves reframing “CNE”, Christmas and Easter, to” CnE”, Christ in Everything. “Christ in Everything” demands that I put aside judgmental attitudes and operate with mercy and compassion.

 

I am not sure how many others will join my campaign. “Take Back the Cross” may involve sacrifice, selflessness and thoughtfulness in what I say and what I do. It will undoubtedly be a life work.

 

Those who would like to join me don’t need to sign anything. Just ask Jesus to serve as your “life coach” and hold you accountable to be more like Him.