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THANKSGIVING OUTREACH
We are providing Thanksgiving meals for two ministries in our community...
SALVATION ARMY (Coatesville)
Prepare, cook and optionally help serve part of a hot meal with Salvation Army. Help is needed for food preparation, purchasing supplies, delivering food, set up, serving, and clean up. When? Food drop off at CCC, Saturday, Nov 20, 8-11AM; Meal at Salvation Army is Sunday, Nov 21, 3-6 pm
Where? Salvation Army/ 669 E Lincoln Hwy/ Coatesville
WORLD IMPACT (Chester, PA)
Through World Impact, we will provide 50 Thanksgiving meals to families in Chester.
No cooking involved. Who? You! We are looking for people to purchase the entire meal for a Thanksgiving dinner. We are also looking for 5 drivers to transport food to Chester. When? Saturday, Nov 20th, 8-10 am
Where? Drop off at Christ Community Church, main lobby area by kitchen
SIGN UP in the Main Lobby Sunday or contact Kim Beazley
"Love each other deeply..."
- I Peter 4:8
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| B I B L I C A L
R E L I A B I L I T Y
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Do you ever question the reliability of God's Word?
Do you want to be equipped to explain the validity of Scripture?
Check out this resource that looks at Manuscripts, Archeology, Prophecy and Statistics. CLICK HERE [PDF]
-resource: Christian Research Institute
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| R E S T |  | Come to Me by Aaron Shust [theme song for Bible Study from Matthew 11:29]
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P R A Y E R
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"Prayer is never out of season... It gains us an audience with heaven in the dead of night, in the middle of a business transaction, in the heat of the day, and in the shade of the late afternoon. And in every condition ... your covenant God welcomes your prayer and answers it from His holy place."
[Excerpt, Charles Spurgeon,
Morning by Morning] | |
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Creative Gifts
November Girls Night Out
November 17th - 7pmJoin us and learn some creative, practical and festive gift ideas for teachers, neighbors and friends!
 Carrie Norbury will share some terrific ideas that will make your gift giving encouraging, fun and meaningful.
Come and join us for a night of friendship and connection.
ALL women are welcome!
No need to RSVP
At the home of Kate Sehon605 Thorncroft Drive, West Chester610.644.6288
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d o
everyday
...give me your arms for the broken hearted... | | "God is looking for someone just like you-someone who gets wrecked on planet Earth by the things that wreck him up in heaven-so that he can sign you up for service. I assure you there is a holy discontent with your name on it. There is something out there that God is waiting for you to grab on to so that he can use you to help solve it. It wrecks you, it wrecks him, and he is ready for you both to do something about it."
- Bill Hybels, Holy Discontent |
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G R A T I T U D E
s o u l r i c h
Yale theologian Miroslav Volf says that there are two kinds of richness in life: "richness of having" and "richness of being." We seek richness of having, but what we really want is richness of being. We want to be grateful, joyful, content, free from anxiety, and generous. We scramble after richness of having because we think it will produce richness of being, but it does not.
Source: When the Game is Over, it All Goes Back in the Box
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 The Garden Post is designed to share news, connections and information specifically for women, offer spiritual encouragement and insight, and provide resources for wise living.This month brings Thanksgiving and I am moved to express my gratitude for each of you. I love how God puts others in our lives... to encourage us, to challenge us, to inspire us, and to help grow us. The Body of Christ is a beautiful thing, especially when it is moving... and you ladies, you like to move!
I welcome the opportunity to connect with you personally, and want to hear from you. Give me a call or email me any time... a difficult question, spiritual concern, fresh idea or suggestion, perhaps a great book to recommend or insight to ponder... anything at all, I'd love to connect.
Louann Rodgers 610.431.0300x109 LKRodgers@comcast.net
Women's Ministry, Christ Community Church www.RootedToGrow.com
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I'm a morning girl. And yes, I'm a night owl too. It's just the way God made me. I remember college days had me at the library early on a Saturday morning while all my friend slept in. I'd meet them at noon for brunch having had 5 hours of study already completed. Okay, I'm a bit of a nerd too.Fortunately, God gave me a husband who is also a night owl and an easy riser also. We knew our youngest daughter had the same design when she never napped as a baby ... she never napped and she was never cranky. Really. To this day she has never napped. She'd be singing in her crib at midnight, and my husband and I would just look at one another and smile.We're all different, created just as we are to be. However you find yourself, none of us can mistake that God has created each of us to be in a patten of rest and wake. The rhythm of our days follow a necessary pattern, a pattern that is reflected as well in our spiritual life.
God calls each of us to work with excellence and serve with the skills we have been blessed with. But He also calls us to rest. He calls us to find rest in Him. "Learn from Me, for I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your soul' - Matthew 11:29 Our secular world thrives on the pulse of our wake time.
We rise, work, work, work, and if we can, rest.We are driven to busy lives... to our work, busyness, ambition, accomplishments, demanding schedules, to-do lists, and ceaselss activity.A recent devotional from Proverbs 31 Ministry reminded me of the ancient Jewish pattern of considering our days first by the beginning of the nightfall...."God called the light 'day' and the darkness he called 'night', and there was evening and there was morning - the first day." Genesis 1:5Evening, and then morning... Rest, rise, work... Eugene Peterson thoughtfully puts rest into this perspective: "This Hebrew evening/morning sequence conditions us to the rhythms of grace. We go to sleep, and God begins his work. As we sleep he develops his covenant. We wake and are called to participate in God's creative action. We respond in faith, in work. But always grace is previous. Grace is primary. We wake into a world we didn't make, into a salvation we didn't earn. Evening: God begins, without our help, his creative day. Morning: God calls us to enjoy and share and develop the work he initiated. Creation and covenant are sheer grace and there to greet us every morning."
This perspective on rest puts the closing of my days into a new place of purpose for me. God's work within and around us is constant, sustaining, healing, nurturing, and grace filled. God's work is never ending, even when we need to rest.That's the best reason to lay down our busy heads and put up our weary feet. Now I lay me down to sleep...
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G R A T I T U D E
"Be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear..."
Hebrews 13:5-6
"Giving thanks in all things unto God our Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 5:20
This season we celebrate Thanksgiving, a holiday blended with festivities, family obligations and lots of cooking... take a moment to consider the meaning of thanksgiving, of gratitude...
Proper Gratitude
Anything good that we have has come from  God. It is proper to thank God for it.
Persistent Gratitude
One day is not long enough to thank God for all that He's given us. His blessings come daily. Psalm 68:19 says, "Blessed be the Lord, Who daily gives us benefits..." Every day God has brand-new blessings, and every day we should show perpetual gratitude. Every prayer should show our thankfulness.
Pervasive Gratitude
In everything give thanks. In all things. Every thing, every area of life is to be a the subject of thanksgiving. There's so much to be thankful for. · Spiritual things - If we didn't have anything else but Jesus, we would have enough to praise God for all eternity. · Simple things - we are so blessed! Be thankful for simple things and be thankful every day for our every day things ... for our freedom, our country, our families, health, food, and even a glass of water. Thank God for the simple things -- there are so many! · Sorrowful things - We can even be thankful for the heartaches, the pains, and the sufferings. Romans 8:28 says, "...All things work together for good..." That is, the thing itself is not good, but it is God Who is working all things together for good. Don't thank Him by feeling; thank Him by faith. We are not told to feel thankful but to be thankful. Nothing shows our faith in the absolute sovereignty of God more than just simply thanking God in every situation.
100 Reasons to be Thankful...
Thanksgiving Blessings Mix...
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The Art of a Handwritten Letter
 When was the last time you wrote a real letter? Not one of typed words, but one of ink and paper. Every time I receive an envelope with handwriting on it, I can't wait to open it.Don't you feel the same way?
Snail mail blesses people. There's something about receiving a tangible reminder that someone loves you. Card writing does not take much time. You can fit it into a busy day.
I write a lot of cards, so here are a few tips to get you started:
1. Make a List
Spend a couple minutes writing down the names of people in your life that you want to write cards to: your friend who lives far away, your grandma, your mom, your child's teacher, a friend in need, perhaps someone you have lost touch with, or even a broken relationship.
2. Gather up some cards
I have a huge card stash, so the gathering is part of the fun of card writing. If you don't have any cards you can a)make some b)pick some up from your favorite store c)use plain paper instead. Don't let this step be a hurdle!
3. Pray
Ask God to give you the right words for your card. Pray for the person your are writing to - what is going on in their life? How can this card encourage them?
4. Write
You don't have to write a long letter for the card to bless the recipient, but your words should be intentional. Remind your loved one that you care for them and that she is in your thoughts.
5. Address, Stamp and Mail
This is the most important part - get that card in the mail. Don't leave it sitting on your kitchen table!
It's human nature to want to know that others care for us - and cards can be that reminder. Take a few minutes to prayerfully ask God who in your life needs a reminder that they are loved.
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How will you touch the life of someone today?
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God. |
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Unanswerable Questions
* What is the meaning of life?
* Is there a God?
* Do blonds have more fun?
Which question would you most like to find an answer to? According to search engine Ask.com (formerly  known as Ask Jeeves, which is still its moniker in the UK) the three questions above are the top "unanswerable" questions.
I was surprised to see that "Do blondes have more fun?" was a question most noted. I wasn't aware that it was such a contentious issue.
Not all questions are so trivial though. Many speak to our soul cravings, the innate desires that we all share. "What is love?" and "What is the secret to happiness?" fall into this category, as well as "What is the meaning of life?". These are essential questions that we all have.
Are these questions unanswerable? Absolutely. They are answered in the person of Jesus Christ.
What makes Jesus so compelling? Jesus was unique in many ways, but the easiest way to explain his compelling nature is his identity. He claimed something amazing: To be God in the flesh. And Jesus didn't just make the claim to be God: He backed it up. He proved his claim with a flawless life, amazing miracles, and stunning preaching.
One of his claims was to forgive other peoples' sins. This would be the height of arrogance for most people, but if Jesus was who he said he was, it would not only be entirely appropriate, it would be very good news for us. If we are honest with ourselves, we know that we do things that are wrong. There is no amount of good works that can cancel these things out; we can't pull ourselves out of the quicksand by our own power. We need someone with a rope to pull us out. Jesus did that and more: He also took the punishment that we deserve on the cross, so that we can be forgiven.
So this is really the essential question: do you want forgiveness? Do you want meaning in life? Purpose for your every days?
We are designed after a creator who gives purpose and depth that goes beyond our everyday wants and needs. We long for more because we were designed in the image of God.
And so there is an answer - we can have that longing filled when we seek God with all our hearts... He is there. Take a moment to get to know Him. [Click here for more...]
"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."(Psalm 42:1-2a).
"God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water."
(Psalm 63:1)
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National Adoption Month
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress..." --James 1.27 (NIV)
There are more than 120,000 orphans in American today. Orphans who are looking for a forever home, a family who will love and care for them. In the tri-state area, a grass roots organization called the Orphan Care Coalition has established an effort of 50churches - 50children. Compelled by our own spiritual adoption and the care and concern that God expresses for the fatherless - theyfollow the mandate that He has given us to visit the orphan in their affliction. We are joining in this effort and have committed to prayer ... prayer for a forever home for 5 specific children,
Franklin, Dominic, Migel, Greta, and Matthew.
CLICK here to read more about the children we are praying for....
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Be Blessed!
"Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all people.
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know that the LORD he is God: it is he that made us, and not we ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:
be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endures to all generations" (Psalms 100:1-5).
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"Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest for your soul..."
Matthew 11:29
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