Double standards

Everyone hates a double standard.  Christians are not immune to this.  Have you ever been in a situation where others could seemingly get away with anything, but if you even dangled a toe over the line, it was treated as scandalous?  I'm not talking about having a persecution complex here, I'm genuinely asking if you've ever been in that situation.  Maybe it's happened in a work environment or a social setting, a neighborhood, or, worst of all, within a church.

Jesus explained this social phenomenon to his followers when he extended his own hand of friendship to them: "You are my friends if you do what I command." (John 15:14 New Living Translation)

When a person becomes a friend of God, he automatically makes himself an enemy of the world and the world's system (James 4:4).  Anyone who is not controlled by God's Holy Spirit is controlled by the world's system.  Sadly, this is true even within Christian churches.

This explains why a group of worldly minded people will go to any lengths to protect one of their own.  They will justify unacceptable behavior, hide wrong actions, deny evil motives and blame innocent parties, all in the name of "love".

But let a true Christian, a friend of God, someone who is honestly doing what Christ commands, stumble personally or have a family member who stumbles, and it is "instant scandal".  The gossip machines start printing out tabloids, texts and twitters fly through the air, with the message, "Did you hear about...?"

Instead of justification, like the world's friends get from their own, the true Christian receives accusation and condemnation.

Don't be shocked.  We've been warned:

"If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.  The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world.  I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you." John 15:18,19 (New Living Translation)

I'm not writing this so we can have a pity party or be afraid of the world's condemnation and judgment.  I'm writing this so we can check our own hearts and motives and make sure we belong to Jesus Christ and are controlled by His Holy Spirit.  And one of those litmus tests for which spirit controls us is our response to someone else's struggles.  Is my heart response compassion, prayer and mercy or is it a "feeding frenzy" of gossip.  Do I cover the struggling person with a blanket of love, keeping what I know between myself and God while I pray for that person and love them?  Or do I use that person's pain as "an opportunity for the flesh", when I can pass the information on to others, maybe "disguised" as a prayer request?  And that even goes for people I don't like!

So, if you want to know whose friend you are, God's or the world's, check your initial reaction to someone else's pain and struggle.  Do you have a double standard, justifying some people and condemning others?  James calls that being double-minded and unstable in all your ways (James 1:7).  Or do you measure those you like and those you don't like by God's measuring stick of justice tempered with mercy?

"Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.  Mercy triumphs over judgment!" James 2:12,13 (New International Version)

--Posted by Mama O.

What did I learn from camp?

Teagan Frame and Kindle Cowger on the ropes course at Calvin Crest

Chyler Corona  and Marquois Ellis learn about the power of "touch"

Joseph Dellamaggiore, Jamie Lewis, Max Baker, Jericho Locke, Teagan Frame and Cheyenne Corona discuss what it means to "touch the untouchables"

Kelly Gresham does the "trust fall" with her small group at Calvin Crest

Wall of Jericho's
Jericho Locke and Jericho Lacombe

Jeremy Ellington shares his testimony on Sunday morning

Taco soup

What did I learn from my experience as a counselor at High School Winter Camp (January 25-27, 2013, Yosemite Bible Camp)? Using the above pictures as a guide:

1. There is more than one way to solve a problem, but some solutions work better than others.

2. I underestimate the power of touch.

3. We have some amazing people in our high school group.

4.Trust and trustworthiness are lifesaving.

5.Never leave someone in the bathroom at youth camp when you're driving the van.  Always have someone like Brook Gale stay behind to collect the people you leave behind.

6. Love the children in our church with every fiber in your being.  It makes it much harder for them to sin when they get older.

7,  Tami Cowger is still my favorite camp cook.

--Posted by Mama O.

Taking tests

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."  James 1:2-4 (New International Version)

I am taking a cluster of computer and business courses at Clovis Adult School right now in an attempt to bring my communication and bookkeeping skills into the 21st century!  I spend my afternoons in front a computer in the Information Technology lab, learning about the various things I can do with Word 2010.  My reward for finishing the course?  I get to move on to Microsoft Excel!

Anyway, we have these unit tests, every few chapters, to see if we have actually learned anything.  Part of the test is written and is very precise (just like communicating with a computer!).  The other part is application: we have to do some task on the computer.

During my last unit test, I passed the "Mail Merge" portion with flying colors (although it really did confuse me at first!), but I was stopped in my tracks by my inability to move clip art around freely while designing a simple brochure.  My instructor told me:

"You will really want to know how to do this.  You'll use it a lot. I'm not going to give you the answer, but go back to your book and study 'Text Wrapping'. Once you see it, it won't take any time to do it, and you'll kick yourself if you don't know it."

He was right.  Within a few minutes, I had figured it out and was moving my clip art objects freely all over my pages.

Oddly enough, I was actually glad that I failed that part of the application test initially.  I was glad that concept was on the test.  It revealed a gap in my learning that could be easily fixed.  And now it is!

I think that's what James is getting at here.  That's why we can "consider it pure joy" when our faith is tested by various trials.  That's how we learn what we're missing in our spiritual maturity and we have the opportunity to go back and "ask God for wisdom" (James 1:5) to fix it!

Well, I'm late for my accounting class at Clovis Adult School.  I've gotta run.  I have a test today on 5-column journals...Pray for me!

--Posted by Mama O.

Jam Session

Adam and Phillip pick the oranges

Kathryn "zested" these lemons

Phillip, Kathryn and Andrew peel and chop

Paul makes lemon juice

Carolyn cooks the marmalade

Kathryn processes the jars of marmalade in the "hot water bath"

What a great day we had on Sunday, January 20, 2013! We had a "Jam Session" at the Ocheltree home!  We picked oranges off the Ochel's tree and lemons off Bruce and Cathi Ferri's tree.  Then we peeled, chopped, cooked and jarred until we had 39 jars of homemade orange marmalade and 22 jars of homemade lemon curd.  Lemon curd is a traditional British preserve, resembling the filling in lemon meringue pie.  Another name for it could be lemon butter.  It is delicious on scones or biscuits!  To quote Bob Marley, we were "jammin' in the name of the Lord"! Join us.  Next jam session will be "Freezer Strawberry" in late April or early May!

--Posted by Mama O.

Crockpot Lasagna Recipe

Enjoying the meal and fellowship

Crockpot Rosemary Chicken Lasagna (left); Grace Pendleton's chili (right) 

I decided to share my recipe for Crockpot Lasagna because it received high marks from men who did not anticipate liking a lasagna that was made with:

1. Chicken instead of sausage or beef

2. Spinach

But, both said the flavor was really good.  So, since I have named January "National Crockpot Month" in my own kitchen, I will share this recipe with you.

CROCKPOT ROSEMARY CHICKEN LASAGNA

FROM: BETTY CROCKER SLOW COOKER RECIPES

2012 GENERAL MILLS

INGREDIENTS

1 container (15 oz.) ricotta cheese

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (4 oz.)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 jars (15 oz. each) Alfredo pasta sauce

4 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves

9 no-boil lasagna noodles

3 cups chopped cooked chicken

2 boxes (9 oz. each) Green Giant frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain

1 can (14.5 oz.)  Muir Glen organic diced tomatoes, drained

2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend (8 oz.)

Additional fresh rosemary, if desired.

DIRECTIONS

1. Spray 5- to 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.  In medium bowl, mix ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese and the salt.  In large bowl, mix Alfredo sauce and 4 teaspoons rosemary.

2. In slow cooker, spread about 1 1/4 cups of the Alfredo sauce.  Layer with 3 of the noodles (breaking as needed to fit), 1 cup of the chicken, one-third of the spinach, one-third of the tomatoes, one-third of the ricotta mixture and one-third of the cheese blend.  Repeat layers twice.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.

3. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 3 hours, rotating slow cooker insert halfway through cooking time, or until bubbly and noodles are tender.  Turn off slow cooker. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.  Garnish with additional rosemary.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PER SERVING

Calories: 410; Total fat: 24 g (Saturated Fat 11 g); Sodium 113 mg; Total Carbohydrate 19 g (Dietary Fiber 1 g); Protein 27 g; Exchanges: 1 Starch, 1 Vegetable, 1 Very Lean Meat, 2 Medium-Fat Meat, 2 1/2 Fat; Carbohydrate Choices: 1

--Posted by Mama O.

Snow Play Day at Shaver Lake

The lineup at the top of the hill

Andrew Ocheltree (bottom), Troy Baker (middle) Kyle Mason (top), Max Baker (back)

Josiah Roland

Teagan Frame

The pile-up at the bottom of the hill!

Nearly 40 people enjoyed the Snow Play Day at Gary and Grace Pendleton's cabin at Shaver Lake on Monday, January 21, 2013.  As the afternoon wore on, the sliders grew more adventurous.  Blessedly, everyone returned without broken bones.  Thanks, Gary and Grace, for hosting a great day for all!

--Posted by Mama O.

How I Became "Mama O."

My "Mama O."--Janice Ocheltree and
Jerold Ocheltree

Steve and Carolyn
Jerold and Janice
The two "Mama's O"

Gary and Grace Pendleton
My Prayer Sister

Mama Marylou Bonneau

Branden Mack and Andrew Ocheltree

How did I become "Mama O"?  It took a lot of people . Branden Mack was the first one to call me "Mama O' on one of the high school trips from church.  But, where did I learn to be "Mama O"?  From my "Mama O", Janice Ocheltree, who models kindness and goodness and gentleness every day.  From my prayer partners, like Mama Marylou Bonneau, who I call my "Mexican Mama", my prayer sister, Grace Pendleton, and other prayer sisters like Helen Gonzales, Pam Caples and Jean Lee.  And from my sweet Prayer Mother, Barbara Martin, who has moved up to Alameda to live with her daughter, Jennifer.  Times have changed, and I will miss Barbara a lot!  We will still try to have our prayer meetings together when she comes to visit.  These women show me how to love other people by their example, they pray with me and for me, they love me and my family.  I guess that's how anyone learns to become a good family member. Thank you, family!
--Posted by Mama O.

Congratulations Christina!

  Congratulations college graduate, Christina Alonzo!

Christina Alonzo graduated with honors from Heald College on Tuesday night, January 15, 2013. Then, her top choice of ways to celebrate, was to attend "Taco Tuesday" at Lex and Sandra Henderson's home, where Lex cooks tacos for all the college students every week.  This Tuesday, Sandra made an extraordinary triple-layer white cake with strawberries to honor Christina's accomplishment.  What a terrific church family we have! And how wonderful that Christina would choose to celebrate on her special night with all of us!
--Posted by Mama O.  

Lie Strong?

Lance Armstrong admits he lied about using performance-enhancing drugs in his seven Tour de France victories (January 15, 2013).

Abraham, patriarch of the Hebrew race, cooks up a lie with his beautiful wife, Sarah (ancient history).

Abraham and Sarah, father and mother of the Hebrew race, conceive a method for performance-enhanced childbirth  (ancient history).

Compare and contrast.  Is human nature so different today than it has ever been?  People want a favorable outcome, so they do what it takes to get it--even if it means lying, or at least not telling the whole truth.  People know that "good things come to those who wait", but why wait when you can have it all now, with just a little performance-enhancement?

I saw a yellow plastic wristband on the news today, made popular by Lance Armstrong's campaign to fight cancer, with the slogan "Live Strong".  Only this one said, "Lie Strong".

Lance Armstrong is not the first man to lie in order to create a "happy ending" to a story.  Abraham, the great patriarch of the Hebrew race, did not tell Pharaoh the whole truth when he migrated to Egypt to escape a famine in Canaan.  His wife Sarah was so beautiful that Abraham feared Pharaoh would kill him so he could marry her.  So, he told Sarah to say she was Abraham's sister (in reality, she was his half sister--which was legal and acceptable in those days).  But, by posing as Abraham's full sister, Sarah appeared unattached--until Pharaoh took her into his harem and began to suffer terrible plagues in his home!  He confronted Abraham on his lie and sent him out of Egypt, surrounded in a cloud of scandal.

Pharaoh had given Abraham many gifts on account of his lovely "sister" (wife), including many female servants.  It was an Egyptian servant, Hagar, who Sarah later convinced Abraham to sleep with in order to have "performance-enhanced" childbearing.  Abraham had been promised an heir, but Sarah was barren and a "spare womb" certainly seemed like a great way to get the job done.

In both cases, Abraham had to do a 180-degree turn, turning away from the lying and the performance-enhancing methods he was using to create "happy endings".  He had to allow God to work out the circumstances of his life.

At the moment, Lance Armstrong has options.  He can pedal off in the direction of redemption, as Father Abraham did, which means really coming clean, not just "making a show of it", as many in the media currently believe he is doing with his well-planned, choreographed "confession" to Oprah on Monday, January 14, 2013. Those who "come clean" accept the consequences of their moral failure and don't expect that life will "be the same as it was before". Or he can morally crash by the side of the road, expecting a showy "confession" on Oprah's network to elicit sympathy from the viewers and fans he has been lying to for more than a decade, allowing him to get what he wants.  That is his call.

It's not the lies he tells that determine a man's spiritual legacy.  It's what he does after he lies.

--Posted by Mama O.

A different way of looking at things

I was talking to a friend the other day who was making observations about the world condition.

"When you put a loaf of french bread on your windowsill, it dries out within a couple of days," she observed.  "If you leave it there even longer, it begins to fall apart into crumbs."

"And, once the bread becomes a collection of crumbs, it will never be that same loaf of bread again," I observed.

We both agreed that economic and political events worldwide within the last couple of years have revealed a "falling apart" of old regimes.  We will probably never see the same exact "loaf of bread" in Middle Eastern politics, United States economics, and more.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing?  I guess it depends on your perspective.  I think it's something we cannot control or change. The Bible is filled with admonitions to "fear not" (more than 300) when people encountered a new way of doing things.  I think that applies here.

On Friday night, I made a delicious chicken dish, coated with sour cream, Dijon mustard, seasoned bread crumbs and butter.  The loaf of bread may have turned to crumbs, but the crumbs became a delicious coating for chicken.

This morning, I cubed up the leftover chicken and layered it in a Crock Pot with lasagna noodles,spinach, Alfredo sauce, Parmesan and Ricotta cheese, fresh Rosemary and diced tomatoes.  Tonight, the family will enjoy chicken and spinach lasagna.  The loaf of bread fell apart, but the crumbs were still used to provide for the family's needs.

God will provide in the future.  That's all I know.  That's all I need to know.

--Posted by Mama O.

Church Workday

David Jessie and Dawn Frame

Joyce Watson and an upside-down Kirkley

Avery Henderson

Denise Jessie and company

Ryan Buchanan

Jon Frame

Thanks to everyone who came out to work on the church grounds yesterday (Saturday, January 12, 2013) . More than 20 people came out from 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m., pruning and trimming trees, planting flowers and spreading bark in flower beds, moving the fountain, cleaning gutters, revamping down spouts, painting gates and replacing exterior light bulbs.  Great work, great turnout!  You blessed us all!
(Photos and story courtesy of Doug Baker)
--Posted by Mama O.

Making all things new

"And He who sits on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'" Revelation 21:5a (New American Standard Version)

As I sit here staring out my office window, I see the juxtaposition of life and death on both sides of my back fence.  My neighbor's evergreen citrus trees are burgeoning with life and fruit, oranges and lemons weighing down the branches of the the mature trees.  On my side of the fence, I see the bare branches of my deciduous nectarine and apricot trees, poking bony, bare, brown branches toward a cold, white winter morning sky.

Because I am old enough to have lived through more than one growing season, I know my trees are not dead, but are dormant and will soon show signs of life again.

The God who created all life on this earth made seasons, "a time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted." (Ecclesiastes 3:2 New American Standard Version)

With the busy-ness of Christmas over, and the new life and activity of spring still in the future, this is a good time for reflection and introspection.  A good time to ask God which things in my life are in a season of dormancy, but will return to life in good time.  And, which things need to die so that something new and better can be planted in their place.  Sometimes, the only way to see an increase of the good things in our lives is to allow the death of something, be it good or bad.

Jesus, Himself, spoke of of His own death in this way:

""I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds."  John 12:24 (New International Version)

If we are willing, we can cooperate with the Creator of the Universe in His task of "making all things new" (Revelation 21:5).  Of course, ultimately, this means God will create a new heaven and a new earth.  But, we can see a foretaste of that creative power and energy in our lives today, if we agree to the process.  Let's!
--Posted by Mama O.

Bringing the dead back to life

"...Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing."  Romans 4:17 (New Living Translation)

Sometimes a relationship dies or at least falls into a deep coma due to a completely civil "agreement to disagree".  Both parties play fair and are cordial to one another, but, over time, a distance forms in the relationship.  It is easy to justify this because of philosophical differences and easy to tell yourself that there is "no real problem" because both parties are civil and polite.  But, deep down, you know you miss the closeness that was once there.  You may substitute other activities and relationships where that one used to be.  And they may work.  But, still, you know something in your life is missing.

We experienced just such a "relational drift" with Steve's parents and siblings a few years ago.  We had to take some very firm stands on issues that we felt were non-negotiable for us.  We agreed to disagree in a civil manner, but the continental drift began to happen in the relationship.  Our holidays were spent with good friends, who became our "extended family". Phone conversations became further and further apart and more about business matters, like taxes and computers, and less about family happenings.

It wasn't that there was a lot of bad blood in the relationship.  There just wasn't much blood at all.  It was, to quote Mel Brooks' movie "Young Frankenstein": "mostly dead all day."

Then, about a year and a half ago, Gene and Linda Sue experienced the death of both of their mothers within a month of one another.  True to "Sue" form, the funerals of both these wonderful women were filled with family stories and pictures, giving us a wonderful portrait of their lives.  Even if you did not know either of these mothers before the funeral, you felt like you had known them all your life!  As grandchildren shared stories of  "Grandma", I knew I wanted that for my sons.  The separation in Steve's family had become big enough that our two younger sons did not have a good, working knowledge of who their grandparents were.

I began, prayerfully, to do what I could to change that.  We invited Steve's parents to a Chinese restaurant (their favorite food) and asked them questions about their days in cattle ranching, so the boys could hear old family stories.  Once, Steve's dad called to cancel one of our dinners due to busy-ness.  Steve urged him to keep the dinner date, which he did.

I began to call Steve's mom, just to chat about family stories, day-to-day happenings around our house.  Over time, the relationship warmed up, blood began to flow again, and warmth and natural movement returned to the relationship.  Steve's dad had a couple of medical emergencies in the last year that required an overnight stay in Fresno (they live near Oakhurst).  They felt comfortable enough in the relationship to stay in our home and let us move out of our bedroom so his dad could rest more comfortably.

Then, this Christmas, God brought our wonderful friends, who had become "extended family" and our natural family together in a most unexpected way!  Our friends bought a Bed and Breakfast this year about a mile up the road from Steve's parents in the little mountain community known as Nipinnawassee (Land of the Deer). Our tradition, for the last several years, has been to share Christmas dinner with these friends.  This year, our friends invited us and Steve's parents, as well as Steve's sister's family, to join them at the Bed and Breakfast.  It was a sweet time of fellowship, friends and family mingling.  As I watched our friends interacting with our family, I was amazed at the goodness of God, who would restore lifeblood to relationships grown cold from disagreement, and add to our family circle, not take away from it!
--Posted by Mama O.

The Long, Long Trailers

Our 1988 Nomad trailer has traveled to Waterton National Park
 in Alberta, Canada, Rocky Mountain
National Park in Colorado, Yellowstone National Park in Montana
and Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona

John Robertson tows our trailer away from Oceano
Campground in Pismo Beach

Mens' room urinal at Madonna Inn
(OOPS! How did that get in here?)

Journey into the future--towing the new trailer through the
Kettleman Hills

Our first night in the new trailer
December 30, 2012

As the calendar would have it, we ended one leg of our journey and started another  just as the calendar page changed from 2012 to 2013.  We purchased a used 1988 Nomad travel trailer in 1997, when our 17-year-old son, Andrew, was only two years old.  We began to take family vacations in it and traveled most of the Western United States and Canada towing that trailer.  We played Monopoly, watched opera on the little TV, cooked clams on the Oregon coast, had a big blow-out at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Colorado, towed it in on a dark and rainy night over the treacherous roads between Silverton and Durango, Colorado, bid farewell to our beloved 16-year-old tabby cat, Tiger, on our trip to Glacier National Park, viewed  moose and elk and bison from its windows in Yellowstone National Park, and collected sand dollars from Pismo Beach on its rear bumper.

Steve and I drive over to Nipomo on Saturday to finalize the sale of the old Nomad to another family.  When he texted me yesterday that the trailer had sold off of our ad on Craig's List, I texted back two "emoticons"--a happy face and a sad face.

"I just saw the sad face icon," Steve texted back a few minutes later.  "I know what you mean.  It (the trailer) has been good to us."

We just purchased another used trailer, this one is a 2001 Cougar 5th-wheel trailer.

I don't really need to explain all the emotions to anyone who has ever "moved on".  It's a mixture of joy over the new and sadness over leaving the old behind.  New adventures bring unknown factors and that can cause fear.

I just received an email from my precious friend, Barbara Martin.  After the death of her husband, Arnold, Barbara is moving up to Alameda to live with her daughter's family.

"I know GOD has a new plan for me and I AM READY TO START!!

I hope i can follow his plan and NOT try to change it," she wrote.

You speak for all of us, my beautiful and courageous friend!  Now, let's all hold hands and walk together into our future with the courage that comes from knowing God is with us and that we are "there" for each other!

Happy New Year!

--Posted by Mama O.

The Circle of Life

Our preacher, Dr.Jason Locke, has launched a New Year sermon series on the book of Revelation.  Hmmmm....an interesting place to start the New Year: at the end! But, that actually makes a lot of sense.  Life is lived in a cycle more than in a straight line.  Think about drawing a circle, you come back to the place you started to finish the circle.  I think the same thing is true of our individual lives and of the collective life of this planet.  We learn much about how to end something properly by understanding how it began.  We make a good beginning when we have the end goal in mind from the start.  Those who work closely with the dying will tell you that many deathbed words are spoken about childhood, parents, brothers and sisters--important relationships that go way back to the beginning of a person's life.

So why is it important to study the "end times", the final chapters of the Bible, at the beginning of the New Year?  So we can begin with the end in mind.  We can fasten our eyes on the goal and gain a "big picture" perspective of this journey we are on individually and corporately, as a church body and as a human race.

Thank you, Dr. Jason, for being willing to tackle the tough, poetic, prophetic passages of Revelation.  Of all the books of the Bible, this one may be the most overused by fanatics who desire to manipulate people with scare tactics and personal agendas.  It is tempting to steer clear of something that has been so corrupted by so many false teachers.  But, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16 New American Standard Version) And so, the legitimate, true, humble teachers and preachers of God's Word, must go ahead and teach the truths from the book of Revelation, trusting God's Spirit to bring true understanding to their students.

There's an interesting verse in the book of Ecclesiastes, penned by the wisest man who ever lived: King Solomon:

"The end of a matter is better than its beginning;
Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit."  Ecclesiastes 7:8 (New American Standard Version)

What does that mean?  Well, in my pondering, I have thought how easy it is to start a project and be quite boastful about all the big plans I have to finish famously.  But, as we all know, if there were a museum for projects that have been started but never completed, well, it's still under construction...! It's easy to make big plans, it's easy to brag, it's easy to start something, it's much more difficult to patiently and humbly persevere until the project is complete.

I believe that's what this study of Revelation can do for us.  It can give us the wisdom, vision and courage to humbly and patiently continue our journey, keeping the good ending in view.

We look forward to a fulfilling journey together in our study of "the end", the book of Revelation!

--Posted by Mama O.

Old Year and New Year

Fifth Sunday in December (2012)
Breakfast in Class

Pancakes

...and sizzling sausage

We ended 2012 with a "Fifth Sunday Breakfast in Class" on December 30.  The food was well-received and the interruption in electrical service to the high school room caused by our overloading the circuits was just part of the fun (right, Aaron??)
 
Steve Ocheltree led us in a "Retrospective" of 2012 on Sunday, January 6, 2013.  Many people shared God's goodness and love throughout the year, as He has worked through our church, our fellowship group and His people in other places, like Lake Havasu, Arizona!  Theresa Pafford joked that this Sunday was a "cry fest", between the white roses distributed to family members of those who went to be with the Lord through death in 2012 in the church service, and the heartfelt sharing in the Ocheltree Shepherding Group during class time.
 
And, for those of you joining me on this January Journey known as "Dieting", take a good long last look at those pancakes and sausage.  It's plain oatmeal and grapefruit for you and me baby!

For any of you who caught Dr. Jason Locke's admonition that "Wafflers Perish" during Sunday morning's (January 6, 2013) sermon, I don't believe he was condemning our "Breakfast in Class".  Seems as though it had to do with having one foot in the world's system (Babylon) and the other foot in God's system (The New Jerusalem). Refusal to fully choose God's system (The New Jerusalem) is to choose the world's system (Babylon) by default or indecision.  I think that's what he meant.  But, offer him a waffle from our next "Breakfast in Class" and see what he says!
--Posted by Mama O.