Financial Wisdom

"The earnings of the godly enhance their lives,but evil people squander their money on sin."—Proverbs 10:16

Encouragement for Today
"What wisdom this succinct verse contains for what to do and not do with money! Godly use of money is simply to enhance life. When you make decisions about how to spend your money, ask yourself honestly, "Will this expenditure enhance my life or someone else's life in some way? Or will it be wasted on something that is, at the heart, sinful?" If it's something that will truly enhance life, spend with joy and peace (assuming you actually have the money to spend). If the expenditure will draw your heart or someone else's away from God, that is sin."—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions


I love what this verse says about money. What should our bank account say about us? Are we being good stewards, using that which God has given to benefit, enhance, and bring joy in life. Does our account reflect generousity? Or does our spending habits reflect a heart that is self-serving, greedy, and selfish. Do our spending habits reflect an overindulgence on ourselves and children only? Do the things we buy or services we pay for cause other's to sin by drawing their hearts away from God? Does it cause our children to be drawn away from God?(Inappropriate movies, clothing, music CDs, video games....) This is really cause for me to think twice about how we use what God has blessed us with.

In His Love, Cathy

In a Funk - Count Your Blessings!

Every now and then I get in a 'funk.' I mean I just get down about even the littlest of things. We all have those days. Sometimes this hits when my medication dosage isn't right. Sometimes it hits when I'm stressed, overbooked and overworked. And then sometimes it hits when I'm just being plain selfish! Thank goodness this mood doesn't hit often, but when it does, I just can't seem to shake it! Well, today was one of those days. There was no particular event that set it off, just a culmination of factors. For one thing, I'm just a little S-T-R-E-S-S-E-D!!! This is a SUPER BUSY time of year with so much going on and so much to be done everywhere I turn - home, school, and church! Part of today's 'funk' is also a side affect from the migraine meds I've taken the last several days. I always feel so 'down' after taking them. YUCK! I hate feeling like this!

So anyway, as I said, I was in a 'funk' today. Little things that I usually don't affect me really bothered me today. So, instead of going to bed in a funk tonight, I'm going to break the cycle. I'm going to count my blessings and be thankful. So here they are:

1. My husband. Bless his heart...he's so patient with me!
2. My children - they are such a joy and a blessing!
3. Hearing our precious daughter pray tonight over the meal at the basketball banquet. Thank you, God, for these young ladies on this team who honor you!
4. The touching thank you note I received from a student recently - my heart was touched!
5. Our church family! You are all AWESOME! We love doing life with YOU!
6. The email a student's mother sent thanking me for helping her daughter. That was so sweet and uplifting! Thank you God, for caring parents!
7. Our FRIENDS!
8. Our parents!
9. The AMAZING turn of events connecting Scott to his biological family. It was all in God's wonderous timing!
10. The WONDERFUL works God is doing in our church family and through our church!

"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ." Ephesians 1:3

There's absolutely NO REASON to be in a 'funk,' for we are truly blessed!

In His Love, Cathy

A View of This Week's Children's Events & News

WEDNESDAY, March 19
6:00 to 6:30 p.m. Dinner in Room 1 (Donations toward dinner accepted.)
6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
- BERRYHILL MANOR PRACTICE in ROOM 2
- PK/KG Class in Room 1
- 1st through 4th Grade Bible Study Line up in Hallway after meal.
(for children not participating in Berryhill Manor Easter Outreach)

WE WILL BE FINISHED AT 8:00 P.M. this WEEK!!!!!!

PLEASE PICK UP YOUR child up NO LATER THAN 8:00 p.m.

No Corporate Worship Time this WEDNESDAY due to high school exams.

NEXT WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25

UNITE!!! Churchwide PICNIC

GRILLS HOT AT 6 p.m.!

EASTER CANDY NEEDED for EASTER EGG HUNT and BERRYHILL MANOR OUTREACH. COOKIES NEEDED FOR BERRYHILL EASTER OUTREACH. DONATIONS MAY BE DROPPED OFF AT THE CHILDREN'S SIGN IN TABLE. Thank you for helping us share Christ's love with the children and the elderly in our community!

EASTER EGG HUNT , SATURDAY, MARCH 11 at 11:30 a.m.

Churchwide picnic at 12 noon - bring food to grill and enjoy a beautiful day of fellowship!

Help needed hiding Easter Eggs at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 11.

Help also needed in sectioning off the grounds for the different areas of the egg hunt. Contact Cathy Denny at aumathchick@mchsi.com or 995-0027.

VBS IS AROUND THE CORNER!!!

Join us for BOOMERANG EXPRESS!

DATE: June 15 - 19

TIME: 6 to 8:30 p.m.

WE STILL HAVE A PLACE FOR YOU!!!

Sign up today to HELP!

It's going to be AWESOME!

In His Love, Cathy

Rock Solid: What Your Child Learned in Church Today, March 15

ROCK SOLID (Kg through 4th Grades)

Main Point: I will Make Wise Choices!
Today's Bible Lesson: King Solomon Asks God for Wisdom (1 Kings 3)
Memory Verse: "Wise Choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe." Proverbs 2:11

Lesson Summary:
For the months of March and April, we are exploring what it means to have noble character. Our Bible adventures are set in Medieval Times in which we meet King Earl the Undecided. King Earl will encounter situations in which he must learn to be a king of noble character, a person that God wants him and us to be. Be sure your child joins us each Sunday for Kingdom Tales!

Today, children pretended to be knights and ladies of old. Children once again added to their Medieval names. Ask your child what their NEWEST Medieval name is. We also learned the importance of making wise choices. Wisdom is making choices based on hat God has taught us and using His guidance to make decisions. We saw how we shouldn't just make decisions to benefit just ourselves. Instead, we should make wise decisions, decisions that please God and benefit others. We, like King Solomon, can ask God for wisdom. Only God's wisdom can help us make the best decisions. Wisdom can help us in all areas of our lives! Sometimes making wise choices isn't so easy. However, we should make choices that please God, no matter how hard it may be! Now that's wise!

Training Up a Child Homework:
1. Read 1 Kings 3 with your child. Help your child understand how seeking godly wisdom is better than fame and riches. God's wisdom is what is best, always!
2. Help your child memorize this week's memory verse, Proverbs 2:11, and tell it to me next Sunday for a prize.
3. Encourage your child to make wise choices this week, choices that benefit others and please God. Help them understand that they can pray for wisdome. Remind them that when they are faced with a choice, they can recall this week's memory verse to help them make a wise decision.

Grace and peace friends!
In His Love, Cathy

Finding that Which Was Lost

"We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’” Luke 15:32

In my last posting, I shared with you that something really big was happening in our family and asked for your prayers. I am now free to share with you what is going on. What is happening is something that is so incredible, so miraculous that it defies human logic.

As many of you know, my husband, Scott, was adopted when he was a baby. His parents were very open and honest with him about his adoption. They shared with him what details they knew about his birth mother and father. Scott was told he was Yugoslavian/Serbian. He was told his birth father was around 5'10" and his birth mother was about 5'6". He was born in Oakland, CA (Alameda County). These seemingly minor details, along with other verbal details about his birth parents, and minor details on his birth certificate lead to the discovery of a lifetime.

This past Monday, Scott came home to find a message on our answering machine. A person from the Adoption Database, a non-profit online research center dedicated to reuniting adopted children with their birth families, had called. Their message indicated that Scott's birth father's family was trying to find him. Scott was completely taken aback. He had wanted to find his birth family for many, many years. He had always wondered who they were, where they were, and if they ever thought about finding him. We had started a search in 2000, but since his adoption was a closed adoption, we hit one brick wall after another. We thought we had a match back then, but it turned out not to be his biological family. So, as life became busy and our schedules filled up, his searching for his family went on the back burner. Then in December, he expressed a deep, burning desire to find his birth family. It was heavy on his heart. He knew that his birth parents were getting older and was afraid he'd miss the opportunity to find them. He wanted to know if he had brothers and sisters, if they ever thought about him. Now, on Monday, March 9, what he had dreamed of for decades, had finally happened. Someone was searching for him!

Scott was hesitant to return the call. For those of you who know him, he's a laid back kind of guy. However, he is also not one to rush into things. He sits back, evaluates the situation before making a move or decision. He is a very wise, patient person. Then on Wednesday, he came home to find another message on the answering machine - a message from his birth father's wife. Her voice quivered in the message, emotions from the past surging forth. She wanted to carry out her late husband's wish, to find his missing son and make sure he was okay. Unfortunately, the answering machine cut off her complete message AND the phone number left by the Adoption Database researcher. Fortunately, we were able to find the phone number for the Adoption Database Center online.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009, Scott made the call that will forever change his life. He made contact with the researcher at the Adoption Database. Scott's hesitancy and skepticism melted away the minute the researcher gave identifying facts of his birth - date, place, time, identifying information on his birth parents. The researcher told Scott all of those little things that were on his birth certificate, and more! She verified information about his birth parents that wasn't written down but were verbally told to his parents. Convinced of the researcher's authenticity (and the fact I was looking at the organization's credentials online as he was on the phone), Scott finally had hope that this was his birth family.

Once the researcher herself was convinced that Scott was the child the family had been trying to locate, she gave Scott a wealth of information about his birth parents and their families. One question remained. Out of all the children that were born in the U.S. on his birthday, how did they know it was him? It was his mother's last name. Her family was Serbian. Her parents had immigrated to the U.S. from Yugoslavia. Her family was the ONLY family in the U.S. with that particular last name. What are the odds of that? The birth father's family knew her last name and it was on the birth certificate of the ONLY baby boy born in Oakland, California at the time and date of Scott's Birth. It was also the last name on Scott's ORIGINAL birth certificate, that Scott's parents had been given many years ago. However, they did not share this with us until last night when we spoke to his real (adoptive) parents. Of ALL the children born in the U.S. and put up for adoption, Scott was the ONLY ONE whose original surname (birth mother's) was UNIQUE to ONE FAMILY in the entire NATION!!! Now THIS can ONLY be the WORK of GOD!!!

On Thursday, March 12, 2009, after playing phone tag Wednesday and most of the day Thursday, Scott and his half sister finally made first contact. She had been diligently searching for him for 14 years - just in the wrong state. They thought he had been born in Oklahoma. Their father had passed away in 2005, regretting that he had never found Scott. From what we understand, he wanted to apologize to Scott and wanted to know that he was okay. His wife and daughter carried on the search. Not knowing the gender of the child, Scott's half sister was somehow convinced they were looking for boy. Scott and his half-sister talked twice on that night. So many questions that Scott had were answered. He found out he has 8 half-siblings from his father - four brothers and four sisters. The eldest brother died in a car accident in 1968. Scott's sister sent us pictures of the family and the resemblances of Scott and his siblings is uncanny. What's even more uncanny is that our oldest son and our daughter strongly resemble the brother who passed away. All of Scott's siblings are blue eyed and light to dark blonde (now I know how my oldest two ended up with this coloring)! We also discovered that his father's family are in Washington state. Scott also found out that his birth father fought in the Korean War, and was decorated with the Silver Star for gallantry in battle, along with other medals. Scott's father was a great story teller and loved to joke around. (Sounds like someone I know!) He also played guitar and had a beautiful, soft singing voice (so that's where Brittany gets it!) Scott is deeply saddened that his birth father has passed away. He is grieving his loss and the fact he never had the chance to meet him. However, after having this conversation with his half-sister, Scott said for the first time in his life he felt more confident about himself. He knows his birth family, his family history, and his story. Being a history teacher, a man who loves researching and learning from the past, he now feels complete.

Scott was also given information on his birth mother and her family. She was a Captain in the Army, a nurse at the time of his birth. Scott is her only child, though she married years later. After researching her on the internet, we know she participated in medical research and helped write articles for antibiotic research and it's affects on children. Her parents had immigrated from Yugoslavia and settled in Ohio. They are Serbian. She has one sister, who lives in Oakland, California (ring a bell). She also has three brothers, we'll call them G, M, and D. G is the only brother who knows of Scott's existence, from what we understand. G is a CEO and accountant, M is a lawyer, and D we think is in real estate. We found G's biography on the internet with his picture, the resemblance to Scott and little Michael is incredible! G said that Scott's mother loved to help and care for others. Sounds like Scott, huh? We also discovered that she is still alive and now lives in...FLORIDA!!! Another SHOUT OUT to GOD for this is obviously HIS HANDIWORK as well!!!

There is so much more to this story, too much to share in one blog. I'm trying to convince Scott to write about his journey as an adopted child to help others who have experienced what he has. His story is truly a miracle of God, an answer to decades of prayer, one that needs to be told.

But before we get our hopes up too high, Scott and his half-sister are doing a DNA test this week to confirm once and for all what we all suspect, that he is indeed their lost brother. Yet the pictures she sent of his Dad and his siblings have such an uncanny resemblance to Scott and our oldest two children, and you know a picture is worth a thousand words! Please pray for the results of this test, that Scott has finally found his biological family!

The bottom line is this, though Scott may have found his biological family, his real family are the parents who raised him and the little brother whom he grew up with. Scott is looking forward into the next chapter of his life, a life enriched by the love and relationships from both his adoptive and biological families.

In His Love, Cathy
(PS - We did not include the names of his birth family as not all have been contacted. We want to confirm with a DNA test. We also want their permission before we include their names in such a public forum as this.)

All in God's Great Time

Something really big is going on in our family right now. Something that has been lifted up in prayer for many, many, many years. Something wonderful! Something great! Something that was once incomplete will soon find completeness. Something that I thought was an impossibility. But God had it all under control and planned out from the beginning. I wish I were at liberty to say exactly what is taking place, but it's not my story to tell. I just wish to ask for prayer for our family and for the people involved. Please cover us all in prayer as each one of us works through the emotions and the unknowns of the situation.

"Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11

In His Love, Cathy