Margie Theiss

“OCTOBER BABY”

Several months ago, our daughter Tess suggested to her Women’s Events and Fellowship Committee of the church, of which I am a member, the idea of getting the ladies together to attend the movie “October Baby”. After we agreed, she ran into a problem making the plans. It wasn’t going to be shown in our area. The probable cause was that the story line dealt with abortion.

Why is it that movies that show acts containing blood, guts, gore, murder and mayhem are publicized and profitable but those that mention abortion are derailed from being shown?

In “October Baby”, abortion is only part of the story line. Other themes are the joy of youth, parents being over-protective, forgiveness and the search for truth; and there is no bloodshed portrayed.

Since the movie was unavailable in a theater in our area, it will be seen at our church. If you are close by, come and bring a friend. The details of the showing follow. If you are at a distance, consider having it shown at your church and invite surrounding churches, as we have done. Only God knows how this movie can be used in the life of another.

As an example, I walked into church one Sunday morning and saw a new acquaintance. I greeted her with the overused question, “How was your week?’ She responded, “Wonderful. When I was much younger, I had an abortion. I’ve been carrying around guilt from it for years. This week I learned that God would forgive me.” I would have never guessed that she had such a burden.

“OCTOBER BABY”

Friday, April 26^th, 2013

7pm – 9:30pm

First Baptist Church of Windsor

Main Sanctuary

10285 Starr Road

Windsor, California 95492

It will be a fun night out providing a meaningful story, delicious snacks and good company. Counselors, prayer partners and information regarding local services will be available after the film.

SCRAPBOOKING

A visitor came out of our computer room laughing and, in disbelief, asking , “You scrapbook?” She had looked over pages in progress that I had laying on a craft table and had the same attitude as many. Scrapbooking is a silly, not serious pursuit. Not too long ago, I relegated it to the young, not yet out of high school. That is until my friend Beth talked me into going to a crop. It would be a first for both of us.

When we walked into the main room, we were blown away with amazement. It was bulging with women, each at a six foot table spilling over with albums, colorful paper, photos, special lights, computers, embellishments, adhesives and tools. Along side of the tables were piled pieces of luggage made especially for scrapbookers. Around the edges of the room were hung inspirational examples of finished pages. Outside, in the hall, retail suppliers were set up at tables.

Overwhelmed, we sat at our assigned tables. I had agreed to help Beth sort her photos to be put in albums. After working for awhile I took a break to walk around and see what other ladies were doing. I was struck by the creativity, uniqueness and skill of each lady. I came back to Beth and said, “I think that I can do an album of photos of my dog.” Later, immersed in my sorting task, I heard an announcement for a free class on organizing your photos. Now that was something I could use!

I had gone to a similar class at the local junior college but after hearing some of the guilt laden, horror stories of the other women I came home thinking that my stacks of photos were nothing to worry about. After all, I didn’t have, as one lady confessed, a screened porch filled with large, black, garbage bags of photos; but my photos were taking up space that I could put to better use. The crop class offered a simple solution. I bought the materials to implement it and went home confident in the plan. In one day I had my photos under control.

I don’t know when, but sometime while putting the photos into categories, I was bitten by the scrapbooking bug; and by the time the next crop rolled around I was ready to do pages, and they were not of my dog.

Scrapbooking gives me a creative outlet. The creative nature of God is one of the first things we learn about Him from the Bible. And being created in God’s image, it is part of our nature and needs to be expressed in some fashion.

Scrapbooking helps me preserve family memories and traditions. Many times when we would stop by to visit my father-in-law in his later years, we would find him going through photo albums. I want to be able to do this and I want this for our children and grand children, so much so that for Christmas each year I give each of our children scrap book pages of the past year’s family photos.

On our 50^th anniversary our family turned the tables on me and my husband. They gave us a photo album. In it each person had created a page with their photo and their testimony of their relationship to God and what family meant to them. Even the young ones had a page. What a treasure!

So, know that this weekend I’ll be at our next crop. Its announcement follows in case you would like to join us. Get rid of your stacks of photos, create permanent memories and make new friends.

Do you need to scrap???

Or maybe make some cards???

Or… just need some time to get organized???

Join us at the next

Scrapbook Fundraiser Crop at Windsor Christian Academy.

April 19th & 20th

When: Friday, April 19th 5:00pm – 12:00am

Saturday, April 20th 9:00am – 9:00pm

Where: Windsor Christian Academy
10285 Starr Rd., Windsor

Price: $40.00 per person for both days

Includes:

1. 6’ table space for your scrapbooking/craft project
2. Catered Saturday dinner, snacks, coffee & tea
3. Free classes on Saturday
4. Access to “tool table” workstation for you to use
5. Expert advice and supplies for sale on-site

Additional Information:
* Bring your own lunch
*Additional beverages and snacks available to purchase
*Raffle tickets available for $.50/each or 3 for $1.00 for prizes throughout the day.
*All crafters welcome!

You can sign up at the WCA School office

or

mail us a check, payable to “WCA”.

Greta McDowell

532 Poplar Way

Windsor, CA 95492

Thank you for your support!

Mark & Greta McDowell

SEEING THE SIN BUT LOVING THE SINNER

In my last post, I wrote that I would share on a controversial subject on which I was going to take a firm stand. That will have to wait.

It now seems more important to reply to a comment made by Gayle after the first post.

Gayle, I’ve thought a lot about your questions. I’ll answer the last question first. How do we protect the church from gradual acceptance of sexual sin?

1. Our pastors and teachers must fearlessly teach what the Bible says concerning sexual sin.

2. Local church leaders must confront those members who are known to be ensnared by sexual sin.

3. If you know of someone, who claims to be a Christian, who is tempted or has fallen prey to sexual sin, begin to pray for that person’s spiritual well being. Pray for God to give you an opportunity to graciously share Scripture that warns against sexual sin. Pray also for perfect timing, tone and tact. Then leave the results with God and give Him time to work. If the offender begins to avoid you, it does not mean that God is not at work.

The answer to your second question, “How do we love our brothers and sisters in Christ who are practicing sexual sin,” is more detailed. I’ll draw from two teachings that I received recently. They were both on Mark 2:1-12; but each had a different application.

The first taught on God’s plan for each of us to be a missionary to those around us. The second told of four friends who brought a paralyzed man to Jesus; and because of the faith of the friends, the paralyzed man was healed spiritually. Both of these teachings gave practical ways of loving a brother or sister who is too paralyzed by sexual sin to help themselves.

As a missionary, we are to show concern for individuals. Talk to them. Find out what is going on in their lives. We are to show compassion, knowing that fear, shame, disgrace, discouragement, anxiety, abandonment and negative consequences are some of the fruits of sin. We must have a strong conviction that God is the only one that can heal the sinner.

Be courageous. Don’t stop loving. Be realistic. Loving at times can be a challenge and there will probably be a cost to you. But this is what Christ has done and continues to do for each of us.

As a friend, we are to bring to Jesus in prayer those whom we see being tempted by sexual sin. If possible, other friends can join us; but we have to be cautious in this area. We never want to spread gossip while enlisting the help of others.

I have experienced personally how frustrating it can be to receive the above teaching. At times, my comment to God has been, “I can’t do it!” But God has shown me that, in His power, I can do it; but I don’t want to. Withholding love is my way of punishing the offender.

I heard recently a shocking truth. Being angry with someone, or withholding forgiveness, is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Remember that forgiving someone is not a feeling. It is an action verb which you practice every time the offense pops into your mind. Forgiving is not bringing the offense into a new situation but doing what God would see as best for all involved.

Gayle, your questions made me realize that there was a request I did not have on my prayer list. “Keep church leadership from falling prey to sexual temptation.” I do now.

MOVING ON OVER

It was mid-morning and I was driving on the freeway to a town thirty minutes away. The traffic was sparse; so I was enjoying the view of vineyards, blue sky with humongous clouds and newly greened hills. I wasn’t in a hurry. I had plenty of time to make my meeting.

Suddenly I looked to my left and a car was upon me, moving dangerously close. I glanced at the driver. She was staring straight ahead, oblivious of my presence. As I moved to the right, synchronized with the car moving into my lane, I remember thinking, “I hope no one is in the on-ramp lane.” I had no time to check.

Free and clear of anyone in my new lane, I again checked the offending car. It sped-up, the driver still staring straight ahead. What was that woman thinking? How could she be so unaware of my car?

I was surprised by my emotions. I was more flabbergasted than upset or charged with adrenalin. Perhaps it was that I had covered my trip in prayer earlier in the ride, asking for alertness, defensive driving and a wall of protection to surround me.

When I returned home I told my husband of the incident. His only comment was, “Did you honk your horn?” I replied with consternation, “There was no time. There was only six inches between cars!” I have ridden with him enough to know what he would have done – laid on the horn and gas pedal and stuck to his lane.

Thinking about the incident later, I wondered if each of us responds to someone unexpectedly moving into our territory (our set way of life, be it job, ministry or activity) as we would a car unexpectedly moving into our lane of traffic. Do we honk our horn, remain in our lane no matter what, or speed up yelling, “You can’t catch me.” Or do we move over as best we can?

As one gets older, there seems to be more times when one is faced with this kind of life situation. Frustration builds, especially if the the invader seems to be unaware of what is happening.

With this in mind, I realized that I move over a lot more than I used to; but most often I pray before responding. It prevents unwanted strife for others and myself.

For me the next generation has taken over hosting family traditions. That’s a good thing. They also do the set-up and clean-up after meals together. Another good thing. Younger ones now do ministry that once was my God-given assignment. That has been difficult to accept. I moved my bedroom downstairs because of well-meaning, friend and family pressure. After months of restless nights, I reclaimed my lane and moved quietly, but permanently, back upstairs.

I’m not giving-up or giving-in, just adjusting. But last month an incident happened that has caused me to be determined to honk my horn and remain in my lane. To move quietly over would cause too many casualties.

I’ll tell you about it in the next post.

One thing I will continue to do , the Lord willing, is cook three meals a day and for special occasions. My husband Len won’t let me stop. I have been cooking since I was nine years old. A few years back I did catering with a partner for three years. We made a promise that the business would never interfere with our relationship with God or our families. Well, it came to a point when we were so busy that our promise was threatened; so we quit.

My partner was good at California Cuisine and I did comfort food. So you will be surprised when you don’t find cheese or butter in the recipe that I’m passing along. It also meets two of my recipe criteria. It tastes good and is easy to make.

Golden Artichoke – Chicken Bake

1 can condensed golden mushroom soup

¾ cup fire-roasted green salsa

¼ teaspoon cumin

4 boneless chicken breast halves

1 can Fanci Food Quartered Artichoke Hearts, drained

½ cup sliced black olives, drained

In mixing bowl, combine soup, salsa and cumin; set aside. Arrange chicken in 9 x 9 inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Place artichoke hearts around chicken. Pour soup mixture over top and sprinkle with olives. Bake 25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in the center. Serves 4.

Taken from Fanci Food Quartered Artichoke Hearts label

THE IMAGINARY WHEELBARROW

This week at Bible study Leslie, the adult daughter of the Women’s Ministry leader, shared how she dealt with difficult to understand Scriptural concepts. She puts them in an imaginary wheelbarrow and pushes it around collecting more. Once in awhile two or more concepts stick together to bring greater understanding to each.

This week, because her input from our study on experiencing the joy of Jesus from the book Experiencing the Heart of Jesus by Max Lucado, two items popped out of her wheelbarrow. They were the phrase “eternal perspective” and the concept of having joy through suffering.

We are blessed with many tools to help us understand the Bible – various translations of the Bible, concordances, commentaries, etc. For me, one who loves to solve the challenge of a mystery, all of these are fun to use; but I have found that some enigmas are best put away for a time so that they don’t become stumbling blocks to what Bible study is all about, getting to know Jesus. It’s a matter of trust, trusting that the Holy Spirit will do His job as promised. (John 14:26)

How about you? What in the Bible is a puzzle to you? For a long time, I was irritated by a phrase that my teacher kept using, “God’s economy.” What is that? I didn’t have to use a wheelbarrow this time. I finally looked up “economy” in the dictionary. Such an easy solution! God’s economy is the orderly arrangement or management of His kingdom.

Enjoy doing your Bible study this week. You are doing one, aren’t you?

ADDENDUM

Last night I prepared this post and this morning I sat down to do my daily Bible study before sending it off. I was on the next to last page of today’s study and read this, “God’s economy is upside down (or right-side up and ours is upside down!). God says that the more hopeless your circumstance, the more likely your salvation. The greater your cares, the more genuine your prayers.” (p. 148)

I calculated that it has been about forty years since I have heard or seen that phrase. What are the odds that it would show up now? I take it as an encouragement from God that I am right where He wants me to be in my Bible study and in writing the blog. It feels good.

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

The principal is our son Tad Theiss who oversees grades K – 8^th at Windsor Christian Academy. In his message, from the school’s weekly newsletter, Tad mentions his son Tallen who is nine years old. I’m using this as my first post because it is timely and expresses well one of my concerns. I’ll end the post with my comments.

Shortly before the Super Bowl half-time, Tallen came in from playing outside to ask me when I would be coming out to play catch. His timing was such that he came in during the Calvin Klein underwear commercial. His only comment, “That’s awkward.” Then , after playing some football during half-time, we came in a bit too early and saw the tail end of the half-time show. Tallen’s only comment when he saw the scantily clad performers, “Awkward.” Actually, more derogatorily descriptive words were going through my mind. I guess I should be happy that Tallen did not see the Go Daddy extended kissing commercial. Now that was awkward!

Christian parents have their job cut out for them when it comes to battling against the sexual licentiousness of our culture. Boys grow up drawn to sexual pornography. Girls grow up thinking it is okay to dress seductively, and that it might even be to their advantage to do so. We need to be praying for our children and teaching them God’s perspective on sexuality. If we don’t do this, only the culture’s blaring message will be heard by our children.

I Corinthians 6:18-20

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

When I became sensitive to our declining culture, I began reading in my areas of concern. Most of them referred back to the origins of the decline as being the results of a revolution that began in our country in the 60’s. I was asking myself questions like, “What revolution? Where was I? How did this slip by me? What was I doing?” Oh yeah, I was encouraging my husband in his career, training up our children and going back to college to finish my education. Finally I looked up the revolution on Wikipedia.com. It is the sexual revolution. It’s interesting how far reaching the results of it are. Check it out and let’s hear some chatter. It is not too late to turn our culture around, if you are so inclined.