Freeman Memorial United Methodist Church

Home Calendar Daily Devotional Newsletter Links	March 2011
Open Hearts \| Open Minds \| Open Doors \| Issue No. 2
FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK Wednesday, March 9, marks the beginning of the Lenten season. This is a very holy season and is a time for each of us to reflect upon our lives and our relationship with our Lord. It is a time for us to examine our spiritual life and a time of repentance. As we look, we all can see things that might hinder a closer walk with the Lord. The season of spring is almost here! This is a time when many of us do our “spring cleaning”. Perhaps, this is also a good time for us to do some “spiritual cleaning”. Examine your spiritual relationship with the Lord and if it’s not what it should be, then resolve to do something about it. Make this a meaningful time in your life and see what a difference it can make. We will again be receiving our Lenten offering during this time. Please collect your change etc, and present it at the altar on Palm Sunday. The money collected will be used for mission projects. Have a wonderful and glorious Lenten season.	NOTE FROM THE EDITOR A new command I give you; love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another. John; 13: 34. God’s love is an unconditional love. his command for us to love one another, why should this be difficult? I would like for all of us to start showing that love. We need to look for the good in people we meet . You might just be the one to bring that out of a person. I believe God puts people in our path for a reason. I'm sure it has happened to some of you. Greet each person you meet with a smile let them see Christ in you. in other words let your little light shine. To paraphrase what Jesus said, “go and do thou likewise” BIBLE STUDY We would like to invite each of you to attend our Bible Study each Sunday afternoon. We are currently studying the Book of Daniel and meet at 4:00 in the fellowship hall. LAITY SUNDAY Sunday March 6, at 3:00, there is to be a gathering of laity at the Cornerstone UMC. Rev. Jamie Jenkins (Assistant to the Bishop) will be preaching. Following the service our Lay Leaders (local and Certified) will be recognized and presented their certificates. We hope that you can attend.
MARCH THE MONTH OF CHANGE March can be very cold [remember the snow storm of 1993], or it may be warm and remind us that spring will soon be here. Cold and windy days, warm and sunny days — it doesn’t stay the same. Weather isn’t the only thing that doesn’t stay the same. There are many changes in our lives and we adjust as best we can. It isn’t always easy. Small petty changes bother us. I get upset when they move things around in the grocery store. Last week, I found the canned tomatoes on aisle 4. They are now on aisle 6. Why can’t they leave things as they were? Don’t like it that a pound of coffee no longer exists? Half gallon of ice cream — gone. Sick of computers instead of a real, live person answering your calls? Frustrating, isn’t it? seems there’s nothing to do but accept these changes-however grudgingly. What about changes in our personal lives? We don’t stay the same . Supposedly we mature in our thinking, our understanding, our actions. [however, I like the commercial that says I may grow old, but I'll never grow up.] Do we change in our spiritual life? Do we still think like children, act like children? Have we changed in our relationship to God? Do we rely on His promises which are always the same-no change there! Do we truly believe in His holy word? Do we pray with certainty that He hears, cares , and answers our prayers? If not, I earnestly beseech you to change today. Accept Him as your Lord and savior and lean on His everlasting arms. Make this most important change now. He does hear our prayers, He does answer our prayers, but not always in the way we think He should. But His answers are always right. God never changes. He's the same today and always. But for us, changing does not come easily. It takes an act of will for us to make a change. It means breaking old habits. It means admitting that we were wrong. It means starting all over again, and this is always painful. It means saying I'm sorry. These things are terribly hard to do. But unless we change, we will be trapped forever in yesterday’s ways. Lord, help us to change from callousness to sensitivity, from hostility to love, from pettiness	to purpose, from envy to contentment, from carelessness to discipline, from fear to faith. He welcomes hearing from you. If you don’t currently talk to Him on a regular basis, now is a good time for you to change. Come home. He's waiting with open arms. A SPECIAL THANK YOU Thank you, Linda, for this very inspiring article. We really appreciate your sharing this with us. Also, thanks for the Bible puzzle. It is a real stumper! BIBLE QUESTION They took my garments from me and placed them on my son. He was to take my place, and I was not to enter the promised land. Who am I and what was my son's name? PRAYER REQUEST Our prayer request is for the following. Edna Neill, Randy Kittle, Wanda and Danny Singleton, Nancy Norman, Linda Hyder, Ashley Desjardin and Benny Hayes. Please keep these folks in your prayers. MARCH BIRTHDAYS Christy Murphy 3 Douglas Barber 20 Dora Hayes 8 Wanda Singleton 22 Belvie Mckoon 6 James Norman 24 Jim Hearn 6 Harold Barber 25
JOKE OF THE MONTH A new pastor was visiting the homes of his parishioners. At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door. Therefore, he took out a card and wrote "Revelation 3:20" on the back of it and stuck it in the door. When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned. Added to it was this cryptic message, Genesis 3:10." Reaching for his Bible to check out the citation, he broke up in gales of laughter. Revelation 3:20 begins "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." Genesis 3:10 reads, "I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid, for I was naked." RECIPE OF THE MONTH Chicken and Rice (and/or) Pork Chops and Rice Serves up to 4 hungry folks Preheat oven to 375° f (350° f for some ovens)* Smear a generous portion of butter in (Max.) 11" x 15" Corning ware dish, bottom and sides Add 1 Cup of Uncooked rice evenly on top of buttered dish Add 1¼(Max) Cup of water (may substitute chicken broth when cooking chicken) Mix 1 (10.5oz) can of Cream of Celery and 1 (10.5oz) can Cream of Mushroom (may substitute Cream of Chicken for one of the soups when cooking with chicken)	Pour mixture over rice and water evenly; save a little to spread over meat, later Lightly sprinkle garlic salt and seasoning salt over selected meat; use other spices if desired (experiment at will) Place meat in your dish and spread remaining creamed mixture over the top. Add about a cup of chopped onion over meat (if desired) Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1½ hours (boned in chicken may take just a little longer) Yield: Depending on dish and meat size, 4 to 6 pieces of chicken and up to 4 pork chops on average*May experiment with Temp. settings, pan sizes, spices, and even other meats like lamb. Serve with choice of vegetables cornbread and sweat ice tea. Have fun and enjoy! CAN YOU FIND THE SIXTEEN BOOKS OF THE BIBLE? I once made a remark about the hidden books of the Bible. It was a lulu, kept the people looking so hard for facts, and for others it was a revelation. Some were in a jam, especially since the names of the books were not capitalized. But the truth finally struck home to numbers of readers. To others, it was a real job. We want it to be a most fascinating few moments for you. Yes, there will be some really easy ones to spot. Others may require judges to help them. I will quickly admit that it usually takes a minister to find one of them, and there will be loud lamentations when it is found. A little lady says she brews a cup of tea, so that she can concentrate better. See how well you can compete. Relax now, for there really are sixteen names of books in the Bible in this story.

Heavenly News

March
2011

Open Hearts | Open Minds | Open Doors | Issue No. 2

FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK

Wednesday, March 9, marks the beginning of the Lenten season. This is a very holy season and is a time for each of us to reflect upon our lives and our relationship with our Lord. It is a time for us to examine our spiritual life and a time of repentance. As we look, we all can see things that might hinder a closer walk with the Lord. The season of spring is almost here! This is a time when many of us do our “spring cleaning”. Perhaps, this is also a good time for us to do some “spiritual cleaning”. Examine your spiritual relationship with the Lord and if it’s not what it should be, then resolve to do something about it. Make this a meaningful time in your life and see what a difference it can make. We will again be receiving our Lenten offering during this time. Please collect your change etc, and present it at the altar on Palm Sunday. The money collected will be used for mission projects. Have a wonderful and glorious Lenten season.

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

A new command I give you; love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another. John; 13: 34. God’s love is an unconditional love. his command for us to love one another, why should this be difficult? I would like for all of us to start showing that love. We need to look for the good in people we meet . You might just be the one to bring that out of a person. I believe God puts people in our path for a reason. I'm sure it has happened to some of you. Greet each person you meet with a smile let them see Christ in you. in other words let your little light shine. To paraphrase what Jesus said, “go and do thou likewise”

BIBLE STUDY

We would like to invite each of you to attend our Bible Study each Sunday afternoon.
We are currently studying the Book of Daniel and meet at 4:00 in the fellowship hall.

LAITY SUNDAY

Sunday March 6, at 3:00, there is to be a gathering of laity at the Cornerstone UMC.
Rev. Jamie Jenkins (Assistant to the Bishop) will be preaching. Following the service our Lay Leaders (local and Certified) will be recognized and presented their certificates.
We hope that you can attend.

MARCH THE MONTH OF CHANGE

March can be very cold [remember the snow storm of 1993], or it may be warm and remind us that spring will soon be here. Cold and windy days, warm and sunny days — it doesn’t stay the same. Weather isn’t the only thing that doesn’t stay the same. There are many changes in our lives and we adjust as best we can. It isn’t always easy. Small petty changes bother us. I get upset when they move things around in the grocery store. Last week, I found the canned tomatoes on aisle 4. They are now on aisle 6. Why can’t they leave things as they were? Don’t like it that a pound of coffee no longer exists? Half gallon of ice cream — gone. Sick of computers instead of a real, live person answering your calls? Frustrating, isn’t it? seems there’s nothing to do but accept these changes-however grudgingly. What about changes in our personal lives? We don’t stay the same . Supposedly we mature in our thinking, our understanding, our actions. [however, I like the commercial that says I may grow old, but I'll never grow up.] Do we change in our spiritual life? Do we still think like children, act like children? Have we changed in our relationship to God? Do we rely on His promises which are always the same-no change there! Do we truly believe in His holy word? Do we pray with certainty that He hears, cares , and answers our prayers? If not, I earnestly beseech you to change today. Accept Him as your Lord and savior and lean on His everlasting arms. Make this most important change now. He does hear our prayers, He does answer our prayers, but not always in the way we think He should. But His answers are always right. God never changes. He's the same today and always. But for us, changing does not come easily. It takes an act of will for us to make a change. It means breaking old habits. It means admitting that we were wrong. It means starting all over again, and this is always painful. It means saying I'm sorry. These things are terribly hard to do. But unless we change, we will be trapped forever in yesterday’s ways. Lord, help us to change from callousness to sensitivity, from hostility to love, from pettiness

to purpose, from envy to contentment, from carelessness to discipline, from fear to faith. He welcomes hearing from you. If you don’t currently talk to Him on a regular basis, now is a good time for you to change. Come home. He's waiting with open arms.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU

Thank you, Linda, for this very inspiring article. We really appreciate your sharing this with us. Also, thanks for the Bible puzzle. It is a real stumper!

BIBLE QUESTION

They took my garments from me and placed them on my son. He was to take my place, and I was not to enter the promised land. Who am I and what was my son's name?

PRAYER REQUEST

Our prayer request is for the following. Edna Neill, Randy Kittle, Wanda and Danny Singleton, Nancy Norman, Linda Hyder, Ashley Desjardin and Benny Hayes. Please keep these folks in your prayers.

MARCH BIRTHDAYS

Christy Murphy 3      Douglas Barber 20
Dora Hayes       8      Wanda Singleton 22
Belvie Mckoon 6      James Norman   24
Jim Hearn          6       Harold Barber   25

Arm Leg

JOKE OF THE MONTH

A new pastor was visiting the homes of his parishioners. At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door. Therefore, he took out a card and wrote "Revelation 3:20" on the back of it and stuck it in the door. When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned. Added to it was this cryptic message, Genesis 3:10." Reaching for his Bible to check out the citation, he broke up in gales of laughter. Revelation 3:20 begins "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." Genesis 3:10 reads, "I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid, for I was naked."

RECIPE OF THE MONTH

Chicken and Rice (and/or)
Pork Chops and Rice

Serves up to 4 hungry folks
Preheat oven to 375° f (350° f for some ovens)*
Smear a generous portion of butter in (Max.) 11" x 15" Corning ware dish, bottom and sides
Add 1 Cup of Uncooked rice evenly on top of buttered dish
Add 1¼(Max) Cup of water (may substitute chicken broth when cooking chicken)
Mix 1 (10.5oz) can of Cream of Celery and 1 (10.5oz) can Cream of Mushroom (may substitute Cream of Chicken for one of the soups when cooking with chicken)

Pour mixture over rice and water evenly; save a little to spread over meat, later
Lightly sprinkle garlic salt and seasoning salt over selected meat; use other spices if desired (experiment at will)
Place meat in your dish and spread remaining creamed mixture over the top.
Add about a cup of chopped onion over meat (if desired)
Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1½ hours (boned in chicken may take just a little longer)

Yield: Depending on dish and meat size, 4 to 6 pieces of chicken and up to 4 pork chops on average*May experiment with Temp. settings, pan sizes, spices, and even other meats like lamb. Serve with choice of vegetables cornbread and sweat ice tea. Have fun and enjoy!

CAN YOU FIND THE SIXTEEN BOOKS OF THE BIBLE?

I once made a remark about the hidden books of the Bible. It was a lulu, kept the people looking so hard for facts, and for others it was a revelation. Some were in a jam, especially since the names of the books were not capitalized. But the truth finally struck home to numbers of readers. To others, it was a real job. We want it to be a most fascinating few moments for you. Yes, there will be some really easy ones to spot. Others may require judges to help them. I will quickly admit that it usually takes a minister to find one of them, and there will be loud lamentations when it is found. A little lady says she brews a cup of tea, so that she can concentrate better. See how well you can compete. Relax now, for there really are sixteen names of books in the Bible in this story.

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