Eggs with a Side of Truth

Breakfast food is my favorite food. I like eggs but I love bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and hashbrowns. I can eat breakfast food at any meal and be very happy. With my beard, any meal can turn that beard into an unintentional food storage device. Many of you have probably heard the expression “egg on your face”, as much as I like breakfast food I also like to look up the origins of phrases like that. This one doesn’t have a clear origin but having egg on my face has clear ties to a childhood insecurity I have often felt and sometimes relive today. I have never felt like I can trust people who will literally or figuratively let me walk around with egg on my face. If there is something obvious I can do to make people’s experience of me more pleasant then I would want to do that and those people who have shown to be my friends in life have been the ones who love me enough to tell me I have something I need to wipe away, I have something I am blind to that I need to correct. When I read Ephesians 4:25 it makes me think of what a true friend or good community should be like. 

Ephesians 4:25 (ESV) says “ Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” This verse highlights that we are connected with each other and that one of the best ways to live that out is to speak truthfully with one another. I am sure not many of us would think about lying directly or intentionally to one another. However, on the other side of every sin of doing something to someone, there is the other side where we do not do what we should do for someone. The verse doesn’t just say not to lie but to “speak truth” to one another. 

When I was working at Miracle Camp, my previous ministry before GCC, I was exposed to a list of communication rules that made me feel as free as I ever had and squashed the insecurity in me that people were letting me walk around with egg on my face. I want to highlight the key to this free and unifying communication. As much as it hurts at times, hearing the truth from a friend is so freeing because you know you have somebody watching your back (and your face) for things you can’t see about yourself. Trust starts to happen at a deep and ever-deepening level. 

Here they are with short explanations:

Candid and Authentic Communication- Say what you want to say and say it in your own words. Talk about things when they are small and can be candid before they need a meeting.

No Triangulation- Talk with someone directly, don’t talk to someone else hoping that things will get back to the person you should talk to. They will get back to them but it will foster bitterness and not trust. 

Speak for Yourself- The theoretical “they” that don’t like something should never be referenced. “They” may have something to say but “they” don’t matter. 

Bring a Solution with Your Issue- This is very akin to “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes.” When trying to bring a solution (and “do better” doesn’t count) you have to consider the resources and circumstances a person is working under. Maybe they haven’t thought of a solution on their own because their situation is a hard one. This exercise shows love and compassion. It builds that membership in one another's lives Ephesians talks about.

Confront Issues within 48hrs- Deal with things fresh, this helps guard against triangulation, judgement of others and keeps things small. The tagline is “no hands from the grave” and that means that if you don’t make it a point to talk about something with someone quickly then you give up your right to talk to them. 

A family of people who tell the truth to each other in these ways will be unbreakable and will have so much joy and security in each other. These are all framed in the negative about issues but following this same model for praise, encouragement, and thanks is even more powerful. 


Will Regier

PHOENIX

I was watching a show sometime back called “Flight of The Phoenix”. It was a pretty good movie and it got me thinking about life. In this movie there is a group of oil rig workers who are being flown out of a job site they were on in the middle of the desert and their plane crashes. They spend part of the movie waiting for their company to send out a search and rescue party but finally they realize that it is not coming and they build a plane out of the remaining parts of their crashed plane. It is a really far-fetched story but there is a definite correlation between that story and our lives.

As a result of our nature that we are born into, we are destined to wreck and then have to figure out what we are going to do.  There are a few options we have as a result of the wreck. The first is to do nothing but just go along with the flow and hope for the best. Second, we can make a plan and then try to create something with which to save ourselves.  

The Third is really the only choice that will work and that is dependent on someone else to rescue us.  We are all living a life that has been wrecked, whether we know it or not and desperately need someone to help us rise out of the ashes. (The meaning of the word Phoenix in case you didn’t know)  This is literally what Jesus does for us.  We are all destined to go to hell after we finish our journey here on earth and there is nothing that “We” can do about it, but Jesus can raise us out of those flames and ashes.  In fact He desires to do that.  Acts 4:12 says, “And there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name (Jesus) under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  This tells us that we cannot depend on ourselves or others to bring us out of the ashes but only Jesus Christ.  We are reminded of this in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

I have a few questions for you whether you have or have not made a decision to follow Jesus.  Are you willing to let Jesus pull you out of the ashes?  Do you truly desire to be a Phoenix or are you content with where you are, whether it is trying to rescue yourself or just acting like you are allowing Jesus to raise you?  

It’s time to trust Jesus completely, and let Him make you a Phoenix. 

BXFC

(Be Xtreme For Christ)

Pastor Sean


Living, Breathing, Working, Word

I love that the Bible is a living document. There are so many new details that I catch every time I read it or new ways of understanding what I just read. This time, in second Chronicles two, the building of the temple by King Solomon is described.  Usually when I read about the building of the temple, I notice the splendor of it.  All of the gold that is used.  It seems like almost every item is laid in gold.  I also have thought through how ginormous the temple was and how as you go deeper and deeper into the inner chambers, how much holier it was to be. What I hadn’t taken in before was the amount of  labor put into it.  I was blown away this time as I read 2 Chronicles 2:2 “And Solomon assigned 70,000 men to bear burdens and 80,000 to quarry in the hill country, and 3,600 to oversee them.”

Okay.  That is 153,600 workers.  And in 1 Kings 5:13-14, there are possibly 30,000 more people put to work on a rotating basis.

 153,600 people? Do you realize how many people that is? The population of Newton is about 18,500 people. Think of all the people you see in Newton. Think of all the kids in the elementary schools. Picture all of the people you see at Walmart, at Dillons, at the restaurants, at the parks in the summer, all of the sports teams at the rec center and at Athletic park.  I could go on and on. There were almost 8 times as many people building the Temple during Solomon’s rule then there are in the whole city of Newton Kansas. 8 times! Wowza!

In thinking of how many people that is, that will make this next verse I’m about to mention even more awesome.

1 Kings 6:7 “No hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built, the rocks were quarried and prepared offsite.”

Can you imagine?  153,600 people working, and it might not have even sounded like a work site?  They treated the place as holy even as it was being built.  

2 Chronicles 2:5 “The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods.”

I am amazed more and more every time I read about it.  Even as majestic as this building was and as holy as it was treated, God is worth even more.  I am in awe.  This brings to mind Colossians 3:23 which states, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters”  I cannot physically match the dedication that King Solomon gave to God in the building of the temple. I don’t know if my mention of this will spur anyone else to do better, but this personally challenges me to give more to God in my own work.   

Praise His Holy Name!

Amy


All sufficient Merit

Merit: A person’s qualities, actions, etc. regarded as indicating what the person deserves to receive.

“Composers of outstanding merit”

Sufficient: enough; adequate.

“They had sufficient resources to survive”

Our newest song “All sufficient Merit” is all about Christ accomplishing what we could never accomplish.  The opening lines state, “All sufficient merit shining like the sun. A fortune I inherit, by no work I have done.”    In Galatians 3:18 Paul says, “For if the inheritance is based on the law, it is no longer based on the promise”.  Our inheritance, eternal life with God, is not based on our obedience to the law, because none of us are able to obey the law. As the song says, the law could never save us.  The law came to point us to the sacrifice of Jesus!  In Galatians 2:16, Paul says, “This was so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified”.

Our inheritance is based on Christ’s all sufficient merit applied to us when we repent and turn to Christ in faith!  His sacrifice is sufficient, the debt is paid in full!  Now there is no more fear of judgement because Christ’s righteousness has been applied to us!

So we don’t boast in anything we do, because all of our good works are stained with sin, instead we boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus, as Paul says in Galatians 6:14. 

As we sing this new song, I pray we will be reminded of what we deserve, and yet through Jesus, the incredible inheritance we will receive.  I pray it will keep us from ever boasting in our own works, and will help us to boast more and more in Jesus – His righteousness, His merit, His perfect sacrifice, His salvation!

Here’s a link so you can be singing it home before we come together to sing it Sunday morning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFwC9v9NYQM

 

See you Sunday!

Pastor Kyle

Count Your Many Blessings...

Reflecting on last year’s blessings is always a worthwhile practice. It produces gratitude in the heart and perspective in the mind. This is one of the many benefits to journaling. Writing about priorities (mine include my spiritual and physical health) and concerns reminds me of how God graciously carries me through life.

Doing this at Grace is also rewarding. I am reminded of the many brothers and sisters I have that continue to sacrificially give and serve here in our church.

To you, I joyfully say “thank you!” Thank you for your commitment to building God’s Kingdom, sharing in God’s generosity, and investing in Grace Community Church.

The year 2023 had a number of highlights that reflect your sacrifice and ministry:

  • 13 people were baptized.

  • 302 people signed up to serve during our Big Serve event at 26 locations.

  • 110 individuals volunteer on Sunday morning to serve our 6th grade and under (SS and Nursery).

  • 53 adults serve the younger generations in AWANA.

  • 56 students serve our church through Route 56.

  • 76 people volunteered for Summer Quest.

  • We gave $111,439.11 to local and global missions!

  • We now have $51,394.80 set aside for church planting.

  • We also gave away $18,944.88 through benevolence.

By the way, our benevolence fund continues to serve people in our community through financial assistance and caring for individual families. YOU are making this possible through your generosity, and how cool is it that we are able to do this together?

We have so much to be grateful for. Brother or sister, I love you and am honored to be one of your pastors at Grace. May you rest in knowing that our heavenly Father will continue to supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jack

Tools

What did you do during your Christmas break?  Celebrate Jesus? Relax? Spend time with family? Eat a lot of food? All of the above? Well of course we did the same. However, my wife Jillian and I just so happened to buy a house a week before Christmas break so we might have done a liiiittle more working than relaxing. On account of the current real estate market, my wife being a private christian school teacher and me being in ministry, we bought a good ole HGTV Fixer upper. Then proceeded to put on our best Chip and Joanna Gaines britches and make that thing look good as new *wink* *Sparkle.* 

In the process we ended up fully refinishing the original hardwood floors throughout the house, pulled off all the baseboards, redid some sheetrock, replaced two sinks, fixed(and are still fixing) garage doors, painted every single wall, repaired and painted the base boards and then put them back on, updated light fixtures, replaced locks and doorknobs and I think that's it. But as many of you know, that was just to get us in the house. Now we can continue to do many more house projects as we live in it along the way. 

Admittedly, as we were working on some of the bigger projects I thought to myself “is this even worth it?” “This is really hard work.” Several times I thought “I’m making this problem worse, I should just stop and let someone else do this.” But as we moved in we looked around and were extremely proud of the transforming results that were all around us. A sigh of relief and joy in accomplishment. 

Not to Jesus juke you but recently I have found myself -more often than I would like to admit-   in the same “is this even worth it” category but more so pertaining to my spiritual life. I get tired and worn out. I get distracted by the grass being greener on the other side. I get too focused on the immediate results of seeing life transformation happen before my eyes; and accidentally make results my god instead of truly dwelling with the only one that can cause life transformation in the first place. I think to myself  “I’m making my sin problem worse, I should just stop and let someone else do this.” 

Though fixing up our spiritual lives and fixing up our homes are two completely different things, the Lord has given me some practical parallels or realizations recently. For one, I need to use the right tools. There were several times in the fixing process of our home I either didn't want to make the burdensome trek ALL THE WAY to the garage to grab the right tool or I didn't have the right tool entirely. Then I ended up wasting my time on something that would have been resolved by just taking, what in reality is, a quick trip to the garage or going and buying the right tool at Ace. I sometimes have the same problem in my spiritual life where instead of just getting up and looking for the solutions to my sin in the greatest spiritual tool, the bible, I sit right where I am at struggling with the same issue while trying to muscle it myself. Why would I not take a trip into God’s word? Why would I not pick up the tool that God has designed specifically for this job of life? My flesh fails me. During this process there was a moment when redoing the floors that I truly believed I was making matters worse and ruining them more than I was fixing them and I wanted to just let someone else take over. I have the same moments in my spiritual life where I realize I truly am making things worse in my own life and I want to let someone else take over. Then DING, Holy Spirit light bulb. Every joy, every success, every life transformation, every greener pasture I have ever seen or experienced is because of our God! In those moments I do need to let someone else take over and it is our Savior.

I know the benefits of surrendering to our savior and spending time in the word. But my flesh fails me, and I stray away. I pray that you are in a season of strength and close devotion to the Lord. But if you are not, don’t worry, I hope you know you are not alone. The Lord has given us the right tools and has paid the righteous price so that we can live in devotion to him and community with him. 

The Tools

  • 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

  • 1 Peter 5:6-10  Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time,  casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.  Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.  Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world. The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little while. To him be dominion forever Amen.

Peace and blessings Grace

Bryant Hart 


Acts 2 and You

We are working hard to pass our faith on to our kids as I know any of you parents are. Some of you have adult kids and they have made their decisions either for our joy or for our heartache. In my reading lately, I read Acts 2, specifically Acts 2:14-28, and I was struck by a few phrases that made me think about how my kids think about Jesus now and how I want them to think about Him. Give that section or better yet the whole chapter a quick read.

My kids are young so things are very straightforward for them and I hope in some ways they never lose that. In Acts 2:24 (ESV) it says “God raised him (Jesus) up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” My son gets this statement as clear as day. Jesus is bigger and stronger than anything and He was too powerful for even death to hold him. My son gets that concept all day long. He understands the full gospel that Jesus died for his sins, and rose from the dead, and that he has to believe in that to live with Jesus forever. But in his kid mind one of the most important things is that Jesus would protect him from “bad guys” or that Jesus in general is out there in His strength stopping “bad guys” right and left like a holy superhero. We remind our son that we are all bad guys sometimes and that’s why Jesus came, to change bad guys into Jesus followers so that we can be covered over by Jesus’ goodness in God’s sight. Though I don’t think that 100% computes for my son I think he gets it in the basics. 

But as I look at Acts 2:28 (ESV) where it says “ You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.” I see that my kids still have a ways to go in the growth of their faith. This verse is a quote of Psalm 16 which is also well worth a read. This whole section in Acts is a record of a sermon the apostle Peter preached. I know that my kids still often get their “gladness” from toys or fun or praise from a job well done. They are still very early on in learning to find their full joy in Jesus their Lord. But in every judgment of another person we always need to turn the lens on ourselves, yes even when we correct or teach our kids…. Ugh… It is zero fun sometimes to make sure everything I am teaching my kids that I am also living out! 

When I start to then look at myself this is what comes out. Am I letting good or bad work circumstances change my gladness over God’s presence, am I even taking the time to pursue God Himself, am I being quiet enough to hear Him, and am I taking time to savor His presence? These are the questions that start rolling around in my heart. I both pass and fail regularly. As I consider a new year I do not make resolutions but I do try to set or reset my mindset. Is the simple but real presence of God enough to make me “full of gladness?” Not for it to just be something that I hope gets better this year but to exclaim that it is true? My hope is that for every day God’s presence is not enough to fill me with gladness that there are two days that it does. Aside from hope I am setting my mind in this new year not just to “try” but to commit to it being true that I am full of gladness with God’s presence. I want to daily remember that He is with me and that there is not a single thing better than that! We all hope that “things” go better for us in the new year but I am committing my mind to be set not on fixing any of those “things” but on the presence of God with me. I will work on “things” and then be fully aware that my savior is there with me when I do. God bless each of you first and foremost with His presence and your commitment to be glad in it this new year!

- Will Regier

Our Saviors Birth

As I get ready to celebrate the birth of our Savior, I am reminded of the lowly manger where Jesus lay. Do you ever think it would be amazing to go visit Israel and walk where Jesus walked and visit where Jesus was born? This fall our staff retreat included a trip to a Biblical antiquities museum.  They had many articles on display that they claimed to be first century and from the Israel area.  They even have a stone manger that they heard might have come from the Migdal Eder or the Tower of the Flock near Bethlehem where the shepherds would have prepared the lambs without blemish for the Temple sacrifices.  So to the curator, he would like to believe that baby Jesus might have even been laid in the actual manger that he has on display there at his museum.  These items were neat to see and to hear what their possible history might have been.  But why do we get so excited about seeing and touching things that Christ might have seen and touched?  Do these things and places change us somehow?  Is there some kind of blessing bestowed upon us?  What is the draw?  Over the centuries, we humans have even erected churches over the places where we believe Jesus events took place. Don’t get me wrong. I do often think it would be super exciting to visit Israel to see what Jesus would have seen while here on earth and to see the places I have studied in God’s Word.  And I do believe it is important to have these special places to remember the life of our Savior here on earth. But am I too much of a fan of these items? By placing so much worth on these items, am I worshiping them?  They are just items right?  They are not Jesus himself.  And while Jesus created these things, didn’t he also create the things in my backyard?  Isn’t all of nature created and sustained by our God? “Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.” John 1:3

All of creation praises the Creator.  These things that are spoken of in the Bible should be discovered, studied, and displayed so that we can keep proving the Word of God is true and in so doing, prove to skeptics that Jesus lived and is the Son of God.  But maybe I should keep my “fangirling” under control. I need to always remember that in seeing and studying these things from Jesus’ time, it is to always bring me closer to my God, not things.  In comparison, it is pretty exciting isn’t it then that this Creator of the universe, our King of kings and Lord or lords desires to be near us? 

He even made a way for us sinful broken people to be redeemed so that we can have eternal life with Him. I imagine that someday, when we are face to face with God, we will look back and think that our infatuation with the things Jesus touched was nothing compared to what we are experiencing. 

I will keep enjoying and studying Biblical artifacts, but only in worship of the One who made it all. I want to praise the one who was laid in the manger.  I want to get closer to the one the angels sang of.  This Christmas let’s praise HIM with all our might!

I want to wish all of our Grace family a Merry Christmas!  

Let all the earth rejoice!

Blessings,

Amy


Everybody Wants a Speaking Part

At our dress rehearsal for “What the Angels Heard on High” everyone wanted to go to heaven!  Let me explain… they wanted to climb up the ramp and stand up on the scaffolding which we used for our heaven scene.  And why wouldn’t they?  It looked awesome! (Shout out to Bo Tucker, Debby Graber, Amy Thompson, and Sean Gardiner for a great job!)  It was at least 6 feet higher than the stage itself.  I haven’t been a kid for many years, but even I thought it was awesome, and had a childlike excitement going up there!  So, I had to be the mean guy, and tell everyone to stay off the heaven scene, except of course for the kids who had speaking roles in the heaven scenes.  And then of course everyone wished that they had a speaking part so they could go up there.

            I’ve got a few analogies I want to share with you.  First, Heaven is going to be awesome!  If we really knew the glory of being fully in God’s presence all of us would have a child like desire and excitement about it.  In Philippians 1:21-24 Paul says, “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ – which is far better – but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.”  Being with Christ is FAR BETTER! (Check out Randy Alcorn’s book, “Heaven” or John Eldredge’s book “All Things New” for more about Heaven)

            My second analogy: we can’t simply go to heaven.  God isn’t mean; He is holy, and as sinners we can’t be in His presence.  Our sin against God keeps us from being with Him in heaven.  One of my newest memory verses is Isaiah 59:2, “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.”  Our sin has to be dealt with, and removed from us for us to be with God in heaven.  And that comes through saving faith in Jesus Christ and what He has done through His death and resurrection.  Only by being cleansed through the blood of Jesus can we experience the glory of His presence in Heaven!

            My final analogy: if you want to be in Heaven, someone has to tell you how you can get there.  Those kids needed to know that they had to have a speaking part in the play if they wanted to be in the heaven scene.  We need to tell others about Heaven and share with them that Jesus made a way for us to be there with Him in glory!

 

See you Sunday!

Pastor Kyle

 

Kyle’s Rightnow Media pick of the month

https://app.rightnowmedia.org/en/content/details/835672 Galatians with Michael Defazio

Temporary Halt in Communication

I’m standing at my desk and my phone rings; it’s Courtney. I can hear her breathing a little heavier than usual as she quickly begins with what sounds like an exciting story. 

Turns out, a fellow resident in our neighborhood accidentally knocked over our mailbox. We happen to know this guy (great neighbor in our area), and we know this could happen to any of us. So, all is well.

The downside is that we won’t get our mail until we have a mailbox; one that isn’t lying on the ground. And, per the usual when the unexpected happens, this made me think of my relationship with God.

Sometimes it may feel like we aren’t “getting our mail” from God. It’s like He’s not responding or sending us anything. However, it may just be that our metaphorical mailbox is down. The problem isn’t with the carrier. The problem is on our end. 

We aren’t receiving anything because we’re not positioned to.

I know that if I don’t set aside time to listen to God, I won’t hear Him. I think this is why Jesus had to get away from the disciples to a private place (see Mark 1:35). Even God in the flesh had to position Himself to spend time with the Father.

This is the season of Immanuel—God with us. But that doesn’t mean we will automatically sense His presence if we are too distracted with the noises and people around us. 

My prayer for my family and yours is that you will get in the right position to hear from Him. It’s always worth the effort.

I’m looking forward to the Christmas Program on Sunday. This is one story that never gets old!

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jack

Gospel Games

Anybody remember Bible drills? Everyone lines up at the front of the Sunday school class. Everyone in ready position, one hand on the bottom of their faux leather bible, the other on top. No fingers allowed on any of the sides, for chance of those sneaky cheaters pre peeling those crisp ivory pages open a millisecond too early. Moments before the passage was blurted out by the leader you could hear a pin drop it would get so quiet. Then BAM, “Hosea 1:10” is called out and everyone is off to the races. Frantically flipping through every page. Each individual tries to remember how far past Psalms, (the mathematical center of the bible) Hosea truly is. One lucky soul opens directly to the page directly before Hosea and only has to turn over one sheet before yelling out “GOT IT.” Everyone else lets out a defeated gasp, shoulders fall, eyes roll, and heads are thrown upwards as they cry out to the Lord for help on the next one. The champion then proceeds to read the correct verse and receives the coveted first pick of the assortment of candy the teacher brought that morning. I myself was on the lucky end of a few of those -open directly to the right page- moments. They were truly glorious!

But, why did we do this? To familiarize ourselves with scripture right? We know the importance of reading scripture and hearing from God’s word  and so it's a good way to have fun and familiarize ourselves with where passages are in the bible. 

I’m convinced we need some sort of game or activity like this for sharing the gospel. I’ve been increasingly more convicted over the last six months to grow in my ability, and just obedience, to share the gospel with others. Admittedly I need to get better at this. But I have also noticed that there is a decreasing number of christians, that when asked to, even know how to articulate the Gospel or the faith that they have in Jesus. We seemingly need a game or at least some practice to help us in this area as well. 

However, I feel as if we over complicate things and put too much pressure on ourselves. But that's just it, the success of our gospel conversations are not in how well we communicate it or how well practiced we are. But our success is truly just in the obedience of doing it. After all, who causes the life change? Who has the power to bring people from death to life? That is solely on God: We do not possess the power. The greatest gospel presentation is the one that happens. 

Are you sharing the good news, the gospel, with others? If so, Amen, keep going. If not, how do we start? Is it practice so you’re ready when the moment arises, or has the Lord laid someone on your mind right now that you just need to go tell? 

I’m grateful we attend a church that highly values sharing the Gospel. I pray you are too. We are the Church, Now let's go be the Church!

Peace and Blessings Church!

Bryant hart


Enjoy Your Birdie

Happy Thanksgiving!  Or, as a golfer might put it, “I hope you enjoy your ‘birdie’…however you might choose to fix it.”  Seriously, may the Lord give us many opportunities to savor, not only the turkey and gravy of the holiday, but his tender care and goodness as well as we share time with family and friends.

One day I was surprised to hear that the land our church building sits on was originally plotted for a golf course!  Nothing against golf (a sport I really enjoy!), but I can imagine the Lord smiling and saying to himself, “I’ve got a better plan for that land!”

When I joined the pastoral team at Grace in the fall of 1997, I relished hearing stories of how, under the leadership of our founding pastor, Dave Reimer, the Lord started this church in 1987 with a core group of 13 mostly retired folks who had a vision to plant a biblically grounded, culturally relevant, gospel-sharing church. When the Lord provided our current 12-acre plot of land back in 1990, our church facilities were on the fringes of Newton, and no one had any idea how the Newton community would grow up around our church campus.

Interestingly, one of those city development projects was the Sand Creek Station Golf Course just across Anderson Avenue from us.  As someone who jumps at the chance to play a round, I watched with great anticipation as the golf course was laid out and began to take shape.  I walked the fairways under construction and imagined what it would be like to actually tee off on this Jeffrey Brauer (a famous golf course architect) designed course when it was finished.  Honestly, I was pretty pumped that a nationally acclaimed public golf course was located right across the street from our church! And, I wondered how the Lord might use our proximity to connect golf with his kingdom work.

The Lord began opening doors right away.  Wanting to build connections and eventual bridges for the gospel, when Sand Creek Station opened in 2006, we as a church happily let golf tournament patrons and spectators use our parking lot, and we also lent Sand Creek Station our tables and folding chairs for their golfing events.  Chris Tuohey, Kemper Sports’ Regional manager and head of the Sand Creek team, has valued that connection been eager to maintain a relationship with us.

Personally, I’ve enjoyed interacting with the Sand Creek Station team by golfing there occasionally, volunteering at golfing tournaments there, and by offering to be a liaison when Chris asked me recently whether or not GCC might be willing to help with hospitality facilities at the upcoming prestigious USGA-sponsored Adaptive Open Championship in July of 2024.

I presented this request to our elders back in August, and they readily agreed to this opportunity to serve our community next summer. By offering our facilities at next year’s USGA July 5-10 event, we will be part of a welcoming and serving team that will host the golf world’s top handicapped golfers and their families.

Perhaps you know that the USGA (United States Golf Association) is the governing body for amateur and professional golf in the United States.  It reviews and sets the rules of golf, as well as sponsors 15 national golf tournaments, including the US Men’s and Women’s Open Championships. The US Adaptive Open Championship began in 2022 and is a unique and emotionally moving USGA sponsored tournament for qualified amateur and professional golfers with disabilities from all over the world.

At the Adaptive Open Championship, Sand Creek Station will host ninety-six golfers, who will be divided into eight different impairment categories to compete for the overall championship (Men’s and Women’s) and for the best score in each impairment category (such as arm and leg impairment, amputees, vision impairment, intellectual and neurological impairment, etc).

Being selected by the USGA for the Adaptive Open Championship is an incredible honor for Sand Creek Station as well as for our Newton community. I’m excited that, in offering our facilities as a place for the several hundred volunteers to receive orientation and have a place to quiet, we will be sharing the welcome and love that Jesus provides, especially to those with life-altering disabilities.

Our participation, I believe, gives us a chance to mirror the heart of God, who loves to “heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds,” as Psalm 147:3 puts it.

I’ve already blocked out the three days of July 8-10 next summer to volunteer in the tournament, and I encourage anyone with a heart to serve our community and the world to participate in any way possible.  If you’re interested, please contact Sand Creek Golf Station at 316-284-6161. And watch this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAeDGrtO8fg)

Blessings,

Steve Friesen

JOY!?!?

This time of year they say starts one of the most depressing times for a lot of people.  I have never understood that, until last year with it being the first holiday season since my dad passed.  This year the season is starting out in about the same way as last year so this word God is giving me is so very relevant to me. Maybe it will be what someone else needs to hear also.

When we look at it, we start with Thanksgiving, a time when we stop to think about all the good things in our lives.  In some cases it may be just a few things that are good, but none-the-less good things.  Then we move on to Christmas when we should focus on others and giving.   Christmas is also the time when we should be thinking about the gift of Life and forgiveness that God gave us in His Son Jesus Christ.  

I know that things in life can get hectic around this time of year and there are alot of things that can get us down, swamped and occupied.  But that doesn’t have to take away the joy.  Yes, I said joy.

Let me expand upon that. First let's look at what joy means as a word.

Joy–noun

 1. the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally

     good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation: 

 2.a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly

    valued or appreciated: 

 3. the expression or display of glad feeling; festive gaiety

 4. a state of happiness or felicity.

As I think about this a few lyrics from songs come to mind.  Well actually they were floating around in my head and being voiced in the shower the other day.

  • You give me joy that's unspeakable and I like it, and I like it, yeah Your love for me is irresistible I can't fight it, I can't fight it

  • I’ve got the joy, joy, joy down in my heart.

  •  Joy to the world the Lord has come.

It was quite a concert, let me tell you. Glad you all couldn’t hear it. 

But, back on track, ever since I got out of the shower I have been thinking about Joy.  Man it is so easy for me to get bogged down with the details of life.But why do I do that when I could be living in the Joy that comes from God.  Now I don’t know what your situation is in life but I can tell you one thing for sure.  That is, our God is not a God of worry, depression, resentment, regret or remorse.  Our God is a God of love, peace and joy.  If you let all the other stuff become the focus in your life you will miss everything good that God has for you.  I want to encourage you with a few scriptures before I sign off.

David knew all about hardships but he also knew about joy and where it came from:

  • Psalm 49:19  When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.

  • Psalm 50:1  Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

One last thought and reminder for me as well as my prayer for you as you start this holiday season.

 I pray that you will put your trust the God of peace, harmony, wholeness, and joy so that he can completely pour into you until you cannot help but overflow, with the hope that comes from The Holy Spirit, I pray that He will also protect you heart and mind in the power of Jesus Christ and that He will give you peace that goes so much farther than anything you can know or comprehend. May you experience a holiday season that is saturated in the powerful all encompassing love of our Heavenly father through His Son Jesus Christ 

AMEN


Romans 15:13  (Tree of Life Version)

13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and shalom (peace, harmony, wholeness) in trusting, so you may overflow with hope in the power of the Ruach ha-Kodesh.(The Holy Spirit)

Philippians 4:6-7 (Tree of Life Version)

6 Do not be anxious about anything—but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the shalom of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Messiah Yeshua.[a]


I hope that you can sing for joy in the shower and not care who hears it!

Pastor Sean


Guts, Glory and God's Design

I have been listening to the Bible on my way to and from work. This gives me a good 40 minutes with God’s precious Word during the day. Listening to it versus reading it tends to make the Bible more virtual and visual for me. I really experience the drama. So as I am hearing about battles, and demises I start to feel emotional. There are many instances in 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Samuel where people were killed and parts of their body were taken to be displayed. Hands were cut off, heads were delivered… sometimes by the time I get to work, I feel nauseous. During battle scenes, I want to close my eyes, but I can’t because I’m driving. I figured I felt this way because I am a mom. I am weak. I know that God made male and female different in characteristics as well as physically, so I was curious how men in general feel about these events in the Old Testament. Recently, when I got to work, I asked the guys. 

If you are a female, this might shock you. They collectively said they really enjoy reading the fighting scenes in the Bible! What!?! Are you kidding?!! How can this be? (God made men so tough) It’s kind of embarrassing confessing that parts of the Old Testament make me queasy to read.  But then I wondered if there might be a few of you out there that have the same reaction?  Then one of the men added that he and his wife have talked about this before because it is not easy for her as well.  Well, I am glad I’m not alone, but I still would like to learn from the hard parts of the Old Testament. So what do I do? I need a plan.

         I am going to try to focus on a few things while listening to history unfold.  Obviously, the first thing that I need to do is to ask the Lord to help me read through those parts and then glean from the events what He wants me to learn.  But then I think I can also focus on how God is our protector.  God’s chosen people went through more struggles than any other people group that I am aware of. God remained faithful to them.  Even when the Israelites went their own way, it was not long before they cried out to God again knowing that they needed Him. God will protect us, He is with us always.  I can also focus on how God is powerful and sovereign. God’s power is also beyond my comprehension. This fills me with awe that we can even approach our Father.   

Then I probably should be thankful that the Lord made my stomach weak.  This is hopefully part of how He made me a nurturer for the children He has given me. I pray that He will use me and my difficulties to hear about battles to teach my children peace.

God, you are worthy to be praised. Please help me to take my eyes off the violence and keep them on the One who can save…You. Lord thank you for making men so tough. Thank you for examples in history of your great deliverances! Amen.

Amy


He's Been with Jesus

   The other week I was out to eat with some brothers and a man stopped by our table to tell us about Jesus.  This guy wasn’t dressed up like a preacher, or a white-collar businessman.  Nothing about his presence said that he was a distinguished person or well-educated man that everyone should listen to, but immediately you could tell that this guy had been with Jesus.  He was bold, and his presence was full of joy and gentleness and love.  He radiated Jesus with every word spoken, and we were greatly encouraged by his boldness to share Jesus with us!

            I love what the Scripture says about Peter and John in Acts 4:13, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”  No matter how impressive or unimpressive we may think we are, when we spend time with Jesus through prayer and the Scriptures, people can see it.  When we spend time enjoying Jesus, it comes out in the way we interact with the world.

            Can people recognize that we are spending time with Jesus?  Would someone say that about you?  Of course, if we are not spending regular time with Him, that won’t be said of us.  When we spend more time with Him, our boldness to share Him with others will increase, we will find ourselves loving the people around us in a more powerful way.  It doesn’t matter how ordinary we might be, if we spend time with Jesus, really enjoying him, then people will know that there is something different about us.

            I’m praying that we will spend time daily enjoying Jesus, and it will be said of us that we have “been with Jesus”!

 

See you Sunday!

Pastor Kyle

Kyle’s Rightnow Media pick of the month: click Faith Foundations with David Platt

Sudden Danger and Trouble…

Proverbs 3:25–26 (NASB 2020) 25 Do not be afraid of sudden danger, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes;  26 For the Lord will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught.

I’ve been tempted recently to fear “sudden danger” and “trouble from the wicked.” 

What is “sudden danger?” From what I understand, it includes the gloom-ridden and spurious news we are constantly bombarded with. It makes me think of the current wars going on in Israel, Ukraine, and countries within Africa. Some of these people have just as much hate for Americans as they do the people they are fighting. They certainly hate Christianity and all that it represents.

I also have some more personal and localized sudden danger that has been keeping me up at night. Maybe you do too.

As for “trouble from the wicked,” this could be our religious freedoms slowly eroding away. There are consequences for injustice and a government that perverts God’s laws. Our country, communities, and culture are moving further and further away from God’s righteousness, and there will be trouble and ruin in their wake. Even if we oppose it, we will have to deal with the repercussions. 

So, it turns out that I (we) desperately need the truth in Proverbs 3:25–26. 

One, it reminds me of where my confidence comes from—the Lord. He must be my confidence. When I trust Him, I have nothing to fear because nothing can overturn His hand or stop Him from acting.

Two, because the Lord is my confidence, I don’t have to worry about a trap. He knows the future. Nothing will take Him by surprise. So, when I follow in His footsteps, I know I have a sure footing. If you’re walking with Him, then even the valley of the shadow of death won’t overcome you.

Brothers and sisters, fear is not an undefeated champion. It doesn’t have to bring you down. Just remember, it couldn’t keep Jesus down during the week He was betrayed. And that same power is within you.

Looking forward to Sunday morning! May God give you His confidence to face the day.

Grace and Peace,

Jack

Things that the God-breathed nature and Lack of Errors of the Bible Don’t Mean

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV ‘84)

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Simply put this verse teaches us that God’s word as contained in the Bible are His Words! His words are useful to us to make us more like Jesus. Through this process, which cannot be done alone, we are made more complete and ready to do the good work God has for us. But scripture being rock solid, perfect, and life changing can get misunderstood or misused. I am going to highlight a few of the ways that I have seen this happen.

There are some dangers that some of these ideas can lead us into. Inerrancy, Inspiration, and authority of Scripture are so good when we remember who did the inspiring what is inspired, and why God did it. It is a good exercise to look at what it doesn’t mean and it isn’t useful for. Scripture, reading, studying, and having others bring it into your life is not for proving to yourself that you are complete. Scripture is part of the process of that happening and the work is never done. If we cannot see the next thing that God has to teach us or the next point of connection with God that we haven’t explored yet then we need more people ti live in authentic community with. The Bible is not a pass or fail report card on our lives, everyone of us has failed, and if you aren’t sure how you are failing then it’s pride. I don’t say that to accuse you or make you feel bad. Knowing where we start and where we are before God is a joyful thing. When we agree with Him about where we are then He lights a raging fire of connection and change. We should always be holding our lives up to the standard of Jesus, seeing we fall short, and running to Him. For you perfectionists out there you have special dangers in this. This is not a checklist and perfectionism does not help you be godly it actually uses shame and self punishment as a fuel to move you in your own mind closer to your standard you have for yourself. God want to walk alongside you as you become more like Jesus and He cares a whole lot more about being in a relationship with you than you thinking you know what you should be like or you trying to do it with your own effort. The rock-solid nature of scripture cannot lull us into a sense of security, it is solid we are not and until we see Jesus face to face we aren’t supposed to be. (Psalm 1, 1 John 3:2)

Knowing Scripture or living in a community of people with a high level of Biblical literacy or theological understanding is great. The danger comes in when we think we can settle on theological preferences and unverified explanations of certain verses. All Scripture is inspired by God but all of our interpretations of that are not. Do you know when a theological principle was first written about? Do you know who promoted it to the church? Do you know what the church taught before or after this theological stance became prevelant. If you can answer those questions you are a giant leap towards taking something you were taught or maybe something that is convenient to believe back to the Bible, and back to the community of believers you connect with on a soul level. Then you can really decide if what you believe comes from lots of verses in the Bible and not just one or two. You can learn about the interpretation that people did to come to that theological conclusion and decide if you trust their work and their conclusion. What the Bible says is never in question, what people have said about it should always be. It is definitely ok to have long held beliefs and it is ok to be passionate about them. It is ok to have confidence in what you believe the Bible teaches that far outweighs your doubt. But if you have never searched out how accurate something is that you hold passionately to or put it to a historical test you can never be confident that you have weeded out as many human errors from that theological principle as possible. (Acts 17:10-15)

Scripture is not for you to weaponize against others. Our first temptation can be to see how awesome scripture is and then decide we will teach, rebuke, correct, and train others. Before we can ever do that we have to let it first be done to us. We have to be taught and be rebuked before we can offer that to those around us. It is a commonly held principle that you cannot give to anyone else what you do not have. If you don’t have $5 you can’t give someone $5. The same holds true with change in someones life from Biblical teaching or correction. If you have never experienced correction yourself or rebuke then you cannot hope to change someones life with a word from Scripture or a principle learned from it’s pages. At best you will say the right thing in the wrong way. When the Biblical king David talked about Scripture he first said it was a “lamp to my feet and light to my path” Psalm 119:105. This means real life change only happens for us in community. We need others to see our blindspots not only to help us but so that we can learn how to see blindspots in others. Then we have to learn how to infuse our relationships with Scripture and it’s principles but first it needs to be infused into us. Like the tea has to touch the water and steep this process requires both time and closeness. If we get excited about what the Bible says because we see how wrong it makes other people look we are in danger of weaponizing it. If we keep those thoughts to ourself then we are at least quitely judgmental and we have only infected our own hearts with bitterness. But if we open our mouths we run the risk of giving people a bad tast for God or His Word when He has the sweetest flavor (Psalm 34). Jesus had a lot to say to the Pharisees who made a profession out of weaponizing Scripture and it isn’t flattering. (Matthew 23:1-4 read it in the ESV and the NLT)

Every one of us is susceptible to using Scripture and our interpretations incorrectly. Rest assured though. We have a great foundation to our faith and we can rely on the direction we are headed because many people throughout history have resisted these dangers. The challenge is to be one of them yourself and to be an entire family that takes the Bible for what it really is. It is better than we can imagine to make us complete and ready to do God’s work but we only shine a candle to it in the amount that we light a beacon piercing the darkness out our collective humanity, always holding ourselves up to to its great light.

Will Regier

Your Move

Deeply tragic are the events that transpired in Israel about a week ago. If you are unaware of what I am referencing, a terrorist group known as Hamas invaded parts of israel and began murdering hundreds of individuals as well as taking women, children and elderly as hostages. I am not a direct witness, nor do I really have any ties directly to Israel but when I heard this had happened my heart was immediately burdened for the people and families involved. I’m not an expert on history, war, or international relations so I can’t offer any explanation of the years of disarray and conflict in this region like others might be able to. However, if we are filled with the Holy Spirit I believe we have a direct line to God’s desire for the outcome of this situation: As well as the response we are to have as individuals a part of His big C, Church. 

I’m not saying that God is calling us all to do the exact same thing, some might be moved to more action than others. However, there are some responses I believe we should all experience or lean into if we are followers of Christ. But, no matter the circumstances we need to move closer to our creator.

When an event like what is going on in Israel happens, we should be moved to sorrow, empathy, and compassion. God loves his creation, he loves us, so even the loss of the most detestable person's life is the life lost of an image bearer of God. This should trouble us to a certain degree. Then this Sorrow, empathy, and compassion we’re experiencing should move us to cry out to the Lord in prayer. Praying for him to mend the broken, bring peace in the fighting, establish joy where there is only sorrow and that in everything he would intervene. For man alone is not able to stop evil, but only God is. 

Then after prayers of petition should come prayers of thanksgiving. Yesterday the staff had gathered for a time of prayer and after praying for Israel we began to discuss the tragedy of some of the events that took place. In this, Kyle said something that was simple but profound to me. “We should be grateful that this land, in our lifetime, has never known war.” He’s right; things like the events in Israel are not a normal occurrence in our country nor have they been, and I pray they never will be. But in that statement, I realized the gratefulness, and the thanksgiving I need to be giving to the Lord everyday for the safety that he has provided for me, my loved ones, and everyone in our community. I take that for granted and I definitely shouldn’t. I recognized my need to move closer to my creator.

Every event, every happening, every difficulty, every blessing we should be moved to interact with God more in one way or another. Sometimes it's in sorrow that we have to cry out to him. Sometimes it’s in pure joy that we need to praise him. No matter the circumstances God’s desire is that we would be brought closer to him. Then respond, by choosing to move in a direction that is closer to God. Where do you need to move to be closer to your creator? 

Bryant Hart

Hide and Lose!

At home we have a 50” TV on the wall and 2 old  32” TVs sitting in storage.  The 50” TV is in the family room with the DVD player and XBOX hooked up to it. The other two are in the garage with all our other stuff we don't use.  (Why we still have them I don't know. Maybe in the back of my mind I am hoping to have a man cave where I can watch multiple games at once.)

Let’s just say for the sake of a point to be made that someone gave me a 85” flat screen TV. (Like that would ever happen, but it would be nice.) That’s right they just gave it to me free and clear.  “Why?” you might ask.  Well just because they thought I might want or need it.  So, to set up the storyline here.  I come home from work on a Monday night (You know a MONDAY UGH! Haven’t you ever had one of those?) and there on my doorstep is a box with a brand new TV. The box says, Samsung - 85" Class QN900C Neo QLED 8K Smart Tizen TV. (I have no idea what all those letters and numbers mean, but I do know it means nice and expensive.) 

Well there it is just sitting there in a box and a sign that says to the Gardiners because we love you.  Did I tell you that it was just sitting there?  FREE!  Did I mention it was FREE!!!   I think to myself this can’t be true so I just walk in and close the door.  The TV is still on the porch.  Later I open the door and low and behold the TV is still there so I bring it in and put it on the dining room table and leave it there all week,  looking at it every time I go by.  On Friday I think about opening it but decide not to.  It sits there a few more days.  On Sunday I start feeling guilty for having the TV and not opening it, so I put it in the back of the guest room closet and shut the door.  A few weeks go by and I think about it again and think boy if I put that in the family room then I could have the old TV in the shop (awesome).  But, the TV stays in the closet.   Down the road I might hang it on the wall but I won’t plug it in or hook it up to the media devices, it just sits there and waits and waits and waits to be utilized.

This seems kind of stupid but it is not as far-fetched as you think.  You see there is a much better gift that people do the same thing with.  You know everyone at one point or another in their life has a huge gift set out for them to have, a gift that has listed on it forgiveness, love, acceptance, salvation, power,  24 hour help-line and peace that passes understanding.  That gift is Jesus Christ, He is presented to people everyday and they just walk on by for a period of time and maybe accept his gift later and then just put it in a closet.  Sure they have taken advantage of the grace and forgiveness and salvation but they never experience the fullness of the gift. They never know what having Jesus as an active vibrant part of their life can bring.  Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)  Did you hear that, He came that we might have life and have it abundantly. 

Abundantly is defined as “present in great quantity; more than adequate; over sufficient; well supplied; abounding; profuse; overflowing.”  Is this how you would classify your life or are you lacking, needing, unfulfilled, longing, or just plain not satisfied?  If you are these later statements, you don’t have to be.  Jesus can give you peace to know you are forgiven and loved, security to know you are saved, fulfillment because He gives purpose, confidence because He gives strength and knowledge.

Where are you today?  Have you walked by that gift on the porch, is it on your table, or have you hidden it in your closet, maybe it is on your wall but you aren’t hooked up to it yet.  I challenge you not to live another day without experiencing the fullness of Jesus and the Gift He offers.

“I have come so that you can have life and have it abundantly!”

- Jesus

BXFC (Be Xtreme For Christ)

Pastor Sean


YHWH

You know how the Hebrew name for God is YHWH (we spell it Yahweh)?  An article in the Archaeological Study Bible states that “As early as the Second Temple period following Israel’s return from exile, the name YHWH came to be regarded as so holy that it’s public pronunciation was forbidden”  Their reverence for God is amazing, but can you imagine not being able to say God’s name out loud? Let me tell you, I think they actually spoke this name for God all day long every day.

I have read somewhere how this name for God, YHWH, is compared to breathing.  That makes sense.  YH sounds like inhaling, while WH sounds like exhaling.  In other words, when we breathe, not only are we sustained by God, but it sounds like we are actually saying His name.  We praise God with every breath we take.  Hallelujah!  It’s pretty neat that the sound of our breathing sings His name.

How comforting is it then that when we are feeling alone, if we stop and listen to our breathing, we can be reminded of God’s presence?  I like to think of it this way- that when we are scared, we may hold our breath  (clinging to God) and we may need to breathe slower to calm down (feeling God’s reassurance). When we are sad we may take deep breaths as we cry or sigh (opening the doors wide for God to enter and engulf us with His love and compassion), or when we are going to attempt something difficult we take a deep breath for courage (reliance on our Creator). God’s breath IS life.  

God breathed life into creation and breathed life into us. Genesis 2:7 “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”  Since the first man was created, we have been singing His name.

God’s breath is a blessing. God has given us this gift of His presence. He is in and all around us.  If we are lost or sad or full of joy, this verse rings true “Be still and know that I am God '' Psalm 46:10.  For when we are still and quiet, we can hear God the best.  Not only just putting away our own thoughts, but inhaling and exhaling the name of God and knowing that He is near.

There is a song from our children’s camp that we sang a couple of years ago that has been stuck in my head today.  “Fix My Eyes On You” by Evan Craft, there is a line that says “Let every breath I breathe speak of your glory”.  This has me reflecting differently on this thought of breathing the name of God.  I will attach a link to this song in case you would like to listen to this song in a new light.  I hope this blesses you.

Fix My Eyes On You


God bless you all,

Amy