Successful Relationships Workshop

SRW is coming back to Canton this fall!

Successful Relationships Workshop
at Canton First Friends Church
Fall 2012 - Sunday nights
details to follow
firstfriends.org

Finding My Place in This World

Last night at Sunday in the Park we discussed some questions:

• What risk has God speaking to you about lately?
• What is the worst thing that could happen if you take that risk and fail?
• What is the best thing that could happen if you take that risk and succeed?
• What barriers stand in the way of you reaching the potential that God has in mind for you?
• What passages in the Bible speak to your situation?

Today, I had these thoughts about taking risks for the glory of God:

• Don’t let fear make your decisions.
• Don’t let worry make your decisions.
• Don’t let discouragement make your decisions.
• Don't let loneliness make your decisions. 
• Don’t let a bad mood make your decisions.
• Don’t let an angry mood make your decisions. 
• Don’t let stress make your decisions. 
• Don’t let pride make your decisions. 
• Don’t let unfounded guilt make your decisions.
• Don’t let controlling people make your decisions.
• With God's help, make your own wise decisions!

- Pastor Craig

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

- Langston Hughes

This week at Sunday in the Park

 

You are a piece of work...

I had this thought while preparing for my "Sunday in the Park" Bible study talk last Sunday:

You are a piece of work...
...but you are still on God's workbench because He's not finished with you yet.

You are a work of art...
...but you are still on God's easel because there are quite a few more brush strokes left to be added by the Great Artist.

You are an epic poem...
...It may seem like your life has no rhyme or reason at times, but the last stanzas are yet to be written by the Great Story-teller.

- Craig Henry

These thoughts are based on Ephesians 2:10.

For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.   (NIV)

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.   (NLT)

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.  (NASB)

Sunday in the Park

What: Sunday in the Park (fellowship, fun, Bible study for Single Adults 35+)
 
Topic: "One Is a Whole Number" 
 
When: Sunday afternoons (weekly thru July 22) - fun at 4:00, group starts at 5:00, done by 6:30
 
Where: at the Arboretum Park (about half-way between Whipple & Cleveland Avenue on 38th Street, NW in Canton). We will meet in Shelter #7 (except July 1st in Shelter 8)
 
Weekly schedule (something like this):
   4:00pm - outdoor games ( corn-hole, croquet, bocce ball, frisbee golf, volleyball, etc.)
   5:00pm - refreshments/ice-breakers
   5:15pm - worship time (pray, sing, etc.)
   5:30pm - presentation on the topic ("the talk" by Craig Henry, others)
   6:00pm - table talk (picnic table discussion groups)
   6:30pm - closing prayer
   * perhaps a walk around the park before or after

Join us!
Bring Your friends.
Make some new friends.

Singles Small Group Bible Study - The Life You've Always Wanted

The Life You've Always Wanted at NewPointe-Canton
Spiritual Disciplines small group for single adults
meeting at NewPointe Community Church (Canton Campus)
Thursdays at 6:30pm - February 16 - April 19
330/493-0369
newpointe.org

They are back! SRW, DRW, GRW, Singles group coming in 2012

Successful Relationships Workshop at The Chapel (Akron Campus)
Fridays at 7pm - January 13 - March 2, 2012
In the Auditorium at the Akron Campus
$35 registration fee ($40 after Jan. 4th)
330/315-5517
the-chapel.org/adults/singles

Grief Recovery Workshop at Canton First Friends Church
Tuesdays at 7pm - January 17 - March 6, 2012
$25 registration fee ($30 after Jan. 10th)
330/966-2800
firstfriends.org

Divorce Recovery Workshop at Dueber Church (Canton)
Mondays at 7pm - March 5 - April 23, 2012
registration fee, tba
330/456-8357
dueber.org

The Life You've Always Wanted at NewPointe-Canton
Spiritual Disciplines small group for single adults
meeting at NewPointe Community Church (Canton Campus)
Thursdays at 6:30pm - February 16 - April 19
330/602-5600
newpointe.org

I Will Come to Your Singles Event!
As you can see, I am guest speaking at various churches.
If your church might be interested in hosting a workshop, visit here: singlespastor5.blogspot.com
Eight different 8-week workshops for single adults (or weekend conferences) to choose from. Let's talk!

Determined to Be Faithful

Jonathan Edwards "Resolved" List

I am resolved to...

1 - Live for God's glory
2 - Obey Jesus at all costs
3 - Eat healthy and light
4 - Exercise Daily
5 - Read and Apply Scripture
6 - Pray
7 - Meditate on God's Word
8 - Practice Patience
9 - Persevere
10 - Avoid selfish anger
11 - Speak works that edify
12 - Live simply
13 - Practice moderation in all things
14 - Practice generosity
15 - Maintain servant's heart
16 - Avoid resentment
17 - Practice forgiveness
18 - Love sacrificially
19 - Be others centered
20 - Use spiritual gifts productively
21 - Be thankful
22 - Avoid unscriptural judgment
23 - Avoid trust and love of money
24 - Live each day as your last
25 - Consider others better than myself
26 - Practice trust in God
27 - Resist worry
28 - Expect God's blessing
29 - Avoid gossiping
30 - Enjoy simple pleasures
31 - Practice quietness
32 - Slow down
33 - Reduce activity
34 - Listen for God's voice
35 - Use time wisely

Where Is Our Focus?

Where Is Our Focus?
10 Gut Check Ideas!
Perry Noble

If I focus on my abilities, I will always feel overwhelmed and inadequate…if I focus on WHO God is and WHAT He has done, I will feel confident and secure.

If I focus on what others say about me, I will feel either pride or pain…if I focus on what God says about me, I will feel appreciative and thankful.

If I focus on what the world says, I will always change my mind to agree with culture…if I focus on what God says, I can life a live based on conviction rather than convenience.

If I focus on what the world says about money, I will most likely be broke…if I focus on what God says about money, I will be blessed!

If I focus on what the world says about relationships, then that part of my life will be marked with pain, frustration and regret…if I focus on what God says about relationships, then that part of my life will be marked by joy, life and victory.

If I focus on what the world says is valuable, I will waste my life in pursuit of meaningless things…if I focus on what God says is valuable, I will invest my life in things that matter for eternity.

If I focus on what the world says about the church, I will see it as either useless OR something I can use…if I focus on what God says about the church, I will honor His bride and treat her with honor and respect.

If I focus on what the world says about problems, I will be in a constant state of worry and stress…if I focus on what God says about problems, I will see they are nothing more than opportunities to know and see Him for how great He is.

If I focus on my past, I will live in defeat…if I focus on my potential in Christ, I will live in victory.

If I focus on this life, I will have zero urgency to share the Gospel…if I focus on the fact that eternity is reality for every person on the planet, I will do all that I can to share the Gospel with those I claim that I love and care for.

perrynoble.com

Brokenness

Our life is full of brokenness --

Broken relationships,
Broken promises,
Broken expectations.

How can we live with that brokenness without becoming bitter and resentful except by returning again and again to God’s faithful presence in our lives.

- Henri Nouwen

5 Questions about Your Life as a Single Adult (for contemplation or discussion)

1. What is your favorite part about being single?
   
2. Do you think singleness is a positive or a negative element in your life?
   
3. What is the toughest thing about being single in your opinion?
   
4. How do you cope with those challenges?
   
5. What special resources does your Christian faith bring to the challenges of the single life?

Singleness as an Asset

Had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you find yourself, divine love would have placed you there. - Charles Spurgeon

God has given us two hands—one to receive with and the other to give with. We are not cisterns made for hoarding, we are channels made for sharing. - Billy Graham

Finding a mate becomes less important when we find joy and meaning, because that hole in our heart isn’t about a person. It’s about fulfilling our God-given purpose—what we were created to do and be. Only then will you find true peace and satisfaction. - Michelle McKinney-Hammond

God never asks about our ability or our inability — just our availability. - Charles Fletcher

Man finds it hard to get what he wants, because he does not want the best.

God finds it hard to give, because He would give the best, and man will not take it. - George MacDonald

Be a Trail-Blazer

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

When blazing a new trail, expect a few arrows shot at you.

- Kevin Young

A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.

- Charlie Shedd

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.

- Zig Ziglar

Everyone you meet knows something you don't know. Be willing to learn from them.

- Norman Vincent Peale

You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you. - John Bunyan

Motivation doesn't last

After a speech one day, Zig Ziglar was approached by someone in the audience who said: "Zig, it was a great speech, but... motivation doesn't last."

Zig said, "Bathing doesn't either. That's why I recommend it daily!"

I hope you enjoy and appreciate my efforts to inspire and encourage you in this blog and my other blogs. This story summarizes my reason for hosting these blogs.

- Pastor Craig

jacksonfriends.org/singles.htm

Age is irrelevant. Attitude is everything.

NOT TOO EARLY; NEVER TOO LATE!

"Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years." (Genesis 18:11)

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young." (1 Timothy 4:12)

Age isn't related to important achievements. Maturity, yes. Attitude, absolutely. Skill and intelligence, of course. But not age.

Benjamin Franklin, already a successful publisher, inventor, diplomat and signer of the Declaration of Independence, led the convention that drafted the Constitution of the United States. He was eighty-four. A few years earlier, about the time Franklin was signing the Declaration, Mozart was living in Salzburg, having just completed all five of his violin concertos, each one a masterpiece. He was twenty. Age had no bearing on that summer of significant moments.

Some time ago I interviewed a young man seeking a job. At nineteen he lacked spirit, the fire within—if there had ever been one—just an ember. The same day I spoke to a new friend, age eighty-seven, whose voice was alive, eyes shining, energy directed toward what was next. Age is irrelevant. Attitude is everything. Trying, not giving up, caring enough to use the resources we've been given—these are the things that matter.

So William Gladstone at eighty-five was prime minister of England and the world's leading statesman. At seventeen Elizabeth Barrett (Browning) published a volume of serious poetry. Galileo was dictating records of his latest discoveries about the rotation of planets (and hiding them in his mattress in order to avoid punishment as a heretic) when he was seventy-eight. Michelangelo began painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in his early thirties. Insight, determination and genius are not limited by age.

Martin Luther was thirty-four when he walked to the door of the castle church in Wittenburg, Germany and posted there the ideas for change he wanted to debate with Church leaders. Abraham, founder of the Hebrew nation at the age of one hundred, might have smiled at how one so young could do something so important while Timothy, at twenty-six the leader of one of the largest Christian churches of the first century, might have wondered what had taken Martin so long.

Beethoven had composed a prodigious quantity of music by the time of his death at fifty-six, while Grandma Moses, the famous 20th century folk artist, didn't take up painting until she was seventy-five. Golf prodigy Michelle Wie turned professional at fifteen, the same summer as my father-in-law, age ninety, made his first hole-in-one.

We're not too young to do something significant. And we're never too old.

- Dr. Michael A. Halleen

Self-Pity

Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it,
we can never do anything wise in this world.

- Helen Keller

Always in the Presence of God

We are always in the presence of God. There is never a nonsacred moment! His presence never diminishes. Our awareness of His presence may falter, but the reality of His presence never changes.
...

- Max Lucado

Advice for the Discontented

You are where you are right now because God wants you there. You may be happy about your current circumstances or you may be miserable. Most likely you are somewhere in between. It doesn’t matter. You are where you are at this moment because God wants you there. How do I know that? Because if God wanted you somewhere else, you’d be somewhere [else], and when he does want you somewhere else, that’s where you will be. If God is God, that must be true.

- Ray Pritchard