I hear Crickets...

Are you afraid of silence??? I think I am!

This is one of those weeks where there isn't a lot going on here at the church (with Wednesday night stuff cancelled due to Fall Break). I am sitting here in my office and it's very quiet. Almost scary quiet. This doesn't happen often, except if I am here late on Saturday or early on Sunday! :) However, today, in the midst of the quiet...I'm reminded of the nights when I was a kid and was scared of the dark. I slept with a nightlight, the door open, and the same ol' Batman cassette tape reading the same ol' story each and every night. It's kinda crazy, but here in my office, I still have that cassette (which I just checked and the copyright is 1981). I am constantly reminded of not my desire for Batman or anything like that...but my desire for noise. I don't handle silence very well. I sleep with a box fan (turned as high as it will go) every night. If I don't have a radio on (not that I am paying attention to it anyway), I am listening to the hundreds of voices in my head go 90 mph. In the midst of that, I have come to realize that it isn't the noise that I like so much...it's more that I DON'T like the silence . BUT...in the midst of silence, I'm reminded of Psalm 46:10 which says, "Be still and know that I am God." So many times in my life I get so busy and so caught up in doing things and being places...that I forget to take time not just to spend with God...but really...to sit and simply "be still". Silence isn't a bad thing...it actually makes hearing from the Lord that much easier! Try to find a quiet place to just sit and spend some time with the Lord...I'm sure that it will be far better than listening to a cassette that was made in 1981!

What are you willing to give?

Have you ever sat there and wondered why everywhere you turn, the same topic seems to come up? Whether it is in a message, a conversation with a friend, a blog, a news story, or even a TV show? Well...the past several weeks I feel as though God has really been talking with me about what am I willing to give up. This past week, in our small group discussion, we were talking about how "rich" all of us are...despite the fact that none of us are "financially well off". We all have everything we need: roof over our heads, food on the table, family that loves us. But what are we doing for those who don't have those things? It might be as simple as something that you have plenty of, yet you can't seem to part with them all. Our lesson was about Dorcas (Tabitha). She was the only person in scripture that Peter raised from the dead. He did it because she was important to the widows in Joppa (Acts 9). She had made robes (or Snuggies, as Pastor Ronnie said) for the widows and the poor. James 1:27 says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." We as a group began looking at what "pollution" we spend money on and what are some ways that we can provide for the widows and orphans. What are you willing to give up?

HELP!!!

Alrighty...if you are reading this, then you probably already know that our staff attended a conference called Catalyst last week. While we were there soaking in as much wisdom as possible, a group did something extremely odd. Hope International is a Christian Organization that is set up to help rid poverty by providing small loans (average loan is $100) to help families, or even villages at times, purchase the needed materials to create something that they can sell. It is NOT a gift, but rather a loan. They also claim that 99% of the loans are actually paid in full in six months. So...where do we come in?!?!?!

There were 12,000 people in attendance at this conference...they handed each and every one of them an envelope with a $10 bill in it. Their challenge is simple: find a way to turn the $10 into $100 and send it in to provide a loan for one of these groups. If you have any ideas about how me personally, or collectively we as a staff, can turn all of our $10 bills into $100 each, please let me know. If you want more information, visit their website at: www.hopeinternational.org. Thanks! And keep those ideas coming in!!!

Keith Wages
Children's Pastor
kwages@fbcloganville.org

WOW

A few weeks ago on a Wednesday night, we were talking about creation and I posed this question to the kids: what is something that you have seen that made you say "WOW"? I was amazed at their responses. It was a really great time. This past week, I had the opportunity to fly out to Colorado Springs thanks to David C. Cook (a publishing company who provides our curriculum for Wednesday nights). I took Mattie along with me and after I was done with business, we had a couple of vacation / touristy days. Let me just say this: I believe that it is impossible NOT to acknowledge that there is a God when you see the things that we saw. Here are just a few of the things that made me say WOW (disclaimer...in all honesty, pictures do NOT do these places justice...it is magnified 10 fold when you see it with your own eyes!!!)

This is a picture of Pike's Peak...a mountain with an elevation of 14,110 ft.

This is one of the rocks/mountains located in The Garden of the Gods...simply breathtaking when you are able to see it up close and see how huge it truly is!

This is Seven Falls...a chain of 7 waterfalls in a row that is just gorgeous!

This is the chapel at the US Air Force Academy. To gain perspective, look for me and Mattie in front of the doors to see how high this truly is!

All in all, these are just a few samples of things that screamed, "There is a God and He is an incredible artist!!!" Simply put...WOW!

Keith Wages

Children's Pastor

kwages@fbcloganville.org

Just a thought...

Hey there gang...as I stated a couple of weeks ago, our small group is going through Crazy Love by Francis Chan. This past week was a cool chapter. Here is a pretty cool exercise that I want to challenge you to do. Go to 1 Corinthians 13:4 - 7. Yes, that is the passage about "Love". Take out the word "love" and replace it with YOUR name. Below is what mine looks like:

⁴Keith is patient, Keith is kind. He does not envy, he does not boast, he is not proud. ⁵He is not rude, he is not self-seeking, he is not easily angered, he keeps no record of wrongs.⁶Keith does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

WOW...if God is love, and we are to be more like Him...and here is our definition of what love is. Sad to say though, that I fall short of that goal! This week...think about it...where do you measure up?

Small Group Retreat

Hey there everyone...I know that some of you may be thinking, "Gee, does Keith head up small groups or children's ministry" due to my constant promotion of small groups...but I have to tell you guys what a great weekend we had. It seems like forever ago, Matt Medlin suggested that we go to Murphy, NC to a cabin for the weekend. Well, it finally came, and let me tell you what a great deal it was. First of all, the price was less than $120 per night for a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom cabin with flatscreen tv, wireless internet, and a hot tub!!! We ended up getting both cabins (they are identical) and were literally right off the Hiawassee River. The weekend was full of relaxation, tubing down the river, great meals, and great company. Also, we went to the "No Name Ice Cream Parlor" and it was INCREDIBLE!!! Lastly, it wasn't "that" far away...it took about 2 hours and 15 minutes to get there! Check out the link if you are interested in a great inexpensive getaway for your small group, or even your family!

http://hiwasseerivercabins.com/home.htm

Since I was not here on Sunday...a big THANK YOU to Beth and Scott Dihigo for heading up Children's Church; Nikki and Cameron Franklin for teaching the Word segment during Children's Church; and Malia Whitley for getting all the props together for me! These great workers made it possible for me and my wife to enjoy a mini-vacation and not worry about what was going on here while we were gone! YOU GUYS ROCK!!!!

Keith Wages

Children's Pastor

Long Weekend and GREAT workers!!!

Hey there everyone...I am sure that you all enjoyed the long weekend as much as I did! I know with the weather, football, the grill...man, it was a great weekend! But enough about that...I wanted to take a minute to brag about some of our great workers: the Tapia's. Vincent and Joy Tapia have been teaching Sunday school for the children's ministry for the past year and a half. The only problem that I know about the Tapia's is the fact that they are Yellow Jacket fans...but that is quickly overlooked thanks to a great love for the iPhone and all things Mac related! :)

At any rate, I put out a challenge our workers to go out and visit each and every student in the class outside of church. One day last week I saw an update on Facebook that was talking about his 3rd grade class! I thought it was spectacular! They went and saw 2 of the girls in their class cheer on a Saturday a couple of weeks ago. I can tell you that it made those girls' day when they saw their SS teachers there. So, GREAT JOB Vincent and Joy! You guys Rock!!!!!

Keith Wages

Children's Pastor

PS - If any of you out there see any of the workers doing something great...how about shooting me an email at kwages@fbcloganville.org so that I can brag on them too! THANKS!