Organic God Week 4

From Holly.

Week one was on getting to know God: pure, essential and natural. Week 2-challenged our preconceived ideas about God and how we view him, Week 3-encouraged to think about who we go to for wisdom. Often it's the internet, books and people-not the Word of God. This week we looked at a continuum of God's Love. Because he loves us so much he allows us to go through pain. We then desire to live a life of gratitude because of his faithfulness, which brings us back to Love-for God and for others.

If you missed class we would encourage you to watch the Rob Bell video titled "Rain." You can watch it online or check it out from the church office.

Our challenge this week is to reflect on our lives and name out loud the ways that we saw or felt God during our times of pain and suffering.

Organic God Part Two

This past Sunday we focused on the idea of stripping away our misconceptions about God and what our relationship with Him might be. He is a mystery that we will never fully understand while we are here on earth but working toward knowing Him better is a goal we all share.

This week you have two spiritual challenges.
1) Take a moment and prayerfully reflect on your relationship with your earthly father. Are there any ideas about your dad or experiences form childhood that you unintentionally project on God. Spend some time in preayer and ask God to reveal any of these to you. Then, spend some time in the scripture asking God to replace any false beliefs with a haelthy, Biblically-based understanding of your Heavenly Father.
2) Ask at least three people, " What do you love about Jesus?" and see where the conversation goes.

I would love to have a conversation in the comments with your own answers to question number two.

Yummy Fall Snack

This recipe came from the October issue of KIWI Magazine.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed or wheat germ
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup canned pure pumpkin
2 large eggs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup 1% lowfat milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat 24 mini-muffin wrappers with oil or nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the two flours, ground flaxseed, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, combine pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, milk, oil and vanilla and stir until well mixed.
4. Pour liquid ingredients over dry ingredients and stir until moistened. Mix in the chocolate chips.
5. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake 15 to 18 minutes (if you're making 12 full-size muffins, bake for 20-23 minutes), until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool 5 minutes before removing the muffins.

Organic God

Today we started a 6 week study called The Organic God. There is a blog that I'll get over on the links at a different time but here is a quick link. This study focuses on having a natural, pure and essential relationship with God. I think it will be really good for us to do this and so to keep everyone part of things over the next six weeks, I'll try to post some of the questions that we discuss in class and the weekly challenge (that will also be emailed).

-Have you ever thought of "organic" in relation to God? What prallels do you see between the word "organic"and "God"?

-Why Should our relationship with God be Natural, Pure and Essential?

Read Psalm 105:4

-How often do you seek God? What does your personal time with God look like?

-Is there anything about seeking God that makes you uncomfortable?

CHALLENGE:

Challenge yourself this week by reading Psalms 24:4,5 then write a personal prayer to God inviting Him to reveal Himself in new ways to you and draw you closer to Himself.

Basketball Tournament for Lia

Hello Everyone,

Please take a look at this flyer and website. As many of you know our dear friends Corey & Lisa Stone recently gave birth to their precious daughter, Lia. A few months into the pregnancy the family found out Little Lia would be in for a long road after birth. Lia was diagnosed with two major heart defects, known as Tricuspid Atresia and Transposition of the Great Vessels.

Lia would need to undergo emergency surgery days after she was born in order to correct the issues with her heart. In attempt to finalize the medical attention that she will need, the surgery will be followed months later by another surgery and then another when she is two to three years old.

Though the news took the family by shock, the Stones have done their best to count their blessings, knowing that the doctors and surgeons have given them every reason to be hopeful.

Lia is home with her mommy, daddy, and two older brothers. She is doing very well.

In an attempt to help the family cover the cost of the surgeries, and medical attention needed, Richland College will play host to the "Hoops for the Heart" 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament. The family has asked for my assistance in getting the word out for this event. Please feel free to visit the website: www.liakatestone.com, or print out the attached flyer and give to anyone you think may be interested. This 3 on 3 tournament is strictly for fund-raising purposes and all proceeds will go to the Stone Family and the medical attention of Little Lia Stone. HURRY as the deadline is nearing for registration of the event!! There are lots of ways you can choose to participate in the event: sponsor a team, make a donation or volunteer your time!

Thank you for your time and support. As many of you personally know the Stones, you can understand the blessing they have received in Little Lia.

Thank You,
Stacey Losher

Lia Kate Stone

Our class has been praying for baby Lia and her family for the past few months. She is here now and will continue to need prayers. Here is a website that you can go to to keep up with what is going on and to donate.

Thank you Ellers for the update.

April's Secret Ingredient is...

Shrimp!

Please leave any delicious shrimp recipes in the comments below.

April's Challenge

This month's challenge is Giving. Our class is very generous already so this isn't a challenge to give more. It's to give in a way that hurts a little. Let's, as individuals, try to set aside money according to our family budgets that we can personally give to someone that needs it more (even if it is just $10). Sometimes we get comfortable putting our check in the collection plate which is a great thing to do but we never have to get our hands dirty. It could also be tempting to let whichever person in the relationship is more outgoing to handle this. It's important that we each participate in this as individuals so we can be changed as individuals. If that's too much for some then try to do it as a family. You can either plan out what you will spend and how or you can keep some extra cash on you in case a situation presents itself. Remember to try and give without questions or expectations and that it should be done without an announcement. May God bless your experiences.

Christina's Shower

Tuesday, April 1st we will be meeting at the Spaghetti Warehouse (at the mall) to celebrate the new addition coming to the Rollins family. The festivities start at 7pm and since they are having another girl we will do diapers, wipes and gift cards. Hope to see you there!

And this month's secret ingredient is....

Corned Beef/Brisket




If you have any great recipes please share them below. With St. Paddy's Day coming up I know that some of us will want to try them.

Monthly Challenge

Our blog has been kind of slow lately. Probably because we all have too much going on instead of not enough. We've done a lot of talking about where we want to go with this blog and there have been several great ideas. To get the ball rolling, I thought that maybe each month we could post a spiritual challenge here and try to keep each other accountable on some level. One thing I realized after class this past week is that there are several of us that are in a slump. I think that we are all glad to be Christians and are so thankful of the sacrifices made for us. But I also think that it's hard sometimes to really get excited to the point that we all know we are excited. That's how we know we are in a slump. So, this challenge comes from another class I am in on Monday evenings. I want to encourage everyone this month to spend at least a minute or more face down on the ground to pray. I know that it is uncomfortable but that's the point. There is no other prayer position more humbling. Just try it and see where God takes you. Somedays you may feel transformed and other days the only thing you may get is a reminder to vaccuum. Either way you will be blessed. Obviously if you are pregnant or it's too painful then explore some different options. Feel free to share your experiences in the comments.

Congratulations Vickers and Mayos!

FBOTR increased by 3 in the past couple of weeks. Mason and Sawyer Vickers were born January 15th. Mason was born at 1:34 and weighed 5 lbs 13 ounces and 18 inches long and Sawyer weighed 4lbs 9 ounces. Claire was born January 11th around 12:30. She weighed 7
pounds 8 ounces and was 21 inches long.

Congratulations to the Rileys!

Congratulations Chris, Rachel and Jackson on the birth of Alice Anne!
Wednesday, December 26th at 12:45 AM
8 lbs., 13 oz, 20 inches long with a head full of dark hair
Mom and baby are doing great and both are at Hendrick if you'd like to pay them a visit. We are thankful for answered prayers for Alice Anne's good health and her safe delivery.

Sunday, December 9th Potluck

This Sunday, December 9th, is our next FBOTR potluck. Join us in the gym after class for food and fellowship! We meet every SECOND SUNDAY of the month. You can post the food item you are bringing under comments so we'll have an idea how many main dishes, side dishes and desserts we'll have. Hope to see everyone there!

Congratulations Bob!

It was fun to see Bob and Suzetta this morning on the Today Show. They are in New York this week celebrating Bob's 50th birthday and were able to talk to the one and only Al Roker. We hope that the Nutts and Fletchers have a safe return.

FBOTR Christmas Party!!!

DATE CHANGED!!!

The annual Families Built on the Rock Christmas Party will be at the Walker's home Sunday, December 16th at 6:30. This will be a fun time for us to celebrate the holidays together. Activities include a potluck and a gift exchange. This is going to be a "white elephant" gift that must cost under $10 or, even better, nothing (think about whatever cheese knife set you got last year for Christmas, cheese not included). Nursing babies are welcome and if childcare is a problem you might think about pairing up with another couple and splitting the cost.

Please sign up for what you might bring in the comments.

Let's Talk Thursday Night

All girls are invited to meet for conversation and prayer this Thursday night, Novmber 15th at 7:00 PM at Suzetta's house. Post a comment to sign up for a snack or dessert item to bring. Nursing babies welcome.

How about a float?

If you missed the potluck yesterday, you missed some great food! Thanks to everyone who came! We had a great time, and the kids enjoyed playing "train." We're already looking forward to the next one.

Several of us talked about the possibility of putting together a very simple FBOTR class float for the Christmas Parade of Lights which is at 6:30 PM on Monday night, November 26th. If you have ever attended, the floats are pretty simple so this shouldn't be that big of a deal to put together. We just thought our kids might have fun being in the parade this year.

Chris Riley came up with a western Christmas theme. We'll need some hay bales, a trailer, a truck to pull it, someone to cut a cactus or two which can stand in the middle decorated for Christmas. The kids can dress in jeans, white shirts and wear red or green bandanas.

Please post a comment if you have any of the above items or can contribute in some way. Also, if you have a GREAT idea to make this easier or better in any way, please feel free to comment. Let us know what you think!

Easy Recipes

I was wanting to get Leslie's recipe for the tasty chicken & rice casserole that she brought to us after we had Pierson and it occurred to me that we might use this blog to do a little recipe sharing. I'm always looking for something new, quick and easy to cook, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. So if you have a minute, share one of your favorite quick and easy recipes with the class. You never know, someone else might end up bringing it to the next potluck! Happy Cooking. . .
Summer

November 11th Potluck

If you have not yet attended an FBOTR potluck, you're missing out! Join us every SECOND SUNDAY of the month after Bible Class in the gym for a family potluck. This is a time to spend a meal together as we develop our friendships and encourage one another! Bring whatever you like and feel free to post your food item under comments so we can have an idea of how many main courses, side items, desserts and drinks to expect.

This month's potluck will be Sunday, November 11th!