The Thread | 2009-3-18
“This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind…let it be something good.”
-Author Unknown
Hey Everyone,
I wanted to send out this Thread to remind us of a few things and to encourage!
1 – Please keep our team that is going to Mexico in your prayers. They leave tomorrow and will be taking resources and finances to our contact in Mexico. It is really exciting to hear about Pastor Eden’s (sp?) vision, heart and plans. He has already planted churches, is now starting a possible community center and an orphanage. What a great VISION. So, Patrick and Hector, our prayers go with us as you fly out on Thursday to go and encourage and SPREAD FI-YAH!
2 – I will be leaving on March 31 for my work in Kenya. I go to Pastor Onesimus and his church plants outside Nairobi. I will be leading a large conference and crusade and will be likely preaching the gospel to hundreds if not thousands. While I am there, I am making plans to connect with leaders that will give us relationships for future work with the Foundation we are starting this year.
3 – We have been working to start an at home day care for the church in our house. This is something we have been praying about and planning for over two years. We have people that will be taking training and Lori and I have a few more steps to take to prepare the house for the actual inspection. We plan to provide services at a reduced rate to people in need and a sliding scale to single mothers. We see that this will likely be something that will grow with the church and a business like this has the possibility to fund ministry and mission, employ workers in need of jobs and help us get a building.
4 – We are planning to upgrade our sound system. It’s nothing extravagant, but after 11 years of use, the present one is breaking down. (I bought the present one in 1997 when I started the outreach ministry “Sparkplug Ministries”). So, we will be carefully purchasing something that allows us to: be heard throughout the building clearly, have monitors for the musicians, will be easy to setup and tear down, can be used at any future building and will be GREAT for recording. (Which by the way, if you weren’t there Sunday night, YOU MISSED THE BEST worship jam EVER! I will later post the recording that Zuzana made on her cell phone so everyone can hear it. AMAZING!) And this of course will later lead to us recording our music as we have planned.
5 – We have a number of events coming up:
A – March Family Day (Saturday, March 28 to the National Kite Festival on the National Mall). Email lorihedrick(at)tapestrychurch.org for details.
B – Tapestry First Annual Casserole Cookoff and Potluck (April 5th after the PM service) Email su(at)tapestrychurch.org for more details.
C – Operation Easter Egg (April 12th after the AM service) Email su(at)tapestrychurch.org for more details.
D – The DCUnderground.org concert (See www.dcunderground.org for details).
E – Creationfest Email joan(at)tapestrychurch.org
F – Small groups including a Dream Interpretation Small Group
G – Tapestry Spring Refreshing to the Reserve in WV. Email patrickdkim(at)tapestrychurch.org for more details.
H – Ordination of Ministers and Preparation Services for Church Planters
I – Seminars, Baptism & Special Speakers
With all of that said, there is TONS going on!!! If you are not having fun this year or you feel uninvolved, IT’S NOT OUR FAULT! We want you to come be with us and have SO MUCH FUN as we grow closer to GOD and each other.
With that said, I leave you with this encouraging thought from my favorite spiritual leader, Henry Blackaby:
God’s Provision Brings Glory
Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me. (Psalms 50:15)
Did you know that you bring glory to God by calling upon Him when you are in distress? God promised He would deliver you if you turned to Him. You deny the Lord honor that is rightfully His every time you find yourself in difficulty and you fail to call upon Him for help! There may be times when God allows you to reach a point of need so that you can call upon Him, and thus let Him demonstrate to a watching world the difference He makes in the lives of His children. If God never allowed you to experience need, people around you might never have the opportunity to witness God’s provision in the life of a Christian. If you never faced a shortfall, you might be tempted to feel self-sufficient and without any need of God in your daily life.
Pride will tempt you to think that you do not need to seek God’s assistance. Self-regard will seek to convince you that you can handle your dilemma through your own wisdom, resources, and hard work. Pride will also rob glory from God and seek to give it to you. Don’t allow your pride to take what rightfully belongs to the Lord. Call upon your Lord and wait exclusively upon Him to rescue you. Then give Him the glory that He deserves.
Self-sufficiency can greatly hinder your ability to experience God and bring Him honor. The next time you are in distress, turn to Him!