A Night to Remember!

Last Friday night at Celebrate Recovery at Memorial Road Church of Christ was special for many reasons!  First, Tommy from the “The skit guys!” came and did a special “one man show” for us. He shared some of his life story and talked about the idea of “baggage”. (You can see the skit here: http://skitguys.com/videos/item/baggage-skit).   He challenged us with what we do with our own baggage. Do we hide among our baggage like King Saul in I Samuel 10:22 “So they inquired further of the LORD, "Has the man come here yet?" And the LORD said, "Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage." Or do we leave it with the keeper like David did a few chapters later “David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. – 1 Samuel 17:22?  Through his skit, Tommy encouraged us to let go of our baggage, leave it with God, and let Him take control. 

After his powerful performance we had our usual small groups and then a special Christmas dessert night and talent show! We had cookies, some homemade goodies, hot coco, coffee,   and a “build your own cheesecake” bar!

Then the talent night began! We had several “Celebrate Recovery” themed performances including one from our own “Tobey Keith” with his remake of “I Love This Bar” into “I Love CR!”  We also had some great kid performances with singing and a little ukulele playing! 

We also had some great gift card and Celebrate Recovery door prizes.

Everyone got to take home a "homemade" (Thanks Andrew!) Celebrate Recovery Christmas Ornament. 

It was a great night filled with tears and laughter for the Celebrate Recovery “Forever Family” at Memorial Road Church of Christ.

~Jen

The Skit Guys. {Well....we've got one guy.}

Illustrations help us to remember.  They are powerful.  That is why the Master Teacher, Jesus Christ, used them all the time.  He told stories that were sticky and help us to remember impactful truths.

This Friday night at Celebrate Recovery we are going to talk about how God recycles pain.  He never wastes a hurt.  So, he takes the pain and shame of our past and uses it to bring glory to His name and comfort and hope to others.  We are going to talk about surrendering our lives to God's will so that He can then use our lives to serve others.  Simply, we are going to talk about saying "yes" to God.

To help illustrate this lesson, Tommy Woodard, one of the members of "The Skit Guys" will be with us.  He is the Skit Guy with the hair [check out the picture :)] and he will help us understand God's love through skits.

I really hope that you can be with us to celebrate the power of Jesus Christ working in and through our lives.

Grateful believer,

Micah

Anna's House Foundation 2011

What a blessing it is to be a part of such a wonderful group of people!

This year I was again got to be a part of our now yearly donation to the Anna's House Foundation. Specifically, buying gifts for foster children who would quite possibly not have a Christmas without the generosity of others.

This year we set out to buy gifts for 8 kiddos.  While last year they were all small kids this year they ranged from toddlers to teenagers.  

From bicycles and tricycles to new clothes, toys and gift cards the more than $700 raised a few Friday nights ago did not go to waste.   James 1:27 says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widow in their distress and to keep ones self from being polluted by the world." 

Through your generosity, this year our Celebrate Recovery family has once again been able to care for these children who by many definitions could be considered orphans. There parents aren't around for whatever reason, by choice of the state or choice of their own, but this year they won't be forgotten. 

I do hope these children can feel that they are loved. While we will never meet them, I know our God cares for them and is always there for them. Hopefully the families caring for these children will too feel the love and see how through your donations God is watching out for them, providing beyond a need at this time of year.

Thanks for donating. I look forward to being a part of this for many years to come.

Grateful Believer,
Chellie