weekly update 08-24-2024

August 24, 2024

Hello Grace Vineyard Family and Friends.

Wow!  It’s Saturday afternoon already, so if I’m gonna send you my weekly update, I better hop to it!  😉

I hope you all have had a great week, and have managed to stay cool enough.  It’s been another beautiful week in paradise, but just a little bit warm.  The rest of the country would be rolling their eyes to hear me that say, that!  This week I moved Charissa into her graduate housing at APU for her final quarter of grad school.  She’ll be graduating on December 14th, and then she’ll be getting married a month later on January 19th! I bet a bunch of you old Grace Vineyardites are wondering how the time went by so quickly.  When those thoughts come to me I quickly counter with, God knows exactly what He’s doing and time is going at exactly the right speed!  And that leads me also to believe that when Jesus finally returns and His Kingdom is consummated, we’ll be saying something like, “that didn’t take that long after all!”  The blessed Hope!  The return of Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Oh how I long for that day, and how I rejoice that in Jesus, the power of the Kingdom of God has already broken into our present.  But I’m getting ahead of myself…I didn’t mean to start preaching yet.

Those of you who were with us last Sunday will  recognize this graphic. It’s the same one I used last week for my sermon title – “Overcoming Fear”.  I felt I needed to explore the subject a little more fully with you again this week.  You know, when you see the same phrase repeated multiple times in a short space in scripture, I think we do well to pay attention.  That’s the situation I have run into here.  In the book of Joshua, in the first chapter we find God speaking to Joshua as he is getting ready to lead the children of Israel into the Promise Land.  Three times in one chapter God tells Joshuas, “Be strong and courageous!”  One time he says, “Be strong and very courageous”.  I looked back at the end of Deuteronomy, and I see Moses using the same language for both the Israelites and his commission to Joshua – “Be Strong and Courageous”.  That’s 5 times in the same story.  We also see this phrase repeated several times – “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”  So tomorrow we’re basically doing “Overcoming Fear, part 2”, but we’re going to focus on the phrase “Be Strong and Courageous”.  Like Joshua and the Israelites of old, we have been commissioned by God to join Him in His mission in our time and place, and we have need to be Strong and Courageous.  I hope to explore resources laid out in the scriptures for us to empower us with boldness and courage for the mission ahead.  I know I need it.  I bet some of you do too.

For your convenience, here’s a video of last week’s talk:

If you are not able to be with us in person this Sunday, you can always join online via the Zoom app with this info:  Zoom Meeting ID  153 112 432, Passcode 684814. You may also join us on Facebook Live at facebook.com/gracevcf.

Here’s some things in the life of our church family I want to make sure you know about:

We are raising money for scholarships for the Fall Women’s Retreat.  Please come with your cash and credit cards ready to buy all manner of baked goods and treats and crafts.  Kim, of course, has made lots of her famous pesto and salsa.  If you’ve never tried them, I recommend you get to the front of the line and grab a bottle of each before they’re gone.  They’re really that good!  (Who’s biased?!)  I’m sure there’ll be lots of great things to purchase, but the main point is we want to make sure every lady who wants to go to the Retreat can go.  If you need a scholarship, please be sure and help out with the Make and Bake Sale – contact Kim Ohst for more info at 760-519-4558 or kimohst@gmail.com.

We have two more ladies events to mention:

Women’s One Day Retreat September 7

We will be joining with the ladies of Vineyard Yorba Linda and other Southern California Vineyards for a one day retreat.  Danielle Pathak, Associate National Director for Vineyard USA will be the speaker.  It will be a time of worship, fellowship, teaching and ministry.  It begins at 9am and ends at 3:30pm.  Cost is $35 and includes breakfast and lunch.  You can find details and a registration link at: https://vineyardyorbalinda.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/2383486  If you’d like to carpool, we’ll meet at the church at 7:15am and leave at 7:30.  Please sign up at the table in the lobby or text Kim  if you plan to carpool 760.519.4558.

Women’s Face To Face Home Group September 13

We’ll meet at Sheri’s house (4538 Coronado Dr., Oceanside) on Friday, September 13th at 6:30pm for snacks.  Worship will begin at 7pm.  Thelma will be telling her story and we’ll have a time of ministry.  Bring a snack to share and your bathing suit for a swim after the meeting.  For more information, please call or text Kim Ohst 760.519.4558.

I had a nice text messaging chat earlier this afternoon with Steve Rogers.  He’s doing GREAT!  He finished his first week in the Philippines and made some wonderful connections, and of course is already dreaming about when he can come back there.  I get it.  I went to the Philippines a few times many years ago, and the people so got into my heart.  God has done something amazing with His idea of creating tribes, tongues, and nations, each with their own beautiful cultures, each uniquely beautiful.  What a joy to participate in the Great Commission of making disciples of all nations.  Well, Steve arrived in Indonesia yesterday.  And by the first evening he had been invited to lead a youth group and had a wonderful time.  He tells me, “I have stories.”  I bet he does!  Steve is scheduled to return to California on September 7th, so until then  please keep him in your prayers.

I’ll also share with you a little project I’m working on for that leprosy colony I visited in Zambia in July.  I showed you pictures of that part of my trip when I got back a few weeks ago.

I mentioned that I would be looking at ways to improve the lives of the people in the leprosy colony.  I’m working with pastor John Chilengi of Compassionate Vineyard in a town called Kasempa.  His church consistently ministers to the people in this leprosy colony.  Here’s what we hope to provide with our current campaign, and how much each item costs: