Connection to inform & inspire

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER GRACE FELLOWSHIP

JANUARY 2019

Elder Candidate: Steve Hauser —Pastor Mark Johnson

Church Events 01/10 — Stephen Ministry

training classes begin

01/13 — GriefShare begins

01/16 — Financial Peace

University begins

01/26 — RESET Parent/Teen

workshop in Sutter Creek

02/03 — All Church Annual

Meeting

The Elder Board would like

to recommend Steve Hauser as an

elder candidate for 2019. Steve

has served on the Finance Board

as our

Church

Treasurer,

leads one of

our Growth

Groups and

is one of our

rotating

teachers for

the 9am

hour class.

Steve and his wife Andrea

live in Jackson and have invested

their lives at Grace for the past 18

years. They have three children:

Justin, Patrick and Amy. Their old-

est, Justin, is married to Haley.

Steve works representing two Long

-Term Disability plans in workers’

compensation hearings.

Having observed his heart

for Jesus, competency in the Word

and active desire to shepherd

people, the Elder board was in

unanimous

agreement

that Steve

would make

a great

addition to

the team of

elders.

After

praying

about this

opportunity, Steve accepted the

nomination, citing that God had put

in him a desire to serve and

hopefully contribute to the mission

of growing the people’s faith in

Christ.

As new elders are accepted

into this position by congregational

vote, we invite you to introduce yourself

to Steve and get a sense of his heart.

We are confident you will see the same

things we’ve observed. You will have

an opportunity to vote your confidence

at our Annual Meeting on February 3rd.

—Pastor Mark

Page 2 While many people like to make New Year's resolutions in an attempt to better their lives, others

find this tradition discouraging if they don’t succeed. Unlike resolutions, choosing a word of the year is

about progress rather than achieving a specific goal. It is a way to focus your heart and mind on an area of

spiritual growth for the year.

During the last few weeks of each year, I find myself looking forward to the feeling of a new

beginning that comes with the changing of the calendar. I seek God’s guidance and ask Him to bring to my

mind a word that represents areas of my life that need growth. I also like to choose a Bible verse to memo-

rize and meditate on that goes along with my word. Posting my word and Bible verse in prominent places

around the house helps me stay focused throughout the year.

This year, my word is “OPEN”. This represents my desire to be open to a deeper intimacy with God

and to more fully open both my heart and my home to community. I’m eager to see how God will use this

word to help me mature in these areas throughout 2019. —Wendy Chadwick

If you were to choose a “word of the year” for 2019, what would it be and why?

Trust… no matter the circumstances.

—Ginger Schopf, Prayer Ministry

Gentle… “A gentle tongue is a tree of life,

but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” Proverbs 15:4 —Cierra Pera, Youth Ministry

Listen and Love… because of our

Bible study (Listen, Love, Repeat by Karen Ehman) that we did. I want to carry that on for this next year. To hear heart drops from people, listen and love them through it, following Christ’s example. —Martha Johnson, Women’s Ministry

Close… as in “Be close to the Lord.” My verse

that goes with it is Ps 27:4 “One thing I have asked of the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple.” —Debbie King, Children’s Ministry curriculum author

Choices… our choices truly matter. They

do not just effect us but others around us. Making the choice to walk through each day with the Lord, the choice to build others up and not tear down,

Continued on Page 3

the choice to repair a relationship rather than

avoiding the conflict. I want to choose wisely

this year. I want to choose what brings life to

me and glory to the Lord. Choices matter.

—Sheela Hooper, children’s ministry teacher

Kneel… I was

trying to decide between “rest” or “be still” through more time in deep, abiding prayer in the midst

of all the demands of life,

but also “warfare” as I am

keenly aware of a number

of spiritual battles being

waged around me and in

those I love. Both of these

seemingly contradictory

aspects of prayer require

me to “surrender” and

“humble” myself in total

reliance on the Lord.

“Kneel” incorporates all of

these words...I find rest in

the Lord as I am kneeling

in stillness before Him, and the greatest battles

we fight are from our knees as God goes be-

fore us. Kneeling is a position of humble sub-

mission and surrender as well as that from

which one is anointed and commissioned for

whatever lies ahead. I cannot find rest or win

battles without humble surrender, without

kneeling before my Heavenly Father.

—Dana Krieshok, Children’s Ministry Director

Abandon… I’ve been having a

really hard time dealing with our adoption process and it’s getting to a point where it’s

affecting every part of my life. We went to talk

to Pastor Mark about the struggles we were

Women’s Ministry, continued from page 2

having and he brought up the word

“abandonment”. Not that God is abandoning

me but that I need to abandon what control I

still have left over the situation to Him. Not just

surrender it to him, not just give it to him, but to

truly abandon it at his feet and walk away

knowing that he is in control and that He is

God. I have since realized

that I need to abandon con-

trol over more things in my

life than just the adoption.

—Alyssa Tucker,

Worship Team &

Announcements

Brave… I like my

little world as it is; I’m comfortable. My toddler is so

easy and I get adequate

sleep. Knowing God’s will for

me has never been easy,

but I read recently that

whatever God’s will for you

will “be a burden on your

heart until you do it”—and that’s exactly what

foster care is for us. Except I feel like Jonah (I

kind of want to run away!) and I’m afraid to

step out of my comfort zone. Marcus and I

have joked several times that we must be

crazy to even think of pursing this, especially

because Gideon has not prepared us well at all

for any subsequent children (we have no idea

what parenting a difficult child is like!). BUT,

we know that God blesses those who are

willing and obedient. We know that He

provides for and equips those He has called.

Even though I’m admittedly scared, I’m also

excited to see what God will do. So in 2019,

may God make me BRAVE. —Karyn Perry,

church office manager

Page 3

Soooo, here we

go again. I’m going to

lose weight, I’m going to

exercise more, I’m going

to eat healthier, I’m

going to study my bible

every day etc. etc. etc. Sound familiar?

Actually, new year resolutions go way, way

back to the Babylonians. So why not stick to

traditions? Philippians 4:13 tells us, “I can do

everything through Him who gives me strength.”

John 15:5 declares, “I am the vine; you are the

branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he

will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do

nothing.” If God is the center of your New Year’s

resolution, it has chance for success, depending on

your commitment to it. If it is God’s will for something

to be fulfilled, He will enable you to fulfill it. If a

resolution is not God-honoring and/or is not in

agreement with God’s Word, we will not receive

God’s help in fulfilling the resolution.

So, what sort of New Year’s resolution should

a Christian make? Here are some

suggestions: (1) pray to the Lord for wisdom (James

1:5) regarding what resolutions, if any, He would

have you make; (2) pray for wisdom as to how to

fulfill the goals God gives you; (3) rely on God’s

strength to help you; (4) find an accountability

partner who will help you and encourage you; (5)

don’t become discouraged with occasional failures;

instead, allow them to motivate you further; (6) don’t

become proud or vain, but give God the glory. Psalm

37:5-6 says, “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in

him and he will do this: He will make your

righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your

cause like the noonday sun.”

These suggestions and many more are

available after a quick Google search online but it

really comes down to a very personal encounter with

our Savior. My suggestion is to quietly ponder last

year and look at areas in your life that really need

help. What can you do differently physically and

spiritually that will make your walk a little, or a whole

lot closer, with HIM. Get connected with our brothers

and sisters at Grace! For sure, what they have to

share will rub off on you if your open minded.

Accountability is crucial for our Christian walk so find

that key person and let them know how important it is

to have them in your life.

Happy New Year brothers and sisters

—Duke Foster

Page 4

Once again, our children delighted us with

precious perspectives on the birth of Christ this past

Christmas season! It brought tears of joy to many

eyes to see the kids in a wonderful video, acting out

the story of the birth of Jesus, our Savior, while oth-

ers narrated from Scripture and script with sweet

voices. This amazing film was written and directed

by our talented Alyssa Tucker, filmed by our bud-

ding videographers, Annie Hooper and Courtney

Pera, and edited by our famous outdoor vlogging

pastor, Mark Johnson! After the movie, it was such

a delight to see our littlest members singing up front,

teaching us what it means to share the joy of the

Lord with a heart of worship! Thank you, Alyssa, for

giving our kids an opportunity to teach and bless us

and share their gifts with the body of Christ! If you

missed the video or would like to see it again, you

can go to our church Facebook page!

As we begin the New Year, I pray that you

and your families make time to reflect, refocus, and

renew…

REFLECT on how you have been doing as parents

or teachers…in what areas are you succeeding that

need to be continued and what areas need improve-

ment? Are you modeling what it means to love

God’s Word and are you opening up the Scriptures

with your kids on a daily basis? Do they see

you depending on God in prayer? Has God

revealed to you areas of your life that need

His hand of grace which in turn will bless

your family? In your time of reflection, ask

Him and ask your family to show you where

you might need God’s strength and wisdom

to improve.

Reflection is a time to search your heart

and the heart of your family, get a pulse on

the spiritual and emotional health, and

then…

REFOCUS on God and on what He

is revealing to you. Remove things in your

life that are hindering your time with the

Lord and your ability to be who He calls you to be,

in your family, classroom, and in the world around

you.

Embrace those

areas God is

calling you to

focus on. First

and foremost, no

matter who you

are and no matter

what specific

things God is

calling you to,

whether it’s more

time in prayer or

family worship or

community

service or another ministry, we are ALL called to fix

our eyes on Jesus. When we refocus, all we really

have to do is seek Him first and focus on Him…then

everything else in our parenting, teaching, work,

service, and relationships falls into sharper and

healthier focus after that. And that will….

RENEW…as we reflect and refocus, fixing

our eyes on Jesus, seeking Him, we will find

Continued on page 6

Page 5

renewal in our goals, our parenting, our teaching, our

outlook, and the way we live our lives in front of our

kids. It renews the spirit. I know I need this renewal

within my spirit! I get stuck in a rut of doing things on

autopilot, not stopping to take a spiritual breath, and

you can ask my kids…it begins to show in not so

pretty ways! I need this renewal! The world tells us to

reinvigorate by digging deep within ourselves, but we

know that is short-lived…true and deep renewal, the

kind that transforms us and spills over into transform-

ing our kids is only found in digging deep within the

depths of God, in prayer and diving into His Word.

Our kids learn more by what they see in us than by

what we say.

Let’s commit to reflecting, refocusing, and re-

newing in the Spirit, to delight ourselves in the Lord,

fully surrendering to Him and loving Him with all our

hearts as we head into this next year with all the chal-

lenges and joys that it holds…for the sake of our little

ones, for our sake as parents or shepherds, but most

of all for God’s glory!

—Dana Krieshok

Children’s Ministry, cont. from page 5 Contact a

Stephen

Leader

Sue Brady

209-304-0065

or

Rob Rupley

209-304-3123

Would you like

to become a

Stephen

Minister?

Another training

class will begin

in January! To

learn more, visit

the table in the

lobby or call a

Stephen Leader

listed above.

GriefShare is beginning in January!

Mark your calendars for 01/13/2019 for the

first session in a 13-week course designed

to help you walk through the loss of a

loved one and the unique challenges such

grief presents. Contact Janese Favret for

more information: 209.223.3202

Page 6

Happy New Year Grace Fellowship. I

hope each of you had a joyful Christmas

season. The women at New Hope Home

had a beautiful Christmas celebration on the

23rd

. They were all able to be home at the same

time (since they all work different hours that is

not always possible). They had dinner and

opened presents which were supplied by New

Life Church and TLC. Then it was pajama and

movie time! Fun was had by all.

There have been some changes to our

leadership at New Hope Home; Melody

Bechard resigned as co-director in November

and she will be missed. She was involved in the

conception of New Hope Home more than 3

years ago. Melody’s computer skills were in-

valuable.

I am happy to

report that Janet

Humphrey has

stepped up to be the

new co-director. I

cannot say enough

about Janet. She

was part of a prayer

support team before

we even had a

house to use. Then

when we were

forming our Board she agreed to be a part of it.

She really has been involved throughout the

entire process—even helped to prep and paint

right along side of me. Every time something

else needed to be done she was there. After all

the construction was completed, the house had

to be cleaned. I was sick at that time so Janet

was there to help Melody get the house ready

for occupancy. She helped sort through

donations, organized the kitchen almost single

handedly and moved furniture around. We

moved heavy sofas around several times. As

Janet is a detail person, she thinks of things

that never even crossed the rest of our minds.

Janet and I have been friends for years and we

both like things organized so I know we will

work well together.

Another change taking place is a new

assistant housemother: Carmie is replacing

Samantha. She has grown by leaps and

bounds and has worked very hard to get to

where she is today. Everyone in the home

really appreciates the support she shows for

others in the home which is a good asset for an

assistant.

Samantha left the end of December to

start a new life on her own. She had been with

us several months working hard to get her life

back on track. She did very well and was

promoted to assistant some time ago. We will

miss her but are happy for her to be strong

enough to leave!

Thank you for praying for the women

living in our home.

—Barb Woodside

Page 7

Happy Anniversary

10th—Terry & Staci Riggle

13th—Richard & Lindy Kidman

16th—Wayne & Jodi Woodard

18th—Gregg & Nancy Johnson

24th—Gilbert & Jackie Gonsolis

January Birthdays

C O

N N

E C T I O

N

3rd: Richard Cavaliere

3rd: Jason King

3rd: Andre Pieterse

4th: Valerie Cavalli

4th: Michael Cavalli Sr.

6th: Sam Aronovsky

9th: Chase Tucker

10th: Sandra Husbands

10th: Sean Parkyn

10th: Gary Schopf

17th: David Hartsuyker

16th: Susan Dudley

19th: Rick Floyd

20th: Michael Kidman

20th: Marla Schremser

22nd: Larry Bates

22nd: Kinslee Catto

22nd: Brittany Cranfill

26th: Terry Riggle

29th: Jenny Cranfill

Page 8

Happy New Year!

“Therefore, if anyone is in

Christ, he is a new creation;

old things have passed away;

behold, all things

have become new”

2 Cor. 5:17

Our Vision

COME - Worship God in Community

GROW - Grow Toward Maturity

SERVE - Serve One Another in Humility

GO - Demonstrate the Love of God in

For further details or questions on the “happenings at

Grace” look on our WEBSITE (graceofamador.org),

weekly BULLETIN, or CALL the office.