far away. Having the knowledge that God not

only knows us, but loves us,

gives us comfort. The ques-

tion of God promising to be

with us has been answered.

He is with us and for us. But

what about here in this

world, can we really learn to

know and trust one another?

Many families fall apart, be-

cause no one really knows

the others. What is your

favorite food, TV show, co-

median, politician, story in

the Bible or person from the

Bible? What sin do you

wrestle with more than the

rest? Gossip? Bitterness?

Hatred? Something else?

Who knows these things

about you? Your family

should. You should be able

to talk with them about such

things in your life and in

theirs. When you cant this is whats called the break-down of the family. So to

eliminate the sense of being

a stranger to those closest

to you here is a list of traits

Recently I read an article

titled Silence isnt Golden. It was written by Golden

Tate. Tate is a professional

football player who played

for the Seattle Seahawks and

is now with the Detroit Li-

ons. Here is a little of his

story, then Ill get to the point.

Tate grew up in Henderson

Tennessee and attended the

University of Notre Dame.

He was drafted by the Seat-

tle Seahawks in 2010 signing

a four-year contract worth

$3.2 million. After that con-

tract was complete, he

signed a five-year, $31 mil-

lion contract with

the Detroit Lions. Many

sports fans were upset and

confused as to why he left

Seattle after they had won

the Super Bowl; thats when the rumors started to fly.

In Tates own words he writes, For me, joining the Lions meant playing along-

side Calvin Johnsonwho I believe to be the best wide

receiver in the leagueand with a quarterback in Mat-

thew Stafford who can

throw with the best of

them. Unfortunately, I have since been harassed on

social media over a multitude

of reasons about why I left,

none of which are true. It

was profoundly disappoint-

ing, not only that these

fans were circulating ru-mors about me, but more so

how my reputation became

tarnished in the process. When those who dont even know you, judge you based

solely on what theyve heard, it creates a bad environment for the player

and those close to him.

The thing that really struck

me was this: But you dont know me, Golden Tate, the

person. What Im all about. You dont know how much I care about my relationships

with the fans and city in which I

play. The thought: you dont really know me, the real me,

the me on the inside, the me

that thinks, plans, succeeds and

failsthat me. This is some-thing that is worth our time

and our consideration.

Who really knows you? The

real you? Who knows you well

enough to know its okay to call and ask for help? Who knows

you well enough to know not

only will you not be bothered by

that call, but that you want

them to call? And do you know

anyone that well?

This is a church newsletter and

so you know at some point I

am going to tell you that God

knows you that well. Psalm

139:2 says of

God, You know when I sit down or stand up. You know

my thoughts even when I'm

SILENCE ISNT ALWAYS GOLDEN

February

Irondale Church is a place of promise to grow and belong

Irondale Church News

Pray Always

Pastor David and Col-leen

Community Soup

Irondale Bible Institute

Our outreach and wit-ness to our community

Busy Hands

People struggling with illness

Young families and single parent families

Those struggling with addictions

Schools: students, staff, administrators

Missionaries

Homeless, helpless, hopeless and hungry

Salvation for the lost

Law enforcement pro-fessionals

The military serving at home and abroad

We will be friends forever just you wait and see -Winnie the Pooh

Continued on p. 2

breakdown of the family. So

to eliminate the sense of be-

ing a stranger to those closest

to you here is a list of traits

that apply to friends and fam-

ily. This list puts relationships

into manageable categories

where we can remove the

distance from loving relation-

ships, moving closer to one

another and seeing our love

grow. When love grows, joy

follows.

Proverbs 18:24 tells us, One who has unreliable friends

soon comes to ruin, but there

is a friend who sticks closer

than a brother. Do you have that type of friend? Are you

that type of friend? If you are

not sure here is a list of quali-

ties to live out and look for:

1. No judgment

Friends let each other be who

they are without judging fail-

ures. A good friend knows

you at your core and contin-

ues to be your friend.

2. Genuine

You never have to fake it to

get along, dont talk behind one anothers backs and never be afraid to approach

them with a problem or ques-

tion. Its never a chore to have them over and you

never feel like you have to

entertain them.

3. Acceptance

Recently I saw a quote that

read, STOP! Its not a com-petition, were all crazy. Good friends get that.

4. Trustworthy

Keep confidences. There may

be teasing, but never deliber-

ate hurting. As one old saying

says, You know your name is

safe in their mouth.

5. Respect

You wont always agree with them (Who does?), but

youll always welcome their opinion.

6. Forgiveness

You cant move forward if one person is hung up on

the past. Not just taking

the action of forgiving when

an offense is committed, but

believing they would never

deliberately hurt you and

you never deliberately hurt-

ing them.

7. Support

Be present because you

want to be present, not

because you are asked.

Without the encouragement

of our friends, we wouldnt enjoy many of the wonders

life has to offer.

8. Predictable

Loved ones should be able

to predict each others gen-eral responses. For exam-

ple, when one of you does

something really stupid, the

other will respond as ex-

pected. If not, you should

be comfortable to say, I know what I did was stupid,

but I thought you would

laugh not lecture me. This keeps accounts with one

another short and the past

in the past.

9. Thoughtful

Be thoughtful and willing to

tell each other that you are.

Its one thing to think about your friends and family, but

its another thing to let them know. Its the pack of Swedish Fish just because

you know they like them, or

making sure they see that

you are trashing that ugly

picture of them. When it

comes to love, little things

are the big things.

10. Listener

Best friends and family will,

at the very least, pretend to

be listening to your sad

story again, for the twelve-

hundredth time. They will

also listen for the emotions

buried in the rants not just

the factual details.

11. Shares your humor

Did you see that sign? The one that said, Drive Thru Restrooms? Im pre-tending I didnt. (All to-g e t h e r n o w , )

HAHAHAHA. Laughter is good like a medicine

(Prov. 17:22).

12. Loves you for you

Even when youre angry with the entire world,

theres always one person who gets spared, and thats your best friend. You love

each other in spite of

moods, personality and even

a questionable memory for

senseless trivia. Family

should fall in here too. The

idea that if you say some-

thing cruel, they know you

didnt mean it and look at you thinking, You cant get rid of me that easy.

We can put these lifestyle

changes into action one at a

time or all at once. Save

this list of traits and use it as

a check list, asking the ques-

tions am I avoiding judg-

ment, being genuine, accept-

ing others for who they are,

respecting their decisions,

e t c .

Page 2 Irondale Church News

Silence, contd

Continued next page

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irri-table or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but re-joices with the truth. 7

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, en-dures all things.13 So

now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1Corinthian 13:4-7,13

There is little we can do

about the actions of others,

but if enough of us pull to-

gether to love, encourage

and support one another it

will seem like everyones doing it!

The Bible says in 1 John 4:16

-21, We have come to know and to believe the

love that God has for us.

God is love, and whoever

abides in love abides in God,

and God abides in him. By

this is love perfected with

us, so that we may have

confidence for the day of

judgment, because as He is

so also are we in this world.

There is no fear in love, but

perfect love casts out fear.

For fear has to do with pun-

ishment, and whoever fears

has not been perfected in

love. We love because he

first loved us. If anyone

says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for

he who does not love his

brother whom he has seen

cannot love God whom he

has not seen. And this com-

mandment we have from

him: whoever loves God

must a lso love h is

brother (ESV).

God bless you guys, I hope

and pray you have a won-

derful February.

-Pastor Dave

Silence, contd

Youth Group

love? Do we truly believe

that it is strong enough to

reach this city? Oh, we of

little faith. I too have had

many a thought lingering in

the place of doubt, but is it

not time we take up our

sword and fight the lethargy

that pulls us and our families

away from our dear sweet

SAVIOR? Is He not strong

enough? I evaluate my own

prayer life and the doubt

stands daunting me away

from the call of intercession.

When will we remember

the charge given to each of

us to go and make disciples

while remembering the

promise of His presence

with us even to the end of

the age?

Church, these youth will

not be reached for Christ

merely by fun programs,

festivities and creatively fun

messages. Even though the

Lord uses these means, the

youth and this community,

will only be reached with

the move of the Spirit,

through the primary means

of the prayers of the saints,

solid Bible teaching, and

various expressions of true

love. If you want to help: con-

sider partnering in prayer

and fasting with me. Possi-

bly set aside a breakfast or

some other meal to seek

the Lord for the salvation of

one of these little ones;

what is a meal in compari-

son to someones eternity? In the end will what you did

with your time be worth it? Thank you each for your

prayers and blessings, may

our Lord lead you in the

way you should go and may

He pour out his anointing

upon you as you step out in

obedience to His call.

-Cheyanne

What a beautiful year has

begun, truly the Lord is gra-

cious. As the year opens

and shines the light of a new

beginning, I cannot help but

wonder at the mystery that

is unfolding before us here

in this community. The light

of Christ is shining and I can

feel the warmth of His love

breaking forth from the

cold of the still winter. Yes!

Yes, and amen! We His

children sing as we antici-

pate this new beginning. I cant help but think of the prophet Jeremiah as these

thoughts whirl through my

mind, I have loved you with an everlasting love; there-

fore I have continued my

faithfulness to you. Jeremiah 31. His faithful-

ness has not and will not

fail. Though darkness hangs

about, His love is everlast-

ing. As the Holy Spirit says

in Song of Songs chapter 8

verse 6, for love is strong as death, jealousy is

fierce as the grave. Its

flashes are flashes of fire,

the very flame of the Lord. Have we given up on His

Page 3 Irondale Church is a place of promise to grow and belong

Kids in Action

Turn the page for pho-

tos of Christmas at

I r o n d a l e C h u r c h !

Thanks to Hannah Mont-

gomery, mom of the lit-

tlest angel for the won-

derful pictures!

Wednesdays 3:00-5:30 pm

Kids Club meets in the Fel-

lowship Hall,

Youth Group meets in the Annex

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesnt hurt.

-Charles M. Schultz

They invented hugs to let people know you love them without saying anything.

-Bill Keane

Page 4 Newsletter Title

Katrina, Rrunana, TeAmo, Kyara and Zack

Zack

Kamari, Bekka, Izzyie & Claire

Yarro

Sarah, Yarro & Zack

Riley, Sarah & Dymon

Izzie & Bekka

Eliana

River, Katrina, Rrutanna & TeAmo & Kyara

Christmas Program Cast Christmas Eve Candlelight

Christmas at Irondale

She came to my chair to get me to take them outside; it was her second trip to get my at-tention. I had foolishly ignored her the first time as I tried to work on some project, but she wasnt standing for that any longer. With her soft little paws firmly placed on my leg, she stood as tall as she could reached up and poked me with her soft tiny wet black nose, this time standing on my left side where she had had to squeeze herself into the spot, to make sure I got the mes-sage.

I did and we headed out-side. It wasnt what she wanted she hung out under the table and said, Well hey I dont want to go outside did you get busy and forget us little guys are located a mere 9 inches from the floor and its cold down here. TURN on the heat, light the fire! We are not wear-ing a nice toasty wool Columbia sweater like you! Sheesh!

I ignored her impassioned plea, since I had made up my mind if she was going to dis-turb me and interrupt my work, we were all going outside. Id light the fire when we came in. Do you know how demeaning it can be when a darling little dog without words tells you your faults and flaws with no rancor in their tone at all? She wasnt putting me in my place ... just letting me know the drift of things.

We wandered around the yard and I looked at the still frozen grass, trees, beauty and bounty that God had provided in my life since we moved on the hill.

There were swings still at-tached to my clothesline sup-ports. They had been placed there for the four children I used to babysit. A huge plastic climbing slide thing rests under one of my favorite trees, now

seldom used. Bikes outgrown for the most part leaning against the hillside, Tonka type trucks covered in winter grass stuff of high importance at one time. Still when asking the users of such items can I get rid of these the reply was: I still need this stuff.

I watched as the two dachs-hunds headed up the hill where THEY are not supposed to go into the trees. The giant cedar and firs had become forts of magnificent proportions in the minds of these same children whose stuff of younger years still graces my yard. I climbed the hill to see what was attract-ing the pups and looked down with new perception on the stuff. Lots to let go of in life, thats what God sees when He looks at me at least you too?

But my stuffs important behind the couch in the living room there are three plastic tubs of toys. I have asked the kids to help me thin them out, but so far in two sessions of thinning we have come up with less that a grocery bag or two of priceless items we can stand to part with. Yikes I am really bad at letting things go and apparently its something that I have in my genes as I have passed this stuff-hoarding thing on to my extended family.

Perhaps its leftover from my life as a child and being told on many occasions we were moving and I would have to choose what to leave behind. Maybe I ran out of delete this in my brain??? Maybe they will discover one day that there is a switch that can be tripped that allows you to not see the stuff.

Thats how it is with the stuff I need to let go of in my spiritual life as well I might need God to send along a little cold nosed Dachshund to point out my unhurried air as I waver over letting go of childish be-havior patterns. Sometimes He has used what appears to be a big spotlight to help light the

way for me, sometimes its just a gentle nudge, but often its a gentle poke, a little more than a nudge, when I refuse to see it His way.

We all have different styles of living and relating in this world and our way may seem irksome or even unorganized or over organized depending on which side of the fence you are standing on by your own or someone elses standards. In Gods word He tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.

I just lit the pellet stove. I had turned the furnace on when we went outside for our invigorating turn around the yard, but, that was several moments ago I am a little forgetful . The pups prefer the pellet stove (so do I) much cheaper and nicerthe dry heat.

You see in the world furnace thermostats are most usually placed at about my shoulder or head -height. Which means for me everything below the ther-mostat is colder than the dis-played numbers on the ther-mostat screen.

Can you imagine how cold it can be if heat rises and you are only 9 inches tall? Another thing I have learned from the pups is NOW hold your breath for this one we all dont experience the things of life from the same perception. We need to make allowances knowing that other people are just not going to see or relate to our and their own needs from our perceptions.

This is why God calls us to give up our childish ways and demands to have things our way and to think of others and live with His Godly perception, in proportion as life relates to others and not just ourselves. We save ourselves and those Pesky Others from being put

Unstuff

Treasurer Report

January 29, 2015

General Operations

Income: $ 144,243.86

Expenses: $ 118,787.44 Annual Budget: $153,048.00

Page 5 Irondale Church is a place of promise to grow

through undue turmoil by defining life and demanding its circumstances to be as we alone see fit. This is a big part of the un-stuffing of our lives.

Our pellet stove is 25 years old and can be difficult to light or keep lit sometimes. These things are true; however to not light it at all brings about no change. Sometimes it takes relighting more than once. Irritating yes, but usu-ally all change is a little irritat-ing or has a cost. Dont give up on yourself or others as you or they seek to change. Stuff takes time to collect, un-stuffing takes more time. Happy cleaning!

-Colleen

There is no fear in love. But perfect loe drives out fear, be-cause fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love be-cause he first loved us.

-1John4:18-19

Located at 681 Irondale Road PO Box 959

Port Hadlock, WA 98339

Phone: 360-385-1720 Fax: 360-385-1720

E-mail: irondalechurch@gmail.com

Pastor & Wife: David & Colleen Hodgin Associate Pastor: Troy Norman Visitation Pastor: Chuck Gadbaw Elders: Dave Noble, John Jamison, Fritz Gordon, LeRoy Glessing, Dave Eddie Council: Sue Hay-Missions, Colleen Hodgin-Fellowship, Mary Noble-Finance, Troy Norman-Worship, Jim Wilcox-Interior Property, Kim Wilcox-Treasurer

IRONDALE CHURCH

Irondale Church

PO Box 959

Port Hadlock WA 98339

Irondale Church is a place of promise to grow and belong

Find us on the web at www.irondalechurch.org

Weekly Schedule: Sunday: 9:30 Sunday School, 10:30 Worship, Childrens Church & Nursery; Coffee Hour; 6:30 Evening Bible Study Tuesday: 4-6:30 Community Soup Wednesday: 3-5:30 Kids Club and Youth Group Thursday: 11:00 Prayer Hour 2nd Saturday Mens breakfast at Chimacum Cafe 3rd Saturday: Busy Hands Quilts for Foster Kids 4th Saturday: Mens Breakfast at IHOP (Irondale House of Praise)

First Name Last Name Address Line 1 City State ZIP Code

...the LORD appeared to him from far away.

I have loved you with an everlasting love;

therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you...Jeremiah 31:3 ESV