Hostess'

Fresh faces!

One more thing to look forward to this summer as part of our services, other than Chris Land, Kim Maxwell, and Jason Baskerville preaching is.....Genevieve and Stephanie Wahl Hosting the services. This is a great opportunity for some public speaking. It is also a great opportunity for us to include some new faces- (we're glad they agreed to it!). If you like it be sure to cheer each Sunday for them.

Cheers

Mining Wisdom

I admire leaders who are full of integrity and godly wisdom. Either listening to them or reading their words is like drinking a hot cup of dark roasted coffee - you savor every mouthful!

Fred Smith Sr. is a man who loved Jesus, was full of wisdom, and was a brilliant leader. Although I've never met him, I feel like I know him quite well. The other day I read something by him that was so rich, that I need to share it with you. It's entitled:
Fundamental People Principles

Here are three simple things that I have learned about people.

First, I have learned that I waste time in trying to correct other people's mistakes. I should use the time to utilize their strengths and buttress their weaknesses. A lot of training programs I have seen are geared to overcoming weaknesses - what a waste of time!

Second, I have learned that you can't change anybody else. Each person has to change himself or herself - you can't do it for them. You can set up pressures or you can be there to encourage, but the action can't be taken for another. You might even create fear that will cause a temporary change but nothing permanent. We spend an awful lot of time putting temporary situations in place, thinking that we have changed a person, but in the end it is only a short-term fix.

Third, I have learned that people are the way they are because they want to be that way. I haven't always believed this. In fact, when I started out in life, I wanted to be a social worker and I became extremely disillusioned with people. Now I am totally convinced that each of us is the way we are because we want to be that way. We rationalize and give all kinds of reasons that it's not true, but bottom line: You are choosing to be who you are.

When you have an opportunity to change and you don't take it, you are deciding to stay where you are. And of course, when you grow through personal challenges, you are becoming who you want to be. People who want to change make a plan. Too often lack of a plan is an easy way to rationalize the unwillingness to make changes.

Now that's rich! Here are 3 questions from Fred that you can ponder:

1. How am I choosing to stay stuck in life?
2. What is the best choice that I have made in the last six months?
3. Who is my mentor, or coach?

What's Your Piece?

In Elder's Team meetings lately we have been discussing the biblical, historical and present role of elders in our church. The subject came up for a couple of reasons, one being when we add new elders to our mix they naturally want to know what it is they need to be doing. The other reason is, as with any job, when the expectations are high and the instructions are vague, much stress and burnout may result. Our expectations are high not because we serve a demanding bunch, but because we want to see the kingdom come and the gospel lived. And because we always want to see more. So in order to better serve as elders and to stay healthy as individuals, we are discussing, praying about and contemplating our role.

There are some things that are very clear to us. We want to be a church that is about all of us living the gospel, not a church where the leaders do everything and the people come to watch. When people come and join us we want them to participate with us and to be a disciple of Jesus. I think of it sometimes as though CV is a big picture, and each of us are a part of it, like in a puzzle. Together as we serve Jesus the whole picture becomes visible. I personally like this idea, since I often tend to look at my piece all on its own, and think that it doesn't look like much of anything. But of course, when you put a puzzle together you know that each piece on its own shows pretty much nothing at all of the whole picture!

So what piece of the picture am I? What piece are you? This month we had elder homework. We are each contemplating some personal questions to help us zero in a bit more and better identify our roles, or our own piece of the puzzle.

Since CV is the sum of its members, I thought I would put the questions up here, re-written to be applicable to all of us - they are great 'food for thought'!

What questions do you have about being a part of CV (Cambridge Vineyard)?

Why are you a part of CV?

Do you feel you have a specific role in the team?

How does your role fit with the other members of CV?

Finish the sentence: I am a disciple of Jesus to _____

If you are in a small group this might make an interesting discussion. And of course you can also comment on here if you wish, or talk to any of us in person.

Shelley Maw

P.S. Something to think about: Allowing others to witness your life as you learn and love and struggle and hurt and serve and give and receive...this is being a witness to Jesus.

Insect Questions - Here!!

K. so every once in a while I get asked insect questions.....your garden variety usually. I love to answer them, so if you have one...by all means send it to me. It is just one way i justify all the money and 4 years spent on an agriculture degree.

BUT....here is the answer to a riddle that Bruce had for me while he was weeding the gardens at the church- thanks Bruce!! It seems the canna lilies and the roses at the church were being eaten....but by what? We found these little wonders on the roses eating small holes.

It is called the Japanese Beetle.

Popillia japonica

The beetle species Popillia japonica is commonly known as the Japanese beetle. It is about 1.5 cm (0.6 inches) long and 1 cm (0.4 inches) wide, with iridescent copper-colored elytra and green thorax and head. It is not very destructive in Japan, where it is controlled by natural enemies, but in America it is a serious pest of about 200 species of plants, including rose bushes, grapes, [hops], canna, crape myrtles, and other plants.

SO BRUCE....I got bad news. Planting Canna, and roses together means.....hungry, hungry, Japanese Beetles....

BUT.

There may be good news.

During the larval stage, the Japanese beetle lives in lawns and other grasslands, where it eats the roots of grass. During that stage, it is susceptible to a fatal disease called milky spore disease, This may mean nothing....but at least it is something.

BUT wait there is more.....

Natural repellents include catnip, chives, garlic, and tansy[3], as well as the remains of dead beetles. Additionally, when present in small numbers, the beetles may be manually controlled using a soap-water spray mixture.

other good news....

There is only one generation per year. Adults emerge from the soil in late June through mid-July, feeding actively in sunny locations for 30-45 days

For further information....

check out omafra which has info on almost every insect found in Canada

now you know.

Macintosh Musing

It was a beautiful day, a perfect day to work outside. I was standing under what appeared to be an apple tree, though before that day I had not realized the existence of it's fruit bearing abilities -- a strand of Macintosh at that. It had been a couple of weeks since Rob had announced to me that we were going to prune the apple trees on the property. "Apple trees," I had exclaimed, unknowing that we even had one. We have four! Four (decent kinds of apple) trees in the backyard of the Cambridge Vineyard. One more new discovery since I've started working here six weeks ago.

So, there I was standing under the first chosen tree to prune, apparently a first experience for both us. Rob was already fully immersed in chopping off limbs and branches at the top of the tree when I walked over. I had a memory flash of an apple orchard and thought out loud, "Aren't apple trees supposed to be fairly sparse in branches?" Rob grinned and chuckled as he jumped out of the tree and answered me, "Yep. Apple trees are generally sparse -- we've got a lot of cutting to do," and he handed me the clippers.

For the trees to bear good fruit they need partial sun and partial shade, so the branches need to be spaced in a way that allows the sun to shine through, yet at the same time provides some coverage from too much heat. This is why typically the structure of an apple tree is shaped like a pyramid/triangle. The tree we were standing under was shaped like a big sphere. It took me a little while to figure out "what branches would get to live or die," as Rob so eloquently put it. At first I was timid and thought I was going to screw up the tree if I cut the wrong branch, but after my first few cuts I started seeing and understanding the process a bit more. As I looked up from the ground and surveyed the direction the branches were growing in, I was able to recognize what branches were good and what one's were deterring healthy growth.

"This is why we can be thankful that Jesus is gentle and only prunes us a little bit at a time." Rob's one sentence sermon ended as he finished sawing through a large branch with a 3.5-4" diameter. I should say it was more like the top of a limb he was cutting off. It was full of leaves and looked healthy, it had many smaller branches sprouting from its thick trunk. The limb fell to the ground with a thud. The leaves rustled and shook from the impact, then rested peacefully. "Yea, it's a good thing Jesus is gentle," I thought as I witnessed what looked like harsh treatment of a perfectly fine living structure, "..because the chopping off of a limb that size on my own body would really hurt."

I think it's hard for us to recognize pruning because all it really feels like is suffering. We may have a branch that is bearing good fruit of love and joy, but because of the great abundance of goodness there begins to sprout a lot of branches. So many, in fact that the weight of the branches become overbearing and because of the coverage, the limb begins to die from lack of warm sunlight. This may look like weariness, bitterness, resentment or frustration. This is a good branch that the Father needs to prune. Pruning may be Jesus asking you to step back from leadership for a while, or it may be needing to ask your son or daughter to choose only one sport per season. It may be making the decision to commit to only two nights out a week and the other three you stay home or it may be resolving some conflict between you and someone. Whatever it is, it is usually uncomfortable, hard and possibly hurts a little bit depending on the situation.

Well, I have now turned Rob's one sentence sermon into a six paragraph thought. I'm going to bring it to a close by saying, I'm really glad that I have Jesus to stand under me, look up and see the branches that are deterring good fruit from growing. And I'm really glad that He doesn't just walk away and leave me to grow into something that the Father did not create me to be. He only asks me to trust and obey.

Over-growth and bad fruit is self produced.

Is this What you Expected?

By Matte Downey, Montreal Vineyard.

I was reading Luke 7 this week and the question that John the baptist asks jumped out of the page at me. He was in prison and sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus, "Are you the One we've been expecting, or are we still waiting?" Despite John's extensive preparation work for the long-awaited messiah, he still wasn't sure that what Jesus was bringing was what he had been expecting. Sometimes this life of following Jesus is not what I expected, either. I'm with you, John.

read more...click on this link. Trust me, it's worth the read!
Shelley

http://outword.blogspot.com/2009/06/is-this-what-you-expected.html