Greetings in Christ’s name!

I was reminded a couple weeks ago of how fast things can change and how quickly the unexpected can come upon us when Hurricane Nicholas surprised us overnight on a Monday.  When I awoke on Tuesday morning I was surprised to find limbs down all over my yard and a tree that had fallen between my neighbor’s house and ours.  I had written the Tuesday email to all of you on Sunday evening when we hadn’t felt threatened by the storm at all, but by Tuesday morning, Rochelle and I were cutting trees and cleaning up yards with our neighbors. 

A few years ago a woman I know lost a job on a Monday but had another job by Wednesday.  The panic she felt on Monday seemed justified.  But we never know what might happen tomorrow.  For me, that’s a good reason to trust in God who promises to be with us no matter what comes.  You probably know the old saying, “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future.”  The saying is a bit cheesy,  but I find it comforting to think that God knows our needs and cares for us much more than flowers and birds.  If you find yourself worrying about something or surprised by something else, consider Jesus’s words, “Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you’ll eat or what you’ll drink, or about your body, what you’ll wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t sow seed or harvest grain or gather crops into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are?  Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life?  And why do you worry about clothes? Notice how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t wear themselves out with work, and they don’t spin cloth.  But I say to you that even Solomon in all of his splendor wasn’t dressed like one of these.  If God dresses grass in the field so beautifully, even though it’s alive today and tomorrow it’s thrown into the furnace, won’t God do much more for you, you people of weak faith? Therefore, don’t worry and say, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’  Gentiles long for all these things. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6.25-34)

This Week

Weather permitting, the oak tree at the front of our property will be taken down today.  We had a team of arborists working to save this tree over the past year and a half and are sad it could not be saved.  For years it has provided shade and beauty to our property and this community.  Thanks to Justin Estopinal at Friendswood Firewood and Gerald Wood from Friendswood Excavating for donating their labor, and Jon Kerr for organizing the milling and distribution of the wood.  Special thanks also to Marvin and Scott Lee, from Lee’s Landscaping who grew seedlings from this tree that will be planted on our property and all across our community (see more below about this).  

Tickets to the Mission BBQ lunch and quilt raffle can be purchased through Wednesday noon by clicking here or by calling the church office.  The meal will be served in individual boxes after worship next Sunday and the money raised goes toward the support of our missionaries. 

A women’s bible study meets Wednesdays at 6:30pm, in Susan Tam’s home.  Another women’s bible study will begin on October 6, meeting on Wednesday mornings at 9:30 in the Coffee Café at the church.  If you’re interested in either, call or email the church office for information.  Nursery care for the Wednesday morning session is available by reservation – please call the church office this week to make arrangements if you need childcare.  Books will be available for purchase at the first class session for $20. 

We will host clients from Family Promise Oct 10-17.  As always, we need volunteers to help set up Sunday afternoon the 10th (it takes about 40 minutes), to provide a meal one night that week (for no more than 14 people), to stay overnight in a private room in the Friends Center from about 8pm to 6:30am the next morning (just to have someone present on our campus in case there is some difficulty with our facilities), and tear down the beds the morning of Sunday, October 17.  If you’ve never volunteered before and have questions, please feel free to contact me.  We’d be happy to pair you up with other volunteers you may know and trust.  Contact Desiree Trevino or Beth Skeeter to volunteer for this important ministry. 

Finally, if you missed the chance to get a seedling tree from Marvin and Scott Lee last Sunday, they have a few more and would like everyone from the church who wants a tree to get one.  Reply to this email and I’ll send you their phone numbers.  Marvin says if they decide to start a tree farm, they’ll name it “Quaker Oaks.”  Thanks to them both for this awesome and creative way to give us all a part of the tree from our front lawn. 

May the love, joy and peace of God surround you this week in a way that relieves your fears and strengthens your hope!

Peace,

David Bridges