Overwhelmed with thankfulness…by Kara Backes

That’s what I have been this late spring/early summer season.  God is so good – life is so very hard but God is so good. 

Things I’ve been overwhelmed with thankfulness for…

• Abundant Grace, Love and guidance – Thank You God!
• Sunday morning RidgeKids volunteers – it takes 100+ volunteers in our ministry to make happen what your kids experience every Sunday – our volunteers are amazing – the light of Christ in them – their dedication – I am completely overwhelmed with gratefulness for each and every one of them – Thank You God!!!
• Our RidgeKids – have you seen their faces? Have you seen the light of God in their eyes?  I have – they are amazing – their hearts for Jesus – astounding – their sweetness – their love of fun – their passion for Jesus and others – oh my!  Thank You God! 
• Our Family Ministry team – the hours, the dedication, their passion for God and meeting families where they are – their hearts to serve others – I am humbled daily to be given the gift to serve alongside an amazing team.  They are a gift from God, for me, for you, and most of all for Him.  Thank you God!
• Our Staff – humbled again to work alongside a staff that works together, that loves God and all of you so very much!  Thank You God!
• For times like a simple grill out and games in a park called CeleMAYtion – that so many people would gather to engage in community with their families and others – and the joy in the children’s eyes as they threw marshmallows over and over.  These are simple and yet profound moments to cherish. Thank You God!

• For a Fine Arts camp – Create and SING – I could not have imagined how God would move and work.  The amazing confirmation  that kids are indeed longing to integrate their passion for God and their passion for their talents and gifts together in their every day life. For the joy, the hard work, the amazing creativity and their hearts for God – engaging in the fruits of the spirit.  And last but not least amazing volunteers again. Thank You God!
•  For all the little moments that God gives as a gift – when the sun shines down on me, when my kids laugh, how my husband still makes me laugh, when the trees bloom with flowers, dear friends, loving family, when health seems a little more hopeful.  Thank You God!

And so I choose to sit in this thankfulness I hope for a long time, but at least for the summer.   I want to choose thankfulness which God blesses with Joy.  I want to choose to deflate this summer.  A very good friend shared this story with me – So if I was a balloon, I’ve been blown up with a full season in life and ministry, and maybe I should take time to deflate like a balloon, so in the next season I can be filled even further than before. (You know how a balloon can be blown up more the second time you blow it up, but if you blew it up too much without deflating it, it would pop.)  So I choose to deflate, not to pop, and enjoy the anticipation of an even fuller season to come.  Whatever God has in store. Do you need to deflate so God can fill you more?  Start with thankfulness.  Thank You God!

Follow the Honduras Mission Trip

Hey everybody!
Go to prayhonduras.blogspot.com to follow our mission trip to Honduras!

Summer is HERE!

The calendar may say that summer has arrived but things are not slowing down around The Ridge.

Here are some things happening this summer:

Summer @ The Ridge starts June 9th! We transition to one 10am church service for June 9- August 4th. We will kick off Summer @ The Ridge with lunch on June 9th immediately following the church service in The Square. Habitat for Humanity will be there to share about how The Ridge is partnering with them this summer.

We will conclude Summer @ The Ridge on August 4th with our 10am church service and lunch immediately after.

Story Time with Ms. Jeanne is from 9:30-10:30 on the 1st & 3rd Tuesdays and 2nd & 4th Wednesdays of the month (same book 1st & 2nd week and 3rd & 4th week).

The Ridge Women's Circle meets from 11:30-1:00 on the first Thursday of each month.

Join teacher Vivian Kinkade for Experiencing the Spirit Tuesdays 6:30-8:00 starting June 11th.

Read a book to the 3 or 4 year old Sunday School classes on Sunday morning (it takes 15 minutes during service and the book is provided for you).

Life Together will continue throughout the summer for the ladies - second Saturday of the month in the Square - 8:30-10am.

Single & Parenting will be hosting some pilot groups this summer - any single parent is invited to join.

We're excited to announce a new program- Boot Camp for Guys. This unique Boot Camp focus on two seemingly contradictory areas for men - the body and the spirit. This 8-week Tuesday & Thursday program will begin June 18th (5:15am - 6:15am).

Whew! For more information on any of these things or to register, contact register@ridgelife.org.

Time by Pastor Mike

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” Heard that one? That’s from Socrates. Pretty deep. I think Ferris Bueller of 80’s movie fame says the same thing in a different way. Perhaps you recall his words, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

I think they’re both right. How many times have I heard or said things like: “I can’t believe it’s June already” or “What happened to the spring?” or “Where did all the time go?”  One of the joys of this time of year is going to open houses of students graduating from High School. I enjoy the pictures that remind us of where each student has been. And the conversations which often revolve around where each student is going. I remember when many of these seniors where toddlers!  Where has all the time gone?

Ferris was right. Life does move fast. We tend to fill it with a whole bunch of things. Most of these things are good things. Enjoyable things. Valuable things. I imagine that Jesus’ life moved pretty fast too. During his ministry years, he attracted a crowd wherever he went. How did Jesus handle it? He was quite intentional to set regular time aside to be alone, to pray, to reflect. I’m grateful for Cheryl’s blog on journaling. I’ve not journaled for several years, but see the value of it. A time to pause. A time to take inventory. A time to examine life. A time to look around once in a while.

I’m finding a valuable practice in my morning connection time with God that has helped me “stop and look around” and to “examine life”. I’ve been asking myself two questions that guide my reflection. The first: when did I feel closest to God yesterday? The second: when did I feel furthest from God yesterday?   I find the answers to these questions to reveal a lot about myself and my relationship with God. They help me to interpret and examine the day past. And prompt me to prioritize and reframe the day ahead. I find myself more aware of God’s activity and presence in each moment.

I’ve not found a way to add more time to each day. But I have found that greater awareness and intentionality does add more layers to the time that I’m given. 

Journaling for People Who Don’t Journal by Cheryl Sidler

I read Teresa Deitch’s blog (http://thefieldjournal.blogspot.com/2013/04/why-journalteresa-deitch.html) a few weeks ago titled “Why Journal” and it was SO good! If you didn’t read it, please do! I agree with Teresa that journaling is a major blessing, although it’s only been the past several years that I began doing it.  I used to be both impressed and intimidated by people who journal. I would look at their spirals with pages of writing and figure those big pages would stay blank in my hands.

Over time, God showed me a way to journal that fit my personality and it all started with my weekly/monthly dayplanners. I used the monthly sections for my schedule and I the weekly portions for other types of notes…which evolved into more of a brief diary. Then, as I began to spend more and more time with God and His Word, I started recording insights and reflections, or a verse that caught my eye. At the end of each year, I read through my entire dayplanner and discovered all the amazing ways God worked through my life…things I would have otherwise forgotten. It’s amazing what happens in a year!

I was surprised when I went to daily/monthly dayplanners because I wanted more space to write. I also started reading the entries each month in addition to yearly. I noticed themes that connected what I learned from the Bible and what was going on in my life and in the world.  The great thing for me is that it still didn’t require a lot of writing. I would just take short notes each day and God would put them all together over the course of time so they made sense. 

I’ve also incorporated fun ideas in my journals to express some creativity. I draw something that comes to mind through my studies or prayers, write song lyrics that had special meaning, write prayers for specific people on my heart, or write questions from the Scripture I study. Sometimes, I’ll add action steps and make a little check box to be sure I am not just a “hearer of the Word” (James 1:22)! I might write a verse I feel called to memorize or an “ah-ha” moment that might arise. Some days are just a list of songs I used in worship.  

Each day is different. God taught me to avoid legalism with this journaling method. There are days here and there or sometimes even weeks where I might have very little written. That’s okay! It’s not a contest to fill the page…it’s a record of what I am learning and experiencing. I trust God will teach me through all of it. Sometimes those blank pages are connected to times in my life when I get too busy and need to reprioritize and get back with my most important relationship. When I read over the month and see themes that connect, I sense God weaving His message throughout my life. God loves me perfectly whether I journal or not…but through my journals I am learning to know Him better and love Him more every day. There are so many places in the Bible where we are urged to “remember” what God has done. Journaling - no matter what your method - is an invaluable way to do just that!