You’re a mother – and the evidence of this sobering fact bears heavily upon your emotional constitution with every passing day.  You’ve changed diapers, wiped runny noses, cooked ten thousand meals and washed as many floors.  You either have, or will experience all the stages attendant with this great title.

The first stage demands your constant attention as your “candle goeth not out by night” explaining that ghosts don’t exist or that nightmares are nothing to worry about.  Morning comes sooner than you would like with its verbal barrage of “Billy hit me,” “David’s trying to eat his cereal with a fork!” “Have you seen my underwear mom? Huh? Huh?”  You have learned by experience that facing the music at this early hour is merely the prelude of what is to follow.  By nightfall, you’ve had it.  If you hear one more question like “Do worms yawn?” or “Where does the white go when the snow melts?” you’ll scream.  Each day takes its toll, and you pay it faithfully – because you’re a mother.

Like a tidal wave, the teenage years break upon the shore line of your life, unannounced and unprepared for.  You trade in your bib for boxing gloves.  New demands and new challenges force your hand.  Nursery rhymes won’t cut it.  You’re a counselor whose sensitivity and advice must be couched in love.  You’re dealing with tender hearts that question self-worth and life’s values, but you’re always there – because you’re a mother.

As your children leave the nest, you pose for a different picture.  You’re a grandmother – and this mountain top experience offers a breathtaking view of the past, present and future.  It gives you a chance to experience the contentment of knowing that you have helped to landscape the lives of those whom God lovingly calls  “the fruit of the womb.”  You’re a bit older and a bit wiser now, and if the truth were known, you wouldn’t trade it for anything.  It is for this reason that today and everyday we rise up and call you blessed – because you’re a mother.

In this video, CCEF counselor Winston Smith discusses the premise of his book, Marriage Matters, which will be the basis of this year’s marriage conference.

Join us on May 4 and 5 at Reston Bible Church for our Spring Marriage Conference, featuring Winston Smith. Winston Smith, M.Div., is an author, counselor and faculty member at the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation(CCEF); he has extensive experience as a marriage and family counselor, and teaches seminary students how to counsel couples.

Winston will draw on his extensive experience as a marriage counselor, and share a simple yet powerful prescription for changing your marriage. He will show us how examining the everyday disappointments and irritations in your marriage will help you understand yourself, your spouse, and your need for God’s love. Interactions that used to devolve into pointless annoyances and fights can become an opportunity for God’s activity and love to become increasingly evident and powerful. These principles can take your marriage to extraordinary places and lead you into a deeper relationship with an extraordinary God. Don’t settle for an ordinary marriage; learn to live out God’s extraordinary love in your most intimate relationship.

GET INFO & REGISTER HERE

Paul Goodnight, counseling pastor at Reston Bible Church, invites you to join us on May 4 and 5 for our Spring Marriage Conference, featuring CCEF speaker, counselor and author Winston Smith.

Details and registration info are at restonbible.org/marriage

What do you get when you take 80 bakers, 50 coffee servers, 25 ushers, countless food preparers, children’s ministry volunteers, prayer warriors, 2 backstage crew, 38 actors, 7 band members, sound, lights and media volunteers, a director and 3 people willing to be transparent and share about the struggles in their lives and the victory they have found in trusting Christ with their circumstances?  Conversations, that’s what you get!  Conversations is an annual production including music, drama, humor and real life stories that takes place each evening the week before Easter. It is week where our church comes together to share with our families, friends, co-workers and neighbors the hope that we have in Jesus.  This is real hope – hope not based on circumstances or happily-ever-afters, but on the truth of the word of God and His son, Jesus Christ.

Working behind the scenes, we have the privilege of seeing God at work during the entire process of putting Conversations together.  The ministry that takes place among the cast and crew is amazing.  People of all ages come together to do ministry, connections are made, prayers are answered, and we are each changed through our experience.

Hundreds of hours go into putting on a production like this – writing, rehearsing, building sets, designing graphics and coordinating all the many, many details.  But even the most impressive production is worthless if the congregation doesn’t get behind it and do the most important part – invite and bring their unchurched friends and family.  We named this event Conversations for two reasons.  The music and scenes are based on conversations that go on around us all the time, and our hope is that you would continue to have conversations with the people you brought to see it.

If you have had a memorable conversation with one of your guests since bringing them to Conversations, we would love to praise with you and pray for you.  To share a conversation or story that happened as a result of Conversations, please email us at stories@restonbible.org.

Thanks to RBCer Mike Kelly for the great photos. You can see his Conversations 2012 photo gallery here.

Also, since so many of you asked so nicely, below is The Elevator Scene:

Join us on May 4 and 5 at Reston Bible Church for our Spring Marriage Conference, featuring Winston Smith. Winston Smith, M.Div., is an author, counselor and faculty member at the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF); he has extensive experience as a marriage and family counselor, and teaches seminary students how to counsel couples.

Winston will draw on his extensive experience as a marriage counselor, and share a simple yet powerful prescription for changing your marriage. He will show us how examining the everyday disappointments and irritations in your marriage will help you understand yourself, your spouse, and your need for God’s love. Interactions that used to devolve into pointless annoyances and fights can become an opportunity for God’s activity and love to become increasingly evident and powerful. These principles can take your marriage to extraordinary places and lead you into a deeper relationship with an extraordinary God. Don’t settle for an ordinary marriage; learn to live out God’s extraordinary love in your most intimate relationship.

GET INFO & REGISTER HERE

I’ll be the first to admit that two years ago on the 2010 Sr. High Bike Trip, I was a mess. I was embarrassed that fifty-something teens were kicking my butt in bike-riding (and I was only six years older than some of them!) I remember dreading every morning that I woke up, knowing I was going to bike over twenty miles that day in  eighty-degree weather! I was spent, beat, tired, and just downright overwhelmed. Having to do ministry in a physical state like that is nearly impossible. It was a humbling experience, to say the least.

This year, however, I saw the Bike Trip through a new well-trained and in-shape lens. Fifty-some teens, ready and willing to bike over 175 miles across Florida in one week sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Well it sort of is. Adults and teens from our very own Reston Bible Church, along with several of their friends from school, got in line for a chance to achieve such a daunting task. What strength. What boldness. What bravery!

There is no avoiding the magnitude of God’s brilliance during a trip like this. Who else would orchestrate such a group teenagers of different shapes, sizes, athletic abilities, talents, spiritual maturity levels, and backgrounds, all united for a single purpose: to cross the finish line at Disney World?

But what was the point? What is the Bike Trip all about? You’re right to question our intentions behind taking a group of sixty teenagers and adults down to Florida for Spring Break. It sounds like a party. It sounds like a lot of work. But our purpose was not so small a thing – to allow our teens at RBC a chance to not only be challenged in their own walk with Christ, but to also have an opportunity to invite their unchurched friends to a Christian event in an nonthreatening, fun environment. Every day during our lunch stop, we’d have a short devotional as a biking group (of about eight people).

Each night we’d have a message brought to us by Bob Shull, our Sr. High Youth Pastor. Each day these students had an opportunity to learn something new about themselves. Each day they had a chance to discover and experience God in different ways. And each day we presented the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the group in a new way.

God has unique ways of working in our lives, and the Sr. High Bike Trip is always a unique opportunity to be a part of what He is doing in the lives of our teens. No matter how old we are or where we are in life, we have a responsibility to lead future generations toward the Kingdom of God by pointing them to Christ. We have a responsibility to help those younger than us grow in their relationships with God. The Sr. High Bike Trip is simply one way that we do this at Reston Bible Church.

We each truly experienced God in new ways and watched Him change and work in the lives of our teenagers. And on the last afternoon before we loaded the buses for home, at least a handful of students responded to God’s free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Five new brothers and sisters recognized their need for Jesus in their lives, and committed to pursuing a relationship with Him. And so we rejoice!

Like I said earlier, there is no avoiding the magnitude of God’s brilliance during a trip like this. Who else, but the Holy Spirit could do this work in these students lives?

We thank you for your prayers and support. They truly go beyond what we could ever give you credit for. We ask that you continue to pray for these new believers within our midst. Let us be able to lead them even further towards Truth and be led by the Holy Spirit as we continue to seek to make disciples.

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

~ Isaiah 40:28-31

MARRIAGE STRUGGLING? HERE’S WHY.

1.   When you were dating you thought to yourself, “When we get married, I will change him/her.” That introvert personality will come out of their shell. Those strange irritating habits will fall by the wayside. This is equivalent to believing a dog can teach a cat to bark. It won’t happen. One’s personality is not a sin. Sin lies in character, morals, ethics, and behavior but not in personality.

2.   Heading down the aisle, you were quite sure the two of you were of one mind in thought and purpose – but time has proven otherwise. There was more of a distance between the two of you when you said “I do” than you could have ever imagined. That unknown distance is the unexplored territory that marriage reveals.  All marriages are programmed to fail if this territory is not navigated with humility and wisdom.  To neglect this piece of real estate is to run from responsibility.

3.   Recognize that all your expectations before you got married were performance based.  “If I can get him/her to change, then I will have a happy marriage.”  When such expectations are not realized, the lingering weight of disappointment only exacerbates the situation.

4.   Love is not based on what your spouse can do for you but what you can do for your spouse.

5.   Proverbs 18:17 says, “Life and death are in the power of the tongue.” If this verse could be measured in speed, it would be lighting fast. If measured in power, it would be 500-horse power. If measured in bytes, it would be a million gigs. Tattoo this verse on the back of your eyelids and let it be the guide for your tongue all the days of your life. What you say to your spouse does not reveal their heart, but yours (Matt.12:34).

6.   When the changes you were counting on didn’t happen, angry words are exchanged. Attacks and counter attacks become the norm. Both sides begin to retreat into their own private world of work, TV, video games, and endless hours of entertainment to deaden the pain. Emotional or legal divorce is soon to follow.

7.   We can control what we eat, but we cannot control what we hear. We can remove what goes into our mouth but not what goes into the ear, which is the gateway to the soul. Once it is said, it cannot be retracted.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

 1.   It is never too late to get things back on track. It will take courage, time, energy, wise counsel, and most of all humility.

 2.   Take a hard look at your contribution to the demise of the marriage. Do not focus on your spouse’s failures. That is their responsibility, not yours

3.   Once the two of you have taken careful inventory of your failure, you will need to seek forgiveness from the other. This is not just saying I’m sorry but looking your spouse in the eye and stating what you have done to damage the relationship and saying “Will you forgive me for…..?”

 4.   You will then need to plan out a strategy for how you will deal with conflict in the future. There will need to be ongoing maintenance to keep the marriage on a biblical track. Marriage requires work and lots of it. Even the best of marriages require time and energy. The cruise control on your car works well on the highway but cruise control in marriage will result in a wreck.

 5.   Follow God’s blueprint, and leave the results to Him.

We are pleased to announce our partnership with Door of Hope as they open a new SACS Family Thrift Store location in Sterling.  Door of Hope, a non-profit charitable organization based out of Ashburn, VA has partnered with local churches in Nicaragua, Haiti and Sierra Leone to provide assistance in addressing the oppression, poverty, disease and lack of education opportunities that keep much of the world’s population spiritually lost. Door of Hope collects, sorts and ships used clothes to these poverty-stricken areas which are resold, creating funds for clean water development, employment training, job opportunities, improved sanitation and more than anything else, bringing the hope of Christ to impoverished people.

Your donation of gently used clothing and household items will make a difference in many lives. Through the new Family Thrift Store in Sterling, we are able to make low-cost items available to our local in-need community. Funds from the thrift store directly fund the various international projects mentioned above. In the near future, some of the funds raised will be used to further serve our local community as well. As our partnership with Door of Hope grows, it is our desire to have opportunities to make fully devoted followers of Christ through our relationships with the local customers of the new Sterling location.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED
Donate Items: A large white trailer will be in the RBC parking lot for you to drop off donations of clothing and household items on Sunday mornings. Stop by the Welcome Desk if you would like a receipt for your donation. If you are interested in making a donation during the week, the store is located at 21430 Cedar Drive, Sterling, 20164 (click here for a map). The donation trailer is located behind the store.

Work at the Thrift Store: If you are interested in volunteering to help sort and price items in the store, click here.

It’s true.  But before spring hits, February 14^th peeps around a wintery corner and we find an affectionate group meandering the Children’s Ministry halls for the 2^nd annual Father / Daughter Dance.  This is my personal favorite event of the year for our little ladies who come with hair curled, cheeks blushed and a curtsey-worthy gown for a night of fun and conversation with their fathers or special date (who also dress the part in a suit and tie).  The evening starts off with fathers tokening their young ladies with corsages and a formal photo shoot.  From there, it’s delightful chaos as they spend their evening walking through a couple hundred helium balloons while visiting crafts rooms, eating desert, and finally, dancing the night away!

Yes, it’s meant to be fun and enjoyable (and I think it’s safe to say, it is!), but there is something much deeper at work on this special night.  Gavin Long, an RBC dad who attended with his lovely ladies, shares from his perspective:

“The worlds of a father and his young daughter can sometimes be vastly different. Dads are battling in the marketplace, while their daughters are concerned about who likes them at school. Dads are anticipating March Madness, while his daughter is dreaming of a new dress. The Valentine’s Dance creates a common experience to let those two worlds converge. Dads are not always the best when it comes to expressing their feelings, but events like the Valentine’s Dance provide fathers with an environment to connect with their daughters in an intentional and intimate way. Simple events like this go a long way in bridging the potential divide between the worlds of fathers and daughters, providing us, as fathers, with a powerful, but accessible way of communicating love to our little girls. It is that experience of fatherly love that dramatically shapes how our girls think about themselves, their families and God throughout their lives.”

Last year, we received numerous responses back from dads telling us that this night was a springboard for them to initiate a deeper relationship with their girls.  Praise the Lord! This year, I was able to see some of the benefits before the night even ended.  You’ve got to love overhearing a 2^nd grade daughter asking her dad, “I have three things I really like about you.  Can I say more than one?”

Usually once per semester, International Connection (the English as a second language program at RBC) plans a “talk-a-latte” for both morning and evening sessions of classes.  This is a time when all four class levels meet together for the last 30 minutes of the class time in the Clubhouse room to have coffee (hence the “latte” part) and snacks, then sit around tables in their class groups with teachers to engage in a particular topic of free discussion.  The topic designated for February 14 -15 was “What do you think is the American (culture’s) view of love?  What do you think is God’s view?”

After I briefly introduced the concept of Valentine’s Day, I asked them to pause and consider another point of view by watching a music video.  We then watched Jason Gray’s video entitled “Remind Me Who I Am” in which many characters were shown holding signs that typified negative characteristics or characters, for example, “Anxious”, “Empty”, “I’m Angry”, “ Victim”, etc.  But the crux of the song was that no matter what we think of ourselves or what others may think of us, in God’s eyes we are His “beloved”.

On our tables, in addition to sheets with the song’s lyrics, there was a list of the main vocabulary words written and defined in order to enhance understanding.  For the ESL group, any time one can combine words with pictures or visuals of any kind, greater comprehension is achieved.  And when one adds music, it adds yet another dimension of interest!

The five tables of students and teachers set about recapping the meaning of the video and song and the lingering question:  What is God’s view of love?  The word “beloved” is rarely used these days and took some time for the students to grasp – but again, the contrast to the other negative labels mentioned in the song was helpful for gaining understanding.  Many of the students could relate to feeling under-valued, abused or “less-than” in this culture.  Incidents of discrimination are regular occurrences to the immigrant population here in Northern Virginia.  But it was the concept of being God’s “beloved” that surprised many of them.  One Buddhist monk came to me and asked for clarification, “Does it mean greatly loved?” he asked.  It does.

I closed the talk-a-latte sessions with a short devotional based on John 3:16 (which was made available to each student in his/her first language) and asked for those who are spiritually interested to continue the conversation with me or with their teachers.  Both sessions provoked deeper questions than the usual classroom lesson plans even for the first-level students.  Our prayer is that the questions will continue and that the Holy Spirit will bear fruit in our students’ lives.

This past weekend, our middle and high school teens faced the topic of “Born Identity” at our annual youth Winter Retreat in Pennsylvania

We challenged students to look at all the things in their life that they give a priority to, and identify one that they lean on – one that they really depend on to find their greatest identity. Many students said their identity is in success in school or sports, appearance, and relationships with others. All of these things can be good things, but as parents and Christian leaders, we have to constantly remind our students that what God says about them is more important then any pressure or affection this world has to offer, whether it is good or not.

Mike Reed made some relevant and practical points regarding the fact that most of us decide what we’re going to believe based on what we desire. We believe the things about God that make Him seem more attractive to us and to our friends and family instead of believing all of the things about Him that are true. We often see the affections of the world as so much better than what Christ has to offer. Who Christ says we are is rarely more attractive to us than the short-term satisfaction that the world gives. We think we need all of these other things that look more appealing than Christ’s forgiveness and grace. But Mike’s argument was that our deepest need is to be forgiven of our sin, and we cannot let anyone tell us otherwise!

I was encouraged this week to see many students responding to Mike’s messages and to the Lord’s speaking to their hearts. One student began to realize God’s sovereign purpose for her life, another realized parts of her life she had been holding back for months that she needed to let go of, others realized their need to trust the Lord with their life, and still others found a new passion to be bold with their faith at school. It is always unique to see the Lord working in so many lives in so many different ways, but the thing that most encourages me is this: watching the Lord use me in ways I never knew I could be used. I left the weekend singing the lyrics to the worship song “Our God” repeatedly to the Lord in my head. I was reminded of just how much “Our God is GREATER, our God is STRONGER. God, You are HIGHER than any other.” Our God really is GREATER than any other worldly affection.

Our final prayer is this: that the Truth our students heard this weekend would be liberating, and not enslaving. We pray that this Truth would echo over and over their open ears in the weeks to come. Lastly, we pray that our students would begin to live authentically, recognizing where they’re at with their personal identities, and seek to love and trust Him with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Pray with us for them.

(The video above served as a session intro to the 2012 Youth Winter Retreat, which dealt with the topic of identity. Here, you’ll see examples of where many students find their identities.)

At BreakThru, our Junior High ministry here at Reston Bible Church, we provide simple journals for the Jr. Highers to use to spend time with God.  The journals provide a reading plan, a couple of questions to get them to think about what they read, and some space to write out a prayer to God.  This is nothing amazing in concept, but it has been incredible to see what God is doing through them. Just last week, I got an email from a mom telling me how her son uses the journal almost every day, and she has been amazed as she has seen God’s Word at work in her son’s life.  This email isn’t unique, as I receive something similar at least once a month.

A lot of times I am tempted to think that if God’s Word isn’t properly “packaged” and turned into something that grabs a teen’s attention, they won’t get anything out of it.  But that mindset is like caring more about the wrapping paper than the actual present.   God’s Word is “living and active” and is powerful to change lives.  We can get distracted by all the glitz of the latest Christian book or podcast sermon.  But whether I am an 11 year-old boy or a seminary professor, the Bible speaks and transforms all who will listen.

Thank you to everyone who attended our RE:NEW 2012 Conference featuring Josh McDowell. We pray the conference was fruitful for your growth in Christ.

Where’s the audio from the conference? Because of our contract with Josh’s ministry organization, we were only able to make the conference audio available for up to two weeks after the event.

You can find audio/video media and lots of other resources from Josh on his website, www.josh.org.

Dear Ladies of RBC,

I’m writing to personally invite you to the Reston Bible Church annual Women’s Retreat at the Doubletree Hotel in Sterling.  The retreat begins Friday, March 9, 2012 at 7 p.m. and ends at 11:00 am on Sunday, March 11, 2012.  We’ll enjoy worshiping together, Biblical teaching, small groups plus time to just hang out and have fun.

I highly recommend that you stay at the hotel for the entire weekend so that you can enjoy the full retreat experience—being able to put away distractions, unplug and refocus.  The rooms are beautifully decorated and equipped with either two queen beds or one king bed…and I’ve heard they’re really comfortable.  But if you would prefer to sleep at home we do offer a “day only” option (you’ll be assigned a small group just like those staying at the hotel).  Both options include three delicious meals on Saturday and Sunday breakfast and all the hotel amenities.

The retreat is for all ladies college age and above.  If it’s your first retreat and you’re worried about not having a roommate, don’t let that keep you away.  There are always other ladies looking for someone to room with.  I’ve met some really great ladies that way.  I’ve been to many retreats over the 20+ years I’ve attended RBC and have come away not only having met new women but also encouraged in my walk with God.  I’ve enjoyed true Christian fellowship around God’s word and just plain old fun.  Trust me…this is something you won’t want to miss.

The theme for this weekend is Ruler of My Heart and we’re excited to have Margaret Ashmore from Denton Bible Church in Denton, Texas as our speaker.  Margaret’s heart is to help women come to the understanding that the safest place to be on this earth is in the loving, shielding protection of submitting their lives to Jesus Christ.  I trust that you’ll be blessed and challenged by what she’ll be sharing with us.

I’d also like to ask for your help.  Volunteering to work on a retreat committee is one of the ways I was able to meet so many new people over the years.  We have many ways you can be of service and I think you’ll really enjoy being a part of one of these teams.  (You can indicate on the registration form where you’d like to serve.)

Prayer Team-will pray before and during the retreat.  If you have a heart to cover all aspects of the retreat from planning through the final session, then we welcome you to join with other women with the same desire.  There will be morning  prayer sessions both Saturday and Sunday during the retreat.

• Registration Table: will check in women as they arrive at retreat.  If you are organized and good with details, this is the job for you.
• Greeters: will welcome ladies to the retreat and into each session.   This is a wonderful way to show hospitality, whether you’re an extrovert or just someone with a heart to make others feel welcome.
• Table Hostesses: will welcome ladies to their table at mealtimes and make sure everyone is included.  If you have a desire to show Christ’s love and encourage other women here’s your opportunity.

To get more information and register go to www.restonbible.org/womensretreat. No matter your season in life I trust the weekend will prove to be worth your while.  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call or email me.

God Bless!
Marsha Mathews
Director, Women’s Ministry

It can be so easy to read about the Food Pantry or hear an occasional update but forget that this is a ministry to actual people. This story was recently shared by one of our Food Pantry volunteers:

     It was toward the end of the Food Pantry time, and just one table of waiting people was left. An older lady, with torn and worn-out clothes, matted hair and no teeth, was having trouble filling out her form, so I sat down to help her to get through it. She began trying to tell me something and grabbed my arm while repeating the same indiscernible sentence. Since she had no teeth, I couldn’t even tell if she was speaking in English or Spanish.  Perhaps seeing my confusion, she began to use gestures with the words to get her point across. She was pointing up at first and saying “God” and then touched her eye and then her mouth to indicate smiling. As I repeated the words she was trying to say, we got through the sentence, “God is watching us all at the Food Pantry and is smiling down from Heaven at what He sees as we feed the hungry.” Tears filled my eyes as I realized what she was saying, and the lady and I hugged as tears streamed down my face.

     In the midst of all the confusion and busyness of serving over 130 families that day in the Pantry, this poor old lady’s words were a real high point and it seemed that the Lord was confirming his pleasure with this ministry. 

Let me take this opportunity to once again thank you all for your faithful giving. If you would like to give monetarily to support the Food Pantry, you can do so online (click here to access online giving. When you get to screen where you enter an amount, be sure to select “Food Pantry” from the “to” drop-down menu.) You can also leave a check in an offering box (located in the lobby or at the rear of the sanctuary) with “Food Pantry” in the memo line.

If you would like to donate items to the Food Pantry, drop-off baskets are located in the foyer at the front entrance of RBC. Here is a “most wanted” list of items we need for the Food Pantry (click here to download).

If you would like to serve during the Food Pantry (open Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings), please email me. We have an ongoing need particularly for volunteers with Spanish language skills.

Please continue to pray for us as we show the love of Christ through this ministry.

Thanks to all who followed the leading of the Spirit and gave gifts, cookies, prayers, gift cards and love.

For more information on our partnership with Guilford Elementary and ways you can get involved, click here.

Our teams were able to see the first fruits of their labor the same day by shopping and then visiting 31 of the families on the evening of Nov. 19th.  The groceries (the small part of the First Fruits gift) together with Shoppers Food Warehouse gift cards provides as close to a month’s worth of groceries for each family as possible.   Beyond the groceries, the teams were able to encourage and often pray with some of the families in the midst of some very tough times.  One family of four shares a two-bedroom apartment with another family.  The team leader has stayed in touch with the family and is putting together a Christmas gift.  Another of our teams brought groceries and visited with an Iraq veteran and his family, who are working through the challenges of a brain injury. Team members have stayed in touch with the family, who has also now visited RBC several times.  Another team visited a family about to lose their home to foreclosure – yet another reminder of how things that look great on the outside can mask the turmoil and pain taking place on the inside.  I’m thankful that our team went beyond the exterior to pray with and minister to the family, encouraging them to not give up.

Thanks to the Lord’s blessing, First Fruits was also able to go beyond these 31 families to include another 60 families in need.  One of these families was out of food, had been praying for help, and then received the grocery gift cards unexpectedly that day from a friend that attends the RBC Spanish church.  She is still praising the Lord for his provision at just the right time. The wife of another First Fruits family had brain surgery, and after recovering from the surgery, she returned to work and was immediately laid off from her job.  Her husband is also out of work.   When they were given the First Fruit gift, the husband was thankful, speechless, and surprised that church teenagers would work to help those in need.

One story of a single mother is a further reminder of how important it is for us as the body of Christ to be looking up and caring for those God has placed in our lives.   This mom was referred through a First Fruits captain that saw her need and reached out on her behalf.  She had been a property manager, lost her job in the downturn, and is now doing a short sale on her home.   Her story is still unfolding, but she sends thanks for the unexpected help from First Fruits that provided key encouragement over Thanksgiving at exactly the right time.  She too has visited RBC a couple times.

There are many other stories still unfolding from First Fruits and how the RBC body is in motion looking out for neighbors, Shepherd Group members, family members, coworkers, or friends met through church, school, or a child’s sport’s team. Financial struggles cross all lines and neighborhoods. And, thankfully, the RBC body is reaching across these lines.  I know there is more fruit to come.

This was a real community gathering, with several organizations helping out. Teachers from the school, RBCers, and Little League volunteers all worked side by side to bless these families. For many of the families, this was their first taste of stuffing, which we learned has no Spanish word equivalent since it is not a food they eat in their countries. Maybe it’s a universal thing, but it appears that most kids don’t like stuffing. Also universal is the look of dislike and the shake of the head “no” – but all were polite and said “no thank you” if they didn’t care for any (although their faces were priceless!)

Hundreds of people came out for the dinner. The rain and long walk from where they parked on the ball field didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s spirits. Even though the line of people waiting for their turn for food wrapped around the building hallways, everyone was patient and excited for the feast to come. It reminded me of what the disciples must have felt like with the loaves and the fishes, for as many people as kept coming, there seemed to be more food as the evening progressed. And after all had been fed, the volunteers, at last, took a few minutes to sit down, rest and have some dinner as well.

Due to the abundance, the residents at the Embry Rucker Homeless Shelter in Reston also enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast.

Many thanks for all who helped to bless our neighbors.

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“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

- Matthew 35:34-40

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:16

When you come to services this weekend, we will have on display some of the thank-you notes that we have received from the students of Guilford.  It seems appropriate on Thanksgiving weekend to share these sentiments with the congregation.  Thank you for enriching these children’s lives by putting books in their hands.  In the words of one student “Thank you.  Really, I’m not kidding.”

If you weren’t able to bring in your books this fall, we will be having another book drive in the Spring. Hold on to those books, and keep your eye out for an announcement in March 2012.

One of the culturally different things that we have had to adjust to is the need for larger sized diapers.  The tendency in these cultures appears to be to potty-train their children much later than we do.  Again, in my ignorance, I thought that if you are struggling financially that you would potty train your children as early as possible to cut down on the expense of diapers.  But that is not the case, and we are now stocking larger diapers to meet the need.

My prayer as we move forward is that we would have more volunteers, and in particular more Spanish speakers to interact with our guests – not just getting their food for them, but sitting with them and getting to know them.  The Lord has begun a good work, and now is the time to take it to the next level – sharing our hope with these people who need hope.

This past week we had a new challenge, one that I had not anticipated.  Many of our first-time visitors to the food pantry were illiterate.  We have been diligent to have our signs and forms be in both English and Spanish – but that is not very helpful to someone who cannot read either language.  How does that person cope with the challenges of living in Northern Virginia if they can’t read?  The Lord provided some very kind folks who helped them fill out the sign in sheet and their food order form, and all was well for the moment.  But it broke my heart just a little more.

Please pray for our outreach to a diverse group of people with different backgrounds, cultures and challenges.  Pray for the Lord to raise up more volunteers, and in particular to raise up someone who’s heart is to reach these people.  We really need someone who has the time and heart to take this ministry to the next level.  And as you visit with family and friends this Thanksgiving, and eat too much and laugh a lot, and enjoy all that the Lord has blessed you with – be thankful.

If you are willing to donate to the food pantry, consider going to a local Dollar Store, and purchasing several bottles of oil, packages of sugar, canisters of coffee, shampoos, deodorants.  For the same amount of money you could bless multiple families in need. We have recurring needs for staple items like corn flour (not corn meal), white flour, oil, sugar, cereal, oatmeal, dried beans, rice, canned soup, canned chicken, tuna, ham and chili. Smaller size containers of items such as flour and sugar are helpful, so we can assist more people. The hygiene items most needed are: laundry detergent, soap, toilet paper, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, sanitary pads, baby wipes, and formula (preferably Similac). Due to a generous donation from the Huggies “A Diaper for Every Bottom” campaign we will not need diapers for some time.  You can also donate financially to this ministry by putting “food pantry” in the memo line of your check and dropping it in an offering box during weekend services.

Thank you for your ongoing generosity. Please contact me if you would like more information on getting involved with the RBC Food Pantry.