God of Encouragement

I have a page torn off from a small desk calendar that I carry around in my wallet. My wife gave it to me when I was having a low point in my life. The date on the calendar is Friday, July 10^th, 1998. For almost the past twelve years, I have carried it with me wherever I go.

The verse on the page is from psalm 139:17-18, “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.”

In psalm 139 the author recognizes that God has made him and that he cannot escape the presence of God—nor would he want to. The verses above actually speak about the psalmist’s contemplations on the thoughts of God—but that is not the way I read it for years.

I read it, “How precious are your thoughts of me O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.”

Maybe the psalmist is not saying what I want him to say, but I know that it is true regardless. I know that God loves me and thinks thoughts of me beyond what I think of myself.

We all experience low points, grief, depression, feeling overwhelmed. Maybe you are right now?

It is not what others think of us that matters. What truly matters is what God thinks of us. Be encouraged—for you are loved and highly thought of by the one who made you.

I don’t remember the circumstances of my sadness twelve years ago, all I remember is the encouragement I have received.

HOW PRECIOUS ARE GOD’S THOUGHTS OF YOU!

Church without walls video

Dayspring is portable. The building part of Dayspring that is. Our people and ministry are not. We often talk about being a Church without walls, run by volunteers and people behind the scenes, but it’s difficult to see all that goes on, because we’re all involved in our own areas. So check this out -

Gary Olive (Children’s Team B Leader) took on the task of filming each area of the setup inside Dayspring. Here’s a compilation of what he came up with, at 3000% speed. WOW! Way to go Church!

Did you know…

We post our videos on the website each week. Aaron has just updated the videos page with the latest videos from our current series, I’m with Wesley. Check them out at www.dayspringumc.com/create/our-videos

I’m with Wesley

You don’t want to miss this series.

New Adventure

by Leah Tjoelker

In 2010 I will be starting a new adventure as a full time, stay at home, mom. I am excited to be able to watch my little girl grow and see all of the firsts in her life but I am also sadden to leave a job that I love. Good thing, we are not leaving Dayspring (that wasn’t even a thought) so Jeff Olive said I may volunteer as much as I would like to, which I’m sure I will volunteer or be involved a lot.  Maybe too much!

Dayspring isn’t just a church I attend on Sunday or a job I had during the week but it is becoming more like a second family. That’s how invested I am. Growing up in Illinois, the church I attended was a second family to me (some literally because it was small town) so I am excited to find that in Texas. I hope to continue to meet more of the Dayspring congregation and serve you any way I possibly can.

And to the other stay at home mom’s, lets get together sometime. I’m sure I will need some adult interaction some days! Maybe we can have a Women’s Breakfast/Brunch (maybe at McDonalds since we might have kids) and leave out all the bacon grease as the MAN’s Breakfast likes to have.

I will miss working in the office with Jeff, Aaron and Sharon. It never really felt like work to me. I think we had too much fun some days and we eventually had to shut our doors to get anything done. Thanks for a great working environment!

Merry Christmas!

Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus

 ¹In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³And everyone went to his own town to register.

 ⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

 ⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^[a] the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 ¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
 ¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest,
      and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

 ¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

 ¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Jesus Presented in the Temple

 ²¹On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.

 ²²When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”^[b]), ²⁴and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”^[c]

 ²⁵Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, ²⁸Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
 ²⁹“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
      you now dismiss^[d] your servant in peace.
 ³⁰For my eyes have seen your salvation,
    ³¹which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
 ³²a light for revelation to the Gentiles
      and for glory to your people Israel.”

 ³³The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

 ³⁶There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, ³⁷and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.^[e] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. ³⁸Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

 ³⁹When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

Christmas at Bergfeld Canceled

The Christmas Eve service for tonight has been canceled due to the weather.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Weather Update

CBS 19 is reporting that by 5 pm, we should see only partly cloudy skies and a temperature around 36. So, as of 10:38 this morning, Christmas at Bergfeld is on! Bundle up, and we’ll see you out there at 6 tonight.

Ready for Christmas

This weekend I unpacked the last two boxes of Christmas decorations for our house.  Some might find it shocking that I waited this long to put everything out.  Well–maybe, but I never claim to do anything conventionally.  Actually my method of gradual Christmas decorating is quite intentional.  I never start before the 1st of December.  After clearing and cleaning the remnants of Thanksgiving, I make sure that the house is good and “free” from any Fall decor.  Then, after DEC. 1, I begin.  I usually start with the nativity scene that I inherited from my family when I was a child.  That’s it for that day.  By the first Sunday in Advent, the Advent Wreath has assumed its place on our dining room table.  Advent is, after all, meant to be a time of preparation.  I embrace this concept as each box is unshelved, and its contents distributed throughout the house,  on a separate day–often with several days in between.  I like to linger over each decoration and think about where it would look best this year.  I like to remember where I got it or who I got it from–especially if it came from a child. 

Gradually, our house becomes transformed as the days go by and school gets closer to being finished for the year.  As gifts begin to arrive and go under the tree, as Christmas Cards collect on the shelves, and as cookies, and treats are being exchanged, the music plays “Let Every Heart, Prepare Him Room.”  It feels  like we are indeed, in a mode of preparation.

Maybe it stems somewhat from my childhood.  Our family never had a tree until Christmas Eve.  Santa brought our tree.  This was partly because my parents didn’t have much money, so they waited until Christmas Eve to get a tree–when they were sold for a dime, or free!  But I remember how magical it was Christmas morning to walk into the family room and see the big sparkling tree with all of the presents, for the very first time.  The idea that Christmas didn’t actually come until Christmas morning really sank in for me.

By the way, I pack up the boxes  in the same manner.  Liturgically, the season of Christmas actually lasts 12 days.  (Hence, the song…)  I spend a couple of weeks boxing everything up, gradually.   Since our house hasn’t been fully decked out since mid-November, it doesn’t seem “wrong” to leave things up a while.

So…today is the 4th Sunday in Advent.  Tonight at dinner, we will light the last candle outer candle on the wreath, and prepare for Christ to come.  Our house is ready for Christmas.  There’s been no hurry, no hustle and bustle.  This week, in anticipation of Christ’s birthday,  let our thoughts and hearts echo the ancient carol: “O, come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!”

Struggling with Prayer

By: Leah Tjoelker

Tonight my husband and I were chatting and we got on the subject of prayer. I believe in prayer but since my father’s death in 2008 and the pain he went through, my prayer life has taken a hit. Often I hear people pray, “and God’s will be done.” I have to admit, when I hear this phrase, I often roll my eyes because if we are praying for something we want/desire, believe might happen but yet say for God to go ahead and do what he wants, then what’s the point of even asking. This has been my doubt and struggle for about a year but I know in my heart that prayer really works.

Tonight while chatting with my husband, he pointed out that even though we prayed for my dad to be healed but yet he wasn’t, look at what has happened within the family since his illness began and even since his death. His brothers are much closer and try to make time to spend with each other. My mom and the daughters have grown closer and don’t bicker so much.

So, God does have a reason for everything. He does answer prayers but sometimes when he doesn’t answer them how we think He should, often he has greater things in store or there is a bigger picture to it all than what we can see or want to see at the present time.