Our_Bulletin_11_2

Family News and Notes

Well, here it is again the first day of a new month. If you are able and made plans you may contribute to our Building Fund today. Thank you.

All the men are reminded that next week is the Men's Business Meeting. Plan to attend.

The Ladies Monthly Devotional will be Monday, November 03, at 7:00 PM. We will meet in the multipurpose room for a lesson, prayer, singing, snacks and fellowship. Please bring your Bible and a snack-type dish.

Clarksville church of Christ will be having Clarksville Fall Ladies Day on Saturday, November 08, 2003 from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Topic is "God's Woman." Registration is from 9:009:30 AM. Salad luncheon to follow. Everyone is welcome.

Hughes Springs Church of Christ invites you to a Congregational Singing on November 02, 2003 from 2:00 - 4:00 PM. Sunday evening service will be immediately after the congregational singing and everyone is invited to stay for that service.

Address for; David and Janice McCain:

306 Dellwood

Mount Pleasant, Texas 75455

Many thanks to all the men who participated in last Wednesday evening's service. We have lots of talent in our congregation and it showed Wednesday nite.

Maggie Moses (Lee's mother) was baptized Wednesday morning. We are proud to call her "sister."

Louis Bell has been discharged from Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler and will be staying with his daughter, Gloria as he recovers from his recent episode with his heart. The address is:

2407 RodgeTyler, Texas 75701

He hopes to come back home this weekend. Bud Roach, being the good person he is, has been caring for their cat.

Dorothy Sargent fell and broke her leg this past week. She was transferred to East Texas Medical Center in Tyler and had surgery on Friday, October 31.

Juanita Crabtree, who fell and broke her shoulder and her hip, remains in Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler, Room 4416.

Janelle Stephenson has been suffering from pneumonia and has been transferred to the U. T. Health Center in Tyler.

At the writing of this bulletin Sandra Cooper was still scheduled to return to Houston on November 05 to continue her treatment(s).

Shawn Phillips, daughter of Ralph Phillips, who recently had a back injury as a result of a vehicle accident, had successful back surgery last Wednesday.

Elizabeth McGill (mother of sister Whalyn Payne) is very ill and that family has requested that we remember her in our prayers.

Ruby Pipkin has requested that we remember her sister, Doris Ring who has been in the hospital in Sulphur Springs.

Kelsey Meyers, 11 year old friend of Bill & Yvonne Floyd, who lives in Victoria, Texas, is suffering from liver failure and is awaiting a transplant. Bill and Yvonne has requested that we remember Kelsey in our prayers.

THANK YOU "Thank you all for the many cards and prayers offered on my behalf. It is so nice to know we have friends like you, who care.

--Ercell and Keith Fetters"

We received the following note from Ruby Pipkin expressing the rewards of being friendly to others. As Christians, this should be an example to each one of us:

"I have Hispanic neighbors next door to me. They have two lovely little children, a little girl and a little boy. I was raking my front yard this past week and the little children were on the side of the street trying to ride their bicycles. I told them they were welcome to come ride on my driveway. They came over, and then their mother, and they began to help me rake the yard. The children called me "Grandmother." The little boy said my hair was pretty. Being Friendly Does Pay.

--Ruby Pipkin"

BIRTHDAYS:

1 Rhonda Freeman

2 Ruby Pipkin

6 Joyce Lee

11 Shannon Hargrove

13 Jason Lee

17 Nona Bell

19 Howard Horton

21 Vicki Miller

21 Jeanette Parham

29 Joe Ferrell

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PRAYER LIST

Justin Barker, Louis Bell, Sandra Cooper, Howard Horton, Autumn Miller, Dorothy Sargent, Janelle Stephenson,

ALSO: Judy Betts, Juanita Crabtree, R. C. Grissom, Elizabeth McGill, Kelsey Meyers, Jim Parker, Shawn Phillips, Doris Ring, Steve Thomas

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flying Higher For The Lord

Ask any pilot how to change the altitude of his airplane and he'll likely say "you have to change the plane's attitude." In fact one of the instruments on the control panel of every modern aircraft is called the "attitude indicator," which shows the plane's "angle of attack" in comparison with an artificial horizon. Raise the attitude of the aircraft in comparison to that horizon and you'll gain altitude, lower it and you'll lose altitude.

When I was a young boy there were times when I would be "down in the dumps" emotionally, and my mother would instruct me to "get my altitude up." What she wanted me to do was to improve my attitude. At that early age I may not have been able to fully comprehend the importance of one's attitude, but I was fascinated with airplanes, so I understood the concept of altitude quite well. I knew what it meant to fly low and to fly high, and my mother knew that I needed to change my attitude, so I could get out of the doldrums and soar to greater heights.

The same principle applies in other aspects of life. Our attitude about life, our "angle of attack," will determine how low or high we fly. It matters not whether you're talking about your emotional well-being, your marriage, your job, or whatever, for in all areas of life your attitude will likely make the difference between success and failure. I believe this is especially true in regard to spirituality. Only those Christians who have the right attitude about serving God, and following Christ, will truly be free to soar to the mountain tops of great spiritual achievement.

In the "Sermon on the Mount," Jesus noted that our attitudes are just as important as our actions. The Jews kept the letter of the Law, but were guilty of overlooking the spirit behind the letter. They wouldn't dare murder, but they were guilty of hate, which is murder in the heart. They wouldn't commit adultery, but they weren't opposed to lust, which is mental adultery. They were externally religious, but not internally spiritual. Jesus taught them to clean up their attitude, as well as their act (Mt. 5-7).

The great "love chapter" of the Bible, I Corinthians 13, deals with this same principle. The Holy Spirit through Paul said that no amount of Christian devotion or service is profitable, unless it is motivated by the proper attitude of love. So much so, that even if one were to sacrifice his life for the cause of Christ, it is wasted effort if his attitude is not right in the sight of God.

Perhaps the crowning passage about the importance of attitudes is Philippians 2:5-8. Here we are told that in order to be pleasing to God, we must strive to duplicate the attitude of "the mind of Christ" in our own minds. We must be self-sacrificing and self-emptying, just like He was. Only in this way can we truly achieve the high plane of spiritual living, the "abundant life" (Jn. 10:10), God has planned for us.

What does your altimeter read? If it's not as high as you would like, perhaps a change of attitude would correct the problem! Why not give it some serious thought, and see if you can't fly a little higher for the Lord! David McCain

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

McCain's Musings

Hello North Jefferson! All I can say is, "Wow, I must be getting older, or maybe my memory is not so good anymore." It could be both! However, it seems like moving used to be easier than it has been the last few days. But, I'll be 50 in January, and maybe it is just that my "get up and go" has "got up and went," since the last time I moved! Anyway, believe it or not (drum roll and applause please), the McCain family is now living in Mt. Pleasant, in our "new" home at 306 Dellwood. We closed on the house Mon. morning, and then spent the rest of the week making daily (or I should say "nightly") trips back and forth from Mabank to Mt. Pleasant, bringing a trailer load at a time of our belongings. We had to be in Mabank Wed., Thurs., & Fri. for the carpet guys to lay the new carpet at our old house following the hot water heater flood we found when we returned home last Tuesday week. So, while they laid carpet, we packed and loaded "the stuff" (see Ezek. 12:3-7 for a Biblical picture of what we've been doing this past week, even though I hope our time at Mt. Pleasant will not be like a time of "captivity" for us!).

Although we haven't yet moved everything (we left enough furniture to help "show" our old house to prospective buyers), we did move enough "stuff" to begin our day to day existence here in Mt. Pleasant. Give us a few days to dig out from the clutter, and we'll soon be ready to receive drop by company. Of course, there is still much to do before we are completely "settled in" (we must get a phone line, transfer bank accounts, change addresses on everything, have some electrical work done on the house, build a fence for our dogs, arrange furniture, unpack, hang pictures, and all the other things that go along with uprooting your family and moving from place to place. If you haven't moved in awhile, you've probably forgotten what a hassle it is to move!

Anyway, we do appreciate the patience you have shown us while we've been in "transition." I can assure you we have been working hard to tie up all the loose ends just as quickly as is humanly possible, so we can hit the ground running in our new work with the North Jefferson congregation.

Beginning this week, I'll be in the office in the mornings, as I try to get my study organized. Feel free to drop by for a visit, when you find me there, or call for an appointment so I can arrange my schedule to meet you at a time convenient for you. Janice and I also plan to begin visiting about town, as we strive to get better acquainted with the membership and also try to meet the town folk. If we can help or serve you in any way, all you need to do is give us a call and we'll do our best to come to your aid. If you'll give us a few months time, we hope to visit in everyone's home, or have you in our home just as soon as we can get around to everyone.

Also, if you have a friend, neighbor, relative, or associate you would like for us to visit, please let us know and we'll do our best to give them priority. We are here to serve this church, and do all within our power to help it grow and prosper in the service of our Lord, so please call us, if you know of someone who needs a visit.

Thank you once again for inviting us to join you in the Lord's work here at "Mt.P.," and special thanks for the many kindnesses you have already shown to our family. We sincerely appreciate each meal, call, card, visit, offer of help, and every kind word you have sent our way. May God bless us with a long and fruitful work together, for the spiritual growth of His Kingdom. Keep smiling! David McCain

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~