Thank you from the Catania Family

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you so much for your support of our mission’s trip to South Africa from Sept. 1-13!! You blessed us with finances, material donations, and prayer support! We were a part of a 16 member team from Grace Community Church, Maryland and partnered with a 6 member team from Georgia to work with Build the Nations ministries in a village called Shayandima. We encourage you to go to http://www.buildthenations.org/ to see the work that is going on in that region of South Africa.

 

With your help we were able to fill over 30 suitcases at 50 pounds each of clothing, school supplies, medicines, shoes, bed sheets, hats, towels and other necessities. These supplies will be used for the children who attend the Shayandima School of Tomorrow on the base where we stayed, the 5 orphans who live on base, and the surrounding village.

We spent most of our time at the walled base which contained the Shayandima School of Tomorrow, cottages and dorms for the teachers and compound workers, large playing fields, and the foundation for the future orphanage. Our time there was filled with building, repairing, and painting the facilities on the base. We also conducted 10 Vacation Bible to over 450 students at the school and afterschool programs in the village outside of the base. The children were thrilled to be with us and were so open to hearing God’s Word. We provided food for the children at the afterschool program which for many of them that was their only meal of the day. We also funded, organized, and then provided large baskets of food for 20 widows who come to the base on a regular basis for food for their families. We did enjoy 2 days at the end of our time on a safari in Kruger National Park. It was amazing!

We felt God’s presence the entire time on the trip. We believe God really worked in our lives and the lives we touched. We will forever be changed by this amazing experience. Glory to God! Thank you again for your support!! Psalm 100:5 “For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Tom, Lisa, Ashley and Austin Catania

Staff Devotional - Our Psalms

By Eric Miller

Every Tuesday morning we have a church staff meeting and at the conclusion of that meeting we spend time together doing a devotional. Recently we've been reading through the Psalms. We spent many weeks studying Psalm 139 and allowing God to give us a hunger for His Word. Since then and in connection to our Spiritual Journey - "From Lament to Praise: Encountering God in the Psalms" - we've been studying different psalms and truly taking time to slow down and savor the richness of God's truth.

This past week, we studied Psalm 1 and I (Eric) challenged us to use the wording and concepts from Psalm 1 to either write our own prayer, lament psalm or something to make the Psalm personal to us. And we loved the experience so much that we wanted to share a few of these with you! We certainly aren't trying to add anything to God's Word, nor do we support that. But we do want to slow down enough when studying God's Word to be able to apply it to our lives in various ways, and we'd encourage you to do the same. In October, you'll have the chance on a Sunday morning to start writing your own lament Psalm, so why not start now and start thinking of how Psalm 1 applies to your life!

Psalm 1 - NIV

1 Blessed is the man

who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked

or stand in the way of sinners

or sit in the seat of mockers.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, 


and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, 


which yields its fruit in season 


and whose leaf does not wither. 


Whatever he does prospers.

4 Not so the wicked! 


They are like chaff 


that the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, 


nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, 


but the way of the wicked will perish.

"So if I don't follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners or join in with mockers; then I will have joy (NLT). The NIV says I will be blessed. And if I meditate day and night on the law of the Lord, then I will be delighted and I will be like a tree planted along the river, bearing much fruit, my leaves will not wither and I will be prosperous in everything I do. The final piece is that in all this the Lord will watch over me, He will guide me on the path of Godliness and righteousness. God, would you allow this to be said of me!" ~Eric

"Lord, I consider myself blessed when I don't follow the ways of people who walk in darkness ... even though I see temporary fulfillment come in their ways. Lord, I revel in your Word, but I realize any experience doesn't always match my knowledge of reveling in your Word. Lord, I need to remember the flourishing and strong results of the growing tree. Lord, you remember my way (the righteous one) and the temporary, fulfilling path of people in darkness is a perishing way." ~Pastor Mike

"Blessed am I when I seek the counsel of God's Word and His people. Blessed am I when I delight in His Word and meditate on it day and night. Like a fruited tree planted by streams of water I am blessed and I prosper. Blessed am I not to blow away like chaff or stand in judgement. For God watches over me and I am blessed!" ~Lisa Catania

"I don't meditate on the counsel of the wicked. I do meditate on God's counsel. I don't watch TV day and night. I'm listening to God 24/7. In learning to be faithful, God is making me fruitful with ripe juicy fruit. The wicked aren't rooted, they are blown away. God will deal with the wicked. God knows my path. The wicked path lead to destruction." ~Pastor R

Where do you find God?

By Erin O'Hara

Psalm 42:1,2, 7-8

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?...
Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life.

My family and I have been enjoying a restful vacation at the beach. Over the last week I have so enjoyed watching the ocean – the waves especially soothe my soul and minister so many aspects of my God to me. As we have been dwelling on the beautiful attributes of God I have been so reminded of Him in His magnificent creation.

I see His all-powerful creativeness as I look out over the beach. The sparkles glistening on the water are unlike any manmade creation. The sun reflects on the moving sea and captures millions of diamonds that God put there for me to enjoy. Even at night the moon’s reflection sparkles in the deep and shows me a Father who has given all things for my enjoyment. No jewel can compare to the natural brilliance of His creation.

I feel His omnipotence and omnipresence as I wade out into the ocean - I love to jump the waves! Last week the waves were serene, like a lake – bobbing into shore, relaxing and calm. This week with the swirling hurricane out in the gulf, the waves are potent, threatening and rough. The Spirit has ministered His power to me. I see the ocean as a reflection of Him - multi-faceted, powerful yet in control, beautiful but not safe, at times soothing and calm and at times stripping and all-consuming. I was meditating on the verse above – Psalm 42:7 – “all your waves and breakers have swept over me.” In the threat of the waves breaking, I have had to dive headfirst into many and allow that power to sweep over my body. It is invigorating, cleansing and sometimes very rough. Sea water invades my eyes, ears and mouth and at times I tumble, searching for sure footing. My heart has filled with fear looking at a particular large wave breaking just inches before me, but I am reminded that there is nowhere my God is not. He is beside me, before me and within in. His power is unlike any other – He has shown many times in Scripture and in my life that He controls the literal waves and that He controls the waves in our lives.

My soul thirsts for Him…in His waves is where I have met Him today.

Where do you find God? Seek Him out today and meet Him – He is not hiding!

Ordinary

By Verlyn Mahaffey

Webster defines it this way: “usually commonplace.” Ever feel this way about yourself? Leaves you feeling a little let down, not so special, asking a million questions …what is this life all about? Does anyone care?

God defines it this way: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. “ I am not ordinary (no comments please) ….God knit me together, just right, just the way He wanted, with an eternal purpose. Now that is not commonplace. But it gets better!

God did not just stop there! He knows me! He wants to spend time with ME! His words are powerful: “You have searched me and you KNOW ME! You KNOW when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down, you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you KNOW it completely.” God knows me completely, and He loves me.

Now this is not commonplace!

These verses from Psalm 139 say that God is involved in my life. He cares about every aspect of my life and He is present. I don’t have to wait, I don’t have to send an email and hope He answers and I don’t have to wait in line. This reminds me of this past weekend as we took our grandson to Hershey Park (I know what were we thinking…it was Labor Day Weekend!) As we walked the park and saw the lines it became somewhat discouraging especially with a three year old. At one point we were waiting in line and he just cuts loose in his booming voice and in his way said something like, “Hey, people get out of this line”. Well, I am so glad that I don’t have to do this with God, He is ever present and available, desiring my presence, ready to greet me!

Ordinary? I don’t think so! I just love God’s definition! One that wiIl not change. I only pray that I can live there!