Spring is HERE!

By Lisa Catania

Spring is here at last!

Spring is finally here! After a very long, cold winter, the warm air has arrived! I love how God paints His world this time of year! The flowers are in bloom in an array of colors. The trees are budding in bright greens. The sky glows in beautiful blues. Then I watch the birds that are nesting in the bushes in my front yard and there is hope, joy and new life. The winter doldrums and worries seem to wash away as I admire God’s handiwork. Then I meditate on Matthew 6:25 – 27, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” Enjoy the beauty of God’s world, all that is in it, relax, and give thanks to God for a new season!

Encouragement

By Lisa Catania

Have you ever received that word of encouragement at just that “perfect” moment? My wonderful Children’s Ministry mentor meets with me a few times a year for prayer, teaching, counsel, and encouragement. Below is “The Calling” which she gave to me in a frame, as a piece of encouragement. May it bless and encourage all of those who “minister” to children.

“The Calling” Author – Unknown

"I am a minister. I minister to the largest mission field in the world. I minister to children.

My calling is sure: my challenge is big: my vision is real: my desire is strong: my influence is eternal: my impact is critical: my values are solid: my faith is tough: my mission is urgent: my purpose is unmistakable: my direction is forward: my heart is genuine: my strength is supernatural: my reward is promised: and my God is real!

In a world of cynicism, I offer hope. In a world of confusion, I offer attention. In a world of abuse, I offer safety. In a world of ridicule, I offer affirmation. In a world of division, I offer reconciliation. In a world of bitterness, I offer forgiveness. In a world of sin, I offer salvation. In a world of hate, I offer God’s Love.

I refuse to be dismayed, disengaged, disgruntled, discouraged, or distracted. Neither will I look back, stand back, fall back, go back or sit back. I do not need applause, flattery, adulation, prestige, stature or veneration. I do not have time for business as usual, mediocre standards, small thinking, outdated methods, normal expectations, average results, ordinary ideas, petty disputes, or low vision. I will not give up, give in, bail out, lie down, turn over, quit or surrender.

I will pray when things look bad. I will pray when things look good. I will move forward when others stand still. I will trust God when obstacles arise. I will work when the task is overwhelming. I will get up when I fall down.

My calling is to reach boys and girls for God. It is too serious to be taken lightly, too urgent to be postponed, too vital to be ignored, too relevant to be overlooked, too significant to be trivialized too eternal to be fleeting, and too passionate to be quenched.

I know my mission. I know my challenge. I also know my limitations, my weaknesses, my fears, and my problems. And I know my God. Let others get the praise. Let the church get the blessing. Let God get the glory.

I am a minister. I minister to children. This is who I am. This is what I do."

What is Sabbath for a Mom?

By Lisa Catania

As a busy mom, I wonder how to really have Sabbath. With all of the cooking, cleaning, child chasing, carpooling, sports cheering, bill paying, on and on…..can I really stop? I honestly have a hard time sitting still through a tv show without putting dinner in the oven, helping kids with homework and folding clothes at the same time. I struggle with sitting still. My “to do” list is a mile long. Honestly, I have been very challenged by our sermon series on “Rest”. However, I know the God who loves me and created me says, “rest”.

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

When I read this passage in Matthew 11:28-30, I hear God’s voice gently speaking to me to take time to really rest. I am now spending my Sunday afternoons hiding my “to do” list from myself. I will find it tomorrow. I am now really focusing on relaxing with the kids, taking walks by the creek outside, reading by the fire, chatting with friends, and getting nothing done on my “to do” list. I have even decided that Sunday dinner is leftovers or a crock pot, so I am not burdened cooking. In fact, I finding that by resting, I am giving God my “to do” list and finding peace with Him. By Mondays, I am truly feeling refreshed and ready for my week. Hmmm….this rest called Sabbath has been a blessing for my soul and my family!

Thanksgiving Rest

By Lisa Catania

I want to encourage all the mothers out there who are like me and are starting to get frantic about the Thanksgiving feast. Thanksgiving is supposed to be a time to rest with our family, be thankful, and sing praises to our Heavenly Father, who loves us so much! However, many times I find I am busy fussing over the meal and missing an opportunity to love, laugh and fellowship with the family. So, join me as I am determined this year to leave my stress at the cross and fully enjoy Thanksgiving. So start with me by kicking back, read one of my favorite little stories below and laugh…..(yes….I can totally relate to this story…….)

"Martha Stewart will not be dining with us this Thanksgiving – Author Unknown

I'm telling you in advance, so don't act surprised. Since Ms. Stewart won't be coming, I've made a few small changes:

Our sidewalk will not be lined with homemade, paper bag luminaries. After a trial run, it was decided that no matter how cleverly done, rows of flaming lunch sacks do not have the desired welcoming effect. Once inside, our guests will note that the entry hall is not decorated with the swags of Indian corn and fall foliage I had planned to make. Instead, I've gotten the kids involved in the decorating by having them track in colorful autumn leaves from the front yard. The mud was their idea.

The dining table will not be covered with expensive linens, fancy china, or crystal goblets. If possible, we will use dishes that match and everyone will get a fork. Since this IS Thanksgiving, we will refrain from using the plastic Peter Rabbit plate and the Santa napkins from last Christmas. Our centerpiece will not be the tower of fresh fruit and flowers that I promised. Instead we will be displaying a hedgehog-like decoration hand-crafted from the finest construction paper. The artist assures me it is a turkey.

We will be dining fashionably late. The children will entertain you while you wait. I'm sure they will be happy to share every choice comment I have made regarding Thanksgiving, pilgrims and the turkey hotline. Please remember that most of these comments were made at 5:00 a.m. upon discovering that the turkey was still hard enough to cut diamonds. As accompaniment to the children's recital, I will play a recording of tribal drumming. If the children should mention that I don't own a recording of tribal drumming, or that tribal drumming sounds suspiciously like a frozen turkey in a clothes dryer, ignore them. They are lying.

We toyed with the idea of ringing a dainty silver bell to announce the start of our feast. In the end, we chose to keep our traditional method. We've also decided against a formal seating arrangement. When the smoke alarm sounds, please gather around the table and sit where you like.

Now, I know you have all seen pictures of one person carving a turkey in front of a crowd of appreciative onlookers. This will not be happening at our dinner. For safety reasons, the turkey will be carved in a private ceremony. I stress "private" meaning: do not, under any circumstances, enter the kitchen to laugh at me. Do not send small, unsuspecting children to check on my progress. I have an electric knife. The turkey is unarmed. It stands to reason that I will eventually win. When I do, we will eat.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind my young diners that "passing the rolls" is not a football play. Nor is it a request to beam your sister in the head with warm, tasty bread. Oh, and one reminder for the adults: For the duration of the meal, and especially while in the presence of young diners, we will refer to the giblet gravy by its lesser-known name: Cheese Sauce. If a young diner questions you regarding the origins or type of Cheese Sauce, plead ignorance.

Before I forget, there is one last change. Instead of offering a choice among 12 different scrumptious desserts, we will be serving the traditional pumpkin pie, garnished with whipped cream and small fingerprints. You will still have a choice, though: take it or leave it. Thought you might all enjoy.

Martha Stewart will not be dining with us this Thanksgiving. She probably won't come next year either.

I am thankful."

Date Added: 10/01/08
Thanksgiving Christian Stories and Poems
http://www.christianstories.com

Staff Devotional - Our Psalms Part Two

These are some of the staff's writings from our devotional time together. Lisa Catania challenged us to reflect on an attribute of God and to write down some key ways that we see Him at work in our lives through that attribute. Here are our thoughts:

The LORD [Jehovah God] is gracious and merciful …

*when I deserve judgment – He saved me.

*when I deserve His wrath – He died for me.

*when I am disobedient – He is not less gracious & merciful to me.

*when I have opportunity I will tell about Him & His grace & mercy … to family, neighbors, strangers and friends.

The LORD is merciful at all times. He withholds His hand of judgment and His compassion flows freely. He does not repay our failures with anger but extends great mercy & loving kindness and my heart returns to Him in response.

God is good. The LORD cannot be anything but good. His creation was perfectly made, in the perfect time and for the good of his creation/us! His plans are for our good. His motives behind His plans are good. Humans, even the good ones, cannot be good without God. Even when life is hard, God is good.

The LORD is my provider … He has given me life. Each and every breath is a gift from Him. He has given me everything I need. I will trust Him in the coming days, weeks, months and years to provide for me a car [praise Him – He has TODAY!] a wife and a family and everything He knows I need … all in His perfect timing!

The LORD’s faithfulness endures. His faithfulness is clearly evident. You do not leave me hanging even when I turn from You. Your presence does not forsake me. I find You in my contentment and my in my pain. Your hand upholds me and gives me what I need when I need it. I praise You for Your faithfulness. My soul is overwhelmed O my God.

The LORD is faithful and keeps His promises. He knows my need before I do and meets those needs in His perfect timing. I will thank Him and praise Him all the days of my life. I will speak this truth to the generations that follow me.

The LORD is sovereign.
*He knit me in my mother’s womb.
*He hears & knows my every cry.
*He is the beginning and the end; the alpha and omega.
*He is the LORD over all.

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

Preparing for South Africa

By Lisa Catania

My family and I are now officially leaving in less than a month on a mission’s trip to South Africa. We have never done a missions trip before. However, when we heard about this opportunity both my husband and I looked at each other and said, ” We need to do this!” Matthew 28:19 says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

This past year we have been planning, organizing, praying, and raising support. What a journey! I must admit we have wrestled with questions of….what were we thinking?...this is crazy!....we are endangering our kids….are we going to be eaten by a lion?.... I am taking a live virus to keep me from getting it? Am I nuts? Honestly, those thoughts crossed my mind. However, God has carefully calmed our spirits with peace through the Psalms. Psalms 37:23 “The steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord.” Ok….God is guiding us. Psalm 34:7 “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.”  Ok…God will protect us.

This journey has really taught our whole family to surrender. We can’t plan for everything. We won’t fully know what we will face. We just know God is in control and we need to surrender our lives to whatever He has planned for us. Philipppians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.”

So we ask for your prayers for our family and the entire team heading to South Africa. Please pray for peace, safety, and that we may glorify God in all that we do. (…and not get eaten by a lion!)

Lost Purity

By Lisa Catania

I love this time of year when we all stop and reflect on Jesus’ death and resurrection. This Sunday, the sermon touched on the cross being a symbol of God’s power to deliver anyone from the powerful stronghold of sin. In my life, God always has interesting ways of driving the sermon home.

My daughter received a purity ring for her birthday. It too is a symbol. It is a symbol of her staying pure for marriage. She treasured this beautiful shiny ring on her finger. She showed it to everyone and happily explained what it symbolized. She glowed when she wore it. However, this weekend, in the midst of playing by the creek in our backyard in the rain, it slipped off of her finger. She was visibly upset. For in an instant, in a moment of not thinking, she had lost this ring. Now she was suffering a loss of a gift she had so treasured. She was no longer glowing. She was slumping in her anger and shame at her loss.

God gave us a teachable moment that day as we wadded through the muck and mud by the creek looking for that ring. We discussed how many girls have lost their purity physically, in a moment of not thinking, in a moment of passion. We chatted about how their pain goes much deeper than just losing a ring. How these girls cannot just go to the store as we would be doing to buy a new ring. However, do these girls know that like Ashley, they can go to Jesus for forgiveness?

I love looking at the cross, a great symbol of power, hope, love and forgiveness. There are days like my daughter had, where I too have a hard time forgiving myself much less accepting the forgiveness from my Savior. I then look at the cross and thank God that Jesus died for my sins.

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16