Often described as Jerry's "sworn enemy," his character is cunning and occasionally acts like a weasel. He speaks often in a humorously sinister tone (mainly to Jerry). Jerry refers to Newman as "pure evil" on more than one occasion. The two generally greet each other this way, Jerry in a distrustful, baleful voice, Newman in a falsely jovial one:

Newman: "Hello, Jerry."
Jerry: "Hello, Newman."**

To Jerry, Newman is all things evil. Or it is the fact that everyone has a person(s) that they just, no matter what they have done to you, rub you the wrong way. ***

How many of us have been here? The person that just, no matter what they do, rubs you the wrong way? I know I have. I’m thinking of my Newman right now. My Newman is a know-it-all, smug and generally not like-able type of person. I even want to say his name like Jerry says “Newman!” - with contempt!

Now I know it’s not right to feel this way toward people because of what the Bible says. A few verses come to mind:

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.
Luke 6:27

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
Romans 12:14

If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:20-21

I have to admit I sort of like that verse about the burning coals! God gave us a little motivation for being kind, didn’t He!?!

Confession: I just googled “What does the Bible say about people you don’t like.” And I found this great site. http://www.freebiblestudyguides.org/bible-answers/dealing-with-difficult-people.htm

I’ll be praying for you as you encounter your Newman this week. Will you do the same for me?

~Jacqueline


** http://seinfeld.wikia.com/wiki/Newman
*** http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/42987

Sorry folks, this isn’t a movie review of Sarah Jessica Parker’s latest movie :) I haven’t even seen this movie yet, and I’m not sure that I want to see a movie about a career oriented mom trying to juggle her job, children, husband and many, MANY other things in her chaotic life!  I have enough things to worry about in my own world rather than watch someone else’s train wreck. But the movie trailer really made me think. . .do I juggle too many things and try to do it all on my own?  Am I really letting God be in control of my life and fully surrendering to Him?

As you might know, our family was recently blessed with a baby boy, Jacob.  He is truly an amazing baby, so sweet and adorable.  I didn’t know I could love another child like I love my sweet 5 year old Anna but it’s true – I am hopelessly in love with this little bundle of joy!  

But with this little joy came late night feedings and some sleepless nights.  The first few weeks were sort of a blissful, sleepless blur.  But then came the chaos.  One morning, I was holding and feeding the baby while packing Anna’s lunch (yes, not recommended, but it was that or hear a screaming hungry baby cry :) ), I told Anna to put on her shoes for the third time while she is whining about not wanting to go to school.  As I’m running to pack her book bag with lunch, field trip money and homework, I happened to step in fresh dog puke on our carpet. . .nice.  This didn’t faze our dog Lucy though, who was barking at me to feed her again while pushing her bowl across the floor.  Right then the baby spits up all over my shirt while my phone starts beeping, it’s a text from work – a work emergency!  While holding the baby and forcing Anna’s shoes on her feet and hoping we wouldn’t miss the bus that morning, I glanced at my desk with my 2 page to-do list I had made days ago that had just a few things checked off.  At that very moment, I wanted to scream, "SERENITY NOW!!!"

After I put Anna on the bus that morning, I came back inside and glanced in the mirror.  I was a mess!  My hair was all over the place, bags under my eyes, and I was wearing mismatched clothes (with spit up on them of course).  Not only did I feel that my physical appearance was not so hot, I felt that my heart was not so hot either.  I was irritable, crabby and feeling depressed that I couldn’t handle all that I was doing. So, that morning, I decided to put everything on hold that I had to do that day.  My messy house, the ever growing laundry pile, work and volunteer stuff that had deadlines – they were all on hold.  I just held my sweet baby and listened to what God had to say to me that morning.

During my time with God, I was reminded that in my life, I am the passenger, He is the driver.  I am immediately became relieved.  When you are not in charge and fully responsible, it lessens your worries and reminds you that only He knows the plans He has for us, not us! Instead of making a “to do” list myself, I’ve decided to pray over that list before making it.  What does God want me to do today?  What priorities are important to Him?  Once I had that reminder of Him being in control, it gave me a sense of peace and positively changed my attitude.  James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  By completely turning things over to Him and submitting to Him, I am less vulnerable to the temptations of the devil.  God also tells us in the book of Jeremiah, that He knows that plans He has for us, to prosper and give us hope and a future.  I don’t have to do it all, I can just climb over to the passenger seat and say, “God, I can’t wait to see where you’ll take me today. :)” 

I have discovered something new lately - that I am easily irritated.  I know you are outraged by this revelation.  You refuse to believe this.  This is because you either have not lived with me or have not spent time with me outside the bubble of cheerful repartee.  My children and husband bear the brunt of this.  And to make matters worse, at the Christmas pageant I recently directed at the preschool where I work, our Director called me up to thank me and continued on to say that I had a “kind word for everyone” which only made me flashback with chagrin to about 20 minutes before when I had impatiently snapped at my husband. 

I want to be known as a kind, thoughtful person - someone who thinks of others.  But the killer of kindness is truly impatience, as we have all witnessed in the flurry of Christmas checkout lines.  So, I am eager to rid myself of this sin.  Impatient, even.  :)  The last week or so I have been aware of my propensity and have guarded against it but I am quickly realizing that while I can change what comes out of my mouth, only God can truly replace the thoughts in my head.  So, I have to rely on God’s strength if I want a lasting change. 

A great song that drives this home is “This Is the Stuff” by Francesca Battistelli.  You can watch her video here. 

Not in my own power but by God’s strength.
- Julie

I love to go out.  There’s something about tossing aside my comfy T-shirt (or lately, sweatshirt) in favor of my cutest fashions, accessorizing, and freshening up my make-up so I’m all ready to go somewhere.  The worst thing that can happen at that point is for a kid to get sick, the babysitter to fall through, or to get a call that changes all my plans.  There I am:  all dressed up with nowhere to go.

I think God has been trying to teach me a lesson lately.  First, we put our house on the market.  Oh, how we worked to get out home spic and span with the perfect staging, lighting, fragrances—no easy feat when you house three children and two dogs!  The time came and we stood poised with snacks and comment forms.

…And the time went--with no lookers at all.  It felt like we threw a party but no one came.

That same week, Evidence experienced another set-back with our CD recording project.  This was a session which had been on our calendar for over a month.  We had our charts ready, parts rehearsed, babysitters set up—we were all “dressed up and ready.”  And then the plans got majorly changed and it was out of our control.

1.  SEEK HIM FIRST.         

Proverbs 3:6 tells us:  “Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.”    Other versions say, “…He will make your path straight.”    Sometimes we get a little ahead of God in our lives.  We make our plans thinking because He hasn’t put up obvious roadblocks, we must be in His Will.  So we put on our best dress, the perfect shade of lipstick, and skip ahead down the path we’ve chosen for ourselves because it looks straight to our eyes.  I don’t believe the path God has for us is always a free and easy road without bumps or curves—however, He does say He will make it plain to us when we seek Him first.



2.  GIVE OUR BEST.
         
Secondly, it’s not a waste to get all dressed up (I’m speaking figuratively).  In fact, Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it wholeheartedly as though you were doing it for the Lord and not merely for people.”  God wants us to give our very best to everything He has us do.  We should always be ready and prepared—this is God-honoring!



3.  WAIT ON HIM.        
   
Lastly, even when we have been diligent to seek God’s will, AND we have done our very best to get ourselves ready for the task at hand, sometimes we must also learn PATIENCE.

It’s the old adage:  “Lord, teach me patience and please hurry!”  Think of the Old             Testament stories of Abraham, who was 100 years old before God gave him the son he longed for; of Joseph, who spent 15 years unjustly accused in prison before God raised him to 2nd in command over all of Egypt; of Job, who lost everything you could imagine before God restored to him twice as much as he had in the first place.

Whatever our calling, we must patiently endure, and continue to do the work even if we occasionally find ourselves “all dressed up with nowhere to go.” 

Seek Him first, give our best, and wait on Him—He is ultimately preparing us for the biggest party of all, when we’ll be all dressed up in His righteousness.   And those duds are fine. ;-) 
 
Grace and peace,

Becky

Jacqueline here - don’t worry - I’m not talking about hard drugs, alcohol or cigarettes. Lately, I have been completely addicted to ….........…...………PINTEREST. It’s a website that lets you organize and share great ideas. People use “pinboards” like a virtual bulletin boards to plan weddings, decorate homes, organize recipes, and my personal favorite, find kids crafts! You can also browse pinboards created by other people.

I’m telling you it’s so addicting. I want to look at it all the time and see everyone’s ideas! I added the link above, but be warned: you’ll become addicted as well! I mean, seriously, look at this cute Christmas Tree on canvas out of handprints! FUN!

Apparently, pinterest isn’t the only addicting thing in our world these days. I saw CNN run a segment on people’s addictions to their smartphones. I know I am guilty. I use my phone for everything – calling, browsing, texting, facebook, and Words with Friends (I’m a “Words” geek)! That got me thinking about an email I have received several times – you’ve probably seen it too:

What would happen if we treated our Bible like our cell phone?
What if we carried it around in our purses or our pockets?
What if we turned back to get it if we forgot it?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we used to receive messages from the text?
What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
What if we used it in case of an emergency?
Unlike our cell phones, we don’t ever have to worry about the Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill!

You may be saying to yourself, “Jacqueline, that’s not really an addiction.” Webster defines addiction as the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice. OK, maybe I’m not enslaved to pinterest or to my cell, but they certainly have received more of my time and attention lately than my Bible.

God, please forgive me for the time I’ve spent idly checking the internet or playing games on my cell phone when I could have been spending time with you. Please replace these desires and interests with a passion in my heart to know you more. Amen.

Now, who knows a good app for a daily devotion?  :)

Recently I had an opportunity to sing an impromptu, karaoke-style song called, “Need You Now.”  You probably know it.  It was at a restaurant that was hosting some live entertainment and I got called up on stage (thanks to my husband’s cousin) to sing with the performer.  After a shaky start, I found my pitch and tried to infuse the performance with feeling and life.  It was hard work!  While I have always loved to sing any Lady Antebellum song at the top of my lungs in the car, I realized that singing it in front of people lacked something. 

These last 2 (!) years with Evidence have driven home what I knew before – singing about anything less compelling than God’s love leaves me feeling empty.  Conversely, singing words about the life-changing love of Christ fills me, renews me, brings me to tears, puts a smile on my face and cleanses me.  Sometimes all at once!   Nothing else compares. 

Lord, I am so grateful for this gift of music.  Grateful that I can experience praising you anytime, no matter where I am.  I want to be clean so that I can fully shine your light.  I love you and want to sing a new song to you all of my days.  Amen.

Summer has arrived!  School’s OUT, the BBQ’s have begun, swimming pools are open, the cicadas are singing and it’s VBS season!

My 5 year old daughter, Anna, just completed her first week of Vacation Bible School at church this week.  She came home singing songs about Jesus, quoting scripture and exclaiming how much fun she had. She even told me she has decided to go to VBS everyday instead of school!  It made me think though. . .how awesome would it be, if I could spend 20 hours each week singing my heart out and diving into His word and being completely and utterly focused on Him? 

Anna’s VBS experience reminded me that VBS can and should happen every week of our lives.  Our days are so busy and at times, the work, running errands and extra commitments can weigh us down and can cause us to lose focus of what is most important.

This summer, I am challenging myself and my friends to some adult VBS.  Here’s how in two ways. . .through:

WORSHIP:

I’m taking my favorite praise songs (I’m especially interested in finding Anna’s VBS songs so we can both jam to them!) and making a playlist for my drive time.  Some of my best and heartfelt worship moments have been in my car on my morning commute to work.  Although, I recommend NOT closing your eyes while drivingJ.

DAILY WORD TIME:

The internet has so many great websites for daily devotions as there are also several books out there for daily devotions as well.  A website I like for online devotions is www.devotionalchristian.com , they also have recommendations for books at http://devotionalchristian.com/top-22-devotional-books/. Or if you don’t want to do a daily devotion that someone else created, create one on your own by diving into the Word each day.  Also, I plan to spend some serious prayer time with Him at the end of each devotion.

Well, that is all I have for today. . .I have to go now and prepare for my first week of Adult VBS next week!

Remember that VBS doesn’t have to be just for our kids. . .

Philippians 3:13-14 says;

13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

1.   I have all the time I need.

Frankly, I’m a busy girl.  With three children under the age of 7 and a house I attempt to keep up with, I’m also a professor and a choral director.  The Evidence CD project will not produce itself, and I manage a lot of our ongoing details and responsibilities.  Then there’s regular church ministry, trying to be a good neighbor, daughter, friend, wife, and the list goes on and on (as I’m sure you can all relate!).  I have often found myself saying, “I only wish there were more than 24 hours in a day!”

But there is something our pastor said in a long-ago sermon which stuck with me:  “You have all the time you need (to do what God has called you to do!).”

God knew what He was doing when He set the earth spinning on its axis.  24 hours IS all I need.  Because I should only be doing what He has asked me to do.  Everything else is wasting my time.  Opportunities come knocking, but I am not meant to walk through every open door.  But I AM meant to give my best to every door HE has opened for me.

2.  God is never surprised. 

I’ll be honest.  Evidence has been thrown some curve balls lately.  But every unexpected situation I’ve had to deal with was only unexpected to me.  God knew they were coming.  And not only is that alone a comfort—to know that He is sovereign and He still called us to our ministry knowing what was going to be thrown at us—but God also prepared some unexpected encouragement to come our way at just the right times.  In fact, quite a bit of it!  I am learning to cling to those home runs during an inning of curve balls.  (Why I’m using baseball analogies, I have no idea.)

3.   The fields are white.

“The fields are white” is a line from our song, “Be the Evidence.”  And we have experienced some reaping of the harvest lately.  There often are concerts during which we can sense the Spirit moving and visibly see a lot of the audience tracking with the testimonies and the songs.  

And then there are other concerts.  

When the energy is more laid-back, it’s more difficult to tell if the message is reaching across from the platform to the pew.  But we have learned those may be the times when God is moving in perhaps just one person.  There is one soul in that audience for whom we are singing--one heart God has purposed to be there and hear the “words of hope and truth.”  

And it’s worth it.  Every bit of labor spent is worth it for that one person.  They are the harvest and it feels like a feast. 

Grace and peace,

Becky

Jacqueline here! As I have said before, God is always using my daughter Katherine to teach me new things about Him. This time, it was about being chosen. 

Last week Katherine and I went to an event for her daycare. Her little friend Bella was there and Bella’s mother sought me out and said, “I have been meaning to call you about this. Bella’s 5th birthday is coming up and I told her she could choose ONE friend to have a sleepover on her birthday night. She wanted Katherine! So, can Katherine come spend the night this Friday night?”

Bella is the sweetest little girl – the one I would choose for Katherine to be best friends with if I could choose her friends!

For some reason, I just felt this SURGE of pride about Katherine being chosen! Out of all the little girls in their daycare classroom, Bella chose my Katherine! I was so proud that the kids like her and that she gets picked! I pray for Katherine all the time that she will never be hurt emotionally or suffer rejections – I know it’s silly, but I just don’t want her to feel that pain.

I began thinking about my younger days. Oh, how I despised standing on the wall in grade school when the two captains would choose – one at a time – the kids they wanted on their team. I would just pray that I wouldn’t be picked last.

Or trying out for a team in high school, hoping I’d make the cut.  

Or auditioning for the school musical, wishing for the leading role, but being cast as “Nurse #4” in South Pacific – I didn’t even have a character name!!!!

Of course, all of this is character building, and vital to learning how to deal with failures, but God brought something VERY important to my mind as I thought of Katherine being chosen for the sleepover.

He reminded me:

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. Ephesians 1:4

What pride we should feel at all times that God CHOSE US. I felt such pride that Bella chose Katherine, but how much more should I feel that God chose ME!?!? And not just that He chose me, but that He had ME in mind even before He created the world!!!! We have such worth and we are so important to the One who matters most.

So next time you’re up for selection, whether you get chosen or you get cast as Nurse #4, I hope you’ll remember: You have been chosen and you are worth everything to God. 

Today is the day for football fans – the long awaited battle between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Super Bowl XLV has arrived at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium – can you feel the excitement?! The stadium crew preparing the field, the players nervously suiting up and the millions of fans standing by for the football fight of the year – this is an all out WAR for the super bowl championship!

As I think of the exhilaration and anxiousness these players, coaches and fans must be experiencing, it makes me think of the battle we face as Christians, every day as we walk out of our doors into the world.

In my last blog, I mentioned that Pastor Bob at FBCH is leading our church in a sermon series on putting on “the Armor of God”.  We are in a war against the powers of the dark world!  We must be prepared for whatever comes our way. Paul, in Ephesians 6:10-17 says:

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

What if Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger ran out on the field today without his helmet, shoes or body gear?  Steelers fans would loudly protest! And of course, the NFL would raise a flag.  Could you imagine how the fans would feel, the anxiety and fear that the player, coaches and his fellow teamates would experience, if Ben played without his gear?  They would cringe and be terrified, for surely their precious quarterback would get injured being in such a vulnerable, unprotected state.

Just as our military, police men and women and our sports players “gear up” for whatever “war” they are preparing to face, we as Christians must suit up every day as well.  We need to wear our gear to protect ourselves from the schemes of the devil, who will do his best to tear us down, especially if WE are vulnerable and not wearing our full armor of God.

So. . .players, take this challenge and commit to put on your armor every morning, maybe even before your feet hit the floor.  Put this on with me and stand firm!  Put on your belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, guard yourself with the shield of faith and take up your helmet of salvation and sword of the Spirit. 

Now we are ready, I say, “Game ON!”  Let’s do this. :)

Ashlee