December 5, 2011 by Worship Director.

The Ladies Christmas Brunch, hosted at Community Bible Fellowship on December 3, 2011, was a beautiful time for ladies “of all ages” to spend time together kicking off this festive season.  While using the national Christian Women Connection program titled “Making Room” we learned about Las Posadas, which represents the journey of Mary and Joseph who found “no room in the inn.”  Traditional Mexican foods and beverages were served and several of the women of our congregation shared their own Las Posadas experiences.

To infuse an Austin connection, Sandy Alcala, Executive Director of the local nonprofit “Con Mi Madre,” shared about their work with Hispanic mothers and daughters to strengthen educational opportunities for this growing sector of our population.  Guests attending the Brunch brought gifts and gift cards to support the Con Mi Madre Wish List.  The more we learn, the more we know, and the more we are able to reach out and open our hearts to the needs in our communities.

On December 18, we will participate in the Christ Birthday Observance, sponsored by the national Christian Women Connection of the Church of God.  An offering will be raised at that time to support the important missions and missionaries - both at home and around the world - through this special collection.  You are invited to participate as you “make room” for Jesus this season and spread His message of love.

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November 17, 2011 by Worship Director.

It’s time again for the annual “Ladies Christmas Brunch” at Community Bible Fellowship for “ladies” of all ages - mothers and daughters are welcome!  The Christian Women Connection sponsors this event each year as part of the national Christ Birthday celebration.  This year, we are especially “making room” for the Christ Child in our Christmas so that this season may be more meaningful than ever for you and your family.

Please join us for this free event:

 Saturday, December 3, 2011

10:30 am – 12 noon

At Community Bible Fellowship

5209 Duval Rd, Austin TX 78757

Free Admission

Please RSVP by 11/25 to Sue Breland

Sue@AustinCBF.org

Additionally this year, we are focusing on Con Mi Madre, a local nonprofit organization serving Hispanic women and their daughters to reach for the heights in their health educational goals. If you would like to bring a gift for Con Mi Madre and its clients, please see the “Wish List” attached to the left by clicking on it.  You can get more information about Con Mi Madre here.

We look forward to celebrating with you and all the ladies in your life!

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December 22, 2010 by Web Admin.

My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.  - James 5:19-20 (NIV)

What does “God with us” look like?  For me, at the tender age of twenty-four, “God with us” looked like three forty-something ladies from my small church, Lynn, Jan, and Jeanette.  That summer I went the way of the prodigal son - and like the prodigal son, I hit my personal bottom.   By September I was ready to repent of my sin and return to my church home, but I felt paralyzed.  Although I knew the physical location of the church, I did not know how to go back.  Then, one Saturday afternoon, Lynn phoned, “Mary Lou, I have you on the schedule as my helper in Children’s Church tomorrow.  Please remember to bring a snack and a drink for the children.”

That call was exactly what I needed.  The next day when I arrived at church, Jan and Jeanette greeted me with hugs and kind words.  After visiting with them for a few minutes, I started down the hall toward Children’s Church.  Walking down the hall I overheard Jan exclaim with delight to Jeanette, “It worked!” In that moment, I understood they had lovingly devised a plan to bring me back to God.  I froze in place for a split- second, smiled, and then continued down the hall.  My heart was overflowing with the love, acceptance, and forgiveness I had received from them and from God.

Has the Holy Spirit reminded you of someone needing direction?

How can you be “God with us” to that person?

Have you “wandered from the truth”? Why not pray right now and ask God to show you the way back?

By Mary Lou Winters

Meditation Journal- God with Us

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November 16, 2010 by Worship Director.

Sponsored by the Christian Women Connection for ladies of all ages

Saturday, December 4, 2010
10:30 am – 12 noon
At Community Bible Fellowship
5209 Duval Rd

 Free Admission

We invite you to bring an unwrapped gift for a child at SafePlace

RSVP by 12/1/10 to Sue@AustinCBF.org

All donations collected are displayed in the SafePlace shelter so clients and their children can go “shopping.”  This allows clients to pick gifts for their family members staying with us.  The need for this program is great and all donations are much appreciated.

Please leave gifts unwrapped. The donation of wrapping paper and tape are greatly appreciated. Please include batteries with gifts that need them.

Please select from these items for a child’s Christmas at SafePlace

• Art supplies of all kinds
• Batteries- AA, AAA, C, 9V
• Board games
• Books
• Cars/Trucks
• Gift Cards
• New clothes in season
• New Dolls (various ethnicities)
• New Toddler manipulative (blocks, etc)
• Non-violent Action Figures
• Science/craft kits/play dough/clay
• Sports equipment/balls

***Please no toy guns/Knives/Swords***

SafePlace…

• Provides Safety for individuals and families affected by sexual and domestic violence.
• Helps victims in their Healing so they can move beyond being defined by the crimes committed against them, and become Survivors.
• Promotes safe and healthy relationships for the Prevention of sexual and domestic violence.
• Works with others to create Change in attitudes, behaviors and policies that perpetuate the acceptance of, and impact our understanding and responses to, sexual and domestic violence.
• SafePlace exists to end sexual and domestic violence through safety, healing, prevention and social change.

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October 4, 2010 by Worship Director.

Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.” “Do all that you have in mind,” his armor-bearer said. “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.”  - 1 Samuel 14:6-7

Rev. Dr. Cynthia James closed out the 2010 Christian Women Connection Conference with another powerful message encouraging participants to leave this place transformed.  It is not enough to come to a conference, worship service, or retreat and be blessed – to just take in what you learn – but it is what you DO afterward that makes the difference.

Before delving into the scripture text, Dr. James made three points for reflection:

1) Be strategic: Think and plan ahead, rehearse, and get others involved in your vision or goal.

2) Be disciplined: Undergo personal scrutiny, calculate the risks, and be careful but not overly analytical.

3) Just do it! Have courage and make your move.

With these thoughts undergirding the text, she presented the story of Jonathan before the Philistines in 1 Samuel 14.  Israel had been conquered by the Philistines, most of their weapons confiscated and the blacksmiths taken away.

In this account, Saul and his soldiers were waiting under the pomegranate tree – tired, discouraged, confused, and disheartened.  But Jonathan didn’t wait for his father to do some thing, he made a plan and set out to accomplish it.  He didn’t complain, or put Saul down (as some will do to leadership), he just did what he thought God wanted him to do.

He looked at the narrow pass up the hill to the Philistines camp which had sharp cliffs on either side.  One side was named “thorny” and the other “shiny.” Isn’t that just like the paths we have before us?  As we travel the narrow way, some days are good and easy as God’s light seems to shine on us and our paths, but some days are thorny indeed, filled with pain and fear and trouble.  Like Jonathan, we still have to take the pass to reach the goal, and being so narrow, we can’t take everything with us.  We’ll have to leave behind everything that isn’t essential – the baggage, the negative attitudes, the bad habits.  Unburden yourself to take the path laid before you.

Jonathan didn’t have an army to take with him.  He turned to his armor bearer – not the king, not a commander, no one of equal status – but just someone who could help him even if he was different from himself.  And this servant didn’t look around and decide the odds were pretty bad for this undertaking, but just said, “Do what you think is best – I’m with you!” This unlikely duo, with one sword between them, would be all that would go before the Philistines and do battle.  Jonathan’s observation was poignant as we apply it to today: “God can save by many or by few” – He is God!  It doesn’t take a mega church to do the most good, God can work through churches of 20 or 50 or 100 just as powerfully.  Small churches can connect together, pool resources, and work strategically to be successful. We need to be able to say “Let’s do it!”

It was just Jonathan and his armor bearer now standing before the Philistines at the top of the hill.  When the soldiers called to them mockingly to come on up where they would teach them a lesson, the two men did not hesitate, but started up the hill on their hands and feet – we are strongest when we are humble.  Jonathan led the way and the armor bearer followed – they didn’t go side by side, but the leader led.  The armor bearer stepped aside and submitted to Jonathan’s plan.  God is ordered, and those in leadership should be allowed to lead the charge – don’t forget – this may also put them in the way of the first bullet, but leaders accept ALL the responsibility of leadership, both good and bad.

Once reaching the top of the hill, the two Hebrews began fighting the 20 Philistine soldiers.  Dr. James shared a vision of Jonathan handing the sword to his companion so that, as he fought to put the soldiers off balance, the armor bearer was able to slay them.  All 20 fell and the rest of the story is one of complete victory.  They worked together, used their strengths most effectively, even when it meant Jonathan did not hold the weapon and finish off the opponents.  We must be flexible in our churches, using everyone’s strengths to our best advantage, regardless of position or status.

Christian women, each of us, are important in defeating the enemy.  We must think strategically, joining in the vision and supporting our leaders (if it is not us!).  We must be disciplined to follow the plan, calculate the risks and be prepared with a response to any issue, obstacle or objection.

And finally, we must just do it. Follow through, regardless of how it appears ahead.  God will go before us and win the victory!

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October 3, 2010 by Worship Director.

Worship Director continues to blog from the joint conference of the Christian Women Connection and the National Association Women of the Church of God.

Soon afterward Jesus went with His disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed Him. A funeral procession was coming out as He approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her.  - Luke 7:11-12

Jesus and His disciples were on a collision course with the Widow of Nain and her crowd of mourners.  We are all  going to collide with the Savior -what will be the outcome?  Rev. Dr. Cynthia James brought a stirring and insightful message from this little New Testament story that holds such meaning in our lives even today.

We don’t know the widow’s name - but Jesus did.  She did not call for Him - but He showed up anyway.  The crowd surrounding her was mourning and crying, escorting a lifeless son, the end of her future and hope, out the gate and down the hill to the final resting place of her only beloved son.  The crowd with Jesus followed Him with joy and expectancy, up the hill and into the City where Life itself would continue to bless and amaze them with His presence, the only Begotten Son of God.

Perhaps in this moment, when Jesus met the Widow of Nain at the gate, He could foresee another mother, mourning the loss of a son, being carried to the tomb of Arimathia. Whatever the reason, as the groups collided, intermingling into a single swarming hive, Jesus saw her - really saw her - and stopped to meet her need.  First He told her “don’t cry,” not “don’t cry for now” or in an off the cuff way as we often tell our children when they fall and skin their knee, but in a way that meant “don’t cry anymore, everything will be alright from now on.”  Then Jesus touched the stretcher on which the dead man laid and returned him to life, to take his place in the land of the living and to end his mother’s pain.

We are all just like the Widow of Nain. We all experience pain and loss, everyone does.  Our future, outside the gates and our view, are uncertain, frightening, and clouded - but Jesus is just on the other side.  We, too, are on a collision course with Him. He shows up - whether we call for Him or not - and He can see us as no one else ever can.  Jesus will bring us back to life and give us a hope and a future.

There are no little stories in the Bible - all scripture is Bod breathed and inspired - and there is no one that is under God’s radar or beyond His desire to reach.  If He met the needs of the Widow of Nain, He will meet you and yours.

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October 2, 2010 by Worship Director.

Worship Director continues to blog from the joint conference of the Christian Women Connection and the National Association Women of the Church of God.

He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.  - Daniel 7:14

The Church of God movement, headquartered in Anderson Indiana, is a multiethnic, multicultural, multigenerational fellowship of Christian believers, so rich in heritage and in love for each other and the world.  This weekend’s conference is so special as we celebrate our diversity of humaness and oneness of spirit.  We recognize that “churches” (notice the  lower case “c”) are but groups of people who enjoy similar worship styles and traditions which may be influenced by culture, geography, or ethnicity; all are valued by the Church of God. In this place, we bring together women of every age, nationality and race to share, sing, worship, and pray in our own ways, under one God.

On Saturday morning, we particularly celebrated the Hispanic culture, focusing on the important connection to our Spanish speaking family.  Not even language can block the free flow of praise to our Father who understands all tongues, hearts, and minds.  Mandy Bolm, the conference worship leader, helped us strengthen our bonds of unity through sharing praise in Spanish.

The speaker for the day’s Prayer Breakfast was Melba Davila, our particular favorite as part of the pastoral team at Austin First Church.  Melba brought a powerful and yet heartwarming testimony of her life; from a barefoot 5 year-old in south Texas, lured to Bible School by the promise of bubble gum, to a woman of God - seeking and serving Him - through pastoral ministry with her husband, Rev. Gilbert Davila, vocational education, and as a bridge across cultures.

Her message to all women was: Surrender, Seek & Search His Word, and Serve.  Surrender is the first, most important, and required step in hearing and following God’s call on our lives.  Without surrender, there is no path before us, nowhere to go.  How can we hear and know our individual call? By searching His Word, reading the Bible, fervently making the scripture our guide.  His Word not only points us in the direction He chooses for us, but equips us for the journey, giving us all the strength and comfort that may be required to succeed in the tasks He will lay before us.

And finally, we are saved to serve.  Our purpose is to serve Him by serving others in our world - at home and across the world.  We use the gifts He gives us as He directs us.  If we live, listen and learn through surrender and seeking Him by searching His Word - our service is revealed and perfected as only He can do.

See video clips of Melba’s message here.

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October 2, 2010 by Worship Director.

Worship Director continues to blog from the joint conference of the Christian Women Connection and the National Association Women of the Church of God.

With a prayer to the God of heaven, I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.” The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?” After I told him how long I would be gone, the king agreed to my request.  - Nehemiah 2:5-6

So, you heard the call and started the work. As we go along, the doubts also begin - “Is this really what God wanted me to do?  How do I know it’s God?” Do obstacles mean we’re on the wrong road or does it mean we’re exactly on track and we can know we are doing the will of God BECAUSE of the obstacles.

Rev. Dr. Kimberley Majeski spoke again on October 1, relating the story of Nehemiah who heard the call to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem - no small task…no few obstacles…no way to fail while continuing to follow God’s call on his life. Nehemiah was the King’s Cup Bearer -a pretty great job, Dr. Majeski reminded us, as long as there was no poison in the wine - but he was no architect, contractor, diplomat, nor commander of men.  He was just a guy who was open to God’s call.  God opened the doors for Nehemiah; moving the king’s heart to allow him to go, sending letters to dignitaries along the way for safe passage, providing Him with all the resources they would need to complete the construction task. The trouble came from those neighbors around Jerusalem who wanted Nehemiah to doubt his direction, who began talking and scheming and planting lies in order to force him to yield, to fear and to fail.  But he refused and forged ahead, building the walls and bringing the remnant of Israel back to their God.

We all have a call to follow and we all will encounter problems, but like Nehemiah, we can overcome the world with “a prayer to the God of Heaven” in our hearts as we go about the Master’s business.  We can often be confirmed in our call in direct proportion to the level of its crazyness to our own abilities. It is not me, but God in me, that produces results - we know that only by His power can the task be completed, not our own.

We may not build physical walls around the city to protect God’s people, but we might build walls of spiritual protection around young people in our communities that need God’s love and guidance through a dangerous world.  We may not preach God’s Word from a tower and see thousands turn their hearts back to the God of their Fathers, but we might put our arms around just one, who may not even seem worth saving, to whisper Christ’s healing words of hope and love.  That one then may be used of God to reach a generation or a nation that we could not understand.

We will all have detractors, we are all prone to sin and discouragement and doubt.  We are meant to struggle.  Yet it is through our perseverance that the battles are won.  God believes in us, even when we don’t believe in ourselves.  Dr. Majeski encouraged us to do whatever we do with confidence. If you act like you know what you’re doing, you’ll be surprised how others will believe you!  You may even convince yourself in the process.

At the conclusion of her message, Dr. Majeski reminded us that we are “called to be the Light - - not to beat out the darkness.” God does not call us to anything that is too big for us nor to anything that is not guided by love and compassion.  Stick to the task for which you were called, no more and no less, for God’s plans are perfect and He has chosen you as His perfect tool for the job.

Follow Rev. Dr. Kimberly Majeski’s ministry at http://www.kimberlymajeski.com/

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October 1, 2010 by Worship Director.

So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people to do in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them.  - Ecclesiastes 8:15

At the Christian Women Connection, a gathering of women associated with the Church of God movement based in Anderson Indiana, our call to ministry - our place of service -  is the focus. Any time a mass of women convene in a single location, there is unmistakable, invisible, immeasurable power.  While power is more often associate with men - or even an individual man - the collective energy of women is high voltage transformational capacity.  We are truly more together than the individual sum of our parts - we are exponential.

With such high expectations, from everyone around us, are women too embroiled in the execution of life to hear and respond to the call of God?  Yes, but not only women, all of us.  Reverend Dr. Kimberly Majeski, reminds us that God speaks in quietness - not in the wind or the fire or the earthquake - but in a gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:11-12). How can we hear a whisper through all the noise we let into our lives? Even when we engage in Christian activities, as do so many faithful women who serve in their local churches, we can find ourselves drowning in the work, but not the Word.

In the Hebrew language “Sabbath” means “rest” not “Sunday.”  Sabbath is not opening the church Sunday morning, teaching Sunday school, setting up and serving the potluck luncheon, cleaning up, running home with some quick errands on the way and getting back to the church in time for choir practice - -  definitely NOT Sabbath.  Even God rested - why don’t we!?!  We cannot continue running at this rate and expect God’s will to just catch up with us as we whiz by.  God says “Stop!” “Be still…listen” - the nice way of saying “shut up!” - which some of us need to hear before we can actually close our mouths and open our ears and hearts to the whisper that calls us.

Search the scripture. Just see how many times, Jesus and others stopped to eat, drink, recharge, refresh, revive - and rest. Try it.  Hear what God has to say to you.

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September 29, 2010 by Web Admin.

Our annual yard sale is a favorite event in the community. This year is even better than last. You will find a variety of new and used items priced to sell. From glassware, furniture, household goods, clothing for the entire family, toys, greeting cards, stationary to lawn and outdoor furniture.

When: Friday, October 15 from 8 am - 4 pm  AND  Saturday, October 16 from 8 am - 4 pm

Where:  Austin First Church of God, 5209 Duval Rd., Austin Texas 78727

This event is sponsored by Christian Women Connection and the proceeds go toward missions and other outreach ministries locally, state wide and nationally.

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