Addition by Subtraction

In October, we conducted a survey of our church family asking some very key questions connected to some Thematic Goals of our church. WE harvested some very key conpontents.

One of those was the fact that we really needed to advance the time that our church spent reading the bible. Not that our the amount of our reading was critcally low, but were we are right now needed some advancement.

We also saw a direct connection between the amount people spend reading their bible and the times the shared the reason for them being a Christain to others. Simply put, the more reading, the more sharing. Other the other components had little or no effect on sharing faith.

With that in mind, our leadership team set out to give tools to our church to help the increase bible reading. One of the changes you will find on our site in the future will be daily bible readings. We will be connecting the readings with the topics of our Sunday messages to amplify our spiritual growth. Please come back often to get your list of bible readings.

I would also like to sugguest to increase time for bible reading, you might want to concider taking on some fast in order to make time for more bible reading.

In an artical writen by Jane Johnson Struck, I found some fast that would acomplish this very thing.

Fast from Worry

Psalm 94:19 (TLB): "Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer." I determinedly tried to "take captive" every negative thought "to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).

If someone told me to just stop worrying, I'd say impossible. But I decided to try it for a week—with the help of God's Spirit and his Word. While I didn't become perfectly peaceful, for those seven days I felt healthier and more optimistic than I had for quite a while. This is one fast I've repeated when certain situations start feeding my fretful nature

If worry's something you'd like to change about your life, try switching stations for a week. It will transform the way you feel.

Fast from Fast Food

Do you love Wendy's? We've all been told to cut down on the fat in our diet. But I only set myself up for failure with an all-or-nothing mentality. So this time, I tried the incremental approach. Instead of that Greek Pita or Big Combo, we need to eat more healthy.

Fast from the Media

No, I'm not talking about abstaining from all television, newspapers, and magazines entirely for a week—or from renting and watching a family video that lifts your spirits and makes you laugh.
What I am suggesting is a fast from all the bad news floating out there. Pick up the latest magazine from the grocery-store newsstand and cover copy fairly shouts at you: "Will skin-eating bacteria endanger your family?" "E.coli is out to get you!" or "What silent symptoms are YOU ignoring?" Grim financial outlooks, children killing children, white-collar crime—it seems that in today's world, nobody's honest, nobody's to be trusted, and nobody's sure we're going to survive into the next century!

That's why it's important to keep a balanced view. Yes, real life is sometimes hard, scary, tragic. But it's also filled with hope, God's grace, and people who are loving, kind, and self-sacrificing. Life isn't all bad, dangerous, hazardous, brimming with imminent disease, disaster, or death—but on a steady diet of the daily paper or the evening news, you can often feel as though it is.

This year, join me in taking a break from the doom-and-gloom for seven days—you'll start looking up!

Fast from Criticism

I once read an article about a woman who decided to button her lip for a week and refrain from criticizing her husband when he forgot to take out the garbage or failed to call when he was coming home late. Would he notice the difference in her behavior—and would it make their marriage more loving? It did.

There's power in what you say—but also in what you don't say. Fast from criticism for a week; it will impact the way you relate to others.

Fast from Noise Overload

I don't know about you, but when I'm in my car, I turn on the radio. When I'm home, a stereo's always pounding away up in one of my daughters' bedrooms, a telephone's ringing, a dog's barking, a television's blasting, and a hairdryer's blowing.

What would an "unplugged" life be like? And how does the noise I invite into my life, not to mention the unavoidable background drone of technology, traffic, and people, affect me? All those decibels, I decided, make me tense, tired, and crabby.

Have an Awesome Day

David