It's the small things we do that can make a difference.

Sometimes it's the small things that can make a difference in someones life. How many times do we take the time to do the little things that can impact another life? A simple smile, a gentle touch, a warm hello, a polite "how are you doing today?", a sweet thank you or going out of your way to help someone, may simply encourage or give someone that reassurance that you care.

I got home from work Saturday evening and on our table was a lime green little card addressed to me. Well, I was thrilled because it was not a bill to have to look at, rather it was a note just for me. As I turned it over, I saw it was from my dear friend Angelica Carmona. So with much more excitement I opened it to find a thank you card with a sweet note written just for me: If I may I would like to share what was said,

Dear Rose,

Thank you for your service in the nursery today. Volunteering like that just reassures me why I serve on a daily basis, and it's parents like you that make me realize that I have your support, encouragement and love.

Thank You,

Angelica Carmona

I am sharing this because it blessed me so. I was so touched that she had invested her time to tell me "a simple thank you". She had totally made my day and put a smile on my face!

Today, I had another amazing thing take place. I am getting ready to do an online bible study with Alene Snodgrass with so many other amazing ladies out there. She encouraged us to get her book "I am a Fixer Upper" to go along with the bible study. I definitely needed to get a copy and I wanted to order her book on line but it was a little to much for my budget. I emailed her and asked if I could pick up her book somewhere else, rather than ordering it online and paying those few extra dollars. She let me know that the books had not reached the shelves yet, so without hesitation, she made arrangements to meet me somewhere and to personally give me a copy of her book. Amazing! So, she met up with me at HEB Plus since I had to work and I was so touched that she not only gave me a copy of her book, she gave me a hug and chit chatted with me for a couple of minutes.

She had made my day and indeed I had a smile on my face! I was truly blessed that she was willing to meet me and give me a copy of her book.

As all this took place it really made me think and reminded me that taking the time to do the small things can make a difference.

Proverbs 3:27

27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it.

In Him,

Rose M. Lantz

O Taste and See!

Our Pastor encouraged us to be intentional and proactive about being committed this Lent.
As we have started, I've noticed this Lent Season there has been such a tug on my heart to go deeper.
Is there really such a thing as going deeper with God? Really, no need to answer that, right! I just can't help but remind myself of John 21:25
25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. I believe this to be true! Christ did so many things and there is so much to know about Him that it is only right to indeed deepen our relationship with the The Holy Father.
I wrote about this and did make a challenge in my previous blog (To know The Holy Father) To deepen our relationship with God, to not be afraid.
Today, I asked myself, "What would that look like, deepening my relationship with God?" There has definitely been one word that has been on my mind lately, the word passion. Truly if our hearts and minds were set on God, desiring to grow in our walk with God, I believe the word "Passion" would describe us.
Have you ever met someone who is so passionate for God? Oh my, I'd encourage you to be around a person who is passionate for God for a little bit and you will definitely walk away attracted to that person, engaged in them and wanting to be around them all the time. I believe people who are passionate for God desire to deepen their relationship with God.
I can honestly admit, that I've just caught myself getting complacent already in this Lenten Season and it's only Day 9. Thankfully, before I could really began to beat up myself, the Lord who is so gracious quickly reminded me of Romans 8:1
1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
It's not to late; instead of getting caught in the motion of things, let us be intentional and proactive daily starting our mornings with our minds on Christ.
If you have not really been giving your all, Be Encouraged! The Lord is gracious! Amen.
I pray as we set our eyes on the Lord, wholeheartedly, desiring to seek His face more, our hearts will began to open and that the deepening to know God will be on an increase.
Let us be His children who are passionate for Him and be great witnesses who share: Psalm 34:8
8 O taste and see that the Lord is good;

In Him
Rose

Brotherly Love

Day 2 February 18, 2010

Sharing some notes from Pastor Jacks message on January 3, 2010: Perseverance in Gratitude (Hebrews 13:1-25)

One Way that is pleasing to God is to live a life of Faith or Faithfulness by pouring ourselves into building up a STRONG COMMUNITY BASE. (BUILDING UP THE CHURCH BY BROTHERLY LOVE)

In my walk with Christ, I am learning daily how much we are in need of each other. We are not called to be lone rangers, unfortunately, I know many Christians that carry on this "Me and Jesus Mentality" and I can admit to being one of those Christians at one point. In the ancient world, the strongest relationship was considered to be siblings. Have you ever had someone call you Brother or Sister So and So? I remember going to a church where everyone addressed each other by saying just that and of course, I was called Sister Rose. I always thought that was a little cheesy but being apart of The Body we are indeed considered a brother or sister in Christ to one another.

I have a friend and her name is Angelica Carmona, almost all the time we get someone asking us if we are sisters. We can't help but laugh, we are two short Mexicans, with black hair and at the time both of us owned black glasses. For a minute we would go on and explain that we are good friends but now I think it's to a point where we just say yes. We look at it this way, we are Sisters in Christ and adopted as His Children with the same Abba Father.

Today Micah and I had lunch with one of our brothers in Christ and was greatly encouraged. I share this because it was definitely needed! It was very refreshing and it was good to know that we were not alone. We had a time to listen and uplift one another.
During this Season of Lent as you take aside some quiet time be sure to also gather with your brothers and sisters in Christ and encourage one another with fellowship and prayer.

Romans 12:10-13
10 be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; 11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

In Him,
Rose

To know the Holy Father!

Day 1 (February 17, 2010)

May we remember through these next fourty days, What Christ accomplished on the Cross. Pastor Dave reminds us just about every Sunday that "The Cross of Christ reminds me that I am more sinful then I can possibly imagine and yet I am more loved then I could ever dream." This is a great time to set aside quiet time and corporate time of "Seeking God's Face". A wonderful season for repentance, reflection and self-examination.
Here is a story I want to share that took place with one of our young girls from Children's Church:
I have been helping with our Children's Ministry and I am overwhelmed with excitement to hang out with the kiddos and to share the Goodnews with them. We are actually preparing a play in a couple of months for our congregation with other exciting details involved. So last week, I was asked to take the young girls up to the Pastor's office to practice their lines. We only had a few girls but the Pastor's daughter was one of them and of course, with a delightful attitude, she led us on the way to her father's office. As we walked in her daddy's office, she with a huge smiled offered one of the girls her father's chair. I would say it was "The Chair" behind his desk. This particular girl did not have any lines to memorize so without hesitation, "Julia Claire" (Dave's daughter) shared with her, "Avery, you can sit in my father's chair, he will not mind!" I was very impressed on how she offered "The main seat" to her friend. I thought it was very kind of her and was intrigued by her generosity towards us as we were in her daddy's office. After practicing lines, she showed us some things around her dad's office, (mainly pictures) and you could see how proud and how much she loved her dad.
She did not fear that she was in her dad's office, however, there was great reverence for her dad and being in his office. I am reminded thinking back on this, just as she loves her dad dearly and so we as His children should and thankfully do have that great opportunity to Know Our Holy Father and be reminded that "He first loved us!" 1 John 4:19 And because He first loved us, we have great access through Christ to be the same way with our Heavenly Father.
So as we go through this Lent Season, may we draw closer to God with great confidence and come to know more of our Holy God. Let us not be afraid to deepen our relationship with God but rather desire more of Him and less of us!

In Him,
Rose M. Lantz

Ash Wednesday

Tomorrow Morning I will be attending our Ash Wednesday Service at 7 am at City Church. I am looking forward and excited as my family will be participating in this Lent Season. In all honesty, I am thrilled, yet a bit nervous to see the Lord at work. Thrilled to see all that He will do through the Body and no doubt, nervous as He will definitely not let me go without a thorough self examination. Pastor Dave from City Church has been preparing us for a while since the new year started and definitely has encouraged us to get involved this Lent Season. As I have been preparing myself to go through this Lent Season, I have already been seeing the Lord on the move. I wanted to share this note I got out of our bulletin at City Church:

Using the historical church calender as a helpful tool to help us focus on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, we are gathering for worship on the day of the year, commonly known as Ash Wednesday. A day to begin the Lenten season and to prepare our full, anxious, and often bruised hearts and minds for the Easter celebration in seven weeks of the resurrection of Christ.
Why are we acknowledging Ash Wednesday and Lent as a congregation?
The Vast part of our culture acknowledges Easter and Christmas, and in so doing, acknowledges the church calender. Lent, which means "springtime"is the season most-often trivialized. Consequently, many churches do not observe the season. There have been, however, two good reasons suggested for keeping this tradition.
First, this is a wise tradition. God, as revealed in history, has always told His people, both ancient Israel and His modern followers, that the totality of their lives should be characterized by repentance, a word used all through the ancient Scriptures. (Often as a sign of repentance, a person would apply ashes to their body; thus-Ash Wednesday). This word repentance, means to change in our attitudes, words, and lifestyles-something for which all of us recognize our need if we are honest with ourselves.
We acknowledge that this humble and acknowledged need for change is often not visible among us today. All the more reason to set aside times for a particular focus on our need for change, the grace God extends to us, and His provision to make it happen.
Second, we think it is profitable to us to honor the traditional wisdom that has preceded us for centuries in those who have earnestly sought such personal change for the honor of God.
Simply put, we acknowledge we are needy and that our hearts desires are often bent out of shape, so just as a baseball player may work at staying in shape year round but still give special attention to conditioning before spring training (the word, Lent, means "spring") so we may find great benefits in setting aside a few weeks to give special attention to the state of our souls.

Here is another article found in our bulletin: I would encourage you to keep reading.
To Take Up The Cross by Dr. Steve Harmon
In Central Texas, where I grew up, Catholic friends came to school with ash smudges on their foreheads, ate a lot of fish, gave up various pleasures for a time, and went to extra church services. My Baptist friends and I did not. We wrongly considered this evidence that Catholics believed they had to do these things to be saved. We believed we were saved by grace and therefore didn't have to do any of that.
In seminary, I discovered the Christian year and decided to lead my congregation to take up its observance. Advent went all right; four Sundays of anticipating Christmas didn't seem like a such a bag thing.
With Epiphany approaching, I gave an overview of the history and significance of all the seasons in the Christian year. My church members looked at me, as the expression went, "like a calf looking at a new gate."
All Christian congregations observe some sort of calender in their worship...as many expect certain days and seasons of the year to be recognized in worship services. If Christians already observe a calender without worrying that such observances are unbiblical and hinder congregational freedom, and if they have already granted pride of place in this calender.....for Christmas and Easter, then they can observe the Christian year, including Lent.
Without the observance of Lent, and Holy Week in particular, Easter Sunday fails to keep in proper balance the Cross and the Resurrection as the two main New Testament paradigms for the Christian life. Christians not only can but should observe Lent, because it will help them take up the cross and follow Christ in the midst of suffering world.
~Steven Harmon, author of Ecumenism Means You, Too and professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School.

Daily Prayer starts tomorrow from 12-1pm @ City Church, Monday-Friday. If you desire more prayer time during this season of Lent come by and join us for prayer.

In Him
Rose M. Lantz