Good morning, Loved Ones,

As the season brings its stress and challenges, let the your gratitude rule the day.

Philippians 4:4-7 (The Message)

^4-5Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!

^6-7Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Thank God for . . .

. . . music teachers who help children like me and the bright eyed middle schooler at last night's Eisenhower M.S. find artistic expression through our voices and instruments.

. . . Erandeni Ontiveros who is gathering our church kids to do special music during worship next Sunday.

. . . Pastor Tom who consistently calls us to corporate confession Sunday after Sunday. Pastor Tom is the best 'bad guy' in the world!

. . . those who work in the healthy cooking program on Fridays. The teachers, the interpreters, the helpers, the organizers, the child care provider. This ministry is proving to meet a great need.

. . . a new ministry begun this morning. Yesterday Pastor Alfonso said, "Why don't we take coffee to the day labor site on Central Ave. tomorrow?" This morning we served coffee, hot chocolate, pancitos, granola bars and bananas to about 40 men and women who were waiting and hoping for work. They questioned why anyone would give away free coffee. "Es un mundo loco!" they said. We were blessed.

Let gratitude displace your worries today. Gimme conco!

Pastor Rick
http://gimmecinco.blogspot.com/