Note from Brian

ABF Family, Thank you for the wonderful discussion in class. We truly have an awesome creator. He made the world for us out of His great love for us. Give him the praise and glory this week for His creation. Look for it in nature, others and yourself. His creation is beyond compare. Lets continue to dedicate ourselves to the Word this week. Join John as he studies, Believing in the Three in One. One of the great mysterious of God. Lets explore together as we meet this Saturday. To all that begin school today, encourage your kids to shine as bright as the stars in heaven as they enter the new school year. Ok, if you dont go to school, have not started or already have shine as well. In Him, Brian

Praises & Prayers 8/23/08

YOUNG ABF ANNOUNCEMENTS 08-23-08 PRAYERS: ABF- Kids going back to school Tolberts- John asks for prayer for the families of our ABF and especially for the marriages in our ABF. Martinson- Many of the military men and women who were deployed recently have not gotten paid and there families are suffering at home with not being able to pay the bills. Murphy- Mike's health and the families finances Cruz- Continued prayer for the Giles family and for Presley Giles (6 months old) to be able to come off the ventilator tomorrow. Furgurson- Angela is sick, pray for healing PRAISE: Jones- Kelley is back with us in ABF, YEA!!!! Cruz- Presley Giles heart surgery went great ANNOUNCEMENTS: ABF- Supper Surprise Friday Sept. 5th, 6:30p.m. meet under the parking garage Men's- Mowing tomorrow for Mrs. Farmer @ 8a.m. Women's- WOW 9/3 @ Jill Sledge's home 7-9 p.m. Bible Studies- Family Enrichment classes Thursday night 7p.m. free childcare GROWTH GROUPS: Brooks- Friday, Aug. 29th @ Brooks home 7p.m. Cox- Thursday, Sept. 4th, 6:30p.m. Cruz- Monday, Aug. 25th, 6:30p.m. @ Joe Willy's VISITOR'S WELCOMED Middleton- Tolbert- Monday, Aug. 25th @ Tolbert's 6:30p.m. VISITORS WELCOMED: Jonathan Shibley (972) 722-2323 (wife-Sarah) Brenda and Craig Cozad Greg and Susan Jones

Praises & Prayers Followup

Dear ABF Friends, I want to first thank you for your prayers. I requested prayers on Sat. night for my friend Kele Giles whose six month old daughter was having open heart surgery today. Well once again God listen and answered in a major way. I got to spend the day at the hospital with them, and let me tell you God was everywhere. I could feel him, and I know they could as well. Presley started her day off with a temp. of 100, and in the attempts to bring it down it dropped to 94, which also effected her blood pressure and other things. Her surgery was nearly canceled, but they were able to get her stable and at 8:15 this a.m. she was wheeled away from Kele and Mike. It took some time to get her all hooked up to everything she would need to be on for surgery and at 10a.m. her surgery began. Mikes eyes looked as if he had been crying for days, and Kele seemed so tired and weak. My heart just broke for them, and I must say I felt sort of guilty (but very thankful) that I have healthy kids. The surgery took a little over four hours, but all went well. The surgeon came out and told them that everything went well. They will still take one day at a time for now, but hopes are that within the next two to three weeks they will finally be able to bring there sweet baby home for the first time. Please continue to pray for this sweet family, and thanks again. Sincerely, Theresa Cruz

Note From Brian

ABF Family,

Ok, I hope no one left ABF saying, “Wow Brian sure laid the We are at War on thick.” Well ok I hope it did spark discussion. We need to hear the truth and the truth is we are fighting a battle of eternal proportion. We are the soldiers and God is our Commander and Chief. He knows all, sees all and can do all. With that, we can not lose this war, but we need to fight. God gives us the tools, we just need to use them. Can you tell I am a little fired up about this topic? I desire to spend the next few months focused on Contending our Faith. Know why we believe what we believe.

Please begin this week looking at the Word of the Week and prepare yourself. This is assured to be a time of learning and stretching our faith.

I am truly blessed to have every one of you as family in Christ.

Brian

Praises & Prayers 8/16/08

YOUNG ABF ANNOUNCEMENTS 08-16-08 PRAYERS- Elliot's and Young's- Jeff and Leigh Ann Light who are friends of the Young's have a son who is in Children's Medical with an infection to his spine. He will most likely be in for at least one more week. Jones- That Kelley would recover quickly from her surgery. Prda- A customer of David's is going through a divorce, they have a daughter named Natalie; also pray for Melanie and her prep for homeschooling this year. Hale- Mrs. Farmer son in law lost his job and is hoping to get a job in Temple Langston's- Safe travel Chastain- Chris' co-worker (Jorge Martinez) that had a spinal injury @ the beginning of summer will be coming home from California to his family on Aug. 27th. Please pray for Jorge and his wife and family. Stolman- Safe travel this week Thomas- Safe travel this week Cruz- Theresa's friend, Kele Giles has a soon to be six month old daughter (Presley) that has been in the hospital since her birth on Feb. 19th. She has Down Syndrome and has had to have several surgeries so far and is scheduled to have another serious surgery this Monday. They are working on her heart. Kele is very down at this time and is struggling with her faith. Prayers are requested for Presley, her doctors and a positive outcome for her surgery on Monday at Medical City's Children's hospital, also for Kele who needs lifting up and the power of prayer to surround her and comfort her during this time. She encourages feedback on her blogs if you are interested in visiting them. They are Gilesfamilyof5@blogspot.com and PresleyandT21@blgospot.com ABF- Several of our ABF are serving during the second hour, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers PRAISE: Jones- Kelley's gall bladder surgery was successful this past Thursday ANNOUNCEMENTS: ABF- Supper Surprise on Sept. 5th 6:30p.m. Sign up in class of call Jennifer Tolbert. No kids please. Women- WOW on Sept. 3rd 7-9 p.m. Men- Mowing for Mrs. Farmer next weekend the 24th at 8a.m. Missions- Food of the Month for August is canned meats and veggies GROWTH GROUPS: (Don't forget your GG Mini socials. See you GG leader for details. Groups for Aug. and Sept. are as follows... Brooks & Tolbert, Cruz & Middleton, Greer & Cox & Non GG Members) Brooks- Cox- Thursday Aug. 21st @ 6:30p.m. Cruz- Monday Aug. 25th @ 6:30p.m. VISITORS WELCOMED Greer- Middleton- Tolbert- Monday Aug. 25th @ 6:30 p.m. Tolbert's home VISITORS WELCOMED: Troy and Dawn Jordan Brandon and Karen Lenenski

Contending for the Faith

ABF Family, What a special time for sharing on Saturday. Members of the Russia mission team, including Melanie and David Prda, shared their experiences in Russia last month. As expected God moved hearts of the Russian people through members of our ABF and others from LP. One of the best things was to hear about marriages that have been attacked and torn apart by satan finally mending and working with God's help. Many thanks were given for the support that we showed for this team before and during the trip. Well we have studied, IN HIS Name all summer and now on to the "Ultimate Faith Challenge." the focus will be studying,"Knowing what and why you believe." It promises to a good study of the Word and your understanding of the Christian faith. I look forward to sharing the next few months leading up to Christmas as we go through this series. Have a wonderful week and dont forget it is promotion weekend for our kiddos. Brian

Young ABF Event - September 5th 6:30 p.m.

SUPPER SURPRISE

Friday, September 5, 2008

6:30 P.M.

meet under the covered parking lot at church

Our next event for the Young ABF will be the supper surprise. This is a “kid free” event so plan now for your childcare. Everyone will meet at the church and we will draw envelopes to determine what restaurant you will eat at. There will be 3 or 4 couples per restaurant and you won’t know who you are eating with until you arrive at your destination!

We hope you will join us. Please sign-up in class or “reply” to this email.

Thanks,

The Event Team

thetaters@sbcglobal.net

Praises & Prayers 8/9/08

YOUNG ABF ANNOUNCEMENTS 8-9-08 A big thank you to the Prda's and the other couples who came tonight and shared their pictures and stories of their mission trip to Russia. The smiles on your faces and the light in your eyes for the work God has called you to was a blessing to see. May it be contagious and spread to many of us in the class. As Brian said, please be in prayer of where God may lead you to share his gospel. Have a great week. PRAYERS: Tates- Stolen social security card; pray for no i.d. theft to happen Jones- Kelley is having gall bladder surgery on Thursday at Presby. Rockwall, pray for quick recovery Murphy- healing for Mike and continued prayer for a balance of work schedule Thomas- safe travel for Darrin this week for business Cox- safe travel from Houston this weekend Tolberts- safe travel while on vacation Sledge- safe travel while on vacation PRAISE: Hale- co-workers son who had open heart surgery this past week went home yesterday and is doing well ANNOUNCEMENTS: Men- Mowing for Mrs. Farmer tomorrow 8a.m. (Need as many to help as possible) Man Church to begin Sept. 9th, and will be the second Wednesday of every month. Mission- San Francisco mission trip raising money Monday night at Joe Willy's from 5-8:30, if you don't have plans for dinner stop by and help them out. GROWTH GROUPS: Cruz- Monday 8-11 6:30p.m. @ Cruz's VISITORS WELCOMED: Scott and Gretchen English (972) 722-6653

Re: Bridegroom

Good News and Encouragement

I guess that is how to describe our latest trip to Russia. Remember Natasha from the first year of the conference? Her and her husband are doing much better and even looked happy this year. Remember Julia, Melanie’s translator with marriage problems? She has made a firm decision to stay and work things out with her husband. Remember our goal for last year? We needed to find a couple to continue to shepherd the group beyond the conference….done! We now have Dimitri and Dianna, a strong young couple that have weathered many storms already. David met them 5 years ago in another city and just this year they began attending the church in Chelny. They are very excited to continue leading the group fellowship.

I do however have some sad news. Genya, a 25year old mother of 3 came to the conference alone. Her husband is in a band and he was on tour. Upon his return(2 days after the conference) they would be discussing divorce. Genya said she came to the conference depressed, desperate and without hope. We were able to talk and pray with her and at the conclusion of the conference, she shared that she had renewed hope and had been very encouraged from the conference.

I know it might be strange to pray for, or have real compassion for someone you have never met. But I am sure each of us knows someone going through a similar situation. As we remember them in our prayers, please remember Genya also.

I Peter 5:8-9 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Thank you for your part on sending us to Russia, again. Your money and prayers are never in vain! May God’s blessings overflow in your life this year. * David and Melanie Prda*

JJJ

JJJ

The Russian Missionaries are Coming!!!

ABF Family, We will have a very special time of celebration this Saturday. The Prda's have returned from Russia a few weeks ago and will come to share with us. They will also have a few specials guests from their team to share with us as well. One of the topics at Team Huddle on Tuesday was missions. We as a class need to be collectively and individually praying about where our class is going to serve, loca, national and international. Maybe God is calling you to Russia or somewhere else that God's love needs to be heard. Please come this Saturday to hear about how God is moving in Russia and using members of the LP body to strengthen marriages. You Will Be Blessed, Brian

WOW this Wednesday, 8/6

Hi Ladies, I'm looking forward to our fellowship this Wednesday, 8/6, from 7-9pm at Jill Lanier's house. Kindness is our topic..."a tender heart and a nurturing spirit"...can't wait to see what Scripture has to say about this Spirit-driven virtue! I look forward to seeing you there! Bring a snack to share if you'd like. :) ***Note From Editor, Contact Jill for instructions to her home.*** See you Wednesday, Jill Sledge

Praises & Prayers 8/2/08 Updates

Please pray for Duane and Angela Homan and their young kiddos Ethan, Matt, and Ellie. They are members of Lakepointe. Duane was diagnosed this past Monday with colon cancer and a small spot on his liver. He will be doing chemo soon. Please pray for God's healing, strength, and comfort.

Please also continue to pray for the Steve Warren family as they head tomorrow to Houston for alternative medicine treatment. Please pray for God's strength, healing, and comfort.

Thanks!
Pam Gatton

Praises & Prayers 8/2/08

YOUNG ABF ANNOUNCEMENTS AUGUST 2, 2008 Food of the Month for August is canned meats and canned vegetables Visit the Young ABF Blog at youngabf.blogspot.com Thank you to the Cruz Growth Group and the Non Growth Group members who provided us snacks tonight. Families of the month for August are the Cox's and the Webber's, check out the bulletin board to learn more about these families. Prayers: Morris- Thomas attorney's family in the death of the father and daughter due to a car accident while on vacation in Colorado Hale- Bobby's co-workers 13 year old son scheduled to have open heart surgery this week Murphy's- balance of work for Mike, and continue healing for him Martinson- Please pray for Eric's unit, 372nd BSB, as most are deploying to Iraq. They left home this last week, so many families are heartbroken this week. Families left at home have many struggles and they have already started. Sledge- a friend of Jill's sister lost her 2 year old in drowning accident. Please pray for Jonathan and Heather as they deal with this loss in their family. ABF- Families traveling these next few weeks before school starts as well as those trying to get ready for school to begin. Praises: Martinson- God worked mightily in Cindy's brother and sister-in-law's custody issue. They will be able to keep their daughter. Jesus most definitely answered our prayers. It could have easily gone wrong with out him. Announcements: ABF Leadership- Team Huddle 8/5 6p.m. Women's Ministry- WOW Wednesday 8/6 7-9p.m. @ Jill Lanier's home Growth Groups: Cox- Thursday 8/7 6:30 @ Paramore's for pool party Cruz- Monday 8/11 6:30 @ Cruz's for pool party, visitors welcomed Visitors Welcomed: The Lamont's Jill's parents David and Sara Barnett ***Note from Editor, Phone Number has been removed***