Sacred Marriage

Hi all. David and I are excited to lead the first lesson in our Sacred Marriage series. See you there.

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Gearing up for Fall Studies

Hi all Hope class members.

Fall studies: We will begin our Fall study the weekend school begins--August 22. Dotty has ordered the DVD and a study book of Gary Thomas' "Sacred Marriage" study for us to preview. We will most likely do this study first--there are 13 chapters so it would probably take us through November. I am also contacting Dr. Beverly Jones at Southwestern to do a study at some time but we will just need to get on her schedule and plan accordingly.

Fall Picnic:

We will have a Fall Family picnic on September 12 at 3:00 p.m. Location TBA.

Meeting Room:

We will be in the room across from the office until Fall SS classes start then we will move to our new home in the newly renovated house just behind the annex. So far, we are the only class moving over there. We will have a full kitchen for all our coffee needs:)

New Day Sunday:

August 22 @ 4:45 pm. there will be a all church picnic in the MMC. There will be a jumpy for kids and Lucas Miller will perform. There will also be entertainment for the youth and adults. We will not have tables/sign ups this year--just the church information form we will fill out in church.

Looking forward to seeing everyone soon.

Laurie Z

All things Hope:)

Hi all. Hope this Summer finds you well.

Seems like we are settling back for school and routines again as there are an increasing number of SS attendees each Sunday. We had fun this morning catching up and meeting new folks as well.

We are meeting in room 101 until a room is available in the newly open house behind the annex (from what I understand).

A few notes for upcoming plans:

We would like to study marriage in the Fall. I am currently doing some research on some books, etc. We are thinking like the history of biblical marriage, origin, etc. Anyone who may have time to lead the discussion in the Fall please speak up. We will love you for it as Fall is crazy mazy for many of us.

New Day Sunday is August 22. We are hoping to start our new lesson after that date (maybe shoot for intro over Labor Day weekend)? We are planning a picnic/social with all the kiddos on September 12 (Sunday) at 3 pm. Location TBA.

Michael--do you still have an IOU on park pavillion use?

Also, I am looking for a good group picture of us, kids, and pumpkins for the New Day Sunday literature. If you have one, please send my way as I have to have this to Lisa by Wednesday. I will also work up a summary of our class for her too.

I have missed you all and cannot wait to see everyone.

Love and Blessings,

Laurie Z

VBS Breakfast

Hey guys. VBS has gotten Kenny Bray to cater the breakfasts for VBS
workers. We are taking up a collection to donate that will help cover
the cost for a breakfast. There is an attendance envelope on our
bulletin board in the classroom labeled "VBS breakfast" if you would
like to contribute to the donation. We will collect money through
next Sunday.

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Summer Dates and Plans

The Hope Class has volunteered to provide breakfast to about 90 youth and teachers during VBS on Friday, June 18. Since this is Paula's birthday, she has signed up to make a run to Sam's to purchase the breakfast items. We will take up a collection in Sunday School class on the Sundays of May 23 & 30 to pay for the breakfast items.

Canyon of the Eagles Summer Trip:

We talked today about possibly making a one night trip to Canyon of the Eagles on Lake Buchanan. This park offers lots of recreation and various options for accommodations. There is RV camping for about $30/night, tent camping for $20/night, or rooms (cabin-type setup) for $169 +/night. We would want to do this over a Saturday night so check out the website and let's talk about dates. I think June 19 or 26 sounds good. Here is the website for the park:

http://www.canyonoftheeagles.com/

Also, I do know that REI rents camping equipment at the RR store if anyone is in need of tents, etc.

It was so good to see everyone today. We will sadly miss next week's discussion-as we had many questions for Ev today but he was busy preaching. Many blessings for your week.

Laurie

The Tompkins' Farewell

As many of you know, the Tompkins will be moving to Lubbock in early June. They will be having a departure celebration at their home and everyone is invited. Here are the details:

June 1 @ 5:00 p.m.

102 River Drive, Georgetown TX 78628

The Tompkins will be having hot dogs and hamburgers, chips, tea & lemonade. We can bring something else to share or any other drinks we may like to have. Come by and say farewell to Chad, Laura, Cole, Jack, Evan & Luke. We will miss their company and leadership. Let her know how many will attend by shooting her an email at: lauraktompkins@gmail.com.

Mitchell Elementary Family in need of assistance

Hi Hope friends,

Below is information regarding a Mitchell Elementary family who lost everything due to a fire about one week ago. They are need of several items including clothing and household items. Charity Boff brought this to our attention and if you have any items to donate, you can bring them to our Sunday School classroom. Thanks for your assistance.

Dear Mitchell Family,

I regret to have to write this email, but I know that we can always count on the Mitchell Families to pull together when there is a need. Today there was a fire in the home of one of the families of the Mitchell community. The two students who attend Mitchell, the younger brother and sister, and the parents were able to make it out of the home, however tragically the seven month old baby sister was lost in the fire. The Red Cross is helping the parents secure temporary housing this evening.

We will be collecting clothing, canned goods, personal items and donations for the family in the Mitchell Office to try to assist them in their time of need. The four children's sizes are approximately:

size 6 (girl)

size 8 (boy)

size 3/4 (girl)

size 4/5 (girl)

Mom: size 6

Any assistance you can provide would be helpful, including clothing, bedding, bathroom supplies, towels, household items, monetary donations, etc. Feel free to drop items by the Mitchell office tomorrow and we will deliver them to the family. We will continue taking donations next week as well and we will deliver the items to the family.

Hi Hope Class,

If you happened to miss out, Rebecca has begun leading us in a discussion on why young people leave the church. Last week we had some great discussion and welcomed Ev to our class--great to have his insight. Thanks so much Rebecca for your leadership.

I got to take the Tompkins family dinner last week and what a joy to meet that new baby. Luke is such a sweetie. See the previous blog entry if you would like to sign up to deliver a meal. As you know, they will be moving mid June and plan on having a get together early June to say good-bye.

Also, our own Jason Schayot was pictured on the front page of the Sun this week in praise of the Sweepstakes prizes that were earned by our GHS choirs, bands and orchestra. Congratulations!!

Above please find pic of Hope in our Community--taken by Jill Ashby at the Poppy Festival Parade. Many blessings until we meet again on Sunday.

Exciting news from the Tompkins Family

Here is the exciting news from the Tompkins family: Luke Carter arrived this afternoon at 1:38 weighing 8lbs 9oz. He is 20 inches long!! (he was born on Friday) Below is the information you need to sign up for a meal if you wish. I have set up a care calendar to help Laura and family out with meals for the next several weeks. Laura wanted me to let anyone know who is dropping off a meal, that they are more than welcome to leave the meal in the outdoor fridge/freezer if for some reason the family is not home. Thanks so much for your help, I know it is greatly appreciated by the Tompkins family! :) Care calendar info: www.carecalendar.org CALENDAR ID : 37117 SECURITY CODE : 2440 See you soon, Laurie

Happy Easter

Missing all of you today on this day of Easter celebration. May the
Hope of resurrection bless our lives each and every day.

Laurie Zuehlke

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Hi Hope Class Members.

Well, thanks for taking it easy on me today as I attempted to lead us through some aspects of better prayer practice. For those of you following along, We covered Chapter 6 today in "The Life You've Always Wanted."

I am so excited to see my old friends every Sunday and I wanted to welcome all the new faces to class--it is so nice to meet other adults in our church. I hope you will continue to worship with us.

I wanted to just briefly post our joys and concerns for this week so that as you strive for better prayer practices this week, you remember to ask God's blessing in these families' lives:

McGee & Mike Clopper--McGee lost her dad to cancer about 10 days ago.

The Bowling family (Colin, Kara, Mary Evelyn, & John)--Molly & Jason's neighbor and friend who lost their home and pets in a fire this week

Lawrence Zuehlke--David's dad for recovering from a trip to the hospital due to his heart

Linda--Chris' mom who lost her rental property and her job this week

Carrie Culpepper's nephew--who has been in the hospital due to some autoimmune problems

Ryan Tomlinson--my friend Kristi's child who is in the hospital and awaiting transplant

Welcome Nolan Mays--Dawn and Michael's new nephew

Also, the O'Neills brought to our attention a question that we should think about. We will plan a class date to discuss and put our ideas on paper. (Maybe the first weekend of Spring Break, March 14) The question is: What gifts and talents would we like to see in a new Senior Pastor?

Again, so good to see everyone. May we all be more honest in our prayers this week.

Laurie Zuehlke

Dear Hope Class,
I trust that each of you survived Monday and are gearing up for the rest of the week.  As a reminder, our next topic is on spiritual disciplines, which is based largley on a book titled "The Life You've Always Wanted" by John Ortberg.  This book came to us as a suggestion from Rev. Brenda Adkins, who had used it previously in a small group.  
 
Since we didn't purchase class copies, I thought that I would try to bring some bite size ideas from the book to you via email as we proceed through the series.  Sunday's lesson will be a combination from the first three chapters of the book.  Their titles are as follows:

• We Shall Morph Indeed: The Hope of Transformation
• Surprised By Change: The Goal of Spiritual Life
• Training Vs. Trying: The Truth About Spiritual Disciplines

One of the scripture readings is from Matthew 23:1-28.  I'll send out some more food for thought later in the week to hopefully spur up discussion on Sunday.  Take care and have a good week.
 
MIKE

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January 31, 2010

Well, Thanks to all who joined us in the Atkin Hall Theatre to enjoy Dr. Beverly Jones' presentation on Methodism. Today the series wrapped up so we have new things on the horizon:

Next week February 7 we will have a pot luck breakfast in our classroom, M1. Please bring easy items--finger type food, fruit, etc. I will bring juice, paper goods, and make sure the coffee is brewed. We will preview our upcoming lesson and just catch up with everyone.

A couple of items on the agenda for togetherness:

My son, Sam, was very interested after Brenda's children's sermon today, in helping put together the Health kits for Haiti. After the WNL meal on Feb 3 you can help assemble the kits--we will be there. I thought this may be a good opportunity to get together and do some good. You can also donate items for the kits (all items must be new). Each kit contains: 1 hand towel, 1 wash cloth, 1 comb, 1 nail file or clipper, 1 3 oz or larger bar soap, 1 toothbrush (adult in individual wrapper), 6 plastic bandages, and $1 for UMCOR to purchase toothpaste.

I am also planning a spring picnic--maybe Berry Springs park--for April. I'm thinking the weekend after Easter so be thinking on a date and we will discuss on Sunday.

Can't wait to catch up. Many Blessings this week.

Laurie Z

Hi everyone. Hope all is well on this gray of days. I wanted to remind everyone that for the next few weeks we will be meeting in the Atkin Hall Theatre to hear Dr. Beverly Jones' study on Methodism today. Can't wait to see everyone there.

I wanted to also put together a Spring picnic for our class. I thought we could just all bring picnic lunches and go to Berry Springs Park on March 28th, Sunday afternoon around 3:30 pm. Let me know your thoughts on that. (You can comment below if you want)

Also, I have told most of the class that I am beginning to work on a fund raiser for my friend's son who is in need of a small bowel transplant. I am posting the info below and asking for your support. Ryan has a long road in front of him so please keep him and his family in your prayers.

May God Bless your week!
Laurie Z

Ryan Tomlinson will be 10 years old on Monday, January 18th. You probably don’t know Ryan, so you may not know that he is in need of a life-saving small bowel transplant. You also may not know that Ryan’s family has already exceeded over one million dollars and are approaching the maximum financial funds his insurance company allows in a lifetime.

In honor of Ryan's10th birthday, I challenge you to make a $10.00 tax-deductible donation towards the estimated $75.000 that Ryan’s family will need to pay for his life-saving surgery and other medical expenses that his insurance will not cover. Then pass this on to 10 of your friends. You can read more about Ryan’s journey and donate directly at

http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforRyanT/

Funds raised go to Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) in honor of Ryan Tomlinson. All gifts donated in his honor will be available for transplant-related expenses.

$10 from 10 friends to help save a 10 year old’s life!

Our goal is to reach $10,000 through this birthday challenge and we will, with your help!

God Bless
Bernadette S. Richardson
# (512)-658-5959
hopeforryan@austin.rr.com

Fwd: Sunday School Housekeeping

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Begin forwarded message:

From: Michael Mays <mdm5150@hotmail.com>
Date: January 11, 2010 8:53:48 AM CST
To: Shane and Charity Boff <boff97@verizon.net>, Jay and Kelly Conner <lapearl31@hotmail.com>, Chris and Stephanie Zoch <sidzoch@yahoo.co.uk>, Joe and Sara Sullivan <sullivan7150@sbcglobal.net>, Norm and Jill Ashby <mommy_ashby@yahoo.com>, Tracey Johnson <traceyw@suddenlink.net>, Sarah Duffy <sarahduffy@mac.com>, Kent and Carrie Culpepper <cculpepper414@yahoo.com>, Bill and Karen Kettlewell <fluteandpiano@aol.com>, Chris and Rebecca English <englishre3@yahoo.com>, Chad Tompkins <chadtompkins@gmail.com>, Sean and Julie Denton <denton@sjdenton.com>, Laura Denham <ldenham@suddenlink.net>, David and Laurie Zuehlke <laurie_z@mac.com>, Reagan and Kayshia Grimes <kayshiag@yahoo.com>, Brian and Keli Plagens <kplagens@hotmail.com>, Stephanie BaDour <sbadour@suddenlink.net>, Kirk and Erica Looby <erica.malach@gmail.com>, Rick and Paula Chaney <trietschaney@yahoo.com>, Jason and Molly Schayot <molly@schayot.net>, Will and Audrey O'Neill <a_allen_oneill@yahoo.com>, Amanda Still <amandakstill@yahoo.com>, Paul and Regan Landreth <regan_landreth@yahoo.com>, Dawn Mays <dawnmays@msn.com>
Subject: Sunday School Housekeeping

Dear Hope Class,
It was good to see everyone yesterday at Sunday School.  I hope that y'all found Beverley's lesson as interesting as I did.  I know there was some confusion about where we were meeting yesterday, and I apologize for not getting the word out to everyone more efficiently. 
 
Just so that we're on the same page, we will continue meeting in the Adkin Learning Center Theatre with the Walk-ins Welcome class for the duration of Beverley Jones' series, which will go through January 31.  If your spouse is not receiving my emails or you know of someone else that would like to keep tabs on our class, then please forward this along to them.  The list that I have was from our roster that Laurie handed out earlier in the fall.  We may want to update our roster sometime in the next few weeks as our class continues to get a few new faces trickling in periodically.  Laurie, would you post our January schedule on the class blog also?
 
As far as what's on the horizon, Dotty is working on compiling some resources for us on our next topic for February.  In addition, I'm reading through a book that Rev. Adkins loaned to me as potential lesson material.  I'm excited about the growth of our class, and I enjoy y'alls company.  I counted 19 of us in class yesterday (party crashers).  Y'all have a good week.
MIKE