Pondering this has brought me to a greater awareness of how our Heavenly Father must feel.  I have spent too much time this year in funeral lines and at memorial services to be comfortable thinking otherwise.   It kind of stems from that whole “if we give good stuff to our kids, how much more does God want to do the same for us” (Decker Transliteration).  As much as my heart hurts for a loss that doesn’t even exist, God’s compassion is so much greater for the real life experiences* we face. 

 *I almost wrote that these experiences end in grief.  But you know, with the hope that Christ brings – we only pass thru grief in these experiences.  The end result can actually be much greater.

 I don’t have all the answers.  I don’t have very many of them.  I consider this glimpse into the character and love of the Father just another privilege of knowing Him and hopefully developing daily into more of the person that reflects the same.

We often make things more complicated than they need to be, don’t we?  But, when we share the Gospel with others, we need to avoid the tendency to add to, expand upon or stretch the facts.  How often do we send seekers running when we load them down with rules, doctrine, dogma and expectations?  When we do this, we muddy the waters and make it very hard for people to see the truth of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel is really not that complex.  Jesus sums it up in these two sentences, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17). 

That is the core message.  Now, I don’t mean that someone who is interested in knowing more about Jesus won’t have additional questions or need more information.  However, we need to be careful that we don’t over-complicate it and make a mess out of the message.

Its National Women’s Health Week:  The Gateway YWCA is hosting a special morning focusing on Women’s health this Friday (May 18) from 10:30am to 2pm.  Break out sessions and a light lunch will be provided.  The event is FREE.  Pre-registration requested.  For more information call:  354-1589   X-303   

Liberty Hospice is in need of patient volunteers.  Mandatory volunteer training sessions start TODAY (THUR, May 17) at High Rock Community Church in Lexington. http://www.libertyhomecare.com/   Contact: Glenda Walters@  472-1080FYI: Medicare requires the 12 hour training before anyone can volunteer.  You must attend all 3 sessions.  Volunteers needed in Lexington, Salisbury, Thomasville and Winston-Salem.

Only 1 in 4 Sunscreens are considered ‘safe and effective’??  According to the Environmental Working Group’s 2012 Sunscreen Guide, only 25% of 800 tested sunscreens provide protection for your skin without using potentially harmful ingredients.  Bottom line: Make sure that your sunscreen has ‘broad spectrum’ UVA and UVB protection. http://consumer.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=664813   Recommendations: You need to use sunscreens that are free of specific ingredients such as oxybenzone (a chemical which absorbs ultraviolet light) and retinyl palmitate (a type of vitamin A).

Facebook will offer ‘more’ shares for sale when it goes public on Friday.  421 million shares or about 25% more than earlier mentioned.  On Wednesday, General Motors will stop all of its paid advertising on Facebook.  The reason: The ads on Facebook have not been effective.  In a recent survey, the majority of people on Facebook say they ‘hardly ever’ or ‘never’ click on Facebook ads.  FYI: GM, the third-largest advertiser in the US, spent about $10 million dollars a year to advertise on Facebook.   RnR 

It’s lights out in downtown Winston-Salem, for a good cause. Millions of migrating birds across the country die each year because of the night-time lighting in tall buildings.   So, the Audubon Society is encouraging building owners across the nation to turn off more lights in order to protect the bird population. Winston-Salem joinsNew York andChicago to save migrating birds and save energy through the Lights Off campaign.   http://triad.news14.com/content/top_stories/657648/lights-go-out-in-forsyth-county-to-save-energy-and-protect-migrating-birds

What’s Happening this weekend:

Old Salem hosting its Spring Festival and Pottery Fair this Saturday (May 19) from 9:30am to 4:30pm.   Over 30 area potters will be on-hand. Phone: 721-7350  www.oldsalem.org

 Greek Festival going on this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Greek Orthodox Church off Country Club Road in Winston-Salem. Food, crafts, live music and dancing.  www.wsgoc.org    765-7145

- Lana Hedgecock

The Governor has proclaimed Wednesday as Tourism Day in North Carolina.   Did you know? Visitors spend more than $50 million dollars per day in North Carolina (and contribute more than $4 million dollars per day in state and local tax revenues as a result of that spending). www.news-record.com/content/2012/05/16/article/perdue_proclaims_tourism_day_in_north_carolina

Liberty Hospice is in need of patient volunteers.  Mandatory volunteer training sessions are coming up on May 17, 24^th and 26^th at High Rock Community Church in Lexington. Volunteers needed in Lexington,Salisbury,Thomasville and Winston-Salem.  Medicare requires the 12 hour training before anyone can volunteer.  You must attend all 3 sessions. Contact: Glenda Walters@  472-1080  http://www.libertyhomecare.com/ 

The recent rainfall has local Strawberry growers worried about their crops. Fox 8 reporting that an over abundance of rain can make strawberry crops more susceptible to fungus.  Good news: Strawberry picking season should last another three to four more weeks.

The National Little League fields off Phillips Bridge Road in Winston-Salem are closed until next week because of flooding.  Fox 8 reporting that the flooding has caused thousands of dollars in damage, including damage to appliances in the concession stands. All games scheduled for this week are canceled until further notice.  http://myfox8.com/2012/05/15/winston-salem-national-little-league-fields-flooded/

 The Thomasville-Lexington area is second in the nation for fraud complaints.  So far this year, there have been 95 cases of fraud reported in Davidson County, compare to 160 fraud cases last year.  Fox 8 reporting that thieves are using ‘skimmers’ – small, electronic devices that can store debit and credit card numbers after a person uses a machine at a public location such as an ATM machine.  http://myfox8.com/2012/05/15/ftc-thomasville-2nd-in-us-for-number-fraud-complaints/      Check out the FTC’s ‘Identity Theft Site’ for ways to protect yourself against credit and debit card fraud:  www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/

Spring Book Sale going on this weekend at the Central Library on 5^th Street in downtown Winston-Salem.  Selected items for sale include books, magazines, CDs, DVDs and Spanish language items. Hours:  Saturday: 9 to 5pm and Sunday: 1 to 5pm. BTW: All remaining items on Sunday will be reduced to $5 dollars a bag. Proceeds to benefit the central library.  More information: 703-2665

All members of the military will be eligible for a free annual pass to all National Parks and Monuments.  The White House making the announcement that the FREE annual passes will be available to service members in all five branches, including those in the Reserves and the National Guard.  BTW: This Saturday is ‘Armed Forces Day’.

ABC has announced that the controversial TV show ‘G-C-B’ will NOT be back next season.  Pro-family groups and individuals had contacted advertisers of the show about their support of a program that mocked Christianity and ridiculed Christians.  Dr. Ted Baehr, founder of Movieguide, is applauding the cancellation saying, “You don’t inspire anyone by mocking and ridiculing someone’s faith.” RnR 

Each Bounce Break includes a remote broadcast from your church, something special for every child and inflatable fun for all…Tuesdays are the designated days for the VBS Express…

All entries are received by the form below.  Express stops are chosen at random based on staff availability and prior commitments…

And at the end of the summer, we’ll be heading out again for an encore performance – as one church will win a Bounce Spectacular courtesy of A Higher Bounce and WBFJ.

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THANKS to our VBS Express Sponsors:
A Higher Bounce in Winston-Salem
Visigraphix in High Point
Chick-fil-a of the Triad

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Are you putting your home on the market this summer?  Woman’s Day has seven expert tips for sellers, including:

-Ask the broker or sales manager who the best agent is in the office…that’s who to hire.
-DON’T overprice it
-A deep de-cluttering, cleaning and deodorizing is essential
-If it doesn’t sell in 4 months, take it off the market and then re-list in a couple of months.
-If you are going to lower the listing price, make it count.

For all the details and the rest of the article, click here.

Jesus said that the greatest commandment is for us to love God and love each other. And, he doesn’t let us off the hook when the others who surround us are very difficult to love.  In Matthew 5:43-45 Jesus says,  “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

As Jesus stated in these verses, a key to dealing with difficult people is to pray for them.  When our minds start to “go there”, dwelling on all the ways we’ve been mistreated by a sandpaper person, we need to immediately turn those negative thoughts into a prayer…praying for peace with the situation and that God would intervene and provide reconciliation in the relationship.

 The National Little League fields off Phillips Bridge Road in Winston-Salem are closed until next week because of flooding.  Fox 8 reporting that the flooding has caused thousands of dollars in damage, including damage to appliances in the concession stands. All games scheduled for this week are canceled until further notice.  http://myfox8.com/2012/05/15/winston-salem-national-little-league-fields-flooded/