West Texas Missioner

Monday, August 10, 2015

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

The Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study is a daily devotional with 365 inspiring mission stories that come from next door and all across the globe. It inspires thousands of Presbyterians daily as they uphold the mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in intercessory prayer. How often have you wondered, where are the young adults in the PC(USA)? Wonder no longer. The 2014 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study is devoted to the theme of young adults in the church. Its stories, many told by young adults, lift up how Presbyterians of all ages are engaging and joining with Presbyterian young adults in reforming the church for Christ’s mission.

Today in the Mission Yearbook: August 10, 2015

INDIA - Rev. Masilamani Azariah (1934–2012) served the people and the church with dedication, compassion, and intelligence. He lived an exemplary and humble life and fought all forms of oppression. Fond of portraying Jesus as a brother to all people, the Holy Spirit was his daily guide.

Rev. Azariah affirmed the Dalit nature of the Indian church earlier than others were willing to, about 40 years ago. He was an enthusiastic spokesperson with prophetic words and action ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

TO EDWARD LOFSTROM: On what Lewis attempted in the Chronicles of Narnia; on the character of the man Jesus—his tenderness, ferocity, and even humor; and on the need to do one’s duty while having patience with God.

16 January 1959

1. I am afraid I don’t know the answer to your question about books of Christian instruction for children. Most of those I have seen—but I haven’t seen many—seem to me namby-pamby and ‘sissie’ and calculated to nauseate any child worth his salt. Of course I have tried to do what I can for children—in a mythical and fantastic form by my seven ‘Narnian’ fairy tales. They work well with some children but not with others. Sorry this looks like salesman- ship: but honestly if I knew anything else I’d mention it.

2. Of course. ‘Gentle Jesus’, my elbow! The most striking thing about Our Lord is the union of great ferocity with extreme tenderness. (Remember Pascal? ‘I do not admire the extreme of one virtue unless you show me at the same time the extreme of the opposite virtue. One shows one’s greatness not by being at an extremity but by being simultaneously at two extremities and filling all the space between.’)

Add to this that He is also a supreme ironist, dialectician, and (occasionally) humourist. So go on! You are on the right track now: getting to the real Man behind all the plaster dolls that have been substituted for Him. This is the appearance in Human form of the God who made the Tiger and the Lamb, the avalanche and the rose. He’ll frighten and puzzle you: but the real Christ can be loved and admired as the doll can’t.

3. ‘For him who is haunted by the smell of invisible roses the cure is work’ (MacDonald). If we feel we have talents that don’t find expression in our ordinary duties and recreations, I think we must just go on doing the ordinary things as well as we can. If God wants to use these suspected talents, He will: in His own time and way. At all costs one must keep clear of all the witchdoctors and their patent cures—as you say yourself.

• From The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis
• Compiled in Yours, Jack

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: August 9, 2015

MINUTE FOR MISSION: HIGHER EDUCATION/COLLEGIATE MINISTRIES - “So, what exactly does a chaplain do?”

It’s a question I’m often asked when I tell people that I’m a college chaplain. I don’t really have “typical” days. Like most pastors, chaplains do a little of everything. We put together programs, organize and lead worship (weddings and memorials included), and counsel students ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Saturday, August 8, 2015

**In the News ... "Photo Album: "Rock the Desert" 2015 Kickoff"**

MRT Photo by James Durbin

• Rock the Desert 2015 is going on NOW

James Durbin, Photographer
Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND/ODESSA, TEXAS - Rock the Desert 2015 -- Proof of Love -- kicked off Aug. 5 at RTD Skatepark. The annual Christian music festival continues through Aug. 8 and includes performances by For King and Country, Building 429, Thousand Foot Crutch, Family Force 5, LeCrae and Jimmy Needham ...

• enjoy the rest of this MRT album

In the News ... "Local musicians band together for Acts 2 Project "

• Another event planned for Odessa in September

Trent Johnson, Reporter
Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Local musicians from several worship groups in the area are banning together for the first time as the Flight Plan Band for the Acts 2 Project TONIGHT [Saturday, August 8] in downtown. The live worship event is set to bring an atmosphere welcoming people of all faiths ...

• read the rest of this MRT report

In the News ... "Anti-bullying speaker Bob Lenz talks power of laughter in message at RTD"

Courtesy Photo

• Rock the Desert 2015 is going on NOW

Trent Johnson, Reporter
Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND/ODESSA, TEXAS - At Rock the Desert, it takes more than talent to adorn the stage. With talented musicians set to deliver the main portion of the festival’s concluding days, at least one man plans to pace about in front of the audience with humor rather than melody.

Public speaker Bob Lenz has delivered powerful keynotes in all 50 states at school functions, faith gatherings and various other settings with one message: care about people ...

• read the rest of this MRT report

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

On Goodness

Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible.

• From Mere Christianity
• Compiled in Words to Live By

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: August 8, 2015

PAKISTAN - Born of a peasant Sikh exorcist, Kamil grew up in an environment where exorcisms took place regularly. After his father died, Kamil was possessed by a powerful evil spirit who tortured him physically and mentally. He suffered for months, and no one could help him. One night he met Babu Basant Lall, a local evangelist, who told him to pray in the name of Jesus and the evil spirit would leave him. Kamil went to his home, prayed in the name of Jesus, and that night he slept. When he woke up in the morning, he was a completely changed person ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Friday, August 7, 2015

Mercy Trips Summer Outreach: "A Special Appeal for Mercy"

Partnering with local healthcare workers and churches in medically underserved countries, Odessa, Texas-based Mercy Trips Healthcare Outreach provides free medical clinics and surgical care as an outreach of Christian love for our fellow man.

A Special Appeal for Mercy

An update on little Mercy - Since time is short we have decided against any crowd funding solutions. After all, as I said at the team dinner "Her name is Mercy and she needs a trip, what else can we do" We are going to fund her trip to Boston for the needed surgery on her Trachea. We are trusting that we will receive sufficient donations to cover the cost.

FROM JULY 29: Today we met a little girl named Mercy who was born with a heart defect, A local foundation raised money to help her get heart surgery in Israel at age 2. Unfortunately she also had tracheal narrowing, so at the time of her surgery she had to have a tracheostomy. She is now five and in need of a tracheal reconstruction since she can barely breath through the small tracheostomy.. A foundation in the states is inviting her to Boston to have a medical evaluation and needed surgery fully paid. A second foundation is providing room and board for her and her father. Unfortunately, the local foundation and the family need to raise airfare and visa fees. The invitations is good for, 3 more weeks. The head of the local foundation heard that we were in town and came to ask us for help. Does anyone have any ideas for fundraising or finding a free/discount airline tickets?

• visit Mercy Trips' Facebook page

Mercy Trips Healthcare Outreach
P.O. Box 13795
Odessa, TX 79768

From @FWMission ... Friday Story: "The Gift of a Smile"

Founded in 2001, Free Wheelchair Mission

is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to providing wheelchairs for the impoverished disabled in developing nations. Headquartered in Irvine, California, FWM works around the world in partnership with a vast network of humanitarian, faith-based and government organizations, sending wheelchairs to hundreds of thousands of disabled people, providing not only the gift of mobility, but of dignity, independence, and hope.

Friday Story: "The Gift of a Smile"

Greetings, and Happy Friday!

Sometimes, a smile says it all. That was definitely the case for Sebastiana from Peru. Here is her story from our partner, Camino de Vida ...

• read the rest of this story ...

Want to take one of these wheelchairs for a test drive? During normal business hours, visit the lobby at the Texas Street entrance of First Presbyterian Church-Midland, at the northwest corner of Texas and A streets, on the west side of downtown Midland. You can give the gift of mobility. The cost of $72.00 is a bargain to us ... but it is a life-changing gift to impoverished and disabled recipients ... and there are times when your contribution will be matched, reaching not one - but TWO, and sometimes FOUR recipients. Please note on your check "Wheelchair Gift."

In the News ... "Rock the Selfie"

• Rock the Desert 2015 is going on NOW

Staff Report
KOSA-TV

MIDLAND/ODESSA, TEXAS - Rock the Desert 2015 is in full swing.

If you want to share your pictures, CBS 7 has made it easier for you through our app ...

• read the rest of this KOSA report ...

In the News ... "Rock the Desert Traffic Plan"

• Rock the Desert 2015 is going on NOW

Tera Talmadge, Reporter
KMID-TV

MIDLAND, TEXAS - From the City of Midland: The Midland Police Department has an established traffic flow plan for this year's Rock the Desert music festival to minimize headache and, most importantly, maximize safety. The festival will be held August 5-8 ...

• read the rest of this KMID report

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

For now they saw the Prince. No one doubted for a moment who he was. There were plenty of Beasts and Dryads and Dwarfs and Fauns who remembered him from the days before his enchanting. There were some old ones who could just remember how his father, King Caspian, had looked when he was a young man, and saw the likeness. But I think they would have known him anyway. Pale though he was from long imprisonment in the Deep Lands, dressed in black, dusty, disheveled, and weary, there was something in his face and air which no one could mistake. That look is in the face of all true Kings of Narnia, who rule by the will of Aslan and sit at Cair Paravel on the throne of Peter the High King. Instantly every head was bared and every knee was bent; a moment later such cheering and shouting, such jumps and reels of joy, such hand-shakings and kissings and embracings of everybody by everybody else broke out that the tears came into Jill’s eyes. Their quest had been worth all the pains it cost.

• From The Silver Chair
• Compiled in A Year with Aslan

In the News ... "For King and Country could find moment of reflection at RTD"

Courtesy Photo

• Rock the Desert 2015 is going on NOW

Rich Lopez, Reporter
Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND/ODESSA, TEXAS - Every popular band goes through it: the sophomore slump.

A strong debut can lead to high expectations for the second release. Brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone had that in the back of their heads. Better known as the Christian contemporary band For King and Country, they reached success quickly with their 2011 self-titled EP and the monster-hit full-length album “Crave” from 2012. So the approach to “Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong” wasn’t without some trepidation ...

...Which is the case this weekend when For King and Country headlines Friday night at Rock the Desert. Only this time, they are coming back as an even bigger band than they were when they performed last year. For the band, RTD has become a benchmark ...

• read the rest of this MRT report

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: August 7, 2015

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC, Part 3 - The region is marked also by staggering energy and dynamism: in surging movements toward democracy and self-determination, in economic expansion, and in rapid modernization and technological advancement. Many people have become more conscious of their rights and have begun to demand that their dignity be honored and due rights granted ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Thursday, August 6, 2015

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

If the old fairy-tale ending ‘They lived happily ever after’ is taken to mean ‘They felt for the next fifty years exactly as they felt the day before they were married’, then it says what probably never was nor ever would be true, and would be highly undesirable if it were. Who could bear to live in that excitement for even five years? What would become of your work, your appetite, your sleep, your friendships? But, of course, ceasing to be ‘in love’ need not mean ceasing to love. Love in this second sense—love as distinct from ‘being in love’—is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from God. They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other; as you love yourself even when you do not like yourself. They can retain this love even when each would easily, if they allowed themselves, be ‘in love’ with someone else. ‘Being in love’ first moved them to promise fidelity: this quieter love enables them to keep the promise. It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it.

• From Mere Christianity
• Compiled in A Year with C.S. Lewis

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: August 6, 2015

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC, Part 2 - Asia and the Pacific region is marked by tremendous ethnic, religious, political, and cultural diversity. This richness of cultures is a result of a long and varied history. Some of that history is fraught with conflict and oppression, while other chapters are marked by cross-pollination and verdant growth. Throughout all the ages, we hear with thankfulness the stories of people who lived and served and loved ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

WAW Wednesday: "Scattered to the Winds"

"The Word at Work is a ministry that mobilizes churches and individuals to answer God's call to minister to those in need," writes Rev. Tim Tam, Director of the Amarillo, Texas-based ministry. "Through our relationships, God reveals needs and opportunities for service. As we come along side the poor, new friendships develop and doors for ministry open. As we serve, God provides the resources to supply for the needs he reveals."

Scattered to the Winds

Hi Friends -

After an extremely busy month of multiple mission teams working across Belize,Team TWAW has scattered to the winds ...

• Today I am near Dallas picking up Lisa’s new puppy, the dog she’s dreamed of all her life, an Irish wolfhound. We need a good strong Irish name ... anybody?
• Mollie is off on her honeymoon;
• Tim Hagen on Vacation in Ocean City, New Jersey;
• Jo Cole is holding down the fort at the office in Amarillo, Texas;
• As for Kenny and Chepito ... no rest for the wicked ... working with a team from New Mexico in Cayo at Samuel’s Sanctuary.

Next week is a double header ...

• Pleasant Valley Baptist working with Omega Outreach in Shawville
• Law enforcement training with officers in the Cayo district.

Consider how your vocation might also be a calling for kingdom service ... Christian law enforcement officers from Hobbs and Roswell, New Mexico, will be training their Belizean counterparts in their areas of expertise and also sharing the gospel and how their faith impacts their work.

What’s your vocation? Right now we need teams of ...

• Electricians;
• Plumbers;
• Welders;
• One Childrens home has inadequate wiring that was heating up;
• Our Warehouse / outreach center composed of stacked shipping containers needs welders to anchor and modify the structure before a hurricane decides to move it;
• Solar panels for the Kings Home were shipped and are on sight but need to be installed.

... just to name a few. Don’t bury your talents. Here is an opportunity to put God’s word to work.

Blessings,

TT (Tim Tam) The Word at Work

ps: Our Ministry Associate team gathers school supplies, toys, and stuffed animals through out the year ... we've discovered blankets are an ongoing need as well, so please be saving them, too. Click here to learn more about becoming a TW@W Ministry Associate, or get in touch with Tim Hagen for more information!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Speaking from my own first-hand experience - working side-by-side with Tim, Kenny and our brothers and sisters in Belize - won't you give thoughtful, prayerful consideration to supporting the efforts of Tim, the Word At Work staff and their partners? Please please fill out this Commitment Card and return it to their office!

Also, remember that you can follow The Word At Work on their Facebook page!

In the News ... "Fort Stockton Church Joins Texas Courthouse Prayer Movement"

Courtesy Photo

• Gathering Sunday evenings at Zero Stone Park

Sara Strackhouse, Reporter
KOSA-TV

FORT STOCKTON, TEXAS - A Fort Stockton church is taking prayer to the courthouse.

First Baptist Church officials tell CBS 7 they’ve joined in a statewide movement to pray for the country. They say for the past few weeks they've been prayer in a gazebo near the courthouse ...

• read the rest of this KOSA story

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

TO MARY WILLIS SHELBURNE: On whether we dare hope that dying is like having a tooth extracted; on purgatory; and yet more on forgiveness and the feeling of being forgiven.

7 July 1959

. . . You seem to have had a very nasty experience. I can see why you describe it as ‘looking into the face of death’: but who knows whether that face, when we really look at it, will be at all like that? Let us hope better things. I had a tooth out the other day, and came away wondering whether we dare hope that the moment of death may be very like that delicious moment when one realises that the tooth is really out and a voice says ‘Rinse your mouth out with this.’ ‘This’ of course will be Purgatory. . . .

You surely don’t mean ‘feeling that we are not worthy to be forgiven’? For of course we aren’t. Forgiveness by its nature is for the unworthy. You mean ‘Feeling that we are not forgiven.’ I have known that. I ‘believed’ theoretically in the divine forgiveness for years before it really came home to me. It is a wonderful moment when it does.

• From The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis
• Compiled in Yours, Jack

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: August 5, 2015

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC, Part 1 - As the sun rises early in the Far East, the day is met with words of gratitude for the gift of a new day. Since there are no guarantees of what the day will bring, there is joy and celebrating for all that God gives—seeds for planting, water for drinking, and rice for sustenance. From the mountains of Inner Mongolia to the shores of Tainan City, from the emerald waters of Apo Reef to the paddies of Kanchanaburi and still west into the Doon Valley, prayers are whispered—God is good ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Glory-ous start to the morning ...

Sharing some morning glories that get my day off to a good start, on the walk to my office at Fasken Learning Resource Center, on the Midland College campus, Midland, Texas ...

"God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars."

Martin Luther

In the News ... "Photo Album: "Vacation Bible School 2015"

MRT Photo by James Durbin

• A "Summer VBS" Tour of the Tall City

Tim Fischer and James Durbin, Photographers
Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Various Midland churches have held vacation bible school this summer. These churches include Orchard Church, Alamo Heights Baptist Church, Fellowship Community Church, Macedonia Baptist Church, First Presbyterian Church, Fairmont Park Church of Christ, First United Methodist Church, Mount Cavalry Missionary Baptist Church, and First Christian Church ...

• enjoy the rest of this MRT album

MRT Photo by Tim Fischer

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

On Love

I will never laugh at anyone for grieving over a loved beast. I think God wants us to love Him more, not to love creatures (even animals) less. We love everything in one way too much (i.e., at the expense of our love for Him), but in another way we love every- thing too little.

No person, animal, flower, or even pebble has ever been loved too much—i.e., more than every one of God’s works deserves.

• From The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis
• Compiled in Words to Live By

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: August 4, 2015

PRESBYTERY OF WESTERN KENTUCKY - Western Kentucky Presbytery continues to provide sources of drinkable water for congregations in Mexico and throughout Central America and the Gulf of Mexico. We invest in our sisters and brothers and the congregations with whom we partner as both a mission outreach in the name of Jesus Christ and a powerful opportunity for them to bear witness to the water of life offered in Christ.

The presbytery and its congregations have partnered with congregations and organizations in Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, and Honduras ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Monday, August 3, 2015

From ChinaAid: "China Aid president testifies at Congressional-Executive Commission on China hearing on religious persecution in China"

The China Aid Association is a non-profit Christian organization - based in Midland, Texas - with a mission to uncover and reveal the truth about religious persecution in China, focusing especially on the unofficial church. They do this, they explain in their website, by exposing the abuses, encouraging the abused and equipping the saints to advance the kingdom of God throughout China.

China Aid president testifies at Congressional-Executive Commission on China hearing on religious persecution in China
Distributed by ChinaAid, July, 2015 ...

ChinaAid Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. – China Aid president and founder, Bob Fu, gave his testimony concerning religious freedom in China to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China in Washington, D.C.

Fu gave several recommendations during the hearing, titled “Religious with ‘Chinese Characteristics’: Persecution and Control in Xi Jinping’s China,” including the following for the United States Department of State ...

• more on this story from China Aid

In the News ... "Jackson’s road to ministry"

OA Photo by Edyta Blaszczyk

• Minister graduated from Texas Tech in 1989 before seminary school

By Bob Campbell, Reporter
Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - Having come to the Episcopal priesthood relatively late in life, Father Les Jackson looks back on his careers as a caregiver, social worker and hospice chaplain as a divinely guided progression toward St. John’s Episcopal Church at 401 N. West County Road.

The 59-year-old Abernathy native was a caregiver at Lubbock State School till earning a bachelor’s degree in social work at Texas Tech in 1989 and becoming a school caseworker and MH-MR social worker. Then he was a deacon at St. Christopher Episcopal Church and chaplain at Nurse Care Hospice in Lubbock, where co-worker Rosemary Patterson urged him to consider the ministry ...

• read the rest of this OA report ...

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

What we call ‘being in love’ is a glorious state, and, in several ways, good for us. It helps to make us generous and courageous, it opens our eyes not only to the beauty of the beloved but to all beauty, and it sub- ordinates (especially at first) our merely animal sexuality; in that sense, love is the great conqueror of lust. No one in his senses would deny that being in love is far better than either common sensuality or cold self-centredness. But, as I said before, ‘the most dangerous thing you can do is to take any one impulse of our own nature and set it up as the thing you ought to follow at all costs’. Being in love is a good thing, but it is not the best thing. There are many things below it, but there are also things above it. You cannot make it the basis of a whole life. It is a noble feeling, but it is still a feeling. Now no feeling can be relied on to last in its full intensity, or even to last at all. Knowledge can last, principles can last, habits can last; but feelings come and go. And in fact, whatever people say, the state called ‘being in love’ usually does not last.

• From Mere Christianity
• Compiled in A Year with C.S. Lewis

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: August 3, 2015

PRESBYTERY OF TRANSYLVANIA, KENTUCKY - It was a hot, humid day in the little village of Tres Reyes in the state of Quintana Roo in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. So when our team of volunteers from the Presbytery of Transylvania (almost 90 congregations in central and eastern Kentucky) offered some local children a glass of cool, clean water, they were happy to oblige us with a photograph. It happened to be World Water Day (March 22), so we asked them to join us in a toast to safe water for all God’s children: “Jesucristo es agua viva para nuestros cuerpos y almas” (Jesus Christ is living water for our bodies and our souls)! ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Sunday, August 2, 2015

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

But long before she had got anywhere near the edge, the voice behind her said, “Stand still. In a moment I will blow. But, first, remember, remember, remember the signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night. And whatever strange things may happen to you, let nothing turn your mind from following the signs. And secondly, I give you a warning. Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters. And now, daughter of Eve, farewell — ”

• From The Silver Chair
• Compiled in A Year with Aslan

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: August 2, 2015

MINUTE FOR MISSION: HOMELESSNESS/AFFORDABLE HOUSING - Along with clean air, food, and water, shelter is a necessity for survival. Beyond providing protection from the elements, housing provides the stability and safety needed for individuals and families to thrive. Unfortunately, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, on any given night 610,042 people in the United States experience homelessness. In addition, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, there are 10.16 million extremely low-income renter households that struggle to find affordable rental properties.

The shortage of affordable and safe housing is just one example of a structural flaw that traps individuals and families in chronic states of homelessness and housing instability, making it impossible for them to escape the cycle of poverty ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

"Stuff the Bus" wraps-up TOMORROW at FPC-Midland

The 2015 edition of the "Stuff the Bus" School Supply Drive is going on NOW at First Presbyterian Church-Midland. FPC-Midland is located on the northwest corner of Texas Avenue and A Street, on the west side of downtown Midland, and you can enter from Texas Avenue, or from Illinois Avenue (we're across the street from Midland High School).

Please pack something from the items on the list below into a backpack, and drop the backpack off at the "bus" in the church library, next to the elevator and gymnasium entrance.

• Boxes of Kleenex                          • Crayons
• Bottle of Hand Sanitizer                • Colored Pencils
• Composition Notebooks                • Pencil-Top Erasers
• Glue (Bottles and/or Sticks)          • Scissors
• 3" x 5" Index Cards                       • No. 2 Pencils
• Folders with Pockets and Brads   • Binders (1", 1.5", 2")
• Pink Erasers                                 • Watercolors
• Highlighters                                  • Plastic Pencil Boxes
• Wide-Ruled Spiral Notebooks      • Pens (Black, Blue and Red)
• Wide-Ruled Notebook Paper       • Pencil Bags
• Dividers                                        • Markers
• Plastic Rulers

Thanks!

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

The idea that ‘being in love’ is the only reason for remaining married really leaves no room for marriage as a contract or promise at all. If love is the whole thing, then the promise can add nothing; and if it adds nothing, then it should not be made. The curious thing is that lovers themselves, while they remain really in love, know this better than those who talk about love. As Chesterton pointed out, those who are in love have a natural inclination to bind themselves by promises. Love songs all over the world are full of vows of eternal constancy. The Christian law is not forcing upon the passion of love something which is foreign to that passion’s own nature: it is demanding that lovers should take seriously something which their passion of itself impels them to do.

And, of course, the promise, made when I am in love and because I am in love, to be true to the beloved as long as I live, commits me to being true even if I cease to be in love. A promise must be about things that I can do, about actions: no one can promise to go on feeling in a certain way. He might as well promise never to have a headache or always to feel hungry.

• From Mere Christianity
• Compiled in A year with C.S. Lewis

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: August 1, 2015

PRESBYTERY OF ST. ANDREW, MISSISSIPPI - From the rolling hills of the northeast to the Mississippi delta cotton fields in the west, Presbyterians in northern Mississippi continue to spread the good news of Jesus Christ through the ministries of their 61 congregations as well as the ministries and programs of the presbytery ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.