Congratulations to all our graduates and Happy Mother's Day!

1 Thessalonians 3:11-13
“Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints."

Well, it's May, and I don't know how many flowers we're going to have, but we can still celebrate with all our graduates at their accomplishments!

We're keeping the month pretty light, as we know the end of the school year and start of summer is busy all on its own, so the only event we've got is a Nerf Night on the 15th.
Other than that we'll have some opportunities to help prepare for VBS which is right around the corner, so be sure to sign up to volunteer with us, and let us know if you have any questions about that!

Lastly, registration for our Youth Mission's Week 2026 is live!!!
So be sure to head to the Mission's Week registration page for more info and to sign up! 

As a part of our Youth Mission's Week we'll need lots of volunteer help in quite a few different areas, but most noticeably this year, for meals help. If you're interested in providing some of that support please reach out to Jonathan directly to get more info!

As always, you can check the youth page on the website for our updated schedule, or feel free to email us if you want more info or have questions!

I really hope we get some April showers...

Colossians 1:15-20
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross."

Well as we get into April we do hope that we get some moisture to help with what is shaping up to be a VERY dry and potentially record setting bad year for us here! But, despite all of that, we get to celebrate something that is far greater:

He is Risen!!!

Our first event of the month will be our annual All Youth Easter Hike where we get to celebrate the resurrection of our great savior Jesus and His conquering over death on our behalf. We're very excited for this and hope you'll join us on Easter morning for that. More info can be found for that below, and as always, let us know if you have questions.

Next, we'll be hosting an All Youth Overnighter and Activity Night on April 17th-18th. This is going to be an evening filled with all sorts of fun, including karaoke, board games, nail art for the girls, and a video game tournament.

Lastly, we announced our Youth Mission's Week dates, July 19th-24th (Sunday though Friday), and now we've got a date for our Youth Mission's Week meeting: April 19th, between services, where we'll go over all the current details, our plans for that week, and answer questions!

As a part of our Youth Mission's Week we'll need lots of volunteer help in quite a few different areas, but most noticeably this year, for meals help. We'll have 4 dinners that we'll need support for which will include food prep, service, and cleanup. If you're interested in providing some of that support please reach out to Jonathan directly to get more info! We'll be launching our sign-ups for those in April, so be on the lookout for that!

As always, you can check the youth page on the website for our updated schedule, or feel free to email us if you want more info or have questions!

One down, eleven to go!

1 John 4:9-11
“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

Happy Valentine's Day!
We're already a month into the New Year and we've got a few exciting opportunities for fun this month.
Starting with our Youth Thank-you event the day before Valentine's Day Friday February 13th! We'll be putting on a parent's night out for the families of Grace, offering childcare for a date night, and also making thank-you bags full of treats for our incredible Grace family to set out on Sunday! This is a fun chance to say thank-you for all our Church does to support and enable us to do so many amazing things like Nerf Nights, Mission's Weeks, and more.

Speaking of Nerf Nights, we've got one of those the following week, Friday the 20th! We'll be getting together for a night of frenetic fun dinner included! Feel free to bring your own guns and gear as we battle it out from 6-9pm that evening!

Other than that, we'll have a bit of a switch-up during the month as Pastor Jonathan will be away on missions in Rwanda from the 18th of February until the 4th of March! Our incredible Youth Leadership team will be filling in during their absence though, so we won't skip a beat, and we'll have plenty of fun in their absence!  If you want more info on the Rwanda trip head on over to the Rwanda page on the Grace Website.
If you have questions before then, feel free to find Jonathan at Church, or shoot him an email!

Happy New Year!

Philippians 3:20-21
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself."

It's 2026!
What a crazy thing to think but we're here!
We're keeping it pretty relaxed for January as everyone gets back to school. We've got an art and game night on the 2nd to kick-off the New Year, but other than that we'll be on a regular schedule until February!

We hope you had an awesome Christmas and end of the year. We are excited for the New Year and for more opportunities to connect, grow, and continue to pursue Christ together. If you need anything or if there is any way in which we can minister to you better this month please let us know!
As always, you can check the youth page on the website for our updated schedule, or feel free to email us if you want more info or have questions!

Our women's ministry blog is up and running again for the 2025-2026 ministry year! If you are interested in being a contributing author, we would love to talk with you about that. Please reach out at women@gracecomm.org.

Evangelism is the heartbeat of God’s mission—a sacred calling for every believer. Evangelism is the act of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ—His life, death, and resurrection—with others so that they might come to know Him personally and receive salvation. The word “evangelism” comes from the Greek word euangelion, meaning “good news” or “gospel.” In essence, evangelism is inviting others to experience the transforming love and grace of God through faith in Jesus.

Sharing about Jesus isn’t just for those who are conducting oversees missions. It is for all of us who are daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and friends.  We are called to extend God’s invitation to join his kingdom by participating in God’s redemptive mission to restore a broken world. This occurs by speaking and breathing life into people who are already in our daily lives.  What does it mean to extend God’s invitation to a lost and broken world?

Evangelism means sharing and living the gospel so others can encounter the love of Christ and accept His invitation to be part of His kingdom where grace, mercy, and new life abound. Have you answered the call of evangelism? If so, keep it up my dear sister. If not, what are you waiting for?   

A very merry Christmas to everyone! It's hard to believe it's almost here, but we hope you'll join us for some amazing Christmas events, and help us as we seek to share the true spirit of Christmas!

John 1:14-18
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

Well, we've arrived at the end of the year already, but we had an awesome time the whole way through!

As we wind down for the year we have a lot of festive Christmas events towards the beginning and middle of the month, and then we're off for an extended period for Christmas and New Years! We hope you'll join us for everything and that you have a wonderful Christmas!

Youth Christmas Light Scavenger Hunts - 10th & 14th 6-8pm During Regular Youth

All Youth Caroling - Caroling, cocoa, treats, and tons of fun! Dec 19th 6-8:30pm

All Youth Christmas Party - White Elephant Bing and More! Dec 21st 6-9pm

We hope this Christmas season is filled with blessing and God's goodness in visible and tangible ways! Remember that's God incredible love in sending Christ is the reason we can take comfort and have peace in this life!

Our women's ministry blog is up and running again for the 2025-2026 ministry year! If you are interested in being a contributing author, we would love to talk with you about that. Please reach out at women@gracecomm.org.

Home is more than a place - it is a concept. Whether our lived experience of home is positive or negative, we all have a sense of what it is supposed to mean. Home is meant to be a place where we are always welcome, where something yummy is baking in the oven when we walk inside, where laughter and freely offered hugs abound. It is filled with love, comfort, and the ability to relax and just be yourself. Home is where we belong. Advertisers certainly know that it is a powerful concept, as evidenced by the number of ad campaigns that will trade on the associated imagery during the holiday season.

I've been thinking a lot about home lately. It is the place we say we want to go when everything feels overwhelming or our burdens get too heavy. And yet I am not certain any one of us ever fully experiences all that home means this side of heaven. It is a sentiment that is captured well in a song called Homeward Ache by Heather Suzanne and Ian Austin. It explores how wanting to go home is a lovely characterization of the longing to finally be with God our Father. I encourage you to give it a listen.

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Romans 10:9-15

Home isn't where you're from, it's where you find light when all grows dark.

-Pierce Brown

A shorthand way of explaining that someone is welcome in your home is to tell them that you'll leave a light on for them. It communicates that day or night, you are welcome here.

There are all kinds of reasons that it can be difficult to tell people about Jesus. And sometimes I think we build it up in our heads more than we need to. When we share the gospel, what we're really doing is inviting someone to come home, telling them that our Father has left the light on for them. What more wonderful news could there ever be to communicate?

Happy Thanksgiving! We've got a couple opportunities to practice and cultivate thankfulness this month that we hope you'll join us for!

Psalm 9:1-2
“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High."

I don't know about you but I'm ready for the holidays! The crisp Fall weather, the changing colors, and some of our annual activities always help to make this time of year special!

We've got a few big activities this month, as well as quite a few nights off of our regular meetings as a result, so we hope you'll join us for those and invite a friend or two!

All Youth Volunteer Day and Laser Tag Night - We will be helping collect grocery donations for Serve 6.8 from noon-3pm and then heading over to Loveland Laser Tag for some fun and food from 4-7pm.

All Youth Famine - This is one of our most important events each year! It is a time for reflection, empathy, and challenge as we look outside of ourselves and our situations and into areas of our world that experience more hardship and turmoil than our own!
As we do so, we also raise money for our compassion child, and seek to foster a spirit of gratitude and thankfulness for the season ahead!

We hope the start of this holiday season is filled with blessing and God's goodness in visible and tangible ways! Remember to practice thankfulness and gratitude for what He has done for us!
As always, you can check the youth page on the website for our updated schedule, or feel free to email us if you want more info or have questions!

Is Fall your favorite time of year?

Psalm 37:23-24
“The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.

Well, even if Fall isn't your favorite time of year, we've got plenty of awesome annual events to keep everyone occupied, starting with two of our most popular ones!

Corn Maze - We will be going to Anderson Farms on Saturday, October 18th, in the afternoon! We'll meet at the church at 3pm, head down for festive fun, and return around 7pm, for pizza and games, then conclude at 8:30pm. This is an all-youth event, so everyone and their friends are invited, cost is $25 and includes corn maze ticket, dinner, drinks, and transportation! Tickets sell fast though, so please sign up by Oct 5th to get your spot!

Escape Room - Then, Sunday October 26th, we've got our annual costume party, from 3pm to 8:30pm.
Our evening will include plenty of fun activities, candy, pizza, and even an escape room! We're going to have tons of fun and you don't want to miss this, so be sure to invite your friends, sign-up, and bring some candy to share!

We hope you have a wonderful October and get a chance to enjoy the natural beauty of creation all around us this time of year!

Our women's ministry blog is up and running again for the 2025-2026 ministry year! If you are interested in being a contributing author, we would love to talk with you about that. Please reach out at women@gracecomm.org.

Some of you may recognize the title "The Style that Stays with Us" from the Loveland South Lifestyle section. Desiree Gustafson (publisher) wrote:

“Style is often thought of as something we wear - an outfit, a statement piece, a signature color. But style runs so much deeper. It’s in the way someone greets you with warmth and a genuine smile. It’s in a neighbor who always remembers your dog’s name, or a local shop owner who makes their space feel like home the second you walk through the door. It’s in the thoughtful touches: fresh flowers on a front porch, handwritten notes on thank you cards, or the quiet confidence someone carries when they show up as fully themselves.”

I thought about what Ms. Gustafson said, and I wondered what people would say about my “style.” Do I exhibit the fruits of the spirit (Gal: 5: 22-23)? Life can be difficult, sometimes it’s all I can do to walk through the day. Can I find joy in the simplest of things? More importantly, can I pass on joy to someone else? Is there such a thing as “Christian Style”? And if so, what does it look like? Does it look differently for you than it does for me?

Style is about choosing grace over trend, presence over perfection.

-Desiree Gustafson

Stephen Covey in his “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” says that one of the habits is to begin with the end first. So let’s go back to my eulogy - I would hope that people would say that I was kind. I am working toward the humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, (Col 3:12). I admit I must pray on these often! I try to live gently, meaning I try not to quarrel. Sometimes I just walk away and often wonder “Did I walk away too soon or not soon enough?”

I would also like to think that people could come to me for help. I may or may not have the resources, answers, or skill, but that I would try to help if I could. I want to live more authentically. Yes, I am a daughter of the King, as we all are - and all of us are different. He has given us all talents, skills, understanding, unique to us. Not for us to keep but to share. The “sharing” is our “style.” How we show up, how we serve, how we communicate to those around us is going to be different. Ms. Gustafson also said, “Style is about choosing grace over trend, presence over perfection.” I couldn’t have said it better. Going back to Gal 5:22-23, the concept of fruit refers to the tangible results of actions that demonstrate a life lived under the Spirit’s influence. Sometimes the best we can do is to simply be present, to hold someone’s hand and pray with them. 

We hope your back to school transition went well and that you're ready for what's next!

John 15:12-14
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

It's hard to believe it's already Fall, but we've still got plenty of activities to keep everyone busy, and lots of fun in store!

Biggest of all we have our All Youth Art & Game Night Overnighter on Friday September 19th! Dinner is at 6:00pm, followed by a heaping of games and art activities, snacks, and more fun than you can stand! That's open to all of our youth and their friends, so be sure to check out the signup page, and get your whole crew signed up for that!

We also have a Family Fishing Trip on Saturday September 13th for all youth and their families at Flatiron Reservoir. This will be a laid back opportunity to catch some fish and have some fun. Anglers of all skills and experience are welcome, we'll have poles and tackle available for those who don't have their own, and some experienced fishermen to help everyone catch a fish or two.

For those who missed the mission's week, or who miss the mission's week, we might have an opportunity to volunteer with Serve 6.8 and provide some necessary help for them on Saturday the 27th of September.
Keep your eyes open for more info on that in the next week or so!

As always, you can check the youth page on the website for our updated schedule, or feel free to email us if you want more info or have questions!

For everything there is a season!

Ecclesiastes 3:1, 10-13
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven;
I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.

What a summer it's been! Between VBS, camping, our youth mission's week, and all the other fun stuff we've done, it's hard to believe it's already almost over!

I want to thank everyone who participated in our Deed & Truth Youth Mission's Week 2025! It was a truly incredible week, with so many highlights, memories, and blessings! I am so proud of our group and very excited for next year. So if you couldn't make it this year, mark your calendars for next July, and what will hopefully be another amazing opportunity to serve and bless others for the sake of the gospel!

We have a much slower month ahead to hopefully give everyone some time to reacclimate to the school schedule and recover from the craziness of summer! We'll be doing one big event with our All Youth Nerf Night on the 29th, but other than that, it's regularly scheduled programming!

Happy 4th of July!

Philippians 2:9-11
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Oh boy, we're only a few weeks away from our Youth Mission's Week 2025 and that means our sign up deadline is fast approaching! If you are registered for the trip be on the look out for an email in the next week or so with more info on the trip, any final notes before our trip, and an opportunity to ask any questions or get details before we start ramping up!

Also mark your calendars for July 13th, as we're having our pre-week meeting at 5:30pm for all those attending and their parents, as well as our All Youth Tie-Dye and prep night at 6:30pm, which is open to all our youth!

If you haven't signed up yet, follow the link to the sign-up page below, fill out the registration and the trip waiver, and mark your calendars for July 20th-25th!

Youth Mission's Week Registration

Summer is HERE!

Romans 12:14-18
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

With the first days of summer comes VBS week! We are so excited for this week and all of the amazing volunteers, service opportunities, and gospel proclamations that it represents! As a part of our VBS week we have a few activities that are sure to interest our youth, including two after VBS activities, one on Tuesday and one on Thursday, as well as our after VBS pool party to end the week. Sign-ups for the after VBS activities can be found on the schedule below, and if you're interested in the after VBS pool party you can sign up on the event page HERE.
We hope you'll join us for VBS week and partner with us as we seek to glorify God and show others that we can trust Jesus in a wild world!

After VBS has gone we've got a couple of weeks before it's camping time! We're heading up for our annual youth camping trip to Red Feather Lakes for campfires, nature hikes, days at the lake, roasting s'mores, and all the other fun things our camping trip has in store! Links for more info and the sign-up page are on the schedule below.

Finally, the dates for our youth missions week are July 20th-25th, and that is open to all of our students from incoming 5th graders to our graduating seniors. We also need adult support throughout the week in various roles, and would love to make this week as awesome as possible with as many people who can participate! We hope you'll join us, and if you want more info, head to the Youth Mission's Week page or send us an email and we'd be happy to answer any questions you might have!

Congratulations to all our graduates!

Colossians 3:16-17
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

It's graduation season and it came too soon! We are excited for all of our graduates and proud of everything they've accomplished!

We are also thankful for all the mothers who do so much for their children and make it possible to make their way in the world! We hope you'll join us this month in saying thank-you to our mothers. (This also means no youth on Mothers Day!)  

Our schedule is a little more relaxed this month as we celebrate so many things and look forward to VBS which is only a month away now! We've got one major all youth activity at the beginning of the month and then we're keeping it simple for everyone's busy schedule at the end of the school year!

Finally, the dates for our youth missions week are July 20th-25th, and that is open to all of our students from incoming 5th graders to our graduating seniors. We also need adult support throughout the week in various roles, and would love to make this week as awesome as possible with as many people who can participate! We hope you'll join us, and if you want more info, head to the Youth Mission's Week page or send us an email and we'd be happy to answer any questions you might have!

As always, you can check the youth page on the website for our updated schedule, or feel free to email us if you want more info or have questions!  

Our women's ministry blog is up and running again for the 2024-2025 ministry year! If you are interested in being a contributing author, we would love to talk with you about that. Please reach out at women@gracecomm.org.

Oh the crowds, so many people with so many needs.  The disciples had been sent out by Jesus and returned to tell him all about their journey.  John the Baptist had been killed.  

“Then because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, Jesus said to them; “Come away with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
-Mark 6:31

Then there was that time at the cabin, with a water leak to fix, mouse poo to clean, and in the middle of the night the wood stove pipe pulled away from the ceiling and crashed to the floor.

What is with the middle of the night?

And can’t the God of the universe override gravity, thermodynamics, biology, and whatever other laws of nature exist to afford one of his weary children opportunity to get some rest???


Most recently, there was to be a 3 hour break in a beautiful setting.  I packed my walking stick, and studied the hiking trails.  But a parent in the hospital used up the time with phone calls, tears and prayers and the hike didn’t happen.

The crux of the matter is dealing with the disappointment I feel when things don’t go my way.  When the expectations and plans I make for my time are not met.  I am growing in trust, but still have so far to go as my immediate response to my Creator is; “i am offended with You.”

sigh.

And so we talk, He and i, and this One who is able to sympathize with my weaknesses, who has been tempted in every way, just as i have–yet without sin–He resets me. He realigns my understanding of His Character with the truth, He leads me to give Him the rightful place in my heart as the treasure of my life, i humbly confess my taking offence and need for His rescuing work. and i receive the balm of His forgiveness and saving grace.  He restores my trust in His goodness towards me, in His knowing, more deeply than i even know, what it is to seek rest and be interrupted. He says to me; "Come, My weary and heavily burdened child.  Come to Me.  I will give you rest.”

I will give.

He, Jesus Himself

gives rest.

He’s modeled for me a persistent pursuit of time alone with the Father–so that is something I will continue to do.  But because I am not in control, when the disappointments come, He alone is able to give rest anyway.  My Jesus is helping me to grow in my ability to receive it. Oh what a Saviour, oh what a Friend!

Happy Easter!  

1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

Well, even though Easter is really late this year, it feels like it's rushed up on us too fast!
And even though it's late this year, that just means we need to be up earlier for our annual Easter Sunrise Hike if we want to catch the sunrise. We'll meet at the church at 4:50am and head to the trail promptly at 5am. We'll be back after the hike, probably around 7:15am, depending on who needs a ride home. Even though it's early, we encourage our students to participate, as it's a wonderful way to appreciate Easter and celebrate such a momentous event in all of our lives!

We're also getting together for a night of fun at Loveland Laser Tag on Friday the 25th, from 6pm-9pm. That's open to all youth and their friends, so be sure to head on over to the event page to sign up, and mark your calendars.

Lastly, our annual mission's trip is already well underway in the planning stages, and we'll be launching our sign-up page in the next week or two.
The dates for that are July 20th-25th, it's open to all of our youth students, as well as parents who might be interested in helping.
If you'd like more info on that please email us and we'll forward you everything we've got so far, and can answer any questions you have.

As always, you can check the youth page on the website for our updated schedule, or feel free to email us if you want more info or have questions!

Our women's ministry blog is up and running again for the 2024-2025 ministry year! If you are interested in being a contributing author, we would love to talk with you about that. Please reach out at women@gracecomm.org.

Our God and Father is the same faithful God that He ever was--
as willing as ever to prove Himself the living God, in our day as formerly,
to all who put their trust in Him.
-George Muller

Every time the Women's Ministry Leadership Team organizes an event or retreat, God very noticeably has worked within and guided our planning. Well before anyone ever even arrives, we have already been privileged to watch God's handiwork as the event itself came together. I always find myself wishing that instead of engaging with the planned materials, we could just sit down and tell you the stories of how God brought each event together! I thought I would take the opportunity this blogpost presents to relate some of those stories to you, so you too can marvel at His steadfast devotion to guiding His daughters as they seek to serve Him.

The first clear evidence we saw that God was at work in our ministry was the way He brought it into being in the first place! Shauna Scofield mentioned in a Bible study session one evening that she felt God was nudging her to start a women's ministry, and I immediately got excited: "I feel like he's nudging me to start a women's ministry, too!" Shauna and I scheduled coffee together the following Saturday, meeting up at 9:00am. In our conversation, it was very clear that Shauna and I are very different people, but were developing deep appreciation for one another based on the most important thing we have in common: commitment to following Christ. After a delightful chat about our faith journeys, vision for what a women's ministry could be, and bouncing event ideas off one another, we realized we were beginning to feel hungry. We looked at our watches, and it was 1:00pm - we had been talking for four hours! Both of us marveled at how much excitement and momentum God was building into the ministry from the get-go.  

About a year later, the evening before one event, one of our Women's Leadership Team members suddenly tested positive for Covid, which meant that all the goodies she had spent the previous couple of days baking for the occasion were quarantined alongside her. The rest of us scurried off to Sam's Club to find acceptable alternatives, praying that there would be enough time and money to fill in the tables with the yummy treats that had been promised in the event advertising. We stumbled upon the most beautiful cupcakes (cue an angelic chorus as light shone down upon exactly what we needed...) at a price point that was much less than we were anticipating. After filling the cart with enough for everyone and hustling back to the church, we then proceeded to drop cupcake containers on the floor, one after another, threatening to smash up our beautiful last-minute, divine-intervention confectionary delights. The Leadership Team looked at one another, and just burst out laughing. After each subsequent container tumble, the situation just got funnier and funnier! We laughed until we cried, and the peals of gaiety melted away our stress. God was placing lightness in our hearts and gifting us with the ability to see beyond the problems to find the humor in the situation. What could have been a disaster of frantic panic wound up being one of the sweetest and most treasured memories of our Leadership Team.

In the lead up to one retreat, we struggled to find a teacher for the third main session we were planning to hold. We asked half a dozen women, and all were unable to commit for one reason or another. Other names came to mind as we thought of who else to consider, but we kept feeling uncertain and unsettled about each one. With each person the Leadership Team considered, there was always one or more of us who felt undecided, often for reasons we could not articulate clearly. We began to become confused and frustrated. I remember praying, "God, do you realize we only have three weeks left until this retreat? Someone needs to take this role on! Who are you going to send us, God?" Then suddenly a woman from the church staff texted me and related that in her morning prayer, she felt God telling her to suggest that we leave the third main session open for prayer, instead of filling it with more teaching and discussion. Though I had become increasingly concerned we would be left high and dry, it turned out God had wanted to send us Himself all along, and that ended up being one of the best received main sessions we've ever had.

Some of you may remember a couple years ago, when the Women's Leadership Team sang at the Christmas event. Though our Repentance Parody Christmas Carol medley was planned and rehearsed (complete with fabulous hats and giant, glittery candy canes), us leading worship was most certainly unplanned.

We had intended for a vocal group to come perform at our event, and unfortunately they double booked and had to drop our event. (Don't worry, we rescheduled and they did a fabulous job at our Christmas event the next year!) This left us with no one to lead worship. Despite having little confidence in our own vocal prowess, the Women's Leadership Team took a huge leap of faith and followed God's prompting to lead worship on our own. We invited everyone to join us in putting aside self-consciousness and sing just for an audience of one--our God and Father. To this day, the worship that followed remains one of the most beautiful, authentic, and meaningful in which I have ever had the privilege of participating.

These are just a few of myriad stories that form the "behind the scenes" work that God accomplishes, guiding us as our women's events come together. Some were small reminders of Him, some were bittersweet, and some required stepping wildly outside of comfort zones, but every one has brought members of our Women's Leadership Team into deeper trust of God's steadfastness. I personally have grown more in my trust of God through serving on the leadership team than I ever imagined I would. He is always working on my heart through the twists and turns of the planning process, and the evidence that He always shows up is overwhelming. The more often I watch Him prove Himself to be steadfast, the easier it becomes to trust He will do it again in the future. Thus, in preparation for another women's retreat in one month's time, as a reminder to myself and to everyone planning to attend, let us join enthusiastically with the chorus of Psalm 100:

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

¹ Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
² Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

The title picture is for the weather we hope for, not necessarily what we'll get this month!

Matthew 6:31-33
“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

What a crazy month we had! Probably our biggest Nerf Night ever, a couple of crazy snow storms, temperatures below zero, and of course having to postpone and reschedule our Valentine's Thank-you Event. But, we're very excited for March, because not only are we giving our Thank-you event another go, but we've also got a board game and art night overnighter and a mission's meeting for this year's Youth Outreach Week in July!

We have a our Thank-you Dinner and Parent's night out on the 7th! All volunteers that evening should come at 4:30pm to set-up and get ready. This event is a thank-you to our church for everything they do in supporting us, including our youth fund, that make it possible to do so much throughout the year and to keep events free or lower cost. So we hope you'll join us in saying a big thank-you to our church family!

We also have an all youth game and art night overnighter during Spring break on the 21st. That will be a great time to hangout, play games, and relax during everyone's break from school, so head over to the signup page and invite a friend or two!

Finally, we've got an Youth Outreach Week meeting on Sunday, March 23rd, after 2nd service. This will cover our plans and current setup, as well as needs, and potential partnership opportunities, for our Youth Outreach Week in July! This will function as our mission's trip this year, so we hope you'll join us and learn what participation will look like for our students and what we hope to accomplish in July!

Happy Valentine's Day!

1 John 4:7-8
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love."

We hope the first month of 2025 was a good one for everyone! Come and join us in February for a couple of big events right at the start, including our All Youth Nerf Night and our Youth Valentine's Event!

We have a Nerf Night on the 7th! This is a great opportunity to invite friends, doors open at 6pm, we'll eat pizza, and then get straight into action, and end at 9pm. Everyone is welcome to bring their own nerf guns, we'll have tape and markers to label everything so nothing gets mixed up.

The following weekend, we have our Annual Valentine's Event on the 15th, from 5-8pm! All volunteers that evening should come at 4:30pm to set-up and get ready. This event is a thank-you to our church for everything they do in supporting us, including our youth fund, that make it possible to do so much throughout the year and to keep events free or lower cost. So we hope you'll join us in saying a big thank-you to our church family!

Other than that we're on a regular schedule for the month. We are returning to our bible memory verse in 1 John 4. Students who were unable to finish memorizing or weren't around to do so can memorize 1 John 4:9-11 and earn a memory verse shirt in the process. Students who already memorized the verse can expand their memorization by including verses 7-8 & 12 to earn a second shirt! See Jonathan at group if you have questions or want to sign up to participate!

Our women's ministry blog is up and running again for the 2024-2025 ministry year! If you are interested in being a contributing author, we would love to talk with you about that. Please reach out at women@gracecomm.org.

For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance,
but the Lord looks on the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7b

As an adult, my husband left me and our children after 10 years of marriage, for another woman and her children. He used everything he knew I struggled with as excuses for him to leave me. He told our children God would want him to be happy and he certainly wasn’t happy married to me.

At the time I was speaking with Lee, my young adult children were walking away from God, even though I had worked so hard to raise them in a Godly single-parent home. It felt that my life of striving to please God and man was all a waste of time. I was just totally missing the mark as a Christian. Since God really knew how awful I was, I accepted that He could never really love me.

Thankfully, God had led Lee into my life!

She challenged me to find a quiet place where I could just sit before God and ask Him how He saw me. First I thought, “Yeah. Sure. This isn’t going to happen. Why would God do something like reveal Himself to me when I am such a mess?” However, I had taken the challenge from Lee and decided I had nothing to lose.

The first three evenings of sitting quietly and asking God to reveal Himself, nothing happened. I knew God had “better things” to do than deal with me individually and personally. However, one evening, God did “show up.” I can’t say I audibly heard God’s voice. I think it was the Holy Spirit speaking in my heart. It felt like someone was pushing me out of my chair and onto my knees. Then I “heard” that voice say, “Get down,” and I fell on my face on the carpet.

Immediately in my mind I saw a throne with Jesus sitting in it, and with a pudgy little girl with glasses and long curly hair sitting on the arm of the throne. At first I felt sorry for the girl, as she looked just like me in one of my most hated photos from when I was young. Soon I realized it was me and not only was I smiling, but Jesus was turned sideways on his throne and looking right at me! He was also smiling, laughing and talking with me! I had never felt that kind of love, joy and acceptance before in my life. I wasn’t “bugging” God. He really wanted to be with me! The God of the universe cared enough to personally show me His love, even though He spoke it to me every day through His Word and the beauty around me.

The next thing I heard was, “See. I have no book, or transistor radio or TV, but I am totally listening to and enjoying you!” No one could know what that meant to me, except God. When I was small and my Mom would make my Dad hold me on his lap while she bathed my brother, Dad would be watching TV, reading a book, and listening to a game on his transistor radio all at the same time and that was my “quality time” with him. I had not thought of that for years and years and no one else would have understood that observation, but God.

No, I have not had that kind of experience since then, but I can close my eyes and see it all again whenever I start getting discouraged with myself! My Heavenly Father, the Great and Mighty Creator of the universe, loved me enough to break through my pain and show me how HE saw me -- sees me! As His daughter whom He loves unconditionally! I can do nothing to make Him love me more and I can do nothing to make Him love me less! I can now walk in His steadfast love!

Our women's ministry blog is up and running again for the 2024-2025 ministry year! If you are interested in being a contributing author, we would love to talk with you about that. Please reach out at women@gracecomm.org.

We shall not grow weary of waiting upon God
if we remember how long and how graciously
He once waited upon us.
- Charles H. Spurgeon

Do you secretly wish for more time? Do you want to mend that relationship first? Do more volunteering? Give more generously? Hmmm, perhaps you don’t really understand the gift of grace. God loves you JUST THE WAY YOU ARE - nothing more - nothing less.

In my daily scripture reading, these verses cause me to pause and note them down:

But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31

It is a special moment when waiting turns into a prayer of thanksgiving and a transformed life.

When Christ returns He will restore our sunken world, renew our bodies to be strong and disease free, and there will be no more waiting, no more yearning, no more wishing for the next best thing. We will be fulfilled.

Happy New Year everyone! We hope the end of 2024 is restful for you and that you're ready for the New Year!

Lamentations 3:21-24
“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Looking forward to 2025 we are excited for a lot of things on the horizon! First thing of the year is a volunteer opportunity with Serve 6.8 on the 3rd. We'll help pack up their toy room for the year, something we did last year, and it was awesome to contribute to their ministry and also have a ton of fun in the process. After that we'll be at the church for an overnighter, including pizza, games, and plenty of fun, so sign up and invite a friend or two!

For the rest of the month we'll be mostly on a regular schedule getting back into the swing of things and it'll just be our regularly scheduled programming after a busy holiday season!

Merry Christmas!

Luke 1:68-69
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David"

It's the most wonderful time of the year and we can't believe it's already here! We've got a lot of fun planned for the beginning of the month, and then an extended break for Christmas and New Years, with an all youth volunteer project and overnighter before everyone goes back to school.

For our volunteering day on Dec 7th we'll be visiting The Good Samaritan Society from 10:30 - 11:30 to spread some Christmas joy by writing Christmas cards and visiting with the residents there. After that we'll grab some lunch, and then head over to the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store from 1-3pm to help out with whatever needs they have. Both of these are great opportunities to serve and help our community and we hope you'll join us for one or both of them!

We'll be doing our annual Christmas light scavenger hunts on the 8th (9th-12th grade) and 11th (6th-8th grade) respectively. Those will take place during our regular youth meetings, but our times for those will be extended as a result, so make sure you check the calendar and come ready to help us in our search!

Our annual All Youth Christmas Party will be on Sunday the 15th, from 6-9pm, with everything you know and love including our White Elephant Bingo! Visit the sign-up page for more info and make sure to invite a friend that evening for all the Christmas fun!

Finally, we're doing a Caroling & Movie Night on the 21st to close out our Christmas celebrations this year. We'll gather at the church and go caroling to our neighbors, then come back to the church for a Christmas treat potluck and a movie, along with hot cocoa and apple cider. This is going to be our last event of the year so mark your calendar and come ready to sing and share the Christmas spirit!

Our women's ministry blog is up and running again for the 2024-2025 ministry year! If you are interested in being a contributing author, we would love to talk with you about that. Please reach out at women@gracecomm.org.

Be careful that you vigorously maintain God’s perspective,
and remember that it must be done every day, little by little.
- Oswald Chambers

In my daily scripture reading, these verses cause me to pause and note them down:

"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.
Who is sufficient for these things?

.....Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us,
but our sufficiency is from God,"....

"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
-2 Corinthians 2:14-16, 3:4-6, 12:9

I see a repeated word and pause to ponder what it means that our “sufficiency is from God” and that “His grace is sufficient.”  A few days later I stumble upon this “fun fact” about the composer Bach:

 And His grace is sufficient to cover me again and again when I need to return to Him for help to remember His perspective, His faithfulness, and His steadfastness.
And also, that there is a way for me to practice:

that. is. pretty. amazing.

I pray that the sweetness of Christ's presence and the sufficiency of His power would be our strength and our joy as we go about this day. He is faithful and He hears our cries for help and for perspective and for hope.  To Him be all glory!