Thursday, February 24, 2011

Pastor Tom Nelson tells his story of Clinical Depression

Pastor Tom Nelson tells his story of experiencing clinical depression. He talks about what got him there, what he had to do to begin healing, and steps to take to keep from getting into clinical depression. This is a very insightful and helpful story.

You can watch the video (here) or download the mp3 (here).

If you have been through clinical depression, and would be willing to talk to someone going through it, please contact me. If you think that you are going through clinical depression and want to talk to someone who has been in that "black hole" (as Tom Nelson calls it) and gotten out, I will try to link you up.



Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Husband's Responsibilities to his Wife in Headship

This past week we looked at God's design for the roles of a Christian husband and wife. We focused primarily on the headship responsibilities of a husband to his wife. Here are seven areas of focus as a reminder:
  • Honor her Maritally: not flirting, no wandering eye
  • Honor her Physically: she is weaker, don't hit, shove, push or grab
  • Honor her Verbally: no nasty nicknames, don't raise voice or threaten
  • Honor her Financially: provide for her, pay bills, don't be stingy
  • Honor her Practically: maintain the house and car, and other responsibilities
  • Honor her Parentally: love your kids, help raise them, spend time with sons & daughters
  • Honor her Spiritually: pray with her, read the Bible with her, encourage her spiritual growth.
You can read more as laid out by Mark Driscoll (HERE)

Monday, February 21, 2011

Monday Morning Reflections ~ 2/21/2011

  • Praise Team again did a great job of leading us in praise before our God.
  • Focused our study on "The Role of a Husband & Wife in a Christian Marriage" - Part 3 of Marriage as it was Meant to Be.
  • "Thank You" to Bonnie Leigh for sharing insights on marriage in her video testimony.
  • Thanks to all of you who are helping to support our youth in raising funds to go to Youth Conference!
  • Great time of Church Worship & Prayer on Sunday evening. Thank you to Jeff Rowe, Steve Taylor, Praise Band, and those of you who came an prayed. Awesome!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Expansion Update 2011 - Link

We are planning on trying to take some pictures as progress is being made on the expansion project here at Valley Grace. They will be available at the following link if you want to take a look from time to time: (Click Here)

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Some Thoughts on Book "Heaven is for Real"


This book maybe a good read and a fascinating read. It may be well written and an interesting story. What concerns me is that for me, the title infers that now we know heaven is real because of the experience of this boy. From what I see in Scripture, experience is not the proof that Scripture is accurate or false because it is very possible to misinterpret our experience/s. Jesus said in Luke 16:31 "... If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead" (NASB). Peter writing in 2 Peter 1:19 says that we "have the prophetic word more sure, to which you do well to pay attention..." (NASB). I realize that there is some discussion over what that means precisely, but a very good understanding is that the Word of God is more sure than personal experience (e.g. Mount of Transfiguration referred to in 2 Peter 1:16-17).

I recall reading a number of years ago an editorial from a Time magazine editor who was involved in a horrific car accident in Australia and he was not a believer at all. He claimed to have had an out of the body experience, and saw a bright light, etc., and found it to be a very calming experience. His take away, no worries about the afterlife, everything will be fine. People who subscribe to false cults claim the same experiences. The book "Heaven is for Real" may be a good story and told very well. But for me, the bottom line is that we know heaven is for real because "the Bible tells me so."

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Valley Grace Ministry trip to Urban Hope 1/28-30, 2011


Thank you for your support for the ministry team from Valley Grace to Urban Hope. It was a great weekend. Note: apologies for the thumbnail, that was automatically selected by youtube and I am not sure how to change it!)