Hey E-News Friends,

We’re just about half way through the season marked with hazardous road conditions and I’m wondering how many of you have spent anytime in a ditch yet this winter.  If you’re answer is yes, you’re not alone.  I took the plunge back in December.  I was on my way to an early morning breakfast appointment and still waking up when I crested a hill only to find a large tree that had fallen across the road.  It may sound like an excuse, but my best option at that moment was the ditch.  If not this winter, my guess is that all of us at one time or another have ended up there with the four-ways on waiting for some roadside assistance.  Sometimes we end up there because of a tree.  Sometimes it’s due to icy or snowy conditions.  Sometimes we’re forced into a ditch because of an oncoming driver who thinks he owns the road.  But then there are those times we end up in a ditch because we haven’t been paying attention to the hazards or because we’re driving too fast.

This weekend as we continue our series on the Old Testament book of Proverbs entitled “Traction,” we’re going to learn some really powerful and practical stuff on how we can stay out of the ditch of sexual temptation.  Specifically, we’re going to look at the importance of staying faithful to your marriage, how to recognize the danger of compromising your marriage covenant and observing some of the warning signs that can lead to infidelity. This will be an emotionally powerful message to all who are striving to honor their marriage vows.

Weekends like these cause some of us to deal with some really painful and emotional parts of our journeys because it touches on the most intimate and personal aspects of our lives.  I have to believe that is precisely why Proverbs dedicates more time to the issue of sexual temptation than any other topic.  God understands just how painful and destructive marital infidelity is and wants us to understand very clearly how we can see the warning signs so that we can avoid the pain that comes from ending up in this ditch.  Pray that God will speak to all of us this weekend.

On another note, you know that we’ve been doing a ton of promotion for Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University over the past few weeks.  Well, guess what?  We have nearly 100 people who will be participating in the spring course...100!  That is over 20 more participants than the course that we offered last fall.  Wow!  It pumps me up to think about 100 folks taking life-changing steps toward financial peace and freedom.  If you are one of those 100, get ready.  You will be so glad you are.  You are laying a tremendous foundation for a successful future.

On one final note, I want to send a shout out to all of the volunteer heroes who serve in our food service ministry.  In addition to preparing food for 1,400+ people at last weekend’s services, these forty servants prepared two full funeral dinners for some grieving families who had lost loved ones.  It was awesome to see how a simple meal prepared with loved by these forty touched those folks with a tangible expression of Jesus’ love.  As you enjoy some soup, a home made cookie or some cheesy eggs at some point this weekend, make sure to take a moment and speak life into one of these towel bearers by thanking them for their vital service.

Have a great rest of the week.  I hope to see you on the weekend.

Hey E-News Friends,

Moey and I had the privilege of celebrating our 15th anniversary by taking a trip to San Antonio, TX last week for a few days.  It was awesome.  This picture proves that she’s still smiling after all these years.  There’s no question that I married way above my pay grade, but I’ll take it!  We hung out with some good friends of ours who live there and endured the sunshine and mid 70’s temperatures.  I have to admit that flying into Pittsburgh was hard for me and not because I saw and aerial view of Heinz Field (that was actually pretty cool).  It had much more to do with 38 degrees and overcast skies.  Welcome back!  I’d be lying if I said I didn’t struggle some with depression this week.

That’s why I’m excited about the current series that we are doing at weekend services entitled “Traction”.  It’s a series about how we can take action and initiative in our lives and develop Spirit directed and driven momentum during a season in the year where momentum is naturally hard to come by.  This series from Proverbs is filled with common sense, trusted, actionable principles for the everyday stuff that we all deal with.  Last week we learned what this book had to say about our money.  This week’s topic deals with our words and the power they have for great good or devastating destruction in the lives of those who cross our path on a daily basis.  That’s why the weekend theme is “Words:  Proceed with Caution”.  This is an area of life that absolutely everyone of us can relate to and have work to do.  On average, we speak between 7,000-30,000 words a day.  Just imagine the momentum we could start to build in our most important relationships by being a little wiser about the use of some of those words.  Don’t miss it.

If you remember, last week we focused on what the wisdom writers had to say about finances.  No area of life is more relevant and affects our relationships more practically than money.  That’s why we are providing an opportunity for folks in our church to understand more about what God has to say about how to manage our money from God’s perspective and live in freedom in this area.  Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University is the program we use and the next FPU workshop begins on February 8th.  If you are looking to build some momentum with your personal finances, you will need to register by this weekend.

I think I’m going to go and drink in some of that wonderful frigid January air.

Bill