Front Porch News Page 4 Pastor Cheryl Siegenthaler Chaplain FEBRUARY 2016 Front Porch News Pastor Cheryl Director of Volunteers February Birthdays Put On A Heart of Compassion The new Green Hills Director of Volunteers is Nita Wilkinson Champions Program Green Hills has a Champions program that is only for residents and staff who want to give to Green Hills. Have you considered being a champion for Green Hills? There are 3 levels to give: $50 to $249 bronze $250 to $499 silver $500 and up gold You even get to choose where you would like the money to go. All champions are recognized on the donor wall, as well as the Annual Report and newsletters. Call Nita at 650-7146 to find out more. “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 Green Hills Community was founded on the principals of giving. 7 churches came together and gave more than enough to make their dream come true; more than enough time, more than enough talent and more than enough treasure. Through the process of building a senior citizen village the “Women's Auxiliary” was born. These women gave so much of themselves to make sure that the residents had all that they needed, and that Green Hills itself was successful. They were the heart and soul of Green Hills. While the Women's Auxiliary itself is gone, there is a faithful remnant that continue to give of their time, talent and treasure regularly. Add to that a group of new volunteers, men included, and you have angels here on earth reaching out and making life better because they are here. Are you looking for a way to use your time and talent? Consider Green Hills. We have a plethora of opportunities for you to make a difference to Green Hills. From spending time with residents, to helping with events, to using your talent to entertain there is a place for you. We have a new opportunity every Wednesday to greet people as they come in, answer phones and help with office duties. You can sign up for that weekly, monthly or even quarterly. If you would like to volunteer in any way please call Nita Wilkinson at 937-650-7146. By now New Year’s resolutions have either taken root to guide daily routine or they have taken wings and flown out the window. It makes no difference what kind of resolution one makes. We either succeed or fail; there is no “kind of.” Making resolutions is not a modern practice. It is thought to have first caught on among the ancient Babylonians, who made promises in order to earn the favor of the gods and begin the year beneficially. The apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Colossians in which he gave rules for holy living. As such, they provide a guide for living a Christian life yet today. The list begins in chapter 3, verse 12 with “put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” That seems like a tall order but what changes the world would undergo if we could be mindful of those five attributes! Paul suggests binding it all up in love—a reminder of Jesus’ command “to love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). It is in how we treat one another that people see either what a Christian life is like or yet another poor testimony about Christianity. Paul adds another good guide for the individual in this year. “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts”. One can never go wrong with regular prayer and meditation. As we watch events of the world spin ever faster, it is up to us to find those moments when we can center our minds on peace, those “still waters” of Psalm 23, to calm us. When life gets frantic and our days seem out of control, remembering Jesus’ command of the waves— “’Peace! Be still! ‘ Then the wind ceased, and there was dead calm” (Mark 4:39)—can give us relief. Finally, one more suggestion is “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you.” Every time we open the Bible, one of two things will happen. We will meet up with a familiar passage we have grown to love. It could be Isaiah 41:10 or 54:10. On another day the text could come from Romans 12:18 or Matthew 11:28- 30. The other thing that can happen with God’s Word is that we will make a new discovery, a verse that has never taken hold at other times but one that is just perfect for the day. It might be 1 Corinthians 15:10a or 2 Peter 3:9a (The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you...). I thank God for that! So as we turn our calendars to a new page, we could begin a new list of resolutions. How might our lives be different if we’d whisper, “In 2016 I resolve to let God’s peace rule in my heart”? What kind of changes might take place if we’d vow, “In 2016 I resolve to have a heart of compassion”, or “I resolve to memorize ___ Bible verses in 2016?” I think it would be very interesting to see the results. Lorea Davenport Apartments 12 Elinor Dowden Homes 13 Sheryl Thompson Center 13 Arnie Reiger Inn 15 Ellen Blair Center 16 William Burke, Jr. Center 18 Jay King Homes 18 Barbara Markin Apartments 19 Patricia Stanford Homes 19 Richard Clark Homes 20 Bey Roby Inn 25 Samuel Hidinger Center 27 Wilma Krouskop Center 27 Lois Roebuck Center 27 Marion Palmer Homes 28