8/10/2019 Winter Newsletter 2014 for Chaparral Christian Church http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/winter-newsletter-2014-for-chaparral-christian-church 1/8 CHAPARRAL family the As I write these words, I am sure that many of you are busy putting together your shopping list for the big Thanksgiving meal. Without going into detail, Stacy has seen fit to keep me far from the holiday meal plans. (Just let me say that during the first year of our marriage, I surprised her with my own unique creation, which I entitled, “Cheesy Meaty Pie.” And, no, “cheesy” was not meant to be a pun.) Nevertheless, she did let me participate last year when she sent me to the store with a list of items she needed for the big meal. I would also like to note that she decided to send someone who is convinced that baking soda and baking powder are interchangeable in any recipe. Now, this was a seriously long list and included items that were so foreign to me that I didn’t know if they were exotic spices, vegetables from the Amazon or some obscure part of a cow. But, I did know that Stacy was being very specific with her list of ingredients. And, like I said on Sunday, she scares me a little… So, instead of quickly grabbing what I needed and rushing back home, I was forced to ask an unlucky store employee to walk me up and down the aisles like a tourist in an ancient history museum. Having a specific list of ingredients is important to successfully creating any work of culinary art. Likewise, our Strategic Planning Team spent several weeks exploring, selecting and crafting three important ingredients which will help us shape our vision for the future. A few weeks ago, we took a brief break from The Story to explore these three ingredients. So, in case you missed the messages on Sunday, I would like to summarize them for you. Also, you can visit our website to listen to any messages you might have missed. Experience God When you look at the vision logo, the “e” at the very center represents our first goal, Experiencing God. As Christ followers, we are defined by our relationship with a real and living God who promised to be with us always. (Matthew 28:20) Everything else we do and decide flows from this center. However, like the first disciples, our experiences with God cannot stay bottled up within us. Our experiences continue to reflect and ripple outward. In fact, throughout the earliest Christian writings, when someone became a follower of Jesus, he or she almost immediately demonstrated hospitality to others. Their lives were changed and the love of God so them that they could not help but share their life w others. Offering hospitality to a broken world was way for them, and us, to proclaim, “We have experienced God!” And here is the irony. When care deeply about the things that Jesus cared ab and empty ourselves into the lives of others, we experience God all over again. Connect with Others Just as Legos cannot fulfill their destiny in solitude, people are not meant to be alone. We are mean be connected and combined with others. The ch is a collection of people who come from a world brokenness and isolation. However, God is all abo recycling. Even Jesus’ first disciples were not the picture of perfection. Peter denied Jesus. James John wanted to sit in positions of power, when Jes came as a servant. Even John the Baptist, who baptized Jesus, doubted him at one point. Jesus use misfits like us to change the world when we a connected to each other and to Him. So, join the journey! Let us help you find a place to plug in an connected to others. Engage the World One day, as Jesus was passing through Jericho, h noticed a tax collector named Zacchaeus hangin in a tree. No would would let him get close enou see Jesus passing by, so he was forced to improvi However, this hated outcast has an experience w God. Jesus calls to him and invites himself to Zacchaeus’ house for dinner! As expected, Zacc rushes down to welcome Jesus (yep, he offers Jes hospitality). But, then he does something a bit unexpected. Instead of offering a special gift to or making Him an expensive meal, Zacchaeus giv generously to the people God cares about, the p the oppressed, and those in need. Zacchaeus responded to Jesus by engaging the world. Zacchaeus’ responds to Jesus by doing what God always been doing. “God so loved the world tha he…. gave.” (John 3:16) We are never more like than when we give. Our third ingredient, “Engag World” challenges us to invest in the things of God every part of our lives. After the resurrection, Jesus said to his disciples, “A Father has sent me, so I send you.” (John 20:21) J has sent us on His mission. Are we going? How is mission playing out? Are you engaging the world After all, He has blessed you to be a blessing. He loved you so that you can bring love to your worl has forgiven you so you can help others know forgiveness. He has changed your life so you can an agent of transformation and change today. There they are. Three simple ingredients. Now, it to get cooking! Christmas Eve New Service Times anging of the Greens Lights Tour Family Promise Page 2 Stavlund’s Children’s Musical Page 3 Engage The World Haiti Dresses Belgium Trip Faithbuilders Page 4 Tax Credits Reap What You Sew Page 5 Bibles Studies Youth Info Gratitude Page 6 Follow The Star Alec Foster Page 7
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Winter Newsletter 2014 for Chaparral Christian Church
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8/10/2019 Winter Newsletter 2014 for Chaparral Christian Church
The Saguaro Club is sponsoring anAfter-Christmas Lights Tour on
December 27th.
We'll meet at the Church at 6:00 p.m.; board our English-style double-
decker bus, and travel to view some beautiful light displays. Join us forcarol singing, hot chocolate andgoodies and an evening shared with friends.
Cost: $25.00 per person.Register at the south counter in the Worship Center Lobby.
Family Promise…arriving in time for Christmas!
December 21st-27th
This is the second of many opportunities to help families inneed in AZ. Chaparral Christian Church will host dinner andovernight stays for a week four times a year for families whoare working and trying to get on their feet.
Volunteers who directly serve our families help us maintainour cost-efficient program expenses through the gift of theirtime, donations and talents.
They share healthy meals, compassion, andencouragement. They also plan and manage familyrecreational activities. Sign up today in the WorshipCenter Lobby.
If you’d like to learn more about the Chaparralinvolvement in Family Promise and would like to beincluded in informational emails, please contact MaryBlakeman at [email protected].
Deck the Halls with US!!
Join us for soup and decorating of theWorship Center, Tuesday, December 2at 6:30 (or when you can get here).
We'll have fellowship, music and foodas we begin our Advent Celebration.
Childcare is available. Contact SaraPerrine and sign up in the WorshipCenter Lobby or online.
Some things we heard from ourvolunteers…
Our time with the Family Promise families on Mon
evening was a success from our perspective! Thchildren were comfortable with the people they m
Sunday evening and made new friends quickly. Akinds of activity happened after dinner – I must s
was FUN!!
This morning the families were up and ready befo5:00 a.m. and were outside waiting for the van wh
arrived at 5:40.
We were humbled by these famili
We were blessed with some of the children when
would open with our prayer, but I will have to admone six-year-old girl really went to the heart with h
prayer, “I love my mom and my family and take camy little sister, and love her too”! WOW! From thmouths of babes, honesty escapes…..
Forging Your IdentityIt has been almost three months since our family saw all of your faces. To be honest, it took about this entiretime to adjust and develop a new family battle rhythm. Tracy and I miss all of you, and we are keeping track the happenings at Chaparral.
Moving clear across the country gets you thinking. Or, to be more precise, moving 3,000 miles away from
home gets you asking questions. In many ways, the questions my family and I continue to face are questionwe faced back home in Scottsdale. However, given our change of scenery and given that we have uprootedour lives, these questions are sharper, more clear, decisive.
I once heard a scholar of the Ancient Near East tell a story about a Jewish man. This Jewish man was walkininto the city, and as he approached the city gates the Roman Centurion guarding the gates yelled, “Who areyou? And what are you doing here?” To this, the Jewish man replied, “I will pay you a daily wage to come tomy house every morning and ask me those two, important questions.
Who Am I – questions of identity.
What am I doing here – questions of purpose.
These are the questions my family and I are answering anew here in North Carolina. In Scottsdale, our idenand purpose were tied to our friendships, the church, our jobs, our daily routine, the community at CrossFitChaparral, and our hobbies. Almost all of those things changed when we moved. So we began asking: Who
are we? And, what are we doing here?
The answers to those questions changed by degree, not kind. We are building new friendships, seeing new
parts of the country, and continuing in ministry wherever we are placed. In addition, Tracy and I have come t
a renewed purpose for our family. We seek to model the Gospel for our kids, and to make and remember go
memories as a family. It’s that simple, although we know that what is simple is not always easy.
My job is keeping me busy. Long days are offset by weekends that are restful and full of fun for our family. T
Soldiers that I serve are spread out across multiple countries: From the U.S., to Egypt, to Kuwait, and more.
This is my new “congregation”; these are the ones for whom I seek to deliver on the Army Chief of Chaplains
intent: To bring God to Soldiers and Soldiers to God. And it is my privilege to do so!
Thank you for your notes of encouragement, and for your prayers. Like the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians
I find myself “always thanking God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember
before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance
inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Please be praying that Tracy can find a part time Occupational
Therapy position, and that God would continue to use us to embody and speak his message of forgiveness a
redem tion. Your friend Nick Stavlund
ck addressing soldiers and
eir family members as the
diers prepare to deploy in
pport of combat operations
in the middle east.
Trick or Treating
with the family!
Share the Joy! Invite a Friend!
Free Admission!
Children’s Christmas Musical 2014
Around the World, It’s Christmas!Sunday, December 7, 6:00 p.m.
“Around the World, It’s Christmas” focuses on the oneness we share with all the world in being recipientsof God’s greatest gift. The hope Christ brought to earth on Christmas is for the whole world and has been
celebrated by many cultures and with many customs.Join in this celebration of Christmas music from around the globe.
What better way to start the Christmas season than in the company of friends, enjoying our talented kids.Set aside an hour on December 7, and invite friends to join you. You will be glad that you did!
Hope to see you there! Sharon Hostetler
8/10/2019 Winter Newsletter 2014 for Chaparral Christian Church
Distribution Night 2014 for Reap What You Sew at First Christian Church was November 4th. Quilts are
donated to several organizations, including Hospice of the Valley, Ronald MacDonald House, Christian Care Agency, BlackChildren and Family Services Agency, Arizona Veterans’ Home, Banner Thunderbird Hospital, Saint Joseph’s Medical
Center, Maryvale Hospital, and Good Samaritan Hospital. The total count this year was 2850 quilts, of which the majorityare Angel Wraps. Angel wraps are small quilts, about 20 inches square, usually made from flannel. They are used by
hospitals for stillborn infants, for premature births and NICU babies.
Our Chaparral quilt group, also titled “Reap What You Sew” makes a very large contribution to their total number of quilts.
In 2012, our total for angel wraps was 214; in 2013 we made 222; and this year we also contributed 222. We also make alarge number of quilts “from scratch” meaning we provide the fabric and batting, do the piecing, and either quilt or tie the
blanket before binding it. In 2012, we donated 81 completed quilts to First Christian.In 2013, our total was 117; this year we totaled 61.
We also do bindings for quilts that are finished except for the bindings, and quilt andbind quilt tops that were made for the First Christian group. In 2013, we finished 38
quilts for them; this year we finished 35.
We have a very generous quilter from Chaparral. Marlene Riggs purchased our quilt
labels for us and uses those on her quilts, all of which she donates to the FirstChristian distribution night. Last year she made 70 fleece blankets and 16 quilts fromscratch. She serges the edges of her fleece with fancy thread and embroiders a
positive word on each one with her embroidery machine. This year she made 75fleece blankets and 14 regular quilts from scratch. She also finished 11 quilt tops
and 10 angel wraps as well as sewing on a lot of labels. Six more of her fleeceblankets were donated to our Family Promise Mission in August.
We have always saved some of our quilts for our own ministers to give to our ownmembers who are hospitalized or in other need for comfort. This year we gave 32
quilts for the use of Chaparral members. - Marilyn Johnson
Tis the season for Arizona Tax Credits!!
It is once again time to take advantage of the Arizona Private School Tuition Tax
Law which permits taxpayers to receive dollar-for-dollar credit against their Arizonaincome tax liability. This is a wonderful way to assist families, support Christianschool organizations and ministries while also taking care of your portion of your
2014 State taxes. Also, YOU get to designate where your tax dollars go.
Your tax dollars can go to assist many of the ministries that Chaparral Christian
Church works alongside. There are three categories in which to give:
1.Category 1. ARS 43-1089 Credit for Contributions to School Tuition
Organizations School Tuition for Private Schools helps provide tuition money to our
own Chaparral Christian Preschool students and the American Indian ChristianMission. Donations for both these and other schools can be done through ACSTO
(Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization). Go to www.acsto.org to donate.
. Category 2. ARS 43-1088 Credit for Contribution to Charitable Organizations That Provides Assistance to theWorking Poor
An example of some of the ministries this supports includes:
House of Refuge/House of Hope www.refugeandhope.com Donate directly online, or for a full list and addresses, pick up a packet on Sunday morning before service in the lobby athe information table. All donations are due by December 31.
.Category 3. 43-1089-01 Tax Credit, Public School Fees and Contributions
Choose a school a public school to support. Contact the school directly or check out their web page for directions for
Tax Credit donations. All schools have a direct link.
Gratitude is Best Learned Young by Sam Levyas (CEO of First Things First)
As Thanksgiving approaches, it is the perfect time to teach young children a very important lesson: gratitu
Barbara Lewis, author of “What Do You Stand For? For Kids,” teaches us children as young as 2 are awar
other people do things for them or give them things that make them happy. As children grow, this awareness t
into an understanding of higher concepts, such as kindness and caring. As they mature further, they will learnempathize and appreciate the feelings of others- crucial skills for all adults.
So, how do we teach children to be grateful?
• Teach children to say “Thank you” to everyone who does something for them, from their server at a restaurant to an older sibling
• Talk about the things you are grateful for. This can be everything from a blessing before dinner to reciting evening prayers.
• Nothing makes children appreciate the effort that goes into different activities like doing the work themselves.
• Support a charitable event or organization. Whether you are donating old clothes or toys or participating in a food drive talk to
children about what those actions mean to those who receive kindness.
• Say No. It’s hard to teach gratitude to someone who gets everything they want.
• Be consistent. Like all skills, gratitude is not learned in one lesson.
The first five years offer the opportunity for children to develop the skills they need to be successful adults. Research shows that thankful
people are usually more optimistic. So when we teach children to appreciate what they have- and what others do for them- we are helping
become happier, healthier adults. -
Sincerely, Nicole Moran
Home Groups:Meet every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings.
Welches’: Monday at 6:30 p.m.Robberson’s: Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Perrine’s: Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
Bible Studies:
Tuesday: Iron taught by Frank Shirvinski in the Conference Room, 6:30 p.m.Wednesday: Men’s Breakfast study; contact Gary Anderson, 6:30 a.m.Thursday: Ladybugs—Women’s Study at the home of Mary Cartwright, 6:45 a.m.
Thursday: Men’s Breakfast study; contact Jim Langdal, 7:00 a.m.Friday: Women’s Study with Linda Bond in the North Room, 9:30 a.m.
Prayer Group:
Saturday Mornings: In the Conference Room, 7:00 a.m.
Remember the Prayer Labyrinth is open to everyone for prayer and meditation.
Small Groups meet on Wednesday nights in the Forum. Junior High is from 6:00-7:00 p.m.,7:00-7:30 p.m. is a time for food and fellowship. Senior High meets from 7:30-8:30 p.m. If youhave any questions, ask Nic. [Small Groups will not meet on December 24, 31, and January 7]
Wednesday, November 26 – Lunch at Burger N Fries for those who have a half day.
Saturday, November 29 – Luminaria assembly! Meet outside the Forum at 10 a.m.to help put our luminaria bags together. We’ll meet again on Saturday, December 6,if needed. A light breakfast will be provided.
Friday, December 5 – The last Friday Night Lights of 2014! We will be meeting onthe first Friday in December because exciting things are happening on the secondFriday of the month (our regular meeting time).
Saturday, December 6 – Additional luminaria assembly (if needed)
December 12-14 – Follow the Star!! We could use your help setting up, maintaining and putting out luminaria throughout the weekend.Tell Nic if you are available.
Wednesday, December 17 – PB & J Night! Wear your pajamas, bring a blanket to donate, and snacks to share and we’ll provide justabout everything else. We’ll be watching a movie (to be determined) during our regular small group meeting time.
January 17-19 – Tentative dates for a Winter trip/retreat. Details to follow at a later date.
February 27-28 – 30-Hour Famine. Sign up and get your fundraising packet to participate in this annualWorld Vision event. We will be volunteering throughout the community on this weekend service project.
There are close to 40 people milling around from the youth group and thesenior citizens group. Soon they will be packing small containers the size of
a shoebox with the items on the tables so they can be sent to children living
in an impoverished country.
In the middle of all this activity is 17-year-old Alec Foster, the quiet young
man whose efforts made the event possible. His family raised him to
understand the spirit of giving and sharing the love of Christ.
The Working Student
Alec puts in up to 15 hours a week working at Chick-fil-A to save those
nickels and dimes for college next year. He enjoys golf, swimming, downhill
skiing, and water skiing, and he loves working out three or four times a week
at Chaparral’s CrossFit gym. The best part about that activity is he gets to
hang out with his friends as they encourage one another through their
workouts. Alec’s family joined Chaparral only two years ago, but he has
forged such strong friendships in the youth group that hefeels like he has always been there.
Alec is a senior at Scottsdale Prep Academy (SPA), a
charter school that is not necessarily Christian but leans
heavily on Christian literature. He is a serious student
and very driven to do well. His favorite classes are
math and physics. His goal is to be a mechanical
engineer, and Arizona State University recently took
notice of his high marks and integrity, awarding him
their President’s scholarship.The curriculum at SPA is
rigorous, and students often struggle when they first
arrive, so he is enthusiastic about his role in a program
that helps younger students make the transition to high
school. “Our school has a mentor program for kids to
get through it,” he says. “It’s just a group of kids,
sophomore and up, that help the younger kids, like the fifth and sixth graders,
get acclimated to the curriculum. We would go in every other Wednesday
and help them with studying tools, stuff like that. We aren’t tutors, but
mentors. The younger students need to know you can get past this; you can
get over that mountain; it’s not going to last forever.”
A mentor can have his own heroes in life, too, as Alec is quick to point out.
“My youth pastor, Nick Stavlund, has been a great role model for me,” he
says. “He has created a second family at Chaparral for me and my friends.
Not only does he lead us in our spiritual walk, but he leads us at CrossFit.”
Packing Christmas
Alec first heard about packing supplies in shoeboxes through Operation
Christmas Child, part of Franklin Graham’s charitable organization,
Samaritan’s Purse. People fill the box with toys, socks, underwear, and other
personal care items and ship them to Samaritan’s Purse, who inserts a copyof a gospel tract in the native language of the box’s intended recipient.
Alec has been putting these boxes together since he was a fourth gra
his old school, and he wanted to continue the project at his new churc
also saw this as an opportunity to take on an important leadership rol
approached Sara Perrine, Chaparral’s missions director, about the Ch
taking on such a project. Sara felt it was the perfect project for the yo
seniors during the Church’s missions week.
Alec made the rounds at all the different Sunday School classes and
each class to bring a different item. One adult class brought candy; th
Children’s Ministry brought small toys; the choir donated soap and
washcloths; CrossFit donated jump ropes; VBS contributed socks and
flops.
One of the major concerns was that no toys depicting violence be inc
There’s a good reason for that, and Alec was very emphatic about it w
made his presentation to the kids in the Chaparral Children’s Ministrykids have probably seen more violence than I have, so you don’t wan
remind them of that,” Alec says. “You want a positive influence, not a
negative one.”
The large group of teens and seniors milling around the tables is the
culmination of Alec’s efforts. They gathered in the Chaparral Christia
building to pray, and then everyone enthusiastically spent the morning
packing Operation Christmas Child boxes. Alec loved watching every
really getting into it. Some were heard imagining the joy the children
experience when they receive their box. They packed 280 boxes. Th
was a highlight of Chaparral Christian’s missions week.
An Ideal Little Bundle
Fast forward to Christmas: Alec took time to reflect on the possible im
Operation Christmas Child. “I guess what I think about was our hard
Alec says. “It’s so rewarding, I don’t think I’ll ever see whbox went and I won’t see that specific child, but when y
watch the videos [on the Samaritan’s Purse website] th
children’s faces are beaming. I love to think about that
expressions on their faces, that makes every other part
worth it.
“It’s quite possibly their first interaction with having a na
Jesus, someone that will love them, someone that won
change. Human beings change, but God won’t change
will last forever, and that is probably the most important
about that gift.”
Alec’s grandfather, recognizing the family’s prosperity,
challenged them to make Christmas more than just
dinner and presents. “So we had a little Christmas
party, and it was almost like a mini OperationChristmas Child,” Alec recalls. “We filled tennis ball tubes with
socks, Chapstick, toothpaste, and a protein bar. Everyone who
came to the party made one. They’re for the people on the
highway, the homeless people who have the signs.
Oftentimes you drive up and it’s kind of like, do we have
anything? You don’t want to give them money because they
might waste it, but this is perfect because it’s an ideal little
bundle.” Giving, not getting. That very important aspect of
Christmas is not lost on Alec Foster.
Interested in starting your own Operation Christmas
Box? Check out www.samaritanspurse.org .
by Michael P. Murphy
Follow the StarDecember 12, 13, & 14 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
It’s time for the Census! Grab your family and friends and take a jouthrough the Christmas story. Brave guides will lead you through the you encounter a prophet, kings and much, much more! This uniqueproduction unfolds through beautiful music and drama that children aadults alike will enjoy.