Upcoming Bethel Events

Bethel is a busy place! Plan to help or attend these great events.

April 17th- Scrapbook/ Hobby Club Night at Bethel. We meet from 6:45p til 9p. Bring your scrapbooking or other craft projects and join us for some fun fellowship. For more info see Shirley Siovaila or DJ Hartman.

April 20th-- Ladies Night Out. This is a friday and will start at 6:30pm at Beth Nagels House. The theme will be "frou-frou"-- you can expect to be totally spoiled! Beth has a lot of fun spoiling the ladies and you leave feeling very special. Plan to bring a homemade or purchased frou-frou snack to share. Stop by the Welcome Center at church to sign up and to get directions. You can also ask about car-pooling with others if you would like. Beth's phone number is: 583-2318.

April 28th- Youth Group Annual Garage Sale-- Clean out your clutter and give it to the Youth Group on Thursday and Friday April 26-27. They will turn that trash into treasure to help fund many Youth Group Activities. Please encourage your teens to help out with this activity.

May 5th-- First Bethel Blood Drive. We will have a blood drive with the Indiana Regional Blood Center. It will be from 9am-12noon. You can sign up for a donation time at the Welcome Center. It will be held in the 'Commons' on that Saturday. Please help get the word out about this and plan to donate your blood that day. See DJ Hartman, or e-mail her for more information at DJHartman@insightbb.com

Good Friday

It's the beginning of the most important weekend for those of us who serve Christ. Really for the whole world. This weekend we remember the incredible sacrifices that Jesus made when He left His heavenly home and came to earth. The Son of God, now also the Son of Man. Wholly God and wholly man. Only God could do that.

Thirty-three years later He makes the supreme gift when He chooses to die for each of us. I am still humbled each time I think about the reality that He would have died for just me or just you. But he did. His disciples and followers must have been so confused.

But three days later He rose. You see, anyone could die. But only God could conquer death and come back to life. And with death He conquered everything. Our sins. Sickness. Strongholds in our lives.

So this Easter weekend, even as you celebrate with eggs and bunnies, don't forget that the real reason for this celebration is that Jesus came and died that we could have eternal life with Him.

For Fun: Spring Reading Thing

Today Brandilyn Collins alerted her readers to the Spring Reading Thing over at Callapidder Days. I hadn't run across this blog, but it looks delightful.

The Spring Reading Thing is a challenge to get out that stack of books and actually read them. 207 people including yours truly have joined in. Somehow Bethany House found out about this and sent Katrina, the blog's owner, a box of nine of its new releases. Then Brandilyn sent out a challenge today to other authors to send her a book or two to give away. So if you like new books, and for some reason you aren't entering my contests, then hie thee over to Callapidder Days. This week's give away is Where Willows Grow by my friend Kim Sawyer.

Now for my list of books in the to be read or finished pile:

To Be Finished:

• Lightning and Lace by DiAnn Mills (Barbour)
• Grave Risk by Hannah Alexander (Steeple Hill)
• Get Out of That Pit by Beth Moore (Integrity/Thomas Nelson) (I highly recommend this based on what I've gotten out of the first four or five chapters! It's excellent!)
• The Freedom of the Soul by Tracey Bateman (Barbour)
• The Bible (just finished Isaiah tonight -- so it's taking a bit longer than 90 days... but I'm reading!)

To Be Read:

• Bygones by Kim Sawyer (Barbour)
• Where Willows Grow by Kim Sawyer (Bethany)
• Hot Tropics and Cold Feet by Diann Hunt (Westbow/Thomas Nelson)
• Reluctant Runaway by Jill Elizabeth Nelson (Multnomah)
• Petticoat Ranch by Mary Connealy (Barbour ) Another Nebraskan
• These Boots Weren't Made for Walking by Melody Carlson (WaterBrook)
• False Witness by Randy Singer (WaterBrook)
• In Search of Eden by Linda Nichols (Bethany)
• Summer of Light by Dale Cramer (Bethany) (Eric enjoyed this one)
• Original Sin by Brandt Dodson (Harvest House)
• Watching the Tree Limbs by Mary DeMuth (NavPress)

Wow! That's just a few books :-)

Please pray for me as I start edits on Double Image to get it ready to resubmit to an editor. And as I buckle down to work on a couple legal proposals. It's time to push past whatever's been holding me back and get back into the writing. I covet your prayer support as I do this! I'll also start writing Sandhill Dreams after some on-site research in Nebraska. And I'll teach Business Law at Purdue again starting in the middle of May. Life is never dull around here!