Busy Summer at Mount "O"

Yes, this has been a busy summer at Mount Olivet. In June and July, 14 youth and children went to Rhodes Grove Camp during 3 different weeks.

Also in June, the UB sponsored medical team held medical clinics near Masaya, Nicaragua. They were able to treat over a thousand patients over a several day period.

 

 



During the June VIBES meeting of the youth, they worked on cutting plastic shopping bags to be used by "New Life Handbags", a UB family run business in Honduras. The family crochets the plastic strips into various types of handbags to sell for extra income. The plastic strips were delivered in July and 25 newly made handbags were brought back to Virginia to sell.

 

 

 



In August, a group of 23 from Mt. Olivet travelled to Laurel Mission in Kentucky to serve for a week. They scraped, stained, painted, mulched, drywalled, underpinned, stapled, sorted clothes, insulated, ran electric and rode 4 wheelers to see horses and elk on top of the mountain. The youth from our group also enjoyed meeting with Rockhouse Youth Ministries.

 

 

 

The youth led 2 worship services this summer, on Father's Day and on August 3. The girls led worship through dance.

 

 

The guys performed a skit called "The Heart Patient".

 

And McKinsey preached on the subject of "idols".

 



 

The summer ended with a wonderful and relaxing church picnic at Oakdale Park. Now we are ready to jump into Fall.



Pastor's PenPoint - "Too Little, Too Late" - September 2014

It's always this weekend, Labor Day weekend that I get startled awake. It's similar to the week between Christmas and New Year. During that week, I reflect back on the resolutions I made ( the typical ones like losing weight, getting more exercise, etc. ) and realize just how short I have come of my goal.

It's the same this weekend. Around May or June, Dina and I sat at the dinner table after our meal one evening and made out a summer "To-Do List". Included was everything from mulching and staining the deck, to doing some painting and planting grass seed.

We got off to a great start. The mulching was done, yard shaped up and even the deck has been finished. Unfortunately many walls are left unpainted, the bare spots in our yard are still bare and all the items on the list after that remain untouched. Bummer.

I guess time keeps moving, and even though I had the best of intentions, I did not get the work done because I did not stay at it.

Over the last month or so in worship, we have been focusing on Jesus' perfect gift of sacrifice and the plan of salvation. We'll continue that theme for a couple of more weeks before beginning our countdown to fall.

Although I have enjoyed preparing the messages and learned a lot myself, I am clear that I am far behind on my spiritual "To-Do List". I am still seeking more time in prayer and meditation, discerning God's call and daily leading in my life. I still grumble too much instead of counting blessings. I choose my own path instead of God's.

But there is good news for me ... and for you if you are experiencing the same feelings of things left undone. Lists can always be updated!

Our tasks, and our spiritual walk, cannot be completed at one time. Nor should they be. Attempting to may lead to rushing, frenzy and exhaustion. In the end, the result will not be at the level we expected, which is all the more frustrating.

As it relates to your spiritual walk, the Lord calls us to spend time in prayer and meditation, studying His word and in listening for His voice. If there are things in your spiritual life that are still undone, this is the best way to continue working on them.

I can't offer advice on your task list ... mine continues to grow! But together let's all focus our energies on the Lord, and He will renew our strength.

~ Pastor Todd