The 2008 SMAK Down

What an awesome week this was for Grace Bible Fellowship. We all had a great time with the children who attended S.M.A.K. The week was full of games, fun, music, and lots of laughter. It is awesome to see such joy from the kids, knowing that God was in the center of it all! Everyday the children spent their morning hours in small groups that included Bible Stories and Activities, Recreational Games, Craft Time, and Rehearsal Time. The afternoons were full of special activities or field trips. We had a water play day, we traveled to the Prosper Party Place, and had game day.

Many thanks to Steve James from Beaumont, TX, the one who spent countless hours on rehearsals and putting the musical together and Gina Stinson who organized “everything” that went into S.M.A.K.

This has been a great start to upcoming new school year!

See ya Sunday, Mandy Turner

S.M.A.K. 2008 PICTURES

When we all get to heaven

As I sit here and begin to blog, there is an old hymn that comes to mind in which the chorus says...

"When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be,
When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory!"

Why should we have to wait until we get to heaven to have "rejoicing" and "sing and shout the victory" as Christians! This past week God has blessed my life with a couple of opportunities that earlier in the week I did not know if I would be afforded the opportunity to attend. Last night I journeyed over to Sherman, to Autsin College, the site of KIDjam 2008, and got to sit back and watch as children from GBF and many other churches from, literally a variety of states, came together and worshipped my Lord and Savior. Now, true, it may not have been what many of us may be accustomed to, but they were worshipping in their way. The songs were different, a few of which I did not even know the words to, but as I read the words as they scrolled on the screens, it did not take long to understand that in all their entirety, they were words of Praise and Adoration, not to me but to Jesus Christ.

Tonight I had the opportunity to attend the Artist's Resception for the S.A.M. Club that was hosted by The Mission. As I watched the people file in, the individual artist's would lead their invited guests to the tables where there projects were placed and literally eyes would open wider, smiles were larger and words of "WOW" and "AWESOME" were never more so clearer. What if we entered into worship with those things in mind?

First of all, we walk through the door with guests and lead them to the reason we come to worship; Jesus Christ. Then we followed it up by describing with adjectives such as "WOW" and "AWESOME"? How would you describe Him?

I want to encourage each of you who have a chance to read this, whether tonight before going to bed, in the morning before attending your local church services, or even if it is after the fact you have already attended, to ask God to impression upon your heart to never allow you to enter "Worship" again in the same way.

There are three things that I always pray before entering the venue of worship and I just thougt I would share them with you...

1) "God, open my ears to let me hear what You want me to hear today."
2) "God, open my eyes to see Your Words as never before."
3) "God, open my heart and break it if You so desire and all I ask is that You would take the brokenness and put it back together stronger than ever before."

I am so excited about what God is doing and I pray desires to do through the lives of GBF.

Bruce