As Unto The Lord

Hey HS Parents

Our mission trip to New Orleans last week was INCREDIBLE!! Our students painted the exterior of a home in Orleans parish, built a gazebo for Chalmette Elementary School, roofed a gazebo we built at Joe Davies Elementary last year that had been damaged in Hurricane Isaac, painted and pulled carpet for our host church (Metairie Baptist), gutted a home in Plaquemines parish, and led team building/character building games in St. Bernard Parish Elementary Schools. It was a PACKED week!

I want you to know that your students, as always, were amazing. They jumped in selflessly to complete each mission as unto the Lord. In the evenings we were able to unpack their experiences and hear their stories of ministry to children and families. As alway, it is so humbling to watch God work in and through them.

This past Wednesday night we were blessed to have middles schoolers in our high school meeting since Robert and the rest of the MS Ministry were in Rogersville. We talked about the power of words and that there is no such thing as neutral speech. All of our words, no matter how insignificant we may think they are, have some kind of impact. We closed the night with Psalm 19:14, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Please let me know if there is something I can pray about for you or your family.

Headin' South, Baby!

Hello HS Parents!

Well…spring break starts TOMORROW for most of your students. That means a large portion of them (about 80 or so) are heading south tomorrow for sunny New Orleans! We'll be working in the St. Bernard Parish school system as well as working on homes in Orleans Parish.

Be praying for our trip and for what God will do in the lives of students while we are away. Those who are not able to go this time will meet for Sunday groups in Annex 2 with Dillon Shaw. On Wednesday night they will meet with the middle school students in the District.

Don't forget about our Easter services coming up on March 30 and 31. If you or someone you know has made a profession of faith and is interested in being baptized in one of our four Easter weekend services please contact us at newgenerations@thegladechurch.org.

Let me know if there's anything I can pray about for you or your family.

-Michael

Defining Beauty

Hello HS Parents!

This past Wednesday night we entered our second week on "Purpose/Meaning" in our ASK series. Our focus was on all of the beauty around us and how we tend to just walk past it. We also discussed how God's definition of beauty and our definition of beauty is very different.

For example, let's say you walk into a restaurant and sit down to a meal. When the waitress brings it to you, you might notice how delicious the meal looks (beautiful sight), how the aroma of the food makes your mouth water (beauty through smell), or even how good it tastes when you take the first bite (beauty through taste). You've done a great job of noticing the meal, but God has not. The beauty He is focusing on is the one who served it.

Here's a challenge for us - the next time you're in a restaurant and your meal is served…look past your need for steak sauce and ketchup and into the heart of the person who brings your food. Notice the beauty that God created in him or her and know that if both of you are standing before Him, you are EQUALLY beautiful to Him! 

Don't forget to be praying for our mission trip to New Orleans. We will be leaving next Saturday at 7:00 AM. Please let me know if there's anything I can pray about for you or your family.

-Michael