Page 1

June 201 3

I f l i fe is a novel , you are an author of your l ife.The first chapter of the long story begins with thebirth of a human being. I bel ieve, in my personalopinion, that the second chapter of our l i fe startsfrom the time when we graduate from high school ,because it is the time not only to start a newjourney to find a new education, job, and/orchance, but also to stand alone from parents.Therefore, I bel ieve that this time is a turning pointof one’s l i fe. At that point, I would l ike to celebrateyour graduation with a big hand; KasiSummers,SamiMeacham, BlakeMurphy, ElizabethRoberson, JesseMorris, SammiDewey, andMollyUphoff.

Now, you are standing at the turning point ofyour l ife. How do you want to open the secondchapter of your l ife? I want to introduce animportant lesson of l i fe through the Word of God inthis pastoral letter. When we stand at a startingpoint of the second chapter in our l i fe, everyoneexpects a splendid future as an author of their l i fe.But, unfortunately everyone cannot achievesuccess, because our l ife is not as simple as ourexpectations and thinking. Therefore, if youdream of a successful l i fe, you must have a clearpurpose and direction for your l ife. What drivesyour l ife? Rick Warren, who is the author of “ThePurposeDriven Life,” said to us, “Most peoplestruggle with three basic issues in l i fe. The First is

I 'm not afraid of

Tomorrow

With God all things are

identity: “Who am I?” The second is importance: “Do I matter?” Thethird is impact: “What is my place in l i fe?” I would l ike to ask the firstquestion to you who are starting the second chapter of your l ife. “Doyou find a clear answer about your identity?” If you do not yet findthe clear answer, you may never find second and third answers inyour l ife. At that point, finding our identity is more important thanany of the other things in our l i fe.

I f so, I want to ask an important question to you. Are you aChristian who confesses Jesus Christ is my personal Savior? If youranswer is Yes, you must find a clear answer about your identity in theWord of God. Let us see Hebrews 2:10a (NCV), “God is the Onewho made all things, and all things are for God’s glory. Godwanted to have many children share his glory.” God createdhuman beings as chi ldren of God for God’s pleasure. I t means youmust have a clear identity as God’s chi ldren. When you have a clearidentity as God’s chi ldren, we can get clear answers about thesecond and third questions in the logical connection. “Who am I?”You are chi ldren of God. “Do I matter?” It is absolutely right. You area more precious being than the world because God gave up His onlybegotten son to save you. “What is my place in l i fe?” Wherever yougo, if God is with you, that is the place God sends you. Therefore,you are an ambassador of Jesus Christ who del ivers God’s grace andlove in the world. I f you now find a clear purpose and direction inyour l ife, then the next step is that you commit your way to theLORD. Let us careful ly l isten to the Word of God (Psalms 37:4~6,NIV), “Del ight yourself in the LORD and he wi l l g ive you the desires ofyour heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he wi l ldo this: He wi l l make your righteousness shine l ike the dawn, thejustice of your cause l ike the noonday sun.” Undoubtedly,you are an author of your l ife. But, at thesame time you are a weak person whoworries about tomorrow and cannot add asingle hour to your l ife. Therefore, whenyou commit your way to the Almighty God,God wi l l make your new way with successand peace. I eagerly pray that abundantgrace and love of God wi l l be within you. †

Grace andPeace in ChristPastor Jin-HoHong

A BIG Thank You to everyonewho helped make thisSunday School year asuccess. Whether it wasteaching, donating for ourChristmas store, making foodor attending our 3rd Sundaylunches, or any of thenumerous others ways youhelped, it was greatlyappreciated! Thanks! †

Kelly

Great Fun on the Last Dayof Sunday School!

The Sunday School kids gave $11 3.89 inoffering which wil l go to Heifer to help purchasechicks, ducks, geese, bees, a share of a l lama,with the rest going to where it is most needed. †

Great Fun on the Last Dayof Sunday School!

We col lected 858 Labels for Education and 286($28.60) Box Tops for Education that wi l l begoing to Red Bird Mission in Kentucky to supporttheir school . Great job and keep col lecting! †

Thanks for plantingseeds in the lives ofourchildren. You haveenriched their spirituallives. With greatappreciation to ourteachers, Lorna, NancyPatti andKelly for theirtime anddedication. †

Sharing from theHeart

Sharing from theHeart

BeaPartofCommunitySustainableAgriculture!

Learnaboutgardeningandtakehomewhatyougrow!Lunchprovided

EveryFriday11am-Noonduringthesummer(startingJune7th) atMax’sCommunityGardenbytheFranklinGrove

UnitedMethodistChurch(223MiddleSt.)Ages2-18

Formoreinformation, contact:KellyViall

tilsy@illinoisalumni.org815.823.5209

FundedinpartbyaCreativeMinistriesGrantfromtheNorthernIllinoisConferenceoftheUnitedMethodistChurchandagrantfromtheNorthern

IllinoisConferenceTown&RuralCenter

Thanks for plantingseeds in the lives ofourchildren. You haveenriched their spirituallives. With greatappreciation to ourteachers, Lorna, NancyPatti andKelly for theirtime anddedication. †

Come on downand join us for a

fun time atVacationBible

School. This year Bible School

will be held at the St. Paul's

Lutheran Church inFranklin

Grove. It will begin on June

17th and end on the 21st,

meeting eachday from 9:00 -

11:30. All cowboyand cowgirls

are invited to attend. Be sure to

bring a friendwith you! †

Let'sKickUp Your Healsand

Head onDown toBible School

Issue 1

Craft Items Needed for Vacation Bible School

cloth shopping bagslarge 2 or 4 hole buttons ofvarious colorsaluminum foilmen's white tube socks (to make puppets)pint glass jars1 1/2 inch wide ribbon in various colorswax paperzip lock bags in quart sizeclip clothes pins

They would like to have any of these supplies by the 26thofMay to have everything ready for VBS.

Any questions on the crafts, contact Bev Bartmus at 815-766-2254 or Linda Erisman at 815-456-2864.Home email is joanscheffler@yahoo.com. Feel free to usethat also in addition to phone.

We wil l be having a service honoring our graduates onSunday, June 16th, at 10:15. We invite al l graduates,along with their fami l ies to attend that special day.Cake wi l l be served fol lowing church service. †

8th GradeJade Fair

Page Hi l l ikerJoe Uphoff

High SchoolKasi SummersSami MeachamBlake Murphy

El izabeth RobersonJesse MorrisSammi DeweyMol ly Uphoff

CollegeBrittany Murphy

Congratulations to our2013 Graduates

Issue 1

"My father

didn't tell me

how to live;

he lived, and let

me watch him

do it."

"IbaptizeyouwithwaterButHewillbaptizeyouwith

theHolySpirit"

Miles and Robert were baptized onSunday, May 12th. What a wonderful giftfrom God for Heather on Mother's Day! †

Issue 1

Franklin

Grove

UMC