mar 2010 latest word

In 1838 the residents of Rochester New York created a cemetery like no other in the world. It was massive, taking up 197 acres. Formed by gla-ciers this cemetery has high hills, deep valleys, winding ridges and almost bottomless lakes. The whole place is a forest of trees. There are mausole-ums dug deep into the hillsides, stone and bronze sculptures, gothic tow-ers gloriously decorating more than 350,000 graves. Susan B. Anthony is buried there, along with Frederick Douglass and Frank E. Gannett. But what makes this cemetery unique is not its topography, or adornments, nor the famous names on the headstones. What makes it unique is its name: Mount Hope Cemetery.

The ones who chose this unique name are correct. There is hope after death. This life on earth is only the opening day of eternity. When Jesus returns there’s going to be a whole lot of action at Mt Hope Cemetery and indeed throughout this entire planet.

The message on March 6, entitled Resurrection Hope is about the most important topics of our study. If we surveyed 10 people on the street and asked what they think happens when they die, we could expect to get 10 different explanations. Even among the Christians there is a great variety of explanations of the after life. I’m so thankful for God’s word, the Bible. For, as we research the Bible, we find

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Resurrection Hopeby Pastor Mitch

What is faith? “Sight is not faith, and hearing is not faith, neither is feeling faith; but believing when we neither see, hear nor feel is faith; and every-where the Bible tells us our salvation is to be by faith. Therefore we must believe before we feel, and often against our feelings, if we would honor God by our faith.”

—Hannah Whitall Smith

INSIDE

In His Hands is on page 3

Who Is He? My Strength! is on page 4

Ginny’s Kitchen on page 5

What’s happening? see pages 6 & 9

Holy Matri-money on page 7

Kid’s Page on page 8

Our Church Family page 10

For the members, family and friends of the Downey Adventist Church

Please join us on March 20 for Celebration Sabbath. We will be cel-ebrating the successful completion of our 8 Weeks of Living with Hope.

It’s important to celebrate the good things in our lives. So this is a celebration of how God has been leading in during these eight weeks. Our small groups will be sharing some of their experiences during the worship hour.

After the worship service, make plans to stay for a special luncheon. Each of the small groups will be mak-ing some of their favorite dishes and bringing them to share. If you’re not in a small group, you are still wel-come to stay for the luncheon.

Invite some friends and join us for Celebration Sabbath. =

Celebration Sabbath

clear teachings on the topic of death and resurrection. No guess-work is needed but what is necessary is an open heart to receive what God’s plan word.

Once we carefully read our Bibles and mark them accordingly, we will agree wholeheart-edly with Paul, “Therefore encourage each other with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18). Having hope in the future can bring great joy and meaning to our lives right now.

The word mission usually describes an operational task, or organizational purpose. Do you have

a mission in life? Do you know why you’re here? Do you have purpose? The Bible will be our guide as we seek to answer those questions on

March 13, in the sermon Mission of Hope. The great news of Jesus, and of being part of His church, is that through Jesus we can have a great purpose in life. So many people

struggle to find a purpose and mean-ing for their existence.

No question when you come to know Jesus, and when you get involved in a church with a mission, and that is to spread the Gospel and to be a healing, loving community—to

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be part of that, to know that you have a role in that, is to find a great meaning and purpose in your life.

Hearing one another’s God-stories and rejoicing in mission projects that touch hearts are part of Celebration Sabbath on March 20. All the small groups are invited to share what they’ve learned and experienced during our 8 Weeks of Living with Hope. This is a joyous celebration of our Lord and Savior and what he is doing in our lives. A sumptuous luncheon is planned and each small group is invited to prepare its favorite entrées. Bring a friend with an appetite for this extravaganza of food and fellow-ship.

As part of the Celebration Sabbath, we’re filling up the baptis-mal pool and inviting anyone who

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address mail to: (we like letters!)Downey-Florence Seventh-dayAdventist Church9820 Lakewood Blvd.Downey, CA 90240office: 562.869.6013fax: 562.622.1691 [email protected]

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to be part of that, to know that you have a role in that, is to find a great meaning and purpose in

your life

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Ressurection Hope (cont. from page 1)

continued on page 5

March 2010March 2010

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Webster says “snatch” means “to take or grasp abruptly or

hastily . . . to seize or take suddenly without permission, ceremony, or right” (Merriam Webster Online).

God says, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;

no one can snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28 NIV).

I recently found myself in a time-consuming mess. I called my tele-phone company to make changes to my phone service and, for some rea-son, allowed the person on the other end of the line to convince me that I should try out their internet ser-vice. I was perfectly happy with my cable service, but I found their offer irresistible. All I had to do was test it for 30 days and cancel if I were unhappy with the service.

So I gave it a shot. Despite numerous calls to tech support, the service was anything but satisfac-tory, and I decided to cancel the

service. That is when the time-con-suming mess got worse. Each time I called to place the cancellation order, I ended up on the phone with another person who claimed to have the answer to the problem. One person told me very bluntly that they would do anything and everything they could to keep me as a customer. Eventually I was able to cancel the service and asked myself why I tried to fix some-thing that was not broken!

But the good part is that this episode of life reminded me of God. What?! How can that be? It reminded me that God is like the phone company so to speak. He does not ever want to let go of us. In fact, if you look through Scripture, you will find ample evidence of that fact. Look

these up and see what you think.

• Perhaps it is the reason Jesus prayed for us when He was here on earth (John 17.11)

• Perhaps that’s why Jesus relayed the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son (Luke 15)

• Perhaps it is the reason Jesus is now our

great High Priest (Hebrews 8)

• Perhaps that’s why Jesus is at the right hand of

God inter-ceding for

us (Romans 8:34)

• Perhaps it is the reason angels are

sent as ministering spirits on our behalf (Hebrews 1:14)

Mar. 6 Mitch Williams

Living with Hope #7 Ressurection Hope

Mar. 13 Mitch Williams

Living with Hope #8 Mission of Hope

Mar. 20Mitch Williams

Celebration Sabbath

Mar. 27Mitch Williams

Communion Sabbath

Worship Schedule

• Perhaps that is why the Holy Spirit helps us, because the Bible says “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us” and helps us in our weak-ness (Romans 8).

It seems to me that all of heaven is involved in saving us from this world and keeping us in the hand of the Father. What do you think? As for me, that is right where I want to stay! =

God, Webster & You

by Linda BewleyIn His Hands


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Before the Father

by Linda FernandezWho is He? My Strength!

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I

am helped” Psalm 28:7a

It has been an interesting project researching the various names of God. Initially I had planned to go through the list of Hebrew names and their meanings, but as it often happens, the Lord had other plans for my study. When I find something interesting, I want to share it with others, but most of the time, God has already gone ahead of me and put together a lesson I need to learn. So it was with this study.

The next Hebrew name for God I chose is Elohay Mauzi which means God of my strength. The verse which is most referred to is Ps. 43:2 when David calls out to God and refers to Him as his stronghold, but seems to be more of a lament than the sentiment I was looking for. I kept searching. There are many references to God as our strength, but Elohay Mauzi may not always have been the word chosen by the authors.

As our personal family and our church family began this new year, we had hopes of a healthier and hap-pier one. Last year was a rough one for us all. We have had to come to terms with God as our strength on many levels. During this study, a pattern began to develop as I went from scripture to scripture.

First, we have Head Knowledge as in Ps. 28:7. Yes, we know that God is our source of strength. We

are convinced of that, at least most of the time. We encourage others with that knowledge and we sing about it in our worship songs.

Next Heart Knowledge kicks in. As in Habukkuk 3:19, we now refer to God as our Sovereign

Lord, who being our strength makes our feet like the feet of a deer, enabling us to reach even higher heights of faith.

We may feel free to clap or even lift our hands in wor-

ship.

Thirdly, many of us became aware of the Help Knowledge

Jonathan showed David as he hid from Saul in fear for his life. In 1 Sam. 23:16, the Bible says, “And Saul’s son, Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God.” With all the ill-ness and economic woes and general uncertainty; whether we were on the helping or being helped end of this knowledge, we had firsthand experience of extending the hand of help in God’s strength. We learned that accepting help takes as much of God’s grace as does humbly extend-ing the hand of help. During our worship time, we may take the hand of a pew neighbor or look gratefully at another as a certain song is sung.

Finally, we come to know Holiness Knowledge. Walking with Christ, we have come to know God, not only as our source of strength, but our hearts have cried out to him.

We know what it is to help another in the name of our God and so now we come before Him acknowledging his holiness. In Ps. 68: 32 – 35, we are instructed to sing to God, to pro-claim the power of God who gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God! It is here that you may see a tear trickling down some-one’s face during the song service. When the holiness of God overtakes you, and the knowledge of what was done so that you are able to hear the voice of the One who created you and feel his touch through another, it is hard to hold back the gratitude and wonder.

Father: Thank you for your love and patience in taking us through these sometimes very steep steps of coming to know you. =

Daylight Savings begins on March 14.

Remember to set your clock FORWARD one

hour.


Fat-Free Vegan Chocolate Black Bean Brownies

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With Love From the Kitchen of Ginny Williams

These brownies are rich, moist and chewy. They are also vegan and vir-tually fat-free! They are quite pos-sibly the world’s healthiest, yet still scrumptious brownie! The black beans provide binding and substance (sort of like egg and flour), while providing protein and fiber.

Serve these brownies alone with a little sprinkle of powdered sugar or Vanilla Ice Cream and Fresh Strawberries.

P.S. If serving with powdered sugar, sprinkle each square just before serv-ing. If sprinkled on ahead of time, the moisture in the brownies will seep into the powdered sugar and make the top of the brownies look gummy.

Ingredients

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed 1 1/2 cups agave nectar 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8x8” pan with parchment paper and allow about 1” of the paper to hang out on each side. Spray with a little non-stick cooking spray. This will allow you to lift the brownies out of the pan once they cool.

2. Place black beans and agave nectar in a food processor and puree until very smooth.

3. Add the flax seeds, vanilla, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and pulse to combine.

4. Add the flour and pulse until just until barely combined, scraping the sides as needed. Do not over mix.

5. Pour into prepared pan.

6. Bake approximately 30 min-utes or until center is no longer jig-

gles when shaken gently and a tooth-pick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.

7. Allow to cool completely before slicing. Cut into 12 small rectangles.

8. Top with a scoop of Ice Cream and drizzle with Fresh Strawberry Sauce.

Garnish with fresh mint; dust rim of plate with powdered sugar and/or cocoa powder (optional)

Recipe by Emily Barth Webber, 2009. =

wishes to be part of the baptismal service that day. If you have ques-tions or would like to learn more about being baptized please call Pastor Mitch at (562) 869-6013.

Communion is a day of renewal and new beginning. On March 27, we’ll celebrate the Lord’s Supper. In your prayers, seek the Lord’s

guidance to the person whose feet you should wash. If your family will be there, talk about how to wash one another’s feet to include all the fam-ily members. Sit together during the service and as you serve one another with the Bread and the Cup of the Lord, take time to pray together. This is a day of forgiveness and per-manently giving to God those hurtful

thoughts and experiences.

See you when the church gath-ers. =

Ressurection Hope (cont. from page 2)

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

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5:58 pm sunset

7:04 pm sunset

7:09 pm sunset

9:30 AM S.S.

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9:30 AM S.S.10:50 AM Worship Mitch WilliamsCelebration Sabbath12:30 Fellowship Luncheon

9:30 AM S.S.10:50 AM Worship Mitch WilliamsCommunion

Visit www.downeychurch.orgC.S. - Community Service

S.S. - Sabbath School

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10:50 AM Worship Mitch WilliamsLiving With Hope #7

10:50 AM Worship Mitch WilliamsLiving With Hope #8

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10 AM C.S.

6:30 pm Band Practice

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Downey Adventist Church

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group


5:53 pm sunset







At the turn of the last century, spiritual writer Oswald Chambers observed, “Money and marriage are the two things that make men and women devils or saints.”1 For the majority of couples early in their marriage, deliberations about money always seems to end up in devilish arguments rather than saintly discus-sions.

So how can married couples keep money uncertainties and worries from ruining and controlling their love life? Here are seven ways to keep your finances from sabotaging your relationship and assist you in avoiding money conflicts.

1. Develop a BudgetMost financial counselors

have found that a realistic budget is key to managing your money well. However, a spending plan or household budget can mean totally different things to the differing personality styles of most couples, where one is often a saver and the other a spender. The exasperation increases when your beloved wants a spreadsheet with well-defined and organized columns, which imme-diately gives you a pounding head-ache. Maybe you can complement each other’s strengths by having one track the financial details while the other gives input about how much is needed in each category.2

In a 2006 survey by Marriage Partnership, it was found that “the degree to which a budget is followed had a more far-reaching impact on financial attitudes and issues than any other factor. Couples who use and adhere to a budget were more trusting and honest, discussed more

and argued less about finances, were not as likely to spend impulsively, and could live longer on their sav-ings in an emergency.”3

2. Merge ListsIn a poll conducted by Steven

Pybrum, author of “Money and Marriage: Making It Work Together,” he found that women felt that money should be spent first on the members of the family, followed by household items such as attire and shoes. Men, on the other hand, felt the sequence should be major physical items first, such as a house or vehicle payment, followed by fun stuff. Since these lists are like night and day, why not merge them? As a result, Pybrum asserts, “You have

a well-decorated house that’s paid for, cared for family members, cars, clothes, boats and tools.”4

3. Be Open-mindedFights between couples about

family finances often tend to degen-erate into having arguments rather than making arguments. When you are having an argument, you just want to win, in contrast to making an argument, where you are laying out ideas in a way to persuade your spouse that this financial decision is for the benefit of the marriage unit.5

4. Be FairA husband became unglued when

his wife, who had stayed home for many years raising their children, went back to work. His anger was not that she was gainfully employed, but rather that she considered what she earned as her new “fun money”. His paycheck supported the family expenses. Her paycheck was a way for her to purchase new clothes, eat out every day, and buy trinkets for their grandchildren. His point was that his income was for the whole family while her income became her money, and that is not fair.1 The Apostle Paul reminds us “Love each other … and have a profound respect for each other” (Romans 12:10, Jerusalem Bible).

5. Schedule Money Dates

Talking about family finances is very important. Set a specific time each month to rendezvous about family finances or one partner starts feeling out of the financial loop. Avoid springing money concerns or worries on your spouse at inoppor-tune moments, such as at bedtime or as he or she is running out the door for work. A regular meeting will also be an opportunity for you to review your financial goals and the progress you are making towards them, as well as any anxiety you have about current or future payments and bills.

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Holy Matri-Money3

Stewpot

by Gordon Botting, DrPH, CHES

continued on page 11

“Money is never about money. It’s about love, power, security, control, old age, self-esteem, freedom, independence.” —Olivia Mellan, Newsweek, April 9, 2007


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March Birthdays

Tomas Aispuro – 6 Hatzuko Aispuro – 6 Angela Navarro – 10 Willem McMahan – 10 Erlinda Garcia – 13 Linda Casillas – 16 Linda Bewley – 20 Darrell Stephens – 25 Humberto Michel – 25 Ella Spetnagle – 26

If your birthday is left out in the monthly newsletter, please contact the church office so we can put it in.

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Upcoming Events2nd Sunday - 10 a.m. Community Service3rd Saturday - Adventurer ClubThursdays - 7 p.m. Women’s Prayer GroupFridays - 6:30 p.m. Band Practice

March 14 - Time Change, set clocks forward one hourMarch 15-26 - AUS & SGA Spring BreakMarch 20 - Fellowship LuncheonMarch 20 - First Day of SpringMarch 27 - Communion Sabbath

The Latest Word deadline is the 5th of the month.

Coming Soon

April 3 - EasterMay 22 - SGA Chorale

this month

If you are looking for a new, fun way to read The Latest Word online, be sure to check out the newest format at http://issuu.com/downeychurch. Same great content in a richer environment. Be sure to check out all the reading modes. As usual, you can still get read it at our website at www.downeychurch.org.


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The Latest About

Our Church FamilyWe sorrowfully report the pass-

ing of Charles Racho. He passed away Feb. 7 at home. Please remember his wife, Minerva, and the entire family dur-ing their time of loss.

Congratulations to Raul, Veronica & Eduardo Lozano and Marisella Guillen & Brenda Valenzuela. They were recently baptized. Be sure to welcome them to family.

Be sure to check out the pic-tures of the Valentine’s Party on the church Facebook page. (www.

Facebook.com/DowneyChurch) There was lots of great food and

some fun activities. You don’t want to miss the next Small Group event - they know how to plan a party!

If you have any Church Family news, please contact the church office so we can get it into the newsletter. =

Thank you to everyone who has been saving Campbell Soup Labels for education and Box Tops for Education. That is greatly appreci-ated.

On the Campbell Soup labels, all that is really needed is the UPC (the bar code). You don’t have to save the entire label, just the UPC bar code.

For the Box Tops for Education, please save the Box Tops coupon.

Please give your labels to Linda Aumack. Thank you for your sup-port! =

According to the recent “American Religious Identification Survey,” 15 percent of Americans now identify with no religion. If the trend continues, experts predict that people with no religious affiliation could soon surpass the nation’s larg-est denominations.

“Nones aren’t a fringe group anymore and are now part of middle America,” says demographer and study coauthor Ariela Keysar, quot-ed in USA Today last year. “They’re present in every socio-demographic group.”

Although “Nones” reject orga-nized religion, half still believe in God or a higher power. Interestingly,

Nones are the only major U.S. “faith group” consisting mostly of males.

Lead researcher Barry Kosmin said people have many misconcep-tions about Nones. “They’re not New Age searchers or spiritual or even hardened atheists. They’re a stew of agnostics, deists and ratio-nalists. [They’re] skeptical about organized religion and clerics while still holding to an idea of God.”

Hearing about all the “Nones” gives us even more reason to go out and share our faith with someone. =

“None” Are Gaining Ground

Amazing GratitudeJohn Chrysostom was an

early church father who lived in Constantinople in the fourth century A.D. He spoke plainly against all kinds of iniquity. Unfortunately, his preaching made immoral people uncomfortable, so he was exiled from the city.

When Chrysostom wrote letters to people who had befriended him, he ended every letter with the words, “Praise God for all things!”

Faithful souls truly do praise God for all things. After all, it is life’s hurtful, painful blows that compel us to seek his mercy and guidance. God’s love enables us to praise him for everything — no matter what. =


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Recognize that these money man-agement discussions will most likely be tense at the beginning, but you will both feel more comfortable as it becomes a routine practice.6

6. Seek ResolutionRather than having continuing

money conflicts, find ways so your spouse will understand your con-cern. For example, taking turns pay-ing the monthly bills may show the over spender why their spouse keeps trying to rein him or her in. This also works for teenagers who feel their parents are too constrictive when it comes to money, and it’s a great way for them to learn the value of money early in life.

7. Stay CurrentCouples quite often operate their

finances the way their parents did, but money management advice var-ies from generation to generation. The Great Depression of the 1930’s instilled in many of our parents and grandparents an extremely cautious approach to finances. Today technol-ogy has changed the way we pay our bills. For example, your parents may have actually withdrawn cash from their local bank and walked to the utility company to pay the electric bill, as compared to a young couple today whose utility bill is paid auto-matically from their bank account or via the Internet from their computer. Make your financial decisions on current money principles and facts, not on what your parents would have done.1

FinallyIn the end, marriage is unlike

any sports game with two opposing teams, each determined to score —it is learning to tackle your finances with a united goal. =

Concepts & References:

1. “Money Conflicts,” Victor Parachin, Vibrant Life, January/February 1999, page 20-22 2. “Five Mistakes couples Make With Money,” Marybeth & Curt Whalen, Money Matters, July 2007, page 8

3. “Holy Matri-money,” Kate Bryant, Marriage Partnership, Spring 2006, page 324. “Love by The Numbers,” Raina Kelley, Newsweek, April 9, 2007, page 485. “My Husband and I Never Fight About Money,” Lesley Alderman, Family Money, March/April, 2000, pages 92-3 6. “She’s a Saver, He’s a Spender,” Kate Ashford, Money, September 2006 page 39

Holy Matri-Money (cont. from page 7)

There have been a few changes in the Adventurer program. Here are the dates and the topics for the remainder of this year.

March 20 - Sunbeam CurriculumApril 17 - Community Food Drive for P.T.A. HelpsMay 15 - Sunbeam CurriculumJune 19 - Awards Ceremony

Also, the Adventurer club will do the circulum as part of Sabbath School. Please be sure to be present during Sabbath School to meet all the requirements so you can get an award.

Updated Adventurer Schedule

Downey-Florence Seventh-day Adventist Church9820 Lakewood Blvd., Downey CA 90240

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Ponder This...

= “What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly.”—Richard Bach

= “You have nothing to do but to save souls. Therefore spend and be spent in this work.”—John Wesley

= “Reach up as far as you can, and God will reach down all the rest of the way.”—John Vincent

mar 2010 latest word

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