Congratulations to our 2017 Home Run Derby Champion, Zack Faulkenberry!
Car Seat Check Stations
BALL Club Trip to Cornucopia Restaurant
Ball club will be going to Cornocopia Restaurant in Cashiers Thursday June 22. We will leave church at 10:00 am. Be there or be square. Contact Jennie Hunter or Sheila Suitt if you have questions 399-0623 or Sheila 226-0903.
Now, A Word About Perseverance
No ropes. No clips. No safety equipment. It’s just you, your hands and your feet.
It’s called free soloing and it’s a form of rocking climbing that has been in the news these last few days. This past Saturday, Alex Honnold did something that no one has ever done before. He climbed the 3,000 foot granite face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park without any climbing gear—save for a bag of chalk to assist his grip.
Yep, that’s right. With little more than what you are wearing right now, imagine climbing up a rock face wall over half a mile straight up. They call it a ‘free solo climb.’ It would be more like ‘free falling’ for me.
Climbers in the know are calling Honnold’s feat the greatest solo climb of all time. In case you’re wondering, Honnold did the climb alone, and in less than 4 hours.
The first thing that comes to mind, besides vertigo, is the sheer immensity of such a pursuit. When I consider what Honnold did, I find it difficult to imagine that it would be possible. A mistake would mean death (actually, it would mean a nightmarish fall followed by death). Obviously, no one would be able to help you if you needed assistance. The strength, endurance and mental fortitude needed sounds gargantuan.
But here’s the thing. This extraordinary feat didn’t just happen. Honnold didn’t wake up one day and decide between bites of a Krispy Kreme Donut to take it on. The free climb wasn’t a dare. Honnold wasn’t inebriated. No, Hannold was able to accomplish the impossible because he prepared relentlessly for it.
As far back as 2009, Honnold decided to take on El Capitan. He studied the mountain. He enlisted the help of other climbing experts. He used ropes and clips to inspect the mountain more closely, identifying possible routes. He trained on similar mountains all over the world. He gave it a shot nearly a year ago, deciding after beginning his assault that the conditions were not right. Just last week he mapped out the route with chalk, hoping that when he arrived in the dark on Saturday morning that the chalk would still be visible.
National Geographic confirms our hunch about his detailed preparation. “Honnold is obsessive about his training, which includes hour-long sessions every other day hanging by his fingertips and doing one- and two-armed pullups on a specially-made apparatus that he bolted into the doorway of his van. He also spends hours perfecting, rehearsing, and memorizing exact sequences of hand and foot placements for every key pitch. He is an inveterate note-taker, logging his workouts and evaluating his performance on every climb in a detailed journal.”
Alex Honnold didn’t just climb El Capitan. He made it his life’s work.
I am humbled by this climber’s approach to this task and am reminded of Paul’s words to the church at Colossus: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Extraordinary things happen when we work for them. The things that we consider impossible can be achieved when we "work at them with all our hearts, as working for the Lord." Great things require great preparation, great wisdom and great effort. These monumental accomplishments do not happen with the snap of a finger, but with a focus and grit that only perseverance can achieve.
When I think of the needs of our community and the ways in which our church can address them, I am often overwhelmed by the immensity of what would be necessary to pull it off. And yet, when I am reminded by the fact that, “It is the Lord Christ we are serving,” I remember that God is in the business of making the impossible possible. What is required on our part is the willingness to work toward a God-given goal that can bring glory and honor to Him. The ‘amazing’ and the ‘extraordinary’ don’t just happen. They require vision, planning, hard work and determination.
Unlike Honnold’s ascent, we are not called to accomplish great things by ourselves. But with one another, with God as our vision-crafter and pace-setter, we can accomplish more than we could ever ask or imagine.
Church-Wide Picnic at East LaPorte
Our annual East LaPorte Picnic will be Sunday, June 11 at 4:00 PM. Don’t forget to bring your best potluck dishes! Drinks will be provided by the church. We will also be having our annual Whiffle Ball game and homerun derby! Come out and play, then cool off in the refreshing waters of the Tuckaseegee.
Mission Moment
Bite 35: Providing hope at a stoplight
"All over our city, at every stoplight, we are faced with refugee children and mothers with small babies begging at car windows. For this reason, I keep packaged snacks in the car to hand out. Often, these children are being used by adults who place them there with no food or water to beg from anyone passing.
This particular day, I only had two small packages of popped popcorn which were tied inside a plastic grocery bag. There were two young boys at the stoplight, so I handed them the whole bag directing them to share, and said 'Jesus Christ loves you!'
Before I got through the intersection, I glanced into my rear-view mirror and saw a shocking sight. Both boys were pulling at the grocery bag towards themselves like a tug of war, and then, one boy began ripping the grocery bag with his teeth to get to the smaller bags of popcorn -- they were so hungry.
The snacks in the car are my way of helping children in the most effective and least abusive way. This day, I was humbled by their need, and their hunger. A certain numbness comes from the constant bombardment of beggars at every light. Those children are seeing the Lord's face through gifts given to CBF to support our Syrian relief work."
- CBF field personnel in the Middle East
HELP!
During the renovation of the Chapel, the cross stitch angel picture and two brass candle holders have been misplaced. We need your help in finding these so they can be rehung in the new room. They were given in memory of Kathleen Holt by the Rebekah Sunday School Class. Please let Tia know if you find them! Thanks!
Summer Camp 2017 Needs List
Summer Camp begins on June 19th and some of you have asked about some ways in which you can help as we prepare for camp. Please read the list below to learn about some of our needs as we prepare. Consider keeping this list in your wallet so that way when you visit the store you’ll know what items to purchase.
Cleaning Products:
- Expo Dry Erase Markers
- Sidewalk chalk
- Clorox wipes and/or Clorox Anywhere Spray
- Hand Sanitizer
Art Supplies:
- Paper plates
- Sharpies (varied colors)
- Cotton balls
- Googly eyes
- Child safe scissors
- Wooden clothespins
- Plastic forks
- Cardstock paper (varied colors)
- Construction paper (varied colors)
- String (to be used for jewelry making)
- Q-Tips
- Clear glue
- Glue sticks
- Liquid starch
- Zip-lock bags (all sizes)
- Glitter
- Hole punchers
- Expo Dry Erase Markers
- Sidewalk chalk
- Pens and/or pencils
- Hole punchers
- Pipe cleaners
- Foam sheets
- Felt sheets
- Yarn (varied sizes)
- Balloons
- Beads
- Key chain rings
- Birdseed
Food:
- Fresh Fruit: Apples, Oranges, Strawberries, Blueberries, Grapes
- Gold Fish
- Pretzels
- Gummy bears
- Fruit Roll Ups
- Cheese-Its
- Raisins
- Teddy Grahams
- Graham Crackers
- Popcorn
- Peanut butter
- Butter
- Bread
- Marshmallows
VBS Snacks
If you are interested in donating snacks to be used in Vacation Bible School (June 12-16 at Bridge Park from 9 AM to Noon) please contact Megan Harris or bring them to the church office!
Snacks needed are: Goldfish, animal crackers, fruit snacks, water, etc.
