Southwood Lutheran Church

God Does Not Call the Qualified....

He qualifies the called!

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

In these verses we understand how it is possible that a variety of people with vastly different gifts and talents can come together to do God's work. A group of people just like that will be traveling to Honduras in August of 2008. See their pictures and learn more about them here.

This mission team will give dental and medical assistance to small villages in Honduras. An exciting part of this trip is that it will include several people from another church in Lincoln, First Plymouth, who are interested in getting global missions started at their own church! This group also includes a number of youth traveling with family members -- what an incredible experience these families will share!

Just like every other mission team from Southwood, the August team will focus on continuing Christ's ministry through bible school, professing our faith, teaching, serving people's needs and encouraging people of all ages during the clinics. God does not call the qualified He qualifies the called! If you feel called to serve (or just called to learn more), please contact Chuck Wall.

Reading Celebration!

Yesterday afternoon I attended a recognition celebration for City Impact's Impact Learning Center. 27 1st - 5th graders were recognized for their achievements in reading skills during the past school year. Many of them graduated from the program, which means that they are reading at or above their current grade level. The best part was seeing the smiles on their faces as they received their awards and thanked the volunteer tutors who had worked with them.

KOLN was there and did a story on the event - Reading Program Helps Children's Confidence.

It was fun to see the names of 19 Southwood People in the program as reading tutors! Several of them were there to cheer on the kids! There was cake and lemonade, there were balloons, there was music, there were smiles and laughter, and there was prayer - thanking our Heavenly Father for making it all possible.

Rhoda Claridge with her student. (Rhoda's not that short, she is sitting down while her student is standing!)

This is the student I tutor - you may remember her infamous "pickle juice hands" - no pickle juice here - she's all smiles at her graduation.

If you'd like to know more about City Impact and the Impact Learning Center check out their website - or talk to me I'd be happy to tell you all about it - I'm ready to tutor again next fall!

Pastor Sara

Its a Dirty Job!

Doing a Dirty Job for Jesus

Recently 15 high school and college students and adult leaders canvassed a neighborhood in east Lincoln. We walked door to door and asked residents if we could clean up their doggie droppings, free of charge, no strings attached. The responses we received were priceless! The most common question was, “Why?” To that we gladly told them that we wanted to show God’s love in a practical way.

We ended up cleaning up about a dozen yards total. Some people were even taken aback by our act of kindness and couldn’t accept our help. Our youth group organizes a servant evangelism project for the second Sunday of every month. In June we are planning a game night at a local retirement community.

Check out the attached video for footage of our recent doggie dropping experience!

Chip

Empty Bowls

This noon I ate lunch from four different Lincoln restaurants and went home with an empty bowl.  Let me explain.

This was the 6th annual Empty Bowls luncheon to benefit the Food Bank of Lincoln. 

   Fourteen of Lincoln's finest restaurants offer tempting soups, breads and desserts. Plus each person attending leaves with a hand-crafted pottery bowl of their choosing from Down Under Pottery. The empty bowls symbolize the bowls our community has filled over the years, and the bowls that still need filling.

Here's what I had for lunch:

• Thai-Green Curry Coconut from Dish
• Turkey Pot Pie from Embassy Bar and Grill
• Prime Rib & Potato from Fireworks
• Roasted Butternut Squash from The Parthenon  (I voted this one the best!!)

I saw several other Southwood folks there too!  If you were there which was your favorite? Here are a couple of pictures from the event - it was great to see a ballroom full of people supporting the Food Bank.

God The Creator

Tomorrow night I'll be volunteering at Clinic With a Heart. Clinic night is one of the days in my month that I look forward to more than any other. I think I just figured out why - with a little help from Jo. Jo is Southwood's clinic coordinator, here's what she wrote recently:

Isn't this the most beautiful Spring??? As I walk through the neighborhood in the evenings, I am reminded that only God could create such beauty. Every one of my senses is touched as the fragrance and the colors and the birds' chirping surround me.

This reminds me of our Clinic family. On those precious Tuesdays, God touches us with vibrant colors of diversity, sounds of grateful people sharing their stories, and the touch of healing hands as our dedicated volunteers continue to transform lives one at a time. Glory be to God!!!!

We are reminded all of the time of how God works in creation - but when we serve we are reminded how God works in human beings as well. Just think about how God has been at work creating and transforming you as well! In First Corinthians it says:

"So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God..." Read more.

I hope you will continue to celebrate God's creation during these beautiful spring days we've been given and I hope you will find a way to celebrate God's incredible work in human nature as well. If you want a glimpse stop at Clinic with a Heart tomorrow night - God is certainly at work there!

Pastor Sara

Learn more about Clinic With a Heart. Or, check out other opportunities to serve right here in Lincoln.

A Thank You from Iraq

I received this email from a Southwood member, Dan Moss, who is deployed in Iraq. Dan recently received a Military Care Packages prepared and sent by a team of Southwood members. Dan's message is below. If you have a message of encouragement for Dan and our other deployed service members, share it in a comment to this post. I will make sure they get your messages.

Pastor Ryan,

Thanks to you and the members of Southwood that sent the cookies, magazines and newspaper. We are still living in a tent so we really do have everything we need. But the reminders from home are great to see. I couldn't tell you the last time I read a newspaper. We are on the list to move into more permanent housing, but no move-in dates yet.

Our camp is pretty small, but busy. The mission is important, so visitors and media are common. We have a gym and a tent to watch movies, play ping pong and pool and play X-box, but that's pretty much the extent
of it. Thankfully, I guess, we work long days so there isn't a lot of free time. The weather is starting to heat up some. Got up to 107-108 earlier in the week. We still have about 20-30 degrees to go once summer hits us. Thankfully, I work at night so I get to miss the heat of the day.

Thank you again for the care package, and more importantly, for all of the thoughts and prayers that go out to me and all service members abroad.

1LT Daniel Moss
530th MP BN

Going the Extra Mile

On Sunday, April 20th, you may have noticed several middle and high school students walking or running on a treadmill in our Café area. They were raising both money and awareness for the Extra Mile walk for the Food Bank of Lincoln. The walk specifically benefits the Backpack Program and will be held this Saturday, April 26th at 10:00am.

About 15 high school students and adult leaders from Southwood will be walking on Saturday as a team to support this cause. Many more Southwood students will be walking as a part of teams from their schools. All told, the students and adult leaders raised $520 for the Extra Mile, which will provide 7 students a backpack full of food for an entire school semester!

If you want to Get involved with Southwood's efforts at Saratoga Elementary school click here.

Check out what Jacob and Jay had to say about participating in this great cause!

Jay is Going the Extra Mile

Learn more about the Back Pack program here and here. Due to technical difficulties (dead batteries) Jay's video gets cut off - what he had to say was passionate and eloquent to say the least! Thanks to all the youth who continue to reach out to those in need.

Jacob is Going the Extra Mile

Learn more about the Back Pack program here and here.

Am I Really Suffering?

A couple of months ago, Kim (Turnage) had a blog that referred to a daily devotional. It was by a Pastor Kerry Nelson and I liked it so much I subscribed. He continues to make me think deeply and discover new ways to apply scripture to my life. He recently wrote about the following verse from Paul’s letter to the Philippians:

“Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God's doing. For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.” Philippians 1:27-30

He writes about how seldom we have to suffer persecution. When we think of suffering, it probably relates to sacrifices of our time, talents, treasures and concern.

I am currently part of a group that is preparing for the teacher’s summer trip to Tanzania to teach in Uroki, a secondary school in Southwood’s sister parish, Uswaa. Like most people, I have a variety of responsibilities in my life and I have been struggling to find time to spend on preparation. It was late the other night as I was trying to come up with a plan for teaching math – did I mention my background is teaching business? My mind wandered to Uroki, the teachers there, their rooms with cement floors, broken chalkboards and perhaps one book for 6 students to share. They lack most of the resources and supplies that are plentiful in our schools. Yet on a daily basis they go into their classrooms and do their best to share knowledge and bring understanding to their students.

Every time I go to Tanzania I think about the monetary cost – it costs about $3,000 just to get there. And every time I get there I ask them the same question – wouldn’t it be better if I just sent the money?