Life Group Christmas Party

This Sunday (December 21st) we are planning on having a Christmas Party at my parents ranch in Sulphur. The plan is everyone to grab lunch on their own & then head out to the ranch. Feel free to bring your favorite Holiday sweets for a mid afternoon snack. In addition to our lesson, we'll be going on a ride through the deer pen (weather permitting), so I would advise to wear clothes you don't mind getting a little dusty.

We are also planning on doing a small gift exchange. Everyone who would like to participate is asked to bring a gag gift ($5 MAX). We'll be doing a white elephant/Chinese Christmas exchange. If you have any questions , feel free to ask.

Hope to see y'all Sunday!

Directions to my parents:
Take the Sulphur/Cameron Exit from I-10 & go north on Ruth Street
Take a Left onto Highway 90.
Go about 5-7 miles and you'll see a road on your left called Choupique Rd. (This is just a landmark so you can start looking for my parents road)
Take the 3rd road on the right past Choupique Road--it is called WPA Road
Go about a mile, over the railroad tracks & you'll see an entrance way for Rhodes Ranch. Take the 3rd driveway on the left into Rhodes Ranch...the address on the mailbox is 2597. My parents house is white with a green roof.

Holiday Helping Hands

Our group has decided to "adopt" two little girls for Christmas through the Holiday Helping Hands project. Our girls are sisters from Gillis Elementary.

Haley is a 7 year old caucasian. She wears size 8 shirt, pants, coat & dress and size 11 shoes. Her wish list includes Barbies, princess costume dresses, make-up, Hanna Montana & purses.

Brittney is an 11 year old caucasian. She wears shirt size XL in juniors, pants size 7 in juniors, shoes size 7 in womens, and coats size large in juniors. Her wish list includes Barbies, Books (ink heart & ink spell), art supplies and a girl puppy (yorkie, maltese, or chihuahua).

If you would like to participate, please feel free to purchase anything you think the girls would like. It doesn't have to be off their list. Bring whatever you purchase to life groups UNWRAPPED on Sunday (12/7) at the Ivey's house. If you don't have time to shop but wish to still participate, feel free to bring a monetary contribution on Sunday night & we'll take care of the shopping for you next week.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me!

Sunday night Feast

The plan for Sunday night is to have a Thanksgiving feast at JD & I's house at 5:30 pm. Everyone is asked to bring their favorite Thanksgiving dish (left overs are fine!). So far we have green bean casserole, pecan pie & another dessert spoken for. JD & I will provide the meat. Please email me (stephanie.hankins@gmail.com) and let me know if your family will be coming & what side item you would like to bring.

See y'all Sunday!
Stephanie

Thanksiving Challenge

My daily devo today was about giving thanks in all we do and it showed research that proves people who give thanks are healthier and happier individuals. They gave a challenge to start a gratitude journal. At the end of each day between now and Christmas, take a few minutes to jot down 3-5 things you are thankful for. Keep the notebook and pencil by your bed. Your list can include “big” things like good health, or “little” things like pansies in bloom. Give thanks to God for all of these.

I know I overlook so many things that I have to be thankful for and could benefit from this exercise. I challenge each of you, being Thanksgiving week, to look around and recognize all that we have to be thankful for. Maybe on Sunday night we can bring our lists & share something that you are thankful for that you hadn't taken the time to realize until this week. Remember to thank our creator for these blessings.

JD & I are thankful for our life group and the influence each one of you has had on our lives. Hope you all have a blessed week!

Sunday Night Life Group Meeting

All-

This Sunday's meeting will be at our house (Ryan and Kelley). It is located at 1910 Ethel St. The easiest way to get there is to take Ryan St (towards downtown) turn left onto 12th/Sallier (by CVS Pharmacy) and then take your second right (beside Jo's Party House). Parking is a little difficult at our house, so park in the parking lot across the street next to the Imperial Calcasieu Museum.

If you have any questions give Kelley (901.355.4745) or me a call (337.540.3395).

See you Sunday.

Ryan

Service Opportunity

I have a service opportunity for our Life Group if y'all are interested. The SWLA Bar Association has a Holiday Helping Hands project where they ask area schools for a list of children that would not otherwise receive presents at Christmas. Each sponsor is given the name, school & age of the child to shop for and the sponsor buys them Christmas presents. I talked to the girl in charge of the project today and there are less sponsors than needy children this year. I thought our group might want to sign up to sponsor a child to shop for. Comment back and let me know what you think about this idea. I need to let her know in the next few days whether we can help or not.

Plans for this Sunday (11/9)

Life Groups will meet at the Hankins house this Sunday at 5:30 pm. Our address is 2049 Louise St. (in Sulphur). If you need directions, give me a call. We plan to order pizza so each family is asked to bring a few dollars to cover the expense. We will provide the drinks & dessert. See y'all then!

Mission Statement & Goals

We had a great discussion & fellowship on Sunday night. The gumbo was EXCELLENT (thanks Josh!) and JD did a great job leading the lesson. Several group members really opened up and we were able to spend some quality time with our heavenly father in prayer. This group has already been an encouragement and uplifting experience for our family. WE are praising the Lord for this opportunity!

One of the things that we went over was to set goals and develop a mission statement for our group. A big kuddo to the Iveys for coming up with a fabulous mission statement:

To glorify God while setting an example for the Church and the Community through our worship, study, and everyday actions.

Below are a list of the goals that we hope our group will accomplish:
* Be Real, Be Positive
* Get to know one another on a deeper level through fellowship
* Gain a better understanding of God's Word through intensive study
* Build up and encourage one another
* Invite others to our group & help show them the truth
* Serve the community
* Encourage other Boulevard members to become more involved in our group
* Draw closer to God
* Let our lights shine bright by developing better attitudes

Sunday evening

The plan for this Sunday is to fellowship at Rusty & Ashleys house at 5:00 pm. They will be serving taco soup & each family is asked to bring a few dollars to help defray costs. Their address is 115 Brundrette St. (the road beside Mr. Gattis).

Just a reminder to be thinking of your goals for our group and ideas for our mission statement. We will discuss this on Sunday.

Have a great week!

Football Game tonight & Update on Sunday

I know it's super late notice, but we are plannig to go to the Sulphur/Barbe football game tonight. It's at 7:00 pm at the Sulphur stadium. If you are interested in going & meeting up, call JD's cell at 274-9892.

Also, the correct time for the picnic at Prien Lake Park on Sunday is 4:00 pm. Hope to see you all there!

Prayer Request

We have a huge praise report on baby Will! We brought him to the pediatrician this morning & they said instead of pneumonia like we were told yesterday, he only has a cold. That means no hospital or yucky antibiotics...just breathing treatments which we can handle!

Also, I found out today that a dear friend of mine from law school had a miscarriage. and will have a D&C tomorrow. While she wasn't too far along, I know the pain of that loss is heartbreaking. Thanks for keeping her in your prayers.

Recap of Last Night

I think last night went really well. It was great to see everyone excited about this new small group ministry. Just a reminder this Sunday we will be meeting at Prien Lake Park at 3:00 pm for a picnic. Each family is responsible for their family's picnic lunch/supper. Hope to see you all then!

Welcome to the Blog!

Welcome to our Life Group blog! I sent an email out to add you as authors of the blog, so you will be able to log in & post as well. The purpose of the blog is to post prayer requests, events, or anything else you want to share with our Life Group. Since we are all trying to get to know one another better, please don't hesitate to post!

Looking forward to seeing you all Sunday evening!

JD & Stephanie