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