[Lsf-announce] This Week at Refuge

[Nicole Kooistra]

Hey All!

I hope this finds you all doing well and enjoying the fall semester.
If you're like me, at some time every semester you find yourself
thinking, "Wow, I really don't feel like a Christian."  One minute,
you ready to do anything and accomplish any task for the glory of God.
 The next, it takes you all your energy just to pray a couple of times
during the week, and you wonder if you were ever really a Christian at
all. C.S. Lewis, a Christian author and professor at Oxford during the
middle of the 1900s and the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, wrote
on this very topic in another work, The Screwtape Letters.  In this
book, an elder demon, Screwtape, counsels his nephew Wormwood, a
"junior" tempter, on how to destroy a Christian's faith.  At one
point, Screwtape tells Wormwood of the "trough" periods a Christian
experiences: Eventually, "He [God] leaves the creature [man] to stand
up on its own legs--to carry out from the will alone duties which have
lost all relish.  It is during such trough periods, much more than
during the peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature
He wants it to be....Do not be deceived, Wormwood.  Our cause is never
more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still
intending, to do our Enemy's [God's'] will, looks round upon a
universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and
asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys."
So keep obeying. God knows we don't always feel like Christians. He'll
pull us through.

My, that was long. Here's what's happening this week at Refuge:

First, if you're interested in INTRAMURAL FOOTBALL and you are a GIRL
(sorry dudes, but we have enough of you), email Will at
wmtenner at aol.com.
If you are a GIRL or a GUY and you are interested in INTRAMURAL
VOLLEYBALL, email Anna at akulleru at niu.edu.

Saturday, Sept. 30: Women's social event. Meet at the church at 6:00
if you'd like to join us for dinner, and we'll be heading to the NIU
women's v-ball game afterwards.

Sunday, Oct. 1: Worship at 8:00 and 10:30. Pancake breakfast in the
lounge following the 10:30 service!

Monday, Oct. 2: lounge is open from 6:00-10:00

Tuesday, Oct. 3: Pastor-led Bible study on Luke at 9:00. Always a good time!

Wednesday, Oct. 4: Discussion Group at 9:00: Mike Fuentes will be
leading us through the last two chapters of Philippians.

Thursday, Oct. 5: Women's Bible Study, meet at the church at 7:00, and
we'll be heading from there to a TOP-SECRET location (sorry again,
guys;-). Lounge is open from 6:00-10:00, if you're a guy and feeling
excluded.

Friday, Oct. 6: WALLEYBALL! (For real this time. Sorry about the
mess-up). We'll be meeting at the church at 5:45 and heading to the
rec together.

Saturday, Oct. 7: Service project--We'll be doing a clean-up day at
the DeKalb Area Women's Center, a local not-for-profit community
organization.  We'll meet at the church at 9:45 and be at the DAWC by
10:00.  The clean-up officially lasts until 3:00, but people will be
coming and going throughout that time, so don't feel pressured to stay
for the whole five hours. You have homework to do, after all:-)

Future Dates to keep at the back of your mind:

Fri., Oct. 13 (ooooh!): Haunted Corn Maze
Fri., Oct. 20: Bingo with the residents at Oakcrest retirement center,
6:00-8:00.
Sat., Oct. 21: 9:00 am is the homecoming parade, and Immanuel will
have a float. Come on down to cheer us on! Also, the church always
hosts a bbq after the game.
Fri., Oct. 27: HALLOWEEN PARTY!!! At the church. Best costume gets a
prize, I think. It may just be a can of pop, but hey, a can of pop is
a can of pop.

All right, that's all for now. God Bless to all of you.