"Christmas is a state of mind. It is found throughout the year whenever faith overcomes doubt, hope conquers despair, and love triumphs over hate."

Our service schedule will remain the same on Sundays, but we will not be meeting on the following two Wednesday nights.

Have you ever thought about how miraculous the season was that surrounded the first Christmas? We will look at this awesome forerunner of miracle seasons and gain insights of how to tap into miracle seasons in our own lives. Now, like then, it all surrounds Jesus!

The image to the left was from our Preteens who recently met for a Christmas part and had a blast. We are grateful for the gifts they gave to help someone in need and for the relationships they are creating as a group. Way to go preteens and way to go Allison.

I read an email a couple of days ago. It had been sent to my wife from a lady in Denver, CO. Here's a glimpse of the story. Mikki and I were in a Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Denver. A lady in the section we were in pulled out a book about schizophrenia. We both saw the title. I sensed Mikki was about to talk to the lady, so I moved on. I peeked back a little later, and there Mikki was sitting on the floor and she and the lady were engaged in an obviously deep conversation. After the woman left, Mikki shared how the young woman had opened up her heart about her life. Her husband had been diagnosed as schizophrenic. She was a married mother of four and was struggling to know what to do as she was near the breaking point. Mikki spent some time just encouraging, sharing with her, and blessing her. Before she left, they exchanged email addresses. 

As you have read the last few weeks, the ARK will be leading 12 hours of prayer and worship each day throughout the entire month of January from 3:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m. I encourage all of our congregation to participate in this throughout the month. You may be able to come for a few hours or just a few minutes but come. I also encourage all of you to join the fast. This is not a legalistic call to fast but a call for us to come together in unity purposefully laying aside some things and setting ourselves apart to seek God's heart for our lives, our church family, and our region. 

We are very excited about the forthcoming School of Power and Love which will be hosted by The ARK and Grace House. Registration is currently $60 but will go to $100 after January 9th. This is an awesome time of training and activation. It's a revival atmosphere where love abounds.

In the coming weeks you will be hearing more and more about Life Groups at Grace House. We have several groups that are currently meeting, but we are stepping into 2013 with an intention of helping each of you to become more connected with God and others. We are happy to announce that Hillard and Charlotte Matthews will be providing leadership and encouragement to those who lead our Life Groups. They have a lot of experience in small group ministry and certainly have a heart to help people connect and grow more deeply in the life of Christ. We desire to see new groups forming and new leaders emerging to lead them. Maybe it is on your heart to lead a group. We will share more details soon so stayed tuned....

For over 4 years now, we have been meeting as a group of men to connect more deeply with God and each other. I invite any of you men to join us any Tuesday morning. We meet at Grace House at 6:30 a.m. This is a very informal, interactive, and open time around God's Word. I always enjoy leading this group. Come and join us. Contact me with any of your questions about this group.

Each Wednesday, beginning at 9 a.m., we have a faithful group of people who meet and pray. This is a time of intercession. prophetic decreeing, and engaging God's heart through prayer and worship. You are invited to join with the ladies who lead this time of prayer for our congregations, city, region, nation, and the nations. Contact Charlotte Matthews for more information.

We have an excited married couples class that meets each Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. in the Grace House Children's Center. Bryan and Melissa Gregg lead this group and there is rich fellowship, an interactive style of Bible study, and an atmosphere of love and acceptance. If you are a 20 to early 40 something couple, jump on board and see your marriage enriched! Contact Bryan and Melissa if you have questions.

We are so excited about "Rooted" which is our ministry to preteens led by Allison Fisher. They are currently working on a human video which they will be sharing in one of our services soon. Each Wednesday they meet to study the Bible together and learn how to live a life rooted in Christ during this important transitional time in their lives. Our preteens are awesome.  All preteens are invited to attend this weekly gathering to build relationship with Christ and one another. Contact Allison Fisher with your questions.

Franie Deaton, who directs our children's ministry, does a great job of teaching our children truths that will help them build their lives on Christ and the truths of His Word. Each week's lesson is packed with object lessons, biblical truths, and lots of interactive fun. Our children begin the service with we adults at 9:00 a.m. and then transition to their own children's worship around 9:45 a.m. or so. See Franie if you have questions and to let her know if you would like to be one of her assistants occasionally. We also can use good helpers.

We have some awesome little ones in our nursery. Jesus instructs us to love these little ones and to create an environment where they are coming to him. Anna Laura Lawrence leads our nursery team. Please let her know if you would like to help with this important ministry at Grace House.

Our worship team does an awesome job leading us in worship week by week. If you have gifts and abilities in this area, and have been faithful in attending Grace House for a while, and are willing to meet with someone to help access your skill level, or if just would like to know more about our worship team, contact our Worship Pastor, Andrew Lawrence, and he will be glad to help you.

If you have a heart for missions, whether it is to go on a mission trip or to support those who are willing to go, stayed tuned for announcements about upcoming mission opportunities here at Grace House. Eighteen of us saw God do tremendous things in our lives and the people in Trinidad on our last mission trip. We are planning now for a possible trip to Carriacou this coming Spring. Sam Lerch is our point person for our missions trips, so contact Sam for more information.

Food is a staple for all our lives and some people have needs in this area, especially in these economically challenging times. We desire to help more and more people inside and outside of our congregation in this area. Larry Bullard is our point person in helping with this important ministry. We are building a list now of those who need help as well as those who would like to help in this area.