Home
Sermons
Calendar
Children
Youth
CAMO
Roping
Featured in this issue Word from the Pastor Ongoing Summer Events
Church Calendar
July 2012
Helping Hands
Missions
The Parent Link Issue 37
Page 2
Word From The Pastor Ready or not here they come! That’s right. It is time for the summer Olympics. Every four years they roll around and dominate the TV, radio, Internet, newspapers, and conversations around the world. The Olympics are unique in the fact that for a few weeks the entire world watches and talks about the same thing, day after day. Starting on Friday, July 27th, the entire world will witness some of our planet’s finest, and fittest athletes. We can learn many things from these competitors about what it takes to win. Think about what Paul said to the Corinthians about the Olympians of his day… 1 Corinthians 9:24–27 NET "Do you not know that all the runners in a stadium compete, but only one receives the prize? So run to win. Each competitor must exercise self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run uncertainly or box like one who hits only air. Instead I subdue my body and make it my slave, so that after preaching to others I myself will not be disqualified." Spiritual Lesson #1- Run To Win- It is not enough just to show up. You have to run to win. Millions will travel to London this summer, but only about 10,000 will actually compete in the games and have a chance at the 900 metals that will be awarded. I am constantly amazed at how many show up spiritually but never actually compete. When it comes to your family, faith, job, and church you have to run to win! We are not called to spectate, we are called and commanded to participate! Are you running to win, or just casually observing life as it passes you by? Spiritual Lesson #2- Endure The Pain- There is no getting around it. If you run to win, it is going to hurt! What are you willing to give up to finish the race Christ has marked out for you? What will you sacrifice to see to it that others hear the gospel? Will you serve, give, and run past the initial pain and press on into the danger zone? Are you willing to endure the pain and do whatever it takes to finish this race? I pray that you are. Spiritual Lesson #3- Never Quit- In 2 Timothy 4:7 Paul said, "I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith!" You know that there were hard times in Paul’s ministry. Beatings, shipwrecks, persecution, threats of death, heartbreak, betrayal, torture, prison, the constant pressure of leadership, and much more followed this man wherever he went. Certainly there were moments when the thought to quit must have crossed his mind. But he pressed on, never gave up, and finished the race! Every athlete in the summer games this year likely had a moment in their career when quitting crossed their mind, but they made a choice to stay in, fight on, and continue to compete. We must make the same choice. We can never give up if we want to win the race, and finish well. Spiritual Lesson #4- Have The Right Coach- Every great athlete at the Olympic games arrives with a great coach. Furthermore, there are many coaches that have helped them prepare and train for years. If you think you can run the race of life on your own, and finish well by yourself, you are sadly mistaken. The Christian life is a team sport, designed to be run with others and under the direction of our eternal coach Jesus Christ through the guiding of the Holy Spirit. When we follow the directions of the coach and surround ourselves with other believers who are running to win, willing to endure, and bullheaded enough to never quit we get stronger and run better! Those who train alone will find themselves aimlessly fighting the air. Most of us will never win a gold metal, but we can all win the eternal reward that comes from following hard after Christ all the days of our lives. It will not be easy but I promise you it will be worth it! Pastor Pete
Page 3
OPEN LETTER TO FELLOW CHRISTIANS AND MEMBERSHIP OF COWBOY FELLOWSHIP This note cannot express my eternal gratitude for how much faith and your prayers have helped me to now be in remission for throat cancer, diagnosed last November. I have never been so at peace and unafraid in my life. That is what prayer and the Lord can do, and has done for me. Thank you Pastor Pete and Associate Pastor Scotty for your visits, prayers and encouragement. The flowers, food, and beautiful cards received were very much appreciated by myself and my family (since their cook was a little under the weather). I am so blessed with all the friends Ray and I have made since starting at Cowboy Fellowship. You don’t really realize how many friends you have until something drastic happens and you need them. Again “Thank You” and love and prayers for all. Jeanie and Ray Wisdom
Page 4
Ongoing Summer Events The Mission Ministry is sponsoring “Summer Fans for the Elderly�. As summer approaches the temperature will continue to rises. The mission ministry is sponsoring a fan drive to help furnish fans to the elderly of Atascosa County. The fans will be distributed to the ones in need so they can enjoy a cooler and safer summer. You can drop off new fans or good used fans in the church foyer every Sunday through the end of August. For more information contact : Odis White 210-275-9800
CFY will be meeting at the arena on July 2nd and 23rd for Monday Night Madness. Come out and join the fun. Starting time 6:00 pm until 11:00 pm. The Arena Ministry Youth Riding Clinic 4th Wednesday in the months of June, July, August and September.
7:00 pm till 9:00 pm. For more information contact:
Liz Powell 830-426-9391 or D.R. Powell 830-743-2162 drtxfarier@live.com
Thursday Night Barrel Racing Practice - Every Thursday night through Aug. 2nd. 6:30p - 9p. Contact: Liz Powell 830-426-9391 or Christi Ludham 830-570-9036
Calf Roping Clinic - July 14th All Day Event Limited to first 30. There will be a cover charge. For information contact Liz Powell 830-426-9391 or Chuck Fretwell 830-534-6395
Schedule Of Events
July
The following are reoccurring events that take place each week/month at the same time unless otherwise denoted:
10:45 a-12
Church Services - Sunday: @ 10:45 AM
10:45 Baptisms
Discipleship Classes –Will resume in September. Children’s Play Group Every Tuesday from 10am 11:30am. CFY R.E.A.L.M. - Every Wednesday @ 7:00 pm unless otherwise noted. Pre-Teen Ministry—Every Wednesday @ 6:30pm— Bldg D Living Hope - Every Thursday @ 7 PM Call Paul @ 830-570-4301 for more info. Men’s Fellowship Breakfast Every 3rd Saturday @ Stage Stop - 8:00 AM Share The Harvest—Every Wednesday @ 5:00pm Please Go To Our Website For Times And More Information!
Page 5
SUN
Sun Morning Worship Serv.
12:00 Potluck 8
MON
2
3
6p –11p
10a11:30a Play Group
CFY Mon. Night Madness
9
10:45 a-12 Sun Morning Worship Serv. 12:00 Leadership Mtg. Lay Pastor Mtg.
15
TUE
16
10:45a-12 Sun. Morning Worship
WED
4
Office Closed
THU
5
6:30p-9p CF band practice
12
13
14
10a11:30a Play Group
6:30p-8p 5th & 6th Grade Youth
6:30p-9p CF band practice
5:30p—9p Roping Clinic
All Day Event Roping Clinic
6p-9:30p CFY
7p-8p Living Hope
6:30 p Mission Baseball game
17
18
19
20
10a11:30a Play Group
6:30p-8p 5th & 6th Grade Youth
6:30p-9p CF band practice
8a-9a Men’s Fellowship Breakfast
6p-9:30p CFY
7p-8p Living Hope
11a Summer Blast Family Day
25
26
10:45a-12 Sun Morning Worship 12-1 Elder Mtg.
6p –11p
10a11:30a Play Group
6:30p-8p 5th & 6th Grade Youth
10:30-12 Helping Hands
6p-9:30p CFY
5:00p Saddle Up
7p-9p Youth Riding clinic
www.cowboyfellowship.org
10:45a-12 Sun Morning Worship
7
11
24
30
6
10
23
29
SAT
7p-8p Living Hope
22
CFY Mon. Night Madness
FRI
27
21
28
6:30p-9p CF band practice 7p-8p Living Hope
31 10a11:30a Play Group
Psalm 8:1 LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.
Page 6
Covered Facility Update Work continues on the Cowboy Fellowship Covered Facility. We are now beginning Phase ll of the project. This will consist of having permanent bleachers built. There are already several events booked in the arena for the up coming weeks and months. ( Page 4 has details for each event). The Arena Ministry is sponsoring a Youth Riding Clinic and Calf Roping Clinic. The CFY has reserved several evenings for CFY Monday Night Madness. Barrel Racing Practice every Thursday night through August 2nd also an Arena Ministry event. We are grateful for those who continue to faithfully support this project with your financial gifts. In the month of June you gave $21,446 toward the second phase of this project. With the generous match of $100,000 this actually amounts to $42,892. Our deadline to raise the remaining $78,554 is August 19th.
Donate Here
Page 7
(Pictures received too late for the June E-newsletter went out but they are too good not to share.)
Page 8
Page 9
Update on the Heritage days Pie contest winners Heritage Days Pie Contest Winners Cowboy Fellowship celebrated their 9th anniversary with a weekend full of rodeos, exhibits, and fun on May 11-12. A community pie contest was part of the weekend's event. There were 43 entries in the four categories. Judges had the difficult job of choosing the best pie in each category and a Grand Prize winner. The winners were awarded a variety of prizes for their hard work. The Grand Prize was awarded to Myrtle LaGrange. In the Nut Category the winners were: 1st prize: Terri Dumas, 2nd prize: Shelby Hill ,3rd prize: Betty Wier. Fruit Category winners were: 1st prize: Susan Dees, 2nd prize: Betty Wier, 3rd prize: James Kiser. The Berry winners were: 1st prize: Leah Walker Rickaway, 2nd prize: Marinan Keeling, 3rd prize: James Kiser. Cream Pie winners were: 1st prize: Candace Rodriguez, 2nd prize: Betty Wier, 3rd prize: Elaine Rutherford. After the judging, the pies were cut and sold to the happy crowd at the Heritage Days celebration. Everyone agreed that the contest was a huge success in its first year. The Pie Contest team, the judges, the bakers, and the prize donors did an outstanding job. Pictured is Grand Prize winner Myrtle LaGrange with an upright freezer donated by Lowe's.
Page 10
SHARE THE HARVEST The SHARE THE HARVEST Spring garden has produced some great looking vegetables. We have experienced a great response to our Share the Harvest. The number of participants has grows weekly. The volunteers who help with the distribution of the vegetables have done an outstanding job. It gets hectic at times but they are always up to the challenge. The gardens have just enough vegetables for one more sharing, Wednesday, July 4th will be the last Share the Harvest. We appreciate the hard work and hours our volunteers put in to make this a successful endeavor.
If you are interested in joining our ministry please contact: Kelli Hindes (830)570-2388 or Cuatro Hindes (830)570-0248
Page 11
On June 28th the Helping Hands Ministry met at Cowboy Fellowship to put the Welcome packets together. The packets are placed on the tables around the sanctuary for visitors or anyone who needs a bible. After finishing up with their work they went to CafĂŠ Chris for food and fellowship. There are two new Helping Hands volunteers: Trisha Clifford and Cheryl Deitrick.
page 1
Page 12
page 2
Page 13
Castro Chronicles
Page 14
The Power of Pain You've heard it said, "Pain is weakness leaving the body." It's something I try to remind myself when I'm doing a workout or going through a rough spot. However, giving birth to our baby girl brought a whole new meaning to that four letter word. Luckily, I had a doctor appointment that morning (on her due date) and found out that I had dilated to 3 centimeters when I went in for my weekly check up. I was so excited! The doctor said that it was time to admit me into the hospital. However, I had heard that you can't eat or drink anything once admitted, and that didn't sound too fun, so I asked if I could just come back once the contractions were closer. He agreed. I called my friend DeNise and we decided to go have lunch at the mall and walk around in hopes of getting the contractions closer together. Afterwards, I came home and took a nap, and the contractions seemed to get further apart. I was determined, so I took Callie for a walk at the park. (I decided to drive the car just in case my water broke;-) My other dog park friends thought I was crazy and that I should be at home with my feet up. But I thought, "Well that won't make them come any sooner!" I came back home and they still had not gotten closer than 10 minutes. It was now 8:30 at night and I was beginning to think that nothing would happen. I called my friend Abby on the telephone and she reminded me to try to relax through the pain and to not clench my fist or curl my toes when the contractions came. When I hung up with her, I tried doing just that and allowed the pain to come instead of fight against it. One hour later my contractions went from 10 minutes apart to 5 minutes. (Praise the Lord!) We made our way to the hospital and checked in at 11 p.m. I had dilated almost 5 centimeters and was taken to the delivery room. I continued to practice breathing and tried really hard to not clench my fists. It went against everything my mind wanted to do. It hurt and I wanted to squeeze something, but I knew that with the pain I was getting closer to holding my baby girl. By 1 a.m. I was dilated to 8.5 and when the doctor arrived at 2 a.m. I was at a 10 and ready to push! It all went by so fast. I wanted to have a natural delivery so that I could experience all that God had designed it to be. I knew that He would help me through it and that He was right there with me. It truly was the most amazing experience and I'm so grateful to God, my husband, and the team of doctors who made it possible. It wasn't until I was feeding her one night when I was reminded how God uses pain in our lives. I think most of the time, our natural reflexes are to clench our fists, grit our teeth, and fight against the pain. Who likes to be in pain after all? What I realized is that pain is a good thing. It doesn't feel good at the time, but God can use it to bring about something beautiful in our life if we allow Him to. It's normal to want to cry and scream and try everything in order to get out of the painful situation. Yet, I learned that God is just waiting for us to stop kicking and screaming so that He can refine us. God can use pain for our good, to accomplish the purposes He has for us. The past 3 weeks have flown by. We are both learning so much and are so grateful for this sweet little miracle that God has blessed us with. Sometimes, when I am walking down the street pushing her stroller or rocking her in my arms, I still can not believe that I am a mom. It makes me think so much of my own mom as I sing the songs that she used to sing to me:-) Page 1
Page 15
Castro Chronicles
Singing and Smiling (or maybe she’s yawning)
Victoria Ann Castro Thank you so much for your prayers for us and for
Born: Friday, June 1, 2012
our new addition to the family. You are such a
Time: 4:20 am
blessing to us. We are overjoyed to have this beautiful
Weight: 5 lbs. 12 oz.
baby girl in our life and we are learning step-by-step what to do as new parents.
page 2
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
“SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP� A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule 'braying' -- or whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer felt sorry for the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened and asked them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery. Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back: he should shake it off and step up! This is what the old mule did, blow after blow. "Shake it off and step up... shake it off and step up... shake it off and step up!" he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought "panic" and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up! You guessed it! It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well! What seemed like it would bury him, actually end up blessing him. All because of the manner in which he handled his adversity. In addition to "shaking it off and step up," we Christians have our heavenly Father to help get us though rough times. When the going gets rough, keep looking up, and trusting him.
Page 23
Home
Sermons
Calendar
Children
Youth
CAMO
Cowboy Fellowship P.O. Box 68 Pleasanton, TX 78064
Our Links