The Mountain View January 2005

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven on Earth.

Isaiah 9:6-7. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

It was quiet in the restaurant since it was Christmas Day. Mom, Dad, and their baby son, Erik, were a long way from home, having been stranded by the snow storm. Erik was the only child in the restaurant. Everyone was eating and talking quietly. Suddenly, Erik started pounding on the tray of his high chair and squealing with excitement. He was showing his toothless grin to someone across the room, and Mom and Dad looked around the restaurant to see who was the source of such enthusiasm.

It was a man with a tattered rag of a coat that was dirty, greasy and worn. His pants were baggy with the zipper at half-mast. His toes poked out of worn-out shoes. His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed, unwashed, and matted down across his forehead. The man's whiskers were too short to be called a beard, but he was a long way from what you could call clean-shaven. And while the family was to far away to smell anything, Mom was sure that if they were closer they would get a real nostril full.

The old man was grinning and waving at their beautiful little baby boy and saying things like, "Hi there, baby. Hey, big boy. I see ya, buster." And Erik was obviously loving the attention. Everyone else in the restaurant was noticing as well.

Mom and Dad felt very awkward, but they didn't know what to do, so they decided to just wait it out. But when the food came, the old man got louder and started hollering across the room, "Do you know patty cake? How about peek-a-boo? Hey look, he knows peek-a-boo." No one was amused by the dirty man. He was obviously drunk and making everyone uncomfortable. Everyone except Erik, who was loving every moment of it.

The meal was finally done. Dad was going to pay the check and meet Mom and Erik in the parking lot. But the old man was seated between Mom and the door. She picked up Erik out of the high chair and prayed, "Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik." As she got closer, she turned sideways to avoid the old man and to keep from breathing any of the air around him. But as she did, Erik leaned over her arm, reaching out with both of his little hands in a "Pick-me-up" baby posture. Before mom could stop him, Erik propelled himself from her arms and into the arms of the old man.

And when it happened, it was a magic moment. There was some kind of instant bond between that smelly old man and the beautiful little boy. With total love and trust, Erik laid his head down on the man's shoulder. As he cradled the baby gently in his arms, he hummed "Rock-A-Bye, Baby," and tears streaked his cheeks.

Finally, the man carefully lifted Erik from his shoulder, gave him back to Mom, and said, "God bless you Ma'am. You just gave me the best Christmas present I ever got." In astonishment, Mom said, "Thank you," and rushed to the car with tears in her eyes too.

Amen. So be it! May this be our resolve for the New Year, 2005, as the Mountain Vista United Methodist Church!

Each year on January 1 we are reminded of the New Year before us. It is presented as a blank page with all its potential upon which we get to write our own script. We are reminded that we must make the right choices and changes in our lifestyle. If we do that our lives will be enhanced. It is always presented as an opportunity for a new beginning; all we have to do is exercise some willpower and demonstrate some motivation. This advice comes after a season of feasting and extravagance! Eat less, exercise more, go to bed earlier, get up earlier, get started on some of the projects that you have been putting off for some time, invite the neighbors over for coffee, spend some time helping those who are less fortunate than we are - the list goes on and on.

In the words of the "philosopher" Bob Dylan, "He who is not busy being born is busy dying." Sometimes sound advice comes from unexpected places! This advice seems to suggest that in order to live a rewarding life we have to begin to see beyond our own little world. We have to move beyond the life of indulgence. Yes, we have to take care of ourselves, but we also have to expand our horizons in order to give life meaning. We need to move into a life of discovery.

It is the start of a new year, a new beginning, and a chance to make some changes in our lives. It is a chance for us to participate in the creation of our lives. It is exciting, maybe even a little scary, to realize that we do not have to live as victims, with life just happening to us. We have the opportunity to make some choices for ourselves.

New Year's resolutions are a tradition. Studies show that most resolutions are forgotten or ignored within a few weeks. Willpower doesn't seem to be adequate to keep us motivated. Could it be that our motivation needs to be supplemented with God's power and strength? Could the Spirit of God make the difference?

The Christian Life Center

Hours: Tuesday & Thursday 9-Noon
1^st and 3^rd Saturday 9-Noon (appointment only)

The Christian Life Center is a ministry offered by this church. Its purpose is to help people deal with the troublesome issues of life. Call the church office or Duane Haidle for an appointment.

Hilltop UMC in Sandy, Utah will sponsor two (2) Lay Speaker courses on Friday, January 21, 2005, from 7 pm to 10 pm, and finishing on Saturday, January 22, 2005, from 9 am to 5 pm. Only one of the two courses may be taken. Following are the course details:

1. Lay Speaking Basic Course. Interested folks can take this course to become a local church Lay Speaker. This is a one time course to obtain this status in the United Methodist Church. There is a course workbook that is required reading and must be purchased.

2. "Lay Speakers Tell Stories" (Advanced Lay Speaking Course). This course teaches how to integrate story telling and stories into a broad range of ministry. There is a course workbook and a supplementary book that are required reading and must be purchased. Certified Lay Speakers may take this course as credit to meet the requirement for one advanced lay speaking course every three years. Local church Lay Speakers may take this course to become a Certified Lay Speaker. Others may take this course, but doing so will NOT earn status as a lay speaker.

Interested persons should contact Cynthia Keck [her phone numbers are available at the church office] to sign up and order books. Deadline for signing up is January 3, 2005, in order to allow time to provide books and for students to complete the required reading before the courses begin. If you call Cynthia and must leave a message, please indicate your name, home UMC church, address, phone number, and which course you are signing up for. She will get back to you.

Christmas is over—but your giving doesn't need to be. The Family Support Center has a wish list and you're welcome to give anytime. You may bring the items to church. Here is part of that list.

Diapers—all sizes (4- 5- 6 most requested)
Baby Wipes
Pacifiers (any brand)
Bottles
Gerber Baby Food (in jars or boxes of cereal)
Infant Formula (all brands)
Diaper Jeannie Refills
Crib Sheets
Onesies – Birth to 3 years
Pajamas – Birth to 3 years
Baby Wash
Baby Lotions

It's That Time Again!!!

The Bloodmobile will be at our church again on Wednesday, January 19 from 3-8 p.m. There will be a sign-up sheet available so that you can claim your time. Please let friends and family know also. If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Coe.

Several groups here at church have been busy raising money for our building fund. Here is what they have been doing:

Cookies and craft items were made and sold by women of our church on Saturday, December 11. The amount collected from this fun day was $951.28 There was also a quilt raffle which raised $203.00. Kayla Fayerweather is now the proud owner of the beautiful Christmas quilt!

A big thank you to the Bells of Joyful Sound. They put on a wonderful concert at our church the evening of December 12, which was enjoyed by all. They also sold their CD "CarolRing, CarolRing," giving the profit to our building fund and that amount was $367.00.

On December 19 at both services our choir performed "Emmanuel—Celebrating Heaven's Child." They recorded a CD the day before the cantata and it was sold with the proceeds going to the building fund. The total from those sales was $942.

The Junior High has been very busy this month. They did a service project, that we all should be thankful for—they made cookies for the Christmas Eve service. Now, that is a lot of cookies! Rachel Gibson and Stephanie Beers both gave devotions. They also made the cutest fish hook bracelets that will always remind them of our loving church family.

The Senior High had a youth group session where we thought about all of the things we needed to change and improve on. We also thought that it would be fun to go Christmas caroling at the West Jordan Care Center. We chose to go there because Melissa Lambdin and Melody Wilder both work there, so it was nice to see the people they work with and how hard that kind of job really would be.

We try to do one activity together a month (the junior high and senior high), so this month we had a White Elephant gift exchange. We had a lot of fun doing this and it was a good way to celebrate the holidays with each other.

As always our youth group would not be very strong if we didn't have the support of our church family.

January 12 – Luke will have a Bible lesson. Play a game and plan for February

January 17, Monday – Serve sandwiches at St. Vincent DePaul's. Meet at the church at 4:15 p.m. Let a leader know if you are going by Wednesday, January 12

January 19 – Bowling at Shepherd All Star Lanes – Cost for two games and shoes is $7.20. Meet at the bowling alley at 4:30 and then we will go to church

January 5 – Bring a Friend Wednesday. Invite people within our church; offer to give them a ride. We will play games.

January 16-17 will be a lock-in for the senior highs at church. Be here at 2:00 to make sandwiches for St. Vincent DePaul's. After sandwich making we will go ice-skating. On Monday, January 17, we'll go to St. Vincent DePaul's to serve sandwiches. Meet at church at 4:30 p.m. More information at youth meeting.

Your offering on Human Relations Day, the Sunday before Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday observance, supports God's children through:

Church Women United is a racially, culturally, theologically inclusive Christian Women's movement, celebrating unity in diversity and working for a world of peace and justice. They are having their annual meeting on January 28, 2005 at 1:00 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 2150 S. Foothill Drive. All women are welcome.

Don't forget the Sandwich Mission. Every third week of the month we make and serve sandwiches as an outreach mission.

The dates for January are:
Sunday, January 16: make/or bring sandwiches, 2 p.m.
Monday, January 17: serve sandwiches, 5 p.m. at St. Vincent DePaul Center, 500 West 200 South. (Usually finished by 6:30 p.m.)

Due Dates for Sunday Bulletin and Newsletter
For the Sunday Bulletin: Information due Wednesday of each week.
For the Mountain View: Articles due the 20th of every month. Articles on disk or e-mailed (mtnvista@aros.net) preferred.