Pleasant
News from Mt Pleasant Christian Church - http://mychristianchurch.org - April 2010
A Second Glance…
Josh and I were both raised in Ellettsville and
attended Edgewood High School. We had our
first date when I was a sophomore and he was
a senior in high school. After high school, Josh
went to IU for a year and then began working
with his dad in the construction business. I
attended IU for a degree in Elementary
Education. During my junior year at IU, Josh
and I began dating again and we got married
the July before my senior year (2002). During
our first years of marriage, Josh started his own
construction company and I worked as a 4th
grade teacher at Edgewood Primary School. I
knew in my heart that I always wanted to be a
stay-at-home mom. Josh supported me in my
decision to put my career on hold so I could
focus on our children. We now have two boys
that I stay at home with. Brody is 2 ½ years old
and Zane is 9 months old.
Josh and I were both raised in church and have
always found God the staple of our happiness.
I began attending Mt. Pleasant Christian
Church (MPCC) as a young girl and was
baptized here when I was 11 years old. Josh
attended Zion Church of the Nazarene and was
baptized when he was 11 years old as well.
Josh became a member of MPCC shortly after
we were married and currently serves as a
member on the board. We decided to dedicate
Times
Brody and Zane to the Lord when they were first
born.
Pastor Jon has performed the dedication
ceremony for both Brody and Zane. I look
forward to seeing our boys grow up in MPCC
and attending Sunday School, Vacation Bible
School, and seeing them baptized! I am proud to
call Mt. Pleasant Christian Church my church
home!
Scars
By Pastor Jon
I have always been accident prone. Because of
that there are scars that tell the stories of my life.
There was the time that I ran into another
playmate during recess and his teeth made
impact with my forehead. Another time I learned
the hard way that a double-sided spinning blade
cannot be stopped with bare hands. Then there
is the story of my bad aim when I missed the
board with the nail gun and put the nail into my
leg instead. The scars on my body tell the story
of where I have been, but have nothing to do
with today or where I will be tomorrow. There are
other scars that people have which are less
obvious. Wounds caused by childhood abuse, a
marriage that ended in divorce, being abandoned
by parents or betrayed by a loved one. The
trouble is when people allow themselves to be
defined by these scars it hinders them from
having an abundant and joyful life.
After the resurrection the disciples were meeting
together and the Lord appeared to them, but
Thomas was not there. Later the disciples told
Thomas that he had missed seeing Jesus and he
said, "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails,
and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." Eight days later Jesus came into the room while
Thomas was there and when he saw Jesus, he recognized Him as his Lord and God. The scars on
Jesus' body identified where he had been, the cross, but not where he was going, which was to be
with the Father. The writer of Hebrews instructs us that as believers we are to keep going forward in
our growth and striving towards perfection (Hebrews 6:1). This would be impossible if we keep
revisiting the circumstances or situations that brought us the scars in our lives and allowing them to
identify who we are. Scars only are required to tell of our past, not our present or future condition.
Jesus was rejected, betrayed and crucified on the cross, but He ascended into heaven as the
exalted Lord and one day will be coming back as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

.
In order for us to get beyond our scars and live in the present we need to first, re-direct our focus.
The Apostle Paul would have had a lot of emotional scars of guilt and shame from having Christians
put to death before he came to Christ. When he wrote to the church he said, "One thing I do:
forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the
prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14) We must accept the fact that
we can't change the past, but we can change our our focus today and, like Paul, we can look forward
instead of backwards. Even when Jesus was on His way to the cross focused on the joy that was on
the other side of the cross rather than the shame and torture that He was put through on the cross.
(Hebrews 12:2)

Second, we need to accept and give God's grace. When a person comes to Christ scars that we
have caused in someone else's life are completely forgiven by God. The Bible says that, "we are new
creatures in Christ Jesus, old things have passed away and all things have become new." (2 Cor
5:17) The old things that are passed away includes all of our sins that we have committed. The
Apostle Paul struggled with what he called, "A thorn in the flesh," personally, I believe it was the
scars of his past life. After Paul prayed three times for it to go away God answered Paul and said,
"My grace is sufficient for you." (2 Cor 12:9) God's grace was there, Paul just had to accept it. We
are also commanded by Scripture to give that same Grace to others (Col 3:13). It would have been
easy for me to hold a grudge against the kid whose teeth made a scar on my forehead. Every time I
look into the mirror I could think about it and get upset. That's the easy thing to do. At the same time
it's the most tiring thing to do. God wants us to offer forgiveness to those who have wronged us
because it sets us free. It's impossible to go on and have joy without first letting go of the grudges
that we hold. Some of the most powerful words that Jesus spoke from the cross was, "Father forgive
them, for they know not what they have done." (Luke 23:34)

Scars may tell the story of where we have been, but they don't have to define where we are going.
From this day on make a conscious choice to re-direct your focus, accept God's grace and give
God's grace to others. Doing so will help you to find the joy that comes from serving Christ.

Alli McClary- April 1st

"The Hand of Jesus" painting used in this
article was created by Mark Demel
http://www.paintingjesus.com/
 Klay Jones April 2nd
Lowell Elliott April 7th
Cortney Walcott April 8th
Sophie Ludlow April 8th
Linda Hodges April 9th
Hazel Osman April 10th
Jason Scott April 10th
Leslie Hodges April 12th
Brenda Harrison April 13th
Gracie Turner- April 13th
Cameron Chafin- April 17th
Drew Fletcher- April 21st
Elijah Nickless- April 21st
Bill Hinson- April 21st
Jake Wineinger- April 23rd
Noel Hatter- April 26th
Gene Baugh- April 29th Copyright Gospel Communications International, Inc -
C.J. Davis- April 30th www.reverendfun.com (Circulation 1-999: FREE)
Correction: There was a Birthday accidentally
omitted in March.
Jason Sims – March 18th. Our apologies. 

Anniversaries
Mike & Andrea Fletcher April 2nd There has been a request submitted for a
Tony & Rhonda Kale April 9th Cranberry Pie recipe. If you have one,
Butch & Marla McClary April 14th please pass it to Pastor Jon or Trish. Feel
Leslie & Linda Hodges April 23rd free to email either one of them.
Vernal & Jeanette Chafin April 26th
--Thank You! 
Batter for Deep Frying Veggies in a Skillet
Submitted by Patty Day
(Mushroom season is coming, so get ready for
some good eating!)

For mushrooms, zucchini, cauliflower, thinly-

sliced tomatoes, okra, or any veggie you fry

 Oil enough for Deep Frying - Heat

What Day is Easter?
Combine:
The first thing that many people do when
they get a new calendar is look to see how
 ¾ cup of Corn Starch
early or late Easter will be. Here is how
 ½ cup of Flour
the date for Easter is determined: The date
 1 teaspoon of Baking Powder
for Easter is the Sunday after the first full
 1 Egg, beaten
moon after March 21st but never before
 ½ cup of Water
Passover. This was determined by a
 Salt and pepper to taste.
church council in the year 325 AD.
Dip your veggie of choice in mixture and then
place in hot oil. Brown until the veggie is nice
and crispy. Enjoy!
 Where is God?
A couple had two little boys, ages 8 and 10, who were excessively mischievous. They were always getting
into trouble and their parents knew that if any mischief occurred in their town, their sons were probably
involved.
The boys' mother heard that a clergyman in town had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked
if he would speak with her boys. The clergyman agreed, but asked to see them individually. So the mother
sent her 8-year-old first, in the morning, with the older boy to see the clergyman in the afternoon.
The clergyman, a huge man with a booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly, "Where
is God?"
The boy's mouth dropped open, but he made no response, sitting there with his mouth hanging open, wide-
eyed. So the clergyman repeated the question in an even sterner tone, "Where is God?!" Again the boy made
no attempt to answer. So the clergyman raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy's face and
bellowed, "WHERE IS GOD?!"
The boy screamed and bolted from the room. He ran directly home and dove into his closet, slamming the
door behind him. When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked, "What happened?"
The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied, "We are in BIG trouble this time, dude. God is missing -
and they think WE did it!"


Mt. Pleasant Christian Church
3191 W. Burma Rd.
Gosport, IN 47433
812-876-9149



Have a recipe, a joke, or testimonial you’d like to share?

Email Pastor Jon at preacherjon@gmail.com
Or Trish Day at daydream@bluemarble.net