Scripture Memory:
Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)
¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. 

Action Step:
This week read Ephesians 2, 3 and 4, and also Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12!

Random Thoughts:

• Time Change coming this Sunday!  Set your clocks forward one hour this Saturday evening! 
• What an incredible Sunday gathering this past Sunday!  I am so excited about “Bring It!” our new series on Spiritual gifts!  I love Ephesians 2:1-10.  God’s love, grace and mercy is mind-blowing! 
• God already has good works prepared for me to do!  We all must discover, develop, and deploy our spiritual gifts so we can walk in those good works!  WOW!
• God uses pastors, teachers and leaders to equip the people in the church for ministry.  It is not the pastors and teachers who should DO ALL the ministry.  You and I are in this together!  We ALL are ministers!  That is why learning your spiritual gift and jumping in to serve is so important.
• We have the world’s greatest volunteers already!  I am so thankful for the men and women, and the boys and girls that serve so faithfully to help us worship and glorify God and to reach out to people in our community with the love of Jesus!
• Volunteer of the quarter!  Larry Pottsis an amazing servant of Jesus!  I am so thankful for this man who helps set-up and breakdown EVERY week!  He won’t read this because he doesn’t utilize the internet, so please tell him I bragged on him!
• I loved having theSkype interview with the Hardins this past Sunday!  It was one of my favorite things we have done at CATG!  Please pray for them.  I look forward to having them with us in May when they are back home for a brief time.
• Easter Eggstravaganza!  We are partnering with CORNDAWGS here in Walnut Grove for a huge Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday April 3.  The Egg Hunt is 10-2pm with different age catagories AND you need to go online to CORNDAWGs.com to register for the hunt in order to avoid the walk up fee on that Saturday.  Sign ups are already taking place fast. 
• We need volunteers for the Easter Egg Hunt!  Thank you to everyone helping fill the eggs and thank you for helping us on that Saturday!
• Speaking of Easter!  It is Sunday April 4!  Please be praying about who you can invest in and invite to join that special Sunday!  We will have 2 services that Sunday at 9:30am and 11am!  What a perfect day to show your friends and family what a great church we have and more importantly what a great Savior we have!
• Our next baptism is Sunday April 11, the week after Easter!  Let us know if you are planning to be baptized.
• Next Steps/C-3gathering Friday night March 19!  Great chance to learn about CATGrove!
• Great prayer time last night at ACCESS prayer time!

Keep Praying, Keep Investing, Keep Inviting!

Scripture Memory:
1 Corinthians 13:7 (ESV)
⁷ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 

Action Step:
Choose this week to put this verse in action by “believing the best” and refusing to “go negative”. 

Random Thoughts and Reflections:

• What a great conclusion to the end of a great series yesterday!  I am praying for marriages and relationships to be strengthened and encouraged and to finish strong!  Here is the review of the 4 weeks.  You can listen to all the “Staying in Love” messages online at churchatthegrove.com.
• Week 1 – The foundation for Staying in Love is Making Love a Verb. John 13..34-35.
  Week 2 – Put the interest of others ahead of your own interests.  Jesus is our ultimate example. Philippians 2:3-8
  Week 3 – Staying in love requires you to monitor what is going on inside of you.  Guard your heart. Prov. 4:23
  Week 4 – All relationships have a gap between expectations and behavior.  1 Cor. 13:7 encourages us to fill the gap: bearing all things, believing all things, hoping all things, enduring all things.  Resist the spiral downward into negativity that can undermine your relationships. 
• We had our highest attendance since we moved into Walnut Grove High School yesterday!  Keep investing and Keep inviting!
• I am equally excited about our new series starting next Sunday titled “Bring It! Exercising Your Gifts”.  Don’t miss this new series that leads us up to Easter Sunday!
• I am praying for our own Tom Kirby, who is running for Congress!  I was able to attend his campaign announcement Friday evening.  We need godly people making a difference for this country!  TomKirby2010
• I am coaching 11-12 year old baseball and I love my West Walton Tigers!  Two weeks to opening day!
• Lots of babies being born into our church!  Yes!  Love it!
• I am very excited about some changes we will be making in our Community Groups for the fall!  I was able to cast some vision to one of our spring groups last night that will be a “prototype” for some of the changes we will implement!  It was a blast and I can’t wait to see what will happen.
• Excited about partnering with the Walton Career Academy this Saturday night to raise money for investing in “at risk” students in Walton County. 
• We begin “Thankful Thursdays” at Walnut Grove High School this Thursday!  This will be the first time for this ministry at the new High School.  I am excited!
• BIGGGGG Easter Egg Hunt Egg-Stravaganza!  We are partnering with CornDawgs on Saturday April 3 for a HUGE Easter Egg Hunt for our community.  What a great way to connect with people.  We will need your help!

Keep Praying, Keep Investing, Keep Inviting!

In case of inclement weather and the possibility of any cancellation, here is how you can be aware of our plans. 

• First of all, we will not cancel our gathering unless we absolutely have to.  I learned the last time we canceled that we probably should not have! 
• Look at the churchatthegrove.com website.  It will be on the front page of the site as soon as we make the decision.  We normally would wait until the morning of the Sunday gathering to make a final decision unless we have blizzard conditions on a Saturday.  Check out site at 6am on Sunday morning.
• Check your inbox for a Church at the Grove email.
• You can always check facebook.com/russbutcher for a status report regarding our gatherings.  Feel free to follow me on facebook.
• Also you can follow me ontwitter.com/russbutcher anytime and for updates concerning pending weather issues. 

Don’t miss this Sunday for part 2 of “Staying in Love”.  Jamesh and Kim will be back!

Memory Verse:
Psalms 16:2 (ESV)
² I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”

Action Step:
Evaluate what in your life takes precedent over love/affection for Jesus!

Random Thoughts:

What an awesome conclusion to our “Crazy Love” series!  Thank you to Gabe Shababy and Rolin Williamson for their ministry yesterday!  I am so thankful for these guys and their willingness to share their gifts.

What a crazy weekend!  We had some new friends over on Friday night, stayed busy most of the day Saturday and had a HUGE full day Sunday!

Josiah’s birthday is Jan. 24 and we had his “airsoft war” party yesterday at my brother’s home in Monroe.  We gathered a bunch of middle school boys, a few adults and ran around in the woods shooting each other.  It was awesome fun!  It is a great way to take out a bunch of aggression…..legally.

We had some new friends over last night that have been attending CATG.  Had a blast hanging out with the Jones family.

Don’t forget to make getting in a Community Group a priority! Make sure you find one of our groups and get connected.  Relationships are so important!

Thankful Thursdays began this coming Thursday at Youth Middle School. We need a couch!  Anyone have a couch we can borrow for February?  If you want to hang out with some teachers and a couple of CATG people come see us at Youth Middle School on Thursday.

Ladies Night Out! This Tuesday at Tonya Calhoun’s place.  7pm!

I am really excited about our new series “Staying in Love”.  I am hoping and praying that marriages and families will be saved, encouraged and equipped over these next four weeks.  Don’t miss it AND take the opportunity to invite some friends, family or neighbors.

Lots and lots going on!  Praying for God to work in my life, the lives of people in our community and in the life of CATG!

We had a blast in our middle school boys small group this past week!  We talked about accountability and about Jesus’ work in our life.  5 middle school boys prayed to receive Jesus into their heart! WOW!  Praying for God to IGNITE something in the lives of our students.  If you are interested in being involved, let me or Nathan Boyd know.

Keep praying, keep investing, keep inviting!

Memory Verse:
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (ESV)
⁶ The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
⁷ Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Action Step:
Bring a significant “first fruit” offering next Sunday as we celebrate what God is doing through ADVANCE!

Random Thoughts:

• Sunday morning we continued in our “ADVANCE” series and learned about the heart of generosity from Pauls 2nd letter to the Corinthians in chapter 9 specifically in verses 6 and 7. 
• If you sow little, you reap little!
• Givers always have more than enough, takers never have enough.  Check out Prov. 11:24.
• We had a sweet time with our ADVANCE leaders on Saturday night of this past week.  They brought their ADVANCE commitments and we had an awesome time taking communion and worshiping together.  I am so thankful for their work and leadership during this season of Church at the Grove!
• Last Friday we had the whole Shababy family over for dinner.  Leo and Monica came with Jordan.  Gabe, Kortney, Hayden and Riley came over as well and we had a blast!  What a beautiful, godly family.  Jill and I learned a ton about raising godly kids!  I am so glad they are part of the CATG family!
• Last Sunday morning! WOW!  What a God-glorifying morning of worship.  Austin Prince!  That dude is growing as a worship leader.  I love Austin’s spirit and heart for God.  His talent and excellence as a worship leader is rapidly matching his authentic heart for God.  I love that guy.  I also missed Shelley.  She will be back this Sunday.
• I am so proud of CATG for their response to ADVANCE!  I hope it is ok to be “proud” of them!?  We still will have some commitments come in these next few weeks but I am thrilled to see the faith response of so many.  I look forward to sharing the commitments with everyone. 
• If you have not made a commitment to ADVANCE, you still can! 
• My father-in-law is having major surgery next week.  I would love for people to pray for him!
• Speaking of prayer;  We had an awesome time at our first ACCESS prayer time on Tuesday night at Gabe Shababy’s house.  I urge you to consider joining us every other week for prayer.  We will announce the place for prayer on Nov. 24 soon.
• “SHOP WITH A HERO” is Saturday Dec. 5 9am-12noon in front of Loganville Wal-Mart!  I would love for all our uniformed people to help us by shopping with a child.
• I am now TWITTERING!  It is a web tool that allows me to keep people up to date with what I am doing, thoughts I have and any other info.  you can go to http://twitter.com/russbutcher and check out what I am doing.  I would love to hear what you think.
• Keep praying, Keep fasting and Keep serving!  God is doing and will do incredible things as we follow Him.
• I just read The Legacy of Sovereign Joy by John Piper.  What a challenging book on the lives of Augustine, Luther, and Calvin!  I am now reading Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesusby Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg. 

See you Sunday! 

Scripture Memory:
2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)
²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Action Step:
Accept God’s invitation to his celebration of his restored children!

Reflections and Important news for Church at the Grove:

• What a weekend at Church at the Grove!  We heard Saturday evening that Austin and Shelley were both unable to make it due to being sick.  We prayed, we scrambled and we thank God for Jeffrey Slape being able to step in.  Thank you BIG to Gabe and my wife Jill for stepping in and making Sunday a great Sunday. 
• Gabe, Jill and our band are awesome!  They can adjust to any circumstances and still sound great and lead incredible worship!
• I am loving my community group.  Our starting point group meets on Sunday nights and we are having a blast!  This past Sunday was Mexican night, this coming Sunday is Soup and Salad night!  Oh yeah, we are also having some great discussion about God and the Bible.

I am loving this current series we are in!  There is nothing more foundational and vital to our spiritual journey than THE GOSPEL!

• This past Sunday we looked at the story of the Prodigal.  Here are a few thoughts for review:
• Jesus is telling this story to two groups of people:  The younger son identifies with the tax collectors and sinners.  The Elder son identifies with the Pharisees and teachers of the Law.
• The story could be more accurately titled, “The Two Lost Sons” or “The Prodigal God”. 
• It is just as much about the Elder son as the Younger son.  The were both alienated from the father.
• The father leaves his house to come greet and invite each son to come into his home.  What a picture of Jesus leaving heaven to come to us!
• The Elder son remains alienated from the father because of his pride in his moral superiority or his own righteousness.  That is why 2 Corinthians 5:21 is such an important verse alongside this passage.

I am so burdened for so many families in our church community right now.  There are so many families going through hard and difficult times.

I believe with all my heart that we are under spiritual attack.  The enemy doesn’t want our church to have impact and influence!  We must be in prayer for our church!

We are entering an important and vital time of prayer for the life of our church!  Please join us this coming week in our 40 days of prayer and fasting!  You will receive a prayer journal this coming Sunday! 

As we move into our ADVANCE Faith Initiative this fall, we will continue to face attack and opposition!  We must stay focused and resist the temptation to get distracted. 

Please be in prayer for our ADVANCE Faith Initiative!

Scripture Memory:
Proverbs 13:20 (ESV)
²⁰ Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Action Step:
Make a commitment to a Community Group this fall.  It can be through Church at the Grove or through a network of Christ followers in your circle of influence.

Random Thoughts:

• Yesterday was great at Church at the Grove!  I try to not get to excited or too discouraged on any given week, but it is hard NOT to be excited after yesterday.
• Great crowd!  I love seeing lots of visitors.  We still had a lot of people out. 
• I love Proverbs 13:20!  It is a verse that carries so much practical truth for all of us.
• We must strategically and intentionally choose our close and consistent friends wisely.
• I am so excited about our community groups for this fall.  I am praying for a huge number of people to participate in a community group.
• I love hearing the stories of people connecting in community groups. 
• This Friday is HUGE in the life of Church at the Grove!  I am looking forward to it.
• I love the videos that Gabe and the guys are producing for the beginning of the services.  If you are not in there at 9am, you are missing out!  I promise, it is worth getting there and being in your seat at 9am sharp!
• I have totally enjoyed having Rolin worship with us for the past 2 weeks.  I look forward to having him back.  I love our worship team and how God is using Gabe and Austin’s leadership!  Can’t wait to see what the future holds.
• We have a brand new series starting this Sunday on the life of Joseph. “The adventures of Joe Jacobson”.  It will be awesome!
• School is back in full swing.  I wonder how the new schedules are impacting people.
• I am coaching 11-12 year old fall baseball.  It is going to be a blast working with these young guys and their families. 
• Crazy week ahead.  Praying for you and I will see you this week!

Scripture Memory:
Proverbs 18:21 (ESV)
²¹ Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Action Step:
Be slow to speak this week.  Listen closely to everything that comes out of your mouth this week and measure it against what we have talked about today.  Filter out the bad, increase the encouragement and edification. 

Random Thoughts:

• Here is what I love about CATG!  No frills, no big show, we get to the point and focus on glorifying God and exhorting and encouraging people in their faith journey.  We don’t do a lot of “big show”, “big event” stuff, but rather keep it simple and focused. 
• I love our band!  I love our focus on Jesus!
• Yesterday was awesome in the sense that God’s Word was made the focus.  I loved the children quoting scripture! 
• Great crowd for the end of the summer! 
• We have been having lots of guest all summer and yesterday we didn’t have very many and it was weird that we had a pretty large crowd.
• Friday was a busy day.  We went to see Abigail do her horse camp demo and brought her home.  It is great to have all the kids here in the same house after last week having them gone. 
• Saturday was a yard day.  Other than that it was relaxing.
• I love our volunteers and all the people that put so much work in to making Sunday mornings happen.  Marty Carr’s setup team rocks!  That is a great group of men and women.
• I am getting pumped about community groups.  I want maximum involvement in our groups this fall.  HUGE!
• School starts this week.  I cannot believe it. 
• I hurt for all the teachers being furloughed.  I know it must be tough to start the year this way. 
• I am exited about seeing people back in church these next coming weeks after the summer.  I can’t wait. 
• Keep praying, keep sharing, keep inviting. 

See you Sunday!

My friend Steve Miller in his book Enjoy Your Money!  How to Make it, Save it, Invest it, and Give it, gives us some advice related to investing.  He actually gives us a sure-fire way to LOSE money related to our investments.  Here is what he shares:

Money Losing Tip #1
Invest in stocks before establishing your emergency fund.  Steve suggests putting aside several months of your salary before you begin investing.  Other money experts don’t suggest quite that much.  The point is to set aside funds for emergencies!

Money Losing Tip #2
Get money quicker by trading stocks for short-term gains.  People think they can gamble and beat the market but studies show that the best way to multiply your money is to put it into solid mutual funds and LEAVE it there long term for the best and most secure growth.

Money Losing Tip #3
Pick your own stocks for the long haul and easily beat the market.  Experts lose money everyday and they study companies and the market FOR A LIVING!  Stay away from actively managing your own investments.  Diversify by investing in mutual funds and diversify by investing in STOCKS AND BONDS!

Money Losing Tip #4
Choose Funds based on their past performance.  The top funds of any given year are rarely on top the very next year.  Be careful about investing in “Hot Stocks”.  They may be hot for a short time. 

Be Wise, Plan ahead, and Work hard!