Morningside Community Church

Dear Friends,As I sit here writing this, I realize we are just over 60 days away from the inauguration of our newest President, Barack Obama.   What an amazing and wonderful thing, and a sign that our country truly is overcoming the racial prejudices that have plagued us like a cancer for centuries!   This truly is a historical moment that should please everyone who has ever hated even the idea of slavery.   I am excited to see what things God has planned for our nation of the horizon!

And yet… Read the rest of this entry »

I hear chatter and complaints around the community…

“Who will be the next president?”
“How high will the price of gas go?”
“Will Congress sign the housing foreclosure assistance bill?”

All such concerns are important and valid, but…
are we overly worried about them?

This excessive worry leads to stress.
Well, here are the American Institute’s 50 Common Signs and Symptoms of Stress: Read the rest of this entry »

NOTE: I recently read a “blog” by fellow Worship Pastor, Thomas Miller, of Gateway Church in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.   I liked it enough that I thought I would share it with you.   However, I decided to personalize it…so, the following “blog” was mostly written by Thomas with a few of my own thoughts mixed to make it a little bit more personal for me and anybody who reads this from  Morningside’s website.   I hope you enjoy it and are encouraged!

        I dream alot…

        As a child, I dreamed of having superpowers (especially flying and invisibility…I was very shy). Read the rest of this entry »

God is transforming lives here at Morningside through this “Live Like You Were Dying” series!   Small groups are meeting and having some amazing discussions, sharing cross-generational encouragement and many people…both young and old, both married and single…are experiencing some much needed fellowship with other believers!

This week Pastor Joe really challenged us to step out of our comfort zone and “love others extravagantly…shock those around you by doing something for someone else that nobody would expect you to do!”   And it’s working, the stories people are telling are inspiring!   It is truly exciting  and convicting to hear what God leads us to do when we will just listen to His leading and then go and demonstrate His unmeasurable, uncontainable  love for others!

Maybe  you are at a place where you need to know that you are loved, that you are special, that you are not forgotten.   If that is you…we encourage you to do  four things: Read the rest of this entry »

Our church is in the midst of a sermon series called “Live Like You Are Dying,” based on the Tim McGraw song.   Last Sunday’s message was focused on “loving deeper;” and the concept of telling people you love, “I love you” was covered.   That made me think….often when people are asked, what they would do if they knew they had a limited time left to live (one week for example), a common answer is “Tell _______ that I love him/her.”   So what is it that makes us so uncomfortable telling people we love them before we are painfully aware that the end is near?   Why do we get that weird feeling in our stomach?   Why do we feel we have a bowling ball tied to our tongues?   Isn’t it strange that we can say we love so many other things…pizza….football…..shopping, but to say “I love you mom, dad, son, daughter, friend, kind of creeps us out?  
Read the rest of this entry »

“Hello. My name is Elaine Ganahl and I am a learningaholic.”

 ”Hi, Elaine!”

 It is always a good thing to admit addictions. It is to be the first step towards recovery.  This, however,  is one addiction I hope I  never recover  from. An addiction is something we can’t stop, no matter how hard we seem to try. I have discovered about myself that I am addicted to learning. Not just learning, I suppose, but learning about God and my relationship with Him.

Over the years, I have spent much time in the study of Scripture to know about God. Somewhere along the line my study switched from knowing about God to knowing God. Huge difference. I believe it was at this time my addiction started. The more I got to know God, the more amazed I became at how awesome He is, which made me want to know Him more, which lead to wanting to learn more about Him, which lead to… Read the rest of this entry »

When I was at my previous church in Wyoming… we had a strong emphasis on Small Group Ministry.   I have been involved in one for most of my 20 years as a Christian.   However… we have not been able to maintain that same emphasis for long here at Morningside.   We organized a few for our 40 Days of Purpose campaign in 2005… had a few more in 2006… had some in early 2007… but, most died out when summer hit last year.   I miss being in a Small Group.   They are such a great connection to people… and I believe we have lost much of that connection to others in recent years.   Small Groups help us encourage one another’s faith (Heb 3:12-14)… promote love and good works (Heb 10:24-25)… and to carry each other’s burdens (Gal 6:2).   That’s what God wants for us… but, I find myself wanting to email folks at times rather than call them because I don’t want to take the time to engage in a 2-way conversation.   And along with email… texting has now become one of the main forms of communication among those with cell phones… we don’t even use the phones to talk anymore… we just use them to text!!   I have to admit… although I have received a few text messages… I have never sent one and don’t even think I know how!!…

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