Chicken and Waffles Sunday

We had our first annual Chicken and Waffles lunch.  It would have made Roscoe's proud! Chicken, waffles and a bar of sides and desserts that was so relish that seconds were in order.

But even better was the sweet friendship.  Everyone had a great time.  If you weren't there, don't worry.  I am sure it will be an annual event.

New Name for Class and Blog

We have a new name.  S.A.L.T. for Sunday Adult Learning Team.  What a great name. "You are the salt of the earth."  Matthew 5.13.  It was a suggestion from our survey.

Here are some of the findings of our survey.  We are friendly, welcoming and generous.



We love our movies and Room in the Inn!  Our new RITI schedule will be coming out soon.  Stay tuned!


And what do we enjoy most about our class?  Our diversity, our respect for each other and our openness in sharing.

Fall is a Busy Time!

We are so glad to have Mark and Vicki Anderson join our church today.  Of course, we claimed them a long time ago!

It was great to have Marcia Craig with us this Sunday!  And she and Kelsey will be here for our Greek Movie night on August 11 at 5 p.m. in the Chapel.  Come here about our Greek trip, have some Greek food and watch My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Next Sunday we have the Quarterly SS Fellowship in the Chapel.  9:00.  So if you show up in the classroom, see the note on the whiteboard, and walk downstairs.

Sandra had lots of news for us this past Sunday - so mark your calendar:

September - Fall Picnic
October - Movie Nite at the Movies
November - Supper Club
December - Christmas Party

Saturday Night at the Movies Starting Soon!

Movie nights are back, starting Saturday, June 4.  This year we are joining with the Fulcher Class to host movie nights, and we are inviting all to join in the fun.  Our first movie will be the new Narnia movie that you meant to see at Christmas and didn't get around to it.  It is The Chronicles of Narnia:  The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  Should be fun to see and more fun to talk about.  Should provide some interesting conversation around the incredible C.S. Lewis.

We will be providing snacks, friendly smiles, and sparkling conversation for the evening.  Invite a friend.  Bring family.  Leave the dog at home.

Falling for Fall Creek Falls

April 8-10, 2011. Great weekend.  Great weather.  Great company.  Great facilitators.  Great fun.  Thanks to Mary Alice, Sandra, Ron, Sharon, Larry and Calvin for all your efforts to make this such a successful weekend.

Room In The Inn Warms All

What a wonderful season we have had for Room In The Inn.  Our class served for three Saturday nights and assisted one other class on another night.  We have cooked food, made lunches, set up beds, gone without sleep, watched movies, given out clothes and Bibles and met some interesting new friends.

Some observations -

More of the men have never been homeless before, have recently lost their jobs and are traveling across the country trying to find work.


This was the coldest winter we have had in many years and a warm bed seems like very little to ask.


We had some repeat guests and all who were here were profoundly thankful for the help they received.

Room in the Inn celebrated their 25th anniversary this year with a new building, but the same Godly intent to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.  Room In The Inn partners with more than 170 local church congregations in the Nashville area to provide shelter for more than 1200 homeless individuals from November to March.

Here's a comment from Charlie Stroebel, founder of Room In The Inn, on what the homeless need.

“They need everything I need—everything you need. Of course, there’s Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs starting with the fundamental things like food, clothing, shelter and basic personal things. And then they need education, social support, recreation, employment and those things on the next level.  But then Maslow talks about the highest level of need is the need to find meaning in life and purpose in living—to resolve the riddles and mysteries of our world and our life. I don’t have to understand them anymore than I need to understand myself. If I understand what drives me and what are the obstacles and roadblocks in my own life, then it’s easy to understand the homeless. We’re not that different.”


Thank you to all of you for what you have done to show God's love.

December Full of Blessings

November was a busy month.  Thanks to all for the great response to providing Christmas for kids at Christian Women's Job Corps.  The kids and their moms will be appreciative of the love and kindness that comes from our class.  And we have already participated in funding a bicycle for the NBA Toy Store.  And that was just November.

And December is full of even more opportunities to enjoy each other and share our blessings.  Saturday, December 4, 5:00 p.m. (we eat at 6 p.m.) is our Christmas Party.  No cooking required!  No gift buying required!  Just show up for a time of fun.  It's barbecue on the menu.  And the gift, if you choose to participate, is just something you love and want to share with the group.  It could be a joke, a special poem, something you have experienced, or a favorite Bible verse.  No wrapping required and one size fits all.

Room in the Inn season begins for our class on Saturday, December 18.  If you want to participate and haven't signed up, check with Sandra Landis at sandra.landis@vanderbilt.edu.  We will also have a movie night to coincide with Room in the Inn.  The crowd has voted and Polar Express is the movie!

The Whittles and Kearleys enjoyed touring beautiful Ft. Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas (Florida Keys) . Jim and Mary Alice celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary anchored near the fort.

There were a couple of days left over to explore historical Key West. A good time was had by everyone aboard the AnyTime.

Music City Marathon

Jimmy and I enjoyed joining hundreds of others Saturday to cheer on our 2 favorite runners in the Music City Marathon. Larry and Mike were running strong! I'm trying to add pictures so we'll see if it works this time. Larry was running so fast I only got him from the back.

Ashlinn Grace Robbins Has Arrived.

7 lbs. 8 oz. , Pretty and pink

Congratulations to Windy and Dennis!  We are so excited Ashlinn is here and in the arms of incredible parents.

Being Real in an Artificial World

Authenticity is how non-Christians judge Christians.  What does it mean to be a real friend?  What is real loyalty?  How can you show real trust? How do we make forgiveness real?  How do I as a Christian model these attributes?

Join us for our new 13-week study entitled Authentic Relationships: Being Real in an Artificial World and see what the Bible says about relationship.

Happy New Year!

It's been a busy holidays.  Too busy to update our blog.  But most of you know what we have been doing. Movie nights, Room in the Inn, collecting money for rice, beans and bikes for Toy Store, and attending all the fabulous services here at Woodmont.

For the new year?  We will be introducing a new study soon.  Our next movie night will be the movie "An Unfinished Life".  After that, Seabiscuit.

Check back for the new schedule.

Love to you all. After all, It's A Wonderful Life.

Food for thought

I love this quote from Arne Garborg(no I don't know him).
It is said that for money you can have everything,but you cannot. You can buy food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; knowledge, but not wisdom; glitter, but not beauty; fun, but not joy; acquaintances, but not friends; servants, but not faithfulness; leisure, but not peace. You can have the husk of everything for money, but not the kernel.
This has been stuck on my fridge for years and I read it regularly. Hope you find meaning in it as well.

Fall Back into Fall

We have two new studies for the fall and we are very excited about them.

The first is "The End of an Era, The Rise and Fall of Solomon" by John MacArthur.  
How would the gift of true wisdom change your life today … change your relationship with God, with your friends and your loved ones? In the MacArthur Old Testament Study Guide: End of an Era, you can learn how. Proverbs, the Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes are brought to life in this twelve-week guide. You’ll connect to the text with deeper understanding as the themes of wisdom from God as well as being wise in the world are explored.


The second is "Finding Redemption in the Movies".
Ecclesiastes 3:11 suggests that we come ready-made to understand the greatest story, the epic story of an enemy’s betrayal, the fight between the destroyer and the redeemer, something lost and the journey to recovery, a hero coming to rescue, and ultimate restoration. The Larger Story is the story of the gospel, with Scripture providing the back-story (the truth) behind every meaningful story. Great movies speak to that ready-made part of us because story is the language of the heart.

We plan to use the Solomon study weekly, with a once-a-month Movie Night and follow-up study on Sunday.  We will be posting a schedule, but plan for our first movie night on Saturday, September 26.  

Granddaddy Sharp - A Very Special Man

From Sandra about her Granddaddy Sharp:  
"It is so hard to believe I have to say goodbye to my Grandfather of 45 years, he was such a special man to me.  A little information I wanted to share with my special friends in the Sunday School Class, my Grand-Father was the founding Pastor of Richland Free Will Baptist Church in Nashville, and the LaVergne Free Will Baptist Church in LaVergne, TN. He also pastored West Nashville Free Will Baptist Church and Radnor Free Will Baptist Church. Married for 66 years to Sarah Sharp aka Nana to everyone, since I was the first grand-child that is the name I gave her she has been Nana ever since.   He also baptized (2) of my kids Jason and Sarah, saying goodbye is never easy; however I know there will be a day when we will meet again.  One of my recent memories was when we were getting ready to leave after visiting I would lean over to kiss him goodbye and tell him I love him, then I would tell him to behave himself and his reply would always be “MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS”.  He will be missed by all who knew him well.  Heaven just gained a very special man, Tears of joy for I know he is with out Lord Jesus Christ, tears of sorrow for I know the remainder of  my years here I will dearly miss him."
  

Jimmy and I have enjoyed reading a wonderful book about Dr. Paul Farmer entitled Mountains beyond Mountains. We're back from the sea and looking forward to seeing everyone Sunday. WE miss our class when we're away!

Update on Mom

Hey friends --
Sorry I will not be with you the next couple of weeks. Mom is recovering nicely with her knee. Tomorrow (Sun.) we will remove the dressing and Thursday we will go for the first post-op visit. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers this past week. She came through well. Please continue to remember her as she continues her recovery on her own.
I did take Mike and Ben to Springer Mountain, GA today to begin their 100 mile trek on the Appalachian Trail. Say a prayer for particular moments when Mike can talk with Ben about faith in Jesus Christ and say a prayer for safety and good health. I've also asked God that it not rain on the AT this week. :-) I go pick them up next Sunday. Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers. I'd also like to ask you to remember Alex as he finishes his last two weeks of school. He has AP tests this week and finals the next. Thanks for your continued prayer support for me and mine. It means so much. It means you are being Christ to me.

Love you all -- Jana

Homelessness in Nashville 2008

Get the facts!  View the video by clicking on the title.  It will take you to YouTube where you can view it.

Jesus was homeless.

Hope you enjoyed our discussion this morning on what Woodmont is doing in response to benevolence and learning the facts of homelessness in Nashville.

Thanks to our guests - Dr. Jon Roebuck and Heather Rippetoe, training coordinator for National Healthcare for the Homeless Council.  We appreciate Heather's perspective as a Christian seeking God's direction in this area.  I have noticed that I now see the issues of homelessness in scripture everywhere.  Jon's sermon this morning about the Prodigal Son made me think that we are all homeless until we come into a life-changing relationship with our Father who has many rooms in his home prepared for us.

Join us next Sunday for more discussion on the Christian perspective of homelessness.  Remember we are seeking God's direction for our individual actions and/or class actions.

The books that she shared with us are Souls in the Hands of a Tender God and Irresistable Revolution.  If you are interested in a book study, please let us know next week.

Can't wait to see you and continue the conversation next Sunday.  Remember it's Friends Day.  That means Pancakes at 8:45 a.m.  and Class at 9:15 a.m.

I love you all!!!

Learning to Blog

We talked about blogging today!