The purpose of this retreat is to focus on our own relationships with Jesus, and also to spend some time focusing on how we as a church can help people go deeper in their own faith.

We’ll leave from Grace Church at 5 p.m. on Friday (or you can drive yourself if
you prefer) and we will conclude at Maria Stein by 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Dan Gildner, Teaching Pastor at Sidney First UMC, will be speaking at the retreat. Watch the Sunday bulletin for more details, or email Jon at fergusonj(at)thefamilyofgrace.com if you have any questions or if you would like to sign up.

Here are some suggestions:

*Make lovely, reusable gift sacks from fabric scraps. Fold material in half and sew up one bottom and the other side. Leave the top open, insert gift, and tie shut with a ribbon.

*No time or desire for sewing? Cut a square of pretty fabric with pinking scissors and tie with a ribbon, or just use a pillow case for larger gifts; decorate with stencil and paint or rubber stamps...or use hand prints in various colors!

*A pretty hand/kitchen towel or scarf can also be used a gift wrap and tied with a pretty fabric ribbon, becomes an added gift.

*Decorate a manila envelope with a collage of leftover paper scraps….or decoupage the scraps directly onto a box of your choice to be used year after year.

*Pick up inexpensive rolls of leftover wrapping paper from the Thrift Store...they may also have wallpaper rolls that could be used for gift wrap or cut into strips
for ribbon accents.

*Make your own gift wrap from butcher paper, recyclable brown paper bags, or the funny pages. You can get (free) end rolls of blank newsprint from your
local newspaper publisher...just let them know it’s for a kid’s craft project.

Reduce is the first of the “three environmental R’s.” We hope you will be encouraged to try one of the ideas above in being a good steward and caretaker of God’s earth this Holy Season.

Some years ago, a few days before Christmas, I was spending an afternoon with Micah, the five-year-old son of a friend. Our conversation, naturally, gravitated to the topic of Christmas so I asked him, “Micah, what are you going to give for Christmas?” He was startled by the question and answered, “Give? I
can’t give anything.” “Why?” I asked. “I don’t have any money. I can’t buy any presents,” he replied.

I asked him if he knew what he would buy for his family if he had the money. His answers were simple; a watch for Daddy, a necklace for Mommy, and toys for his big sister. I suggested that he draw pictures of each of those items, then
he and I could place the pictures in boxes, wrap them and he would have presents to give.

Micah enthusiastically and joyfully set to work. He was so thorough he even remembered to draw a gift for his sister’s favorite doll, who was also a member of the family. After wrapping the presents, I placed them in a small shopping bag and suggested he hide them in his room where no one could find them. The excitement on his face was contagious as he said, “This is going to be the BEST
Christmas.” On Christmas morning, before opening any gifts, Micah distributed his presents to each member of his very surprised family.

The ability to give to those we love is one of God’s great gifts to us. As I  remember Micah’s excitement I wonder if God the Father had the same excitement when Jesus was born. God was providing us with a gift of love and, by extension, a reason for giving. May this Christmas be a celebration of giving for each of you beloved people of Grace Church.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.”
Isaiah 9:6

Financial Peace University is a worldwide ministry that offers a 13-week course in money management to help people eliminate debt and build savings. The course is a Biblically-based accountability curriculum that teaches participants how to make the right decisions with their money.

More than 500,000 people have taken this course, developed by nationally-renowned financial guru Dave Ramsey. On average, participating families pay off $5,300 and save $2,700 during the 13-week period that they attend this class.No one could summarize the spirit of the course better than Marcia Niswonger, who attended the session with her husband Gary. “Financial security provides spiritual security,” she explains. “It’s about being in tune with God and abiding by what He tells us to do with money.”

The Family of Grace offered the course with instructors Ryan and Elizabeth
Cool this fall. For the individuals who took the recent journey through Financial Peace University, the investment of time has more than paid off.

“We’re more structured now with our finances than we were before,” says Joe Vincent with his wife Holly. “Now we’re on the same page and we know where the money is going because we have a plan.”

Jon and Stephenie Rohrbach agree. “We communicate a lot more now about our
finances,” Stephenie says. “This course also helped us get out of debt. We sold Jon’s truck, which was financed, and we paid off three credit cards!”

Course facilitators Elizabeth and Ryan Cool were encouraged by the progress made each week by participants and recognized their milestones by inviting them to cut up credit cards as they paid them off and closed out accounts.
“It was fun to meet with this group each week to see them share success stories and learn new ways of communicating about finances,” says Elizabeth. “This course encourages couples to be open to communicating about money and bringing them toward one common goal.”

More than 500,000 people have taken this course, developed by nationally-renowned financial guru Dave Ramsey. On average, participating families pay off $5,300 and save $2,700 during the 13-week period that they attend this class.
No one could summarize the spirit of the course better than Marcia Niswonger, who attended the session with her husband Gary. “Financial security provides spiritual security,” she explains. “It’s about being in tune with God and abiding by what He tells us to do with money.”

The Family of Grace is planning a second Financial Peace University course
Financial Peace University class will begin again on Thursday, January 15 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. in the Conference Room and will continue for 13 weeks, ending Thursday, April 9 (Maundy Thursday). If you are interested in learning more, stay tuned to announcements in newsletters and bulletins, or contact Ryan and Elizabeth Cool at coolr@thefamilyofgrace.com or call the church office at 773-
8232.

Pastor Fisher comes to us with many years of extensive ministry experience including para-church ministry, traveling as a conference and retreat speaker, as well as preaching and staff supervision in large contemporary congregations from 1,400 to 5,000 members.

Pastor Terry has been married for 22 years to Pamela, a writer and editor for Zondervan Publishing. They have two children, Alyssa (21) and Alexander (15). Alyssa is a senior communications major at Gordon College, Boston. Alexander is a creative writer and artist in his first year of high school.

Terry last served at Pine Castle United Methodist Church in Orlando, Florida. He served there as the teaching pastor where responsibilities included weekly preaching and teaching, supervision of all pastoral staff, and strategic planning for the future. Terry was born in the Dayton area and grew up in the Eaton and Franklin communities. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Cincinnati Christian University where he double-majored in Christian Ministries and Biblical Studies. He also has a Masters in Theology from Fuller Seminary. In addition to being a noted speaker, Terry is also a published author. Some of his favorite ways to spend time include being with his family, reading and bicycling.

Let’s pray for Pastor Terry and his family as they prepare to move to Piqua in June!