WOW! October 12th-Kathy Wagner

Kathy and John Wagner

I was born in Watertown, NY and lived in the little hamlet of Harrisville, NY (about 40 miles NE of Watertown). When I was 5 years old my parents died as the result of a car accident. My sister and I moved to a dairy farm in Kingsport, TN, to live with our mother's sister and family. How the Lord prepared me for this is another whole story. I started calling my aunt & uncle “new” mom and dad and my birth parents were “old” mom and dad. Very shortly the new and old were left off and it was Mom and Dad, and my birthmother & birthfather.

While sitting in Sunday School about a year after moving here, my teacher shared the plan of salvation with us. She asked if any needed to ask the Lord to be their Savior. I realized I was a sinner but I was scared to raise my hand and sat there waiting...on what I do not know. Finally my teacher said that we didn't have to pray that prayer there in church, we could pray it at our own homes. Sitting at home that afternoon, I asked the Lord to be my Savior.

Every morning, Daddy would come up from the milking parlor and read Scripture and pray with us before we left for school. When Mother would let us off at the school, she would remind us she loved us and then the very last words she would say were, “Remember to Whom you belong.”

 

I attended Bancroft Bible Camp for at least one week every summer. When I was 13 and able to attend Youth Week, I met this 15 year old named John Wagner.

After graduating from high school, I attended Bryan College (named for William Jennings Bryan) in Dayton, TN. From there I earned my Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. I taught for a few years at a Christian school here in Kingsport and then worked for an office furniture company. While working at this office furniture company, John and I began to think of each other as more than friends.

John has been a member of ISBC since the early 1990s. So when we married in 1998, I moved my membership to ISBC. The church in which I grew up was a very small church and had an all girl youth group. It was very exciting (and still is) to see both teenaged boys and girls actively participating in the church.

Since coming to ISBC, I have had the privilege of teaching children's Bible study classes, serving in AWANAS, working in the nursery, playing in the orchestra and being one of the children's leaders for the summer Precept studies. It is so very exciting to see children's eyes opened when they realize they can study God's Word for themselves!

One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Psalm 121. “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth and even for evermore.” (KJV)

Submitted by Kathy Neal

Communications Coordinator 

I Had a Heart Condition

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

One of our annual mega events was yesterday, the Fit for the King 5K Race/3K Walk/Kids' Run/Kids' Dash.  It grows each year, and has become quite the undertaking. Yesterday, we had over 350 people compete in the events, and we fed close to 600.  The preparation that is required to pull off such an event is massive.  It really does "take a village" to make sure all the details are taken care of. There are lots of volunteers who give selflessly of their time doing less than fun tasks, but they do it "as unto the Lord", with a Servant's Heart that I talked about last week. 

Since I am the Race Director, it was particularly challenging for me. Sure, it was time consuming and I was running here and there like a mad woman to get everything done, but the bigger challenge for me was with people. I am the first to admit that I have little tolerance when it comes to apathy and being inconsiderate. Though all the details regarding the event, how to pre-register, what time it was, what time to be there, the importance of making reservations if you were planning to eat, and all the other need-to-know things had been in the weekly bulletin for 8 weeks, on the big screens at both campuses, every Sunday, morning and evening, in the weekly WMW church wide e-mail for two months, on the blog every week for more than two months, on Facebook and on signage around the church, and announced from the pulpit, and even put in the hands of every woman that walked through the doors of the church on August 5th, apparently the majority of people knew nothing about it! How can that be? How can something be that well publicized and so many go about in such ignorance? I don't understand.

The deadline for making meal reservations was last Monday at noon. The reason for this is the food crew needed to know how much food to prepare and go and shop for it. However, by the deadline (which was also announced for two Sundays from the pulpit and in all the other aforementioned places) only 157 had called in for the meal and preregistered for the races, yet we fed nearly 600!!! How did anyone think that the food crew could come up with that much extra food? Does one really think that if they call in on Friday night that the crew, who is busy cooking and preparing, could drop what they are doing and go shop for more food? How inconsiderate! I was livid! 

I ran into Pastor Roc and Jeralyn on Friday afternoon at Office Depot. I told Pastor that he needed to preach a sermon on it! He laughed and said he had a whole list like that, and I don't doubt that is true! LOL  He said, "Don't grow weary Mrs. Pam." I replied, "Oh, I'm not weary, but I am growing horns."  More laughter.  I was only half kidding. 

Everyone thinks, there's just four of us they will have plenty so I don't need to call.  Wrong! There are 40 families or more just like yours who do the same thing. So what's the problem, aside from that? Sure, we made sure we had enough food, but what if that many had not shown up? It would have been very poor stewardship on our part to have wasted that much food. And the reason I was so irritated is that it is this way straight across the board with every activity in our church. People show up on Wednesday night without reservations and expect Mr. Wayne to have enough food to feed them, and get mad when he doesn't.  What is wrong with us?

I really let Satan get the better of my attitude and amidst all of it, the Holy Spirit brought conviction to my heart about my attitude. He brought the scripture to my mind about how I needed to have a clean heart and a right spirit. Whew! That was a hard one. "But Lord, these people are driving me crazy with their lackadaisical attitudes." "It doesn't matter.."Create in me a clean heart, o Lord, and renew a right spirit within me." He repeated.

I had to pray that scripture many times from Friday to Sunday, because it still bothered me so much, but by the time I got to the race, all was forgotten and all I could feel was compassion and a desire for everyone to have a good time and for God to be glorified. That's what God can do! Had I kept that ugly attitude, I would have had some heads on a silver platter or two and then Satan would have had the victory.

We have to be mindful of our attitudes and the effect they can have on us and other people. A spirit of frustration can cause lots of hurt and division. I don't want to be a divider. I want to be a unifier, as the Holy Spirit works through me.

Please forgive me for all the bad thoughts I thought about some of you. I am a work in progress. I do desire all of God and all of what he has for me. I want to be a vessel through which he can accomplish much. I need a right spirit and a clean heart. It is a daily process, not a one-time thing.

How's your attitude?  Are you a complainer? Do you get angry when everyone else doesn't do as you think they should? Do you need to have a clean heart and a right spirit created within you?  Jesus is the Master Cleanser! He is the original Mr. Clean. Humble yourself before him and ask for him to cleanse you. He is faithful to his Word.

Pam Archer, Director
Women's Ministry

Whom Do You Glorify?

Recently, I found out that servers at restaurants don't like to work on Sundays. It was shocking to me to find out why.  They are quick to tell that overall, Sunday crowds are rude and bad tippers.

Yesterday as I was scrolling looking at posts on Facebook, it hit me, a lot of the posts I was reading well.... were not very nice. Yet, the very people that post these not so very nice things, go to church regularly.

As Christians, we should really open our eyes and maybe start reminding ourselves that everything we do glorifies someone, God or Satan.
As we jump down our server's throat, post ugly snide remarks in  social media, talk to our neighbors, or whatever it may be, if it is not glorifying God, Satan surely is happy.

It's really sad.. pathetic actually, that we are so caught up in our fleshly feelings that we can't control ourselves from being ugly and bitter.  I certainly don't want to walk away from a conversation with those who are left saying 'and she calls herself a Christian'......

The cashiers we are ugly to, the people we haven't seen in ten years on Facebook.. what kind of impression are you leaving? Are you allowing Christ to shine through you, exposing something to the world that they might want to come to Christ, or are you giving Christianity a bad name?

Fruit of the Spirit:

Galatians 5:16-17
"Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things you wish".

Verse 19-23
"Now the works of the flesh are evident which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousy, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries and the like; of which I tell you before hand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But, the fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control...."

Verse 24-25 "Those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."

What Paul is saying in his letter to the Galatians, we should heed today, if we are born again believers we need to act like it and bear the fruit of the Spirit, not of the Flesh.

~ submitted by Jeni Morelock

How to Become Refreshed

Do you need refreshment?  As women, we especially tend to over extend ourselves and our time. We're up early preparing, in bed late preparing ~ leaving ourselves exhausted. A fatigued body leaves us with not enough energy to make it through the day! It affects every task we complete. Because our tanks run low we're not sharp enough to be of full use.

As Christians, it is important for us to examine our priorities, making sure that God is our focus- not ourselves but Him. The pressures of life reveal the truth of what's inside. What does God have prioritized for you?


2 Timothy 2:21 "a special instrument set apart, useful to the Master".
Search yourself and examine what God has prioritized for you. Believe that if He called you to it He will bestow the grace needed to bring you through it.  Honoring God is our focus, therefore it pares down your purpose and narrows your focus.


Psalm 34:14 "I seek peace and pursue it".
Are you doing this today? What in your life can you change from good things to God things?

James 1:4 "in Christ I am whole and complete"The world doesn't offer wholeness and peace. Pursue today what God had designed for you.

My prayer for you;
Holy Father as we embark on each day's new challenges, we easily find ourselves overwhelmed , burdened and exhausted. Father I want to be my best for You. Help me to discern what in my life I need to change, so that each task I take on will show the perfect You. I want to be your vessel, I want to be in your will. Help me to find the peace and strength you want for me to have. In Jesus precious name. Amen.

~ Sumitted by Jeni Morelock

WOW! ISBC Woman of the Week - Kathy Singleton

This week our ISBC WOW! is Kathy Singleton.  As church
secretary many of you may have spoken with Kathy and even benefited from her help on a project!  (I know I have!) 
Now hear Kathy's story in her own words:

Before moving to the Tri-Cities in November of ’07, my husband Jimmy, and I lived in Seymour – south of Knoxville – for 26 years.  We are the proud parents of two daughters. Amanda, 32, lives in Asheville.  Melissa, 30, lives in Chattanooga with her husband, Bryan, and their 17-month-old son, Owen -who will become a big brother in June!  I’m not ashamed to say that I’ll show you the newest picture of our “Little Man” and talk endlessly about him and our girls with little or no encouragement.

I am an only child – born to parents who were both told that they would never have children.  God; however, proved their doctors wrong when 11 months after their wedding I was born!  My father was in the retail business and so we moved A LOT – beginning when I was 6 weeks old.  By the time I graduated from high school we had moved 25 times.  Since our marriage in ’75, Jimmy and I have moved 12 times.  The first move was to Sacramento, CA where he was in the Air Force.  In ’93, we actually had 5 different addresses!   When you move that much, you have a couple of choices:  1) Withdraw for fear of always being the “new girl” and thus the outsider; or,  2) Throw your arms open wide and embrace people quickly, because you may only have a short time to get to know them.  Those of you who know me are probably smiling now because you know which choice I made.   A good friend of mine refers to me as a “child of the world” because I love people and have never met a stranger.

Over the years I’ve held many jobs and enjoyed each of them.  I’ve also been active within our church:  working with children and youth, choir, and drama productions.  While our church was involved in building a Family Life Center, God gave me a heart for that ministry.  So, true to my nature, I marched up to the new Minister of Recreation and Senior Adults and expressed my interest in working in the FLC.  To my surprise, and his, he hired me on the spot!   I spent six of the most amazing, busy, crazy, fantastic, and often, exhausting years, in God’s service.   I came to realize that God had been preparing me for this ministry all along – from the day of my birth – all the moves – all the people I’d met – all the different jobs I’d held!   It was all part of His perfect plan!

  My parents (now divorced) were having serious health issues as was Jimmy’s Mom (a widow), so we began to pray for guidance about our future.  We felt God urging us to move back to the Bristol area where they all lived.   I can’t say I was always patient and that I never questioned Him because I did.  To be honest, the answers just didn’t come when I thought they should and they weren’t always the ones I wanted.  I loved the friends I’d known for 26 years and my ministry at the church.  However; He is always faithful when we remain obedient to Him.  When His time was perfect, He gave me sweet peace and I saw His hand move as everything began to happen quickly.  Between July ‘07 and Dec. ’07, Jimmy was interviewed and hired, our house sold (in 3 weeks), and we bought our perfect house here in Blountville, and moved in.

For a while we went to church with a different parent each Sunday, but we needed our own place of worship.  Again, we began to pray and God led us here to ISBC.   We are one of those couples that Pastor Roc says visited for 140 years before they joined!  I can say, with great joy, that we’ve been members now for 2½ years.   I became involved with Awana and the Women’s Ministry, but I wanted more so I began to pray about it.  In October God answered that prayer when I began sharing the job of church receptionist with Kaye Poirier.   I am excited about the future and what God has planned.   He is continuing to prepare me for whatever happens tomorrow and I pray that I am always available!!   Praise the Lord!!!!

Submitted by:
Kathy Neal
ISBC Women's Ministry
Communications Coordinator

How to Handle Unforgiveness

 Six Ways to Find Unforgiveness and Remove It

by Joyce Meyer

Most all of us like getting promoted, and there's nothing wrong with that. But sometimes we fail tests in certain areas that keep us from getting promoted.

Areas like forgiveness.

If someone has hurt you, don't spend the next 10 years of your life hurting yourself by hanging on to that offense. Most likely, that other person isn't even thinking about you, while you dwell on the incident for years. That only hurts one person—you.

You see, when you forgive someone, you are helping yourself.

To help you understand the importance of forgiveness, here are six ways to detect unforgiveness in your own heart. Once exposed, you'll be one step closer to your personal promotion from God.

1) Unforgiveness always keeps score.

In Luke 15:29, the elder brother of the prodigal son said, "Look! These many years I have served you." Peter wanted to know how many times he had to forgive someone. Unforgiveness is always looking at the score. But 1 Corinthians 13:5 says, Love takes no account…. It doesn't count up the evil done to it.

Back in the early days of our marriage, when Dave and I were fussing and fuming at each other, I would bring up stuff that happened years before and Dave would say, "Where do you keep all that stuff?" Well, I had a place, and it was all in there eating at me. And every new thing Dave did wrong would get added to this list, and it kept growing until it became a bitter giant in my heart.

2) Unforgiveness always boasts of its own record.

In Luke 15:29, the older brother of the prodigal son says "These many years I have never done wrong." Judgment always says that I always do good and others do bad. An unforgiving spirit keeps us from God's best for us.

3) Unforgiveness always complains.

"You never do anything for me." Ever catch yourself thinking that about someone? This attitude only sees what others aren't doing and doesn't see what they are doing. God's Word clearly shows that we're not supposed to complain. And if you're continuously using your mouth to complain about some incident of offense, you won't get past it. Don't waste time by complaining.

4) Unforgiveness has a martyr syndrome.

"I do all the work." Workaholics are particularly susceptible to this one. Sometimes people who work all the time and don't know how to enjoy their life get jealous when other people are enjoying life. Is there someone who aggravates you when you see them having a good time? If yes, you could have unforgiveness toward them.

5) Unforgiveness always alienates, divides and separates.

When the kids are acting up, we say "my husband's kids" or maybe something like, "What are you going to do about your son?" Those are divisive statements. Maybe you have a coworker who you stay away from as much as possible or a sibling you don't talk to much…why do you separate yourself from them? Maybe you need to forgive that person.

6) Unforgiveness is always envious and jealous when angry at someone who gets blessed.

If someone who has hurt you gets a blessing, it grates on you…at least it did for me until I learned how to forgive. Forgiveness is a decision—not a feeling.

When you pray for people who have hurt you, it's a choice. But there's healing in that for you. Bless and do not curse them means to speak well and not evil of them when that person is not around. And be good to them in various ways as wisdom allows.

Improve Your Life

I want to encourage you today to make a decision to start living a lifestyle of forgiveness and refuse to be offended.

A forgiving lifestyle helps you become more like Christ. As you learn the importance of forgiveness and begin to practice forgiving others, your heart will heal from bitterness, and your personal growth will lead you to the promotions God has planned for you.

Joyce Meyer

~ Beth Dishman
   ISBC Women's Ministry
   Publicity Coordinator

Women's Ministry Wednesday-April 25

The main event happening this week is a seminar, led by Jeni Morelock.  40 women have already signed up to learn and discuss how to make time for our husbands, how to love him like God wants us to, how to meet his needs physically and emotionally, and how to fall in love with him all over again.  This will be a blessing to you and to him.  All you need to do is make this Saturday a priority.

"Embracing Your Husband" this Saturday at our Glenwood Campus, in the Sanctuary. It will begin promptly at 9:00 am - 2:00 pm.  Lunch will be provided.  FREE

Also at the Glenwood Campus Saturday morning is our Zumba class, led by Rachel O'Dell.  Cost is $3.  This is a one-hour class, beginning at 9:00.  Meet in the fellowship hall.


Have you purchased your ticket/s for the Country Spring Fling yet?  It's only $5 and includes lunch and a fun time of fellowship.  All this is happening at Allandale Barn on Saturday, May 12th from 11:30-2:00.  It is for females of all ages, so bring a car load, bus load, or two-seater bike down to Allandale, wearing your country finest.  This is our Spring Tea event, so don't miss out.  Tickets are on sale in the church foyer on Sundays.


Planning will begin very soon for our 2012 annual Fit for the King 5krace/walk/kids' run., to be held Sunday, September 16th.  Several hundred people from all over the area participate in this event, so we will need many volunteers to help with registrations, manning the water stations and race course, and dozens of other things.  There will be a volunteer sign-up sheet at the Women's Ministry table in the church foyer, beginning this Sunday.  We need YOU!