This past week at echo, we talked about how God’s love for us enables us to express love for other people.
Loving other people is one of the hardest things we can do, especially when we define love as an other-oriented, unconditional, self-sacrificial attitude. Often in our lives, there are people we find it easy to get along with, and we can quickly point to that comfortable friendship or relationship and say that we love that person. Other times, people hurt us, and we daydream about punching them in the stomach (if you are the type of person who wants to appear nice all the time). Or we actually do punch them in the stomach (if you are the type of person who enjoys coming off as aggressive)! Strangely enough, that violent, vengeful feeling is an indicator that we are being presented with an opportunity to self-sacrifice, with an opportunity to demonstrate agape.

As part of the covenant that God made with Abraham, God said:
“I will bless the entire earth through your descendents.”
That line stands out to me. God intends for the people of the Kingdom to be a blessing to the entire earth! This means we have the privilege of demonstrating self-sacrificial love to all those around us. In difficult relationships, we do our best to forgive, and to reconcile. This can be an intensely painful process, especially when it means we actually need to sacrifice, and we actually need to change! This is our role as Kingdom people. We demonstrate to the world what it looks like to have whole and peaceful relationships among ourselves, as members of the body of Christ. God loves us, and trusts us to be agents of his love and healing in the world. God sent the Holy Spirit to live in us and partner with us in this task. As God’s love lives in us, may we look outward and show that love to those around us.

Students in the Moka Room, join us at the Jackson household for an afternoon of sledding and winter fun! We’ll meet at the Jacksons’ at 2, and get picked up at 6.
Their address is 6341 26th St N, Oakdale, MN 55128.

We’ll go sledding for the first hour and a half, then head back to the house for dinner and games. Bring warm outdoor clothing, your sled (if you have one), and your favorite board game.

The cost of this event is $5 bucks and that includes dinner!
Call Hannah at 612-718-5459 with questions or to RSVP.
We hope to see you there!

Enjoy this excerpt from the book Spiritual Direction, by Henri Nouwen.

How much of our energy goes into defining ourselves by deciding “I am what I do,” “I am what others say about me,” or “I am what I have”? When that’s the case, life often follows a repetitive up-and-down motion. When people speak well about me, and when I do good things, and when I have a lot, I am quite up and excited. But when I start losing, when I suddenly find out that I can’t do some task anymore, when I learn that people talk against me, when I lose my friends, then I slip into the pit.

What I want to say to you is that this whole zigzag approach is wrong. I am not what I do, and you are not what you do, or what others say about you, or what you possess. “You are God’s Beloved!” I hope that you can hear these words spoken to you with all the tenderness and force that love can hold. My only desire is to make these words reverberate in every corner of your being– “You are the Beloved!”

The voice that speaks from above and from within whispers softly or declares loudly: “You are my Beloved son or daughter, on you my favor rests.” It certainly is not easy to hear that voice in a world filled with voices that shout: “You are no good; you are ugly; you are worthless; you are despicable; you are nobody unless you can demonstrate the opposite.”

These negative voices are so loud and so persistent that it is easy to believe them. That’s the trap of self-rejection. It is the trap of being a fugitive hiding from your truest identity.

Bloo room students, join us on Saturday, January 23rd for a day of outdoor winter fun! Meet at Woodland Hills at 3:00pm and get picked up at 6:30pm. We will be heading to John McDonald’s friend’s house in Hudson, WI for iceskating, hockey, and sledding. Bring your own skates, sleds, and hockey equipment. And be sure to dress warm! The cost is $5 and that includes dinner and snacks. With questions or to RSVP contact Alisha at alishagilbert3@yahoo.com pr 763-245-9444.

IMPORTANT: Before you are able to come on this event, you will need to fill out a bright pink EG release form. This form will be good for all events during the year of 2010. Stop by your team room or the Hub to pick up a release form. With questions about this, contact Natalie at 651-287-3014 or npotts@whchurch.org

Join us for an echo parent gathering on Wednesday, January 20th, from 6:30pm-8:00pm. Look for signs in the building to show where we will be meeting. Contact Erica with questions or for more details at 651-287-2070. We hope to see you there!

December’s offering brought in $188.55. Through World Vision, we are going to purchase a goat, 2 chickens, and supplies for a new mother–to keep her children healthy.

Raising animals is crucial for struggling families, especially in areas of the world where food is hard to come by. A goat and chickens will provide eggs, milk, and meat to an undernourished family. This will enable them to not only feed themselves, but to generate income, by selling eggs and milk, in order to meet some of their other needs.

Thank you for all you have given. Let’s continue to be generous throughout the Advent season. As we ask the Lord to care for those in need, let us take a step in becoming the answer to our own prayers. We are, after all, the body of Christ on earth.

Hey friends,
Just a few reminders for our last echo of 2009!
1. Project Home is still in the building. Please continue to enter and exit through the gathering area doors. We want to offer the families in the north wing as much space and privacy as possible during their stay here.
2. This Wednesday we will be having Afterglow during the second half of our journey group time. Bring a snack or beverage to share during this time!
3. As I mentioned, this Wednesday (the 16th) is the last echo of 2009. We are taking two weeks off (Dec 23rd and 30th) for us all to enjoy the remainder of the Advent season with family and friends. As we do so, let’s continue the work of Jesus and celebrate as he would want us to: peacefully, simply, and together.

Echo is cancelled tonight - Wednesday, December 9 - because of the snow and dangerously low temperatures forecasted for tonight. May you all be warm and indoors tonight!! See you next week.

Just a reminder that the Echo Leadership Gathering is this Sunday, December 13th, from 6pm-8pm.
Remember to sign up for a potluck item on your online invitation, and to pick up a gift for the gift exchange! Contact Natalie at 651-287-3014 with questions.

Advent means “waiting” or “preparation.” Advent in the season in which we wait for the birth of Christ. We’re not alone in our waiting. God’s people throughout history have waited for God to act, have waited and trusted Yahweh for deliverance. The people of Israel waited, enslaved, crying out for deliverance from Egypt. Again in the time leading up to the birth of Jesus, God’s covenant people find themselves in their homeland, but under roman occupation. The religious leaders fight to keep the status quo and the poor and oppressed cry out to Yahweh again. Yahweh hears the cry of the oppressed and this time sends himself to deliver, restore, and heal the human wound. We too wait for the return of the King, to bring justice, life, hope and complete restoration of all things. We have written a guide for families to use during advent to help remember our story, make room for the King, and look forward with hope and anticipation for his coming again. You can download the guide in the links section in the left margin of this page. Peace on earth and good will toward all mankind.