Saturday, October 27, 2018

October 20th at church

Beverly was back at OCC and took a couple of photos since I was away.

Alex shared that Jill S had the service and that Sharlet had special music.

Sounds like a very nice gathering.



Thursday, October 18, 2018

The 13th of October

Lovely sight on the way to church.  


Pastor Appreciation Sabbath ~ We are blessed with three Pastor's at OCC.

A new video series we will see once a month.  It was a very nice video with the music and photos and some words on screen.  Tammy's brother in law is the creator of these. 

Our Pastor is a very pleased husband here... taking video of his wife and her sister singing for the special music.  "Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord".  Simply sweet and meaningful. 
Ready for her part of the song. 

Such a nice soft and beautiful way to accompany the singing.  Thank you. 
Our Pastor had our service this Sabbath and here is a little of his outline for those who would like to refresh their minds of it or for those who were not able to attend. 

Sermon titled: “Dead But Still Deadly”
Key verses: I Peter 5:8‭-‬9
Opening song: 163 At the Cross
Closing song: 294 Power in the Blood

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world".
I Peter 5:8‭-‬9 NKJV
When you kill a snake, you have to be sure to bury its head, because even after death the serpent holds a lethal dose of venom in its fangs. If you step on a dead snake’s head, you can still get poisoned. In the same way, even though Jesus broke the power of Satan at the cross, he can still inject his deadly poison into our lives. He is dead but still deadly.
So how can we make sure that we are been”vigilant”?

Step 1. Getting close to Him
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
I Peter 5:6 NKJV

Step 2: Letting go… getting recharged
Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
I Peter 5:7 NKJV


Step 3: Watching
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
I Peter 5:8 NKJV

Step 4: Being perfect...
But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
I Peter 5:10 NKJV


Through Him, Christ Expects me to be:
-Perfect- according to His standards
-Well established- mature in the faith
-Strong- self control
-Settled: resolve,determine, complete, begin to feel comfortable or established in a new situation, turn one's attention to... (turn your eyes upon Jesus), become calmer.




Saturday, October 13, 2018

Jeff Wood

“Side By Side” Adventist songwriter, Jeff Wood, Passes Away

His work, often behind the scenes, has touched the lives of thousands of Adventists.

Jeff Wood (left) poses with Tom Hillman, actor from the film Hell and Mr. Fudge, and LLT co-founder Pat Arrabito.
Jeff Wood (left) poses with Tom Hillman, actor from the film Hell and Mr. Fudge, and Pat Arrabito, LLT co-founder. Photo provided by Pat Arrabito.
After 6 years of declining health that included two bouts with cancer, Jeff Wood, Adventist song writer, screenwriter, producer and director, passed to his rest on Oct. 11, 2018, in Angwin, California. He was 67.
Wood made a significant contribution to Seventh-day Adventist Church media during the course of a career spanning several decades. As one North American Division (NAD) officer stated, “Jeff’s fingerprints were all over almost every media project from the church before, during, and after the days of the Adventist Media Center in California.” Wood was the producer and director of at least two NAD video reports for General Conference sessions.
Wood helped create the Lifestyle Magazine television talk show, and his latest project was the writing of the 2018 Breath of Life Christmas special that will air on major television networks across the U.S. this holiday season. As producer and director, Wood also put his heart and soul into the 2012 film Hell and Mr. Fudge, the story of an eccentric stranger hiring Edward Fudge, a small-town preacher, to investigate hell.
A musician and prolific writer, Wood authored songs with members of the Heritage Singers, and wrote the Pathfinder song “We Are His Hands.” He may best be known for his song “Side By Side,” originally recorded by the Heritage Singers — and sung in thousands of churches around the world. Max Mace, founder/director of the Heritage Singers, commented on Facebook that his heart “is broken. Jeff and I really became good friends — we would email in the middle of the night when we both could not sleep. We had big plans; now will have to wait ’til we meet in heaven.”
Mike Tucker, speaker/director of Faith For Today broadcast media ministry, wrote this on Facebook in response to news of Wood’s death: “God blessed me immensely by allowing me to work with this gentle, kind man. I trusted him implicitly. He fully understood the goals and vision of Faith For Today and Lifestyle Magazine. He made our television programs great! Because of his attention to detail, Lifestyle Magazine has won an incredible number of high awards against productions with much greater budgets and better on-camera talent. And, by the way, Jeff was instrumental in the creation of Lifestyle Magazine in the first place. He produced probably 90 percent of the shows that have aired since its creation more than three decades ago.”
Tucker went on to share that visionary Wood was an important part of the small team that created Mad About Marriage. “Because of a creative session that included Jeff, we have television programs, live seminars, small group curriculum, impressive FB and Twitter sites, weekly marriage tips via email, and a webpage that boasts more than 400 articles and numerous short videos on marriage.”
Jeff Wood directs Hell and Mr. Fudge.
Jeff Wood directs Hell and Mr. Fudge. Photo provided by Dave Brillhart
“Jeff was an answer to my prayers for a producer when we were ready for production on The Seventh Day series [with Hal Holbrook], and we benefitted from every one of his many talents — producer, director, musician, writer, organizer,” said Pat Arrabito, co-founder of LLT Productions, a California-based, non-profit organization dedicated to producing documentary films on religious and historical subjects. “He had an amazingly creative mind and an innate ability to structure a project well. Jeff had this quiet, kind manner that always brought out the best in talent and crew.” Wood, who started work with LLT in 1998, produced and directed The Seventh DayHell and Mr. Fudge and The Wandering Day.
Jim Wood, who collaborated with his brother on many projects and currently works as a writer and associate producer at LLT, said that “Jeff finally won his six-year battle with disease. … He slipped out of his enemy’s grasp and into peace and rest just 17 days short of his 68th birthday. Those of us whose lives are intertwined with his are stunned, grief-stricken, heartbroken, and bereft. This is the price of love — the price we are willing to pay for his freedom.”
Jim added that Scripture gives humanity good news [see 1 Thess. 4:16, 17). He said, “We grieve, but we have hope.”
Wood is survived by his wife, Gerry; son, Jeremy; daughter, Jill; sister, Jan Wood; brothers James (“Jim”) and Jon Wood; and nieces and a nephew. A memorial service date and time will be announced soon.

At Church ~October 6th

We had a treat for Sabbath School as Julie and Jeff were here and helped Bonnie with the program.
Even though the first plan did not work out due to circumstances, the singing, piano playing and thoughts were very welcome to begin the day.

Prayer 
The children always have a nice program either in the older Kid's Corner or the younger one.
Some little visiting boys seemed to enjoy the garden theme out in the portable and their Grama seemed so happy to be with them too.

Protected by the umbrella. 
Happily applying the raindrops for The Raindrops Fall with a Pitter Patter Pit. 
Starting on their beautiful trees before taking them inside to finish. 
Daniel came to present a special thank you gift to Linda Spady, but since she was not able to make it her son accepted it for her. 



Collecting the coins and bills for Worthy Student and the Children's Corner. 

When James Lalonde speaks at OCC it is easy to remember what it is he speaks about.  This time it was about Giving.
The text he chose was "He covets greedily all day long, But the righteous gives and does not spare."
-Proverbs 21:26 NKJV  
 It was an excellent talk about giving and the stories to go along with the talk were great to hear.

Beautiful Autumn Days