Hey Friends!! LifePoint is collecting ONE TON (or more) of food this month. If you live in the area and would like to donate, please message me and we’ll arrange a drop-off/pick-up! There are some exciting things down the pike related to this, but can’t let the cat out of the bag just yet!! Let’s be Matthew 25 and Isaiah 58 kind of Christians!!
1 Cor. 12:12 For as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body-so also is Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free-and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14 So the body is not one part but many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” in spite of this it still belongs to the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” in spite of this it still belongs to the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole [body] were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has placed each one of the parts in one body just as He wanted. 19 And if they were all the same part, where would the body be?
20 Now there are many parts, yet one body.
21 So the eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 But even more, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are necessary. 23 And those parts of the body that we think to be less honorable, we clothe these with greater honor, and our unpresentable parts have a better presentation. 24 But our presentable parts have no need [of clothing]. Instead, God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the less honorable,25 so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other.
26 So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
The Word of God is truth, and these passages are truth. Once a person is saved from eternity in hell and decides to be a follower of Jesus, no longer is he expected to “go it alone”, but the body of Christ, the many members of the body of Christ, come alongside in his/her own way. An eye. A hand. Some ears.
Furthermore, that person is now added to the body, not just to be a consumer - but to do his/her part to fulfill the body’s purpose as a whole. Each person brings an integral piece to the supernatural puzzle God has brought together. ‘
The body is broken. The body is hurting. Too many are “going it alone” without thought or care for the body and in turn are not only harming themselves, but the body as a whole. This applies to the church as a whole, but also to many individual churches as well. It’s time to step up – bring to the table what God has blessed you with; gifts/abilities, financial (tithe/offering), wisdom, time, heart. The time is now. Don’t hold back. Like they say in sports, “Give All or Go Home.” That’s where we’re at as Christians. It’s time to GIVE ALL. Will you join us?
If we’re friends on Facebook, you may have noticed this week I posted with great excitement that we have given the BOOT to Joey’s boot. All he has left is a few weeks of PT and he’s DONE with his feet ordeal. As we left his appointment on Monday, I was caught off-guard with how emotional I was. Just seeing the light at the end of this seven year tunnel, thinking on God’s faithfulness and the strength that He gave us to endure this long trial and how He worked it out in His perfect timing (new ortho doc in Findlay that specializes in feet). Never once did we ever walk alone. He was always with us. Never once did God ever leave us on our own.
That’s my new favorite song by Matt Redman. I can play this over and over and over – shouting in praise to our Faithful God – hands lifted so high I stretch my shoulders out of their sockets.
This song also stirs up emotions as I reflect on LifePoint‘s three years of existence. Even though at times it felt like more negative things were happening than positive – I can look back see how far we’ve come, knowing every victory is His power in us. There’s been scars and troubles… but God never once left us to walk alone or left us on our own. He has been faithful. He is faithful!
Finally, I can stand here on this mountaintop and see how God has healed/is healing from some deep hurts, some scars and struggles that pretty much knocked the wind out of us. Battles that Satan tried to use to take us down… But, for every step God was with us and because of His power in us, we made it through. Now, with JOY our hearts can say:
Never once did we ever walk alone.
Never once did You leave us on our own.
YOU ARE FAITHFUL! GOD, YOU ARE FAITHFUL!
Enjoy this song by Matt Redman. Close your eyes and raise up your hands in praise and shout YOU ARE FAITHFUL! GOD, YOU ARE FAITHFUL!! PS – TURN IT UP!!
Recently, our church (LifePoint Findlay), has come into what some may call ‘a bump in the road.’ A mold issue has been found in the building we rent. For the past few weeks, we’ve been praying, seeking the Lord, checking out other ‘open doors’ to determine where we will have ‘church’.
Since the onset of this, God has granted us perfect peace and as it turns out, it’s a win-win-win situation. Number 1, our landlord has made us a generous offer to stay – WIN! Number 2, our landlord will let us out of our lease if we choose to move – WIN! Number 3, God has used this to bring us back to LifePoint’s original mission/vision – WIN! WIN! WIN!
See, when we started LifePoint, our vision was to not just do church, but be the church. Our focus was more outward than inward. However, sometime in the year and a half after being in this building things have slowly started to change. We built an amazing stage which sets the scene for a great worship service. We have a cozy, welcoming Cafe area which does offer opportunity for community. We have nice-sized classroom space for our KidsMinistry. Don’t get me wrong, we are thankful for the space God has provided for us. But, it’s all inside. Have we grown as a community within our 4 walls? Yes. But, somewhere along the line we have grown comfortable with our ‘church’, Saturday/Sunday worship and other activities throughout the week. None of that is wrong, but, we have dropped the ball on being outwardly focused, reaching out in the community, and being the hands/feet of Jesus. With this building situation, a giant Lightbulb went off and we realized that God is giving us the boot – back outside the 4 walls of the ‘church’ – back to the mission of which He 1st called us. We never wanted a ‘come to us’ mentality, rather a ‘we’ll come to you’ line of thinking. Jesus didn’t stay in one place and ask the crowds to come to Him. No, He went TO the people.
See, the church is NOT THE BUILDING. WE are the CHURCH. Last Sunday, we met briefly at LifePoint to go out and serve in the community. This Sunday, we’ll have church in West Park (followed by a cookout!!). The following week, well we’re not sure. Keep up with our Facebook Page for up-to-date details. We are actively praying about staying on 6th St. and looking for other building possibilities, but also praying that when the dust settles and we have a building, we won’t get stuck IN the building, but will continue with the purpose God placed in us from the beginning – BEing the church.
If you know us personally, me and Kevin that is, you know I did NOT marry Kevin for his feet. They are always dry and cracking, and the toenail… if you can call it that. Ew! But, to me, his feet are most beautiful.
His beautiful feet voraciously pound the pavement in Hancock County for Jesus – to share the gospel and to BE to gospel to this community. His beautiful feet march boldly at the campus of Bowling Green State University giving life and hope to the next generation. His beautiful feet canvas Ohio partnering with other church planters working together to grow God’s kingdom. His feet have galloped with the youth and taken him overseas to reach any in his path.
Yeah. I love Kevin’s feet. His feet are a reflection of his heart, passion and obedience. He has always been one to put ‘feet’ to his prayers.
And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10:15
Holla! (I love that word!) My One Word 2011 is Simplify and one area the Grubbies want to simplify is our FiNaNcEs. We’ve been ‘on a budget’ for several years now… but even late last fall our emergencies outweighed our ‘Emergency Fund.” We’re so excited to FINALLY be able to attend a Financial Peace University class (taught by Dave Ramsey) and tighten up the ship a bit so that doesn’t happen again. Ray and Barb Linn will be teaching FPU at LifePoint on Sundays after church starting February 13th (with a free preview on Sun. Jan. 30th). We’re gonna potluck lunch it throughout these 13 weeks… yet ANOTHER way to save some $$$ ~ so it will be convenient for anyone to stay. Childcare will be provided as well. (Holla!)
The cost is $93/couple or single. WHAT?!?!?! $93.00!!!???!!! Now, before you flip at that number, that averages out to $7.15 per class. Included in that number is Dave’s Total Money Makeover book, your workbooks and materials, and audio CDs. Wait, that’s not all… Once you’ve taken an FPU class for $93, you can retake it as many times as you want for FREE anywhere. Hold on, there’s more! You’ll have access to many helpful online financial tools… for-EH-ver. And to that I say, “Holla!”
So, c’mon. Aren’t you sick of living paycheck to paycheck? Do you want to control your money, or do you want it to control you? Let’s learn what God has to say about debt and budgeting. Let’s Do This Thang!
According to Dave;
“There are over 800 scriptures in the bible about money…”
You’ll learn to “live like no one else and you’ll be able to GIVE like no one else!”
I’m excited and I hope you are too!! You can register HERE. Choose our zip code (45840) and then LifePoint Community Church OR you can register at LifePoint.
I have to work.
I can’t get up that early.
I’m too busy.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah… 
We’ve heard it all before… but NOW, you have NO MORE EXCUSES! LifePoint Findlay is launching a Saturday Night Service… and it starts THIS SATURDAY! That’s right! Sundays don’t work for you to come worship our Awesome Creator God and our Savior Jesus? Well, stop by Saturdays at 5pm (come early and hang out at our Cafe!). You’ll experience the same God-glorifying-worship, Biblical- messages and even the same coffee (well, it will be fresh-brewed Saturday nights… not leftover from the previous Sunday ) from our cafe. Oh! The full KidsLife program will be there so your kiddos can learn about Jesus and the Bible while you are! Can’t wait to see all that God is going to do through this additional meeting time!! See you there!!
Ok – so when we were new in ministry (Youth Pastor/Missionary years) we did NOT have the money for paper, let alone stamps for Christmas Cards. So I got out of the habit of sending them… I LOVE receiving Christmas Cards, Family Letters and Photo Cards etc, but haven’t sent any out for the last 5-6 years or so. Today, that all changes . I’m going to do a cyber-letter today (a lil’ late ~ better late than never) but have decided this is my New Year’s Resolution: 1) Get family pictures taken in 2011 and 2) Send Christmas cards in 2011.
So here goes… a Grubinski Christmas Letter:
Hello family and friends,
Hope 2010 was a blessing in your journey! The Grubbies, well at least Kevin and Kendra, are starting and ending 2010 the same way – attending the PASSION conference with our BGSU Crosswalk students. It’s an amazing conference with some amazing students, some amazing speakers, some amazing worship and our Amazing God! We are so blessed to be able to serve Jesus at BGSU with these students. Kevin leads this ministry which meets weekly on Tuesdays on the campus of BGSU. God is moving at BGSU and it’s awesome to get to join Him in this work.
Crosswalk also takes a yearly Spring Mission Trip! Emma was pumped that she got to join Kevin on this trip this year. They went to Greenville, South Carolina where they did light construction, worked in a kids’ ministry and ministered at a facility for the elderly. Emma turned 10 while on this trip and was spoiled by 30 college students. She ate it up!
Julia also got to go on a mission trip this year. She joined Kendra and led a group (again from Crosswalk) to the Dominican Republic in May. It was great taking her back there, to see where she spent most of 2004 and 2005. She jumped right in, playing with the kids, chatting with the SCORE staff and of course hitting the beach! The team did orphanage ministry, village ministry and evangelism. God worked in and through each of us on this trip!!
Back on the homefront, LifePoint celebrated its 2nd birthday in 2010. This was a year of growth for our church, not just in numbers, but young Christians growing spiritually (old Christians growing spiritually ) and new leaders being developed. It’s amazing to see how God has weaved His people together with their gifts, abilities and passions to bring God glory and further His kingdom. We now have three full time employees, two of which are raising support for their ministries. Stop by and meet them here. Peep Drop 2010 overwhelmed us with over 5000 people showing up! Yes, we are already better prepared for 2011. LifePoint also got to help with a roof project on the south side of Toledo, had another successful year of GiftMart, painting/construction projects in Findlay. It’s such a blessing to partner with different peeps in the community to build… community!
As a family, we enjoyed a fun camping trip in August to the Indiana Dunes and Jellystone Park! Even though we practically slept under the turnpike – ha ha – we had fun hiking, swimming, relaxing and even shopping! We also enjoyed a Cedar Point day (thanks to the RightThing where Kendra went back to work part-time in April), Kings Island (thanks to Julia/Emma’s girl scout troup), and other fun, family stuff!
The kiddos all played basketball this year. Julia and Emma played Grey-Y and Joey played Upwards. Then, Julia and Emma played FastPitch softball – which they both LOVED and Kevin coached Joey’s little league baseball team. We all love spending our summer afternoons in the sun playing ball!! This fall, Julia became the team manager for Liberty Benton’s 7th grade basketball team and is having a blast traveling with the team, keeping the scorebook and running the clock. Joey and Emma played fall Grey-Y Basketball (Kevin ended up coaching BOTH of those teams this fall). Now, Joey’s gearing up for another Upwards season and Emma’s gearing up for the Winter Session of Grey-Y.
Speaking of Liberty Benton – the kiddos went back to public school this fall. Julia is in middle school, 7th grade, and Emma and Joey are in the elementary school (5th and 3rd respectively). They are doing GREAT. The transition couldn’t have gone better and they all LOVE school! We’re so proud of their hard work!
This year wrapped up with a wonderful Christmas! What fun to ring in Christmas with a little rum-pa-pum-pum, lights and an awesome Christmas message at LifePoint!! If you missed it, check it all out here. Then we spent time with friends, family and even got to enjoy a couple of days of downtime (what’s that??).
Looking forward to all that 2011 will bring. Each years brings joys and trials but through it all, God is faithful! Pray you are blessed this year and that God meets you exactly where you are.
~Happy New Year from The Grubinskis~
No, this isn’t some super-spiritual post about chickening out of something God was calling me to do, witnessing to a stranger or backing out of something because it was too hard.
Nope.
I was a chicken. A Dancing Chicken in fact! And it was the most fun I’ve had in a long time! My hubby, (aka PK), decided it would be fun to rent some costumes for our town’s Holiday Parade, and since my daughter was going as the LP-Peep, I decided to be a chicken.
Chicken Costume + Awesome Praise/Dance Music = Dancing Chicken!
I danced the CHICKEN DANCE throughout the whole parade route!! Seeing adults join in on the sidelines and kiddos cracking up was ALL WORTH IT! Who doesn’t LOVE the Chicken Dance?? At the end I was a sweaty mess (I don’t think I have EVER sweat that much!) and I probably won’t be able to walk tomorrow ~ but IT WAS A BLAST!
Here are some more pix from the evening!!
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What’s your favorite costume or something CRAZY fun you’ve done lately???
what is below the surface. Strong, deep, healthy roots that will help us to be the person God wants us to be.
