Labor Day Picnic and Baptism

On Sunday, September 5, 2010, we celebrated the Labor Day Weekend with a picnic at Loudermilk Park and a Beach Baptism in the Gulf of Mexico.  Probably seventy-five people showed up for the picnic and twenty celebrated their walk with Jesus by being baptized.  It was a special day for all!

Tree of Life Birthday Bash – August 8, 2010

On August 8th, The Tree of Life celebrated it’s 10 year anniversary.  A decade of sharing God’s love with the community!  It also happened to be Pastor Andrew’s birthday.  We enjoyed a great worship service, message and then birthday cake!  God has impacted so many lives in the past ten years, it will be so exciting to watch what He does the next ten!

Free Hugs – Servolution Project

On Friday, July 9th, TLC Servolution participants gathered in front of the Collier County Courthouse to give out free hugs, encouragement, bottles of water and cookies.  It was a blessing to many!  Thank you to all who participated.

It’s All Because Of Jesus!

Improving Your Communication Skills

From the book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie. 

The principles recommended are:

1. Don’t criticize, condemn or complain. Instead of condemning people, let’s try to understand them, a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism: and it breeds sympathy, tolerance and kindness.
2. Give honest and sincere appreciation. Be “hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise and people will cherish your words and treasure them and repeat them over a lifetime-repeat them years after you had forgotten them.”
3. Arouse in the other person an eager want. “Self expression is the dominant necessity of human nature. When we have a brilliant idea, instead of making others think it is our, let them stir the idea themselves, they will the regard it as their own and they will like it, and maybe eat a couple helpings of it.”
4. Become genuinely interested in other people. If you want others to like you, if you want to develop real friendships, if you want to help others, at the same time as you help yourself, keep this principle in mind.
5. Smile. Your smile is a messenger of your goodwill. Your smile brightens the lives of all who see it. To someone who has seen a dozen people frown, scowl or turn their faces away, your smile is like the sun breaking through the clouds.
6. Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. The information we are imparting or the request we are making, takes on a special importance when we approach the situation with the name of the individual.
7. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves. Remember that the people you are talking to are a hundred times more interested in themselves and their wants and problems than they are in you and your problems.
8. Talk in terms of the other person’s interest. Talking in terms of the other person’s interest pays off for both parties.
9. Make the other person feel important – and do in sincerely. Talk to people about themselves and they will listen for hours
10. The only way to get the best of ;an argument is to avoid it.
11. Show respect for the other person’s opinions. Never say “you’re wrong.” Don’t argue, instead use diplomacy.
12. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically. Remember the old proverb, “by fighting you never get enough, but by yielding, you get more than you expected.”
13. Begin in a friendly way. Remember what Lincoln said: A drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall.”
14. Get the other person saying “yes, yes” immediately.
15. Let the other person do a great deal of talking.
16. Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.
17. Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view. An increased tendency to think always in terms of the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as your own.-if you get only that one thing from this book, it may easily proved to be one of the stepping-stones of your career.
18. Be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desires.
19. Appeal to their nobler motives. Make people feel that you consider them honest, upright and fair.
20. Dramatize your ideas.
21. Throw down a challenge. Every successful person wants a chance of self expression, the chance to prove one’s worth.
22. Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
23. Call attention to peoples mistakes indirectly.
24. Talk about your own mistakes, before criticizing the other person.
25. Ask questions, instead of giving direct orders.
26. Let the other person save face.
27. Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be “hearty in your approbation ;and lavish in your praise.”
28. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
29. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
30. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest. Experience’s of most people show that you are more likely to change attitudes this way.

June Living Stone – Carletta Hadley

Carletta Hadley – June  2010 – Tree of Life Living Stone

If there are kids around, Carletta Hadley is usually in the center of them!   Carletta is the Director of our Food Bank Program  and has also stepped up to head the Nursery Ministry.   Carletta’s heart for
children shows in the volunteer work she does for the courts, she is an Advocate for the children who have been placed in foster homes.  She works hard so  their best interest is always served.   Whether its blessings families with food or rocking babies to sleep, Carletta does it all as unto the Lord.  Thank you Carletta, for your heart to serve HIM!

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you
also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
   I Peter 2:4,5

Fleece Blanket – Servolution Project

The Tree of Life Church made fleece blankets one Saturday, June 19, 2010,  to give to nursing home and hospice patients.  14 people came out to help.  32 blankets were made to give away.  A good time was had by all!

Harry Chapin Food Giveaway

The Tree of Life partnered with Harry Chapin during the month of June and gave away over 80,000 pounds of food to those in need.  What a blessing to help meet a physical need. Thank you to all the volunteers who made this event possible!  YOU DO ROCK!!

I Trust You Mom

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding:  in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5,6

A couple of weeks ago, a situation arose where I had to take the boys out of a group they were involved with.  I don’t want to go into the details, I’m not about slamming anyone.  It wasn’t with scouts and it wasn’t with our church.  The details of what happened aren’t important to my story, Carson’s response is what I want to focus on today.  When he found out he wasn’t going to be going anymore, I asked him if he needed to know the why? 

And his response so touched my heart.  He said, “No, I trust you Mom.”  And that was it.  Not another word said.  Wow … this was a place he enjoyed going, a couple of his good friends were there and that was his response.  No, he trusts me, period.

I love reading the Faith Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11, the true heroes of the Bible.  They trusted God … and God honored them.  There are stories after stories, one of my favorites is Noah.  It says in verse 7, By faith, Noah, when warned about thing not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.

That had to take some trust in God.  To build an ark, to save your family from an impeding flood, when it had never even rained a drop of rain at the time.  Can you image?  It took the guy close to 100 years to build this boat.  I image his neighbors gave him a lot of ribbing.  But it didn’t stop him.  In Genesis 7, verse 5 it says, And Noah did all that the Lord commanded of him.

No grumbling, no complaining, no wanting to know why?  Noah did all that God asked of him.

Wow … I want to have that same trust with God.  When God asks me to stop doing something, I don’t want to fuss and whine and need to know the why behind it. I don’t want to complain and grumble, and then eventually do it, but the whole time moaning about it.  When God asks me to do something that I don’t really understand, I want to say, “I trust you God!”
 
Father, thank you that you are trustworthy.  That there are stories after stories of your faithfulness.  Father, thank you for giving me a little boy who trusts me and who trusts you. Lord, I am trusting you with this oil spill.  I know that you are the only one who can stop it now.  Bring wisdom and discernment into the hearts and minds of those in charge.  Let the oil stop flowing.  Let this miracle be of you!

I love you Jesus!
In your name I pray,
Amen

God’s Blessings Upon You!

Love,
Joyce

Chelsey’s Memorial Benefit

On June 4, 2010, The Tree partnered with Boy Scout Troop 255, and Kris Murphy to raise money for Chelsey’s Park.  A playground in memory of Chelsey Murphy, who passed away on March 14, 2010.   The night included: food, music, raffles, an inspirational speaker and a bake sale.  A good time was had by all and close to $5,000 was raised to build the park. 

Whirlwind of May – Part 3

We celebrated Memorial Day with a Picnic / Baptism  at the beach at Laudermilk Park.  About 100 people attended the picnic and then 10 were baptized. It was a good Jesus day!

It’s All Because of Jesus!