The Advent season at NABC was a great time of worship and fellowship as we prepared our hearts together for the celebration of Jesus' birth.  One of the highlights of the year is always our Church of the Nations Christmas service and this year was no exception.  The Japanese, Cantonese, and Arabic congregations joined us in worship as well as some new guests, a Karen church from the San Leandro area.  They came with Rick and Leta Sample and it was such a joy getting to meet them.  What a blessing it is to experience worshiping God in so many different languages!

It was also wonderful to have the youth instrumental ensemble leading us in worship, they are very talented and did a fabulous job.  

Looking forward to what God will do in this new year and we hope to see you soon! 

The Christmas season can be a hectic one with all the stress of shopping, Christmas parties, school holiday concerts, and let's not forget about the added traffic.  It's easy to forget what this time of year is even about- yes, we know it's about the birth of Jesus Christ, but we don't allow ourselves to really take that in and experience it.  I've posted the lyrics to this song before, but it's worth repeating- it always helps me to open my heart and mind to the beauty of Advent:

Welcome to Our World by Chris Rice

 Tears are falling, hearts are breaking

How we need to hear from God

You've been promised, we've been waiting

Welcome Holy Child

Welcome Holy Child

 

Hope that you don't mind our manger

How I wish we would have known

But long-awaited Holy Stranger

Make Yourself at home

Please make Yourself at home

 

Bring your peace into our violence

Bid our hungry souls be filled

Word now breaking Heaven's silence

Welcome to our world

Welcome to our world

 

Fragile finger sent to heal us 

Tender brow prepared for thorn

Tiny heart whose blood will save us

Unto us is born

Unto us is born

 

So wrap our injured flesh around You

Breathe our air and walk our sod

Rob our sin and make us holy

Perfect Son of God

Perfect Son of God

Welcome to our world 

 

What a beautiful and precious reminder to pause and be still, being reminded of what a precious gift God has given to us and how much God loves us.   

We had a great time at our annual Fall Fest on Saturday, October 10th.  The social hall was full of games, kids, parents, face-painting, and of course, food!  Super Gigi, the very talented face painter, did a fabulous job of decorating faces and arms and even the adults had to participate (yes, me too).  Thanks to everyone who volunteered and made this happen, especially Gwen and the youth.  It was a really fun day and we got to see old friends and meet lots of new friends.

      

 

     

 

     

 

      

I am long overdue for a blog posting and updated pics, so here they are.  The summer started off with our annual church retreat over Memorial Day weekend at Redwood Christian Park in Boulder Creek.  Our theme for this year was "Go All Out"- in our faith, in our ministry, in our church, in our lives.  Our guest speaker was Jim Dant, pastor of Highland Hills Baptist Church in Macon, Georgia and it was a blessing to hear from him and be challenged by his words.  Eric Bebber came out from Washington D.C. to help out with the youth program and Wendy Chisholm came all the way from Temple Baptist Church in San Francisco to lead the children's program.  We're so thankful to all of our guests of coming to be with us!  It was a great weekend to be with our church family, to worship, to be challenged- away from all the stress and pressures of regular life.

                           

 

This summer was also a time of saying goodbye to a dear friend of NABC- Dr. Francis DuBose.  We celebrated Dr. DuBose's life and mourned his passing on June 27th, surrounded by his friends and family. There was a meal in honor of him the next day at church where we could show our love and appreciation to his wife, Dorothy, and his children.  His presence will be missed, but we celebrate the incredible impact he made for the kingdom of God in his lifetime.  

Everyone has been traveling this summer, but the fall and the new school year are almost upon us, so I look forward to us all being back together again.  Stay tuned for upcoming ministry opportunities and events.  

Hello, long-lost friends!  I hope this post finds each of you doing fine so far in 2009.  It's hard to believe, but it's already that time again for the season of Lent.  Basically, Lent is the 40 days preceding Easter, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, which is April 12th this year.  This time is often observed as a season of prayer and fasting.  Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, which is actually next Wednesday, February 25th.  I found a great website article that explains Lent very well, so I wanted to share it with you.  

Here's the link:  www.upperroom.org/methodx/thelife/articles/lent101.asp

Think about how you might want to simplify your life and focus on Christ.