Talk like a lady.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen: Yes, this is for you. Sure, the title speaks clearly to those of the female side of things. But I promise the premise is for all. I stumbled across this blog post on Friday, but I dismissed it because I, too, saw it as ladies-only and rbcstudents is SO not that way. Yet, as my Saturday wore on, this post kept replaying in my head. And I quickly realized how we -- guys and gals -- need to hear this. What negative talk do you tell yourself? Parents, I have also posted this on rbcparents.blogspot.com with added commentary.







by Elise Stephens


Part 1: Talking About Yourself


“I’m such an airhead. I don’t know why they haven’t fired me yet.”

“Oh my gosh, I’m a whale. Seriously. Don’t even pretend I’m not.”

I’m not sure how it got popular to talk poorly about ourselves and act like our sense of self-worth is a joke.

It’s one thing to be open about our own shortcomings, and a very different thing to put ourselves down. I had to confess this self-deprecating habit as a sin in front of a group of people a few years ago and another girl approached me afterwards and to say she did the same thing. Negative self-talk is far too common, too easy to do, and often treated too insincerely.

Trash yourself, trash God
We are God’s daughters, created in His image. This doesn’t mean we walk around with self-righteous pride or the incorrect idea that we’re perfect. But this does mean that when we call ourselves names or give harsh judgments of our character, we deface the loving perspective that our Father holds for us. Have you noticed that the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18) implies that you must be loving toward yourself? (Food for thought: Does the way that I talk about myself influence the way that I talk about others?)

“Be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Rom. 12:2) and look at yourself from the eyes of your heavenly Dad. A good friend has a paper taped in the upper corner of her bathroom mirror, reminding herself that she is a Daughter of the Most High. God loves her unfailingly, will never desert her, and promises to give her strength and hope for any challenge that she will meet.

Mirror, mirror on the wall
If you need help in finding these words of love and encouragement, meet with another Christian sister and explore the Scriptures together as you create your own Biblical love letter from God. Type it up and tape it to your mirror. Look that daughter of Christ in the eye and try to say something bad about her.

Tailgating!!!

In the words of Hank Williams, jr., "Are you ready for some football?"

Hope so. Because WE are. What's more, we're ready for some good ol' fashioned tailgating with you and area students.

Students, if you want to be part of the official "Road Crew," please sign up on Sunday or reply back. "Road Crew" t-shirts are $10, each. Hoodies to come. Mock up of t-shirt/hoodie design is at kiosk in FC lobby.

Anyone and everyone is invited to join us for some yummy food, hot games and, of course, the MCU.

Schedule is as follows:
Sept. 17 Glendale at Kickapoo
Sept. 24 West Plains at Parkview
Oct. 1 Willard at Parkview
Oct. 8 Kickapoo at Nixa (Nixa's Homecoming)
Oct. 15 NO tailgating
Oct. 22 tba
Oct. 28 (Thursday) Ozark at Kickapoo

Road Crew must be at site at 5:30 p.m. Tailgating begins at 6 p.m. Game starts at 7 p.m.

Q: When did you realize you need a Saviour?

For the next eight or so weeks, we are going through "Life's Healing Choices" during both Small Groups and all worship services. The study is based on The Beatitudes. Today's focus was Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "

Both Pastor Hosea and Pastor Andy gave the example of the whack-a-mole, the arcade game that allows patrons to beat down a furry not-so-lifelike mole in an unrelenting, no holds barred whack-a-match. We all have whack-a-moles in our lives, but instead of moles, we use tags such as, "stress," "over-eating," "lust," "control," "perfection," "ego," and so on. Once we seem to have one round figured out, something else pops up, stronger and faster than before. We shush it. It lays low but then tag teams another issue hiding in the hole to the left on the corner. "Errrr," we say. "I'm just so tired," we say. "If I could find the right lover," we say. "If only I were 3 inches taller and 30 pounds thinner," we say. But it's not and we're not and they're not and he's not. What gives?

Q: When did you realize you need a Saviour?

For most of my life, I've been in church on Sunday mornings. I don't remember NOT hearing about Jesus. Really, I just assumed that I could be grandfather-claused in, like in history books. Since my family was going to Heaven, I might as well too, right? My brother, though, didn't see it that way. I remember one particular Sunday morning when it was time for The Lord's Supper. He leaned over and said, "You know you're not supposed to take any." Being the big brother whose only goal was to cause me pain and suffering, I said something like, "Whatever."

When I was nine or so, my mom invited Pastor Hosea over to our house in Springfield so he could talk to me about becoming a Christian. I was baptized in winter when the water heater was broken. It was my mom's birthday. Afterward, my Sunday School teacher came up to me and said, "Julie, I didn't know you were being baptized today. Why didn't you tell me?" I think I smiled. Truth is, I didn't know why I didn't say anything. Moreso, I didn't know why I would.

Then came junior high. We were living in Texas at the time, and things were going on with me. I was full of fear. I regularly went to bed with the knowledge that something bad was going to happen to my family. When I would awake the next morning, the people I loved the most would not be okay. How does a 13-year-old girl move past this? She doesn't. It took awhile, but I arrived at a point where something was going to give. Though I don't remember doing so, I must've told my mom how scared I was. Thing is, there wasn't anything she could do. She could have reassured me. Slept in my bed. Told me I was crazy and to just go to sleep. But what good would any of that had done? Years later, what if those thoughts were still inside my noggin? Would my mom still be sleeping in my bed??? That would make for one really awkward honeymoon, given the chance.

What I do remember is realizing that I needed someone bigger than myself. I needed a Saviour. I was 13, on my bed, grieving to God. Lamenting. I poured out my heart and gave all of that to Him because I knew I couldn't do diddly squat myself. Through nothing but Grace, Jesus rescued me.

Q: When did you realize you need a Saviour?

So, when did you? If you haven't, I am praying now that your heart will be open to Him. Let us know if you wish to talk. 417.885.5232.

Final note: Pastor Andy's challenge. If you don't believe that God is God, Andy is giving you eight weeks to prove it. If he's in the office, his door is open for the proof.

Ski | MISSIONS 2011

What it is.
We have your ski trip. And we have your snowboard option. But we also have what makes this annual bus ride to Colorado like nothing else. During the day, we’ll spend time on the slopes. But once evening rolls around, we’ll do what we can for area workers. In the words of Nate Bock, “It’ll be awesome!”

The When and Where.
We’ll be on our merry way Jan. 13. We’ll arrive back in Springfield Jan. 17. In the meantime, we’ll be staying at River Run Village, the most popular lodges at Keystone Resort.

The meetings.
Jan. 9
Parent Meeting & MTT, 6:30 p.m.
Last-minute information will be given to parents. Mission Trip Training is mandatory for students and sponsors. Meet in FC

One more detail.
The deposit schedule is as follows. Please note one very important note: Your first deposit holds your spot.

__ Now Deposit #1 $150

__ Oct. 3 Deposit #2 $100

__ Nov. 7 Deposit #3 $100

__ Nov. 30 Final Balance

Decisions to be made.

Registration forms and packets available in FC foyer and Worship Center foyer. Forms include price charts.

The Hosea Bilyeu Family Concert

Join us Sunday, Aug. 15, for the 26th Hosea Bilyeu Family Concert. Admission is free. Times are 9 and 11 a.m. at Ridgecrest Baptist Church and 6 p.m. at Remington's. please note: no small groups or student ministry activities on Sunday!

THEN, come back Aug. 22 for Promotion Sunday. We're excited for the upcoming year and oh so happy to meet the incoming 7th Graders!

For questions, please call 417.885.5232, M-F, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

40 Days.

Oy. In the days leading up to CAMP, I wondered that if the sky were to fall, would I know? It's really quite possible that I wouldn't have. I would have been working away in my office, unaware of the goings on outside. Meatballs and spaghetti and ice cream and jell-o could have been piled outside my window, but all I would have seen was CAMP.

I'm SO not complaining. I really love the excitement leading up to the event. It's so busy and so full of people and so wait-to-be-organized and so that-needs-to-be-done-now-why-are-you-looking-at-me-like-that crazy.

But it's July 23, and CAMP is over for another year. However, it's not done. Everyone who went to CAMP received a CAMP booklet with 40 days of devotionals and a challenge packed inside.

Pastor Hosea Bilyeu has challenged us to spend 24 minutes a day, seven days a week reading the Bible. He calls it the "7/24 Challenge." We do the same. And we encourage you to use the 40 Days of Devotionals to partake in it.

For those at CAMP, today is Day 9. Read the book of Ruth. It's only four chapters and doesn't even take up three pages in my Bible. Who was Naomi? hint: this has nothing to do with the country mother-daughter act, The Judds. What happened to her husband? And her sons? And her land? And her daughters-in-law? Why did Ruth cling to Naomi, while Orpah (not Oprah!) only kissed her? Who is this Boaz guy, why was he good and how did he turn this clencher-of-a-story around? Would you have done the same?

If you haven't received a CAMP booklet or if you have a friend or family member who would like to take the 7/24 and use the 40 Days to do so, visit Nate's blog to find postings of the devotionals (days 1-5 are posted now). This is also a great place to post comments or questions. For those who haven't yet started the 40 Days of Devotionals, Day 1 begins with The Beginning, Genesis 1:1, a very good place to start, eh? In what order did God create? What was the one thing that God told Adam he could not eat? (fyi, it was not an apple.) What was God's response after making vegetation? What was His response after creating Adam and Eve?

Let us know how it's going.

Julie Johnson, Ridgecrest Baptist Church

The Avon Lady

Luke 6:27-36

In 1990, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp collaborated for the first time and brought us Edward Scissorhands, a movie about a vision-of-a-man who had scissors as hands and scars on his face. I saw a spot of it the other night, as I flipped through the TV stations, and thought about it as I read Luke 6:32-36 because, not only was Edward a bit rough looking (reminder: scissors/blades as hands), he was unloved and, at first glance, unlovable (reminder: scissors as hands, scars on the face).

Enter the Avon lady and a bottle of astringent.

Peg Boggs, the Avon lady, is a married mother of two whose sales are not much, if any. She lets herself into Edward's home, an old run-down mansion, hoping to find someone with whom she can make a sale or, at the very least, add to her collection of news/gossip. When she sees Edward, she mutters out, "What happened to you?" He replies, "I'm not finished." A few moments later, she's applying astringent to his scars to prevent infection and insisting he must leave with her, which he does and the plot thickens.

Luke 6:32-33 says, "If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same."

The Avon lady turned to leave. She saw the scissors. She saw the scars. She saw the awkward social cues. She saw the stinky, dirty, torn clothing. She saw the hair that was all funky and ... funky. The mansion was empty. Wealth was not evident. Networking wasn't evident. And she turned to leave. But she stopped. And she faced her fears of Edward. And her community and her family. She stopped and talked and listened and offered the only thing she had -- a strong astringent to prevent infection. Edward had nothing to give her! They had no connection. There was no planning, or thinking or preparing. It was a moment. The Avon lady lived big! And she took the moment and loved someone who didn't love her. And she did good for someone who had probably never done good for anyone.

Luke 6:35-36 says, "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your father is merciful."

Julie Johnson, Ridgecrest Baptist Church

Share and win! Post a comment about a time when you have lived out Luke 6:27-36. Two winners will be randomly drawn and each will receive a free fruit smoothie from McDonald's or $10 off CAMP.