Team Cross

As we discussed last meeting, we need to have a follow up get-together to finish a few items of business.

Mo recorded and sent out the minutes of the meeting, link here: Team Cross meeting minutes

There are LOTS of things we could be involved with in the coming year, and we need to set some priorities and goals.

We also talked about adding some structure to the team.  This could mean setting up committees or individuals to champion various activities, and time frames for our goals.

Let us meet at Sweet Tomatoes on the West Side, right after the 4 pm Sagebrush Riverside service this coming Saturday, January 22, 2011.  We have as guests D and Antonia DeHorney to chat about D.A.S.H.

Oh, and there was mention of an AP photo from Keith Jeneski’s wrestling days that was a much requested item.  So, after literally minutes of searching, we at Team Cross have found the picture and are now presening it for you HERE:

Check out the guns on the guy smiling in the second row!!

Looking forward to seeing everyone at Sweet Tomatoes!!!

Team:

THANK YOU for your time and effort this evening!

 We talked about a BUNCH of cool stuff!  There is so much that the Lord has put on all of your hearts!  It is a blessing to be associated with you in this adventure!

Click the link to see the meeting minutes:  Team Cross meeting minutes

One of the topics we discussed tonight was:  What is our best use?  I think Todd mentioned that we are to be SALT in our communities, so I did a little Wiki-search and found out the following:

 The Bible contains numerous references to salt. In various contexts, it is used metaphorically to signify permanence, loyalty, durability, fidelity, usefulness, value, and purification. 

An interesting fact about SALT:  When Salt is use, it loses itself.  For example, when used in cooking, the salt cannot be seen; it makes its contribution and is “gone”.  In various chemical processes, salt “dissipates” after it has fulfilled its purpose.

I really believe that this is very true to the heart and purpose of Team Cross!  We started as a small group without the funds or manpower to actually pull off anything of our own accord, so we came ALONGSIDE others to rub the love of Jesus up against people.  Over the years, we have been blessed to see God at work in that effort.   Remember our original “guiding” verse:  1 Cor 13:13:  “And now these three remain:  faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love.”

 We now stand at a pivot point in our team’s development:  Let’s pray about being SALT:  To see if we can lose ourselves in the service and assistance of others.

Team Cross will be holding its annual planning meeting this Saturday evening after church.  We will meet at about 6pm at Straight Up pizza on Wyoming.  Bring your ideas, the things that God is putting on your heart, and the activities that you would like to see the Team involved with this year.

Are there needs in the community that we could possibly address?  Is there a race that needs some help?  Are there events that TC should have some sort of showing in?  Is there something new that you want to start up?  Now’s the time to bring up the ideas.

This is the time to discuss and try to decide, with God’s leadership, what we will try and accomplish in the coming year.

Meeting will only last till about 7:30 or so, and the pizza will be provided by Team Cross.

Below is some more feedback from one of the families that felt Christ’s love through the DDD this year:

Hi S….,

Great job this year. I thought I would share a couple of comments from the family that was blessed that I submitted. L… called a friend of mine and asked if she was the one who dropped off all the blessings at her front door. My friend told her it was not her or anybody she knew (just a little white lie). She said it was a gift /blessing from God. L… responded with bewilderment, “But M…, there are presents for A… and the babies. There are even presents for me!” She said how wonderful it would be that the little ones would have presents for Christmas. M… proceeded to tell her again that they were a gift from God. The next morning the 5 year old asked L…, as she was getting ready for work, if she could find her something to eat. L…. walked over to the pantry and opened the doors and the little girl was besides herself with excitement because the pantry was full of food.

L….. is such an amazing example of Christ’s love. She never asks for anything but is always e grateful to the Lord for what she does have.

I know you don’t want kuddos or anything for this because it is a God thing, but I just wanted you to hear some of the reactions and to let you know that the people’s lives you touch with such an amazing act of generosity is greatly appreciated. I know that L…. and her grandchildren were truly blessed by the love shown her two nights ago. Thank You!

Approximately 35 souls turned up on a cool but clear Wednesday evening to pool their time, talents, and treasure to try and show the love of Christ to 5 families this Christmas season.  The people who came, and many who contributed but could not be there at the actual event, were able to put together approximately $3k to provide food, clothing, clean water, home essentials, presents, games, and shoes for families right in our own communities who are in need this year.  Miraculously, this was exactly the amount required at the checkout stands of the stores where we shopped!

Some of the essentials purchased for families

Imagine 12 carts loaded like this!

The recipients of these blessings (prayerfully) felt that at least this one time, someone truly loved them just for who they are. 

For those of you who participated:  Thank you for your generosity and time!!  You are a blessing to us and to soooo many others.  

The team gets some last minute instructions before the first dash

This is one teaching that Jesus made on generosity, from Matthew 25:

The Sheep and the Goats

    ³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

   ³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

   ³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

   ⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

   ⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

   ⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

   ⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

   ⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

A vehicle loaded to the gills, ready for delivery

 For those who participated:  You did so to the glory of the Lord!  May you be richly blessed and cared for this Christmas season!

If you are not familiar with the idea or process of the Ding Dong Dash, here’s how it works:

A small group of people or a family gets together and commits some resources to helping out a family in need instead of trading presents with each other for that amount.  Any amount of commitment will work:  $20/person, $10/person, whatever folks can spare.  Pool that money and then go try to help a family or person who could maybe use a hand.

We like to go shopping for a family (or, this year, 5 families!) that might not otherwise be able to have a Christmas.  Food, clothing, some presents, maybe games they can play together can all be part of the the DDD!

Here’s the really cool part:   Next, make sure the DDD recipient is home, take all the stuff and pile it up on the doorstep of that person or family’s home.  Ring the doorbell and….dash outta there!

The most important part of the DDD is this:  it has to be totally anonymous.  The recipient must not know who did this.  They must only feel loved!

This is a wordpress blog site.

Our aim is to have a central place to come to to find out information on current and future happenings, on our clothing options, and generally ways to communicate.

Stay tuned!