New body, mind and spirit retreat to be held at SEJ/Lake Junaluska, NC
July 1-4, 2001
July 16-20, 2001
July 29-August 1, 2001

The Intentional Growth Center, located on the grounds of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Headquarters at Lake Junaluska, NC is sponsoring a new program called SACRED FITNESS, the renewal of body, mind, and spirit. The leader of this new program is John Ranello, a nationally known fitness instructor and spiritual leader. John has been a fitness instructor for over 25 years and has worked with Richard Simmons, Jack Lalane, and Zig Zigler. He is the author of the upcoming book “The Sacred Circle, Finding My Way Back Home to God.” The program consists of three segments: The fitness portion emphasizes walking, flexibility, strength training, and core strength. The mind portion includes storytelling to teach Christian values of inclusion, forgiveness and non-judgment.

For more info: http://www.faithnet.org/bulletinboard.htm

Where's the Manual?!

Cool Scripture Cite

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." (Psalm 119:105)

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LIVEMANUALS. At http://www.livemanuals.com you can search by product, product category, or manufacturer to see how their merchandise works and get useful warranty and support information to include names, addresses, and telephone numbers of manufacturers. User manuals are available on line along with interactive help. The nearest repair centers are available. You can store model and warranty information for easy retrieval later if you experience problems (story from Neat Net Tricks at neatnettricks.com).

Some of life's most significant tasks come with no instruction book or manual whatsoever. My child came with no manual, for example. Sure, there are plenty of books and articles on parenting, but none on how to parent MY child. No child fits the book.

Some folks seek a rule for every occasion, as if a tried-and-true approach exists for all of life's issues. The rest of us do our best with reason and intuition.

What of the Bible? Isn't it a law book? Sure, the Bible has many laws and principles. But, more so, it is a collection of the experiences of persons who had to live life with the same struggles as you and I. For instance, Moses taught us to stone our rebellious children . . . and while that may be an appealing thought at times, most of us agree it is a bit extreme in our day and age. In our day, many parents are more concerned about their children getting stoned in a different sense of the word.

What Jesus promised his disciples was not a published guide, such as Life for Dummies, but a presence, "another Counselor to be with you forever--the Spirit of truth" (John 14:16-17). With such a dynamic relationship to the divine, we are free to live creatively, imaginatively, and passionately because our hope, faith and desire have become a significant aspect of the formula of living.