Pleasant Times

News from Mt Pleasant Christian Church - http://mychristianchurch.org - October 2010

A Second Glance…
by Cortney Walcott

Ben and Jessica Nickless were married in sophomore in high school. Ben was raised
May of 2005. They were set up on a blind date going to Unionville Church of Christ, accepting
by a co-worker of Jessica’s in August of 2000. Jesus as his savior while he was in middle
After dating for nearly five years, they were school. Ben and Jessica became members of
married on the farm in Heltonville where Jessica Mt. Pleasant Christian Church in 2008. When
was raised. They now have two children: Luke, they moved from Unionville to Gosport they
who will be three in December and Eli, who is a were seeking a church closer to home. Jessica
year and a half old. says, “It didn’t take many visits for us to know
we were in the right place.” They visited several
Growing up churches
Jessica but kept
attended finding
First Baptist themselves
Church in back at Mt.
Bedford. Pleasant
She saying it
accepted just “felt like
the Lord home.”
when she
was a

Jessica attended Bedford North Lawrence High School where she was a cheerleader all four years. Her
team won State Championship those four years. After high school she continued her education at
Indiana University for two years. She then worked as an Oral Surgery Assistant under Dr. Howell and
Dr. Pliske until deciding to be a stay-at-home mom. Ben attended Bloomington North High School
where he was on the basketball team his freshman year. He then pursued his education at Purdue
University, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology. He is now
working for Cook Medical as a Manufacturing Engineer. He has been employed there for ten years.
 Ben and Jessica laugh that they no longer have time for hobbies since having a family! Ben used
to race motorcycles in Hare Scrambles, where his brand of choice is KTM. Jessica enjoys working in
her flower gardens. But most of all they enjoy spending time outside with their boys, taking walks or
runs, and playing with their two Labrador Retrievers.

The Church
by Pastor Jon Miller

Most of the time when we hear the word “Church” we think of a building. On Sunday morning when we
wake our kids I always tell them to get up and get ready for “Church”. Yet, in the Bible the word church
referred to the believers in Christ coming together to break bread and pray. Whenever Christ said, “I will
build my church” he didn’t have a beautiful cathedral in mind. He had us in mind - a community of
people coming together for the purpose of prayer, breaking bread, and studying the Word.

God established the church as a community because He knows that we are programmed to worship.
God also knows that if we are not careful we get our focus in worship on the wrong thing. In Israel they
worshipped the temple instead of worshipping God. For this reason the prophet Jeremiah told the
Israelites not to trust in lying words saying, “The temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord.” (Jeremiah
7:4). How soon the people had forgotten Solomon’s prayer when he dedicated the temple. Solomon
knew that God was too big to be contained in a building. In his prayer he said, “The heaven and the
heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house...” (1 Kings 8:27)
In the Old Testament when the children of Israel were marching through the wilderness God sent
serpents that bit the people who were complaining. In order to be healed the people had to look up to a
bronze serpent that Moses made and placed upon a pole. (Numbers 21:9) Years later after Israel was
in the promise land we see the serpent reappear in Scripture again. This time the people are not being
healed by it but they are burning incense to it as if it were a god. This so upset King Hezekiah that he
broke it into pieces and directed the people’s attention back to the true and living God. (2 Kings 18:4)
Just like in Jeremiah's day the people had lost their focus.

My prayer for us here at Mt. Pleasant is that we remember that the community of believers is more
important than the building that we meet in. I know that it’s going to be hard for some in our church when
the old building is torn down because we have a lot of good memories that are connected with the
building and the location. We have to remember though that our memories are not about shingles,
carpet and paneling they are about fellowship, tears, and laughter that we have shared with one another
within those walls. Those memories of tears and laughter are about the people and about the moving of
the spirit at that location. Even though they are connected to the building they are not about the building.
These are memories that will live on and we will pass on to our children and grandchildren.

We are also blessed that in our new building great care was taken to preserve a lot of the history of Mt.
Pleasant with the stained glass windows and some of the furnishings. But the most important part of Mt.
Pleasant is not the windows or the pews but that God has promised to meet with us when the people
come together for worship. Solomon said that there is a time to tear down and a time to build up.
(Ecclesiastes 3:3) None of us know what tomorrow holds, if the community of believers here continues
to grow it may be necessary to build again. Making a decision to build is always easier when we keep
our focus on the people being the church.
 Chicken Vegetable Soup

1 cut up broiler/fryer chicken (2&1/2-3 pounds)

2 quarts water
1 tbl salt
2 8 ounce can tomato sauce (with tomato bits)
6 tiny, whole, white onions, peeled
6 small carrots, pared and cut (if necessary)
3 small stalks of celery, sliced diagonally
1/2 cup chopped, fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
1 8 ounce can whole kernel corn, drained

Place chicken in a kettle with a tight fitting cover. Add water and 1 tablespoon salt. Simmer, covered for
1& 1/2 hours (or until tender). Remove chicken and skim the fat from the broth. Stir in the tomato sauce,
onions, carrots, celery, parsley and bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes more (or until vegetables
are tender). Meanwhile, remove skin and bones, leaving the meat in larger pieces. Add to the broth,
along with the corn, when the vegetables are tender. Salt to taste. Heat thoroughly. Remove bay leaf
and serve. Serves 6.

1854 Pumpkin Soup

Yield: 1 pot
Ingredients:
2 lb pumpkin, skinned and cut up
6 tbl butter
2 tbl flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
6 cup milk
1 cup water
1 x pepper to taste
Method:
In a large soup pot, add the pumpkin, sugar,
butter, salt, pepper and
water. Simmer for 20 minutes. Mash the
pumpkin well and add the flour,
mixing constantly. Add the milk and simmer for
another 10 minutes. Serve
with fried bread or toast.

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Birthdays
Macy Chafin- October 1st
Lonnie Anderson- October 2nd
Patty Day- October 2nd
Samara Fluke- October 2nd
Abigail Root- October 10th
Holly Wampler- October 10th
Junetta Wineinger- October 10th
Betty Hendrix- October 14th
John Turner- October 15th
Van Funkhouser- October 16th
Kim Floyd- October 18th
Hayden Hodges- October 19th
Terre Funkhouser October 22nd
Mary Myers- October 23rd
Frank Dean October 24th
Buddy Lighter- October 25th
Amanda Peach- October 28th
Judith Neal- October 30th
Anniversaries
Dale & Barbara Clayton- October 3rd
Charles & Paula Hawkins- October 4th
Noel & Linda Hatter- October 6th
Jerry & Sharon Bolinger- October 22nd
Puppies for Sale
A store owner was tacking a sign above his
door that read "Puppies For Sale." Signs like
that have a way of attracting small children, and
sure enough, a little boy appeared under the
store owner's sign. "How much are you going to
sell the puppies for?" he asked.
The store owner replied, "Anywhere from $30 to
$50."
The little boy reached in his pocket and pulled
out some change. "I have $2.37," he said. "Can
I please look at them?"
The store owner smiled and whistled and out of
the kennel came Lady, who ran down the aisle
of his store followed by five teeny, tiny balls of
fur.
One puppy was lagging considerably behind.
Immediately the little boy singled out the lagging,
limping puppy and asked, "What's wrong with
that little dog?"
The store owner explained that the veterinarian
had examined the little puppy and had
discovered it didn't have a hip socket. It would
always limp. It would always be lame.
The little boy became excited. "That is the puppy
that I want to buy!"
The store owner said, "No, you don't want to buy
that little dog. If you really want him, I'll just give
him to you."
The little boy got quite upset. He looked straight
into the store owner's eyes, pointing his finger,
and said, "I don't want you to give him to me.
That little dog is worth every bit as much as all
the other dogs and I'll pay full price. In fact, I'll
give you $2.37 now, and 50 cents a month until I The store owner countered, "You really don't
have him paid for." want to buy this little dog. He is never going to
be able to run and jump and play with you like the other puppies."
To his surprise, the little boy reached down and rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly twisted, crippled
left leg supported by a big metal brace. He looked up at the store owner and softly replied, "Well, I don't
run so well myself, and the little puppy will need someone who understands."

Letters from Children to God

 Dear God: In school they told us what You do. Who does it when You are on vacation? Jane
 Dear God: I read the Bible. What does 'begat' mean? Nobody will tell me. Love, Alison
 Dear God: Are you really invisible or is that just a trick? Lucy
 Dear God: Did you mean for the giraffe to look like that or was it an accident? Norma
 Dear God: Who draws the lines around the countries? Nan
 Dear God: Thank you for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy. Joyce

 Dear God: Why is Sunday school on Sunday? I thought it was supposed to be our day of rest.
Tom L.
 Dear God: Please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before, You can look it up. Bruce
 Dear God: Maybe Cain and Abel would not kill each other so much if they had their own rooms. It
works with my brother. Larry
 Dear God: I want to be just like my Daddy when I get big but not with so much hair all over. Sam
 Dear God: You don't have to worry about me. I always look both ways. Dean
 Dear God: I think the stapler is one of your greatest inventions. Ruth M.
 Dear God: I think about You sometimes even when I'm not praying. Elliott
 Dear God: Of all the people who work for You I like Noah and David the best. Rob
 Dear God: I didn't think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset you made on Tuesday.
That was cool! Eugene


Mt. Pleasant Christian Church
3191 W. Burma Rd.
Gosport, IN 47433
812-876-9149

