Date: 3/4/2008
<br>Author: Devin Pickard
<br>Title: Fairfield Happenings
<br><br>“Praise the Lord! Praise God in his heavenly dwelling; praise him in his mighty heaven! Praise him for his mighty works; praise his unequaled greatness! Praise him with a blast of the trumpet; praise him with the lyre and harp! Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise him with a clash of cymbals; praise him with loud clanging cymbals. Let everything that lives sing praises to the Lord! Praise the Lord!”  (Psalm 150)<br><br>According to Wikipedia,  praise is an impassioned exaltation of God (ie. a Supreme Being, or Creation), typically as an expression of gratitude for one's life or being.  The word praise is used at least 248 times in the Holy Bible.  If you count, David used it 13 times in the 6 short verses above in Psalm 150.  It seems very fitting that the last chapter in the great book of Psalms ends with the writer praising or thanking God.  If you notice closely, David does not praise God for any special favor or gift that had been granted to him.  He simply thanks God for being God.  But you can rest assured, the unwritten thoughts between each line are thoughts of appreciation for sins forgiven, blessings received and grace experienced.<br><br>I want to take time today to praise God for all the wonderful blessings that He continues to shower on His church at Fairfield.  This past Sunday was yet another wonderful period of worship and time spent together in fellowship.  As we discussed during the morning lesson, God did not create us to go to church, he created us to worship.....and worship we did.  The house was full, the singing was uplifting, the prayers were heartfelt, the offering was overwhelming, and the spirit was one of optimism and encouragement.  Who would not want to be part of an experience like that on a regular basis?  If you know of anyone who is in dire need of being uplifted, or as Ms. Carolyn says, needs to be “buoyed up”, extend to them an invitation to come be a part of our family.  It just might be the tonic that cures what ails them.  <br><br>The Dynamic Marriage class is now entering its fourth week and is going along beautifully.  The eight couples participating are truly growing as individuals and as husband and wife.  Lifelong friendships are being developed and support systems are being built.  I would be amiss without occasionally thanking Ms. Naomi Bailey for planting the seed for this wonderful ministry here years ago.  It’s a proven fact that strong marriages help to build strong congregations.  If you or someone you know have not taken advantage of this life-altering class, please be sure to sign up the next time around....you won’t regret it.    <br><br>Sheila Brady and helpers are being kept very busy putting together welcome baskets for new members.  It seems that there is almost not a week that goes by where we are not blessed with another new family member.  Speaking of new, it was announced Sunday that we have two new deacons...Chris Wright and David Gossett.  Chris will be in charge of missions and David will head up building maintenance.  Be sure to thank them for being willing to serve in those capacities.  The list of all the positive things happening around here could go on and on, so lets just end this thing the way we began it.<br>                                                             <center>“PRAISE THE LORD!”</center><br><br>Go the extra mile - Devin<br>