The Mountain Top Spot

January 29th, 2012

2012-01-23T13:54:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

Next Sunday, January 29, will be a special one for our church family. A celebration has been planned to thank Pastor John and Trudy for their ministry to our church family and community. Since that is the case, we won't meet for home group that day.

The following Sunday, February 5th is the first Sunday of the month. We always "pause" home group on that day to allow the Leadership Team to meet.

February 12th will be the next time home group will gather. That week we will study through Chapter 8, the final chapter of the "Surrender" study. I hope everyone is able to come as we wrap up what has been a wonderfully, convicting study that has blessed us all!

January 22, 2012

2012-01-16T08:58:00.000-08:00

"Full consecration may be in one sense the act of a moment and in another the work of a lifetime. It must be complete to be real, and yet- if real- it is always incomplete. Consecration is a point of rest and yet a perpetual progression. " Frances R. Havergal

This is the quote which started Chapter 6 in the "Surrender" study that we worked through this last week.

On to Chapter 7 which begins with this quote, " Dear Lord, You be the needle and I be the thread. You go first, and I will follow wherever You may lead." Congolese Believer

Amen and amen!! :)

We will be studying through Chapter 7 this coming week.

Italian Food will be the lunch theme. Normally, this early in the week I still have all sorts of wonderful ideas of the food I might be able to make for our lunch on Sunday. This week the realist in me is waving a white flag and admitting defeat from the get-go. Pretty sure I'll be buying a frozen lasagna and fixing that. To make myself feel a little better, I'll pick up some French bread as well. :)

Hope to see you all at worship!!

January 15, 2012

2012-01-11T14:13:00.000-08:00

Wow! We haven't met for home group for so long it seems like it was last year some time!! :)

We are back "in the groove" this coming week, January 15. It feels like such a long time since we last were looking at the "Surrender" study together. I have checked, rechecked and I'm ALMOST positive that we will be studying through Chapter 6 this coming week. If that isn't correct, let me know! Or, you can let me float along, blissfully ignorant, thinking I was right all along. :)

Mexican Food is the first thing that popped into my head as I was thinking of lunch ideas and so that's the plan. No sense straining something thinking too hard is my motto.

Hope to see everyone Sunday!!!!!!

December 18th

2011-12-15T05:56:00.000-08:00

Greetings, all!

This coming Sunday will be our last home group meeting for December. We missed all who weren't able to join us last week! I hope everyone was able to read Chapter 4 of "Surrender" that we studied through on the 11th. It is a great chapter. This coming week, the 18th, we will be studying together through Chapter 5.

Lunch theme for this coming week will be "Red and/or Green". I had thought it would be fun for everyone to bring cookies and we could do a cookie exchange. I've realized that there is a lot going on the weekend and am thinking there is no need to add anything to our plates, especially cookies! Ha!

Mrs. Terry announced Sunday that our church family will be expressing our thanks to the staff at Vista Grande Community Center by bringing goodies for them on Sunday.

The craft fair is Saturday, the 17th, 11:00-4:00

Have a wonderful rest of your week!

December 11th

2011-12-07T13:04:00.001-08:00

Hoping no one had frozen water in their homes these last few days! Brrrrrrrrr!

Home group is ON for this coming week, December 11th. We will be studying through Chapter 4 of the "Surrender" book.

I had originally planned the lunch theme to be "Multiple Meal Dishes". December always seems to be a bit busier than normal no matter how much we try to simplify. Since that is the case I say we declare it "Bring whatever you have time and energy to make" day. :)

Hope to see you all Sunday!

December 4th

2011-11-30T07:45:00.001-08:00

December 4th our home group will not be meeting. This does not mean we won't get to meet together after worship, though! Yay!! After worship we will remain at the community center, enjoy finger foods together, review and vote on the budget for the coming year.

Hope to see you all there!!

November 13

2011-11-09T08:04:00.000-08:00

We made it home from the Dallas area safe and sound. :) It was a little funny to start the day in mid-seventy, slightly humid weather and finish it with snow flying so hard in our face that it made it hard to drive. Clay had placed an order for pleasant weather for our visit and it was REALLY nice. No over 100 degree temps, no ridiculous humidity, just wonderfully nice.

Home group should be back in it's regular mode this coming week, November 13th.

This week we will study through Chapter 3 of "Surrender".

Casseroles and salads are on the menu.

Looking ahead after this coming week our schedule will be a bit out of the "norm". The holidays are upon us! Woooohooooo!!!! I so enjoy this time of year!

I have added pages you can click on to check out the days we will be meeting and the lunch theme for that week. These are on the right side of the blog. Look over, find the month you are curious about listed under the "Calender" heading, click on it and a page will open with that info on it.

Something of which to take note is that the Thanksgiving dinner will be November 20th at our house. We obviously will not be having a regular home group meeting that day but will instead get to visit with everyone. Special times!! The following week is Thanksgiving weekend and we will not meet for home group November 27th.

Hope to see you all Sunday and praying for a surrendered rest of our week. :)

Melody

November 6th

2011-11-01T18:13:00.000-07:00

HEAR YE! HEAR YE! There is no home group this upcoming week, November 6th. The first Sunday of each month we "pause" our home group. The leadership team meets on that day so we don't meet to avoid causing a conflict.

Those of us who were able to meet together last week studied through Chapter 2 of "Surrender". Chapter 3 is on tap for next time. Having an extra week to read and study this chapter should mean that we will all be REALLY prepared. :)

Let's all remember to lift up the leadership team in prayer as they meet on Sunday.

We will be out of town Sunday. We will be visiting Clay and it will be great to enjoy listening to him play during his worship service. *little happy dance* Sorry. This mom is very excited to go visit her boy! :)

We will miss you all and will be praying for a wonderful worship service at home, too!

Love,
Melody

October 30

2011-10-25T08:39:00.000-07:00

It sounds like the first real blast of wintery weather may be headed our way! The weather has been sooooo nice and it is the end of October so ........Winter, here we come! :)

Cooler weather always makes me want soup or stew (and homemade bread, but that is a constant no matter the weather). Let's plan soup and sandwiches for this coming week, October 30.

Stay warm! See you all Sunday!

October 23

2011-10-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

We were blessed with incredibly pleasant weather for our first home group meeting! It was so warm we set up for the kids to eat outside and I heard someone complaining that it was, "Too hot!" In October! :)

I would like to send a shout-out to Dakota Brown for volunteering to spend our Bible study time with the younger kids. The kids so enjoy spending time with him and it is a gift to those of us who are enjoying spending that time in the Bible study. Thank you, Dakota!!!!

We all studied through the Introduction of "Surrender" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. Now we should be ready to launch into the first chapter and be all "studied up" for next week. :) Surrender is a concept that can bring with it a lot of different ideas and emotions, uneasiness and even fear. As we explore more deeply the idea of totally surrendering to the Creator of the Universe, who loves us more than we love ourselves, who tells us in His Word, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.", it becomes more and more exciting!

Next week, October 23rd, let's plan to have Italian Food for lunch.

Hope to see everyone at worship, if not before!

Melody

First Meeting after Summer Break- October 16

2011-10-10T19:43:00.001-07:00

Fall!! It's here!!! I sooo enjoy this time of year and can hardly believe it's here. :)

Now that the most of us have finished our summer vacations and projects that we launched into over the summer, (or for SOME of us--- projects that we launched into......... kept adding to and wonder if we are ever really going to get done with!), it's time to get started enjoying each others company and Bible study with home groups again! Yay!! I'm excited! :)

October 16th will be our first meeting. As we have done in the past we will have potluck and then Bible study right after our worship service. I usually attach a theme to our potluck. Please never feel that you have to follow the theme. Bring whatever you would like. :) This simply narrows down the options I have to choose from when I'm trying to decide what to fix. Since decisiveness is not one of my strengths I can use all the help I can get! :) Anyway, enough of that. October 16 has officially been declared Mexican Food Day because........everyone loves Mexican food, right?

In our Bible study last time we studied through a book by Nancy Leigh Demoss, "Brokenness". This time we will continue in her series with the second book, "Surrender". Our study last time was wonderful and this one will be as well, I'm sure. If you need info concerning the book you can contact Susan Brown. Our group was large enough last time that we broke up into two smaller groups for study. It is always such a blessing to get to know one another better and study together, sharing experiences and wisdom. As always I'm really looking forward to it!!

Hoping to see everyone Sunday!!!

Melody

April 17

2011-04-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

This coming Sunday, the 17th, the adults will be finishing our study of the book, Brokenness. It has been a wonderful study!!!

Lunch theme for this coming week is casseroles and salads.

Hope to see you all there!

April 10th

2011-04-06T13:26:00.000-07:00

What a gorgeous morning it was this morning!!! (No, we are not going to discuss the wind howling ferociously all night long, or that it is blowing like crazy again this afternoon.) This morning the birds were singing, the sun shining, it was warm.....Spring is on it's way. Yay!!

This coming Sunday, the 10th, our home group will meet as usual. We will be going through Chapter 5 in the Brokenness study.

Lunch will be Mexican Food.

See you all on Sunday!!

P.S. Maybe we should make a plan B. In the event we all get blown away. Perhaps, we could come up with a place to meet on the east side of the Texas state line....oh, wait! If we get blown that far we can all go see Clay!!! Sunday is his birthday! It would be perfect timing!

March 27th

2011-03-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

Greetings, everyone!

Home group is perking along on a normal track for this coming Sunday, the 27th. Adults are continuing the study of Brokenness.

The lunch theme is soups and sandwiches.

Remember if you are curious about the lunch theme and I have procrastinated in getting a new blog post done for the coming week, (like this week), you can come to the blog anytime and check out the calendar link on the right side of the blog. Our scheduled meetings and lunch themes are there. :)

Don't blow away!!

See you Sunday!

March 20th

2011-03-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

Our home group gets to meet on the first day of Spring!! Woohoo! Warm weather, here we come! :)

The adults will be studying Chapter 3 of the book, Brokenness, together. This is an excellent study!

Lunch theme for this week is Italian Food.

See you all then!

March 13th

2011-03-09T07:11:00.000-08:00

Home group is back on track for this coming Sunday, the 13th. The adults will be studying through Chapter 2 of the Brokenness book.

St. Patrick's Day falls on the Thursday following our meeting so our lunch theme is, "Irish Food, Green Food or something you would like to declare as such." :)

Sunday will be the day after a bunch of our folks are having paintball wars. In addition to that, it is the first day of Daylight Savings Time. Uggg! I thought about planning our lunch theme to be "Anything with caffeine". Then decided that might not be the best plan........but we can have "sides" of caffeine! Or maybe, a nap would be a better plan.

See you all Sunday! An hour earlier! (O.K. the clock won't say so. But my body will know the truth!)

March 6, 2011

2011-03-02T14:12:00.000-08:00

This coming Sunday, March 6, is the first Sunday of the month. We don't meet the first Sunday of each month so that we don't conflict with the Leadership Team meeting that is held then. We will pick up again on the 13th.

I'm planning lunch themes for the next couple of months. If you have ideas that you would like to see on the menu, please let me know! :)

I sure am enjoying the sunshine. Hope you are, too!

February 27th

2011-02-23T15:17:00.000-08:00

The month of February always seems to fly by so quickly! I guess it is shorter than the others, but it feels like it is shorter by about 5 days instead of two. :)

This coming Sunday, the 27th, the adults will continue the new study "Brokenness". We had a wonderful introduction to the study last Sunday. Most of us should have the book now so that we can be reading through Chapter One and be prepared for the group study.

Our lunch theme will be "Anything With Bacon". :) Bacon seems to come up so often in conversation that I decided that we might as well really go for it. Should make a few of us happy. :) Of course, we may have to eat salad for weeks to clear out our arteries.........

Hoping everyone is having a great week!

See you all Sunday!

February 20th

2011-02-16T12:18:00.000-08:00

Yay! Susan says that the books for our new study are in and we are all set to start this coming Sunday, the 20th. And no, it's NOT to late to join us!! Susan has said to just let her know so she can be sure everyone gets a book that needs one.

President's Day is on the horizon so we will make the lunch theme "Presidential Favorites". I found a fun website, http://www.foodtimeline.org/presidents.html, that has a lot of information on the various presidents and their favorite foods. After contemplating what I will fix and realizing that I have a ham in the freezer, I will be fixing "Presidential Ham". Nobody's favorite that I can find, but that is what I am fixing nonetheless. :) I also found a recipe I'm going to try that is "George Washington's Chocolate Cherry Cake". Guess they are working the whole "cutting down the cherry tree" angle. Regardless, if it's chocolate and cherry it's bound to be good, right?

Hope to see everyone Sunday!!!

February 13

2011-02-11T06:13:00.000-08:00

Is anyone still frozen? Wow, has it ever been cold. That's okay, it will make us even more thankful for Spring when it arrives!!

Yes, home group is a "go" for this coming Sunday, the 13th. We will be starting a new study with Susan Brown facilitating. It will be based on a series of books by Nancy Leigh DeMoss entitled "Holiness, Brokenness and Surrender." I have heard really wonderful things about these books and am excited to get into this study. :)

Since Monday is Valentines Day let's all bring either the food you LOVE or something red for lunch. :)

We have seven new puppies to snuggle with as well. They won't be quite two weeks old. Just right for good snugglers. :)

Hope to see everyone Sunday!!!

January 23, 2011

2011-01-19T14:23:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful time we had this last week! Ed and Alice Kraft joined us for our study time. Alice brought many wonderful artifacts and shared a bit of her knowledge on Israel and the Jewish people.

It is incredible to realize that some of the items that are found are thousands of years old. These items would not only have been present when Jesus was walking on the earth but when Abraham was alive! It sort of boggles my mind!

Many thanks to Alice for coming and sharing with us!! Also, thank you to John Hayden for the pictures! :)

Looking ahead to our next week, we have a change in our schedule. Many of our number who normally are able to gather will not be able to come this next week, the 23rd. We won't meet because of that.

We will plan to meet again on the 30th. Italian Food is the theme for lunch that day.

January 16, 2011

2011-01-12T08:20:00.000-08:00

We are in for a real treat for our first home group meeting of 2011! Alice Kraft is going to join us and share her knowledge of Israel and the Jewish people. I am soooo looking forward to it.

Let's plan to share Mexican food for lunch before our time with Alice.

I know this will be something that everyone will enjoy. If you don't normally join us for home group but would like to come, please do!

See everyone Sunday!!

Home group December 19th

2010-12-15T08:04:00.000-08:00

The countdown is on! Ten days until Christmas! I love Christmas! Sure, there is all the commercialism, things that distract rather than focus us on the reason for the celebration and all the rest. But, at the bottom of it all, is the celebration of the coming of our Saviour because he loved us enough to come, live among us and be sacrificed so we can have a relationship with Him. Makes me want to shout!! :)

We are switching gears a bit for our home group meeting for the 19th. Alice Kraft had graciously offered to come and speak to our group about her studies, travels and experiences concerning Israel and the Jewish people. As so often happens, life has handed Alice a few more spinning plates that she had realized she was going to have to keep going. :) It will be easier for her to come at a later time. With that in mind, we have decided to not try to meet this week. Everyone's schedules are packed and this way we can all rest up and be ready to go caroling Sunday evening. :)

Hope to see you all at worship Sunday morning. (Don't forget cookies for caroling.) And with your caroling voices on Sunday evening! :)

December 12

2010-12-08T09:02:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks have flown by!! Thanksgiving, boxes of goodies for Operation Christmas Child as well as the children in Juarez, the Christmas brunch......so many fun times!!

We are planning to meet for home group this coming Sunday, December 12th. Let's have soup and sandwiches for lunch.

Alice Kraft has said that she come one day soon and share her experiences and artifacts from Israel with us. I can't wait! She won't be available to do that on the 12th but we will plan it for sometime soon.

Hope to see everyone Sunday!!

November 14

2010-11-12T04:12:00.000-08:00

This coming Sunday, November 14, will be our only regular home group meeting for this month. The week following we will all get to enjoy the church wide Thanksgiving dinner. :)

The adults will be returning to Israel to learn lessons from God's chosen people. Interesting how sometimes we can learn from someones example and other times we can learn from their mistakes. :)

The children will be studying something about somewhere and it is going to be fun! ( Yes, it has been crazy week at the Norris household and I don't have the details planned out yet. :))

The lunch theme for this week is ground beef. Perhaps not the most exciting, but you just never know!! I'm hoping to find some new recipes through stealing recipes from everyone else. :) I think I'm fixing Frito Pie. And maybe I can talk Marissa into fixing Rice Krispie Treats. I have a bunch of marshmallows that need to be used....

See you Sunday!

November 7

2010-11-03T06:24:00.000-07:00

Ready or not, November is here!!! We won't be meeting for home group this coming Sunday, November 7th. Each month the leadership team meets on the first Sunday of the month. Home group "pauses" for that week so we don't conflict with that meeting.

We are scheduled to have only one regular home group meeting in November. That will be the 14th. The following week, the 21st, will be the church wide Thanksgiving dinner. (Fun!) The 28th is a part of Thanksgiving weekend. Many of our group will have family visiting or will be gone for the holiday weekend so we won't try to meet that day.

You can check on days that we are scheduled to meet and the lunch theme for that day by clicking on the calendar pages to the right of the blog.

Hope to see you all and worship together Sunday!

October 31

2010-10-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

Eeeeeekkkk! Friday already! Where did the week go? I think someone may have stolen several of the days in the middle of the week.......

I have been enjoying previewing the video and studying the material the week prior to when we all study it. It takes me a while to absorb things and repetition is helpful (necessary?) for me to really get a handle on things. True confessions--I have done no previewing and have no idea what we are studying about this coming Sunday, the 31st. But I know it will be good!! It always is when we come together as the body of Christ to study his word and pray. I think we may be visiting the Philistines as well.

Our most popular children's teacher, Mr. Coey, will be playing with the kids this week. :)

Breakfast food is the theme for lunch this week. That's right. No need to eat breakfast in the morning. We will just have it for lunch. One less meal to have to fix! Woo hoo!

Hope to see everyone Sunday!

October 24th

2010-10-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

It was so enlightening last Sunday to get to see video of the Jordan River. The adult's study centered around the Jordan. It's amazing to go back and read the scriptures that contain the Jordan after learning more about the river, its size, what it looks like and the terrain on either side of it. Along with visiting the Jordan, there were some of us that revisited Gezer from the week before. That was great!

This week the adults will be traveling to Jericho. It will be interesting to see what the Lord has for us as we walk around the city walls. :)

Quite a few of our kids were missing last week so we postponed our Egypt study until this coming week.

The lunch theme for this coming week ( the 24th) is Mexican Food. One of our favorites!!

I must say that I am seeing a trend starting to develop with our lunches. Wonderful food is being brought each week. A part of that food has been absolutely decedent desserts. The amount of calories consumed by the time you eat the great nutritious food plus the desserts adds up very quickly. That really leaves me with no choice. I simply must make the decision to eat nothing but dessert on Sunday afternoons. A sacrifice, but you have to do what you have to do.....

Enjoy this great Fall weather!! See you all Sunday!!!!

October 17th

2010-10-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday the adults took a journey all the way to Gezer during the Bible study. They all made it back in time to get home by mid-afternoon. Amazing, huh? This coming week they get to return to Israel and visit the beautiful Jordon river. "For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea... so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God." Joshua 4:23-24

We had a great group of kids this last week. We studied about China and the difficulties Christians have there. We also had fun singing and playing instruments and will continue that this week as well. Our study will focus on Egypt and the church there.

Our theme for lunch this coming week, the 17th, is "Casseroles and Salads".

Each week at home group we learn so many things. One thing we learned this last week was:

If you want peach cobbler, you better get it the first time you fill your plate!!!!:)

October 10

2010-10-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

Cool!! I just realized that this date will be 10/10 of '10. How fun!

The lunch theme this week will be Soup and Sandwiches, since it is Fall and all. I tried to think of something that would relate to 10 but...epic fail. :)

In the sidebar on the right of the blog you will see calendar pages. You can click there to see the days we are scheduled to meet for home group and the lunch theme for the week.

This week the adults will be taking a journey of sorts to Israel. Gezer, to be more precise. The study this week will reveal the connection between Gezer's strategic location and God's plan for Israel. The study of this land brings a better understanding of the land that God set apart for his chosen people and the lessons we can glean from that as we live our lives in the here and now. Here is an excerpt from the study guide:

"The life of faith is not a vague, otherwordly experience. Rather, it is being faithful to God right now, in the place and time in which he has put us. This truth is emphasized by God's choice of Canaan, a crossroads of the ancient world, as the Promised Land in which the Israelites were to live. Our mission as Christians today is the same one God gave to the Israelites when they possessed the Promised Land, and the same one Jesus gave to his disciples. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our might, and to love our neighbors as ourselves so that through us the world may know that our God is the one true God."

Amen and amen.

Hope to see everyone Sunday!!

A Friendly Reminder-October 3rd

2010-09-30T05:43:00.000-07:00

God's creation is so amazing, isn't it? I am soaking up the gorgeous Fall weather we are being blessed with. Just incredible.

We really enjoyed having everyone here for our first home group meeting after the Summer break. Pastor John had pictures from his trip to Canada that he shared as well as his adventures there and some of the ministry challenges that the people there face. Thank you, Pastor John! We will be keeping those people and the area in our prayers.

We won't be having home group this coming Sunday, October 3rd. The Leadership Team of the church meets the first Sunday of each month. Since those of our group who are a part of that team can't be in two places at once ( I would really like to figure out how to do that:)), we don't meet on the first Sunday of each month. And yes, believe it or not, October is here already! Let's remember to keep our Leadership Team in prayer as they meet.

We will meet again on October 10th.

Have a wonderful rest of your week!!

Home Group Time!!!!

2010-09-23T08:40:00.000-07:00

The first day of Fall!!! Yay!! I love Fall....but I also love Winter.....and Spring.... and Summer.....:)

Please accept my apologies for being so late with this blog post. My Clay was home and I was enjoying every available minute that I had to spend with him. Thus, my procrastination in posting.

Home Group!! Yes, it is time to get in the groove of home group again. This Sunday, the 26th, will be our first home group meeting. The adults will be looking at several different options from which they will decide on the study topic for the next few months. The children will begin looking at other countries. We will study the people in the countries and explore the reasons that can make it so difficult and dangerous to be a Christian in some of these countries. We'll add in some music and lots of fun. :)

We would love to have any and all who would like to join us! We all come to our house (the Norris') after church on Sunday morning and have a potluck meal. We enjoy eating and visiting and then have a time of study and prayer. Each week I (Melody) usually come up with a "theme" for our potluck. This is just a crutch for me as it helps me decide what to cook.:) Anything you would like to bring is fine and certainly does not have to fit the "theme"!

The theme for this week will be Italian. I'll pick up a lasagna and fix a veggie tray.

Please don't hesitate to give us a call--281-5741-- or send us an

email , melodyrnorris@gmail.com, if you have questions, suggestions or just to say hi. :)

Hope to see you all at worship Sunday morning!

Love,

Melody

May 16

2010-05-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

The sun is shining, schools are finishing up for the year, weeds are about to overgrow my house......spring is here for sure!!!! I was wondering there for a while. :)

We will be having home group this coming Sunday, May 16. This will be our last meeting until next fall. The East Mountain Celebration is the next Sunday and Memorial Day weekend finishes up this month. With that in mind, we will "pause" our meetings after the 16th for the summer.

Jennie suggested we have Mexican Food since everyone always seems to enjoy it. I'm fixing Taco Soup.

Hope to see you all Sunday!!!!

May 9

2010-05-06T05:36:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day!! This coming Sunday we will all be celebrating our mothers and so we will not meet for home group. I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

April 25

2010-04-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Our home group meeting times have been a bit sporadic as of late. We are on for this coming week the 25th. Lord willin' and if the creek don't rise, we should be meeting after worship service for lunch, fellowship and study.

Our lunch theme will be Italian. We planned that a few weeks ago but ended up cancelling our meeting that week so we will try it again. I am planning to fix Lasagna, salad and garlic bread.

I will take the kids for their study time. They seem to really like science related Bible lessons so we will have to see if we can find something to explode.... or at least smoke....or something fun like that to study. :)

I have found a way to change the settings on the comment section so that it should be easier to comment. If you would like to comment to let everyone know what food you plan to bring, give it a try. If it still is not very user friendly, let me know and I'll keep working on it.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!!

Melody

April 18

2010-04-16T15:08:00.000-07:00

Greetings, everyone!

The Norris family will be enjoying watching Jennie's performance in the musical, "The Magic Mrs. Piggle Wiggle" this coming Sunday, the 18th. Since that is the case and there will be no one home to host home group we have cancelled for this week.

They have already performed the musical 5 times and Sunday will be their 7th show. They should be able to do it in their sleep by then-----no, wait, they are getting so tired it may have been TODAY that they performed in their sleep! :) This is an incredible group of kids and NM Young Actors is a wonderful organization. What a blessing for Jennie to get to be a part.

We will see everyone Sunday at worship!

Changes for April 11

2010-04-09T14:10:00.000-07:00

April Fool! We aren't really having home group this coming Sunday, April 11. Oh, wait. April Fool's was the 1st. Well, truth be told, we didn't realize that the Leadership Team has a meeting scheduled for this Sunday. That will be a conflict for so many of our home group that we won't try to meet this week.

I hope everyone is enjoying this sunshine. I sure am!!

See everyone Sunday!!

April 11

2010-04-06T13:35:00.000-07:00

After a wonderful weekend celebrating the resurrection of our Lord we are back to our regular home group schedule. This week we will continue studying relationships and will have Italian food for lunch. I (Melody)will be fixing Lasagna, salad and garlic bread.

The kids had such a fun time with Miss Susan Palm Sunday and made cool cross crafts. Melody will take the kids this week.

Here's hoping we don't all blow into Texas!!!

Have a wonderful week. See you Sunday!

March 28th

2010-03-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

This post was written by Marissa Norris.

Happy Wednesday, everybody!

I sure am tired of this snow, aren't you?

This week's food theme is going to be your favorite chicken and side dish.

My mom (Melody) is going to fix sweet and spicy chicken and creamed corn.

Susan Brown is going to be teaching the kids group this week. She has a Easter activity for the kids.

Marissa

March 21

2010-03-16T10:27:00.000-07:00

This Post was written by Marissa Norris.

Happy Tuesday!!

The lunch theme for next Sunday will be soup and sandwiches.

My Mom (Melody) will be teaching the kids study at home group.

I hope you all have a great day!

Marissa

March 14

2010-03-08T05:13:00.000-08:00

It's a snowy morning at our house once again! It looks like powdered sugar has been sprinkled on top of everything. Beautiful!

We will be meeting for home group this coming week, March 14. Our lunch theme will be Barbeque, we will be studying relationships and Regi will be leading our kids during study time this week.

I hope you all have a super week!

See you Sunday!

March 7th

2010-03-04T08:43:00.000-08:00

Sunshine!! Isn't it wonderful!! Who knows how long it will last but I sure am enjoying it while it is here!

We will not have home group this coming week, March 7th. We usually don't meet on the first weekend of the month to allow for the leadership team meeting. The leadership team is not meeting this coming Sunday but the Women's Mentoring group is meeting right after our worship service.

We will pick up again on the 14th. Regi will be taking the children that day and our lunch theme will be Barbeque.

I hope you are all able to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather!

February 28

2010-02-22T05:49:00.000-08:00

It's snowing again! Thank you, Lord, for the snow. As I get so anxious for warmer, sunnier weather, help me remember how thankful I will be for a summer that is not so dry!!

Home group is on the schedule for this coming week, the 28th. We will continue studying relationships and how we can work to improve our relationships with others.

I'm not sure what the theme for lunch next week is. I'm fixing ham and baked beans. I guess maybe it's just truly pot luck!!

Regi has volunteered to take the kids for next week. Thanks, Regi!

Everyone be safe on these yucky roads!

See you Sunday!

February 21

2010-02-16T07:54:00.000-08:00

We had a great time on Sunday and our road was in good shape for everyone to get here safely. Woo hoo!!!!

We are planning home group again for this coming week, February 21st. Our lunch theme will be Italian Food.

The adults are going to rotate working with the children each week. Brian Coey has volunteered to take the kids for this coming week---and the kids all cheered!!!!

See everyone Sunday!

February 14 Home Group Kick Off!!

2010-02-08T06:41:00.000-08:00

We will get "back in the groove" with home group this coming Sunday, February 14. We will be starting a study on Relationships as well as continuing our lunch and fellowship each week.

Our theme for lunch this week will be Mexican Food. That seems to be one of everyone's favorites. If you haven't been able to attend our home group in the past and are planning on coming, please note that the themes for our lunches are just suggestions. It helps us all come up with ideas of what dish we might want to bring. You are always welcome to bring whatever sounds appealing, or is easy, or bring nothing at all!!

Youth will need to check with your leaders for details on your meetings.

Our children are always such a joy to work with. We don't have specific plans nailed down yet for what the children are going to be focusing on. If you feel led to work with the children, please let us know!!!

Dress Rehearsal News and Dec. 20

2009-12-17T13:26:00.001-08:00

Greetings!

It's time for dress rehearsal for both plays! Rehearsal will be Friday, Dec. 18th. We will meet and rehearse at Vista Grande Community Center. The kids will begin rehearsal promptly at 6:00 p.m. After we are finished the adults will rehearse their play. I always like dress rehearsal---all the fun and none of the stress! :)

Saturday we can all enjoy either watching or acting in the adult play, "The Guiding Star", at Vista Grande Community Center at 6:00 p.m. Remember to bring goodies for refreshments afterward.

Sunday morning the kids will perform their play, "Little Shepherdess, All Alone". The kids need to be at the community center no later than 9:00 to get their costumes on and be ready to go. After service we can all meet at the Norris' for lunch and to celebrate a job well done.

I know this is going to be a very busy weekend for everyone. For lunch Sunday just bring whatever is most convenient and sounds yummy. I'll fix chicken legs, potato salad and french bread.

See everyone Friday! We will see if we can "Break a leg!" figuratively speaking, of course!

Melody

Dec 13

2009-12-09T05:36:00.000-08:00

We will be meeting, eating and rehearsing this week. Our last scheduled rehearsal before dress rehearsal on the 18th!! Bring Mexican food to warm up our insides and we will try to not have the house toooo warm for our outsides!

We are also planning to meet and celebrate the culmination of our plays after church on the 20th. No rehearsals that day, just food and fun!!!

See you Sunday!

Melody

December 6

2009-12-03T10:23:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas, everyone!

This beautiful snow certainly puts one in the Christmas mood!!! I hope this finds all snug and warm.

We will be practicing for the play again this week. The countdown is on and we will be practicing each Sunday until the plays are performed on the 19th and the 20th.

This coming week, the 6th, we will have soup and sandwiches for lunch.

See you all then! (If we aren't snowbound! :) )

Melody

November 29- Lunch menus through Dec.13

2009-11-25T06:04:00.000-08:00

Greetings!!

What a wonderful time of the year when we are able to spend time with family and friends and really stop to be thankful. I'm so thankful for Thanksgiving!!

I spoke with Susan and she is planning a practice for this coming Sunday, the 29th, as well as each Sunday until the play. The children's practices will be at the same time as the adults.

For lunch this week let's not have a theme. It can truly be potluck. For those of us that might still have leftovers perhaps we can disguise them and bring them. For those of us that are all done with anything that remotely has anything to do with turkey or dressing you can bring the thing that seems the farthest removed.:)

For the upcoming weeks let's have:

Dec. 6 - Soup and sandwiches ( we have all those yummy desserts in the evening planned so we better keep lunch kind of light:))

Dec. 13- Mexican Food

Everyone have a very blessed Thanksgiving!!

See you Sunday!!

Melody

November 8

2009-11-02T07:53:00.000-08:00

What a beautiful weekend we had!! It seemed especially nice after the cold weather we had last week.

We will have home group and play practice this coming Sunday, November 8th. Kids, we are going to try to run through the play without scripts so remember to get your lines memorized! You can do it! :)

Mexican Food is on the menu for lunch this week. Everyone bring your favorite Mexican Food dish and we will all feast.

Remember to bring items that you would like to donate for the Thanksgiving Baskets.

Hope to see you all Sunday!

Melody

October 25

2009-10-21T05:50:00.000-07:00

Rain, rain rain! As I am writing this Wednesday morning I have enjoyed listening to it rain all night. What a blessing!

This coming Sunday, the 25th, we will meet for home group and play practice. Let's have chicken dishes and everyone's favorite sides to eat with chicken for lunch.

Parents, if your munchkins haven't been practicing their play lines it would be great if you could help them with that. Our practices together can be much more productive if the kids are familiar with their lines. Thanks!

Items that we will need for the Thanksgiving baskets could include:

Turkey, dressing, yams, ingredients for green bean casserole, other canned veggies, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie "stuff", etc. Other fun things to include might be table coverings or festive plates. Any goods that you would like to include, even if it's not "Thanksgivingy" (I'm sure that must be in the dictionary) will be enjoyed by the families who receive the baskets I'm sure.

Have a wonderful, rainy, Fall day.

Melody

October 11

2009-10-07T07:06:00.000-07:00

Home group is a "GO" for this week. We will have soup and sandwiches for lunch before we start practicing the plays. If you are not a character in a play--- come on over, anyway! There are many opportunities to help with both the adult and children's plays. Good food, fellowship and the fun of working together to put a play together promises to be a good time!

Remember to bring food goodies for the baskets we are putting together for Thanksgiving!! If something sounds good to you for Thanksgiving that would be a great thing to give for someone else to enjoy.

See you all on Sunday!

Melody

Thanksgiving Baskets

2009-09-29T12:21:00.000-07:00

Mornings are crisp, leaves are turning color, people are going to Dixon's for apples--must be Fall! Those things start making me think of hot apple cider, caramel covered apples, pumpkin pie, mmmm, and Thanksgiving! We are going to start gathering items for the food baskets that will be given to families who are in need at Thanksgiving. I know it is a bit early but... early to bed early to rise...no...the early bird gets the worm....hmmm......the early gatherer gets the turkey?! Maybe, not. Anyway, we will only be meeting for home group twice in November before Thanksgiving and this way it will allow more opportunities to bring the goodies we will include in our baskets. If you would like to donate items you can bring them to home group or give them to me anytime and I will take care of them until they are distributed.

Happy Fall!

Drama, Drama Everywhere!

2009-09-29T11:59:00.000-07:00

There is a whole lot of drama going on---yes, at home group! We have "paused" our normal Bible study format to allow that time to be used for the adult drama group to work on the play that will be performed for the community at Christmas time. While the adult actors are rehearsing others will be working on publicity, sets, costumes, etc. The children and youth who would like to will be putting together a performance of their own for the Christmas season.

Of course, we will eat before rehearsal begins! You can check for meeting dates and lunch themes by clicking the "Norris Home Group Calendar" link in the "Helpful Links" section.

After the holidays we will get back to our regularly scheduled program.....and the adult's study of relationships.

Hope to see you all Sunday for worship!

September 27

2009-09-25T05:56:00.000-07:00

We will be meeting for home group this week. The drama group who will be performing the play at Christmas will be practicing here after we enjoy lunch and fellowship together. All the children and any youth who would like to are going to begin working on their own Christmas time production.

We will have BBQ for lunch this week.

See you then!

September 20

2009-09-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

The Norris family will be enjoying the great outdoors while Jimmie is getting in his annual elk hunting trip. We will not have home group this week, September 20. See you when we get back.

September 13

2009-09-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

Hello, everyone!

I hope everybody had a wonderful holiday weekend. Our family went three different directions but a good time was had by all.

It sure feels like Fall is on it's way-and I'm thrilled! Fall is one of my favorite seasons of the year!

We are planning to meet this coming Sunday, September 13th. I took a very unofficial poll and Italian food won as a theme for this week. (Nicole is hoping for Chicken Alfredo...no....wait...maybe she said she is BRINGING Chicken Alfredo....hmmmmm.)

I hope everyone has a great week. I can't remember it's Tuesday already so I'm not sure how that's going to play out.:)

See you Sunday if not before!

Melody

No Home Group August 30

2009-08-26T07:13:00.000-07:00

Our Ladies Mentoring Orientation meeting is scheduled the same time as our home group usually meets on August 30th. We can't bear the thought of meeting without our ladies!! The adults and children won't be meeting that day. The youth will be meeting -check with your leaders for details.

Looking ahead I want to mention that we won't be meeting September 6th, either. The church Leadership Team meets the first Sunday of each month and so we "pause" our meeting for that Sunday to avoid any conflicts.

Hope to see everyone Sunday for worship!

Our upcoming year

2009-08-26T06:47:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

We had a great group who were able to meet this past Sunday. We talked about various topics that might be options for our study. There will be study and fellowship opportunities for everyone-adults, youth and children. The adults will be studying relationships. The youth will decide on their study soon. Joan and Melody will be sharing working with the children (we would love for anyone who feels led to help to join us! :)) Susan and Karen are going to be very busy for the next few months but we might get to sqeeze in a bit of music with the children, as well.

Our adult group talked about ways that we might be able to minister as a group within our community. Let's continue to make this a matter of prayer and be sensitive to God's leading.

Have a wonderful week!

First meeting of the Year- August 23rd

2009-08-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

It's time to get started with our home group meetings!! Our first meeting will be August 23rd. Mexican Food is on the menu so bring your favorite Mexican dish to share. We will have a time of fellowship and then discussion and planning for our upcoming year. Come join us!