Hungry To Serve?

Mission Trip to Toledo 2008
Theme: “International Neighborhood Days”
Kids with cancer have been comforted. Firemen, policemen, and EMS workers have been thanked. Hospitality to the residents of two nursing homes and one assisted living center has been extended. Winter is long gone. And Spring is giving way to Summer. So with that in mind, please save the dates for the following ordinary outreach opportunities rapidly approaching. And please remind your friends and family that they do not have to be members of Toledo First to participate in any of these activities!!!

Prayer At The Pump
Date: Friday June 20, 2008 [Time TBA]
Location: Muslim and/or Christian owned gas station(s)
Action: A handful of representatives from both the Islamic Center of Toledo and the Toledo First Seventh-day Adventist Church meet at a gas station to pray that Allah [God] would: 1) increase volunteerism while lowering gas prices worldwide and 2) help us highlight our shared responsibility to protect the environment. *If our Muslim friends decline our invitation, all co-sponsored events will become local Christian partnering events.

[All night] Prayer Service and Concert
Date: Friday June 20, 2008 from 7 pm - 7am
Location: Toledo First
Action: A simple shared program of music and readings and blessings asking God to increase community volunteerism, lower gas prices, and help us all be better stewards of the environment.


International Neighborhood Day Block Party and Fashion Show
Date: Sunday June 29, 2008 2pm - 6/7pm
Location: Downtown Toledo campus of The Aurora House
Action: Provide a co-sponsored block party downtown for the approximately 21 women and children of the Aurora House and their neighborhood [500+] closing with a 45 minute program highlighting music, art, dress, or apparel from all countries represented with representatives from the Aurora House and City Hall commending our partnerships and celebrating the diversity of the world that makes Toledo home.

Evangelistic Picnics In The Park

Date: Every Sabbath in July
Location: Wildwood Metro Park
Action: Making Sabbath miraculous and delightful for the many walkers and joggers who love free lemonade!!! Donna’s wrist is getting better so she’ll be prepared to defend her Ladder Ball supremacy. And don’t’ forget nature walks, roller blades, bike rides, face painting, the playground nearby and Connections worship @ 5pm will also be available. Serving is so fun!!! Are you hungry to do so?


Extreme Home Makeover

Date: End of July
Location: Downtown Toledo campus of The Aurora House
Action: Women’s Ministry leaders will again be leading us in the makeover of one small home recently acquired on the campus of the Aurora House. A local financial firm has awarded the non-profit organization we created last winter, Haven of Hope Toledo Inc., recipient of a grant for the make over. So their money plus your labor will show many people how much God loves them like crazy!!!


Cars 4 Kidz

Date: September 1, 2008
Location: Toledo First
Action: St.Vincent Children’s Medical Center will be sponsoring our 2nd annual car show raising more money for Webkinz to comfort kids with cancer all winter long. There will be more live oldies music, food, and lemonade with 3 People's Choice awards and invitations to Kid Connect, Circles, and Pathfinders galore. The "Cool Bus" won't be there, but plenty of other cool cars ready to "burnout" will!!!

A Thankful Memorial Day?

Leave it to a beer company to make the most poignant video commemorating Memorial Day. Enjoy anyway!!!

Why Worship?

YO Athlete Of The Week?

Alex Jessop is an active member of Toledo First and Youth Operate [YO]. Seventeen months ago, he fractured a vertebrae for the 2nd time in his young career. Most people [like me] would have quit gymnastics but Alex showed he had the spine [groan] to keep competing. WTG Alex!!! Click the triangular play button for more on 13abc's recent athlete of the week.

Elevator Music?

Serdar Ferit from the UK created a beautiful little parable for Pangea Day that reminded me of 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 when a 15-year-old girl who likes to play loud music from her mobile phone walks into the same elevator as a conservative older man. Enjoy!!!
It reminds me that "Love is patient and kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."

Too Hot To Handle?

Starbucks is trying to get back to its roots. And part of that involves bringing back the original logo [click pic for more info]. But Mark Dice, founder of a watchdog group called "The Resistance", explains why he's calling for a boycott against Starbucks over this logo. "We wanna send a message to Starbucks that they can't put a half naked, half mermaid type figure with her fins, or her quote unquote legs, spread open like a prostitute," says Mark. What do you think? Is this logo too hot to handle? Is it grounds [sorry...couldn't help it] for divorce? Or perhaps we should be boycotting coffee for a more significant reason...

Like modern day slavery. Look for the Fair Trade logo on coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, fruit, and some clothing items that are most likely to be produced and distributed slave-free.

Dancing Queen?

"By sharing stories, we have begun the process of turning strangers into friends," filmmaker Jehane Noujaim told the U.S. studio audience gathered to experience Pangea Day. The live global film fest broadcast simultaneously worldwide highlighted 24 short films meant to promote dialog and cooperation on universal themes such as food, home, water, laughter, sorrow, hope, landscape, despair and joy. Click the pic for reaction to Pangea Day and the triangular play button below to watch one of my fave films shared. This one from a guy in India [Sumit Roy] who created the entire thing on a cell phone!!! Enjoy the great ending.

Is Jay Okay?

Jay's broken neck is stabilized. He can move all his extremities [so he's not paralyzed]. And when he's not sedated and being forced to rest, he's wide awake making plenty of demands of those nearby. Rolling his eyes when those nearby can't guess what he wants!!! He's received over 300 visitors to his CarePages website [click the pic for more on that] and has heard his family read each of the 188 messages of support you've left for him. Thank you!!! Please keep praying for Jay's strength, healing, and comfort. And thank God that the injuries Christopher sustained [the 10 year old boy and only other person hospitalized in the accident] are not life threatening and that he is getting better too. Click below to watch a short video of the news coverage from the prayer vigil held at his St.Charles high school. FYI, the clip shows a picture of Jay's upside down car at the accident scene.

What's CarePages?

CarePages is a website devoted to connecting, sharing, and encouraging. Which is exactly what we need right now. Because on Saturday May 10 @ 8:45am, my 18 year old brother-in-law Jay was driving his Buick Park Avenue to bowling practice but missed a stop sign and collided driver's side first with an Oldsmobile Cutlass. The other car was carrying a family of 5 including 3 triplet boys. One of whom [Christopher] was hospitalized. As was Jay [for more read this Saginaw News article].

Jay is in critical care with a broken neck and torn aorta. Which was miraculously repaired following surgery. For more on that, follow the directions below. Our God who knows the number of hairs on our head and when a tiny bird falls from the nest [cf. Matthew 10:29-31!!!] is already comforting us. Along with the many Mariettas, we solicit your prayers for both Christopher and Jay.

1. Click either pic
2. Register [only requires name and email address]
3. Type "jaymarietta" [minus the quotation marks] into the "Visit" search engine
4. Choose to receive Jackie's email updates
5. Thank you for leaving encouraging comments and support!!!

Will The Empire Strike Barack?

All you other Star Wars fans will appreciate this—whoever ends up winning the Democratic nomination for President. Enjoy!!!

Unleaded Divine Intervention?

Rocky Twyman, an active member of an Adventist church in Washington DC, started the "Prayer at the Pump" movement asking God to lower gas prices. Twyman knows his approach to gasoline prices is simplistic so he's quick to point out that anyone praying for cheaper fuel also has an obligation to do something more active about the problem. "People have to walk more, leave those cars at home, and carpool, man," he said. "We have to become more practical." Click the triangular play button to watch the short interview from April 25, 2008.

Can you correctly match the alphabetically arranged countries below with the converted prices for the average US gallon? Note: one US gallon = 3.78 liters [rounded off to 4]. One liter of gas = 1.53 Euros [as of 4/26/2008]. Answers below right.

A. Belgium
B. France
C. Germany
D. Italy
E. Netherlands
F. United Kingdom
G. United States
H. Scotland

Answers from highest to lowest:
E $9.51; A $8.62; C $8.58; H $8.56; B $8.34; D $8.32; F $8.17; G $3.73
Click any answer for more.

What Does Jackie Sing?

Three pastors' wives from the Florida Hospital Adventist church in Orlando [where I spent 5 years as a kid] decided they were tired of having their latest household fiasco show up in sermon illustrations. So Vickie McDonald (married to senior pastor Andy), Tami Cinquemani (married to associate pastor Jeff), and Amy Achata (married to youth pastor David) made a parody video to get their point across, revamping Carrie Underwood's popular "Before He Cheats" with their rendition of "Before He Speaks." And if I'm not careful, Jackie may be ready to join them!!! Press the triangular play button. Enjoy!!!

Origin Or Extinction?

Yoko Ono has filed a federal lawsuit against the producers of the documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed that challenges the theory of evolution saying they used the song "Imagine" without her permission. The film uses part of the song that asks listeners to imagine a world without religion or faith in an afterlife. "Expelled" executive producer Logan Craft says the lyric reflects the views of many advocates of unguided evolution and insists that its "fair use" is protected under the First Amendment. Isn't it ironic that the lawsuit is about a song with the lyrics "Imagine no possessions"?

And while all that is entertaining, I find Brian McLaren's [not so] unrelated question more intriguing: Why are so many religious people arguing about the origin of the [human] species, but so few are concerned about its extinction? Genocide. Stupid poverty. No clean drinking water. Child prostitution. Modern day slavery. Which one interests YOU more?

Wanna Watch The Robe?

My friend Jeff recommended this DVD to me and I'm happy to recommend it to you. It was nominated for five Academy Awards® in 1953, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Richard Burton. The visual aspects of the film are stunning and it may be worth viewing for that alone. But the story of the Roman Centurion who gambles and wins the robe Jesus wore to the crucifixion subsequently transforming his life is even better. Enjoy!!! [And click the pick to purchase the DVD for >$8]

Made To Worship?

Made to Worship written by Ed Cash and beautifully sung by Chris Tomlin was named song of the year at the 2008 Christian Music Awards. But according to the Barna Group, more and more Americans don't know why we worship. In fact, only one third of the people surveyed even know Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Fewer than half of Americans surveyed can name the first book of the Bible. And 80% of born again Christians believe the phrase "God helps those who help themselves" is in the Bible [which it’s not. That bad theology came from Ben Franklin].

All of which makes me think that EVERY time we gather for worship should be like opening night of a 52 week evangelistic series explaining why we're there. Because one of those Americans could be visiting for the first time. Even if they—and in some cases the "regulars" inside—don't know why. Revelation 12:10 &12 says it this way: "11They [us] overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb [Jesus]. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them!" Who and why do YOU worship?

Having A Ball?

Tim Nolan is having way more than a ball. Press the triangular play button to see what I mean. Could you do this?

Is Casper A Friendly Ghost?

Glancing at the familiar name on the tiny screen, a heartbroken husband leaving his wife's funeral is startled to see from the caller ID that it's his wife!!! She's attempting to contact him from "the other side." But is this possible?

What I say next may surprise you. I believe it is. But not because you can talk to dead people. The Bible says in Job 7:9-10 “As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to the grave does not return. He will never come to his house again. His place will know him no more.” So if dead people are dead, with whom are some communicating? Not Casper!!! 1 Timothy 4:1 speaks of "deceiving spirits." Jesus Himself cast them out [Mark 1:21-26]. Maybe that's why God tells people not to get near "Anyone who conjures spells or one who calls up the dead" [Deuteronomy 18:10-13].

From sugary sweet films like Ghost [back in the day] to the scary plot lines of White Noise [described above] to the dramatic episodes straight from the occult on network television [such as NBC's Medium], Satan is asserting himself in the world. So what do we do about it? Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus [Hebrews 12:2]. And stay away from mediums and sorcery and talking to dead people. Even the friendly kind. Why? Because 2 Corinthians 11:14 says "Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." Do you think this is good advice?

Will We Praise Him?

Went to a Mudhens baseball game this week. But if you go to any sporting event, you're likely to hear at some point the lyrics to Queen's famous anthem "We will rock you."

Well, some time after the first pitch [when the Mudhens took a 3-0 lead on a home run] but before the 7th inning stretch [when Joshua and Lydia and nearly every child on the TJA field trip had abandoned their seats in favor of the playground beyond the outfield], we came up with some new lyrics to sing while that song was periodically blasted throughout the stadium. Joshua and Lydia loved singing them preceded by the familiar bass notes they duplicated with their hands and feet. STOMP STOMP CLAP. STOMP STOMP CLAP.

Jesus is the man come / down from heaven / to die on the cross / and pay our sins / got blood on His face / we're saved by grace / when He comes back / gonna take us to His place / so we're singing / we will, we will, praise Him!!! / we will, we will, praise Him!!! / we will, we will, praise Him!!!

Wanna Take The Catholic Quiz?

With the arrival of Pope Benedict the XVI this week, we set our gaze on the nearly 75 million Catholics in the United States. Take the following 10 question quiz to learn more about your Catholic neighbors.

1. The current pope’s birth name is:
A. Cliff Claven
B. John Ratzenberger
C. Joseph Ratzinger

2. The Catholic church is headquartered in:
A. Ocean City
B. Atlantic City
C. Vatican City

3. Catholics believe:
A. The same thing as Protestant Christians about the Trinity, the deity of Jesus Christ, that He died on the cross for man’s sins, rose again and ascended to heaven
B. They are sinners but think their sins are only venial or minor and that they can take care of venial sins themselves through good works and purgatory—a temporary place after death
C. Both A and B

4. Catholics believe Mary:
A. Didn’t like Mary Magdalene
B. Wouldn’t have watched the Da Vinci Code
C. Was perfect and a co-mediator of God’s grace

5. Catholics say priests:
A. Can get married
B. Play major league baseball
C. Can forgive sins

6. Catholics believe the only true church is:
A. Oprah’s
B. The Roman Catholic Church
C. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

7. The Council of Trent [1545 -1563] said:
A. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone
B. We are saved by a combination of what Christ has done for us and what we accomplish over our lifetime
C. Only Oprah will be saved

8. Who does the pope not consider a saint?
A. Mother Teresa
B. Francis of Assisi
C. Mel Gibson


9. Chapter 9 of the Council of Trent’s Decree on Justification concludes with which sentence?

A. “No one can know with certainty that he has obtained the grace of God.”
B. “He who has the Son has life. I write these things so you may know you have eternal life.”
C. “Whew, that only took 18 years!!!”

10. When the pope leaves Hanger 19 at JFK Airport in NY on APR 20, he'll fly:
A. Southwest
B. On the popemobile with wings
C. In a regular commercial aircraft reserved for him [from the Italian airline Alitalia] dubbed Shepherd One when he's on board by air traffic control

How many did you get right?
Here are the answers:
1-5C; 6-7B; 8C; 9A; 10C

What Is Your Fave Season?

Easter weekend it snowed. But now it's warming up and looks like Spring is here to stay. The other day I took the kids out to play. Lydia's favorite new thing is swinging as high as she can. Joshua likes swinging and kicking the 4square ball around. And Barkley likes chasing his nemesis we call Nutcase—the chatty squirrel in our front yard—up the closest tree. It's obvious the squirrel is mocking him. But Barkley can't do anything about it. What is your fave season?