A girl and her bike

This past weekend we went to Findlay to spend a quick couple of days with the family. We have not been to Ohio since Christmas, and the same goes for getting out of Milwaukee too. We needed a break, so to Ohio we went. On the way a deer hit our car, yes he hit us! So once that fun event was out of the way, we had a great, quick visit. While in Findlay, Grandma and Grandpa Ferguson bought Molly her first bike. It is so cute and she is getting the hang of riding it! Here are some pictures of the little girl, and her bike!

Fear

This past weekend Eric preached on "Fear." I want to share a little bit from his sermon with you, and what I have been thinking about.



"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." - 2 Tim. 1:7



This was Eric's main verse that he started with. I am not sure that I have ever wondered where fear really comes from. I know I am fearful of things, but not sure I truly, 100% realized that fear comes from Satan. I think it is normal to fear things, but God does not want that fear to rule your life. This verse clearly states that God gives us love, and a sound mind. He does not give us fear.



Eric talked a lot about Gideon and the battle he faced. Gideon was an Israelite who was chosen by God to defeat the Midianites. Here is what Gideon says "...how can I save Israel?...I am the least in my family." (Judges 6:15) The Midianites had an army of over 200,000 men, and Israel had an army of about 32,000 men after Gideon collected all of them. But God told Gideon that he had too many, and needed to release some of the men. So when it was all said and done, some scholars believe Gideon had about 2oo men in his army. I am sure Gideon was scared to death, he probably thought he was going to die! But it wasn't Gideon's job to defeat the Midianites, it was Gideon's job to trust God, and he would defeat the Midianites. So with their trumpets, some glass jars, and torches, the Israelites lead an attack on the enemy, and the Midianites were so surprised that they all turned on themselves, and basically attacked their own army. God and Gideon, together, defeated what seemed to be the impossible to defeat.



Now your Bible lesson is finished :) So this all leads me to think, what do I fear? Really, truly, afraid of? And with God's help, is it possible to defeat, and overcome this fear? Absolutely it is! It is not our job to solve every problem, or face our fears alone. It is our job, like Gideon's, to trust that God is faithful, and he will come through for us.

Easter Recap

Easter at The Ridge was awesome! We had our largest weekend attendance to date, and a bridge on stage for people to walk over. The bridge was designed for people who were making first time decisions to follow Jesus, or people rededicating their lives back to following Jesus. It was cool to see so many people walk over the bridge. This is something new at The Ridge. We usually don't point people put when they raise their hands to follow Jesus, or do a lot of "public" stuff, but I also think it is good for people to allow others to be part of their journey. I know what I feel like when I watch people on video giving their testimony right before getting baptized. I really do feel like I am part of their journey, and it's awesome. Then I usually cry.

This weekend Eric is preaching at RiverGlen, a church about 45 minutes from us. He is there for their Saturday night service, and their two Sunday morning services. Molly and I are going tomorrow to hear him preach on "Fear." I think it should be good, and as much as I love The Ridge, I do enjoy visiting other churches. (Make your jokes about the music now Mark!)

Next weekend we will be in OHIO!! I am so excited to see family and go home. We are leaving after the student event, "Bowling That's How We Roll-pt.2". So we won't get into Ohio until like 3 in the morning. Then we are leaving on Wednesday. So anyone who wants to see us, let us know! Missing church at The Ridge two weeks in a row is seeming a little weird to me, but we will be back. I haven't had a break from teaching the little kids in a long time, so I am looking forward to that. But I will miss my little ones!

The weather here today is BEAUTIFUL! Actually warm for a change. Tomorrow is supposed to be cold again-low 40's, then later on in the week a warm up. So hopefully you all are enjoying your Saturday, and please know we are so thankful for all of you! Without you, our ministry would not be possible! Also-please keep praying for my cousin, Holly. Today is 3 weeks from when they said hello and good-bye to Carleigh, and 2 weeks after the funeral. They still need your prayers! Love to you all, and be blessed!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to everyone! I hope you had a great day of worship, and spending time with family. Today when we were singing at The Ridge, I felt so proud and so humbled to be there. I could feel God's presence, and it felt so good. Here are a few pictures of our Easter bunny! Enjoy!!

Egg Hunt

Here are some pictures from our annual Easter Egg Hunt at The Ridge. We had over 600 people come this year and take part in all of the fun!

Promises

Here is the entry from my Life Journal today...

S- "Praise be to God who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!" -Psalm 66:20, and "Since we have these promises dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." 2 Cor. 7:1

O- God keeps his promises
His love is NEVER conditional
We should strive to be Holy, set apart from the others
What is contaminating my body and spirit?
How am I set apart from non-believers?
How am I living my life differently?
Do people see Jesus when they see me?

A- I think I need to express more verbally to people about all the great things God has done. I need to apply his word to my life more, and make people wonder what is different about me. I also need to remember that I live in this world, but I am not from the world.

P- Lord, thank you for ALWAYS hearing me, being faithful, and for keeping your promises. Allow me to show the same unconditional love that you have to others.

Life Journals

Today is the day that everyone at The Ridge is starting our Life Journals. It is a plan to read the Bible in one year, use the SOAP method, and really start seeing changes in our lives. I am super excited! I have read the entire Bible before, but not from cover-to-cover, and it mainly was for school. The Bible is not meant to be read from page 1 to the end anyways. That is one reason why people get so frustrated every year when they try to read it all.

We have been going over the SOAP method at church during our "According to Jim" series. We have gone through the entire book of James outlining the SOAP method. Here is the SOAP method for those of you who may want to use it:

S- Scripture, pick a passage, read it all, then go back and pick one specific verse(s) that stands out to you, write it down

O- Observation, observe and write down what you are doing in your life, or what you may not be doing, and see where it can change

A- Application, here is where you apply the scripture in your life, write it all down! what are you going to do differently?

P- Prayer, the key ingredient, not a whole lot is going to change if you do not pray! Write down your prayers.

Another method the journal we are using talks about is LIFE...

L-Listen
I- Inquire
F- Faith
E- Experience

I am not as familiar with this, but I like the acrostic!

I am going to try and blog as much as I can on here, or on my blog to share what I am learning. I am very excited that The Ridge is doing this, and I am looking forward to see what God is going to do in our lives!

...and the beat goes on...

Hey guys!

Happy Spring! We got 9 inches of snow last weekend, and more to come this week! I hope the weather is nice where you are! Sunshine always makes me feel more productive, and in a little better mood.

Here is a little Ferguson Family Update:

*House Hunting- we are still looking! I am sure or realtor is sick of us by now, but we just haven't found what we are looking for yet! I know there is a lot out there, but nothing has struck us quite yet. We are looking at some more today, hopefully we make a little progress. Buying a house is a lot harder now that we have to think about schools, and the safety of Molly. So the beat goes on there...

*Easter Sunday- We are gearing up for Easter Sunday at The Ridge! We have all been praying for 3 friends/people to invite. We are doing our annual Easter Egg Hunt tomorrow. Last year we had over 300 people, I expect nothing less this year!

*Family- We are good! Eric is busy with preaching (a lot), neighborhood groups, students, and life in general. I am 75% finished with school, the last 25% hopefully will be done before August, and Molly is the best! She talking a lot, and interacting a lot too. I feel like I have a mini-me all day long! I am so grateful, and thankful to stay home with her.

*Holly- The visitation for Carleigh is tonight, and the funeral is tomorrow morning. Please pray for Holly and her husband, Anthony. They need a lot of strength right now to get through this. Also, pray for my family, to help them get through this, and just everyone that has been touched by little Carleigh's story. I can't imagine burying my own child. Please pray really hard for them!

Thanks to all of you out there who pray for us, and for our ministry at The Ridge. We wouldn't be here without you! Keep us up to date on your lives also!