What do you think about when you think about strength? Is it the world’s strongest man, powerful athletes, how about a herd of elephants, or even an army tank? All of these things provide strength and power, but there is also a strength that comes from deep within us.  The strength I am referring to is strength that comes from God. The great thing about trusting and believing in the One, True, and Living God is though we are weak, He is strong. God can help each of us to overcome our weaknesses. The Bible is full of timeless illustrations of how He took ordinary men to perform extraordinary tasks. We see how God made Samson into a one-man wrecking crew, He used Moses to part the Red Sea, and He used David to defeat a giant named Goliath. God also used people like Paul to turn the tide on Satan and become a strong man of faith who shared His faith and the message of God throughout many regions. All of these examples have one thing in common; the strength of God supplying them what they need to carry out His purposes. Have you ever thought about how God can use you? How He can make you a strong person when it comes to doing things you wouldn’t normally be able to do without the Holy Spirit helping you? I have seen and heard many stories of how an underdog sports team has found a way to upset what should be the strongest team out there, but with the heart of a lion find a way to win. What are you needing strength to accomplish in your life? When was the last time you trusted God to help you overcome enormous obstacles and find a way to win an uphill battle? We don’t have to be the strongest looking and well-built man in the ring to defeat our opponent, but we do need the will of God.

Bro. Trent and Ms. Rebecca

The Family Matriarch

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank my church family for the prayers and support you have given my family over the last 3 months.  Thank you also to those who have donated to our youth and building funds.  As most of you know, my grandmother was diagnosed with terminal cancer right before Christmas and passed away March 10.  I want to share just a few thoughts about Ms. Sarah Reich.  My grandmother loved her family with such an unconditional love, but far above that love was her love for Jesus.  Bro. Jackie Gray asked her several times before she died what she wanted him to preach about at her funeral.  Without hesitation she replied, I want the funeral to be all about Jesus and what He has done in my life.  She truly was what we as Christians are called to be, a servant of God.  Many throughout Itawamba knew my grandmother for this reason.  If there was a sickness or a need, she was the 1st to lend a helping hand.  I recently had the opportunity to read some journal entries she had made a few years ago.  I often had to count what day it was in the journal as it seemed every other entry was “I’m heading to church”.  There were also countless entries of funeral home visits, food preparation for someone in the community or just a visit to see a friend who was hurting.  I believe she must have been the brownie queen for the kiddos at Big Oak Baptist Church.  What caught my attention more than anything was that most entries ended with some sort of phrase about how she wanted her life to glorify God each and every day and about how she wanted God to use her in some way.  I want to challenge our church family (myself included) to take a page from her journal and make it your goal today to live for God.  Too many times we use the excuse of being too busy to visit that friend in need or to encourage someone who is hurting and a lot of times we are too busy to even go to church.  My grandmother is at the feet of Jesus today and I’m sure she heard the phrase “Well done my good and faithful servant”.  Will God be able to say that to you when you enter into His kingdom?  Live your life each day to honor the One who created you.  Thank you for your continued prayers for my family as we begin our lives without our family Matriarch.
Love, RebeccaThompson
and on behalf of my family, Kathy Houston, Randy Reich, Rickey Reich and
Wanda Carson

Can you believe it is March already?  Just seems like we celebrated Christmas and now we are about 3 months away from summer.  Hopefully March will bring us warmer temperatures along with lots of sunshine.
Since we discussed salvation and our testimony experience last week I thought we would watch a video this week entitled “Undaunted: The early life of Josh McDowell”. This is a film narrated by Josh McDowell talking about his early struggles and what it meant to him to give his life to Christ.  You will not want to miss out on this video because it will surely touch your heart.  
 
Upcoming Dates to Remember for our Students:

March 10-14 Spring Break (Movie Night next Wed.)
March 19th- Begin “Tempting Stuff” Wednesday night series
March 21-22 “Boy Meets Girl” Small Group Study
April 20th Easter Sunday
May 18th Graduation Sunday
May 24th Graduation Day
May 25-31st Summer Mission Trip

Mission Miles
We are asking for your support for our upcoming mission trip.  If you would like to donate to help with van rentals and gas, please designate ‘Mission Miles’ on your envelope.  We will need around $2000 for this.  Thanks so much for your continued love and support of our student ministries. 

Bro. Trent & Ms. Rebecca