[ Unashamed: The Monthly Newsletter ]
1 Peter 1:24-25a For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever."


[ Yay, it's Spring! Mother Nature's PMS ftw~ ^o^ ]

I wonder if it would be better to say that from now on, we'll get the newsletter out at the beginning of the month sometime (if you're lucky xd ). We've been slacking lately about the newsletter, and that's only because I'm lazy and have somewhat lost the motivation to whip my Crew into doing things, especially when I'm not doing things myself. But that's neither here nor there.

So who's excited about spring? Pollen is in the air and on our cars, allergies are giving us itchy eyes and runny noses, and swine flu is on a world tour. Let me tell you, I'll be happy when the hot weather is here to stay and thunderstorms are almost a guarantee. At any rate, with all the changes the earth is going through right now, there are a few things going on in the guild that we should probably bring to your attention. Nothing huge- just a few small amendments.

First, if you haven't noticed, our subforums have gotten a slight makeover in their titles. Now you'll have a slightly better idea of what's in some of them (mostly the resources and feedback subforums). I also thought the names were kinda fun and quirky. You know.

The church directory has been finally revamped to include a few listings that have come in over the past few months, and now includes international listings! There are only two for the UK right now, but hopefully, with such a diverse group of people in the guild, we'll be getting a few more from that side of the pond, and also some submissions for other countries (including Canada, and I know we have some people from the Philippines and other places too). So go and check it out, see if your church is listed, or submit a listing for your own church. We'd be happy to add it. 3nodding

And finally, we guild moderators have gone slightly off our rockers and have decided to just start editing comments into people's posts in the chatterbox thread. It'll be more fun when we're not just editing each other's posts, so get in there so we can all play. We're calling it an edit-fest. Really, it's fun. Do it.


[ HACKERS ARE LAME ]

It seems that the current trend is for people I know to get hacked. It's happened to a good friend of mine, and has happened to two of our moderators, one of them twice. So now our dear Liz (aka freelance lover aka `apple dumpling aka Strawberry_Shortcake_2009 (or something like that)) is working on her way old account. You can find her hanging around the guild as brokenwingedangel.

Since this has been happening so frequently though, I feel it is my duty as Captain to remind all of you of some safety tips. Keep a password that only you know, that is hard for others to guess, and that you keep to yourself. Also remember that Gaia will never ask you for your password. If someone (posing as a Gaia mod) PMs you requesting your password for whatever reason, do not give it to them, and immediately report the PM to a Gaia moderator. Also beware of PMs containing links that lead you to a page that looks like Gaia, but is not Gaia. The linked page will usually contain an error message saying that you have been logged out and need to log back in. DO NOT LOG IN TO ANY PAGE THAT LOOKS LIKE GAIA THAT IS LINKED FROM A PM. I cannot stress this enough. It is a way for hackers to get your information. Report the PM to a Gaia mod immediately. If you're not sure if this page is actually Gaia or not, look at the URL. If it is anything but http://www.gaiaonline.com, it is not Gaia; do not log in.

Exercise caution on the internet, please. Be smart- your information is your information; keep it to yourself, and if you have any problems, PM the mods about it- they are there to help.


[ Now that the public service announcement is over ]

I have one unfortunate announcement to make along with all these fun spring happenings: due to Para leaving the crew and the guild, we are now out of someone to do our Bible study. Priestley and I were going to take it over, but as you can see, it clearly hasn't been done yet. I don't want to make any promises on when it'll be up, but I can say that we will eventually try to work on something, since it would be fun (and good) to get in the Word together. Hopefully, it won't take very long for us to finally put something together, especially since I have been trying to get a decent Bible study going in here. We'll get something going eventually. For now, feel free to study the ones we have attempted that are still in there. We'll keep you posted as we work on something.


[ And now for something completely different ]

With the announcements out of the way, it's time to move on to our verse of the month, lovingly suggested by Liz. We wanted to go along with something springy (we like themes, okay? don't judge us D: ), and the verse from 1 Peter does have to do with plants, which is kind of like spring. 3nodding Anyway, I'll not say much about it, since Priestley's got his two cents to contribute. 3nodding


[ A word from our Crew ]

When did you last stop to admire the flowers?

Just the other day, I noticed that a pair of blackbirds had set up home in an ivy bush in my back garden, between my neighbour's garage and our fence. The nest had two blackbird chicks in it and the parents were working all hours just to gather enough food to feed them. Taking a look around me, I see flowers and all kinds of plants sprouting and blooming. It really feels like everything is coming to life.

As Fushigi so kindly mentioned (as if you haven't noticed for yourselves!), springtime is in full swing. The climate here in the UK is warming and the sunshine over the past few weeks has been glorious. I've been hearing of freaky weather changes over in the States, too, signalling a change in season. Farmers will be doing what they can for the coming bountiful harvest in the autumn. They're ploughing their fields, tilling the soil, digging furrows and planting their crops. Lambs are bounding and calves are feeding out in the fields while the sheep and cattle are grazing on the luscious green grass that has sprung up. All of this preparation is based on the understanding of the yearly cycle of nature since the first roots of agriculture crept through civilisation. We know this from its constant presence in various cultures, including those in the Middle East to whom the Bible makes reference.

Yet, despite this knowledge and understanding of the pattern of things, the best laid plans and meticulously backbreaking preparation, there are events which can upset, disrupt and destroy, and cause suffering to those people who trust in that knowledge. As we may have witnessed for ourselves in this century, no matter what we would like to happen, the damage to agriculture can be so severe as to cause deaths of millions of people. It's clear that even man himself can be fleeting.

With this realisation, it is easy to begin to understand our quote of the month (located at the top of the newsletter) from 1 Peter 1:24-25. In context, the section of 1 Peter 1 concluded by the quote begins with advice to followers of Christ to be determined to focus on the hope and grace provided by Christ and avoid evil desires that were present before followers decided to follow him, calling for them to be perfect like him. It then talks about the nature of Christ's sacrifice and the hope placed in it, that it was not made of what man thinks is precious, like the wages of man's labour or the works of man's hands, but of God's promise in the form of Christ that was made before creation. Followers believe in God because they believe in Christ who was raised by Him, so their faith is in God. 1 Peter 1 finishes by stating that, because of all this, followers have been born again not of something perishable but of something imperishable. 1 Peter 1:24-25 quotes Isaiah 40:6-8 almost exactly. The section also summarises the entirety of Isaiah 40, which prophesies the coming promise of Christ, the impact it will have the and insignificance of man and his actions in comparison to what God can do and will do through Christ.

What I would like to leave with you are the knowledge and comfort that, whatever troubles that may come to you or your plans, your faith in God and his provision in Christ is more important both to yourself and to Him than anything you could possibly have gained from your own efforts.

Thanks for reading and blessings from all the crew!



[ Prayer requests ]

These are all the prayer requests that have come in during April. If you'd like to make comments and offer support, feel free to post in the individual prayer request threads inside the Prayer Request subforum.

Jessy_4 26 2008

It's been real bad for my sister lately, and some others. I really don't know what to do, I'm certainly not arrogant enough to think I can do this on my own. This is a call for help.

My baby sister has been in a lot of abdominal pain for over 3 months now, she's had an endoscopy (tube down the throat with a camera on it) and they didn't find anything wrong structurally, we are going to here back about some kind of tests from samples they took on Wednesday. She's just in so much pain, after this started her migraines got worse, and she's gotten a bladder infection. I don't think this is only her intestines, almost 2 years ago she got a staph infection that couldn't be controlled with medicines for a long time, it took almost 5 months to get rid of it, and I don't know if it's related, but all I can think that's wrong is an infection. I really need people to pray for her, pray that someone can find out what's wrong and treat it. The pain is only getting worse..and I can't lose her. She's my baby sister, she's only 15..I don't know what I'd do without her. Her name is Meghann (pronounced Megan) please pray that we can find out what's wrong, and fix it before it's too late..thanks..

__________ __________ __________

Laoidheach

My best friend joined the Army and is in basic training right now. He needs prayer, for his salvation, for his well-being and safety, etc. I grew up with him, and its crazy now that he's gone.

Also for another friend of mine, her family is in conflict. She's caught in the middle and is assaulted with negativity daily.

And for me, I'm really struggling with lust, masturbation and pornography. I've been struggling with it since I was around 12-13, and Im almost 18 now. I really really need help with this and advice on how to fight lust. Please pray for all my requests. Thank you.

__________ __________ __________

Lisa Faye

I got a message from my Lynchburg friend, Kathy Lee, at 5 am last night.

can you get on furcadia? i need serious help

Well, I got on there, and waited an hour. She never came to talk. I sent her this reply.

I'm not sure what you were wanting this late at night.
I was cooking in the kitchen.
I got on Furcadia and whispered you several times to no answer. I even got on a secondary alt to speak in front of you, letting you know I was in your office.
I will be on for one more hour, then I have to get to bed.

Got this shocking reply this evening.

i waited 30-40 mines then logged off, if you saw me, it was a ghost sad had a bad night, wanted to slit my wrists

This is not the first time she has wanted to commit suicide. And this hit home pretty badly. My brother tried to do this to himself years ago. He had to have surgery on his arm this year to repair even more damage.
This is out of my hands. Other than writing a story for her, I don't know what else to do. I can't go to Lynchburg to stop her. And I know for a fact she isn't saved. No matter what I tell her, she believes she deserves hell.
Please pray for her, and pray I will have the ability to do something to talk her out of this.

__________

I'm posting some prayer requests from my local best friend, Amy Perdue.
Copied from her e-mails.

I need you to pray for a patient of mine. His name is Jerry Jenkins, he was in a bad car wreck last week, he's at RMH and not doing well. Pray for his salvation, I don't think he's saved.
Jerry is in critical but stable condition. He's not doing well at all, he may not fully recover from this, which would be awful because he is very active, hunter, etc. Please pray for his salvation, his step-daughter is not sure of his status, gets conflicting stories from other people who have talked to him.

My back has been out since last week so I've been preoccupied with doing pain management things at home in the evenings. I have no idea what I did to my back, I just woke up Thurs. last week with a slight backache then when I got to work I sat down, bent forward and it seized up on me. I had to leave after lunch for the day, went to the chiropractor, I've been 4 times so far. I'm much better but not 100%, still hurts a little, still a little stiff.

Amy knows I go to several forums with her prayer requests. This will be one of them.
Please pray for her requests.
Thanks!

__________ __________ __________

Casanova Rodeo

Jenn is one of my youth leaders. Last night she left Australia after a month long trip. Please pray that she gets home to Canada safe!

__________ __________ __________

ryokomayuka

Please play for me. When I was little I would get an overwellming fear that house would burn down and it went away. Now it's back. I'm not afraid of fire but of my house burning down. I pray every night that my house will be safe but I still worry. So please pray my fears are put to rest.

__________ __________ __________

Commando Omnipants

Didn't see anything about this being against the rules, butchea. Please point out if I've missed it.

First off, I'm a homosexual. I'd like prayer in that direction. That He'd remove the desire from me, and by that I mean help me along as I do my best to alienate myself from the lifestyle.

Second of all, I'd like for my family to start coming to church and seirously caring about it. My little brother goes, but more as a social thing, and I just hope that he stays in the church and continues with this until he realizes what it's truly about. He has a bit of a disorder and can get very unruly and frustrated at times. Same with my sister. She has a problem with lying and other problems I shan't go into, as this shouldn't be about me complaining about they're problems, but asking you to pray with/for me on these matters.

It'd be very much appreciated.

__________ __________ __________

freelance lover

I have yet another job quest prayer request, though for my boyfriend and not for myself. He was supposed to be working at the Children's Theatre this summer, but the higher ups never got the memo and so he currently has no job. He's hoping a position will open up, and it's looking like worse case senario he work 15 hr/wk at the library on campus and hopes that's enough to pay for rent and living. He can't really go find a summer job because he promised one of the adjunct faculty he would teach a two and a half week stage combat workshop at his school, so he doesn't think he could get hired and then take two weeks off.

He's pretty anxious about the whole situation and I keep telling him it will work out but he doesn't seem to be as optomistic as I am. There's not very much I'm really able to do either, so that's frusterating as well.

Just pray for his peace of mind and that something comes up and he'll be able to get by this summer.


[ May's birthdays ]

This month, Unashamed wishes a happy and blessed birthday to:

Sour Turtle
15-R-a-v-e-n-15
Jfreakett
Laid_black_rose
Deus Vivit
Bandie1591
brokenwingedangel
Erica Leonhart
xxPromarkxx
a rain of tearz
Wildflower-7
Avis Felicis
dont-pass-me-by

Hope it's a great one, guys!