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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, APRIL 15, 2017
Dont be willing to settle for
less than God’s best
I think its healthy to stop
periodically and take inventory
of our lives. Its important to
ask, “Am I really living the life
Christ died for me to have? Or
am I settling for something
less?”
Regardless of what’s hap-
pened in the past or what obsta-
cles seem to be in our way, God
has a big, full life in store for
each one of us. But it’s up to us
whether were going to get the
best out of life and make the
most of our time, talents, rela-
tionships and opportunities.
The book of Genesis con-
tains a great lesson in this area.
It shares the story of
Abraham’s father, Terah, who
gathered his family, packed up
everything, and set out for his
ultimate destination-Canaan.
However, Genesis 11:31
tells us, “...They went forth
together to go from Ur of the
Chaldees into the land of
Canaan; but when they came to
Haran, they settled there”
(AMPC).
Wow, I wonder how many
people start out to do one thing
in life but settle somewhere
along the way because they get
tired or because its convenient.
It’s not really what they want,
but its something they think
they can “settle for.”
Are there areas in your life
where you have settled, or
maybe just haven’t made as
much progress as you had
hoped?
The Lord has called us to
excellence, and we don’t have
to settle for mediocrity. The
word mediocre literally means
“to live halfway between suc-
cess and failure.” And that’s
where so many people live;
they haven’t completely failed,
but they’re also not where they
really want to be.
This applies to every area of
our lives. Maybe you’ve begun
studying the Bible and you
have a goal to really know
Gods Word and develop an
intimate, close relationship
with Him.
If that’s the case, dont settle
for just reading a chapter a day
to “put your time in”-stay
determined to make it a priori-
ty and reap the benefits of truly
knowing God.
Or maybe you have a goal to
lose 20 pounds. If so, make a
decision that you’re not going
to give up when it gets diffi-
cult. Even if you have a bad
day and actually gain weight,
be determined to bounce back
the next day.
Sometimes we get used to
the place where we are and for-
get there’s something better.
Life gets busy, complicated, or
even comfortable, and we lose
sight of the dreams and goals
we used to have. That’s when
we need to stir ourselves up
and become determined to
attain every single part of Gods
plan for our lives.
Let’s take a few moments to
play the “What If?” game:
What if you decided to give
God your all and seek Him
with your whole heart?
What if you demanded the
best from yourself instead of
settling for “just average”?
What if you stopped making
excuses why you can’t accom-
plish your dreams and goals?
What if you changed the
way you speak and refused to
say anything negative?
What if you started con-
fronting problems instead of
running away from them?
What if you decided to stop
procrastinating?
Can you imagine where you
would be this time next year if
you followed through with just
one or two of these things?
The Bible is full of scrip-
tures that encourage us to do
our best. 2 Timothy 2:15 says,
“Study and be eager and do
your utmost to present yourself
to God approved (tested by
trial), a workman who has no
cause to be ashamed...”
(AMPC).
I love that phrase, “Do your
utmost.” It may be easier to go
halfway, but just imagine what
could happen if you decided to
give your “utmost” in your
marriage, at your job, or any
other area of your life.
Some of the greatest bless-
ings in my life now are things
that have required the most
effort.
Today, my husband, Dave,
and I have the awesome privi-
lege of sharing Gods Word
FUUF to discuss ‘Raising Awareness’
On Easter Sunday, April 16,
from 10 until 11 a.m. at the
UnitarianUniversalist
Fellowship, Dr. Ruth Miller
will lead the worship service
titled: Raising Awareness.
Miller
reminds
us,
“Resurrection is occurring all
around us all the time: in
Nature and in our hearts. Let’s
celebrate that realization today,
with song and stories, and with
the sharing of flowers in the
Unitarian-Universalist Flower
Communion ritual,” Miller
said.“This is an opportunity to
deepen our sense of communi-
ty as well as to raise our aware-
ness of human capabilities,”
The UU Fellowship is locat-
ed at 87738 Highway 101 at
Heceta Beach Road and is
wheelchair accessible.
Each service concludes with
refreshments and a dialogue
circle to explore the questions
that come up during each serv-
ice.
Every Sunday evening at
5:30, Jim Tubesing leads
Peaceful Meditations at the
Fellowship Hall.
Also see their Facebook
page and please call 541-997-
2840 with any questions or
concerns.
PeaceHealth volunteer luncheon on April 20
Peace Health will be cele-
brating their Florence Peace
Harbor
Medical
Center
Volunteers at a luncheon on
Thursday, April 20 at the
Florence Events Center, begin-
ning at 11:30 a.m.
Luncheon is no cost to vol-
unteers and their guests may
attend for $10.
A special program will be
presented by various Peace
Health representatives to honor
their volunteers.
There are
Florence receives
Best Small Town
nomination
Florence has been nomi-
nated for USA Today’s 10
Best Readers’ Choice travel
award. The national media
company’s panel of experts
selected Florence as a con-
tender for Best Northwestern
Small Town.
“We are super excited to
be nominated to this list of
great places, and want every-
body who has ever enjoyed
Florence to vote right away,
and vote daily,” says Bettina
Hannigan, executive director
of the Florence Area
Chamber of Commerce.
Voters can vote once per
day until polls close on
Monday, April 24, at noon
“Last year, Florence was
named Expedia’s Most
Beautiful Town and received
the Reader’s Choice for Best
Coastal Getaway from the
state’s largest media source.
“We would be very grate-
ful to have another national
recognition as we build our
identity as Oregon’s Coastal
Playground,” she said
To vote in the Poll go to
www.10best.com/awards/tra
vel/best-northwestern-small-
town/florence-oregon.
many areas where Peace
Health Volunteers donate their
time and provide services to
the hospital, clinics, hospice,
patients, visiting physicians
and more.
There are more than 200
volunteers working in various
areas of Peace Harbor Medical
Center.
Multiple opportunities exist
to volunteer in a meaningful
and rewarding way.
Some of those include the
hospital gift shop, volunteer
newsletter, same day surgery,
patient advocacy, visiting
physicians, and more.
For more information
please contact PHV President
Rosalie Johnson at woman-
folfer7@gmail.com.
Volunteers need to RSVP to
Peace
Harbor
Volunteer
Liaison Michele Diffenderfer
at 902-6589 or mdiffender-
fer@peacehealth.org
by
Friday, April 14.
240
HOURS
Is your family prepared?
If an emergency happens in our community,
it may take emergency workers some time to reach you.
You should be prepared to take care of yourself and
your family for a minimum of 240 hours.
Get your emergency kit started with these essentials:
❑ Battery powered radio
❑ First aid kit an manual
❑ Sleeping bags and blankets (wool or thermal)
❑ Manual can opener
❑ Waterproof/windproof matches
❑ Water storage (1 gallon/person/day)
❑ Water purifi cation tablets
❑ Non-Perishable Food
❑ Utility knife
❑ Emergency candles
❑ Extra eyeglasses and contact lenses
❑ Essential medications
This message brought to you by the West Lane
Emergency Operations Group. www.wleog.org
IDENTIFY • PREPARE • SURVIVE
Deadlines for press releases and news items are by noon
Mondays and Thursdays. Email them to:
P RESS R ELEASES @T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM .
with millions of people through
Joyce Meyer Ministries. Many
times over the years it required
tremendous sacrifice and the
decision to keep moving for-
ward when we felt like giving
up.
Yes, it required time and
effort to do everything God
placed in our hearts to do,but it
was worth it in the end. Today,
I am so glad we didn’t stop
halfway when things got tough.
I thank God that I didnt get dis-
couraged and quit during the
days when only 50 people were
attending my conferences.
The truth is if you will give
your best and do what you can
do, God will do His part and do
what you can’t do.
So, don’t settle for average,
mediocre, or halfway. God has
an incredible, fulfilling and
exciting life just waiting for
you. Yes, its going to require
effort and determination, and in
many cases it may require you
to push past fear so you can
enjoy greater freedom and suc-
cess. But I promise you this:
Whatever it takes, its always
worth it.
Joyce Meyer is a New York
Times bestselling author and
founder of Joyce Meyer
Ministries,
Inc.She
has
authored more than 100 books.
For more information, visit
www.joycemeyer.org.
Bahai’s to discuss the
‘Great Prophets’
On Monday, April 17, at
6:30 p.m., everyone is invited
to join a group from varied
spiritual paths to discuss the
Great Prophets.
Bahai’s believe that there is
only one God who is the
source of all creation.
God is transcendent and
unknowable. However, He has
sent, and will continue to send,
great prophets to humanity,
through which the Holy Spirit
has revealed the “Word of
God.”
The Great Manifestations of
God up to this time have been:
Adam, Abraham, Moses,
Krishna, Zoroaster, Buddha,
Jesus Christ, Mohammed, The
Bab and Baha’u’llah.
The Bahai’s believe in an
essential unity of the great reli-
gions of the world. However,
this does not mean they
believe the various religious
creeds and doctrines are iden-
tical. Rather, they view all reli-
gions as having sprung from
the same spiritual source.
The gathering will end at 8
p.m., at 875 Seventh Street,
with prayers for the requests
left in the Prayer Pole in the
garden of the Florence
Playhouse and those shared by
the group.
For more information call
Suzanne at 541-590-0779.
Sunshine, summertime on
the way with chorus concert
With performances set for
May 6 and 7, the Community
Chorus of Florence will sing
songs of “Sunshine and
Summertime”
at
the
Presbyterian Church.
Jennifer Weier will again
direct the chorus, which is
rehearsing fun songs, such as a
medley from “Summer of ’69”
— think Woodstock.
Also included will be songs
by the original boys of sum-
mer, the Beach Boys, as well
as more traditional tunes
including ”Summertime” from
“Porgy and Bess “and “On the
Sunny Side of the Street.”
The May 6 concert will be
held at 7 p.m. and May 7 at 2
p.m., at the Presbyterian
Church on Highway 101 in
Florence.
Concerts are free to the pub-
lic, although donations are
always accepted.
Refreshments will be served
at intermission.
For more information, call
541-997-3469.
Spruce Point Assisted Living
& Memory Care
Living, Loving,
& Thriving
T
g
SPECIAL
EVENTS!
Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or other memory
Please
Join We’re
Us! here to help.
related illnesses can
be very overwhelming.
APRIL 18TH – Spruce
Point will co-host the Senior
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2:00 PM
Services Seminar at the Florence Senior Center.
Holiday Tips for Families & Caregivers
Th is event is for the public to come and learn
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015, 2:00 PM
about the diff erent senior services available in the
Alzheimer’s
Disease:
The to Truth
Behind the Myths
area.
Everyone
is invited
attend!
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2015, 2:00 PM
APRIL
21ST @ 2PM
– Join
us as and
we Myths
proudly Exposed
unveil our
Dementia
Drugs;
Facts
veterans honor wall. We are redecorating our
fi replace lounge as a tribute to our veterans. We
Successful Communication Tips & Strategies to
cordially invite the public and local veterans to
Communicate with Someone Affected by
the unveiling. Please join us at Sprucepoint as we
Memory Loss
celebrate and pay tribute to our Veterans.
All seminars are free and
open to the public.
All seminars are free and
Refreshments
provided.
open to the public.
To register for these free
Refreshments provided.
events please call
(541) for
997-6111
To register
these free
events
please
or email
us call
at
(541) 997-6111
ldouda@prestigecare.com
or email us at
rkilfoy@prestigecare.com
Florence Senior Center
1570 Kingwood St.
Florence
WEDNESDAY , MARCH 18, 2015, 2:00 PM
Spruce Point Assisted Living
& Memory Care
375 9th Street
Florence, Oregon 97439
Prestige Senior Living
an assisted living and
memory care community
www.spruce-point.com