“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone”
I Timothy 2:1

We are only 5 days away from our first worship service at Desoto Hills Church and I am looking forward to this family of believers gathering on Getwell to experience the Holy Spirit descend on our new church in the same way He descended on Jesus when He was baptized by John the Baptist. For many of you long time Carriage Hills members, you have been waiting for this day long before Kelley and I ever joined your family. For some of you newer members, the wait has been very short. But I hope that whether your waiting period was long or short, that we all share one enthusiasm for our new church home and the ministry opportunities it will bring as we seek to reach the lost and unchurched in new neighborhoods.

Emotions. As excited as I am about the new start we will experience on October 15th, I am equally saddened that this past Sunday was, for many of us, our last worship experience at Carriage Hills Baptist. CHBC has been a very special place to me in my personal walk with the Lord and I have experienced a time of growth there that words cannot express. Carriage Hills brought my family out of a difficult time when we left a church home and could not find a new one. This is the first church where I have ever actually found a calling for service [that would be this annoying email system that I am sure causes groans when your inbox shows 5 or so emails from me in one day!]. Brother James was the first preacher my children ever said they enjoyed watching and listening to [thank goodness he never stands still and has a sense of humor!]. And without a doubt, CHBC offered a Sunday School family where we felt loved, welcomed, and was where we wanted to be.

Emotions. This past Sunday was a special day in so many ways. A day of mixed feelings between the sadness of saying goodbye and the joy of moving on to something new. A realization that the day would be the last time our church worshiped together as one body and the expectation of the growth we all expect in the body that will be Desoto Hills. But no matter what the ups and downs of the feelings were, there was an underlying joy that God had led us all through this and that we are following His lead in how our church can make a greater impact on this community. I am sad that the chapter has closed on our time at Carriage Hills, but I cannot hide my excitement and enthusiasm by what the future holds.

The drive may be shorter to our new church but I think our time of traveling across town and the emotions of this past Sunday have taught me some valuable lessons. First, God stepped out of Heaven to come meet me….the drive across town but was a small inconvenience for me to seek Him. Second, I have to believe that the mixed emotions of leaving one church to go another is similar to what will happen to all Christians when our time on Earth is done. We will be saddened by those we are leaving behind, the regrets of uncompleted dreams, and the memories of missed opportunities. But in the same instance, we will be overjoyed by the prospect of what is to come, what rewards we will receive in Heaven, and the opportunities we will have to see Jesus and worship him face to face. My life experience has been that the sadness of one door closed is quickly surpassed by what lies beyond the next door that opens. I believe this is true for those of us moving to Desoto Hills, and I trust this will be true in my transition to Heaven.

Even though we skipped Sunday School this week, I had already read the lesson the week before by accident so I have a pretty fair idea of what Gary taught about. The title of the lesson was “Take Hold of Godliness, How can I be a stronger Christian?” and was taken from I Timothy 4:6-16. We are to receive our nourishment from private and public reading of the word, and we need to train ourselves in godliness the way an athlete trains his body. These are conscious decisions and take effort but they are the only way to develop a character that reflects God. Two phrases in our Sunday School book leaped out at me and they apply to us all whether we choose to serve at Carriage Hills or Desoto Hills. I hope you will takes these statements to heart so the Lord can use you in His way to help reach our community.:
“Character is always more important than age in God’s ability to use someone for His work.”
“It is not our age or lack of church experience that keeps God from using us; it is our unwillingness to use and develop our God-given abilities for His glory according to His will for our lives”.
Looking forward to see everyone on Getweel Road next week!

Isn’t great to know that our Lord is in charge and we do not need to be in charge of anything except worshiping Him as Lord and Savior?
He alone is trustworthy and worthy of our praise and He will work all things to our good and we can claim the following verse as we seek to trust Him with our everything:
Proverbs 3:5-6 — “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.
Please keep all of the following prayer needs and requests lifted up for your Sunday School Class Family. Our God does answer our prayers so make sure you take time this week to intercede for your spiritual family. Have a blessed and Spirit filled week!

SPECIAL NOTICES !!!!!! !!!!!!!
CLEAN-UP AND SET-UP AT DESOTO HILLS CHURCH - Every day until October 15th - please call the church office on any day that you can volunteer to find out where they need help and when & where you need to report. Church Office# 342-1772.
October 14th - Open House from 3 - 5 pm at Desoto Hills
October 15th - FIRST WORSHIP SERVICE AT DESOTO HILLS!!!
Desoto Hills Worship Schedule - 1st Sunday School @ 8:30; Worship at 9:30; 2nd Sunday School @ 10:45.
Dedication Service - November 19th
SOCIALS & CHURCH CALENDAR
Fall Festival - Sunday , October 29th from 3:30 to 5:30 at Desoto Hills for both Carriage Hills & Desoto Hills
October 22 - Dr. Jim Futral, Executive Director of MS Baptist Convention - preaching in evening service
November 5 - Desoto Central Elementary Choir - will be singing in evening worship
November 11 & 12 - John Yates and Friends
November 19 - Dedication Service
Youth Praise and Worship - 6:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall for 7-12th graders
Youth Choir - 5 pm Wednesday’s
GA’s & RA’s & Mission Friends - 6 pm Wednesday’s
Children’s Choir [1st to 5th grades] - 6:30 pm Wednesday’s
Pre-School Choir [4 & 5 year olds] - 6:30 pm Wednesday’s
Prayer Meeting - 6:30 pm Wednesday’s

PRAISES [Our God is good....ALL THE TIME!!!!]
Debra Adkins - praise that Joseph has come so far and for the NICU [Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit] reunion. COntinue to pray for his development and good health.
Kelley Benson/brother Kevin Gunn - doors seem to be opening with Social Security and Medicaid that will allow Kevin to be admitted to a Southaven Nursing Home near Baptist Desoto. Please continue praying that the Lord will bring him closer to the family so we can better monitor his care.
HEALTH CARE PRAYER REQUESTS & UPDATES
Debra Adkins for Tim Vickers- Tim is waiting for the results of his liver biopsy last Thursday. He has been very sick and his condition may require that he be put on the liver transplant list and it may be hereditary which means it may have been passed to Zack. Keep Amanda & Tim in your prayers.
Dee Church/Blac - doctors have found a thyroid problem and will have to monitor closely
Gwen Cain - her cousin Phyllis is on dialysis and has been placed on the Kidney & Pancreas transplant list
Kelley Benson, brother Kevin Gunn - he is back in Baptist East Hospital recovering from another bout with pneumonia. Continue to pray that God’s hands will astonish the medical professionals with a full and miraculous recovery.
Kelley Benson, Mom - Martha Tucker - had back surgery this past Saturday, pray for comfort in pain, and a quick recovery period
Jeff Cain - friend, Kenny Garrison, has inoperable esophagus cancer
Jeff Cain - Roger Cryer, Larry Jolly [uncle], Aunt Margie Lackey, and Susan Nunn all have cancer

PRAYER NEEDS
Kelley Benson - pray for God’s wisdom and grace for Kelley and her family in making decisions related to the long term care of her brother. These are very hard days on this family, especially when they visit him in the hospital and see glimmers of purposeful movement, eyes tracking them in the room, facial mood expressions, etc. Our faith is in God and we know He is in charge but it is hard to maintain faith and hope when all the doctors bring is bad news, Pray for Kelley and keep her lifted through this difficult time.
Aimee Blaylock/Dad Russell Holland - disability hearing, pray he will be cleared to begin receiving disability benefits
Dee Chruch/Mom - prayer as her mom goes back to work this week for the first time since losing her husband
Gary Blaylock - prayer that someone from the class will step up and take over the outreach ministry for our class.
Brad Dickey - will be out of town for three weeks beginning the last week of October. He requests prayer for his travels, for his family in his absence, and he is asking that the class call and check in on Sonja during that period.
Kenneth Duck - will be flying over 9000 miles between now and the end of the October. Pray for safe travels and a safe return.
Kevin & Diane Avent - prayer for oldest son, Josh, who lives in Indianapolis and is facing some major decisions between now and the end of the year.
Bob Benson - prayer for wisdom for the Christian minded leaders in my company on decisions that need to be made related to personnel, for peace and unified goals among the owners, and for opportunities to help us rebuild our sales & income after recently losing our business at The Home Depot. As manufacturers reps, we need prayer that the Lord will bring to us new & profitable factories to represent, and that He will open doors for new business at our existing accounts, as well as accounts that we have not been able to penetrate in the past.

SPECIAL NEEDS FOR THE CHURCH
FAITH TEAMS - includes Gary Blaylock, Deanna Gray, and Leigh Ann Baker from our class family - prayer that they will make an impact on the community and prayer for ease in the learning process

SALVATION FOR FRIENDS & FAMILY
Bob Benson - Neel Rideout/business partner
Kelley Benson - whole family + Bryan Petrich/Brother- in-law
Paul Palmer - Margaret Ann Ferrez/Sister
Susan Palmer - too many to narrow to one name
Aimee Blaylock - too many to narrow to one name
Gary Blaylock - Mike Mullins/Step Dad
Leigh Ann Baker - extended family/in laws
Dewayne Eddington - close friends, family, & co-workers
Dee Church - Jeff/husband
Kristi Rikard - Dennis/Brother in Law
Lori Gilbert - Bud’s family
Cathy Chandler - Candice & Joey/her sister & brother
Norma Morreale - Russ & Joanna/Dominick’ s Dad and his girlfriend