Christmas Sunday morning...

We had a wonderful time at church this morning, celebrating the Birth of our Savior.

Here's some video from the service...

Our toddler class singing "Joy to the World"...



Our Pre-K class singing "The First Noel"...




Our K-2 and 3-5 classes combined to sing "Jesus Is"...


Margaret closed out our service by playing "Silent Night"...thank you, Margaret!...

Great Job, Children's Choir!!

Our Children's Choir held their first ever concert tonight. They did a wonderful job.
Thank you to everyone who came tonight...it was such a blessing to have so many come to cheer the kids on!

The "Manger Song" with speaking parts...




"Hallelujah, it came true"...

Sunday's announcements

This Friday, December 19th, the children's choir will be performing their Christmas concert at 7:30. There will be a reception following. Please come listen to the kids. They've worked so hard! And please bring a dessert to share for the reception. See you Friday night.

This Saturday, December 20th, at 6PM will be our annual Christmas potato party. Once again, the Wards have graciously offered their home for our party. The church provides the potatoes, and everyone attending is asked to bring their favorite topping and a dessert to share. We will also so our traditional caroling hayride through Mt. Dora. It's good fun, and you won't want to miss it :-). The address is 1554 Hilltop Drive Mt. Dora. From 441, turn onto Donnelly heading toward downtown Mt. Dora. Turn right at the light at 11th Ave. Turn right on Hilltop. Their house is about half way down on the right hand side.

This Sunday, December 22nd, will be the ladies' Titus Two Cookie Exchange. Again, Kelly Robertson has graciously offered her house. We will get together at 2 until ??? Bring you favorite Christmas cookies to share and any holiday projects you need to do like wrapping presents or addressing cards, etc. We'll eat and get our tasks done while enjoying each other's company. Directions will be available at church on Sunday OR by e-mail from Amy at amy@esanthony.com.

The youth group is hand delivering Christmas cards from CCOTL members to other CCOTL members as a fundraiser for Pennies for Bella. Instead of giving the post office your .42 per card for stamps, give a per-card donation to the youth for Bella's fund, and they will deliver the cards at church for you.

Celebrate Recovery will have their 2nd annual "Kick-Off" on January 6th. A spaghetti dinner will be available at 6 and the program starts at 7. Celebrate Recovery is for anyone with a hurt, hang-up, or habit. Come check it out on January 6th! Childcare is available.

Bella Update

Isabella has had her transplant (around 1 today) and she, at last report, was doing fine afterward. Yea!

Bone Marrow Drive For Isabella Clendenny

Bone Marrow Drive
For Isabella Clendenny

November 22nd from 10am to noon
at St. Matthews Episcopal Church
5873 North Dean Road
Orlando, FL 32817



Would you be willing to give a quick cheek swab to see if you could save a life?
That is all it takes to see if you are a match for someone in need of bone
marrow transplant. Isabella was recently diagnosed with a rare genetic
disorder known as Hurlers Disease and she needs a bone marrow transplant.
When a transplant is needed doctors turn to the national bone marrow
registry. Unfortunately, this list is very short, often making it hard to find a
match. Many people do not sign up because they fear that the procedure will
be painful but with new technology this is not the case. Please consider
donating. You really could save a life!!!!

For more information please send an email to bellabonemarrow@yahoo.com.

Testing Kits are being supplied by Kids Beating Cancer. Donations towards the cost
of testing are very much appreciated.

Isabella's battery of tests

Hi saints. The following is published with permission of Charles and Elizabeth, so you can pray more specifically during their visit to Cincinnati Children's Hospital: This will help you 'tag along' with your prayers. Thanks for your prayers for this family! Doug


The following appointments are scheduled for Isabella Clendenny:

Monday, November 3, 2008
8:30am- Consult with Dr. Davies and labs, report to Hem-Onc clinic location A, 5th floor. This consult can take 1 ½- 2 hours.
**tour of BMT until after consult (approx 11:00am)

1:30pm- Xray of airway. Radiology dept location B, 1st floor.

2:30pm- ENT appointment with Dr. Cotton, report to ENT clinic location C, 2nd floor.


Tuesday, November 4, 2008
**stop solid foods/milk for 6 hrs prior to ECHO
**may have clear liquids (water,apple juice, etc,.) up until 2 hrs prior to ECHO
**stop all food/drink at 2 hrs prior to ECHO

8:00am- Anesthesia consult. Report to Same Day Surgery in Location B, 3rd floor. All patients with Hurler’s have an anesthesia consult so that when they are sedated for surgical procedures or CT scans the anesthesia department is familiar with the patient’s history.

10:00am- Genetics appointment with Dr. Leslie. Report to Location C, 2nd floor.


12:15pm- ECHO with sedation, report to cardiology location C, 4th floor.
ECHO is a test, which uses high-frequency sound waves to image the heart and surrounding tissues and takes approximately 45 min.



Wednesday, November 5, 2008
9:15am- Cardiology consult with Dr. Gottliebson, following EKG with visit, report to location C 4th floor.
EKG is a recording of the electrical activity of the heart on a moving strip of paper. The electrocardiogram detects and records the electrical potential of the heart during contraction. This test takes around 15-20 min.

11:00am- Aldurazyme infusion. Report to infusion center in Location A, 3rd floor.




Thursday, November 6, 2008
8:00am- CT Scan (full body) with anesthesia, report to Radiology location B, 1st floor. CT scan will begin around 9:00am. Isabella will drink some contrast prior to the scan.
NPO INSTRUCTION
Stop solid foods, formula or milk 8 hours before the test.
Stop CLEAR LIQUIDS 2 hours before the test.
CLEAR LIQUIDS include water, clear drinks (no pulp) popsicles, broth, Pedialyte, jell-o. **

We encourage all children of all age groups to drink clear liquids up to 2 hours before their scheduled arrival time.

CT Scan is a computerized scan of the body. The scan takes multiple frames of pictures of area’s such as the head, neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis or sinus or any specific area of the body. The machine takes "slice-like" pictures of the body part being scanned. The child will lie on a table that moves through the middle of a "donut-hole" in the CT machine. Nothing will hurt or touch the child during the scan.

1:00pm- Pulmonary consult with Dr. Wood, report to location C 5th floor.


Monday, November 10, 2008
8:45am- GFR test in Radiology Location B, 1st floor.
GFR (Glomerular Filtration Rate) is a test that helps a doctor determine how well the kidneys are working. The GFR is divided into 2 parts. The first part involves an injection into a vein and a scan of the kidneys. After the scan a measurement will be done on the computer which is a number that compares the amount of kidney function in the right and left kidneys. The 2nd part of the GFR test involves 4 blood draws, which can be taken from a central line. This test takes about 4 hours in total. No caffeine prior to the GFR test.

Today's Baptism

FIVE people chose to be baptized today! WOO-HOO!!!!

Family Memory Verse/Student of the Word

This week’s Family Memory Verse is John 4:14

"Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

Student of the Word?

If you want to really get the most out of next week’s lesson, read John 4.

Weekly events

Youth Group, Tonight, October 26^st at 7 PM- All youth from 7^th grade through high school are invited to attend youth group. They will be meeting in the sanctuary. See Jim Edwards, our youth leader, for more information.

Men’s Fellowship Breakfast, Tuesday, October 28^th at 5:45am- Proverbs 27:17 tells us “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” All men are invited to meet each Tuesday morning for breakfast & fellowship.

Celebrate Recovery, Tuesday October 28^th at 7 PM- Anyone with a hurt, a hang-up, or a habit is invited to attend Celebrate Recovery. Dinner is available at 6 PM for $3. Limited childcare is available.

Midweek Service, Thursday evening, October 30^th at 7 PM- Pastor Doug will continue his teaching from John. Nursery is available for children 5 and under. Elementary aged children are invited to join our children’s choir which practices during church on Thursday evenings. **The middle schoolers WILL NOT meet this Thursday. Normally though, all middle-schoolers are invited to join our robotics class, which combines learning to build robots with lessons from scripture.**

Tomorrow's announcements TODAY!

Baptism Today!
Everyone is encouraged to join us after the service (about 11:45) at the YMCA. Come out and support those who will be baptized in obedience to Jesus, painting a picture of the death of the old man, and their new life in Him! The baptisms should last about 10- 15 minutes total.

Fall Fellowship night THIS Friday, October 31st
Come out to the Dashtaki’s house for an alternative fun night with activities, games, candy, smores (provided by CCOTL), hot chocolate, fellowship, music, hayrides, and a bonfire. Please no scary costumes or masks. Long pants/sleeves & closed shoes are recommended. Mosquito repellent is a good idea. Please bring 1 bag of candy per child & chairs/blankets. (If you would like to bring a snack to share, we recommend a non sugar snack-there will be plenty of sugar there already!)

Children's Ministry Work Day SATURDAY, NOV 1
Anyone who can come and help with preparing and organizing classroom materials for the next Sunday school quarter is welcome. Come for the whole time (10 AM-3PM), or just drop in for a while. Lunch will be served. We also have a special need for someone to hang the rest of our curtain wires in the classrooms.

Daylight Saving time ends next Sunday. Don’t forget to “fall back”!

Tomorrow Night

Don't forget the children's choir will be singing and signing tomorrow night. If you have a child in the choir, please be sure to arrive by 6:30. If not, be there by 7 to enjoy our special music!

Pray for Baby Tinsley

Robin called on her way to the hospital to say the mother of the baby they are adopting went into labor this afternoon. Please pray for the mom, the baby, and for the Tinsleys!

Motorcycle update

The motorcycle ride to Deleon Springs has been postponed until November 8th. See the post below for the details, that should remain the same. Just the date has changed.

TItus Two TONIGHT

Titus Two's triumphant return is tonight...

All ladies are invited to come work on unfinished projects tonight at 7 PM :-).

See you there!

Family Memory Verse

John 21:25

And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

If you want to get the most out of next week's study, be a student of the Word, and read John Chapter 2.

This Week's Announcements 9/28/08

Weekly Events:

Men's Fellowship Breakfast this Tuesday at 5:45 AM. All men are invited to attend.

Celebrate Recovery this Tuesday at 7 PM. Dinner available for $3 adult/$1 child from 6-6:30.

Midweek Service - Since this is the first Thursday of the month, it is our Agape feast and prayer service. The feast starts at 6 PM. Please bring a dish to share. The prayer service follows at 7 PM and includes communion. We'd love to see everyone there.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

• Middle school students WILL have class next Sunday.

• Supper Club sign-up was meant to end today. If you really want to sign up, but haven't yet, please call the church cell phone (321) 662-6113, and Lisa will get your information to Walter and Adrienne.

• All ladies are invited to attend our Titus Two unfinished project night THIS FRIDAY at 7 PM. Please think about skills you might be able to teach for Titus Two OR skills you want to learn. Also, if you don't have a project to work on, you can bring a board game to play or Lisa Teel will have plenty of Sunday School curriculum for the next quarter that needs cutting, pasting, assembling, or organizing, and she'd love your help. OH, and don't forget to bring a dessert to share...yum!

• We have a new motorcycle ministry and they are planning their second ride- a trip to DeLeon Springs to eat at the pancake restaurant located in the old mill at the Spring. I believe the date for the ride is Oct. 11th, but they'd like an RSVP by October 5th. You can either RSVP by adding your name to the sign up sheet OR by e-mailing ccotlmm@gmail.com. Less adventurous car riders are welcome to join the group at the Springs, but should also RSVP.

• We will be holding another baptism very soon. If you or a member of your family are interested in being baptized, e-mail Pastor Doug at dougteel@ccotl.org.

Update on Isabella

Hello Saints, here's the latest on how to pray for little Isabella Clendenny-

1. She's been admitted to Arnold Palmer, Orlando, and tomorrow, Thursday will have a shunt placed to relieve the pressure upon her brain. This requires cranial surgery, which obviously is serious, but Charles knows a few people at work who say that this usually goes off without complications. pray for skill for the surgeons, successful relief for Isabella, and peace in the midst, for Mom and Dad.

2. There is some question as to whether insurance will pay for an extended stay at Jackson Memorial, in Miami. Charles and Elizebeth had a GREAT visit there yesterday, and this is where they want Isabella. The Specialist there is one of the very best. The assistants at Jackson think they can work through the insurance company, which is how we should pray. C and E will be going to a hospital in St. Pete, as a backup, but their hearts desire is that Jackson Memorial would be covered by their insurance. please agree with them on this as well.

Thank you, saints, we all love this family, and will continue to bring our petitions to the One who loves them even more.

In His firm grip,
Doug

A call to prayer...

Charles sent Doug the following email with permission to forward and post on this blog.  

Charles writes...

Elizabeth and I found out yesterday afternoon that Isabella has Hurler Disorder.  Hurler disorder is a rare genetic syndrome classified as a storage disorder.  There is no cure and most children die due to organ failure by age 10.  

We had an appointment this morning with Isabella's geneticist and were told about a relatively new treatment called cord blood transplant.  When Hurler is identified before age 2 the stem cells from the umbilical cord of a healthy child can be transplanted and in many cases prevent Hurler from doing further damage to the brain and most organs.  Time is critical as this does not correct the damage already done.

The nearest place that performs this procedure is in Miami.  The three of us will be travelling to Miami on Monday to meet with the specialist to get the process started.

Our family needs prayer.  Please pray for Elizabeth and I to wait on the Lord for what He has planned for us in this.  Please pray for strength and trust in Jesus.  Please pray for wisdom for the doctors and compassion for the insurance company.  And of course, please pray for healing for Isabella.

Some information on Hurler also called MPS1:

http://www.mps1disease.com/patient/stories/mps_pt_overview.asp

charles

....Please lift up this precious family in your prayers.  Let us beseech our Lord for healing for Isabella and abiding comfort and peace for Charles and Elizabeth.

OK, THAT WAS QUICK!

PRAISE REPORT!

please disregard the post below- God was answering the prayer, apparently as I was typing. Just got the report that the plumber came and fixed it, already! He knows what we have need of before we even ask.... Praise God!

Pray for the plumbing!!

please pray tonight for the plumbing in our new building! It's backing up in all of the bathrooms! We don't know if it's hurricane issues, or what, but a plumber is checking it out both tonight and tomorrow at 7am. please pray that it will be resolved by service time. Are we having fun yet?!!

God is good! Don't tell me the Christian life is not exciting!....

If you're checking this....

then, you're OBVIOUSLY one of those who are 'in the know' ;) Here's a few ways that those who are 'in the know' can help make our 2nd Sunday in the new digs run smoothly:

Would you mind helping us in the area of where you park? Conventional wisdom says that if newcomers think there's no parking, sometimes they just keep driving, and miss church. You can help by following this plan:

1. On Sundays, we have permission and access to all of the parking next door, (the Jiffy Lube type place), so let's fill that lot first, with those of us who are 'in the know'.

2. After that, we also have parking in the back, let's make that our second lot to fill

3. That will leave the lot directly in front of the church for newcomers, maybe some of our older saints, etc..

Gayne F. will be out there to direct some parking tomorrow, so please don't run him over!

Here's some more info for those 'in the know':(esp. children's ministry)
The commissioning service, for our children's ministry workers: you are still welcome to bring your kids, but if you want someone to watch them for those 15 minutes, Charles Clendenny will be in Classroom C by 9:25.

Thanks for your continued prayers, and your flexibility!

KIDS PLANNING/ PREP MEETING!

A reminder- Tomorrow, beginning at 10am, we'll be planning/ preparing all the lessons that we will complete this quarter. This lines up with our goal to make the yoke easy for our classroom workers. Lot's of opportunities to contribute to the children's ministry's success. Here's some examples:

1. If you're a teacher, who wants to help choose from lesson plans/ and tweak them. We could use your brainpower.

2. If you're able to cut paper, sort cottonballs, etc.. we could use your hands.

3. Even if you have no interest in these things, if you can put Ikea stuff together, we can use your horsepower! If you can bring a few common screwdrivers, drill, etc, that's even better!

We'll go no later than 2pm, and let's make this 'open house style'. Even if you can only come for an hour or so, we'd love the help!

so, 10-2pm, come when you can, do what you can, leave when you need to! thanks!

UPDATE!!! TONIGHT'S SERVICE CANCELED!

Hello Saints, We are getting word out as best we can that tonight's service is CANCELED.
The storm, by all accounts, is getting worse in our area, so we think this is the most prudent thing to do. Please be safe, and, write down these two numbers, in case you find you need the prayers or the help of the body....

407=758-8567 Doug's cell

352-267-6366 Philip's cell

God is our refuge from the Storm!

Tonight...

Hope you can make it tonight (Thursday), as Pascal is teaching on 'reaching out', from Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well. Sandra A. and I will be watching the children. You can bring the children (baby's included) to the PREK room (I believe that's classroom c) That's kids 5 and under, and if we had one more volunteer, we might be able to watch all ages. just sayin.....(if interested, send an email ecteel@gmail.com)

7pm at the NEW BUILDING! woohoo

Our First Sunday

As more and more people arrived, I was struck by how much we looked like, well, a "real" church! There were so many people (some visitors, it's true, but many, many actual members), and we were all in the same area, so you could really appreciate that we really do have a lot of folks!


People milling on the "other side" of the fellowship hall.


This picture doesn't capture the depth well, but there was actually a LINE to get into the sanctuary.


The end of our first service...


The end of our first service


A novel concept...we can just SIT and talk after church!


No more schlepping sound boards and cables!


Here are the kids on their way to worship.


The kids have their own dedicated children's worship with Kris a strummin' and a-singin'. They sounded great.

Here's the skinny...

details for tomorrow:

9:45 doors open for coffee, fellowship

10:00 Worship service begins.

here's the location if you missed it:351 Plaza Dr. Eustis, FL 32726

click here

WE'RE IN!!!!!!!!!!!

We'll see you at 10:00 Sunday morning for our first service in our new building!

GOD IS AWESOME!!!!

Please pray again!

The inspector should be at the building at 3 today. He already stopped by (NOT at the scheduled time) and made a comment in passing to Fred about the fact that one of the classrooms does not have a threshold, so Eric will try to get that done before the guy comes back at 3. He didn't mention anything else to Fred, so here's hoping and praying that's a good sign.
Please pray that this inspector will give us our CO so that we can have church in the new building this Sunday. Also, after the first inspector leaves, another one will be coming to do the fire inspection. We do NOT legally need to pass this to have church there Sunday (we've already passed the fire inspection for the CO) but we want to pass this too so we can get our occupancy license which will help us be "on record" with the local emergency agencies.

We'll let you know as soon as we know, but until then PRAY!!!!

Last night was a first

Actually, it had several firsts.

First Agape feast in the new building:







First prayer service in the new church:





First time we've actually had the chairs all set up!





First movie shown on the "big screen" (a.k.a. the wall):

They tested out the projector with a movie we had for the little TV we brought up there to keep the kids occupied. They were all camped out in the front row watching Nim's Island.

First time we let Sonya use power tools...for the obvious reasons, :-). Actually, this drill is hers, and she knows how to use it.

CCOTL Worship Team in Training...

As we worked on the children's classrooms this afternoon, Jenay, Lexi and Isaac tried out the newly completed stage in the sanctuary...

Here's the plan for tonight...

1. Agape Feast @ 6pm.. bring a covered dish, dessert, or salad, or anything...
2. Short prayer service @6:45 (til about 7:15)
3. back to work, cleaning, other stuff!!!

Hope you can make it!!

Okay, so we didn't pass...

The inspector came for the CO this afternoon. Despite the fact that he was just there last week and we did everything he told us, today there were 2 "new" issues. First, all the carpet and tile was not laid, which he had before indicated would not be a problem, but today it was. Second, we didn't have weather stripping on the front doors.
So, a small setback.
But Bill and Pascal were up at the building completing most of the tile tonight

(all but 3 feet of the main threshold is done and will just need to be grouted tomorrow-they left that passageway so everyone working could go from area to area without messing up the tile).


And the weather stripping went on too, so we are hoping we can get them to come out again on Friday to re-inspect.

Here are some more pictures from tonight:
More tile between the men's bathroom and the kitchen.

The couch in the nursing mom's room

Elizabeth balances motherhood with carpentry.

Chairs in the sanctuary and a fully carpeted stage :-)

Got toys?

Hello All-

Things are moving quickly now, and I believe the inspectors are meeting Eric at 3pm today, so if you read this before then, pray that we'll pass inspection today!

One of the items on the collective 'to-do list' is to secure toys for the Pre K, through grade 2, for use at the beginning and end of class time. Here's how you can help:

1. If you've worked with these age groups, are there toys that are always a hit with these little guys? something in particular we should seek? we have plenty of ideas, but would love some more input.
   
2. Do you have any toys you'd like to donate, or even loan for a week or so (In the 4yo to 9yo age group ONLY, please) as we settle in to our new digs? obviously, we'd only want things that kids love, and in good condition.

If either of the two items sound like you, would you just drop an email to Lisa Teel, at ecteel@gmail.com before tomorrow noon? this way we can assess what we need to purchase.

Thanks so much!

woohoo!
Doug

A few pictures from tonight

The sound board is in, and the audio was being run as I left.


Here's the current layout for the 3-5th grade class


The stage is getting carpet, and the audio is being done.


The parking lot is now restriped with 4 Handicapped spots in front of the building and parallel parking down the side wall. There's also parking in back of the building, just in case you didn't know that. AND there's an entrance back there too.


Fred gets the hardest worker award. He has singlehandedly primed the whole building, painted most of it, and here he is taking some chemical to EACH and EVERY floor tile to get them cleaned up. He's amazing! And he's smiling!


Look, the podium is here :-).

let's try again tomorrow!

Just got word from Eric, that the inspectors postponed until tomorrow after 1:30, so keep praying, please! thanks!

Please PRAY!

The parking lot was redone this morning, and the inspector comes at 3 TODAY!

Please pray, especially at 3 if you can, that the inspection would go well and that we would PASS.

Oh, and Lisa T is feeling yucky, so pray for her too ;-).

Update

Eric says that all the action items on his list that were OUR responsibility to get done for the CO are done. BUT, the parking lot still needs to be restriped (our landlord's responsibility) before we can call for the CO AND again, we never know what the inspector may say.
That DOES NOT mean there is not still work to be done!
We still have lots of touch up paint...mostly for really steady hands. There are still tiles to be fixed, audio wiring to be done, and some carpet to be laid. For less "skilled" jobs, there is still some IKEA stuff to assemble, grout to wash off tiles, lots of general cleaning (unless we want a dusty and dirty first service) and moving stuff (like furniture around in the classrooms or moving out supplies we are done with) .
We are planning to hold out AGAPE feast this Thursday at 6PM at the new building with a brief prayer service and more work time afterward. And we are hopeful that THIS SUNDAY will be our first service in the new building, but please check here often to be updated in case things change.

Just call us...

Calvary Chapel of IKEA! God definitely had His hand on the timing of IKEA's opening and our building. Their furniture is cheap but good quality, and we've more than taken advantage of that. Here are some pictures from the latest IKEA run.


Lisa, with notebook in hand, checks in with Doug.


Checking out our table options for the 3rd-5th grade classroom.


It doesn't take the wisdom of Solomon to know that placing 28 round table legs in a flat bed cart is a recipe for disaster...or at least frequent stops to put them back on said cart. But by the time we picked up the table legs, that cart was our only option. Let's just say all of IKEA knew where we were every time they would clatter to the ground.


Checking out at the second happiest place on earth.


This is what 7 tables, 28 legs, 25 stools, one shelf, and two shelf brackets look like. Oh, and 4 toilet bowl brushes :-).

Children's Ministry Training

At the Children's Ministry Training, even the adults have to sign in :-)


Pretend you are all toddlers...Going over sign-in procedures.


I know this LOOKS like the fellowship hall, but at 10:05 AM on Sundays, it's really the children's worship venue.


Lisa & Lisa go over what time in the classroom will look like.


"Okay Pastor Doug...you're making my brain hurt."
Quinn and Doug go over some more details.


Spend too many late nights contemplating children's ministry logistics and you too could look like this :-).

Food is ALWAYS good...

The first of many meals to come in our new building :-).