It strikes me that Jesus was ready to throw a party for every good reason he could find.  He told a story about a man who threw a party for his neighbors to celebrate finding one of his lost lambs.  He told another story about a woman who threw a party for her neighbors because, after sweeping every inch of her house, she found a single coin she had lost.  Then he tells a big story about a man who threw a huge welcome back home party for a lost son that had come home. 

It’s hard to believe that throwing a party is a “Jesus like” thing to do.  But it’s true and that is what we’ll be doing tomorrow as we get together for the 7th annual 5K Fun Run/Worship/Crawfish Boil.  What are we celebrating?  We’re celebrating the fact that we get to live among the greatest people on the face of planet earth right here in Ledbetter, Texas.  Where can you go to find more generous, caring, and fun folks than here?

Now for the even more “Jesus like” part of the party: NO CHARGE!

At Soul Cafe Church we like a verse out of the book of Revelation that says, “Let anybody who is thirsty, Come! and drink of the water of life freely and without cost.”  So tomorrow is Soul Cafe’s way of saying to our tri-county area, and beyond, thank you for letting us be church in this awesome place. Please, come join us for some mud bugs, hot dogs, and hamburgers.  There is no charge.  It is  without cost to you. This is possible because so many people who attend Soul Cafe Church love this community and make a free party possible. 

We love you , Ledbetter. 

FUN RUN REGISTRATION 8:15 am / STARTING TIME IS 9:00 am

COFFEE & DONUTS 10:00 am

WORSHIP & PRAISE 11:00 am

LUNCH SERVED starting at 12:00 pm

MUSIC, GAMES, AND FUN TIL 2:00 pm

If you have the time and energy, we’ll be working in the garden from 5:00 to 7:00 pm Sunday afternoon, April 3. Join us for the fun.

The primary tasks are filling and planting the 5x5x5 buckets for any seniors that may care for one. A 5x5x5 bucket is a five gallon bucket, planted with five pole green beans that will produce about five pounds of green beans. The buckets can sit on a patio near the back door and give some of our folks a real garden experience. The other tasks are to plant a row of collards, a row of zucchini, and a block of corn.

It’s great fun and fellowship so bring a hoe or hard rake, join us at the Tipps’ farm at 1022 Persimmon Lane in Ledbetter, and have some fun.

It is an awesome reality that little Ledbetter, that doesn’t even have a stop light in town, is still vitally connected to the whole wide world. To anchor that thought I would like for us to pray for the people of Ukraine from now till Sunday. We don’t know in full the geopolitical dynamics between Russia and Ukraine, but we do know that God longs for safety, freedom and peace for everyone he has created. Even if only for a few seconds, one time each day, turn your heart toward the one who is the Prince of Peace and pray for Ukraine and against the principalities of evil and destruction. This IS our Father’s world.

Dear Family of Faith, Lorri and I have a warm announcement for you. This Sunday, Soul Cafe Church will have a service of baptism. Immediately after the worship service, all who are able to join us will meet at the Navarro’s home, just across Hwy 290 from the church. We’ll have directions for you. Their pool has become a sacred place for Soul Cafe. Once assembled, we will be there for about thirty minutes. Baptism is an important picture of our encounter with the “life giving” Jesus. It is a symbol that we have joined Jesus in his death, burial, and resurrection. It is our public declaration that we have become followers of Jesus. Several of our Soul Cafe family will follow Jesus in baptism. If you have been considering baptism for yourself, please call me and let’s talk about how this could be a meaningful experience for you. There is room for hundreds more.

There are several active cases of covid-19 in our community, and in our church family.  We support your decision regarding attendance for Sunday worship and Wednesday activities.  Please do what feels safest for you and your loved ones.  If you decide to attend, we are respectfully asking that we wave ‘hello’ instead of giving hugs or handshakes.  None of us like that one bit, but we do want to honor each other’s concerns.  Masks are not required, but are respected.  We have hand sanitizer, plenty of soap and water, and will have a clean building on Sunday.
Thank you for your understand and cooperation.  Pray for one another. 

Trusting the Father with you,
Doug and Lorri

RENE’ REILLY

Rene’ Reilly was called to Ministry over 20 years ago.  She has served in the capacity of Women’s Ministry Director, Bible Study Leader, Youth Small Group Leader, Worship Team Vocalist, and “Local Grocery Store Evangelist”!  Rene’ has earned a Certificate in Women’s Leadership from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and served as Director of ProvenWay Ministries in Austin, Texas for eight years.  She has been a Leadership Trainer and Presenter for almost 20 years.  In January of 2021, Rene’ graduated from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary with a Master of Arts degree in Christian Ministries.  With pastoral counseling, spiritual development, and preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ as part of her degree program, she has come to join Soul Café to serve and be a part of our spiritual community.

Please call the church at (979) 278-3680 for more information on scheduling a counseling appointment with Rene’.

Tim Miller just phoned to say that he has firewood. If anyone needs any firewood, he can deliver to you. 
How I pray for your safety and even your comfort. We are going to have so much for which to be thankful. Can’t wait to be together again so we can talk about it. 
Again, there are Brave Hearts ready to respond if there is anything you need. Don’t hesitate one degree of temp to call. What a great community in which to live. 
Thank God for the people of Ledbetter and our community.

Dearest Dirt Diggers, (and fellow gardeners)
The meeting tonight at the church to discuss the community garden is not worth the risk of driving on frozen streets. It can wait until the weather is more cooperative. So “NO” garden meeting tonight. If you know of someone who was planning on being there but may not get this note would you give them a call.
Thank you for your understanding. 
Doug

Hello, all past and potential community spring gardeners. 
I know it is hard to believe that it is time to start thinking about a spring garden. So this is an invitation to all of you who got your hands dirty last year and to anyone who wants to get some dirt under your fingernails this year to tell us what you would like to do in making the garden grow. 
I’ll start with an invitation to a garden planning time at the church building on Thursday, February 11, at 7:00 pm. The goal is to 1. choose the content of the garden this year, 2. spread out the division of labor in what we need to do to get started. Immediate jobs are to plant potatoes and to get some seeds started for later spring planting. I’ll have some soil and seeds to pass out at the meeting. 
What a great start already. Bob Green has already disked the garden area twice with his tractor and disk. It looks prepared right now. So with a string and a hoe we are ready to plant potatoes. 
We already have a lot of bedding plants in seed starter pots. So far that includes:  68 Cauliflower ,   12  sweet peppers,   12 all season cabbage,  72  Copenhagen cabbage,  18 red leaf cabbage,  104 broccoli ,  10  broccoli/cabbage (?).  We are heavy on cabbage because of the interest created by Debbi Gebert last year when she brought Stormy’s plant over and planted it. Then I got to eat a cabbage from Russell’s garden and I was hooked. That should give us enough to share. Lot’s more needs to be started muy pronto.  Like tomatoes, peppers, egg plant, etc. Some of the seeds were given to me by Liz Rowden. Including whatever “broccoli cabbage” is. It is always fun to be surprised at what you get. 
I’m going to suggest a few changes this year. One is to go to drip tape watering. The other is to use plastic bed mulch to cut way down on the weeding chore. I found a good sale on 12″ spaced tape in a 7500′ roll on sale. It is reusable for several seasons and also keeps us from watering the aisles between plants where it’s not needed. That only creates more weeds. 
Let’s also talk about the best way to share what God produces. The plants know when they are planted in a state of love for other people. So they try harder. 
For all who are able, see you Thursday, the 11th , at 7, at the headquarters building.

Doug

Feed your entire family for $5. Join us for supper, then stay for a great “menu” of group classes offered. Adult Bible study, Young Adult study, Youth Group, Preschool through Elem. age groups. served starting at 5:00 p.m. Delicious, hot, home style meals each Wed. All are welcome.

WED. MENU FOR JAN. 27:
Beef Stew, Cornbread, Dessert & Drink. Please call the church phone with your reservation.
979-278-3680 (leave message of how many plates you will need.)