Contest Winners and Invitation
July/August Sweet Aroma Newsletter

Karen loves copper. She has many pieces hanging all over in her kitchen: pans, tea pots, bowls, and more. She received many pieces from friends and family that know she collects it. Some of the most intriguing pieces are the ones that are found and purchased at flea markets or garage sales for just pennies or a few dollars. They start out looking like junk – old stuff that nobody wants. Over time, copper does tarnish. Compare a new penny with an old one. The “fun” part is taking the tarnished, old, ugly piece that looks like junk and then shining it up with of bit of cleaner and elbow grease. What a transformation!
God’s love is like that. He loves us too much to leave us where we are. When we let Him, He takes the tarnished and ugly pieces of our lives and polishes them – cleans them up. Karen and I are reading through the Gospel of Mark. Over and over again we see instances of Jesus touching and transforming lives – so many new beginnings, from healing the lame, the sick, and the deaf and blind, and making them whole in body, to forgiving the sinners and making them whole in spirit.
Let’s welcome God’s transforming work in our lives. Just as copper re-tarnishes after time – so we will not be completely free of the “tarnish” in our lives until we are with Him for all of eternity. We don’t really hear about what became of many of the people that Jesus touched – how they lived their lives, what other life issues they faced, how those moments with Jesus may or may not have changed the whole rest of their lives – but we can allow Him to give us those new beginnings everyday as we seek to know Him and to serve Him. We can let Him polish us to reflect His image every day.

I thank my God every time I remember you. …being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1: 3, 6

We want to thank all who participated in our New Beginnings contest. Through letters, e-mails, and conversations we learned of so many new beginnings that the Lord provided – from God’s sustaining grace after the loss of a loved one, to help in quitting smoking, to transformations in relationships, to starting new jobs. Our God is an awesome God! Our winners (drawn randomly) were:
Rosemary from Elmira
Scott from Athens
Teri from Waverly
Thanks to all who entered and shared with us!
Blessings,
Marie

The next several weeks are very busy for Sweet Aroma.
Check to see if we will be in your area:
East Branch/Harvard UM Church, East Branch NY 1 pm Aug 4
Racing Fan Fair, Waverly NY 2:30 pm Aug 8
Music In The Park, Sayre PA 6:15 pm Aug 8
Newark Valley Days, Newark Valley NY 1 pm Aug 11
Music in the Park, Muldoon Park, Waverly NY 6:30 pm Aug 13
Sat. Nite Alive Grand Blvd UMC dinner, Bing. NY 5:30 pm Sep 8

On one more important note: You’re invited!

This summer we are having two get-togethers at Karen’s house:
Saturday Aug 18th at 4PM and Friday Aug 24th at 4PM
You can choose a date or come to BOTH – we aren’t bothering with a rain date this year, so if we are blessed with 2 nice days – we’ll have 2 get-togethers. These are open to everyone (not just ladies?). Bring a dish to pass and there will be a grill if anyone brings hotdogs or whatever for their families. Table settings, music, and S’Mores will be provided as well! RSVP by e-mailing or calling for directions: sweet_aroma2@yahoo.com
or (607) 598-8292. We hope to see you soon!