Voice of the Victory Riders CMA Chapter 1073 April 2017 Jena, LA President David Smith 318-623-5154 jenacma@gmail.com Vice President Rita Dedman 318-765-9825 shortyandrita@suddenlink.net Secretary Jean Smith 318-992-5580 jsmith1161@gmail.com Treasurer Jeanie Stevenson 318-419-6772 jebesteve@hotmail.com Road Captain Dillon Stevenson 318-316-1194 dsstevenson94@gmail.com Chaplain H.O. Berry 318-316-1894 haywoodberry@centurytel.net Newsletter Editor Jean Smith 318-992-5580 jsmith1161@gmail.com April 2017 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 April 1 Fly-in Breakfast, Buhlow Lake Airport, leave WM 8:00 AM April 10 Chapter Meeting, Brisket House, 6 to eat, meeting begins at 7 April 14 Secret Church Intense Bible study of World Religions, MBC 6:00 PM April 17 Bikes & Burgers, TBA April 22 Monster Truck Show, DeRidder, leave Jena at 11:00 AM April 24 Chapter Bible Study at MBC 6:00 PM, bring food! April 29 Southern Classic Enduro Races, Forest Hill April 30 5 th Sunday Singing at MBC, 1:30 PM
A word from the President Monday, March 20 was the official First Day of Spring or otherwise known as the Vernal Equinox. According to The Old Farmer s Almanac, at the Vernal Equinox, the Sun crosses the celestial equator on its way north along the ecliptic. All over the world, days and nights are approximately equal. The name equinox comes from Latin words which mean equal night aequus (equal) and nox (night). So, what does that all mean? Well, it means that from that day (March 20, 2017) until the Autumnal Equinox, which will be September 22, 2017 this year, the days will gradually get longer which allows for MORE TIME ON THE BIKE!!! and more opportunities to share the Word of God. I, like many of you, am ready for days without rain and wind. Days that we can enjoy being on the bike and getting what some call Wind Therapy, I need lots of that. We have had a few good days, one being our Bike Blessing. While it started out looking like another dreary and nasty day it turned out to be pretty nice. I think the start of the day is why we didn t see as many bikes out as we usually do for our Bike Blessing. We still got to bless a few and had a really good ride (thanks Dillion) to Pineville to eat and then on to the hospital for a visit. All in all it was a blessed day just because we got to fellowship and share Christ with other bikers. Along with the Vernal Equinox come many more opportunities to be on the bike. Dillion has a lot planned for the next few months and is still working on some of them. While everyone can t make every ride and/or event I want to encourage you to make as many as possible. Because, if we aren t out there and available, how can God use us? So, get out there and share the Word of God and always Wear Your COLORS!! It s all about Jesus! David Smith, President State Leadership State Coordinators: Mike & Audra Hukins Area Reps: Regional Evangelist: John Ogden, Jr. Victory Riders Website
Prayer Requests Ray Prince Cameron Dennis & Karen Josh Pritchard Tammy Poole Shawn Tarver Daniel & MacKenzie Buck Knapp Rita Boyd Wanda Gipson Michael Boyd Scott & Rebecca Amber & Rad Donnie & Hurricane Creek BC Pray for these CMA Chapters Monday Shreveport, Slidell, Jonesville & Epps Tuesday Ruston, New Orleans & Jonesboro-Hodge Wednesday Monroe, Crowley & Jena Thursday Bossier, Hammond & Lake Charles Friday Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Ringgold & Minden Your birth date each month National & State Leaders & Evangelists Praises: Charlie Phillips improving quickly after recent back surgery Freddie Thacker - doing well after recent heart surgery Chaplain s Corner Acts 18: 9-10 9 Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: 10 For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. In these verses the Lord was reassuring Paul that He was in control of the situation. He (Paul) was to keep on preaching the Word and the Lord was always there with him, protecting him at all times. There were people in that city who belonged to the Lord in the sense that He was working in their lives and that they would ultimately be saved. The Lord always knows when we do not understand. We have to trust His leadership and do what we are asked to do. We sow and the Lord reaps. It is like the song we sing Trust and obey for there s no other way. When we always keep the Lord first in our lives, we have nothing to worry about. It s all about Jesus! H.O. Berry, Chaplain
Victory Riders meet the 2nd Monday of every month at The Brisket House on Highway 84 East. Come early, (around 6) to eat and fellowship and we will begin the meeting at 7:00 P.M. Happy Birthday wishes to Paula Berry April 1 Mike and Pat Boyd April 14 March was a pretty good month for riding. We made several rides. After our bike blessing we made a ride to Alexandria to Genghis Grill and enjoyed some good food. Then we headed to see a friend of the chapter who has always attended our bike blessing but due to health issues was in the hospital so we just took the bike blessing to him in the hospital and blessed his hospital bed! On March 20 some of us rode to Rick s Pizza for Bikes & Burgers. This past Monday night instead of regular Bible study we went on a church run to a revival at Birds Creek Baptist Church near Harrisonburg and then afterwards we rode back to Jena to eat. I am planning on making more rides in the near future. If you would like to ride with the Jena chapter just let us know and we would be more than happy for y'all to join us! It s ALL about JESUS! Dillon Stevenson, Road Captain For sunburn - empty a large jar of Nestea into your bath water
Run for the Son is right around the corner. If you are not already sending out those letters, better get started soon. And don t forget to put a little something aside each payday to make your own donation to RFTS!!! How can we expect others to donate if we are not willing to sacrifice a little of our own paychecks?!? Remember we have our chapter Bible Study on the fourth Monday of each month at 6:00 PM at Midway Baptist Church Fellowship Hall. Bring your Bible and a desire to grow in the Word. We are still studying the book of Hebrews (might finish this month). Also bring something good to eat and share! April Holidays April is Keep America Beautiful Month I know I talked about this one last year, but I feel it is important enough for a reminder. Keep a litter bag in your vehicle and use it, don t litter our roadsides and if you have a chance, pick up some trash that someone else has thrown down. It s our country, state and parish, do your part to keep them beautiful! National Kite Month Would you be insulted if I told you to Go fly a kite!? April 2 National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day need I say more? April 24 Pig in a Blanket Day I just love those little things! Maybe someone will bring some to Bible Study? Cookki ing tti ip:: To re-heat Pizza place it in a nonstick or cast iron skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No more soggy microwave pizza!
EASTER You may have noticed that I did not include Easter in the list of April holidays. There are many today who question the Christian s celebration of some of the holidays which have been commonly accepted for many, many years. Easter is one of those. Some claim that because Easter is not mentioned in the Bible and supposedly stems from a pagan holiday, it is not a holiday that should be celebrated by Christians. However, in my personal research I have found nothing definitive about the origins of the holiday of Easter. The origins of Easter are obscure. It is often assumed that the name Easter comes from a pagan figure called Eastre (or Eostre) who was celebrated as the goddess of spring by the Saxons of Northern Europe. According to the theory, Eastre was the goddess of the east (from where the sun rises), her symbol was the hare (a symbol of fertility), and a festival called Eastre was held during the spring equinox by the Saxons to honor her. However, this is only a theory. The major problem with associating the origin of Easter with the pagan goddess Eastre/Eostre is that there is no hard evidence that such a goddess was ever worshiped by anyone, anywhere. Regardless of how the celebration began, Christians celebrate Easter as the resurrection of Christ on the third day after His crucifixion. It is the oldest Christian holiday and the most important day of the church year because of the significance of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the events upon which Christianity is based. Because of the commercialization and possible pagan origins of Easter, many churches prefer to call it Resurrection Sunday. The rationale is that, the more we focus on Christ and His work on our behalf, the better. Paul says that without the resurrection of Christ our faith is futile. What more wonderful reason could we have to celebrate! Whether we call it Easter or Resurrection Sunday, what is important is the reason for our celebration, which is that Christ is alive, making it possible for us to have eternal life. Should we celebrate Easter or allow our children to go on Easter egg hunts? This is a question both parents and church leaders struggle with. Ultimately, it comes down to a matter of conscience. There is nothing essentially evil about painting and hiding eggs and having children search for them. What is important is our focus. If our focus is on Christ, our children can be taught (as we were) to understand that the eggs are just a fun game. Children should know the true meaning of the day, and parents and the church have a responsibility to teach the true reason for our celebration.
April 22 No Limits Monster Truck Tour, DeRidder, 2 PM & 7PM April 30, 2017 Round 3 of the 2017 ADR National Enduro Championship Series, Forest Hill we are working the Saturday before (April 29). May 6 Run for the Son June 20-24 CMA Eastern National Rally - State Fair Event Center Lewisburg, West Virginia July 7 CMA Ladies Conference, Lone Pine AOG, Bunkie CMA Day of Prayer 2017 The rains came down, but we still went out! Jena High School Jena Elementary School