BOB JONES

Rebekah came into this world as a fragile 2lb 11oz baby girl, born as the fourth child into a family already challenged by financial pressures and a paradox of love & violence. Her mother's pregnancy, distraught by a fall and multiple hospitalizations, resulted in Rebekah's premature birth. The emergency C-section delivered a tiny, fragile 2lb 11oz baby girl with her own set of complications. Each day that she survived was a victory, but also brought more issues to be addressed. By the time Rebekah was 18 months old, she had the diagnosis of “spastic-quadriplegic cerebral palsy," and was now the child of a single mother. During the next 2 years, it became apparent that a motorized wheelchair would be a…

I'm sure that by now we have all had quite our fill of shoveling snow and chipping away at ice. As frustrating as the many 'dumps' of snow have been this winter, maybe for you it has opened doors to reach out and help your neighbors. My story begins on a VERY snowy weekend in January. It was 11:30 on a Saturday night and I was spending some time 'reaching up' to the Lord before going to bed. It was then that I felt the Lord speak to me saying, "Jeremy, now it's time for you to reach out. Look out your window." As I gazed out my window, I saw a car stuck in the snow with smoke all…

Approximately 4 years ago my life changed in a way I never would have imagined.            My family was torn apart by divorce. Our precious boys were 1 and 3 and our worlds had changed forever. Only through God's grace was I able to courageously pick up the shattered pieces and keep going. Throughout this storm I never stopped loving God. This was not God's fault, this was the result of free will; a choice that affected so many.                  Continuing to seek God I searched for a church and discovered North Pointe. As my walk with God strengthened I felt a calling in my heart to discuss a DivorceCare ministry at NP. So I met with Pastor Bob in November 2010…

“Reach” is a verb…an action word. It requires some degree of effort. Imagine a plate of freshly baked yummy chocolate chip cookies in the middle of the table. The smell is tantalizing. They are still warm so the chocolate chips are melted. Mmmmm! Anyone can reach out and help themselves to a cookie or two.  Some might even crawl right up on the table to get to the treat.  No problem at all! Now the plate is empty and a little dirty. Who wants to put it in the dishwasher?  A different kind of effort is needed to wash that plate and put it away.  How does that play out at your house? When we are enticed by something wonderful,…