Special Points of Interest:

Kroger Rewards, pg. 3

SCRIP, pg. 3

VBS Coordinator Needed, pg. 4

Quilters’ Corner, pg. 4

Young at Heart, pg. 5

Thanks, pg. 5

Support TOL, pg. 5

Altar Flowers, pg. 5

Seminary News, pg. 5

Advent / Christmas Worship Schedule

2

Cookie Walk 2

Angel Tree 3

LWML 3

Offerings & Attendance

4

December Birthdays and Anniversaries

4

Winter Clothing Drive 5

December Calendar 6

Inside this issue:

December 2018

Tree of Life Lutheran Church

Breeze Thru the Leaves

Well, Christmas is almost here again. This year 98.7FM KLUV started playing Christmas tunes during the second week of November. I went to Walgreen’s on that same day and was bombarded with numerous aisles of candy canes, Santa accessories, and holiday greeting cards. Ah yes, Christmas is in the air!

Of course, we know the real reason for the season. But pause with me for a second and think of your deepest need. Notice that I said the word “need” and not the word “want”. We probably all have some “wants” on our Christmas list (or Amazon wishlist) this year. But what is your deepest need?

Max Lucado in his book “When God Whispers Your Name” recalls a Christmas card he received many years ago. It read,

“If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior.”

God has met our deepest need. We desperately needed a Savior and he delivered! It doesn’t take long in my day before I am made aware of my need for God’s unconditional forgiveness. Today it only took me getting behind the wheel of my car and driving a few blocks to realize “that I do fall short of God’s glory” (Romans 6:23). Our desire to want life to go according to the way we see it versus the way that God ordains it can humbly cause us to realize that we need a Savior as well.

In confirmation class recently, one of our bible verses that we read really struck me in regards to our need for a Savior. It was one I wasn’t readily familiar with, perhaps it may be new to you too!

“Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20)

As we enter into this season of Advent and Christmas, may you be reminded daily that your

You can reach Pastor

Couser at 214-908-0242

or mark.couser@gmail.com

Continued on page 2

“Our Deepest Need”

A Word from the Pastor, continued

deepest need has been met in the coming of Christ Jesus to die and forgive you of all of your sins. He lived a perfect life. He died a perfect death. He rose victorious and now we have life today and life for eternity because of His sacrifice. He continues to meet your deepest need through His precious body and blood, through His living word, through His listening and answering of your prayers by His power, and through the body of Christ that is also His tangible presence of compassion and love.

What a Savior! What a gift! May we revel in the gift of Jesus and the forgiveness He gives us today, tomorrow and for eternity!

Grace & peace to you in Christ,

Pastor Mark

Page 2 Breeze Thru the Leaves

Women’s Retreat

Sunday, December 9th Like a bake sale, but better!!! Bring a

cookie tin or pick up one here at church, walk around the table and fill up your tin(s)

with your favorite Christmas treats.

This is a fundraiser for the youth’s trip to the LCMS National Youth Gathering.

Donations of treats are GREATLY appreciated!

Wednesdays in December

6:00 pm - Soup Supper

7:00 pm - Worship

Advent Supper Schedule

Dec 5 - Walnut, Maple & Palm

Dec 12 - Live Oak & Olive

Dec 19 - Hickory & Pecan

Elders will contact members regarding what to bring.

Monday, December 24th 7:00 pm

There will not be a Christmas morning service.

Kroger Community Rewards

Page 3

Gift cards make great Christmas gifts!

Do your shopping at TOL! Order SCRIP gift cards December 9th & 16th and help

support our missions & ministries while getting your Christmas shopping done! You receive the full value on the cards and TOL

receives a rebate for selling them. SCRIP has over 750 popular restaurants and retailers to choose from. For more infor-

mation, or to see a list of retailers and amounts available, please visit:

www.shopwithscrip.com. Order forms available by the mailboxes.

Tree of Life had 10 households who shopped

at Kroger between 27-Aug-2018 and 31-

Oct-2018. We received $25.81 from Kroger. If

you are a Kroger shopper, please link your

reward card to TOL. Our number is AW104.

New enrollments are accepted at any time.

This is the LWML Thanksgiving Gift Card

Recipient this year. She was grateful!

'Sharing is caring', 'spreading the love' and

'Serving the Lord with Gladness' is what we/TOL

LWML Outreachers do.

We all need some type of 'uplifting', a smile, kind

words to one another, or whatever it may be at

some point in time.

To God be the Glory!

LWML

Young at Heart invites you to please help

support Good Samaritans of Garland as they

help those less fortunate in our community.

You can show Jesus’ love to others by picking

up an envelope from the Angel Tree and fill-

ing it with a $10 Walmart gift card or $10

cash if you’d like us to do the shopping for

you. Or you can buy a Walmart card from

SCRIP—we’ll have some on hand during

Advent. Return it to the box below the tree

anytime during the Advent/Christmas sea-

son. Remember to write your name on the

back of the envelope if you would like to have

this donation included on your 2018 giving

statement from TOL. These cards help Good

Sam’s clients throughout the year. Thank you

in advance for your generosity!

Garland Raney 12-6

Mark Samples 12-7

Jordan Grant 12-8

Payton Grant 12-12

Sandra Melton 12-13

Jeneva Luedtke 12-14

Allie Banda 12-18

Shannon Limerick 12-18

Windy Tag 12-19

Stacey Karlin 12-23

Rob Karlin 12-23

Brenda Moerbe 12-25

Barbara Morgan 12-26

Alex Gargani 12-27

Kara Jander 12-27

Stephen Wendt 12-28

Mary Wick 12-29

Bob Green 12-30

Judy Brown 12-31

Page 4

DATE SS 10:30 General

Offering

Growing

To the

Future

Mission

Tithe

10/7/18 19 85 $8,041 $20 $804

10/14/18 15 55 $3,360 $315 $336

10/21/18 20 70 $2,536 $350 $254

10/28/18 13 73 $3,473 $10 $347

$17,410* $695 $1,741 Total for October

Offerings and Attendance for November

*Planned for in October—$19,775

DATE SS 10:30 General

Offering

Growing

To the

Future

Mission

Tithe

11/4/18 21 84 $4,579 $630 $458

11/11/18 20 80 $3,729 $315 $373

11/18/18 23 78 $4,399 $610 $440

11/25/18

* Total for November

Offerings and Attendance for October

*Planned for in November—$19,775

Charlie & Gloria Melton 12-6

Joe & Allie Banda 12-14

Rob & April Karlin 12-31

Breeze Thru the Leaves

We are in need of a Vacation Bible

School Coordinator for 2019. If you

would like more information about

this opportunity, please speak to

Amanda Maddox.

Quilters’ Corner is cancelled for December due to holiday conflicts. The quilters will resume their usual schedule in January.

Young at Heart

Young at Heart will have their Christmas party on Tuesday, December 11th at 11:30 am at church. Please bring a wrapped gift - no names on it - and a snack to share. For more information please contact Patty Gibbs.

If you don’t already serve or you would like to help on another board please contact one of the current Board chairs. Please prayerfully consider using your talents to support the ministries at TOL in 2019. 2018 Board Chairs:

Trustees: Jeff Matzek Fellowship: Daphne Stanley Youth: Stacey Karlin Education: Mary Mobley Stewardship: Kara Jander

Seminary / Missionary News

How Can I Support TOL? Consider Joining a Board

Winter Clothing Drive

for

Good Samaritans of Garland

&

Floyd Elementary in Mesquite

(Kathy Troxell’s school)

Please bring new or

gently used hats, gloves,

scarves and coats

to help the less fortunate

in Garland & Mesquite.

Page 5

Dear Tree of Life Family,

It’s been a long time coming, but I have finally

been dismissed from the doctor. Thank you so

much for the cards, food, transportation to

church and appointments, phone calls, visits,

and prayers. You are loved and appreciated more

than you know!

Nancy Harper

A new “Flower Chart” will be posted soon to

sign up to donate Altar Flowers. The cost is

$25 and will cover both altar arrangements

for the Sunday you sign up for. After the

service you may take your arrangements

home. Please note “altar flowers” on your

check or offering envelope.

Correspondence from Concordia Theological

Seminary, Concordia Seminary-Saint Louis, and

our “Adopt a Student” seminarians, as well as the

missionaries we support, is posted on the

Information Center. If anyone is interested, we have

addresses for our seminarians and missionaries if

you would like to send them a card or letter.

6318 Lyons Road Garland, Texas 75043

Tree of Life Lutheran Church

Phone:972-226-6086 E-mail: tolsec@treeoflifelcms.org www.treeoflifelcms.org

The loving family of Tree of Life, rooted in God’s Word, exists to share the joy, love, and peace of Jesus Christ with you!