JCPenney Outlet

Most of my adult life I have been a JCPenney Outlet shopper. There is one not far from our house. We went in recently to learn they are "going out of business."

What?!

That is hard to believe as each time we've been there the place is buzzing...as is the one in KC when we visit.
Anyone know why this is happening? I am concerned because me husband requires a certain brand of undershirt that is sold there at a fraction of the traditional store cost, and he starts work at a hospital in a couple of weeks and we had planned to purchase all scrubs needed from there from now until eternity.

Someone said it has something to do with the ending of their catalog business, but that doesn't make sense to me.

Can anyone shine light on this pressing issue? Is it just another casualty of an ailing economy? One would think an outlet store would do well in an economic downturn.

just Sheri, confused

looking for a church?

When you are looking for a church - what do you look for? What elements are essential to make it feel like "home?"

We are new to this community. In the last decade+ finding a church has not been as difficult. When moving to the midwest, church invites abounded. One of those invites led to a church home.

Recommendations from that church home in Topeka led to a church home in Kansas City. That was "home" for nearly a decade.

When moving to North Carolina, again church invitations abounded. One of those invitations led to a church home. This was the same story in Cambodia, as well as in Mozambique.

One might think it more difficult to find a Christian church to attend in an all Buddhist country, but apparently I am having a harder time in my homeland.

At the MLK event in Fredericksburg, there were multiple churches represented. We visited a few of them and found one we really like, but now that we have moved more than 30 miles away that seems too far to drive and really be involved. We have done this for the last few weeks, but then I came to the conclusion that it isn't enough to just show up. If I were content to sit and listen Sunday to Sunday and not really get involved it might be okay. But, that is not what I want. So, we are in the hunt for a church home in our new city - without an invitation or recommendation. Simply deciding where to go is tougher than imagined.

I have done an internet search. I acknowledge there is only so much one can glean from the internet, but I couldn't come up with another option and it did provide enough information to short list which ones to visit. This process had me asking, what am I looking for in a church?

Here is the basic criteria:

1. Teach the Bible (usually found on the "About Us" page)
2. Have an ethnically diverse community, and that is best demonstrated by a diverse staff
3. Have outreach programs to the community that are aimed at the poor and under served (more important to me than vast ministries serving church members exclusively)

These are the elements that the church I am looking for will possess, this is  the description I believe God has given for his desire of the church on earth.

On the surface this seems like a simple criteria. I assure you, it is NOT. I have found a dozen churches that meet two, but not all three. I have found only one in the city we live in that demonstrates all three through the information on their website.

We will visit a couple of times and hope for the best. If it doesn't work out? I am not sure what our next strategy will be for finding a church home in our new city.

Suggestions are welcome.

just Sheri, searching for a church

Dr. Livingston, I presume?

Did you know that Dr. David Livingston was a missionary in Africa?

I have been thinking (again) about this idea of "being a missionary." A couple of years ago I wrote a post titled, "What do missionaries look like?"

Through a series of circumstances and experiences I came to see that all Christians are missionaries - every one of us. The Bible is very clear about this fact from beginning to end. It seems that this theological stance was easier to absorb when I was an American living abroad. Now I am back in my homeland. Am I still a missionary?

I have wrestled with this in recent months. The conclusion I have come to is - YES.

I still have the responsibility of being "light" in the dark corners of the world, regardless of my place of residence. I still have the responsibility to meet the needs of the less fortunate...with time and treasure. I am still called to live in a manner that invests in people, rather than simply building my bank account.

How to do this? I am still unsure, but I have made up my mind that it is important to make this choice (daily) all the days of my life.

"I determined never to stop until I had come to the end and achieved my purpose."  ~ Dr, David Livingston


just Sheri, (still) on mission for God

Mom's day

I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me.  

They have clung to me all my life.  ~Abraham Lincoln

One day a year families try as they might to honor the mother's in their lives...but what gift can you give to someone who cleaned up after you, put up with your crying as a child, tantrums as a toddler, and tolerated the rolling eyes of a teenager? There is no gift that is good enough. It doesn't exist.

The gift I have tried to give is one of a life well lived. This is a gift that comes everyday, not just one day a year. 

In recent months, I realized one of the difficulties of being a mother when we lived with a family for a number of months. The only way I can describe it is, that once you have a child a mother has to live the rest of her life with her heart walking around outside of her body.

I know that my mom loves her children dearly. I know she raised me to believe that God designed me for a purpose. She dedicated my life to Kingdom purposes while still in gestation and then did the best she could to point me to God. I am eternally grateful for that gift.

Happy Mother's Day to all the momma's out there.

just Sheri, my mother's daughter

Good news! The kind I like to read

Billionaires gather in Arizona to discuss giving

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_6775/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=uNPHAcl0