Pizza Ranch Serves

We’ve spent the last few days talking about getting the New Year off to a positive start and a few ways to do that. I believe in counting your blessings, intentionally practicing gratitude and looking for the unexpected ways that God moves in our midst.

As we talk about the power of new thinking and new creations this week, some pastors and high schoolers are doing just that every week near the Andover and Champlin Pizza Ranches. Every Thursday, a local high school opens to allow a pastor from a nearby church and nearly 100 students to gather before the school day starts to be fed both spiritually and physically – they hear the truth from God’s Word and eat breakfast together.

2 Corinthians 5:15-17– “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a wonderful first day of the New Year and I’m excited to kick off this first week of the New Year with you on Pizza Ranch Serves. We all know about New Year’s Resolutions and studies show that close to 40% of adults make them every year.

As you make your New Year’s Resolutions remember that it’s ok to not be perfect. Resolutions are a great way to help you “Do Your Best” and to “Pursue Excellence” in improving a certain area of your life, but they are not a means by which we gain salvation.

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.

Today we’re going to talk about the virgin birth of Christ. What?! A different kind of Christmas devotion, for sure. You might even think it’s a little strange, but it may be one of the more foundational topics you’ll hear this season. Let’s find out.

Have You Ever Wondered... How did candy canes get their shape? Have candy canes always been striped? Why are candy canes associated with Christmas? Me too, so I went exploring and found a lot of information on candy canes!

Recently during the opening of the Beaver Dam Pizza Ranch, the Beaver Dam team identified a special cause to provide impact to in their first week!

“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.” ― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

If you are like me, you are probably looking forward to the upcoming Christmas events, but also have a bit of stress creeping in thinking about all the busyness and potential chaos. I wanted to share an article, from mental health expert Dr. John Delony, I found very helpful in helping me focus on reducing my holiday stress. . .