November 2009 Highway Won Update

Hello and happy November (almost)! As I type this though it seems more like summer has arrived or at least spring, but we are now officially into the autumn months with the Holidays right around the corner. In thinking about this season, and of Thanksgiving in particular, it seems that in general people have forgotten that no matter their circumstances, there is still room to be thankful and rejoice. Think about a wonderful passage currently printed out on our receipts here at the store:

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations (Psalm 100, NKJV).

No matter what are circumstance are, no matter how busy we are, no matter what period, God is God, He is good, He is the Maker and we’re the work of His hands, and is worthy of our taking a bit of time out to thank and praise Him for all He is and all He has done for us.—TK

So What’s New?

We have just about all of our Christmas products out now in the store that we’re going to get this year, including a special display of Christmas books and music. We also have several children’s Christmas books in the Kid’s Corner that would be a blessing for the youngsters in your life. Come by and see what we have!

Of note this month is National Bible Week, which we instead celebrate all month long with a special Bible sale. All of our Bibles will be on sale (including New Testaments): Bibles under $29.99 will be 10% off; $30.00 to $59.99 will be 15% off; and $60.00 and up will be 20% off. Now is the time to get that Bible you’ve been eyeing to be well equipped for Bible study in 2010. If we don’t have a particular Bible in stock, please ask and we’ll be happy to order it for you at the same discounted price. Nothing is more important to us than seeing our customers reading and studying the Word of God and putting it into practice in their life and community. Check out our devotionals as well in preparation for 2010 as we have many (including a few new ones) in stock, and again will be happy to order others that may be available but not on hand currently.

Another date you will want to keep in mind is Thursday December 3, Cambria’s annual Hospitality Night from 5:30 to 9:30 pm. We along with most of the shops in town will be open that night with special events, treats, and so on to welcome in the Christmas season. As of now we have planned to have special music live here in the store plus other goodies. For more information on local Holiday events please see www.cambriachamber.org.

One last reminder: We are located in the West Village of Cambria, 801 Main Street Ste. B, between Froggies’ Children Store and Moonstone Cellars (at Sheffield and Main). I’ve had a couple people lately state they came to town, tried to find us but couldn’t. Look for the sign that says “Highway Won Cambria: Books, Gifts and More.” Our phone is (805) 927-2320. Also there will be some Main St. construction this month but we will be open despite it!!

God bless you and happy Thanksgiving and everything else November!

Construction Blues

I attended a meeting this morning on the upcoming construction project that will be running the length of Main Street here in Cambria, the West Village that is from just past our store (Cornwall Street) to other end at Windsor (stoplight at Highway 1). It is slated to begin approximately October 26th and to end by Thanksgiving at the latest. It will take at least two weeks to complete. They are limited by not being able to work at night (which is good for residents) and being unable to have lane closers in town on weekends (which is good for us). The good news is that traffic will still be able to get through with very minor delays, and though it may disrupt some parking in the area they are working on at the moment there will still be places to park and get through to shop in our wonderful West Village stores. Some good news for our customers that need it: they are going to add a second handicapped parking space in our parking lot that is near our store, and a few here and there along the Main Street area to at least meet the minimum required by the ADA. We will be open as usual during construction and we hope that you will still make the effort to come on out and support your local Christian store.

We at Highway Won Christian Store so appreciate you our customers and want to thank you for your faithful support and prayers, which are needed now especially during our "slow" season. Thanks so much and we love you!

Book Review: Forgotten God

Forgotten God by Francis Chan
Published by David C. Cook, 2009, U.S. Retail $14.99

In his previous book Crazy Love, pastor and popular speaker Francis Chan set down the gauntlet for today’s lukewarm “believer” and for Christians in general to return to the type of life that Jesus taught and was exemplified in the early church, especially in view of the pattern set up in Acts 2. It remains a powerful exhortation and as of this writing is the number one best seller according to the Christian Booksellers Association. Chan now follows up that book with Forgotten God, a treatise on the Holy Spirit and how some churches and individuals today have more or less neglected Him and His role not just in their worship, but are lacking power for living the type of Christian life that can make a difference for God in today’s world. In this book he speaks about important topics and theology of the Holy Spirit, and in typical fashion challenges us to re-examine where we are in our relationship with the often “forgotten” third member of the Trinity. In the latter chapters especially Chan asks us some hard questions that we all need to answer to evaluate our relationship with God through the Holy Spirit and how that is impacting our lives. Chan ends each chapter with a mini-biography of people that have lived out the spirit-filled life in exemplary fashion to encourage us in living out this life in a similar fashion. At the end of the book, the publisher included chapter one of the previous book Crazy Love, which is a bit unusual, but in a sense the two books go hand in hand so perhaps it isn’t that strange, although I would recommend that you read Crazy Love first as a few things he mentions in this new book would flow better for you as you read.

Overall the book is good and worth reading. My only criticism is that Chan takes so long to actually get into and becomes repetitious at first about who the Holy Spirit is, His purpose, and our relationship with Him, but I can understand his concern in a sense because there has been so much division among believers over the Spirit, the gifts, etc. and it is easy to be labeled in one way or another and have the reader alienate themselves from what you are trying to say without really “listening.” I too have been in contact with many churches and groups with many views on the Holy Spirit and seen both ends of the “abuse” of the gifts (either “Charismania” or total ignorance of the Spirit’s work). But I think that overall Chan presents a good view of the Holy Spirit and what He does—or wishes to—in the lives of the believer today. You will be challenged as you read to gain a fresh understanding of what it means to live a spirit-filled life.