Dec. 31st - no services.

MOVE-IN PARTY
Join us Saturday, January 6th beginning at 9:00 AM for a giant Move-In Party at the new building (10501 F.M. 3537 – Main Street)! We need your help in assembling all the remaining furnishings and fixtures, decorating the rooms, and getting the last minute touches done before Sunday’s service. In order for this to happen, we need EVERYONE to give us some time that day, even if it’s for 30 minutes. Bring the small household tools. Let’s make the move into Preston Trail’s first building a family affair!

WOMEN’S SPRING BIBLESTUDY - DANIEL In January 2007, we will start our large group/small group expanded bible study program. This year’s spring study will be Beth’s Moore’s Daniel. This study will kick off on January 9th, 2007 offering a Tuesday morn- ing session (9:30 - 11:30 AM) and a Tuesday evening session (6:30 - 8:30 PM). The work books will be $20, and onsite childcare will be $75 per child for the whole spring semester. For more information, visit the women’s information table today! Don’t miss this great opportunity!

PRESTON TRAIL COMMUNITY CHURCH “DOWN UNDER”
PTCC will send a team to work with survivors of the tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia during Spring Break, March 9-18, 2007. Is God calling you to go? Be watching for announcements about a special INFORMATION SESSION that will give you all the information you need. YOU can make a difference!

Online Giving
Make your life simpler by automating your giving. Follow the easy directions at www.prestontrail.org to setup for debit or credit card for regular giving and dream big donations. All transactions are secure and will appear on your regular statement.

Life Groups
Sign up at the Information Table or email info@prestontrail.org and get involved in a group!

“The healthiest of all the emotions”

Hans Selye, Swedish sociologist who coined the term “stressed-out,” studied the effects of pressure on people and concluded that the best antidote to stress is thanksgiving. He put it this way: “Gratitude is the healthiest of all the emotions.”

As 2006 winds down, there are many reasons for all of us at PTCC to be grateful. Here are a few that come to my mind:

• Getting into the new building for our Christmas Eve services – Over 650 people braved the cold and rain to experience our first worship service in our new facility. The candlelight service at the end was a memory we’ll never forget. And what about those parking attendants getting soaked outside? They went amphibious on us in order to serve us! Thanks, men …
  
• Giving to support the church’s ministry – December is always the month when the largest offerings are given. People are catching up on their Dream Big pledges, or tithing their bonus or profit-sharing, or giving out of a Christmas spirit. Our church and its ministries go forward on the backs of those who financially sacrifice on its behalf. Jim and I say a huge THANKS to all who have given generously to PTCC’s general budget and building fund. (If you still need to catch up before year-end, be sure to mail your check in time for the envelope to be postmarked on or before December 31, 2006.)
  
• Beginning new ministries – In 2006 we launched a new women’s ministry. It is going to really take off in January when our ladies gather for Bible Study in the new building on Tuesdays. Men’s ministry will begin in February – stay tuned for more info. Our student ministry is moving from homes to the new building on Wednesday nights. Brian Holt, our new director of children’s ministries, has big dreams and high hopes for an even stronger program for preschoolers and K-5th graders. God continues to lead us in new directions!
  
• Becoming more involved in community ministries – In 2006 we participated in Clothe-a-Child and two local food pantry events sponsored by Frisco Family Services. Our Local Missions Team is now asking questions like, “How can we serve the students and workers at Christie Elementary School (right behind our new facility)?” and “How can we serve the workers at the new Frisco Fire Department just across Preston from our new location?” The answers they get will lead us into more involvement with our local community.
  
• Reaching out to the world – During Spring Break 2007 we are taking a volunteer team to Indonesia to do relief work with the victims of the 2005 tsunami. If you sense that this is something God is leading you to consider, don’t worry about the cost of the trip right now – just contact Bill O’Brien at bellmitra@sbcglobal.net for more information. Then ask God to show you if this is how he wants you to spend Spring Break. The rest will come together – I promise. I’ve watched it happen hundreds of times …

You can certainly find more things to be grateful for. And if you do, you’ll be even more healthy!

May God’s good gifts sustain you throughout 2007, as they did during 2006.

Gratefully,

Paul Basden, senior pastor

PS – Remember: we are having NO worship services this Sunday, December 31. See you January 7!

Read previous Trail Notes here

Click here for more information on Dream Big!

LISTEN! Preston Trail Podcast
Sermons now available online! In keeping up with the times, all PTCC Worship Sermons are available for downloading on our website. So, if you missed a service, go here and take a listen.
You will have the option of downloading and listening to them on your computer or even subscribe here (or press the iTunes image on the right) to have them come to your computer automatically each time one is added - then play them on your computer or your iPod.