Title: SW Hackett Installation of Officers
Location: Heald Room
Description: All are welcome.
Officers and Ladies pictures at 10:30. Installation ceremonies at Noon. Conclude refreshments by 3:00 PM
Start Time: 12:00
Date: 2010-12-11

Title: EA & FC Night III
Location: East San Diego Lodge
Description: On Thursday December 2nd at 7:00 pm, S.W. Hackett Lodge in brotherly cooperation and assistance with East San Diego Lodge, #561 will present EA & FC Night III.

EA-FC-Night-flyer-2010-12-02

This night of celebration of all Entered Apprentice and Fellow Craft Masons will be held at East San Diego Lodge, located at: 7849 Tommy Drive - San Diego, CA 92119. As before, this night is to encourage and inspire our Masonic Brothers who have taken the first or second step in Masonry as well as those Master Masons who desire further light.

As in past EA & FC nights, The Lodge will be opened on the First degree of Masonry so that all can attend. We will then call to refreshment so that informal presentations and discussion can take place. At the close of the evening, we will return to labor and close the lodge.

This night will include a presentation of some explanations and definitions of some parts included in the first degree ceremonies that are often overlooked or misunderstood by the candidate and even by some Master Masons.

We will again be fortunate to have Brother David Watson presenting another interesting lecture and, as the last lecture, this one will expand on the role of Masonry in our history and its links to many cultures. Learn more of the “Mysteries of Freemasonry”. Also as the previous lecture, this one will be acceptable for Entered Apprentice Masons, as Brother Watson will leave out the deeper mysteries that are learned by, and appropriate for, Fellow Craft and Master Masons. Those who have attended in the past will tell you that even as Master Masons, they were brought some very interesting information and that is was well worth the attendance.

We were pleased with the response from the attendees of the first and second EA & FC Nights, and look forward to another good night of brotherhood and education. All the Brethren are invited and encouraged to attend.

We again cordially invite, and strongly encourage, all Masons from all Lodges to attend. We look forward to seeing you there. For further information, questions or suggestions for program inclusions, please contact me at 858-538-6345 or email to: masonic574@irfutures.com.

Please mark this date on your calendar and try to attend. We look forward to seeing many new faces.

Sincerely and Fraternally,
Dennis Stahr, JW

Start Time: 19:00
Date: 2010-12-02

Title: Stated Meeting/Dinner
Location: Heartland 576
Description: Stated Mtg./Dinner
Start Time: 6:30 PM
Date: 2010-11-04

Title: HEARTLAND #576
Location: El Cajon
Description: Dinner/Stated Meeting
Date: 2011-11-04

Your personal guide to learning how to love.

When you say or hear the words "I love you" it can change your life forever.   Love is one of God's most important gifts to anyone, yet there are many misunderstandings about how to make love work in our families, friendships, marriages and dating relationships. In Loving People best-selling author Dr. John Townsend shows you that love can actually be learned, and gives you the steps and tools to become skilled in love.

The three most powerful words ever spoken are still "I love you!" They have the ability to transform relationships, families and communities. When real love is expressed, people naturally come alive, heal and become who they were created to be. In Loving People, Dr. John Townsend explores the important role love plays in personal growth and relationships. Apart from love, we simply cannot grow spiritually, emotionally or personally.  Loving and being loved go hand in hand. They allow you to become the loving person you were designed to be. Learning to love has so many benefits. It will help you develop better and healthier relationships. Learning to love also increases your capacity for more intimacy. You can even love at a deeper level. Whenever you're facing trials, stress or struggles, love empowers you to get through. And loving goes hand in hand with joy and happiness. As you learn to love and be loved, you can't help but experience and feel success and achieve some of your dreams. In this process, you'll develop leadership abilities and help others.

"One of the most important realities of the nature of true love is that the `lovability' of the other person is ultimately irrelevant. Said another way, the more we require the other person to be lovable in order to actually care, the less loving we are. The converse is also true: the less we require the other person to be lovable, the more loving we are." 

Insights and thought-provoking statements like these line the pages. The result is a book that everyone can benefit from. By the time you finish reading it, you'll discover that "I love you" means a bunch more than you thought it did and looking for ways to express and experience those words in attitude and action.

This book was so inspiring and made me want to LOVE.

Pick up Loving People: How to Love and Be Loved today!

In his newest book Counterfeit Gods, Timothy Keller discusses the idol worship that takes Christians away from God.

If you are like me, the mention of worshipping false idols immediately brings the Ten Commandments to mind. While people have worshipped other gods and statues or symbols for centuries, Keller brings up the idols that affect us in today’s world, particularly those of money, sex, and power.

After reading this book, I gained a whole new understanding of the things that we allow to take the place of God in our lives.

As Keller described, an idol is “anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.”

It is no secret that our society is driven by the need for more money, more power, and the feelings of love and acceptance.

Yet as Keller explains, these are the very things that keep us from loving God totally. One of the more convincing arguments he made was concerning the issue of love.

While Keller encourages us to love one another and find true love he also suggests that if love becomes and idol that it is dangerous when we place our love for other people above our love for God.

In addition to the previously mentioned subjects, Keller also hits spot on the issue of politics in controlling one’s life. Without taking political sides, Keller points out that for humans to place faith in government institutions and people in office to provide a good life, they are rejecting the notion that God is the one in control.

No, he isn’t calling for anarchy or overthrowing the government. He is just pointing out that people should be less consumed with political issues and more focused on turning to God to steer our world in the right direction.

If you are looking for an eye-opening and truth revealing book, look no further than Counterfeit Gods by Timothy Keller. This book will show you the things that we put before God in our daily lives and will help you to start putting God first in everything.

A funeral is always a somber affair. The whole world seems to stop spinning, and time is halted. But alas, there are responsibilities to take care of and though planning a funeral service may be hard, with all the legal and financial matters to attend to, there are ways to alleviate the difficulty somewhat.

A funeral is given to give meaning to the life of the deceased. It is a celebration of life, as well as a send off to the dearly departed. It gives cause to have family and friends come together to remember the deceased while at the same time give comfort to each other. If the task of funeral planning falls on you, you had best be ready.

The best course of action when planning a funeral service is to hire a funeral director. Not only do they know what to do in these times, they also think clearly as to all the details that need to be done. They understand that you are in a state of mourning so they do everything as much as possible, keeping you updated. However, when the matter of finances comes up, it falls on you to inform those closest to the deceased as to how to pay for the funeral service.

A director can also handle all the technical planning and logistics of the funeral. If the departed has left a list of wishes on how to be buried, take that into account as well. Let the director know if the deceased had wanted to be buried, entombed or cremated. The costs of each vary, so be sure that all financial matters have been prepared by you and the family. Also, you can ask guests to donate cash in lieu of flowers to a favorite charity of the deceased. Make it known by word of mouth or through the obituary.

Finally, you can also prepare a funeral that fits the personality of the deceased. If the departed was a happy go lucky individual and loved music, you can play his or her favorite music while asking everyone to dress as a musician. Of course, if the deceased wished for a somber or formal funeral plan, make sure to let it be known. It depends on religion, traditionally people wear black, but the Chinese wear white sometimes. So make sure to accommodate the departed's religion and customs when planning their funeral service.

What in the world am I here for? That is the question we all ask from the time we learn to speak and think to the time we are on our death bed. Many time it goes unanswered, or if it is somehow answered, it still can be unclear. We often ask the selfish questions over our existence. Who is our soul mate? What will be our life-time occupation? The question we ought to asking should pertain to the Almighty and his plan for us.

We need to remember that God has always thought of us before he had ever crossed our minds. There IS a reason and plan for why we are here, although many things crowd God's place, for example: careers/ambitions, hobbies, and even our spouses. God wishes for us to choose Him over all..

I know my role on earth and for eternity thanks to Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.

The Purpose Driven Life is a 40-day spiritual journey that will answer that important question:”Why am I here”. I know that you will learn more about who you are and what you should be living for. Sure, it may take more than 40 days to completely get the guidance that you want but you will be reminded every time you pick up this book that God is there by your side.

You may not have ever been sure if you had a plan for your life. It isn't an accident that we are living, breathing, existing. There is a plan behind it all and the hand that guides it is the hand of God. There is a loyalty to embrace for our Creator.

It takes focus and discipline to actually DO what you are here to do. God cares about HOW we are as people, and not who we are as people which is topsy-turvey in today's culture. At least that is what I took from the book. I encourage you to read and find out more for yourself.

Things never seem to go as planned. We all want to have a great job, a loving wife or husband, healthy children, a nice car, and a big house.

What happened to these dreams?

Maybe you have even lesser expectations for your life, but God has not even given you that. Life tends to set us off our paths we think we'll be on to an unwanted and unexpected detour.

In times like these I suggest reading Pete Wilson’s Plan B: What Do You Do When God Doesn’t Show Up the Way You Thought He Would?

I think the following paragraph will give you a taste of what Wilson’s book offers.

We do spend a bunch of time worried about what is happening to us. We focus a lot of attention on when things might happen. We ask a lot of questions about where we will end up. Often in life, the what, when and where are not going to turn out the way you want them to turn out. You don’t always get to choose those things, but you do get to choose the why. You may not get to choose what your future is going to be, but at any given time you do get to choose why you’re living the way you do.”

Wilson openly admits that he does not have all the answers. All he knows is that we have the need to believe in God. How exactly do we use them? You will have to find out for yourself.

This book guides you with powerful messages making you realize that Plan A seldom comes through and we need to know when to resort to Plan B.

Wilson shares the downfalls, hardships, and pains of people including those of the Bible. I think most everyone will find some sort of answer becauseit isn't sugar coating. You're problems won't look so petty and you'll learn how to deal with them.

Eeven if you feel like you are living the life you have planned all along you may come to realize that you're actually in a Plan B state of mind.It is a great thing to examine your life and to make sure you aren't too bust for God. You may even find that you're not living up to your full potential.

Check out Plan B: What Do You Do When God Doesn’t Show Up the Way You Though He Would by Pete Wilson. Seek God and His Wisdom. Grow.

I would like to know what is your Plan B? How have your plans in life changed?