Beach Lake United
Methodist Church 
| Beach Lake United
Methodist Church |
Who I Am Makes A Difference
Gospel Concerts |
The
Family Connection:
This committee provides direct loving services to assist our congregational family and community with services such as: transportation; encouraging cards; food shopping; meals delivered; love bags of food delivered; special trips to encourage closer ties; a monthly article called, “Encouraging Words” for the Newsletter; assisting with the summer gospel concerts; and the communication of these services and how to get help or how to volunteer to be of help. God has given each of us special “Spiritual Gifts” that HE wants us to use. Where other groups in our congregation are already providing similar services, we want to assist them with new loving members, communication and recognition for their accomplishments. ************************************************************************ ***************************************************************************************************Please
help us provide a ride as the need comes up by filling out the form on
the back table that says, “Drivers Needed.”
Completed forms can go to Karen or Bob Hoffman or the church
office. Thank you so much!
************************************************************************************ The
Honesdale Food Pantry and the BLUMC Food Ministry will most likely need
more donations of food and money than last year.
Special thanks and blessings go to all who have so generously
cared for others in this way! Checks
are an easy way to donate and allows us to purchase exactly what we need
as we need it. Checks should
be made out to “ BLUMC” noted for Food Ministry
Please keep the
“eyes of your heart” open to any person or persons who we could
present a “Bag of Love” to! Then
please call or email, Karen Hoffman at: 729-8207 or hoffmank@ptd.net
. This is everyone’s
mission in caring. Thank
you! These
are items needed for the
***************************************************************ENCOURAGING WORDS by, Kristen Wall-Love BOB HOFFMAN-A STORY OF COMMITMENT AND TRUST Bob was born in Maplewood, NJ on August 27,
1942 to a loving, close-knit family.
He started dating his beloved wife Karen when they were
sophomores in college and have been inseparable since.
Karen and Bob have been happily married for forty-two years and
counting! Bob
had to overcome some big obstacles early in his childhood.
When he was six months old, the carriage he was in rolled into a
busy street and it was hit head on by a car (incidentally driven by a
man whose last name was Hoffman). Doctors had to reshape his skull and
it was a miracle he wasn’t killed!
However, his mental development was stunted and this led to many
hardships at school for years to come.
His mother would tutor him day in and day out (and during the
summers). Bob worked as hard
as he could and tried his little heart out to learn what other students
in his grade were learning. It
was a constant struggle but he made it!
Bob commented that it was a very humbling experience.
One thing that helped to boost his self confidence was the fact
that he was the largest and strongest in his class and was always picked
first for sports teams. This
inevitably led him to become a Physical Education teacher and a coach of
multiple sports programs (intermurals etc.) for 11 years.
The sports programs that he ran after school (80% of kids stayed
for the after-school sports) were the best in the state!
Three or four students of his became professional football
players and a couple went on to become Phys. Ed teachers! Way to go Bob!
(Do you sense that because of Bob’s weakness he was steered
toward his strengths and calling at the time?) His
Father was a Lieutenant Colonel in the National Guard in WW II.
All Bob had as a Father during his early years was a picture of
his Dad in his military
Bob
and Karen moved here in 1987 to expand their business, “Hoffman
Specialties.” They found
their dream home right here in Beach Lake.
Karen and Bob are like peas and carrots and love being together
24/7. After about ten years,
the business was getting slow, and they needed more income.
Bob and Karen rented a building on main street in Honesdale, to
run “Yesterdays Prices,”
later changed to “Party Perfection”. They rented the building
and purchased business cards even before a business partner was found to
help shoulder the finances. Eventually
that was all worked out, but four weeks prior to the grand opening of
“Yesterdays Prices”, Hoffman
Specialities got the biggest order it had ever received!
So, Bob ran the party store and Karen stayed home and ran Hoffman
Specialties-not exactly working shoulder to shoulder like they had
envisioned! That lasted for
ten years and Bob sold the party store and returned to Hoffman
Specialities to reinvigorate the business. They got another huge deal,
but they had to mortgage their home in order to purchase all of the
supplies for this deal. Bob
had a bad feeling about it and had the company investigated, but it all
seemed to check out. After
all the product was delivered to this big company, they went bankrupt,
in turn bankrupting the Hoffmans. Bob and Karen have been slowly bailing
themselves out of debt for the past ten years. (meanwhile, 3 other
businesses went bankrupt on them during this period). Many
of you remember Bob’s compelling testimony that he gave during worship
a few weeks back about being burned in a fire and giving his life
COMPLETELY to Jesus Christ. That
is when he made God the CEO of his business and his life.
He realized that he couldn’t do the things that he wanted to
accomplish under his power, but through God.
This was difficult for Bob because it was HIS business and HE ran
it. He learned.
God started to really bless the business and his life when he
turned everything over to Jesus. About two years ago Hoffman Specialties
dropped to half of its usual production and Bob has had to live on
retirement funds this past year. God
has shut the door on the family business and Bob is awaiting on an
answer from God as to what to do next.
They have put their dream home on the market in order to
downsize. There have been no
offers, which is frustrating, but Bob is willing to be open and listen.
Was it a test to put their beloved home up for sale?
Bob has also started working at Woodloch Pines Resort after being
his own boss for thirty-five years, and making less than he would pay an
employee. He really loves
his job there for the time being and he and Karen are seeing where the
Lord leads them.
Here is a fun fact about Bob–He has a 300
gallon fish tank downstairs that holds two 24 inch fish which are
cousins to the piranha. These
guys are ginormous and SO cute! Bob
told me some amazing stories about these two that left me open-mouthed.
Ask him sometime; I promise you won’t be disappointed!
Bob
is the Lay Leader of our church and as most of you know takes it very
seriously and does a wonderful job.
He is extremely honored to have been elected by you to represent
our church as lay leader. Bob
feels our church is doing good things, but is poised to become great!
Bob reminds us that as a church we have to grow as individuals,
but that it is also imperative for us to grow as a group. Bob is a great example of someone who
“Trusts and obeys.” He
felt God’s promptings to take the many small steps that added up to
becoming Lay Leader. Along
with listening, Bob credits prayer, reading the Scriptures, and
Christian TV programming as three big factors that got him where he is
in his faith life now. Bob’s
advice: Give yourself to the Lord 100%,
not only by your words, but in your heart.
If you want to live the most joyful, magnificent life, give it
all to Jesus and he’ll do the rest! *It was my honor and
privilege to interview and write about Bob Hoffman for this month’s
“Encouraging Words” as he has done for so many others.
Thanks, Bob, for your enthusiastic service to God and to our
church! Love, Kristen
|
BLUM
FOOD PANTRY NEEDS YOUR HELP!
