Walk Slower

"Walk Slower" I would cringe every time I heard those words. Walking to me has often been about getting to a destination and every step was with that goal in mind. I always had an excuse for my fast-paced, head-down, purposeful stride.

"If we don't hurry we won't get a good seat." "If we walk slow, we'll miss the beginning." All excuses that. I thought, justified my rush to get nowhere. Many times the person walking with me would be my mother. I used to be impatient, as she would need to rest. While she rested, I would stand anxiously at her side, thinking about the loss of time that could have been spent walking. Little did I realize that the loss of time was actually the time I spent walking in my usual manner.

Mom would usually start a conversation as she rested. She would ask about the recent events of my life and share some of her memories from my childhood. Mom was also one to notice things, small things sometimes.

She would notice how the leaves of one tree would be greener than another’s. Most often, mom would notice people. One of her favorite things to do was to sit and watch people. She would wonder what was going through their minds in that exact moment as they passed by.

It is ironic that those things that I would often view, as an inconvenience, have become some of the things I would love to do again - walking slow and talking with my mother. I have found myself thinking, walking and living at a much slower pace in these last few weeks. I do not want to miss the "little things" in life. It is those "little things" that become the most important.

What are you missing as you hurry through life? Who do you need to go for a slow walk with?

Anointing

Last Sunday I preached under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. I felt it come over me during the prayer time. Last week was a tough week on me and my family. There were times when I wanted to make a phone call and find a fill-in for Sunday's services; however God's grace continues to be great. There was a sweet presence of the Holy Spirit in both services. I don't recall ever feeling as comfortable behind the pulpit as I did on Sunday. God is awesome.

For Mom

Free

To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord! Love you mom! See you soon!

Just Checking In

Sorry, I have not blogged much. I've been spending a great deal of time at my Mother's side at the hospital. Prayers appreciated.

Change - Numbers or a Name In The Book

These are exciting days. On the horizon are some changes at our church - Grace Fellowship (GF). Change is an interesting thing. I can't think of anything, off the top of my head, that stirs up more activity - mentally, verbally and in action than change. This is often positive and negative. One thing for sure, if someone has an opinion about the changes, we'll probably hear, or, more often, read it.

GF is growing - fast! One of the changes involves an additional service. God continues to bless us with gifted people who have a heart for God and desire to minister and meet felt needs. Sometimes the Spirit's leading guides us into things that are unexpected.

There are a lot of questions we could ask. The sanctuary isn't full, so why do we need another service? What's wrong with what we have now? The answers:

• At GF it isn't about numbers in the pews. It's about getting names written in the "Book of Life". The additional service will allow us to reach an entirely different group of people. God placed GF in a very populated area and we will reach that area!
• Absolutely nothing! It's not a "this-or" scenario it's a "this-and" opportunity. Our number one purpose as a church is to give an opportunity for people to CONNECT with God. The additional service will do that for a great number of people, just like the existing service will continue to do.

Change is constant and we must constantly change and adapt the way we deliver an unchanging message!

Blowing It - Part 2

Our oldest son Justin's recent blog post is far better than anything I could have written on this topic.

http://jdkguitarpunk92.wordpress.com/

When we "blow it" do we get up and keep trying?