Thursday, January 27, 2011

Return His Call

I've been talking to a number of missionaries this week. I am constantly impressed by the quality of people God calls into a life of service and sacrifice. People who could certainly work at something worthwhile which would be much easier and less taxing are going "all in" in the service of the Lord. Age is no factor. Tuesday I talked to one missionary in his 20's and another one in his 60's. It's not a young person's calling, and it's not a mature person's calling. It is the call of God and He knows what He's doing in each individual call. He just needs us to answer when He calls. Have you let His call go through to voice mail with no thought of returning it?

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Get Excited!

OK, I'm getting excited because I know a miracle is headed our way. I don't have any details, yet, but I know that we are in the perfect situation for a miracle to occur. We are doing some things around the church here which are being done with the proper motivation (honoring God) and we cannot complete them with our existing resources. It is the classic setup for God to do what only He can do in a way only He could make happen. It is really fun to think of ways that God will supply our need, but in reality, it will most likely happen in a way I will never think of. When it happens, I'll make sure you know about it.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

The Work Continues

The work continues on the classroom area. The rough-in electrical work has been completed, the sheetrock has been hung, the painting has begun. We are moving ahead, slower than we would like, but moving ahead nonetheless. Remaining projects include the drop ceiling, door installation, HVAC work, floor coverings, and the projector/screen/sound system work. I look for the work to gain momentum, soon. We've got to have that classroom area completely finished so they can be available for the many things we have planned to do in them. I am looking forward to the day when the curtains come down permantly and that area becomes an integral part of the ministries of Living Water Church.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Sometimes...

Well I made a liar of myself on Sunday. On Saturday I sent a facebook status promising something new on Sunday and then I totally forgot to do it. I had a video illustration which was supposed to show just prior to my message. I had it down on the service order, Craig had it all cued up and at the proper time I just completely let it slip my mind. It was funny and would have been awesome. It slipped my mind so completely, I just remembered a few hours ago that it was supposed to happen and didn't. Well, I'll use it another time. If I remember to use it.

This wasn't one of my best weeks. On the way to the fellowship dinner Sunday evening I suddenly realized that I have scheduled the annual church business meeting on Super Bowl Sunday. Well, with nothing controversial to present, we should be adjourned in time to see most of the game. I'll make sure that it never happens again.

Sometimes I can be such a goober.

Friday, January 21, 2011

He Sure Makes It Easy To Trust

I am a very forward looking person. I always look forward to what the future may bring. I am always thinking about how different (translated: better) things will be or run or look a year from now. But this week I have been doing a lot of looking back. It is easier to predict what will happen by what has happened in the past. I'm not talking about always doing what you've always done, because if  you always do what you've always done, you will always get what you've always gotten. No, I'm talking about giving a deep, appreciative look at what has been done before, so I can have a better understanding of how it is possible for me to do what I can do today. Dorothy Watson gave me a picture she showed me several months ago. It is of a Vacation Bible School held in 1954, two years before I was born. The church was the precursor of Living Water Church. It was pastored by Rev. Shumway, who is the gentleman on the back row wearing the white hat. What is noteworthy to me about the photo is that my mom is the lady on the right side with her arms crossed, looking toward the left. My older brother, Greg, is a little 4 year old boy, seated on the front row, near the left end.

This was going on two years before I made my appearance, but the gospel that Rev. Shumway planted in my parents has come back to Guthrie, through me, to continue to sow the gospel to the community my parents were a part of so many years ago. When you think that God knew how all of that back was going to work out then, it sure makes it easy to trust Him now, doesn't it?

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Lost Funeral Procession

Last week I did a funeral for a really nice lady I used to go to church with. She lived to be a ripe, old age and I had no doubt about her spiritual condition. She had three grown children who all serve the Lord, and I had done the funeral for her husband nearly a year ago. So, as funerals go, this one promised no drama. Sure enough, the service went smoothly enough and we went to the cars to proceed to the cemetary. I was told to fall in immediately behind the hearse and I did so. We headed out on a direct route to the cemetary, which was about 4 miles from the funeral home. We had the obligatory police escort, and since I was near the front, I watched the interaction and strategy employed as one would stop traffic while the other  would lead the procession. When the procession passed, the policeman in the intersection would then zoom past the procession in time to do it all again at the next intersection. It was all quite ordinary until we turned north on  County Line Road. There was a flashing sign telling us that the road was closed ahead and to take a different route. I thought to myself, "We have a police escort. They must already have this all figured out." I began to suspect that something was up when one of the policemen pulled alongside the guy driving the hearse and the guy on the hearse suddenly got on his phone. We reached the end of the block and sure enough the road ended. We made a right turn into Rambling Acres neighborhood. All eleven cars in the procession. We slowed nearly to a stop as high school students were walking home from school and didn't know the protocol involving funeral processions wandering through neighborhoods. We made a turn into what I was sure was a cul de sac but it did turn us back south (away from the cemetary.) We circled the block then finally found a neigbhorhood street which would eventually take us to Britton Rd. Of course, Britton Road is under a massive amount of construction as it was the reason the road was closed back at the beginning. We made our way through the narrow labyrinth of orange barrels, made a left turn onto Council and then another left onto Northwest Highway. Finally we made it to the cemetary. The police escort bid their adieu to the guy from the funeral home and made their exit, leaving him to explain to everyone what had just happened. He handled it very well and the family was very gracious and got a good chuckle at getting lost on the way to the graveyard. You never know when a day begins just how it will end.