My Weblog

A Relational People

I want to make sure that we start the day off with the really important stuff.  Did you see the front page of today's paper?  If not, then go check it out.  Now.  No, really, I'll wait.  Is that little girl wearing the scarf not gorgeous?  Okay, Iam biased, she is mine.  A little tooting your own horn never hurt anybody!

My favorite part of the convention is seeing people I haven't seen in a while.  Brad and I were in each other's weddings and got to hang out and eat supper Sunday night.  I visited with other friends about what was going right in their church and shared opportunities for ministry.  I visited with other friends about some opportunities to partner together in mission work overseas.  And since it was in Ft. Worth I got to stay with Mom and Dad and hang out there.

Relationships matter.  John says that Jesus came, "and dwelt among us."  God is a relational God and creates a relational people.  I got to nurture some relationships at the convention this week.  Make it a point this week to catch up with someone you need to catch up with.  Investing in our relationships lets folks know that they matter, that kind of stock never depreciates.

Trunk or Treat

Friday night in the church parking lot, 6-8 p.m.!  I know that there has been some confusion about what we are doing this year on Halloween, so I hope this will help to clear the air.  For the past several years we have held the Fall Festival in conjunction with the town's Boozar.  We will do the same thing this year except that we will do it in the parking lot rather than the Fellowship Hall.  Games are the same, times are the same, candy is the same (well same brands, it is not leftover!).  Now we need your help, there are still times open to volunteer; you can sign up here at the church or just give us a call.  See you Friday evening!

Why a Windmill?

Clyde Fant tells the story of a traveler who comes across an abandoned sod hut near Oglalla, Nebraska, in the days of the westward expansion of our country. Outside of that hut was a sign that read, "This would be a great land if only there were water."  A bitter old sodbuster who had probably lost everything added to that thought, "Yeah, and so would Hell."  What they didn't know was that under their feet lay the Oglalla aquifer with enough water to cover all fifty states in a foot and a half of water.

My mom's family is from the panhandle.  They farmed in the days of dry land farming before the advent of center pivot irrigation, they prayed for rain and depended on the windmill for their water.  Where there is water, there is life.  The windmill is symbolic of just that, where you see one there is water and life and hope.

John Paul Carter says that the church is like a windmill, "...when the wind of God's spirit blows, the mill will catch the breeze, the blades will turn, and living water will flow!"  What a great picture of church, of what we are supposed to be in an arid land.  Unlike those travellers on the great plains, we know the source of living water, if we will only be attentive and obedient to the wind of God's Spirit.

Getting Started

The Front Porch fits.  It is a place of welcome, fun, news, and a place to just visit.  If you want to know the good stuff that is going on at church this is the place to come.  I'll keep you up to date on ministry happenings, church and individual needs, and just the good stuff that God brings about in our fellowship.  So as the saying goes, pull up a chair and set a spell.