The Family Gathers and Waits...

Just got off the phone with Sharon and they continue to keep vigil by her mom's bedside. Mom's condition changed somewhat rapidly this morning... and the hospice nurse will come this afternoon. This time is a sacred and holy time.... the family gathers and even a grandson, who has not been around much in the last few years, has come. They are supporting one another, reading scriptures to mom, praying with her, holding her hand and letting her know they are there. They also are looking through pictures, sharing stories and memories of a life well lived!

So glad that Sharon left yesterday and is there with the family today!

Long Day....

Just got back around 10 p.m. from taking Sharon to Hagerstown to meet her neice who was in Martinsburg, WVA so that they could go to VA to be with Sharon's mom and sisters. They got to VA quicker than I got home...but glad she is there and so is she!

Left the house at noon for the trip. Traffic was heavier going up than coming back. Got to see my uncle and aunt in Hagerstown for a couple of minutes. Uncle Earl is a dairy farmer and usually starts milking around 4 but it was 5 when I was there and he hadn't started yet... so he was in a hurry to get that started.

It's a go....

Will definitely do Passages: Conversations with God this Wednesday ... unless Sharon's mother passes before. Looks like I will be around ... Sharon is going to VA this afternoon but the girls and I will be around until we need to go for the funeral.

So, unless otherwise noted... It's a GO!

Probably will....and maybe won't....

I probably will need to postpone our first gatghering of Passages: Conversations with God from this Wednesday night until August 13. But then again, I might not...

Sharon's mom is nearing death and we are getting ready to go to Virginia soon... keep her and the family in prayer.

I will send out an email to verify this possibility. It looks like I will be taking Sharon to VA tonight and then return home to work and wait. So, I just might be here on Wednesday night!

What Fun!

Today, I got to ride in an Answered Prayer... actually, I got to drive it! That was lots of fun! I would have been happy to ride, but Glenn MADE me drive it! Thanks Glenn and Cindy!

What do you see....

When you look at this picture... what do you see?

Sure there is a really great couple who are VERY happy to have this car finished. Sure there is a Classic Mustang that has been given a new birth. But beyond the obvious... What do you see?

I see so many things...

1. Answered Prayer --- this has been a very challenging journey for Glenn and Cindy as it took longer than anticipated to get this car on the road... but they will both tell you that through prayer, the car is now on the road. All this last week, I wanted to call Glenn to see how he was coming on the car, but didn't because I didn't want to frustrate him... knowing that it was not going as hoped... SO, I prayed each time I thought about calling. I was DELIGHTED to get a call from Glenn last night saying it was done... and he was so excited that he took it for a test spin from Delmar and ended up in Allen (forgetting that the car neither had a hood nor tags!)

2. I see a courageous lady who is drawing her strength from the Lord as she battles cancer and has long since beaten the odds she was given when they discovered it! Cindy you inspire me!

3. I see a husband who will go to great lengths to make his wife happy! Glen, I could learn from you!

4. I see the combined effort and love of lots of people who chipped in to make this car a reality! From top to bottom... friends and new acqaintences have stepped up to the plate to help out... this is the way it should be in the world!

4. I see a dream come true... Cindy has always dreamed of owning a 1966 Mustang and now she not only owns one, but what a car it is!

5. I see God... for without God's involvement in this journey... the car would not have been at the car show today!

CONGRATS Cindy and Glenn! It is a real beauty! Can't wait to see it again tomorrow at the Community of Joy Ministry Center... hope you don't have plans after the worship gathering!

When you look....

When you look for God, you will find that he is already at work in the world in ways you haven't thought or dreamed.

We have been working hard at getting the overgrowth area of our lot at the Ministry Center cleared of brush and ready to seed in grass this fall.

One of the things that we needed to do was get the stumps ground. I checked into the cost of renting a stump grinder and the cheapest one was $257 for half a day. I though John Hardy would be about that price, but both the numbers we had for him did not work... they were assigned to someone else. So what were we going to do????

Wednesday, I was at the Ministry Center getting the trash to take to the dump and I noticed a few branches that had blown onto the yard. I picked them up to take with me and throw them on the brush pile at the dump... It was just a couple... but since I was going that way, I threw them on.

When I pulled into the brush area to unload them, I pulled up beside... yep, John Hardy! I told him what I wanted and he said he'd check it our and give me a call. I got a card from him with his new numbers and gave him mine. Today, his wife called and I met them there... and the price to have him grind the stumps AND haul the billets of wood away was $300!

Isn't God good!

Just goes to show that when you look... God is everywhere and he is at work in ways you and I can't imagine!

Invitation....

I've decided to offer a weekly Connecting time called "Passages: Conversations with God" @ 7:15 p.m. on Wednesdays @ the Community of Joy Ministry Center, 302 South Blvd. Starting July 30 but skipping August 6 (due to Vacation Bible School).

This will be a time of sharing, praying, reading scripture, reflecting and practicing different spiritual disciplines all as a passage to a deeper conversation with God in our everyday lives. It will be held in the sanctuary and will be different each week.

Should last no more than an hour and a half.

Looking for God....

God sometimes shows up in the most unexpected ways!

This is the story I promised a little while ago...

Recently, I ordered a load of stones for our Ministry Center Parking Lot....the driver was unable to do a good job spreading them out and left them in LOTS of BIG piles. I had put out an email earlier in the week seeking help on Saturday at 9 a.m.

No help came... I couldn't do it alone, especially having just had a medical procedure the day before that meant, I probably shouldn't have been there at all! About 9:15... Glenn stops as he is driving by to get Cindy's car running. He racks his brain for people who could bring a tractor to help out... I hated to take too much of his time... as this car is really important.... Glenn offered a time the following week to spread them if they didn't get done that day. At 10:15, I decided that was a good idea... so, I roped off that entrance and called the two folks that use that area to tell them that they would need to park elsewhere on Sunday.

At noon, Glenn called to say he and his friend would be by in an hour with his friend's bobcat and rollback truck to get the job done. I left 15 minutes later to go meet them there... when I arrived at the Ministry Center the stones were SPREAD!

I immediately called Glenn to tell him what I found and he said he hadn't even gotten the bobcat loaded yet... I told him not to and thanked him for his willingness.

After some investigation, I discovered that Tri had come about 10:30 and was working on the piles by himself when a guy rode by on his bicycle and stopped to say that he had a machine that could do the job... Tri told him that he was not authorized to pay anything for the work... the guy said he wasn't looking for any compensation... God was directing him to help out! He rode his bike to his place of business and brought a nearly new Kubota backhoe and spread the stones in less than an hour! What a blessing Jimmy was to us that day!

Isn't it truly amazing how God works! He is ALWAYS at work around us... and sometimes we get the privilege to see him work. God's ways are higher than my ways! What an incredible journey it has been! THANKS be to GOD!

GONE.....

Yep, our beautiful sign is GONE!

Roger Jones came to get it today... so that we can add to it's height to make it changeable.

It should be up in time to promote our Vacation Bible School in early August and many other activities that we will do. We found that our last (ugly) portable sign caught the attention of many passersby and brought them in the door. We hope that this sign will be a significant tool to communicate with our neighbors!

Coming Soon.....

Here is the NEW sign design... it will allow us to change messages regularly.

Unfortunately, it will cost a little more than the original sign...BUT we feel that it is well worth the money since our other temporary sign caught the attention of lots of people.

A Day of Celebration...

Yesterday was indeed a day of celebration at Community of Joy! It was our one year Anniversary Celebration of being in our building. Great spirit present. Delicious cake! Awesome stories of God's interaction with us. Beautiful singing. And an offering of $2275 extra toward our principal.

Can't wait to see how this next year plays out for us! Thanks be to God for all that he has done and is doing and will do in our lives!

One year ago....

We were busy putting the finishing touches on our new ministry center in order to get it ready for our GRAND OPENING... Now on Sunday we will mark that year and ALL that GOD has done in our lives and through our lives as we have followed him this year. It's been a GREAT ride and I am so looking forward to all that will yet happen!

It will be fun on Sunday to show folks the pics from the last year highlighting all the changes and efforts we have made at being the hands and feet of Jesus in the world.

What an AWESOME group of people to be part of! Community of Joy... This year, our name has taken on NEW meaning!

Don't miss the cake on Sunday! 10 a.m.... I know it will be good!

What a Day!

We lost water last Saturday... but since Sharon and Emma left on Saturday and I was going away on Sunday and Caroline was staying with a friend, I scheduled a plumber to come on this morning. When I spoke with him, we had water, just lots of air bursts in it. He was supposed to come today at 8 a.m. When he hadn't called or showed by 9, I called him... he was at an emergency (like ours wasn't?! to be fair... he didn't know we were out of water -- also he had written down the wrong number for us). He said he would be here in 45 minutes... then at 11:30 he called to say he would be in 15 minutes.... by 12:05 he arrived. Only to find that -- at first he thought my well was having problems ... after cutting off the top of the well pipe, we found that there is water at 12 feet, so for now we are investigating other options... like a check valve, the line from the well to the house, maybe even the pump... though it is just 2 years and one month old! I am relieved that it appears NOT to be the well. And hope it is not the pump.... as it is only warrantied for 18 months from manufacture or 12 months from installation, whichever is shorter! How is that for a warranty???!!!!!!!!!!!

The girls are excited to get water soon... so am I! Hope it happens yet today... as of now the plumber is on lunch break and it is 1:30.

It's fixed...2 hours later... $245 later... to replace a check valve! Wow... $85 an hour for labor... I guess I need to get a different job... When I was doing carpentry work, you carried your tools with you when you arrived at the job... now, they leave them in the van and send the helper to get them as they are needed! UNBELIEVABLE!

The BIG Meeting....

This year the Church of the Brethren is celebrating 300 years since it's beginnig. In August of 1708 in Schwarzenau, Germany, 8 people who had been studying the Bible and felt strongly that they needed to say yes to Jesus for themselves and enter the waters of baptism as adults. At the time this was a crime, punishable by death... because they were members of the state church (Lutheran) and would have already been baptized as infants.... to be re-baptized was to renounce the state church. From the Eider River where they were baptized, they immediately went into hiding and eventually found their way to America where they began what is now known, in part, as the Church of the Brethren.

This past week, the Church of the Brethren held it's Annual Conference or as some call it Big Meeting, in Richmond, VA. It was a joint conference with one of the 5 off-shoots of the original Brethren body... The Brethren Church. Attendance was over 6,000 people with nearly 900 delegates sent from congregations to conduct the business of the church.

Annual Conference is always a time of re-connecting with old friends and meeting new ones. This year as we did that, it was unsettling how old we are becoming... many of our friends from Seminary have children in college or going to college and in one case a young man, who was a teen years ago when we were students with his parents at Bethany Theological Seminary, is now on the faculty of the Seminary! That will make one feel old in a HURRY! WOW!

It was also fun to be aksed to share leadership of an insight session on Engaging Our Communities with Jesus.... I shared SOME of what God has done and is doing at Community of Joy in the last year!