Something amazing happened last night during our midweek service. Let me give some background first. We are in dire need of improving our sound in our sanctuary. The lack of quality effects our worship services. With that said we have priced what we need to improve our sound and the total comes to over $9000. The initial step in this improvement process would cost approximately $3500. Since we have just carpeted most of our church, which was needed badly as the carpet we had was 40 yrs old (yes, that is four years older than I am and it was looking that way) we did not have any money to put toward the sound.
So that brings us to last night. There was an envelop in the church office and I was asked what it was for and said I have no idea and told those in the office to tell me after service. That did not happen as our Music Minister busted through the door waving her hand for me to come to the office. When I got back to the office there were huge smiles! In the envelop was $3500 in cash and written on the were the words "Sound System"! Yes, almost exactly what we needed for our initial step in our sound improvement! God is so amazing!
I have been praying daily for months about our sound situation. It is something that will glorify God and enhance our worship in being able to do so. I am totally humbled by HIS provision! Thank you Lord!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Great Article
Read this great article today by Nancy Pearcy:
http://www.pearceyreport.com/archives/2010/09/secular_values.php
http://www.pearceyreport.com/archives/2010/09/secular_values.php
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Ministering to those Grieving
Ministering to those grieving is a distinct privilege and responsibility. I have to admit that I'm not good at this. For the most part we are always good at the point of loss but after the funeral when the "rubber meets the road" we "drop the ball". The Lord has challenged me in this of late, especially as a dear friend of mine at the church nears the end of his life. The need for the Body to care for those well after the funeral is huge. It is such an amazing time for the Gospel to be embodied in our care for the souls of the family as they grieve. If we are the Gospel-centered community we should be then we must take on this task and serve well those in our Body whose souls are aching.
The weeks that follow should include direct care by the Pastor and the Body. The Pastor should engage his people in the process of care immediately. He should be quite visible in the beginning while bringing along others from the Body and all the while should allow the Body to function as HE so beautifully intends it to.
The goal is soulcare and seeing the Gospel applied. Grieving is needed and should happen. The function of the Body in the midst of it should be an essential part of the process. Lord, may I love and serve well as a shepherd in this and may our Body do the same.
The weeks that follow should include direct care by the Pastor and the Body. The Pastor should engage his people in the process of care immediately. He should be quite visible in the beginning while bringing along others from the Body and all the while should allow the Body to function as HE so beautifully intends it to.
The goal is soulcare and seeing the Gospel applied. Grieving is needed and should happen. The function of the Body in the midst of it should be an essential part of the process. Lord, may I love and serve well as a shepherd in this and may our Body do the same.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Caitlyn is in Kindergarten!
Caitlyn is now in Kindergarten!!! She only had to go for an hour and a half today but it's official! Jill went to class with her for her first day. Jill said she was pretty shy but she'll make some friends soon enough. Here are some pics of her day:
Here she is posing before leaving the house with mama!
Here she is leaving with her new backpack on!
Entering class for the first time! I can see the apprehension on her face!
On the carpet with her new classmates!
She is without a doubt the most beautiful girl in her class! I'm so proud of Daddy's Little Girl! I can't wait to hear her stories of all she is learning each day when she gets home! WOW! We now have 2 in school!
Here she is posing before leaving the house with mama!
Here she is leaving with her new backpack on!
Entering class for the first time! I can see the apprehension on her face!
On the carpet with her new classmates!
She is without a doubt the most beautiful girl in her class! I'm so proud of Daddy's Little Girl! I can't wait to hear her stories of all she is learning each day when she gets home! WOW! We now have 2 in school!
Chloe's first day of 2nd grade
Today Chloe started 2nd Grade! It's so hard to believe she is now 7 and in 2nd Grade! As her proud Daddy I was a big dork and took the camera as I was dropping her off (she didn't mind as she loves posing for the camera). Here are some pics:
Here she is in front of the school sign. She is not only starting a new grade but is at a new school.
Here she is in front of her desk.
Here she is with her teacher, Mrs. Gardener.
I'm so proud of Chloe. She is growing into a beautiful young lady! She loves school and through our interaction thus far with her teacher she seems to really love teaching and investing in children so we are excited to see her continued growth this year.
Here she is in front of the school sign. She is not only starting a new grade but is at a new school.
Here she is in front of her desk.
Here she is with her teacher, Mrs. Gardener.
I'm so proud of Chloe. She is growing into a beautiful young lady! She loves school and through our interaction thus far with her teacher she seems to really love teaching and investing in children so we are excited to see her continued growth this year.
The Joyce's Visit
While in Wake Forest we were blessed to serve in an amazing local Body, North Wake Church. While there we met the Joyce's (Chris, Stephnie, and Madeline). We were in small group together. They have been great friend's and we love them. This weekend they came to visit!
We took them to Jill's favorite restaurant in the world - Sato's! Sato's is a Japanese Steakhouse and we had a blast! They also got to worship with us at Oak Ridge (our Body loved on them well!)! Chris had not heard me preach before and said he loved it (he is always an encourager). Here are some pics of the kids together:
Here are Caleb and Madeline! They made a real "connection" during the visit! He's only 3 and a "ladies man" already and an older lady at that as she will be 5 in January! He even carried out her suitcase when they were leaving (such a gentleman)! We will be keeping an eye on these two the next time we get together!
We took them to Jill's favorite restaurant in the world - Sato's! Sato's is a Japanese Steakhouse and we had a blast! They also got to worship with us at Oak Ridge (our Body loved on them well!)! Chris had not heard me preach before and said he loved it (he is always an encourager). Here are some pics of the kids together:
Here are Caleb and Madeline! They made a real "connection" during the visit! He's only 3 and a "ladies man" already and an older lady at that as she will be 5 in January! He even carried out her suitcase when they were leaving (such a gentleman)! We will be keeping an eye on these two the next time we get together!
Here's the posse -Madeline, Caitlyn, and Chloe! They had a great time hanging out together! The girls love Madeline!
VBS 2010
As soon as I returned from camp we had VBS here at Oak Ridge (actually we started the next day). Some say VBS does not work anymore yet that comes from those not in our context. It works quite well and our VBS this year was a great success. Our attendance from those inside and outside the church was awesome! We broke 100 on two different nights - which is amazing! Most importantly we saw two 6th grade boys embrace Christ as Savior! We also have many with which to follow up with.
Our kids had a blast! Caleb and Caitlyn were in Jill's class. Jill is a great teacher and they enjoyed each night. Her class had as many as 18 3 to 5 yr olds so she was busy throughout the week! Here are some pics:
Caleb is getting so big! Each day he was so pumped to go! I pray he embraces Christ and lives passionately for HIM!
Chloe posing as usual, she is so beautiful. She has really grown since we've moved here! She is like a sponge and took in so much of the teaching through the week! May she embrace Christ and shine for HIM!
This pic is not focused that well but it is still easy to see how beautiful Caitlyn has become! She will be starting Kindergarten this year! She learns by participating in activity and she loved all the activities at VBS. She is such a free spirit, may she embrace Christ and HE use this to glorify Himself!
This is a pic of Nikki Gainey. She had her face dunked in baked beans during our Family Night. We collected money throughout the week for a mission project. The winner (either the girls or boys - the girls won) got to vote on who they wanted to see dunked. I thought for sure that it was "rigged" and that I would be the one, which would've been fine, but I got got lucky because Nikki's husband collected the votes and the girls voted for her (they associated her with him and forgot about voting for me!). All the teachers voted for me but the girls out voted them! Nikki was a great sport!
One of the great things about serving here with this Body at Oak Ridge is their heart to serve those in need in our community as a demonstration of the Gospel. This is a pic of the house we worked on for our VBS Mission Project. This pic does not truly do the condition of the home justice. The home was in terrible shape. We cleared numerous overgrown trees and shrubs from around the house. We cleared and cleaned off the porch of old furniture, trash, and other "stuff". We cleaned a ton of trash bags (some of which were decomposing) out of the yard and from around the home itself. At two dfferent times I had a watery, disgusting slime-like substance either spilled on me or squirt in my mouth! (It was kinda funny but nasty at the same time!) Me and my friend Tick Wilson were the designated spider killers, we killed a ton of huge spiders, they were truly huge! When we left the house looked so much better! We did not take the pics, as we were exhausted, to truly do justice for the work done. We will be going back to continue with some painting and with continued follow up with the Gospel.
What a great VBS!
Our kids had a blast! Caleb and Caitlyn were in Jill's class. Jill is a great teacher and they enjoyed each night. Her class had as many as 18 3 to 5 yr olds so she was busy throughout the week! Here are some pics:
Caleb is getting so big! Each day he was so pumped to go! I pray he embraces Christ and lives passionately for HIM!
Chloe posing as usual, she is so beautiful. She has really grown since we've moved here! She is like a sponge and took in so much of the teaching through the week! May she embrace Christ and shine for HIM!
This pic is not focused that well but it is still easy to see how beautiful Caitlyn has become! She will be starting Kindergarten this year! She learns by participating in activity and she loved all the activities at VBS. She is such a free spirit, may she embrace Christ and HE use this to glorify Himself!
This is a pic of Nikki Gainey. She had her face dunked in baked beans during our Family Night. We collected money throughout the week for a mission project. The winner (either the girls or boys - the girls won) got to vote on who they wanted to see dunked. I thought for sure that it was "rigged" and that I would be the one, which would've been fine, but I got got lucky because Nikki's husband collected the votes and the girls voted for her (they associated her with him and forgot about voting for me!). All the teachers voted for me but the girls out voted them! Nikki was a great sport!
One of the great things about serving here with this Body at Oak Ridge is their heart to serve those in need in our community as a demonstration of the Gospel. This is a pic of the house we worked on for our VBS Mission Project. This pic does not truly do the condition of the home justice. The home was in terrible shape. We cleared numerous overgrown trees and shrubs from around the house. We cleared and cleaned off the porch of old furniture, trash, and other "stuff". We cleaned a ton of trash bags (some of which were decomposing) out of the yard and from around the home itself. At two dfferent times I had a watery, disgusting slime-like substance either spilled on me or squirt in my mouth! (It was kinda funny but nasty at the same time!) Me and my friend Tick Wilson were the designated spider killers, we killed a ton of huge spiders, they were truly huge! When we left the house looked so much better! We did not take the pics, as we were exhausted, to truly do justice for the work done. We will be going back to continue with some painting and with continued follow up with the Gospel.
What a great VBS!
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