What A Weekend!

​What a weekend! I am so glad I had the opportunity to see God at work in the lives of people in our church and community.
First of all, regarding the church renovation project, wood blocks were installed on the sanctuary floor by a number of guys from our congregation. These wood blocks will reinforce the floor where the pews are attached. Before, the pews became loose as the carpet padding wore over time. The screws that held the pews down eventually stripped out and the pews would rock when people were seated. This preventative step should help hold the pews tightly in place. After the worship gathering on Sunday, many people took the time to write on the wood blocks the names or initials of those they are asking God to rescue. We want each of those people to have a seat in our church so that they can hear the lifesaving message of the Gospel. By taking the step of writing their names, these individuals were asking God to invade that person’s life—and committing to fervently pray for that person (see James 5:16).

​Meeting in the tent was a different experience. Overwhelmingly I heard people say it was a great thing to do. I even heard someone say that we should plan to do it again even without being displaced from our sanctuary. We had a beautiful morning. It was cool (and windy) making it comfortable to be outside. It was nice to have Ralph moderate. He noted how full the tent was. It makes a difference having people sit together in a smaller area. Maybe we should all plan to sit closer together (moving closer to the front) every Sunday when we move back into the sanctuary!
I heard that one young child was paying close attention to the message on Sunday morning. When his parents asked what the message was about, the young man said, “We should get into a closet, draw a circle around ourselves, and pray for the person in the circle.” I love it! If it was that easy for a child to understand than it should certainly be clear to all the adults—and what a difference it would make in our world if each of us prayed for personal revival.
Vacation Bible School started Sunday night. It was a great way to end the weekend. The first night attendance was the highest since the start of Community Bible School. It was a pleasure to see community churches working together to teach the Gospel message to children in our community. To start off the evening, parents, children, and VBS helpers shared a meal together. I would have been thrilled with hotdogs and beans but instead had a wonderfully prepared chicken dinner. That went way beyond my expectations. I got to talk with parents and kids throughout the evening. Everyone was appreciative of the hard work that went into planning this event. From decorations to singing, from the chicken dinner to Bible stories, I thought things were done with excellence. Way to go! 

​Now, for the progress in the sanctuary today. The carpet padding was installed. The installers said this is a top quality padding that lasts. We should be happy with the performance of this padding. They were also appreciative of the work put into the wood blocking. They noted that it was extremely well done which makes their job easier. Stan arrived early to run through what the installers were planning. He has been a great project manager. Without fail, Stan checks in to make sure the project is on schedule and done to Blainsport standards. I think Stan does an exceptional job in this role.