God is so good

Several years ago now, we had what we thought was a "thriving" youth group. We hired a full-time youth pastor who quickly grew our youth group. Life was good. We thought we were where God wanted us. The group had its typical growing pains, but it seemed to regenerate itself each time.

Then our youth pastor left and about a year later, our head pastor was relocated as is the Methodist way. We lost alot of our young families and consequently alot of our youth. Our group was dying - or so we thought.

In the ensuing years, God has continued to walk with us. We now have some very dedicated parent volunteers who coordinate our youth activities. It doesn't look like the group from previously, but that's okay. It's working really well and these kids are bonding as strong as ever.

God is so good - all the time!

Last night we had a spaghetti dinner fundraiser for Heath Sammons, a young man who was part of that youth group I originally referred to. About 3-4 years ago, he was diagnosed with cancer. He's been receiving treatments at Moffitt in Tampa and last night was no different. As Heath sat in that unit, receiving radiation treatment, our church hosted the dinner to help raise funds to defray his mountain of medical bills. Although we thought that the ties to that group were long gone, God proves once more that he continues to walk with us, whether we choose to acknowledge him or not. People came from all over, having read the article in the community paper, by word of mouth, by flyer or being friends and family of Heath. The response was great and the fellowship and music, provided by a neighboring church's praise and worship band "Divine Intervention", was very comforting. What a blessing to be able to reach out to Heath and his family during their time of great need.

There are days, even seasons in our life where we get so mired down in the sadness of our daily lives. The economy, world issues, even local issues are taxing and worrisome. But our Heavenly Father is always there to hold us close - even carry us if necessary - to the next plateau. When things get gloomiest, His Light is always there for us to see.

May our God shine deep within you today, warming you from the inside to the outside. May you feel that warmth and allow it to radiate from you to others you come in contact with. May you always remember that He is with you and there for you - even when you least expect it.

Peace,

Lisa

Grace - I think I know her!

We are studying the book of Job in Sunday School right now. It amazes me how much grace is missing in the conversations between Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar and Job. These guys are just outright mean. All accusatory and assuming ... very sure that they know why Job is suffering so. We are lucky because we have been privy to the conversations that took place prior to Job's suffering between God and Satan the Accuser. We know what's up; we know the plan. We know that God has such an unfailing confidence in Job that he tells Satan to go ahead and give it his "best shot!" But the "three amigos" don't know the "rest of the story." They're just relying on what tradition and experience has taught them. If this, then this. Seems pretty simple. Unless you're Job.

Don't we do the same in our own lives? Haven't you passed judgement upon someone you've seen, whether you know them or not, presuming that you have "the answer" to all their troubles? Or maybe you've got some sage advice about their actions or lack thereof. Pretty presumptory of ourselves when you get right down to it. But we all do it. We all get sucked in.
Yelling back at the tv - "I can't believe they did that" or "they ought to be arrested" or "they should have their children taken away", etc. etc.

Wouldn't it be grand if we could instead, offer them a little grace in their moment of need? After all, we don't know the whole situation. We are not privy to God's plan in their life, let alone our own! I think Bart Millard said it best:

I can only imagine
what my eyes will see
when your face is before me;
Surrounded by your glory
what will my heart feel?

Wouldn't it be grand if the world could be filled with nothing but grace? No more wars, no more hunger, no more need. Just a lotta love. What a wonderful world this would be!

Grace to you all,
Lisa