I am struggling with my musings this morning. Fatigue seems to have taken control of my mind. There were several nights in the past week where I had trouble sleeping through the night. Part of the reason is many prayer burdens. I often awoke during the night with people and situations on my mind and heart. That is a positive in most ways, the only negative is that after several nights like this my mind begins to get a little foggy. This morning is one of those foggy mornings.

The above paragraph is somewhat of a disclaimer for whatever I may post this morning. Read further at your own risk.

-We had a great praise this weekend with the birth of a beautiful baby to a wonderful couple in our church.

-Our small group went above and beyond when we met last night. We had some very good discussion on what we were studying and then we veered away to solve most of the world’s problems. I have no idea how we ended up talking about some of the topics we discussed but it was entertaining. Love this group of people.

-We had some new people return for a second time. That is always encouraging when someone comes back after a first visit. We must be doing some things right.

-I realized that the message for yesterday needs to be expanded to one more week. When preparing it I thought it was going to be a “stand alone” message, but during our worship and in some discussions after the service I believe I need to go one more time.

-It was hard work to get the congregation engaged yesterday. That happens, the good news is that it has been awhile since it felt that way. I love how engaged my church usually is during the sermon.

-Our attendance was reasonable for the last Sunday in July.

-Yesterday was the 6 month mark for me with this church. Wow, a lot has transpired in 6 months. Most of it has been positive. There are always a lot of adjustments in any move. No matter how prepared you feel you are for a move it is still a difficult time, especially when leaving a church where you were for 8+ years. The congregation has done a nice job of welcoming us and allowing us to adjust.

-I am planning a new message series that will begin in September. I am not real patient when working on a series of messages. I am always tempted to jump into it early. This time I am determined to not jump too early and to just keep studying, working and praying for this one. We will see if I can hold off.

-Part of yesterday’s message was the progression from being curious, to being interested to being devoted to following Christ. We must recognize where we are and keep moving forward. We need to move beyond just defining where we currently are to living in such a way that our life is a description of following Christ. (Sorry that is a rather vague picture isn’t it? Hey, I warned you when this post started that I am foggy this morning.)

I am excited for the future and I must make sure as I evaluate individual days that I don’t forget the big picture. Yesterday was positive toward the big picture even if the day by itself was not outstanding.

Here’s hoping you are clear, rather than foggy, as you reflect and evaluate on this Monday morning.

Dennis