This is a day of celebration. Why? Because every day should be a day of celebration. Why? Because we have so much to celebrate. That was the theme of my sermon yesterday and it seemed that we really did begin to celebrate. This past week has been schizophrenic as far as circumstances in my life. I experienced some tremendous highs and some frustrating lows (see previous post for a couple of examples) but I decided to choose joy and thankfulness in all things. It has really made a difference and I think I am finally beginning to get this thing of celebrating life. So … as you might expect yesterday was a great day! Here are a few musings from this great day …

-The atmosphere and energy in our worship service was outstanding. People were engaged and really participating throughout the service.

-3 of my grandkids spent the weekend with us and therefore were in church with us and that definitely added to it being a great day.

-We had at least twice as many children as we have had on most Sundays and kids equal energy. The best part of that was that even those serving our children were excited after having some many more children. Isn’t that awesome?

-The music part of worship went very well and people were participating with volume. There were only a couple of small technical glitches in the service and that is really good for us.

-We had 2 new families in worship and a family who returned for the second time. These are all local families and have either been seeking to find a church home or have been unchurched.

-People were very engaged during the sermon and that always makes it easier to preach.

-Our small group was down in attendance but we had some great sharing as usual and the personal growth in some of the people is so encouraging.

-5 people came to my Church 101 class to find out more about our local church, our vision and our denomination. It is going to be a fun group.

-After having 3 grandkids, ages 7, 4 and 2 with us for the weekend and traveling 4 ½ hours to see our newest grandchild earlier in the week, my wife and I really enjoyed our Sunday afternoon naps. It was a good tired, but I was still tired.

-In just over 4 weeks we will get to be with our son, daughter-in-law and 5 grandkids who are serving as missionaries in Africa. Let the countdown begin.

-Our attendance was very good yesterday as you might expect with all the visitors. The attendance has been trending upward, but we preachers are sometimes not the most patient when it comes to reaching new people for Christ and experiencing growth in the church.

Here’s hoping that you choose joy today and seek to celebrate all that God is and all that he has for you.

Dennis