Yesterday was a wonderful, difficult and powerful day. March is here and I am excited for everything that is coming this month. Let’s get to the musings …

-Yesterday we had the most beautiful snowfall we have had all winter. The problem is that this snow came on March 1. I am okay with winter but I believe it should be done by March 1st. The snowfall was beautiful and it wasn’t nearly as much as had been predicted but it still kept a lot, I mean a whole lot, of people away from church.

-We had a good time in worship. The spirit was very good in the whole worship service.

-The message was the last of the series on “Breaking Free from Financial Bondage”. The congregation seemed to be engaged throughout the sermon. I called a couple of guys up to be visual aids for an illustration. They cooperated but seemed a bit nervous, probably because I didn’t warn them ahead of time. Hey, I love to keep ‘em guessing.

-We had our District Superintendent at our house for lunch. Enjoyed spending time with him. He is a great leader who has a real passion for Christ and the church.

-We are beginning a class this week in follow-up to this message series. The class is entitled “Budgeter’s Anonymous” and is dealing with setting up, tracking and following a budget. I am really excited for this and for those who will be participating in this class. I think we will start each with “Hi, my name is Dennis and I struggle with my budget”. What do you think?

-Last evening we had a Concert of Prayer for revival. It was one of the most powerful times of group prayer that I have been a part of in a long time. My wife and I both commented after it was over that it seemed like something broke loose during the prayer times. We have special services beginning this coming Sunday. We had a reasonable number of people come and pray together for a little over an hour. Everyone participated and there were many tears as we prayed. I am more convinced than ever that God is up to something good here in Canton.

-It was a difficult day as I was burdened for some individuals and the difficult things they are going through. People in our church and others in our community who are not a part of our church. Leading is sometimes difficult because of what you know and what you must do because of what you know. I have been praying for several friends who are facing some very tough stuff. The good news is “God is still God” and that is always true. That phrase was my Dad’s theme throughout his 44 years as a pastor. That is a pretty solid theme don’t you think?

-I also met with a couple for their final pre-marital counseling session before their wedding. The last session is always fun because it is 90% about the wedding day and seeing their excitement and joy is just plain fun.

-Yesterday was another reminder of how awesome my wife is. It is not that I need reminders because she is awesome each day. But yesterday was full of evidence of her awesomeness. (Is awesomeness a word? If it isn’t it should be just for her.)

This week is a different week since our Revival/Renewal services begin this Sunday. That means I am not studying and preparing a message for this week. I am studying and preparing for the next several Sundays but that is much less pressure packed since those messages are in the future. I am planning to spend a lot of that extra time in prayer for our special services. One way in which I challenged the group who came to pray last night was to come to the church throughout this week and sit in each seat in the sanctuary and pray for the seat to be filled and pray for the person who will sit there. I am going to do that and am hopeful that a couple of other people will as well.

Here’s hoping you are excited and looking forward to this week.

Dennis