What a joy to worship when people are engaged and seeking to hear from God and obey. Yesterday was another day of blessing. Such as …

-We were blessed by a special song sung by a mother and daughter. The song was on God’s amazing grace and the fact that because of this grace we have been set free, our chains are gone. The song is great, but the spirit of the two singing is what made it so special for all of us who were worshiping with them.

-Once again we had a great time of singing and a beautiful spirit in the whole worship service.

-Our attendance was outstanding for the middle of July.

-We keep seeing more people step up to serve in many areas of ministry. We still have needs, but I am humbled, and encouraged as I see more people responding.

-My message was entitled “If I could, I would _____________________” I asked everyone to fill in the blank for themselves. What do you sense God is prompting you to do that you are hesitating with some type of “if” excuse? What is your go to excuse? What is the “if” that you claim is keeping you from doing something you know you should do? Remember that God is still God and will provide what it needed for whatever he guides you toward.

-My wife and I had lunch with a wonderful servant from our church. I love spending time with people who give of themselves in service to others. I am always encouraged being around servant-minded people.

-I then went to visit a precious older lady from our church who had to go into the hospital on Saturday evening. She encouraged me, even though I went there to encourage her she managed to turn it around and make me feel wonderful. I want to follow that example.

-After that I spent some time working on church board reports for a meeting tonight and my wife had a women’s ministry meeting. Then we headed out of town to watch one of the kids from our church play in a championship softball game. It was a full and very rewarding day.

-We have many people who arrive at church long before the first scheduled ministry. They come to prepare the place and themselves for the day. Yesterday the first of those lay people arrived about 2 hours before our Sunday morning small groups (Sunday School classes). There are usually 15+ people in the building well before our breakfast begins at 9.

-We are finally getting summer heat in our weather. I am not happy about that since neither of our vehicles has working A/C.

-I am excited as I hear more from people who are desiring to be involved with discipleship, both learning and sharing. That is awesome!

Here’s hoping that you move past any “if” excuses in your life and enjoy what God is doing in your life.

Dennis