Moms were honored, those with empty arms were remembered, the Spirit moved and smiles were plentiful. In other words, it was a very good Mother’s Day. As for my musings …

-I am blessed. I had a wonderful mom, my wife is a great mother and my daughters and daughter in law are awesome moms to my grandkids. All of them love (loved) Jesus and model(ed) following Christ passionately and all of us who have been blessed to be near them are so much better for having shared life with them.

-Yesterday was another wonderful mediocre weather Sunday. I loved it. If this confuses you read last Monday’s musings.

-I was disappointed in myself yesterday. The sermon went much better during my practice run than it did at either of my churches. I felt like I was preaching uphill all morning. I just couldn’t seem to get any traction or momentum during the sermon. As always, I pray that God’s voice was heard through the moving of the Holy Spirit where my voice failed. Fortunately God is always faithful.

-Attendance was up at my 9:00 church a little and the attendance was very good at my 10:30 church. We are experiencing a new normal at the 10:30 church with the attendance regularly being near what it was yesterday. It was fun to see a few people have to sit away from their “normal spot” because of the growth we have been experiencing. I am praying for everyone to see this as a positive thing.

-By all accounts the Mother’s Day breakfast, provided and served, by the men at my 10:30 church went very well. In fact someone thought of me and put a take home box of leftovers in the fridge for me. I heated it up and enjoyed them this morning.

-At my 9:00 church a lady hand sewed purses for every mom in attendance. They could take the one of their choosing and another lady gave each mom another special personal gift.

-Mother’s Day can be difficult for some ladies. Those who desire to be a mom and have not been blessed with a child to this point, those who have lost a child and those who have a strained relationship with a child struggle emotionally on Mother’s Day. I prayed for all of them in my private time of prayer yesterday and during our time of worship as well.

-I am very grateful that there was candy left from the basket full of it that was available to the moms at my 10:30 church. I enjoyed it yesterday afternoon and evening. Don’t judge me I didn’t eat all of it. Yet.

-Yesterday was the first sermon in a new series “7 Building Blocks of Great Relationships” that will continue through Father’s Day. Each week we will focus on one word and what the Bible has to say about it and how it applies to all of our relationships. The word yesterday was “caring”. An appropriate word on Mother’s Day. We unpacked Luke 10:25-37 (the Good Samaritan) to learn how to apply care to our relationships.

-This coming Sunday a part of the sermon is going to be me just opening my heart as to why I am so burdened about relationships. I will share some of my passion for healing in our relationships. At least, I am planning to share in this manner, we will see if I can get through it.

-We have now had 3 times of our early (5:30 to 6:30 am) prayer times. These are on Mondays and Fridays. I am encouraged because people have shown up and God has definitely shown up during these times.

-This coming Saturday night we are hosting another of the Community Concerts of Prayer. This will be the 7^th one of these in the past 9 months. Several churches and pastors in our town have joined together to pray for revival in our city, county and beyond. We have had anywhere from 30 to 250 in attendance at these times that are focused solely on prayer. No wonder God is beginning to move in our community.

-I am very excited that a few people have indicated a desire to be baptized. We are planning a baptism service in the very near future. Each one will share their personal testimony before they are baptized. Imagine the impact of a crowd hearing several people telling their journey to salvation. Already praying for this service.

Here’s hoping that you see someone to encourage today and that you realize you are being lifted in prayer.

Dennis