Yesterday was a very encouraging and inspiring day. It was one of those days that carries you forward for quite a while. It was one of those Sundays that was encouraging for nearly everyone, those are the best kind of days. As for my musings … 

-There was a great spirit in both of my churches yesterday.

-In my 10:30 church I had the joy of baptizing four people! I love baptisms. Each one shared part of their faith journey as part of our service. There were many smiles, tears and cheers as well. 

-In my 9:00 church we had someone pray to receive Christ as their personal Savior. How awesome is that? Are you seeing why it was such an inspiring and encouraging day?

-I have already heard from 3 people who are interested in our next baptism class!

-It seems that even on the great days there are some bumps. I received an anonymous note complaining about 2 areas of ministry. I will not spend time trying to deal with it because the person did not put their name with it, so I cannot dialog with them about their concerns.

-My son, daughter(in law) and 5 of my grandkids will arrive in the states in 23 days!!  They are in need of a mini-van for 3 weeks when they arrive. Would you pray with us for this need? If you have any ideas I would love to hear from you.

-Our 5:30 to 6:30 am prayer times on Mondays and Fridays continue to be powerful and vital times for me. Also, there have been other people come and pray each time. I am absolutely convinced that these times of prayer are critical for our church to see the next move of God in our community.

-Part of my prayer for the Vacation Bible School (VBS) at both of my churches is that there would 3 or 4 students who hear from God about a call to full-time ministry for their futures.

-I came across this statement recently “God does not answer vague prayers”. I don’t know who to attribute the statement to, but it really got me thinking about my prayers. I don’t advocate “name it, claim it” praying, but I believe that as we seek and know God’s desires that we should pray specifically and confidently about those things. Is it possible that my vagueness in praying robs me from seeing God’s mighty move in my life? In his book “Draw the Circle” Mark Batterson wrote, “To be honest, I was subconsciously hedging my bets. My lack of faith didn’t allow me to go out on a limb and lay my true request on the line. And because I was afraid God might not answer, I didn’t even give Him a chance to answer!” I am really chewing on this right now.

-I love the energy in our building as decorations for our Vacation Bible School are going up all over the building.

-Looking forward to spending a few days with my 2 daughters and 5 grandkids who live here in the states. We will gather for a little while next week.

-I can’t believe that it is the end of June and I have not gone fishing once! What is wrong with me? A combination of busyness, a lot of heat and poor planning on my part. 

-Very thankful for the skills and ingenuity of some people in my church. Last week in preparation for the baptisms I discovered that our baptistery was leaking and that our heater for the baptistery was broken. 2 guys came and got the leak fixed and thought of a creative way to heat the water.

Here’s hoping that you find something to encourage and inspire you today and that you take the opportunity to encourage someone else as well.

Dennis