Yesterday was another day of great contrasts. The key is what I choose to focus on as I evaluate the day. As for my musings …

-The spirit, and obvious presence of the Lord, in my 10:30 church was awesome! There were moments of people spontaneously coming to the altar to pray or praise. There were moments of people moving toward others to encourage them. There were powerful times of prayer. The congregation was very engaged and seemed very attentive during the message. There were also those who left the service well rested.  

-We had a great time of sharing communion at my 9:00 church. One person told me afterward that they had a very powerful God moment while receiving communion. Can’t ask for much more than that as a pastor.

-Loved seeing some new people getting involved in serving.

-My fantasy football team won this week. I know that there are still a couple of games left in the week but I already have it wrapped up.  

-I received a text over the weekend that a group of people from my 10:30 church were going to start meeting in the sanctuary for prayer early on Sundays. Yes, yes, yes, that certainly encouraged me. Nothing but good things can come from this happening.

-We had 5 in our 5:30 am prayer time today.

-My TV service went wonky yesterday and kept going out sporadically. The first Sunday of NFL was not a good time for that to happen.

-We had 9 youth in Sunday School/small group yesterday in my 10:30 church. That is a significant number for us and at 9:30 in the morning to boot.

-Had some moments of frustration in realizing that some people have a very different agenda for the church than has already been agreed upon. Comes with the territory regularly as a pastor but it is still frustrating. Time to put on my big boy pants and carry on while fiercely loving those people. The frustration is not that we don’t agree on everything, we will never agree on everything. The frustration is that after ample discussion in the past there was an agreement from all concerned and now there are questions and seeking to change things they just agreed upon.

-This coming Sunday I get the privilege to baptize people in both of my churches. I love baptisms. I love hearing people’s faith journey and witnessing the joy on their face as they come out of the water. There are going to be some cheers going up around here next Sunday.  

-My wife once again came through in a major way when someone didn’t show up for a major commitment. She changed her schedule and stepped in and served well. She is awesome!

-My heart is breaking over the sudden death of a fellow pastor and someone I have known since college days. Gone way too soon, in my opinion. I am praying much for his wife and daughter and for that church in this loss.

-I am currently working on some additional discipleship material and am excited to share it and see those people pass it on.

Here’s hoping you sense God’s presence and His pleasure today.

Dennis