Yesterday was an outstanding day, not a perfect one, but outstanding even though there were some difficult moments. As for my musings …

-The spirit and energy in our worship service was outstanding. You could feel it before the service even began and it only got better as the service went along.

-October is considered Pastor Appreciation month in many circles. My church has had a different ministry area present something to my wife and I each Sunday. Yesterday, it was the children. They sang a special song, and they sang it with enthusiasm. Then they gave each of us a large bowl filled with many things, including several Hugs candies. Then they gave us a poster with their names on it that said Thank You and We Pray for You. They finished it off with every one of the kids giving each of us a hug. How cool is that?

-Our worship team did a wonderful job of leading us in worship and the congregation was singing with volume and feeling. The sense of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the service was even more pronounced during the singing.

-Our technical issues were at a minimum yesterday.

-On Saturday my back stiffened up and was very painful. I have some long term back issues, but I hadn’t had an issue for several months. It made me very cautious in my movements. The good news is that once I got going in the sermon I didn’t notice any pain in my back. Adrenaline is a wonderful thing.

-I serve one day a week as Chaplain at our local hospital. I enjoy serving people in this capacity. Trying to bring some comfort and encouragement to patients, and sometimes to their family. There are times when it is not easy, when you talk and pray with a family whose loved one is going through a very difficult time. Last week I had one of those days.

-I have the privilege to help teach a class on fatherhood at a nearby prison. We began a new round of the class recently. I really grow to love these men as I see them seeking to make a change and become better fathers while in prison and especially desiring to be a better father when they are released. We limit our group to 13. I think we had 10 or 11 finish the class the first time we taught it. This time there were 40 men who applied to be in the class. A couple of our alumni came back to talk with us and share with the new group what they got out of the class. That was very encouraging.

-My Cubs had a good season following the World Series Championship. They got beat by a team that is playing much better than them this year. I am still proud to be a Cubs fan.

-We had a couple of first time visitors again yesterday. We also had a couple of people return for the second time.

-We had some great discussion in the parenting small group when we met last evening.

-I am humbled by the number of people in my church who give of themselves for several hours each week. They are the backbone of our church.

-My fantasy football team is leading, but we each have one player in the Monday Night game.

Here’s hoping that you find several times this week to let someone know you believe in them. I am also praying that you will notice God at work this week.

Dennis