Yesterday was a powerful day and there were some unexpected moments. Also, we got snow again, fortunately it came later in the day. As for my musings …

-There was a wonderful, and powerful, sense of God’s presence all through our worship service yesterday. From our music, to our prayer time, to an impromptu testimony, to the fellowship among the people following the service everything was impactful.

-What is up with snow the first 2 Sundays in April? Last Sunday we got about 3 inches and yesterday we got about 2 inches. The good news is that both weeks it didn’t start snowing until we were out of church.

-The brief getaway that my wife and I planned was good, but not what we expected. We rented a cabin by a lake and hoped to do some walking and fishing. With snow on the ground the first 2 days and rain the last day, there was no walking and I attempted to fish for a few minutes. But being all bundled up and wearing winter gloves took a lot of the enjoyment away. Even with all of that we still rested, read and were somewhat refreshed.

-On Friday night and most of the day Saturday, I was blessed to be a part of our annual District Assembly. It was an encouraging and motivating time of celebration. 8 new churches were begun this past church year and there are 13 more scheduled to begin in the coming church year! 5 people were ordained, and 9 people received there first District minister’s license.

-Our District Superintendent rocks! His report on Friday night was awesome. He shared good news, did not hide from difficult news and challenged us to keep trying new things and promised to keep being the support and cheerleader that we need. Love that man and his leadership.

-On Friday afternoon I got the word that a lady in our church had passed away. She fought hard for 5 years after a difficult surgery for cancer. She was a sweet lady who did not allow her physical problems to keep her from serving. She was a regular greeter and helped with Bible School every year. She will be missed, but she is now enjoying her heavenly reward, and she is pain free. Her funeral service, which will be a celebration, will be this Friday. That will be the 9^th funeral I will be involved in this calendar year. I am ready for the funerals to stop for a while.

-I started a new group last Wednesday evening and another one on Sunday morning. Both groups had a great beginning with wonderful discussion and sharing. I love this congregation.

-On Wednesday this week my wife is scheduled to undergo a double knee replacement. Prayers for her and the surgeon are appreciated. Last Wednesday night 17 of the children in our church, 4 years old through 4^th grade, gathered around her and prayed for her and the surgery. How awesome is that? Our children are being taught well and they are beginning to lead us in faith and following the Lord.

-Yesterday I began a new sermon series entitled “Yes, You Can … Because God Will”. We will be studying the life of Daniel and some of his buddies as they faced difficult circumstances and how they made it through those circumstances. They did not always have great things happen to them, but they made it through it. Our theme is summed up in this statement: “Yes, you can! No matter what you are facing, you can make it through it. No matter how you got here, you can make it. You can make it because God will be with you, God will give you the strength and God will guide you. It may not be easy, and it certainly won’t be painless, but you can make it. Yes, you can, because God will.” The sermon was well received, and I have been praying for this series for a few weeks. Praying that people would be encouraged and become courageous in facing difficult times.

-Yesterday I heard from 2 different people, who are relatively new to our church, that the ministries, and people of our church, are making a difference in their lives. I love hearing those kind of reports.

-I am currently reading a couple of very challenging books. I love to read, I love being challenged and I love when my reading makes a difference in my personal life and the life of my church.

Here’s hoping you find some encouraging words this week.

Dennis

Wow God! God showed up, spoke where my words failed, and lives were changed. That is a full day. As for my musings …

-Many people received help from God during our worship yesterday. We looked at Romans 7 and the struggle of doing what we don’t want to do and not doing what we desire to do. The struggle is real, and God’s solutions are real. Many people switched their focus from their struggles to their Savior. As a result, their chains came loose.

-Yesterday was gorgeous day. There was a hard frost, but when the sun started shining the frost melted, the temperature rose, and moods got better.

-Our attendance was a little better, but still not what I would like to see.

-There seemed to be a lot of distractions during much of our worship time. Maybe no one else noticed, but I felt distracted.

-I thought about my Dad a lot this past week.

-I was scrambling with my words during yesterday’s message. I am so thankful for God’s intervention and speaking to people’s hearts and minds.

-Very burdened this morning for several people, and families, that are wrestling with the emotions of very serious physical concerns for loved ones.

-Been studying for the sermon series that I hope to begin the week after Easter. I am excited for this series and the potential for impact and healing. The series is entitled “Yes You Can … because God Will”.

-Our stagnant attendance is confusing. We have so many good things taking place in our ministries, but it is not being reflected in our weekly worship attendance. Praying and analyzing this, trying to discover if there is any obvious reasons.

-Looking forward to Easter weekend.

-Feeling grateful for those who lift me in prayer often.

-The NCAA tournament, March Madness, was true madness during it’s first weekend. Our family has done a bracket challenge for many years. It began when my kids were younger than most of my grandkids are now. My bracket is shattered after this first weekend. The good news is that I have a lot of company. It was a lot of fun seeing so many underdogs come through with the win.

-My wife and I are going to try and get a brief getaway soon. We had one planned about 5 weeks and circumstances prevented that one from taking place. This one will be nearby so if any urgent things take place I can get back here quickly. The short distance away is what gives me confidence that we will get this one accomplished.

-I need to get to the hospital and visit a couple of people from my church.

Here’s hoping that you recognize God’s presence as go through this day.

Dennis

Yesterday was the Sunday pastors dread. The Sunday after the clocks are moved ahead is a difficult day. Yesterday was a difficult day for a lot of reasons. As for my musings …

-Many people evidently forgot to move their clocks ahead. We were missing a lot of people and it had a negative effect on the atmosphere in our worship. We had to work hard to engage people yesterday.

-Last week was a long and emotional week. We traveled to Kansas on Sunday and we had a memorial service for my Dad on Tuesday. It was a very good service. On Wednesday we traveled to Indiana and on Thursday we had a graveside service for my Dad. That was a small service with 90% of those in attendance being family members from my Dad and Mom’s extended family. We traveled home on Friday.

-Last week did have some great times. The best of which was a lot of time with some family. There were a lot of memories shared. It was very encouraging.

-One of my struggles yesterday was still trying to recover from the week physically and emotionally. Fortunately, the Lord is gracious and filled in a lot of spaces where my thoughts and words failed.

-Even with a smaller attendance and change in the atmosphere we still had a good time of worship.

-Yesterday we had a soup lunch for some of the people serving in our greeter, teaching and security ministries. We wanted to thank them, encourage them and remind them of the importance and purpose of these ministries. It encouraged me to spend time with this great group.

-My wife and I are heading out in a few minutes to attend a graveside funeral service that is about 30 miles away. It is a service for the uncle of someone in our church. There is little family around and she is having to deal with all the arrangements. We just want to support and encourage her.

-I am more tired this morning than at anytime in the past week. I think with the travel, services and emotions of last week, getting home and needing to gear up for Sunday and go through everything on Sunday, that my body decided it was time for some recovery. I need to make sure I am careful with decisions today, as my mind is not sharp.

-Yesterday was encouraging because of conversations with people and reminders from people that they are praying for me.

-This past week was a reminder of the sacrifices that those who serve as missionaries make to serve. My son, and family, wanted to attend my father’s services, but with the time and cost of travel from that far away it was not possible. My Dad would have understood and was always thrilled that they are serving in this capacity. But it was still difficult for them to miss the opportunity to be a part of the services and the resulting time with extended family. Remember to pray for those who serve in other countries and pray for peace with the things they miss.

-I have been wrestling with a lesson I learned this week as I shared at one of my Dad’s services last week. I will write about it later this week.

Here’s hoping that you will encourage someone today.

Dennis

Yesterday was a very difficult and wonderful day. God is still God and he showed up in a powerful way, for me personally and in our worship. As for my musings …

-On Saturday morning, just past 7:30, I received word that my Dad had passed from this life to his eternal reward in heaven. I knew this was coming, but I wasn’t really expecting it on Saturday. It hit me a little harder than I expected.

-When I got the word about Dad I was getting ready to go to a volleyball match out of town. That ended up being a nice distraction for me and my wife. Sadly, we lost the match and it was the last match of the year for the 7^th grade team. It has been a joy to watch them develop and grow this season. They are great young ladies.

-I was struggling the rest of the day to finish my preparations for Sunday morning.

-On Sunday morning I kept having waves of memories of my Dad. He was a pastor for 44 years. He and I talked about church and pastor stuff nearly every time we talked. He was still thinking clearly about such things until the last 3 or 4 weeks. I am going to miss those calls.

-God showed up in our worship. It is always my prayer that God will take over when we gather and when I preach. On this Sunday it was imperative that God show up and take over, because my thinking was a little foggy. He showed up in a powerful way.

-There were 4 or 5 people who prayed to receive Christ as their personal Savior. They said yes to accepting Christ’s forgiveness. There were another 4 people who committed to surrender everything to Christ. There were a few more who said yes to handing a current difficult circumstance to God and his care. Wow God! That would have been a fun call to tell Dad about the service. I believe he knew and was rejoicing.

-Due to some timing and travel issues my Dad’s Celebration of Life service won’t be until next week. Then we will have a graveside service back in his home state a couple of days later. Next week is going to be a long, emotional and wonderful week.

-We are in the process of going through pictures and paperwork. The process is a little more difficult because my brother, step-mom and step-sister and I are in 3 different states. Prayers for my step-mom are appreciated for this time of transition.

-We had a few visitors yesterday and a visitor who was in attendance for the third Sunday in a row. I think that means they are no longer a visitor. We were missing a lot of regular people, but our attendance was near our average.

-I am loving the sunshine we are experiencing today and the temperature that is rising to above 50. Bring on Spring.

-I am having trouble believing that Easter Sunday is just over a month away. We have a lot to do.

-I am in the process of writing some things about my Dad, his life and his impact on my life so I can share at his service. It is difficult to put into words, especially into a few words, the influence and impact of someone who was your single biggest influence about following Christ.

-After I get some things written about my Dad I will share them on this blog.

-I need to get going, there is much to do in addition to teaching twice this week and preaching this Sunday. I am praying for a clear mind and sharp focus as I study and prepare for this week.

Here’s hoping you find your focus this week and take each step with the knowledge that you are loved.

Dennis

Yesterday was a wonderful, powerful and crazy day. As for my musings …

-Sitting in a Starbucks in Kansas this morning.

-I am back out here to see my Dad. He took a couple of steps backward after we saw him last weekend. So, I made the crazy decision to throw things in a suitcase and make the nearly 6-hour drive as soon as our worship service was finished.

-Last night, Dad was doing okay, and I had a nice visit with him. Going to see him again in a few minutes.

-Our worship service had a powerful spirit all through the service yesterday. That was a great encouragement.

-Began a new sermon series yesterday, “Moving to Yes”. This series will take us right to Easter. Part of the message from the feeding of the 5,000, was “Remember who is asking” and “Remember, Jesus always has in mind what he is going to do”. So, say yes and then keep moving your feet to the yes He is calling you toward.

-Yesterday we received our “Give it All Away” offering. Everything that was given will be given away. Half of it is going to a church planting project in another state. The other half will go to a local pregnancy resource center. I haven’t gotten the numbers as of this posting. I love that my church does this act of generosity.

-Our attendance was back up to our average, or a little above.

-The 8^th grade volleyball team I help coach finished 2^nd in our county tourney last week. It has been a long time since our school finished this well in the county tourney.

-We are just 6 weeks away from Easter.

-I am so grateful for my family.

-I am working on two sermon series now. The “Moving to Yes” series that began yesterday and will take us to Easter. Also, the “Yes You Can … Because God Will” series that is to begin the week after Easter.

-Thinking of the great legacy my Dad had created throughout his lifetime. 44 years of ministry as a pastor. 5 or 6 years as a representative for our denomination’s publishing company. Years of assisting my step-mom with senior adult retreats. Many times, sharing devotionals, or leading services at nursing homes and retirement homes until a couple of years ago.

-I think his greatest legacy will be the impact on his family. His example of being a godly man. His example of perseverance through many difficult circumstances. His example of enjoying life and always seeking to make others smile or laugh. His example of being a wonderful pastor.

-Seeing some pictures recently of the grandkids in Africa makes me swell with pride (the good kind), tear up from missing them and increases my prayer time. It also makes me appreciate the times that I am able to be with, or talk to, my grandkids who are living in the states.

-Started another group at the prison, teaching about fatherhood for 12 weeks. Each group has gripped my heart in a special way. I love the opportunity to speak into their lives, to pray for them and with them, to see them begin to believe that they can make a difference as a dad.

-I am excited that baseball spring training has begun. Go Cubs!

-I have been reminded often recently of the power of a word of encouragement.

-Missing my wife. She was not able to make this trip.

Here’s hoping that you will encourage someone today and that you will be encouraged by someone or something today.

Dennis

This morning is a much different feeling since my wife and I were gone yesterday. I am still getting reports of how things went while we were gone. As for my musings …

-On Tuesday I received word that my Dad was back in the hospital.

-On Wednesday I was informed that the seminar in which I was to teach on Friday, Saturday and Sunday was being cancelled.

-On Thursday my wife and I decided to make an impromptu trip to Kansas to check on my Dad. Since we had already arranged to be gone on Sunday it didn’t take us long to pull things together and take off.

-I am very glad we made the trip. It meant missing 3 volleyball matches (there was a tourney on Saturday), which I hated to do, but they won all 3 of them (maybe I should do that more often).

-It was great to spend time with family. My brother and sister in law (who live in Georgia) decided to make an impromptu trip as well, arriving on Friday afternoon. We were all together (myself, my wife, my brother and sister in-law, step-sister and her husband) for a while and I believe that encouraged my Dad and stepmom. My wife and I stayed with her brother and sister in law who live in the same town. We were able to catch up with a lot of family in that time. We didn’t get a lot of rest, but it was worth it.

-My Dad was doing a little better on Saturday and Sunday, but he is not out of the woods yet.

-One report I received about the worship service here yesterday was that it concluded about 15 minutes earlier than our normal time. People might wish I would take a few more trips.

-Attendance was down a little again. We received a few inches of snow Saturday evening and early Sunday morning, but none of the predicted ice. I don’t know if that, or illness, was the main contributor.

-On Saturday we left to head back home. We drove about 2/3 of the distance and then stopped for the night. Where we stopped got a couple of inches of snow and a little ice.

-We took advantage of being gone on a Sunday to attend church somewhere else. It was a very good experience. We attended worship at a satellite location for a church that has 9 locations. They are doing a lot of great stuff in their communities. Yesterday was the beginning of a series that is kicking off a 2-year campaign of expansion of ministry and locations. We came away with thoughts of things we are doing well and some thoughts on improving some details in our Sunday morning routines.

-Since we rarely get to attend another church we love it when we get to attend somewhere that does things very differently so that we can observe some new things.

-This coming Sunday is our “Give it All Away” offering. We call it the ultimate love offering. Everything that we receive we will give away. This year it is being split between a local pregnancy center and a church planting project in North Carolina.

-Beginning a new sermon series this Sunday, “Moving to Yes” that will take us to Easter.

-Easter is just 7 weeks away.

-Really burdened for people who are attending church most Sundays but are not allowing God to make a difference in their daily lives and relationships. They are still running their life they way they want to run it and trying to stuff God into it. It doesn’t work that way.

Here’s hoping that you get a fresh sense of God’s amazing grace and love for you and allow yourself to surrender to him and his will.

Dennis

Yesterday was a day of challenges and victories. As for my musings …

-I have a fierce head cold that is manifesting itself with a constantly running nose and sneezing over and over. I began to feel it Wednesday, it kicked in on Thursday and then on Friday I felt pretty good. When I woke on Saturday I was miserable and yesterday was even worse. The Lord helped me make it through my sermon without a single sneeze, but I think I am keeping the Kleenex industry in business by myself.

-Evidently, I was not the only one who was suffering. We had a lot of people who missed because they were sick.

-The best victory that took place yesterday was a young man giving his life to Christ! Wow God! He told me after the service that he had lost his hope but after our worship service, he had regained his faith. How awesome is that?

-Another victory that I enjoyed yesterday was the Eagles win in the Super Bowl.

-I am beginning to believe that we are going to have to replace my headset mic. We have had problems with it for a few weeks and the fixes that have made a difference in the past are not working.

-I have been studying for the 11 sessions I will be teaching this weekend at a college with ministry students. There is a trio of us going, and we will be teaching about starting new ministries and church planting. I am excited to share and very nervous.

-Our youth ministry is beginning to grow. It appears we will need to divide the group into middle school and high school groups soon. What a great problem to work on.

-Our weather was at least 20 degrees colder yesterday than it was last Sunday and we got a little snow in the afternoon. This is shaping up to be a very strange winter, as the temperatures keep fluctuating wildly.

-Last week marked the third week in a row that I prayed with a family who just lost a loved one at the hospital. I would appreciate that streak ending at 3.

-The volleyball teams I help coach are now both 7-3.

-This is going to be short today. This cold is messing with me.

-I am excited to have a church planter coming to share with us this Sunday.

-We are doing our 3^rd annual “Give it all away” offering in 2 weeks. I love being able to do this and I love the message it sends about our vision.

Here’s hoping you are feeling better than I am and that you find some things to encourage you this week.

Dennis

Yesterday was another beautiful Sunday and quite a pleasant surprise for the last Sunday of January. As for my musings …

-Yesterday marked my 4^th anniversary as pastor of this church.  The contrast in weather between the two Sundays is staggering. Yesterday it was pleasant, sunny and in the 40s. 4 years ago the weather was about 40 degrees colder and the ground was covered in snow several inches deep.

-One thing was still the same as it was 4 years ago. The people were wonderful then and they were just as wonderful yesterday.

-One major difference from 4 years ago was that there are many more people in attendance and a lot more children. Another noticeable difference is who was missing. We have lost several great people, to death (especially in the past year), who were here 4 years ago.

-Our time of music went well yesterday, and when you consider that 2 of the 3 (my wife was one of those) on the worship team were battling bad colds, it was even more impressive.

-There seemed to be a very good spirit throughout the worship service.

-Last Wednesday night we had 24 children attending our ministries and 6 youth. That is huge for us and those numbers were not imaginable 4 years ago. There were also 27 adults here last Wednesday evening.

-Last week I did not have a funeral, nor did I have a wedding!

-This week begins another Fatherhood class (24/7 Dads) at the prison. These are powerful, and meaningful, groups that I have the privilege to help lead.

-The volleyball teams I help coach had a tougher week. One of them went 2-1 and the other went 1-2. They are 6-1 and 5-2 on the season.

-3 families started a journey last week to change the legacy of their families. They were part of a Financial Peace class that started last Wednesday night.

-On my day as Chaplain at the local hospital last week, I once again prayed with, and ministered to, a family that was with a dying parent.

-This coming Sunday we are going to finish the current sermon series “What’s Your Why?”. This week we will be celebrating our why. Part of our celebration will be sharing communion together.

-“…As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” In John 20:21, Jesus said this to his disciples on one occasion when he appeared to them after his resurrection. That phrase has been echoing in my heart and mind the past 2 weeks. Trying to understand what it means to be sent. Coming to grips with the statement that I am sent in the same way that Jesus was sent by the Father. That is a staggering realization. I tried to convey this as part of my sermon yesterday. I fell woefully short in my attempt, but I am still working to practice this regularly in my life personally.

-Easter is just over 2 months away.

-Have you noticed how many messages in our media, in advertising, television shows and movies, send poor messages about having healthy relationships?

-I was recently given a book. It was an unusual book in that the main character was a pastor. It was a fiction book, but it touched on many real issues that a pastor, and family, faces. I want to thank my friend for sending it to me. Part of the struggle this pastor was dealing with was trying to live as one who is passionately following Christ and showing Christ to people around them and challenging their church to do the same. The personal part of living as a representation of Christ is difficult and attempting to guide, and challenge, others to do the same creates tension. The author of the book did a good job of capturing the tensions this creates in person, their family and their church family.

Here’s hoping you find ways to show Jesus to those around you this week. In loving, compassionate and meaningful ways.

Dennis