Yesterday was a very difficult day and now we are “enjoying” some winter with a few inches of snow. I guess this snow is to make up for the small amount we received this winter. As for my musings …

-We lost another dear saint yesterday. She was a jewel. She was just 3 months shy of her 92^nd birthday. She had one of the greatest smiles I have ever seen and the twinkle in her eyes when she smiled or laughed was extraordinary. She was getting ready to come to church, stumbled and fell. She hit her head on something and it caused a brain bleed. When my wife and I visited her right after church she was talking, smiling, joking and the twinkle was still there. Just over an hour after we left her, she had another bleed and did not recover. I am confident of her relationship with Christ, but she is really going to be missed.

-Time change Sunday, especially the “spring forward” Sunday, is always a tough day. The attendance at my churches was not good and the atmosphere as the services began was flat. It improved as the services continued, at least until my part.

-My preaching was bad yesterday. I struggled all week with the sermon. Changing my original sermon mid-week as God nudged me in a different direction. Then I never got a good grip on the message. As I reflect now I realize I tried to cram too much into the message. I was bad when I practiced the message and I didn’t get much better as I preached at either church.

-After doing 5 funerals in my first 3 years here, the funeral on Friday will be the 3^rd in the past 6 weeks. I would like to go back to the previous schedule please.

-I love spending time with my wife. Given the busyness of our schedules the past few weeks it has been difficult to get the time. So, I am really looking forward to getting away for a couple of days next week with my wife.

-I loved my conversation with a fellow pastor this morning. He is excited about some new people attending and plans that are being made for new ways to impact the community in which he serves. I love hearing of churches, and pastors, making a difference.

-I am more burdened for Easter this year than I have been in a long time. Spending a lot of extra time praying about Easter and the preparation for Easter. I am always excited for Easter, but this year I feel a real sense of urgency and burden for it.

-We had a new family visit my 10:30 church yesterday. It was good to hear some of their story while visiting after worship.

-My mind is not desiring to focus well today. Since I have a church board meeting to finish preparing for, I better end these musings.

Here’s hoping that you find someone to encourage today. When you find them, take the time to encourage them. It will improve the day for both of you.

Dennis

Yesterday was a wonderful and difficult day and today appears to have the potential to be the same kind of day. I am driving to that other state once again to spend some time with my Dad. As for my musings …

-My 10:30 church had a full band again yesterday. This time we added another instrument and though our original drummer was unavailable we found out that we had another drummer in our congregation. It went very well.

-A first grader joined our worship team on one song and led us in worship. It was awesome. Not only did she do very well but the congregation responded in a wonderful way. I love seeing kids worship and get excited to participate in worship. Hopefully many adults will be inspired to do the same.

-We also celebrated generous giving at both churches. My 9:00 church was celebrating giving about 50% of our normal offering to help build buildings and purchase property for churches who could not otherwise make these purchases. My 10:30 church gave 50% more than our normal offering to our “Give It All Away” offering! We are giving half of it to some local ministries outside of our church and the other half will be going to 2 international ministries. These were great moments to celebrate the generosity of the churches.

-In the afternoon, I met with another church’s health team. I will be coaching them through a process of evaluation and improvement of some church health characteristics. This was the first time to meet with them. I love helping any church become healthier.

-Last night I was once again called into the hospital by the staff to meet with a family. Last week it was to talk and pray with a family who was watching a loved one in their final hours. Last night I was called in to talk and pray with a family who unexpectedly lost a loved one. I felt so bad for the family and for the hospital staff. I wish there was more that I could do for them. I am continuing to pray for both families. I am glad that I was available to serve these families.

-On Valentine’s Day, my wife and I got to spend the whole day together. We didn’t do any special thing, but what made the day special was being with her. It had been too long since we had an entire day like that to be together with no agenda and nothing scheduled.

– My wife and I experienced some wonderful expressions of support and generosity in past few days. I am very grateful and humbled by this experience.

-I am loving the unusually warm and mild weather we have been experiencing. My fear is that there may be another winter blast coming in March or even April. But for now, I will enjoy this weather.

-I am struggling to settle on my Easter series and Easter is less than 2 months away.

Here’s hoping you recognize Christ’s love this week and that you seek to share it with others.

Dennis

Yesterday was a good day and we had a wonderful first as well. As for my musings …

-At my 10:30 church we had live instrumentals for all our music. That was a first in my 3 years here. We have had to rely on tracs almost exclusively with an occasional song with someone playing an instrument.  We had the piano, a bass, a guitar and drums for all the music. It was great. All the people who were playing the instruments have begun attending within the past year and a half.

-In January sickness crushed our attendance at both churches. Today we bounced back a little in our attendance. We saw some people who haven’t been able to attend for a few weeks. I think seeing those people back encouraged everyone.

-On Saturday I did the funeral service for a man in my 10:30 church. He was such a great guy who loved people and didn’t just have personality, he was a personality. He is going to be missed by many people. The visitation on Friday evening had hundreds come through to pay respect and encourage the family. Our church really stepped up to support the family and provided food for, and served over 100 people for a funeral dinner. With many of the extended family bringing food I think we could have fed 200.

-It humbling and encouraging to see several people from the church work in set up, serving the food, and clean up afterward. Some of them were there for 6 hours. What a joy to see people exercising hearts of a servant.

-Last week we had 20 people show up for discipleship training!

-What an exciting game for the Super Bowl.

-I am once again sitting in another state as I type my musings. I am here to visit with my Dad, stepmom and hopefully see a few other family members. This will be a very quick trip. Your continued prayers for him are appreciated.

-I was fired up to preach the message yesterday. It was part of the series “Powered By God”. Learning about God’s power and how we can live in this power daily. Yesterday was about prayer. About connecting to God’s power through prayer. We looked at Ephesians 3:14-21 and how it shows us the direction, posture, purpose and power of prayer. People seemed engaged at both churches. I am encouraged that there has been a growing number of people who are getting serious about praying. We have 2 new prayer times that were started and are being led by laypeople.

Here’s hoping that you will spend some time in prayer and sense God’s presence and love.

Dennis

As I sit here in a Starbucks, a couple of states away from home, I am moved as I recall the sights and sounds of our worship yesterday. As for my musings …

-There were 30 people who stood or stepped forward to confess and repent of whatever has been blocking God’s power in their life. That was a powerful scene and an even more powerful foreshadowing of what is to come. God is on the move in our churches and I am very excited for the future.

-Once again there was a great spirit in our time of singing and a great sense of unity in our prayer times.

-It is not just a slogan anymore, God is up to something special in our community.

-On Saturday evening my wife and I hosted the church board members and spouses of the 3 churches I am responsible for. (I directly pastor 2 churches and I am the lead/supervising pastor of a 3^rd church. That church has a campus pastor.) It was just our way of honoring them and thanking them for their ministry. We ate well and laughed a lot.

-I am loving hearing reports from many people who have made a renewed commitment to be in the Word this year. The most exciting part is seeing them look to apply what they are learning from God’s Word.

-I had some significant prayers answered on behalf of my missionary kids this week.

-We have had a lot of people with major physical issues in the past month.

-This past week I had the privilege and responsibility to be a part of a team that interviewed pastors who were seeking their first ministry license, renewing their license or seeking ordination from our district and denomination. It is humbling and exciting. I am more convinced than ever that the future of pastoral ministry is in good hands after spending time with this group.

-I got to visit with my Dad in person last night for a few minutes. Looking forward to spending some time with him, my stepmom and a few other relatives for the next couple of days. I am about to head to the airport and pick up my brother. It has been too long since we were in the same location. This should be fun.

-After preaching, and ministering, at 2 of my churches yesterday morning I then got in the car and drove about 6 hours. Once I feel asleep last night I am not sure that I moved until my alarm went off this morning.

-I missed being with those in our early morning prayer time back home this morning.

-We are about to begin another round of discipleship training and some who have gone through 2 of the steps are looking to apply it with some new people. This is what we have been moving toward.

-Today is my youngest granddaughter’s 1^st birthday celebration. Wish I could be there, but I can see her whole face consuming grin in my mind and in the pictures her mom will post. I am blessed.

-At my 10:30 church we are doing our 2^nd Annual Give It All Away love offering in 3 weeks. Every dollar that comes in on that day will be given away to other ministries. Half of it to local ministries and half to international ministries. I love serving with people who believe we are here to be a conduit of serving and giving rather than a storage facility.

I need to head to the airport. Have a blessed week and enjoy the truth that you are loved.

Dennis

Yesterday was a day of powerful worship, the obvious presence of the Holy Spirit, many who made a commitment to get ready for the power of God in their lives and a day with very low attendance. As for my musings …

-Began a new sermon series yesterday entitled “Powered by God”. This will be a theme and focus for us this year.

-This new sermon series is born out of my personal frustration with the lack of power in my life and the life of my churches. As I read scripture I see the results of God’s power and I see the promises of God’s power and I know that these promises are still true. I want God’s power to be regularly evidenced in my life and the life of my churches. I am excited for this series, especially after seeing so many people respond that they want this in their life and are willing to get ready to receive it.

-The weather people had predicted a major ice storm for our area all weekend. It never came. But evidently many people believed the forecasts and did not step outside to see that it never arrived. Attendance was very low at my 10:30 church and it was down at my 9:00 church.

-There was such a sweet and powerful spirit in our worship services yesterday. There was a brief time of spontaneous praise in each of my churches. There were many tears of joy during the music. The prayer time was wonderful and people were very engaged during the sermon.

-Immediately after the last worship service my wife and I headed to a hospital about 40 minutes away to visit someone who has not been doing well. Had the situation, love being able to minister.

-Mondays are often difficult for pastors. After all the preparation for Sunday and the emotional energy spent on a Sunday there is an expected let down. Some Mondays are not so bad, and some just seem to beat you up. This Monday is the latter. But I have enough experience to know what it is and that this too shall pass.

-I began reading a book recently that is fascinating. It is not written with pastors or churches in mind. It is a book about communication. The tagline of the book is “It’s not what you say, it’s what people hear”. As a pastor, I have many conversations throughout the year with people who heard something very different than what I said. The clearer I can preach, and communicate in general, the more impactful my ministry and life can become. I am always seeking ways to communicate better.

-I continue to be amazed at how much prayer changes things. As I give myself more and more to specific and sincere prayer God keeps showing up in ways I didn’t imagine. Prayer changes things, especially the one who prays.

-Excited about the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of some fathers. Got confirmation today about something that has been in the works for months. Will share more as the journey begins. But you can go ahead and get excited, I am.

-Praying a lot for many pastors I know. With some I know what they are facing, with some others I don’t know what they are facing but God has placed them on my heart.

-This afternoon I got more confirmation that God is up to something special in our community. Awesome!!!

Here’s hoping that you sense God’s presence in your life.

Dennis

Sunday was a much better day than last Sunday feeling better had a lot to do with that fact. It has taken a week and I am almost back to normal. Whatever the bug was that bit me early last Sunday morning it knocked me down for 2 whole days and has kept messing with me all week.. As for my musings …

-I preached the “New Year’s Day” message I had prepared for the week before. It was well received though I did not feel like I delivered it well. As always God came through, in spite of me.

-Early Monday morning I traveled 3+ hours to take my oldest grandson to the airport so he could return to college. It was great to have him around for a few days and to hear stories of him staying with both of my daughters and their families over Christmas break. I am so proud of the Godly young man that he is and am humbled by all that he is planning to do for God.

-Our attendance was not good at either church.

-We have had a lot of people in both churches with very serious physical issues the past 2 weeks. Not sure what is going on but as far as I am concerned it can stop.

-Over Christmas all our stateside family, minus one son in law, came to our house for a couple of days. On one of those evenings we skyped with my son and his family in Africa. Since they are now serving in a very rural area the connection was very slow and somewhat fuzzy. But it was great to see their faces and hear their voices for a little while.

-This Sunday I will begin a new series that will introduce our focus/theme for this year. We are going to be looking at the power of God. In recent weeks, I have become very disgruntled with the lack of God’s power in my life and in the life of my churches. It is not because God is no longer powerful. It is not because God is no longer willing to work powerfully in and among us. That leaves our side of it. This will be our focus.

-It took about 8 days for whatever I had to completely get out of me. I am hoping that this is my total illness for the winter.

-Going through another Christmas season with family on the mission field has come and gone. I support what they are doing and agree with their call to missions. However, it always creates an ache at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Our family always has such a great time when we are all together and though we are very competitive with each other and though we never hesitate to laugh at each other we know we are loved by each other. I pray for them each day, even multiple times a day. If you think of it pray for those who are serving a long distance from their families.

-I was encouraged on Sunday because there were a good number of people who took a Bible reading plan. I always encourage people to attempt to read through the Bible in the year. This is the largest number of people I have ever had say they are committing to it. Only good things can happen when we read God’s Word.

Here’s hoping you are feeling good and that you see some evidence of God’s power this week.

Dennis

Yesterday was a surprisingly good day in both of my churches. The surprise was because it was -3 degrees with a wind chill of about -20 when church began. Also, we had some freezing rain on Saturday and there was a light coat of ice on sidewalks, driveways and parking lots. We spread a lot of ice melt and made it possible to use sidewalks and parking lots. As for my musings …

-The Children of both churches shared the Christmas message in worship yesterday. The kids did great at both churches. We had 9 or 10 kids who shared at my 9:00 church and 20+ were involved at my 10:30 church. I love watching kids get up front and share. Some did it confidently, some were shy and some were scared. But all of them came through. We also had some ad-libbing and some who wandered around a bit.

-It is always fun to watch the parents and grandparents of the kids. You can see the joy and pride in their eyes. You can also see them mouthing the words that their kids and grandkids are saying or singing up front. In most cases the parents are more nervous than the kids.

-Many people did not make it out in the cold and slippery conditions. Even with the difficult weather we had reasonable attendance. There were many churches in the area that cancelled services yesterday.

-It is always difficult to prepare for my part on Sundays like yesterday. When I don’t know how much time I will have it is tough. I am also aware that the visitors who come on Sundays when the focus is on the kids did not come to hear me. They will give me a little time, and if I can grab their attention they will even listen. But I would much rather have them consider coming back for another Sunday than to try and dump a big message on them when they are here for the kids.

-This morning I am heading to a memorial service for the adult daughter of one of my older couples. As the father said to me while visiting with him this past week, “A parent isn’t supposed to bury a child”. Praying that God’s comfort will be powerfully evident for them today, and in the days to come.

-Spending time in prayer and preparation for our Christmas services this coming weekend. Praying that there will be several who will choose to embrace the Peace of Christmas and accept Jesus as their Savior. What a great way to celebrate Christmas.

-Excited to spend some time with our oldest grandson this next week. He has completed his first semester of college. Our winter temperatures may be quite a shock to his system after 3 years in Kenya and 1 semester in California. Flip flops wouldn’t cut it buddy.

-Looking like this will be a Christmas of grabbing brief moments with our stateside kids and grandkids. Schedules are just not cooperating this year.

-Spending a lot time processing this truth in recent days. God loves to fill empty spaces. I have been creating a list of moments in scripture where God filled empty vessels. It is inspiring. I suspect it will develop into a sermon series that will surface around here in 2017.

Here’s hoping that you see Jesus as you head toward Christmas.

Dennis