Good morning High Places,
Wow, what a week! It has been absolutely gorgeous & I hope each and every one of you have found time to soak it up. I managed to squeeze in a little fishing and my soul was refreshed by the deep blue skies and the sounds of birds singing. If you're up to it, drop me a note because I would love to hear of any experience you might have had during what must be the best week we've seen in East Tennessee in a long, long time.
The rain is moving in today, but should be mostly out by Mother's Day, which is this Sunday. Bring mom if you can & if you are unable, I've been asking for ...
Everyone who's lost a mom or has a mom unable to attend to please bring something that reminds you of mom! It could be a pin or a broach, a garden spade, a dustpan, or her favorite flavor of hot tea.... anything! Any special item with a memory you have attached to mom, bring it! There will be time in our meeting to share that with your neighbor in mom's honor.
We will also have baby dedications this Sunday and I know of two potential already. If you or a loved one have plans to participate in our baby dedication, please let me know as soon as you can.
I mentioned in last week's News and Notes that I was pushing back our "Gym to Gem" theme for about month to address another topic. That begins on May 18 and will last for three Sundays. I am putting in a great deal of extra time and effort into these three messages because I believe they are critical to where God has led us up to this point in 2014.
I read a cool quote from Reba McEntire last month that said: "To succeed in life you need three things: a wish-bone, a backbone, and a funny bone." It struck me as strange, but profound truth. We need to be free to wish and dream, have the courage and commitment to work those dreams to God's good, and we need to maximize opportunities for celebrating the joy of a dream realized. A life lived this way is all about Matthew 6:33 -- "Seek first the Kingdom of God, and all things will be added to you." A church living this way is too.
These three "bones" are essential to our church body at this very important juncture. Our challenges will be very specific and matched to our corresponding needs. And we going to have GREAT FUN with this as we go. Here's the plan:
Sunday, May 18 -- The Wish-Bone: Dreaming the Dream. "Where there is no vision, the people perish." ~ Proverbs 29:18
Sunday, May 25 -- The Backbone: Working the Dream. Let us not become weary in doing good, for the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Gal. 6:9
Sunday, June 1 -- The Funny Bone: Living the Dream. "God loves a cheerful giver." ~ 2 Corinthians 9:7
Sunday, June 1st we have Clark Center Park reserved for our gathering, similar to last year but hopefully without all the rain. Look for singing, feasting, horseshoes, and volleyball. It's going to be a blast!
Finally, we humbly ask you as the core church to please offer many prayers for our church and its pastors & leaders, especially as we move through the month of May. Challenges abound, but His grace is sufficient.
Much love,
David