I'm sitting at Panera with a hot cup of coffee reflecting on Sunday's events.  Those thoughts are keeping me warmer inside than the liquid substance I'm sipping on.  This church never ceases to amaze me.  I'll be honest, I didn't think we would reach our goal of $65,000, especially since we barely missed the $60,000 goal last year.  The economy is rough.  Gas prices are soaring.  Insurance continue to rise.  It is more common, for those who have jobs, to either take a pay cut or receive no raise at all.  Don't get me wrong, I prayed about Missions Sunday but I lacked the faith.  Thankfully, God rewarded us because of the faith and prayers of others in this church.  This is one of those times when I love being wrong and will gladly repent.  God is good!

On a side note, I truly love Louis Swakkiam, our missionary from India.  He is a hard worker for the kingdom and everything he receives from this congregation is well worth it.  The Lord blessed us with his presence and report yesterday.  He will be teaching the Wednesday night class on outreach.

As far as the rest of the service went, the singing sounded great.  It is great seeing the crowds each week, whether it is our own members or those visiting from our community.  The kids program is getting so many children they are forced to think about what will happen if they grow much more because they are running out of space in The Aquarium!

One more thing, I love my 2:42 group!  It is made up mostly of our widow ladies.  Last night was a prime example of why we have small groups.  We ended up scraping the material on the Holy Spirit because one in our group had experienced the Spirit of God in her life like never before.  We read passages on the Holy Spirit to show how He had been working in our group and in this individual's life.  As a small group we share together and pray for each other.  Sometimes it consists of a lot of requests, but last night it was all about praise.  When these groups are done right they have the potential to experience Christian fellowship that cannot be experienced in a congregational worship or even a small Bible class.  Ask any one of the ladies who were present last night and they will tell you the same thing.  Let me say it one more time - I love my 2:42 group!

Well, it's time for a fill up and to begin researching my sermon for this week.  Thanks for reading, and continue thinking about those who sit around you or you noticed wasn't able to be here this week.  Send a card, make a call, or stop by to make sure everything is alright.  If there is something the shepherd's need to know please alert them.