Family Integrated Church...A long post.

I just felt like giving an update

of what is happening at our church.

The Lord has been blessing us so much.

We have new families coming,

people are coming to know the Lord,

and ministry is happening.

Let me give some background

for those who are newer here.

It was about three years ago that

the Lord started moving our church

in an interesting direction.

Warren and I, as parents, were having

issues with the whole youth group concept.

I am not categorically opposed to youth

groups but do think that it is a very

tricky path. In our case there was a

lot of emphasis on outreach to troubled

teens and our personal experience was that

this did not have a positive impact on,

I'll just say it, our boys.

Some of these troubled kids were girls

who immediately grabbed onto our boys

and troubles began. 

Attitudes, phone calls, etc.

For others in the church, such as our

Pastor, books were being read. One that

impacted him greatly was The Last Christian
Generation by Josh McDowell.

Others in the church were struggling

with issues with grown children who lived 

out the scenario discussed in this book.

Young adults who had been raised in the church

but had walked away as soon as the opportunity

arose.  They had no commitment to the church.

It was their parent's church.

So one by one the Lord moved on our hearts that 

there might be a better way for our congregation.

Now understand that our congregation size was 

just about twenty people.  Not exactly an influential

church in the community.  But, you know, God was 

with us.....even then.

I began to speak with my friend, Mrs. Rabe, 

of Creekside Cottage... just friend to friend.

As far as I knew they were happily attending 

and serving in another church. 

Little did I know that the Lord was preparing 

them for a change at the same time.

As I told her that we were moving toward

a worship style that included the children from 

start to finish and the elimination of a "youth group"

she informed me that this type of church had a name.

I was shocked.

You would have thought that we would have known

that this was a movement, but frankly the changes

that were happening within our hearts were so consuming

that we were very tuned in to that and weren't really 

looking around at that time.

So, armed with this new information we explored the 

support that was out there for those who were thinking

so strangely as we were.

This led us to Vision Forum(networking)

and Voddie Baucham(teaching),

Both have proven to be encouraging and

uplifting resources for our itty bitty congregation.

It has not been an easy road.

Some left us.

Remember there were only twenty or so

to begin with.  I believe that when we 

changed our name and moved into our new

building there were about fifteen regulars.

But soon the Lord sent those that were hungry

for this style of worship.

What is our style of worship?

Well, we have a family Sunday School which

Pastor Mike teaches.  It can be a series on 

Apologetics, Creation Science, How Jesus Viewed

the World, or what we are studying now, The Missionary

Journeys of Paul.  The children are with us and it is amazing

how they listen.  We know this because of questions they 

ask either then or later. 

There is then about a fifteen minute break and we begin

our Worship Service.  This runs about an hour and a half. 

The children are with us for this as well.

Singing, scripture, prayer and preaching.

Every other week we enjoy a Fellowship Meal together

after the service.  This is so very important to our congregation.

Not just because we like to eat....lol...

but because it allows us to really share and get to 

know each other.  There is little opportunity 

in a church such as ours to just come and go

without establishing genuine relationships.

There are a few who choose to stay on the 

fringes but in general we are a very close

group.  We are aware of the joys and struggles 

within our congregation.

This allows us to be in prayer, make a phone call,

send a card or even make a meal or visit someone

who might need that extra care.

So many times in churches we have attended in 

the past it was easy to show up, worship and leave.

Never really knowing anyone with whom we worshiped.

That may have been our fault.

I am willing to carry that....

but I don't think it is unusual.  

Our Friday evenings are usually reserved for church

events.  Sometimes it is a Bible Study in a home, 

other times it is a activity for the whole family

and once per month is music night.

We are working with our young people to 

involve them in music.

Those who love music or play instruments

have been very receptive to getting involved.

You see, this is not just their parents church.

This is their church.

It is their responsibility and honor to participate...

in cleaning, music, taking the offering and more.

They serve along side the adults in many aspects

of the daily life of the church.

Our young people are hospitable.

They are quick to welcome new young 

people who visit.

It is never long before all of them,

and some of the Dads are out in the 

yard playing ultimate frisbee.

So, what is exciting me lately?

A woman who has come to the Lord.

Counseling and Ministry to her marriage.

Seeing she and her husband come in

early each week with huge smiles

and enthusiasm.

Blossoming friendships for her 

within the congregation.

An unmarried young couple with a new baby

who are attending together

and whom I can't help but believe 

will come to seek HIM together.

It brings tears to my eyes to see them walk

in with the baby carrier.

It is just a preview of the joy and healing

that is to come in their lives.

A grandmother who started by bringing her

own grandchildren and ended up bringing

a neighbor boy as well.

This led to prayers of salvation by the children and the 

addition of the neighbor boy's Mom and 

siblings.  She is a very young widow

and we delight in her dedication to do

what is right for her children.

We are praying for her salvation.

A new family who drive for more than an hour

who report that their children begin asking on 

Monday if it is time to go to church yet???!!

They love it!

Ministry to a woman who was in an abusive

home situation...not always easy but God 

placed her in our lives for a reason.

Bible study with women who are in a 

halfway house

after being recently released from prison.

An upcoming series on the role of the 

father within the home.

What does the Bible say about this?

An upcoming Ladies Tea.

Always a fun and time of ministry

during the Christmas season.

A reminder to keep Christ at the center of 

our holiday traditions and activities.

Praying and supporting missions at home and abroad.

There is just so much

to Praise the Lord for.

Not everyone would thrive in this 

style of worship.

But, for those the Lord has called to it

the benefits are huge.

The past couple of weeks our attendance has

been around sixty.

Not a huge church.

Some would say that we are too small to 

make a difference. 

I could not disagree more.

Every child, parent and marriage

that is touched is important.

If God knows when a sparrow

falls...........

We have seen the difference 

in our own children.

The young children of the congregation 

will never know anything

different...this is THEIR church!

They love it!!!

I chronicle this as much for my

own benefit and encouragement as 

to share with you.

But, I do hope that you'll be encouraged

to see God at work 

and give HIM all of the glory!

He is good....

all the time!

I've Not Shown This Before...And A Near Miss

There are more photos from last week's
trip to Longwood Gardens.
They may never end...but at least
these are just a bit different.

The first photo above is an example
of the detail throughout the property.

This, believe it or not, is a small
light box in the ladies restroom.

See that window design?
It is the most recognized logo.




Also from the ladies room.
I love this tile mosaic
with the same design in tile.

I have long wanted to take a photo
of this but there were always others
in the room and whipping out a camera
in a restroom
just seemed a bit weird.

Well, it is still weird but there was
no one else around...yay!


Because it began to rain
Chelsea and I chose a different
path than usual to return to
the car. This took us behind
some fountains.

We found this.

Amazing.
It is as if a figurine
grew up!



On the other side of the sidewalk.
The fountains...
So soothing.


Can't leave without
praising Jesus for
protecting Mikey
last night.
After dinner on the
deck with Mike and
Georgia we were
just sitting and chatting
while Mikey was on
his dirtbike.

All was relaxed and
beautiful until we
heard a horrible sound.
It was the unmistakable
sound of a crash.

Then all was silent.

The look on Warren's face was so scary.
He moved so quickly.
I was trying to decide if I should grab
the phone in case we had to call an
ambulance or just run to him.
I admit that I kind of froze.
It was too scary to see what had happened.

When I finally heard Warren calling to Mikey
with instructions I figured he, at least, could
hear him so I ran out to look.

A wheelie had gone bad.
His big bike had flipped.
Thankfully, Mikey had the presence
of mind to jump!

He is very banged up and his
bike is all bent and twisted.
There are marks in the pavement
from the bike skidding across it.
Really, it dug into it.

However, he will recover.
He is ok to go to work today.
Limping, but ok.

Thank You, Jesus!

How are we ever going to
survive these years?

I guess this is how.
With His help.
However, these things
make me tired.

Thanks for being here.
I love hearing from you
and knowing that so many of
you care.

♥♥Becky K.♥♥

Corporate Prayer

A Grandmother and Grandaughter follow
along as Jon reads scripture.
Isn't this sweet?
I just had to share it.

Edited to Add: I don't normally take pictures
during the service. However, this was last
week when Jon and Warren officially became Elders.
I was at the piano. This was the first time Jon
read after becoming "official". That was what I was
attempting to capture. When I saw the picture I thought
it was so sweet.

Our church is unique because
of its small size. However,
this allows for a prayer time
that is open for anyone to
pray out loud.

Occasionally this gets a little
long. When Chelsea was much
younger she told a
visiting Grandparent
that it was
"The Never-ending Prayer".

We chuckled so much at that.
She will come and give me dirty
looks when she reads this.

But, this is one thing I will
miss when we are too large to
continue this special habit.

It is such a blessing to have a
shower of prayer for that person
who has lost a job, or that
individual who will be having
surgery.

It is our intention to always offer
prayers of praise before we begin our
prayers of supplication.
Beautiful.

God already knows His wonderful attributes
and has no need to hear them from us...but
we need to be ever aware of His Goodness and
at the same time
our children are learning how to pray.
When Jesus taught us to pray
The Lord's Prayer He used that example.
An honoring and reverence of the One to
Whom we come with our wants and wishes.

The first time Jonathan prayed out loud
at church it brought many of us to tears.
He was a little "put out" that people
thanked him for his prayer...but it means
so much to see the next generation "take root".

So...until we are just too many in number we
will be sharing our prayers...

A lovely thing.

Have a gorgeous Sunday!

♥♥Becky K.♥♥

Beauty of Creation

New Hobby

I have a new hobby.

I have discovered the worship
music on Youtube.

I can sit at my computer and
sing loudly for a long time...
well, I would if I had "long times"
in which to do it.
So, therefore, I get a song or two
sung before rushing off to get my
work done.

Last Sunday I posted the words to this
song... this is what I have been singing
to this week.



Won't you sing with me?

Never mind what your family thinks...just sing!

Worship

Come, now is the time to worship
Come, now is the time to give your heart.

Come, just as you are to worship.
Come.......
This worship song says it all.

We do not need to become something
or someone else to come to worship.

Our Father will meet us at whatever
place we are.

If there is changing to
be done... He will do the work within us.

If we are hurting...He will comfort us.

If we are rejoicing...He rejoices with us.

Don't wait until the perfect time...or you are
in a perfect place in your life...

Come...worship...now.



Song by Brian Doerksen, 1998, Vineyard Songs

Worship

Oh God, You are my God...
And I will ever praise You!

We have sung this song or read
the verse but what does this mean
to us?

Does it mean that we will be
perpetually in a spirit of joy
and worshipful adoration?

Does it mean that we will be
giddy with happiness.

I don't think so.

I did not feel any giddiness as
I was being pulled down the road
at 6:15 am this morning
by my Mom's dog, Bear.

However, deep in my heart and mind I was
thankful and filled with praise for
the things the Lord works in my life.

While my eyes were still nearly glued
shut from recent sleep I was amazed at
how cheerfully the birds were singing.

The grass was wet under my feet and yet
there was beauty all around
that had to have come
from a Creator.

Praise is a verb... not a feeling.

The verse says, "I will ever praise You."

It is up to me to do something...
and that something is praise!

This is easier to do if you have
mastered another verse...
"Love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength."

Wow! Putting Him first... before myself,
my family or even my church.

Then I can have the perspective to
"Ever Praise".

Just some thoughts that emerged from the
cobwebs of this tired brain this morning.

See you tomorrow after we celebrate the Lord
in the building of His provision!

Worship

Psalm 150
Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.

Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.

Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.



Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD.



Praise ye the LORD.

Home!

The news is mostly great!

The surgery lasted around two hours. The doctor told Warren and Mom that the cysts were very involved and had absolutely no chance of resolving on their own. He was able to use the laparoscopy and carefully removed the masses.

This wonderful surgeon spent almost half an hour attempting to separate my bowel from my stomach. It is severly attached. He was not able to do this without potentially puncturing the bowel so he wisely stopped and is referring me to the gastro surgeon if there is still a problem here. I am not completely sure how much of the pain is coming from this area and won't know until the affected areas are healed up.

I am so grateful for a surgeon who did not take chances with my body for the sake of his own ego.

There was a scare in the recovery room when I had an allergic reaction to morphine. My chest felt like an elephant was sitting on it and my throat swelled up. My heart raced like crazy. I was wheezing and crying. They were awesome and had Benadryl into me very quickly. I then was so tired and could not wake up. The poor nurse was stuck hanging out with me and kept talking and talking trying to get me awake. It was two and a half hours that I was in recovery.

I am still very, very tired and a few minutes ago fell asleep with the thermometer in my mouth. I woke up when it fell. Funny!

Thankfully, Warren has his work laptop here and so I am not using the stairs yet. I get one trip today and two tomorrow and so want to save them for things relating to work or church bulletin business. Ahem...did I say work? I am on medical leave for a week...as per the Doctor's orders.

I know that I have said it before...but I truly mean it...your kind words and offers of prayers and meals mean so much...

I had better go.

Hope this makes sense.

Worship

Dear God,

YOU are mighty,
YOU are holy,
YOU are Love.

I get tired.
I fall short.
I get irritated.

YOU help me,
YOU change me,
YOU love me.

I can endure,
I am renewed,
I can love.

Thank You!

Your Daughter,

Blessings on your Sunday

May God be very real and close to you today.
He is the One who can calm the storms of
fear
loneliness
doubt
sadness
that often try to assail us.

He loves you dearly.

Only He can bring
true joy
and
lasting peace that is
beyond the human
understanding.

If you are hurting
run to Jesus.
His arms are open...
He cannot wait
to hold you.

If you are already experiencing
the Joy of the Lord today...
Rejoice!
Let us celebrate together...
Our God Reigns!

Tell somebody!
Don't keep your best friend
a secret from those around
you.

Share...a little!

((Hugs))

So Thankful!

Yesterday afternoon the phone rang.
My Mom was on the other end.
She sounded a bit strained.

Mom was up in Centre County with
my brother and his wife for the
weekend and while driving back to
their home yesterday from
church and lunch they were in
an accident.

I know how badly the winds blew
here yesterday and I guess they were
at least that bad up there because
Mom reported that the white out
conditions reminded her of the
blizzards that she remembers from
the time we lived in Nebraska.
I was a toddler and remember very little
of our time there.

Because of the white out conditions that
happened so quickly Allan had slowed way
down and was concentrating on staying on the road
when they, in their pickup truck, passed
a semi in which Mom and Bev noticed the driver
frantically gesturing to get their attention.

Next thing Allan knew there was a car parked in the
road not 50 feet ahead of him. There was not time
to get completely stopped so he whipped the wheel to
the left and nearly made it all the way into
the oncoming lane. Thankfully there was nothing
coming at that moment.

His truck hit the car and then slid into a ditch.
The passenger side of the truck is all messed up
but everyone in both cars is fine.

The police were so busy they told everyone to
exchange information and go home. They were to
call the station when they got home.

Allan did so and was told that they were so busy
someone would call them back today.

Must have been very bad.

I am thankful that:

1. No one was physically hurt.
2. The other lane was clear...no head on crash.
3. That while Allan only had diagonally
opposite wheels touching the ground in that
ditch somehow he was able to
get out of it without the wait for a tow truck.
4. That the phone call was what it was yesterday and not what it could have been!

For our weather now...it is painfully cold out there. The chihuahua did not go far this morning. She has a bit of a bent toward staying out as long as she can get away with...not today!

The wind was so bad yesterday that it sounded very loud even inside the house.

We stayed in all afternoon and evening and worked on a puzzle, watched election news and then two movies, Jeremiah Johnson and Flywheel. Flywheel was the first movie produced by the church that made Facing the Giants.

If you have not seen Flywheel it is well worth the nearly two hours in length. We laughed and cried and just loved this movie.

Well, have a great day!

Praise Report

Admittedly, I whined in yesterday's post.
I did! I confess!
I do want a building of our own for our
church to meet in.
A place to have our fellowship meals.

However, yesterday rocked!

I took a couple of pictures of our meeting room,
at Willow Valley, for you to see.

Can you see in this picture that the piano is on a raised metal frame with rollers? Well, this makes playing it a little interesting. If you happen to "get into" your music, you could get a little seasick as the piano begins to move to the rhythm. I guess I am getting the hang of it but I love our own Church piano and cannot wait to play it again! It is in storage right now.

The staff that we deal with at Willow Valley has been very thoughtful and put us in a room that connects with another. This is the other room, which can be used for Sunday School and Nursery. However, it also holds the coffee. You don't want to know how much that costs. A couple of coffee addicts are supporting their habit. The rest of us get to benefit.

It has been so interesting meeting in a public place...there has been the loud vacuum running in the hall right outside our door, the different layout of the chairs each time we come. We sing a song about shouting to the North, South, East and West. We laugh because if we were set up in just two more directions we would have literally done that. This is a real learning and growing experience. I know there are many churches who set up and tear down each week. We used to attend one. We did the setting up and tearing down. So it is ok with me that Willow Valley does this for us! We just miss the "control" that comes with your own space.

In case you are new here...our church formerly rented space in a building that was sold recently. That space was exclusive to us and we had decorated and made it a true home for the five years prior to now. We are praying that the Lord will lead us to another suitable space. In the meantime HE has blessed us with this room and it is beautiful...just different.

Finally, about yesterday...

Sunday School: Totally awesome! Mike is teaching from the Minor Prophets. Not someplace that I have spent a lot of time studying. Oh, this should be a whole post of its own...lets just say that if you had to defend your faith you could do it from the book of Habakkuk. That poor prophet had serious concerns and yet he knew that God was just and faithful. The end of chapter three is awesome!
It reads:
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls...
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord.
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The sovereign Lord is my strength;
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
He enables me to go on the heights.
I challenge you to read that out loud, right now.
See if you can get a sense of praise in times of struggle.
It is not a matter of praising when all is well...it is praising the Lord anyway! It is a matter of the will.
I love this!!!!

Worship Service: The music, the sermon, communion. So special! There is no way I can describe to you how God met us in that room. It was sweet! Pastor Mike was on fire in his preaching and Pastor Jack led us in communion that was so meaningful! Did you think I was going to say I was in tears? Well, you would be right! I laughed and I cried. I just had to laugh when Pastor Mike used the term, "Well, Duh!" with all of the emotion and tone of Patrick(SpongeBob)in the middle of his sermon. Let me just say that every young person in the room was at full attention and totally involved. He spoke directly to them and challenged them to know the Bible so that they could test the input from the world against it and see what is truth. This, obviously, is the short, short version of that but let it be enough to let you know that God met us in a very special way.
It has been sooooo hard.
But God is Faithful!!!!

Fellowship Meal: I came home to find the chili, cooking on low, in the crockpot, had boiled over and was all over the counter, cupboards and floor. It made me so glad that the tables were up and set so that I did not have to stress over the time spent cleaning up that mess. Then Warren came in and started the coffee which overflowed and made a mess in the very same spot. That part of our kitchen is now very clean.

The seating arrangement worked out very well. I used the gateleg table that you see in my header, moved it to the center of the living room and seated eight there. The dining room table had at least that many at it. A couple of kids were eating downstairs so it all worked out.

After that somehow the ladies found themselves playing the Wii as the guys talked about building electric cars, at least that is what they said they talked about, in the living room.

The day ended late, after watching very good movie, The Sin Eater. The title sounds strange but this movie is based on a novel by Francine Rivers by the same name. It is very good. If you haven't seen it, I think you would appreciate it. It is not a comedy, but it ends well.

Bless your heart if you are still reading this horrifically long post!
I could have just said that yesterday was great...but that just didn't have that blog feeling that I was going for. Really, this is my journal and I am looking forward to remembering this day...I will re-read this many times, in the years to come and remember the day that started out with a whine and ended up so blessed!

Thanks for visiting!

Your friend,

A Verse of Praise

I praise You, Lord
in everything...
I seek Your Word
for peace it brings.

It is You, Lord
that I adore...
for without You
I want no more.

You wake me gently
in the morning...
and bring me to
a place of yearning.

A yearning to know
Your precious plan...
What the future holds
Can I understand?

It does not matter
if I know...
What matters most
is that I go...

On missions of mercy
or to the next room...
to teach my children
about reliance on You.

Experience is life's
greatest teacher...
Life with You
could not be sweeter.

You never left me
not even once...
though things were hard
and hurt a bunch!

It was in these times
that I felt Your Peace
as You held me...
Oh, you carried me...

Through hurts that only
You could change to
calm and comfort...
and Joy in You.

Each step I take
is known by You...
Thank You, Lord
I love You too!!!

Signed,

Your daughter,

Adoring the Creator

Last week we were in Potter County, Pennsylvania. The slogan there is "God's Country". You know that in some ways that is true. We know that the Bible says, "The Heavens declare the glory of the Lord" and if we don't do it the very "rocks will cry out" in testimony of the greatness of God. Well, the untouched beauty and the clarity of the skies and the Milky Way in that area certainly do focus your attention on a Creator who made it all happen. More amazing than that is that He tells us all of this came into being with the sound of His voice.
You know, if I could just get my kids to clean up after themselves with the sound of my voice I would be very pleased but this is amazing. Creation screams, "Look to the Creator...HE did this!"
My cousin called the other night and was totally thrilled because for 20 years she has been trying to see the infant sea turtles make their migration from the nest to the sea. On Sunday it happened for her. She said they were so tiny but so perfect and they each had their own way of getting it done. The first one came out, moved around all of the obstacles walked into the ocean, pointed his nose just the right way and caught the first wave. The second little fellow insisted on doing it the hard way. He climbed over the seaweed in front of him, the equivelent of a large mountain, spent some time flipped over on his back, finally made it to the water, where after a couple of attempts he finally figured out how to catch the wave and off he went.
That so reminds me of we human beings. For some reason some of us really have to take the hard path. We have to try it ourselves and we flounder...but in His time and with His help His children will make it. We will catch that big wave.
Our Creator is worthy of worship and adoration in the biggest city or in the remotest mountain...but to me He surely is easier to see where His work is most untouched.
Lord, help me to see YOU everywhere and in everything today.